LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
JUNE 24/2006

Below News From miscellaneous sources for 24/06/06
Miscellaneous news from the AP
Seven Arrested in Sears Tower Terror Plot-Associated Press
Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Hold Meeting-myway
Annan Says Iran Response Won't Be Soon-myway
Lebanon seeks good relations with Syria, Saniora-Bahrain News Agency
Lebanon's president whines and Syria's feelings hurt-Ya Libnan
Hariri: Lebanon-Syria diplomatic ties possible-Middle East Online
Jordan tells Syrian dissident Homsi he cannot stay-Washington Post
Lebanese Hezbollah denies involvement in Iraqi insurgency-People's Daily Online
Jordanian PM to visit Syria next Wednesday-People's Daily Online
Syria seeks Russisn Jets-Middle East Newsline
Israel-Syria in Red Cross row-Gulf Daily News
Ex-Syrian Legislator Denied Jordan Entry-Houston Chronicle
Bashar Clamps Down-Council on Foreign Relations
Maronite Church leader will be guest of SLU-St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Below News From the Daily Star for 24/06/06
New magistrate in place to probe slaying of judges
Siniora insists Lebanon is ready for 'normal' relations with Syria
Hariri confident of diplomatic prospects with Damascus despite Syrian hesitation
Silence rules Sassine after youths brawl with ISF
Makkawi meets PLO, but no talk on weapons yet
Fatfat touts US pledges to aid security
Mouawad dismisses 'crisis' over Francophone Summit crisis 'imaginary'
Tensions escalate over Christian discord
Salloukh says Romanian snub against Lahoud is being handled 'delicately'
FPM to adopt direct voting system
Gunman kills Swedish TV cameraman covering Islamist rally in Mogadishu
Iranian official rules out end to enrichment - now or ever
Saudi police kill 6 Al-Qaeda members
Beirut avoids discord as Cabinet ignores Romanian snub to Lahoud
Lebanon takes wait-and-see approach to new 'mass grave'
New battle shapes up over ambassadorships
PM: Beirut has to reclaim its voice
Syria accuses 'unjust' Lebanese of preventing rapprochement

Aoun presses high court to scrap new law on itself
Former general accuses opponents of trying to hijack institutions
By Raed El Rafei -Daily Star staff
BEIRUT: Putting an end to a drawn-out freeze in their meetings, the Constitutional Council's judges will be carrying out "secret deliberations" to discuss a controversial law for the formation of a new council, MP Michel Aoun said Thursday.
Aoun made his comments following his talks with some of the council's members at their headquarters in Hadath. Aoun, along with MPs from his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc and Hizbullah, was protesting against the failure of the council to look into their challenge of a new law that stipulates the termination of the current Constitutional Council and the convening of a new one. "I will be waiting for the Constitutional Council's deliberations," Aoun said. He accused the parliamentary majority of hampering the council, which he said is "supposed to guarantee the continuous monitoring of the laws."
The new law was drafted by the majority to replace the council's old members with new ones, as they are believed to have been appointed under Syria's influence to implement its policy.
In August, five of the council's 10 members decided to suspend their membership in the panel following accusations by the March 14 Forces regarding their political loyalties. These members had remained on the council for almost two years beyond their mandates, which had expired in August 2003. For the March 14 Forces, this suspension was equivalent to a resignation and implied that the council was no longer entitled to convene.
But Aoun argues that the council's judges are required to stay in their posts until they are replaced by new members.
Aoun and his MPs have threatened to take escalatory measures, such as demonstrating and boycotting national dialogue sessions, if the issue remains unresolved. The Constitutional Council supervises the constitutionality of laws and arbitrates conflicts that arise from parliamentary and presidential elections.
"As long as the council does not study the challenge, the law is not effective," Aoun said. In addition to the challenge of the Constitutional Council law, Aoun's bloc has also challenged the legitimacy of 10 majority MPs before the council, following last year's parliamentary elections. None of these challenges has been debated by the council. Aoun accused the parliamentary majority of attempting to dominate not only the council but also "the whole structure of the state." "The issue is very serious ... The majority's actions will lead to the state's collapse," he said. Aoun refused to comment on the content of his meeting with the council, and did not give any timeline for the council's deliberations. Present at the protest, Hizbullah MP Ali Ammar said his party was supporting Aoun against the majority's policy of "hampering constitutional institutions."
According to the new law, the new council's members should be appointed within two months. Members are appointed for six years. Five are elected by Parliament, and five are selected by the Cabinet.

