Human rights debate ended in punch-up

Human rights debate ended in punch-up

Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent
26 Sep 2011

A human rights conference descended into a brawl within minutes of it being opened by a Labour peer, a court heard.

Baroness Uddin, the first female Muslim peer, had been invited to chair the conference by the International Bangladeshi Foundation in July last year.
But the event was abandoned as supporters of the ruling party in Bangladesh, the Awami League, and opposition Bangladesh National Party, clashed.
A number of delegates were injured.
BNP supporter Sharef Chowdhury, 44, of Bethnal Green, and Awami League subscriber Montor Ali, 37, of East Ham, admitted affray at Inner London crown court.
Judge Austin Issard-Davies sentenced Chowdhury and Ali to a community order with 100 hours' unpaid work.
The judge told them: "It is central to democracy that debate can take place free of violence.
"It is disgraceful that at a meeting chaired by a member of the House of Lords, a fracas like this should take place."
Ahmed Ali, of Canning Town, and Shahreyar Rahman, 34, of Clacton-on-Sea, were cleared of the same charge.

Radio station awards rifles and bombs to contest winning children

From the The Guardian:

An Islamist-backed radio station in Somalia has awarded assault rifles and hand grenades to the winners of a children’s Qur’an recital competition.

Andalus radio, which is run by al-Shabaab militia, said on Monday that the first prize was an AK-47 and £450. The runner-up received an AK-47 and £320, while the child who came third received two F1 hand grenades and £250. The three children also received religious books.
Pictures of the senior Islamist leader and spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow presenting the awards in Elasha Biyaha, about 11 miles from Mogadishu, were posted on an rebel-affiliated website.
Al-Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia and is trying to overthrow the transitional government in Mogadishu. Designated a terrorist organisation by several western governments, the group has links to al-Qaida and practises an extreme version of Islam.

In certain areas al-Shabaab leaders have banned musical ringtones, films, football broadcasts, dancing at weddings and even shop signs written in English or Somali, rather than Arabic. Punishments include double amputations and stonings. The rebels have also systematically recruited children under 15 to fight for them, according to Amnesty International.

The Qur’an recital contest has been running for three years and takes place after Ramadan. The two previous award ceremonies have occurred in Kismayo, an al-Shabaab stronghold on the far southern coast. In 2009, prizes included hand grenades, anti-tank mines and an AK-47. The winners of that contest were between 17 and 20 years old.

The age of the winners of this year’s competition, who represented the towns of Elasha Biyaha, Kismayo and Mogadishu, are not known.
Radio Andalus takes it name from Andalusia in southern Spain, which was part of the Islamic empire at various times between the eighth and 15th centuries.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: August, 2011

September 8, 2011

Muslim Persecution of Christians: August, 2011

Raymond Ibrahim

This series was developed in order to collate some—by no means all—of the foulest instances of Muslim persecution of Christians that surface each month. It serves two purposes:

1. Intrinsically, to document that which the mainstream media does not: habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.

2. Instrumentally, to show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is ultimately rooted in a Sharia inspired worldview.

As will become evident, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya; overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis (second-class citizens); and simple violence. Oftentimes it is a combination of the aforementioned.

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the west, to India in the east, and even throughout the West, wherever there are Muslims—it is clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Sharia, or the supremacist culture borne of it.

Categorized by theme, August's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians includes (but is not limited to) the following anecdotes, listed according to theme and in alphabetical order by country, not necessarily severity of atrocity:

Attacks on Christian Symbols: Churches and Bibles

Indonesia: Two churches were set aflame; officials downplayed these atrocities by arguing that the buildings were "only made of board" and not real churches. A mayor also proclaimed that churches cannot be built on streets with Muslim names, even as Muslim majority regions reject the building of any churches.

Iran: Officials launched a Bible burning campaign, confiscating and destroying some 7,000 Bibles, many publicly burned. Likening their tiny Christian minority to the "Taliban and parasites," the regime also "cracked down" on Christians (who make up less than 1% of the entire population), arresting many, the whereabouts of which remain unknown.

Iraq: Two churches were bombed: the first damaged the church and wounded 23; the second damaged the church (a third church was targeted but the bomb was defused before going off).

Nigeria: Two churches were bombed, including a Baptist church no longer in use due to previous Muslim attacks; when officials arrested Islamist leaders, a third Catholic church was torched.

Apostasy and Forced Conversions

Eritrea: It was revealed that at least eight Christians have died in prisons, most under severe conditions and torture, simply for refusing to recant Christianity.

