When Rizana Nafeek left her war-torn village in Sri Lanka two years ago, aged 17, she hoped to find a new life of peace and prosperity working as a maid in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, she is on death row, facing possible decapitation in the next few months for allegedly strangling the baby son of her Saudi employers.
Executions are commonplace in Saudi Arabia: there have been 109 so far this year, including four Sri Lankans who were beheaded for armed robbery. But Nafeek’s tender age, summary trial and severe sentence have aroused unprecedented international sympathy and sparked a broader debate about the treatment of South Asians in the Middle East.
The case has also put pressure on Sri Lanka’s Government, and others in South Asia, to offer greater protection to the thousands of their citizens who work as maids, drivers and manual labourers in the region. An estimated 1.5 million Sri Lankans work overseas and their annual remittances of £1.25 billion are a mainstay of the Sri Lankan economy.
“This issue should have been taken up long ago,” said Basil Fernando, executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, which is funding Ms Nafeek’s appeal. “Even now, Sri Lanka’s Government is not taking responsibility. It doesn’t want to set a precedent by providing legal support and there is enormous fear of upsetting relations with Saudi Arabia.”
Nafeek — like many poor Sri Lankans — was sent to work overseas in 2005 through an employment agency that obtained a passport falsely stating that she was born in 1982, rather than 1988. She was assigned to the home of Naif Jiziyan Khalafal Otaibi, a government employee whose wife had just given birth to a boy.
Two weeks into the job, Nafeek’s employers told her to bottle-feed the four-month-old baby while they were out. The baby died in her arms on May 22, 2005.
The Otaibis accused her of strangling their child and a Sharia court sentenced her to death this month — without any legal representation — after she confessed while in custody. Ms Nafeek now says that the confession was made under duress and that the baby choked to death while she was feeding it. She was given a month to appeal, but neither she nor her family could afford a lawyer and the Sri Lankan Government refused to foot the bill. It was only when the BBC World Service radio reported on the case in Sinhala, the main language of Sri Lanka, that the Asian Human Rights Commission intervened.
It raised £20,000 to hire a Saudi lawyer and accused the Sri Lankan Government publicly of failing to protect its citizens. Last week, the Government sent Hussein Bhaila, a deputy foreign minister, to Saudi Arabia along with Nafeek’s parents, who visited her in prison yesterday. “Emotionally and mentally, she’s very down,” Mr Bhaila told The Times.
He said that the policy of not providing expatriate workers with legal support would be reviewed. “I am confident that she will be acquitted on appeal, or failing that, a pardon is possible.” Under Saudi Arabia’s strict version of Sharia, a death sentence for premeditated murder can be quashed through a pardon from the victim’s family on the basis of “diya”, or blood money.
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Sunday, July 29, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
صحيح مسلم بشرح النووي
قوله : ( أبو غسان المسمعي )
هو بفتح الغين المعجمة وتشديد السين المهملة , ويجوز صرفه وترك صرفه . والمسمعي بكسر الميم الأولى وفتح الثاني , واسمه مالك بن عبد الواحد , وقد تقدم بيانه مرات , لكني أنبه عليه وعلى مثله لطول العهد به , كما شرطته في الخطبة . قوله : ( أبو رافع عن أبي هريرة ) اسم أبي رافع : ( نفيع ) وقد تقدم أيضا . قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( إذا قعد بين شعبها الأربع ثم جهدها ) وفي رواية ( أشعبها ) اختلف العلماء في المراد بالشعب الأربع , فقيل : هي اليدان والرجلان , وقيل : الرجلان والفخذان , وقيل : الرجلان والشفران , واختار القاضي عياض أن المراد شعب الفرج الأربع , والشعب النواحي واحدتها شعبة , وأما من قال : ( أشعبها ) , فهو جمع شعب . ومعنى ( جهدها ) حفرها كذا قاله الخطابي وقال غيره : بلغ مشقتها , يقال : جهدته وأجهدته بلغت مشقته , قال القاضي عياض رحمه الله تعالى : الأولى أن يكون جهدها بمعنى بلغ جهده في العمل فيها , والجهد الطاقة , وهو إشارة إلى الحركة وتمكن صورة العمل , وهو نحو قوله من حفرها أي كدها بحركته . وإلا فأي مشقة بلغ بها في ذلك . والله أعلم . ومعنى الحديث أن إيجاب الغسل لا يتوقف على نزول المني بل متى غابت الحشفة في الفرج وجب الغسل على الرجل والمرأة , وهذا لا خلاف فيه اليوم , وقد كان فيه خلاف لبعض الصحابة ومن بعدهم , ثم انعقد الإجماع على ما ذكرناه , وقد تقدم بيان هذا . قال أصحابنا : ولو غيب الحشفة في دبر امرأة , أو دبر رجل , أو فرج بهيمة , أو دبرها , وجب الغسل سواء كان المولج فيه حيا أو ميتا , صغيرا أو كبيرا , وسواء كان ذلك عن قصد أم عن نسيان , وسواء كان مختارا أو مكرها , أو استدخلت المرأة ذكره وهو نائم , وسواء انتشر الذكر أم لا , وسواء كان مختونا أم أغلف , فيجب الغسل في كل هذه الصور على الفاعل والمفعول به إلا إذا كان الفاعل أو المفعول به صبيا أو صبية فإنه لا يقال وجب عليه لأنه ليس مكلفا , ولكن يقال صار جنبا فإن كان مميزا وجب على الولي أن يأمره بالغسل كما يأمره بالوضوء , فإن صلى من غير غسل لم تصح صلاته , وإن لم يغتسل حتى بلغ وجب عليه الغسل , وإن اغتسل في الصبى ثم بلغ لم يلزمه إعادة الغسل . قال أصحابنا : والاعتبار في الجماع بتغييب الحشفة من صحيح الذكر بالاتفاق , فإذا غيبها بكمالها تعلقت به جميع الأحكام , ولا يشترط تغييب جميع الذكر بالاتفاق . ولو غيب بعض الحشفة لا يتعلق به شيء من الأحكام بالاتفاق إلا وجها شاذا ذكره بعض أصحابنا أن حكمه حكم جميعها , وهذا الوجه غلط منكر متروك , وأما إذا كان الذكر مقطوعا فإن بقي منه دون الحشفة لم يتعلق به شيء من الأحكام , وإن كان الباقي قدر الحشفة فحسب تعلقت الأحكام بتغييبه بكماله , وإن كان زائدا على قدر الحشفة ففيه وجهان مشهوران لأصحابنا أصحهما أن الأحكام تتعلق بقدر الحشفة منه , والثاني لا يتعلق شيء من الأحكام إلا بتغييب جميع الباقي . والله أعلم . ولو لف على ذكره خرقة وأولجه في فرج امرأة ففيه ثلاثة أوجه لأصحابنا منها والمشهور أنه يجب عليهما الغسل , والثاني لا يجب لأنه أولج في خرقة , والثالث إن كانت الخرقة غليظة تمنع وصول اللذة والرطوبة لم يجب الغسل . وإلا وجب . والله أعلم . ولو استدخلت المرأة ذكر بهيمة وجب عليها الغسل , ولو استدخلت ذكرا مقطوعا فوجهان أصحهما يجب عليها الغسل .
