A Hamline University professor who was fired after showing images of Muhammad in her art class is now reportedly filing a lawsuit against the school.
Dr. Erika Lopez Prater, who lost her job as an art professor after showing the images in a course on Islamic art, filed the legal action on Tuesday, <a href="https://www.fox9.com/news/hamline-professor-who-lost-job-after-showing-painting-of-muhammad-filing-lawsuit-against-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul.
&#8220;Hamline’s actions and statements may have constituted religious discrimination, defamation, and other violations of law,&#8221; attorneys representing Prater said, according to FOX 9.
“Hamline’s actions have caused significant damage to Dr. López Prater. In the near term, she has lost the income from her adjunct position. She alleges she also suffered significant emotional distress due to her mistreatment by Hamline,” they continued.
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The lawsuit seeks compensation for lost wages, future lost wages, damages for emotional distress, and punitive damages, according to the outlet.
&#8220;Now, whenever she applies to any of these colleges for a tenure track position, and they just happen to Google her name, it&#8217;s inextricably intertwined with this allegation of Islamophobia,&#8221; Prater&#8217;s attorney David Redden said during an interview with FOX 9. &#8220;So I think it&#8217;s going to have serious repercussions on her efforts to find a tenure track position and really get her career going.&#8221;
&#8220;Hamline is a multi-cultural, multi-religious community that has been a leader in creating space for civil conversations. Like all organizations, sometimes we misstep,&#8221; the university said in a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/teacher-fired-after-showing-images-muhammad-class-reportedly-sues-university" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> released after the lawsuit was announced.
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Prater distributed a syllabus for the fall class that warned students that the course would include images of religious figures, including Islam&#8217;s founder, Muhammad. The instructor also reportedly warned students in the minutes prior to showing the images in case any students believed they needed to leave the classroom.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hamline-university-apparently-fires-professor-over-medieval-muhammad-paintings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, the professor <a href="https://hamlineoracle.com/10750/news/who-belongs/">showed</a> two paintings that included a famous 14th-century painting depicting Muhammad and the archangel Gabriel and a 16th-century painting of Muhammad with a veil and halo.
A senior student in the course complained to school leaders, who ultimately decided to cut ties with the professor.
“In lieu of this incident, it was decided it was best that this faculty member was no longer part of the Hamline community,” David Everett, Hamline’s associate vice president for inclusive excellence, told The Oracle.
“It is not our intent to place blame; rather, it is our intent to note that in the classroom incident — where an image forbidden for Muslims to look upon was projected on a screen and left for many minutes — respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom,” Hamline University President Fayneese Miller <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/03/debates-whether-academic-freedom-includes-images-offensive-muslims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a December letter to students.
Christiane Gruber, a professor of Islamic art at the University of Michigan, however, spoke out in support of the art professor, starting a Change.org <a href="https://www.change.org/p/petition-in-support-of-the-dismissed-hamline-instructor-wrongly-accused-of-islamophobia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">petition</a> to reinstate the instructor.
“Through conflation or confusion, Hamline has privileged an ultraconservative Muslim view on the subject that happens to coincide with the age-old Western cliche that Muslims are banned from viewing images of the prophet,” Gruber <a href="https://newlinesmag.com/argument/academic-is-fired-over-a-medieval-painting-of-the-prophet-muhammad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) also called on Hamline to bring back Prater.
&#8220;An instructor’s right to navigate difficult material—like whether to display a historical painting of Muhammad when many Muslims believe Muhammad &#8216;should not be pictured in any way&#8217;—is well within Hamline’s commitment to protect academic speech that may &#8216;potentially be unpopular and unsettling,&#8217;” the organization wrote in support of the instructor.

Koran

Minnesota Professor Who Was Fired After Showing Images Of Muhammad During Class Sues University: Report

