Ramadan Goes Out With a Bang: Bomb in Toy Cart Kills Two Children

A nice parting gift for the Holy Month of Bombadan.

Primordial savages leave a bomb in a cart of toys where children are playing.

Still, Reuters just can't resist weaving in an unrelated story.

Such a special touch.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb hidden in a cart of toys killed two children and wounded 17 others in a playground in northern Iraq on Friday, the first day of a national holiday to celebrate the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The attack came the day after U.S. forces killed nine children and six women in an air strike northwest of Baghdad targeting suspected al Qaeda leaders. The U.N. mission in Iraq urged U.S. forces to conduct a "vigorous" probe into the strike.

What exactly this incident, already under investigation, has to do with the savage, deliberate attack on children is unclear.

Police Colonel Abbas Mohammed said a would-be suicide bomber pushed the cart into a play area in the predominantly Shi'ite northern town of Tuz Khurmato. He said the bomber was wounded.

The town's mayor, Mohammed Rasheed, told Reuters two boys aged between 10 and 12 had died and another 17 people under the age of 18 had been wounded in the deadly attack.

A youth with a smashed, bloodied face and mangled hand lay on a hospital bed in the nearby city of Kirkuk after the attack.

A man prayed by an injured boy while doctors wreathed the chest, arms and shoulders of another with bandages.

UPDATE: Sweetness & Light also notices a moral equivalence.

Latest Ramadan Rage a ... Soap Opera?

They're succumbing to the decadent western values. In particular, watching television and drinking beer.

Before long they'll claim it's a Jewish mind-control conspiracy.

Still, they're stuck in the 7th century where women are concerned.

Syrian soap opera captivates Arab world

With its tales of brave men and dutiful women in a simpler, long-vanished Middle East, a Syrian soap opera has become the latest rage in the Arab world during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Throughout the month, people across the Middle East have rushed from mosques and flocked to coffeehouses each evening to catch "Bab el-Hara," or "The Neighborhood Gate." When the popular leader of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah gave a televised address last Friday, many of his supporters watched the soap instead.

During Ramadan, which ends this week, Muslims fast during the day and sit down for an elaborate meal in the evening. Those ancient traditions have spawned a modern one: the Ramadan soap opera. Arab satellite channels broadcast the programs each night, trying to hook families who have gathered to break their fast.

"The Neighborhood Gate" is this year's hit, drawing millions of viewers — from poverty-stricken Gaza to the opulent cities of the Persian Gulf — with its nostalgic portrayal of the Middle East.

The show follows families in a Damascus neighborhood between the world wars, when the French ruled Syria and the local population chafed under foreign control and yearned for independence.

The neighborhood's brawny men wear baggy pants, in keeping with the time, and sport manly mustaches. Syrian beauties with curly hair and pouting lips are cunning, but invariably submit to the will of their husbands and fathers [or face an honor killing, of course -- ed.]. Couples fight and mothers-in-law scheme, while a stooge for the ruling regime, disguised as a blind man, spies on everyone else.

The show debuted last Ramadan and won a loyal following. But this year it morphed into a full-fledged craze, easily dwarfing its closest competitor, "King Farouk," a dramatization of the life of the Egyptian monarch deposed in 1952.

The director of "The Neighborhood Gate," Bassam al-Malla, said he intended to create nostalgia for "a world with values, honor, gallantry...and the revolutionary spirit."

The formula is working so well that for many it has proven a stronger draw than the Mideast's two standard preoccupations — religion and politics.

Imad Qadi, a preacher in the West Bank town of Ramallah, said more worshippers this year were hurrying home to watch the show instead of undertaking a lengthy evening prayer traditionally performed during Ramadan.

At one upscale restaurant in east Jerusalem, waiters hastily set up a large projector screen minutes before the show began one recent evening. Tables of Palestinian men and women faced the flickering screen to watch, hushing children and forcing waiters to duck under the projector as they served beer to Muslims unconcerned with Islam's ban on alcohol.

Uh oh, don't anyone go losing their heads violating the alcohol ban.

Last Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech to mark Al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem day, in support of the Palestinians. But the speech was broadcast at the same time as "The Neighborhood Gate." For many Palestinians, the choice was easy.

"I would prefer Hassan Nasrallah to anybody, but ... I didn't watch because 'The Neighborhood Gate' was on," said barber Mutasem Nuwara as he watched the show and cut a customer's hair simultaneously in his Ramallah barbershop.

Hezbollah's TV station ran two episodes of the show the next day to compensate the loyal supporters who did tune in to watch Nasrallah speak.

The show has also sparked debate on gender roles in the Arab world.

Qadi said the show's emphasis on traditional values was good for Palestinians, even if leaving prayer early wasn't.

"It's obvious that men are attracted to this series because it reminds them of something they miss, which is an obedient woman, which is what men want," Qadi said. He has even used some of the show's women in his sermons as examples of how a woman should behave, Qadi said.

Would any feminists like to weigh in now?

Pentagon Celebrates Bombadan

You really have to wonder how long until this politically-correct pandering gets us all killed.

I recall just over six years ago members of a certain religion flew an airliner into the Pentagon (yes, Troofers, it really happened).

Now the Pentagon celebrating Ramadan with DoD employees.

I think I'm going to be ill.