To go to cource click here
هو بفتح الغين المعجمة وتشديد السين المهملة , ويجوز صرفه وترك صرفه . والمسمعي بكسر الميم الأولى وفتح الثاني , واسمه مالك بن عبد الواحد , وقد تقدم بيانه مرات , لكني أنبه عليه وعلى مثله لطول العهد به , كما شرطته في الخطبة . قوله : ( أبو رافع عن أبي هريرة ) اسم أبي رافع : ( نفيع ) وقد تقدم أيضا . قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( إذا قعد بين شعبها الأربع ثم جهدها ) وفي رواية ( أشعبها ) اختلف العلماء في المراد بالشعب الأربع , فقيل : هي اليدان والرجلان , وقيل : الرجلان والفخذان , وقيل : الرجلان والشفران , واختار القاضي عياض أن المراد شعب الفرج الأربع , والشعب النواحي واحدتها شعبة , وأما من قال : ( أشعبها ) , فهو جمع شعب . ومعنى ( جهدها ) حفرها كذا قاله الخطابي وقال غيره : بلغ مشقتها , يقال : جهدته وأجهدته بلغت مشقته , قال القاضي عياض رحمه الله تعالى : الأولى أن يكون جهدها بمعنى بلغ جهده في العمل فيها , والجهد الطاقة , وهو إشارة إلى الحركة وتمكن صورة العمل , وهو نحو قوله من حفرها أي كدها بحركته . وإلا فأي مشقة بلغ بها في ذلك . والله أعلم . ومعنى الحديث أن إيجاب الغسل لا يتوقف على نزول المني بل متى غابت الحشفة في الفرج وجب الغسل على الرجل والمرأة , وهذا لا خلاف فيه اليوم , وقد كان فيه خلاف لبعض الصحابة ومن بعدهم , ثم انعقد الإجماع على ما ذكرناه , وقد تقدم بيان هذا . قال أصحابنا : ولو غيب الحشفة في دبر امرأة , أو دبر رجل , أو فرج بهيمة , أو دبرها , وجب الغسل سواء كان المولج فيه حيا أو ميتا , صغيرا أو كبيرا , وسواء كان ذلك عن قصد أم عن نسيان , وسواء كان مختارا أو مكرها , أو استدخلت المرأة ذكره وهو نائم , وسواء انتشر الذكر أم لا , وسواء كان مختونا أم أغلف , فيجب الغسل في كل هذه الصور على الفاعل والمفعول به إلا إذا كان الفاعل أو المفعول به صبيا أو صبية فإنه لا يقال وجب عليه لأنه ليس مكلفا , ولكن يقال صار جنبا فإن كان مميزا وجب على الولي أن يأمره بالغسل كما يأمره بالوضوء , فإن صلى من غير غسل لم تصح صلاته , وإن لم يغتسل حتى بلغ وجب عليه الغسل , وإن اغتسل في الصبى ثم بلغ لم يلزمه إعادة الغسل . قال أصحابنا : والاعتبار في الجماع بتغييب الحشفة من صحيح الذكر بالاتفاق , فإذا غيبها بكمالها تعلقت به جميع الأحكام , ولا يشترط تغييب جميع الذكر بالاتفاق . ولو غيب بعض الحشفة لا يتعلق به شيء من الأحكام بالاتفاق إلا وجها شاذا ذكره بعض أصحابنا أن حكمه حكم جميعها , وهذا الوجه غلط منكر متروك , وأما إذا كان الذكر مقطوعا فإن بقي منه دون الحشفة لم يتعلق به شيء من الأحكام , وإن كان الباقي قدر الحشفة فحسب تعلقت الأحكام بتغييبه بكماله , وإن كان زائدا على قدر الحشفة ففيه وجهان مشهوران لأصحابنا أصحهما أن الأحكام تتعلق بقدر الحشفة منه , والثاني لا يتعلق شيء من الأحكام إلا بتغييب جميع الباقي . والله أعلم . ولو لف على ذكره خرقة وأولجه في فرج امرأة ففيه ثلاثة أوجه لأصحابنا منها والمشهور أنه يجب عليهما الغسل , والثاني لا يجب لأنه أولج في خرقة , والثالث إن كانت الخرقة غليظة تمنع وصول اللذة والرطوبة لم يجب الغسل . وإلا وجب . والله أعلم . ولو استدخلت المرأة ذكر بهيمة وجب عليها الغسل , ولو استدخلت ذكرا مقطوعا فوجهان أصحهما يجب عليها الغسل .
To go to cource click here
Sunday, July 22, 2007
We are eating the bitter fruits of the "islamic education"
4 men get away with raping a child. Why?
In the last few decades a large number of Maldivians have studied the real Islam in 'Muslim Universities". The Mauhadhu and Arabiyya schools were set up for Maldivians to learn the real Islam. Now we have a large number of mullahs.
They are now bringing the true Islam to the Maldives.