College

Education

Islam

Lawsuit

Minnesota

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran</a> was kicked out of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-nations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Nations</a> commission dedicated to women&#8217;s rights on Wednesday following the United States’ push to have the country excluded.
The country was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/iran-ousted-un-womens-rights-commission-rcna61710" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ousted</a> from the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women after 29 members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council voted for a resolution that was <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2022/12/14/landmark-resolution-ousts-iran-from-un-womens-commission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brought</a> by the United States to remove Iran from the commission for the rest of its term, which started this year and ends in 2026. Sixteen members abstained from the vote and eight of the members voted in opposition to it.
The draft resolution was co-sponsored by Australia, Albania, Canada, Israel, Guatemala, New Zealand, Liberia, North Macedonia, as well as the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
“The recent horrifying executions in Tehran only strengthen our resolve to expand this growing consensus and pursue all possible mechanisms of accountability against the Iranian regime and its officials responsible for these atrocities,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/14/u-n-member-states-vote-to-oust-iran-from-womens-rights-panel-00073886" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
Iran pushed back against the effort to kick them out, sending a letter to the council, along with 17 additional states and the Palestinians, on Monday. Iran <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-likely-be-ousted-un-womens-body-2022-12-14/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a vote on the resolution “will undoubtedly create an unwelcome precedent that will ultimately prevent other Member States with different cultures, customs and traditions &#8230; from contributing to the activities of such Commissions.&#8221;
Iran came on board the commission in March, which meets every year and “is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women,” according to the commission’s <a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>.
The country was set to continue holding a place on the panel until 2026, even though Iran has long denied women their basic rights.
After Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2022/12/06/mahsa-amini-the-spark-that-ignited-a-women-led-revolution/?sh=3e21f7495c3d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> away while in police custody when she was arrested for &#8220;improperly&#8221; wearing a hijab, protests erupted across the country. Since the protests, the Iranian government has detained massive numbers of protesters. Iran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iran-will-hold-public-trials-for-at-least-1000-detained-protestors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced that it would be publicly trying protesters</a> and followed through over the past week as two people <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/world/middleeast/iran-protests-execution.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">involved</a> with the protests were were publicly hanged.
In Iran, women are routinely at a significant <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/16/iranian-womens-demands-freedom-must-be-heard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disadvantage</a> when compared to men. The country’s Civil Code dictates that a woman’s husband has the ability to decide where the family lives and he can keep his wife from working in certain areas if he thinks it is against “family values.” A woman also needs to get permission from her husband to get a passport and be able to go on foreign travel.
Women make up more than 50% of people who graduate from universities in Iran, but in 2020, their labor force participation was 14%, whereas men&#8217;s was 70% after both dipping from 2019 rates.
Women have even had acid hurled on them likely because they were not appropriately <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/news/acid-attacks-iranian-women-linked-bad-hijab-294274346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clothed</a>. They have also been physically <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/gender-based-violence-iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abused</a> in public by the morality police.

11EB16A5-6A8D-42D2-926D-49EA0729E7D1_1_201_a

Iran Booted From U.N. Women’s Commission

Iran Gets Booted From United Nations Commission On The Status Of Women

Global Politics

Iran

United Nations

Women's Rights

World

Iran has abolished its morality police, a top official reportedly said, after months of protests set off by the death of a woman who was taken into custody for allegedly violating the country&#8217;s dress code.
Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri announced the decision at a religious conference on Sunday when asked if the morality police, tasked with enforcing Iran&#8217;s Islamic dress code, would be disbanded, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63850656">according to BBC Persian</a>. Iranian state media outlets <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-morality-police.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes">reported</a> the news late Saturday night.
&#8220;The morality police had nothing to do with the judiciary and have been shut down from where they were set up,&#8221; he said.
The report stressed that control of the force sits within the jurisdiction of the interior ministry, and other agencies have not confirmed the fate of the morality police.
<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA&#8217;S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US AND SAVE 30%.</a>
Such a change would be a victory for women leading protests that have rocked Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the morality police in Tehran in mid-September for allegedly violating the country&#8217;s hijab rules, part of a strict dress code imposed for men and women after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The protests, deemed &#8220;riots&#8221; by authorities in Iran, have been marked by demonstrators burning their hijabs and shouting anti-government slogans, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221204-protest-hit-iran-abolishes-morality-police">according to AFP</a>. There have also been rallies in other countries in solidarity with the Iranian demonstrators.
More than 300 people have been killed during the unrest, one Iranian general recently estimated, though activists say the numbers are higher and thousands of people have been detained, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/28/1139625631/iran-acknowledges-more-than-300-are-dead-from-unrest-from-nationwide-protests">per the Associated Press</a>.
Patrols by the morality police began in 2006, though wearing a hijab has been <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/who-are-irans-morality-police/a-63200711">mandatory for women since 1983</a>.
Despite the apparent concession this weekend, Montazeri said the judiciary would continue to enforce &#8220;social behavior&#8221; restrictions, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-morality-police.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes">according to The New York Times</a>.

