Islamism & Islamophobia Abroad - News & Analysis

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 21 Jan 2012 06:41

Interesting the PC didn't try to arrest those Mumbai underworld assassins.

Also I thought assassination is only when a political leader is the target.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 21 Jan 2012 07:42

In the aftermath of the terror attack in Kano, Nigeria:

Boko Haram and the threat of political Islam

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 21 Jan 2012 20:04

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/nothing ... m-activist

(CNSNews.com) – Newt Gingrich’s stance on Islamic law (shari’a) is not “anti-Muslim” as charged by some Islamic critics, an American Muslim activist said Thursday.

Instead it is those critical of Gingrich – the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – whose actions and motivations should be examined, in the view of M. Zuhdi Jasser, an observant, anti-Islamist American Muslim who is founder and president of the non-profit American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD).

“CAIR again proves that along with other Muslim Brotherhood legacy groups in America, they are simply grievance mills which irresponsibly derive their fuel from exaggerating Muslim victimization,” the Phoenix, Ariz.-based doctor told CNSNews.com.

CAIR earlier this week slammed Gingrich after the Republican presidential candidate, asked during a South Carolina campaign event whether he would ever endorse an American Muslim running for president, replied, “It would depend entirely on whether they would commit in public to give up shari’a.”

“A truly modern person who happened to worship Allah would not be a threat,” Gingrich continued. “A person who belonged to any kind of belief in shari’a – any kind of effort to impose that on the rest of us, would be a mortal threat.”

He went on to point to the application of shari’a in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.

CAIR in response called Gingrich “one of the nation’s worst promoters of anti-Muslim bigotry” and said he “looks like a relic of an ugly era.”

“Any Muslim knows that shari’a is much a part – is completely a part of Islam and you can’t separate the two,” CAIR legislative director Corey Saylor told Iran’s state-funded Press TV. Saylor added that Gingrich’s comments amounted to a violation of the Constitution’s prohibition of a religious test for public office.

Invited to comment on Gingrich remarks and CAIR’s criticism, Jasser said, “There is nothing anti-Muslim, implied or otherwise against the free exercise of religion by Muslims in America from anyone who simply states that we Muslims need to come to terms with modernity and separate mosque and state.”

“That is in fact the mission of our American Islamic Forum for Democracy,” he said.

Jasser said Gingrich had “correctly contextualized his comments with the way shari’a is implemented in Saudi Arabia’s hate-filled public policy.”

Saylor’s comments, Jasser said, “demonstrate exactly how irrational Islamist groups like CAIR can get when they are directly confronted with the incompatibilities of Islamism and its instrument of shari’a with western society and modernity.”

“One would be hard-pressed to find any public repudiation of Saudi Arabia’s or Iran’s interpretation of shari’a by CAIR.”

Jasser stressed that public participation in the U.S. government of Muslims – or adherents of any religion – should never be subject to a “faith litmus test.”

“However, Islamism and its inherent desire to implement the public (not the personal) doctrine of shari’a as an instrument of an Islamic state, whether Muslims are a minority or a majority, is a dangerous theo-political ideology that is very relevant to the qualifications and disqualifications of any Muslim running for office or sensitive government appointment,” he argued.

“Mr. Gingrich is accurate in making that distinction.”

uddu · Post by **uddu** » 22 Jan 2012 09:19

Nigerian sect kills over 100 in deadliest strike yet
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/ ... WO20120121
(Reuters) - More than 100 people were killed in bomb attacks and gunbattles in the Nigerian city Kano late on Friday, a local government security source said, in the deadliest strike claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date.
Terror attacks in Kano, Nigeria, kill at least 162
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... t-162.html
The death toll following coordinated bomb attacks and gun battles in the Nigerian city of Kano has risen to at least 162, a source at the city's main morgue has said.
A curfew was imposed on Kano in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north after it exploded into violence on Friday evening, with eight police and immigration offices or residences targeted.

