Muslim men 'set up stall on Oxford Street and handed out ISIS propaganda leaflets to shoppers'
- Shah Jahah Khan and Ibrahim Anderson are accused of terror offences
- The pair appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in Islamic dress
- Accused of handing out ISIS propaganda leaflets on Oxford Street
Published:
15:08, 21 April 2015
|
Updated:
17:38, 21 April 2015
Two
men accused of setting up a stall on London's Oxford Street and handing
out ISIS propaganda leaflets to shoppers have pleaded not guilty to
terror offences.
Shah
Jahah Khan, 62, and Muslim convert Ibrahim Anderson, 38, both from
Luton, each deny one charge of inviting support for a banned
organisation.
Anderson
appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court wearing dark grey Islamic
dress with a grey cardigan, while elderly-looking Khan appeared with a
long white beard and light blue Islamic dress.
+5
Ibrahim Anderson,
left, and Shah Jahah Khan, who have both pleaded guilty to terror
offences today at Westminister Magistrates Court
The
court heard that the charge relates to an offence on August 9 last
year, when the pair are alleged to have handed out leaflets about ISIS
on the busy shopping street.
Anderson
also denied one charge of possessing information likely to be useful
for the preparation of or carrying out an act of terrorism, when police
searched his property in December last year.
Prosecutor
Adam Harbinson told the court: 'On the August 9 last year a group of
around six men erected a stall near Oxford Street.
'There
were leaflets being handed out by the people running that stall. It is
alleged that Anderson and Khan were two people assisting in the running
of that stall and they were both taking part in handing out the
leaflets.
+5
The court heard that the charge
relates to an offence on August 9 last year, when the pair are alleged
to have handed out leaflets about ISIS on the busy shopping street,
pictured
+5
+5
Khan, left,
and Anderson are accused of setting up a stall on London's Oxford
Street and handing out leaflets inviting shoppers to join ISIS
'Although
the leaflet doesn't mention ISIS in Iraq or Syria, an expert in Islamic
studies has concluded the only circumstances the leaflets could
possibly be making reference to are the declaration by ISIS and its
leader of the establishment of an Islamic State last summer.
'The leaflet sets out that Muslims have a duty to further the causes of the caliphate.
'One
of the men was challenged by members of the public as to why he was
handing out leaflets calling for support of this organisation.
+5
The court heard
how the leaflets handed out related to ISIS. Pictured are members loyal
to ISIS waving the group's flag in Raqqa, Syria
'He responded by saying in general terms that non-believers, or Kafirs, should be killed.'
Anderson
and Khan remained standing throughout the hearing, 'in accordance with
their religious beliefs', defence counsel Tony Lodge said.
Senior district judge Howard Riddle granted the two men conditional bail and they will appear at the Old Bailey on May 15.
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Tunisia: British Death Toll Rises To 15
Sky News – 6 hours ago [Sunday 28 June 2015]
The
number of Britons killed in the Tunisia terror attack is at least 15,
the UK government has said, as the first victims were identified.
Foreign minister Tobias Ellwood said that the number was still expected to rise.
He called it the "most significant attack on the British people" since
the July 7 attacks in 2005, when 52 people were killed by four suicide
bombers.
According to Sky sources, one of those killed in Tunisia is
Carly Lovett. The 24-year-old recently became engaged, according to her
Facebook page, and worked as a beauty blogger.
Miss Lovett, was with her fiancee when she was killed, and they were due to return home today, it was reported.
Friends and fellow bloggers paid emotional tributes to the former University of Lincoln student on social media.
The university's School of Film and Media tweeted: "Saddened to hear
news reports of Carly Lovett in Tunisia - Graduate of our University
2013."
A second British victim has been named as Adrian Evans, who worked for
Sandwell Council in the West Midlands as a manager in the gas services
department.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said the British public needs to be prepared for the fact that "many of those killed" in the "savage" shooting were British.
An Irish woman, Lorna Carty, from Robinstown, Co Meath, as well as one
German and one Belgian have been confirmed among the 38 victims of
Friday's shooting.
Charles Flanagan Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, said
there were "grave concerns" for two other Irish citizens who were in
Tunisia.
Their details have not been released.
Scores of people were injured, including a staff member of Norfolk
police and his wife. The couple, on holiday at the resort, required
hospital treatment but did not suffer life-threatening injuries.
In a statement on social media, Islamic State claimed responsibility
for the attack and released photos they said showed the gunman.
"Our brother, the soldier of the Caliphate, Abu Yahya al Qayrawani,
reached his target the Imperial hotel despite the security measures,"
the statement said. It said he had attacked a "bordel" and killed 40
"infidels".
Rafik Chelli, a senior Interior Ministry official, said the gunman
killed was unknown to authorities and not on any watchlist of potential
jihadists.
He has been identified as Seifeddine Yacoubi - also named in some news
reports as Seifeddine Rezgui - an aviation student in his 20s.
New video captured the confusion in the aftermath of Friday's attack.
Terrified families ran for their lives as the
killer, wearing shorts and hiding a Kalashnikov inside an umbrella,
started shooting in Port el Kantaoui on the outskirts of Sousse.
Worried relatives took to social media to appeal for help tracing
family members who had been staying in the resort, while in Tunisia
thousands of scared holidaymakers fled beach resorts.
The shooting was the second big attack in Tunisia this year following
the Islamist militant assault on the Bardo Museum in the capital in
March, when gunmen killed 21 foreign visitors. It was certain to deal a
severe blow to the country's tourism industry.
The Imperial Marhaba Hotel where the attack took place was quickly
emptying out, though it did not shut down. Before the attack, the
370-room hotel had been 75% booked, the director said.
"We may have zero clients today but we will keep our staff," said Mohammed Becheur.
Tunisian Prime Minister Essid said that Tunisia planned within a week
to close down 80 mosques that remain outside state control for inciting
violence.
The attack took place during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, on a day
in which a decapitated body daubed with Arabic writing was found in
France, a suicide bomber killed two dozen people at a mosque in Kuwait
and at least 145 civilians were reported killed by Islamic State
militants in northern Syria.
:: The Foreign Office says that anyone concerned about friends
or relatives in Tunisia should call their switchboard on 020 7008 0000
More follows...
Traumatised British survivors tell of terror after being trapped in hotel corridor with ISIS maniac hurling home-made BOMBS
- The couple ran down a dead-end corridor where they confronted gunman
- Rebecca Smith, 22, told how she was 'peppered with shrapnel' in hallway
- 'We tried to escape but he caught us,' said her boyfriend Ross Thompson
- 15 Britons were among the 38 killed and 25 of the 40 injured were from UK
- Carly Lovett, 24, Adrian Evans from West Midlands and his nephew Joel Richards, 22, were the among the British people who died
- At least one gunman opened fire on innocent tourists in Sousse yesterday
- The gunman who was later shot dead was named as Seifeddine Rezgui, 23
Published:
15:37, 27 June 2015
|
Updated:
20:49, 27 June 2015
A
British couple have told of the terrifying moment they were trapped down
a dead-end hotel corridor and came face to face with the bloodthirsty
Tunisian terrorist, who began lobbing hand grenades at them
Rebecca Smith, 22, from Coventry, said: 'I was peppered with grenade shrapnel. With one hit, I thought my jaw had come off.'
