By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Alexandra Raisman (C) of the U.S. celebrates winning a gold medal during the women’s gymnastics floor exercise victory ceremony with silver medallist Romania’s Catalina Ponor (L) and bronze medallist Russia’s Aliya Mustafina in the North Greenwich Arena during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 7, 2012.    REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Tatar Russian Muslim gymnast Aliya Mustafina has now bagged four Olympic medals at the 2012 London Games including a gold. She started with a silver medal as part of the team all-around, with the Russian team finishing second to the American team. She subsequently took home a bronze in the individual all-around competition. Mustafina then topped things off with a sparkling gold medal in the uneven bars competition. Finally, for good measure, she put on a dazzling display in the floor exercises but finished third, gaining her the bronze medal.

Mustafina is now officially the most decorated Russian athlete at the 2012 London Games. “I must say it’s a great pleasure to win so many medals for my country,” she told the press, “All that hard work wasn’t for nothing. It’s a great feeling.”

It has been a trying couple of years for Mustafina, not only because the of the pressure of international competition, but also from having to recover from a serious knee injury. But it seems that she has the vigor to continue with high-level gymnastics. “I’m certainly not stopping now. I’m going to continue now. I’ll continue training. I’ll start training for the next Olympics right away,” said the seventeen-year-old. “You know, I’m not used to going to going to an event and winning just one medal. You get a taste for it, and you want to win more medals.”

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(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/5/12) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that American Muslims “stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters” following a deadly shooting attack targeting a house of worship of that faith this morning in Wisconsin.

In a statement, the Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization said:

“While details of the attack and the motivation of the attacker are still emerging, American Muslims stand with their Sikh brothers and sisters in this time of crisis and loss. We condemn this senseless act of violence, pray for those who were killed or injured and offer sincere condolences to their loved ones.”

CAIR officials are in contact with the Milwaukee Muslim community as it offers support to its Sikh neighbors.

Because of this and other violent incidents, CAIR is urging mosques and houses of worship of all faiths nationwide to review advice on security procedures contained in its “Muslim Community Safety Kit.”

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MMMC Press Release

(Royal Oak, MI, 8/6/12) –-MMCC joins national and Michigan’s Muslim community in condemnation of the killings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and expresses solidarity with the Sikh community at this trying time.

“Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the victims of this senseless tragedy. May God grant much patience to the families of the victims. To God we belong and to Him is our return. (Quran, 2:156)”, said Dr. Muzammil Ahmed, Chair, MMCC.

The fact that the attack took place when temple members were reading scriptures and cooking food in preparation for the main Sunday service and community meal reflects the deep inhumanity of the perpetrator. It is also an indication of the cost in human lives that we pay for the growing culture of intolerance in sections of our society. While such intolerance remains confined to a small minority, the suffering caused by their distorted worldview is shared by us all. This is the time for all Americans to stand together against hate, intolerance and violence.

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Interfaith Iftar held at Oklahoma Capitol Building

EDMOND, OK–An interfaith iftar dinner was organized at the Oklahoma state capitol building last week which was attended by members of all faiths, the Edmond Sun reported.

The keynote speaker for the dinner was Oklahoma City University President Robert Henry, who said he was proud to share a holy occasion with fellow Oklahomans of the Muslim faith. The university president also pointed out that the “right to worship as we please is the most basic American right.” Henry quoted from the Qur’an verses which command Muslims to be just in their dealings with others and to be compassionate to the less fortunate, and said that those requirements are also part of Christianity and Judaism.

Imam Imad Enchassi of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City also addressed the gathering, and said that the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) told his followers that if they look at those who have less than they do that they will be grateful to God for what he has given them.

The meeting was also addressed by  State Sen. Tom Ivestor,  Father Sami Chaaya of the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, and  Oklahoma City Rabbi Abby Jacobson.

Dupage County sued over mosque denial

NAPERVILLE,IL–A federal lawsuit has been filed by the Islamic Center for Western Suburbs against the Dupage County for alleged discrimination by not allowing the group to convert a house into a mosque.

The attorney for the plaintiffs says that the action was taken as a last resort after exhausting all other options. “We think the county violated federal law and the decision needs to be reversed in court,” said the lawyer of the group.

One of the lawsuit’s nine counts says the county violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by applying “different standards and procedures in considering ICWS’s application for conditional use as an Islamic religious institution than it applied in considering applications for similar non-Islamic uses.”

