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June 30, 2006
Holland: Bosnian Muslim Convicted Of War Crimes - Light Sentence
The atrocities of Srebreneca, a small silver-mining town in Bosnia, are remembered now more for the terrible events of July 1995, when Bosnian Serb leaders Ratko Miladic and Radnan Karodic massacred more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys from the town.
This event was inexcusable and despicable, but the media seems to ignore the events that had gone on for three years in the region before that massacre took place. Bosnian Muslims troops, under the command of Naser Oric (pictured top left, as he was then) committed disgusting obscenities. Serb civilian victims were mutlitated by having eyes gouged, heads opened, hearts removed. A slide show of 34 images of atrocities committed between 1992 and 1995 can be found here.
Today, the UN International War Crimes Tribunal, based at the Hague in the Netherlands found Nacer Oric guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to a mere two years jail, states AGence France Presse via Yahoo, Associated Press via Forbes and the Washington Post, AKI and Reuters AlertNet.
Oric has been on trial since October 6, 2004. A full account of his first indictment can be found here, with the second amended indictment here. He was charged with allowing the torturing and murdering seven Serbs in the period leading up to the Srebrenica massacre.
People under his command committed torture upon their victims, tying Serb detainees to pillars, extracting their teeth with pliers, forcing them to drink urine. The judges found that in two periods in 1992 and again 1993, his troops battered Serb prisoners with wooden planks, iron rods and baseball bats, and used rusty pliers to extract teeth. At least six people died as a result of this treatment.
The judges found that Oric should have been aware of what was going on, and should have prevented their mistreatment. But they decided unanimously to express leniency in the sentence, because of the difficulties he faced in a region starved of food, with poorly trained forces, and little communication with others.
A former policeman and bodyguard of Slobodan Milosevic, Oric was 25 in 1992, with no military training or experience. In their verdict, they said: "It was a continuous uphill struggle that, in actual fact, achieved very few results."
Because Oric has been in custody since April 2003, the judges ordered his release. The panel of judges under Carmel Agius at the tribunal acquitted Oric of four counts of failing to discharge his duties and the wanton destruction of Serb villages, which took place (pictured below left is the burned church and village hall at Kravica, north of Srebrenica) between 1992 and 1995.
The prosecutors had sought an 18 year prison term, but a defense witness, Sabra Kolenovic, said: "I think even a minute is not fair."
The President of Serba, Boris Tadic, said from Belgrade that the verdict was "scandalous". Though regarded as a hero by Bosnian Muslims, many Serbs believe that the action of Naser Oric's troops led directly to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)
Pakistan: 60-Year Old Muslim's Child Bride, Aged Nine, Worth One Bag Of Rice
We have reported extensively on cases of vani marriage in Pakistan, where girls, sometimes as young as one years old, and even girls not yet born, are given away in marriage as an act of compensation.
A judge on Tuesday said that vani marriage appeared to be spreading across the whole country. Vani became illegal at the start of 2005, along with honour killing. But even though we have recounted numerous cases of vani, which as a crime can earn a maximum sentence of 10 years' jail, there has never been a single conviction for this disgusting practice.
Five small girls in Jacobabad district in Sindh province, in the southeast of Pakistan, were recently given away in marriage to settle a dispute which happened when male relatives had been involved in a killing nine years ago, before the girls were even born.
Two other girls were recently given away in marriage because their father had not fulfilled his payments on some buffaloes.
Now, a case has emerged of a nine-year old girl from Jacobabad in Sindh province, who was deemed to be of the same value as a bag of rice. The girl, called Wahida, was given away in vani marriage by her father, Jan Mohammad. Four days ago, she became married to Abdul Sattar, a man aged sixty.
The news, reported in Pakistan's Daily Times, says that Wahida's father had agreed to act as a guarantor for a friend, who bought a 440 kilogram (880 pound) bag of rice on credit. The rice was worth 50,000 rupees ($830). When the money was not paid, the rice trader, Bakhshan Khan Pahore, demanded that Jan Mohammad give away his nine year old daughter in marriage to the trader's 60-year old elder brother, Abdul Sattar.
Jan Mohammed, Wahida's father, and the sixty year old paedophile Abdul Sattar, have been arrested by Jacobabad district police, and Wahida has been rescued from Sattar's house. Currently, she has been sent off to be medically examined. After tests have been carried out, she will be places in a care home, until a court can ascertain the best place for her to live.
According to Pakistan's laws on marriage, a girl can be married at the age of fourteen, and a boy can be married at the age of sixteen. This discrepancy in ages is in direct contradiction of Pakistan's Constitution, Article 25, which guarantees equal rights for all irrespective of sex, race and creed. The fact that compensation marriages of girl children are so frequent, with no-one yet convicted, is another sign that the police and judiciary do not give a stuff about either the constitution or even the law.
Jan Mohammed and the sixty-year old pervert will be appearing in court tomorrow. At the current conviction rate, do not expect to hear of anyone getting punished.
The version of the story as given by Dawn states that the old man who married the girl is called Abdul Sattar Pahore, and he is not aged sixty, but is SEVENTY. Currently, the old man is said to be absconding. The father is in custody and the Muslim cleric who solemnised the marriage on June 27, Maulvi Nek Mohammad, is currently being interrogated by police.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:49 PM | Comments (0)
France: Erdogan Calls "Islamophobia" Crime Against Humanity, Islam Still "Religion of Peace"
The relentless attack against Western Liberty continues, as Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister demands the thought crime of "Islamophobia" be declared a crime against humanity. Like any other thought crimes, "Islamophobia" assumes the issue at hand; that is, whether Islam is in fact a Religion of Perfect Peace and Tender Tolerance, and its critics are rabid racists deserving of scorn. Erdogan's loud protestations, as well as his not-so-veiled threats (I'll bolden-out the obvious one) should be rejected out of hand. And the peoples of the West should come to terms with the danger growing in their midsts: Islamophobia Is a Crime Against Humanity: Erdogan
STRASBOURG, 29 June 2006 - The incitement to hatred of Islam should be considered a crime against humanity, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg yesterday."Just as anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity, so should Islamophobia be regarded," Erdogan said. Erdogan warned against the growing phobia against Islam and foreigners in the world in which "we Muslims feel increasingly under siege."
Referring to the row over blasphemous cartoons that were originally printed in a Danish newspaper, he said freedom of expression should not be confused with the freedom to insult.
The row showed not only a "lack of respect for religious convictions," but was also a sign of a "growing and dangerous polarization between the Western and Islamic world." The Turkish prime minister called on Western countries to integrate the Muslims living among them to a much greater degree.
"With a (Muslim) population of between 10 and 25 percent in Europe's largest cities, it is important to follow a policy of social integration to ensure a peaceful coexistence," Erdogan said. This was a "great challenge" that could, however, be overcome "with the joint efforts of the host countries and Muslim communities."[...]
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:36 AM | Comments (2)
Indonesia: Vice-President Praises Islamic Prostitution
Prostitution by any other name, it's still prostitution. It is remarkable, however, how finding justification for a practice in a "holy" book stops moral reasoning on its tracks: Leader praises 'legalised prostitution'
INDONESIA'S vice-president has said he sees nothing wrong in Arab men paying local women to marry, then divorcing them days or hours later, and suggested the practice - dismissed by critics as legalised prostitution - could boost tourism.Jusuf Kalla made the off-the-cuff remarks at a travel industry seminar on how to attract more Arab visitors to Indonesia.
Kalla said many Arab tourists travelled to the hill town of Puncak, near Jakarta, to enter into short-term marriage contracts with Indonesian women.[...]
Keep this in mind the next time you hear propaganda lauding Islam as being "pro-woman" and "pro-family".
Thanks to our reader 'W' for the link.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:13 AM | Comments (1)
June 29, 2006
Malaysia: Muslim Plan To Convert Minorities Criticized
Channel News Asia reports that the Islamist Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) wishes to convert indigenous peoples in Kelantan state to Islam, by offering bribes including cash and offers of four wheel drive vehicles.
PAS only has one state, that of Kelantan, under its control. The party wants all of Malaysia to be Islamic.
Their plan, announced by the Kelantan state government on Monday, had been to convert the "Orang Asli", the native peoples who are all that remain of Malaysia's indigenous population before Muslims colonised the region in the 14th century. Traditionally the Orang Asli do not follow the mainstream religions.
The bribes would be paid for by the state to Muslim preachers who married or converted members of the indigenous population, who are traditionally animists, who consult shamans who commune with the spiritual world.
Earlier today, rights activists in Malaysia condemned the plan. S, Arutchelven from the group Voice of the Malaysian People told Agence France Presse: "This is a violation of human rights. It looks like religion is being made a commodity. Indigenous people have their own beliefs and culture. We urge the Kelantan government to stop this programme."
A commissioner with the government's Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, Denison Jayasooria stated: "The utilisation of state resources as a motivation for preachers to convert ... is an abuse of power."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)
Holland: Dispute Over Islam Critic Causes Government To Fall
We reported on May 16 and on June 27 on the parliamentary rows concerning the citizenship of the Member of Parliament, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
In brief, a documentary aired on Dutch TV on Thursday May 11 stated that Hirsi Ali had lied about her age and her name when she applied for asylum in 1992, even though she had been open about this since since 2003, when she became an MP for the VVD or Liberal Party.
A naturalised Dutch citizen since 1997, Hirsi Ali (real name Ayaan Hirsi Magan) was challenged after the May 11 documentary by Rita Verdonk, the minister for Immigration and Integration, who was at that time running for the position of leader of the VVD party.
Verdonk, nicknamed "Iron Rita" claimed that she did not know that Hirsi Ali had lied, and on May 15, she said that Hirsi Ali would lose her Dutch citizenship, unless she could provide a good reason within six weeks. This set off a chain reaction, with Hirsi ALi resigning as an MP on May 16, and ministers and MPs fiercely denouncing Verdonk, who ended up losing her leadership election, even though she had been previously tipped to win.
Verdonk (pictured, top), as we reported on Tuesday attempted to redeem herself by producing a letter, signed by Hirsi Ali, in which it was stated that it was usual in Somalia to adopt the name of a grandfather (Ali was the name of Hirsi Ali's grandfather). In the letter, Hirsi Ali states that she exonerated Verdonk, and blamed herself for the confusion.