In the last few decades a large number of Maldivians have studied the real Islam in 'Muslim Universities". The Mauhadhu and Arabiyya schools were set up for Maldivians to learn the real Islam. Now we have a large number of mullahs.
They are now bringing the true Islam to the Maldives.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
How did the Pakistani man get polio?
Radical Islamic clerics in northern Pakistan have been pushing the idea that vaccinations for diseases is a Western plot to poison Moslem children. This particular fantasy has been rattling around for nearly a decade, and has prevented the UN from wiping out polio. Like small pox (which was wiped out in the 1970s), once there are no people with polio, the disease is gone for good (it can only survive in a human host). The Islamic clerics urging parents not to vaccinate their children against polio, provide the disease with hosts, and keep it going. Last year, 24,000 children were not vaccinated in northern Pakistan because of this paranoid fantasy. As a result, at least 39 cases of polio were confirmed last year. The victims (usually children) either die, or are crippled for life. In 2005, there were 28 cases. When confronted by angry parents, the clerics say that it's "God's will" that the kid is dead or crippled from polio. Most Moslem parents accept that, because Islam means, literally, "submission."
To read complete article click here
To read complete article click here
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Saudi Arabia is preparing to behead a teenage girl who didn't even have a lawyer at her trial
Rizana Nafeek, a 19-year housemaid from Sri Lanka, is on death row because the baby in her care died while she was bottle-feeding him. If her appeal is turned down, she will be taken to a public square to be publicly beheaded.
The Sri Lankan government says it is working for a reprieve, and has until Monday to file the plea. A last-minute pardon by the infant's parents could also spare her. But if her execution goes ahead, it will be the latest in a surge of beheadings that could surpass the kingdom's record of 191 in 2005.
After dropping to 38 last year, the figure for 2007 is already at least 102, including three women, according to Amnesty International.
Beheading has always been the punishment meted out to murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers in Saudi Arabia. Whether what Nafeek did amounts to murder has never been spelled out by courts or other officials, but Saudi authorities, facing sustained criticism from foreign human rights groups, insist they are simply enforcing God's law.
To read more click here..
The Sri Lankan government says it is working for a reprieve, and has until Monday to file the plea. A last-minute pardon by the infant's parents could also spare her. But if her execution goes ahead, it will be the latest in a surge of beheadings that could surpass the kingdom's record of 191 in 2005.
After dropping to 38 last year, the figure for 2007 is already at least 102, including three women, according to Amnesty International.
Beheading has always been the punishment meted out to murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and armed robbers in Saudi Arabia. Whether what Nafeek did amounts to murder has never been spelled out by courts or other officials, but Saudi authorities, facing sustained criticism from foreign human rights groups, insist they are simply enforcing God's law.
To read more click here..
Friday, July 13, 2007
Muslim world plagued by rumors, conspiracy theories and paranoia.
"The contemporary Muslim fascination for conspiracy theories often limits the capacity for rational discussion of international affairs," argued Husain Haqqani of Boston University, at a conference in Istanbul titled "Fact vs. Rumor: Journalism in the 21st Century." This recent gathering of journalists and scholars was organized by my colleagues at the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life.
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The result is a climate of confusion and cynicism that prepares millions of people to believe the next round of rumors, often with violent consequences in an age in which ancient prejudices and modern technology merge seamlessly.
The results can be seen in recent WorldPublicOpinion.org surveys in Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Indonesia, said Haqqani, who is an active Muslim. As a rule, participants had positive attitudes about globalization, freedom of religion and democracy. Yet roughly three out of four surveyed said that Muslim nations should strictly enforce Sharia, or Islamic, law as part of efforts to reject sinful "Western values."
Large majorities affirmed the belief that the United States is trying to "weaken and divide" the Muslim world and slightly smaller majorities said America's goal is to "spread Christianity in the region."
The impact of the rumors can, perhaps, be seen in another paradox seen in these surveys, said Haqqani. Large majorities in Egypt, Indonesia and Morocco (results were mixed in Pakistan) agreed that violent groups that kill civilians are guilty of violating the "principles of Islam." However, less than a quarter of those polled believed that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Many Muslims seem to believe that 9/11 was a great achievement, but that Osama didn't do it," he said. "They are confused by all the rumors."
Leaders in the West must understand that almost half of the world's Muslim population is illiterate. Meanwhile, the 57 Organization of the Islamic Conference nations contain about 500 colleges and universities, compared with more than 5,000 in the United States and 8,000 in India. That is one university for every three million Muslims.
Yet this painful fact is not the only source of this predisposition to embrace conspiracy theories, said Haqqani. After all, the digital consumers who use their cell phones to spread ridiculous text messages are not illiterate.
"What we are seeing is not just a crisis rooted only in religion or education," said Haqqani. "This is a culture-wide crisis of politics and economics and technology and education and it is easy to see the role of religion because of the powerful role that faith plays in the lives of millions of people.
"The greatest fear of most Muslims is that their societies will be over run by the Western world. ... They believe that modernity equals Westernization, Westernization equals promiscuity and licentiousness and all of that equals a loss of faith. We cannot change that overnight. It is a project of a century or more, in which millions of people must learn that the modern world is built on values, laws and tolerance, not just highways, airplanes and cell phones."
Read the full article here at ScrippsNews
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The result is a climate of confusion and cynicism that prepares millions of people to believe the next round of rumors, often with violent consequences in an age in which ancient prejudices and modern technology merge seamlessly.
The results can be seen in recent WorldPublicOpinion.org surveys in Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan and Indonesia, said Haqqani, who is an active Muslim. As a rule, participants had positive attitudes about globalization, freedom of religion and democracy. Yet roughly three out of four surveyed said that Muslim nations should strictly enforce Sharia, or Islamic, law as part of efforts to reject sinful "Western values."
Large majorities affirmed the belief that the United States is trying to "weaken and divide" the Muslim world and slightly smaller majorities said America's goal is to "spread Christianity in the region."
The impact of the rumors can, perhaps, be seen in another paradox seen in these surveys, said Haqqani. Large majorities in Egypt, Indonesia and Morocco (results were mixed in Pakistan) agreed that violent groups that kill civilians are guilty of violating the "principles of Islam." However, less than a quarter of those polled believed that Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda were responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Many Muslims seem to believe that 9/11 was a great achievement, but that Osama didn't do it," he said. "They are confused by all the rumors."
