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Islamist Lawfare
September 15, 2009 | 6 comments
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Death to Free Speech in the Netherlands
January 22, 2009 | 154 comments
Special Report
Internet Freedom Under Siege
Islamist lawfare continues its steady march.
Lawfare, the abuse of the law and legal system to achieve strategic political and military goals, has taken many forms in the decade since Major General Charles Dunlap first defined the term as “the use of law as a weapon of war.” On May 19, 2009, my colleague Brooke Goldstein and I warned “the next phase of Islamist lawfare may well center directly upon the internet itself.” Our concern lay in the expiration of a contract between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the U.S. Commerce Department, which had been in place since November 25, 1998.
ICANN was established as a non-profit corporation based in California in 1998, and is the entity responsible for assigning domain names on the Internet. ICANN works “in particular to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems.” As part of this mission, ICANN approves Domain Name Registrars, which are organizations that register specific domain names, and assigns IP addresses, the numerical codes by which computers actually connect to each other via the Internet.
Unfortunately, the concerns we raised over about how ICANN’s new multilateral system of governance could be hijacked by lawfare aimed at restricting free speech are now being realized. On September 27, journalist Kevin Murphy of DomainIncite.com reported that ICANN’s board of directors removed a reference to “terrorism” from the most recent version of its Draft Applicant Guidebook (DAG). While the term “terrorism” was included without any conceivably objectionable modifiers such as “Islamist,” the Chairman of the Pan Arab Multilingual Internet Group Khaled Fattal declared that the term “terrorism” itself was objectionable because “it will be seen by millions of Muslims and Arabs as racist, prejudicial and profiling.” Fattal requested not only its removal, but an apology from ICANN. Similarly, Abdulaziz H. Al-Zoman of SaudiNIT claimed “the international community is extensibly [sic] divided on who is a terrorist and who is a freedom fighter” as reason to remove the term.
By removing any reference to “terrorism” from the DAG, ICANN cannot perform a background check to verify that domain name registrars are not affiliated with terrorist organizations or otherwise used to facilitate acts of international and national terrorism. By removing any reference to terrorism in its Guidebook, ICANN is failing to perform its essential mandate — to ensure Internet stability.
Shortly thereafter, on October 1, ICANN published a letter it had received from Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, which stated that ICANN’s practice of creating geographical regions “comes into conflict with the operational precedent of many UN agencies that specifically recognize the Arab region” and asked ICANN to “take the necessary action in this regard.” As Kevin Murphy explained, “If ICANN were to add these states to the five geographic regions it already recognizes in its bylaws, it would grant the Arab nations a seat on its board of directors, among other rights.” Unlike every geographic area currently recognized by ICANN, the “Arab region” would be an ethnically homogenous entity, which would represent a fundamental change in its structure and provide uniquely preferential treatment for the Arab League.
The Secretary General’s reference to “operational precedent of many UN agencies” is particularly troubling, given the fact that too many UN agencies have failed to fulfill their purposes as a result of politicization. The Arab League, moreover, has long been active in the process of turning international mechanisms to serve its political ends, since it forms the core of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the same dominant 57-member voting bloc at the UN General Assembly that systematically ignores human rights abuses when those abuses are committed by its member states. For example, the Arab League emphatically rejected the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, while the OIC expressed its solidarity with al-Bashir and the Sudanese government. The Republic of Sudan has been an OIC member since 1969.
Even more troubling is the fact that the OIC is spearheading a lawfare campaign at the United Nations to exclude the targeting of both American and Israeli civilians; that is civilians of what they deem an “occupying force,” from any international definition of the crime of terrorism. There is no valid reason why state sponsors of terrorism should be permitted to define the term in their best interests, nor is there a valid justification for allowing the Arab League to dictate what can and can not be registered as an Internet domain name.
Although many might take domain names for granted, control over domain names, as well as their registrars, carries with it considerable ramifications. Reports are now emerging that Libya is removing sites using the .ly domain name that conflict with its Shari’a-derived law, claiming that the content of these sites is “obscene, offensive and immoral.” Whether and how this reported practice will extend to those who use the extremely popular site www.bit.ly to shorten web addresses when posting on Twitter remains to be seen, but is troubling regardless.
