Sunday, February 7, 2010
Pat Condell: The crooked judges of Amsterdam [Video]
Pat's sobering message !! In a trial ~ if the truth doesn't matter and the right to free speech doesn't matter ~ then what does?
That is why for a conviction the court needs to establish that criticism of Islam = racism. Wilders defence is that the criticism is true [9:29] - and the court responds by significantly limiting Wilders witnesses and hearing them in private or in closed session.
Something more than slightly suspicious about this - it is not hard to imagine that the trial outcome has already been set ~ and we are simply going through the motions.
There is no law that states that criticism of Islam is the same as racial hatred towards Muslims - and indeed whenever Wilders has been given the opportunity he has expressed the opposite sentiment towards Muslims in Holland [who want to be Dutch ~ not establish a Shari'a state].
While the Dutch authorities sit comfortably against Wilders at the moment ~ the big quest is what will 'offend' Islam next time!
If certain Left-wing elements of the country want to live under Shari'a law and love, love, love its benefits - they should be asked to keep this as a personal matter and they should not try to impose their new new legal vision on the whole country. As many in Europe - find it 'offensive' to have long held rights overturned - in favour of the Shari'a-like laws.
Europe's cultural inquisition begins.
Geert Wilders on trial
http://www.wildersontrial.com/
Geert Wilders' statement in court
http://europenews.dk/en/node/29245
Christian-Pakistan minister sees blasphemy law revision this year
Catholic nuns react as they look at a burned bible in a church, after it was attacked by a mob in Gojra, Pakistan, Aug. 5, 2009. Non-Muslims make up less than 5 percent of Pakistan's 175 million people.
In short the proposal is for more oversight over the same blasphemy laws !!
While the Muslim population continues to grow in India - in Pakistan the Christian, Hindu, Sikh and other non-Muslim [or deemed so] population continues to shrink. Naturally Muslims will tell us that is because - Islam means tolerance! And that its the non-Muslims who will not accept God's will who are the problem!
WASHINGTON (AFP)— Pakistan plans within this year to revise its laws against blasphemy, which have long been criticized as a way to abuse minorities, a government minister said.
Shahbaz Bhatti, minister for minority affairs, said religious reconciliation was a little-noticed priority for President Asif Ali Zardari's civilian government in Pakistan, which lies on the frontline of the US-led war against Islamic extremism.
Bhatti, a longtime Roman Catholic activist whose position was given full cabinet status for the first time, said he was speaking with political parties to present revisions to the blasphemy law by the end of 2010.
"This is a democratic government which has a commitment to repeal all the discriminatory laws affecting the rights of minorities," Bhatti told AFP in an interview in Washington.
"We are using military action to fight terrorism and we are using economic opportunities, but another thing which is important is that we are pursuing interfaith harmony," he said.
Bhatti said that while he did not envision an immediate repeal of blasphemy laws, the revision would require judges to investigate cases before they are registered -- creating oversight of the police, who are often accused of abuse.
The revised law would also assign punishment equivalent to that under the blasphemy laws for anyone who makes a false complaint, he said.
Bhatti was in Washington to attend the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual Christian-organized gathering drawing national leaders. He also met with US lawmakers, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan's law against blaspheming Islam carries the death penalty. While no one has ever been sent to the gallows for the crime, activists say the law is used to exploit others out of personal enmity or business disputes.
In June last year, blasphemy allegations led to mob violence against Christians in Punjab that caused hundreds to flee, according to the US State Department's annual report on religious freedom around the world.
The report said there was particular discrimination against the Ahmadiya community, which Pakistan considers non-Muslim as adherents do not believe Mohammed was the last prophet.
In another incident in September, a 25-year-old Christian jailed on blasphemy allegations died in prison. Activists suspected he was tortured, but authorities said he committed suicide.
Pakistan, founded in 1947 as a Muslim homeland during the bloody partition of British India, is overwhelmingly Muslim. Religious minorities however form some five percent of the population, according to government figures.
Among Muslims, strong tensions also persist between the majority Sunni and the minority Shiite sects. Bombings on Friday killed 33 people in Karachi, including an attack near a bus carrying people to a Shiite procession.
In UN bodies, Pakistan has butted heads with Western democracies by sponsoring resolutions on fighting "religious defamation."
But Bhatti vowed to make progress at home. In December, the government launched a drive to set up more than 120 "district interfaith harmony committees" around Pakistan to help resolve conflicts surrounded minorities.
Bhatti said he has personally visited religious communities around the country including more than 30 madrassas, or Islamic schools, to encourage tolerance.
While he said he met a positive reception, Bhatti was under no illusions about his safety, saying he has faced death threats.
"When I started this struggle I said that I would not compromise on the principle of religious freedom and human equality," he said.
"These principles are the nucleus of my life. I will live for them and I will die for them."
Burqa in India: 'An unveiled photo is required even for Haj'
This is a good article - Times of India!! One girl said the boys never stopped pestering her - they simply said Salaam ~ when she wore the burqa because they thought she was religious!!
- "A woman who walks with eyes lowered, whose clothes are loose and head covered, who is unobtrusive in public rather than flamboyant, can be described as observing purdah,"
One UK Muslim journalist was making a comparison between Muslim women in their burqas and married Orthodox Jewish women in the wigs [as is customary for likely some] ~ but there can really be no comparison. If you look at the Islamic women - she looks as though she wants to be forgiven for the very space that she has been allotted as a human being. You wonder how insignificant can one make oneself - relative to a man. Whereas the Orthodox Jewish mother - is somewhat akin to a human tank ~ back straight and most certainly on a mission ~ rarely if ever looks beaten down at all. She exemplifies an air of confidence and control ~ albeit in an Orthodox role.
Recently, a bus conductor in Mumbai asked a veiled schoolgirl to show him her face. He needed to verify her bus pass. The girl got off the bus in tears.
The incident was related by a Muslim college girl who wears the burqa, but not the naqaab or face veil, to two older Muslim women in their 30s, who do not. The latter supported the conductor.
The Supreme Court's observation that Muslim women must be photographed without their face veil has found wide support among Muslim women, including scholars such as Uzma Naheed and Dr Shehnaz Shaikh. Nowhere in the Koran or any genuine Hadith is it written that a woman's face or hands must be covered; nor is the colour black mentioned. Both Naheed and Shaikh wear their own versions of the burqa (not black), which fulfil the Koranic requirement that women not display their beauty in front of strangers.
In fact, Shaikh, who runs an Islamic girls' school, asks candidates applying for the post of teachers to remove their face veils when she interviews them. Says Shaikh, "The face is required for identification purposes. To be able to go for Haj, we need a passport which has the photo, and then at the emigration/immigration counters in both countries, you need to show your face for identification." Naheed feels it's intention that matters. "A woman who walks with eyes lowered, whose clothes are loose and head covered, who is unobtrusive in public rather than flamboyant, can be described as observing purdah," she says. "A loose salwar-kameez with a dupatta and chaddar covering the head would as well fit the bill."
