RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/10/turkey-advertises-its-koranic-ecumenism-andrew-bostom/

Billboards belonging to the traditionalist Muslim Justice and Development Party (AKP) municipality are on public display in Konya, central Turkey, featuring the verbatim text of Koran 5:51 (in accurate Turkish translation). Accompanied by the image of a blood-splattered cross, and star of David, the text simply re-states Koran 5:51:

O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya’ (friends, protectors, helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya’ to one another. And if any amongst you takes them as Auliya’, then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong­doers and unjust).

Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai was (d. 1981) a towering modern Muslim religious scholar and philosopher, dubbed a “theosopher.” Allameh [Allamah] Tabatabaei [Tabatabai] University, named in honor of this celebrated authority and “theosopher,” is the largest specialized state social sciences university in Iran and the Middle East, with 17000 students and 500 full-time faculty members. Affirming his continued lofty stature, and relevance, an Iranian national conference was held on May 3, 2012, in Qom, dedicated to “recognizing the interpretative methods and principles used by Allameh [Allamah] Tabatabaee [Tabatabai] in [his Koranic] exegesis.” Tabatabai’s al-Mizān fi tafsir al-Qurʾān “The measure of balance/justly held scales in the interpretation of the Quran,” a 21-volume Arabic opus, is regarded as the most important contemporary Shiite Koranic commentary, and one of the seminal Koranic commentaries of the contemporary era, Sunni, or Shiite.

Tabatabai’s  modern Sunni counterpart is the late Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi (d. 2010). Not only was Tantawi the Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, from 1996 to 2010—the Papal equivalent of Sunni Islam’s Vatican of religious teaching and authority—he was also arguably the most important modern Sunni Koranic commentator of the contemporary era. Tantawi produced a contemporary magnum opus 15-volume Koranic commentary, “al-Tafsīr al-wasīṭ lil-Qurʼān al-karīm,” “The Broad Interpretation of The Koran.” He also oversaw the establishment of the largest online resource for Koranic interpretation, ALTAFSIR.COM, which has published ~100 full-text, verse by verse searchable classical & modern commentaries on the Koran, including his own.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15068/erdogan-putin-nato-alarm-bells

These days, the Soviet Union might be no more, but Russia under President Vladimir Putin’s autocratic rule is just as determined to undermine the West and its allies, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to judge by his successful summit with the Russian leader this week at the Black Sea city of Sochi, is proving to be Moscow’s useful idiot in accomplishing these goals.

Earlier in the summer, Mr Erdogan drew heavy criticism from Washington after he did an arms deal with Moscow that enabled Ankara to purchase Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, which was specifically designed to shoot down NATO warplanes.

At a time when NATO is reconfiguring its resources to deal with the threat Russia poses to European security, from protecting the Baltic states from Russian aggression to dealing with cyber attacks, the cosy relationship that Mr Erdogan has embarked upon with Moscow can hardly be said to be in NATO’s interests.

Consequently, to my mind NATO would be far stronger, and better-equipped, to deal with its adversaries if it did not have to contend with a fifth columnist state like Turkey operating within its ranks.

With Turkey seemingly intent on forging an ever-closer relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the time has come to give serious consideration to Ankara’s continued membership of the NATO alliance.

When the Turks first became members of NATO back in 1952, it was because their country was seen as a vital bulwark against the Soviet Union. Having Turkey in NATO meant it was easier to monitor the activities of the Soviet Black Sea fleet, and limited Moscow’s ability to spread its tentacles into eastern Europe and the Middle East.

https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/10/faux-americanization-in-britain

As the Parliament of the United Kingdom descended into chaos and internecine warfare, and Britain’s highest court plunged into the political fray, something became clear, if it wasn’t already: Brexit is not simply a contest over Britain’s future ties to Europe or its future role in the world. It is also an existential struggle over the very nature of the British state and its unwritten constitution. Britain has been brought to the brink, in part, by a process of faux Americanization—the selective adoption of facets of the American system, in some cases the least desirable aspects of the American system. Below are a few important examples of the dynamic.

In 2009, Britain removed its court of final appeal from the House of Lords, and thus the Parliament, to establish a separate high court styled in the American manner as “the Supreme Court.” It was perhaps inevitable, therefore, that courts in the U.K. would increasingly seek to exercise American-style judicial review over the unwritten British constitution. As a result, the principle—established for centuries—that supreme, constitutional authority rests with the Crown-in-Parliament has never been at greater risk.

We have today the spectacle of both Scotland’s Court of Session and the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that Prime Minister Johnson—really the Queen, acting on his advice—unlawfully prorogued Parliament. The executive, according to these rulings, did not provide proper justification for its actions; by this rationale, the courts alone decide constitutional propriety—not the Crown-in-Parliament, and not the political process.

