Struggling after Egypt's pig cull

BBC News, Cairo

A day in the life of Cairo's rubbish collectors

In the half-light of dawn, the new day in Cairo is greeted with the clatter of dustbins.

The Zabaleen (Egyptian Arabic for "garbage people") are beginning their rounds.
Since the age of eight, Magdi Mosaad has eked out a meagre living recycling Cairo's waste.

Each morning he scurries around the apartment blocks, emptying the contents of festering bins into the canvas bag strapped to his back. He looks like a bee storing honey.

He has done this job for 14 hours a day, for 30 years of his life.

"I am illiterate, I have no formal education," he says. "This is all I know."

But since the advent of swine flu prompted authorities to mount a cull of Egypt's entire population of pigs, his burden has just got even heavier.
Big appetites

The Zabaleen are an Egyptian community of mainly Coptic Christians - vital to Cairo's refuse collection. Around 85% cent of the rubbish they retrieve is sorted, recycled and resold. Tin, paper, glass - even bones are recycled for glue.

I sold pigs twice a year. To pay for mending the car and the school fees for our three young children. There is no way I can replace that income

Magdi Mosaad


Rubbish collector
In one garage we visited in the Zabaleen neighbourhood of Manshiet Nasser, they were pressing tin cans into bales, ready to be sold to the Chinese.

But this is a fragile existence in which the pigs played a crucial role.

Each month they troughed their way through 6,000 tonnes of rotting food collected on the rounds.

The fattened pigs were sold to supplement the income of the Zabaleen.

Mr Mosaad says the extra money that he raised from selling pork was vital to his family's welfare:

"I sold pigs twice a year. To pay for mending the car and the school fees for our three young children. There is no way I can replace that income."

As the H1N1 pandemic spread around the globe, Cairo was infected with outbreaks of panic and hysteria. The majority Muslim parliament voted to slaughter the entire pig population - 350,000 animals - even though they were not infected.

Riots
It is mostly the Christians that rear pigs in Egypt.



The sometimes brutal mass cull caused international concern

The government's decision would have dire financial implications. The authorities had already sought to replace the Zabaleen with the sleek machines of the more modern European contractors.

Now they were targeting one of their other main sources of income - the pigs.

In Manshiet Nasser, there were riots as the government vets began their work.

"They made their decision without any research," said Syada Greiss, one of the Christian MPs in parliament.

"Who would this affect, how many, what damage would it do to the local economy, what would they do to replace their lost income? There was no real thought for the implications for one of the city's poorest suburbs. And that's why it feels like discrimination."

The government says it has compensated the Zabaleen but those who reared pigs say they received only a fraction of what their animals were worth.

It was also a one-off payment - hardly compensation for a twice-yearly income on which men like Mr Mosaad had depended.

"If you walk around this neighbourhood they are piling up the organic waste in the streets," said Ms Greiss. "There is nowhere to put it. No pigs to eat it. It is miserable here."

On top of that there were cruel, inhumane pictures of the pigs being slaughtered that led to an international outcry.

There were live pigs fed into crushers, others doused in disinfectant and buried alive.

Health consequences
On average the Zabaleen family survives on $100 (£60) a month.

Dr Salib says his district is now afflicted by a rat infestation

But Dr Atif Salib, who runs a clinic in Manshiet Nasser, says he is now seeing cases of malnutrition and anaemia in children. Pork was the only affordable source of animal protein.

There are all manner of diseases that come with sorting rubbish by hand. Hepatitis is common.

And there is another risk. With organic waste piling up in the streets, there is plenty for hungry vermin.

"Definitely we have got a rat infestation," said Dr Salib. "I regularly have patients coming into my clinic with rat bites on their bodies."

But Dr Saad Nassar, the chief advisor to the minister for agriculture, makes no apologies for his government's drastic decision to cull all the pigs.

'Unhygienic'
The Egyptians were criticised for acting too slowly with the outbreak of bird flu - now endemic - and they are terrified that two strains of flu could one day combine to create a highly contagious strain.

"The pigs are often kept in dirty conditions, in poor areas, they are rarely seen by vets," said Dr Nassar.

"The government is afraid that if you have H1N1 and H5N1 in the same neighbourhood it could create a new dangerous strain which could be shifted to the people who live there. That would be a disaster."

The government says farmers can restock - but only if the pigs are reared in a more modern farming environment on the outskirts of the city: where pigs are kept in isolation, where they can be slaughtered in a proper way and the meat cooled ready for market.

But the Zabaleen say that involves the added cost of moving waste to the outskirts of the city - another assault on their income.

Increasingly the organic waste is left behind in the streets and that has implications for everyone in this city - not just the beleaguered minority.

BBC

Why Islamic Law Is The Antithesis of Equal Justice

Muslim woman receives flogging in Shari'a controlled part of Indonesia

If there is one thing that is innate to the functioning of a democratic society, it is that every person is legally equal under the law. It is also why Islamic Law or Sharia, is incompatible with a democratic society, because Islamic law presumes the inequality of everyone who is not a Muslim male as a given.

There can be no middle ground of compromise between Islamic law and civil law, because Sharia is not legal, it is religious. There can be no concession to the rights of the individual, because Islam does not recognize the worth of individuals or their power to make law, rather than be subject to it.

In Sudan a dozen women were sentenced to be flogged for wearing pants. Some of them were Christian, but that has never really mattered, as the essential premise of Islamic law is that it is inherently superior to every other law. Naturally no men have ever been sentenced for wearing pants. That is a law that applies only to women, because there is a fundamental difference between Islamic law and Western law, not simply in morality or structure-- but in equality.

A Muslim man will never be sentenced to be flogged for wearing pants, just as a Muslim Imam will never be tried for blasphemy no matter how many ugly things he says about Hindusim, Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism. Blasphemy is a charge that is meaningful only in relation to the doctrine that is at the heart of Islamic law, that is Islam itself.

Islamic law is law made by Muslim men for the benefit of Muslim men, and the detriment of everyone else. It is the product of an inherently unequal system, designed to perpetuate that system.

Under it non-Muslims are inferior to Muslims because by rejecting the "truth" of Islam, they cast doubts about their moral fitness. A non-Muslim is an infidel who drinks alcohol, eats pork and has forbidden sexual relations. As far as Islamic law is concerned he is already of poor moral character and a criminal.

Women are inferior to men, as they are lower in status than men. When Mohammed declared, or was said to declare in Islamic scripture, that, "I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were women", he was articulating the top down theology of a cult that defined sinfulness in terms of position of tribal power. Therefore in the Mohammedan vision of hell, the underworld was to be populated mostly by women for their ingratitude to their husbands, who under Islam were also their masters. And slaves are defined as moral to the degree that they serve their masters.

Under the circular logic of Islam, women are second class citizens because they are untrustworthy, and untrustworthy because they are second class citizens. This makes women automatically suspect of all sorts of things.

It is why a woman who was raped is more at fault than the man who raped her. In the Islamic worldview, which is itself a carryover of Bedouin tribalism, a rapist has taken someone else's property. By contrast the woman who was raped was careless with the property of her husband or her father. Whether the woman had consensual sex or was raped does not matter very much, because in either case she is only property that was damaged. Not a human being. The honor killing is simply a male relative or spouse destroying what Islamic tribalism considers to be "damaged property". Her consent is not considered significant, because Islamic law does not take the agency of a woman seriously, or treat her as competent to make decision on the level of a man in the first place.

It is why the woman is always at fault. While Western jurisprudence considers diminished capacity to be an extenuating circumstance, Islamic jurisprudence considers it to be a statement of guilt. That is because Western jurisprudence presumes innocence, while Islamic jurisprudence presumes guilt. The lower the role, the more readily the presumption of guilt is applied. Since Islam treats all people as inherently sinful, and therefore perpetually guilty, the higher the form of awareness, the more likely the Muslim is to avoid sin. A Muslim mam has more agency than a woman, and is more likely to do the right thing. A Muslim woman is considered to have less agency, which is why she must have a husband to master her, and why Islam considers her more likely to be at fault.