Ejaz Aslam, editor of Radiance, the Jamaat-I-Islami's English weekly, believes that the face is the reflection of one's personality, which is given by God; the distinguishing feature by which people know you, and hence should not be covered. "It is essential to be shown, specially for identification. It cannot be worn in all circumstances, for example, by a dentist or an administrator at work," he says.
Why then the growing prevalence of the face veil and the black burqa? There are two reasons. One, some Islamic schools consider it necessary. As Ejaz Aslam says, some scholars feel the face is the centre of attraction and must be covered. Secondly, it's the growing access Muslims now have to Islamic websites worldwide, to different interpretations of Islam. Gulf-returned Muslims come home with the view that the Islam practised there is "purer" than the 'Hindu-tainted' Islam practised here, and decide to impose the dress codes followed there.
Perhaps that accounts for the widespread use of the burqa in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where 20 years back, no one wore it. The naqaab however, has not taken over the South, probably because the South is still safe for women.
Ironically, the spread of the naqaab seems to have gone hand in hand with the spread of education among Muslim girls. Parents often insist that their daughters wear the burqa to college, says Arifa Ashraf, who, with husband Syed Feroze Ashraf, runs Uncle's Classes where Muslim girls from slums get free tuition.
'Education or purdah?' is a post-Babri Masjid dilemma, finds Naheed. "'Both, not either/or," she tells parents.
There are women however, who have resisted the growing trend. SSC topper Roshan Jehan lost her legs in a fall from a crowded train, and had to replace her burqa with a scarf which leaves her hands free to hold her walking stick. But this teenager has not given up her studies, and hopes to pass her CET. Rehana, an anganwadi worker and English teacher, has resisted her in-laws and even her husband's offer of a reward if she veils herself. In her native Bengal, it's not a norm. She is disappointed, however, that she could not prevent her daughter from wearing the full veil. Now her younger daughter can't wait to follow suit.
Rehana's colleague, Rahatunisssa, started wearing the burqa after she got married, and stopped when she found it an impediment in her work. "We have to go in and out of homes; I couldn't take it off and on again and again," says this maths lover who now runs a branch of Uncle's Classes at home. Then there's BCom student Batul, the first girl in her family to study beyond Std XII. She started wearing the burqa when she joined college; but discarded it when she found it inspired rudeness at work and in buses.
Both Rahatunnissa and Batul never liked wearing the burqa—Rahatunissa found it unfair that only girls had to wear it, while Batul found it unbearably suffocating. Batul gives the lie to the myth that the veil ensures safety from unwanted male attention. "Boys never stop passing comments," she says. "To veiled girls, they say 'Salaam' or 'Mashaallah'.”
Times of India
France: Burqa clad men pass security to rob post office/bank
Clad in burqa-like clothes, the robbers used a handgun which had been concealed beneath the full veil.
The pair was allowed through security doors of the banking branch after staff mistook them for veil-wearing Muslim women.
The pair pulled the gun as soon as they were admitted and took off with 4,500 euros.
France is seeking to restrict use of the Islamic veil on security grounds, saying it is incompatible with French values.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the burqa is not welcome in France and wants legislation that bans it.
Sri Lankan News
UK: Jailed rapist convert to Islam scolds another inmate with boiling oil, because he would not convert
A jailed killer poured boiling oil over another inmate because he refused to convert to Islam.
Jamaile Morally, 26 - sentenced to life as part of a gang that raped, tortured and murdered a teenage girl and left another for dead - led two other inmates in carrying out the attack.
They boiled up the oil in a kitchen at high-security Whitemoor Prison, March, Cambridgeshire, and poured it over Durwayne Martin, 26, scalding his neck, shoulders and back.
A prison source said: "There has been a real problem of extremist Muslims trying to convert other inmates to Islam."
Mirror
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Jordanian jailed for sister's 'honour killing'
Ten years in prison for honor killing is Jordan is pretty good ~ in some cases these "restorers of the family's honor" were given just 3-6 months. Some years ago there was a vote in Jordan to make honor killing illegal - and Jordanians voted against it - as it was seen as 'western interference' - and according to one Jordanian policewoman - who also voted against the measure to criminalize honour killing - said that it was very difficult for the men who had to carry out the honor killing - that these men were placed under enormous pressure by family and neighbours to go through with the act - and that her sympathies were with the men who were charged with this huge responsibility. [Economist - some time back]
AMMAN (AFP) — A Jordanian court sentenced a 19-year-old man to 10 years in jail for stabbing his sister to death in order to "cleanse the family honour," a judicial official said on Friday.
The defendant turned himself in to police after killing his 22-year-old sister last year for many unexplained absences from home, said the official who requested anonymity.
"The court sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison for premeditated murder, but reduced the sentence to 10 years after the family dropped any legal claims" against him, the source said.
"The defendant killed his sister with knife stabs on April 5, 2009 to cleanse the family honour, because of her many absences from home," the official said. "He then turned himself over to the police."
Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but in so-called "honour" cases a court sometimes commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.
Between 15 and 20 women are murdered in honour killings each year in Jordan despite government efforts to fight such crimes.
In September last year, the US-based Human Rights Watch urged Jordan to reform its penal code, which it says condones the murder of women as "honour crimes."
Irish Muslim group urges acceptance of niqab-burqa
The "50,000 people in the Muslim community in Ireland and it is a community that is continuing to grow..." ~ through immigrant marriages.
A ban on the burqa "also constitute an obstacle to multiculturalism, integration and human rights..." Now burqas equal integration and it is a Muslim woman's 'human right' to wear them.. hmm... Multiculturalism is probably the only accurate thing here - Muslims can continue to lead separate lives - marry only those from the old country - and charge the state with accusations of racists when it no longer wishes to support it - as is.
But "the council has welcomed the proposed tax changes to attract businesses from the Islamic world, which are included in the Finance Bill, published this week.
The Bill proposes the introduction of new measures designed to accommodate transactions that comply with Sharia law, based on principles contained in the Koran."
Gut ~ the Muslim Council is thinking ~ because they are just warming up to deliver their full list of Islamic demands and alterations to the law ~ to better accommodate Islam.
My fear is the snooker system - once you are able to control a significant portion of the financial system - under Islamic law - countries may be blackmailed into giving into Muslim demands - and since Muslims already have equal rights - any other so-called rights will have to do with the Shari'a - and often this has to do with the abolition of rights.
THE IRISH Council of Imams, a group which represents Muslims living in Ireland, has spoken out against attempts to ban the niqab elsewhere in Europe and called on members of the religion to contribute positively to the societies in which they are living.
The council said that a ban on the niqab – a veil worn by Muslim women that covers everything except the eyes – violates personal freedoms guaranteed by democratic systems.
It added that such bans also constitute an obstacle to multiculturalism, integration and human rights.
Its comments come following moves by governments in several countries to restrict the wearing of niqabs.
The council’s secretary general Ali Selim told The Irish Times the decision to issue a statement on the wearing of the niqab followed on from widespread media attention on the issue.
“While there is no problem with the niqab in Ireland, it is something which is being debated in many places right now,” said Mr Selim.
The Irish Council of Imams, which represents 14 imams and includes those from Sunni and Shia traditions, also called on Muslims living in Europe, and in particular in Ireland, to contribute to the societies where they live and seek to integrate in a way that enables them to preserve their identity.