Religion of peace.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 22 Jan 2012 19:41

uddu wrote:Nigerian sect kills over 100 in deadliest strike yet
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/ ... WO20120121
(Reuters) - More than 100 people were killed in bomb attacks and gunbattles in the Nigerian city Kano late on Friday, a local government security source said, in the deadliest strike claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram to date.
Terror attacks in Kano, Nigeria, kill at least 162
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... t-162.html
The death toll following coordinated bomb attacks and gun battles in the Nigerian city of Kano has risen to at least 162, a source at the city's main morgue has said.
A curfew was imposed on Kano in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north after it exploded into violence on Friday evening, with eight police and immigration offices or residences targeted.

Religion of peace.

Only the few are misguided saar, one cannot blame an entire religion for what a misguided few are repeatedly doing all over the world.

Under any circumstances, one must not hurt religious sentiments onlee.

tejas · Post by **tejas** » 22 Jan 2012 21:17

I have a peanut butter sandwich. It talks to me. It tells me things like I have the right to sleep with as many women as I want whether they like it or not. It also has many other mystical powers. Please don't insult my peanut butter sandwich. We are both very peaceful. However if you say you don't believe in my peanut butter sandwich's divine like power, I will have to kill you. Thank you for your cooperation.

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 22 Jan 2012 21:38

Further I call upon to accept that peanut butter sandwich of Prophet Tejas ( peace be upon him) is the only god and Tejas is its Propphet. If you do not accept this openly and embrace the one and only true god - peanut butter sandwich you will be killed and your house, wife and other valuebles like your girls childeren and kids will be owned by me. I, of course permited to use your family members as slaves or sell them for fellow believers.

Convery or be dammed for enternal hell in Microowen at maximum tempurature.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 23 Jan 2012 07:17

Noted Pakistani Sindhi Sufi-politician died a week ago.
Mourning in Karachi

A LITTLE over a week ago, at the age of 83, the Pakistani politician and spiritual icon Shah Mardan Shah II, Pir Pagara VII, died in a London hospital, far away from Sindh, the land that nurtured him and gave him his birthright and in which he ruled with the wisdom and fortitude that few Pakistani leaders have displayed during the 60-plus years of Pakistan’s existence.

Syed Shah Mardan Shah-II
The Sufi community he presided over as Caliph is called the Hur (free). Apparently they have always been politically conscious since the freedom struggle, and also participated in the 1965 aggression against India.

In 1965 war between India and Pakistan about 65,000 Hurs served in various fronts especially that of Sindh, the Southern desert sector was a mere sideshow to the major battles fought in the Punjab and in Kashmir. However the Indians had placed two divisions in the desert with the aim of tying down Pakistani troops.

Facing a shortage of troops and unable to divert any substantial forces from the Punjab and Kashmir sectors (where the main Indian thrust has come), the commander of the Pakistan Rangers, Brigadier Khuda Dad Khan, turned to local help. Hurs volunteered in droves. Given only basic training and light weapons, the Hurs nevertheless gave a fine account of themselves in the conflict. Fighting alongside Rangers and regular army units (known collectively as the Desert Force), the Hurs used their knowledge of the desert to good effect and helped to blunt the Indian offensive. But, perhaps their most famous (and militarily important) action was the capture of the Indian fort of Kishangarh, a feature located several kilometers inside India.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 24 Jan 2012 03:24

The Lions of Allah Among the Lambs of Norway
Check the Hoor among Khoors

Aisha Shezadi (20), from Bærum, is currently visiting schools all over the country. She wholeheartedly supports yesterday’s controversial demonstration in front of Parliament.The young woman tells VG that she is indifferent to the hate video that created such heated debate earlier in the week. She also supports the Taliban in its war against Norwegian soldiers.On January 11, in a Facebook comment under a picture where an ISAF and a Taliban fighter are juxtaposed, she writes:
“No matter how well equipped they are, they will never eliminate the lions of Allah.”
Unworthy War“I support the Afghan freedom struggle against the ISAF soldiers, but I don’t necessarily support every tactic employed by the Taliban,” she says when VG confronts her with the statement.
The video was published on the Facebook page belonging to the organizers of yesterday’s demonstration against the Norwegian military involvement in Afghanistan. The PST sees the video as a direct threat to the royal family, the foreign minister, and the prime minister.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 24 Jan 2012 20:08

