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October 31, 2006

Morocco: Islamists Taking Refuge In Spain

On Tuesday, AKI reported that Moroccan militants from the banned group al-Adl al-Ihsan (also spelled Al Adl wa Al Ihsan, Al-Adl Wal-Ihsanne, Al-Adl was al-Ihsane, Jama'atu al-'Adl wal-Ihssan) or "Justice and Welfare" have been fleeing to Spain, where they are mingling with the Muslim community already in the south of the country. The news was reported in the Ababic newsaper "Al-Quds" on Monday. They are predominantly taking refuge in Murcia, where there is already a community of 50,000 Moroccans.

The group is said to be "moderate", in as much as it does not espouse violence. However, it wishes to see the monarchy toppled, and an Islamist state established in Morocco. The group is currently the subject of an ongoing crackdown by the authorities.

Some notes about the group. The spiritual leader of the group is Sheik Abdessalam Yacine (Sheik Abdessalam Yassine, pictured), who was born in Marrakesh in 1928. He was formerly a schools inspector, he has been seen as a threat to the system in Morocco. He has been placed in prison on numerous occasions. In the 1970s and 1980s he was imprisoned, and in 1990, he was placed under house arrest, and was only allowed some measure of freedom in 2000. This came as the new king, Mohammed VI, came to power following the death of his father on July 23, 1999. The new king released political prisoners as a gesture of goodwill.

As he himself gets older, he now has little part in the day-to-day running of the banned party. His daughter Nadia Yassine is active in promoting the Sheikh's views, and in 2000 she set up a website, http://www.yassine.net in Arabic, French and English. The English section of the site is innocuous, comprising mainly Koranic texts and spiritual advice.

Nadia Yassine was charged last year for "damaging the monarchy" after comments she made in an interview which was published in Al Usbuiyya Al Jadida, a Moroccan weekly, on June 2, 2005.

The active head of the party is now Mohamed Abdelli. This year, the group has been subjected to numerous arrests of its members. On Thursday May 25, Abdelli was arrested with 181 supporters in Oujda, a city 340 miles east of Rabat. 148 members of the group were arrested in Rabat, the capital. All of those detained were subsequently released.

The activity followed reports that the group was ready to mount an intifada of 'Qawma" later this year. Abdelli said the reports were biased.

Al-Adl wal al-Ihsane has 250,000 members, and has been using the power of the internet to recruit. It is very popular amongst youth in poor areas in the cities, and its appeal to youth is viewed as a threat by the Moroccan authorities.

In August, there were 44 arrests of another Islamist group, which appeared to be mounting a "Qawma" of its own. The previously unknown group, Jammaat Ansar El Mehdi, was planning to "commit criminal acts on national territory," stated the interior ministry.

The initial tolerance of the king towards Islamist opponents has hardened since the Casablanca bombings of May 16, 2003, which were carried out by 12 suicide bombers of the Sirrat al-Mustaqim Islamist group. 44 people died in those blasts, which hit at the heart of Morocco's financial capital.

The Al-Adl wal al-Ihsane is traditionalist, and in May objected to the notion of women Islamic guides, called morchidat. 50 women had then graduated from a centre attached to the Islamic Affairs Ministry. The introduction of women into the role of Muslim counseling was sneered at by the Al-Adl wal al-Ihsane. A spokesman said: "The power behind this initiative is the same as the one that commits acts contrary to Islam, notably degrading moral values. This initiative, then, will only have a limited impact on the population."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)

Russia: Attacks On Mosque - Muslims Told To "Stay Calm"

Vladimir is a historic Russian city, located 125 miles east of Moscow. It has two cathedrals which are marked as World Heritage sites. Yet its mosque has recently been subjected to attacks. On October 22, states the Union of Councils for Russian Jews, the mosque was attacked with a molotov cocktail thrown at one of its windows. The incident took place late in the evening, but the window was made of reinforced glass, which only partially broke. This sent the device bouncing back to the ground, where the flames were stamped out by worshippers.

The Muslim organization Mahallah, which runs the mosque, complained to police about the attempted firebombing stated Interfax-Religion on Monday. Police spokesman Oleg Kurochkin said that the incident was investigated as a case of "hooliganism" which can carry a maximum punishment of five years' jail.

The Russian Council of Muftis issued a statement on Monday, saying that it "hopes that the police will identify the attackers and bring them to justice."

The statement described Vladimir as "a city of traditions based on peaceful coexistence of various nationalities, and a quintessence of centuries-long culture of peoples who populate Russia."

The Council of Muftis told Muslims "to ignore provocative acts and stay calm" and urged the authorities "to prevent similar illegal actions in the future."

On Sunday night, a week after the firebomb attempt, the mosque was once again attacked with stones and bottles.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:10 PM | Comments (0)

Turkey: Archeologist Claims Islamic Headscarf Derives From Sex Rites

Turkey has a strange habit of enforcing Article 301 of its penal code, which insults "Turkishness". This has been used to prosecute numerous artists, cartoonists, editors, and most famously, the Nobel-prize winning author Orhan Pamuk. The law is often used by the Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to prosecute anyone who satirizes him.

The latest bizarre prosecution involves a 92-year old woman, female archeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig, who is being prosecuted for "inciting religious hatred" states the Jerusalem Post, the Australian, Web Islam and Middle East Times. Her alleged "crime" is that she has suggested that the "Islamic" headscarf originally derives from sexual rites from Sumer.

Cig's speciality is Sumer and Mesopotamian culture of the fourth and third millennia BC. Turkey is attempting to join the European Union, and this latest prosecution is another sign that in its current state, it is unable to allow freedom of expression.

Cig will stand trial in Istanbul on Wednesday (tomorrow). Her "crime" is that last year, she published a book in which she claimed that the headscarf was first worn by priestesses in Sumer who were initiating young people into sex, without being prostitutes.

A lawyer from Izmir, a city on the western coast of Turkey, filed a complaint. As a result, the eminent archeologist and publisher is charged with "inciting hatred based on religious differences." She could get three years' jail, if convicted.

Muazzez Ilmiye Cig is a staunch defender of the secularism which became enshrined in Turkey when Kemal Ataturk founded modern Turkey in the 1920s, when she was a child.

She caused controversy last year when she wrote to Emine Erdogan, the prime minister's wife, who habitually wears the headscarf, even though it is officially banned from public institutions in Turkey. Cig asked Emine Erdogan to scrap her headscarf to set an example to young people.

Emine's husband and his party, the AKP or Justice and development party, has vowed to end the ban upon the wearing of the headscarf in schools, universities and state buildings. As a result, the headscarf has become a political issue.

On Monday, in the newspaper Vatan, Cig said in an interview: "She can wear whatever she likes at home, but as the wife of the prime minister, she cannot wear a cross or the headscarf."

Sumer and Sacred Marriage

So what is the history of the headscarf in Sumer? Goddesses depicted from the Sassanian dynasty in 3rd century AD Iran certainly wore hijabs, and also shalwar kameez, much like Muslim women today in Pakistan. Greek goddesses are often depicted with headcoverings, though these depictions are 3,000 years from the dawn of Sumerian culture.

Cig makes mention that the priestesses who wore the veil were not engaged in prostitution, separating it from sacred prostitution, which was common in the ancient Near East and continued in Tralles in Lydia up until the 2nd century AD (according to James Frazer in the Golden Bough). The tradition of a woman prostituting herself once in her life was tied to marriage. The Phoenicians practiced the custom: "It was the law of the Amorites, that she who was about to marry should sit in fornication seven days by the gate." At Byblus, annually women shaved their heads to mourn the slain god Adonis, and those who did not remove their hair would have to be engaged as temple prostitutes. The money they earned would go to the goddess Tinnit.