In addition, it urged Muslims to refrain from violence and instead tackle problems through constitutional and democratic means.
“Muslims are the minority in most countries and are therefore faced with many challenges and how they deal with these is important,” said Mr Selim.
The council has welcomed the proposed tax changes to attract businesses from the Islamic world, which are included in the Finance Bill, published this week.
The Bill proposes the introduction of new measures designed to accommodate transactions that comply with Sharia law, based on principles contained in the Koran.
However, Mr Selim repeated the council’s call to financial institutions to launch Sharia-compliant financial services so that Muslims living here do not contravene religious teachings.
“There are about 50,000 people in the Muslim community in Ireland and it is a community that is continuing to grow.
“Many Muslims want to make investments here but cannot do so at present,” said Mr Selim.
“No institution has taken steps to introduce a product that Muslims living here can avail of, despite the fact that in the UK, moves have been made to do this, not only in terms of offering mortgages for houses but also Sharia-compliant business loans.”
Irish Times
Pakistan: New Taliban flogging footage [Video]
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Islamabad, Feb 6: After the 2009 video of the Taliban militants flogging a teenage girl sent shock waves across the world, another video showing the still persistent Taliban brutality in the tribal belts of Pakistan has emerged.
The new video, which was also shot using a mobile phone, shows the militants flogging two men and a teenage boy. The man who captured the video on Feb 3 passed it on to a scribe who occasionally provides video to Associated Press Television News.
The video was reportedly taken in the Mamozai area of the Orakzai tribal region. However, this can not be confirmed as it is considered dangerous to travel to this region.
The video essentially indicates that the militants still enjoy a strong hold in the tribal belt along the Afghanistan border despite the offensive launched by Pakistan to wipe out the militants and the US drone strikes.
The Taliban is known for meting out this kind of punishment to those who commit criminal acts such as violating the Islamic laws, and spying.
People caught committing serious crimes are allegedly killed.
In Apr 2009, the shocking video of teenage girl being flogged by Taliban in the Swat valley emerged giving the world a glimpse of the life in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan.
The girl seen begging for mercy in the video was punished for being seen in public with a man, who was not her husband.
One India
Controversial Lawsuit Against Dutch Politician Over Muslim Comments
+sits+beside+his+lawyer+Bram+Moszkowicz+during+a+preparatory+hearing+ahead+of+his+trial+for+inciting+hatred+against+Muslims.+The+trial,+which+has+given+rise+to+a+heated+public+debate.jpg)
Wilders' three allotted witnesses will be heard - behind closed doors - and the truth may not seem to matter ~ this is about criticism of the Koran - and really has no place in the Dutch or other western court - this is a matter for the Islamic courts in those place which practise Islamic law.
- "This is a happy day for all followers of Islam who do not want to be tossed on the garbage dump of Nazism," said lawyer Gerard Spong, one of the people who laid charges against Wilders.
80 million is a moderate estimate - some argue that this number is possibly more like 120 million. And this is just India. The Muslim jihadist slaughter continued into the Hindu Kush - where it is unclear how many people died in the millions - but the name Hindu Kush means Hindu blood - shed during the Islamic conquests - in the region of Pakistan and out to Kabul and beyond.
Is this what we are protecting for Muslims - because for most Muslims these are God's battles and no one can question God - even if this God calls for the murder [or war against] of those who don't accept their vision. [Koran 9:29]
YUSUFALI: Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
Is this what we are hiding - so that we can demand everyone say that Islam was and always has been peaceful. Firstly it is offensive to look at Muslim history - outside of selected text and then - the law is brought in to force everyone repeat the same. Would we do the same for western atrocities?
In India there are about 150 million [new figures] Muslims - but if just 100 million were killed to bring Islam to that country - means for every Muslim alive there - nearly one other had to die. This is not the history of peace! This is akin to nazism - domination via violent conquest and intimidation. Instead of westerners being encouraged to talk about Muslims past - through its historically cleansed text - just as we talk about all of western history - we should also talk about all of Islam's history - to force people in a criminal court of law - to do otherwise - is fascism.
-----
WOERDEN, The Netherlands—Charged with hate speech and inciting discrimination against Muslims, Dutch right-wing Member of Parliament Geert Wilders, will face a lawsuit in the public debate about freedom of religion and speech. The trial is set to take place in Amsterdam sometime between July 1 and October 31.
The court has ruled that Wilders will only be allowed to call [upon] three witnesses for his defense, instead of eighteen as he had proposed, and that they will be heard behind closed doors.
“The court is not interested in the truth or a fair trial,” Wilders was reported as saying by Dutch media.
The official charge includes a long list of alleged degrading statements Wilders made about Islam in various media.
"This is a happy day for all followers of Islam who do not want to be tossed on the garbage dump of Nazism," said lawyer Gerard Spong, one of the people who laid charges against Wilders, as reported in NRC Handelsblad.
The charges were previously dismissed by the public prosecutor, saying that Wilders’ statements may be insulting, but not criminal, and that the statements were made “within the context of the public debate.”
Objections were made against the decision at the appeals court, resulting in a decision to prosecute Wilders. This rather unusual procedure prompted Wilders to call it a “political trial.”
Reports say Wilders could be convicted for up to one year in jail.
‘A Shift of Focus’
Among the 15 dismissed witnesses is Muslim radical Mohammed B., who is in jail for killing Dutch moviemaker Theo van Gogh. The court responded that his testimony would not be necessary as they are “aware that such people do exist.”
Wilders’ lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, told Dutch media that he was “not amused’ with the decision to deny the testimonies of 15 witnesses and that he thinks that the court is overestimating itself by doing so.
Wilders and his lawyer say the witnesses are key to prove that Wilders’ statements about the Islam are “true” and therefore cannot be considered hate speech—under the reasoning that “truth cannot be punishable.”
This focus on “truth” has shifted the direction of the lawsuit from what the plaintiffs had intended. The court was not originally to decide whether Islam is “intrinsically evil,” as Wilders says, or not.
Other than “truth,” Wilders’ defense is mostly based on freedom of speech. Critics called it “the freedom to insult.”
It appears the judge will have to weigh different fundamental rights against each other, likely leading to more controversy.
Controversial Political Life
Wilders is the leader of the Party of Freedom (PVV), considered a right-wing party with a hard-line assimilation stance on the integration of Muslim immigrants into Dutch society. The party has rapidly grown to become the second largest political party in the Netherlands.
On numerous occasions, Wilders has made comparisons between Islam and Nazism and fascism. Wilders’ remarks have not only insulted followers of Islam but also some Dutch people have also said that Wilders ideas and behavior are a threat to democracy and are destabilizing Dutch society.
Wilders says he wants to warn of the "increasing Islamization" in Western society, and calls for a stop to Muslim immigration to the Netherlands.
After releasing a short anti-Islam film in 2008, the terror threat level soared in the Netherlands and in Dutch Embassies abroad.
“I do not consider Islam a religion, but a dangerous, totalitarian ideology, just like communism and fascism. I can say that, right? If I speak about communism, it is not a problem. I have never talked about people, always about ideology,” Wilders told NRC Handelsblad.