POV: Turkey doesn't belong in Europe
http://motls.blogspot.com/2012/01/armen ... elong.html

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 25 Jan 2012 05:41

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/nyreg ... .html?_r=1
In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims

Ominous music plays as images appear on the screen: Muslim terrorists shoot Christians in the head, car bombs explode, executed children lie covered by sheets and a doctored photograph shows an Islamic flag flying over the White House. This is the true agenda of much of Islam in America,” a narrator intones. “A strategy to infiltrate and dominate America. ... This is the war you don’t know about.”
This is the feature-length film titled “The Third Jihad,” paid for by a nonprofit group, which was shown to more than a thousand officers as part of training in the New York Police Department. In January 2011, when news broke that the department had used the film in training, a top police official denied it, then said it had been mistakenly screened “a couple of times” for a few officers. Tom Robbins, a former columnist with The Village Voice, first revealed that the police had screened the film. The Brennan Center then filed its request.

The 72-minute film was financed by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit group whose board includes a former Central Intelligence Agency official and a deputy defense secretary for President Ronald Reagan. Its previous documentary attacking Muslims’ “war on the West” attracted support from the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a major supporter of Israel who has helped reshape the Republican presidential primary by pouring millions of dollars into a so-called super PAC that backs Newt Gingrich.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 25 Jan 2012 05:43

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16675086
Sri Lanka 'expels 161 foreign Muslim preachers'

Sri Lanka has reportedly ordered 161 foreign Muslim preachers to leave the country for flouting visa regulations.A senior immigration official was quoted as saying that the clerics had no right to preach in mosques because they had arrived on tourist visas.He also said that some local Muslims had complained that the visitors were not teaching a moderate form of Islam.The preachers - from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Arab nations - must now leave by 31 January.'Laughable idea'"They have violated immigration laws. A tourist visa is to have a holiday or visit friends and family, and not to preach Islam," Sri Lanka's immigration head Chulananda Perera told the AFP news agency.Mr Perera said the group belonged to Tablighi Jamaat - an international Islamic movement popular in Sri Lanka and the region.A Muslim source told the BBC that the movement sends groups of preachers to places of worship, urging Muslims to devote more time to their faith and act more devoutly. Any idea that they were militant was laughable, the source added.Muslim members of Sri Lanka's government have expressed concern at the mass expulsion, and are expected to meet other officials later on Monday to try to delay the move.The news has also created consternation in the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, the third largest ethnic group in the country after Sinhalese and Tamils, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo reports.

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Jan 2012 08:55

“Shia Muslims don't face persecution in mainly Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and secular nations. However, throughout the Sunni Muslim world the Shia community faces daily discrimination and deadly attacks often erupt in Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, and other nations. ……………………….”

Read it all:

The Ongoing Oppression of Shiites in Sunni Muslim Dominated Nations

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 26 Jan 2012 02:20

Liam Neeson: I may become a Muslim
Catholic movie star is thinking about changing faith

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 26 Jan 2012 08:32

Carl wrote:Liam Neeson: I may become a Muslim
Catholic movie star is thinking about changing faith

let us all pray for his circumcision without anesthesia

tejas · Post by **tejas** » 26 Jan 2012 10:00

I thought his wife was the one who suffered brain injury

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 26 Jan 2012 10:14

Its called sympathetic malady.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 27 Jan 2012 08:58

Cross post
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -them.html

'Strict Muslim' raped four women at knifepoint to 'punish them for being on the streets at nigh
# Sunny Islam, 23, kidnapped and raped girl, 15
# Subjected victims to his 'trademark double rape'
# Attacks took place over 2 months in east London
# Jailed indefinitely due to danger he poses to women

