Observations on Islam & The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by non-Muslims

The pope today partly apologised for his speech, where he referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who said everything Mohammad (PBUH) brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

Islamophobia is nothing new, but statements like the above (from people of authority) are wrong. One should try and unite people and not pour petrol into an already blazing fire.

Criticising the Jewish faith is anti-Semitism, criticising gays & lesbians is homophobic, criticising people of any colour is bigotry but criticising the Muslim religion seems to be freedom of speech!

Here we furnish some observations on Islam by great and acknowledged non-Muslim scholars of modern time.

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"Despite the growth of antagonism, Moslem (Muslim) rulers seldom made their Christian subjects suffer for the Crusades. When the Saracens finally resumed the full control of Palestine the Christians were given their former status as dhimmis. The Coptic Church, too had little cause for complaint under Saladin's (Salahuddin) strong government, and during the time of the earlier Mameluke sultans who succeeded him the Copts experienced more enlightened justice than they had hitherto known. The only effect of the Crusaders upon Egyptian Christians was to keep them for a while from pilgrimage to Jerusalem, for as long as the Frank were in charge heretics were forbidden access to the shrines. Not until the Moslem victories could they enjoy their rights as Christians."
James Addison in 'The Christian Approach to the Moslem,' p. 35

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"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher."
Annie Besant, The life and teachings of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p. 4.

Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.
Lawrence E. Browne in ‘The Prospects of Islam,’ 1944

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"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."

"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world’s Maker had ordered so."
Thomas Carlyle in 'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,' 1840

"...there is much that the world can learn from Islam. It is now practised by one of every four people on Earth."
President Clinton, White House Eid ul-Fitr presentation, Jan. 10, 2000.

"Islam is the fastest-growing religion in America, a guide and pillar of stability for many of our people..."
First Lady Hillary Rodman Clinton, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1996, p.3

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"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."
Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist, and physiologist who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book: "Guns, Germs, and Steel."

Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race... To be the religious head of many empires, to guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a Messenger of God.
Dr. William Draper in 'History of Intellectual Development of Europe'

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"Muhammed is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities."
Encyclopedia Britannica

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I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.
Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in 'Young India,'1924

"Someone has said that Europeans in South Africa dread the advent of Islam - Islam that civilized Spain - Islam that took the torch of light to Morocco and preached to the world the Gospel of brotherhood. The Europeans of South Africa dread the advent of Islam, as they may claim, equality with the white races. They may well dread it. If brotherhood is a sin, If it is equality of coloured races that they dread, then their dread is well founded."
Mahatma Gandhi quoted in Muhammed The prophet of the Islam: by Ramakrishna Rao Page 8.

The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.
Edward Gibbon in 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823

"The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force."
“It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran....The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man. ‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the Apostle of God’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.”
Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley in ‘History of the Saracen Empire,’ London, 1870

"But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so many and so various races of mankind... Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition. In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with East. If they unite, the hope of a peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced. But if Europe, by rejecting the cooperation of Islam, throws it into the arms of its rivals, the issue can only be disastrous for both. "
H.A.R. Gibb, Whither Islam, London, 1932, p 379.

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My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.

"During all the first part of the Middle Ages, no other people made as important a contribution to human progress as did the Arabs, if we take this term to mean all those whose mother-tongue was Arabic, and not merely those living in the Arabian peninsula. For centuries, Arabic was the language of learning, culture and intellectual progress for the whole of the civilized world with the exception of the Far East. From the IXth to the XIIth century there were more philosophical, medical, historical, religiuos, astronomical and geographical works written in Arabic than in any other human tongue."
Phillip Hitti in 'Short History of the Arabs

Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called forth of unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a country that was hitherto but a geographical expression he established a religion which in vast areas suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and laid the basis of an empire that was soon to embrace within its far flung boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized world.
Philip K. Hitti in 'History of the Arabs'

Judged by the smallness of the means at his disposal, and the extent and permanence of the work that he accomplished, his name in world's history shines with a more specious lustre than that of the Prophet of Makkah. To the impulse which he gave numberless dynasties have owed their existence, fair cities and stately palaces and temples have arisen, and wide provinces became obedient to the Faith. And beyond all this, his words have governed the belief of generations, been accepted as their rule of life, and their certain guide to the world to come. At a thousand shrines the voices of the faithful invoke blessings on him, whom they esteem the very Prophet of God, the seal of the Apostles.... Judged by the standards to human renown, the glory of what mortal can compare with his?
J.W.H. Stab in 'Islam and its Founder'

Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has ever been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the founder of Christianity has not governed the ordinary life of his followers. Moreover, no founder of a religion has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim apostle.
D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia'

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He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a result of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a source.
In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints.

His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family.
Washington Irving in 'Life of Muhammad,' New York, 1920

What does Islam stand for? I regard and all thinking men regard Islam as the one and only democratic faith that is actually functioning in the world today. Being a Hindu, firmly entrenched in the Hindu Faith, I yet make bold to say so. My own religion has not succeeded, despite its fundamental philosophy, in implementing in practice the Oneness of Humanity. No other religion, whatever its theory may be, has brought into practice the essential idea of oneness of man before God as Islam has done. It is only in Islam that there can be no such problem as those presented by the Boers in the South Africa, as those prevalent in white Australia or in the Southern states of the United states of America or even in England among the several strata of society. "
Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, Eastern Times, 22nd December 1944.

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"History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated."
De Lacy O'Leary, 'Islam at the Crossroads, London, 1923, p. 8.

He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after." He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said...
Stanley Lane-Poole in 'Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Muhammad

He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very life spring. He was the messenger of One God, and never to his life's end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet humility.
Stanley Lane-Poole in 'Studies in a Mosque'

"Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul.

"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls.

"On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blend together peoples of every tongue and race. He has left the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one-third the earth to the dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of reason.

"The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world. His life, his meditations, his heroic revelings against the superstitions of his country, and his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring them for fifteen years in Mecca, his acceptance of the role of public scorn and almost of being a victim of his fellow countrymen: all these and finally, his flight his incessant preaching, his wars against odds, his faith in his success and his superhuman security in misfortune, his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold the unity of God and the immateriality of God: the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with words.

"Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs.... The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"
Alphonse de LaMartaine in 'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854.

It was the genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the Arabs through the soul of Islam that exalted them. That raised them out of the lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up to the high watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the sublimity of Muhammad's deism, the simplicity, the sobriety and purity it inculcated the fidelity of its founder to his own tenets, that acted on their moral and intellectual fiber with all the magnetism of true inspiration.
Arthur Glyn Leonard in 'Islam, Her Moral and Spiritual Values'

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"The doctrine of brotherhood of Islam extends to all human beings, no matter what color, race or creed. Islam is the only religion which has been able to realize this doctrine in practice. Muslims wherever on the world they are will recognize each other as brothers."
R. L. Mellema, Holland, Anthropologist, Writer and Scholar.

"People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense.

Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same."
Professor Jules Masserman

"No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience."

"Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about A.D. 570 into an Arabian tribe that worshiped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty he was already a successful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five his employer recognizing his merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he married her and as long as she lived remained a devoted husband."

“Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God’s word sensing his own inadequacy. But the Angel commanded ‘Read’. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: "There is one God"."

“In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred and rumors of God 's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, ‘An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being'."

“At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: ‘If there are any among you who worshiped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you Worshiped, He lives for ever'.”
James Michener in ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70.

"Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term considered etymologically and historically. The definition of rationalism as a system that bases religious beliefs on principles furnished by the reason applies to it exactly.. It cannot be denied that many doctrines and systems of theology and also many superstitions, from the worship of saints to the use of rosaries and amulets, have become grafted on the main trunk of Muslim creed. But in spite of the rich development, in every sense of the term, of the teachings of the Prophet, the Quran has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur, a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction which is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam. This fidelity to the fundamental dogma of the religion, the elemental simplicity of the formula in which it is enunciated, the proof that it gains from the fervid conviction of the missionaries who propagate it, are so many causes to explain the success of Muhammadan missionary efforts. A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvellous power of winning its way into the consciences of men."
Edward Montet, 'La Propagande Cretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans' Paris 1890, quoted by T.W. Arnold in The Preaching of Islam, London, 1913, pp 413-414

Deeply read in the volume of nature, though extremely ignorant of letters, his mind could expand into controversy with the wisest of his enemies or contract itself to the apprehension of meanest of his disciples. His simple eloquence was rendered impressive by a manner of mixed dignity and elegance, by the expression of a countenance where the awfulness of his majesty was so well tempered by an amiable sweetness, that it exerted emotions of veneration and love. He was gifted with that authoritative air or genius which alike influences the learned and commands the illiterate.
Charles Stuart Mills in 'History of Mohammadanism'

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"Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur'an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world."
Sarojini Naidu, Lectures on 'The Ideals of Islam' see Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu, Madras, 1918, p 167.

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Mohammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense faith in God and in the unseen world. He will always be regarded as one of those who have had that influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their fellow men, which none but a really great man ever did, or can exercise; and whose efforts to propagate a great verity will prosper.
Rodwell in the Preface to his translation of the Holy Qur'an

My problem to write this monograph is easier, because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history and much time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that “there is no compulsion in religion” is well known.
K. S. Ramakrishna Rao in 'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam,' 1989

"The theory of Islam and sword for instance is not heard now frequently in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that there is no compulsion in religion is well known. Gibbon, a historian of world-wide fame says, 'A pernicious tenet has been imputed to the Mohammadans, the duty of extirpating all the religions by the sword.' This charge of ignorance and bigotry, says the eminent historian, is refuted by Quran; by the history of Musalman conquerors and by their public and legal toleration of Christian„ worship. The greatest success of Muhammad's life was affected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword. "
Prof. Ramakrishna Rao, Muhummad the Prophet of Islam, Page 4.

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"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."

“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."

"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”
Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.

"Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life."

"In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the external history of Muhammad....while for his internal history after his mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preservation....on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt."
Reverend Bosworth Smith in 'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 1874.

"The rise of Islam is perhaps the most amazing event in human history. Springing from a land and a people like previously negligible, Islam spread within a century over half of the earth. The closer we examine this development the more extraordinary does it appear. The other great religions won their way slowly by painful struggle and finally triumphed with the aid of powerful monarchs converted to the new faith. Christianity had its Constantine, Buddhism its Asoka, and Zoroastrianism its Cyrus, each lending to his chosen cult the mighty force of secular authority, Not so Islam. Arising in a desert land sparsely inhabited by a nomad race previously undistinguished in human annals, Islam sallied forth on its great adventure with the slenderest human backing and against the heaviest material odds. Yet Islam triumphed with seemingly miraculous ease; and a couple of generations saw the Fiery Crescent borne victorious from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas and from the desert of Central Asia to the deserts of Central Africa.
A.M.L. Stoddard, quoted in Islam - The Religion of All Prophets, Begum Bawani Waqf, Karachi, Pakistan p 56.

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So great was his liberality to the poor that he often left his household unprovided, nor did he content himself with relieving their wants, he entered into conversation with them, and expressed a warm sympathy for their sufferings. He was a firm friend and a faithful ally.
W.C. Taylor in 'The History of Muhammadanism and its Sects'

"It (Islam) replaced monkishness by manliness. It gives hope to the slave, brotherhood to mankind and recognition of the fundamental facts of human nature."
Canon Taylor, Paper read before the Church Congress at Wolverhampton, Oct 7, 1887, Quoted by Arnond in The reaching of Islam, pp 71-72.

"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue."
A. J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, 1948, p. 205.

The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.
A. S. Tritton in 'Islam,' 1951

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"The HINDUS may get the credit of arriving at it earlier than other races, yet practical Advaitism, Which looks upon and behaves to all mankind as one's own soul was never developed among the Hindus. '

'On the other hand, my experience is that if ever any religion approached to this equality in an appreciable manner, it is Islam and Islam alone, I am firmly persuaded, therefore, that without the help of practical Islam, Theories of Vedantism, however fine and wonderful they may be, are entirely valueless to the vast mass of mankind.... "
Renowned HINDU Scholar, SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, Letters of Swami Vivekananda p 463.

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"I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a 'Muslim' as 'one surrendered to God', but I believe that embedded in the Quran and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn; and Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.
W. Montgomery Watt, Islam and Christianity Today London 1983, p IX.

His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as a leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems that it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.... Thus, not merely must we credit Muhammad with essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him at all; if we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past, we must not forget the conclusive proof is a much stricter requirement than a show of plausibility, and in a matter such as this only to be attained with difficulty.
W. Montgomery Watt in 'Muhammad at Mecca,' Oxford, 1953.

Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food - they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community.
Dr. Gustav Weil in 'History of the Islamic Peoples'

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The Pope "Sorry" For Remarks

Pope Benedict told Muslims on Saturday he was sorry they had found his speech on Islam offensive, expressing his respect for their faith and hoping they would understand the "true sense" of his words.

"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said in a statement.

In that speech, the Pope appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that the early Muslims spread their religion by violence. Islamic fury erupted on Thursday and has cast doubt on a visit the Pope plans to Turkey in November.

Several western media groups had demanded an apology:
New York Times said he must issue a "deep and persuasive" apology for quotes used in his speech.

The Guardian newspaper said the pope might have stirred up less controversy if he had not in the past described Christianity as the cornerstone of Europe and opposed Turkey's entry into the European Union.

"The pope has lived a cloistered life, rarely exposed to the unholy nuances of world politics. He needs advisers around him who are," left-leaning newspaper said Saturday.

"However, the Vatican has apologised. That should be enough for what was almost certainly nothing more than an ill-judged remark," it said.

Weekly Round Up: Blair under pressure, Syria praised by the US and Saddam not a dictator!

It’s been another strange week in the world of politics. The 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was the main focal point for the week, so was Prime Minister Blair’s trip to the Middle East.

As pressure mounts on Tony Blair to provide a date for his departure, he decides to concentrate his efforts in resolving the Middle-East crisis – and despite the protests had done a terrific job in getting Hamas back into talks over the Palestinian issue.

Anyway, here is the rest of the news….

USA
Bush Cites 9/11 to Win Iraq War Support
President Bush is invoking the memory of Sept. 11 to defend the war in Iraq, drawing protests from Democrats who say he politicized a national day of mourning.

Bush began with a two-minute tribute to the "nearly 3,000" victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, but most of his 17-minute speech was devoted to justifying his foreign policy since that day. With his party's control of Congress at stake in elections less than two months away, Bush suggested that political opponents who are calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would be giving victory to the terrorists.

"Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," Bush said from the Oval Office, with a photo of his twin daughters and the American flag behind him. "They will not leave us alone. They will follow us. The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad."

Black lawyer poised to be first Muslim member of US Congress
For the first time in US history, there is a chance of a Muslim making it into the US congress. A historic new bridge between America and its Muslims is about to be built. Barring a stunning upset, Keith Ellison will next year become the first ever-Muslim member of the US Congress.

First, of course, Mr Ellison, 43, has to win the election on 7 November to claim his seat. Having won the Democratic primary in Minnesota's 5th District, he is poised to win the seat, almost guaranteed. It is one of the party's safest seats in the House of Representatives.

Mr Ellison is a devoted Muslim. He converted to Islam as a 19-year-old student and he prays five times a day. Statistically, a Muslim member of Congress is long overdue. Though proportionately a smaller group than in Britain, which has four Muslim MPs, Muslims number between two and six million in the US, up to 2 per cent of the total population. Not one, however, has ever served in the 435-seat House of Representatives or 100-member Senate.