Leaders in the West must understand that almost half of the world's Muslim population is illiterate. Meanwhile, the 57 Organization of the Islamic Conference nations contain about 500 colleges and universities, compared with more than 5,000 in the United States and 8,000 in India. That is one university for every three million Muslims.
Yet this painful fact is not the only source of this predisposition to embrace conspiracy theories, said Haqqani. After all, the digital consumers who use their cell phones to spread ridiculous text messages are not illiterate.
"What we are seeing is not just a crisis rooted only in religion or education," said Haqqani. "This is a culture-wide crisis of politics and economics and technology and education and it is easy to see the role of religion because of the powerful role that faith plays in the lives of millions of people.
"The greatest fear of most Muslims is that their societies will be over run by the Western world. ... They believe that modernity equals Westernization, Westernization equals promiscuity and licentiousness and all of that equals a loss of faith. We cannot change that overnight. It is a project of a century or more, in which millions of people must learn that the modern world is built on values, laws and tolerance, not just highways, airplanes and cell phones."
Read the full article here at ScrippsNews
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Iran's judiciary today confirmed that a man convicted of adultery has been stoned to death
Iran's judiciary today confirmed that a man convicted of adultery has been stoned to death in a northern province west of the capital, Tehran.
Jafar Kiani was stoned to death in a small village in the province of Qazvin. He was in his late 40s and had spent the last decade in prison after the adultery conviction.
He is the latest casualty of strict Islamic laws as applied since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979.
The grim sentence came despite a five-year-old moratorium on stonings that rights groups fear is sometimes ignored.
Activists are warning that his partner -- who reportedly was jailed at the same time, 11 years ago -- could face a similar fate.
The Stop Stoning Forever Campaign broke the news of Kiani's death on July 8, while the reformist "Etemad" daily and other news sources reported the next day that the stoning had been carried out.
'Definitive' Sentence
An Iranian judiciary spokesman, Alireza Jamshidi, today confirmed that the stoning took place in the village of Aghche Kand, adding that the verdict was implemented because it was "definitive."
The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi, declared a moratorium on stonings in 2002.
Iran's Nobel Peace Prize winner, rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, argued to Radio Farda that the practice contravenes human rights principles.
"I'm very regretful that the stoning sentence was carried out, because this sentence is not in line with Iran's international commitment -- and moreover [the head of Iran's judiciary] has issued several rulings that stoning sentences should not be carried out," Ebadi said.
Scant Protection
Judiciary spokesman Jamshidi claimed today that the policy on stoning has not changed, but he added that judges can act independently.
The stonings of Kiani and his partner, Mokarameh Ebrahimi, had been scheduled to take place on June 21. But they were delayed in the face of Iranian and international protests.
On June 20, a judiciary official was quoted by Iran's Fars News Agency as saying that the stoning sentence in Takestan had been suspended. That announcement was welcomed by human rights activists, who have repeatedly called on Iran to remove stoning as a form of punishment from its books. (Read Iran's law on adultery.)
But the recent news of Kiani's stoning has raised alarm and outraged activists and rights advocates who consider stoning among the cruelest of punishments.
It is also a gory spectacle. Condemned men are buried up to their waists, and women up to their chests, with their hands tied behind their backs before they are pelted with rocks until they die. Islamic code prescribes that the stone used for stoning "should not be so big as to kill the offender with one or two stones" and "nor should it be as small as pebbles." (Read Iran's law on the implementation of stoning.)
Condemned Parents
Soheila Vahdati is the international coordinator of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign. She tells RFE/RL that there is now growing concern about the fate of Ebrahimi, who was convicted along with Kiani and is apparently still in prison.
"It is very worrying that the sentence was carried out despite all the protests from all over the world that were heard by the judiciary and Iran's authorities," Vahdati said. "We've been [informed] that both of them were supposed to be stoned but that since Women's Day was celebrated last week in Iran, Mokarameh [Ebrahimi] was not stoned. But it appears that she is also due to be stoned."
The judiciary spokesman has described Ebrahimi's sentence as still "halted."
The Stop Forever Stoning Campaign reports that Ebrahimi and Kiani were arrested 11 years ago while living in what was described as an adulterous relationship. Together they have two children who are believed to live in prison with their condemned mother.
Judiciary Power
According to Islamic law as applied in Iran, eyewitness testimony, a confession, or a judge's knowledge is sufficient evidence for an adultery conviction.
Kiani and Ebrahimi were condemned to death on the basis of a judge's knowledge.
Vahdati says details about Ebrahimi and her children's fate are sketchy.
"Unfortunately we don't have exact reports. Even her lawyer, Said Eghbali, who has been representing her for eight months, has been unable to see her [court] file," Vahdati said. "We don't have enough information about her situation. We know that she has two children who are with her in prison -- we don't know the exact age or sex of the children. But activists from the campaign in Iran are going to investigate and go to Takestan to find firsthand information. They want to do their best to prevent another stoning being carried out secretly."
It is unclear how many stoning sentences have been issued or carried out since the five-year-old moratorium was declared.
Reports in late 2006 suggested that at least two people had been stoned to death earlier in the year and at least eight women faced stoning sentences.
Before today, Iranian officials had denied that any stonings had taken place since 2002. The statements on Kiani's stoning appear to mark the first instance of such an execution being confirmed by Iranian authorities.
Activists who are campaigning for stoning to be abolished in Iran say that Kiani's stoning last week was carried out in public by local officials and security forces. They say only a small number of villagers participated.
with thanks to RadioFreeEurope
Jafar Kiani was stoned to death in a small village in the province of Qazvin. He was in his late 40s and had spent the last decade in prison after the adultery conviction.
He is the latest casualty of strict Islamic laws as applied since Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979.
The grim sentence came despite a five-year-old moratorium on stonings that rights groups fear is sometimes ignored.
Activists are warning that his partner -- who reportedly was jailed at the same time, 11 years ago -- could face a similar fate.