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1kcrnuqbe

Serial rapists are well known. But here is a serial rapist who justifies rape using his religion. He even calls himself Sunni Islam

It is amazing how many murderers and violent people use Islam as justification. Is this about Islam or is it just "Every religion has bad people"

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 28 Jan 2012 22:40

Hina!!
Islam 'most misunderstood' religion in world: Hina Rabbani Khar

Hina Rabbani Khar said today and acknowledged that illiterate and irresponsible people have been allowed to take the religion in their hands

Islam is the one religion that reinforces respect for women but we, the entire world must take responsibility because we have let Islam to be misrepresented

Islam supports best of the democracies and her country would become the best example of this fact in ten years of time

Islam supports best of the democracies. Islam and democracy are not contradictory forces. They are rather supportive forces

We have to take Islam away from the hands of the left overs of the society

it is also the duty of the Western world to understand the difference. They have been very biased on various occasions

Dang! I will have to buy a new industrial-sized Bullshit Meter as my old one just blew up!

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 28 Jan 2012 23:35

shiv wrote:Cross post
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -them.html
'Strict Muslim' raped four women at knifepoint to 'punish them for being on the streets at nigh
# Sunny Islam, 23, kidnapped and raped girl, 15
# Subjected victims to his 'trademark double rape'
# Attacks took place over 2 months in east London
# Jailed indefinitely due to danger he poses to women

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1kcrnuqbe

Serial rapists are well known. But here is a serial rapist who justifies rape using his religion. He even calls himself Sunni Islam It is amazing how many murderers and violent people use Islam as justification. Is this about Islam or is it just "Every religion has bad people"

You cannot use something for a purpose unless it is indeed appropriate and usable for that purpose. The hudood laws against banned sexual relations, do not apply to non-muslim women, or those women who are captives [this guy could technically claim that the girls were his right hand possessions], or during military jihad on women of the opponents. With such women of the opponents, even coitus interruptus is banned - the ghazis must come inside.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 28 Jan 2012 23:58

anupmisra wrote:Hina!!
'Islam 'most misunderstood' religion in world: Hina Rabbani Khar'

God 'most misunderstood' concept in Islam: RajeshA

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 29 Jan 2012 00:02

http://www.juancole.com/2012/01/beji-we ... -jews.html

A tiny minority, they tell me? Maybe, but I do not want to know, I do not care. You have made possible the unbearable, by voicing the very idea of the mass murder of the Jews of Tunis. This is enough to degrade us all. You have begun to distil a dark poison in the credulous soul of a good-natured and kind people.

I do not recognize you, Tunisians, I do not recognize you. You have frozen in my veins that admiration to which you had given birth, you have spoiled the taste in my mouth of our land of birth, you have rendered me indifferent to its light, you have ruined the image of your heroism, you smothered the music of our nation that had played in my heart. Are you the same, Tunisians? Are you the ones who shouted in chorus: “Muslims, Jews, Christians, we are all Tunisians”?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 29 Jan 2012 08:20

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/01/ali-s ... on-ba.html
Ali Sina: "Pamela Geller and her organizations don’t become hate groups just because a bunch of moon-bats say so"

It is both surprising and not surprising that Ali Sina has now been named to the Board of Directors of the newly formed Stop the Islamization of Nations SION which is a coalition SIOA, SIOE, and other hate groups, and which will be led by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. It is not surprising because of the animosity towards Islam that he shares with Geller and Spencer. It is surprising because of the fact that Geller herself is Jewish, and Ali Sina seems to have as much animosity towards Judaism as he does against Islam.Perhaps this is above your ken but what unites Pamela Geller (a Jew), Robert Spencer (a Catholic), Wafa Sultan (a secular humanist), Babu Suseelan (a Hindu) ,and yours truly, is our humanity. We have different beliefs, but we don’t allow that to divide us. To a Muslim this might be incomprehensible. You see the world divided on religious lines. We don’t see it that way. We see all mankind as members of one gigantic human family. We have different tastes in politics and in religion. But we never let them come between us and divide us.I receive many emails from youths who say they no longer believe in Islam and want to become Christian. I never discourage them. Let me quote what I wrote to one such youth yesterday

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 30 Jan 2012 22:15

German Muslim Taxi service launched

NORDERSTEDT (Germany),6 Rabi al-Awwal/29 Jan (IINA)-A German Muslim has introduced the country’s first Muslim taxi website through which Germans can arrange shared car rides of the same sex, The Local.de website reported recently.