A meeting of cabinet ministers had met at the apartment of the Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende on Monday (June 26), at which it was agreed that Hirsi Ali should retain her citizenship, and those attending later said there was "good hope" for such an outcome.
However, late on Thursday night, Ayaan Hirsi Ali (pictured above left) was interviewed by phone in the United States, where she will be working for a right wing think-tank. She said that she had signed the letter exonerating Verdonk under pressure, because it was taking a long time to gain her US work visa with uncertainty over her citizenship status.
The letter had been drawn up by officials on the instructions of Rita Verdonk, and was not something that had willingly been elicited from Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
This, then, is the background. Three stories appeared in Expatica today, relating the subsequent developments.
ACT ONE
In the first article, yesterday (Wednesday June 28), D66, the junior partner in the coalition government sided with the left-wing opposition on a motion calling for the resignation of Verdonk.
This morning, Lousewies van der Laan (pictured, right), the outgoing leader of D66, said that her party would cause the government to fall if Verdonk did not resign over her "performance" relating to Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
The major coalition partners, the VVD, to which Verdonk and formerly Hirsi Ali belonged, and the Christian Democrats (CDA), to which Prime Minister Balkenende belonged, supported Verdonk.
The motion for Verdonk to resign had been tabled on Wednesday evening by the GroenLinks (GL) party, a green/left wing group. The debate continued through the night until 5.30 am this morning. The motion was defeated by 79 votes to 64.
But the lack of support by D66 caused cracks in a fragile coalition. In 2002, Jan Peter Balkenende had presided over another fragile coalition government that collapsed after a mere 87 days.
ACT TWO
The second article relates that Jan Peter Balkenende announced to parliament at 4 pm today that the motion of no-confidence in Rita Verdonk, which had been defeated by a narrow margin, would not have any consequences for the government.
There are two members of D66 in the Dutch Cabinet. These are: the Deputy Prime Minister, Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, and Alexander Pechtold, who is the newly elected leader of the D66 MPs, due to replace Lousewies van der Laan. Both were behind the acting D66 leader, Lousewies van der Laan, who earlier today told parliament that her party did not want to bring down the government deliberately, but could not tolerate the continued role of Immigration and Integration Minister being in the hands of Rita Verdonk.
After Balkenende made his statement that all his ministers were behind Verdonk's continuation, Lousewies van der Laan asked for an adjournment of Parliament while she prepared a statement.
ACT THREE
The third article in Expatica relates that following the adjournment, the two Cabinet Ministers, Brinkhorst and Pechtold, as well as a third junior minister, resigned from the government after a bizarre series of developments.
Lousewies van der Laan earlier announced that D66 was withdrawing support for the government, and told parliament that Balkenende should go to Queen Beatrix to ask for the dissolution of parliament.
Then CDA and VDD members questioned van der Laan why her ministers had not resigned. The parliamentary leader of the Christian Deomocrats, Mxime Verhagen, suggested that D66 should firstly table a motion of no confidence in their ministers.
The VVD and CDA suggested that the government could continue with or without the participation of the D66 party. The ministers resigned, the VVD and CDA still made noises about consulting with the Queen to form a minority government, to introduce the 2007 government, but by this time, it was all over.
Without the two Cabinet minister and a junior minister, the majority needed to remain in power had evaporated.
At 8.30 pm GMT, Jan Peter Balkenende announced the fall of the government.
THE END
The story is also covered by The Telegraph and the Times. Jan Peter Balkenende will be expected to meet with Queen Beatrix tomorrow to officially announce the demise of the Netherlands government and to hand in his resignation.
Rita Verdonk, shown having her invitation to a handshake being refused by an imam at a mosque she visited last year, was a tough Minister, and had formerly been a prison officer. Her rushed decision to announce that Hirsi Ali would not be able to continue her citizenship lost her party one of its most popular MPs, and was said to have been a political ploy to show that she was a tough politician. She is a mother of two.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
Nigeria: Muslim Mob Stones Young Woman To Death
Yesterday, a 20-year girl was stoned to death by a mob in Izom in Gawu Babangida Local Government Area, near Minna, the capital of Niger State in Nigeria.
Niger State in central West Nigeria was formerly Niger Province, until 1976 when it was split into Sokoto and Niger States. The population here is divided almost equally between Muslims and Christians. Niger was one of the first of the 12 states to adopt Sharia law, and there is animosity between the Christian and Muslim communities.
Yesterday's incident is reported in the Vanguard, which states that the girl had walked into the Jumat Mosque in Izom, where she dropped a letter.
The letter, when opened, was said to contain "unprintable" statements about the so-called Prophet Mohammed and also Jesus Christ, who is regarded as a prophet in Islam. The letter also accused certain Pastors, living and dead, of misdeeds.
The young woman's identity, and whether she was a Muslim or a Christian was not ascertained. As she left the mosque, she was followed, and then taken in a "citizens' arrest" and handed over to the police, who took her into custody at Izom police station.
While she was in the police station, a mob of young Muslims armed with sticks and iron bars gathered outside, demanding that she be brought out for "instant judgement". Youths tried to storm the station, and as police officers attempted to move the woman to a safer location, several police officers were injured.
A highway patrol had been seconded to assist in ferrying the girl away, but this too became outnumbered by the mob, who then snatched her away, and pelted her with stones, sticks, and other items, killing her on the spot.
The governor of Niger State, Abdullah Kure (who had illegally introduced Sharia on 13 January 2000, before it had been voted upon by the state National Assembly) arrived at the scene shortly afterwards, accompanied by Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu, his deputy, to assess the situation and restore calm. Also with them were the head of the State Security Services, Mr Ernest Ibhaze, and a Muslim cleric, the Emir of Suleja, Mallam Muhammed Awwal Ibrahim.
The elders of the town and police officers briefed the Governor and those with him on what had happened, and they said that no-one knew the identity of the young woman, as she was not from the town. They described the woman as "insane".
It appears from the report that no arrests were made, and there seems to be no desire on the part of the authorities to charge anyone for the girl's murder.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)
Thailand: Karaoke Bar Shooting In Muslim South
News from the Bangkok Post, the Nation and TNA MCOT states that yesterday evening one person was killed and five people were injured in Narathiwat province, in the mainly Muslim south. In Rusa district, a karaoke bar was attacked by two insurgent gunmen, who arrived on a motorcycle at the "Dear Karaoke" bar at around 10pm local time.
The gunmen began shooting and killed 18-year old Zahah Uma. He was hit several times in the body and died at the scene, and five other people in the bar were injured. These individuals, Dasae Duerae, 27, Yuhari Sueri, 28, Asueman Hawae, 19, Yago Adae, 27, and Manawi Sueri, 36, were taken to a nearby hospital. These individuals, including the dead teenager, had been customers, eating a meal at the time of the attack.
While staff and patrons were in a state of panic trying to flee the scene, the gunmen rode off. 13 spent cartridges were left. Security forces had recently warned that karaoke bars which had female hostesses and venues which served alcohol were potential targets of the Muslim militants.
On June 17 in neighbouring Yala province, a bomb in a karaoke bar in Muang district had killed one man and injured two women.
Buddhist monks and teachers are also potential targets for insurgents, and these are often provided with security patrols to protect or escort them. We reported on Tuesday June 27 that a security patrol assigned to protect teachers was attacked with a bomb and by gunmen in Raman district, Yala province.
Yesterday in Narathiwat province, a security unit which escorted Buddhist monks was attacked by insurgents in tambon Marue-bo-ok in Cho Airong district. The vehicle carrying the security guards was ambushed as three motorcyclits drove into its path, causing it to veer to the side of the road. As it did so, a remote-controlled bomb exploded. A hole was left in the roadside, and shrapnel was scattered about, but no-one was hurt.
In Rangae district, Narathiwat, an area with a high amount of militants living in the villages, a 25 year old man called Usman Talae was shot dead.
In Sungai Kolok in the same province, a 58-year old railway engineer was hit by gunfire in a drive-by shooting this morning. Kariyah Yoh was riding his motorbike to work at 7 am local time, when two men on motorcycles shot at him. He was hit in the head by a bullet that grazed by his right ear, and fell to the ground, seriously wounded. He lay still in a roadside ditch, pretending to be dead, and the assailants rode off. He was taken to Sungai Padi hospital.
In Sukhirin district, Narathiwat province, a 67-year old rubber farmer, Soon Bunjit, was shot in a drive-by incident as he rode his motorcycle home today. He was badly injured and taken to hospital.
In Sai Buri district in Pattani province, a worker for the electricity authority, 32-year old Somnai Saengkhum, was injured at around 8 am this morning in a shooting incident. He was attacked as he rode his motorcycle to work.
Following the bomb attack and armed ambush on the teacher's security unit, which happened on Tuesday in Raman district, Yala province, 22 locations in the district were raided by about 250 military and police officers. Four men and three women were arrested, and were taken to Ninth Police Region forward command in Yala for questioning.
The men are named as Basri Mahama, 44, and Malawi Deng-lameng, 19, who were believed to have been involved in Tuesday's bomb and gun attack, and also Abiding Dosaedoso, 27, and Usman Marapae, 17. The lattere two are suspected of taking part in drive-by shootings in Balor village.
The women suspects are being questioned in connection with recent bomb blasts. The recent spate of bombings began on June 15, when 50 bombs were set off in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. The women have been identified as Russana Useng, 22, Saliya Namurae, 23, and Kam-ra Sahato, 25.
We reported on June 19 that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had empowered army chief Sonthi Boonyarataglin to quell the current unrest in the south.Chidchai Wannasathit, the police general and caretaker Deputy Prime Minister had formerly been managing the situation.
General Sonthi at that time was in Malaysia, but now he is back in Thailand, he has been consulting with Anand Panyarachun, who had been a key member of the government-appointed, but now disbanded, National Reconcialtion Commission (NRC), on ways to implement new strategies to combat the insurgency.
20,000 more troops will be dispatched to the region. These will be proficient in Yari, the Malay dialect spoken in the south by the Muslims, who make up 80% of the population. Already, 20,000 troops are in the region, with an additional 2,800 paramilitaries from the Fourth Army.
