Man guilty of firebomb attack on publisher of Mohamed book
Incident followed storm over 'The Jewel of Medina'
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The American author, Sherry Jones was subjected to a tirade of threats from Islamic extremists
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A minicab driver was found guilty yesterday of helping try to firebomb the home of a publisher days before the release of a novel about the marital life of the Prophet Mohamed.
Abbas Taj, 30, was waiting in his car as two accomplices poured diesel through the letter box of the four-storey home of Martin Rynja, who had vowed to publish The Jewel of Medina after the American-based giant Random House postponed publication due to concerns that the book would lead to "acts of violence" by Muslim extremists. Taj, from Forest Gate, east London, arrived outside the home of Mr Rynja in Islington, at 2am on 27 September last year and watched Abrar Mirza, a mobile phone salesman, and Ali Beheshti, who is unemployed, try to set light to the house, which is also the publisher's office.
Police, who had warned Mr Rynja that an attack was possible, arrested Mirza and Beheshti outside the house as the fire was started, and kicked down the door to extinguish the flames. Taj drove away.
A jury at Croydon Crown Court in south London convicted Taj by a majority verdict of conspiracy to recklessly damage property and endanger life. Taj shook his head as he was found guilty and mouthed "No". He had claimed to have "no idea" about the plot and and was just giving a lift to friends. Beheshti, 41, from Ilford, and Mirza, 23, from Walthamstow, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy at a previous hearing,
The Jewel of Medina is a fictionalised seventh-century account of the life of Aisha, the third of Mohamed's 13 wives often referred to as the prophet's "favourite". They were engaged when she was six and married three years later.
A Texas-based academic sent a pre-publication copy decided it "made fun of Muslims and their history", and wrote to moderate Muslims and the press warning that its contents could provoke anger. Random House, which paid the author, Sherry Jones, $100,000 (£65,000) for a two-book deal, held publication, saying security experts and scholars of Islam believed releasing the novel could endanger its employees.
Mr Rynja announced his Gibson House imprint would take on the title, saying he had been "bowled over" by its contents and wanted to see its release "regardless of fear".
The three men are to be sentenced in July.
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Comments
I'll ask you again, does this mean Jacob and other Jewish prophets and kings were vile pedophiles as well?
Marriage of Saudi Arabian girl, eight, annulled
you know, funny thing, I know someone who was raped by a jew when she was 8, she happens to be a gentile christian, n' guess what, your Talmud (book of law)says its alright, to have sex with a child.. so, does this make all jews pedophiles??
What about the barbarity of your Zionist soldiers in Gaza, and their "one shot, two kills" shirts, proud to kill pregnent palestenian women? Does this make all jews ruthless cold-blooded n' proud murderers who consider others to be just animals?
you're really dark, n' filled with hate inside, to an extent that you can't see the truth anymore, n' it's impossible to have a meaningful or decent conversation with you!
I had with you, I wasn't going to reply to you, but if you think you're good in english, n'you know how to insult, i'll play this game with you once..
Just wear your "one shot, two kills", proud to kill palestenian pregnent women t-shirt, go to your occupied park, which sits on a grave of a family you killed 60 years ago,contemplate on how you're going to build more settlments n'steal more land, read your 3000 year old book, which tells you your god's chosen people, n' your allowed to kill children, then, fetch your other book, read about how the fathers of your faith (the rabbis of the talmud), who could be your ancestors (thats if your semetic to begin with), slept with their 3 year old daughters and considred it holy, married their neices, and said it was right to kill and steal from gentiles coz they're animals..
I hate drama queens like you who are really stupid, ignorant and hypocrite, who don't have the first clue how to answer to an argument or defend their position n' only know how to throw insults.. This is a place for grown up people who know how to discuss things reasonably, not for insignificant, irrelevant, n' brainless people like yourself.. Seriously, get lost, get some education, learn how to talk like reasonable human beings not like 6 year olds..
As a christian you should be fully aware that images of God, angels, prophets etc are not permitted. Including the image of prophet Jesus. In the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic versions of the religion.