Women under the burqa in Turkey

Like slaves, women can only demonstrate their worth through submission to their masters. Muslim men in turn can only demonstrate their worth through submission to the will of Allah as expressed by the Imams. Since the core of Islamic law is held by Arab Muslims, they effectively serve as superior to non-Arab Muslims. And throughout it all, one thing is missing. Equality under the law and equal justice for all.

If there is one thing that is innate to the functioning of a democratic society, it is that every person is legally equal under the law. It is also why Islamic Law or Sharia, is incompatible with a democratic society, because Islamic law presumes the inequality of everyone who is not a Muslim male as a given. Defenders of Sharia have tried to get around this by pointing to the things that Islamic law did not take away from women and non-Muslims while willfully ignoring the things that it did take away.

This is a basic reality that Westerners have been kept deliberately ignorant of. Yet the moment a Western tourist sets foot in a Muslim country, she has left a system where she is legally the equal of anyone else, and entered a system in which she is dramatically unequal. A woman or any non-Muslim who enters a Muslim country is now under the power of a legal system that considers her or him inferior in morals, in character and in testimony.

At the heart of the problem are the fundamentally different realities at the heart of law in a democratic nation and within Islam.

Citizens of First World nations see the legal system as part of a social contract with a government of their choice. The law is the expression of the wishes and values of the citizenry. And it treats everyone as inherently equal under the law because otherwise fairness becomes impossible. By contrast Islamic law is not part of any social contract, it is a decree of the Prophet and the various Muslim figures throughout the ages who have interpreted his sayings. It is not part of a bottom up civil society, it is a strictly top down series of clauses that mixes tribal customs, stolen scraps of other religions, with the determined will of a ruthless, though illiterate, warlord.

Islam does not recognize human equality. It is premised on human inequality. Women cannot be subject to the same laws as men, just as Mohammed was not subject to the same laws as men. Indeed the Koran records that Mohammed explicitly had the law rewritten on his behalf when he desired something, such as Zaynab, who happened to be married to his adopted son. A minor matter for the Prophet. The Koran also limited the number of permissible wives to four. This did not stop Mohammed from marrying as many as fifteen women. Muslims do not see the contradiction in any of this, because there is no premise of equality under Islamic law. You are only as "equal" as your spiritual standing within the Ummah permits.

There is no "I" in Islam, except in the alphabetical sense. Islam means participation in the Ummah, the dead Mohammed's "Kingdom of Heaven" on earth, as exemplified by the Muslim community as a whole, to be ideally expressed as the Caliphate that everyone from Al Queda on down to a hundred different regional ethnic terrorist groups such as Hamas, Abu Sayyaf, Hizbullah, the Taliban, Al-Ummah, Al-Faran and numerous others. What they all have in common is the mandate to enforce Islamic law as the only and absolute law, without any compromise, while scourging away any traces of Western law or culture whose pernicious individualism threatens the essential premise of the Ummah.

The suicide bomber best expresses the contempt that Islam has for the individual, whose life is better off sacrificed, often unnecessarily, simply to prove the willingness of Muslim believers to kill in the name of Islamic rule. There can be no middle ground of compromise between Islamic law and civil law, because Sharia is not legal, it is religious. There can be no concession to the rights of the individual, because Islam does not recognize the worth of individuals or their power to make law, rather than be subject to it.

In the heart of London

It is why Islamic law is the antithesis of equal justice under the law, and the two of them cannot co-exist side by side. If Western nations admit Sharia, then they are admitting to a state of inequality under the law. And that will be Islam's greatest triumph over the freedom of the individual and the equality of man.

Right Side News

Iran reportedly kills seven lawyers representing opposition protesters, on drug trafficking charges

There was some suspicion raised yesterday when 24 men were hung for 'drug trafficking'. What was suspicious about it is that usually the Islamic state gives an account of the individual's name and their crimes. Yesterday they did not.

Seven lawyers in Tabriz and Mashhad who had been representing young Iranians detained in post-presidential election protests have been killed by the Iranian authorities in recent days, according to sources in Iran.

Their deaths have deterred other lawyers from taking detainees' cases, they added.

The sources spoke to The Jerusalem Post by telephone, and requested that their identities remain undisclosed for their own security.

In Tabriz, Iran's fourth-largest city, the bodies of five lawyers were returned to their families earlier this week, the sources said. The five had been representing some of the hundreds of Iranians detained in the northwestern city during the post-election protests. They were then themselves accused of disrupting security and encouraging unethical actions against the regime, and were sentenced to three years each in jail.

Three of them then died from injuries suffered during their detention. They were so badly beaten that their families could barely recognize their faces, this reporter was told.

The other two - prominent figures in the local community - were executed, having been sentenced to death on trumped-up charges of drug possession, the sources said.

"These men did everything they could to help those people who had been wrongfully detained," one source said. "The two more prominent figures were made an example of by the regime - hence the drug charges. They were both good Muslims, and they were framed by the regime's local authorities."

The regime's aim, this source said, was to discourage other lawyers and activists from taking their places.

On Wednesday, the sources said, protesters came out into the streets to rally in their memory. They carried flowers and pictures of the men, and chanted from the Koran as they marched. Prayers recited by the demonstrators commemorated the lives and good deeds of the deceased.

In similar cases in Mashhad, in eastern Iran, two more lawyers were hanged on fabricated charges of drug trafficking, the sources said. Both were known to have been representing young students detained by the Iranian authorities.

"Why would lawyers traffic in opium? It does not make any sense," said one source. "The government is targeting lawyers - and as a result, many have stopped representing protesters."

In another case detailed to this reporter, a Teheran-based lawyer managed to extricate his brother-in-law - a fellow attorney based in Mashhad - from detention.

"I was able to get him out," the Teheran lawyer said, "but I am not proud of how I did so. I am sorry to say that I had to turn over all of my files and cases. In addition, I had to sign an agreement not to take on any further cases [of arrested protesters] in the future."

The lawyer said that his own well-being was a consequence of his uncle's demonstrative loyalty to the regime.

"After the revolution in 1979, he gave away most of his money to organizations supported and endorsed by [current Supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei."

Still, he went on, if he were to violate his agreement not to take on further cases, "even I would be out of my uncle's reach. I need to be very careful. Just last week, a lawyer friend of mine disappeared. His family does not know his whereabouts. I don't think it is a coincidence that he also represented some of those who were detained during the rallies."

JP

Sufism: How Peaceful Is Pacifism?

As troop levels go down in Iraq, the U.S. is still facing a tough insurgency in that country. But the threat this time is not as much from al Qaeda as it is from the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order, which seems to be operating recently in the Diyala and Kirkuk provinces.

The Naqshbandi Army takes its name from an order—or path—of Sufism, what some call the spiritual aspect of Islam. During Saddam Hussein’s reign, Sufism was tolerated in Iraq for precisely the reasons that make the Naqshbandi Army’s behavior puzzling today. As a pacific spiritual path that shied away from politics, Sufism hardly constituted a threat to Saddam’s Ba’athist regime—or any regime for that matter.


Naqshbandi Army Sporadic Fire On Kiowa Helicopters & UAV

In the U.S., the peaceful image of Sufism still prevails. In a meeting house in New York’s Greenwich Village, Sufis sit cross-legged on the ground, their eyes closed in meditation. Traditional Iranian Sufi music plays in the background, and its chants remind the Sufis that their path to God does not involve violence, politics or self-aggrandizement—but a complete annihilation of the ego.

As a school of thought based on love, Sufism has influenced Catholic and Jewish mysticism and the transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. In the U.S., Sufi teachings have attracted a wide swath of followers. In the music video for Madonna’s 1994 song “Bedtime Story,” whirling dervishes dance to Madonna’s Sufi-inspired verse, “Let’s get unconscious.” To Stephen Schwartz, a convert to Sufism and the author of “The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony,” the faith’s emphasis on achieving internal peace can fill the “great spiritual hunger in this country and in the West in general.”