Maronite Church leader will be guest of SLU
06/23/2006
One of the most significant religious leaders to visit St. Louis since Pope John Paul II will arrive from Lebanon on Thursday.
The head of the Maronite Catholic Church, Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, leads the second largest Catholic group in the world and advises Western governments on promoting peace in the Middle East.
He will receive an honorary doctorate of law from St. Louis University and the university's highest honor - the Sword of Ignatius Loyola. The public is invited to an inter-religious gathering at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, and a 10 a.m. service on Sunday, July 2. Both events will be held at St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral, 931 Lebanon Drive in downtown St. Louis. The public also may attend a July 1 banquet ($50 per person) and a brunch ($15 per person) following the July 2 service. For information, contact the Rev. Andre Mhanna at 314-621-0056.

Beirut avoids discord as Cabinet ignores Romanian snub to Lahoud
By Nafez Qawas -Daily Star correspondent
Friday, June 23, 2006
BEIRUT: Those who were expecting a united stand in Cabinet during a discussion on Romania's recent snub to President Emile Lahoud were disappointed Thursday. Sources close to the government said an undeclared agreement had been reached between all parties that the issue would not be raised in the hopes of sparing the country another political crisis ahead of the all-important tourism season. Discussions on the issue will likely be postponed for three months, the sources added.
However, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi denied that any such agreement had been reached, saying that if Lahoud or Prime Minister Fouad Siniora wanted to raise the issue every member in Cabinet would express his opinion.
Beirut has been buzzing for a week after Bucharest issued an invitation to Premier Fouad Siniora to lead the Lebanese delegation to a Francophone Summit set for September instead of Lahoud after allegedly heeding French advice to do so.
Prior to Thursday's session, which was headed by Lahoud, Siniora urged the country "to calm down, calm down, calm down as tensions can only aggravate the situation."
Siniora said he "will manage"
during the remaining 18 months of Lahoud's term, adding that the Constitution lays out relations between the two officials.
Siniora later dined with several Shiite ministers. Sources did not disclose the content of the meeting.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said earlier in the day he had "never seen people so zealous about the presidency."
"The weakness does not lie in Romania's boycott of Lahoud, but with the president himself," he added.
Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade agreed, saying both France and Romania respected international resolutions concerning Lebanon. Hamade said despite a para-lysis of the country, Lebanon's interests lie in continuing to hold Cabinet sessions, "but this will not change our position on the illegal extension of [Lahoud's] mandate."
Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said Lahoud had brought such treatment on himself.
"Lahoud is not only acting against the March 14 Forces, but against the entire country," the MP told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation from Paris. "Lahoud is the one who put the country in this position."
"We are forced to recognize Lahoud's post only because of the Lebanese Constitution. However, other countries are not obliged to do so," he added.
Lahoud's office said Hariri's statements "do not deserve any response because they reflect his ignorance of the Constitution."
Hariri also slammed Lahoud for banning the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's speech during an Arab Summit held in Beirut in 2002, insinuating Syrian President Bashar Assad had given the order to do so.
In a statement, the president's office said Lahoud had blocked Arafat's speech to prevent Israeli intervention during the summit. "Lahoud asked the Palestinians to tape Arafat's statement so that it could be aired at the summit instead of broadcast live," it added. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the president's role was to represent Lebanon at international summits. Mikati's statements came after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.

Lebanon takes wait-and-see approach to new 'mass grave'
By Rym Ghazal -Daily Star staff-Friday, June 23, 2006
TRIPOLI: A well-kept secret is slowly emerging in Tripoli after the skeletal remains of six bodies were unearthed in the Northern port city three weeks ago. A pile of bones was found buried just 1.5 meters deep, less than 1 meter from a doorway, during excavation for a new building in the Mina neighborhood of Al-Zeraa.
Witnesses told The Daily Star that police officers and a forensic expert were quick to arrive on the scene. The authorities inspected the site "quietly and quickly," the sources added, collecting the bones and leaving the site within hours.
"We didn't see any media or anyone. It was done swiftly," said Abu Hashim, a local elder who watched the scene unfold from a nearby window.
"The expert told us not to panic, as the bones looked really old. We shouldn't jump to any political conclusions," he added. Each resident seemed to have their own theory about the bones' origin, with some believing they date back to the French Mandate, while others said the remains were of communists killed by local fundamentalist groups in the 1980s. Others suggested the bones were those of victims of the Sunni fundamentalist group Tawheed. "It is none of the above,"
said Abu Hashim. "People like to politicize everything nowadays. Mark my words, they are just ordinary graves."
Abu Hashim added that local farmers had, for generations, buried their relatives in their back yards.
Experts and officials contacted by The Daily Star said it was "too early" to comment on the discovery, adding that the remains were still being studied.
State Prosecutor Said Mirza told The Daily Star: "We are working on it and the results will come out very soon."
"People need to stop making speculations and accusations," he said, adding that he expected results in a matter of weeks.
A discovery of 44 bodies at Anjar in December caused a media and political uproar, with politicians accusing Syrian intelligence officers of having committed massacres against Lebanese during the latter's effective rule of its tiny neighbor.
The much-touted "mass grave" was later proven to be a local cemetery dating back to the 17th century.
While there is no legal definition of a mass grave, the United Nations has traditionally used the term to refer to locations where three or more victims "of extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions" are buried.
According to judicial sources, the judiciary has yet to assign a magistrate to the case due to the recent death of Tripoli's public prosecutor, Raymond Awadat. An appointment was expected to be made in a matter of days.
Meanwhile, The Daily Star spoke to several residents in Tripoli about decades-old rumors of other mass graves in the city, such as that near the Mar Maroun Church.
"They used to drag bodies in the middle of the night and bury them right behind the building where they resided," said Fadya, a resident living near the abandoned building, referring to Syrian intelligence officers formerly posted in the area.
However, the more residents were questioned about the location of the mass grave, the more contradictory their reports became, with some pointing out several potential sites.
Contradictory reports were also received in Abu Samra, where stories of another mass grave blamed on the Syrians are often told by residents. "When the Syrians were here, everyone heard something and thought they saw something," said the owner of a shop near a former Syrian post. "God only knows what the truth is."

