Many Malaysian Muslim men who divorce their wives are ignoring their responsibility to provide for their children because the Islamic legal system fails to punish them, a women's rights group says. Sisters In Islam said women who were unable to get their ex-husbands to pay child support comprised nearly one-third of the 214 complaints it received in the first three months of 2007, adding that those cases constitute "only a small fraction of what is happening." "Mothers are forced to beg from their children's fathers so that their children have sufficient food, clothing, shelter and education," the group said in an April 21 statement. Sisters In Islam said Malaysia's Muslim women are suffering a lack of legal protection in a wide range of issues such as polygamy, where men who take multiple wives sometimes neglect the economic and emotional welfare of their families. Some Muslims interpret Islamic teaching as allowing a man to marry up to four women. The Islamic Shariah Court is the legal authority in disputes involving families, morality and religion for Muslims, who form nearly 60 percent of the 26 million people in Malaysia, which has Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities.
From DESERETNEWS.COM
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
a culture of pent-up sexual frustration
Up to 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers' mobile phones contain pornography, according to a study in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.
The study quoted in Arab News focussed on the phones of teenagers detained by religious police for harassing girls.
The same researcher also found that 88% of girls say they have been victims of harassment using Bluetooth technology.
Saudi Arabia has toughened penalties for misuse of mobile phones which challenge its strict social traditions.
"The flash memory of mobile phones taken from teenagers showed 69.7% of 1,470 files saved in them were pornographic and 8.6% were related to violence," said report author Professor Abdullah al-Rasheed.
He presented his study at a seminar organised by the King Fahd Security Academy, Arab News reports.
Public social contact between genders is banned in public in Saudi Arabia, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law and morality.
From BBC NEWS
The study quoted in Arab News focussed on the phones of teenagers detained by religious police for harassing girls.
The same researcher also found that 88% of girls say they have been victims of harassment using Bluetooth technology.
Saudi Arabia has toughened penalties for misuse of mobile phones which challenge its strict social traditions.
"The flash memory of mobile phones taken from teenagers showed 69.7% of 1,470 files saved in them were pornographic and 8.6% were related to violence," said report author Professor Abdullah al-Rasheed.
He presented his study at a seminar organised by the King Fahd Security Academy, Arab News reports.
Public social contact between genders is banned in public in Saudi Arabia, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law and morality.
From BBC NEWS
The Dresstapo strikes again: Pakistan bans staging play satirising burqa
“Burqavaganza” played earlier this month during an arts festival in Lahore, the eastern city regarded as Pakistan’s cultural capital, and home to some of the most liberal and most puritanical parts of the Muslim nation’s society.
“The burqa is part of our culture. We can’t allow anyone to ridicule our culture,” Culture Minister Sayed Ghazi Gulab Jamal told the National Assembly.
The minister announced that the government had barred the play, which had already ended its run in Lahore, from being performed in other Pakistani cities.
Veiled female parliamentarians and Islamist lawmakers cheered Jamal and thumped desks in approval, while trading barbs with women from both the ruling party and liberal opposition parties.
Described by critics as a romp, the play sought to highlight the impact of the veil on society, by showing how wearers use it as a way to hide what they want to keep private.
In the play, young men and women wore the burqa to go out on secret dates, and it featured a character called Burqa bin Badin.
The play also showed a burqa-clad married couple put to death for making love in public.
Predictably, religious conservative Pakistanis did not find it funny, going as far as to describe the play as blasphemous, a crime in Pakistan that can carry a death sentence.
“They have committed blasphemy against the Prophet (Mohammad),” Razia Aziz, a female lawmaker from the Islamist opposition alliance, told the National Assembly.
She demanded the government take action against people responsible for staging “Burqavaganza”.
Mehnaz Rafi, a lawmaker for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League from Lahore, opposed the government giving in to the Islamists.
“A few people cannot dictate affairs of the state. Every person has the right to lead his life his own way. A few people cannot snatch freedom from society,” Rafi said.
Shahid Nadeem, the director of the play, told the weekly Friday Times that the play aimed to raise awareness about a trend to force women to wear the veil.
Read it all at Kaleej Times Online
“The burqa is part of our culture. We can’t allow anyone to ridicule our culture,” Culture Minister Sayed Ghazi Gulab Jamal told the National Assembly.
The minister announced that the government had barred the play, which had already ended its run in Lahore, from being performed in other Pakistani cities.