Muslims aid food drive in Memphis

MEMPHIS,TN–The Muslim communities in Memphis joined the Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations to raise $8,300 and more than 5,000 pounds of food for the Mid-South Food Bank. The items were dropped off at a special celebration at the city of Memphis Office of Community Affairs.

Some of the organizations that made contributions included the Pakistani Association of Memphis Raindrop Turkish House, Memphis Islamic Center, as well as the Bangladeshi community.

CAIR Offers $10K Reward After Mo. Mosque Destroyed by Fire

JOPLIN,MO–The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for stepped-up police protection at Muslim institutions and other houses of worship nationwide after a fire destroyed a Missouri mosque that had previously been targeted by an arsonist and after yesterday’s deadly shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.

CAIR is also offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever may have caused today’s fire. The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization is in touch with the FBI about the case.

Fire officials are investigating the second fire at the Islamic Society of Joplin this summer. The blaze, which engulfed the entire structure, was reported early Monday. Mosque officials tell CAIR the facility, valued at an estimated $600,000, had been targeted by bias-motivated incidents a number of times in the past.

A small fire at the same building in July was determined to be arson. At that time, CAIR called for state and federal hate crime investigations of the fire.

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Entries due midnight Friday: Winners to be announced during Patriot Week 2012

WHO:             Secretary of State Ruth Johnson

Michigan students in grades six through 12

WHAT:          As part of the September celebration of Patriot Week (www.patriotweek.org), Johnson is encouraging students across Michigan to participate in a statewide essay contest celebrating the right to vote.  The essay contest is open to Michigan students in grades six through 12. In 400 words or less, students are asked to answer this question: “How does a citizen’s right to vote help make America the greatest country in the world?” Essays must include a title, the student’s name, grade (as of September 2012), address and contact information, including phone number and email address.

WHEN:          The deadline for submission is midnight on Friday, August 10.

HOW:             Students can submit their essay on the Secretary of State website at www.michigan.gov/SOS or by mail at: Michigan Secretary of State Essay Contest; Office of Communications; Richard H. Austin Building, 4th Floor; 430 W. Allegan Street; Lansing, MI 48918.

WHY:             To encourage students across Michigan to learn about the importance of participating in elections and to promote awareness of Patriot Week 2012.

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By Fareed Zakaria

Mitt Romney has explained that his comments abroad were simply truth-telling. “I tend to tell people what I actually believe,” he said. With regard to one much-debated comment — on the cultural differences between Israelis and Palestinians — many agree with him. The Wall Street Journal editorial page and columnists including Marc A. Thiessen and John Podhoretz all applauded. Podhoretz wrote: “Anyone who publicizes his remark is helping Romney win the election.”

“Culture makes all the difference,” Romney said at a fundraiser in Israel, comparing the country’s economic vitality to Palestinian poverty. Certainly there is a pedigree for this idea. Romney cited David Landes, an economics historian. He could have cited Max Weber, the great German scholar who first made this claim 100 years ago in his book “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” which argued that Protestant values were the most important fuel for economic progress.

The problem is that Weber singled out two cultures as being particularly prone to poverty and stagnation, those of China and Japan. But these have been the world’s fastest-growing large economies over the past five decades. Over the past two decades, the other powerhouse has been India, which was also described for years as having a culture incompatible with economic success — hence the phrase “the Hindu rate of growth,” to describe the country’s once-moribund state.

China was stagnant for centuries and then suddenly and seemingly miraculously, in the 1980s, began to industrialize three times faster than the West. What changed was not China’s culture, which presumably was the same in the 1970s as it was in the 1980s. What changed, starting in 1979, were China’s economic policies.

The same is true for Japan and India. Had Romney spent more time reading Milton Friedman, he would have realized that historically the key driver for economic growth has been the adoption of capitalism and its related institutions and policies across diverse cultures.

The link between economic policies and performance can be seen even in the country on which Romney was lavishing praise. Israel had many admirable traits in its early decades, but no one would have called it an economic miracle. Its economy was highly statist. Things changed in the 1990s with market-oriented reforms — initiated by Benyamin Netanyahu — and sound monetary policies. As a result, Israel’s economy grew much faster than it had in the 1980s. The miracle Romney was praising had to do with new policies rather than deep culture.