New battle shapes up over ambassadorships
By Zeina Abu Rizk -Special to The Daily Star
Friday, June 23, 2006
The parliamentary majority's reported intention to decide diplomatic appointments in New York and Washington is likely to provoke a political storm. According to diplomatic sources, the March 14 Forces intend to name new ambassadors to the UN and the US. The UN post has been vacant since the death of Ambassador Sami Qronfol over a year ago. Butros Assaker, the political affairs director at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has occasionally assumed the role of ambassador during this time.
Nawaf Salam, known for his close ties to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, has been circulated as a likely candidate for the post. The appointment of ambassadors to such key posts has always been a contentious issue.
The naming of Farid Abboud as ambassador to the US in 2000 witnessed a political tug-of-war between President Emile Lahoud and then-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The issue ended in Lahoud's favor and Abboud was sent to Washington.
However, since the constitutional amendment that extended Lahoud's term in 2004, Abboud has been effectively ignored by the Bush administration.
Abboud's isolation was evident during Siniora's most recent visit to Washington, during which the ambassador was in Beirut.
Taking into account the history of Abboud's nomination, it is certainly no surprise that the majority - specifically the Future Movement - wants to fill the key post with one of their own. That said, replacing Abboud in the current political climate will not be an easy task.
One difficulty lies in the fact that undertaking restricted diplomatic appointments is not something on which the March 8 camp is likely to agree. Without an overall package deal, in which each political faction can receive a piece of the pie, a consensus over Abboud is unlikely. Another difficulty stems from constitutional considerations to which politicians opposed to any appointments would not hesitate to resort. Any decree for diplomatic appointments should be signed by the president and countersigned by both the premier and the relevant minister, in accordance with Article 54 of the Constitution.
Even should the parliamentary majority be able to secure a two-thirds vote to issue such a decree, neither the president nor the concerned pro-Hizbullah minister - Fawzi Salloukh -- are likely to ratify it.
Ironically, it is not Lahoud but Salloukh who has the power to freeze a decree passed against his will. According to Article 56, the president can request that the Cabinet reconsider a decree within 15 days of receiving it, "but if the Cabinet insists on it, the decree is considered automatically operative."
No such time limit is imposed on the minister, who can therefore abstain from signing a decree indefinitely.
In addition to increased political turmoil, any such appointments could also once again highlight the gap between the prerogatives of the president and the minister, a gap widely contested by former President Elias Hrawi, who during his term asked for a constitutional amendment to rectify what he considered a "constitutional deficiency."
Hrawi's demand was never met as any amendment might have opened the door for numerous similar requests. At the time the powers that be in Damascus were disinclined to travel down such a dangerous path. Whether or not