The arrival of more troops was greeted by Ahmed Somboon Bualuang, another member of the original NRC, who said that they would deepen the army's understanding of the customs and cultures of the local population. But Nimanase Sama-ali, head of the Youth Muslim Association of Thailand, said that no matter what language they spoke, the presence of extra troops would go against peace and reconciliation.
The insurgency, which seeks to have Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces secede from Thailand, began on Jan 4, 2004, and has now claimed 1, 300 lives. The insurgents believe in the re-establishment of the former sultanate of Pattani, which used to be independent, and comprised the territory of the three provinces, as well as two districts of adjacent Songhkla district. Following an invasion, the sultanate of Pattani was officially annexed into Thailand a century ago.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:06 PM | Comments (0)
US: Supreme Court Rules Against Military Tribunals
The five anti-liberty "liberals" in the Supreme Court of the United States strike again: Supreme Court Blocks Guantanamo Bay War-Crimes Trials
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court delivered a blow to the Bush administration's anti-terror policies Thursday when it ruled that the president was out of line when he ordered military war-crimes trials for some Guantanamo Bay detainees.Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion, which said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and Geneva conventions.
A huge question in this case. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, et al, was whether the Geneva Conventions applied to prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. The Bush administration argued that these detainees were not prisoners of war and therefore, not eligible to treatment under the Geneva agreement.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a strongly worded dissent, saying the court's decision would "sorely hamper the president's ability to confront and defeat a new and deadly enemy."
The court's willingness, Thomas said, "to second-guess the determination of the political branches that these conspirators must be brought to justice is both unprecedented and dangerous."[...]
I am angry right now, so I'll do my best to avoid an obscenity-laden tirade, but here is what I think right now:
1. Could we please stop the pretense that the Supreme Court of the United States is little more than a second electoral college? Once again, the five liberals in the Court voted one way, while the four conservatives voted the other. (I know the decision was 5-3, because Chief Justice Roberts recused himself, but we do know which way he would have voted.) In almost every important decision, the vote falls along party lines, much more so than in the House of Representatives or the Senate.
2. The United States should drop from the Geneva Conventions altogether; it is not as if they protect our soldiers.
3. I better go read a book or something before I break my promise above.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
Pakistan: Muslims Hanged For Gang Rape Of Christian
News from Reuters and syndicated in the New York Times and Yahoo states that at 4.30 am local time, four men were hanged in Faisalabad, Pakistan.
The men had been found guilty of the gang-rape of a Christian teenage girl. She had been held at gunpoint before being raped. The event happened in the city of Faisalabad seven years ago.
The rapists had been convicted in an anti-terrorism court, suggesting that there had been a deliberate sectarian nature to the crime. This verdict had been upheld by higher courts, which included the Federal Sharia Court. The men had appealed to President Musharraf for clemency, but this was not granted.
Reuters states that in 2005, there were 207 recorded cases of gang-rape in the country, according to figures from HCRP (Pakistan Commission of Human Rights).
Dawn writing yesterday, gave details of the history of this case. The rape had happened inside the Christian girl's house, on November 7, 1999. Her father Bashir Masih, of Chak Jumra Town, Faisalabad, had registered the case.
He was asleep in his home on that date when he heard noises. Umer Hayat ( now 32), Mubarik Ali (28), Muhammad Ashraf (34) and Shahzad Ahmed (29) had taken Masih's daughter, "S" to a room within the house, where she was gang-raped. The men took valuables from the home, and threatened Mr Masih with reprisals if he spoke of the incident.
Mr Masih knew the rapists, as they also shared his sport of pigeon-racing. He had initially remained silent in their company, to stop the rapists acting against his daughter. However, the trial took place at a "speedy trial" Anti-Terrorism Court within a month, and on December 18, 1999, the death sentences were handed out.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
Iran: Islamic Justice - Woman Adulterer To be Stoned To Death, Murderers Get Jail
A court in the Islamic Republic of Iran has sentenced a woman to death for adultery, states AKI. The Kurdish woman, Malak Ghorbany, was on trial in the city of Urmia, in the northwest of Iran.
In a measure of the hypocrisy of Islamic justice, two men who were found guilty of murder in the same court were only given jail sentences. Malak's brother, Abu Bakr Ghorbai, and her husband, Mohammad Daneshar, were found guilty of killing her alleged lover. They bother received sentences of only six years.
AKI states that stoning sentences declined under the leadership of Mohammed Khatami, the reformist, as a result of international pressure. Though stoning sentences had virtually been abolished by the end of the 1990s, the punishment remained in the Republic's penal code.
A petition by the Committee For The Defence of Human Rights of Iranian Kurdistan has been launched, to try to spare Malak Ghorbany's life.
When a woman is stoned to death in Iran, as happened frequently in the wake of the 1979 revolution, she is covered in a white sheet and buried up to her breasts in a hole. Article 102 of Iran's Penal Code says that men should be buried up to their waists, and women up to their breasts.
Only small stones are used, to prolong the agony of the punishment, though these must be larger than a pebble. Article 104 of Iran's Penal Code states that when adulters are stoned that the stones should "not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes, nor should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones."
Often, the face of the woman is covered, so she does not see her assailants, and they do not see her. In films I have seen of public stonings, it takes several minutes for the victim to die. The woman pictured above was stoned to death in Iran.
If you really want to know what happens when such "Islamic justice" takes place, a truly disturbing video of stonings can be found HERE. Warning - the video is graphic, and upsetting.
Update, July 2: Although I have done extensive web searches to find out more information on the case of Malak Ghorbany, the article in AKI seems to be the only English-language source to reference it. Though cases of stoning in Iran are rare nowadays, they do still carry on. The pro-Shah Iranian news website Iran Focus stated on December 27, 2005 that Iran's Supreme Court upheld sentences on men from a bandit gang. Two men were sentenced to be hanged, and one man was sentenced to be stoned to death.
In a more recent account, it appears that a man and a woman were stoned to death in May this year. A report from Iran Focus from 5 June states that Farsi-language websites had reported that the stoning had taken place at night in a graveyard in the north-eastern city of Mashad three weeks previously.
The woman, Mahboubeh Mohammadi, was a teacher, who had apparently murdered her husband eight years before. Her accomplice was her sister's husband, who was also stoned to death. The woman's involvement in her husband's death had apparently only been discovered in 2005.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:45 AM | Comments (1)
June 28, 2006
Pakistan: Muslim Child Brides, Aged From One To Five Years
I thought my last article was shocking, concerning a 13 year old girl being sold in marriage, but I should be immune to shock by now. We have covered extensively the Pakistani custom of "vani" marriages, where girls are given away in marriage as a form of "compensation", where a male relative has committed a crime. Vani marriage became illegal at the start of last year, along with honour killings. The case which had provoked the law to be changed occurred in 2004, where a three year old girl was given in marriage to a sixty year old man.
We have covered cases of girls as young as one years old, and marriages of girls who have not even been born.
Earlier this month, a case in Sindh province involved two girls aged six and eight, who were given away in vani marriage in exchange for the loss of payment for three buffaloes.
Sometimes the reasons for a vani marriage are because the girl's brother has eloped with a girl from another family. But often, the vani marriages happen to settle cases where a murder has been committed.
The life of a vani bride is unhappy for more than the fact that her choices have been removed, and that she becomes a victim of sexual abuse while under age. The mere fact that she has been offered as a compensation package for the crime of another member of her family causes her to be treated with contempt by the family she is married into.
In Punjab province in the east of Pakistan, and SIndh in the southeast, the word vani is commonly applied for such marriages. In the Pashtun regions of North-West Frontier Province, the custom is called swara. Where vani is ordered by a village court called a panchayat, swara marriage is ordered by a similar "court", called a jirga. Pashtun communities place a high value upon vengeance, or "badal", and thus the swara bride can often represent to her new family a reminder of feuds, or the murder of a relative. Anthropologist Samar Minallah states that the swara bride is often mistreated by her new "family". She says: "They are treated like enemies."
Today, the BBC reports that Pakistan's highest constitutional court has moved to annul the marriages of five girls, who were given away in vani marriage in Kashmoor district, Sindh province, at the start of this month.
The girls are not even old enough to go to school. The youngest is aged one, and the eldest is aged five years. The BBC does not mention the actual "crime" which warranted the ruling of a jirga, saying only that it was an "alleged" misdeed carried out by two brothers, the fathers of the five girls.
The girls were given away in vani to another family, which had been in conflict with their relatives since 1997.
We wrote of this case on June 11, as it involved a minister in the provincial government. This man, Dr Sohrab Sarki, Sindh Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination, had apparently attended the jirga which took place in his brother's house.
The jirga was apparently headed by a former member of the National Assembly and member of the Pakistan People's Party, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani. There is a dispute over who actually presided over the jirga, the National Assembly politician or Akbar Banglani, a local government official. Banglani had earlier claimed that there was a meeting, not a jirga, and it had been arranged to bring conciliation between two rival families. The jirga took place in the village of Garhi Hassan Sarki, Jacobabad, near Sukkur, on June 7.
The Nation states that the reason for the girls being given away stems from a murder of a woman and a man, which had happened in 1997. Italian news agency AKI has more details on the case, and says that the feud began following the death of Miandad Banglani. The killing was committed during a shootout between the clans of Hafiz Qamaruddin and Yar Ali Banglani, over an honour killing which had taken place.
The police only registered a case nine years after the event, and that had happened after the issue became highlighted on local television. Yar Ali Banglani had then been arrested. The anthropologist Samar Minallah had brought the case to court.
The "resolution" verdict attained by the jirga had ordered both clans to be fined 1 million rupee (over 16,000 dollars), and for the five girls to be handed over in vani to the relatives of Miandad Banglani.. The girls were Aamna, aged 5 and Bashiran, aged 2, daughters of a man called Rahmatullah, who had attended the jirga and gave evidence in the court. Also given away were the daughters of Hafeezullah, Shehzadi, aged 6 and Meerzadi aged 2. The daughter of Yar Ali Banglani, 3-year old Noor Bano, was the fifth.
Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ordered that police should provide protection to journalists who had reported on the case. He also ordered the head of police in the district to conduct an inquiry into the jirga, and to arrest the individual who had presided over the ruling, be it the politician Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani or a village leader. The results of the inquiry must be presented within two weeks.