“Many Muslim brothers and sisters complained that they can’t use conventional offers because the gender segregation stipulated by Islam is not implemented,” Selim Reid, a 24-year-old from Norderstedt, city of about 70,000 near Hamburg, told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 30 Jan 2012 22:23

'Obedient Wives Club' in Malaysia stirs debate

KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian women club that encourages wives to be more obedient to their husbands is sparking a new uproar in the country, with feminist groups accusing it of bringing back an "oppressive" interpretation of Islam.

[...]

“By saying you need to behave like a prostitute, so that kind of triggered a very negative reaction, but it was a great debate while it lasted."

Launched in June, organizers say Obedient Wife Club aims at teach women how to please their husbands better to prevent them from straying or misbehaving.

Holding their meetings in Kuala Lumpur, club members are offered speeches and shows that illustrated how women can keep their husbands happy and contented.

Organizers say the club's idea came after a sharp increase in the divorce rates with statistics showing that a Muslim couple gets divorced every 15 minutes.

The warning rates, issued by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), showed there were 27,116 divorces in 2009, up from 17,749 in 2005.

Though Muslim Malays compromise only 60 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million population, they made up about 82 percent of total divorces in the country.

[...]

Over the past few months, the club has expanded overseas and now boasts some 3,000 members worldwide.

But the club's branches, in places like Britain and Indonesia, have drawn fire from local critics.

[...]

Over the past few months, the club has expanded overseas and now boasts some 3,000 members worldwide.

But the club's branches, in places like Britain and Indonesia, have drawn fire from local critics.

Dismssing the accusations, the club's organizers say their efforts are aimed at tackling social problems as rising divorce rates.

"The idea was actually just to invite the Muslim community to go back and follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah," Jamaluddin said.

"Because through the years, I think people have actually gone astray a little bit. We have all these social ills because of that."

Jamaluddin cited a Qur'anic verse to prove his point.

"Men are the leaders of women, because God has made one of them to excel over the other, and because men spend to support them from their means."

[...]

This concept, however, was challenged by the former first lady of Indonesia, Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, who rejected the group's interpretation of the Qur’an that places men above women.

"We believe that Islam bestows blessings on all of humankind. Any interpretation that does not fit in with this, or is unjust, must not be allowed," Wahid said.

"In my opinion, as a feminist, I would say that [the Obedient Wives Club] should be banned."

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 31 Jan 2012 20:38

Canadian honor killings

... There has been some great crime and court reporting in the Shafia case, and the articles in the major newspapers are really quite good.

But some of the analyses have fallen short and in a few cases come across as special pleading that there is only one legitimate view in Islam on these issues, when experience tells us that there is not a single view on the morality of honor killings in Islam — just as there is no single Islam.

“Pay no attention to the facts in these cases, trust our experts” is the line taken by CNN on this issue. While it is important to hear why some Muslim scholars believe honor killings are not condoned in Islam, one is left wondering why we do not hear from those who support this barbaric practice, or who can explain why it is such a widespread belief.

Do a little digging and you will find these voices. Do a little more digging and you will see that the legal codes of a number of Muslim-majority states do not in practice punish honor killings, or punish their perpetrators far less severely than they do others convicted of murder.

My question is how religion was used to explain motive in this story and whether a blanket denial that Islam supports honor killings is sufficient when the Star reported during the trial that a wiretap recorded the killer justifying his deeds by reference to his faith.