India: A female who was formerly stripped and beaten by a Muslim mob for converting to Christianity, continues to receive severe threats to return to Islam or die; likewise, Muslims held three Christian women "threatening to beat and burn them alive if they continued worshipping Christ."

Iran: A Christian pastor in Iran remains behind bars, where he is being tortured and awaits execution for refusing to recant Christianity.

Malaysia: Religious police raided a church when they "found evidence of proselytisation towards Muslims" and "receiving information that there were Muslims who attended a breaking-of-fast event at the church"; a Facebook campaign created to support the raid and to "prevent apostasy" has already drawn support from 23,000 people.

Norway: A Muslim convert to Christianity was tortured with boiling water and told by fellow Muslim inmates "If you do not return to Islam, we will kill you"; if deported, he risks death by stoning for leaving Islam.

Pakistan: Muslims openly abducted a 14-year-old Christian girl at gunpoint saying she had to convert to Islam; another Christian woman who was abducted, drugged, and tortured for two years—all while being informed she had converted to Islam—happily made her escape. In both cases, the police, as usual, are siding with the Muslim abductors. Most recently, two Christians returning from church were attacked by Muslims and beaten with iron rods for refusing to convert to Islam or pay "protection" (jizya) money.

Sudan: A 16 year old Christian girl finally escaped from her Muslim kidnappers, who "beat, raped and tried to force her to convert from Christianity to Islam"; whenever she tried to pray, she was beaten again and called an "infidel"; when her mother went to the police, they told her to convert to Islam before they returned her child.

Uganda: In accordance to Islam's Hanafi School of law, a Muslim father locked his 14-year-old daughter in a room for several months without food or water, simply because she embraced Christianity; when rescued, she weighed 44 pounds.

General Oppression, Violence, and Murder of Christians

Bangladesh: Church leaders, including an elderly pastor, were severely beaten in a police station for protesting that Muslims had illegally seized and occupied a Christian home. A previously tortured Christian activist is in hiding in Honk Kong, even as his wife and children face death threats from surrounding Muslims.

Egypt: Soon after breaking their Ramadan fast, thousands of Muslims rampaged a predominantly Christian village, firing automatic weapons, looting and throwing Molotov Cocktails at several homes; they beat a priest, plundering and torching his home; another Copt was murdered in his home, which was also ransacked. Separately, a Copt was savagely attacked by seven Muslims in front of a police station; he lost one eye and required 20 stitches in his head. And girls leaving church were sexually harassed by Muslim who hurled stones at the church shattering five windows.

Nigeria: In what is being called a "silent killing," ten Christians were slain by Muslims seeking to expunge Christianity from northern Nigeria; eyewitnesses insist that the army is assisting and enabling the slayings.

Pakistan: A Christian family consisting of 26 people, including women and children, lived in slavery for over 30 years, forced to labor on a farm belonging to a wealthy Muslim landowner; they only recently managed to regain their freedom, through the aid of the Catholic Church. Separately, a Muslim mob attacked a group of Christians watching a Jesus movie, destroying the projector. A Christian man was beaten unconscious for celebrating Independence Day, told by Muslims "How can you celebrate when you are Christian? Convert to Islam if you want to join the celebration."

Somalia: Al-Shabab ("the youth") is intentionally preventing food aid from reaching the nation's miniscule Christian minority: "Any Somali that the Islamists suspect to be a Christian, or even a friend of Christians, does not receive any food aid."

Sudan: A "humanitarian crisis is unfolding" in Sudan's border region where Christians and their churches are being targeted in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing by North Sudan's Islamist regime.

United Kingdom: A Muslim family was terrorized and threatened with death because their daughter married a Christian, a crime according to Sharia.

Uzbekistan: Authorities continue to pressure churches and Christians, fabricating evidence to punish or limit Christians' ability to practice their faith, and subjecting them to excessive fines, false accusations, and confiscating their Christian literature.

----

These were just some of the stories of Christian suffering under Islam that made it to a few non mainstream media last month.

Then there are the countless atrocities that never make it to any media—the stories of persistent, quiet misery that only the victims know—such as the recent revelation that a 2-year-old girl was savagely raped in Pakistan because her Christian father refused to convert to Islam: it took five years for this story to surface. How many are the tales of woe that never surface?

Now, back to your regular scheduled MSM programming on how the perpetually misunderstood religion of Islam is really the "religion of peace"…

Raymond Ibrahim is associate director of the Middle East Forum, where this article originally appeared.