Cleverly, both courts presented their decisions as protecting Parliament’s interests. No one should be fooled. The judiciary is claiming constitutional authority for itself, in defiance of British precedent, and at the long-term expense of the executive (the prime minister, government, and Crown) and Parliament alike. It is Parliament, after all—in theory, reflecting the will of the people—that empowers a prime minister and a government in the first place. The courts, ignoring the unitary, constitutional principle of the Crown-in-Parliament, instead pretend that the British government is the American one: a system of three, co-equal branches, in which the judiciary makes the final call on any constitutional question.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/10/23/watch_live_president_trump_gives_statement_on_syria.html

President Donald Trump declared a “big success” in Syria and announced he is lifting all sanctions against Turkey during a statement from the White House on Wednesday.

“Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand,” the president said. “We were supposed to be there for 30 days. That was almost 10 years ago. So we’re there for 30 days, and now we’re leaving. It’s supposed to be a very quick hit, and let’s get out and it was a quick hit except they stayed for almost 10 years.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-vote-forces-trudeau-to-join-with-rival-to-govern-11571754991

OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, fresh off an election win Monday night that left him with a weakened mandate, must quickly turn his focus to finding common ground among rivals to maintain his grip on power.

Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party emerged short of a majority of seats in the Canadian Parliament, and his share of the popular vote fell to 33% from a 40% showing in 2015. The result partly reflected the hits Mr. Trudeau took from recent scandals—allegations that he and his aides interfered in a criminal prosecution, and images of the Canadian leader wearing blackface—that damaged his reputation as a champion of clean governance and diversity.

The task of managing a minority government should be made slightly easier by the distribution of votes. Results as of Tuesday morning showed the Liberals won or were leading in 157 seats, or 13 seats short of a majority. That means Mr. Trudeau would need the support of just one other party to get legislation passed.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15003/call-for-killing-jews-un-gaza

What is clear — and disturbing — is that the UN officials in the Gaza Strip choose to remain silent when the Palestinian leaders came to their offices to incite their people to step up their terrorist attacks.

The silence of the UN officials speaks volumes about their attitude toward anti-Israel incitement and blood libels against Jews, all of which have become an integral part of both the UN’s and the Palestinians’ culture.

To Palestinians, all of Israel is one big settlement that needs to be displaced.

Perhaps it is time to call out the UN for the racism it not only embodies but also perpetuates. Perhaps it is time for all nations, especially the United States which shoulders so much of the UN’s bill, finally to pay only for what they want and to get what they pay for.

Leaders of several Palestinian factions are again calling for stepping up terrorist attacks against Jews. The difference is that this time, the calls were made during a sit-down strike held by Palestinians outside the offices of the United Nations in the Gaza Strip.

The leaders of the Palestinian factions chose to issue their calls for killing Jews in front of the UN offices in the Gaza Strip. It is as if they are asking the UN to approve their continual terrorist attacks against Israel.

What is clear — and disturbing — is that the UN officials in the Gaza Strip choose to remain silent when the Palestinian leaders came to their offices to incite their people to step up their terrorist attacks.

The sit-down strike was organized by the “Jerusalem Department” of Hamas, the terrorist group that has been ruling the Gaza Strip since the summer of 2007. The purpose of the sit-down strike was, according to Hamas, to protest visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, or Haram Al-Sharif — a site in Jerusalem sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

https://nypost.com/2019/10/22/turkey-russia-agree-to-create-terror-free-safe-zone-in-syria/

Turkey and Russia agreed Tuesday to create a “terror-free safe zone” in northern Syria and launch joint patrols in a deal reached hours before a five-day cease-fire was about to expire, according to a report citing a senior Turkish official.

The announcement came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“We had a very productive meeting with our Russian counterparts today,” an official said, Reuters reported. “We reached an excellent agreement. We agreed to establish a terror-free safe zone.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that the two leaders agreed to have Russian military police and Syrian border guards deploy on the Syrian side of the Turkey border beginning Wednesday.

Over the next six days, they would remove the Kurdish fighters and their weapons from northern Syria.

After the Kurds are removed, Turkey and Russia, which has been backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, would launch joint patrols along a six-mile strip of the border.

Turkey would also continue to control a 20-mile-deep swath of northern Syria that runs roughly 75 miles between the towns of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/british-parliament-finally-approves-boris-johnsons-brexit-bill-but-moments-later-votes-down-three-day-timetable

The United Kingdom’s divorce from the European Union passed one major hurdle Tuesday when Parliament lawmakers approved Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill but hit a roadblock moments later when a three-day timetable was voted down.

The House of Commons passed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill by a 30-point majority, with the ayes getting 329 votes, over 299 by the Noes, sending the bill on for further scrutiny and possible amendments. Then lawmakers quickly voted down Johnson’s a three-day timetable, attempting to fast-track the bill through, by a 14-point margin.

The vote likely made it impossible for Johnson to fulfill his vow to take Britain out of the EU by the Oct. 31 deadline.

After the second vote, opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said that lawmakers “refused to be bounced” into considering the withdrawal bill in just two days.

He urged the prime minister to “work with us … to agree [on] a reasonable timetable.”