ICANN’s vacillation regarding terrorism, which necessarily extends to terror finance, and pressure being exerted to make it ever more susceptible to politicization, poses a grave risk not only to the state of global free expression, but to national security as well. In 1996, a specially constituted panel of federal judges in the case ACLU v. Reno declared the Internet to be a free speech zone, with Judge Stewart Dalzell stating that the Internet is “the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed.” If ICANN is co-opted, Libya’s actions could be replicated on a global scale, and transition the world from the Information Age to one of disinformation.
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Intelligent Design| 10.14.10 @ 6:33AM
Muslims are not a race. Islam is about theocracy and 7th century "religious" law. It is subversive to our Constitution, religious freedom, and natural human rights. Muslims should reject Islam, become ex-Muslims, and join the 21st century.
Alan Brooks| 10.14.10 @ 8:55PM
So should rightwing Christians.
But you are doing the correct thing-- fight the Muslims, and we will fight Christian fundamentalists.
Rev. Jesse Jackson| 10.14.10 @ 10:32PM
Alan Brooks,
Intelligent Design said that "Muslims should reject Islam" and you said, "So should rightwing Christians." I finally agree with you. :) So, what's your beef with Christianity? If the truth were told, your beef is with God the Father and His son Jesus. His followers just tell ya'll what God says. But hey, if you want to be a sodomite (queer) go ahead. No one is stopping you. If you like the idea of homosexual marriage and like to see men kissing men, then go to a queer bar. Knock yourself out, Alan! If you want to sleep around, go for it! Just don't cry later if you get AIDS or a STD. Do you want to murder an unborn baby? Go for it! You don't want the kids to be able to pray at school? No problem! We can pray at the house. You seem to be what we call a "God hater." Have at it! It's pretty wild for you to compare Christian fundamentalists with Muslim terrorists or the Taliban. Christians in the U.S. won't shoot you in the head if you commit adultery, but the Taliban will. Christians in the U.S. won't cut your hand off if you should steal something, but radical Muslims will. Quit being stupid. You're losing the little bit of credibility that you had.
Osamas Pajamas| 10.15.10 @ 12:29AM
Brooks, I'm an atheist and you're an idiot. Modern-day Christians have threatened to "say a prayer" for me because of my atheism --- SCARY THOUGHT! --- while Muslims make and carry out the nastiest sort of threats against innocent atheists, unbelievers, infidels, apostates, and heretics. You'd have to have your head jammed up your ass all the way to China to put Christians and Muslims on the same level in "any" respect. So why is an atheist defending Christians? Easy question! The world will never become atheist, and as an atheist, I am far safer living among Christians than living among Muslims. Your attempt to equate Christians with Muslims punishes the better lot in favor of the worse lot. And that makes you evil, sport.
Alan Brooks| 10.15.10 @ 1:28AM
"If the truth were told, your beef is with God the Father and His son Jesus"
God is a woman, and Jesus is Her daughter. Don't like my being contrary concerning this?: tell it to the atheist whose handle at AS is "Osamas Pajamas". God is a necessary fiction, because most people are superstitious.
Besides, houses of worship are the only truly social democratic autonomous zones you can be in-- outside it is all dog eat dog. In Communism, life is dog eat dog; in capitalism it is vice versa.
Rev. Jesse Jackson| 10.15.10 @ 11:43AM
Alan Brooks,
Smug - contentedly confident of one's ability or correctness. Usage: Alan Brooks, you are a smug bastard. I told you before, I don't care if you want to believe the way you do or if you want to say that "God is a woman." Knock yourself out. I now see that you're not concerned with losing your credibility. I think they call your kind a "shock artist", you know, like Howard Stern. Getting back to "credibility." Jesus is an historical figure, much like Gandhi, or any one else you could think of (Genghis Khan, Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon, Howard Hughes, Clark Gable, etc. etc. etc.) All of these people that I mentioned were men. No doubt about it. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, he was in fact, a male. Not someone's daughter as you suggested. Do you want to be known as an idiot? You remind me of that line from the Batman movie where Michael Caine's character, while describing the Joker, says, "Some men just want to see the world burn." Is that you, Alan? Or while explaining what made Johnny Ringo tick, in the movie Tombstone, Doc Holliday says, "Johnny Ringo wants revenge." Wyatt Earp says, "For what?" and Doc says, "For being born." Is that you, Alan? Do you want revenge for being born? I know that if you answer this post (which would be a miracle), you'll just come up with some "cute" comment. Wise up, my friend. You're going to die alone.