Iran protests

Iran Morality Police Abolished, Attorney General Says

Hijabs

Protests

Women

The militaries for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saudi Arabia</a> and the United States are reportedly on high alert following an intelligence report warning of an imminent attack from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iran</a>.
The intelligence report from Saudi Arabia has also resulted in several neighboring states increasing their level of military alertness, The Wall Street Journal reported.
There were no details about what the specific threats were other than the main reported targets are in Saudi Arabia, Erbil, and Iraq.
The report said that the officials believe that the planned attacks are an attempt for Iran to distract from the mass social unrest that has rocked the country for many weeks as the country’s citizens are fed up with the Islamic Republic’s oppressive regime.
“We are concerned about the threat picture, and we remain in constant contact through military and intelligence channels with the Saudis,” said a National Security Council spokesperson. “We will not hesitate to act in the defense of our interests and partners in the region.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a press conference on Tuesday that the U.S. was &#8220;concerned&#8221; about &#8220;the threat situation&#8221; and that the U.S. was in close contact with Saudi Arabia over the matter. &#8220;We will reserve the right to protect and defend ourselves no matter where our forces are serving, whether in Iraq or elsewhere,&#8221; Ryder <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-saudi-arabia-high-alert-intel-impending-iranian-attack-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The threats from Iran come as the country has shipped drones for Russian forces to use in their war against Ukraine. Iran has a history of using drones to launch terrorist attacks against countries in the Middle East, including <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/attack-refinery-riyadh-did-not-affect-petroleum-supplies-spa-2022-03-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">providing</a> their proxies with drones that are then used to carry out the attacks.
The report said that Iran has sought to cast blame on Saudi Arabia for the protests it faces because of the Farsi-speaking news coverage Saudi Arabia controls, which Iranians watch.
“This is our last warning, because you are interfering in our internal affairs through these media,” Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami. “You are involved in this matter and know that you are vulnerable.”
The riots in Iran were sparked in the middle of September over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for violating the country’s laws that require women to wear a hijab. Reports have said that police brutally beat her.
It’s unknown how many people have been killed by the Islamic Republic in response to the protests, but reports have pinned the number at more than 200.

IRAN-MILITARY-EXERCISE

U.S. And Saudi Militaries On High Alert Over Intelligence Warning Of Imminent Attack: Report

Saudi Arabia

Famed author Salman Rushdie lost the use of one hand and an eye after an attack in August by a man who stormed the stage and stabbed him in the neck and torso several times — his agent confirmed last week.
Rushdie, the target of a 1989 death warrant issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over his groundbreaking book “The Satanic Verses,&#8221; was wounded while on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on August 12, just before he planned on speaking about artistic freedom.
Andrew Wylie, literary agent for Rushdie, told Spain’s <a href="https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-10-22/andrew-wylie-the-jackal-of-books-amazon-is-like-isis-it-takes-no-prisoners.html">El País</a> that the 75-year-old author would survive the brutal attack after his team kept the details of his injuries private until now.
“[His wounds] were profound, but he’s [also] lost the sight of one eye,” Wylie said. “He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso. So, it was a brutal attack.”
Wylie did not confirm whether his client was still hospitalized.
“I can’t give any information about his whereabouts,” Wylie said. “He’s going to live…That’s the more important thing.”
Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” title referred to verses of the Quran that Rushdie claimed had been removed; he also made references to Islam that hard-liners deemed offensive. Such offenses compelled the Iranian regime to offer more than $3 million to anyone who killed Rushdie.
“I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death,” Khomeini stated in his fatwa targeting Rushdie.
Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi urged Hezbollah groups to “take the necessary action” against Rushdie, a native of India.
Rushdie denied the accusation that the book is blasphemous against Islam.
“I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context,” Rushdie said.
The mandate imposed by Iranian officials sent the author into hiding, where he spent the majority of nearly ten years living underground.
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey — accused of stabbing Rushdie — pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges in the days following the attack.
Authorities have since incarcerated Matar after a Chautauqua County District Court grand jury charged him with one count of second-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree assault, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/23/salman-rushdie-has-lost-sight-in-one-eye-and-use-of-one-hand-says-agent">The Guardian</a>.
Wylie said he and Rushdie had previously discussed the possibility of an attack after Iran’s Ayatollah imposed Islamic law calling for his death.
“The principal danger that he faced so many years after the fatwa was imposed is from a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking [him],” he said. “So, you can’t protect against that because it’s totally unexpected and illogical.&#8221;
“It was like John Lennon’s murder,” he added.
Hank Berrien contributed to this report.