“In Sufism, the focus is on fixing the self rather than fixing others. That concept is inherently pacific, not political,” says Hedieh Mirahmadi, a Sufi practitioner. Ms. Mirahmadi is the general counsel of Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, the popular deputy master of the orthodox Naqshbandi order. In Sufism, many paths lead to God. Other orders include the aloof Nimatullahi, whose meeting house was described above, the progressive Bekstashi and the militant Qadiri.

The problem arises when the spiritual path to God is blocked with violence. Do Sufis, inherently peaceful, take up arms in the name of the very complicated and controversial notion of jihad, or holy war? Ms. Mirahmadi says no, emphatically. She and her Sufi master, Mr. Kabbani, condemn the behavior of the Naqshbandi Army in Iraq.

Prof. Kevin Reinhart, who has been teaching Sufism at Dartmouth College for more than 20 years, notes that Sufis have not always behaved as pacifically as their teachings suggest they should. “Sufis took up arms to resist the Russians in Chechnya. They resisted the Italians in Libya. They resisted the French in Algeria.”

Most Sufis define jihad internally—as a struggle against the ego, the part of the soul that tempts one into corrupt behavior. Mr. Schwartz, though, does not shy away from discussing Sufism’s relationship to armed struggle. “We support a defensive jihad . . . for instance, to defend innocent people in Chechnya, Algeria and Bosnia.”

But to Ms. Mirahmadi, the Chechens, the Algerians, the Libyans and the Naqshbandi Army in Iraq fight for “nationalistic reasons. They’re not fighting because they’re Sufis.” In an interview with the Iraqi satellite channel, Al-Zawra, the official spokesman of the Naqshbandi Army in Iraq confirms this: “We will fight for the integrity and unity of Iraq, land and people, to maintain its Arab and Islamic identity.”

That Sufis are fighting at all is a problem. According to a Nimatullahi sheikh, the former master of the Nimatullahi order, Javad Nurbakhsh said that if a Sufi kills anyone, no matter what the reason—even in self-defense—he will never reach the perfection required to achieve union with God. Ms. Mirahmadi expresses a similar sentiment: “I was there during conversations between the former president of Chechnya, Aslan Maskhadov, and Sheikh Kabbani. He called Sheikh Kabbani begging for advice on how to react to the Russian invasion. Sheikh Kabbani said stop fighting.” Period.

Though Mr. Schwartz does not see jihad and Sufism as necessarily opposed, he is bewildered by the behavior of the Naqshbandi Army in Iraq. “It is counterproductive for them to fight the coalition forces. Those Sufis are either fanatical or there is some miscommunication.” Miscommunication might be part of the problem, but fanaticism is a more likely explanation. The Naqshbandi Army seems to be a front organization. Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri, one of Saddam’s former top aides and a former Ba’athist, has strong connections with the group.

Ms. Mirahmadi claims that the group has been hijacked by former Ba’athists and jihadists. “They are not real Sufis,” she says. Since the invasion in 2003, jihadists have publicly killed Sufis in Iraq, while Ba’athists, as secularists, are only nominally religious, if at all.

Bernard Lewis once called Sufis peaceful but not pacifists. Ultimately, such a view reconciles Sufi teachings with Sufi behavior—but it doesn’t resolve the fact that Sufis must be both if they are serious about their spiritual pursuits.

WSJ

Buddhists Fear to Walk in Southern Thailand: Islamic Militancy

Buddhism in Thailand Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though its Buddhism has become integrated with folk beliefs such as ancestor worship as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population. Buddhist temples are characterized by tall golden stupas, and its architecture is similar to those of Cambodia and Laos.

The level of violence in Thailand’s south has never been higher” and this can be seen clearly by the beheadings of Buddhists and hacking to death of Buddhist priests.

for the Buddhists, they face complete annihilation and one day Southern Thailand may end up like Afghanistan, Central Asia, and other areas which once had a thriving Buddhist community.

Letters From Tokyo

The image of Thailand is one of beautiful beaches and stunning Buddhist places of worship. However, in recent times this nation is blighted by political infighting, mass demonstrations, a delicate economy which fluctuates too much, and a devastating Islamic insurgency in southern Thailand.

It is the Islamic insurgency which I will concentrate on because the current crisis in southern Thailand does have wider consequences for Southeast Asia. After all, you have Christian-Muslim tensions in parts of Indonesia and the Philippines. Therefore, the situation is southern Thailand is very important both internally and externally.

The vast majority of people in Thailand belong to the Buddhist faith; however, southern Thailand is very different because most people are Muslim in the provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, and Pattani. Therefore, a major Sunni Muslim insurgency is currently igniting tensions in order to drive away the Buddhist minority and therefore lay the foundation of separation and independence from Thailand.

The radical Sunni Islamic insurgency desires to spread fear, hatred, and an area where Buddhism is eradicated just like what happened in Afghanistan or what is happening in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in modern day Bangladesh.

Therefore, the brutal Sunni Islamic insurgency is killing both moderate Muslims and Buddhists for different reasons. The reason for killing Buddhists is because certain elements within radical Sunni Islam do not believe in religious co-existence. Also, Buddhists are deemed to be infidels and within Islamic Sharia law they have no legal rights and conversion to Islam or death is sanctioned because they are not monotheists.

Given this, southern Thailand resembles modern day Afghanistan and Somalia because in both these nations you have radical Sunni Islamists who will not tolerate even one single Christian church or Buddhist temple. Therefore, the slaughter of Buddhists in southern Thailand is following a similar pattern of past and current history and the current anti-Buddhist onslaught in southern Thailand is reaching new heights.

At the same time moderate Muslims are being killed by radical Sunni Islamic fanatics. Given this, Muslim teachers, administration workers, or anyone deemed to be working with the government of Thailand is liable to face the threat of death. This fear is real and the methodology of killing is intended to spread fear to all who oppose the Islamization of southern Thailand.

The dream of radical Sunni Islamists in southern Thailand is to have a land with no Buddhists and to create an Islamic Sharia state. Therefore, the usual beheadings of innocents is deemed to be justified on the grounds that non-Muslims are infidels in accordance with the Koran and Hadiths.

This applies to the Koran for 9:29 states “Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the last day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and his apostle nor acknowledge the religion of truth of the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) until they pay jizya (tax on non-Muslims) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.”

Verse 9:73 in the Koran also states “O Prophet! Strive hard (wage war) against the unbelievers and the Hypocrites and be firm against them. Their abode is Hell, - an evil refuge indeed.” While the Hadith 9:4 　says "Wherever you find infidels kill them; for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of Resurrection."

It is clear that these sayings in both the Koran and Hadiths are still potent today because radical Islamists are spreading mayhem in many nations and this also applies to nations with small minorities. After all, Christians have been burnt alive in Pakistan despite being a small minority and several Christian leaders were beheaded recently in northern Nigeria in order to intimidate the sizeable Christian population in northern Nigeria.

Zachary Abuza, the author of “Militant Islam in Southeast Asia,” stated that Buddhists have been forced to flee in a “de facto ethnic cleansing.” He further continued by stating that “The social fabric of the south has been irreparably damaged.”

Meanwhile Sunai Phasuk, a political analyst at Human Rights Watch, commented that “Buddhist monks have been hacked to death, clubbed to death, bombed and burned to death.” Therefore, it is clear that this Sunni Islamic insurgency is following a familiar path and this applies to the destruction of all non-Muslim elements within society or the complete dhimmitude of all non-Muslims by the rule of fear.

From the Sunni Islamic insurgents point of view they believe that the former Sultanate of Pattani is the structure of their society and that Thailand had no right to annex this land. Also, many Muslims claim that they face discrimination and that they have been marginalized by the central state. Therefore, many Muslims desire independence from Thailand.

However, the degree of violence aimed at both the Buddhist community and any Muslim deemed to be in favour of the government of Thailand is brutal. Zachary Abuza states “What is new about the current conflict is the level and degree of violence, the Islamist agenda of the insurgents, and their unprecedented degree of cooperation and coordination.