PM: Beirut has to reclaim its voice
'Time to re-establish lebanon's foreign policy'
By Therese Sfeir -Daily Star staff
Friday, June 23, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora said Wednesday the country could retain its "Arabism" while maintaining good relations with Western countries, and foreign policy should be restructured within a broader governmental reform plan.
"Lebanon is one of the founding countries of the Arab League and is keen on its Arabism," he said at the opening ceremony of the Lebanese Ambassadors' Forum held at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel in Beirut.
"The Lebanese Foreign Ministry should not be reliant on an Arab or non-Arab axes, but should always seek to win Arab unanimity," he said. "It is high time to re-establish Lebanon's foreign policy; there will be no return to the past practices that cost us a lot for decades."
Siniora also said that the international community supported Lebanon's independence and sovereignty against Israeli aggression. He emphasized, however, that Lebanese demonstrate their commitment to democracy by maintaining unity and solidarity. "A country's sovereignty and independence are reflected by its foreign policy, which guarantees the fulfilment of its national interests," Siniora said. "The Lebanese people have succeeded, through their resistance, steadfastness and sacrifices, in liberating their land from the Israeli occupation, but some of our territories are still under occupation, like the Shebaa Farms, and all the Lebanese should work to liberate them."
The ceremony was attended by prominent political and diplomatic figures, including Agriculture Minister Talal Sahili, Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Hogasapian, and Mervat Tallawi, the executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), as well as foreign ambassadors.
Siniora also said in an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram published on Thursday: "Lebanon is witnessing a new period of reforms, as the Lebanese are taking over the reigns of power."
"The Lebanese and Syrians should sit together and resolve their problems, with honesty and transparency," he added.

Syria accuses 'unjust' Lebanese of preventing rapprochement
Foreign minister says embassies require warmer 'atmosphere'
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Friday, June 23, 2006
BEIRUT: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Thursday that diplomatic relations could not be established with neighboring Lebanon because an "appropriate atmosphere" had yet to develop. Muallem's comments directly followed a meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, in Cairo.
Muallem blamed the "negative atmosphere on some Lebanese officials who are currently in the government," accusing them of defaming Syria and "continuously blaming it for the assassination of [former Premier] Rafik Hariri." These campaigns are "unjust," said Muallem. "The time is not right to open an embassy in Lebanon," he added, despite recent Lebanese and UN pleas that Syria establish formal diplomatic ties and mark out a common border
"Any plan of this kind needs an opportune atmosphere between the two nations," he said. "If there was an embassy in the shadow of a bad atmosphere, the ambassadors would be withdrawn or diplomatic relations would be ended."
Muallem's stand contradicts a recent UN Security Council resolution calling upon Damascus and Beirut to establish diplomatic ties and working on having better relations.
Resolution 1680 "strongly encourages Syria to respond positively to the request made by ... Lebanon ... to establish full diplomatic relations and representation; noting that such measures would constitute a significant step toward asserting Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence and improving the relations between the two countries."
A high-ranking UN official in New York told The Daily Star Thursday that the resolution "actually mentioned that the diplomatic relations are to be conducted between both countries. It encourages the establishing of these ties, but also acknowledges that there has to be mutual consensus between both countries on the matter."
According to the resolution, establishing diplomatic ties and good relations would contribute "positively to the stabil-
ity in the region ... bearing in mind that the establishment of diplomatic relations between states, and of permanent diplomatic missions, takes place by mutual consent."
The resolution further called upon Syria and Lebanon to "delineate their common border, especially in those areas where the border is uncertain or disputed."Muallem dodged a question on the delineation of borders, saying: "There are joint commissions working on the ground to delineate the borders."
Muallem had said last week that Premier Fouad Siniora had missed his chance to visit Damascus for high-level talks.
Siniora replied Thursday to Syria's refusal to host him, saying: "Well, [the Syrians] are free, aren't they? And we, in Lebanon, have a stand which we declared very clearly. We believe that our stand is correct and it expresses the opinion of all the Lebanese." According to MP Saad Hariri, son of the slain premier, "It is Syria's problem if it refuses to separate mutual respectful relations with Lebanon and ongoing international investigations into the assassination."
Hariri's media officer told The Daily Star Thursday that Hariri and his allies "have agreed, despite the fact that they are the victim and the family of the victim, to separate the relations with Syria from the ongoing investigations."
All parties in the national dialogue have agreed on this score. "It is clear from Syria's comments today," he added, "that Damascus wasn't successful in having such a separation. Consequently, it is Syria's problem."

Lebanese Hezbollah denies involvement in Iraqi insurgency
People's Daily Online: Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah on Thursday denied claims by a senior U.S. official that it is involved in insurgency in Iraq. "We are not responsible for crimes being committed in Iraq, and we do not operate in any country other than Lebanon," Hezbollah spokesman Husayn Nabulsi was quoted by local press as saying.
In an interview published by the Arabic-language daily al-Hayat, David Satterfield, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's senior adviser on Iraq, said that Hezbollah "takes active part in the violence in Iraq, causing the death of many Iraqis, Americans, Britons and other soldiers of the multinational coalition." "The American claims do not come as a surprise to us," said Nabulsi, adding that "the United States does not know how to deal with chaos in Iraq and is trying to blame us for crimes they themselves are committing." Nabulsi also said he believes that the United States has " fanned the flames of extremism in the region and aims to divide Iraq on the basis of ethnicity and religious faith, just like its ally Israel." In the interview, Satterfield also accused Iran -- which supports Hezbollah -- of being involved in violence in Iraq, especially in "supply of sophisticated explosive material." He said that Syria, also backer for Hezbollah, has provided the "main corridor through which suicide bombers enter into Iraq." Source: Xinhua