Veiled female parliamentarians and Islamist lawmakers cheered Jamal and thumped desks in approval, while trading barbs with women from both the ruling party and liberal opposition parties.
Described by critics as a romp, the play sought to highlight the impact of the veil on society, by showing how wearers use it as a way to hide what they want to keep private.
In the play, young men and women wore the burqa to go out on secret dates, and it featured a character called Burqa bin Badin.
The play also showed a burqa-clad married couple put to death for making love in public.
Predictably, religious conservative Pakistanis did not find it funny, going as far as to describe the play as blasphemous, a crime in Pakistan that can carry a death sentence.
“They have committed blasphemy against the Prophet (Mohammad),” Razia Aziz, a female lawmaker from the Islamist opposition alliance, told the National Assembly.
She demanded the government take action against people responsible for staging “Burqavaganza”.
Mehnaz Rafi, a lawmaker for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League from Lahore, opposed the government giving in to the Islamists.
“A few people cannot dictate affairs of the state. Every person has the right to lead his life his own way. A few people cannot snatch freedom from society,” Rafi said.
Shahid Nadeem, the director of the play, told the weekly Friday Times that the play aimed to raise awareness about a trend to force women to wear the veil.
Read it all at Kaleej Times Online
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Amnesty report says Arab women singers complicit in rape
While African women in Darfur were being raped by the Janjaweed militiamen, Arab women stood nearby and sang for joy, according to an Amnesty International report published yesterday. The songs of the Hakama, or the “Janjaweed women” as the refugees call them, encouraged the atrocities committed by the militiamen.
The women singers stirred up racial hatred against black civilians during attacks on villages in Darfur and celebrated the humiliation of their enemies, the human rights group said.
“[They] appear to be the communicators during the attacks. They are reportedly not actively involved in attacks on people, but participate in acts of looting.”
Amnesty International collected several testimonies mentioning the presence of Hakama while women were raped by the Janjaweed. The report said:“Hakama appear to have directly harassed the women [who were] assaulted, and verbally attacked them.”
During an attack on the village of Disa in June last year, Arab women accompanied the attackers and sang songs praising the government and scorning the black villagers.
According to an African chief quoted in the report, the singers said: “The blood of the blacks runs like water, we take their goods and we chase them from our area and our cattle will be in their land. The power of [Sudanese president Omer Hassan] al-Bashir belongs to the Arabs and we will kill you until the end, you blacks, we have killed your God.”
The chief said that the Arab women also racially insulted women from the village: “You are gorillas, you are black, and you are badly dressed.”
The Janjaweed have abducted women for use as sex slaves, in some cases breaking their limbs to prevent them escaping, as well as carrying out rapes in their home villages, the report said.
The militiamen “are happy when they rape. They sing when they rape and they tell that we are just slaves and that they can do with us how they wish”, a 37-year-old victim, identified as A, is quoted as saying in the report, which was based onmore than 100 testimonies from women in the refugee camps in neighbouring Chad.
To read the whole article by Jeevan Vasagar in Nairobi and Ewen MacAskill got to Guardian Unlimited
The women singers stirred up racial hatred against black civilians during attacks on villages in Darfur and celebrated the humiliation of their enemies, the human rights group said.
“[They] appear to be the communicators during the attacks. They are reportedly not actively involved in attacks on people, but participate in acts of looting.”
Amnesty International collected several testimonies mentioning the presence of Hakama while women were raped by the Janjaweed. The report said:“Hakama appear to have directly harassed the women [who were] assaulted, and verbally attacked them.”
During an attack on the village of Disa in June last year, Arab women accompanied the attackers and sang songs praising the government and scorning the black villagers.
According to an African chief quoted in the report, the singers said: “The blood of the blacks runs like water, we take their goods and we chase them from our area and our cattle will be in their land. The power of [Sudanese president Omer Hassan] al-Bashir belongs to the Arabs and we will kill you until the end, you blacks, we have killed your God.”
The chief said that the Arab women also racially insulted women from the village: “You are gorillas, you are black, and you are badly dressed.”
The Janjaweed have abducted women for use as sex slaves, in some cases breaking their limbs to prevent them escaping, as well as carrying out rapes in their home villages, the report said.
The militiamen “are happy when they rape. They sing when they rape and they tell that we are just slaves and that they can do with us how they wish”, a 37-year-old victim, identified as A, is quoted as saying in the report, which was based onmore than 100 testimonies from women in the refugee camps in neighbouring Chad.