He continues by saying that “The level of violence in Thailand’s south has never been higher” and this can be seen clearly by the beheadings of Buddhists and hacking to death of Buddhist priests. Zachary Abuza also states this, for he says that “Nor has it been more brutal” and this is what is worrying for Thailand and the region.

After all, you have many Sunni Islamic insurgencies or Sunni Islamic terrorist networks in Southeast Asia. Therefore, you have the threat of these different organizations working together in order to install radical Sunni Islam. This notably applies to Eastern Indonesia (particularly Maluku) and Mindanao in the Southern Philippines.

In Eastern Indonesia and Mindanao in the Southern Philippines it is a clash between Christians and Muslims and the nation state is much weaker in both areas. However, in Indonesia the majority of Muslims support a more moderate version of Islam but in recent times radical Sunni Islam is increasing and Sunni Islamic jihadist movements have targeted both Christians and foreign nationals.

The most notable movement in the region is Jemaah Islamiya which is often linked with Al Qaeda and this Sunni terrorist Islamic organization desires to create more chaos and hatred in order to spread its influence and obtain its ultimate objective. This objective, just like the radical Sunni Islamic objective in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and other nations, is to create an Islamic Sharia state and enforce the slavery of non-Muslims by a policy of dhimmitude.

Zachary Abuza also mentions that Salafist and Wahabbi influence is also growing because moderate Sunni Muslim leaders have been sternly rebuked or attacked by conservative Sunni Islamists. Also, it is noticeable that more women are covering up in purdah and clearly this will lead to even more cultural divisions within society in Southern Thailand.

Abuza has claimed, “They [insurgents] have killed and threatened imams who have performed funerals for Muslim collaborators and killed almost 10 imams who teach at government-funded Islamic schools. They have threatened parents to not send their children to any school but the private Islamic schools. They have forced businesses closed on Fridays. Suffis and moderate Sha’afis have been routinely targeted.”

However, overall Zachary Abuza hints that the main cause in Southern Thailand is internal and currently Jemaah Islamiya is not strong enough to export its violence on a major scale to Southern Thailand. Also, Jemaah Islamiya is primarily focused on Indonesia and the security forces in Indonesia are fully aware about this problem.

Overall, it is clear that elements within Southern Thailand desire a non-Buddhist land and the role of Sunni Islamic indoctrination is now turning its hatred against moderate Sunni Muslim leaders. This hatred and alienation of the younger generation began after many studied at international universities throughout the Middle East and clearly some funding from the Middle East is being used to spread radical Sunni Islamic versions of Islam.

The government of Thailand is at a loss about the current crisis because of internal convulsions within the political system. At times the military have responded with brute force in order to contain the insurgency in Southern Thailand but at other times a more moderate approach is enforced.

Yet from a wider perspective it is clear that you have many radical Sunni Islamic terrorist organizations in Southeast Asia and terrorist networks survive and flourish in failed states or where centralization is very weak. Therefore, the future of Southern Thailand is also an issue for Indonesia and the Philippines because both nations have internal problems with radical Islam.

Also, the heart of Islam is now at war with itself and moderate versions in Southern Thailand and Indonesia are being put under tremendous pressure in certain regions. Therefore, the hidden war in Southern Thailand by radical Sunni Islamists is being aimed at moderate Muslims and Buddhists alike.

However, for the Buddhists, they face complete annihilation and one day Southern Thailand may end up like Afghanistan, Central Asia, and other areas which once had a thriving Buddhist community. It would appear that Islamization is now a reality and in time the Buddhist minority will continue to dwindle and the only saving grace at the moment for Buddhists is the military of Thailand.

Seoul Times

Eritrea Denies Arming Somali Jihadist Militants

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Eritrea brushed off a U.S. threat of sanctions Friday and said Washington is exacerbating the conflict in neighboring Somalia by providing the country's government with tons of weapons and training.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday accused Eritrea, a tiny nation on the Red Sea, of aiding a Somali extremist group she says is trying to launch worldwide terrorist attacks from Somalia.

"That's totally untrue, baseless," Eritrea's information minister, Ali Abdu, said when asked if his country is arming Somalia's al-Shabab insurgent group, which has alleged ties to al Qaeda.

Eritrea has repeatedly denied it is supporting extremists in Somalia despite reports from U.N. investigators that document such arms shipments. But it has made clear its disdain for Somalia's transitional government, which is backed by the United Nations, the U.S., the African Union and Eritrea's longtime enemy -- Ethiopia.

Many experts believe Eritrea and Ethiopia are fighting a proxy war in Somalia, with Eritrea arming rebels who want to impose a strict version of Shariah law across the country. Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war.

Mrs. Clinton warned Eritrea that it would face penalties if it continues to supply the group with arms and funding.

"It is long past time for Eritrea to cease and desist its support for al-Shabab," she said Thursday in Kenya, during a seven-nation tour of Africa this week. "We are making it very clear that their actions are unacceptable. We intend to take action if they do not cease." She didn't specify what kind of sanctions the administration might impose.

She also said the Obama administration would boost military supplies and other aid to the Somali government and an African peacekeeping force supporting it. Although Mrs. Clinton didn't discuss the new assistance, other U.S. officials have said the administration plans to double an initial 40 tons of arms sent to Somalia through other African nations.

Mr. Abdu denounced the program and said Somalis should "decide their own destiny and future."

"You can't solve the Somali issue by sending weapons, and I'm sure the 40 tons of weapons will produce only hatred," Mr. Abdu said in a telephone interview from Asmara, the Eritrean capital.

U.S. involvement in Somalia is a sensitive subject because of the 1992-1994 American military intervention that began as a humanitarian mission to deliver aid supplies to Somalia. That ended in a humiliating withdrawal months after the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" incident in which two U.S. helicopters were downed and 18 servicemen killed.

Somalia hasn't had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other, plunging the country into chaos and anarchy.

Somali insurgents control much of the country, with rebel fighters operating openly in the capital in their quest to implement a strict form of Islam in the country.

Government troops and African Union peacekeepers only hold a few blocks of Mogadishu, but they still control key government buildings as well as the port and airport, allowing them to receive arms shipments.

WSJ

Pakistan ‘blasphemy’ claims three more victims

Trinity Cathedral, Karachi Pakistan

* Factory owner killed by workers for ‘desecrating holy Quran’ in Sheikhupura


LAHORE: A factory owner and two others were killed along Muridke-Sheikhupura Road when factory workers attacked them for allegedly desecrating the holy Quran, reported a private TV channel on Tuesday.

One private TV channel said the owner and the other two were killed over the factory administration’s failure to pay workers, but another private channel reported the attack was prompted by an allegation that the factory owner – identified only as Najeebullah – had desecrated the holy Quran.

A worker entered Najeebullah’s factory at around 2pm and saw that the owner had taken down an outdated calendar – which had verses from the holy Quran written on it – and put it on a table. The worker then misbehaved with the owner over – what he thought – was “desecration” of the holy Quran. When a guard tried to stop him, he ran out into the working area and started gathering his colleagues, claiming the owner had committed ‘blasphemy’.

When an enraged mob subsequently surrounded Najeebullah, his guard tried to protect him by firing in the air, but the crowd started firing shots at the owner and his guard.

The channel said a large number of workers also attacked the factory administration and beat up several employees. They also blocked the road leading to the factory for three hours and later set the unit on fire.

Heavy police contingents rushed to the factory to bring the situation under control, but the angry mob seized their weapons.

The killings on Tuesday come amid heightened tensions in another part of Punjab. Rioters in Gojra burnt alive at least seven Christians on Saturday over blasphemy allegations.

Daily Times Monitor

Saudi hate Sheikh al-Sudais allowed to visit UK

We must not offend..we must not offend - Muslims at any cost.