Jordanian PM to visit Syria next Wednesday
Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhet will kick off an official visit to Syria on June 28 at the invitation of his Syrian counterpart Mohammed Naji Otri, Syria's official SANA news agency reported on Thursday.
Bakhet is scheduled to co-chair a Syrian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee meeting due in Damascus on June 28-29, said SANA.  During the visit, Bakhet will discuss with senior Syrian officials ways to promote cooperation between the two countries in economic, cultural and developmental domains, it said. In April, the Jordanian government announced the arrest of a number of Hamas members charged with receiving orders from a leader based in Syria to carry out attacks against the kingdom. On Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called Jordanian King Abdullah II and the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and preparations for the meeting. Source: Xinhua

Press release dated: 21st June 2006
THE TIMES NEWSPAPER IN MEDIA CRUSADE AGAINST ISLAM & MUSLIMS
Following an article in today's Times, we find ourselves once again condemning the vilification and demonizing of Islam and Muslims by the Western media.
The article entitled "British suicide bomber in link to New York Mosque", insinuates that a number of British based Muslims have been hatching terrorist plots against America and Britain and has highlighted Al-Muhajiroun and Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad as key conspirators.
In an attempt to whip the masses in a further anti-Islam and anti-Muslim frenzy and after a failure to find those that orchestrated the operations on September 11th 2001 and the attacks on 7th July 2005, we find today that the oppressive Western regimes look at every Muslim as potential terrorists and innocent activities of Muslims today are interpreted as sinister.
David Mcgrory from the Times writes today that they are looking at British Muslims who may have made trips to USA before September 11th 2001; this is then linked to Masjid Fatimah in Queens, New York, in that if they happened to visit this Masjid then that must be evidence for a terrorist involvement due to others visiting the same Masjid, such as Muhammad Junaid Babar supposedly.
Every Muslim will know that Major Mosques, such as the Masjid Fatimah and Finsbury Park Mosque, will always be frequented by many Muslims and that Muslims are not affiliated to Mosques in the way the media hype would lead you to believe, rather they pray wherever they are and whenever the time for prayer enters.
Nevertheless in the current climate, where any flimsy similitude between a Muslim and another Muslim, who is under investigation, is sufficient for both to be arrested, detained, raided and even shot, Muslims must be increasingly vigilant and deflate any attempts to criminalize ordinary Muslims as attempted in the times article today.
It must be re-iterated that it is not permitted for Muslims living under a covenant of security in Britain, the USA or elsewhere to violate the life and wealth of any non-Muslims with whom they live, and that the media should take heed of these pronouncements rather than fabricating circumstantial evidence in an attempt to arrest innocent Muslims or to procure convictions against them.
Mr Anjem Choudary
Media spokesman for Al-Ghurabaa