The office administrator and her boyfriend Ross Thompson, 21, ran for their lives as the gunman hunted down his victims.
It
was the bungling staff at the Imperial Marhaba Hotel who sent them down
the hallway, as Seifeddine Rezgui was firing his Kalashnikov at
terrified holidaymakers.
15
Britons were among the 38 who were mercilessly killed in the massacre
yesterday and that number 'may well rise', Tunisia's Foreign Minister
Tobias Ellwood has said.
Scroll down for videos
+27
Survivors: Rebecca Smith (top), 22,
and her boyfriend Ross Thompson (bottom) came face to face with a
Tunisian terrorist when bungling hotel staff sent them fleeing down a
dead-end corridor
+27
Massacre: Staff mop up the blood
outside the Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, where at least 38
people were gunned down at a nearby beach in a terrorist attack
yesterday
+27
Attack: Ms Smith (right) said she was
'peppered with shrapnel' which she thought had taken her jaw off while
Mr Thompson told of the moment they heard the killer coming up the
stairs
He
added it was 'the most significant terrorist attack on the British
people' since July 7 bombings in 2005, when 52 people were killed in
London. Another 40 were injured - 25 of whom were British.
The
first British victim was today named as Carly Lovett, 24, a fashion
blogger from Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. She was on holiday with her
fiancee Liam Moore who is known to have survived the attack.
Adrian
Evans, an employee of Sandwell Council in the West Midlands, and his
22-year-old nephew Joel Richards are also reported to have been killed.
Lorna
Carty, a nurse from Ireland, was confirmed as dead yesterday. She had
taken her husband on holiday to help him recover from heart surgery.
The news of their deaths comes as survivors begin to tell of their miraculous escapes.
Mr
Thompson, a fire safety officer, who lived through the onslaught said:
'We followed the majority of people to the second floor. Staff were
saying "Come this way". But when we got to the end of a corridor it was a
dead end. There was no way down but a 30ft drop.
+27
+27
Gone:
24-year-old Carly Lovett (left), who got engaged in December, is
reported to be among the dead - as is Lorna Carty (right) from Ireland
+27
Heartbroken: Flowers are placed at the
beach next to the Imperial Marhaba Hotel where 38 people were killed
yesterday in a terrorist attack
+27
Memorial: One of the heartbreaking notes left at the scene reads: 'Terrorism will not win'
+27
Distraught: Another emotional note left outside the Imperial Marhaba Hotel reads: 'In memory of those lives lost'
+27
Heartbreaking: People have laid flowers at the site of the massacre, and one accompanying note simply reads: 'Why?'
+27
Memorial: People react at the site of a
shooting attack on the beach in front of the Riu Imperial Marhaba
Hotel, where holidaymakers were gunned down yesterday
+27
Silent: The beach
would have been filled with tourists yesterday, but now it is taped off
- with thousands of tourists now waiting to board emergency flights
home after the horrendous attack
+27
Tears: A woman weeps as she lays flowers where fellow holidaymakers were murdered yesterday
'We
managed to get into a room and barricaded the door. It happened that
there were two British ex-military guys with us and they were telling us
what to do. It felt like we were in there 45 minutes.
'Then we could hear him coming up the stairs. He started firing down the corridor. We tried to escape but he caught us.
'There was no way out, we were trapped at the end of the corridor, and then he started lobbing these home-made bombs at us.
'He
was about 20 metres down the corridor, he had us trapped and he was
shooting at people too. People were running around like flies. There
were three people killed. I thought it was game over... I was shot in
the toe.'
Miss
Smith added: 'We got separated. The corridor just exploded and it was
chaos. I didn't know if Ross was dead or alive. I locked myself in a
staff toilet with a British woman and her 16-year-old son.
'She was terrified because her younger son was alone in their bedroom, and she was texting him to check he was all right.
+27
Massacre: At least 38 people died when gunmen opened fire on the beach in Sousse (pictured), Tunisia, yesterday
+27
Killed: A 16-year-old British boy saw his grandmother and parents gunned down by the men who killed 38 (one pictured)
+27
Shot: Emergency workers tend to one of the 36 people to be injured when a gunman who is believed to be called Seifeddine Rezgui
+27
It has been reported that the attack happened on the private beach of the Royal Kenz Hotel, which is situated 400 metres away
'We
stayed in there for nearly an hour, completely terrified of coming out
in case he got us... We heard gunshots but we didn't know if it was him,
or the police... We didn't know who to trust. We heard people outside
but didn't want to risk it.'
The couple, who were on the first day of their two-week Thompson holiday, are now recovering at the Sahloul Hospital in Sousse.
Miss
Smith said: 'The president of Tunisia came to the hospital and said
sorry... We've seen more of the Tunisian government than anyone from our
own. The Foreign Office are trying to help but they have so much to
do.'
Another
injured Briton, Matthew James, is fighting for his life after being
shot three times in the stomach. He heroically used his own body as a
human shield to protect his fiancee Sarah Wilson.
We
stayed in there for nearly an hour, completely terrified of coming out
in case he got us... We heard gunshots but we didn't know if it was him,
or the police... We didn't know who to trust
Tunisia's
Foreign Minister Tobias Ellwood described the attack on a beach packed
with innocent sunbathers as an act of 'evil and brutality'.
British
police have now flown to the resort to help identify victims and
consular teams are in hospitals and hotels looking after those affected,
he added.
ISIS
has claimed responsibility for the barbaric attack - and named the
gunman as Seifeddine Rezgui, a 23-year-old aviation student who has
never left the country.
His
rampage followed a chilling threat from ISIS that the holy month of
Ramadan - which ends on August 18 - 'will have lots of surprises'.
Eyewitnesses
claim the depraved shooter was laughing and joking among the midday
bathers and sun-seekers, looking like any other tourist.
'He
was laughing and joking around, like a normal guy,' said one. 'He was
choosing who to shoot. Some people, he was saying to them "you go away".
He was choosing tourists, British, French.'
Others
described how he also used grenades in the attack as he moved
methodically from the beach to the pool - and then into the hotel lobby.
'When
he came he tossed a grenade and we saw only black - it was smoky,' said
Imen Belfekih, who works for the Imperial Marhaba Hotel where the
attack took place.
More than three hours after the massacre, an apparent accomplice was arrested near the motorway.
+27
Hero: British man Matthew James
(right), who was shot three times on the beach during the onslaught,
used his body as a human shield to protect his fiancee Sarah Wilson
(left)
+27
The terrorist attack happened in the popular holiday destination of Sousse in the north of Tunisia
Pictures showed him being punched in the face by a furious woman as he was marched through the town by armed police.
The
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said today: 'We are at war against
terrorism which represents a serious danger to national unity during
this delicate period that the nation is going through.'
Today,
he announced a series of new security measures including closing
renegade mosques and calling up army reservists in the wake of his
country's worst ever terrorist attack.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that the UK faces a 'severe terrorist threat'.
We
are at war against terrorism which represents a serious danger to
national unity during this delicate period that the nation is going
through
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid
He
announced there would be 'heightened security' for the high-profile
events being held across the country such as the Armed Forces Day
parade.