The Stop Stoning Forever Campaign broke the news of Kiani's death on July 8, while the reformist "Etemad" daily and other news sources reported the next day that the stoning had been carried out.
'Definitive' Sentence
An Iranian judiciary spokesman, Alireza Jamshidi, today confirmed that the stoning took place in the village of Aghche Kand, adding that the verdict was implemented because it was "definitive."
The head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi Shahrudi, declared a moratorium on stonings in 2002.
Iran's Nobel Peace Prize winner, rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, argued to Radio Farda that the practice contravenes human rights principles.
"I'm very regretful that the stoning sentence was carried out, because this sentence is not in line with Iran's international commitment -- and moreover [the head of Iran's judiciary] has issued several rulings that stoning sentences should not be carried out," Ebadi said.
Scant Protection
Judiciary spokesman Jamshidi claimed today that the policy on stoning has not changed, but he added that judges can act independently.
The stonings of Kiani and his partner, Mokarameh Ebrahimi, had been scheduled to take place on June 21. But they were delayed in the face of Iranian and international protests.
On June 20, a judiciary official was quoted by Iran's Fars News Agency as saying that the stoning sentence in Takestan had been suspended. That announcement was welcomed by human rights activists, who have repeatedly called on Iran to remove stoning as a form of punishment from its books. (Read Iran's law on adultery.)
But the recent news of Kiani's stoning has raised alarm and outraged activists and rights advocates who consider stoning among the cruelest of punishments.
It is also a gory spectacle. Condemned men are buried up to their waists, and women up to their chests, with their hands tied behind their backs before they are pelted with rocks until they die. Islamic code prescribes that the stone used for stoning "should not be so big as to kill the offender with one or two stones" and "nor should it be as small as pebbles." (Read Iran's law on the implementation of stoning.)
Condemned Parents
Soheila Vahdati is the international coordinator of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign. She tells RFE/RL that there is now growing concern about the fate of Ebrahimi, who was convicted along with Kiani and is apparently still in prison.
"It is very worrying that the sentence was carried out despite all the protests from all over the world that were heard by the judiciary and Iran's authorities," Vahdati said. "We've been [informed] that both of them were supposed to be stoned but that since Women's Day was celebrated last week in Iran, Mokarameh [Ebrahimi] was not stoned. But it appears that she is also due to be stoned."
The judiciary spokesman has described Ebrahimi's sentence as still "halted."
The Stop Forever Stoning Campaign reports that Ebrahimi and Kiani were arrested 11 years ago while living in what was described as an adulterous relationship. Together they have two children who are believed to live in prison with their condemned mother.
Judiciary Power
According to Islamic law as applied in Iran, eyewitness testimony, a confession, or a judge's knowledge is sufficient evidence for an adultery conviction.
Kiani and Ebrahimi were condemned to death on the basis of a judge's knowledge.
Vahdati says details about Ebrahimi and her children's fate are sketchy.
"Unfortunately we don't have exact reports. Even her lawyer, Said Eghbali, who has been representing her for eight months, has been unable to see her [court] file," Vahdati said. "We don't have enough information about her situation. We know that she has two children who are with her in prison -- we don't know the exact age or sex of the children. But activists from the campaign in Iran are going to investigate and go to Takestan to find firsthand information. They want to do their best to prevent another stoning being carried out secretly."
It is unclear how many stoning sentences have been issued or carried out since the five-year-old moratorium was declared.
Reports in late 2006 suggested that at least two people had been stoned to death earlier in the year and at least eight women faced stoning sentences.
Before today, Iranian officials had denied that any stonings had taken place since 2002. The statements on Kiani's stoning appear to mark the first instance of such an execution being confirmed by Iranian authorities.
Activists who are campaigning for stoning to be abolished in Iran say that Kiani's stoning last week was carried out in public by local officials and security forces. They say only a small number of villagers participated.
with thanks to RadioFreeEurope
"Because of nine sheep, I gave away my daughter."
Unable to scrounge together the $165 he needed to repay a loan to buy sheep, Nazir Ahmad made good on his debt by selling his 16-year-old daughter to marry the lender's son.
"He gave me nine sheep," Ahmad said, describing his family's woes since taking the loan. "Because of nine sheep, I gave away my daughter."
Seated beside him in the cramped compound, his daughter Malia's eyes filled with tears. She used a black scarf to wipe them away.
Despite advances in women's rights and at least one tribe's move to outlaw the practice, girls are traded like currency in Afghanistan and forced marriages are common. Antiquated tribal laws authorize the practice known as "bad" in the Afghan language Dari — and girls are used to settle disputes ranging from debts to murder.
Such exchanges bypass the hefty bride price of a traditional betrothal, which can cost upward of $1,000. Roughly two out of five Afghan marriages are forced, says the country's Ministry of Women's Affairs.
"It's really sad to do this in this day and age, exchange women," said Manizha Naderi, the director of the aid organization Women for Afghan Women. "They're treated as commodities."
read the full story at Yahoo News
"He gave me nine sheep," Ahmad said, describing his family's woes since taking the loan. "Because of nine sheep, I gave away my daughter."
Seated beside him in the cramped compound, his daughter Malia's eyes filled with tears. She used a black scarf to wipe them away.
Despite advances in women's rights and at least one tribe's move to outlaw the practice, girls are traded like currency in Afghanistan and forced marriages are common. Antiquated tribal laws authorize the practice known as "bad" in the Afghan language Dari — and girls are used to settle disputes ranging from debts to murder.
Such exchanges bypass the hefty bride price of a traditional betrothal, which can cost upward of $1,000. Roughly two out of five Afghan marriages are forced, says the country's Ministry of Women's Affairs.
"It's really sad to do this in this day and age, exchange women," said Manizha Naderi, the director of the aid organization Women for Afghan Women. "They're treated as commodities."
read the full story at Yahoo News
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Coeducation is against Islam and therefore Muslims should refrain from sending their children, particularly girls, to coeducational schools’
One of South Asia’s most influential Sunni Muslim seminaries has issued a religious edict against coeducation in schools and colleges, claiming it is against Islamic law, an official said Sunday.