Two village leaders who had attended the jirga were present in the court, Peer Bharchoondi Mian Abdul Khalique and Akbar Banglani. Yar Ali gave evidence in the trial in a statement that his daughter had been ordered as compensation in the jirga.
Sindh province Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim officially overturned the weddings, saying that they were "immoral, un-Islamic and illegal".
The chief justice at the supreme court said at the hearing that "vani" appeared to be spreading across the whole country.
The same court had dealt with the case involving the girls who had been given away as compensation for three buffaloes. In that case, a local feudal lord named Imdad Sithar in the southern town of Shirkapur had given the buffaloes to a villager named Mohammad Ramzan Sithar, his cousin. Ramzan was expected to pay the feudal leader, but failed to do so. A jirga was arranged in Shikarpur which ordered that Ramzan should pay 170,000 rupees (2,833 dollars) or give his daughters in marriage to Sithar. The girls were aged six and eight.
Ramzan agrred to comply with the order, but the children's grandmother, Rani Begum, refused to allow the matter to rest. She would not let the girls go to their new "husband". She told reporters: "No one can take my grandchildren from me."
The judge ordered a judicial inquiry into the jirga which decided the lives of two small children were equivalent in value to three buffaloes. According to AKI, the amount of buffaloes was eleven, the the girls were Heer, aged 9, and Karima, aged 1.
Vani was made officially illegal at the start of last year. We have documented many cases, and it should be noted that the law states that the maximum penalty for giving someone away in vani marriage is a prison sentence of ten years. In the seventeen months that the law has come into effect, there has not been a single conviction for vani crime.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:47 PM | Comments (1)
Pakistan: Muslim Child Bride For Sale, No Previous Owners
Once more, the truly appalling way that many Muslims view the rights of girls is highlighted in a case reported in the Pakistan Daily Times. A 13-year old girl has been offered for sale, by her stepfather, Anjum Bhatti. Bhatti, a resident of Bazaar Icchra, Lahore, owed a friend 16,000 rupees ($266). He had no funds to pay back the money owed.
So he decided to not only give away his step-daughter, but decided to turn a profit for himself. For an extra 14,000 rupees ($233), he would give his friend Muhammad Ramzan the hand of the girl in marriage. Though officially it is illegal to marry a girl this young, Ramzan wanted the child for his sexual needs. Though in a normal society such an aspect of a person's physique should not be an issue, but Muhammad Ramzan was extremely short, described by the Daily Times as a "midget".
On Tuesday, Ramzan arrived at Bhatti's house, with a retinue of 40 people from his village, Rarianwala Chowk Icchra, who were to be wedding guests. Bhatti said he wanted the money first, before he parted with his chattel.
Ramzan gave him the money, and then Bhatti scarpered with the cash. But Ramzan had parted with the money, so he now had "rights" to marry Hina, the 13-year old girl.
However, Hina was not going to be married willingly, and refused to sign the Nikah or marriage contract. When pressured to sign, she began screaming. This alerted her biological mother, Rukshana, who had been unaware of her husband's plot to sell her child. Rukshana Bhatti called the police.
There followed a shouting match, with Ramzan's friends shouting at Rukshana, and also neighbours who had turned up to find out what was going on. Rushana's brother, Hani's uncle, arrived, and said that he would pay back the money which was owed by Bhatti, and that which had been stolen.
The wedding party only left, taking the money, when the police arrived. Rukshana filed charges against her husband, but earlier today Anjum Bhatti came back home, and offered apologies. Bizarrely, despite the trauma he had caused, Rukshana withdrew the charges.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HCRP) condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of "the culprit".
If the law states that a child of thirteen cannot be married, and also states that it is illegal to give away a girl in vani (compensation) marriage, then not only Bhatti but Muhammad Ramzan, and all his 40 wedding guests, are also complicit in denying a child of her basic rights.
We wrote on May 28 that in Pakistan, girls are mere chattels in many rural communities. They are expected in many cases to marry people they do not desire, often under the legal age of consent, and when they fail to live up to standards expected of them, they run the risk of being murdered in honour killings. HCRP states that every year, between 1,000 and 1,500 such murders take place. Many are never reported.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:31 PM | Comments (1)
UK: Judge Places Islamists' Human Rights Above Public Safety, Sabotages Terror Laws
The man shown at left is Mr Justice Sullivan, a High Court judge, who today has effectively sabotaged one of the main planks of Britain's anti-terror laws, by claiming that the rights of those detained in effective house arrest, under the government's "control orders", are being denied. As a result, individuals currently subject to such restrictions on their liberty will almost certainly be set free. Sullivan argued that to detain a person without trial is a breach of their human rights, as defined in Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).
This is not the first time that Sullivan has put the rights of potential terrorists above the rights of the public, by invoking his own interpretations of the ECHR. On May 10, Sullivan ruled that nine Afghan terrorists, who had hijacked a plane in Kabul, containing 173 passengers, and flown it to Britain in February 2000, were free to stay in Britain indefinitely.
The nine Afghan terrorists had been jailed for five years for hijacking, possessing guns and explosives and false imprisonment of the plane's staff and passengers. The men had threatened to kill hostages, in a four day standoff at Stansted Airport, Essex.
Sullivan was not content to merely allow the men to stay in Britain, but stated that the government "deliberately delayed" acting upon a ruling by an appeals court, which said that the men could not be returned to Afghanistan where their lives would be "at risk". Consequently, he ordered that the Home Office should pay the legal costs at the highest rate, to demonstrate his "disquiet and concern." Sullivan said: "It is difficult to conceive of a clearer case of 'conspicuous unfairness amounting to an abuse of power."
On the case of the nine Afghans, Sullivan had invoked the context of Article 3 of the ECHR, to state that the men may, if returned to Afghanistan, be "put at risk". Article 3 of the ECHR states: No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment..
This ruling has prevented terrorists being deported to countries where their "human rights" may be denied. For example, on May 9 Abu Qatada, the man dubbed by a Spanish judge as "al Qaeda's Ambassador in Europe", was appealing against his deportation to his native Jordan. Though Jordan had signed an affidavit stating that it would not torture or execute Abu Qatada, to comply with Article 3 of ECHR, his lawyers argued that the affidavit was not legally binding. Abu Qatada had also previously been under a government "Control Order". As a result of Justice Sullivan's decision today, the whole issue of Control Orders have been placed into jeopardy.
On April 12, Sullivan had made a similar ruling, referring to Article 5 of the ECHR. An unnamed 22-year-old male student from Yorkshire, referred to only as "S", had been stopped at Manchester airport in March 2005 after he had attempted to fly to Syria. Security officials claimed that the man had intended to fly from there to Iraq, to fight against coalition forces.
Control Orders had been introduced as an adjunct to the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, allowing a suspected terrorist to be placed under house arrest, and also allows evidence to be sealed from the person under such an order. The sealed evidence can only be viewed by a special advocate, appointed by the attorney general, who is forbidden from revealing to his client what is contained in the sealed evidence.
The Manchester man appealed to the High Court, and Justice Sullivan said then: "The court would be failing in its duty under the Human Rights Act, a duty imposed upon the court by Parliament, if it did not say, loud and clear, that the procedures under the Act are conspicuously unfair."
Control orders can be imposed for a period of up to 12 months, and can be renewed for an unlimited amount of times at the discretion of the Home Secretary.
Article 5 of the ECHR states:
a) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a competent court;
b) the lawful arrest or detention of a person for non-compliance with the lawful order of a court or in order to secure the fulfilment of any obligation prescribed by law;
c) the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing after having done so;
d) the detention of a minor by lawful order for the purpose of educational supervision or his lawful detention for the purpose of bringing him before the competent legal authority;
e) the lawful detention of persons for the prevention of the spreading of infectious diseases, of persons of unsound mind, alcoholics or drug addicts or vagrants;
f) the lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his effecting an unauthorised entry into the country or of a person against whom action is being taken with a view to deportation or extradition.
The case which Sullivan ruled upon today concerned six individuals who comprised one British citizen and five from Iraq. The case is reported by the Daily Mail, the Times, the New York Times, the BBC, the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Independent.
The six individuals were not confined for a 24 hour period within their houses. They had six hours in which they could travel. The individuals were obliged to remain indoors only between the hours of 4 pm and 10 am. Their ability to ise telephone and internet services were also curtailed.
Visitors to their homes had to provide beforehand name, address and photographic identification. The individuals under a Control Order can be searched at any time of day, or night.
The five Iraqis are arguin that they cannot be deported to Iraq, as they would be likely to receive torture back home, which would then be affected by Article 3 of the ECHR.
Reiterating his statements made in April, Sullivan said that Control Orders were "incompatible" with Article 5 of the ECHR, which outlaws detention without trial. He said: "It follows that the (Home Secretary) had no power to make the orders and they must therefore all be quashed."
He said of these orders that they were "the antithesis of liberty and equivalent to imprisonment". He stated: "Their liberty to live a normal life within their residences is so curtailed as to be non-existent for all practical purposes."
"Their lives are not free, but are for all practical purposes under the control of the Home Office."
He said the Home Office had no legal rights to make the Control Orders, and stated that arguing to retain them amounted to "the potential to undermine confidence in the integrity of public administration," adding: "The short answer to the Secretary of State is that since he had no power to make them in the first place, there is nothing to revoke or modify."
The case of the six individuals who had today appealed, as well as the case concerning the individual who appealed in April, will both be heard in the Court of Appeal on Monday, July 3.
On this date, the Home Secretary, John Reid, will be expected to have his officials argue that the individuals' rights were not breached when their passports were taken away and that by not allowing the individuals to argue their case in a court of law before the Control Orders were imposed, the government had not breached Article 6 of the ECHR - the right to a fair trial. A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Secretary strongly disagrees with the judgement of the court that the obligations in these control orders amount to a deprivation of liberty so engaging Article 5 - right to liberty and security - of the ECHR. He will seek to overturn the decision in the Court of Appeal."
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said: "We think in the balance between public safety and the right to liberty and security for the individual, the public safety outweighs the individual."
A spokesman for Tony Blair said that the government was reviewing the way the courts interpreted the ECHR, which was enshrined into Britain's law in 1998. He said: "Parliament discussed at length both the principle and the implementation of control orders and we always made it clear that, if necessary, we would take it through the courts as far as necessary and possible - but let us see what the final judgment is."