Jews are "scum, rats, pigs and monkeys"

Christians are "cross-worshippers"

Hindus "idol worshippers"

- says the Saudi Sheikh-Meister


Despite his sectarian, racist incitements that Jews are "scum...rats...pigs and monkeys," the chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abdul Rahman al Sudais, has been welcomed and invited to preach at the East London mosque in Whitechapel tonight, Tuesday evening, 4 August 2009.

Al-Sudais, who has close ties to the Saudi elite, has also insulted Christians and Hindus, referring disparagingly to Christians as "cross-worshippers" and Hindus as "idol worshippers".

He has been banned from Canada for his anti-Semitism.

The chairman of the East London mosque is Muhammad Abdul Bari. He is also the leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

Although the MCB has condemned anti-Semitism, it has previously declined to criticise the anti-Semitism of al-Sudais and has continued to support him despite his anti-Jewish tirade.

"Al-Sudais has stoked religious sectarianism and anti-Jewish racism. He has never expressed any regret," said human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, who is urging the East London mosque and the MCB to publicly condemn al-Sudais's "shameful prejudice."

"As a condition for him being allowed to preach, the East London mosque and MCB should insist that al-Sudais apologise for his anti-Semitism and publicly state his opposition to hatred, discrimination and violence against Jewish people.

"The East London mosque received $US1m from the Saudis towards its new London Muslim Centre. The mosque's links to Saudi Arabia go back many years, according to the BBC.

"I don't understand why the Home Secretary is allowing al-Sudais into Britain, given that similar hate preachers have been banned. Is it because of the close business links between the British and Saudi establishments? " queried Mr Tatchell.

"Al-Sudais was appointed imam of the Grand Mosque by the royal leaders of the pro-western Saudi dictatorship. His continuing tenure as chief imam is a damning indictment of the Saudi regime's toleration of anti-Semitism.

"I am surprised that the Jewish community in Britain has not kicked up a big fuss about him coming to Britain," said Mr Tatchell.

On 19 April 2002 in Mecca, in a sermon that was broadcast on Saudi Arabia's TV1 television station, and placed on the website that publishes Mecca sermons, al-Sudais is recorded as echoing Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda, with openly racist caricatures of Jewish people:

"Yesterday's Jews are evil predecessors and today's Jews are worse successors...They are...the worst of mankind. Allaah cursed them and cast His wrath upon them. He turned some of them to monkeys and pigs and worshippers of creatures... History of Jews is full of deception, trickery, rebellion, oppression, evil and corruption. They always seek to cause mischief on the earth and Allaah loves not the mischief-makers...They always think of betrayal and trick; and injustice and aggression run in their veins. They want only corruption and harming others." Alharamain Sermons


The Daily Telegraph has confirmed and reported this anti-Semitism, noting that al-Sudais has described Jews as "scum of the earth", "rats of the world" and "monkeys and pigs" and suggested that they would be annihilated.

"It is true that al-Sudais has also made some liberal, conciliatory statements towards Jewish people, mostly in the west and to western journalists and audiences. Critics say these statements in the west contradict what he tells Arab and Muslim audiences," added Mr Tatchell.

This point was made by a BBC Panorama programme broadcast on 21 August 2005, A Question of Leadership. It, too, alleged that Sheikh Sudais says one thing to western audiences and something quite different to his Muslim followers in the Middle East. The BBC reported that al-Sudais has said:

"The worst ... of the enemies of Islam are those... whom he... made monkeys and pigs, the aggressive Jews and oppressive Zionists and those that follow them: the callers of the trinity and the cross worshippers... those influenced by the rottenness of their ideas, and the poison of their cultures the followers of secularism... How can we talk sweetly when the Hindus and the idol worshippers indulge in their overwhelming hatred against our brothers... in Muslim Kashmir..."

Similar sermons have been reported by WordNetDaily. It cited al-Sudais's broadcast to two million followers in Mecca, where he called Jews "scum", "the rats of the world," "prophet killers ... pigs and monkeys."

The sheikh has also characterized Jews as "evil," "evil forefathers," a "continuum of deceit," and full of "tyranny" and "treachery." WND


In a May 2003 interview with NBC's Tim Russert, the foreign policy adviser to the Saudi crown prince, Adel al-Jubeir, confirmed al-Sudais's anti-Jewish statements, and admitted that they were "clearly not right."

Al-Sudais has also urged Arabs and Muslims to abandon peace initiatives with Israel:
"We must say farewell to peace initiatives with these people [Jews]," he told worshippers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Background briefings and links about al-Sudais: Wiki

Source

Nigerian Islamists Force 13-year Old Girl To Watch Pastor Hacked to Death

Abuja National Mosque - Abuja, Nigeria

Photographs showing the corpse of one murdered pastor from the Church of Christ in Nigeria, Rev Sabo Yakubu, indicate that his heart may have been ripped out.

The captured Christians were all asked to renounce their faith or face continued imprisonment, while Christian men were given the choice of renouncing their faith or dying.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide sources in Nigeria said a 13-year old Christian girl has described how she was forced to watch her pastor’s murder, and the four-day ordeal as a prisoner in a compound besieged by an Islamic group.

The incident happened during the recent waves of attack on three provinces in Northern part of Nigeria by Boko Haram, the Islamic militant group, which translates to “western education is sin,” in which more than 600 people were killed including dozens of Christians; more than 13 Churches were destroyed.

On 26 July, Mary (name changed) was in church with her pastor, his brother and an older Christian woman when a group of fifty militants broke in. She and her pastor hid as the group killed the pastor’s brother and dragged the older woman out of the room. On discovering their hiding place, the militants cut off her pastor’s hand to stop him holding on to her, then hacked him to death with machetes before setting him on fire.

The girl and the woman were dragged to Boko Haram's compound in Maiduguri's Railway district, and were placed in a room with around 100 other Christian women and girls. They were all asked to renounce their faith or face continued imprisonment, while Christian men were given the choice of renouncing their faith or dying.

Mary vividly describes how she was forced to wash the blood stained clothing of Boko Haram fighters. She was in the camp for four days, but managed to escape with a few others when military forces intensified their attack on the compound.

Mary's pastor was one of three Christian ministers targeted and killed by Boko Haram during last week's violence. Photographs showing the corpse of one murdered pastor from the Church of Christ in Nigeria, Rev Sabo Yakubu, indicate that his heart may have been ripped out.

Stuart Windsor, CSW’s National Director said: “CSW is deeply saddened by the appalling nature of the crimes committed by this sect against innocent civilians. Local Christians have also expressed disappointment that some western media have disregarded the targeted nature of attacks on their community, and the brutal murders of Christian pastors. Unless this aspect of the violence is recognised by all and dealt with effectively, people in Northern Nigeria will continue to suffer because of their religious beliefs”.

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, the general secretary of World Council of Churches has also condemned Tuesday the attacks which he said is "rooted in politics rather than religion" and has urged Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to "ensure the safety of all citizens" and to see that those responsible for the recent bloody violence be brought to justice.

Boko Haram is reportedly attacking Nigerian government establishment on the last Week of July because it felt the government has become too secular and it wants to cleanse Nigeria of western influences. The extremist group also wants to impose Sharia law throughout the country.

The Islamic group was allegedly also behind the violence in Bauchi back in February, during which at least eleven people died, over 1,500 Christians were displaced, and 14 churches, and numerous homes were destroyed.

The latest violence is the deadliest since last November, when more than 300 people died in the central city of Jos during sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is about evenly split between Muslim in the north and Christians in the south with minorities of both religions living where the other faith is dominant. Since democracy was restored in 1999, there have been at least 15,000 deaths due to religious, communal or political violence, according to BBC.

Christian Post

Christians Oppose Inclusion of Islamic Shari'a Courts in Kenya

It has to be Kenya's opposition leader Odinga - who seems to be making good on his clandestine election promise to install Shari'a law if he won. Although he lost - he was brought into the government as a way to settle the outbreak of violence that followed - the disputed election. Muslims make up only 10% of Kenya's population. [See copy of the secret document below.]

Christians said inclusion of Kadhis (Islamic) courts is “unnecessary” in a secular country and have called for the upholding of the separation of State and religion.