Bush to host Pakistani, Afghan leaders
President Bush plans to hold separate talks this month with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, amid the worst fighting in years against a resurgent Taliban.

Bush will host Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Washington on September 22 and will then meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on September 26, Bush administration chief spokesman Tony Snow said.

Afghanistan is going through its bloodiest phase since the 2001 American-led invasion.

The use of Pakistani border areas by the Taliban, its al Qaeda allies and other militants has soured relations between the two countries, prompting Musharraf to visit Kabul earlier this month in an effort to repair ties.

Europe
Brown says Blair 'is my friend'
Countless stories have been written about their relationship. Gordon Brown has insisted that Tony Blair is his friend, and always will be, despite Labour's recent squabbles.

The chancellor admits their friendship has had its "ups and downs". But he says it is still one of the strongest political relationships in history, despite reports they fell out.

The interview comes as the Cabinet met for the first time since turmoil erupted over Labour's leadership. Mr Brown denies plotting against the PM.

1st rabbis since '42 ordained in Germany
Germany on Thursday ordained its first rabbis since World War II in an event hailed as a milestone in the rebirth of Jewish life in the country responsible for the Holocaust. They are the first rabbis to be ordained in Germany since the Nazis destroyed the College of Jewish Studies in Berlin in 1942, midway through the war.

Germany had a thriving Jewish community of more than 500,000 when the Nazis were voted into power in 1933 and began to implement their anti-Semitic policies, causing many to emigrate. About 200,000 German Jews were among the 6 million European Jews killed by the Nazis, leaving only between 10,000 to 15,000 in Germany in the first years after the war.

After decades of little growth, the German Jewish community has more than tripled since reunification in 1990, thanks in a large part to a government program to take in Jews from the former Soviet Union. More than 100,000 Jews now live in some 102 established communities throughout the country.



Schumacher to retire
Motor racing fans have been saddened to learn that Michael Schumacher will be retiring at the end of the season. He has insisted that Ferrari bosses did not pressure him into announcing his retirement.

"I'm not getting any younger and I had to ask myself if I would be able to gear up the energy, strength and motivation that you must have in order to be able to compete at the top.

"Of course I'm still fit, still competitive, but would I be for a few more years?

"Just being a mediocre driver has never been my ambition. That's not my style."

Poland offers troops for Afghanistan
Poland said on Thursday it would send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first offer since a NATO appeal for reinforcements, but it was unclear whether any would go to the dangerous south and none would go until February.

NATO's top commander of operations James Jones said last week he wanted reinforcements of up to 2,500 in the south by the onset of the Afghan winter in a matter of weeks. Nations had failed at talks on Wednesday to respond with firm offers.

Deputy Defense Minister Boguslaw Winid told Reuters that Poland had agreed with NATO that the bulk of the troops would go to the east of the country. Asked whether it could agree to send some to the south, he said that was a matter of discussion.

Poland has 100 troops in Afghanistan at present and NATO officials had for some time been expecting it to add more. Warsaw has still not decided when to withdraw the 900 soldiers it still has in Iraq.

NATO nations currently have around 18,500 troops in Afghanistan with other non-NATO countries contributing a further 1,500 to its International Security Assistance force (ISAF).

Middle East
Judge-to-Saddam: 'You were not a dictator'
The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial said that he does not believe Saddam was a dictator.

Judge Abdullah al-Amiri made the remark in a friendly exchange with the deposed leader, a day after the prosecution said the judge should step down because he is biased toward the defense. Saddam and his co-defendants are being tried on charges of committing atrocities against Kurds in northern Iraq nearly two decades ago.

Questioning a Kurdish witness Thursday, Saddam said, "I wonder why this man wanted to meet with me, if I am a dictator?"

The judge interrupted: "You were not a dictator. People around you made you (look like) a dictator."

"Thank you," Saddam responded, bowing his head in respect.

Failed Attack on US Embassy in Syria
Four militants had died in the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. Three attackers were killed in Tuesday's brazen assault as Syrian guards exchanged gunfire outside the compound's walls with the assailants. A fourth militant was also shot (as he fled an explosives-laden truck without detonating) but died in a hospital.

A Syrian guard was killed in the shooting, and 10 civilians and a Chinese diplomat were injured. No Americans were hurt. Currently there is no ambassador in the embassy, the United States recalled its ambassador from Syria back in February 2005.

The rapid response by Syrian guards won rare praise from the United States, which accuses President Bashar Assad's regime of supporting terrorism in its backing of Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants. White House spokesman Tony Snow also thanked Syrian officials and called for Damascus to "become an ally and make the choice of fighting against terrorists."

But Syria responded with a sharp criticism of Washington, blaming its policies in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories for increasing Islamic militancy. "It is regrettable that U.S. policies in the Middle East have fueled extremism, terrorism and anti-U.S. sentiment," the Syrian Embassy in Washington said in a statement. "The U.S. should ... start looking at the root causes of terrorism and broker a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."

Hizbollah sees UN envoy visit next week
Hizbollah expects a United Nations "mediator" to visit Lebanon next week to try to secure a deal for the release of two Israeli soldiers it captured in July, the group's leader said in remarks aired on Tuesday.

"He was supposed to come late last week and he is expected to come next week, but negotiations have not yet started," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told Al Jazeera television.

He said the envoy was European but gave no further details.

Nasrallah told Jazeera no deal would be possible without the release of Samir Qantar, the longest held Lebanese prisoner in Israel. "You ask me will there be a deal without Samir, I say no," he said. "Absolutely not."

Qantar was captured during an attack in 1979 on northern Israel by a Palestinian guerrilla group in which an Israeli policeman, another man and his four-year-old daughter were killed.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, visiting Beirut this week, pledged to help Lebanon build up its army so it could assume control across the whole of the country.

But Nasrallah condemned Blair, saying he shared blame for the deaths of Lebanese civilians by not doing enough to stop the war. "This Tony Blair is an associate in the murder," he said.

Cartoons mocking Holocaust prove a flop with Iranians
An exhibition of cartoons about the Holocaust, some suggesting it was fabricated or exaggerated, has been a flop in Tehran. It drew audiences of fewer than 300 a day in its first week and now, three weeks after sparking international furore when it opened, attracts just 50 people a day.

Thousands of foreigners have visited the exhibition's website at www.irancartoon.com, some of them engaging in angry debate. A conference on the Holocaust is planned in Tehran for October. It is also likely to garner more attention outside Iran than in the country.

The exhibition followed a Holocaust cartoon competition designed to show Western double standards in freedom of speech. The angry response of Westerners to President Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial this spring caught many Iranians off guard, while Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohamed provoked outrage in the Muslim world.

Iran's Jewish community had a mixed reaction. "Iranian Jews didn't pay much attention," said Haroun Yashayaie, the former head of Tehran's Jewish community. "Iranians as a whole are not very sensitive to the issue of the Holocaust."

Asia
US military says it refrained from attack on Taliban at funeral
The US military had a formation of about 100 suspected Taliban fighters in its sights in July but decided not to attack because they were in a cemetery and likely burying their dead, a military official said.

An aerial photograph of the formation was first aired by NBC News which said military officers were frustrated at not being given permission to attack because of rules of engagement barring attacks in cemeteries.

The US military command released a statement. "Acting on credible intelligence that this group were Taliban insurgents, coalition forces considered attacking this tactically viable enemy target," the statement said. "During the observation of the group over a significant period of time, it was determined that the group was located on the grounds of a cemetery and were likely conducting a funeral for Taliban insurgents killed in a coalition operation nearby earlier in the day," it said. "A decision was made not to strike this group of insurgents at that specific location and time," it said.



India proposes 1,000 US dollar incentive for inter-caste marriage
An Indian federal minister proposed a 1,000 US dollar incentive to encourage people to break centuries-old taboos and marry across caste boundaries.

The idea put forward by Social Justice Minister Meira Kumar, a member of one of India's many lower castes, was aimed at ending discrimination.