Alan Brooks| 10.16.10 @ 8:58PM
"You're going to die alone"
So did Jesus-- between two thieves. You are correct, though, when you wrote "you'll just come up with some cute comment." The reason is, after Bob Dole's candidacy, I lost all respect for the GOP-- you can't force respect, can you? you can even torture someone to death without them giving in to you. My cute comment is: God was a woman, and Jesus was gay: he hung out with male disciples, he wore a gown, and he said to forgive thine enemies.
Now, if that's not being a metro, then what is?
Rev. Jesse Jackson| 10.15.10 @ 11:57AM
Osama Pajamas,
You may be an atheist but you're not an idiot. I only hope that you keep an open mind concerning God, because His word says, "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1. Let me leave you with this: The absence of proof is not proof of absence, so the atheist's denial of life after death or whether there is a God, is ultimately a faith-based position. It takes faith for us to believe in God. It takes faith for you to believe He doesn't exist. I hope that you find Him someday (or rather, that He finds you).
Alan Brooks| 10.17.10 @ 11:32PM
God might be a black lesbian from North Carolina.
Rob Miller | 10.15.10 @ 12:41AM
The difference of course, Mr. Brooks is that Christians aren't beheading and blowing up non-believers, or threatening to do so.
I believe your priorities are somewhat askew.
Regards,
Rob Miller
Alan Brooks| 10.15.10 @ 1:32AM
"I believe your priorities are somewhat askew."
par for AS.
AS is for rightwing pigheads, and cynical piglets such as me. I shoudn't get angry, we all deserve each other at AS.
Jacobite| 10.16.10 @ 5:46PM
Arabs (actual Arabs, not Arab-speakers), who dominate Mohammedanism by their control of the holy sites and premier religious institutions, are a race. A particularly sorry one too. If the Brits and Americans hadn't discovered oil in Arabia at the turn of the 20th century, they'd still be riding camels and living in tents.
Ret. Marine| 10.14.10 @ 7:29AM
" if ICANN is co-opted, Lybia's actions would be replicated on a global scale and transition the world from the information Agee to one of misinformation."
ahh, hello this is already being done, everything about islam and their cohorts are nothing but, lies, more lie's and damn lies. Would anyone expect this zebra (the demons-muslims-islamist) to change its colors any time soon, yeah just what I thought.
Melvin| 10.14.10 @ 8:03AM
Who the sam hell are the Muslims to proselytize to Americans what is, "obscene, offensive and immoral?"
Volumes through the ages can be filled, with the obscene, offensive and immoral things that Muslims have done.
Most recently a Saudi Prince murdered his man-servant boyfriend after a tryst of homosexual sex.
Pakistani taxi drivers were identified, with no charges or convictions, as the perps in the murder and torture against a Catholic domestic helper in one of the Gulf States.
Foreign Domestic helpers in the Gulf States are routinely raped and sodomized by their Islamic employers with full knowledge of their Islamic Wives.
Saudi Arabia, home to Mecca and Medina, Many Muslims routinely fornicate, rape, get blind drunk and commit crimes against infidels because it is allowed in the Koran.
My blood pressure is beginning to boil with the world's hypocrisy that bestow upon Muslims because of their religious piety.
Piety my infidel's ass, Muslims are some of the biggest sinners upon this planet and they and anyone who sympathizes with them can go straight to hell.
Rev. Jesse Jackson| 10.14.10 @ 9:24AM
Melvin,
Amen, Brother!!! I also read of some Muslim bastard who had beaten his wife here in the U.S. The liberal judge let him off because according to his "religion" he had done nothing wrong. Will we be governed by Sharia law one day here in the U.S.? To compare Sharia law with our beloved Constitution is like comparing dog shit to a ribeye steak! The world would be a better place if we didn't have to deal with sand niggers, dune coons, camel jockeys, ragheads, carpet riders and sand spooks. Allah can kiss my arse and his prophet, too.
Tenn Slim| 10.14.10 @ 8:41AM
Internet useage, operations, domain names, censorship by States, all work to deny the Global Citzen access to the one thing Leftists, Globalists, etal fear. INFORMATION.
If ICANN vaccilates further, IF the OBNA FCC Internet raids continue, then we can expect to see the Internet become the next Global Crisis.
Far too much Negative or ANTI Leftist information is on the Net.
The folks that fear the truth, will react.
Stand BY!!
Semper FI
end
Ken (Old Texican)| 10.14.10 @ 8:52AM
Tenn Slim
At 4:20 this morning I got a heads up from a "connected" stockholder.
Gold went through the roof over thirteen hundred dollars per ounce.