He
also said the the country needs to prepare itself for the fact that
many of the 38 killed in the 'savage' shooting were British.
As
around 40 others recover in hospital - 25 of whom are British -
thousands of worried tourists have begun to board flights back home to
the UK.
The
Chief Executive of Tui Group, which owns Thomson and First Choice
travel agents, said 1,000 customers had already been repatriated and
5,400 are still in Tunisia.
Another
British woman who was shot in the leg in the terror attack yesterday
believes she would be dead if her glasses case had not diverted the
bullet.
Christine
Callaghan said the bullet would have hit her in the stomach but
'ricocheted' off the glasses case in her bag and struck her thigh
instead.
She declared: 'I'm just lucky to be alive. If it hadn't been for my glasses, I might not have survived.'
+27
Lucky: A tearful Christine Callaghan,
who is being treated in Sahloul University Hospital in Tunisia, believes
her glasses case saved her life
+27
Brave: As her brave husband Tony
(pictured) helped the elderly on the beach, she was shot - but the
bullet ricocheted off her glasses case (pictured)
+27
Relief: Criss Callaghan, 62, a British
tourist who was injured during an attack on a beachside hotel, is
hugged by her husband Tony as she lies in bed at a hospital in Sousse
Mrs
Callaghan, 61, was shot as she ran for her life while her courageous
husband, formerly in the RAF, stayed behind and braved the hail of
bullets to help elderly flee the killing zone.
Tony
Callaghan, 63, a property officer with North Walsham PEO in Norfolk,
ordered his wife to run while he escorted 'dazed' older people from the
hotel pool to safety.
The
couple, grandparents from North Walsham, were sunbathing by the pool
when the murderous spree began at the Imperial Marhaba hotel.
I
am so sorry for the 39 people who died. It was absolutely terrifying...
At the pool area, I stopped to help people. There were elderly people
walking round in a daze... I couldn't just leave them
Mr
Callaghan, who served as an RAF mechanic for 23 years, said: 'It was
absolutely terrifying. We were running for our lives, literally. It was
like the click of a finger whether you lived or died.
'I
am so sorry for the 39 people who died. It was absolutely
terrifying...At the pool area, I stopped to help people. There were
elderly people walking round in a daze.
'I couldn't just leave them. So I just did what I could. But I was frightened too.'
Mr Callaghan was treated for non life-threatening injuries along with his wife at Sahloul University Hospital.
His
wife, speaking from her hospital bed where she has a fractured femur,
said: 'We were around the pool area sunbathing when we heard gunfire and
everyone was just rushing by with flip-flops.
'My husband told me to run, but he stayed back to organise people, even though he had an injury to his leg.
'He was in the forces for 23 years and his instincts just kicked in... He was screaming at people to get off, to 'run! run!'.
+27
Killer? ISIS accounts have claimed Abu Yahya Qayrawani (pictured) was the man responsible for the attacks
+27
Stalking: Witnesses in Sousse said the
terrorists (pictured) used a jet ski and a boat to access the beach and
hid their machine guns in parasols before indiscriminately opening fire
on civilians
+27
Response: The corpse of the gunman,
who is believed to be a 23-year-old Seifeddine Rezi, was later pictured
on the side of the road
'People
thought it was a firework display or something... As I ran, I was shot,
although I didn't know I had been. I wasn't in pain, just total shock.
'I
had been clutching my beach bag in front of me, against my middle, and
inside were my glasses in a hard case. The bullet must have ricocheted
off the glasses case, otherwise it would have hit my stomach. My glasses
are all bent now.'
Mrs
Callaghan, an NHS health care assistant in a hospital in Norfolk,
said: 'We ran and we were separated for what seemed like hours.
'I
was in a corridor. A lady called Shirley and her husband Joe were
there. She was lying on her front. She had been shot four times.
'My right leg was stuck at an awkward angle across my middle, the flesh completely open. I thought I would lose my leg.
'Shirley
was lying there in a pool of blood... I kept talking to her and holding
her hand and praying, while her husband tied a tourniquet... We were
shouting for help for half an hour before anyone came.'
+27
Return: Today thousands of British people were repatriated, with airlines offering them free flights home
+27
Exodus: A policeman stands guard while tourists leave at the Enfidha international airport in Sousse
+27
Escape: Tourists arrive at the Nfidha
airport near Sousse, Tunisia - as thousands of British tourists prepare
to board flights back to the UK
Mrs
Callaghan, who has two grandchildren by her daughter Amanda, and also
has a son, Andrew, said she felt 'tired and rough' but was immensely
proud of her husband.
'He was brilliant, my husband,' she said. 'We married young and we're still together. We have been married 44 years.'
'This is our third holiday in Tunisia. I just can't believe what has happened... I just keep crying. I want to go home.
'I
am so sorry for the country of Tunisia. They are such lovely people. It
is so unfair for them. Ordinary people keep saying sorry to me.'
Tunisian
doctors at the Sahloul Hospital in Sousse said Mrs Callaghan would need
multiple operations to fix her leg but that she could make a full
recovery.
She
is in a general ward in the hospital two floors above the room where
her husband is recovering from his more minor leg injury.
First picture emerges of man beheaded in French terror attack as arrested suspect refuses to answer police questions
- Herve Cornara - boss of the ATC-colicom in Chassieu - has been identified as the man beheaded in France on Friday
- Shocking attack took place at the headquarters of American-owned Air Products close to Lyon in southern France
- Police seized woman at home of ‘ISIS fanatic’ who beheaded boss and scrawled on his severed head in Arabic
- Alleged killer has been named as father of three Yassine Salhi, 30, with the victim believed to be his employer
- The company both men worked for is understood to have regularly delivered to the Air Products factory
- Delivery driver's wife later claimed that Salhi was a 'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am today
Published:
10:18, 26 June 2015
|
Updated:
18:25, 27 June 2015
+26
Herve Cornara was the boss at ATC-colicom in Chassieu - near the scene of yesterday's horrific execution
The man who was beheaded by an ISIS fanatic at a factory in France has been named as Herve Cornara.
Pictured left, Cornara was the boss at ATC-colicom in Chassieu - near the scene of yesterday's horrific execution.
His
head was found pinned to the gates at the American-owned Air Products
factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier. It was surrounded by two Islamist
flags
Cornara ran his own business offering a delivery service.
Four
people were in custody in connection with his beheading, and for
setting off the explosion at the Air Products gas factory in
south-eastern France.
A
spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor's office today confirmed that one
of the four suspects detained has been released, while the suspected
assassin isn't speaking to investigators.
Heavily
armed police have removed a woman and child from the home of Yassine
Salhi - the suspected Islamist accused of carrying out the terror act.
He was known to factory personnel because he came in regularly for deliveries, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said.
Police
swooped on the apartment building in Saint-Priest, in the suburbs of
the city of Lyon, just hours after the 30-year-old delivery driver was
arrested on suspicion of writing Arabic slogans on his employer's
severed head and hanging it on a fence outside the nearby headquarters
of Air Products.
Salhi
is accused of going on to crash his Ford Fusion delivery van through
the factory's gates before ramming it into several large gas cannisters
left in the car park - apparently in the hope they would explode and
destroy the entire factory complex.