Coeducation is against Islam and therefore Muslims should refrain from sending their children, particularly girls, to coeducational schools,’ Mohammed Asumin Qazmi, an office bearer of the Dar-ul-Uloom Sunni seminary in northern India, told The Associated Press.
The religious edict, or fatwa, however, said that boys and girls can study together until they are 10-years-old.
Islam forbids women to meet men, who are not their father or close relatives. Therefore, how can one expect that Islam allows for coeducation,’ he added.
read on at Khaleej Times
Coeducation is against Islam and therefore Muslims should refrain from sending their children, particularly girls, to coeducational schools,’ Mohammed Asumin Qazmi, an office bearer of the Dar-ul-Uloom Sunni seminary in northern India, told The Associated Press.
The religious edict, or fatwa, however, said that boys and girls can study together until they are 10-years-old.
Islam forbids women to meet men, who are not their father or close relatives. Therefore, how can one expect that Islam allows for coeducation,’ he added.
read on at Khaleej Times
Sunday, July 08, 2007
children plead to die as martyrs
SAIMA KHAN wants to die a martyr. Life is transient, she told her father in a telephone call last week, and the real glory is to sacrifice it for Allah. Her statement would be alarming at any age, but Saima is only 10.
As she spoke, rifle shots rang out, the acrid smell of tear gas drifted over Islamabad and hundreds of troops surrounded the pro-Taliban Red Mosque, a religious school complex in the heart of Pakistan’s capital where Saima was among hundreds of children being held as virtual hostages in a stand-off between militants and the government.
Saima and her 14-year-old sister, Asma, were embroiled in a struggle for the soul of Pakistan in which up to 70 militants died last week and more than 100 were injured, according to mosque officials.
Holed up inside the complex behind the lines of troops and razor wire, the children – many of them girls whose families had sent them to the mosque to receive a strict Islamic education – repeatedly rejected relatives’ entreaties to leave before a threatened army onslaught.
There was evidence that many had been brainwashed into a cult of martyrdom, and the authorities feared last night that some were being prepared to be suicide bombers. In barely eight weeks, Saima had been transformed from a religious but fun-loving girl to a jihadi, grimly craving martyrdom.
At the barricades, her father, Luftullah Khan, a shopkeeper, frantically pestered soldiers to let him rescue both his daughters. But when he got through to them on their mobile telephone, they said they preferred martyrdom to freedom.
“I spoke to my daughter. She said there was no food or water left. I tried to arrange a meeting, but she said, ‘We’re here; my dead body will be here. I will not leave my teachers’,” Khan said.
His bewilderment at her sudden transformation reflects that of a nation that can barely believe the events unfolding in the shadow of General Pervez Musharraf’s presidential palace.
Militant leaders said yesterday that 30 girls had been buried in a mass grave inside the mosque grounds. Two more students died in fighting overnight. The children attend the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Faridia, two local madrasahs, or religious schools. The militants have herded their students into the basement of the mosque.
read the complete article at TimesOnline
As she spoke, rifle shots rang out, the acrid smell of tear gas drifted over Islamabad and hundreds of troops surrounded the pro-Taliban Red Mosque, a religious school complex in the heart of Pakistan’s capital where Saima was among hundreds of children being held as virtual hostages in a stand-off between militants and the government.
Saima and her 14-year-old sister, Asma, were embroiled in a struggle for the soul of Pakistan in which up to 70 militants died last week and more than 100 were injured, according to mosque officials.
Holed up inside the complex behind the lines of troops and razor wire, the children – many of them girls whose families had sent them to the mosque to receive a strict Islamic education – repeatedly rejected relatives’ entreaties to leave before a threatened army onslaught.
There was evidence that many had been brainwashed into a cult of martyrdom, and the authorities feared last night that some were being prepared to be suicide bombers. In barely eight weeks, Saima had been transformed from a religious but fun-loving girl to a jihadi, grimly craving martyrdom.
At the barricades, her father, Luftullah Khan, a shopkeeper, frantically pestered soldiers to let him rescue both his daughters. But when he got through to them on their mobile telephone, they said they preferred martyrdom to freedom.
“I spoke to my daughter. She said there was no food or water left. I tried to arrange a meeting, but she said, ‘We’re here; my dead body will be here. I will not leave my teachers’,” Khan said.
His bewilderment at her sudden transformation reflects that of a nation that can barely believe the events unfolding in the shadow of General Pervez Musharraf’s presidential palace.
Militant leaders said yesterday that 30 girls had been buried in a mass grave inside the mosque grounds. Two more students died in fighting overnight. The children attend the Jamia Hafsa and the Jamia Faridia, two local madrasahs, or religious schools. The militants have herded their students into the basement of the mosque.
read the complete article at TimesOnline
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Twelve killed in clashes at Lal Masjid
Pakistani security forces fought fierce gun battles with students at a pro-Taliban mosque in Islamabad on Tuesday after a lengthy standoff exploded into violence, leaving 12 people dead and 140 hurt.
Clerics from the radical Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, vowed suicide attacks to avenge the "blood of martyrs" after the day-long clashes. The victims included a soldier, a journalist, at least four students and several bystanders.
The shootout in the heart of the leafy capital followed months of tension over the mosque's challenges to the authority of President Pervez Musharraf, most recently the kidnapping of seven Chinese as part of an anti-vice campaign.
Deputy interior minister Zafar Warriach told reporters that nine people were killed and 140 wounded in the violence. Hospitals in the city later said that another three people had died, confirming that the overall toll was 12.
Read more at Yahoo news.
Clerics from the radical Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, vowed suicide attacks to avenge the "blood of martyrs" after the day-long clashes. The victims included a soldier, a journalist, at least four students and several bystanders.
The shootout in the heart of the leafy capital followed months of tension over the mosque's challenges to the authority of President Pervez Musharraf, most recently the kidnapping of seven Chinese as part of an anti-vice campaign.
Deputy interior minister Zafar Warriach told reporters that nine people were killed and 140 wounded in the violence. Hospitals in the city later said that another three people had died, confirming that the overall toll was 12.
Read more at Yahoo news.