To his wife, Shafia allegedly assured that the right actions had been taken: “I say to myself, you did well. Were they to come back to life, I would do it again. No Tooba, they messed up. There was no other way. They were treacherous. They betrayed us immensely. There can be no betrayal worse than this. They committed treason on themselves. They betrayed humankind. They betrayed Islam. They betrayed our religion. They betrayed everything.”

Some articles rule out of bounds any discussion the influence Islam may have on honor killings. In other words, an appearance of unequal treatment is created where Islam is given a pass that reporters would not give to other faiths.

GetReligion reader Ray McCalla directed my attention to an article in CNN entitled “Islam doesn’t justify ‘honor murders,’ experts insist” as an example of this tendency. Mr. McCalla wrote that he kept waiting for CNN: to find a voice who does think that honor killings are justified by Islam. But no, it was just an apologetic piece, defending “true,” moderate Islam. The subtext seems to be that the perpetrators are acting on a perverted version of Islam or just backwards culture. But is that true, or just what the Western media want to be true?

But which constituencies do these CNN-selected Muslim scholars represent? Do all Muslim scholars share these views? What is the difference in authority between a scholar, a sheik, an imam, a mufti, a kadi? How do their views, teachings or fatwas influence the faith of Muslims?

In a 4 Dec 2008 interview with Al-Hayat TV, Wafa Sultan argued that honor crimes arose from within Islam.

The subjugation of women reduces them to a level lower than beasts – not to mention the laws of inheritance, testimony in court, the beating of a wife who refuses to go to bed with her husband, and ‘honor’ crimes. “Muhammad said in a hadith: ‘Three things spoil one’s prayer: a woman, a black dog, and a donkey.’ Do they ever give this any thought? Do they realize that Allah chose the female body for his greatest invention – creation itself? Wouldn’t it be moral to bestow upon the female body a certain holiness, instead of viewing it as impure?”

Should we take Dr. Sultan seriously? She is a Syrian-born physician and human rights activist who now lives in Southern California and was profiled by Time magazine in 2006 as one of the “100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming our world.”

...

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 31 Jan 2012 20:42

^^^ At a time when Canada is chatting about the new phenomenon of honor killing, the professorial elite is taking the lead as follows:
Concordia professor plans Islam conversation on Saturday

Professor Jacqueline Bussie, a religion professor and director of Forum on Faith and Life at Moorhead’s Concordia College, will participate in a Bemidji area conversation about Islam.

The presentation, “Being Good Neighbors: Why We Need to Better Understand Islam,” will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Dessert and an informal discussion will follow the presentation.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 31 Jan 2012 20:54

BBC reports:
Ethiopian Christians to be deported from Saudi Arabia

Some 35 Ethiopian Christians face deportation from Saudi Arabia for "illicit mingling", the global rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

Police arrested the group - including 29 women - after raiding a prayer meeting in the second city of Jeddah.

The women were subjected to strip searches and the men beaten and called "unbelievers", according to HRW.

In 2006, the Saudi government promised to stop interfering with private worship by non-Muslims.

The group was arrested in a private home as they gathered to pray during the run-up to Christmas, celebrated by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians on 7 January.

HRW spoke to a man and two women by telephone from the prisons where they are being held.

They say they have been charged with mixing with unmarried persons of the opposite sex - even though HRW says Saudi Arabia has no law defining "illicit mingling".

Mixing of the sexes is not allowed in public - but normally permitted in private unless for "the purpose of corruption", according to the religious police.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 31 Jan 2012 23:16

http://offendislam.blogspot.com/2012/01 ... islam.html .

Please feel free to forward, quote, translate, or reproduce.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 31 Jan 2012 23:23

Carl wrote:BBC reports:
Ethiopian Christians to be deported from Saudi Arabia
In 2006, the Saudi government promised to stop interfering with private worship by non-Muslims.