The Conservatives said that the Control Orders had been rushed through. David Davis, their shadow Home Secretary, said: "When control orders were first debated, we warned the government that exactly this might happen, and explicitly offered them the option of extending the time limit on the old legislation, specifically to give them time to think."
He continued: "We raised precisely this risk with them in the debate on control orders, which they ignored. This week David Cameron (leader of the Conservative party) again raised the consequences of not thinking this through, and pointed out what they do in other countries, and they rubbished it."
Natalia Garcia, of law firm Tyndallwoods had represented the six individuals, and stated: "It is heartening that the courts will still act as a check against the government when it seeks to ride roughshod over the basic human rights and civil liberties such as the fundamental right to liberty. The human cost to my clients of being subject to control orders is incalculable."
The European Convention of Human Rights was written up in its most basic form in Rome in 1950, and subjected to various "protocols" in 1963, 1966 and 1985. The government can "derogate" or abstain from the Human Rights Act, but only if it declares that the nation is in a "state of emergency", which the government is unwillng to do.
Richard Ford, in an analysis for the Times, states: "This ruling is highly embarrassing for the Government, and reflects the difficulties that ministers have had in framing laws to deal with suspects against whom there is said to be evidence of links with terrorism but not enough to bring a case in court.....Essentially, two High Court rulings by the same judge have the potential to fatally undermine the Government's key measure for dealing with terror suspects against whom there is insufficient evidence to bring a court case."
David Cameron, leader of the opposition Conservative Pary, argues in a discussion in the Independent: "There is a case for abolishing the Human Rights Act and doing nothing else. But this would not solve the problem on terrorism, and it has the strong disadvantage of taking a step backwards on rights and liberties.
Another option would be to abolish the Act and pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This would address the security challenge but it has significant disadvantages. The Common Law cannot properly protect the citizen from ministers who have the power to override it by statutory instrument, and the act of leaving the ECHR would send a message to other countries that you cannot have rights and security at the same time."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:47 PM | Comments (1)
Russia: Leading Muslim Cleric Condemns Diplomats' Murder
We reported earlier, with graphic pictures, that Vladimir Putin has vowed to hunt down those responsible for the killing of four Russian diplomats, who had been kidnapped on Saturday June 3 in Iraq. The four men had been abducted in Mansour in west Baghdad, when a vehicle blocked an embassy car, shot one of five diplomats inside, and kidnapped those left alive.
The man shot in the abduction was Vitaly Titov. The four hostages were Fyodor Zaytsev, Rinat Aglyulin, Anatoly Smirnov and Oleg Fedosseyev.
A message was posted on an internet site on Monday 19 June, saying that the hostages would be allowed to live if Russia withdrew from Chechnya and released Muslim prisoners from Russian jails. The message claimed that the event should "serve as a lesson... to those would still defy the mujahideen and dare to set foot in the proud land of two rivers." It should be noted that Zarqawi, the most famous abductor and killer of non-military hostages, was himself a foreigner in Iraq.
The message came from a group calling itself the Muhajideen Shura Council. On Sunday 25 June, a video was released, showing one man being decapitated, another being shot, and the dead body of another. The fourth hostage was not shown in this video, but the Russian foreign ministry confirmed from analysis of the images that the men were dead.
Before Putin's statement that Russia would mount its own mission to avenge their deaths, the foreign ministry said that the US and coalition forces should find and punish the killers, who were described as "terrorists". It described them as "inhuman, without honour, conscience or religion."
The chairman of Russia's Council of Muftis, Rival Gainutdin (pictured) yesterday issued a statement condemning the murder of the diplomats, states Interfax-Religion.
He claimed in a statement: "The atrocity has neither religious nor human justification. Russia has not waged war in Iraq, has not participated in combat activities, its diplomats possess immunity, they are protected by current international contracts and by norms and Islamic traditions as ambassadors of a nation that has come to help the Iraqi people. Russians have no personal guilt either for events in Iraq, or for events in Russia. Therefore the execution constitutes the murder of innocent civilians, and the Quran equates such crime to the murder of all mankind."
One of the diplomats was a Muslim, which Gainutdin claims is proof that the motives of the killers were political. He said: "Since the terms for release of the hostages was a demand that had nothing to do with the situation in Iraq and which was artificially linked to the situation in Chechnya, it proves that the organizers of the crime were cynically implementing their own geopolitical tasks."
He pointed the finger of blame on the Americans, as they had promised to take responsibility for events in Iraq following the downfall of Saddam Hussein. He said: ""If everything was controlled by the U.S. occupation forces, then why are dozens of innocent people including journalists and diplomats dying? Why are hostages being taken and mosques blown up? We believe that blame for the deaths of our people lies with the U.S. as well."
This month, a US anti-kidnapping task force stated that 439 foreigners and diplomats have been abducted since the invasion began on 19th March 2003.
Today, Reuters AlertNet announces that today Russia attempted to get the UN Security Council to condemn the killing of its diplomats and to demand improved security for foreign diplomats in Baghdad.
The attempt was thwarted by the US and Britain, who respectively have 127,000 and 7,000 troops in Iraq. They objected to the wording of the statement which was seen as an open affront to the US. Iraq's government, which is not a member of the 15-nation UN Security Council, also objected to the wording of the text.
A statement must be approved by all 15 members to be officially passed. US Ambassador John Bolton said: "They're going to have a statement. It's just a question of when. The Russian Foreign Ministry is now weighing alternative ideas."
In Moscow, the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, passed a motion condemning the deaths as the fault of the "occupying powers", rather than the Muslim extremists who committed the act.
By employing such reasoning, perhaps the members of the Duma should consider that if they have not accepted the Islamists' proposal to have the Caucasus region established as a separate Muslim state called "Ichkeria", then by their own logic, they only have their own policies to blame for the incident.
Laying blame at the foot of others is a futile game. Those who are truly guilty, the operatives of the Muhajideen Shura Council are those who committed the abduction and the murders. They, and they alone, are responsible for the killings.
Warning: Graphic images below
The hostages:
The killing of the hostages:
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:42 PM | Comments (0)
UK: New Body To Monitor Extremist Imams In Mosques
News from AKI and the BBC states that a new body has been set up to act as a watchdog on the extremism and ignorance which runs unchecked in British mosques
Back in February, Labour MP for Keightley, Ann Cryer (pictured), complained of the low standards of education and poor community skills of imams who were being imported to mosques within her constituency.
She particularly singled out the imams who were imported from Mirpur in Pakistan, as holding Muslims back from integration. She said: "They should have a knowledge of child protection, of how we regard the rights of women. Imams and others should encourage integration as opposed to segregation."
She said some of these imams acted in ways which were not expected in British society. "Over many many years, I have not been given any help at all by many of the imams who have been brought in, many of whom don't speak a word of English, have little knowledge of what life in Britain is all about, particularly for their young members," she claimed.
"We have got to get away from this sort of attitude, we have to help our communities to integrate, to live in cohesion with the rest of our communities. I think that some of these imams coming in, particularly from Mirpur, where there is very little education, they are part of the problem rather than the solution."
Cryer, one of the more objective members of Blair's PC government, realises that the negativity of Islamic extremism has harmful effects upon her Muslim constituents. But the watchdog which is now being launched is highly unlikely to address the problems adequately, as it is going to include members of the Muslim Council for Britain, the organisation which recently pressured the government to renege on its promised banning of forced marriages.
The new body will be called MINAB, the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board. It has been launched by members of four groups, including the British Muslim Foundation (BNF), the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). The fourth member group is the al-Khoei Foundation.
The setting up of MINAB grew from proposals from working parties, or taskforces against extremism, which were launched by the UK government in the wake of the terror attacks of 7/7 last year, when 52 people on London Transport were blown to bits by devout Muslims, brought up in Britain.
The particular group which made the suggestion for this body was the Working Group on Tackling Extremism. This group had 13 individuals on its panel, including the Muslim Council for Britain's Inayat Bunglawala, and also the controversial "scholar" Tariq Ramadan, who is not even British.
Bunglawala has expressed open anti-semitism, he defends his earlier descriptions of Osama bin Laden as a "Holy Warrior". He had urged people to study the statements of the "Holy Warrior" in an email. In 1993, in a letter to Private Eye magazine, he had called Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman "courageous". A month later the blind Egyption sheikh was arrested for his part in bombing the World Trade Center. But Bunglawala then defended the terrorist, saying that the only reason he had been arrested was because he was "calling on Muslims to fulfil their duty to Allah and to fight against oppression and oppressors everywhere".
Abdul Rahman was the spiritual leader of Jamaa Islamiyah, which blew up former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981, because he had made a peace agreement with Israel.
The taskforces which were set up by the UK government decided that Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day should be scrapped, as it was "too Jewish" and made Muslims feel "excluded"! Fortunately, not one of the proposals from these taskforces has been made official, apart from setting up this new group, called MINAB.
When the "extremism plan" was unveiled on September 22, Lord Ahmed, a Muslim member of the House of Lords, parliament's unelected Upper House, said: "For the first time we've had a debate in the Muslim community and in the mosques with the imams. They know we can't continue to deliver sermons in Arabic and you can't exclude youths and women from mosque committees. I hope we will work to try to improve the situation."
Shereefa Fulat, a director of Muslim Youth Helpline said at the time: "It is important that we do more as a community - in partnership with the Government - to develop opportunities for young Muslims to be leaders and active citizens. These proposals represent the start of a long process of dialogue that must have Muslim youth at the forefront."
Many Muslim clerics, state the BBC, are opposed to the idea of MINAB, thinking their mosques will be controlled by the government. But the launch document of MINAB acknowledges what many have been saying for a long time, that UK mosques are often exclusive, denying the rights of women and youth, and run by cliques of imams who come from abroad, not from Britain. The document accepts that many imams are incapable of giving advice to "alienated young people". It recommends that British-born or British-educated preachers will be encouraged to further their careers, as these should be able to relate to young Muslims brought up in Britain.
There have been two Sunni Muslim seminaries in Britain since the 1970s. The genuinely moderate Dr Zaki Badawi, who died in January this year, had founded one of these, the Muslim College. The al-Khoei Foundation is a Shia body, so for the first time, Shia and Sunni standards will be set by the same body.