The explosions were relatively small, however, leaving just two factory workers with non life-threatening injuries.
The
murdered man - who French media say owned the delivery company Salhi
worked for - is believed to have been killed elsewhere before his corpse
was dumped at the Air Products factory site in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier
and his head impaled on a fence 30 feet away surrounded by homemade
Islamist flags.
Speaking
before the raid on her home, Salhi's wife described her husband as a
'normal Muslim' who left for work as usual at 7am this morning. 'My
heart stopped when I heard he was a suspect....I expected him this
afternoon,' the unnamed woman told French radio station Europe 1.
Salhi
- who is understood to have been known to security services since at
least 2006 - reportedly told arresting officers that he is a member of
the Islamic State terror group. He is believed not to have a criminal
record and an investigation into his 'possible radicalisation' was
dropped in 2008.
Scroll down for video
French
President Francois Hollande, speaking in Brussels, said the attack
began when a car crashed through the gate of the factory and ploughed
into gas canisters, setting off an explosion.
'No doubt about the intention - to cause an explosion,' Mr Hollande said, calling the attack 'of a terrorist nature'.
The
victims' head was found staked on a gate at the factory's entrance, in
what appeared to be an echo of the Islamic State group's practice of
beheading prisoners and displaying their heads for all to see.
+26
Sickening: The victim's head (which
MailOnline has chosen to disguise in this image) was found hanging on a
fence near the factory's entrance. Two homemade Islamist flags - one
white and one black, both with Arabic inscriptions - were found
alongside it
+26
Terror raid: French special forces escort an unidentified woman and child as they leave Yassine Salhi's apartment building today
+26
Special forces from France's Research and Intervention Brigades leave Yassine Salhi's home with an unidentified woman today
+26
A French special forces officer gestures as police escort a woman from a residential building during the raid in Saint-Priest
+26
+26
Special forces working for France's Research and Intervention Brigades enter Yassine Salhi's apartment building this afternoon
+26
Murder scene: The murdered man's head
is understood to have been found 30 feet away from his body, hanging on
the factory's fence. The dead man's head was covered in Arabic
'inscriptions' before being placed on the fence, according to local
journalists at the scene
+26
Under cover: French police cordon off the area where the decapitated body was found at the Air Products headquarters
+26
Location: The attack took place in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, close to the city of Lyon in the south east of France
An
official said two flags - one white and one black, both with Arabic
inscriptions - were found nearby. Images from the scene suggest the
banners may have been homemade and written using paint.
At a press conference this afternoon, Cazeneuve named the arrested man as Yassine Salhi.
'He
was investigated in 2006 for radicalisation, but [the probe] was not
renewed in 2008. He had no criminal record,' he added. 'This individual
has links with the Salafist movement, but had not been identified as
having participated in activities of a terrorist nature.'
A
local newspaper is reporting that the unnamed dead man was Salhi's boss
and that their company regularly delivered to Air Products.
Before
this afternoon's raids at her home, an unnamed woman claiming to be
Salhi wife has since spoke to the Europe1 radio station.
'I don't know what happened, he left to go to work as normal,' she said.
She
said he was a delivery driver who left, as normal at 7am. 'My heart
stopped when I heard he was a suspect,' she added. 'He went to work this
morning at 7am. He does deliveries. He did not return between noon and
two, I expected him this afternoon.
'My
sister said turn on the television. She was crying... I know my
husband. We have a normal family life. He goes to work, he comes
back...We are normal Muslims. We do Ramadan. We have three children and a
normal family life.'
Anti-terror
police subsequently took the woman and her three children out of the
apartment block in Saint Priest where she has been living with Salhi for
the past six months.
AT LEAST 28 TOURISTS DEAD IN TUNISIAN HOTEL ATTACKS AS 'ISIS GUNMEN SHOOT PEOPLE ON SUNBEDS' ALONG BEACH PACKED WITH WESTERNERS
Gunmen have killed at least 28 people in an attack on two hotels in the popular holiday destination of Sousse.
The
attack took place at the Al-Qantawi resort in the city of Sousse,
located 140 kilometres south of the capital Tunis on the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea.
Militants, feared to be from ISIS, exchanged gunfire with security services on a beach packed with British holidaymakers.
+26
Rebecca
Miles, a British tourist who was staying at the Royal Kenz hotel with
her boyfriend Dean Anderson, 24, having arrived on Monday spoke to
MailOnline about what she witnessed.
'We were told to go back to our rooms because there were reports of a bomb,' she said.
'It happened about half an hour ago – I heard a bang and I thought it was thunder but it was a clear sky so it obviously wasn't.
'I
heard sirens going off about 20 minutes ago and everyone came running
back from the private hotel beach which is about 400 metres from the
hotel. Everyone is a bit clueless about what is happening.
'People
are anxious because they don't really know what is happening and we are
now stuck in our rooms. There have been deaths apparently.'
Fellow
British tourist Gary Pine told Sky News said: 'We thought fire crackers
were going off but you could see quite quickly what was going on.
'There
was a mass exodus off the beach. My son was in the sea at the time and
myself and my wife were shouting at him to get out and as he ran up he
said I've just saw someone get shot.'
SUICIDE BOMB RIPS THROUGH KUWAITI MOSQUE AFTER FRIDAY PRAYERS KILLING AT LEAST 13 WORSHIPPERS AS ISIS CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
At
least 13 worshippers have been killed today after an Islamic State
suicide bomber struck at a packed Kuwaiti mosque after Friday prayers.
Shocking
photos show dozens of dead and wounded Muslims who were all observing
the holy month of Ramadan in the Al-Imam al-Sadeq Shiite mosque in
Kuwait City.
Witnesses said worshippers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in group prayer when the bomb ripped through the building.
+26
The
ISIS-affiliated group in Saudi Arabia, calling itself Najd Province,
said its militant Abu Suleiman al-Muwahhid carried out the suicide
bombing.
He was seen walking in to the back of the mosque during prayers, before walking among his victims and blowing himself up.
The group said the mosque was targeted because they believe it was spreading Shiite teachings among Sunni Muslims.
ISIS, a radical Sunni Muslim group, considers Shiites to be heretics.
Najd Province claimed similar bombings against Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
Last
month, the group claimed two deadly bombings against Shiite mosques in
Saudi Arabia, both of which took place during the weekly Friday prayers.
ISIS has also claimed several such attacks against Shiites in Yemen, the last of which was just a week ago.
On
June 17, it claimed five simultaneous bombings at Shiite mosques and
offices in Sanaa that killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens. But
Friday's attack is the first of its kind in oil-rich Kuwait.
+26
Press conference: French Interior
Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (pictured) named the arrested man as
father-of-three Yassine Salhi, who is understood to have been known to
security services since at least 2006
+26
The attack was accompanied by several explosions caused by 'gas bombs' being ignited at the site, causing many of the injuries
+26
Chaos: The attack
took place at the headquarters of Air Products, in
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon, in the south east of the country.
Local media reported that a 30-year-old man 'known to security
services' has already been arrested at the scene
+26
Lockdown: Local media reported that a
30-year-old man 'known to security services was arrested at the scene.