To read the whole article by Jeevan Vasagar in Nairobi and Ewen MacAskill got to Guardian Unlimited
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Fashion Police Pre-Summer Crackdown continues in Iran
Those women who appear in public like decadent models endanger the security and dignity of young men,’ prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was quoted as saying by the Etemad newspaper.
In what has become a regular occurrence ahead of the warm summer months, police on Saturday launched a campaign against the growing numbers of young women testing the limits of the law with shorter, brighter and skimpier clothing.
Under sharia, Islamic law, imposed after Iran’s 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures and protect their modesty.
Violators can be given lashes, fines and imprisonment.
‘If primary punishments are not effective, repeat violators may receive up to five years exile from Teheran,’ Mortazavi said.
Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005, promising a return to the values of the revolution, hardliners have pressed for tighter controls on ‘immoral behaviour’.
.....
A Teheran police spokesman said that since Saturday 3,242 people had received a warning for breaching the dress code in the capital, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The code also covers men who are not allowed to wear shorts.
Police have also stopped foreign tourists, who have to respect the dress code, Iranian media reported.
From Khaleej Times Online. To see photos of this activity go to Publius Pundit.
In what has become a regular occurrence ahead of the warm summer months, police on Saturday launched a campaign against the growing numbers of young women testing the limits of the law with shorter, brighter and skimpier clothing.
Under sharia, Islamic law, imposed after Iran’s 1979 revolution, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures and protect their modesty.
Violators can be given lashes, fines and imprisonment.
‘If primary punishments are not effective, repeat violators may receive up to five years exile from Teheran,’ Mortazavi said.
Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005, promising a return to the values of the revolution, hardliners have pressed for tighter controls on ‘immoral behaviour’.
.....
A Teheran police spokesman said that since Saturday 3,242 people had received a warning for breaching the dress code in the capital, the semi-official Fars news agency said. The code also covers men who are not allowed to wear shorts.
Police have also stopped foreign tourists, who have to respect the dress code, Iranian media reported.
From Khaleej Times Online. To see photos of this activity go to Publius Pundit.
Aniya - harrasment and intimidation continue...
"Wednesday morning, police arrived at Aishath Aniya's home and said she needed to attend the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs for questioning in relation to comments she made about the veil in a Minivan Daily article in March. Aniya said she did not believe the Supreme Council had the right to compel her attendance, and told police they would have to arrest her and “take [her] in handcuffs.”
The Supreme Council has since publicly denied they demanded Aniya appear before them. "
......"Media Coordinator Najeeb did confirm to Minivan News that the Supreme Council had asked to question Aniya when her article was first published in March, and remained interested in doing so. "
From Minivan News
Ibn Batuta the famous Moroccan traveller and former Chief Justice of Maldives records that he failed in his attempts to put Maldvian women in veil. According to him the veil was an object of derision and riducule to the women.
Today the Islamists are much more powerful. The power that women once enjoyed has eroded under continual pressure from the mullahs. Only a few women like Aniya have the courage to stand up to them.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
buruga for kurumba?
"al-Qaida's severe brand of Islam, which is so extreme that in Baqouba, al-Qaida has warned street vendors not to place tomatoes beside cucumbers because the vegetables are different genders,"
Extreme Sharia alert by Todd Pitman for The Associated Press
Extreme Sharia alert by Todd Pitman for The Associated Press
What your local Medina Sheik don't tell you - Part One
"We had heard stories of the abduction of women from taxis by sex-deprived Saudi youths. At a Saudi friend’s wedding at a luxurious hotel in Jeddah, women dared not step out of their hotel rooms and walk to the banqueting hall for fear of abduction by the bodyguards of a Saudi prince who also happened to be staying there.
Why had the veil and segregation not prevented such behaviour? My Saudi acquaintances, many of them university graduates, argued strongly that, on the contrary, it was the veil and other social norms that were responsible for such widespread sexual frustration among Saudi youth.
At work the British Council introduced free internet access for educational purposes. Within days the students had downloaded the most obscene pornography from sites banned in Saudi Arabia, but easily accessed via the British Council’s satellite connection. Segregation of the sexes, made worse by the veil, had spawned a culture of pent-up sexual frustration that expressed itself in the unhealthiest ways.
Using Bluetooth technology on mobile phones, strangers sent pornographic clips to one another. Many of the clips were recordings of homosexual acts between Saudis and many featured young Saudis in orgies in Lebanon and Egypt. The obsession with sex in Saudi Arabia had reached worrying levels: rape and abuse of both sexes occurred frequently, some cases even reaching the usually censored national press.