Ironically, the argument that culture is central to a country’s success has been used most frequently by Asian strongmen to argue that their countries need not adopt Western-style democracy. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew has made this case passionately for decades. It is an odd claim, because Singapore’s own success would seem to contradict it. It is not so different from neighboring Malaysia. The crucial difference is that Singapore had extremely good leadership that pursued good economic policies with relentless discipline.

Despite all this evidence, most people still believe that two cultures in particular, African and Islamic, inhibit economic development. But the two countries that will next achieve a gross domestic product of $1 trillion are both Muslim democracies — Turkey and Indonesia. Of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world today, seven are African. The world is changing, and holding on to fixed views of culture means you will miss its changing dynamics.

When societies or people succeed, we search in their cultures for seeds of success. Culture being a large grab bag, you can usually find what you want. We observe the success of Jewish, Lebanese, Chinese and Indian people in various societies and attribute it to culture. But it may really stem from the traits of diaspora populations — small groups of entrepreneurial immigrants forced to live by their wits in alien cultures. Interestingly, Palestinians have a reputation around the Middle East for being savvy merchants and traders and have been successful in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Culture is important. It is the shared historical experience of people that is reflected in institutions and practices. But culture changes. German culture in 1935 was different from 1955. Europe was once a hotbed of violent nationalism; today it is postmodern and almost pacifist. The United States was once an isolationist, agrarian republic with a deep suspicion of a standing army. Today it has half of the world’s military power.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed: “The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society. The central liberal truth is that politics can change culture and save it from itself.” That remains the wisest statement made about this complicated problem, probably too wise to ever be uttered in an American political campaign.

comments@fareedzakaria.com

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By Robert Fisk

Syrian refugees look out from their tent at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria August 8, 2012. The Al Zaatri camp is one of many set up along the 86 km (53 mile) border between Jordan and Syria under the management of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and with the help of local charity groups.   REUTERS/Ali Jarekji

So today, amid Aleppo’s torment, let us remember minorities. The Palestinians of Syria, more than half a million of them, and the 1.5 million Christians – the largest number of whom live in Aleppo – who are Syrian citizens and who now sit on the edge of the volcano.

Neither wish to “collaborate” with Bashar al-Assad’s regime. But remaining neutral, you end up with no friends at all. You didn’t have to sell a loaf of bread to a Nazi in occupied France to be a collaborator. But you were, to use an old German expression, “helping to give the wheel a shove”. No, Bashar al-Assad is not Hitler, but God spare the Palestinians and the Christians of Syria during these terrible times.

Lessons to be learned. The half million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon fought on the Muslim-leftist side in the 1975-90 civil war. They were rewarded with hatred, mass murder and final imprisonment in their own camp hovels. Palestinian refugees in Kuwait supported Saddam’s invasion in 1990; hundreds of thousands were evicted to Jordan in 1991. Palestinians housed in Iraq since 1948 were slaughtered or driven from the country by the Iraqi “resistance” after America’s 2003 invasion.

So neutrality in Syria is the Palestinians’ only hope of salvation as another civil war engulfs them. Yet their camps are visited regularly by the Free Syrian Army. Fight for us, they are told. And their camps are infested with the Syrian government’s “muhabarrat”. Fight for us, they are told. Alas, two military Palestinian units, Saiqa – one of the most venal militias after Syria’s military intervention in Lebanon in 1976 – and the Palestine Liberation Army, are under the direct control of the regime. Two months ago, 17 of these Syrian-trained PLA soldiers were assassinated. Then last week, in Damascus, another 17 PLA were murdered.

“Some say the Free Syrian Army killed them to warn them away from the regime,” a middle-aged Palestinian cadre from the DFLP tells me. “Others claim the regime murdered them to warn them off the Free Syrian Army. All we can do is cling to our neutrality. And you have to remember that some Palestinians in the Syrian camps are themselves ‘muhabarrat’ intelligence men for the Syrian government. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command have themselves said they would fight for the regime.”

Most of the Palestinians in Syria are Sunni Muslims – like the majority of the Syrian population and most of the resistance.

The Christians are citizens of Syria whose religion certainly does not reflect a majority in any anti-Assad force. Bashar’s stability – somewhat at doubt just now, to be sure – is preferable to the ghastly unknowns of a post-Assad regime. There are 47 churches and cathedrals in the Aleppo region alone. The Christians believe that Salafists fight amid the rebels. They are right.