Message from B’nai Brith
23/6/06: The op ed below by B’nai Brith Canada’s Senior Legal Counsel, David Matas, challenged the organizers of this weekend’s Muslim youth conference to take place at the University of Montreal, to withdraw their invitation to British cleric Sheikh Riyadh ul-Haq, who has a documented history of promoting hatred against Jews, Hindus, Christians, and other non-Muslim communities. Following the news late yesterday that the organizers had indeed rescinded their invitation to the Sheikh, B’nai Brith released a statement applauding the organizers for recognizing the inappropriateness of their invitation to the British Sheikh.
"This is an important step in what must be an ongoing process by all Canadians to stand up against hatred and extremism. We call on Muslim leaders scheduled to speak at this conference to use this as an opportunity to denounce inflammatory messaging for which the Sheik is well known, and to instead promote tolerance and respect for all ethnic communities, as is the Canadian way," said Frank Dimant, B'nai Brith Canada's Executive Vice President, in a statement released yesterday. "The onus remains now on the organizers of the upcoming Islamic conference in Toronto to follow the positive Montreal example, so crucial at this time of heightened tensions and concerns regarding indoctrination of youth to extremist causes. As we wrote to the Minister of Immigration…the presence on Canadian soil of such an individual…poses a clear danger to Canadian society."
CANADA SHOULD STOP ISLAMIC EXTREMIST FROM SPEAKING IN MONTREAL
Muslims should speak out against hatred at weekend conference
By David Matas
The Gazette, June 23, 2006
Islamic extremist and hate- promoter Riyadh ul-Haq is coming to Montreal to speak. We should learn the lessons of terrorism and not allow that to happen.
He is scheduled to address a Universite de Montreal conference that starts tomorrow organized by Muslim youth. The Canadian government should not let him into Canada. The conference organizers should withdraw their invitation to him to speak. Others invited to the conference should refuse to participate with him in the conference.
One of the other speakers at the conference is Salam Elmenyawi of the Montreal Council of Muslims who, in response to the attack against Montreal Imam Said Jaziri on June 9, called on everyone to speak out against hate crimes. Elmenyawi, if he is to be consistent with his own past positions, should be at the forefront of efforts to stop Riyadh ul Haq from spreading his incitement in Canada.
The threat to the Islamic community comes from two directions - from bigots who blame the whole Islamic community for the misbehaviour of a few, and from Islamic extremists who target the Islamic community to win converts to their cause. On the whole, Muslims are far better defended against the first threat than the second.
While prejudice against the Islamic community, blaming the many for the actions of a few based on stereotypes, is a risk and a reality, it is, at least, a risk the Islamic community recognizes and decries. Though the effort against prejudice can always be greater and better than it is, at least the effort is there.
Moreover, this is an enterprise with allies. Large swathes of the Canadian community stand against prejudice and community stereotyping.
In the struggle against religious prejudice, the Islamic community has friends. The struggle against religious prejudice does not belong to the Islamic community alone.
Combatting the targeting of Islamic adherents by Islamic extremists is different. Here, the gravity of the threat is far from appreciated.
The threat itself is only feebly confronted. There is not much that the non-Islamic community can do to prevent the corruption of Islam by hate inciters. The general community can enforce hate-promotion standards. But the ideological defence of Islam has to come from within the Islamic community.
According to Muslim scholar Shabir Ally, Riyadh ul Haq applies criticisms in the Quran of particular Jews for particular deeds in times past to all Jews living today. The rejection of Riyadh ul Haq for distorting and misrepresenting Islam in this way should, therefore, come from the organizers and speakers at the conference to which he is invited.
Christianity has had to purge itself of the theology that Jews living today are responsible for the death of Christ. Its efforts to defend itself from the preachers of hatred, who spread and institutionalized the corruption of anti-Semitism, continue to this day. Islam has to engage in a similar theological effort, also defending itself against the preachers of hatred, those who would corrupt a noble religion for their own vile ends.
The struggle against Islamic extremism must be the work of the many, not just the few. Muslims throughout Canada and, indeed, worldwide, need to confront the threat to their own that Al Qa'ida poses. That means denouncing not just Osama bin Laden, but the ideology he represents as well, the rabid hatred of Jews, Americans and Westerners in the name of Islam.
Extremism must not be confused with fundamentalism. Within any religion, there are the more or less orthodox, the more or less pious.
Opposing extremism does not mean standing against punctilious compliance with religious dictates. What it does mean is standing against religious distortion that exhorts followers to act out an agenda of hatred.
We all have to care about being blown up. But the Islamic community has to care, in particular, about their own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, blowing themselves up in the name of a distorted version of their religion. Muslims won over to the perverted Al- Qa'ida cause are also victims of Al-Qa'ida. The bombs that Al-Qa'ida adherents detonate undermine the Islamic faith as much as buildings, by suggesting, falsely, that this is where the Islamic religion leads.
For the Islamic community to defend itself against Al-Qa'ida, it is not enough to denounce terrorism, bombings and killings. Al- Qa'ida must be fought on its own terrain, the meaning of the Islamic faith. Al-Qa'ida ideology has to be suffocated by cutting off the hatred that is its oxygen. That means combatting as un-Islamic, within Islam, anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism and anti-Westernism. Those members of the Islamic community who mouth phony charges against Israel for every crime under the sun, who blame America for everything that goes wrong in this world, who libel Western values as corrupt and immoral, become complicit in the suicides of their own co-religionists who blow themselves up to kill others. Those who stand by silently, who say nothing, are letting disaster happen.
For members of the Islamic faith, the fight against terrorism begins at home. Indeed, for Canadian Muslims, it begins this weekend in Montreal.
**David Matas is a Winnipeg lawyer. He is senior honorary counsel to B'nai Brith Canada and the author of Aftershock: Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism.