“If they think we are few, we (Muslims) are ready to break way from the country,” an unnamed Muslim leader was quoted as saying on 28 July in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city where Muslims make up majority.

Christians in Kenya say the inclusion of Islamic ‘Kadhis’ courts in the new constitution would contradict the principles that underpin the country’s legal system and have stressed the separation of State and religion.

The Committee of Experts on the Constitution Review is holding public hearings in a bid to reform the constitution, but has been dominated by the role of religion especially that of minority Muslim religion who forms majority in certain areas. The Muslim group has insisted that Islamic courts, known locally as Kadhis, should be included in a new constitution which Christians say is “not necessary”.

Sheikh Mukhtar Khitamy, of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims said, “The courts will deal with marriage, divorce and inheritance among the Muslims, which have nothing to do with Christians,” while presenting views to the Committee of Experts on the Constitution Review on 27 July he said, “We will defend the presence of the courts in the constitution by all means.”

Sheikh Khalifa Mohammed, who chairs the Council of Islamic Preachers of Kenya, has called for tolerance from other religions. “The courts (Kadhis) have nothing to do with the constitution making and some Christian leaders are being used to derail the process,” he was quoted by Kenya’s Nation newspaper as saying and has announced to defend it by “any means”.

Christians said inclusion of Kadhis courts is “unnecessary” in a secular country and have called for the upholding of the separation of State and religion.

Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of Mombasa said, “The courts are not necessary since the current constitution gives individuals the right to religious preferences and worship,” on 27 July, while presenting his view to the Committee of Experts on the Constitution Review.

Bishop Boniface Adoyo of Nairobi Pentecostal Church told media persons, “These religious courts should not be incorporated in the conditions because there is no legal, philosophical or rational basis in constitutional making world over for religious entities in a secular constitution,” at the press conference on 24 July held by the Kenya Christians Constitutional Forum (KCCF).

Bishop Adoyo who was flanked by Starehe MP Bishop Margaret Wanjiru said creating the courts would be elevating one religion over the others, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation reported Thursday.

“A recent opinion poll revealed that 71 percent of Christians, 57 percent of Hindus and 39 percent of Muslims do not favour religious courts. The proposed draft was also rejected in 2005 referendum because of the same issue,” he said.

Bishop Wanjiru said the committee of experts should execute its mandate independently accusing some members of the committee of experts on the constitutional review of taking sides on contentious issues.

"Some powerful individuals are a stumbling block to the conclusion of the constitution review process. Which has now been reduced to a political contest," she said.

“If they think we are few, we are ready to break way from the country,” an unnamed Muslim leader was quoted as saying on 28 July in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city where Muslims make up majority.

According to CIA World Factbook, Muslims make up about 10 percent of an estimated 39 million population largely consisting of majority Christians who forms nearly 80 percent. However, Muslims make up about 50 percent of the population in the Coast Province which has the coastal city Mombasa as it capital.

In 1991, Christians have rejected and protested the inclusion of Islamic courts when the first constitutional reform was proposed. Following the 2007 elections, that sparked communal violence, the push for the constitutional reform gained momentum once again. Opposition and civil society leaders have pushed for a reform of government that strengthens local governments and shifts power from the executive branch to the judiciary and parliament. However, debates over what form the reforms take have not reached a common mind and everything else is overshadowed by the role of religion.

The committee is currently collecting views from the public on how to resolve three contentious issues namely the system of government, devolution of power and transition.

Public hearing in the coastal city of Mombasa, capital of Coast Province lead to a shouting match between Christian and Muslim representatives and police had to intervene last week.

Christian Post

Christian Pakistanis, Called "America's Dogs," Have Long History Of Persecution In Punjab

After eight people were burnt alive, over 50 houses destroyed and a church desecrated in the village of Gojra, Pakistani Christians have expressed their rage and frustration. There have been nationwide protests, and Christian schools across Pakistan were closed for three days from the 3rd of August.

"We are closing the schools to show our anger and concern," Bishop Sadiq Daniel said. "We want the government to bring all perpetrators of the crime to justice."

Interestingly enough, these schools are not restricted to the Christian community. A large portion of this country's elite attends these schools that were established in the 19th century. Convents such as St Patrick's High School and St Joseph's Convent, run by the Catholic Church, are considered to be prestigious educational institutes.

The province of Punjab has long been at the heart of assaults on Pakistani Christians. The Christians of Pakistan are the largest religious minority in the country. In 2008, they were estimated to make up about 1 percent of the population, but Christian leaders argue the number is closer to 5 percent. More than 90 percent of the country's Christians live in Punjab, which makes them the largest religious minority in the province.

The Daily Times points out that:

'Charges of blasphemy and desecration of the Quran are "used" against them, but the latter is used against them collectively, followed by organized dispossession and destruction of property.'

(As was the case in Gojra.)

Many argue that Punjabi landowners, some of the most influential and affluent people in Pakistan, who constitute a large part of the political elite, use the blasphemy law to usurp properties owned by Christians. The law states that anyone insulting the Quran or Prophet Mohammad is subject to life imprisonment or death. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has repeatedly demanded the repeal of the law on the grounds that it can be used for sectarian witch-hunts.

The British brought in the blasphemy law during the colonial rule, but amendments introduced by the military ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, have made it an instrument of religious discrimination and persecution.

Just a couple of months ago, it was reported that the Christians of Kasur, a village also situated in Punjab, were similarly threatened by the Muslims of the area. Over a hundred families had to flee into fields in the middle of the night to escape a mob ready to burn down their homes. The allegation here too was blasphemy.

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Karachi Evarist Pinto held a press conference in Karachi where he said that 'the recurrence of such violent acts, coupled with the indifference of the security forces, was spreading feelings of insecurity amongst members of minority communities.'

Blogger Dr Awab Alvi, professional dentist and well-respected member of the Pakistan Twitter scene, tweeted an email sent out by Bishop Ijaz Inayat of Karachi's Holy Trinity Cathedral. In his email, the bishop asks 'why the police and the Agencies allow the situation to simmer in spite of a [very large] history of such incidents in Pakistan.'

Though thought to be defunct, extremist organizations like the Sipah-e-Sahaba, are still capable of instigating locals as we witnessed in Gojra. Witness accounts tell us that the masked men who arrived from the neighboring district of Jhang managed to gather a mob of hundreds. The HRCP claims that announcements were made from mosques to 'make mincemeat of the Christians.' This speaks of the street power of such extremist organizations and the mindset of the people. Nicholas D. Kristof has written in the New York Times about the 'creeping Talibanization' and how in his more recent travels to Punjab, he found it more troubled than in the past.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Joseph Francis of the Christian National Party sees a link between violence against Christians and the US-led war in Afghanistan. The Muslim mob in Gojra had been incited with hate-speech that called Christians "America's dogs." He says, "Since 9/11, we've felt a lot more at risk. Whenever we have large gatherings or processions, we have to ask for police protection."

This is not the first time an attack on Pakistan's Christians has been linked to the US-led war on terror. In October 2001, over a dozen were killed at a Protestant church in Bahawalpur, once again a Punjabi town. Worshipers said that as the gunmen opened fire they declared Pakistan would become a graveyard of Christians to avenge deaths in Afghanistan. The timing of the attack made the connection all the more believable. Already vulnerable, Christian leaders had asked for protection before the United States launched its military offensive against Afghanistan.

Even though, Hindus, another minority group, are viewed as being synonymous with the projected archenemy, India, it is the Christians who are attacked again and again.

The Chief Minister of Punjab has assured that protection as well as compensation will be served to the victims of the Gojra tragedy while the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice, but Pakistani Christians are not satisfied. They are looking for a more permanent solution to their insecurity. Joseph Francis has said that a black day of mourning is to be observed on August 11, marked in Pakistani calendars as Minority Day.