Wilders himself has received numerous murder threats and has been under constant security protection since 2004. He is forced to change locations every night and can only meet his wife once a week.
Political opponents have frequently called him a “racist” and “fascist,” while he is often ridiculed by the common people for his unusual haircut and given the nickname "Mozart" or "Captain Peroxide."
The conclusion of a report called "Polarization and Radicalization in the Netherlands," commissioned by Ministry of Internal Affairs, labeled Wilders as a "new right radical."
"My allies are not Le Pen or Haider ... We'll never join up with the fascists and Mussolinis of Italy. I'm very afraid of being linked with the wrong rightist fascist groups,” Wilders had told the Guardian on a trip to England.
Regardless of the outcome, the process seems to have already won Wilder several more seats in Parliament.
The Epoch Times
Friday, February 5, 2010
Muslim man enters NY elementary school carrying a knife - security tightened
When spotted the man asked if he could park his car and take a nap - but this was reported to be around 8 o'clock in the morning!
- Abdulrahim Sulaiman, 23, of Bridgeport had already entered the main lobby of Tappan Zee Elementary School before 8 a.m. Wednesday, when he was spotted by school officials, police said. [+]
PIERMONT — New security measures are being put in place at all South Orangetown schools after a stranger carrying a knife walked into a district elementary school last week.
The doors to all schools will now be locked when classes are in session, according to a notice sent from Superintendent of Schools Ken Mitchell to all parents.
In addition , anyone coming to the school will have to present photo identification and additional cameras will be installed.
"While we understand the tightened security and reduced access may be inconvenient, it is essential that we take every reasonable measure to ensure that our buildings are secured for the safety of our students and staff," Mitchell wrote.
Parents said that they agree with the need for more security in the schools.
"In today's climate you have to do what you can to protect the children," said Mary Paul, who has children in the middle school and in the high school. "If this is what the district thinks is necessary, then I'm in favor of it."
The new measures come after two incidents that raised alarms about school security in South Orangetown.
The most recent took place Jan. 20, when a 23-year-old Connecticut man entered the main lobby of Tappan Zee Elementary School in Piermont.
The man, Abdulrahim Sulaiman, 23, of Bridgeport, was apparently lost and asking for directions, district spokeswoman B.J. Greco said.
Sulaiman was stopped by school officials and escorted outside. He also asked school officials if he could park his car in the parking lot and take a nap, Greco said.
The man left the school grounds, but after officials called police he was spotted at a nearby convenience store and arrested.
Police said Sulaiman was carrying a [gravity] knife similar to a switchblade at the time of his arrest.
Sulaiman was charged with third-degree criminal trespass and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both misdemeanors.
He is free on $5,000 cash bail and due in court Wednesday.
The incident came six months after Peter Cocker of Tappan, a former New York City police officer, burst into South Orangetown Middle School with a gun and held the superintendent hostage for a short time.
Cocker was angry about a letter that Mitchell had sent home the day before about the swine flu.
[...]
Greco said both incidents point to the need for better security in the schools.
The new measures will include unannounced security checks. The additional security will cost the district extra, Greco said.
"When dealing with children, you can never be safe enough," she said. "But nothing is ever fail-safe."
Jihad Watch, LoHud
French citizenship denied to man who forced wife to wear burqa [Video]
Immigration Minister Eric Besson said Tuesday that French citizenship has been denied to a Moroccan man for forcing his wife to wear a head-to-toe veil and for rejecting the principles of secularism and equality between men and women.
It is a good question - why do you want to come to live in France if you don't want to live in a secular society?
Uganda: Libyan based Islamic society donates 17,000 textbooks
Whenever the Libyan leader does something ~ attending to his ego would have to take first place - it seems that what he wants to to is to position himself as some sort of leader - if not the authority figure for the Islamic world. For example at a meeting of Arab leaders he challenged the Saudi leader by telling him that he was the King of Kings of Africa. There are now mosques appearing in his name as far away as Indonesia, in Uganda and Senegal. I think he would prefer - that if Islam will appear all over the world - it will appear in his name!
Here is quotes from the 'World Islamic Call Society' website:
The following text concludes the 'Evangelical Christian – Muslim dialogue' page
***** “There does not exist progressive Islam, or radical Islam, or political Islam or Sultan’s Islam on the one hand, and reactionary or pacifist Islam on the other. There is one Islam only and one book, which God revealed to his prophet and which the prophet conveyed to the people.” Fahmi Huwaydi [leading Egyptian Islamic scholar]
***** How do we close the gap between the traditional Islamic sciences and the modern social sciences?
Islamic sciences as developed through the translation of the Greek text?
**** The people of faith need to bear a leading collective responsibility to educate others on the Godliness and morality of being anti-racist
***** All arrogant racists of the world who continue to undo God’s glorious work are followers of the Cursed Satan
Notice racist has replaced anti-Islamic ~ it is the racists who are followers of Satan. The racist language in particular appeals to those on the Left - and without knowing it will work to help to promote Islam through anti-racist measures. [+]
*** The Western culture continues to impose on us its Eurocentric perspective regarding women issues, and we are still unable to deconstruct it and expose its global hypocrisies
In the 'Care of Muslim women' section - clearly no women writing in this section:
The programs also aim at freeing them from all kinds of injustices that encumber her due to society’s backwardness and ignorance; such as traditional factors that hold them back in social life, or the materialistic pressures that force her to imitate men to the detriment of her unique value as a human being. [..]
The Society gives a great deal of attention to women’s affairs, as they are the fundamental pillar of society. WICS enhances their social and economic conditions, by educating them and helping them solve their problems so that they are able to play an active role in raising their children according to Islamic teachings and contribute in spreading Da’wa in their families.
Here are some of the latest topics touched on - at the website:
Zionist Occupation employs strategic plans to Judaize Al-Quds
General People's Congress condemns Swiss racist
WICS supports proselytes meeting in Netherlands
Uganda has only 12% Muslims and was made a member of the Organisation of Islamic Countries [OIC] under Idi Amin in 1974 - however with the expulsion of the Asians, by the dictator - the Uganda's Muslim population was significantly diminished - further after his terrifying reign - other ethic groups turned on those Muslim tribes who offered Idi Amin the most support. No doubt Gadaffi through his Islamic organisation wants to see these statistics changed.
Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42% (Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%), Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9% (2002 census) [+]
THE World Islamic Call Society has given 17,650 Arabic text books to Muslim-owned schools in Uganda.
The books were handed over to head teachers last week at Gadaffi National Mosque in Old Kampala.
The country director, Muhammad Tahir Hawasi, said the books were meant to improve Arabic teaching in Ugandan schools.
“Teachers should become more vigilant in spreading Arabic among the young generation to make them love Islam,” Hawasi said.
He cautioned the school heads against diverting the text books for other uses.
The Mufti, Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje, commended the society for the continued helping spirit to Ugandan schools.
He appealed to teachers to always use Arabic while teaching to enable the pupils master it.
The schools that received the text books were selected from all the regions of Uganda.