Salhi is understood to have told arresting officers that he is a member
of the Islamic State terror group
+26
A French Gendarme blocks the access road to the Saint-Quentin-Fallavier industrial area, near Lyon in southern France
+26
On alert: Heavily armed police officers were seen guarding the site of this morning's shocking terror attack
+26
Investigators:
Witnesses said that more than one man was involved in the attack and
that the perpetrators were carrying Islamist flags
France's
prime minister later branded the attack 'Islamist terrorism,'
announcing he was cutting short a visit to South America to deal with
the crisis.
'Islamist
terrorism has hit France again,' Manuel Valls told a press conference
in Colombia's capital Bogota, adding that he would take part by
telephone in an emergency meeting called by President Francois Hollande,
then rush back to France.
Within an hour of the attack, French President Francois Hollande was to return home early from an EU summit.
Speaking
at a press conference in Brussels shortly afterwards, Hollande said a
man who launched a 'terrorist' assault on a gas factory Friday has been
identified and that there may have been a second attacker. Local media
reported that a second terrorist has since been arrested.
'This
attack was in a vehicle driven by one person, perhaps accompanied by
another,' Hollande added. 'The individual suspected of committing this
attack has been arrested and identified.'
Local
newspaper Dauphine Libere is reporting that a second person has now
been arrested, believed to be the man who drove the Ford Fusion
'preview' car around the factory this morning before the attack.
Investigators are
working to establish the full details of the attack but is widely
thought that the explosions were intended to have a far bigger impact
than causing several dozen injuries, and may have been intended to blow
up the entire Air Products headquarters.
Salhi
had a 'link' to Salafist movement, Cazeneuve said but was not
implicated in any terrorist activities. The Salafi movement is a group
within Sunni Islam, which is often associated with literalist approaches
to Islam.
He
said a 'fiche S' was opened on the attacker in 2006 for radicalisation.
A 'fiche S' for which the S stands for 'Sûreté d'etat' basically means
he had been identified as a possible danger and should be watched.
The
file was not renewed in 2008, however, meaning authorities no longer
considered him a risk. Cazeneuve also said the man named as Yassine Sali
had no criminal record. He added that the suspect is believed to be
father of three children.
He was known for links to extremism but not identified as a high risk who would carry out an attack, says Cazeneuve.
ATTACK AT AIR PRODUCTS HEADQUARTERS COMES JUST FIVE MONTHS AFTER CHARLIE HEBDO MASSACRE
The attack comes five months after three Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in coordinated terror strikes across Paris.
The
victims, including journalists and police, were killed in three days of
violence, including a mass shooting at the weekly magazine Charlie
Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions.
The
attackers, two French-born brothers of Algerian origin, singled out the
magazine for its publication of cartoons depicting and ridiculing the
Prophet Mohammad.
The
bloodshed ended on January 9 with a hostage-taking at a Jewish
supermarket in which four hostages and the gunman were killed. The
terror chief behind the murders was killed in a drone attack in Yemen
earlier this month.
Nasser
al-Wuhayshi was once a loyal deputy to Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist
mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on the USA in 2001.
Last month, the senior AQAP commander who admitted responsibility for the Hebdo attacks was also blasted to death by a drone.
Nasr al-Ansi caused outage in January when he gloated over the murders by France-born Islamists.
Two of them – brothers Said and Cherif Koachi – both said they were working for AQAP.
The
Kouachi brothers and a third terrorist, Amedy Coulibaly, were
themselves killed by police following sieges which also saw four Jewish
people shot dead in a Kosher supermarket in eastern Paris.
Al-Ansi,
who was also close to the late terror chief Osama Bin Laden, had called
for more attacks in countries including Britain, America and France
saying 'lone-wolf' attacks were 'better and more harmful'.
+26
Emergency personnel work at the scene
of a suspected Islamist attack, outside a factory in
Saint-Quentin-Fallavier in southern France
+26
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls
ordered heightened security measures Friday at 'sensitive sites' near
the gas factory that was attacked in eastern France
+26
The president of Air Products - an
American owned company that is understood to have recently signed a
large contract with Saudi Arabia - is an Iranian Shia Muslim named Seifi
Ghasemi (pictured)
The
president of Air Products - an American owned company that is
understood to have recently signed a large contract with Saudi Arabia -
is an Iranian Shia Muslim named Seifi Ghasemi.
Iran is known to support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria - the sworn enemy of the Islamic State terror group.
There
remains a great deal of confusion over the exact sequence of events at
the factory., which belongs to Air Products - a US chemical company
based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
The company would not confirm whether any employees were injured or killed.
'Our
priority at this stage is to take care of our employees, who have been
evacuated from the site and all accounted for,' the company said in a
statement.
'The
site is secure. Our crisis and emergency response teams have been
activated and are working closely with all relevant authorities.'
The
company added that all its employees are accounted for after an attack
on a factory in southwestern France. It has not confirmed whether its
staff were among the two people reported injured and one dead.
It released a statement that all employees have been evacuated from the site, which is secure.
It says 'our crisis and emergency response teams have been activated and are working closely with all relevant authorities.'
French
Prime Minister Manuel Valls ordered heightened security measures Friday
at 'sensitive sites' near the gas factory that was attacked in eastern
France.
Valls,
who is on an official trip to South America, asked Cazeneuve to head to
Saint-Quentin Fallavier, the site of the attack, the premier's
entourage said.
Mr
Valls said 1,573 French nationals or people resident in France were
'listed as being implicated in terrorist networks.' Of these, 442 were
believed to be fighting in Syria, where 97 have died.
PROFILE: SEIFI GHASEMI - THE IRAN-BORN PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN-OWNED AIR PRODUCTS
Born
in Iran in 1944 and a US citizen since 1982, Ghasemi attended the
Abadan Institute of Technology where he obtained a Bachelor of Science
degree in General Engineering. He then moved to the United States where
he received his Masters degree from Stanford University in California.
After
conducting research in Fluidics at Stanford, he was employed by the
Lear Motor Company before a three year spell as assistant professor at
the University in Tehran. In 1974 Ghasemi joined the newly formed
National Iranian Steel Industries Company, and three years later became
executive director.
In
1979, he emigrated to the United States where he joined BOC's Carbon
Division. He moved to its US gases business in 1987, becoming its
president in 1993. In June of this year, Ghasemi added to this role
world-wide responsibility for the Group's Process Plants business.
Ghasemi
is Vice Chairman of the Compressed Gases Association and on the Board
of Directors of the National Petroleum Refiners Association. He has one
son, Robert, and lives in Gladstone, N.J., with his wife Ellen. His
outside interests include running, skiing and opera.
The
BOC Group, the parent company of BOC Gases, is a world leader in
industrial gases, health care, vacuum technologies and distribution
services. The BOC Group operates in more than 60 countries with sales
last year of $5.9 billion.
+26
Blocked: French police secure the entrance of the Air Products company in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon this morning
+26
Barrier: A French Gendarme blocks the access road to the Saint-Quentin-Fallavier industrial area following the terror attack
+26
Scene: France has
been on its highest security alert ever since the Paris attacks and
according an internal security services source 'all the signals in
recent weeks have been pointing to red for an attack of this nature
occurring in the national territory'
+26
The murdered man's head is understood to have been found 30 feet away from his body, hanging on a fence
The Mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé, took to Twitter to condemn the attacks.