My students told me about the day in March 2002 when the Muttawa [the religious police] had forbidden firefighters in Mecca from entering a blazing school building because the girls inside were not wearing veils. Consequently 15 young women burnt to death, but Wahhabism held its head high, claiming that God’s law had been maintained."
The above is from an interesting article by a British jihadi who saw the light after a stay in Saudi Arabia as a teacher. To read the whole shocking story click here.
Why had the veil and segregation not prevented such behaviour? My Saudi acquaintances, many of them university graduates, argued strongly that, on the contrary, it was the veil and other social norms that were responsible for such widespread sexual frustration among Saudi youth.
At work the British Council introduced free internet access for educational purposes. Within days the students had downloaded the most obscene pornography from sites banned in Saudi Arabia, but easily accessed via the British Council’s satellite connection. Segregation of the sexes, made worse by the veil, had spawned a culture of pent-up sexual frustration that expressed itself in the unhealthiest ways.
Using Bluetooth technology on mobile phones, strangers sent pornographic clips to one another. Many of the clips were recordings of homosexual acts between Saudis and many featured young Saudis in orgies in Lebanon and Egypt. The obsession with sex in Saudi Arabia had reached worrying levels: rape and abuse of both sexes occurred frequently, some cases even reaching the usually censored national press.
My students told me about the day in March 2002 when the Muttawa [the religious police] had forbidden firefighters in Mecca from entering a blazing school building because the girls inside were not wearing veils. Consequently 15 young women burnt to death, but Wahhabism held its head high, claiming that God’s law had been maintained."
The above is from an interesting article by a British jihadi who saw the light after a stay in Saudi Arabia as a teacher. To read the whole shocking story click here.
Friday, April 20, 2007
More beheadings
Manzoor Ahmad Chat, 33, was beheaded by Hizbul militants on Saturday before dawn. Local police recovered the head and the remains of his body from Gundi Pora and Pinglana villages in Pulwama District. Manzoor and his family became believers in Jesus Christ after converting from Islam and regularly attended prayer services held by the SVM (Underground) House Church. He was a prayer leader in the house church.
From: Manila, 20 April (AKI) - The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels have decapitated seven hostages and sent their heads to the army in Jolo, in the southern Philippines archipelago of Sulu, the local press said on Friday quoting the military. The severed heads of six road project workers and one factory worker were delivered to two army outposts in Parang town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, Thursday. The victims, all Christians, were working on a government road construction project in the city of Parang, Jolo, when they were abducted Tuesday by rebels led by commander Albader Parad.
From: Manila, 20 April (AKI) - The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels have decapitated seven hostages and sent their heads to the army in Jolo, in the southern Philippines archipelago of Sulu, the local press said on Friday quoting the military. The severed heads of six road project workers and one factory worker were delivered to two army outposts in Parang town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, Thursday. The victims, all Christians, were working on a government road construction project in the city of Parang, Jolo, when they were abducted Tuesday by rebels led by commander Albader Parad.
Punishment alone is not the solution.
A baby is born out of wedlock. The mother kills the baby. And what does society do? Give her hundred lashes, put her in jail/banish her to another island and go on as before. For 800 years we have meted out the same punishment. But nothing changes. Infanticide cases continue and have actually increased. Do we know how many babies are clinically murdered in hospitals and clinics in Trivandrum and Sri Lanka? We should come up with a better plan to stop mothers from killing their babies.
Having a child out of wedlock is frowned upon by most cultures. In Maldivian society the stigma is overwhelming. The child itself is a "Haraam dhari" and never to be equal to others. If we wish to stop the mothers from killing their own child, we must first stop punishing them. The poor mother on top of the stigma, faces the financial prospect of caring for a child on her own. In their desperate helplessness they resort to taking the life of their own child. Women who get pregnant out of wedlock do not have the same access to prenatal and postnatal services. Social stigmatisation prevents them from freely accessing available services.
What we as a society should do is give them the help and support they need so that they do not kill their own child. Punishment alone is not the solution. Punishment is the main reason why mothers kill their infant child.
(Because some readers have mis-interpreted the post I have added extra clarifications and reposted)
Having a child out of wedlock is frowned upon by most cultures. In Maldivian society the stigma is overwhelming. The child itself is a "Haraam dhari" and never to be equal to others. If we wish to stop the mothers from killing their own child, we must first stop punishing them. The poor mother on top of the stigma, faces the financial prospect of caring for a child on her own. In their desperate helplessness they resort to taking the life of their own child. Women who get pregnant out of wedlock do not have the same access to prenatal and postnatal services. Social stigmatisation prevents them from freely accessing available services.