As a christain you should realise that its also your religion - the religion of those who submit to the will of God, just as Jesus submits to the will of God, his creator.
So just stop your blaspheming rantings against Gods religion - you are just making commiting crimes against your own soul.
Those who know that certain things are not permissable, should heed the advice given to them. Sherry Jones would be greatly mistaken to think that only the extremists take offence to her mocking Islamic history. She will find that 99.999% of all muslims around the world will object to what she is doing. This type of religious mockery is not up for negotiation as history has shown in Denmark.
Jones and Rynja must realise - play with fire & it will burn you! Plenty of people out there pissed off with what the west is doing to muslims around the world already, this type of religious mockery just adds insult to injury.
"We will be slaves."
This Islamophobia is becoming hilarious.
1- The systematic expulsion of arab muslims n' christians from Jerusalem.
2- The siege on Gaza and its 1.5 million inhabitants.
3- The occupation of Iraq, the poverty, theft n' violence over there (more than 1 million dead) since 2003.
4- The conspiracy and political smothering of Lebanon since 2004.
5- The occupation of Afghanistan and the killing of civilians since 2001.
6- The continuous attacks on Pakistan's civilians, and the internal war against Taliban (western made n' funded Taliban).
7- The sectarian strife ultimately fed n' nurtured by America.
8- The sanctions on Syria, and Iran.
9- The very possible attack against Iran.
10- The struggle against al qaida and its thought (also western made n' nurtured).
Do you want me to continue?
I don't think anybody heard about this silly woman, who didn't find anything better to write about other than the prophet's imaginary sexual life, n' trying to mock arabs n' muslims (1 billion people)!! n' even if they did, I think we have enough on your plate already to give a damn about your freedom of speech.
So, go ahead, make the world a better place, go draw a picture of mohammed as a terrorist, feed the hate more, so you can prove to yourself that you can say whatever you want, while your politicians are sending your young men to war and robbing you blind!
Do you know how many al qaida attacks happened in the middle east in the past 8 years?? in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria.. you think we're enjoying the fireworks??
Who called it al qaida? Who found the database? who funded it? Who funded the algerian islamists? Who helped n' funded Fateh alislam in Lebanon which killed lebanese ppl? who funded Taliban in afghanistan?
"your position is indefensible"
What position? I'm not defending those crazy criminals who targeted that lady! they deffinately got what they desserve!
you're not getting my point! go back to your previous reply, dont just ask me those stupid questions! you seriously need to grow up n' learn how to debate!! you asked why didn't prominent muslims and muslim organizations speak out! well, simply, coz we have enough on our plate to care about this silly stuff, this is small potatoes for us to care about, when we have all those wars, all this mess, all the chaos n' death!!! which most of it is a result of western policy!!
N' yea, I don't really care about your freedom of speech, when your government and its allies in the free world are the main cause of all those problems and crimes, and on top of that supports the governments that don't give us freedom of speech..
You wanna know why there are extremists and radicals?
first, you need to understand that there are more than 6 main sects in islam, there are more than 1 billion ppl stretching from the african atlantic to south east asia, speaking tens of languages with different traditions n' backgrounds, we're not one people! We have nationalists, seculars, capitlaists, oppurtunists, leftists, communists, liberals.. you name it ; n' guess what, I happen to be secular!! so, shut up already, you're acting like a drama queen! bottom line: those two fucks cannot represent more than 1 billion people, or even an entire religion for that matter! not even 10,000 of those can't!! just do the math! they represent themselves n' their school of thought!
second, you need to read about Hempher the spy!
third, look at the ten points, n' tell me if that?s not a recipe for extremism, tell me why did terrorist attacks sky-rocket after 9/11? n' please don't tell me you believe bush's fairy tale (offical version) of 9/11!!?
fourth, just check who's the biggest support of all totalitarian systems in the world!! one example: who braught down the secular iranian elected government in the 50s?
here's somewhere you can get real news:
http://www.voltairenet.org/en
You need to gain more knowledge before you ask those silly questions!