'The terrorist threat is at a maximum', he wrote, adding that France 'must make every effort to protect its citizens'.
British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed his sympathies over the incident to French President Francois Hollande.
The two leaders spoke in Brussels, where they are attending a European Council summit.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'He expressed his sympathies for what looks like an appalling incident.
'Details
are still emerging, so we wait to see those. But it clearly looks an
extremely concerning situation and our thoughts are with all those
affected by it.'
The
Government's emergency Cobra committee will meet this afternoon
following terror attacks in France and Tunisia, David Cameron said as he
offered 'our solidarity in fighting this evil of terrorism'.
France
has been on its highest security alert ever since the Paris attacks and
according to the Dauphiné Libéré, an internal security services source
said that 'all the signals in recent weeks have been pointing to red for
an attack of this nature occurring in the national territory.'
Share or comment on this article
Revenge attacks and retaliation begin: Mosques come under fire with
guns and 'grenades' in France… and kebab shop near another Muslim temple
is blown up
- Three suspected revenge attacks took place across France in early hours following massacre yesterday
- Country on edge after yesterday's terrorist attack in which 12 people were murdered by suspected Islamist fanatics
- French Muslims fear attack will lead to surge in far right party membership
- National Front leader urges people to wake up to the threat of Islamic fundamentalism
- French imams denounce massacre, warning that world is a dangerous place without freedom of expression
- Dragnet closing on suspects as manhunt by terror police zeroes in on area of north France
- They are believed to have fled on foot, still armed, into 32,000-acre forest - bigger than Paris - 80km from the capital
- Another incident in city this morning saw a female police officer killed and a cleaner shot in the face
Published:
12:55, 8 January 2015
|
Updated:
22:28, 8 January 2015
Revenge
attacks on Muslim places of worship have begun in France following
yesterday's massacre at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
in Paris.
Mosques,
a prayer hall and a kebab shop near a Muslim temple were targeted in
the early hours of the morning following the terrorist attack - in which
12 people were murdered by suspected Islamist fanatics.
The
retaliation comes as French citizens, and the international community,
attempt to come to terms with yesterday's shocking and deadly assault on
free speech.
Scroll down for video.
+25
Blown up: Police investigators at the
scene after the attack at the shop near el Houda mosque in
Villefranche-sur-Saone, near Lyon
+25
Targeted: French police and
investigators inspect the scene near Lyon this morning where a kebab
shop next to a mosque was blown up
+25
No casualties:
No-one was hurt when a kebab shop, located near a mosque in the eastern
French town of Villefranche-sur-Saone, was also blown up
In
the city of Le Mans, west of Paris, three blank grenades were thrown at
a mosque shortly after midnight - and a bullet was also fired through
one of the windows.
In
the Port-la-Nouvelle district, near Narbonne in southern
France, several shots were fired in the direction of a Muslim prayer
hall shortly after evening prayers.
According to French prosecutors, the hall was empty and no-one was injured.
A
kebab shop, located near a mosque in the eastern French town of
Villefranche-sur-Saone, was also blown up. Again, there were no
casualties.
+25
Shop targeted: The incident at the
kebab shop was one of several suspected revenge attacks to have taken
place in France following the massacre in Paris
+25
Revenge attacks: Map shows three incidents that took place last night and in the early hours of the morning across France
+25
Retaliation: The kebab shop was targeted following yesterday's attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo
Eight
journalists - including the magazine's editor - died in yesterday's
attack, along with two policemen, a maintenance worker and another
visitor when the masked terrorists stormed the Charlie Hebdo offices in
the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
The magazine has become a byword for offensive statements in France after taking several highly provocative swipes at Islam.
The
newspaper once named Prophet Mohammed as its guest editor, published
cartoons of the holy figure in the nude, and once renamed itself Sharia
Hebdo with the cover slogan '100 lashes if you don't die of laughter'.
+25
Shots fired: A bullet hole in the window of a prayer room at a mosque in the Sablons neighbourhood of Le Mans, western France
+25
Country on edge: Specially trained
officers are working with French police after three blank grenades were
thrown at a mosque in Le Mans
+25
Bomb scare: A police officer directs a
man away from the mosque where blank grenades were discovered - no one
was injured in the incident
+25
On guard: Police in the city of Le
Mans, west of Paris, where three blank grenades were thrown at a mosque
shortly after midnight - and a bullet was also fired through one of the
windows
Today,
four leading French imams denounced the massacre, warning that the
world is a dangerous place without freedom of expression but urging the
media to be respectful of religion.
Djelloul
Seddiki, head of the great mosque of Paris; Tareq Oubrou, director of
the Bordeaux mosque; Azzedine Gaci of the Villeurbanne mosque; and
Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the Union of Mosques in France, joined
Pope Francis in condemning the cruelty of the attack.
Tonight,
two armed suspects wanted over the massacre - believed to be brothers
Cherif and Said Kouachi - were being pursued through woodland as a huge
manhunt closed in on a forest.
+25
In their sights: Swarms of anti-terror
police with automatic weapons, body armour and shields patrol the tiny
village of Longpont in northern France as they close in on two prime
suspects in the terror attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo
in Paris which left 12 people dead
+25
Terrified: Residents of the tiny
village of Longpont speak to riot officers as they comb the area for the
Charlie Hebdo massacre suspects
+25
Hunt: A member of the French National
Police Intervention Group is near Villers-Cotterêts where the suspects
are believed to have fled on foot
+25
+25
Suspects:
The three men were named as Cherif Kouachi (left), 32, his brother Said
Kouachi (right), 34, and Hamyd Mourad, 18, of Gennevilliers
Faces of the victims: Among the
journalists killed were (l to r) Charlie Hebdo's deputy chief editor
Bernard Maris and cartoonists Georges Wolinski, Jean Cabut, aka Cabu,
Stephane Charbonnier, who is also editor-in-chief, and Bernard Verlhac,
also known as Tignous
+25
Merciless: Two
masked men brandishing AK47s shot a French police officer in the head
yesterday after storming the offices of Charlie Hebdo
Police
believe they have tracked down the brothers to a remote area about 50
miles north-east of Paris after they reportedly robbed a nearby petrol
station.
Officers
are said to have found a Molotov cocktail bomb and jihadist flag in the
car of Cherif and Said Kouachi, which they abandoned before fleeing.
The
men, still armed, headed on foot into the vast Forêt de Retz (Retz
Forest) that measures 32,000 acres, an area roughly the size of Paris.
+25
Sickening: The masked murderers take aim at a police car on the scene after killing 11 other people
+25
Desperate: An injured man was pictured being removed from Charlie Hebdo's office yesterday
Their
alleged getaway driver Hamyd Mourad, 18, has already turned himself
into police in Charleville-Mezieres in northern France.
All three French-Algerian Muslims escaped yesterday following the bloodbath.
French Muslims have
expressed fears that the sickening attack will lead to a surge in
people joining the country's far-right movement Front National.
Politician
Marine LePen, leader of the surging far-right National Front, urged the
country's residents to wake up to the threat of Islamic fundamentalism.