Lessons for them, too. When that famous born-again Christian George W. Bush sent his legions into Iraq in 2003, the savage aftermath smashed one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East – the Iraqi Christians – to pieces. The Christian Coptic Pope Shenouda of Egypt supported his protector Mubarak until just two days before the dictator’s downfall; Egypt’s Muslims remember this. So what can the Christians of Syria do?

When the Maronite patriarch of Lebanon, the uninspiring Bechara Rai, said after the start of the Syrian uprising that Bashar should be given “more time”, he enraged his country’s Sunni Muslims.

But watch Syrian television and it’s easy to cringe at the Christian performance.

Last week, it was the turn of the Maronite Bishop of Damascus to address Syrians. His first words? He wished to thank Syrian state television for allowing him to speak. He said how much Christians honoured Ramadan, how they learned to reinvigorate their own faith from that of Muslims in their holy month – a perfectly reasonable statement, though one clearly made when most of the good bishop’s flock stand in fear of those very same Muslims.

And then came the killer line. At the end of his sermon, the bishop gave his blessing to all Syria’s “civilians, officials and soldiers”. The “officials”, of course, were Bashar’s officials. And the soldiers were the regime’s soldiers. I suppose we might turn to the old Christian advice of rendering unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s. Another reminder: Bashar al-Assad is not Caesar.

But a Lebanese Christian writer got it right when he suggested that Syria’s Christians were probably following the advice of Saint Paul (1 Timothy 2:1): “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made to all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life…” And who but Bashar, for now, is the “authority” in Syria?

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By Susan Schwartz, TMO

An empty street is pictured in Salah al-Din neighborhood following clashes between the Free Syrian Army fighters and Syrian Army soldiers in central Aleppo, August 8, 2012.  REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

As the fighting in Syria escalates with the regime’s callous disregard for the lives of civilians and as Bashir Assad pulls out all stops to preserve his power,  a hero emerges from the deluge.

Father Paolo Dall’Oglio is a Jesuit priest, an Italian by ethnicity, and a hero to those within and without Syria who are familiar with his work. Herewith his story.

Father Dall’Oglio went to Syria 30 years ago and visited the Mar Musa monastery located not far from Damascus. He found it abandoned and vowed to rebuild it as an interfaith center. Rebuild it he did, returning it to its original purpose. References to the Mar Musa monastery can be found as far back as sixth century Syriac texts. It was built by Jesuit missionaries then to serve as an interfaith venue for Muslims and Christians.

In Syria Father Dall’Oglio became a champion of the people fighting against the Assad dictatorship. The regime attempted on several occasions to expel him from the country. In late May of this year, following the murder of Christian Syrian filmmaker Bassel Shahade in Homs, the Assad government would not permit Syrians to mourn him in a Homs church. Father Dall’Oglio offered to hold the ceremony in the Mar Musa monastery.

In June the Assad regime succeeded in expelling Father Dall’Oglio. The Syrian American Counsel (SAC)in the Anaheim/Los Angeles area invited him to speak and sponsored his appearance in two venues last week as well as in other venues throughout the United States.

On the morning of August 1 Father Dall’Oglio addressed the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Senior Leadership.

He told a small group of activists that in Syria Muslims will lead. He opposes secularism and said it grew out of necessity for the Christian community to protect Christians – who would not tolerate pluralism – from each other.

“The Muslim ummah is humane beyond its borders.”

Father Dall’Oglio then asserted that a friendly and peaceful Middle East would be in Israel’s best interests. Jews and Arabs, he reminded his audience, have lived together for centuries.

In fielding questions from the audience which consisted of youth as well as MPAC’s Senior membership, Father Dall’Oglio spoke of the necessity of combating  Islamophobia and referenced a book he has written, soon to be available in English. The work “Loving Islam – Believing in Jesus” will be a powerful weapon in fighting Islamophobia.

In the early afternoon of the same day Father Dall’Oglio joined a panel of Middle East experts at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). Joining him were Professor James Galvin whose expertise is on Syria and anthropologist Lindsay Gilford. The latter has spent time in Syria and is familiar with the land and its people. She attested to the esteem in which Father Dall’Oglio is held.