AUSTRIA-LITERATURE

Author Salman Rushdie Loses Use Of Eye And Hand After Stabbing Attack

New York

Salman Rushdie

satanic

People from different faith backgrounds are uniting in Dearborn, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/michigan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michigan</a>, to fight against leftist indoctrination in Dearborn Public Schools.
The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/12/dearborn-school-board-meeting-shutdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that outrage over the sexually explicit content in the LGBTQ books in the schools began with Christians who then turned and &#8220;rallied the significant Muslim population&#8221; in the area to join them.
Local Islamic leaders pushed Muslims to attend a school board meeting held by Dearborn Public Schools weeks in advance and even used sermons as a platform to urge attendees to go.
“Some of those books are completely inappropriate for our children to read,” said Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Institute of America, one of the most prominent Muslims in the state. “Some of those books promote pornography. Some of them promote homosexuality. We don’t need this.”
Hundreds of people attended the school board meeting earlier this week, which got out of control when the crowd learned that their public comments would only be limited to three minutes.
The situation became so unruly that the school board chairwoman, Roxanne McDonald, suspended the meeting until Thursday.
Protesters brought signs with them that said “Keep your porno books to yourself,” “If democracy matters, we’re the majority,” and “Protect the children,” the last one written in five languages, the Post added.
Activist Hassan Aoun said the school district &#8220;disrespected&#8221; those who attended. He <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2022/10/12/dearborn-schools-bans-posters-and-signs-at-next-board-meeting/69558496007/">responded</a> by leading chants of &#8220;Vote them out!&#8221;
The school board responded to the signs by banning protesters from being able to bring posters to the meeting that is set for tomorrow. The Detroit Free press claimed that &#8220;some of the posters and signs included homophobic and derogatory remarks toward gay people in English and Arabic, using Christian and Islamic references.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Christian and Muslim parents have joined forces to protest a Dearborn Public Schools meeting in Michigan to protest the inclusion of &quot;woke&quot; LGBTQ+ books in schools that contain sexually explicit material. <a href="https://t.co/5G0lz9Os8O">pic.twitter.com/5G0lz9Os8O</a>
&mdash; Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) <a href="https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1580216407660253184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The school board claimed that it shut the meeting down because the people in attendance were violating the fire code.
&#8220;Despite the large crowd on Monday, the regular board meeting initially proceeded in an orderly fashion,&#8221; the district said Wednesday. “Some of those who came for the meeting used overflow rooms set up to accommodate the large crowd. However, after about 80 minutes, when the time came to begin public comments, many of the hundreds of people in attendance began yelling about the three-minute time restriction and the request that many of those not planning to submit public comments leave the packed room to bring it back within the fire code limits.&#8221;

US-LITERATURE-BOOK-BANNING-PROTEST

Christians And Muslims Unite In Michigan To Fight Sexually Explicit Material In School Libraries

Christian

Michigan

Schools

Malaysian authorities have announced that, after recently banning the theatrical releases of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marvel">Marvel&#8217;s</a> &#8220;<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/natalie-portman-says-thor-star-dumped-his-carnivore-diet-before-kiss-scene-because-im-vegan/">Thor: Love and Thunder</a>&#8221; and Pixar&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/same-fate-as-lightyear-china-yet-to-set-release-date-for-gayest-thor-sequel-yet/">Lightyear</a>,&#8221; the Muslim-majority nation will ban additional films over <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/i-love-that-natalie-portman-boasts-new-thor-film-is-the-gayest-marvel-movie-yet/">LGBTQ themes</a> and storylines.
Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/malaysia-ban-lgbt-films-thor-lightyear-1235338721/">noted</a> that both films had initially been submitted — by parent company <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/not-at-all-secret-gay-agenda-disney-employees-break-down-adding-queerness-to-shows-and-degenderizing-theme-parks/">Disney</a> — to the nation&#8217;s Film Censorship Board (LPF). The LPF had reportedly asked for several cuts, presumably altering or removing scenes such as the same-sex kiss in &#8220;Lightyear,&#8221; but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/disney">Disney</a> had declined to accommodate their requests.
&#8220;Recently there was a film that did not pass censorship, that is the new &#8216;Thor&#8217; film,&#8221; Abidin explained. &#8220;[The movie] touched on LGBT but we see right now there are many films with LGBT elements that slip past the censorship.&#8221;
Malaysia, he confirmed, has committed to limiting public access to gay culture whenever possible — and lamented the fact that, in order to bypass censors, the LGBTQ content in film and streaming content had become more subtle over time. &#8220;I am frustrated because the outside world was the one promoting LGBT,&#8221; he said, adding that the government was keeping a close eye on streaming content and social media and &#8220;would take severe action against individuals found promoting such elements.&#8221;
Zahidi also noted that while the government could keep a tight rein on broadcast television and domestic theatrical releases, there was little they could do to prevent access to such content via streaming platforms.
&#8220;We cannot control overseas platforms that are easily reached online — but activities in the country, we have no issues. We have always been stern and committed,&#8221; he explained, saying that current law did not allow for censorship of streaming content. &#8220;In addition, OTT services like Netflix are not like public broadcast services or private institutions in the country that fall under existing laws involving licensing and censorship in the country.&#8221;
Pixar&#8217;s &#8220;Lightyear&#8221; was also <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/pixars-lightyear-ban-saudi-arabia-same-sex-kiss-1235292236/">banned from release</a> in several other Muslim-majority nations over the lesbian kiss. According to a report from Variety, Pixar never even attempted to get the film past the censors in Saudi Arabia, knowing that it would never pass. It was initially green-lighted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where censorship laws have recently begun to relax slightly, but a last minute reversal kept the film out of theaters there as well.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">kids entertainment content</a>.)