But some of the most vocal rightist responses to the massacre came from Germany.
+25
Gathering: People
at the Place Royale in Nantes show their solidarity for the victims of
the attack on the offices of the satirical weekly
+25
Standing together: People hold
placards reading in French 'I am Charlie' during a gathering at the
Place de la Republique last night
+25
Silence: General Secretary of the
Elysee Palace Jean-Pierre Jouyet and the Elysee Palace staff observe a
minute of silence for victims of the shooting this morning
A
leader of the far-right National Democratic Party, or NPD, said the
party would mobilise followers to join anti-Islam street protests in the
eastern city of Dresden that have been growing in size over the past
three months.
Houria Bouteldja, spokeswoman for Parti des Indigènes de la République (PIR), told Al Jazeera:
'This is a veritable nightmare for the Muslim community, but a
veritable windfall for the extreme-right parties that will exploit this
appalling crime.'
The
PIR party represents the interests of people from many of France's
predominantly Muslim former colonies in Africa and elsewhere.
She
added: 'The people who committed this crime have committed a crime not
only against Charlie Hebdo, but also against the Muslim community.'
A
minute's silence was held across France in memory of the victims of
yesterday's atrocity as the newspaper defiantly vowed to publish next
week's edition.
+25
Police: Dozens of anti-terror officers
surround an apartment in Reims, where suspects have been arrested in
connection with the Charlie Hebdo attack
+25
Second incident : It is thought the
assailant in this morning's attack used an M5 assault rifle in the
attack, before fleeing the scene wearing a 'bullet-proof vest'
In
a separate disturbing development, a gunman was arrested in a Paris
suburb this morning after a female police officer was shot dead and a
colleague injured in a second attack.
Shots
rang out in Montrouge, in the south of city, at the start of the
morning rush hour, with an M5 assault rifle believed to have been used.
Witnesses saw what appeared to a collision between two cars, followed by two men appearing with the weapon.
The
gunman - who is understood to have been armed with an M5 assault rifle -
was described as appearing to be of North African descent.
The young policewoman has been named by French media as Clarissa Jean-Philippe, 27.
A
second victim - a street cleaner who was shot in the face after he
confronted the gunman - is said to be in a serious condition.
+25
Pictured: French media identified this
woman as Clarissa Jean-Philippe, the young policewoman who was gunned
down as she attended a routine traffic accident in Montrouge at 8am
today
+25
Disturbing: A bullet found at the scene in Montrouge after two people were shot in the street at about 8am
'100 LASHES IF YOU DON'T DIE OF LAUGHTER': HOW CHARLIE HEBDO HAS BECOME A BYWORD FOR ANTI-ISLAMISM
Charlie Hebdo has become a byword for offensive statements in France after taking several highly provocative swipes at Islam.
The
newspaper once named Prophet Mohammed as its guest editor, published
cartoons of the holy figure in the nude, and once renamed itself Sharia
Hebdo with the cover slogan '100 lashes if you don't die of laughter'.
The
controversy began in 2006 when the publication reprinted now-infamous
cartoons of Prophet Mohammed by Danish artist Kurt Westergaard.
When
the images originally appeared they lead to days of protests across the
Middle East and in Western cities. The decision to reprint the images
landed the then-editor in court under anti-terror laws, though he was
later acquitted.
The
Hebdo offices were burned to the ground in 2011 when attackers used
Molotov cocktails to start a blaze early in the morning of November 2.
There
was nobody in the building at the time, and the target was instead
thought to be the newspaper's computer system, which was completely
destroyed.
Riot
police were forced to stand guard outside the building for days
following the attack, as the editors took a defiant stance, choosing to
reprint the cartoon images multiple times.
In
2012 they again printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as a
deliberately provocative gesture while violent protests were taking
place across the Middle East.
The
following year the newspaper's office again had to be surrounded by
riot officers after they published a cartoon booklet depicting the
Prohpet naked as a baby and being pushed in a wheelchair.
On
the final page of the booklet there was a note from the editor,
Stephane Charbonnier, saying the images were 'halal' because Muslims had
worked on them, and that they were factually accurate as they had been
derived from descriptions in the Koran.
The
satirical publication, widely seen as France's answer to Private Eye,
prides itself on a mixture of tongue-in-cheek reporting and
investigative journalism.
Hebdo's current office building has no notices on the door to prevent a repeat of the attacks that have occurred in the past.
In
an interview with De Volkskrant in January 2013, Mr Charbonnier
revealed he had been placed under constant police protection for four
months after one of the cartoon issues was published.
He
shrugged off criticism that he was only publishing the images to gain
notoriety for Hebdo, and insisted that he was instead defending the
right to free speech.
Mr
Charbonnier pointed out that the newspaper had poked fun at feminism,
nuclear energy and homeland security, but the Islam issues always
attracted the most publicity.
Purim – Esther as Concubine and the Acolyte of Ishtar.
Posted by GPD on July 4, 2015
Art reveals so much more than nipples
The celebration of
Purim is a yearly ritual and is enacted and carried out in the Judaic tradition in the last days of winter before spring arrives.
A brief synopsis of the story behind Purim:
As
a young child Esther was orphaned and adopted by Mordecai. When she
came of age he sold her into the King’s Harem. Eventually the King
became so enamoured with Esther that he made her his Queen. Due to
Esther’s influence over the King, Mordecai was given permission to
slaughter his enemies, every man woman and child. Not only were the
people responsible for plotting to kill the Jews murdered, but also
whole families, the innocent, who had been caught up in this political
disaster.
We
see the same thing happening in the West Bank and on the Gaza Strip
today. The innocent are murdered, their homes are destroyed, their olive
trees are cut down and their land is taken from them in yet another
“holocaust,” reminiscent of Purim.
The
celebration of Purim is the celebration of the holocaust that took
place when the Jews in Persia, during the Babylonian exile, laid waste
to almost 100,000 people thanks to an edict granted to them by King
Ahasuerus and made possible due to Esther’s position in the King’s
palace.
The
Middle East for thousands of years, even in the 21st Century, regards
women as commodities. Young girls are sold into slavery, prostitution or
both. Many young girls who are exceptionally beautiful and “comely,” a
rather censored word used in Biblical passages for “sexy,”are often part
of trade and political agreements and are “sold off” in marriage.
Orphans
are particularly vulnerable and susceptible, often “adopted” by older
men, who nurture them and depending on how pretty, beautiful or “comely”
they are, sell them off, either as slaves or in marriage, as one would
sell off a prized piece of art in exchange for some other thing of
value.
In
this story we see Mordecai gaining power and influence through a young
girl who he has nurtured and adopted. These young women were also often
used as spies, the lure of their charms was encouraged from a young age
and adapted for the purposes of espionage and political influence. Their
beauty and their sexual prowess was imperative in order for them to
fulfil their obligations to their “adopted” father figure. Esther in all
cases fits the profile. She is the ultimate Jewish spy and concubine
of the Middle East in Judaic culture.