Professor Galvin spoke of the arrest and torture in two small Syrian cities of young children by one of Assad’s intelligence agencies. This resulted in massive demonstrations, and the forces opposing Assad  escalated their activism.

He referred to Father Dall’Oglio as the “Mandela of Syria”.

Ms Gilford said, referring to Father Dall’Oglio, “He is a household word”. She said that in Syria there is no true civil society as every organization must be licensed by the state.

Father Dall’Oglio said that we cannot practice negationism. We must assume our crimes of history and the blood of our ancestors. There is no present justification for the continuation in power of Bashir Al Assad. He must go.

He said that he believes in the democratic evolution of Muslim society.He does not believe in the classical secular state but in the help of religion to protect society.

Father Dall’Oglio said that if the war continues he will return to Syria and work as a nurse in a revolutionary hospital.

“What a truly inspiring man” said one student after Father Dall’Oglio had finished his presentation.

The web site of SAC is www.sacouncil.com and the e-mail is m.ghanem@sacouncil.com

The Syrian American Council is a grassroots organization devoted to promoting educational, civic,economic and human development as well as advancing civil liberties and human dignity in Syria. It also aspires to build bridges of understanding and cooperation between American and Syrian people and institutions.

MPAC is a grass roots organization working for the civil rights of Muslim Americans and the integration of Islam into the American pluralistic system. To access MPAC please use the following web site: www.mpac.org.

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Author: Venetia Porter
Pages: 96
Publisher: Interlink Books
www.interlinkbooks.com

Reviewed by Mohammed Ayub Khan

To perform the Hajj is a dream of every Muslim man and woman. An obligatory act it symbolizes the submission of man to God. For many performing this pilgrimage is the goal of a lifetime. Throughout the ages Muslims have expressed their interest and devotion in Hajj through various artistic means. In The Art of Hajj Venetia Porter, curator of the Islamic and Modern Middle Eastern Art at the British Museum, has collected an array of visual representations related to Hajj from early to modern times.

An absolute visual delight the book contains fifty six images of various artistic items related to the hajj. They include images of medieval era Arabic maps, sundials, Qibla indicators, compasses, etc. which indicate an early scientific sophistication. The book also contains rich reproductions from classical texts like the Kulliyat of Saadi and the Maqamat of Hariri.
The chapter on textiles of Mecca and Medina is a virtual treat for the eyes as it documents the various forms of kiswa (covering of the Kaba) as they have evolved over the years. While all are aware of the outer black covering cloth the book also presents pictures of the internal kiswa  which at one point was red in color.

The book sheds abundant light on the now abandoned custom of mahmal, a ceremonial palanquin  carried on a camel, as the centerpiece of the pilgrim caravan. It symbolized the authority of the sultan and was first sent by Baybar, the mamluk sultan of Egypt. The custom continued well into the early part of the  twentieth century.

The book also documents modern forms of hajj including wall art in Egypt, post cards, and photography. One of the most evocative contemporary work is that of the Saudi artist Ahmed Mater called “Magnetism.” It shows an image of Kaba with installation of magnets and iron fillings. It symbolizes how a powerful center attracts while also maintaining a distance due to the natural laws of attraction. Overall this little book is a delight to look at and propels the reader to make the journey even if he/she had done so many times  before.

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By Kaveh L. Afrasiabi

Israeli Nurit Harush, wounded during an attack in Bulgaria, is pushed in a stretcher by medics after her arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv July 19. A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the country’s interior minister said Thursday. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

The attack on a bus outside the airport at Burgas Bulgaria on Wednesday, July 18th is still under investigation and so far there are few clues regarding the perpetrator(s).  The Bulgarian government has published the photo of the bomber’s blown-up face, describing him as “blue-eyed Caucasian.”  While we await the final result of the on-going investigation, the sum of the available information raises several troubling questions that cast doubt on the official story – that a “bus load of Israeli passengers” was exploded by a bomb.  Rather, the information suggests that the targeted bus was empty and only the passengers in the bus next to it were injured.  These questions raise the distinct possibility of an Israeli “false-flag” operation aimed at smearing Iran and Lebanese group, Hizbollah.  The purpose of raising these questions is less to prove a theory, and more to disprove the official story that has settled on the notion of a full bus as a self-evident fact, in light of the images of fire and smoke engulfing the said bus, reports of multiple fatalities as well as more than three dozen injured.  As a result, any suggestion that the bus in question was empty may seem far-fetched and highly questionable, until one begins to address the following ten questions:

1.       Why the amateur video of the bus taken within seconds of the explosion  doesn’t show anyone jumping down the bus?