They include Yumbe Islamic School, Kinawa Islamic School, Mahdi Habib Al-Islam, Gombe Islamic Centre, Kibibi Muslim Centre and Mbogo Islamic School.
The senior education officer in the Ministry of Education, Michael Omage, who represented the commissioner for secondary education, commended the initiative, saying it was timely and would improve Arabic in schools.
He added that since Uganda needed more experts to woo investors from Arabic-speaking countries, the donation would help in achieving this ambition.
“We are trying to get closer to the Arabic world. We need ambassadors who can take our messages. This donation is a great offer,” Omage said.
He appealed to other organisations to donate more Arabic books to Muslim schools.
New Vision - Uganda
Kosovo Sees Continued Infiltration by Islamists
In the end of this Weekly Standard article concludes that that if Kosovo is reabsorbed back into Serbia - it 'would be disastrous not only for the Kosovars, but for the prestige of the U.S., and would significantly encourage Russian designs in the Balkans.'
But who made the decision to grant Kosovo independence? It is a similar situation to the US's position on Turkey's EU accession. Locally the picture often looks very different.
On the ground now Wahabbist are filtering in - to the world's newest Islamic state/ nation - the big glossy mosques with the Saudi money - the destruction of 100's of churches. Kosovo the state was not created by Europe - most probably would have liked to see an autonomous region rather than an independent one.
Not the surprisingly the EU is not that excited about it - the article goes on to complain of EU disdain for Kosovo because it offered citizens of Serbia [minus Milosevich], Montenegro, and Macedonia visa-free travel into the EU and as a result many Kosovars are applying for Serbian passports as a way to gain access to Europe - and likely a livelihood - which of course may eventually lead to the undermining of the Kosovo state. Oh well!
Islamist infiltration of the Albanian-speaking areas in the Balkans began even before the U.S.-led Kosovo intervention of 1999. (The offensive by radical Islam continues in Kosovo has previously been chronicled here, here, here, and here, with attacks focused on moderate Muslim clerics.) The upsurge of armed struggle for Kosovo independence in 1998 was accompanied by the unexpected emergence of Saudi-financed radicalism in the Albanian-majority zone of western Macedonia. The syndrome is too widespread to be coincidental. Wherever local Muslim-majority communities resist post-Communist abuses – including Kosovo and Macedonia – Islamist radicals show up (beards, short pants, and all), allegedly in emulation of the Prophet Muhammad. The religious extremists assault moderate Muslims and Christians, dividing the forces of national freedom.
The worst example has been that of Chechnya, where Saudi agents diverted a legitimate movement for autonomy within the Russian Federation in a jihadist direction, associating the cause of the Caucasian Muslims with al Qaeda. Chechens have not consistently demanded complete separation. The same pattern is visible among another people who mainly ask for equal rights rather than secession: The Turkic-speaking Uighurs on Chinese territory. Numerous Kosovar and Macedonian Albanians are convinced that Wahhabi agitators are encouraged by Serbia, which seeks to lop off the north of Kosovo and annex it, or create a pseudo-republic. That should sound a familiar note: Such a land-grab would be comparable to those carried out by the fading Soviet rulers in “Transnistria,” a mini-state carved out of Moldova, as well as by the late Slobodan Milosevic in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and by Vladimir Putin in Georgia (the so called nation-states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia).
The latest ambush of a moderate Kosovar Muslim cleric occurred on January 21. Hamit Kamberi, imam at a mosque in Mitrovica, in northern Kosovo, had just finished leading prayers, and his congregation had departed. He was abruptly shoved into the mosque and beaten. “I heard some people closing the door and then they attacked me physically,” he told the Kosovo daily Express, which has taken the lead in exposing local Islamist radicals. “I know who these people are and I know their families, too.” One asked to speak with him, and he was then jumped by four more. “I need medical attention, including the services of a neurologist. I have internal and external injuries, in my brain, head and neck,” he added.
One member of the gang of thugs sported a long Wahhabi beard, while the rest, according to the imam, wore the distinctive short trousers adopted by the fundamentalists. He emphasized that he had never had personal disagreements with the group. But they had been agitating for weeks for his replacement as mosque leader, based on their adherence to the doctrines of the official Saudi sect and the imam’s insistence that Albanians preferred to follow the traditional Islam they first learned from the Ottomans more than half a millennium ago.
The day after the incident, four men, named Vesat Imeri, Burim Ademi, Faruk Osmani and Isa Ibrahimi, presented themselves at a Kosovo police station and, although they claimed to be innocent of involvement in the Kamberi affair, were arrested. Jetish Berisha, chairman of the Islamic Community of Mitrovica, warned that aggression against moderate Kosovar Muslim leaders is continuing and becoming more brutal. All these conflicts, Berisha said, “Come from the same element, with the same ideology… Some people think that they can take over our religious institutions through violence. Those ideologies are not based on normal Islam and are inappropriate for us as Kosovar Albanian Muslims.”
In addition, the national Islamic religious officials in Kosovo, who have previously been lax in responding to Wahhabi incursions, issued a strong statement. “The leadership of the Kosovo Islamic Community considers the attack on the imam as a blow against the institutions of the Islamic Community, as a violation of our institutions and an offense against their duties… The Kosovo Muslim leadership is committed to order, calm, and the rule of law, as opposed to anarchy and banditry,” the top clerics said.
Described by Express as “the strongest ever issued by the Kosovo Islamic leaders,” the declaration may have been necessary given the location of the latest Wahhabi foray. Mitrovica is divided by the Ibar river, with Serbs occupying the territory north of its waters. Serb diehards routinely discharge firearms and throw grenades into Albanian homes in the north. Still, Albanian-American journalist Ruben Avxhiu, who publishes a biweekly in New York, Illyria, told me, “Serbia remains an outsider and therefore a containable enemy. It is the enemy within that can harm you the most and in many irreparable ways.”
The Kosovo newspaper Express has a web comment section that often provides the most trenchant insights into the problems faced by the Kosovars. After the latest extremist intrusion, ordinary Kosovars expressed themselves in a manner that did not disappoint. Imam Kamberi’s mosque attendees wrote in, noting that the imam was a dedicated man who gave generously of his time. He lives north of the informal partition line in Mitrovica and admitted his fear of the Serbs, but, according to his coreligionists, had undergone physical abuse from Albanians in the southern area of the municipality. The contribution of Kamberi’s congregants ended with a phrase heard elsewhere in the Balkans when the Wahhabis come on the scene: “The radicals are hypocrites, and wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Others were even more articulate about their disgust. A resident of Mitrovica named Gazi posted a comment reading, “Shame on those who divide our people! Foreign religion, foreign traditions appear among us like knives. We know very well how they got here. Our people has its own much more precious traditions that we should work together to preserve.” One Visari, living in Prishtina, the Kosovo capital, wrote, “Where is the government and police of Kosovo? Why are they allowing Islamic radicalism to emerge among the Albanian people? Arrest every one of them, because we want to be part of Europe.”