Lower castes make up two-thirds of India's one-billion-plus population. They have faced discrimination in employment, housing and education for centuries from upper caste members, many of whom hold positions of authority in the government and business.

Marriages between castes, particularly in rural areas, have the potential to cause riots with frequent reports of parents or relatives killing young men and women for daring to attempt such unions. In July, India's Supreme Court expressed concern over the growing opposition to and intimidation of young couples choosing to marry members of other castes.

Australia
Don't get even with stingrays, minister urges 'Croc Hunter' fans
An Australian government minister has urged grief-stricken fans of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin not to hunt down stingrays in a misguided attempt to avenge his death.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell issued the impassioned call after as many as 10 dead and mutilated stingrays were found on beaches in Queensland state, where Irwin died last week when stabbed in the heart by a stringray's barb.

"Like most Australians I'm terribly saddened by Steve Irwin's untimely and accidental death," Campbell said in a statement which followed a similar appeal by Irwin's friends and colleagues.

"No matter how greatly he is missed, he would deplore such cruel attacks on the creatures and wildlife he dedicated his life's work and energy to protecting," Campbell said.

South America
Chavez-Castro friendship tricky for U.S.
One is a Cold War icon who has defied the United States for nearly a half-century. The other is a charismatic ex-military man who could be Washington's biggest Latin American nemesis for years to come.

The two are expected to take the spotlight again this week as Havana hosts dozens of leaders at a summit of the Nonaligned Movement.

On the economic front, Cuba's trade with Venezuela is booming. Venezuela has helped Cuba defy a U.S. trade embargo, partly supplanting Soviet subsidies that dried up in the early 1990s.

Venezuela predicts trade with Cuba will reach $1.8 billion this year, including shipments of some 98,000 barrels of oil a day sold under preferential terms including deferred payment. Meanwhile, thousands of Cuban doctors are treating poor Venezuelans for free.

"Chavez is a major factor in what's going to happen in Cuba from now on," said Larry Birns, of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs. "He essentially has rendered Castro and Castroism immune to any kind of U.S. action unless the U.S. is prepared to threaten its oil supply and begin a diplomatic conflagration in the Caribbean."

Chavez says Venezuelan troops would help defend Cuba against any U.S. invasion.

Bush Prods Congress To Pass Terror Bills As Colin Powell Opposes Interrogation Legislation

Extracted from Yahoo.com on 15.09.06
By TERENCE HUNT

WASHINGTON - Facing a GOP revolt in the Senate, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to join in backing legislation to spell out strategies for interrogating and trying terror suspects, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again."

"Time is running out," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference. "Congress needs to act wisely and promptly."

Bush denied that the United States might lose the high ground in the eyes of world opinion, as former Secretary of State Colin Powell suggested.

"It's unacceptable to think there's any kind of comparison between the behavior of the United States of America and the action of Islamic extremists who kill innocent women and children to achieve an objective," said Bush, growing animated as he spoke.

Bush's comments came a day after Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee broke with the administration and approved a bill for detention and trial of foreign terrorism suspects. Bush claims the measure would compromise the war on terrorism.

He is urging the Senate to pass a bill more like a House-passed one that would allow his administration to continue holding and trying terror suspects before military tribunals.
Bush said he would work with Congress to resolve the disputed language, but stood firm on his demands.

"If not for this program, our intelligence community believes al Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland," he said.

"Unfortunately the recent Supreme Court decision put the future of this program in question. ... We need this legislation to save it."

The high court earlier this year struck down Bush's current arrangement for trying detainees held at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Bush said that it was vital to change the law to protect intelligence professionals who are called on to question detainees to obtain vital information. "They don't want to be tried as war criminals. ... They expect our government to give them clarity about what is right and what is wrong."

He called it an important debate that "defines whether or not we can protect ourselves. Congress has got a decision to make."

Meanwhile, foreign ministers of the European Union on Friday called on the United States to respect international law in its handling of terror suspects after Bush acknowledged his country had run secret prisons abroad.

"We reiterate that in combatting terrorism, human rights and human standards have to be maintained," said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, speaking on behalf of the 25 EU ministers. "We acknowledge the intention of the U.S. administration to treat all detainees in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva Convention."

Four Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain, joined Democrats on Thursday on the Armed Services Committee and voted 15-9 for the measure that Bush opposes.

"As we work with the international community to defeat the terrorists and the extremists to provide an alternative to their hateful ideology, we must also provide our military and intelligence professionals with the tools they need to protect our country from another attack," Bush said. "And the reason they need those tools is because the enemy wants to attack us again."

The dissident group led by McCain — and backed by Powell, Bush's first-term secretary of state — said Bush's approach would jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops.

Powell said Bush's proposal to redefine the Geneva Conventions would encourage the world to "doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism" and "put our own troops at risk."

It was Bush's first news conference since Aug. 21, when he said the Iraq war was "straining the psyche of our country" but that leaving now would be a disaster. Bush has made the struggle against terrorism and the war in Iraq the top issues in the November elections, hoping to persuade voters that Republicans are better than Democrats at protecting the country.

Media is warned over its coverage of Islam

Pope Benedict XVI said on Tuesday that Islamic holy war was against God's nature and invited Muslims to join in a peaceful cultural dialogue.

Citing historic Christian commentary on holy war and forced conversion, the 79-year-old pontiff quoted from a 14th-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Paleologos.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'"

It's shame that comments like these make muslims around the world angry. The Pope is a very respectable figure in the world, but his attitude is very different from his predecessor. Instead of bringing Islam and Christianity closer, he is straining relations between the two religions. He should be playing a positive role in promoting relations between religions and civilisations. He should be doing something like the article below...

Extraceted from www.churchnewspaper.com
By Ed Beavan, Sep 82 2006

THE BRITISH media needs to be more balanced in its coverage of Islam, according to members of Christian-Muslim dialogue groups. On the fifth anniversary of the atrocities of 9/11 in New York, suspicion of Islam in the UK is higher than ever, as shown in a recent YouGov poll in which 53 per cent of respondents felt they thought Islam was a threat to Western liberal democracy.

Meanwhile 65 per cent of those surveyed said security services should focus anti-terrorism intelligence on Muslims. Ibrahim Mogra, chair of the interfaith relations committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the media in the UK too often presented a distorted view of the religion. He said: “Not all of the media is bad but some sections present Islam in a very negative way which is not practised by the majority of Muslims in this country.

“The media should be going out and talking to mainstream and ordinary Muslims and presenting that to the nation, rather than a perverted view.

“How many Imams have we see on the front pages talking about compassion and love, there are hundreds of them.”

Mr Mogra added that he felt that 9/11 had led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and that the media needed to ask more questions about British foreign policy, which he feels motivated the 7/7 bombers. Meanwhile, Julian Bond, Director of Management and Communications at the Christian Muslim Forum, said the media had to take more responsibility for its coverage.

He said: “I think the negative perceptions are there among many people in this country from all kinds of backgrounds. “You can pick up a paper everyday and read something about Islam, sometimes positive but sometimes negative, such as the searching of the Islamic school at the moment. “I think the media needs to think about the impact that their coverage has and try to be more even-handed.”

Mr Bond agreed that perceptions of Islam had got worse in the last five years since 9/11. He said: “It has got more difficult because there’s a real fear, which was heightened by 7/7 and what happened on the underground with the perpetrators all being Muslim. “But that is a minority as the majority of Muslims are peacefully practising their religion and living normal lives.” Mr Bond called for Christians to get to know Muslims so they could better understand them, by spending time together, sharing meals and even reading scripture together, despite their doctrinal differences.

He said it could be helpful for Christians to read the Koran to raise their awareness of Islam, and added: “It’s not rocket science. If we show an interest in Islamic people it’s more likely they will show an interest in Christianity and we can build bridges.”