Official: 7 Arrested in Sears Tower Plot
Jun 23, 1:51 AM (ET)
By KELLI KENNEDY
MIAMI (AP) - Seven people were arrested Thursday in connection with the early stages of a plot to attack Chicago's Sears Tower and other buildings in the U.S., including the FBI office here, a federal law enforcement official said.
As part of the raids tied to the arrests, FBI agents swarmed a warehouse in Miami's Liberty City area, using a blowtorch to take off a metal door. One neighbor said the suspects had been sleeping in the warehouse while running what seemed to be a "military boot camp."The official told The Associated Press the alleged plotters were mainly Americans with no apparent ties to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorist organizations. He spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt news conferences planned for Friday in Washington and Miami.
Miami U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said in a statement that more details about the probe would be released Friday.
"There is no imminent threat to Miami or any other area because of these operations," said Richard Kolko, spokesman for FBI headquarters in Washington. He declined further comment.
FBI Director Robert Mueller, questioned about the case during an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," said he couldn't offer many details because "it's an ongoing operation."
"We are conducting a number of arrests and searches" in Miami, Mueller said, which were expected to be wrapped up Friday morning.
Managers of the Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building, said in a statement that they speak regularly with the FBI and local law enforcement about terror threats and that Thursday "was no exception."
"Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions," the statement said.
Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their apparently militaristic group.
A man calling himself Brother Corey and claiming to be a member of the group told CNN that the individuals who worship at the building call themselves the "Seas of David."
He dismissed any suggestion that the men were contemplating violence. "We are peaceful," he said. He added that the group studies the Bible and has "soldiers" in Chicago, but is not a terrorist organization.
Residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men, who appeared to be in their teens or 20s, had lived in the area about a year.
The men slept in the warehouse, said Tashawn Rose, 29. "They would come out late at night and exercise. It seemed like a military boot camp that they were working on there. They would come out and stand guard."
She talked to one of the men about a month ago: "They seemed brainwashed. They said they had given their lives to Allah."
Rose said the men tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class. "It was weird," she said.
Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group sometimes had young children with them. At times, he added, the men "would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbans."
Xavier Smith, who attends the nearby United Christian Outreach, said the men would often come by the church and ask for water."They were very private," said Smith, 33. "The spoke with like an accent, sort of a Jamaican accent."
The warehouse owner declined comment. "I heard the news just like you guys," George F. Mobassaleh told the AP. "I can't talk to you."Gov. Jeb Bush was briefed on the situation Thursday, according to his spokeswoman, Alia Faraj.
"We have great confidence in the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who are committed to keeping our country safe," Faraj said.She added that there has been greater communication between state and federal agencies since the 2001 terror attacks.
Security at the 110-floor Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark, was ramped up after the Sept. 11 attacks, and the 103rd-floor skydeck was closed for about a month and a half.
A spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Illinois officials had been in contact with the FBI about the arrests. He would not comment further, referring additional questions to the FBI. The FBI's headquarters in Miami sits near a residential neighborhood just east of Interstate 95. A huge crowd - up to 250,000 people - was expected downtown Friday for a parade to honor the NBA champion Miami Heat. Security measures consistent with such an event were in place, city officials said, and the raids were not expected to affect it.
Several terrorism investigations have had south Florida links. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers lived and trained in the area, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, and several plots by Cuban-Americans against Fidel Castro's government have been based in Miami.ioactive bomb in the U.S., is charged in Miami with being part of a support cell for Islamic extremists. Padilla's trial is set for this fall.
Associated Press Writer Mark Sherman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report

Israeli, Palestinian Leaders Hold Meeting
Jun 22, 4:52 PM (ET)-By JAMAL HALABY
PETRA, Jordan (AP) - Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas kissed and embraced Thursday in the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in more than a year, and Olmert made a rare apology for Palestinian civilian deaths in recent Israeli airstrikes. Despite the icebreaker, the Israeli prime minister said peace talks are unlikely unless the Palestinians' Hamas-led government changes its stripes, and he pledged to keep up attacks against militants.
Thirteen Palestinian civilians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the past week, including two slain by an errant missile Wednesday at a house in Gaza. "It is against our policy and I am very, very sorry," Olmert said after a breakfast meeting with the Palestinian president in the ancient town of Petra hosted by Jordan's King Abdullah II. He reiterated the apology "from the depths of my being" when he spoke Thursday evening in Jerusalem after returning from Jordan.
Olmert did not mention a June 9 beach explosion that killed eight Palestinian civilians. Palestinians blame Israel, but Israel has denied responsibility. The Israeli airstrikes came in response to rocket attacks by Palestininan militants in the Gaza Strip.
"Israel will continue to carry out targeted attacks against terrorists and those who try to harm Israeli citizens," Olmert said in Jerusalem. The Jordanians saw the Abbas-Olmert meeting as an effort to warm relations between Israel and the Palestinians, and the encounter seemed to produce the desired effect: The two men shook hands, embraced and kissed each other on the cheek and both sides promised a more substantive meeting in coming weeks.
Asked about his handshake with Olmert, Abbas said, "It was very warm, very warm." And Olmert had only warm words in return for Abbas.
"I think that Abu Mazen is a genuine person and he comes here with good intentions," Olmert said after the meeting, using the Palestinian president's nickname. "But to the best of my knowledge, he is not the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority."
The prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, belongs to militant Islamic Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist, has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel and refuses to renounce violence. In Jerusalem, Olmert ruled out negotiations with Hamas, which he said "leans on terror."Abbas, a moderate elected separately last year, is in an intense power struggle with Hamas, and is trying to persuade Israel to bypass the militant group and negotiate peace directly with him.
Though Israel doubts his ability to deliver a final peace deal, Olmert agreed under international pressure to meet with Abbas and try to get long-stalled peace talks back on track. Should that fail, he plans to unilaterally withdraw from large chunks of the West Bank, but not all of the territory, as the Palestinians want Israel to do.
Abbas has been seeking to persuade Hamas to accept a proposal for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Its acceptance would be an implicit recognition of Israel which could help restart peace talks and provide a way out of a crippling world aid boycott imposed since Hamas took over the Palestinian government. Abbas said he hoped his dialogue with Hamas would "reach a positive outcome ... so the world can interact with us and end its siege."
If Hamas continues to reject the proposal, Abbas plans to bring the plan to Palestinian voters in a July 26 referendum.
The Abbas-Olmert meeting took place on the sidelines of a two-day gathering of Nobel Prize winners in Jordan. Olmert, Abbas and Abdullah sat at a table with the Dalai Lama and Elie Weisel, a Holocaust survivor and author.
The last meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders was Feb. 8, 2005, when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met with Abbas in Egypt and announced a cease-fire. On Thursday, after returning to the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas said he and Olmert had discussed one point - how to prepare for a forthcoming meeting. Officials on both sides said that meeting would take place in several weeks. A Hamas lawmaker and spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said his group was not optimistic about future negotiations between Olmert and Abbas. "Experience has proven that such meetings can't bring anything to our people," he said. In violence late Thursday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian militant during a raid in Ramallah, security officials said. The military said soldiers returned Palestinian fire during the operation, hitting a militant.
Associated Press Writer Aron Heller contributed to this story from Petra, Jordan.