So, excuse me for not giving a damn about your right to generalize and insult me!
This is not a fact, Mr. Milmo; it's really becoming ridiculous how western journalists keep mentioning this over n over again!!
1- This was narrated by a grand-nephew of Aicha who wasn?t alive at the time of the wedding.
2- He narrated it to a group of Iraqis who weren't even muslims at the time of the marriage and there are many questions regarding their credibility.
3- He was in his 70s, and he was paid to tell tales and stories about early Islam.
4- He was wrong about Fatima's age (Mohammed's daughter) when she got married as well.
5- All historical information about Aicha, being able to sense things and remember them when Mohammed first got his message many years prior to leaving to Madina, means that she was at least 17-26
There are many more clues and It's sad that some muslims believe this story and take it as a fact, without doing any research! And seeing how it's been used over and over again to vilify a religion with its 1 billion followers.
1- It is a crime punishable by jail if you question or attempt to review the western-Israeli account of the holocaust.
2- A French comedian was banned after making a stand up joke about a rabbi.
3- Many French journalists lost their jobs for criticizing Israel.
4- American professors, including Jewish scholars are facing anti-Semitism accusations, and some are losing their jobs for criticizing Israel?s massacre in Gaza.
There are hundreds many more violations of freedom when expressing an opinion about an event that was used as a pretext for the creation of the occupying state of Israel, and even criticizing its actions in the past 60 years.
What is more important, just bashing a religion, condemning it as evil, insulting its 1 billion followers, by creating silly imaginary scenarios, or talking and discussing our current affairs, the cancer that's the middle east crisis, that keeps feeding on this unlimited unquestionable western support? Or freedom and liberty is best exercised when attacking a religion, whose followers are already feeling targeted in various places around the world? Has it become anti-semetic to review recent history, or condemning a state that was based on terrorism, expulsion, and theft, after killing 1300 people in 3 weeks and destroying tens of thousands of houses, leaving them in tents for 6 months trying to build new houses out of mud! What is more pressing as an issue, trying to secure our world, eliminating conflict and extremism, or try to feed it with this silly nonsense?
I don't know if you do realize it, but this is some sort of racism, that starts verbally, n' ends up ugly.
"If you do not have that freedom, you have no freedom."
It's sad if this is your idea of freedom?
"you are a slave. "
it's deffinately not this reason your a slave!!
"Until Muslims recognize that freedom of speech (include the right to criticize Islam) is a fundamental human right, they should leave Western countries and return to the totalitarian Islamic Republics they came from."
Why don't I see the same criticism and mockery against judiaism?
until your culture becomes fair when treating all religions, then, you have the right to ask them to leave!
And until your country and other western countries stop stikcing their nose everywhere where muslims are, until they compensate those countries they colonised n' sucked up their resources for every penny stolen, n' every soul taken, then, you have the right to ask them to leave!!
"No one has the moral (or legal) right to kill someone because they criticize your religion. "
N' you dont have the logic or the right to stereotype, n' broadcast what those two stupid people did to include all muslims, like I don't have the right, to stereotype, n' broadcast Bush, Blair, n' Olmert's crimes to you, all of your family, all englishmen, or all europeans!!
Why don't you see criticism and mockery directed against Judaism? Well, I've seen plenty. Perhaps we just don't travel in the same circles. I would, however, support your right to criticize or make fun of Judaism or any other religion. That is what freedom is all about. However, you can't have it unless you are willing to extend it to all.
And i didn't say racism, I said, some sort of, you wanna call it, discrimination, prejudice, intolerance, hate.. whatever you want!