Was Al-Awlaki involved in 9/11? House investigate U.S. born Al-Qaeda cleric's links to suicide hijackers

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:16 AM on 16th August 2011

U.S. investigators are looking into the possibility radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was overlooked as a key player in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In a letter obtained by Fox News, congressman Peter King of New York wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder saying investigators believe it is more than coincidence the American cleric had contact with three of the five hijackers who flew a plane into the Pentagon on September 11.
Extracts from the letter confirm the House Homeland Security Committee are investigating: 'To what extent Anwar al-Awlaki wittingly or unwittingly facilitated the plot of the 9/11 hijackers.'

Investigated: Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric linked to al-Qaeda in Yemen speaking from an undisclosed location

While they are also trying to establish: 'To what extent al-Awlaki was an al Qaeda operative, offering support to acts of terrorism prior to 9/11.'
The revelation indicates that the full story behind the terrorist attacks on September 11 may not have been uncovered yet.
The documents, seen by Fox News also alledge that: 'Given the greater collection of intelligence and integration of pertinent data since the attacks of 9/11, I believe that al-Awlaki may have played greater roles in the terrorist attacks of 9/11, as well as other terrorist plots, than those of which we have been previously aware.

'Accordingly, I request the full assistance of the Department of Justice in carrying out this inquiry.'

Al-Awlaki is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the U.S - including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in 2009, which left 13 dead

U.S. born radical al-Awlaki is widely believed to be the mastermind behind a number of terror atrocities and the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
AQAP is estimated to number about 300 militants with strongholds in a number of remote mountain regions.
It is thought to be behind numerous attacks on government targets and is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the United States - including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in which an Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32.
It's also thought the group has twice smuggled explosives aboard aircraft headed to the United States.

Al-Awlaki's chilling plans for a Mumbai-style terror attack on Britain were were also previuosly uncovered.
Chilling email exchanges between an undercover Sun reporter and al-Awlaki - widely tipped to succeed Osama bin Laden as Al Qaeda leader - outlines the various options open to extremists who want to launch an attack on British soil.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026495/Was-Al-Awlaki-involved-9-11--House-investigate-U-S-born-Al-Qaeda-clerics-links-suicide-hijackers.html#ixzz1VAZMU8yE

HEY MUSLIMS! If you want to stop Islamophobia, STOP behaving like muslims

Posted: August 15, 2011 | Author: barenakedislam |

UK muslims asking people to sign a petition against Islamophobia. But they’re only asking muslims to sign.

One muslim man has the right idea. He tells them that muslim women covering their faces is a stupid idea because it scares people.

Treatment of Women in Saudi Arabia as 'Slavery' and Says: Nobody Is Immune to the Winds of Change Sweeping the Arab Nation; 'We Must Grant Freedoms Before They Become Challenges'

Saudi Columnist Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud Describes the Treatment of Women in Saudi Arabia as 'Slavery' and Says: Nobody Is Immune to the Winds of Change Sweeping the Arab Nation; 'We Must Grant Freedoms Before They Become Challenges'

Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi columnist Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud. The interview aired on BBC Arabic TV on June 28, 2011:

"Punishments Should Be the Same For Men And Women.... [But] the Woman Is Always Punished... Within a System of Laws That Do Not, In Fact, Exist In Our Shari'a"
Interviewer: "Your Royal Highness, you defend women's rights, and in your writings, you courageously cast light on the condition of Saudi women, demanding that they step up to the status they are worthy of. You said that 'slavery' is imposed upon Saudi women. Is this an accurate term?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "To say the least. Saudi women – and women in general in the Arab world – are subject to pressure that was not exerted upon them in the days of the Jahiliya, and even before."
Interviewer: "Who exerts this pressure?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "Society, which inherited tribalism rather than Islamic customs. We are familiar with Islamic customs, and we return to the Koran in order to know our rights as Muslims – men and women alike.
"What is being practiced de facto in our Arab societies is a tribal legacy, not an Islamic one. What is permitted is clear, and what is forbidden is clear, and punishments should be the same for men and women.
"What we see today, however, is that the woman is always punished, the woman is treated with violence. Thus, our society becomes a violent society, because the woman who suffers violence is the one who raises the children. She raises men and women. What will become of these future generations, if they are raised by women who suffer violence and subjugation, within a system of laws that do not, in fact, exist in our shari'a?"
Progress In Women's Status Under King Abdallah "Is Restricted To a Certain Group Of Women... The Elite"
Interviewer: "But is this really the case? Didn't the Saudi woman make many achievements under King Abdallah and assume prominent positions? Take for example, Dr. Khawla [Al-Kuraya] and [Minister] Norah Al-Faiz. There are women academics and journalists – yourself included. Sometimes it seems that the condition of the Saudi woman is being exaggerated."
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "This is true of 1% of the women in Saudi Arabia. Is it fair and just to focus on 1% of the women, ignoring the other 99%? I have mentioned in several columns that the Saudi woman, under the rule of King Abdallah bin Abd Al-Aziz, whom I love with all my heart, and whom I have called, in several columns, 'the lion of the Arabian Peninsula'… Within five years, he brought about a qualitative leap in the status of women, the likes of which Saudi society had not witnessed for 50 years."
Interviewer: "So there is progress…"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "Yes, but this progress is restricted to a certain group of women, who appear in the media. This is the elite. But the rest of the women in society are subject to the laws that exist in our society as a whole. That is what I am talking about. I am talking about the Saudi woman who is not called Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz, or Dr. Khawla, or other names that appear in the media. We live in an elitist society, and we have such opportunities because we were brought up in affluent families. The rest of the women do not enjoy such opportunities.
[…]
"The pioneer in changing these notions should be the Justice Ministry. When the government legislates laws, it means that there are problems addressed by these laws. But these laws reach a dead end at the Justice Ministry, and nothing else is done with them except to give them media exposure."
"We Must Change the Culture of the Arab People"
Interviewer: "What are the reasons for this?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "I asked them about the reasons, and they said: 'Bureaucracy.' So I asked who was responsible for the bureaucracy, and they said: 'Arab culture.' So I asked who was responsible for Arab culture, and they said: 'the Arab people.' Are we responsible for the state of our culture? And if we are responsible for it, we must step forward and say: 'We must change the culture of the Arab people.'
[…]
"The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice was founded by my late father, King Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz. The reason and purpose of its establishment were the same as those of Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, when he founded the Hesbah Committee, the mission of which was to prevent vice and to promote virtue. The concepts, however, have changed.
"What is prevention of vice, and what is promotion of virtue? In the days of the Caliph, they would go the markets, and would monitor the merchants and the prices, and would keep an eye out for bribery and administrative corruption. That was their mission."
Interviewer: "What does it do today?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "When it was established by my late father, its goal was to monitor civil society, in order to enable the citizens to live honorably, without corruption or bribery. As fate would have it, this has turned into social pressure, which targets, first and foremost, the Saudi woman. They preoccupy themselves with her face and her gloves, with the mixing of the sexes, and with matters that have led to the terrible consequences that we see today in our society. We have turned into a society that is afraid of…"
Interviewer: "Am I to understand that you support the demand to abolish this committee?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "I am in favor of reforming the way this committee operates and its goals, and of directing it [to supervise] the ministries of justice and social affairs – all the executives ministries – so that it can carry out the mission for which it was founded."
Interviewer: "But [the public] seems to accept this Committee. It is supported by official bodies, and as you know, there is an historical agreement between the Aal Saud family and the religious establishment."
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "Yes, it has been this way since the formation of the union. The goal of that union was to reform society, not to destroy it. What we are seeing today is the destruction of society.
[…]
"Personally, I believe that if the Committee wants to be effective… Reforming this Committee is difficult, because it was established on foundations that are completely wrong…
"As for abolishing the Committee and establishing a new one, with careful planning of its goals, its officials, its authorities… In my column, I advised…"
Interviewer: "You received advice too."
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "Yes. The advice I gave in my column was that the Committee should be headed by university graduates – professionals, sociologists, and psychologists, who would also have knowledge of the religious teachings, as sheiks and members of such a committee should be… This way, they could fulfill their mission properly.
"I was advised not to talk about these matters, so as not to get into things with which I am not as familiar as the authorities.
[…]
"These revolutions are the outcome of the pressures exerted on these peoples for something like 200 years, or at least since the beginning of World War I. Now the revolutions have become a force that knows nothing but the word 'freedom.'"[…]
"Nobody Is Immune To the Seasonal Winds That Sweep Our Arab Nation... We Must Grant Freedoms Before They Become Challenges"
Interviewer: "Is Saudi Arabia immune to the winds of change?"
Princess Basma bin Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: "Nobody is immune to the seasonal winds that sweep our Arab nation. Anyone who says we are immune is wrong. Everyone is vulnerable to this, and everyone should pay attention and should know that we must begin national dialogue, and not wait for the challenges to grow. We must grant freedoms before they become challenges." […]