Kosovo may be described as under Europe, but not within it. The European Union, which governs Kosovo, should protect the republic against radical Islam as well as Serbian intrigue. But Europe looks askance at the Kosovars, a decade after the war that brought about their liberation. In the latest evidence of Brussels-based disdain, citizens of Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia were, in December 2009, offered the right of visa-free travel to the EU. Since Serbia still claims sovereignty over Kosovo, Albanians from the republic may apply for, and receive, Serbian passports. Many Kosovars have begun to do so, accepting Serbian nationality as a price they must pay to get to the West. But Kosovar Albanians who consent to carry Serbian identity documents undermine Kosovo’s independent status, opening the way to its reabsorption by Serbia. Such an outcome would be disastrous not only for the Kosovars, but for the prestige of the U.S., and would significantly encourage Russian designs in the Balkans.
Macedonia, Kosovo’s southern neighbor, has also had to recognize its Wahhabi problem. A major daily in that country, Vecer (Evening) has reported that the three most prominent and historic mosques in the capital, Skopje, have been taken over by Wahhabi clerics. The paper disclosed that Wahhabis are active throughout Skopje. As previously noted, such foreign penetration has been visible in Macedonia since 1998, and while the Kosovar Albanians have resisted such infiltration, Macedonian leaders have allowed it to grow.
The sharpest comment yet on radical Islam in the Balkans was offered to the readers of Express by a man who signed himself Drini, from the Kosovo town of Lipjan: “Yesterday: Fools – Today: Violent – Tomorrow: Terrorists.” Across the globe, where Islamist fanatics search for weak spots to commit their crimes, these cautionary words should be read and remembered.
Weekly Standard
SARAJEVO : ONE-MONTH DETENTION FOR ARRESTED ISLAMISTS
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ordered today a one-month detention for seven members of the Islamist Wahhabi movement, who were arrested on Tuesday in a major action of special forces in the village of Gornja Maoca near Brcko. One of the arrested, a foreign national and, according to media, an Islamic extremist, is in an extradition custody and the competent service for foreigners is responsible for him. The arrested Wahhabis, B-H citizens, are suspected to have attacked the constitutional order, endangered territorial integrity, incited religious and national hatred, involved in organized crime, and possessed unauthorized weapons and explosive materials. The village of Gornja Maoca is exclusively inhabited by members of the Wahhabi movement, and until the action of the state forces, applied were not valid laws of B-H, but the sheriate law. Foreign intelligence services have been informing the authorities in Sarajevo for a long time that Gornja Maoca is a base of the radical Islamists who own numerous weapons and prepare armed actions, and that there are members of foreign extremist movements among them.
Glassrbije
Pakistan and Ongoing Christian Persecution
Christians and other minorities in Pakistan continue to face enormous discrimination and persecution, and in extreme cases, but not rare cases, many Christians have been killed by either Muslim mobs or by state sanctioned policies. Therefore, the endless suffering and discrimination in Pakistan must come to light and the international community must put more pressure on the government of Pakistan to act, and to rescind brutal laws.
Pakistan is currently in crisis and much of the current crisis in self induced because it is clear that Pakistan supported radical Sunni Islam in Afghanistan and Kashmir for decades. Now the very same Sunni Islamic radicals who were supported by the security services in Pakistan have decided to turn Pakistan into another radical Sunni Islamic nightmare. Therefore, the ongoing "year zero Islamization" is leading to more hatred and this hatred is also being aimed at all minorities.
Even worse, for Christians, and other minorities like the Ahmadiyya Muslims and Hindus; they are suffering at the hands of radical Sunni Islamists, institutionalized laws which discriminate against minorities, government indifference, police bias, and every day discrimination where individual Muslims can abuse their power.
Emmanuel Y. Mani wrote an article on 11/10/2009 which was published on http://www.asianews.it and he stated that the "Blasphemy laws include Article 295, Sections B and C, and Article 298, Sections A, B and C, of the Pakistan Penal Code. These laws were incorporated into the criminal justice system between 1980 and 1986 by then President of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq, supposedly to ensure respect for the Prophet Mohammed, his Companions and the Holy Qur'an. These laws are unique in the contemporary world because they allow dubious charges to be brought against people who have been subjected to extra judicial killings, arson and destruction of their property."
"From 1986 to October 2009, at least 966 persons were accused under the blasphemy laws, 50% were Muslims, 35% Ahmadis, 13% Christians, 1% Hindus and 1% with no known religious background. At least 33 persons have been killed extra judicially after allegations were made against them; 15 were Muslims, 15 Christians, two Ahmadis and one Hindu."
This law is not only being used against Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadiyya Muslims, but it is also being used by the dominant Sunni Islamic sect in Pakistan in order to crush all alternative voices or the law is being manipulated on any grounds in order to bypass real justice.
Last year on September 15th a young Christian male called Robert Fanish was found dead in his cell. Of course, the usual mantra was stated and a cover up was started from the start but clearly he had been tortured and victimized. The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) which is a Catholic-led advocacy group, however, stated that the brutal death of Robert Fanish was an "extra-judicial murder."
Therefore, in modern day Pakistan this Sunni Islamic madness continues and now they are killing each other in the north of the nation, while causing mayhem in Afghanistan. At the same time, they are killing minority Christians, Shia Muslims and Ahmadiyya Muslims. It is like a state of madness with no end game apart from complete Sunni Islamization and then an internal Sunni Islamic war on the grounds of who is the most radical.
This madness led to 6 Christians being burnt alive last year and numerous other attacks. More recently, we have a 12 year old Christian girl called Shazia Bashir who was raped and tortured to death according to local Christians and advocacy groups.
Shazia Bashir was employed in the household of a wealthy Muslim lawyer and like many poor Christian domestic workers in Pakistan, she suffered abuse, however, her abuse would lead to her death but will justice be done in Pakistan?
A Protestant NGO, Sharing Life Ministry Life (SLMP), gave details about the young Christian girl. They stated that she had been working for eight months and that she had suffered constant stress and had been treated harshly before her death. This applied to ill treatment, verbal abuse and other forms of mistreatment.
SLMP chief coordinator Sohail Johnson commented "….that 99 per cent of Christian girls from poor families are hired by wealthy Muslims, and are often physically, psychologically and sexually abused." He continued by stating that "In some cases, their employers marry them off to Muslim servants, and forcibly convert them to Islam."
Sohail Johnson also mentioned about the failings of the government of Pakistan in protecting Christian girls. He states that "These vulnerable Christian girls do not have any state protection. We urge the government to ensure protection of these disadvantaged girls."
Therefore, in 2009 we heard about Christians being burnt alive in Pakistan and many other cases of violence which was aimed at Christians and other minorities. Sadly, the same pattern is continuing but this time it is the brutal murder of a young Christian girl and many Christians doubt that justice will be done.
In Pakistan it is clear that Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, and others, face an uphill struggle and death and persecution is never far away. However, what makes the situation worse is that it is not only radical Islamists who are persecuting all minorities but it is also the state apparatus of Pakistan.
The cycle of violence, intimidation, and persecution, can only be imagined from a distance. Yet the daily terror caused by Islamists and the betrayal of the institutions of Pakistan means that this nightmare is ongoing. However, will the international community just "turn a blind eye" or will outside pressure be put on Pakistan?