What we as a society should do is give them the help and support they need so that they do not kill their own child. Punishment alone is not the solution. Punishment is the main reason why mothers kill their infant child.
(Because some readers have mis-interpreted the post I have added extra clarifications and reposted)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Another Buddhist beheaded by "misguided" muslims
SUSPECTED Muslim insurgents shot and killed two Buddhist labourers and then beheaded one of their victims as violence and bombings rocked southern Thailand today, police said.
A high-ranking police officer was seriously injured when he stepped on a hidden bomb while inspecting a blast site in Narathiwat.
An insurgency in Thailand's three Muslim-dominated southern provinces has claimed more than 2,000 lives since 2004.
From : edinburghnews.scotsman.com
A high-ranking police officer was seriously injured when he stepped on a hidden bomb while inspecting a blast site in Narathiwat.
An insurgency in Thailand's three Muslim-dominated southern provinces has claimed more than 2,000 lives since 2004.
From : edinburghnews.scotsman.com
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Lies, lies and more lies
100%muslim. The phrase is almost inescapable. You hear it everywhere and almost everyday. But is it true? The constitution says Maldives is a islamic country. But the constitution and laws are not 100% in accordance with the Koran.
Repeatedly we hear that Maldivians embraced Islam. Peacefully.
What about the historical records? The Isdhoo Loamaafaanu? We have brought some of it in a previous post - "The earliest surviving Maldivian government record, etched onto copper in 1194 records that Buddhist monks from the island of Isdhoo in Laamu atoll were taken in triumph to Malé and beheaded by 'the great king Gadanaadeethiya the Prosperous, the uplifter of the noble Lunar Dynasty... defender of the entire hundred thousand islands.' Pursuing a policy of Islamisation, the king 'refrained from killing those infidels who entered the faith of the noble Prophet Muhammad, got them to utter shahaadhath and freed them having performed circumcision on them.'
They were killing anyone who refused to enter Islam? Peaceful indeed!!
To their credit, some people are speaking out.
Inscribed on copper plates buried at some of these destroyed Buddist temples are accounts of how Arab missionaries beheaded 200 priests in just one day in Male', simply for refusing to renounce their religion. True to the non-violent nature of the Buddist religion, they did not organize an opposition. They did not fight back. They just calmly submitted to be beheaded like goats to the slaughter on Muslim holy days. And more importantly, they were Maldivians. The best and the brightest of them!
Is everybody in Maldives a Muslim? No. I personally know many athiests, Buddhists and Christians. I know one person who is a Hindhu and another who claims to be a pagan. But the change is coming. I have seen in some writings where the Maldives is now described as a predominantly Muslim country.
100% Muslim? No. Peaceful conversion? No.
It can be repeated a million times. The ignorant and the misinformed may believe it. But it is not true. It is a lie.
Repeatedly we hear that Maldivians embraced Islam. Peacefully.
What about the historical records? The Isdhoo Loamaafaanu? We have brought some of it in a previous post - "The earliest surviving Maldivian government record, etched onto copper in 1194 records that Buddhist monks from the island of Isdhoo in Laamu atoll were taken in triumph to Malé and beheaded by 'the great king Gadanaadeethiya the Prosperous, the uplifter of the noble Lunar Dynasty... defender of the entire hundred thousand islands.' Pursuing a policy of Islamisation, the king 'refrained from killing those infidels who entered the faith of the noble Prophet Muhammad, got them to utter shahaadhath and freed them having performed circumcision on them.'
They were killing anyone who refused to enter Islam? Peaceful indeed!!
To their credit, some people are speaking out.
Inscribed on copper plates buried at some of these destroyed Buddist temples are accounts of how Arab missionaries beheaded 200 priests in just one day in Male', simply for refusing to renounce their religion. True to the non-violent nature of the Buddist religion, they did not organize an opposition. They did not fight back. They just calmly submitted to be beheaded like goats to the slaughter on Muslim holy days. And more importantly, they were Maldivians. The best and the brightest of them!
Is everybody in Maldives a Muslim? No. I personally know many athiests, Buddhists and Christians. I know one person who is a Hindhu and another who claims to be a pagan. But the change is coming. I have seen in some writings where the Maldives is now described as a predominantly Muslim country.
100% Muslim? No. Peaceful conversion? No.