The custom of sacred prostitution stems from the older cultures of the fertile crescent, and in Sumer, it ran parallel to the rites of the sacred marriage. This marriage involved the myth of the deity Inanna and her lover Dumuzi, a shepherd (though a fisherman in Sumerian king-lists). The sacred marriage persisted through to Babylonian times, when it took place between Ishtar and Tammuz.

In echoes of the later Greek myths of Persephone, and also Attis and Adonis, the myth behind the "sacred marriage" stems from a descent into the underworld, and the death of the goddess' lover. In the Greek myths, Attis the huntsman and Adonis were slain respectively by hounds or by a wild boar. Yet in the original Sumerian and Babylonian myth, the death of the lover was inflicted by Inanna herself.

The most complete version of the original text of the descent of Inanna can be found in the translation by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer, from 1983. It can be found here. In brief, Inanna daughter of the Sun and sister of the moon, decides to descend to the underworld to gain power over the world of the dead. She gives up seven of her temples in parts of Sumer, ritually dresses herself, and descends to the underworld.

She passes through seven gates to reach the inner sanctum and as she passes through each one, an item of clothing is removed, and she stands naked before Erishkigal, the goddess of the Underworld, and the Annuna, the judges of the underworld. They pass judgement upon her, and she is "turned into a corpse, a piece of rotting meat, and was hung from a hook on the wall.'

Two sexless creatures are formed and sent to the underworld to "enter the doors like flies". They follow instructions and Erishkagal offers them their desire. They request the body of Inanna, sprinkle food and water of life on the corpse, and Inanna is revived. She still cannot leave the underworld, and must provide a substitute. She rises from the underworld with demons, who mutilate Dumuzi and Inanna gives her lover the "eye of death".

In the Babylonian version, when Ishtar descends to the underworld, she too passes through seven gates, and here she "removes her veil" at the fifth gate.

There is no accessible material on Cig's work available in English, but the "sacred marriage", where coupling is ritualized with the male becoming "Dumuzi" and the female becoming "Inanna" was indeed a practice of the Sumerians and Babylonians. Kings engaged in a "sacred marriage" ceremony to ensure wealth and well-being for the land, a reflection of the original "vegetation myth" elements of the Innana/Dumuzi legend. The notion of priestesses wearing a veil while initiating couples into the "sacred marriage" (pictured from a Sumerian artefact) is entirely logical.

Hair is seen to be sexual in other Fertile Crescent cultures, and in Babylon and Assyria, brides would be veiled. According to the Codes of Hammurabi (1780 BC), if a wife was infertile, a husband could take another wife, who would only be allowed "equality" while accompanying the first wife. This is taken by many Islamic commentators to refer to wearing the matrimonial veil. In Assyria, women were obliged to wear the veil. Prostitutes were forbidden from wearing the veil.

The Codes of Hammurabi make mention of the sacred prostitutes, who are called "sister of a god". The veil in Assyria "was a fashion accessory of the royal harem and the upper class. Prostitutes and slaves were forbidden to wear it, on pain of mutilation," states Damian Thompson in a Telegraph article.

There is dispute concerning whether or not the veil referred to a face-veil or a head-covering in Assyria, according to "Some Observations concerning Ancient Mesopotamian Women" by Beatrice Allard Brooks, American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Apr., 1923), pp. 187-194.

FINALLY....There is ample reason to suggest that the "hijab" or Islamic headscarf has antecedents which hail from thousands of years before Mohammed. Muazzez Ilmiye Cig is a 92-year old woman who has spent more time exploring the history, culture and archeology of Sumer than anyone still working. If she states that the hijab derives from the role of a priestess initiating couples into the role of the "sacred marriage", then she is almost certainly writing from a position of authority.

For some jumped-up prosecutor in Turkey to decide that her comments are inciting "religious hatred", it is an affront both to a respected archeologist's expertise and her experience. It is also a sign that Islam will take offense at anything that does not fit with its worldview. For modern Muslims, the time before Mohammed is dismissed as "jahiliyah" or "ignorance". This is not going to be a trial about historical truth - it is just another excuse to punish a woman with secular ideals. The justice ministry has the power to stop spurious trials. The fact this case is going ahead demonstrates that it is encouraged by the current Islamic government of Turkey.

UPDATE - November 1. Today Ms Cig had her day in court, states Associated Press via CNN News. She told the court: "I am a woman of science....I never insulted anyone."

Within an hour, the case was over. The court ruled in her favour and she was acquitted of the charge against her. Ismet Ogutucu of the Kaynak publishing house was also acquitted. The statement about the origin of the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, was made in her book "My Reactions as a Citizen".

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 6:04 PM | Comments (0)

Indonesia: 15 Muslims Arrested For Sulawesi Unrest

There has been conflict between Muslims and Christians in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, stretching back to 1998. The violence began after the fall of the dictator Haji Mohamed Suharto, who had ruled with an iron fist from 1967 to 1998. During his rule, extreme Islamism had been suppressed. In Sulawesi and the Moluccas, a war was waged from 2000 to 2002, which led to the deaths of 9,000 people. 1,000 people died in Central Sulawesi during this period. Since the main conflict, attacks on Christians have continued, particularly on Poso, as described earlier.

Last week in Poso, a group of Muslims attacked police on Monday (October 23) who were searching homes for explosives and weaponry. In the ensuing conflict, one Muslim was killed. Two other Muslims and a police officer were also injured. A church which had survived a home-made bomb on September 30 was gutted by a fire on Tuesday. Since then, houses rented by police officers who had been drafted in to help with the unrest were set alight.

On Monday, October 30, Antara News reported that an extra 406 military personnel had been dispatched to conflict to assist with preventing a resurgence of inter-faith violence. The extra soldiers will be used to assist in the rebuilding and renovation of 1,009 houses in 69 villages in Poso regency. These had been damaged in earlier fighting. They are expected to complete this task within four months.

Syamsir Siregar, the head of the Indonesian National Intelligence Agency (BIN), said on Monday that there was a group of people, not connected with either the Christian or Muslim communities on Poso, who were agitating within the region, and "sowing terror".

Siregar said that the group was still in Poso, and that they had explosives, and also firearms. They had supplied the firearms used to kill the protestant priest, Rev. Irianto Kongkoli, who was shot in Palu, the provincial capital, on October 16.

Central Sulawesi's Governor Paliuju confirmed the existence of armed groups on Poso. He said that police on search operations there often heard shots which they themselves had not fired. Paliuju said the government would initiate an independent team to investigate the violence on Poso. This would include police, military and local residents, he said.

Today, police in Central Sulawesi announced that 15 Muslim suspects had been arrested, states the Jakarta Post. A further 29 suspects are still at large and are being pursued.

The police announced that those who had been arrested had been caught after a surveillance operation which had lasted 8 months. They are suspected of involvement in 13 cases of shootings, beheadings, bombings and robberies going back to 2001, said the national police spokesman, Brigadier General Anton Bachrul Alam.

In separate news, it is reported that yesterday (Monday, October 30), the youngest son of the former Indonesian dictator Suharto was released from Cipinang prison in West Java. Tommy Suharto, aka Hutomo Mandala Putra, had been given a sentence of 15 years' jail on July 26, 2002. He was convicted of ordering the killing of a Supreme Court Judge, Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, who was murdered in July 2001.