A Muslim-born woman who was forced to spend six months in an Islamic rehabilitation center because she wants to live as a Hindu said Friday after her release that she will never return to her original faith.
Revathi Masoosai, 29, said officials at the center tried to make her pray as a Muslim, wear a head scarf and eat beef, a practice sacrilege to Hindus.
"Because of their behavior, I loathe Islam even more now," she told reporters. "They say it's a school, but it's actually a prison."
Her case is one of a growing number of conflicts in Malaysia between religious freedom and state policies that favor Islam, the official faith of this southeast Asian nation. The battles have strained ethnic relations in the multicultural nation.
Malaysia is considered one of the world's most relaxed Muslim countries, having enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades. But it follows a dual justice system. Islamic, Shariah, courts administer the personal affairs of Muslims, while civil courts govern Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other religious minorities.
Under Islamic law, a person who is born Muslim cannot convert to another religion.
The Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state detained Revathi, an ethnic Indian, in January and sent her for religious counseling after officials discovered she had married a Hindu man.
Read full story here at MercuryNews.com
Revathi Masoosai, 29, said officials at the center tried to make her pray as a Muslim, wear a head scarf and eat beef, a practice sacrilege to Hindus.
"Because of their behavior, I loathe Islam even more now," she told reporters. "They say it's a school, but it's actually a prison."
Her case is one of a growing number of conflicts in Malaysia between religious freedom and state policies that favor Islam, the official faith of this southeast Asian nation. The battles have strained ethnic relations in the multicultural nation.
Malaysia is considered one of the world's most relaxed Muslim countries, having enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades. But it follows a dual justice system. Islamic, Shariah, courts administer the personal affairs of Muslims, while civil courts govern Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other religious minorities.
Under Islamic law, a person who is born Muslim cannot convert to another religion.
The Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state detained Revathi, an ethnic Indian, in January and sent her for religious counseling after officials discovered she had married a Hindu man.
Read full story here at MercuryNews.com
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Men In Burugaa rob a bank
Two armed men disguised as Muslim women in burqas held up a bank in Sarajevo and got away with some $40,000, Bosnian police said on Tuesday.
They said the pair entered a Union bank branch in the capital wearing head-to-toe black dresses and veils typical of women adhering to the orthodox Islamic code and trained guns on customers. They then made customers lie on the floor while the emptied the tills, police added.
"Everything happened in a moment. Two persons in black niqabs (burqas) came into the bank. I thought they were ladies," the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje quoted bank customer Mehmedalija Komarac as saying.
Women in burqas and men with long beards have become a common sight in the Bosnian capital in recent years.
From: Reuters
They said the pair entered a Union bank branch in the capital wearing head-to-toe black dresses and veils typical of women adhering to the orthodox Islamic code and trained guns on customers. They then made customers lie on the floor while the emptied the tills, police added.
"Everything happened in a moment. Two persons in black niqabs (burqas) came into the bank. I thought they were ladies," the Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje quoted bank customer Mehmedalija Komarac as saying.
Women in burqas and men with long beards have become a common sight in the Bosnian capital in recent years.
From: Reuters
Man In Burugaa is the Imam
Maulana Abdul Aziz, spiritual head of the Lal Masjid, was arrested trying to escape dressed in a burqa among a group of women. Total number of dead is still uncertain but government continues talking to Islamic terrorists holed up in the mosque.
Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) chief cleric spoke on state TV, urging militant students inside to end their fight and surrender to the authorities. Maulana Abdul Aziz, head of the mosque and adjacent Jamia Hafsa madrassa, told students not to sacrifice their lives for him.
He was arrested on Wednesday night as he tried to escape from the mosque complex dressed in a burqa mingled among a group of women. A police woman noticed his height and unfeminine body and stopped him.
In his comments to state TV he said he realised people inside the mosque could not hold out for long.
Clashes began the other day when police stopped some madrassa students, but got worse over night.
This morning government forces launched volleys of tear gas. From inside grenades were thrown at troops.
The number of dead is not clear. One estimate confirmed by the Interior Ministry is 16 dead. Eyewitnesses speak of dead bodies lying around inside the mosque.
The religious affairs minister said that the building is being held by about 30 armed terrorists who are preventing an unspecified number of students from leaving.
From Islamabad AsiaNews/Agencies –
Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) chief cleric spoke on state TV, urging militant students inside to end their fight and surrender to the authorities. Maulana Abdul Aziz, head of the mosque and adjacent Jamia Hafsa madrassa, told students not to sacrifice their lives for him.
He was arrested on Wednesday night as he tried to escape from the mosque complex dressed in a burqa mingled among a group of women. A police woman noticed his height and unfeminine body and stopped him.
In his comments to state TV he said he realised people inside the mosque could not hold out for long.
Clashes began the other day when police stopped some madrassa students, but got worse over night.
This morning government forces launched volleys of tear gas. From inside grenades were thrown at troops.
The number of dead is not clear. One estimate confirmed by the Interior Ministry is 16 dead. Eyewitnesses speak of dead bodies lying around inside the mosque.
The religious affairs minister said that the building is being held by about 30 armed terrorists who are preventing an unspecified number of students from leaving.
From Islamabad AsiaNews/Agencies –
Monday, July 02, 2007
PAKISTAN: Man Sexually Assaulted After Refusing to Convert to Islam
Lawyers in Pakistan are investigating a report that up to 30 men tortured and gang-raped a young Christian man for refusing to convert to Islam.
The victim is seriously injured and unable to move, Release International’s partner in Pakistan has reported. However, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) the police are keeping him locked up and have denied him medical treatment.
The police are also refusing to register the rape following a counter-claim made by his principal attacker – “a man of influence”, Release International has told Christian Today.
According to CLAAS, the Christian was invited to a game of cricket. A quarrel broke out and he was beaten up. Later that evening, the father of one of the Muslims asked the Christian over to his house.
Joseph Francis, the National Director of CLAAS, explained: “When he entered the drawing room, he found it filled with unknown people. They began to beat him severely. They threatened him with dire consequences if he did not accept Islam. After his refusal, they committed sodomy with him one by one for the whole night.”
Francis said that they later threw their victim out on the street unconscious.