2.      Why so many passengers survived with only light hand and foot injuries in an explosion involving (according to the Bulgarian officials) three kilograms of TNT in front of the bus?

3.      Why did the Israeli group known as Zakar appear immediately on the site and collected the bodies of the dead, per several images, when this should have been done by Bulgarians? Why was this group at the airport at that time?

4.      Why did the bomb kill the Israelis sitting in the back of the bus (per reports in the Israeli media) while simultaneously killing the bus driver in the front and leaving the vast majority of bus passengers only lightly harmed?

5.      Why have some bus witnesses told the media that they tried to get out through the front door but found it locked and managed to get out through a “hole on the side” when both the videos and reports indicate an instant fire following the explosion engulfing the bus?

6.      Why is there no report of any injuries to the bus driver in the next bus, which sustained major damage especially on the driver’s side?  Could the bus driver killed be the one in the second bus?

7.      Why was there no extra security precaution even though according to the Israeli media prior to the landing of Israeli passengers the tour company had received a call that they would be “greeted with two bombs”?

8.      Why was the trunk of the targeted bus empty and no sign of any luggage (per numerous images that also show the inside of the bus and the absence of any section for luggage contrary to the claim of one of the Israeli passengers who is quoted widely)?

9.       Why did the passport and license of purported terrorist remain intact despite the raging fire in the bus?

10.  Why did Israel rush all the passengers back to Israel early next morning instead of allowing the Bulgarian investigators to interview them?

It is noteworthy that the Israeli passengers who were evacuated back to Israel by the Israeli defense force did not have passports and identification and were able to leave Bulgaria simply based on the pledge by the Israeli ambassador that he “recognized every one.”  In other words, it is perfectly possible that several Israelis who arrived in Burgas on the same airplane and were subsequently announced dead as a result of the explosion may have slipped back to Israel without raising the slightest suspicion.  In that case, all Israel needed to do for the sake of a successful “false-flag” operation was to put some body parts inside the bus (operated by an Israeli company).

Assuming this was indeed a “false-flag,” then the question arises as to why the Bulgarian government has not corroborated Israel’s accusation of Iran and Hizbollah? The answer is that Israel’s intention is not start a war with Iran and or Hizbollah at this stage, only to discredit and stigmatize them in the international community and thus gain sympathy in the world public opinion while putting its traditional adversaries under negative limelight.

In every “false-flag” there are usually one or two key “human stories” that are meant to elicit emotional feelings of anger at perpetrators and sympathy for the victims and their country of origin.  In this particular case, the human story revolves around a 42 year old woman who, according to the official story, had just discovered about her pregnancy at the Israeli airport by her doctor calling her to break the news before her departure.  What is unusual about this story is that it is common knowledge that nowadays diagnosing a pregnancy is a matter of minutes and therefore it is somewhat difficult to believe the story, particularly since news of her death reached the Israeli media at precisely 5:25, the moment of explosion, per an Israeli website, thus suggesting a pre-packaged news information.  As a result, we cannot simply preclude the possibility that the five Israeli dead are not dead and are alive under assumed names. 

The above analysis does not to purport to answer all the serious empirical questions raised by the incident in Burgas, universally billed as a “terrorist attack.” Rather, the aim is to debunk the official story and to show the viability of the “false-flag” scenario, which indicates an explosion in an empty bus, causing a great deal of eye-catching fire and smoke, and a charred bus,  with only cosmetic injuries to the passengers in the bus parked next to it.  The intention behind this operation appears to have been to cause a chaotic scene whereby it would be impossible to distinguish between the passengers in the two buses, contradicted by the Bulgarian official report that only 32 were hospitalized.

According to the Bulgarian media, the airplane carrying the Israeli passengers that afternoon on July 18th carried 150 passengers and there were four buses, one of which, with 50 passengers, left the area quickly.  This means that one of the three buses parked in front of that bus was empty, the middle one, and the bomber may indeed have been a “mule” ordered to put the bomb in an empty bus unaware that he was carrying a bomb, only a small instrument of a sinister “false-flag” operation designed to smear Israel’s adversaries.

(source: IR Diplomacy)

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