UK Premiere For Disney Pixars’ “Lightyear”

Muslim-Majority Country Bans ‘Thor’ And ‘Lightyear’ Over LGBTQ Themes

Muslim-Majority Malaysia Bans 'Thor' And 'Lightyear' Over LGBTQ Themes

Disney

Homosexuality

Marvel

Pixar

The Islamic extremist group <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=al+qaudea+dialy+wire&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS998US998&amp;oq=al+qaudea+dialy+wire&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l4.2367j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">al-Qaeda</a> is surging again, thanks in part to the Taliban&#8217;s takeover of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>.
On Tuesday, Voice of America <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/al-qaida-positioned-to-surpass-islamic-state-among-jihadis-/6665672.html">reported</a> that al-Qaeda is now better positioned than the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/radical-islamic-terror">Islamic State</a> to spread propaganda and recruit members since President Joe Biden withdrew American troops from the country in 2021, according to a United Nations report. The report, released on July 15, claims that high-ranking Al-Qaeda officials are bolstered by the Taliban&#8217;s dominance in the Middle Eastern nation.
&#8220;Al-Qaida senior leadership enjoyed a more settled period in early 2022,&#8221; the U.N. <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N22/394/29/PDF/N2239429.pdf">said</a> in the report. &#8220;Aiman Muhammed Rabi al-Zawahiri issued regular video messages that provided almost current proof of life. Member States note that al-Zawahiri’s apparent increased comfort and ability to communicate has coincided with the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and the consolidation of power of key Al-Qaida allies within their de facto administration.&#8221;
However, the U.N. also speculates that — for now — al-Qaeda does not present a global threat.
&#8220;Al-Qaida is not viewed as posing an immediate international threat from its safe haven in Afghanistan because it lacks an external operational capability and does not currently wish to cause the Taliban international difficulty or embarrassment,&#8221; the report added.
Still, though, the group is able to expand its recruiting and communications capability.
&#8220;The international context is favorable to al-Qaida, which intends to be recognized again as the leader of global jihad,&#8221; the U.N. <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N22/394/29/PDF/N2239429.pdf">added</a>.
&#8220;Al-Qaida propaganda is now better developed to compete with ISIL as the key actor in inspiring the international threat environment, and it may ultimately become a greater source of directed threat,&#8221; the report added.
It also noted that the Islamic State &#8220;has suffered a rapid succession of leadership losses since October 2019, with an as yet unknown impact on its operational health.&#8221;
In August 2021, President Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan after more than 20 years of fighting. Within three days, the Taliban took over the nation after the Afghan government fell. Biden claimed that intelligence officials did not know that the Taliban would take over as quickly as it did.
One expert at the American Enterprise Insitute (AEI) told VOA News that al-Qaeda&#8217;s leadership is just as experienced as Osama bin Laden and previous terrorists who directed the 9/11 attacks.
&#8220;Even after 20 years, some of al-Qaida&#8217;s most senior operatives remain at large and are ready to carry on the mantle of jihad,&#8221; AEI&#8217;s Katherine Zimmerman told the media outlet.
&#8220;Al-Qaida&#8217;s bench remains deep even after serious attrition,&#8221; she added. &#8220;The next generation has now been fighting for 20 years … they are just as experienced (and perhaps with lessons-learned) as OBL [Osama bin Laden], Zawahiri, and Saif al Adel were on 9/11.&#8221;
Now, sources from the National Security Council (NSC)<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-working-hard-to-not-do-anything-stupid-during-afghanistan-withdrawal-anniversary-report"> recently told</a> NBC News that the Biden administration’s goal is to avoid doing anything “stupid” before, during, and after the August anniversary.
As the one-year mark approaches, officials across the administration have searched and filtered through calendars of all top officials to weed out any events or engagements that could be misconstrued as “tone deaf” about the botched foreign policy strategy, according to NBC News.