Analyst and columnist, Cyril Almeida, claims that the government may be reluctant to take on extremist organizations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Sipah-e-Sahaba despite the latter's links with al-Qaeda. "While the army is already tackling the Taliban, that is their first priority. They probably don't want to start another confrontation with organizations that are more sectarian in nature." He said this in the context of India's demands of Pakistan to take on Hafiz Saeed and his banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, which they believe to be behind last year's Mumbai attacks.

Huffington Post

Female Iraqi wrestling team told they should be “slaughtered” if they continue

Samah Hamid, 24, right, squared off against her 22-year-old sister Masar during wrestling practice at the sports club in Diwaniya.


DIWANIYA, Iraq — It doesn’t happen much in the Arab world, but a coach here decided in January to start an all-female wrestling team, the first ever in Iraq. The wrestlers love it and already dream of competing in the Olympics.

But there are many in this town south of Baghdad, which like much of Iraq is religious, conservative and governed largely by tribal tradition, who want the dozen girls and young women on the team to stop wrestling immediately. One tribesman has said they should be “slaughtered” if they continue. A Shiite cleric says the team should be banned because wrestling can lead to promiscuity and “transgressions” against Islam.

As a result of the pressure, four wrestlers have quit. But the rest, for the moment empowered by the post-invasion promise of greater democracy and equality, are defying the threats.

“They think we are loose girls just because we play sports,” said Ikram Hamid, 25, one team member.

Farah Shakir, 17, said, “It really is something different for Iraq, but I love the challenge.”

After a practice last month, Farah Shakir, 17, put on a traditional abaya over her wrestling clothes.


In fairness, it is not just female wrestling that troubles the traditionalists.

“I have information that male wrestling is problematic, too, because of all the friction that goes on,” said Sheik Hussein al-Khalidi, a turbaned cleric who sits on the provincial council.

But it is the women who have touched a nerve, perhaps partly because of their ambitions. Three other teams were set up in Iraq after Diwaniya’s was formed with the backing of Iraq’s wrestling federation. In June, all the teams took part in a championship, which the Diwaniya team won, qualifying for an Asian tournament in September in freestyle wrestling.

Some local people have become captivated by the female wrestlers and feel they are a fitting challenge to Iraq’s entrenched tribal and religious establishment, whose hold on society and people’s lives paradoxically became much tighter after the 2003 invasion. One supporter, Haidar Walid, 20, called the team a “sign of evolution and freedom.”

The controversy in Diwaniya underscores a fundamental struggle under way in Iraqi society as a whole. The grip of Sunni and Shiite armed groups that had compelled Iraqis to abide by what they considered moral behavior has loosened, and many people now feel free to express themselves in various ways. This was reflected during provincial elections in January, in which secular and relatively liberal parties did well.

On a recent scorching hot morning, the wrestlers, some veiled and others not, and dressed in shorts and soccer jerseys, filed into the wrestling gym at the Diwaniya sports club. They are allowed to use it only when male wrestlers have no practice.

A battered and dusty wrestling mat filled most of the room. The walls were adorned with framed photographs of male wrestlers, colorful posters of Shiite saints and the portrait of a local hero, Abbas Fadhel Jouda, an Iraqi wrestling champion killed two years ago by militiamen in Diwaniya because he was a police officer.

After a warm-up, Ms. Shakir and her teammates paired off and started practicing grapples and takedowns under the instruction of their coach and team founder, Hamid al-Hamdani, and his two assistants, all professional wrestlers.

Unlike Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling allows holds below the waist and legs to be used for a takedown. It is an internationally recognized sport, but women’s wrestling made its Olympic debut only five years ago at the Athens Games. Two other Arab countries, Egypt and Morocco, have female wrestling teams.

But Diwaniya’s team may face more than the usual obstacles on the road to gold. Iraq’s wrestling federation endorsed the team, but an official from that body refused to come to Diwaniya for the competition in June, fearing he would be killed, according to Mr. Hamdani.

In May angry tribal leaders petitioned the provincial council to ban the team after a television station showed one of the wrestlers practicing with her coach.

Since then the team has kept a low profile, abiding by local customs. During practice the girls are chaperoned by Ms. Shakir’s mother, Nawal Kadhim, and when they leave the club they are covered in head-to-toe black veils.

Still, many are taunted and cursed whenever they venture to the market. They are ostracized at school and constantly hectored by their teachers.

Mrs. Kadhim, who has five daughters on the team, was recently advised by relatives to leave Diwaniya and received threatening messages on her cellphone.

“Women will lose their femininity,” said a resident, Faris Abbas, 42, who like most opposes the female team.

A tribal leader, Gaith al-Kassir, 53, says the sport is against Islam and tribal traditions. “Women can do sports at home,” he said.

As with many other issues, Shiite religious leaders are divided on female wrestling. Some say there is no harm as long as the women are properly covered, while others say it is “absolutely forbidden,” according to one of the team’s coaches, who consulted the religious authorities in the city of Najaf.

Sheik Khalidi says he will continue to rally public opinion until the wrestling club is closed down. He is a member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is a religious party close to Iran and ruled the province until January’s elections, when it lost to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s party throughout the south. Although Mr. Maliki is an Islamist, his party has favored persuasion over coercion when it comes to shaping society’s values.

Despite the setback at the polls, Sheik Khalidi said his party was still convinced that Iraqis were becoming more conservative and attached to Islamic rituals and values.

Batoul al-Attiyah, a local physician, said she disagreed with Sheik Khalidi’s assessment of where Iraq was heading, even if she opposed female wrestling.

“Religion has become more about appearances than substance,” she said.

New York Times

Two months after Obama's address to Muslim world, a Cairo University professor issues fatwa 'building churches is a sin'

Change - it seems - no change here - this 'building churches is a sin' fatwa simply backs the 2008 fatwa that likens building a church to building a shed for pigs or dogs. And it is West who is being asked to respect the Muslim world!


Cairo University: a professor in the faculty of law, lecturing his students, stated: “a will, if devoted to building hospitals for Muslims as well as non-Muslims, as a work of goodness and charity, brings that man closer to God. This is a principle agreed on by all the interpreters of Foqaha. BUT, if the will is devoted to building churches, it is forbidden and sinful, as agreed by all the Islamic Foqaha”.

Dr. Naguib Gibraeel, President of the Egyptian Union Organization for Human Rights wrote to Al-Azhar University and the Eygption State asking if this fatwa is their plan and position concerning building churches in Egypt. Gibraeel said that the state teaches and assigns hatred to building churches, as announced in both “Dar el-Eftta”, the council for Islamic interpretations of laws in Islam, and in the University of Cairo.

According to Mohammed Naguib Awadein el-Maghrabbi, deputy chief of the Faculty of Law, at Cairo University, the book is a subject to be studied by third year students. Muslims and Copts mention that a will, if devoted by a Christian for building a Church, is forbidden and sinful and is considered in Islam as separation from God. So it is also illegal if a non-Muslim wills his inheritance towards building a Church or a synagogue.

The interpretation of the council of Islamic Fatwa of Egypt also stated in its latest fatwa, that the will of a Muslim towards building a Church is a sin against God, just as if he left his inheritance towards building a Casino for gambling, or building a shed for pigs, cats or dogs. This Fatwa is documented by number 1809/ year 2008. The original text is written and sealed by the authority of the higher Fatwa Council in Cairo.

Copts-United

US: Over 80 House Members Slam Turkey’s Reversal on Proposed Armenian ‘Roadmap’

“It would appear that Turkey, in an effort to block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, agreed to a roadmap it did not intend to uphold,” notes the letter (below) to the president.

WASHINGTON–On July 30, over 80 House Members expressed concern about Turkey’s backtracking on a so-called “roadmap” to advance Armenia-Turkey dialogue, urging President Obama to separate Armenian Genocide recognition from normalization of ties between the two countries, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“We commend the leadership of Representatives Pallone, Kirk, Schiff, Radanovich, and their 78 colleagues in calling attention to Turkey’s efforts to inject the resolution of the Karabagh conflict as a precondition to lifting its illegal blockade of Armenia,” said ANCA chairman Ken Hachikian. “U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide should not be held hostage to a sham ‘roadmap’ designed to prolong U.S. complicity in the denial of that crime against humanity.”