" Why don't you see criticism and mockery directed against Judaism? Well, I've seen plenty. "
tell me where? guide me?
there's been a systematic attack on Islam for the past 8 years in a way that its getting out of hand, to an extent that unknown petty writers are writing fairy sexual tales about Mohammed. You don't see any attack against Judaism, or Hinduism or other religions, although, there are far more negative aspects in some religions than there are in Islam. I never seen or read a discussion on tv or mainstream media about the violent verses of the old testament, although they are used to kill Palestinians; I don't see or read an assessment of the Jewish book of law "The Talmud" either, although its full of controversial stuff! Let alone, mockery and making fun! its not those terrorists or small crooks who are limiting your freedom of speech! Its the people who own the media and the money, the lobbies, and the politicions who are limiting your freedom of speech n' thought as well!
Personally, I have no problem discussing religious matters rationally, reasonably, intelligently and respectably, so as many muslims; I have something against mockery, insulting n' attacking for the sake of it, coz that only creates hatred, n' could lead to extremism in all sides.. I won?t kill someone who does that, I?ll just despise them, n' consider them silly ppl with no respect or sensitivity to other people, n' not much intelligence.. mockery n' suspicion of jewish people in europe led to antisemetism, although jews are not one racial entity! n' eventually, that led to mass murder n' expulsion n' we, in the middle east, inherited those deeds, n' the result, the arab/israeli conflict.. let's learn from history! I am with being constructive, not destructive, I am with the overall good.. freedom of speech is like anything in this world, could be used for good or bad..
As to the persecution of the Jews, an encyclopedia wouldn't be large enough to hold this history. I'm not qualified to speak to this, although I do recommend Daniel Goldhagen's books ("Hitler's Willing Executioners, A moral Reckoning, etc.) which I have read.
Yes, I agree that the Israelis use the Talmud to justify vicious attacks against Palestinians. It sickens me.
Regarding Christians and the Crusades and the Inquisition, I would definitely say that the crimes committed by Christians in the name of Jesus would also fill an encyclopedia.
At this point in history, religions other than Islam have learned to accommodate secular society, civil law, and civil rights. They don't demand total power anymore. Perhaps one day Islam will learn to separate church from state, and this discussion will be moot.
And Hitler wasn't the first to kill Jews; Jews were killed in England and other places in Europe hundreds of years before Hitler; and I never asked for a discussion about the cursades and the inquesition, it was a simple example, so, maybe, just, maybe, you'd get my point after all I I've written.
Let me rephrase my position for you, which you don't seem to understand, I'll break it down using logic:
1-When 2, 3, 10, 100 or 1000 or even more people comitt a crime, or have some sort of behavior, it doesn't mean that other people who follow the same religion are the same, in this case, they happen to be more than 1 billion.
2-When a group, a sect, a government that endorces some religion, uses it to comitt crimes, it doesn?t mean that the religion itself is foul, or should be condemned and faught as a whole. Another example, when a democratic, secular government invades another country in the name of democracy and freedom, it doesn't mean democracy, freedom and secularism are at fault, or incompatible with humanity, and should be faught as concepts.
You need to get out of this guilty by association, ignorent gerneralization, and stupid stereotyping mindset; this is the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction. If you don't get this by now, I'm sorry, you need to take an emergency course in logic and fallacies!
And Secular society? That's interesting, anyway, do you know that almost all arab countries and muslim ones (Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, ?. Etc) are secular and have secular laws! They might not be democratic though!
Only Saudi Arabia and Iran hold religion as their law, and both differ in the way they inrepret it. In the first case, it was your country that created and helped create that system, and in the latter, it was your country that supported dictatorship, stole the resources, and blocked democracy by force, till the islamic revolution took place!
And you say all religions have endorced and accomodated secular society? let's see
Israel was established on a 3000 year old biblical promise, and all crimes are carried out in that name, and supported by the "secular" west. Only Jews are allowed to migrate to Israel, and arabs (christian, n' muslim) are being discriminated against, and driven out. And Israeli comedy sketches show Jesus as a fat dumb kid, whose mom is a filthy whore, and Mohammed as a criminal and dumb arab terrorist, but would never show anything that would make fun of judiaism. So, should I clap my hands for their freedom of speech in Israel, and its "secular" supporters in the west??