Five Years After: Hidden Depths to U.S. Monitoring

This article has been extracted from LA Times

The scope of domestic surveillance has steadily expanded since 9/11. But lawmakers and privacy experts complain of too little information on it.

By Josh Meyer, Times Staff Writer
S eptember 11, 2006

WASHINGTON — As Americans consider whether they are more safe or less five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, one thing is certain: They are being monitored by their own government in ways unforeseen before terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Within minutes of the strikes, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence-gathering authorities mobilized to find the culprits and prevent another attack.

They increased the tapping of Americans' phone calls and voice mails. They watched Internet traffic and e-mails as never before. They tailed greater numbers of people and into places previously deemed off-limits, such as mosques.

They clandestinely accessed bank and credit card transactions and school records. They monitored travel. And they entered homes without notice, looking for signs of terrorist activity and copying the contents of entire file cabinets and computer hard drives.

Authorities even tried to get inside people's heads, using supercomputers and "predictive" software to analyze enormous amounts of personal data about them and their associates in an effort to foretell who might become a terrorist, and when.

In the five years since the attacks, the scope of domestic surveillance has steadily increased, according to interviews with dozens of current and former U.S. officials and privacy experts.
Some of these programs have been debated and approved by the courts and Congress — the traditional checks against intrusions on Americans' privacy, protected under the 4th Amendment.
Others have not. Some of them are operating without the knowledge or approval of judicial and legislative overseers, officials and experts say.

Two such classified programs have been disclosed by the media, over the objections of the Bush administration. One involves the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of suspicious phone calls and e-mails into and out of the United States. The other is an effort by the Treasury Department and the CIA to monitor international bank transfers.

Privacy experts and even some ranking lawmakers in Congress say their efforts to learn about other suspected surveillance efforts have been blocked.

They believe that some of the activity is so secret that none but a small circle of top administration officials and operational support personnel know about it — though notification of congressional leaders is legally required.

"The White House simply refuses to be straight with us about what they're up to," said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who says he has pressed unsuccessfully for answers as a member of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, which entitles him to classified briefings on the subject.

"My sense today is that there is a staggering amount of personal information being collected on millions of Americans," Wyden said. "And how it's accessed and how it's used is at best unclear. What is certain is that there is no real accountability to ensure that a balance is struck between fighting terrorism and protecting privacy."

In response, administration officials say that they have the authority to conduct whatever surveillance is underway, in part due to the special war powers granted to President Bush by Congress a week after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In a speech Thursday, Bush lobbied Congress for updated and expanded surveillance powers, saying they were needed to keep pace with a stealthy and technologically savvy enemy.
Meanwhile, the domestic surveillance effort continues within virtually every U.S. counter-terrorism, law enforcement and intelligence agency.

The programs comprise actual surveillance of Americans' activities and communications, and "dataveillance," the practice of mining the vast amounts of personal data compiled on Americans.

On both fronts, the NSA is leading the effort from its headquarters in Fort Meade, Md., just outside Washington.

For decades, the NSA's satellites and land-based listening posts have intercepted billions of phone calls and e-mails, searching for keywords that might suggest terrorist or criminal activity, espionage, or other efforts harmful to national security.

After Sept. 11 such activity increased dramatically, and has been aided by the cooperation of at least some phone and Internet companies that have granted access to their mammoth caches of digitized information, current and former U.S. officials and privacy experts say.

Robert L. Deitz, general counsel for the NSA, told Congress last week that the NSA's primary mission since Sept. 11 has been to develop ways of eavesdropping on Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations that have used cutting-edge technologies to stay ahead of their pursuers.
The NSA has improved its ability to monitor the entire spectrum of communications, including fiber-optic and wireless transmissions, instant messages, BlackBerry e-mails and voice conversations sent over the Internet, officials and experts say.

They add that the intelligence community may not be breaking any laws because these kinds of communication might not be covered under loosely worded federal laws that don't account for advances in technology.

Several congressional officials and privacy experts said they believed the NSA also tracked the movement of "persons of interest" by the electronic signals emitted by their cellphones and the Global Positioning Systems in the vehicles they drive.

The NSA had no comment on any aspect of its intelligence-gathering efforts.

The FBI has led the way on the low-tech surveillance front, using little-known powers given to it under the Patriot Act and other post-Sept. 11 policies.

Before Sept. 11, virtually all FBI surveillance was authorized by court-approved warrants and subpoenas issued through federal grand juries, which have some measure of oversight by citizen jurors and judges.

Since then, however, the FBI has sharply increased the use of so-called national security letters, which allow agents to obtain information on people they deem suspicious with little probable cause and without seeking judicial approval. Unlike with traditional search warrants, the target does not have to be notified.

Last year, federal agents issued 9,254 substantive national security letters to access financial transactions and personal data, interviews and government records indicate. Privacy experts and congressional staffers say these letters were rarely used before Sept. 11.

FBI agents are also using what are known as "sneak and peek" warrants on a wider scale, entering hundreds of homes clandestinely to gather intelligence and copy files and computer drives, again without notification. And they have conducted surveillance on antiwar, religious, civil rights and environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The NSA and FBI are not the only agencies conducting heightened domestic surveillance.
Treasury Department agents have directed searches of bank records and other financial information in more than 4,000 cases, usually without notifying the U.S.-based individuals, companies, charities and nonprofit organizations, interviews and documents show.

The U.S. military has a program known as Threat and Local Observation Notice, which compiles reports of suspicious activity in and around military installations. Under TALON, military intelligence squads have monitored American citizens at scores of events, including religious and antiwar protests, and have filed suspicious-action reports, according to records obtained by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).

Many government officials and privacy experts say the most alarming expansion in domestic surveillance involves the use of computers.

Because gadget-happy consumers are snapping up the latest devices and online services, authorities and private data brokers now have easy access to a digitized footprint of their activities and interests. Phone records, political preferences and purchasing habits are now only mouse clicks away from government agents.

After Sept. 11, government agencies began combining information collected by private companies with their own storehouses of intelligence. Authorities then used "social networking" software to map relationships among numerous people here and abroad. And they used predictive software to determine terrorism risks associated with individuals based on their activities, purchases, quirks and habits.

In 2004, an investigation by the Government Accountability Office found 199 U.S. government uses of such data mining, 54 of which used private-sector data including credit card records, Internet logs and other information, some of which was of questionable accuracy.

That same year, a Defense Department advisory committee concluded that although data mining could help uncover possible terrorist activity in the United States, "rapid action" was necessary to address "significant" privacy problems associated with such programs.

Nothing has been done since then to address the problem, said Wyden, whose 2003 bill to create a citizens' data-collection Bill of Rights went nowhere. The legislation would have compelled the government to disclose all the ways it is spying on Americans, and establish controls over and oversight of those activities.

"This has to be the largest intrusion on privacy that we have ever seen in the history of this country, undoubtedly," said James Dempsey, policy director for the nonpartisan Center for Democracy and Technology and a former congressional staffer.

One former senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the most secret surveillance and data-mining programs defended them, saying that combined, they form a nearly all-encompassing web crucial to the counter-terrorism effort.

He said the programs had been hugely successful in catching individual terrorists and in allowing authorities to home in on geographic "hot spots" and ways that terrorist cells communicate and operate.

"If you lose programs like these, you rip a huge hole out of the hide of protection we have put in place around the United States," the former official said. "They are tremendously important, in ways people cannot even imagine."

But even some supporters of such programs believe the administration's failure to disclose them to Congress and the courts could lead to a constitutional showdown, and soon.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, wrote in May to Bush that he had learned of "some alleged intelligence community activities about which our committee has not been briefed."

"If these allegations are true, they may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of the law and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies," wrote Hoekstra, a staunch Bush ally.

"The U.S. Congress," Hoekstra added, "simply should not have to play Twenty Questions to get the information that it deserves under our Constitution."

Five Years After: Is The U.S. Winning This War?