"Tommy" Suharto (pictured) had in 2000 been convicted of a land fraud deal, and Judge Kartasasmita had been on the panel which had convicted him. Suharto had been given an 18-month jail sentence for that offence, and had expected a presidential pardon. When this did not happen, he went on the run. He had taken revenge by ordering two men to kill the judge. Suharto was apprehended on October 28, 2001.

While in jail, he lived a life of luxury, stated Marianne Kearney in July 2003. His cell had a wall-to-wall blue carpet, a 21 inch TV with subscription to cable, and he was allowed to breed ornamental fish. He had recently been allowed to leave the prison to go on hospital visits for an unspecified medical condition.

Last week, it was announced that President Susilo Banbang Yudhoyono had once again reduced Tommy Suharto's sentence as a goodwill gesture at the end of Ramadan. As a result, the corrupt son of a dictator, who benefitted from nepotism and caused a judge to be murdered, has served only four years and three months of a 15-year sentence. By contrast, the two individuals who carried the judge's killing on his orders have received life sentences, and therefore have not been offered any reductions in their sentencing.

Suharto will remain under parole for a year, states Antara News. His sentence had been reduced to 10 years without explanation. Under Government Regulation No. 28/2006, the justice ministry does not have to request permission from the Attorney General's Office to authorize releases of prisoners. There is much anger that Suharto seems to have been granted semi-impunity for his murder and illicit accumulation of wealth. According to the Jakarta Post, after his release, Suharto told a throng of reporters that he was "well" and that he intended to make a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Meanwhile, Antara News states that the three men due to be shot for their part in the Bali bombings of October 12, 2002, will be receiving family visitors on November 14. The three individuals, Imran Samudra, Amrozi and his brother Mukhlas, (aka Ali Ghufron) are currently held on the island prison of Nusakambangan. They had been moved there from Denpasar, Bali, following the second Bali bombing on October 1, 2005. Locals were so enraged by the second attack that there were fears of civil unrest.

The three individuals had assisted in arranging the bombing in 2002, which killed 202 people, mostly tourists. 88 Australians and 27 Britons died in the multiple suicide blasts in Kuta on Bali. At his trial, Amrozi had shocked people by laughing and sniggering. Samudra went on to become a best-selling author while incarcerated, eulogizing his terror activities in two books.

The Muslim Legal Defence Team (TPF) coordinator, Achmad Michdan, said: "We are planning to visit Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas on November 14 to have an informal gathering after the Idul Fitri festivity and discuss the follow-up to the legal review of their case. The visit is a routine post-Idul Fitri agenda. Besides us (legal counsels), their wives, children and other relatives will also visit them."

The unrest in Poso was stoked by the execution of three Christians, Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus da Silva and Marinus Riwu who were shot by firing squad on September 20 for their alleged involvement with killings of Muslims on Poso. There is considerable doubt about their guilt. Now that the three Christians have been executed, there is pressure on the Indonesian authorities to carry out the death sentence of the three Bali bombers.

UPDATE: November 1 - AKI quotes a statement by Brig. Gen. Anton Bahrul Alam, who has said that the 15 people currently detained belong to the groups Tanah Runtuh and Kompak Kayamanya.

The Tanah Runtuh group, which does not feature in reports on terror activities seems to get its name from a location - a village in Poso district. In October 2003 an armed group were found to be in the forest near this village, who had fired shots at the community and set fire to a house. Three militants then had been killed and six had been captured. Recently, a bomb exploded in a field at Tanah Runtuh on August 3, states Paras Indonesia, which added: "The explosion is suspected to be a response by a particular group related to show its presence. Apparently, the police plan to raid the group - which they suspect as the mastermind of several disturbances in Poso (the Tentena market bombing; shootings of the police headquarters, and mutilation of three school girls). The police named the raid location "Tanah Runtuh" and the raid committee will include all the important members of the anti terror Debasement 88 squads in Central Sulawesi. The raid is scheduled for August 15, 2006."

The "Kompak Kayamanya" is an amalgamated name, and probably refers to the known militant group Mujahidin Kayamanya which is based in Poso, and is known to have links to KOMPAK (Komite Aksi Penanggulangan Akibat Krisis - Action Committee for Crisis Response - an Islamic "charity" which was founded by the Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council (Dewan Dakwah Islamiyah Indonesia or DDII), which funded militants in the Moluccas (Malaku) and Poso. This group has affiliations with the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. For a background to the conflict in Poso and involvement of KOMPAK and others, see our Special Report.

For a more detailed review of the various Mujahideen groups and factions in the Poso and Malaku conflicts, see the document in pdf format HERE. Ms Sidney Jones PhD, of the International Crisis Group, has suggested that Mujahidin Kayamanya may have been involved in the Tentena bombings in Central Sulawesi last year. Tentena is a mostly Christian community. During the conflict on Poso, Christians from the city and district took refuge at Tentena.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:21 AM | Comments (0)

History: Diversity is Hard, but Islam is Impossible

I'm about to criticize a column by Thomas Sowell, but I feel ambivalent about my upcoming criticism, since I agree with Mr. Sowell's arguments on the whole. But the highlited paragraph below should be criticized: Diversity's Oppressions

[...]What is it that has made Iraq so hard to pacify, even after a swift and decisive military victory? In one word: diversity. That word has become a sacred mantra, endlessly repeated for years on end, without a speck of evidence being asked for or given to verify the wonderful benefits it is assumed to produce.

Worse yet, Iraq is only the latest in a long series of catastrophes growing out of diversity. These include "ethnic cleansing" in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda and the Sudan, the million lives destroyed in intercommunal violence when India became independent in 1947 and the even larger number of Armenians slaughtered by Turks during World War I.

Despite much gushing about how we should "celebrate diversity," America's great achievement has not been in having diversity but in taming its dangers that have run amok in many other countries. Americans have by no means escaped diversity's oppressions and violence, but we have reined them in.[...]

Dr. Sowell mentions five instances of ethnic strife leading to genocidal or near-genocidal action: Rwanda, the Sudan, the Indian partition, the Balkans wars, and the Armenian genocide. Of those five, four involve Islam, the self-proclaimed religion of peace.

This is not to say that, at its root, multiculturalism is a fraud concocted by self-hating Westerners as a way to discredit their own cultures; it is. Most of us would agree that all cultures are not equal and that even those cultures we love could use a little improvement, or a lot. (I think "children-free" retirement communities are--what's the phrase--a moral abomination.) But it is important to realize that one specific "culture", or rather the cultures emanating from a single religion, stand above all others in the penchant for ethnic violence, and politically-motivated, large-scale murder.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 7:35 AM | Comments (4)

October 30, 2006

Australia: Radical Muslim Attacks Judges Over Rape

One of Australia's most extreme Salafist preachers, Sheikh Mohammed Jamal Omran, has openly said that he thinks Osama bin Laden is a "good man." He has also denied that Muslim fanatics created 9/11, preferring the insane conspiracy theory that the US government itself committed these attacks upon its own people. The Sheikh runs a prayer center on the second floor in Michael Street in Brunswick, Melbourne, in the inner north of the city. He has said that he is no more radical than the other 13 imams in Melbourne, but openly supports attacks against coalition troops by insurgents in Iraq.

He is head of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Association of Australia, founded 20 years ago. It describes itself on its website as "The Ahl Sunnah wal Jama'ah Association was established more than 20 years ago. We are a national body with affiliated organizations in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. We have always been a part of the Australian landscape - amongst the Muslim community we are known and respected for our relentless pursuit of moral truth in all aspects of life."