America's most powerful lobbies are religious (zionist evangalical, n'zionist jewish), and when congressmen and senators say supporting Israel is a matter of following god's words, that really doesn't leave much room for secularism, let alone reason, does it?
France banns women from wearing a scarf; isn't that holding and restricitng people's liberties and rights to at least wear what they want??
If you really want to convince me that Islam and muslims are restricting your freedom of speech, and are turning you to a slave, and hence, you should fight them and kick them out, because they're the only obstacle for you to reach your freedom, and drawing Mohammed as a terrorist is a mere exersice of freedom, and not an implication that all followers of Mohammed are terrorists,
then, go ahead and write an article about the Talmud, the old testiment, critizing the violence, explicit pedophilia, criminal intent, and hate in those books and publish it in a newpaper, or draw a picture of Moses in an Israeli airplane throwing cluster white-phosphourus bombs on civilians, or you know what, just do a research about the holucost denying the truthfullness of the official Israeli-western version, and since muslims are the only obstacle to secular free society, this should be an easy task!
I think that what you want from the West is capitulation and submission. If you remember the subject at hand ("The Jewel of Medina"), it is interesting to note that the book's original publisher (Random House) capitulated to Islamic terrorism by abandoning the book even after paying the author a sizable advance. This did not happen years earlier when prominent publishers stood behind Salmon Rushdie and published "The Satanic Verses". The firebombing of the current publisher (Gibson House) is designed to silence prospective critics of Islam. Soon no one will publish books like these, and the terrorists will have won again. That virtually no Muslims have publicly defended the rights of the author and publisher makes Islam itself complicit in these crimes. All of this underscores my original point regarding the incompatibility of Islam with the West. Your angry responses have confirmed this far better than anything I may have said.
"There is ample evidence that Islam and Muslims living in the West are restricting freedom of speech."
How many? Who are they? There are probably more than 6 or 8 million muslims in the west; how can you come up with that stupid generalization? What are the reasons for these acts? What are the political n' historical reasons behind it? What is the geo-political status of the muslim world, what are the challenges they're facing? What are the social reasons? Is Islam way more targeted than other religions and is that fair? Are countries that happened to be muslim targeted or been targeted before by the west? What is the source of Islamic radicalism and violence, who funded it n? fed that over n' over again directly n' indirectly? What sect do those people belong to? What kind of countries n' culture those people come from? What does this cycle of insults on an entire religion, and physical insults on the writers do? Yes, create islamophobic people like you, who want to deport muslims, n' create this civilization clash, in which you are the live manifestation of; you're no better than those crazy radicals!
Of course, it is easy for you to say Islam and Muslims are the disease,and I'm incompatible with tolerance along with 1 billion other muslims (1/5th of the world's population), because I'm simply muslim, putting a label on me; it's really easy to say that and it spares you the responsibility to dig deeper, and exercise your brain, to think rationally n' analytically which is apparently a hassle for someone like you. My angry response as you call it, is not because I am muslim, n' hence, am not compatible with you; I told you way back, that I'm secular, not religious at all, n' I said explicitly that I'm against those acts, but you seem too thick, too stubborn, or just hate muslims too much to understand, your reason has nothing to do with reason n' you seem incapable of critical thinking, and you didn't answer any of my points or questions throughout our discussion! You just went on n' on, repeating yourself, n' repeating your meaningless, baseless, n unscientific insults. I should?ve known better not to engage in a discussion with you, coz your first post said it all about your personality n' your Islamophobia.. Don't bother replying, I?m not typing back, your reason, logic n' knowledge is too inferior to me.. n' this is not because I'm muslim!! I learnt a lot of what I know from western philosophers n' books, in which you may use some to deal with your bigotry and perhaps widen your very narrow mind!
If we let their still medieval mind-set rule, say goodbye to writers/artists pushing the boundaries of creativity for a start.
why it is banned by laws to make any research in holocaust
why anyone just say Israel is immediately accused of antisemitism
it's just question searching for answers.