President Joe Biden

Al-Qaeda Surging Again Nearly A Year After Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

A United Nations Report Claims Al-Qaeda Surging Again Nearly A Year After Biden's Afghanistan Withdrawal

afghan

Al Qaeda

Joe Biden

Radical Islamic Terror

Terrorism

Singer Bette Midler landed in hot water with the far left — for the second time in two days — when her attempt to insult the United States Supreme Court backfired in spectacular fashion.
Midler has been decrying the Court&#8217;s 6-3 <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/aoc-is-getting-her-nails-done-as-an-act-of-reclamation-after-dobbs-decision/">decision</a> in Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization — which included a 5-4 decision <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/five-reasons-to-celebrate-the-overturning-of-roe/">overturning</a> landmark abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey — since it was handed down in late June, and Tuesday was no exception.
The tweet that prompted the backlash was a group photo of the court members, with all but the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and the since-retired Stephen Breyer — edited to look as though they were part of the Taliban, the medieval Islamic fundamentalist group back in charge of Afghanistan after President Joe Biden&#8217;s disastrous pullout.
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&mdash; bettemidler (@BetteMidler) <a href="https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1544409932883181569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Midler was not the only one to draw that comparison — singer Barbra Streisand referred to the Court as &#8220;the American Taliban&#8221; after the decision was handed down, and singer Patti LuPone asked, &#8220;What is the difference between the Taliban and the Christian Right? I&#8217;ll now add the Supreme Court. America is on her knees.&#8221;
But shortly after the &#8220;Hocus Pocus&#8221; star fired off her tweet, critics came for her, asking why she couldn&#8217;t complain about the Court without dragging Muslims into the conversation. One was Marc Lamont Hill, a Temple University professor who was fired by CNN 2018 amid widespread accusations of anti-semitism.
&#8220;Wow. Bette Midler is on a roll this week. From transphobic to Islamophobic,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/marclamonthill/status/1544501375815630848">tweeted</a> Hill, who gave a speech to the UN in which he accused Israel of &#8220;ethnic cleansing&#8221; and called for an end to Israel &#8220;from the river to the sea,&#8221; a phrase borrowed from terrorist Hamas leaders.
Other hard-core leftists objected to evoking the Taliban as a metaphor for extremism, despite the Afghan group&#8217;s well-known policies of brutality and oppression of women.
Author Laila Lalami <a href="https://twitter.com/LailaLalami/status/1544473865945878528">added</a>, &#8220;Can&#8217;t you people ever fight extremism without being Islamophobic? Muslims aren&#8217;t your rhetorical tool.&#8221;
&#8220;Your friendly local Muslim &amp; lawyer AGAIN reminding you that Islam permits abortion for a variety of reasons &amp; keeps that healthcare decision between a woman &amp; her loved ones &amp; doctor,&#8221; Qasim Rashid <a href="https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1544473097180528640">tweeted</a>. &#8220;Stop using our faith as your punchline. Call this for what it is—100% ‘Christian’ nationalism.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s Christian Nationalism. This is homegrown. No need to denigrate Islam and Muslims for this extremism. Stop making us the pinata and bogeyman please. Also, traditionally, Sharia allows for abortion up to the first 4 months and makes exceptions for the woman&#8217;s health,&#8221; author Wajahat Ali <a href="https://twitter.com/WajahatAli/status/1544469888521101314">objected</a>.
&#8220;Bette Midler was like, &#8216;well I did transphobia yesterday, so maybe I’ll go with racism today,'&#8221; one Twitter user <a href="https://twitter.com/jenny2x4/status/1544466808081551364">commented</a>.
&#8220;Can y’all find a way to critique Christian nationalism without being islamophobic?&#8221; another <a href="https://twitter.com/Danez_Smif/status/1544450257697865728">added</a>. &#8220;Bette, it’s tired. If you can’t find a way to be &#8216;liberal&#8217; without throwing minorities under the bus, you are doing it very wrong. Give it a rest.&#8221;
Midler was <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/bette-midler-gets-attacked-as-a-terf-after-saying-women-are-being-erased-due-to-terms-like-birthing-people-people-with-vaginas/">labeled a TERF</a> (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) on Monday for calling on women to push back against being erased by woke terms like &#8220;birthing person.&#8221;

US-ENTERTAINMENT-MEDIA-WSJ-INNOVATOR AWARDS

Leftist Bette Midler, Fresh Off Being Accused Of Transphobia, Ticks Off Islamist Sympathizers