It can be repeated a million times. The ignorant and the misinformed may believe it. But it is not true. It is a lie.
Monday, April 16, 2007
"Ninety percent of Maldivians don't know the meaning of Quran & Hadith but they pretend that they know."
"Maldivians are more like Afghanitanis and they support Bin-ladin. So how can you teach democracy. A country which was very moderate a few years is now becoming a part of Islamic terrorism. You will see this soon and countries like Srilianka, India, Singapore should be careful of Maldivians. The time for them to kill European tourists is very close and they will do this. The Maldivians already started making petrol bombs and they tested few. The government do not expose these news. They don't want to show others that they are also like other Islamic terrorists but they are."
The above is from a comment on Will Jordans blog by Shad. I have just given a few lines from the comment here. The whole comment is worth reading. I think he is saying the truth when he writes "Maldivians think they are superior to all because they follow Islam. In Islam it says the followers of Islam are superios and Jews and Christians are dirty and do not become thier friends. This message is given to all Maldivians every day by the government owned media."
To read the whole comment, please visit Will Jordans blog and checkout Bloody Foreigners and go to the comments.
The above is from a comment on Will Jordans blog by Shad. I have just given a few lines from the comment here. The whole comment is worth reading. I think he is saying the truth when he writes "Maldivians think they are superior to all because they follow Islam. In Islam it says the followers of Islam are superios and Jews and Christians are dirty and do not become thier friends. This message is given to all Maldivians every day by the government owned media."
To read the whole comment, please visit Will Jordans blog and checkout Bloody Foreigners and go to the comments.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Female genital mutilation on the rise in Maldives
A doctor who wishes to remain anonymous confirms to Dhivehistan Report that girls are being brought to the hospital because they are getting infected from genital mutilation.
While this practice is primarily cultural, some religions do include FGM as part of their practices.
According to Egyptian Al-Azhar University scholar Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mussayar "First of all, there are reliable hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim which support female circumcision. The Prophet Muhammad said: 'If a circumcised woman and man have intercourse, they must undergo ablution.' Unreliable hadiths do not cancel out the reliable ones. We have unreliable hadiths regarding prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. Should we abolish prayer and charity just because some hadiths are unreliable? According to some hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim, 'If a circumcised woman and man have intercourse, they must undergo ablution.' People would curse one another by saying: 'You son of a clit woman' - the son of a non-circumcised woman. The objections to circumcision are illogical and unnatural."
While this practice is primarily cultural, some religions do include FGM as part of their practices.
According to Egyptian Al-Azhar University scholar Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mussayar "First of all, there are reliable hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim which support female circumcision. The Prophet Muhammad said: 'If a circumcised woman and man have intercourse, they must undergo ablution.' Unreliable hadiths do not cancel out the reliable ones. We have unreliable hadiths regarding prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. Should we abolish prayer and charity just because some hadiths are unreliable? According to some hadiths in Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim, 'If a circumcised woman and man have intercourse, they must undergo ablution.' People would curse one another by saying: 'You son of a clit woman' - the son of a non-circumcised woman. The objections to circumcision are illogical and unnatural."
Female genital mutilation opponent badly beaten
Norwegian-Somalian Kadra, who became famous in Norway for exposing imam support of female circumcision, was beaten unconscious on Thursday.
Kadra was attacked and beaten senseless by seven or eight persons of Somali origin, newspaper VG reports.
"I was terrified. While I lay on the pavement they kicked me and screamed that I had trampled on the Koran. Several shouted Allah-o-akbar (God is great) and also recited from the Koran," Kadra told VG.
Kadra linked the attack to recent remarks in VG where she said that the Koran's views on women needed to be reinterpreted.
To read the full report go to the AFTENPOSTEN
Kadra was attacked and beaten senseless by seven or eight persons of Somali origin, newspaper VG reports.
"I was terrified. While I lay on the pavement they kicked me and screamed that I had trampled on the Koran. Several shouted Allah-o-akbar (God is great) and also recited from the Koran," Kadra told VG.
Kadra linked the attack to recent remarks in VG where she said that the Koran's views on women needed to be reinterpreted.
To read the full report go to the AFTENPOSTEN
Friday, April 13, 2007
reports of an attempt by the al-Qa'ida-linked terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba to assassinate the Tibetan spiritual leader
"SECURITY surrounding the Dalai Lama has been tightened after reports of an attempt by the al-Qa'ida-linked terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Toiba to assassinate the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
A three-tier security ring has been thrown around the 72-year-old Buddhist head, who lives at Dharamsala, in the Himalayan foothills, Indian police spokesman Prem Lal said.