Pentagon observes Muslim holy month

Navy imam Chaplain Abuhena M. Saifulislam lifted his voice to God as he called to prayer more than 100 Department of Defense employees Monday at a celebration of Ramadan at the Pentagon.

“God is most great,” sang the lieutenant commander and Islamic leader, in Arabic, as iftar — the end of the daily fast began.

Uniformed military personnel, civilians and family members faced Mecca and knelt on adorned prayer rugs chanting their prayers in quiet invocation to Allah.

“We do all we can to help meet the religious needs of our soldiers,” said Deputy Pentagon Chaplain Army Maj. Alan Pomaville, a Christian, who attended the iftar alongside the Muslim chaplains. “The leadership in the [Defense Department] wants to care for the body of the whole soldier.”

As the Pentagon celebrated Ramadan, the White House is in preparations for an iftar feast tomorrow, said Lt. Cmdr. Saifulislam, who will be participating at the White House events.

“President and Mrs. Bush host an iftar dinner every year because they want people around the world to know how much they respect Islam and the many Muslims living in the U.S. who are free to worship as they want, and are an integral part of our society," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

With the Pew Hispanic Center estimating the U.S. Muslim population in 2007 at 2.35 million people and growing, it's no surprise to see the Muslim population play an important role in all facets of government, said Defense Department officials.

Great. Let's make sure we keep them up to speed, especially where our military secrets are concerned.

Ramadan, which is practiced by the world's more than 1 billion Muslims, began on Sept. 13 and concludes on the Eid al-Fitr, a special break-the-fast meal, on Oct. 12.

The Navy's chief of chaplains, Rear Adm. Robert F. Burt, reminded those attending the ceremony that American men and women, regardless of their religious background, should be honored because all "are willing to put their uniform on and lay down their life for this country."

Cmdr. Saifulislam said he has presided over funerals of young Muslim service members who have given their lives in the fight against terrorism.

For the Pentagon, as with the rest of the country, the process of mending fences since the September 11 attacks has not always been easy but necessary, he added.

"I think there is a misconception at times," said Cmdr. Saifulislam. "I have attended many funerals of American Muslims who have died in Iraq. If you take the time to get to know somebody, your attitude toward them changes."

The first Muslim U.S. congressman — Rep. Keith Ellison, Minnesota Democrat — also attended the iftar, along with Imam Sheik Rashid Lamptey, executive director of the Muslim Association of Virginia. Sheik Lamptey also served as the deputy imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Virginia.

Sharp Decrease in Iraq Ramadan Violence

Despite a pledge by al Qaeda to increase violence during Ramadan, there's been a sharp decrease the past two weeks compared to last year.

Of course, this will be widely dismissed, the same as news of decreasing U.S. casualties merits little to no mention in the media.

Violence in Iraq during Ramadan has fallen by almost 40 percent from last year, the U.S. military said on Sunday, despite a warning from al Qaeda that it would increase attacks during the Muslim holy month.

U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Mark Fox said a "surge" of 30,000 extra troops into Iraq this year and the new tactic of moving soldiers into small combat outposts instead of "commuting to the war" from large bases had helped bring down violence.

"We are substantially below last year's level. As a matter of fact, in comparison to this time last year, about 38 percent lower in terms of Ramadan violence levels," he told a news conference, adding that that overall levels were still too high.

The most recent number of U.S. troop casualties is 62 according to this site, though this AFP report says it's 70 for September, a 14-month low.

US military losses in Iraq for September stood at 71 on Sunday, but the toll remained the lowest monthly figure since July last year, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures.

The US military on Sunday announced the death of another soldier, saying he died when his unit was hit by a bomb and came under small arms fire in eastern Baghdad on Saturday. A second soldier was injured.

The figure marks the fourth consecutive drop in the monthly death toll following a high of 121 in May. June saw 93 deaths, July 82 and August 79, while the monthly toll in July 2006 was 53.

The latest death pushed the overall toll of American losses since the March 2003 invasion to 3,802.

We'll see if this merits even passing notice from the major U.S. media. Since I doubt Media Matters will issue a press release on this good news, that remains doubtful.

Mythical Creature Calls for Ramadan Attacks

Now you know why some sarcastically refer to this period as Bombadan. We're all supposed to honor this as the most holy month of Islam, yet here these cretins are calling for murder.

Religion of Peace, indeed.

Iraq Qaeda leader calls for attacks in Ramadan

The head of an al Qaeda-led group in Iraq, in an audiotape posted on Saturday, announced a new phase of attacks to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"I am honoured to declare at the start of Ramadan, an invasion named after the martyr Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ...," Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said in the 31-minute tape posted on an Islamist Web site.

Baghdadi did not give details but renewed a call from the late Zarqawi -- killed last year by U.S. forces -- on Iraqis to fight the U.S.-led forces and their allies.

He said the campaign in Iraq would last until the seventh day of the Muslim month of Shawwal, which falls around Oct. 19.

Baghdadi also called on Iraqis who had "collaborated" with the U.S.-led forces and the Iraqi government to repent and assured them that they would not face reprisals during Ramadan, a time for Muslims to repent and change their ways.

The Islamic State in Iraq, a group formed last year by al Qaeda's wing in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents, has claimed responsibility for mass kidnappings and a series of major attacks.

Of course, this Baghdadi appears to be a figment of someone's imagination, considering he may not even exist any longer, if indeed he ever did.