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Posts Tagged ‘al qaida’

Unusually liberal Saudi Iman Adel al-Kalbani sparked controversy this week after he claimed that there was nothing in the Koran forbidding singing.

“There is no clear text or ruling in Islam that singing and music are haram,” said Kalbani in a fatwa decriminalizing singing.

“The problem is that there are some who do not accept debate at all,” he continued, stressing that he was only referring to wholesome music.

“I am talking about decent singing,” he said “Which contains decent words, and supports morality.”

Islamic news agency Ahlul Bayt said al Kalbani’s statement sparked a ‘pitched battle’ between him and conservative hardliners over who’s allowed to issue fatwas, with the issues about modernisation increasingly causing tension in the Middle East.

The dispute exploded just as details emerged of al Qaida publishing their first English magazine, Inspire which appeared this week on jihadist websites around the world.

The glossy periodical includes feature practical advice articles including ‘How to send and receive encrypted messages‘ and ‘Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom’ and an exclusive message from Osama Bin Laden on “how to save the earth,”

Prominent US blogger Marc Ambider (CBS New’s Chief political commentator) suggested the US is ‘quite worried about Al Qaeda’s new publishing ambitions’ though suggested ‘black’ propagandists could be at play.

“It is possible, although not likely, that the magazine is a fabrication, a production of a Western intelligence agency that wants to undermine Al Qaeda by eroding confidence in its production and distribution networks,” he speculated, “The U.S. is engaged in direct net-based warfare with jihadis; this sort of operation would not be too difficult to pull off,” he added. (The Atlantic)

(Fatwa battles in full)

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Propaganda clip of a Palestinian suicide bomber (click for more)

The US Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel pleaded with Tiesto to cancel an upcoming gig in Israel,this week, in an open letter posted online.

Noting that stars including the Pixies, Gorillaz Sound System and Elvis Costello have cancelled concerts recently following Israel’s raid on the human rights activists’ ship in which nine unarmed campaigners were killed,the campaign group declared ‘as you know, music cannot be isolated from politics.’

“A visit to Israel, particularly now, is viewed by Israel, and internationally, as implicit support for Israeli policies and indifference to the victims of Israeli crimes,” they added.

“It comes as an additional grievance to us that you plan to come to Lebanon after you entertain apartheid Israel. It is not only the Palestinians who have been victimized by Israel. We, in Lebanon, have suffered a great deal. We appreciate your talent, as millions around the world do, but we cannot enjoy it while you ignore the suffering caused by the recurring Israeli aggressions on Lebanon,” they added.

Tiesto in action

The letter was published three years after a Lebanese newspaper published a story warning that Al Qaida were threatening to assassinate Tiesto and ‘tear out your hearts with traps and surround your places with explosive canisters’, if he dared to play in Beirut. Lebanese newspaper Ya Libnan subsequently apologized, admitting the death threat had turned out to be a hoax, and in the event the gig passed off without incident.

In better news for the Dutch DJ, Diplo eulogised him effusively this week, robustly defending their much mocked recent collaboration C’Mon in an interview with Big Shot Magazine.

“The bottom line is that I always want to do something that hasn’t been done before and make something that sounds interesting,” Diplo declared.

“The guy is so positive about music and one of the biggest artists I’ve ever worked with. He’s bigger than Snoop Dogg or anyone I can imagine,” he continued.

“Everybody knows him around the world, and I can’t believe how humble and cool he is about making music,” he added. (Big Shot)

Tiesto Vs Diplo: C'Mon (click to see the video)

http://bit.ly/c8zC2z (‘Open letter from Lebanon to DJ Tiesto: Don’t entertain an outlaw state!’)

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