Yusuf Al-Khoei of Al-Khoei said: "Four organisations have come together for the first time and reached a consensus. It's a very positive move because the voice of moderation is coming up loud and clear. We are trying to decouple Islam from images and allegations of violence. We need more involvement of the youth, of our women - and more involvement in our neighbourhoods. We need our mosques to be more than places of worship, they need to be proper community centres."
His last comment is telling, considering imams should have a working knowledge of the Koran: "For too long there has really been no structure. I have seen people claim to be imams in mosques who could not even read or write."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:29 PM | Comments (0)
Russia: Putin Orders 4 Hostages' Killers Found
Those kidnapping the 4 Russian diplomats (above) and killing them, might have achieved little but getting a new enemy :
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia's special services to hunt down and "destroy" the killers of four Russian diplomats in Iraq, the Kremlin said.Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Federal Security Service - the main successor to the Soviet KGB - later said that everything would be done to ensure that the killers "do not escape from responsibility," the Interfax news agency reported.
"The president has ordered the special forces to take all necessary measures to find and destroy the criminals who killed Russian diplomats in Iraq," the Kremlin press service said in a brief statement.
This could to some extend engage Russia in Iraq, which is a valuable signal to send to the terrorists which simply expect not much more than a diplomatic reaction.
Good luck on the hunt!
From the Las Vegas Sun Via Alqaida news
Warning: Graphic images below
The killing of the hostages:
Posted by Charles Martel at 1:22 PM | Comments (0)
Denmark: Court Rules The Length Of Prison Terms In Honour Killing Case
As mentioned yesterday Here by our own Giraldus Cambrensis. It was yesterday decided that all those involved in the honour killing of Ghazala Khan, were all found guilty.
The Length of their sentences has just been revealed to the press a few minutes ago and they are relatively hard, though the Prosecutor wanted them even harder.
( 6 times life sentence to make a strong example of this case and 3 times at least 10 years )
Alas only the father who were in charge of the murder got life sentence.
However it has to be added that a life sentence in Denmark is usually reserved for those who kill cops or children.
The Brother who fired the killing shots and two uncles heavily involved in helping, all received 16 years each.
The aunt who helped lure Ghazala Khan in the trap, by arranging the meeting and a cousin received 14 years each.
The last three who had minor involvement, one of them only sentenced because of much Telephone contact with the family up to the killing, got 8-10 years.
Where he might have got 5 and even less.
The aunt and the cousin were expelled forever from Denmark, due to not having citizenship yet, and will be so after their 14 years in jail.
Posted by Charles Martel at 11:02 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2006
UK: Muslim Rapper Praises Jihad, Bin Laden
The British Muslim rapper who calls himself G-had, whose real name is Ali Nawaz (pictured), was born in Bradford, Yorkshire. He was involved since 1991 with the group Fun-da-Mental, but according to the Guardian his latest oeuvre is causing consternation at his record company label, Nation Records. Two executives from parent company Beggars Banquet Records, Martin Mills and Andrew Heath, have threatened to quit if the album is released in its current form.
The album is entitled All is War - the benefits of G-had and was recorded in London, Pakistan and South Africa. It contains words from a speech by Osama bin Laden, and compares the AL Qaeda to Che Guevara. Another track imagines America subjugated by Islam, and he openly condemns the "hypocrisy and immorality of the west".
Nawaz is unrepentant, and claims he has every right to express himself in whatever way he sees fit, even though he appears fearful that MI5 (Britain's internal affairs intelligence agency) may come calling on him. He states: "I have a right to push the boundaries as much as anyone else has, whether it's Ken Loach or Harold Pinter or George Galloway or Neil Young or the Sex Pistols."
"I've already told all the lyricists don't worry if we get into trouble, I'll take all the blame. If they're going to lock anyone up they'll lock me up. I'm not scared, I've got a lot of anger and frustration at where we have arrived at. I'll take the heat. And I've told my kids, I've told my wife that if anything goes wrong with me I want you outside Paddington Green (the maximum security police station where terror suspects are processed) and I want you staying there day and night."
His tracks also condemn "moderate" Muslims who are courted by the UK government, and in one track called "Cookbook DIY" he compares a suicide bomb-manufacturer to a US scientist: "I'm strapped up cross my chest bomb belt attached - Deeply satisfied with the plan I hatched - Electrodes connected to a gas cooker lighter."
He also throws in a few references to deaths in Srebrenica and Afghanistan on the album.
A track called "Parasites" includes: "But revenge will be mine, with my last breath I will rise to curse you - Because you, you dogs and parasites have made us helpless." Another track called "I Reject" contains: "Reject your thieving foreign policies, Reject your elitist congregation, Reject your mini skirt liberation, Reject your concept of integration ..."
Hopefully the music-buying public will reject this album, which appears to be made purely to gain cheap publicity.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:32 PM | Comments (1)
Germany: Kurdish Islamists Refuse To Testify In Court
We reported on November 16 2005 that three Iraqi Kurds, suspected members of Ansar al-Islam were formally charged with plotting to assassinate former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, during his state visit to Germany in 2004.
The three men were arrested on December 3, 2004 shortly after the arrival of Allawi. Two days of his planned tour of Germany were cancelled as a result of suspicions that a plot was being hatched. A planned welcoming ceremony in the chancellery courtyard and a meeting of Allawi with German business leaders had been cancelled.
Nine business locations and apartments in Berlin, Stuttgat and Augsburg were raided, and the three men were arrested in these raids. Ansar al-Islam members had been under constant surveillance since December 2003 and information from surveillance led to the arrests and curtailment of certain of Allawi's engagements.
The three were charged on Wednesday 16 November 2005. German news sources could not legally give the names of those charged. The charges maintain that they were members of a foreign terrorist organisation, were preparing to carry out terrorist attacks, and violations of German law, through sending money to extremist groups.
The ringleader of the group, Ata R from Stuttgart, was said by prosecutors to have assisted in the recruitment of suicide bombers bound for Iraq, and had gathered funds for Al-Islam.
The three Iraqi Kurds were placed on trial in Stuttgart on Tuesday, June 20. Expatica stated that prosecutors confirmed that the three men had had their telephone conversations monitored. They were named in a Yahoo report, which we referred to here, on June 20.
The ringleader's name is Ata Abdoulaziz Rashid, aged 32, And his alleged co-conspirators are 24-year old Mazen Ali Hussein and 31-year old Rafik Mohamad Yousef. If found guilty of the charges laid against them, they could serve a maximum of ten years' jail.
On the first day of their trial, the three were taciturn, apart from a statement made by Rafik Mohamad Yousef, that "there are 50 mistakes in the indictment, and I can prove it." The procedures were put on hold as defense attorneys asked for the full indictments to be translated into Arabic, as well as Kurdish, as two of the defendants claimed to speak Arabic better than Kurdish.
However, according to the Washington Post today, the three men have since refused to testify in the court case.
According to the charge-sheet, Ata Abdoulaziz Rashid had collected money on a monthly basis for Ansar al-Islam between 2003 and 2004. This money was then transferred to Iraq. Police had monitored 11 of these transfers, which involved amounts up to $15,000.
Ansar al-Islam (full title Ansar al-Islam fi Kurdistan or "Supporters of Islam in Kurdistan") had been formed in December 2001 by the notorious Mullah Krekar, and was responsible for burning down beauty salons and a girls' school, and killing women in the streets of Kurdish communities if they refused to wear the burka. The group is based in the town of Biyarah and its environs, close to the Iranian border.
It has also mounted several suicide attacks, including one upon a US Department of Defense office in Abril in September 2003, killing 3. On February 1, 2004, Ansar al-Islam attacked two Kurdish party offices, killing 109 people and injuring 200.
Mullah Krekar is currently in Norway, where he has officially lived as a refugee since 1991. He is currently awaiting deportation from Norway to Iraq.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)
Switzerland: Mosque Files Complaint Over Bell Noise
A little "clash of cultures" story in the micro cosmos of the clash, coming from Switzerland, reported on Kreuz Net ( Catholic Website ).
A Catholic church based in Basel has received a complaint from a nearby mosque. The reason ? Their bells are interfering with the muezzin`s effort to call his brothers in faith to prayer.
Posted by Charles Martel at 7:08 PM | Comments (2)
Holland: Islam Critic Hirsi Ali Will Keep Her Citizenship
On May 16 we described the undignified saga surrounding Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and revelations made about her in a documentary aired on Dutch TV on Thursday May 11. It was revealed that Hirsi Ali, originally from Somalia, had lied about her age and her name when she applied for refugee status in 1992.
Since she claimed asylum, Hirsi Ali became naturalised in 1997, she became a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party, or VVD in 2003, and was one of Europe's foremost critics of Islam. She wrote the script for Theo van Gogh's film Submission, concerning the poor treatment of women in Islam. This work caused van Gogh to be stabbed and shot to death in a Dutch street on November 2, 2004, by ran Islamist of Moroccan descent named Mohamed Bouyeri. Pinned to the film-maker's chest with a knife was a list of people who were targeted for killing, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders, another MP.
Since that time, Hirsi Ali and Wilders have had to live in hiding, under tight security at all times. They have both received numerous death threats.
Following the May 11 television documentary, there were calls for Hirsi Ali to have her citizenship revoked by her opponents, and within a few days Hirsi herself had announced her resignation as an MP.
The Minister for Immigration and Integration, Rita Verdonk, also of the VVD, declared on May 15 that Ayaan Hirsi Ali should lose her citizenship status, as she had "lied". Despite this knee-jerk reactionon the part of Verdonk, Hirsi Ali had openly stated, years before the "revelatory" TV documentary, that she had initially lied to gain asylum.
A report in today's Expatica states that an agreement was made between senior Cabinet ministers late last night, which makes it now highly likely that Hirsi Ali will not lose her status as a citizen of the Netherlands.
The meeting was held in the apartment of the Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende. One of those present, Deputy Prime Minister Gerrit Zalm, said there was "good hope" that the issue will be resolved this week. Zalm had headed the VDD when he recruited Hirsi Ali to stand for parliament, representing the party. She admitted to him then that she had falsified her name. Her real name is Ayaan Hirsi Magan, but Ali is the name of her grandfather.