By Lee Jay Walker
The Seoul Times
Pakistan and Ongoing Christian Persecution
Kenyan clergy reject constitution draft, say it introduces Sharia law by stealth - and exempts Muslims from adhering to bill of rights on equality
This what the whole stink surrounding Kenya's elections was all about -- the opposition leader - Raila Odinga - was found have made a secret deal with Muslim leaders to introduce Shari'a law if elected - while he was not quite elected - to settle the violent dispute that ensued - he was brought in as deputy PM or President - the mention of Islam in the proposed constitution can only be seen as a fulfilment of the promise for Shari'a law made to his electorate.
If in this new proposal - the Muslims are seeking to be excluded from right and freedoms as set out by the bill of rights for the rest of Kenya's country men ~ it shows you already that Muslim women who use the Islamic [Kadhi] courts are going to get a bum deal. Those who want to leave Islam may also be punished under the court.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 1 – Kenya’s momentum towards a new constitution suffered a setback on Monday when senior Christian leaders vowed to reject it over the inclusion of the Kadhi courts.
Several church leaders castigated the newest draft released by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution Review (PSC) last Friday on account that it was discriminatory over the courts and by making several references to Islam.
The clergy threatened to shoot down the draft in the referendum should their demands be ignored.
“If matters we consider fundamental have been voiced and ignored, the only weapon Christians are left with is to reject the draft but rather sadly,” said the Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya Canon Peter Karanja who chaired the meeting.
“We are not dying for merely any Constitution but one that enshrines justice for all.”
The leaders reiterated that the State should be separated form religion and since Kenya is considered a secular State no religion should be mentioned in the supreme law.
The draft establishes the Kadhi courts but limits them to the determination of questions of Muslim law relating to personal status, marriage, divorce or inheritance in proceedings in which all the parties profess the Muslim religion and submit to the jurisdiction of the Kadhi’s courts. The church leaders are also irate with a proposal to exempt Muslims from sections of the Bill of Rights.
Article 23(6) under the Bill of Rights states:
“No right or fundamental freedom set out in the Bill of Rights may be limited except………………..The provisions of this Chapter on equality shall be qualified to the extent strictly necessary for the application of Muslim law before the Kadhi’s courts, to persons who profess the Muslim religion, in matters relating to personal status, marriage, divorce and inheritance.”
But the Church leaders claimed the mention of Islam in the Constitution was a crafty agenda to introduce Sharia law in the country.
The Christians community has been up in arms against the Committee of Experts (CoE) on the constitution for failing to recognise the courts as part of the contentious issues and subsequent inclusion of the same in the draft. The clergy faulted the PSC for failing to ‘listen to the Christians and approving the courts.’
“We suspect that the inclusion of the courts could have been used in the horse-trading with other political matters,” said Canon Karanja.
On the increase of number of MPs the leaders called for the reduction of parliamentary seats to 250 instead of the proposed 349.
“We should allow the Interim Independent Boundary Review Commission to review our constituencies and if need be, collapse and merge some so that we have a reasonable number,” Canon Karanja said.
The church leaders nevertheless praised the PSC for their agreement on the Presidential system of government and outlawing abortion and same sex marriages.
Other church leaders present included Anglican Archbishop Eliud Wabukhala, Bishop Gerry Kibabara of the Kenya Christian Constitution Forum, and Bishop Boniface Adoyo of Nairobi Pentecostal Church. Other churches represented were Methodist Church, African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa and a dozen of Pentecostal churches while the Catholic Church is said to have affirmed its support of the statement.
Capital FM Kenya
Taliban Reject "Deal" With West
KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban have said they will not enter into any "deal" with the Afghan government or the West to bring peace to Afghanistan, and their fighters will continue to die to achieve a victory they say is around the corner.
At a conference in London last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai invited the Taliban to a peace council and set out plans to lure fighters down from the hills in return for cash and jobs.
But in a statement posted on the Islamists' website (alemarah.info/english) on Thursday, the Taliban vowed to "collude" with no one.
The statement made no specific reference to Karzai's proposed talks. The Taliban had initially told Reuters they would decide "soon" on whether to take part in talks.
The Islamists have repeatedly rejected previous offers of talks before all foreign troops are withdrawn.
"During the past eight years, the Islamic Emirate has not shown any willingness to reach collusion with any party as regards the Jihad, the country and the people, national and Islamic interest," the Taliban said.
"Now, it is not ready to have any illegitimate, valueless deal about the victory, which is near at hand."
The statement was entitled "The impracticable decision of the London conference" and addressed to the meeting's "conveners and donors."
MAKING PEACE WITH THE TALIBAN
The luring away of militant foot-soldiers is referred to by the West as reintegration while efforts to make peace with Taliban leaders is being called reconciliation.
Afghanistan's allies are backing the efforts to start talks with the Taliban and donors have promised hundreds of millions of dollars for a fund to pay fighters to come in from the cold.
Western countries, eying an exit from an eight-year-old war they no longer believe has a purely military solution, are more amenable than ever to a role for rehabilitated Taliban.
On Wednesday, British armed forces minister Bill Rammell said about 20 percent of the Taliban were "hardcore, ideological jihadists," while 80 percent had joined largely to make a living, suggesting these fighters could be won over.
But at a time when fighters are tightening their hold over much of the country and inflicting record losses on foreign troops, analysts doubt guerrillas would agree to lay down their arms. Similar past programmes have lured away only a trickle of fighters.
The Taliban, meanwhile, vowed to continue their fight.
"The invading Americans and all their invading allies should understand the objective of the mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate is more lofty and exalted than that the rulers of the White House could imagine," the statement said.
"These sacrificing mujahideen believe that the obtainment of this lofty goal is only possible through laying down their lives."
Jamaican cleric Al-Faisal defends Jihad
In any case this former Christian's quest to take part in - or incite others to take part in the struggle for world domination has been put on hold for a while.
Controversial Muslim Cleric Sheik Abdullah al-Faisal has accused the British and American governments of lying.
According to al-Faisal, statements attributed to him do not reflect his views or the teachings of Islam.
After being arrested in Kenya on Christmas Eve and ordered deported for contravening the boundaries of his visa, the controversial cleric was deported to Jamaica on January 22.
Several countries refused to allow him to cross their borders on his way back to Jamaica while several airlines have labelled him a terrorist and banished him to the "no fly" list.
However, the radical cleric who was speaking on Television Jamaica's magazine programme Smile Jamaica Thursday morning appeared the complete opposite of the firebrand image that has been used to describe him.
Al-Faisal claims he does not advocate the killing of innocent people but defends Jihad which is self defense.
"There evil people in the world who like to invade other (countries) and kill and steal their natural resources because some countries have natural resources and some don't have. Those countries which don't have these resources will always have the intention to steal from those who have and carry out ethnic cleansing against them.
"What the sheiks are saying is that if a Muslim country is invaded, we reserve and deserve the right to defend ourselves because we don't want to be wiped out (like) the Arawak Indians and we don't apologise for defending ourselves," Al-Faisal said.
Clerics don't support the killing of the innocent
And the radical cleric also distanced himself from the actions of radicals Germaine Lindsay and convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid.