This article has been extracted from LA Times

Al Qaeda has suffered setbacks, but America may have lost ground in the long-term fight, experts say. Statistics can't tell the full story.

By Doyle McManus,
Times Staff WriterSeptember 10, 2006

WASHINGTON — Five years after Sept. 11, is the United States winning the war against Al Qaeda? President Bush says yes, but most experts — including many inside the U.S. government — say no.

An all-out effort by the United States and its allies has succeeded in making life difficult for Al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, and has probably disrupted any plans they had for further terrorism on the scale of the attacks in 2001, the experts say.

But as even Bush acknowledged last week, Al Qaeda is far from dead.

"In the five years since our nation was attacked, Al Qaeda and terrorists it has inspired have continued to attack across the world," the president said.

"The terrorist danger remains."

In a series of recent speeches to mark the anniversary of the attacks, Bush has declared: "America is winning the war on terror" and cited a list of achievements: "We've removed terrorist sanctuaries, disrupted their finances, killed and captured key operatives, broken up terrorist cells in America and other nations, and stopped new attacks before they're carried out."

But terrorism experts worry that those successes have been mostly tactical, short-term gains — the equivalent of winning the first few battles in a long war. On longer-term strategic issues, they warn, the U.S. may have lost ground since 2001:

• Al Qaeda, the initial focus of the "global war on terror," has been disrupted and dispersed. But it has been succeeded by a looser network of affiliates and homegrown terrorists — like those who carried out bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 — who could grow to be just as dangerous.

• The war in Iraq has become a training ground for Islamic extremists from Saudi Arabia and other countries, and some have returned home with expertise in urban warfare and explosives. Some experts fear the Persian Gulf's oil terminals could be among their next targets.

• Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon have damaged the image of the U.S. in much of the Muslim world and made it easier for terrorist organizations to win recruits. The wars and controversies over U.S. treatment of detainees also have made it more difficult for allied governments to cooperate with American counterterrorism programs, diplomats say.

• When Foreign Policy magazine surveyed more than 100 experts earlier this year, 84% said they did not believe the United States was winning the war on terrorism. In a Los Angeles Times poll, fewer than one-fourth of Americans said they believed the nation was "winning"; more than half said it was too soon to tell.

"Even the most sanguine optimist cannot yet conclude we are winning," John F. Lehman Jr., a former Navy secretary under President Reagan, warned in a recent article for the U.S. Naval Institute.

"It looks worse to me," said Bruce Hoffman, a former director of terrorism studies at the Rand Corp. who teaches at Georgetown University and the U.S. Military Academy. "Al Qaeda is still alive and kicking. It's just changed its modus operandi. We've often painted a picture of Al Qaeda in retreat. I'm not sure it isn't Al Qaeda on the march."

When asked for his report card on the war on terrorism, Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's top counterterrorism officer, paused and said: "It's uneven…. It's hard for me to give it an A or an F. It's a real mixed bag."

At first glance, the experts' gloom may seem odd. There haven't been any successful terrorist attacks inside the U.S. since Sept. 11, although law enforcement officials say there have been several close calls.

"It's been five years, and the U.S. homeland has not been hit," said Daniel Byman, director of Georgetown's security studies program. "I don't know any terrorism experts who called this…. We were all wrong."

As a result, he said: "My assessment is that we're doing reasonably well. If the test is reducing catastrophic violence that can change our lives, we're doing rather well. If it's reducing the overall climate of violence, we're doing fairly poorly. If 30 or 40 Americans die from terrorism each year, that's a tragedy, but it's different from losing 3,000 a year. It's a problem, but it's probably not a strategic problem."

Indeed, some national security experts — like John Mueller of Ohio State University — argue that the terrorist threat has been overblown and that a terrorist industry of consultants, government contractors and politicians is hyping the problem out of self-interest.

"For all the attention it evokes, terrorism, in reasonable context, actually causes rather little damage," Mueller said, noting that automobile accidents kill many more Americans than terrorists do. "The likelihood that any individual will become a victim in most places is microscopic."

But the consensus of government officials and nongovernmental experts is that the terrorist threat remains real, and the respite from violence is temporary.

"Why have we not suffered [another] attack?" asked Lee H. Hamilton, co-chairman of the Sept. 11 commission, which exhaustively studied the 2001 attacks. "The honest answer is: We don't know. We simply don't know. Because we don't know the minds of the terrorists."

Paul Pillar, a former top CIA analyst, said: "The line between an attack that occurs and one that doesn't can be very thin. It comes down to luck and circumstance with regard to any particular operation."

One theory on the lack of homegrown Islamic terrorism inside the U.S. — especially in contrast to Europe, where police have foiled several planned attacks — is that Muslims in this country are more assimilated and less alienated.

"There are a lot of possible explanations," Byman said. "But they're all conjecture."
In any case, most Bush administration officials have been careful to avoid taking credit for the fact that there has been no second Sept. 11 attack — because, they say, they still expect one.
"We have hurt Al Qaeda severely, I think, but they continue to work toward another 9/11 or something even more spectacular," Crumpton said.

Although there have been no other attacks inside the United States, terrorism as a worldwide phenomenon has not diminished since 2001.

The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, which maintains an exhaustive database, reports that terrorism has killed more than 2,300 people every year since 2001.

Most of those fatalities resulted from domestic terrorism — attacks that stemmed from strife within a single country — rather than international attacks like Sept. 11. But the institute's research director, James O. Ellis III, notes that domestic terrorism often gives birth to the international kind.

The number of civilian deaths from terrorism in 2005, as defined by the institute, swelled to more than 8,000, mostly because of sectarian violence in Iraq. But even outside Iraq, 1,952 civilians died in terrorist attacks last year.

"In international terrorism, we've seen a decrease in the number of incidents but a rise in lethality; more people are dying," Ellis said. "In domestic terrorism, we've seen a rising number of incidents and rising lethality too."

Those numbers don't measure the likelihood of more attacks on the United States; they merely confirm that terrorism as a tactic for radical insurgent groups around the world is thriving.
The statistics are part of a broad debate on how best to gauge progress in the larger battle — a measure the Pentagon calls "metrics."

In October 2003, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote a memo to his closest aides, asking: "Are we winning or losing the global war on terror?"

"Today, we lack metrics to know," Rumsfeld complained. "Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrasas [Islamic religious schools] and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?"

He told his aides he wanted better measuring sticks and a clearer strategy.

Almost three years after Rumsfeld's memo, the Bush administration last week issued a long-range plan, the "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism," most of the details of which remain classified.

But the Pentagon concluded it just wasn't possible to keep accurate track of terrorist recruiting trends, as Rumsfeld had asked — especially as Al Qaeda evolved from a close-knit organization into an amorphous, radical movement.

"It's a hard thing to measure," said Stephen A. Cambone, the undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, who oversees much of the Pentagon's counterterrorism effort. "It's … more difficult than an observer might think."

Said Raphael Perl of the Congressional Research Service, who has monitored the issue for lawmakers: "There are metrics we could use," but not all parts of the government can agree on them.

He listed some measurements, beginning with the size and strength of terrorist organizations, their levels of technology and weaponry, and their access to state sponsors or havens. "Is radical Islam growing or shrinking? We aren't measuring it," he said.

Some criteria, he added, are domestic: "Our ability to recover [from terrorist attacks]. Our ability to damage ourselves through overreaction."

Perl said an important gauge was how much money was being spent to combat potential terrorism.

9/11 has cost the world economy more than a trillion dollars in added security spending," he said. "If you can tear down the global economy, people are going to be much more receptive to other ideologies."

Before Rumsfeld's 2003 memo, the Bush administration focused its efforts and its metrics on the campaign to destroy or dismantle the leadership of Al Qaeda and its allies. That campaign, which ranged from detective work to capture suspects to "targeted killing" strikes against terrorist leaders, was largely successful.