Verdonk received criticism at home and abroad when she had told Ayaan on May 15 that she had six weeks to show reasons why her citizenship of the Netherlands should not be revoked. Motions were called in parliament to ensure Hirsi Ali retained her citizenship.
Now, it appears that Verdonk, whose personal standing within the VVD dropped after the fuss she created, is changing her position, and is stating that in Somalia it is legal and acceptable to adopt the name of a grandfather.
Verdonk, at the time of her declarations against Hirsi Ali, had been a favourite to win the leadership of the party in an election campaign. She was defeated.
Today, states Expatica, Hirsi Ali is publicly exonerating Verdonk in a letter which will be debated by opposition MPs tomorrow, and claiming that she was responsible for the fiasco. In this letter, she says: "Contrary to what I have sometimes said in the past, the name Ali really does belong to me. I regret that I have put her [Verdonk] on the wrong track by this."
She writes that she has "complete understanding" of the manner in which Verdonk dealt with the issue.
Meanwhile, left-wingers are now claiming that if Ayaan Hirsi Ali can claim citizenship, then sixty other individuals who were stripped of Dutch nationality for lying should also be granted rights of citizenship.
UPDATE - 28 June: Expatica states that MPs of the VVD (Liberal Party) and the Christian Democrats, the main parties in the coalition government, have agreed they are happy with Verdonk's resolution of the Ayan Hirsi Ali citizenship issue, but this evening she is expected to be under fire from opposition parties.
Hirsi Ali said from the US last night that the statement which she had signed had been drafted by government officials. She is finalising her visa to the US, and was led to believe that visa finalisations would happen more swiftly if the issue of her Dutch citizenship was resolved.
Wouter Bos, the leader of the Labour Party has said that the Netherlands is a "banana republic" if Verdonk had pressured Ayaan Hirsi Ali to sin the document.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:07 PM | Comments (1)
Thailand: Violence Claims Seven Lives In Muslim South
We reported on the bombing campaigns in Thailand which have continued since June 15 when about 50 bombs were set off in the southern Thai provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat. Three were killed and 16 injured. The bombs continued the following day, with a dozen devices exploding on June 16, injuring four. On June 17 a bomb in a karaoke bar in Muang district, Yala province killed one man and injured two women.
We reported on June 25 on the violence which continued throughout the subsequent week.
But today, bombs and shootings claimed the lives of seven people. The details have made their way into the mainstream media (MSM), being reported in The Scotsman, Agence France Presse via Softpedia, New Zealand's Stuff, Canada.com, South Africa's Independent Online, China People's Daily, by Reuters and in Thailand by TNA MCOT news and The Nation.
Early this morning, in Raman district in Yala province, a roadside bomb was detonated as a military vehicle carrying five people was passing. One soldier was killed instantly in the blast, which left a crater (pictured) two meters deep.
Following the explosion, the vehicle was ambushed by gunmen, and in the subsequent firefight the other four individuals were shot dead. About 20 (or a dozen) suspects are thought to have been in the group which ambushed the soldiers. According to Maj. Jeerasak Vikraicharoenying, four of the dead were security volunteers. Following the killings, the assailants stole the M16 rifles which were carried by those from the vehicle.
The 10 kilogram (20 kg according to one account) bomb had been hidden in a drain under a bridge, and had been detonated by a wire. The people in the vehicle were part of a patrol unit which provided security for teachers going to and from a local school. Teachers have been threatened, attacked and killed in recent actions by Muslim insurgents in the southern provinces.
Local district Chief Aya Ditapinan said that such protection for teachers was necessary. He stated: "That is the only route we can use every day to escort teachers going to school."
A second bomb went off in the neighbourhood of Wat Sountrawat nearby, but no-one was injured in this blast.
In Narathiwat, a 35-year old man, Mayainung Sa-ah, was riding his motorcycle in Rangae district in Narathiwat province. He was shot in the head at close range and died on the spot. He is said, according to Reuters to be a police informant. At neighbouring Rue So district in Narathiwat district, another individual was shot dead by assailants riding a motorcycle. This man was said to be a rubber trader.
A third bomb was set off in Narathiwat province, outside the home of a district chief, in Sunga Padi district. This bomb, weighing 5 kilograms, was detonated remotely, using a cell phone.
A fourth bomb went off in a Sunga Padi market, where it had apparently been hidden under a stall.
The last two bombs, according to Western news sources, were said to be the work of insurgents who were trying to target security agents working for the Teachers' Protection Unit.
A further bomb was discovered at Cho-I-Rong district, planted near the gate of a school. This bomb had failed to detonate. It was rigged to a timer mechanism, and had been set to explode at 7.45 am local time. Police later defused the device.
The insurgency, which seeks to have Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani provinces secede from Thailand, began on Jan 4, 2004, and has now claimed 1,300 lives. The insurgents believe in the re-establishment of the former sultanate of Pattani, which used to be independent, and comprised the territory of the three provinces, as well as two districts of adjacent Songhkla district. Following an invasion, the sultanate of Pattani was officially annexed into Thailand a century ago.
The population in the southern provinces is 80% Muslim and these are ethnic Malays. The local Muslims speak Yawi, a dialect of Malay. The three southern provinces are the poorest in the country, with high levels of unemployment. The national average of unemployment is 14%, but in Yala it is 35%, in Narathiwat it is 28%, and in Pattani the rate is 25%.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 3:54 PM | Comments (2)
Denmark: Nine Muslim Family Members Guilty Of Honor Killing
We reported that nine members of a Pakistani family based in Denmark were put on trial on Monday May 15. They were accused on charges of conspiring to murder, relating to the killing of Ghazala Khan (pictured left) on September 23 last year.
Ghazala was shot in the street, in broad daylight, outside Slagelse train station, in western Zealand, west of Copenhagen. The incident, captured on camera (below) involved Ghazala being shot twice in the heart by her 29-year old brother. The brother also shot Ghazala's Afghan husband, the reason for the family's anger.
The brother had insisted that the shooting was accidental, and that he had no intention of killing Ghazala. She had betrayed the family's "honour" by marrying her Afghan boyfriend in secret, and not gaining her parents' consent. This had been the ninth case of honor killing in a decade in Denmark, the prosecution claimed.
Now, according to Denmark's Jyllands-Posten and the Copenhagen Post, all nine members of the family have been found guilty of manslaughter at the High Court of Eastern Denmark. The shooting had happened after they couple had been hunted down throughout Denmark by vengeful relatives. Ghazala Khan's mother and father were also among those found guilty.
They will be facing sentences ranging from 5 years to life imprisonment. The family's defense attorney, Bjorn Elmquist, announced following the case that the trial had been conducted in an atmosphere of racial hatred and prejudice.
The case is a landmark, as it is the first time that other family members have been found guilty of being accomplices to an honour killing. Seven of the defendants had sought a reduced sentence, but jurors rejected this, finding that there were no mitigating circumstances.
The jurors claimed that aunts, uncles and other acquaintances within the family circle had plotted to lure the newlywed couple to Slaglese raliway station, where the 29-year old brother lay in wait with a loaded gun.
A law professor at Copenhagen University, Vagn Greve, said that jurors merely made use of Denmark's existing laws, which broadly define what constitutes an "accomplice" to a crime. He said: "From what I have heard and read, I cannot see that we have done anything new. The jurors found that existing rules should be put to use."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)
Greece: New Arms-Buying Plan "Staggering"
Ted Laskaris complains that the arms-buying plan is full of corruption and statist favors. But I guess I have lower expectations of the Greek government than he does: I'm just glad they're spending money in preparing for the coming Turkish Jihad: Buy, baby, buy ... and then buy some more....
Press reports say the Karamanlis government is ready to launch the next five-year arms buying plan (2006-2010) worth some EUR 12 billion / repeat / 12 billion. Arms procurement spending out to 2015 is estimated to reach EUR 23 billion (!!) This is staggering amount for Greece's groggy, under-performing, olive oil-and-tourism economy.Just to give you one measure of comparison, revenue from the privatization program under way for the period 2004-2005 reached a paltry EUR 2.8 billion (see Fact Sheet on the Prospects of the Greek Economy - May 2006). Total estimated exports revenue for FY2005 was EUR 18.54 billion. With imports out-pacing exports by an average three times, Greek coffers will again creak and heave under the arms buying burden. And I’m sure that our governors will again find the way to upgrade our arsenal. In one word: borrowing.
I'm also sure that there will be "consensus" across party boundaries on the necessity of purchasing all these armaments. How can it be different? The defense budget now routinely feeds a whole community of reptilians firmly attached to the Ministry of Defense and the private staffs of parliamentarians, former ministers, and various "industrialists," all of whom of course are dedicated to defending our interests and protecting our country - for a handsome, tax-free, Cayman Islands-bound fee[...]
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)
US: Denver Warehouse Shooter a Muslim; Motivation "Unknown"
Last Sunday, Michael Ford, a worker at a Denver warehouse, arrived at his workplace, exchanged greetings, and began hunting his co-workers with a long-barrelled handgun: Co-workers never saw shooting attack coming
Debbie Richmeier, 45, said she and her co-workers never saw Michael Ford's rampage coming.Ford arrived at work like he normally did and sat at a table across from Richmeier in his usual place after exchanging greetings with other employees Sunday, Richmeier said.
She remained stunned Monday that moments after they had traded hellos, Ford ran amok.
"One minute, he says, 'Hi, how are you?' and then one minute later he's apparently deciding which one of us dudes he's going to shoot," Richmeier said. "We could have never seen this coming from him in particular."
Michael Ford is a Muslim. So far there has been little discussion of a possible religious motivation for his rampage, but an article in the Denver Post suggests otherwise: Shooting spree baffles those close to 22-year-old Ford
The day of the shooting, Ford went by his family's Montbello house to visit. Accounts differ about his state of mind.Sister Beyonca Ellis says she saw her brother Michael briefly before he left for work between 2 and 2:15 p.m.
"He was normal when he left," she said. "He was not acting out of the ordinary. He gave me his usual hug and kiss."
However, Ford's younger sister Khali told 9News her brother was upset because people were making fun of his religion at work.
"I don't know what happened to him yesterday. It was like everything changed," Khali said. "He told me that Allah was going to make a choice and it was going to be good and told me people at his job was making fun of his religion and he didn't respect that."