In August, the radical sheikh attacked a young contestant in a beauty contest. 16-year old Ayten Ahmed, a Melbourne girl of Turkish origin, was condemned for deciding to take part in the Miss Teen Australia pageant. Omran said: "The teachings of the Prophet and the Holy Koran do not encourage a girl to go out and uncover her modesty in public."

Omran's latest comments come on the heels of the Australian Mufti's suggestion that women who do not wear headscarfs are like meat left out for cats to eat, and that they "invite" rape. The Mufti, Sheikh Taj al-Din Al-Hilaly, had been widely condemned by Muslims and politicians alike for his comments.

The Australian reports that Mullah Omran told his flock on Friday that judges treated rapes by mom-Muslims far more leniently than those committed by Muslims.

Omran said: "I feel there is no justice here. Not 60 years and someone else three years and they did the same crime. Why? They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is Mohamed. Even if you kill someone you don't go for 60 years."

The reference to sixty years is an allusion to the original 55 year sentence, handed down to Lebanese Bilal Skaf on August 15, 2002, for his part masterminding violent gang-rapes in west Sydney. Because of a technicality, where jurors had done their own investigation of the crime scenes, Skaf was retried, and on July 28 this year, Skaf was given a minimum of eleven years' jail, additional to the 22 years' minimum jail for the other rapes he committed. The 2002 sentencing report was horrific in its detail. It can be found HERE.

"This is where I think everything has gone unbalanced. We don't support criminals or crimes, but at the same time we want justice for everyone," Omran said.

Omran has praised Hilaly, and on his website, he has posted an audio commentary of Hilaly's controversial speech. He said on Friday: "His name is a mufti and we should respect that name - we should respect the turban on his head. This is the sign of a scholar - you are not attacking Sheik Taj here, you are attacking the scholars, you are attacking...Islam."

Meanwhile, the Mufti has agreed to remove himself from his duties at the Lakemba mosque. The Australian, which originally revealed the translated contents of Hilaly's speech about "uncovered meat", notes that the Mufti is retiring, though whether or not this will be permanent is not known.

Hilaly collapsed during a meeting at which he was discussing his future with Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association. He complained of chest pains, and was rushed to Canterbury Hospital, western Sydney.

Zreika said that the Mufti had suffered a "mild heart attack". Hilaly had been in his bed for most of the time since his comments were made public. He has asthma. He had obfuscated about his statements, and tried to claim that his comments were misunderstood. However, he has now issued a statement, in which he apologizes.

The statement included the comment: "I confess that this analogy is inappropriate and unacceptable for the Australian society and the Western society in general." The entire text of his statement, published by the Australian, can be found HERE.

The Sydney Morning Herald stated on Monday that the premier of New South Wales, Morris Iemma threatened to cut the funding of the Lebanese Muslim Association if it allowed the Mufti to continue teaching at the Lakemba mosque. He said it would have $100,000 of funding slashed.

ABC Broadcasting reported that federal Liberal backbencher Tony Smith had asked why, in 1986, the Labor government had over-ruled recommendations for Hilaly to be denied permanent residency in Australia. Chris Hurford, the immigration minister under the Hawke government had recommended the cleric not be given permission to stay indefinitely.

The Australian over the weekend had also revealed comments made by Hilaly that supported jihad against US and Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a speech on Arabic Radio, made a fortnight ago, Hilaly also praised Sayyid Qutb, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, executed in 1966, who advocated assassinations of Egyptian politicians and others. Qutb was virulently contemptuous of Western values.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:01 PM | Comments (2)

Somalia: Islamists Ban All Marriages Except Arranged Partnerships

News from Pravda and Associated Press via the International Herald Tribune reports that the Islamists of Somalia have added a ban on marriages of choice to their list of other banned activities. They have so far banned films, watching soccer matches, and enforced strict following of five-times-a-day prayer in the regions under their control. They have also banned the chewing and trading of Khat (qat) a leafy stimulant popular in the Horn of Africa.

A fatwa against marriages which were not arranged with parental consent has been made on Monday (today). The edict was announced by Sheikh Mahad Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, in the Islamic court of Wanlawien. Hassan said that marriages not arranged formally by parents are against Islam.

The standard Islamic marriage in Somalia involves dowry. Many young couples practice the custom of "masaafo", where they run off and get wed without parents' consent. Parents can object on grounds of dowries being too small, or other reasons. It is said that a marriage in Somalia can cost as much as a year's average earnings.

Pravda and AP quote a 21-year old man, who said: "They cannot ban what our forefathers practiced. All of us, including the mullahs were born from elopement marriage."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 8:36 PM | Comments (0)

Pakistan: Protests Over Islamic Seminary Bombing

The Pakistan authorities early on Monday bombed a madrassa in the borderland territory adjoining Afghanistan. The school was said to be full at the time of the attack, and it is believed that 80 people have been killed.

The news is covered by BBC, New York Times, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Washington Post, the Times, Telegraph, Guardian, AKI and the Washington Times.

The attack took place at 5 am local time, before dawn, by Pakistan military, accompanied by helicopter gunships. The madrassa is located in Bajaur agency, one of the seven tribal regions which comprise FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Region) in North-West Frontier Province. The school was located at Chenagai village near the town of Khar, the main town in the agency. The funerals of those who died took place before sundown, and locals protested that those at the madrassa were merely students.

Army spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said that the madrassa had been observed for some time and the madrassa was a refuge of Islamists. He said: "These militants were involved in actions inside Pakistan and probably in Afghanistan."

"We received confirmed intelligence reports that 70 to 80 militants were hiding in a madrassa used as a terrorist-training facility, which was destroyed by an army strike, led by helicopters."

He denied that any women or children were present at the madrassa.

"The information that we are receiving so far is that majority of the facility has been destroyed and most of the miscreants present there, they have been killed. There is no house within about a 100-meter radius of this madrassa. As per information that we had, there were no women or children present there."

Some reporters at the scene had claimed that they saw several children, one as young as seven, pulled from the rubble, states the Guardian.

There were reports that the deputy leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was in the area at the time of the attack. Sultan denied this, saying: "It is all wrong, speculative and we launched this operation on our own to target a training facility."

The madrassa was run by an extremist cleric, Maulvi Liaquat Hussain. He was killed in the assault on the madrassa. There have been suggestions made that the United States was behind the attack, but this has been denied by Taslima Hassan, the foreign ministry spokesperson.

The suggestions of American involvement and also the involvement of Zawahiri probably stem from the incident which happened on January 13, when US hellfire missiles hit a target in the village of Damadola in Bajaur agency. The US had information that Ayman al-Zawahri was due to visit that village, which lay six miles from the Afghan border.

18 people were killed in the raid, including four Islamists. It was later revealed that Al Qaeda's chemicals and explosives expert Mudhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, aka Abu Jhabab al-Masri, had been killed in the Damidola raid.

At the time of the January attack in Bajaur agency, members of the six-member Islamist opposition, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) protested against American involvement, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad, head of the MMA coalition, was arrested.

Once again, the MMA are protesting about the incident, and blaming the Americans for the attack on the madrassa. General Sultan also insisted there was no US involvement. "It was done purely by the Pakistan authorities. There was no American involvement."

The MMA has called for demonstrations on Tuesday. As a result, Britain's Prince Charles and his wife have announced that they have cancelled a planned trip to a madrassa in Peshawar, capital city of North-West Frontier Province. On Saturday, the Times had said the Prince and his partner were to view the inside of a "new model madrassa" which was under Pakistani government patronage. This madrassa was said to have smartly dressed students who learned the Koran and also took computer studies. The prince arrived in Pakistan late on Sunday night and on Monday spoke with President Musharraf.

