Swiped from SondraK

Syed Soharwardy apparently has had a change of heart. This is the Imam that first went to Calgary police when Ezra published the Mohammad Cartoons, then filed a human rights complaint against him. Suddenly he has decided that the commissions are too heavy handed. It took over 20 years of living in Canada and two years of harassing Ezra Levant for him to come to this conclusion. I smell taqiyya, but perhaps - just perhaps - he is sincere.

When I initiated my complaint against Mr. Levant, I saw human rights commissions as a non-violent means of resolving differences among Canadians.

I was not aware of the controversies between the commissions and Canada’s faith communities. I am thinking specifically of my friend Fred Henry, the Roman Catholic bishop of Calgary.

Upon learning about the difficulties he and other faith communities have encountered with the commissions, I withdrew my complaint against Mr. Levant.

One of the reasons I chose Canada as my adopted homeland is because of our country’s great respect for religious freedom.

In Canada, I am free to be good Canadian and a good Muslim. There is no contradiction between the two.

In listening to the experiences of Bishop Henry and Pastor Boissoin, I realized how precious religious freedom is to our country and how easily freedom is lost.

“I am Mohammed — and nobody dares to print me”

No, really.

A suspected suicide bomber blew up a car outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital on Monday killing six people and wounding about 20, police and hospital officials said.

The blast will raise fresh questions about the safety of foreigners in Pakistan even though militant attacks have dropped off since a new government came to power after a February general election vowing to negotiate to end violence.

Danish newspapers infuriated Muslims around the world when they published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in late 2005. The cartoons, considered blasphemous by Muslims, sparked deadly protests in 2006 which included attacks on Danish missions.

The embassy in Islamabad was temporarily shut in 2006 after violent protests over the cartoons.

Residents of the neighborhood said they had feared an attack on the mission.

“Since the printing of cartoons, we always had this fear,” said Sana Khalid, a resident of the area. “But what they did to our religion, they deserve it.”

The Religion of Pieces strikes again.

“Youths”. “Broad strata of society”. There are so many euphemisms, when all we really need is the truth: Fanatical Muslims.

More than 20 people have been arrested in Denmark following eight consecutive nights of youth rioting and vandalism across the country, police say.

They are suspected of setting fire to buildings, schools, cars and rubbish bins in Copenhagen and other cities.

Police say the unrest, which started on 10 February, appears to be subsiding.

It is not clear what triggered the riots. Reports say the youths - mainly with immigrant backgrounds - have been accusing police of harassment.

They’re pissed off about the reprinting of the Mohammed cartoons. They’re pissed off because the cops aren’t taking their bullshit. They’re pissed off because their religion forbids them from getting laid. They’re pissed off about everything. I don’t know that I would even want to subscribe to a religion that made me so angry all the time.

Syed Soharwardy has backed down, withdrawing his human rights complaint against Ezra and the now-defunct Western Standard for publishing the Dreaded Cartoons of Blasphemy(tm). It seems he (Soharwardy) has discovered that we’re rather fond of our freedom of the press over here in the real world, and that he can’t force his Saudi values on us.

But Ezra is making sure to look this gift camel in the mouth. He doesn’t believe it for a second:

So why would Soharwardy do this — and why now?

The answer lies in another Arabic word: hudna. A hudna isn’t a peace treaty. It’s a temporary truce called by a Muslim warrior who’s losing in battle. It’s pretty easy to understand how hudnas work by watching Israel fight Hamas and Hezbollah. Those two terrorist groups lob rockets and send suicide bombers into Israel for months; then, every once in a while, Israel deploys its military and flattens Hamas and Hezbollah, who then call for a hudna. The UN intervenes, saving Hamas and Hezbollah to fight another day. That’s a hudna: a tactical truce for a strategic advantage.

Indeed. Soharwardy may have backed down from this particular battle, but Levant isn’t going to give it up until he crushes the man for the cockroach that he is:

But can someone abuse a government process like he has, for two years, and then simply walk away with impunity? I’ve spent the better part of $100,000 defending against this thug — but because he’s losing face, he thinks he can pretend he never did what he did.

For two years, this corrupt, radical imam has hunted me using the resources of the taxpayers of Alberta for the “thought crime” of publishing a cartoon he didn’t like. I had a preliminary discussion with my lawyer today. My aim is to file an abuse of process claim in the Court of Queen’s Bench within the month. Whether or not I sue the commission itself, and its inquisitor Shirlene McGovern, is something I haven’t discussed yet with my lawyers.

When the chief complainant in a two-year censorship exercise admits the whole thing was improper, an abuse of process suit is not just about recouping my losses. It’s about holding a little fascist, and the government agency he hijacked, to account, and having grown-ups — that is, real judges in real courts — tell them that what they’ve been doing is morally and legally wrong.

If you’ve been hitting Ezra’s tip jar for his defence, hit it again for the coming offence! It will be even more fun to watch him at work in a real courtroom, where actual laws apply. And where the fragile feelings of Imams count for naught.

Day By Day

Remember when this was the kind of thing you’d find at the back of a newsprint magazine, offering you the chance to draw Woody Woodpecker or Betty Boop for a $25 prize and a cartooning instruction book? Geez, I remember stuff like that at the back of my Archie comics when I was little.

Times have changed, though, and $25 doesn’t buy quite as many Sea Monkeys as it used to. Nowadays a book of art instruction goes for more than that! Heck, you’d be lucky if you could buy 5 Archie comics!

Now the cartoon prizes are much bigger, and the rules have changed. No longer do you submit your attempt along with a proof of purchase and a $1 entry fee. No, now you have to go out and slaughter another artist like a lamb.

The purported head of al-Qaeda in Iraq has offered a reward for the murder of a Swedish cartoonist over his drawing depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The $100,000 (£49,310) reward would be raised by 50% if Lars Vilks was “slaughtered like a lamb” said the audio message aired on the internet.

The speaker, said to be Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, threatened a new offensive during the holy month of Ramadan.

Last month’s cartoon showed Prophet Muhammad’s head on a dog’s body.

Several Muslim countries protested.

Hmmm… wasn’t more than two or three years ago that the Religion of Peace was telling us that violence during the “Holy Month of Ramadan” was haram, or verboten. I guess they noticed we weren’t buying into that bullshit, dropped the charade, and went back to what they do best: Threats and killings.

But Saturday’s taped message said the militants were announcing a “call to shed the blood of the Lars who dared to insult our Prophet”.

“During this generous month we announce an award worth $100,000 to the person who kills this infidel criminal,” the speaker said.

He also announced a $50,000 reward for the killing of the editor of the newspaper.

Yup, Islam is a generous religion indeed.