So far, a religious motivation is the only plausible motive for the shooting. Western Resistance hopes the authorities will not begin disinforming the American people as they have done in the past, and will work hard to uncover the truth, whatever that truth might be. If the "wonderful Religion of Peace and Tolerance" was a motivation in this killing, the citizens of America have the right to know it.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)
Somalia: New Islamist Leader Is Al Qaeda Supporter
The head of the Union of Islamic Courts was, until this weekend, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed. Though a hardline fundamentalist, he nonetheless had some integrity and sense of justice, despite his viewing the Americans as "the devil's allies". The 42-year old was a former teacher of geography, Arabic and religious studies, before he was elected to be head of the Union of Islamic Courts. Something of his personality can be found in an interview with Asharq Alaswat last month, before the Islamic court militias took control of Somalia on June 5.
However, there was an election on Saturday, and the new leader of the Islamic courts is no longer the fairly devout and humble-living Ahmed, but the notorious Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is listed by the US as a supporter of Al Qaeda. The exact age of Aweys is unknown. He has been said to be anywhere from his sixties to 71.
Ahmed (pictured below left) will still wield some influence. He has been named as the head of an executive committee in charge of the Islamic Courts' administration. This will include implementing the directives of the courts. The Union of Islamic Courts will be superceded by the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC), which will effectively be a Muslim Parliament.
We reported on October 21 that the United Nations had claimed that Sheikh Aweys was busy building up and arming his own militia, to prevent the UN-brokered interim government from taking power. Last week, following talks brokered by the Arab League and held in Khartoum, Sudan, it appeared that the Islamic Courts would be working with the interim government, which is headed by Abdullahi Yusuf. Because of the violence and lawlessness which took place in the capital, the Interim Government has been located in Baidoa, northwest of Mogadishu.
The future of such an agreement is now more uncertain. The BBC states that next month, the Union of Islamic Courts, headed by Aweys will be meeting with the Interim government. The date for the meeting has been scheduled for July 15.
As we reported in October, Aweys was one of the founders of the terror group Al-Ittihad al-Islami, which last year was placed by Britain on its list of outlawed organizations. After the dictator Siad Barre was ousted from power in Somalia, Al-Ittihad al-Islami grew. CNN states that this group is top of the list of suspects believed responsible for the bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kikambala outside Mombassa in Kenya, which took place in November 28 2002, and which killed 10 Kenyans and three Israelis. A graphical account of those attacks, carried out by three suicide bombers, can be found here.
US Democratic senator Bob Graham said at that time of Al-Ittihad al-Islami: "It's a Somali-Kenyan group that's been in operation for about 10 years, with loose affiliations with al-Qaida." Al-Ittihad al-Islami had a presence in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, in Kenya and possibly Djibouti, according to the US Overseas Security Advisory Council.
Al-Ittihad al-Islami or "Islamic Union" has been held responsible for bombings in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in 1996 and 1997, and the kidnapping of several relief workers in 1998. It has a charitable wing, supporting orphanages and schools. It was attacked by the Ethiopian army and has since operated in small cells. It is funded by Middle East financiers and Somali diaspora communities in Europe, North America, and the Arabian Peninsula.
During the 1990s, when it was headed by Sheikh Aweys (pictured below, right), the president of the Interim Government, Abdullahi Yusuf, drove out Al-Ittihad al-Islami from its base in Puntland, northern Somalia. Such a history is not likely to lead to a peaceful reconciliation between the two leaders.
Associated Press via Santa Barbara Newspress has a telephone interview with Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who says: "Somalia is a Muslim nation and its people are also Muslim, 100 percent. Therefore any government we agree on would be based on the holy Quran and the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad."
In his usual manner, Aweys, speaking from his home in Galgudud region in central Somalia, conveyed his contempt for the West. "It is not compulsory for us to hate what the Westerners hate. Our relationship with the U.S. administration will depend on how the U.S. treats us. If it treats us well, we will also treat them well. If it behaves badly, it will be responsible."
Reuters via Khaleej Times and Agence France Presse via Turkish Press report that on Monday, Aweys declared that Sharia law would be imposed throughout Somalia.
He dismissed claims that he was a terrorist in an interview with AFP, saying: "It is not proper to put somebody on a list of terrorists who has not killed or harmed anybody." He called US allegations of his links to Al Qaeda "misplaced" and a "distortion of the truth".
"This is a mistake that should be rectified by those who compiled the list. I am not a terrorist. But if strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation."
Speaking of the need to establish relations with the Interim Government, he said: "We will come together by following the commands of God and the teachings of the Koran. Those are the principles that will bring us together. By the will of Allah, we will come together. We will treat people the way they treat us."
He also said that if people did not show respect, they would in return not be treated with respect.
Yahoo News reports that yesterday (Monday 26), US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said: "Of course we are not going to work with somebody like that and of course we would be troubled if this (choice) is an indicator of the direction that this group would go in."
The US State Department will not be making contact with Aweys in the immediate future, but they have not ruled out future communication, dependent on how it appears that Aweys and his fraternity will try to push the direction of Somalia.
And yesterday, in a sign of things to come, the Islamic Courts will be enacting their first public stonings since the mid 1990s. They enacted hand amputations and stonings for about a year in their first year in which they were established, but had not carried out any death sentences for a decade, until May 2 this year.
On that date, in Bermuda (Permuda) district, Mogadishu, a public execution was carried out. A 45-year old teacher, Omar Hussein, had argued with Osman Moallim, the father of a teenage boy at the school, two months previously. In the argument, the teacher stabbed Moallim, killing him.
The result of the Islamic Court's ruling was that the teacher was tied to a large post, with his hands manacled behind his back, and his head covered in a cloth bag. The death sentence was carried out by 16 year old Mohamed Moalim, the victim's son, who repeatedly stabbed him in the chest, throat and head.
Siyad Mohamed, a militia leader connected to the Union of Islamic Courts, said to a Reuters correspondent: "Five men who raped four women on June 22 will be stoned to death today in accordance with the Islamic sharia. They have pleaded guilty to the crime and also have been identified by the victims."
The rapists will be executed in Jowhar. Reuters also reports from a source within the Islamic Courts that there is currently a split developing between the moderates and the hardliners, as represented by Aweys, who wants an Islamist state like that of the Taliban.
Apparently Aweys has a protege, called Aden Hashi Ayro. This individual trained in Afghanistan and while he was there he became linked to the killing of aid workers. Last year, he was responsible for the desecration of an Italian cemetery in Mogadishu.
The victory of the Islamic militias over the warlords came after months of fighting which had claimed the lives of at least 350 people. The warlords, and secular businessmen had formed a grouping calling itself the Counter-Terror Alliance in February. The first fighting between this Alliance and the Islamic Union happened on February 22. On March 13 the Union of Islamic Courts announced that that they would seize the capital, Mogadishu, by force. After numerous conflicts, ceasefires, and renewed battles, they succeeded in their aim of controlling the capital on June 5.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:51 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2006
India: Muslim Cleric Lies About His Threats Against Woman Author
We wrote on June 15 on the trials and tribulations of 43-year old Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreem (also spelled Nasrin). A qualified doctor, she became an award -winning author, unafraid to speak out against Islamist oppression of Hindus and women. In 1990 she became the subject of a sustained campaign of hatred and threats of violence within Bangladesh, and she left the country. A fatwa had been made, offering $5,000 to the person who took her life. She returned to Bangladesh in 1998, without government permission, to look after her sick mother.
When her mother passed away, no cleric from any mosque would perform funeral rites (Namaz-e-Janaza) for her, as she was considered to have raised an "infidel" daughter. Muslim fundamentalists tried to file charges against her for "hurting the religious feelings" of the Bangladeshi people. When her name was found on a hit-list carried by a captured Islamist, she left Bangladesh for a second time, in January 1999.
Taslima (pictured) moved to India, even though the head of the Islamic Raza Academy in Mumbai (Bombay) had made a fatwa that she should be "burned alive" if she ever set foot in Mumbai.
She settled in Calcutta (Kolkata), though in January 2004 S.M.N. Rahman Barkati, the chief cleric of Calcutta's main mosque, told a crowd of more than 10,000 attending Friday prayers. "Her face can be blackened with ink, paint or tar. Or she can be garlanded with shoes."
Following a speech which Taslima made on Saturday 10 June at a conference entitled "Irrelevance of religion in the era of technology" in Kolkata (Calcutta), Muslims wrote to the Indian government, demanding that she be deported.
She had claimed in the speech that the Koran "contained contradictions" and stated: "As a eight-year-old child, I was warned by my mother that if I abused Allah I would be punished, but I did that and nothing happened to me."
Many Muslims planned to stage demonstrations against her presence, of a similar nature to those which had happened in her native Bangladesh.
The cleric who had announced in 2004 that it was permissable to "blacken her face" or to "garland her with shoes" (both extreme insults) has once again made a public threat against Taslima.
In the Times of India, Syed Noor-ur-Rehman Barkati, the "sahi imam" of Tippu Sultan Mosque in Kolkata is quoted as saying: "I've issued a fatwa against her. After the Jumma namaz, I said if anyone blackens her face and drives her out of India, I will give him Rs 50,000.There was pressure on me to do something about it as the people were angry."
50,000 rupees is equivalent to $1,000. Barkati continued: "She has no right to hurt Muslims' sentiments by saying anything against our Prophet. She is a Jewish spy and there should be a CBI probe into her funding."
Barkati's speech had been made on a local television station on Sunday (June 25). This public declaration that he issued a fatwa on 23 June, has brought Barkati to the attention of the police. The latest issue of the Hindu reports that Prasun Mukherjee, the Kolkata commissioner of police, summoned Barkati to appear and explain himself.
Now, the lying imam has said that he has not issued a fatwa, despite his words spoken on local television.
Following his meeting with Commissioner Mukherjee, Barkati told reporters: "I have been misquoted. A fatwa cannot be issued verbally. It has to be put down in a written form. I have not issued such a decree"
Mt Mukherjee says that Barkati told him that someone may have asked for Taslima's face to be smeared in black paint, when there was a discussion at a meeting of local Muslim leaders.
Islam - not only the "religion of peace", but also the religion of truth and integrity.....
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:40 PM | Comments (0)