Annan Says Iran Response Won't Be Soon
Jun 22, 8:46 PM (ET)
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS
GENEVA (AP) - Iran will not respond to incentives to halt its nuclear program before mid-July, at least two weeks past the date sought by the U.S. and its partners, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday after meeting Iran's foreign minister."I don't think they will give an answer before the G-8 meeting in St. Petersburg," Annan told reporters after a meeting with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. The Russian meeting of the world's eight industrialized democracies is to run July 15-17."I expect their answer to come after that meeting, but I can't tell you specifically on what date," Annan said.
The U.S. has said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and diplomats from the other five nations offering Iran the incentives agreed by phone that they expect an answer around the time of a meeting of G-8 foreign ministers on June 29 in Moscow.
The United States reiterated that Iran should respond by next week.
The Bush administration is reluctant to set a specific deadline, but U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said that it would be "helpful and useful if we could get a response and know where the Iranians are" before the June 29 meeting.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said that June 29 would be "an ample period of time, very reasonable time in which Iran could respond."
"I think we've made it clear that if the Iranians don't choose the path that's been presented to them, the alternative path is one of increasing isolation - that we'd be prepared to move very quickly in the Security Council," Bolton said.
Annan said he believes Tehran is taking the incentive package "very seriously."
"I hope it will give its official answer before too long," Annan said.
Iran's president said Wednesday his country would take until mid-August to respond to the incentives, prompting President Bush to accuse Tehran of dragging its feet.
Annan said his talk with Mottaki was "very useful."
"Iran maintains that its interest in nuclear energy is purely for peaceful purposes, and I have stressed to Iranian leaders, including Mr. Mottaki, that it is very much in their interest to convince the world of that by cooperating fully with IAEA," Annan said, referring to the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog agency.
Iranian officials say "everything can be discussed at the table, and that I presume includes the question of enrichment," he said.
The international offer seeks to persuade Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment in return for incentives including an offer by the United States to provide Iran with peaceful nuclear technology, lift some sanctions and join direct negotiations with Tehran.
Iran insists that its intentions are purely peaceful. The U.S. and its allies suspect its enrichment activities, which can produce fissile material for a warhead or fuel for a nuclear reactor, are cover for a weapons program.
Iranian officials have made tough vows never to surrender their "right" to enrich uranium. But they have not directly rejected a suspension and have said they see some good and some bad in the package.
A delay in Tehran's response may stem from internal divisions; hard-line clerics are pressing the Iranian government to reject the deal outright.
Mottaki is headed to Berlin for talks Saturday with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said he does not think Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons.
An Iranian nuclear negotiator on Thursday again rejected freezing uranium enrichment as a precondition for talks but held out the possibility negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program could result in such a moratorium.
"Negotiation without preconditions is the only way to a peaceful settlement of the crisis," Javad Vaeidi, the deputy negotiator, said in a speech in Vienna, Austria.