We are in 2012.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 01 Feb 2012 00:07

http://hurryupharry.org/2012/01/30/musl ... xpression/
Muslim leader in India defends freedom of expression

There’s an interesting interview with Maulana Wahiduddin Khan in today’s New York Times on the topic of Salman Rushdie’s cancelled appearance in Jaipur. This is perhaps the most important point:These protests were by a tiny minority, who are not representative of the Muslim community.
The protesters were completely wrong in doing what they did. Salman Rushdie has every right to come to this country. I heard his interview after the video conference was cancelled and agree with him when he said that all other freedoms rest on the freedom of expression. If you abolish the freedom of expression, all other freedoms will cease to exist.Islamophobia who was grumbling that Muslims fail to speak out against terrorism and extremism. So I thought s/he might find it gratifying to read about another example of Muslims in India combatting these unwelcome forces. This is New Age Islam, which sends me regular emails (I’m not sure why, but they are quite interesting) and which you can read more about here:

Shahin sees New Age Islam as part of a global effort by believers to reclaim Islam from the religious right, and address the questions and conflicts which confront believers in the twenty-first century. “Islam,” he argues, “is a spiritual experience; a system of beliefs through which believers seek to live a meaningful life. For the Islamists, though, religion is primarily a tool through which they seek power. In practice, they worship power, not Allah.”

( Indian influence to rescue again)

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 01 Feb 2012 00:07

Doublama ho gya!!

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 01 Feb 2012 01:20

Jhujar wrote:
Shahin sees New Age Islam as part of a global effort by believers to reclaim Islam from the religious right, and address the questions and conflicts which confront believers in the twenty-first century. “Islam,” he argues, “is a spiritual experience; a system of beliefs through which believers seek to live a meaningful life. For the Islamists, though, religion is primarily a tool through which they seek power. In practice, they worship power, not Allah.”
( Indian influence to rescue again)

http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/24/stories ... 460900.htm

Very good effort, should be supported by one and all. The split has to be encouraged and made public and clear. Practically, the line has to be drawn in the sand.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 01 Feb 2012 16:00

Carl wrote:German Muslim Taxi service launched
NORDERSTEDT (Germany),6 Rabi al-Awwal/29 Jan (IINA)-A German Muslim has introduced the country’s first Muslim taxi website through which Germans can arrange shared car rides of the same sex, The Local.de website reported recently.

“Many Muslim brothers and sisters complained that they can’t use conventional offers because the gender segregation stipulated by Islam is not implemented,” Selim Reid, a 24-year-old from Norderstedt, city of about 70,000 near Hamburg, told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper.

What ever happened to the old adage which said never shit in the place where you live??

No end to the "cultural" demands.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 01 Feb 2012 23:09

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120201/punjab.htm#25

Security forces hold flag march in town (Malerkotla is the only muslim majority tehsil in Punjab)
Mahesh Sharma and Vikrant Jindal

Mandi Ahmedgarh/Malerkotla, January 31
Tension gripped Malerkotla after some persons allegedly burnt pages carrying "ayats" of the holy Quran at Khatra village under Jagraon police station today. Local religious leaders led by Mufti Itquil Hussain reached Malerkotla and asked protesters, on a dharna at Jarg Chowk and the Ludhiana bypass, to maintain calm.

The protesters stopped a bus on way to Delhi. As the terrified passengers rushed out, they threw stones at the bus, injuring at least five persons.

Bus driver Harjinder Singh said the passengers left their luggage behind in sheer panic. He said his arm was fractured when a stone hit him.

The injured passengers were admitted to a private hospital in the town. Sangrur SP (D) Paramjit Singh Gorayan reached Malerkotla with a heavy police force. To defuse tension, the police held a flag march in the town.

Apprehending curfew in the town, shopkeepers closed their establishments and residents rushed to markets to buy vegetables, milk and other essential items. Darbara Singh alias Bawa of Kilahans village, Manjit Singh of Zirakh, Jagjit Singh of Ghaloti and an unidentified person were booked under Sections 295 and 120B of the IPC for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Sikand said Bashir Mohammad, a nomad settled on the banks of the Sirhind canal near Khatra village, had told the Dehlon police that he had seen four persons trying to keep themselves warm by burning paper , which now seemed to be pages from the holy Quran.