Bette Midler

Supreme Court

Transgender

An Afghan fashion model known for his YouTube videos was arrested by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/al-qaeda-now-has-safe-haven-in-afghanistan-under-taliban-operating-with-freedom-of-action-u-n-report">Taliban</a> along with three of his colleagues on Tuesday for “disrespecting” the Quran. 
Ajmal Haqiqi and three others were seen handcuffed in videos posted to Twitter Tuesday by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, the Associated Press <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/taliban-detain-afghan-fashion-model-on-religious-charges/2022/06/08/1cee5736-e723-11ec-a422-11bbb91db30b_story.html">reported</a>. 
The AP noted that, before being detained, a popular video posted by the fashion model shows him laughing &#8220;when his colleague Ghulam Sakhi, who is known to have mental health issues, speaks Arabic verses of the Quran with a comical voice. Sakhi is well known for having a speech impediment that he uses for humor.”
Haqiqi had already apologized for the video before being detained, but in the videos posted to Twitter by the Taliban, Haqiqi again apologized for allegedly insulting Islam. 
“I apologize to the Afghan people, to esteemed religious scholars and to the government of the Islamic Emirate,” he said, adding, “My message to all YouTubers and the youth active in the media is to seriously avoid making any insults to Islamic values.”
Other reports said the video showed it was “evident” that Haqiqi was beaten. &#8220;It&#8217;s extremely heart-breaking to see that confession, it is evident that he has been beaten, the language he is using &#8211; talking about spreading western values &#8211; makes it evident to a lot of Afghans that that is Taliban language,&#8221; Zhala Sarmast of ZAWIA News told BBC. 
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&quot;It&#39;s extremely heart-breaking to see that confession, it is evident that he has been beaten, the language he is using &#8211; talking about spreading western values &#8211; makes it evident to a lot of Afghans that that is Taliban language&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/Zhalsarmast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Zhalsarmast</a> on YouTuber Ajmal Haqiqi&#39;s arrest <a href="https://t.co/rD1mTTZJnu">pic.twitter.com/rD1mTTZJnu</a>
&mdash; Yalda Hakim (@BBCYaldaHakim) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCYaldaHakim/status/1534550299138052097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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On Wednesday, the Taliban made more arrests when it was <a href="https://twitter.com/TajudenSoroush/status/1534547520914874370">reported</a> that two women who worked with Haqiqi were detained. The Taliban claimed that the women had also “disrespected” the Quran. 
“The Taliban, who claim they rule strictly according to Islamic law, consider criticism and anything perceived as disrespectful of Islam as a punishable crime,” the AP wrote.

Taliban

Afghan Fashion Model, Colleagues Arrested By Taliban After Colleague With Speech Impediment Quotes Quran In Comical Voice: Report

