Egyptian Cleric Mazen Sirsawi in Favor of Killing Apostates: 'Beheading Them Should Be Easier than Cutting the Buttons off Their Shirts'; 'If [the Holocaust] Really Happened, [the Jews] Deserved it'; 'The People of Truth Should Lie in Wait for the People of Falsehood'  

Mazen Sirsawi: "The Caliph Al-Mahdi, the Emir of the Believers, was like a sword on the necks of the infidels, apostates, and heretics. Whenever he heard of a heretic, he summoned him, no matter what. Even when he was on his deathbed, they brought before him some treacherous heretics, who toy with religion.

Muslim Brotherhood General Guide Muhammad Badi': Our Ultimate Goal, Establishing a Global Islamic Caliphate, Can Only Be Achieved Gradually and Without Coercion 

In a recent sermon, the General Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Badi', set out his vision for his movement and for Egypt in the post-revolutionary era. Citing Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Bana, he stated that the movement has two goals. The immediate goal is to prepare the hearts and minds of its members, which involves "purifying the soul, amending behavior, and preparing the spirit, the mind and the body for a long struggle." The second, long-term, goal is to affect "a total reform of all domains of life," which will eventually result in establishment of an Islamic state governed according to Koranic law – first in Egypt and eventually in the entire world.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested last week that the United States could wrap up combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2013, well before the longstanding 2014 deadline when full control is to be ceded to Kabul. Troops would remain in Afghanistan until 2014, as agreed upon at the 2010 Lisbon Summit, and would be engaged in two roles until at least 2014 and perhaps even later. One role would be continuing the training of Afghan security forces. The other would involve special operations troops carrying out capture or kill operations against high-value targets.

Let’s say you’re Israel.  An enemy dedicated to your destruction is developing the means to wipe you off the face of the earth, with the covert and overt help of world powers like Russia and China.  It’s only a matter of months before that enemy achieves its goals – and when it does you will not be able to stop the mushroom cloud rising over your cities.

So you come up with a sophisticated military plan to strike your foe in an extraordinarily targeted fashion.  And you ask for the help of your longtime ally – virtually your only ally – the United States.  All you want is covert logistical support … and secrecy.  Secrecy is of the utmost importance, since a full-scale aerial assault on your enemy is unfeasible.

The southern Italian island of Sicily is about to become the proud new owner of a multi-million euro mega-mosque.  

The mosque, to be built in the medieval town of Salemi in southwestern Sicily, is being paid for by the oil-rich Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar. Supporters of the mosque hope it will become a reference point for Muslims in Sicily as well as the rest of Italy.  

Construction of the mosque reflects the growing influence of Islam in Italy, which is now home to an estimated 1.5 million Muslims.

People's Assembly Elections in Egypt Yield Victory for Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis; Downfall for Liberals, Left, and Revolutionary Youth 

Egypt's recent elections for the People's Assembly, the first free elections held in the country since the January 25, 2011 revolution, yielded a clear victory for the Islamists – the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and Salafi parties – whereas the secular-liberals and the left, and the fledgling parties of the country's youth, women, and Copts, suffered a crushing defeat.[1]