Sikand said, acting on the information, the police nabbed one Darbara Singh. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects had brought some books at subsidised rates from a religious place a few weeks ago. Sources said the suspects were not aware of the contents as the books were written in the Arabic language. As news of the incident spread, activists of radical Muslim organisations from nearby Mandi Ahmedgarh and Malerkotla started gathering at Khatra and Dehlon villages in the afternoon.

However, timely action by the police and religious leaders prevented the situation from going out of control.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 01 Feb 2012 23:15

It is very cold in Punjab these days and people need to keep warm (but not by burning Quran).

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 02 Feb 2012 01:29

Sicily Muslims Finally Get Grand Mosque

SICILY (Italy), 9 Rabi Al-Awwal/1 Feb (IINA)-Fulfilling the religious needs of its Muslim minority, the southern Italian island of Sicily will build a grand mosque to help Muslims perform their prayers.

“Sicily is enthusiastic about hosting Islam,” Mayor Vittorio Sgarbi said, ANSA news agency reported Monday, January 30.

The construction of the Muslim worship place will be funded by the tiny Gulf state of Qatar.

“Nothing is more important than finding common sentiments and convictions in the different religions that consider a single God,” said Sgarbi.

“This is one of the reasons that just as our cities have Christian places of worship, I think it is important for a mosque to be built in Salemi for citizens of Arab culture and language. History imposes it upon us.”

Italy has a Muslim population of some 1.2 million, including 20,000 reverts, according to unofficial estimates.

For years, Muslims have been using gyms and football pitches waiting for a definitive solution.

Dozens of Muslims pray on the paving outside the small scattered mosques.

Building mosques in Italy was an almost “mission impossible” under former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government and his ally the Northern League.

Portraying itself as a defender of Italy’s Christian roots, the League started its mission in the new government in May 2008 with bringing down a mosque in the northern city of Verona.

In 2008, the League rejoiced the success of its campaign to halt the building of a mosque in the northern city of Bologna.

The same year, League MP Mario Borghezio burst into a church in the northern city of Genoa shouting anti-Islam statements.

Agnimitra · Post by **Agnimitra** » 02 Feb 2012 01:49

Londonistan: Muslim girl attacked by siblings for kissing white man

KLNMurthy · Post by **KLNMurthy** » 02 Feb 2012 01:51

SBajwa wrote:It is very cold in Punjab these days and people need to keep warm (but not by burning Quran).

Implies that everything with those backward chicken scratches has to be first checked to see if burning it will offend the masters of the universe.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 02 Feb 2012 03:18

Taslima Nasreen Publishes New Book Despite Anger from Muslims

A new book launch by Taslima Nasreen, a Bangladeshi exile living in India, has prompted outrage from Muslims in Calcutta, forcing officials to cancel an event at the Calcutta Book Fair. (Similarly, an appearance by Rushdie at a book festival in Jaipur was cancelled last week).

She first went to India, but subsequently departed for Sweden in 2008. She has now returned to India.

Her latest book is called “Nirbasan” (Exile), which details her traumatic exit from Calcutta in 2007-08.

Shibani Mukherji, Taslima’s publisher, told the Press Trust of India that his firm is "determined to go ahead with more publications that will uphold values, love for truth and social progress.”
Nasreen has spelled out the growing rift between old world fundamentalism and the realities of a new globalized economy, especially in place like India and Bangladesh.

She wrote on her website: “Humankind is facing an uncertain future. The probability of new kinds of rivalry and conflict looms large. In particular, the conflict is between two different ideas, secularism and fundamentalism. I don't agree with those who think the conflict is between religions or between the East and the West. To me, this conflict is basically between rational, logical thinking and irrational blind faith. To me, this is a conflict between modernity and anti-modernism. While some strive to go forward, others strive to go backward. This is a conflict between innovation and tradition, between those who value freedom and those who do not.”

Is Taslima Nasreen still in India??