"There is no cleric who will give his blessing to the shoe bomber or Germaine Lindsay the Edgeway bomber because if do that, you'll lose your moral authority as a sheik and no one will listen to you anymore. These acts are murder and there is no such thing as murder in our religion and to detonate a bomb on a plane, you're killing innocent men, women and children," Sheik Abdullah Al Faisal declared.
Lindsay was one of four men who detonated bombs in three trains in the London Underground in July 2005.
Fifty two persons, including the bombers, were killed.
Reid was convicted in the United States after he hid explosives in his shoes and boarded an aircraft.
His bombs however failed to detonate.
His crime led to passengers being required to remove their shoes before boarding aircraft.
Radio Jamaica
Pakistani supporters take to the streets for 'Lady al-Qaida' Aafia Siddiqui found guilty in a US court [Photos]
Supporters of religious party Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam burn a U.S. flag to protest against the conviction of a Pakistani woman by a U.S. court, during a rally in Quetta, located in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province February 4, 2010. About 2,000 Islamists protesting against Siddiqui's conviction chanted slogans against the United States and support for Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in the southwestern city of Quetta. Aafia Siddiqui, 37, was convicted in a New York court on Wednesday for grabbing a U.S. officer's rifle while she was being questioned in 2008 in Afghanistan and firing at FBI agents and military personnel as she was wrestled to the ground. Pakistan will take all steps necessary to bring home a Pakistani woman convicted in a U.S. court for shooting at her U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
Women supporters of Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami take part in a protest rally in Karachi February 4, 2010, to protest against the conviction of a Pakistani woman by a U.S. court.
Ismat Siddiqui, the mother of accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui gestures as she watches a news channel after a court verdict against her daughter in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.
A Pakistani girl takes part in a rally to condemn the verdict against accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui in Islamabad, Pakistan on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.
A woman holds a boy, wearing a banner with the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God," while taking part in a rally in Karachi February 4, 2010, to protest against the conviction of a Pakistani woman by a U.S. court.
Pakistani religious students of Jamiat Tulba Arabia walk on a makeshift U.S. flag during a rally to condemn the verdict against accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui in Multan, Pakistan on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010
Student supporters of Pakistan's religious party Jamat-e-Islami attend a rally to condemn the verdict against accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010. Pakistanis shouted anti-American slogans and burned the Stars and Stripes on Thursday in protest of a New York jury's conviction of a Pakistani woman accused of trying to kill Americans while detained in Afghanistan.
Members of Pakistan Professional Forum and the civil society, hold a banner with the pictures of Aafia Siddiqui, during a protest march in Islamabad on February 4, 2010. Pakistan will take all steps necessary to bring home a Pakistani woman convicted in a U.S. court for shooting at her U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan, a government spokesman said on Thursday.
A supporter of Pakistan's religious party Jamat-i-Islami rally to condemn the verdict against accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui in Karachi, Pakistan on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.
Pakistani supporters of accused al-Qaida associate Aafia Siddiqui hold her photographs as they watch a news channel after a court verdict against her in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.
AP/ Reuters
Double blast in Karachi kills at least 22 people
A girl cries over her dead mother at the scene of a bomb blast outside Jinnah hospital in Karachi February 5, 2010
An explosion was heard at the hospital treating victims of a deadly bomb attack targeting a bus in Pakistan's financial capital, Karachi, which killed 22 people and wounded dozens more.
AFP - Twin bombings in Pakistan's financial capital Karachi on Friday that killed at least 22 people were carried out by suicide bombers on motorcycles, a bomb disposal official said.
"Both of the blasts are of the same nature. Both were suicide and both were on motorcycles," the official, Munir Ahmad Sheikh, told private television channel Geo from Karachi.
People look at dead bodies of bomb blast victims at a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. A bomb tore through a bus carrying Shiite Muslim worshippers.
"In the first attack, the bomber hit the bus. In the second attack, the bomber sitting on a motorcycle exploded himself," he added.
Women and children were among those killed and wounded when the blast occurred on the last day of the holy Muslim month of Muharram, gutting the bus and flinging shards of glass across one of Karachi's busiest roads.
Witnesses and officials said the bus was packed with Shiite Muslims heading to a religious procession to mark the last day of Muharram in Karachi, a city of 16 million people with a sprawling port on the Arabian sea.
People look at the spot of a bomb blast outside a hospital emergency ward where victims of earlier blast were brought for treatment in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010
"I saw a man riding a motorcycle. He hit the bus on the wrong side of the road, on the left, and then there was a huge explosion," said Jaafar Ali, a mechanic in his mid-20s, who had been travelling in another vehicle.
"Some of my friends were sitting in that bus. I'm going to the hospital. I don't know whether they are dead or survived," he told AFP in tears.
Nails, of the type often packed in bombs, pierced the walls and doors of a bungalow on the side of the road. Blood stained the inside of the bus and shoes lying nearby on the road, said an AFP reporter.
Troops of Pakistan's para-military force rush to a bus damaged by bomb explosion in Karachi, Pakistan on Friday, Feb. 5, 2010.
"We have counted 12 dead bodies and more than 50 injured. There are children and women among the killed and wounded," Doctor Seemi Jamali, chief of Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, told AFP.
"Twelve of the injured are in a critical condition. The injured told me a man riding a motorcycle hit the bus and then the explosion came," she added.
"A bomb was planted on the motorcyle and it hit the bus," city police chief Waseem Ahmad told reporters, declining to confirm witness statements that implied the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
People look at damages caused by a bomb blast outside an emergency ward of a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010.
"We cannot determine in one and a half hours whether it was a suicide blast or not. We are examining the site. We are collecting the evidence. We are taking witness statements and then we will say something concrete," he said.
The attack happened in a smart residential area on the main Faisal highway that intersects the city. Volunteers helped evacuate the wounded as ambulances raced past armed security forces patrolling the area.
On December 28, a bombing killed 43 people and reduced to a bloodbath a parade marking the holiest Shiite day of Ashura earlier in Muharram.
Hospital staff assist a man injured by a bomb blast outside Jinnah hospital in Karachi February 5, 2010
Pakistan's feared Taliban network claimed responsibility for that attack, sparking riots that caused huge financial losses.
Sectarian violence periodically flares in Pakistan between Shiites, who beat and whip themselves in religious fervour during Ashura, and the country's majority Sunnis, who oppose the public display of grief.
Shiites account for about 20 percent of Pakistan's mostly Sunni Muslim population of 167 million. More than 4,000 people have died in outbreaks of sectarian violence in Pakistan since the late 1980s.
Pakistani mother who reportedly lost her son wails after a bomb explosion outside an emergency ward of a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010
Pakistan has seen a recent decline in militant attacks, attributed both to the success of a US drone war and Pakistani offensives in the tribal belt by the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks are based.
Last month, 153 people were killed by militants in Pakistan -- nearly half the 275 killed in October, according to an AFP tally.
But security forces have been on alert in Karachi with a wave of political violence killing at least 37 activists from rival parties in the local governing coalition in the last five days, following 48 similar killings last month.
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