The Telegraph reported that a royal spokesman stated: "The visit to Peshawar has been cancelled on the advice of the Pakistani government. An alternative programme for their Royal Highnesses for Tuesday is being considered. The Prince and the Duchess are disappointed not to be going."

The issue of the Bajaur agency and militancy has been a matter of international concern for some time. The Damidola bombing only highlighted the ease with which militants could pass from Afghanistan's Kunar province into Pakistan and back again. Another region of the North-West Frontier Province, Waziristan, has similarly been a source of concern.

In March, the so-called "Pakistan Taliban" took over this region. They established a sharia court in Wana, capital city of South Waziristan, and executed their first person on March 26. On Thursday December 1 last year in North Waziristan, a missile strike on the village of Haisori, near Miranshah killed Al Qaeda's third-in-command, Abu Hamza Rabia.

The Pakistan government has had about 70,000 to 80,000 military personnel posted in the border regions, as Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives have been hiding in the borderlands.

On September 5 the Pakistan government signed an "accord" with the Taliban in Waziristan. 45 Taliban members attended a jirga (tribal council) in Peshawar days after the deal was signed, where the governor of North-West Frontier Province, Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, rewarded each member of the jirga with 100,000 rupees apiece ($1,658). This was for their work in brokering the accord.

The accord agreed that the Taliban leaders would act to prevent militants from crossing over the border into Pakistan, and would also end the practice of "targeted killings". While the leaders in Peshawar were pocketing their rewards, the first of several victims of such targeted killings began to be discovered.

The accord was further proved meaningless when on October 19 there was a battle between Islamists and Afghan troops in Barmal district of Paktika province, southern Afghanistan. Most of the Islamists were killed or blew themselves up. Captured fighters claimed that they had come from Waziristan, and had been urged to fight by Muslim clerics in the region. The Taliban in Pakistan had not kept to their side of the accord agreements, by allowing fighters to cross the border.

Despite the obvious failure and impotence of the accord, the Pakistani government had intended to initiate a similar accord in Bajaur agency. The accord would have been signed on Monday, but as a result of the attack upon the madrassa near Khar, this did not happen.

The Pakistan Daily Times reported that on Saturday, a jirga took place in Bajaur agency, where pro-Taliban militants and elders gathered. They called Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar "heroes of the Muslim world", and also vowed to have joint efforts to fight the "enemies of peace" in Bajaur. The Times said that 5,000 militants attended this jirga, whereas the Guardian gave the figure as 3,000.

Last week, nine suspected al-Qaeda militants were released by the political administration of Bajaur Agency. It was widely believed that this move was a preliminary step before agreeing on a peace accord.

The madrassa which was bombed had been repeatedly warned to close down, the military states, and said that militants could not hide behind peace deals. Major General Shakaur Sultan said that the militants at the madrassa had received "clear warnings" before the attack. "They were told to close the madrasa, but they refused." He suggested that peace talks would still continue. "The prospects for peace are there," he said.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, the Islamist party which is headed by Qazi Hussain Ahmad, leader of the MMA, condemned the attack on the Chenagai madrassa as "brutal and barbaric". The MMA parties hold the majority of the seats in the North-West Frontier Province National Assembly. One member of the Assembly's cabinet, Siraj Ul Haq, has said that he will resign in protest against the attack.

Ul Haq said: "This is against Islam and the traditions of the area. This was an unprovoked attack on a madrasa. They were innocent people."

In Islamabad, Qazi Hussain Ahmad said: "It was an American plane behind the attack and Pakistan is taking responsibility because they know there would be a civil war if the American responsibility was known."

Ahmad said that only three students survived at the Madarisa Zia-ul-Uloom Taleem-ul-Quran, as it was called, states IRNA. He also claimed that 25 of the students were under 15, and that they had been bombed as they were preparing for morning prayers.

In Chenagai there were protests on Monday, as well as in Khar, where 2,000 tribesman and shopkeepers shouted "Death to Musharraf! Death to Bush!" During the Chenagai protest, states the Washington Post, one protester held aloft a severed charred hand.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:03 PM | Comments (0)

India: Why Are So Many Muslims in Prison?

News from NewIndPress, Gulf Daily News and Associated Press via the Daily Times and the International Herald Tribune reports that a study of prison populations in India has shown that there are disproportionate numbers of Muslims behind bars.

The information comes in a document published today, extracted from a review of an Indian government study of Muslim welfare by the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee. India's population is 84% Hindu, and the remaining population is 13% Muslim and 2.4% Christian. Yet prison statistics show that this ratio is not preserved in India's jails.

There is no breakdown of the nature of the crimes for which Muslims are incarcerated. 102,652 Muslims are in jail, and the majority are not imprisoned for terrorism. 12 states with sizeable Muslim populations were asked to submit figures, but four states - West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh - have not responded. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the fewest Muslims in government employment.

The states with the most disproportionate amount of Muslims in jail are Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala.

In Maharashtra, Muslims account for 10.6% of the general population, yet they comprise 32.4% of the prison population. For those incarcerated on terms of less than a year, the figure rises - 42% of prisoners on short-term sentences in the state are Muslim.

In Gujarat, where Muslims account for 9.06% of the populace, they account for 25% of all prison inmates.

Assam has the second-highest number of Muslims in its population (Jammu & Kashmir state has the highest), at 30.9% of the general populace. Yet in this state, there are fewer Muslims in jail - 28.1%.

Karnataka state has a general population comprising 12.23% Muslims, yet its jail population is 17.5% Muslim.

There are debates about the causes of this discrepancy between the populations of Muslims in society and in prison. The Justice Rajinder Sachar committee notes that in urban areas, Muslims living at the poverty level account for 44% of the urban poor, compared to the national figure of 28%.

The argument that Muslims are poor, and also picked on, is put forward by former MP Syed Shahabuddin, of the Muslim organisation Majlis-e-Mushawarat. He compared their situation to African-Americans in the United States. He noted that Muslims are well-represented in lowly jobs, and have few openings in formal occupations.

He said: "What are they supposed to do? They, therefore, end up in police stations more frequently and get involved in things they should not be involved in. It's like the African-Americans in the US. Their proportionate share in jails is much more than their population share. With less opportunities, crime is a vocation." He also blamed the police for their bias.

It appears that the Indian government is doing its own hand-wringing, and yet its statistics do not demonstrate a disproportionate amount of imprisoned Muslims anywhere near as extreme as those from France.

France, frustratingly, is too politically correct to keep statistics based on ethnicity, race or religion. There fore the estimates of Muslims within the general population range from 6 to 9% of the total. Yet in jails, the amount of Muslims are estimated to be between 60 and 70% of the prison demographic. The majority of French Muslims in jail are said to be from North Africa.

According to the Jamestown Foundation, Farhad Khosrokhavar of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, estimated that between 50% and 80% of French inmates are Muslims. He also noted in 2004 that there were only 69 imams in French jails, compared to 500 Christian pastors and 84 rabbis.

In Britain, the population of Muslims is estimated at 3% of the total, but with illegal immigration, this figure could be higher. A report by the UK Prison Service noted that since 1993, the number of Muslims in British jails increased threefold over a ten-year period. In March 1993, there were 2,106 Muslim prisoners. In June 2003 there were 6,136.

In June 2002, the prison population of Muslims was 7% of all male prisoners (more than twice the national percentage) and 3% of all female prisoners (the same as the national average).