Afghan Fashion Model, Colleagues Arrested By Taliban

Afghanistan

YouTube

A shocking new report from Canada&#8217;s National Defence Minister’s Advisory Panel describes religion as a &#8220;source of suffering and generational trauma&#8221; and directs officials not to allow military chaplains from religions that do not accept the Canadian government&#8217;s principles of diversity and inclusion.
The Defence Team &#8220;cannot justify&#8221; hiring members of religions that it deems &#8220;marginalize certain people or categorically refuse them a position of leadership,&#8221; according to the report issued April 25 from Canada&#8217;s Minister of National Defence Anita Anand.
&#8220;The Advisory Panel has observed that there are varying degrees of misogyny, sexism and discrimination woven into the philosophies and beliefs of some mainstream religions currently represented in the cadre of chaplains&#8221; in the Canadian Armed Forces, the report continued, noting that &#8220;the Defence Team cannot consider itself supportive of inclusivity when it employs as chaplains members of organizations whose values are not consistent with National Defence’s ethics and values—even if those members express non-adherence to the policies of their chosen religion.&#8221;
Assembled in December 2020, that advisory panel was created &#8220;to seek out the policies, processes and practices that enable systemic racism and discrimination in the Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF),&#8221; the Canadian government <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2022/04/ministerial-advisory-panel-report-released-as-part-of-effort-to-eliminate-systemic-racism-and-discrimination-on-the-defence-team.html">said in a news release</a>, noting that its work has focused on &#8220;Anti-Indigenous and Anti-Black Racism, LGBTQ2+ Prejudice, Gender Bias, White Supremacy, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and discrimination against people with disabilities.&#8221;
It comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered that the minister of National Defence eliminate all sources of  &#8220;anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, LGBTQ2 prejudice, gender bias and white supremacy in the Canadian Armed Forces,&#8221; according to the news release.
Ray Pennings, co-founder and executive vice president of the Canadian think tank Cardus, told The Daily Wire on Thursday that while &#8220;the desire to change the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces is good,&#8221; the &#8220;antidote cannot possibly be the bigotry.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet that’s exactly what the panel’s recommendation on chaplaincy is—a recommendation based on ad hominem attacks and caricatures of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians, as well as Muslims and Jews,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;The report proposes exclusion in the name of diversity and inclusion,&#8221; he said, warning, &#8220;The defence minister needs to reject the recommendation on chaplaincy publicly and firmly.”
Neither the minister nor the National Defence department immediately responded to requests for comment from The Daily Wire.
While the report acknowledges that religion can be &#8220;a source of solace, optimism and compassion&#8221; for many members of the defence team, it stresses that &#8220;for some Canadians, religion can be a source of suffering and generational trauma.&#8221;
&#8220;This is especially true for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited members of Canadian society,&#8221; the report says. &#8220;And Indigenous Peoples have suffered unimaginable generational trauma and genocide at the hands of Christian religious leaders through initiatives such as Residential School and Indian Day School programs.&#8221;
The National Defence minister&#8217;s report finds fault with religions that are not aligned with the Canadian government&#8217;s idea of diversity, noting that &#8220;some chaplains represent or are affiliated with organized religions whose beliefs are not synonymous with those of a diverse and inclusive workplace&#8221; and &#8220;some of the affiliated religions of these chaplains do not subscribe to an open attitude and the promotion of diversity.&#8221;
&#8220;For example,&#8221; the report said, apparently referring to institutions like the Catholic Church, &#8220;some churches&#8217; exclusion of women from their priesthoods violates principles of equality and social justice, as do sexist notions embedded in their religious dogmas.&#8221;
&#8220;In addition, certain faiths have strict tenets requiring conversion of those they deem to be &#8216;pagan,&#8217; or who belong to polytheistic religions,&#8221; the report continued. &#8220;These faiths’ dogmas and practices conflict with the commitment of the Defence Team to value equality and inclusivity at every level of the workplace.&#8221;
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The Minister’s Advisory Panel was created in Dec 2020 with a clear mandate to seek out the policies and practices that enable systemic racism and discrimination in the DND and CAF. Today, MND Anita Anand released the final report and discussed next steps: <a href="https://t.co/5AxOXZfF6P">https://t.co/5AxOXZfF6P</a> <a href="https://t.co/17SMh1sL7a">pic.twitter.com/17SMh1sL7a</a>
&mdash; Canadian Armed Forces (@CanadianForces) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanadianForces/status/1518646024654528514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
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If a religion prohibited a black person from serving &#8220;within its ranks,&#8221; the report said, its members would be banned from the Chaplaincy.
&#8220;The same scrutiny should be applied to those religions that forbid women to serve within their ranks or are against equal rights for same-sex couples,&#8221; it continued.
The report recommends that any person whose values are &#8220;not aligned with those of the Defence Team&#8221; not be considered for employment as spiritual guides — otherwise, the report concludes, &#8220;the Defence Team&#8217;s message … is inconsistent.&#8221;
It also recommends that elected chaplains be representative of many faiths, &#8220;including forms of spirituality beyond the Abrahamic faiths,&#8221; meaning Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
&#8220;Review the selection process for chaplains to ensure that, in addition to listening skills, empathy and emotional intelligence, there is an intrinsic appreciation for diversity and a willingness to challenge one&#8217;s beliefs,&#8221; the report encourages.
&#8220;Find ways to grant educational equivalencies, for example to knowledge keepers, rather than strictly adhering to the prerequisite that all chaplains must have a master’s degree,&#8221; it adds.
In a statement accompanying the report, Minister of National Defence Anand praises the military for never faltering and &#8220;always answering the call of service during climate-related disasters, throughout the pandemic, and on military deployments far from home.&#8221;
&#8220;It is our most basic responsibility and top priority to ensure they can serve and work with pride in an environment that is free from racism and discrimination,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I sincerely thank the Panel for their extensive work and recommendations for change to eliminate systemic racism and discrimination on the Defence Team.&#8221;
Four former members of the CAF comprised the panel: retired Major General Ed Fitch, retired Sergeant Derek Montour, retired Major Sandra Perron, and retired Captain Door L. Gibson.

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Military Panel Recommends Wild Discrimination Against Chaplains Whose Religions Do Not Accept Woke Orthodoxy

Canada

Christianity

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Judaism

Justin Trudeau

Military

Religion

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

Israel To Close Temple Mount To Jews ‘Until Further Notice’ Due To Muslim Rioting

Israel

Palestinians

Temple Mount

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