To read more click here
The victim is seriously injured and unable to move, Release International’s partner in Pakistan has reported. However, according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) the police are keeping him locked up and have denied him medical treatment.
The police are also refusing to register the rape following a counter-claim made by his principal attacker – “a man of influence”, Release International has told Christian Today.
According to CLAAS, the Christian was invited to a game of cricket. A quarrel broke out and he was beaten up. Later that evening, the father of one of the Muslims asked the Christian over to his house.
Joseph Francis, the National Director of CLAAS, explained: “When he entered the drawing room, he found it filled with unknown people. They began to beat him severely. They threatened him with dire consequences if he did not accept Islam. After his refusal, they committed sodomy with him one by one for the whole night.”
Francis said that they later threw their victim out on the street unconscious.
To read more click here
BANGLADESH: Muslim neighbors strike converts from Islam with bricks, clubs;
Muslim villagers armed with bricks and wooden clubs savagely beat 10 Christian converts in Nilphamari district, Bangladesh, on Tuesday (June 26) and threatened to burn down their homes if they did not leave by today.
The mob gave the Christians an ultimatum on Wednesday (June 27) to leave the village within 24 hours, threatening more beatings along with home burnings; that deadline expired today without incident. Muslim extremists also threatened to kill two Christians.
A human rights advocate working on behalf of the Christians who requested anonymity said he had contacted local police and government officials, including the district commissioner, but “they are very slow to respond.” Police rejected the Christians’ attempt to file a complaint, instead threatening to arrest them for “converting Muslims.”
.....
......
The attack came after 42 men and women from Muslim backgrounds were baptized at a local river on June 12.
Within days, authorities at the mosque in Durbachari banned Christians from using the village tube-well, a serious deprivation as it is the area’s only source of potable water. The Christians have since resorted to carrying water from a river 600 meters from their homes.
Muslim extremists also issued death threats against Abul Hossain and Barek Ali, two villagers appointed as leaders of the new converts.
Kamal Hossain, a cousin of Abul Hossain’s and the principal of a local madrassa (Islamic school), has repeatedly summoned Hossain to his home, demanding that he give up his Christian faith. On Sunday (June 24), he argued with Hossain for several hours before writing a statement claiming that the Christian had forcibly converted local Muslims.
At the same time, a local Muslim cleric has questioned and threatened Barek Ali repeatedly, asking how much money he received for his conversion and demanding that he abandon his Christian faith.
To read the whole article go to Compass Direct News
The mob gave the Christians an ultimatum on Wednesday (June 27) to leave the village within 24 hours, threatening more beatings along with home burnings; that deadline expired today without incident. Muslim extremists also threatened to kill two Christians.
A human rights advocate working on behalf of the Christians who requested anonymity said he had contacted local police and government officials, including the district commissioner, but “they are very slow to respond.” Police rejected the Christians’ attempt to file a complaint, instead threatening to arrest them for “converting Muslims.”
.....
......
The attack came after 42 men and women from Muslim backgrounds were baptized at a local river on June 12.
Within days, authorities at the mosque in Durbachari banned Christians from using the village tube-well, a serious deprivation as it is the area’s only source of potable water. The Christians have since resorted to carrying water from a river 600 meters from their homes.
Muslim extremists also issued death threats against Abul Hossain and Barek Ali, two villagers appointed as leaders of the new converts.
Kamal Hossain, a cousin of Abul Hossain’s and the principal of a local madrassa (Islamic school), has repeatedly summoned Hossain to his home, demanding that he give up his Christian faith. On Sunday (June 24), he argued with Hossain for several hours before writing a statement claiming that the Christian had forcibly converted local Muslims.
At the same time, a local Muslim cleric has questioned and threatened Barek Ali repeatedly, asking how much money he received for his conversion and demanding that he abandon his Christian faith.
To read the whole article go to Compass Direct News
Maldives must condemn Islamic terror
Maldives must condemn Islamic terror.
The Muslims, who still inhabit what are loosely known as the Palestinian territories, are barbarians incapable of governing themselves. They desecrated the Jewish synagogues of the Gaza Strip in stark violation of international laws demanding the protection of holy sites. After centuries Islam continues to occupy the Jewish holy site of the Temple Mount by imposing two alien structures, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque. These structures are right in the heart of the capital city of Israel- the only functioning democracy in the Middle East.
Why does our government continue to support barbarians such as the Muslims who live in the so called Palestinian territories? We are a proud and civilised country older than Islam and we need not dance to the drums of some desert Bedouin.
The Muslims, who still inhabit what are loosely known as the Palestinian territories, are barbarians incapable of governing themselves. They desecrated the Jewish synagogues of the Gaza Strip in stark violation of international laws demanding the protection of holy sites. After centuries Islam continues to occupy the Jewish holy site of the Temple Mount by imposing two alien structures, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque. These structures are right in the heart of the capital city of Israel- the only functioning democracy in the Middle East.
Why does our government continue to support barbarians such as the Muslims who live in the so called Palestinian territories? We are a proud and civilised country older than Islam and we need not dance to the drums of some desert Bedouin.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Death of 12-Year-Old Circumcised Girl
The death of a 12-year-old Egyptian girl at the hands of a doctor performing female circumcision in the country's south has sparked a public outcry and prompted health and religious authorities this week to ban the practice.
The girl, Badour Shaker, died earlier in June while being circumcised in an illegal clinic in the southern town of Maghagh. Her mother, Zeniab Abdel Ghani, told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that she had paid $9 dollars to a female physician to perform the procedure.
The mother also told the paper that the doctor later tried to bribe her to withdraw a lawsuit accusing the physician of murder, in return for $3,000, but she refused.
Read the complete story from CAIRO, Egypt at FoxNews.com
The girl, Badour Shaker, died earlier in June while being circumcised in an illegal clinic in the southern town of Maghagh. Her mother, Zeniab Abdel Ghani, told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that she had paid $9 dollars to a female physician to perform the procedure.
The mother also told the paper that the doctor later tried to bribe her to withdraw a lawsuit accusing the physician of murder, in return for $3,000, but she refused.
Read the complete story from CAIRO, Egypt at FoxNews.com
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