Meetings again all day so some short links to stories on the war on terror you won’t find on the mainstream news.

Saudi Arabia’s top cleric has decreed giving to the ‘evil’ al-Qaeda is not good for Islam:

Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority warned Saudis against giving money to charities and organizations financing “evil” groups, a top local daily reported Saturday.

The warning by Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz Abdullah al-Sheikh comes just days after police found an audio from al-Qaida No.2 Ayman al-Zawahri, exhorting his followers to collect money for needy families in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“It is bad to give funds to just anyone who asks, and to parties with shabby reputations or unknown backing,” the mufti said in a statement published in the daily al-Okaz, which is deemed close to the government.

“It’s even worse to give it to an organization that’s known for its evil and for hurting Islam and its followers,” he added in an apparent reference to al-Qaida, which has carried out attacks on foreigners in Saudi Arabia.

Coming from the top religious figure in the country that kind of statement carries some weight. In addition the government has warned people who received a cell phone message from AQ’s number two Zawahiri for fundraising that they have a limited time to come forward before they face serious consequences. Clearly one doesn’t want to be on AQ’s ‘friends’ list.

Someone in Canada sees the elections in Pakistan, where religious militants took a beating at the polls, as an indicator things will be getting better in Afghanistan. Here’s to hoping he is right.

For those who think we will never find WMDs in Iraq note this news of another mass grave being found, along with a treasure trove of plane engines:

A force from the 5th division of the Iraqi army found the cache in the Uthmaniyah area containing 29 plane engines, four of which are unused, and 90 containers full of TNT explosives, the Voices of Iraq (VOI) quoted a statement by the Iraqi military news agency as saying.

29 plane engines is not a small amount of equipment (even small plane engines). The fact is we will be discovering things about Saddam Hussein’s Iraq for years to come – especially the human toll.

A female suicide bomber has sadly taken out one of our allies in the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq. No word yet if she was in her right mind – but most can figure that one our on their own.

And if you want to read up on how our forces are doing on the front in Iraq AFP has a short piece out as a day-in-the-life story. Sort of interesting.

And there is some hope the militancy can be shed from Pakistan, as they try and remove the violence from their religious schools:

Young Osama rises from his knees to stand before his classmates and teachers. Wearing a faded, thin shirt-dress and white skullcap, he closes his eyes and begins to sing verses from the Quran, a book he is memorizing in a language he does not understand.

For the next two years, this will be Osama Abdul Rahman Azad’s schoolwork at the Jamia Salfia madrassa.Almost since Osama was born 11 years ago, the government of Pakistan has tried to root out extremism and bring a modern syllabus into the medieval religious schools known as madrassas. Government decrees, supervisory boards, presidential speeches and offers of money failed to sway the madrassa leadership.

Dialogue and respect are finally bringing change. In the past year, nearly 15,000 madrassas have pledged not to teach or promote militancy or religious hatred. The mainstream madrassas, including young Osama’s Jamia Salfia, are starting to teach math, science, social studies and even English.

Illiteracy and not being trained to survive, let alone succeed, in the modern world leads to poverty and then to hate and anger. Education is one weapon against al-Qaeda and the Islamo Fascists. Something we all need to remember. With that said, denial of the threat is not a weapon, it is surrender.

Hope everyone has a great day!