The latest figure for total prison population in Britain (27 October 2006) in Britain is 73,144 males and 4,605 females, though this figure is not broken down by religion. The system is close to breaking point.

In Scotland, the proportion of Muslims in the community is small. A government study (pdf format) from 2003 stated that out of a total population of 5,062,011 people, there were 42,557 Muslims. This figure included 31,793 Pakistanis and 1,981 Bangladeshis.

Therefore, 0.8% of the population of Scotland is Muslim. A UK government report from August this year states that 1.3% of the Scottish prison population (89 individuals) defined themselves as "Muslim".

In Italy, the percentage of the prison population that is Muslim is 14%, according to 2005 figures.

Poverty is no excuse for crime. And claiming police prejudice in a country like Britain, where the police seem fearful to hurt Muslim feelings, seems a weaker excuse. One suggestion has been made to account for the large Muslim prison population in Britain by Dr Basia Spalek and Salah El-Hassan of the Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham. They argue that conversion to Islam while in prison accounts for the presence of some of the Muslims in prison. At Feltham Young Offenders' Institute, there have been incidents of forced conversion to Islam.

In France, Muslims are ripe for conversion. in 2004 it was said that prisoners in French jails can spend 21 hours locked in their cells. In June, the French General Intelligence Agency (Renseignements Generaux or RG) stated that 175 militant Muslims were preaching to others in French jails. They were mostly already from "Muslim backgrounds" already, but had adopted the extreme fundamentalism of the Tablighi Jamaat or Salafists.

In Belgium, the influence of radical Muslims proselytising in jail led in September to the director of the Belgian federal police force, Glenn Audenaert, suggesting that such prisoners should be contained in a segregated jail. In Australia, Aboriginal prisoners have been targeted for Islamic conversion.

In the United States, an estimated one third of all African-American prisoners are Muslim converts, following in the traditions of Malcolm X or Imam Jamil Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown). A study by the US Department of Justice from April 2004 revealed that 6% of the 150,000 federal inmates are Muslim. This is higher than the 1.5% of the general population who profess Islam. The whole US Department of Justice report, entitled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Selection of Muslim Religious Services Providers", can be downloaded in pdf format HERE.

In California, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirms that of 166,000 inmates in the state, about 10,000 of these are Muslim. The majority of these are Sunni Muslims. This too coincides with the 6% figure found in the rest of the general prison population.

In America, as in Europe, there is a problem with the spread of radical Islam within penitentiaries. A recent 38-page document, published in September by the Homeland Security Policy Institute of George Washington University, entitled "Out of the Shadows: Getting Ahead of Prisoner Radicalization", can be downloaded in pdf format HERE.

There is another possible reason for the spread of Islam in jail, which would also explain why so many Muslims end up in jail, compared to other citizens. Irrespective of the bleeding-heart liberal excuses of low achievement and poor opportunities, no researchers have stated the obvious and unifying factor - Islam, and its belief that "kaffirs" are inferior. If one dehumanizes non-Muslims, it is easy to see them as targets. As Mohammed himself (in Sura 8 - the "spoils of war") engaged in caravan raids and also acts of violence - what better example is there to legitimize one's progression through life by "raiding" from shops, automobiles and citizens?

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 12:39 AM | Comments (1)

October 29, 2006

India: Muslim Cleric Slammed For Rape Fatwa

A year ago, in June 2005, a young married woman from Charthawal village in western Uttar Pradesh state in northern India was raped. Her husband, a rickshaw-puller who also worked in a brick-kiln, was away from the home working when the rape occurred. The rapist was her husband's father, Ali Mohammed. There has been no doubt that Imrana's father-in-law raped her.

A local village council, or panchayat, issued a fatwa which was bizarre, to say the least. Imrana then went to the Darul Uloom seminary, which follows the strict orthodoxy of the Deobandi sect of Islam. The clerics were qualified to issue binding fatwas, and she hoped the clerics would over-rule the panchayat's condition. Instead, they upheld the fatwa. They ruled that, as Imrana had already had a "physical relationship" with the 65-year old rapist, her marriage to her husband, Noor Ilahi, was consequently annulled. This was despite the fact that the couple had five children.

The panchayat fatwa had ordered that thenceforward, she should declare her husband, Noor Ilahi, to be her "son". In this aspect, the Darul Uloom fatwa differed. For them, the father-in-law could not be Imrana's husband. Their fatwa was issued by Mufti Habibur Rehman at the Darul Uloom headquarters (pictured) in Deoband on June 24, 2005. This is the second-largest Islamic seminary in the world, after Cairo's Al-Azhar University.

According to Hard News from August 2005, the decision on the fatwa derived from the fiq'h (jurisprudence) of the Hanafi sub-sect of Sunnis. The relevant explanation of this is contained in the following extract of the fatwa:

"If someone has committed adultery with the wife of his son, and if this has been proved by the depositions of witnesses or if his son confirms it or if the woman herself admits and confirms it, the wife of the son becomes haram forever for the son. If the father copulates with a woman either legally after marriage, or illegally without marriage, in both cases it becomes haram for man (son) to keep her in his marriage."

"It is mentioned in the Quran 'wa la tankihoo ma nakaha aaba-o-kum' ('And marry not women whom your fathers married.' Quran, 4:22), i.e. the son should separate himself from his wife and never go to her. The contention of the panchayat people that the wife of the son has now become wife of the father and her wifehood has changed is not correct, or to say that the wife of the son is divorced is also not correct. Neither can she be married to her father-in-law."

Imrana was not prepared to accept this, and decided to make a stand against the Islamic clergy. At first her husband remained quiet, but eventually decided to support his wife in her attempt to get some justice, and to over-rule the fatwa.

The news is carried by One World South Asia, Short News and the Pakistan Christian Post and The Peninsula.

The decision to have Imrana abandon her husband was supported by other clerics. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) originally approved of the fatwa.

Hindu nationalists usually criticise religious rulings which contradict the values of the secular judiciary. The Hindu reported last year that members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned both the fatwa and the AIMPLB.

Finally on 19 October, more than a year after the attack, Imrana managed to see her father-in-law, Mohammed Ali, convicted of rape in a secular court. The rapist was sentenced to ten years' jail by a district court in Muzaffarnagar.

District Judge R. D. Nimesh ordered that the rapist should also be fined 10,000 rupees ($222). Imrana should be awarded 8,000 rupees ($178) from this money.

AIMPLB welcomed the verdict, but the issue has divided Muslim representatives. Maulana Imrana, who heads the local shariat court in Muzaffarnagar, has said that the court decision will have no bearing on the original fatwa. He said: "After being raped by her father-in-law, Imrana ceased to remain Noor Ilahi's wife. Instead she acquired the status of Ilahi's mother. So irrespective of the court order, the Shariah would not permit her to cohabit with Ilahi. The court verdict could not override the view of the Shariah and according to that Ilahi must leave Imrana."

A member of the AIMPLB, who heads the Firangi Mahal Islamic seminary in Lucknow, Maulana Khalid Rashid was ambiguous in his response. He said he welcomed the verdict of the court, as it sentenced the rapist to a lengthy jail term. Rashid said: "According to the AIMPLB and the Sharia, the victim cannot marry a person who has raped her. No one can accept such a fatwa."

But when asked about whether Imrana should stay with the father of her five children, Rashid was evasive. He said: "That is a question which I am not empowered to decide, it can be dealt with only by a Darul-Qaza, which is the highest Islamic court."