All those approaching the exiled Tibetan chief will be closely watched by highly trained Tibetan security guards as well as heavily armed deployments of Indian police.
Visitors are being body-searched before being allowed to approach him."
A three-tier security ring has been thrown around the 72-year-old Buddhist head, who lives at Dharamsala, in the Himalayan foothills, Indian police spokesman Prem Lal said.
All those approaching the exiled Tibetan chief will be closely watched by highly trained Tibetan security guards as well as heavily armed deployments of Indian police.
Visitors are being body-searched before being allowed to approach him."
The article goes on..
"Superintendent Lal said police had been alerted by central intelligence agencies to the reported plot by Lashkar-e-Toiba to kill the Dalai Lama "on the directions of a foreign organisation", which he declined to name, but is assumed to be al-Qa'ida.
In a recent document, Osama bin Laden denounced "pagan Buddhism" as part of his general attack on anything not Islamic.
The assassination threat picked up by Indian authorities is thought to be based on bin Laden's denunciation and the extremist jihadi movement's hatred for anything and anyone that is not Muslim.
Lashkar-e-Toiba is believed to be al-Qa'ida's agent in South Asia and has been involved in virtually every major terrorist attack in India.
Indian authorities recently heightened the security surrounding India's political leader, Sonia Gandhi, and members of her high-profile family following intelligence reports that they were on the extremist movement's hit list. Mrs Gandhi now travels the country in armed motorcades similar to those that carry the country's head of state, President Abdul Kalam.
The heavy security cordon thrown around the Dalai Lama at the Dharamsala exile where he has lived since fleeing Tibet is in sharp contrast to the normally relaxed atmosphere that pervades the town and is testimony of the extent to which Islamic terrorism is affecting even remote parts of the world.
As police disclosed the threat to the Dalai Lama, Indian officials drafted a strong declaration on terrorism in South Asia for leaders attending the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit beginning in New Delhi today.
Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said the draft declaration would discuss "not only about implementing what we have already agreed to, but to see what further action we, in thesub-region, can take against terrorism".
There are suggestions that leaders at the eight-nation summit will consider extending throughout Asia the joint mechanism to deal with terrorism recently established between India and Pakistan.
The mechanism involves close co-operation on all matters relating to terrorism and a regular exchange of intelligence.
Sri Lanka is particularly keen to see an integrated strategy that would assist it in its war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers. Colombo wants SAARC members to work with it to defeat the Tigers.
Similarly, India wants all eight SAARC nations to help it defeat the Lashkar-e-Toiba group and to pursue a campaign against the terrorist movement. But many Pakistanis see LeT fighters as heroes."
In a recent document, Osama bin Laden denounced "pagan Buddhism" as part of his general attack on anything not Islamic.
The assassination threat picked up by Indian authorities is thought to be based on bin Laden's denunciation and the extremist jihadi movement's hatred for anything and anyone that is not Muslim.
Lashkar-e-Toiba is believed to be al-Qa'ida's agent in South Asia and has been involved in virtually every major terrorist attack in India.
Indian authorities recently heightened the security surrounding India's political leader, Sonia Gandhi, and members of her high-profile family following intelligence reports that they were on the extremist movement's hit list. Mrs Gandhi now travels the country in armed motorcades similar to those that carry the country's head of state, President Abdul Kalam.
The heavy security cordon thrown around the Dalai Lama at the Dharamsala exile where he has lived since fleeing Tibet is in sharp contrast to the normally relaxed atmosphere that pervades the town and is testimony of the extent to which Islamic terrorism is affecting even remote parts of the world.
As police disclosed the threat to the Dalai Lama, Indian officials drafted a strong declaration on terrorism in South Asia for leaders attending the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation summit beginning in New Delhi today.
Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said the draft declaration would discuss "not only about implementing what we have already agreed to, but to see what further action we, in thesub-region, can take against terrorism".
There are suggestions that leaders at the eight-nation summit will consider extending throughout Asia the joint mechanism to deal with terrorism recently established between India and Pakistan.
The mechanism involves close co-operation on all matters relating to terrorism and a regular exchange of intelligence.
Sri Lanka is particularly keen to see an integrated strategy that would assist it in its war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers. Colombo wants SAARC members to work with it to defeat the Tigers.