In a July 29 letter to President Obama, initiated by Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) as well as Armenian Genocide Resolution lead sponsors Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and George Radanovich (R-Calif.), Members of Congress questioned Turkey’s commitment to talks normalizing relations with Armenia, as stated in a “roadmap” agreement signed just two days prior to April 24, the international day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey has since added preconditions to continued discussions, which have led most observers of the process to conclude the effort to be stalled indefinitely.

“It would appear that Turkey, in an effort to block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, agreed to a roadmap it did not intend to uphold,” notes the letter to the president. “Therefore, we urge your administration to separate the issues of normalization and genocide recognition. We hope that renewed efforts and focused resources from the administration can be utilized to nurture the Armenia-Turkey normalization process without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe, and continue to remain strongly supportive of your stated campaign policy to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

The letter comes just days following a statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu once again citing the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict as a precondition to Armenia-Turkey normalization efforts. In recent weeks, Western diplomats have stated that dialogue between Armenia and Turkey is virtually frozen.
Below is the full text of the letter to President Obama.

***

July 30, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to you with our concerns about Turkish backpedaling on the agreed upon roadmap to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia.

On April 22, 2009, just two days before the 94th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Department of State released the following statement:

The United States welcomes the statement made by Armenia and Turkey on normalization of their bilateral relations. It has long been and remains the position of the United States that normalization should take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe. We urge Armenia and Turkey to proceed according to the agreed framework and roadmap. We look forward to working with both governments in support of normalization, and thus promote peace, security, and stability in the whole region.

Two days later, instead of recognizing the Armenian Genocide, the administration opted to focus on this new roadmap to Armenian-Turkish normalization. “I also strongly support the efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize their bilateral relations,” you wrote. “Under Swiss auspices, the two governments have agreed on a framework and roadmap for normalization. I commend this progress, and urge them to fulfill its promise.”

While the government of Armenia remains committed to this roadmap and has long offered to establish ties with Turkey without preconditions, Turkey’s public statements and actions since April 24th stand in sharp contrast to this agreement and undermine U.S. policy that normalization take place without preconditions.

On May 13, 2009, Prime Minister Erdogan publically conditioned normalization of relations with Yerevan on Azerbaijan’s approval of a future settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict that fully meets Baku’s satisfaction. “I want to repeat once more that until the occupation ends, the border gates [with Armenia] will remain closed,” Erdogan told the Azeri parliament.

On June 17, 2009, EU South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby said Turkey had taken “tactical steps backwards” in the normalization process with Armenia.

It would appear that Turkey, in an effort to block U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, agreed to a roadmap it did not intend to uphold. Therefore, we urge your administration to separate the issues of normalization and genocide recognition. We hope that renewed efforts and focused resources from the administration can be utilized to nurture the Armenia-Turkey normalization process without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe, and continue to remain strongly supportive of your stated campaign policy to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Armenian Weekly

Iraqi girl, 15 gets 7 1/2 years for suicide bombing attempt

BAGHDAD (AP) — A teenage Iraqi girl who claimed her husband's female relatives strapped explosives on her has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for attempting to blow herself up at a checkpoint in northeastern Iraq, a provincial judge said Thursday.

The sentence comes amid a rising number of female suicide bombers in Iraq, which has prompted U.S. and Iraqi forces to step up efforts to train more female police to search women for explosives.

Rania Ibrahim was sentenced Sunday in a juvenile court for the attempted attack on Iraqi security forces near Baqouba in August 2008, said Diyala provincial Judge Zaid Khalaf.

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At the time, there were conflicting accounts surrounding her arrest.

U.S. officials said the 15-year-old turned herself in after being hooked up to the explosives against her will. Iraqi police said she was caught by a patrol after arousing suspicion while walking in downtown Baqouba.

After her arrest, a videotape of Ibrahim's confession, made in the presence of reporters, was released to media.

In the first part of the video, Ibrahim is seen standing in a street, both hands cuffed to a metal grid attached to a wall behind her. A police officer is later heard saying she apparently had been drugged. Another officer opens her robe, and shouts out to his colleagues, apparently to confirm he spotted a vest.

Police later said the vest was packed with 33 pounds of explosives. A police photo showed it had six compartments, including two stuffed with what looked like tubes and four holding packages covered in cling-wrap.

In the second part of the videotape, where reporters were present, Ibrahim first said she did not know the women who gave her the vest, saying they were strangers. But a few moments later, she said the explosives were strapped to her by female relatives of her husband. She said she was shown the vest's two detonators and told how to use them.

Many Iraqi women wear long robes, ideal for covering bulky suicide vests, and Iraqi policemen hesitate to pat them down at checkpoints because of cultural taboos.

Iraqi authorities lack enough female police to search women, and the U.S. military has been working with Iraqi security forces to recruit and train female police officers to search women at checkpoints and entrances to public buildings.

Last year, female suicide bombers attempted or successfully carried out 32 attacks, compared with eight in 2007, according to U.S. military figures.

This year, there have been a number of female suicide bomb attacks. In March, a female suicide bomber attacked Shiite worshippers in Karbala, killing at least 49.

In January, police arrested a middle-aged woman, Samira Ahmed Jassim, for allegedly recruiting female suicide bombers. In a prison interview, Jassim told The Associated Press about a plot in which young women were raped and then persuaded to carry out suicide attacks to reclaim their honor.

London: Met police to target 'honour' crime with specialist training for all officers

Every police officer in London is to be given training on how to detect "honour"-based violence.

A key part of the drive to reduce the number of victims and bring more offenders to justice will be a DVD.

It will contain information on how apparently insignificant incidents can trigger so-called honour violence against women.

Each Met officer will also be briefed on obtaining expert advice to pursue cases and receive guidance on protecting potential victims while efforts are made to stop their persecution.

Senior detectives will be given more intensive training in the form of a two-day course in which information from survivors, women's groups and charities will be used to highlight the problem.

In a further move to boost convictions, the number of specialist honour violence prosecutors in London is being increased as part of a national effort to double the number of Crown Prosecution Service lawyers with expertise in this area.

The plans, which will be formally unveiled at a London conference on honour violence organised by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers, are intended to help build on recent successes in combating the problem.

Earlier this month, a married Muslim woman was warned by Scotland Yard that she was at risk after her 24-year-old lover had acid poured down his throat and was stabbed by four attackers.

The man, who is a Dane of Asian origin, is not expected to live after suffering 90 per cent burns from the acid, which destroyed his tongue and blinded him. The case has revived concerns about honour violence. Today the Crown Prosecution Service's legal director Nazir Afzal, who has been leading efforts to prevent such attacks, gave details of the new crackdown.

"Every police officer is going to be trained on honour-based violence over the next 12 months to help them identify the signs, which can often be difficult to spot unless the person is aware of the issue," he said. "For instance, if someone has received a bunch of flowers and says that their family wants to kill them for that, it might seem fairly petty in other circumstances, but in an honour case it is serious and needs to be treated that way.

"Too many officers don't know enough about what they are dealing with in this area because there are subtleties to this kind of behaviour that people might not easily understand. We need to make sure that when a victim first makes contact these signs are recognised."

Mr Afzal added that although police and prosecutors have had increasing success in the past few years, with several convictions, the scale of the problem was still emerging as the number of cases identified continued to rise.

In the first half of this year, for example, he said that the Government's Forced Marriage Unit - which deals with honour violence as well because of its frequent links to forced marriage - had received 2,000 calls, the largest six-monthly total so far.

More than 60 forced marriage protection orders - a form of injunction to restrain those seeking to persecute victims - had been issued in the eight months since the power had come into force. Detective Sergeant Sharon Stratton, who heads the Met's forced marriage and honour violence unit, said efforts to improve training had been undertaken by the force, but further measures were being planned. "We have done a lot of work on this, but we are always looking to improve," she added.

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