Not
only does Esther fit the spy/concubine role, she also fits the profile
of the sacred whore and the Goddess Ishtar. Most of the symbols
associated with her, including her name, have been plagiarised and
adapted from Sumerian belief into a Judaic myth of… “Biblical
proportions. ”
Esther
is called “Hadassah,” which means “Myrtle” in Hebrew. The myrtle
flower was sacred to Venus, Aphrodite and Ishtar. It was also considered
to be a powerful aphrodisiac. We are told that Esther was born
Hadassah, which could be read in the context that she was a born
aphrodisiac. Many things over time either get lost in translation or are
slightly altered from their original form. The word “hadassah” is
almost similar to the word “
kadeshah,” which was a sacred prostitute.
If
we look at the story of Esther, her upbringing, her eventual position
in the King’s harem and her later rise to power, she most definitely
fits the definition of “kadeshah.” She also fits the definition of the
Japanese concubine and the many women in European history known openly
as “The King’s Mistress.” Trained for service both physically and
intellectually in order to spy on and be of influence in the highest
escutcheons of power. As such she is given “Goddess” status.
Ishtar is
the Goddess of love, war , fertility and sexuality. The town of Uruk in
Babylonia was known as the “town of the sacred courtesans.” She is also
referred to as the “courtesan of the gods”.
The
monarchy at the time regarded themselves as “Gods,” King Ahasuerus
was seen as the son of the Gods, Esther as his courtesan and concubine,
is a courtesan of the “God.”
Ishtar
is often associated with Isis. But these two “Goddess” figures come
from two different nations and represent completely different aspects of
women.
ISHTAR
Ishtar is a concubine, courtesan and a second wife to the King/God. This is a polygamous relationship.
Ishtar in cosmology is the planet Venus.
Ishtar is the Goddess of war.
ISIS
Isis is a Goddess in her own right and the only wife of Osiris. This is a monogamous relationship.
Isis in cosmology is the star Sirius.
Isis is the Goddess of fertility, her star Sirius, rising at the
annual flooding of the Nile River which brought fertile silt giving
abundance to the whole of Egypt. Isis is the mother figure, of the God
King Horus.
SEKHMET
A comparative study of Egyptian Goddesses would rather place Ishtar and in turn Esther, on a similar level to Lioness Goddess,
Sekhmet, the “alter” of the Goddess
Hathor. Ishtar was also associated with Lions.
In
her negative aspect as Sekhmet, she is the Goddess of war and
destruction. Also known as the destructive “eye” of the sun. Or the “eye
of Ra.” In her positive aspect she turned into Hathor, the goddess of
love. Much in the same way Esther is the concubine and lover of the
God/King, but is also the engineer of the holocaust and the total
destruction of Mordecai’s enemies.
Hollywood
seems to have adopted this duality of Ishtar, through mind control and
creating “alters.” The “kitten” training, the violence and the blatant
promiscuity, coupled with duel personality types very often leading to
mental breakdown and often suicide. A full in depth study on this
subject can be found at:
Vigilante Citizen.
In
closing, the story of Esther is not part of the original Torah reading.
It is a story that has been adapted from Sumerian myths, the Babylonian
exile and the story of one tribe, being the Jews, descendants of Judah.
Whether there was an Esther or not, whether this holocaust actually
took place or not, is debatable. The whole rendering of the story of
Esther could be plagiarised from Babylonian history and religion.
The Samaritans,
the descendants of Joseph and his sons, Ephraim and Mannasheh, do not
celebrate Purim. They only mark the holidays set by the Pentateuch.
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The sex slaves of slaughter city: Girls as young as nine...
White supremacist who called Jihadi John an ‘inspiration’ is...
12 victims, 12 masked executioners: ISIS beheads a dozen men...
'The virgins were taken to a room with 40 men. They lined us...
First picture inside the blood-stained Charlie Hebdo...
Female police officer shot dead in Paris and male colleague...
Police 'locate two armed suspects' in hunt for Charlie Hebdo...
Hero police officer executed in the street was a married...
Dancer left 'unable to smile' after she was glassed by a stranger while sitting in her car after stopping in a traffic jam
Hunt for doctor who fled to Pakistan as he and colleague are
charged with manslaughter of new mum 'Mrs Coffee' who died after
emergency...
Male model 'spiked woman's drink with MDMA at Kensington Roof Gardens so he could have sex with her'
Have you had the ultimate perk at Pret? Staff at Pret A Manger can
hand out free coffees to customers they fancy, reveals the boss
Latest lover of 'feckless father of 40' claims pair 'can't keep
their hands off each other' and she's the only one he needs for sex
Prince William finishes his air ambulance training early... just in time for SIX WEEKS paternity leave
EXCLUSIVE - 'You could tell he was lying. He kept forgetting his
fake name': Rescuers describe moment they confronted migrant ship
captain...
Ukip candidate apologises over Twitter message calling victims of Mediterranean refugee crisis 'Labour's floating voters'
'If you want to stop migrants crossing the Mediterranean, don't
let asylum seekers set foot on land': Australian Prime Minister urges EU
to...
EXCLUSIVE: 'They cut off your head or shoot you': Christian
migrants reveal how they fled Libya and made perilous journey across Med
to...
'We can't leave people to drown': Miliband demands new rescue
missions to save fleeing migrants and calls on Britain to take more
refugees
Wearing bikinis, taking selfies and having sex: Teen battling
bowel disease blogs on living with an ostomy bag - and how it's made her
MORE...
Three London schoolgirls who fled to Syria 'have joined fearsome
all-female ISIS militia renowned for savage beatings and forcing
children...
Police arrest two 17-year-old boys on suspicion of preparing to
join terrorists in Syria and also seize 'terror fundraiser'
Two Birmingham teachers accused of beating 10-year-old boy for making mistakes as he recited Koran
Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'seriously wounded in Coalition air strike and no longer in control of the group'
Muslim men 'set up stall on Oxford Street and handed out ISIS propaganda leaflets to shoppers'
Meet the Peshmerga's International Brigade: From IT workers to
ex-soldiers, the men from the West teaming up with Kurdish forces to
fight...
Nun, 86, is gang-raped and murdered when robbers break in to steal from her missionary in South Africa
Glamorous former Romanian presidential candidate is charged with
accepting bribes and abuse of power by anti-corruption police
Commuter hit on the head by a Tube train as he bent down to pick up his bag dies in hospital
Councillor guilty of trying to stab his wife to death in jealous rage because she was having an affair with the postman
Madonna posts Instagram tribute to Margaret Thatcher - then
deletes it moments later after receiving barrage of abuse from her gay
fanbase
Sturgeon rounds on 'silly' John Major after he warned the SNP pose a 'real and present' danger to the United Kingdom
Tories cannot win with dry 'economic sloganising', says ex-PM John
Major as he urges party to focus on the people who dream of a home and
a...
Miliband WILL forge a 'common alliance' with the SNP admits Labour
MP: David Lammy in strongest signal yet that Labour will 'do
business'...
Miliband says NO to a second Scottish independence referendum as fears mount over the prospect of an SNP alliance
Farage denies all-white Ukip manifesto pamphlet is racist by
saying: 'There was one fully black person and another who is half black'
Miriam Clegg reveals secret life as a Nigella Lawson-style food blogger to teach her children how to cook
It was 'b*******' for the BBC to say hunting was my favourite sport, says Cameron as he dusts off his election soapbox