Similarly, India wants all eight SAARC nations to help it defeat the Lashkar-e-Toiba group and to pursue a campaign against the terrorist movement. But many Pakistanis see LeT fighters as heroes."
With thanks to The Australian
Buddhist woman burned alive
A Buddhist woman was shot and burned alive in Thailand's violence-torn Muslim-majority south on Wednesday, prompting angry protests in front of visiting army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin.
Watcharaporn Boonmak, 26, was ambushed by gunmen as she rode her motorcycle through a Muslim village in Yala, one of the three southern provinces roiled by three years of separatist insurgency in which more than 2,000 people have been killed.
"She might have been shot in the stomach before they set fire to her and her motorcycle," a Yala police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters by telephone.
One of her relatives told Reuters that witnesses at the scene heard Watcharaporn, a garage clerk, screaming and crawling along the road for help but nobody dared respond for fear of reprisals.
Even by the standards of a conflict that has seen well over a dozen civilians beheaded, it was a shocking incident.
"It is the most cruel and brutal thing I've seen in my life," Jaran Kongchuay said as he joined hundreds of Buddhists bearing Watcharaporn's charred body on a hospital stretcher to the provincial hall, demanding action from Sonthi.
To read more visit Reuters AlertNet
Watcharaporn Boonmak, 26, was ambushed by gunmen as she rode her motorcycle through a Muslim village in Yala, one of the three southern provinces roiled by three years of separatist insurgency in which more than 2,000 people have been killed.
"She might have been shot in the stomach before they set fire to her and her motorcycle," a Yala police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters by telephone.
One of her relatives told Reuters that witnesses at the scene heard Watcharaporn, a garage clerk, screaming and crawling along the road for help but nobody dared respond for fear of reprisals.
Even by the standards of a conflict that has seen well over a dozen civilians beheaded, it was a shocking incident.
"It is the most cruel and brutal thing I've seen in my life," Jaran Kongchuay said as he joined hundreds of Buddhists bearing Watcharaporn's charred body on a hospital stretcher to the provincial hall, demanding action from Sonthi.
To read more visit Reuters AlertNet
'No nudity for sex'
According to the religious edict issued by Rashad Hassan Khalil, a former dean of Al-Azhar University's faculty of Sharia (or Islamic law), "being completely naked during the act of coitus annuls the marriage".
The religious decree sparked a hot debate on the private satellite network Dream's popular religious talk show and on the front page of Sunday's Al-Masri Al-Yom, Egypt's leading independent daily newspaper.
Suad Saleh, who heads the women's department of Al-Azhar's Islamic studies faculty, pleaded for "anything that can bring spouses closer to each other" and rejected the claim that nudity during intercourse could invalidate a union.
During the live televised debate, Islamic scholar Abdel Muti dismissed the fatwa: "Nothing is prohibited during marital sex, except of course sodomy."
For his part, Al-Azhar's fatwa committee chairman Abdullah Megawar argued that married couples could see each other naked but should not look at each other's genitalia and suggested they cover up with a blanket during sex.
To read the article visit News24
The religious decree sparked a hot debate on the private satellite network Dream's popular religious talk show and on the front page of Sunday's Al-Masri Al-Yom, Egypt's leading independent daily newspaper.
Suad Saleh, who heads the women's department of Al-Azhar's Islamic studies faculty, pleaded for "anything that can bring spouses closer to each other" and rejected the claim that nudity during intercourse could invalidate a union.
During the live televised debate, Islamic scholar Abdel Muti dismissed the fatwa: "Nothing is prohibited during marital sex, except of course sodomy."
For his part, Al-Azhar's fatwa committee chairman Abdullah Megawar argued that married couples could see each other naked but should not look at each other's genitalia and suggested they cover up with a blanket during sex.
To read the article visit News24
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
M.I.B - A Special Fashion Feature Posting.
As Maldivians divest themselves of their ancient culture and copy the ways of their spiritual and cultural overlords, there is confusion among some people as to the role of the buruga (the recent controversy over an article by Aaniya). Nevertheless the buruga is gaining ground among Maldivian men. Although we are unable to bring you a photo of Ali Rameez in this posting, we bring you a collection of Men In Buruga. For those men among you who wish to wear the buruga in the traditional arab way, we suggest you go to SHEMAGH WRAP INSTRUCTIONS.
We also predict that once enough men are wearing buruga, the next new rage will be men kissing men in greeting. Enjoy!!
We also predict that once enough men are wearing buruga, the next new rage will be men kissing men in greeting. Enjoy!!
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