He thinks "inside players" are expecting something very scary on a global basis....right away.
Standing by.
RCV| 10.17.10 @ 5:50PM
More likely to be the result of manipulations by your fellow-Texans, the Hunt brothers, who did the same thing with silver a few years back. Or maybe Glenn Beck and his friends at Goldline. The gold bubble will soon burst and leave many people dragged along by Beck and others into wild speculation in financial ruin. Mark my words.
Negro X | 10.17.10 @ 10:31PM
RCV & Brooks, two angry transexuals.
Cris Worth| 10.14.10 @ 10:20AM
The mention of Israel and the US is the key. Elimination of both will allow the Muslims to dominate most of the world and the UN is the perfect prop to do so since this august body is fully anti-Semitic and anti-American.
Intelligent Design| 10.14.10 @ 12:19PM
The main guy behind building a mosque near ground zero is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who has an engineering degree from Columbia. Rauf is the author a book titled "What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America". I've got to read this fairy tale. Islam is subversive to our Constitution, religious freedom, and the natural rights of men and women.
Fergie| 10.14.10 @ 4:00PM
Hi Intelligent Design,
Go to jihadwatch.com. There is an article there about what the Arabic title for "What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America" is -- it is NOTHING like the American version. Look it up -- it will explain why this American version is such a fairy tale.
Intelligent Design| 10.14.10 @ 5:16PM
Here is what I found, a partial quote:
"Coughlin said Rauf's book, What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West, was first published in Malaysia under the title, A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic Dawa in the Heart of America Post-9/11.
The cover shows the Statue of Liberty, with a crescent moon overhead, the internationally recognized symbol of Islam.
In another Rauf-authored book, Islam: A Sacred Law, the imam argued that Sharia--laws based on the Koran--must supercede all others. He seems to suggest it should replace the U.S. Constitution. The Muslim Brotherhood, a secretive global network of Islamists, also wants the West and all countries to live under Sharia law. Its goal is to methodically dominate the culture and politics of the United States, according to documents seized by federal authorities.
In Sacred Law, Rauf wrote, "justice and equity, and the concepts of right and wrong, can only be an extension of an attachment to God and abiding by his dictates. And since a Sharia is understood as the law with God at its center, it is not possible in principle to limit the Sharia to some aspects of human life and leave out others."
He also writes, 'The Sharia thus covers every field of law--public and private, national and international--together with enormous amounts of material that Westerners would not regard as law at all.'"
Islam does not recognize secular law. The goal of Muslims such as Rauf is to establish sharia law in place of our legal system and our Constitution. This is clearly subversive, with the intention of destroying our government and freedom. Obama and other fools say we should tolerate Islam. Wrong. Mosques, sharia, and immigration by Muslims should be outlawed in the U.S.
IJ| 10.15.10 @ 2:47AM
"Mosques, sharia, and immigration by Muslims should be outlawed in the U.S."
I'm sorry, but which planet are you from? How can you outlaw immigration on the basis of religion? How will you enforce it in practice?
Intelligent Design| 10.15.10 @ 11:54AM
Islam is not a religion. It is a heinous political ideology known as theocracy. It can't be both. As the Ayatollah Khomeini said, "Islam is politics or it is nothing." (Source: The Crisis of Islam by Bernard Lewis) Islam would like to bring us back to the barbaric days of old, similar to the Divine Right of Kings to chop off heads, torture, and proclaim the official state religion.
Take a look at what Winston Churchill said about Islam. He was ahead of the curve.
T1Brit| 10.15.10 @ 8:51PM
You pass a law in Congress that says that any religion which has political aims which are contrary to the constitution shall be classified not as a religion but a subversive political ideology and treated as such.
Aaron| 10.15.10 @ 11:02PM
T1Brit,
You're 100% right!!! Too bad no one will listen to that idea. There are already too many mosques, Imams and Democrats to fight us. Oh yeah, Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar from The View would oppose that. Their love for freedom of religion compelled them to get up off their fat asses when Bill O'Reilly from Fox said that it was wrong to build a mosque near Ground Zero. It's just amazing how out of touch Hollywood is with the rest of the country.
Jacobite| 10.16.10 @ 5:35PM
The same way we restricted immigration from Asia, by passing an immigration law that says so. Obviously (to anybody with a 3-digit IQ), there is/can be no Constitutional right to immigrate to the US.