The Daul Uloom seminary which pronounced the original fatwa is Sunni. A Shia cleric condemned the fatwa. Maulana Mohammad Yasoob of the All India Shia Personal Law Board said the notion that Imrana should have married her rapist and abandoned her husband as "distorted". He said: "Imrana continues to remain the legally wedded wife of Noor Ilahi and under no Islamic tenet is she disentitled to enjoy that status after what has happened."

Women's groups have welcomed the verdict of the court, but the issue is still a source of dispute among Islamic theologians. The newly-created All India Muslim Women’s Law Board (AIMWLB) welcomed the court verdict, but condemned those who had issued the fatwa. Shaista Ambar, head of AIMWLB said: "The ruling of the Maulanas speaks volumes of their mindset for discrimination against women. This proves why we need an independent personal law board for Muslim women."

Last week, AIMWLB issued a damning criticism of Kamal Farouqee of the Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) who still holds the view that Imrana's marriage to Noor Ilahi is still invalid. Parveen Abdi said his notions were "devoid of the principal of natural justice".

Ms Abdi argued that as Imrana was raped, she is a victim, who should be compensated and treated with sympathy. Additionally, she said Kamal Farouqee's view on Imrana was based on a misconceived and sexist interpretation of Sharia law, where the woman victim of a crime is punished.

She also wondered why Kamal Farouqee had not suggested that Mohammed Ali should be stoned to death - the Islamic punishment for adultery and rape (zina).

Zee News reports that clerics have told Noor Ilahi that he should still leave his wife. Mufti Zulfiqar of the Shariat court of Muzzaffarnagar declared that the husband should abandon Imrana. Ahsan Kasmi, a mufti at the Darul Uloom seminary in Deoband, also agreed that Mr Ilahi should leave his wife.

Mufti Habibur Rehman, who heads the fatwa department at the Deoband headquarters and who issued the original "official" fatwa, refused to comment on the case. He said he would only respond to questions submitted in written form.

The Darul Uloom ("House of Knowledge") in Deoband was formed in May, 1866 by scholars Hazrat Maulana Mohammad Qasim Nanautavi and Hazrat Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi. Deoband teachings are strict. They advocate the veiling of women. The strict outlook of the Taliban and their brutal repression of women in Afghanistan stems from their being educated in Deobandi madrassas. Mullah Omar and several other Taliban leaders were graduates of the Deoband teaching institution, the Haqqania seminary, located in North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 9:26 PM | Comments (0)

Philippines: Four Islamists Killed In Clash

The Philippine islands are predominantly Christian, yet in the south of the archipelago, on the large island of Mindanao, a large proportion of the population are Muslim, mostly of the Moro or Bangsamoro ethnic groups. Three million Muslims live on Mindanao. There were two sultanates in the south, one based at Sulu and the other at Miguandanao in the west of Mindanao, centered around the region which is now included within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM, near Cotabato. While the rest of the Philippines became Christian, these sultanates resisted and retained their Islamic identity.

The sultanate of Miguandanao still continues, but in name only. On January 11 this year, the 25th sultan of Miguandanao, Datu Amir Baraguir, was shot dead. He may have been killed by Islamists, as, prior to becoming the sultan in 2005, he ran a newspaper column, in which he encouraged Muslims and Christians to live together.

Historically, when the Spaniards under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Manila Bay in the late 16th century, Muslim imperialism was already taking place in Maynilad (as the main center of Luzon island was then known), under the leadership of Rajah Soliman (Sulayman), who originally came from Borneo. Now, 84% of the population is Christian, and 7% is Muslim.

The term Bangsamoro means in Malay "Moro homeland", and is now used to define 11 ethnic groups. There have been two major movements to "liberate" the southern Moro peoples from Filipino rule. These are the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), traditionally based in the Liguasan marsh of Mindanao and formed in 1977, and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The latter group are led by . When the ARMM was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990, Nur Misauri (head of MNLF, pictured left) was made its first governor. This followed a peace deal, signed on August 30, 1996, brokered by Indonesia.

After being governor of ARMM for five years, Misauri went back to his roots as a rebel. In November 2001, he ordered an attack upon an army base in Jolo (Sulu province) and then became a fugitive in Malaysia, thence deported back to the Philippines, where he is currently in jail. Despite his history as a trouble-maker, the OIC countries see Misauri as the representative of the Moro peoples.

MILF had an estimated 2,900 "soldiers" at the end of last year, but in December it seems they began a recruitment campaign which has swollen their numbers. They led a brief insurgency against the Philippines government in 1987, but have recently been engaged in protracted peace talks with the Filipino government, which have been brokered by Malaysia. Last month, the peace talks stalled over disputes about the size of territory to be under their control. Murad Ibrahim leads the MILF.

To add to the mix of dissidents in the Philippines, there are the Islamist groups who use terrorism to achieve similar goals to the MNLF and MILF.

The group Abu Sayyaf, formed in the 1980s is more involved in banditry than political aims, and specializes in kidnappings and beheadings. It set bombs on a ferry carrying 900 passengers in the Bay of Manila on February 27, 2004. The ensuing fire on the ship saw 116 people killed. Abu Sayyaf's center of operations include Miguandanao and Mindanao, the island of Basilan, and also the island of Jolo. The leader of Abu Sayyaf is Khaddafy Janjalani, who has a $10 million bounty on his head from the US Rewards for Justice scheme.

A smaller group involved in insurgent activities is Abu Sofia. On January 2005 its leader Bebis Binago was killed but the group, which is allied to Abu Sayyaf, continues to exist. It has some links with MILF. In July, three Abu Sofia operatives were arrested in Sultan Kudarat in Miguandanao.

The other faction in Islamic radicalism is drawn from the tradition of "Balik Islam" - the converts from Catholicism who regard themselves as returning to their roots. They call themselves "reverts" and believe that if Miguel Lopez de Legazpi had not been successful, the Philippines would have been entirely Muslim by now.

The faction from these converts which is involved in terrorism is called Rajah Solaiman, after the 16th century Borneo-born ruler of Luzon. This group is small, but has allied itself with both Abu Sayyaf and the larger, al-Qaeda-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. On February 14 2005, members of Rajah Solaiman, Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf joined forces to carry out a series of multiple bombings, known as the Valentine's Day bombings. A bus in Makati city, Manila's financial district was bombed, killing four, and other bombs took place in Davao. Eight people died and more than 150 people were killed in the Valentine's Day attacks. Rajah Solaiman are active on Luzon (Manila) and also around the region of Zamboanga province on Mindanao, where they act as "couriers" for Abu Sayyaf.

The groups listed above, sharing a common purpose of independence from the Philippines, have links with each other. From November 11, 2005 until a truce was made on January 20, members of MNLF joined with Abu Sayyaf on the island of Jolo, and mounted an insurgency against Filipino troops stationed on the island. Abu Sayyaf on Jolo is led by the one-armed horse-riding local leader Radullan Sahiron. The truce was brokered by MNLF leader Nur Misauri from his jail cell.

Some Abu Sayyaf members had been hiding on Mindanao, in the Liguasan Marsh on Mindanao, territory of the MILF. Last year, two Jemaah Islamiyah leaders, Dulmatin and Umar Patek had taken refuge there. It is believed they found refuge with a senior MILF leader who was in conflict with his group. Dulmatin (real name Amar bin Usman) and Patek are wanted for their role in the October 12, 2002, bombings on Bali which killed 202 people. the US is offering a bounty of $10 million for Sulmatin, and $1 million for Umar Patek.