The Bush administration maintains that three-fourths of Al Qaeda's known leaders have been removed. Other experts have disputed the figure but agree that what was known as "Al Qaeda Central" — Al Qaeda in its 2001 form — at least was reduced in size and effectiveness.

But in response, the terrorist organization has changed, the State Department's Crumpton noted. "Al Qaeda and affiliates are learning organizations," he said. "They evolve. If we make changes in our efforts and we have success — and we have — then they will make changes and counter what we have done."

"The core group of people around Bin Laden are weaker. The angry young sympathizers are more numerous," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said the new mix would mean fewer complicated, large-scale attacks like the bombing of the U.S. destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000. "But you can still have something like the Madrid terrorist attacks," he said. "Is that progress?"

As homegrown anti-American terrorist groups have sprung up from Spain and Britain to Indonesia and Canada, the Bush administration has augmented its "kill and capture" strategy with a longer-term drive to spread democracy, stabilize Muslim societies and win hearts and minds around the globe.

The aim, officials say, isn't to persuade the world's Muslims to like the U.S. — the focus of the administration's unsuccessful early "public diplomacy" efforts.

"That turned out to be Mission: Impossible," one official said.

Instead, the main goal is to delegitimize terrorism — to convince Muslims that Bin Laden and his followers threaten Muslim communities as much as they threaten New York or Washington.
Bush calls this "the war of ideas," and compared it last week to the 20th century battle between communism and democracy in the Cold War.

The newest effort is still in its early stages. Some parts, officials acknowledge, have met with what one called "rough going": anti-American insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Others have been painfully slow at best: encouraging democracy in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. But some, officials say, have gone well: keeping countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines from turning into havens for terrorist groups.

One metric that administration officials don't like talking about involves how people in other countries view the U.S. The results of a multi-country poll sponsored this year by the Pew Charitable Trusts are sobering.

When people in largely Muslim nations were asked whether they approved of "U.S.-led efforts to fight terrorism," 82% in Egypt said no, as did 74% in Jordan, 77% in Turkey and 50% in Pakistan. Some European countries showed similar results: 76% of those surveyed in Spain and 57% in France said they did not approve.

"When the United States is that unpopular in countries we count on as our closest allies, we have a real uphill struggle," said Paul B. Stares of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded nonpartisan think tank.

One senior U.S. official, speaking on condition he not be identified so that he could speak more candidly, acknowledged that the unpopularity of the U.S. had made it harder for allied governments — like Pakistan and India — to cooperate with U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
In response, the Bush administration has significantly increased the amount of money it is spending on "public diplomacy" to more than $1.4 billion this year, double the funding level before Sept. 11.

But improving the U.S. image abroad will be an uphill battle.

"There is a certain amount of anti-Americanism which exists just because we're the world superpower," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "But in addition to that, deserved or undeservedly, the American image of hubris and condescension is damaging to our efforts. We should be more humble; we should be more considerate."

Asked whether Bush had made that problem worse, McCain smiled.

"I think sometimes the president's passion is interpreted as hubris…. [But] I think he fully recognizes that we have a problem, and I think he's working at trying to help improve America's image."

The additional attention and money for nation-building and public relations is increasingly seen as a key to winning the war against Al Qaeda.

"It's not so much a question [of] whether you're able to … capture or kill or otherwise drive off" terrorists, said Cambone, the Pentagon intelligence chief. "That we know we can do. It's whether the confidence of those who stand in opposition [to terrorism] is going up … and that of the terrorists is going down.

"Then you're succeeding," he said. "And then the issue isn't how many successive terrorist cells you've undone. They will disband."

==========================================

Tracking terror
Despite military operations to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorism incidents and fatalities are on the rise worldwide, especially in Iraq. Meanwhile, U.S. spending on domestic security and funding for military operations overseas has risen steadily since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Where terror attacks occur: Sept. 12, 2001-June 30, 2006
(Total attacks by country)

Iraq: 5,408
Israel: 2,091
India: 1,511
Colombia: 904
Afghanistan: 733
Thailand: 671
Pakistan: 548
Nepal: 428
Northern Ireland: 399
France: 391
United States: 63

Note: U.S. attacks are mostly ecoterrorism arson and Animal Liberation Front actions

* Sources: Congressional Research Service, National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Foreign Policy magazine

America Revisited: The bitter legacy of 9/11

The Article has been extracted from the Independent, UK
Published: 11 September 2006

2,973 Total number of people killed (excluding the 19 hijackers) in the September 11, 2001 attacks

72,000 Estimated number of civilians killed worldwide since September 11, 2001 as a result of the war on terror

2 Number of years since US intelligence had any credible lead to Osama bin Laden's whereabouts

2,932 Total number of US servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since September 2001

1,248 Number of published books relating to the September 11 attacks

$119m Ticket sales for anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11

$40bn Airline industry losses since September 2001

2009 Date when the official memorial will open at the World Trade Centre site

0 Hours of intelligence training provided to new FBI agents before 9/11. Now they get 24.

91 per cent Terror cases from FBI and others that US Justice Dept declined to prosecute in first eight months of 2006

11 Weeks the 9/11 commission's final report was top of New York Times' non-fiction best-seller list

117 Number of UK service personnel killed in Iraq since invasion

40 Number of UK personnel killed in Afghanistan since invasion

7 per cent People in UK who think US-led war on terror is being won, according to YouGov

1 Those charged in US with a crime in connection with 9/11

455 Number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay

77 per cent Percentage of people in the UK who believe Tony Blair's Middle East policy has made Britain a terrorist target (YouGov)

4,000 Number of UK troops left in Iraq after British-controlled provinceshanded back to Baghdad

18 The number of times that undercover investigators with fake IDs have breezed through US border checkpoints in a test by the Government Accountability Office

$8bn The amount the US will spend this year on hunting Bin Laden and other terrorists.

62,006 - The Number Killed In The "War On Terror"

This has been extracted from the The Independent on Sunday
By David Randall and Emily Gosden Published
10 September 2006

The "war on terror" - and by terrorists - has directly killed a minimum of 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and cost the US more than the sum needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth.

If estimates of other, unquantified, deaths - of insurgents, the Iraq military during the 2003 invasion, those not recorded individually by Western media, and those dying from wounds - are included, then the toll could reach as high as 180,000.

The extraordinary scale of the conflict's impact, claiming lives from New York to Bali and London to Lahore, and the extent of the death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan, has emerged from an Independent on Sunday survey to mark the fifth anniversary of 11 September. It used new, unpublished data supplied by academics and organisations such as Iraq Body Count and Professor Marc Herold of the University of New Hampshire, plus estimates given by other official studies.

The result is the first attempt to gauge the full cost in blood and money of the worldwide atrocities and military conflicts that began in September 2001. As of yesterday, the numbers of lives confirmed lost are: 4,541 to 5,308 civilians and 385 military in Afghanistan; 50,100 civilians and 2,899 military in Iraq; and 4,081 in acts of terrorism in the rest of the world.

The new figure on civilian deaths from Iraq Body Count, a group of British and US academics, is especially telling. Just two and a half years ago, its estimate of the number of civilian dead in Iraq passed 10,000. Today, it says, that figure has gone beyond the 50,000 mark - a huge leap largely attributable to terrorist acts and the breakdown of civil authority.

Iraq Body Count's careful methodology - of recording a death only when it appears in two independent media reports - almost certainly produces a substantial underestimate. Even the Iraqi Health Ministry reports a slightly higher figure, and President Bush's much-quoted figure of 30,000 civilian dead dates from December 2005, when it tallied with the then IBC figure. Insurgent deaths are not included in the IBC figures, and neither are those of Iraqi police when engaged in combat-style operations.

Estimates of the former are, together with the number of Iraqi military killed in the battle phase of the Iraq occupation, the biggest unknown of the conflict. One US news report guessed the insurgent dead in Iraq at 36,000 since 2003, while the number of Iraqi military killed during the invasion phase remains unknown and unknowable.

