In this mailing: Douglas Murray: Europe's Mass Migration: The Leaders vs. the Public Majid Rafizadeh: Deadly Tale: Christian Converts from Islam Amir Taheri: Rouhani and Trump: Together against Iran's Men with Guns? Europe's Mass Migration: The Leaders vs. the Public by Douglas Murray  •  July 9, 2017 at 5:00 am "[T]he more generous you are, the more word gets around about this -- which in turn motivates more people to leave Africa. Germany cannot possibly take in the huge number of people who are wanting to make their way to Europe." — Bill Gates. The annual survey of EU citizens, recently carried out by Project 28, found a unanimity on the issue of migration almost unequalled across an entire continent. The survey found that 76% of the public across the EU believe that the EU's handling of the migration crisis of recent years has been "poor". There is not one country in the EU in which the majority of the public differs from that consensus. At the same time as the public has known that what the politicians are doing is unsustainable, there has been a vast effort to control what the European publics have been allowed to say. German Chancellor Angela Merkel went so far as to urge Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to limit posts on social media that were critical of her policies. Philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently said in an interview: "...you want to demonstrate generosity and take in refugees. But the more generous you are, the more word gets around about this -- which in turn motivates more people to leave Africa. Germany cannot possibly take in the huge number of people who are wanting to make their way to Europe." (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Is Bill Gates a Nazi, racist, "Islamophobe" or fascist? As PG Wodehouse's most famous butler would have said, "The eventuality would appear to be a remote one". So far nobody in any position of influence has made such claims about the world's largest philanthropist. Possibly -- just possibly -- something is changing in Europe. In an interview published July 2 in the German paper Welt Am Sonntag, the co-founder of Microsoft addressed the ongoing European migration crisis. What he said was surprising: "On the one hand you want to demonstrate generosity and take in refugees. But the more generous you are, the more word gets around about this -- which in turn motivates more people to leave Africa. Germany cannot possibly take in the huge number of people who are wanting to make their way to Europe." Continue Reading Article Deadly Tale: Christian Converts from Islam by Majid Rafizadeh  •  July 9, 2017 at 4:00 am Most of all, the Islamist leaders fear that as a former Muslim, you have true knowledge of what Islam actually is, and you may disclose that information to others. "Not only has [Maryam Naghash Zargaran] been detained unjustly because of her Christian faith, but the Iranian authorities have denied her urgently needed medical care." — U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). "For more than four years, Maryam Naghash Zargaran has suffered in an Iranian prison, falsely charged with 'propagating against the Islamic regime and collusion intended to harm national security.' The Iranian government must cease its targeting of Christians and release Maryam and other religious prisoners of conscience." — Clifford D. May, Commissioner, USCIRF. Maryam Naghash Zargaran. (Image source: "Free Maryam Naghash-Zargaran - Nasim") It is currently being spouted through all forms of media -- impossible to ignore -- you will hear claims over and over again by many radical Imams, Muslim scholars, and preachers that Islam is a religion of inclusiveness, that anyone can become a Muslim just by muttering a few words. It seems quite simple, right? This is not new. I grew up hearing all these claims in Iran, under Islamic laws. To uninformed ears, this can sound almost magical. What is important, however, are the many more significant requirements the imams conveniently leave out. Above all, once you become a Muslim, there is no way to turn back. Your faith is under the control of the extremist imams, sheikhs, governments, or simply the community. You cannot just decide to abandon Islam and go back to how you were living. The penalty of attempting this is death. Continue Reading Article Rouhani and Trump: Together against Iran's Men with Guns? by Amir Taheri  •  July 9, 2017 at 3:00 am Soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on parade with their tanks during "Sacred Defense Week," on September 21, 2012. (Image source: ypa.ir/Wikimedia Commons) These days something strange is happening with regard to Iran. You might say: so what? Strange things have been happening with regard to Iran ever since the mullahs seized power in 1979. Alright, but what is happening now may merit closer attention because it represents an unprecedented convergence between the thinking of the Trump administration in Washington, on the one hand, and that of one of the factions involved in the power struggle in Tehran, on the other. Last month, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that the Trump administration is putting final touches to a new policy on Iran with the ultimate aim of regime change. While details of this new policy remain a mystery, one thing maybe clear: one of its aims would be the dismantling of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which US experts identify as the mainstay of the Khomeinist regime. Continue Reading Article