Kiltmaker| 10.14.10 @ 4:10PM
Using sharia law to justify beatings, killings, intimidation, and abuse that is used to subjugate individuals to control by another is nothing more than slavery. The imam's, princes, dictators live in royal splendor with the best that other people's money can buy. The workers live in very humble, if not wretched, conditions, living out a seventh century existence. This is the reality of the Caliphate, the ultimate in remembering "The Good Old Days."
At every turn, sharia is there to restrict the God-given rights of the individual. To submit to sharia, is to allow yourself to be enslaved. Your work, intelligence and effort enrich someone other than you or your family.
I will refuse to submit. Like treating any other bully, I'll punch him right in the nose. If I go down, I'll go down a free man. And a free man always has his gun.
IJ| 10.15.10 @ 2:45AM
Mediation and conciliation are part of the sharia legal tradition, especially in commercial disputes. I guess you must hate those who such up to Mozzlems by staying out of courts and saving money by resolving disputes through conciliation!
Radegunda| 10.15.10 @ 7:49PM
Key words: "part of."
Did you overlook the part where Rauf says: 'The Sharia thus covers every field of law--public and private, national and international--together with enormous amounts of material that Westerners would not regard as law at all.'"
As Muslims, say, Islam + Sharia is a "total system." It's explicitly totalitarian, acknowledging no legitimacy an anything outside itself.
BTW, what's your opinion on the part of Sharia that dictates the death penalty for anyone who wants to leave Islam?
Yosemeti Sam| 10.15.10 @ 1:58AM
Um, it seems Islamofascist-intimidated-quiescent-Muslims and useful apologist Leftoids have this thing sticking in their craw - The First Commandment!
GOD - over Allah!
IJ| 10.15.10 @ 2:43AM
Indonesian, Pakistani and Arab Christians refer to God as "Allah". In the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, they pray to "Allah". Just as they have been doing for over 1,400 years.
Yosemeti Sam| 10.15.10 @ 3:30AM
Um, the GOD of Moses - was not Allah!
The GOD of Abraham - was not Allah!
The GOD of Issac - was not Allah!
The GOD of Jacob - was not Allah!
The GOD of David - was not Allah!
....!
Radegunda| 10.15.10 @ 7:51PM
So what? That doesn't mean they believe remotely the same thing.
And there have been (Islamic) campaigns to punish Christians in Indonesia for daring to use the word "Allah."
IJ| 10.15.10 @ 2:41AM
This is the first time I am visiting American Spectator. Now I must say that I'm so glad I'm a conservative from down under.
Seriously, you American conservatives have gone completely nuts with your paranoia about anything even mildly related to Islam.
Have you forgotten that it was the American Right that armed and sponsored the Afghan mujahideen during the 1980's? Don't you realise that in most Muslim-majority states, Islamist parties are referred to as "right wing" or "conservative" parties?
I sure hope conservatives in Australia and New Zealand don't start resembling some of the nutters that write for and comment in this publication.
Intelligent Design| 10.15.10 @ 8:44AM
Muslims are responsible for 99% of all terrorist attacks, which are continuing on a daily basis around the world. It is pointless, stupid and dangerous to pretend otherwise.
Islam belongs to the 7th century. Muslims should reject it, join the 21st century, and become non-Muslims. Nothing could be more hostile to our Constitution, religious freedom, and individual rights.
Mosques, sharia courts, and immigration by Muslims should be outlawed in the U.S. Islam is equivalent to Soviet Communism or Hitler's National Socialism in its threat to freedom.
Radegunda| 10.15.10 @ 8:05PM
If you think it's paranoid to be worried about "anything even mildly related to Islam," I challenge you to draw a picture, label it "Prophet Mohammed" or just "Mohammed," and publish it prominently. Go on a TV show and make a tame little joke about Mohammed.
No big deal, right? What are you afraid of?
Then, go visit Rosengard, in Malmo, Sweden. If you're a man, send your unveiled wife or girlfriend or daughter, in a short skirt. Go visit some of those 700+ "sensitive urban zones" in France where the French government warns non-Muslims not to go.
There are Muslim-dominated areas in Western cities where ambulances and firefighters and even police fear to go because the resident Muslims are likely to attack in force. Surely YOU could go there without fear, big boy.
It starts with little things. But the constant threat of Islamic violence has already had quite noticeable effects on what is considered permitted to do and safe to say in, e.g. Great Britain.
How often do Muslims have to repeat their intention to impose sharia over the whole world before you take it seriously? How much bullying and threatening and terrorism would be enough to get your attention?
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