Neither category is included in our figure of 62,006 confirmed directly killed. Nor does it include any figures for people later dying from wounds received, or the increased mortality owing to lack of health care. Estimates for one or the other ranging up to 130,000 have been produced, but are based on little more than educated (and uneducated) guesswork or, as with the controversial Lancet estimate of 98,000 deaths due to extra mortality, by amplifying a survey of 988 households into a nation-wide conclusion.

What is certain is the wretched state of health care in Iraq. In March 2006 the campaign group Medact reported that 18,000 physicians have left since 2003; an estimated 250 of those that remained have been kidnapped and, in 2005 alone, 65 killed. Medact also said that "easily treatable conditions such as diarrhoea and respiratory illness caused 70 per cent of all child deaths", and that "of the 180 health clinics the US hoped to build by the end of 2005, only four have been completed and none has been opened". In May, a survey by the Iraq government and Unicef reported that a quarter of all Iraqi children suffer from malnutrition.

In Afghanistan, the most reliable recorder of civilian deaths is Professor Marc Herold, whose latest figures range from 4,541 to 5,308. He does not include those who die subsequently from their injuries or in refugee camps.These "indirect" deaths have been put at anything from 8,000 to 20,000. More accurate are estimates of refugee numbers. In July, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants said there were 2.2 million Afghans who had fled abroad and at least 153,200 displaced internally. For Iraq, there were 888,700 external refugees, and 1.3 million people displaced inside the country. An estimated 40 per cent of the Iraqi middle class have left Iraq.

Beyond the blood price, there is a dollar and sterling cost. In July it was reported that the US Congress had approved $437bn (£254bn) for costs related to the "war on terror". This, a sum greater than those spent on the Korean and Vietnam wars, compares to the $375bn that Make Poverty History says is needed to clear the debts of the world's poorest nations. The British Government has spent £4.5bn on Iraq and Afghanistan.

America Revisited: 9/11, A Date We Should Never Forget

September 11th (or 9/11) is a date that will never be forgotten in the United States and throughout the world, nor should it be forgotten. It is a date where thousands of innocent people had been killed by a terrorist regime.

Fatalities (Not including the 19 hijackers)
New York City World Trade Center 2,602
American Airlines Flight11 – 88
United Airlines Flight 175 - 59
Pentagon Building 125
American Airlines Flight 77 - 59
Shanksville, Pennsylvania: United Airlines 93 - 40

Total 2,973 died and another 24 remain listed as missing from the World Trade Center.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of attacks in the United States, yet to this day various conspiracy theories still exist. These include speculation that individuals in the government of the United States knew of the impending attacks and failed to act on that knowledge, or that they actually planned the attacks. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that the collapse of the World Trade Center was caused by explosives. Some also contend that a commercial airliner did not crash into the Pentagon, and that United Airlines Flight 93 was shot down.

For the record, I believe that it was Al Qaeda, because Al Qaeda admitted the attacks, but like many people I fail to understand how US security agency failed to identify the threat and stop the attacks taking place. I also fail to understand why the US government was failed to catch Osama Bin Laden. By remaining silent and secretive, the US government just increases the strength of the theorist.

The Bush administration says that Al-Qaeda was motivated by hatred of the freedom and democracy exemplified by the United States.

According to official U.S. government sources, the September 11th attacks were consistent with the mission statement of al-Qaeda.

The fatwa states that the United States:
· Plunders the resources of the Arabian Peninsula.
· Dictates policy to the rulers of those countries.
· Supports abusive regimes and monarchies in the Middle East, thereby oppressing their people.
· Has military bases and installations upon the Arabian Peninsula, which violates the Muslim holy land, in order to threaten neighbouring Muslim countries.
· Intends thereby to create disunion between Muslim states, thus weakening them as a political force.
· Supports Israel, and wishes to divert international attention from (and tacitly maintain) the occupation of Palestine.

So from the above information it seems that the attack on the US was not to disrupt the freedom and democracy of the US but was an attack on US foreign policy.

So what is being done to stop another 9/11 incident from happening again?

Instead of dealing with the problems that lead to terrorism, the US government (against UN wishes) decided to directly attack the so-called terrorist states. Images from Afghanistan, Iraq & Guantanamo bay (especially the treatment of prisoners) have made the most moderate Muslims become angry and spurred splinter groups to recruit “would be” terrorist from around the world.

Last week, President Bush spoke of the need to fight the war on terror by means of intelligence: "Captured terrorists have unique knowledge about how terrorist networks operate. They have knowledge of where their operatives are deployed, and knowledge about what plots are under way. This intelligence - this is intelligence that cannot be found any other place. And our security depends on getting this kind of information."

It has been reported that over the past five years, nearly 300 of the original 800 detainees held have been released. Many of those released had been kept captive for a number of years. The Pentagon had announced it would release one-third of the remaining detainees, acknowledging they pose no threat to national security.

It seems that in the US you are charged guilty until you can prove your innocence. On June 12, 2006, Senator Arlen Specter stated to CNN that the arrests of most of the prisoners held there were based on "the flimsiest sort of hearsay".

What about the threat from Muslims within in the US and UK?

U.S.A.
It was been reported that despite a sharp increase in the prosecution of terrorism cases just after Sept. 11, 2001, only 14 of the defendants have been sentenced to 20 years or more in prison, according to a study based on Justice Department data.

Of the 1,329 convicted defendants, only 625 received any prison sentence, said the study, released Sunday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data research group at Syracuse University. More than half of those convicted got no prison time or no more than they had already served awaiting their verdict.

The analysis of data from Justice's Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys also found that in the eight months ending last May, Justice attorneys declined to prosecute more than nine out of every 10 terrorism cases sent to them by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies. Nearly 4 in 10 of the rejected cases were scrapped because prosecutors found weak or insufficient evidence, no evidence of criminal intent or no evident federal crime.

U.K.
The U.K. Police have been focusing efforts to combat the network of terrorist recruiters promoting the aims of al-Qa'ida.

While efforts after the 11 September attacks on America focused on the threat to the UK from outside the country, anti-terrorist police now believe the number of British Muslims suspected of supporting terrorism, either directly or indirectly, runs into "thousands of people".

Questions remain about how effective new terror legislation has been. More than 1,000 people have been arrested since 9/11 but only 12 per cent of detainees have been charged. Police say they have nonetheless thwarted a number of alleged plots, including three since the 7/7 attacks.

What is the solution?
Our intelligence services need to stop pursuing leads that lead to capturing hundreds of people, making a big media splash then finding out that that there is no evidence against these people.

The solution is for police forces to integrate with the Muslim communities and use these communities to provide the intelligence required for capturing terrorist and recruiters for terrorist organisation - after all, the Muslim communities are the best people to know what is happening.

An ethical foreign policy by governments would also be nice; it will lead to less troubles occurring around world and provide a chance for peace for all. It might even make groups like Al Qaeda start peaceful campaigns against regimes that they dislike,

Today might be famous for 5th anniversary of the attack on the world trade centre, but it is also another special day. It was on this day, a century ago, that Mahatma Gandhi started the non-violent movement to oust the British from India. Using peaceful means is get to a solution is something we could all learn from history and is worth celebrating. Let’s not forget peace.

Quote from Gandhi:
"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."

Further Reading:
San Francisco Chronicle 31.08.06: Charity work puts Guantanamo prisoners under cloud of suspicion
USA Today 09.09.06: False accusation creates a 9/11 footnote
Washington Post 21.08.06: At Guantanamo, Caught in a Legal Trap

Christian Science Monitor 14.08.06: Is conspiracy a war crime?
New York Daily News 09.08.06: In U.S., justice for all
TRAC study: Records from the Justice Department and the courts
USA Today 09.04.06: Study finds fewer terror prosecutions