As a result, the Liguasan Marsh region was bombed by Filipino forces in November and again in January. About 20 Abu Sayyaf members, including the leader Khadaffy Janjalani and also Dulmatin and Umar Patek fled to the island of Jolo. Two other JI members, Zulkifli bin Hir and Abdul Rahman Ayub who were hiding with the Abu Sayyaf also fled. They took refuge in the south of the island.

There is an American presence on Jolo, though these are involved in training Philippines military rather than any active involvement in conflict. After US satellite imaging located the mountainside base, it was bombed by Filipino forces on August 1. The operation to capture or remove the Abu Sayyaf leadership and the JI activists on Jolo has continued since.

On October 6 it was announced that Dulmatin's wife, Istiada Oemar Sovie, aka Amenah Toha, had been captured as she tried to enter Jolo with her two children, aged 6 and 8.

This action led to apparent reprisals. On October 10 and 11, three bombs in Mindanao killed eight people at Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Makilala City in North Cotabato province and at Cotabato City. The Governor of North Cotabato Province, Emmanuel Pinol, claimed the bombs were the work of MILF. The attacks appeared to signal a new offensive against mainly Christian civilians in Mindanao.

On October 17, a large cache of explosives was discovered on a boat at Zamboanga City port on the western coast of Mindanao. The explosive material was ammonium nitrate, which was on a boat which had arrived at the port from Jolo island. The chemical was stored inside a fish cooler, under layers of fish on the boat MV Nickel Princely. The material was made in France. Previous smuggled ammonium nitrate has come from Indonesia or Malaysia.

On October 15, a bomb had taken place at a police compound at Camp Asturias in downtown Jolo city, Sulu, injuring two people.

Reuters the Inquirer and Deutsche Presse Agentur via Monsters & Critics report today that four Islamists have been killed in a clash with government troops. The incident took place at the village of Buloy near Shariff Aguak town, in Miguandanao province, Mindanao. One soldier was injured in the gunfight.

Before the shootout, a homemade bomb was found on a road in Barera town, north of Shariff Aguak. The device, which had comprised a 60-millimeter mortar shell, had been safely defused.

Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesman for the army's 6th Infantry Division, blamed MILF for instigating the gun battle at Buloy. "The rebels harassed a detachment of government militiamen in the village, forcing the government forces to fight back," he said.

Eid Kabalu, the official spokesman of MILF, said that the conflict had been started by militiamen of Governor Andal Ampatuan. Kabalu claimed the militia had fired mortar shells at the MILF position at dawn. In June, dozens had been killed in Shariff Aguak, when forces allied to MILF fought with militia allied to local politicians.

Last week, the leader of MILF, Murad Ebrahim (pictured left) was officially charged by police with the October 10/11 attacks in Morth Cotabato province, states Deutsche Presse Agentur via Playfuls.com. General Hermogenes Esperon, armed forces chief of staff, has expressed doubts that Ebrahim would have been involved in attacks of this nature. He said: "I have not seen (intelligence) reports that would directly incriminate Al Haj Murad himself."

Eid Kabalu has strenuously denied that the MILF would mount such an assault.

The talks between the MILF and the government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stalled last month over issues of territory. The planned autonomous region would have included 600 villages, but MILF wanted 1,000 to be included in the territory.

This morning, states, the Inquirer, a police officer was shot dead in Zamboanga City. Rodrigo Deza was on a motorcycle when he was shot from behind by two gunmen who had tailed him on another bike. He was shot in the head. His pistol was taken. No group has been named yet as being responsible for the attack. The method of killing is similar to that commonly used in the south of Thailand by insurgents.

A report today from Angus Reid.com states that a poll, conducted between September 24 to October 2 found that Filipinos were viewing Islam more favorably. In August 2004, 41% of respondents to a similar poll viewed Islam "unfavorably", reducing to 32% in September 2005, and currently the figure is 29%.

In 2004, 52% of respondents viewed Islam "favorably", which rose to 63% in 2005, and now stands at 66%.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 10:44 AM | Comments (1)

US: "Accountant in Chief" Looks for Finance Debate

What does this has to do with resisting Islam? Simple; as the United States gets older and most of our people clamor for prescription drugs, affordable retirement homes, etc., the desire to just withdraw from the world will grow stronger. It doesn't help that so much money will be needed to keep the unaffordable levels of "benefits" that are now law. And Europe finds itself in an even worse position than America does: it is getting older, faster, and the immigrants it counts on to fund their even more unaffordable programs are members of the Religion of Peace and Tolerance (tm).

It should be noticed that President Bush and the Republican Party tried to do something about it last election cycle and they failed. The American people chose self-delusion instead of facing reality: GAO chief warns economic disaster looms

AUSTIN, Texas - David M. Walker sure talks like he's running for office. "This is about the future of our country, our kids and grandkids," the comptroller general of the United States warns a packed hall at Austin's historic Driskill Hotel. "We the people have to rise up to make sure things get changed."

But Walker doesn't want, or need, your vote this November. He already has a job as head of the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress that audits and evaluates the performance of the federal government.

Basically, that makes Walker the nation's accountant-in-chief. And the accountant-in-chief's professional opinion is that the American public needs to tell Washington it's time to steer the nation off the path to financial ruin.

From the hustings and the airwaves this campaign season, America's political class can be heard debating Capitol Hill sex scandals, the wisdom of the war in
Iraq and which party is tougher on terror. Democrats and Republicans talk of cutting taxes to make life easier for the American people.

What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it.[...]

Posted by Ruy Diaz at 8:13 AM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2006

Malaysia: UK's Idiot Politician To Learn About "Islam & Multiculturalism"

Fortunately, John Prescott has said recently that he will not be remaining as deputy prime minister if Labour wins the next election. Recently, his name has been associated with sleaze of all sorts. He was linked with corruption, most notably when it was revealed that he was entertained at the house of US billionaire Philip Anschutz and received gifts. Prescott later championed Anschutz's request to turn the Millennium Dome into a giant casino. Prescott's corruption went unpunished, though Anschutz is now being investigated in the US.

Until he was demoted in May, Prescott was minister in charge of planning, which involved massive house-building in the countryside. It was claimed that his role in building projects was exploited by his son Jonathan, whose company Estate Partnerships sought out land which would increase in value.

As well as laziness, incompetence, and hitting people, which he did in 2001, when farmer Craig Evans threw an egg at him in North Wales, Prescott is also linked to extramarital sleaze. Although Prescott is a lookalike for Jabba the Hut, he had an affair with his secretary, Tracey Temple. She revealed in April that Prescott had a "two inch" penis, which did not always rise to attention. Prescott is pictured above as Craig Evans responded to the politician's punch.

Recently, he has jumped onto the Islamic appeasement bandwagon. While other politicians were condemning the blatant segregation of wearing a face-veil, Prescott broke ranks to say: "If a woman wants to wear a veil, why shouldn't she? It's her choice." His own wife often wears netting over her face, but this is one of her methods of disguising the ravages of age, rather than religious affiliations. (Another method she uses to hide the cracks are trowel-loads of makeup).

While other ministers have started to draw back from using the term "multiculturalism' as most of the electorate think this policy has been discredited, Prescott is still in love with the notion.

He is currently on tour in Asia. His most recent stop has been Malaysia, where he arrived on Friday night. His comments have exposed how, despite being a heavyweight when standing on his bathroom scales, he is a total lightweight politically. And he is either downright ignorant, stupid or plain dishonest.

Agence France Presse via the Peninsular reports that Prescott has said: "I'm keen to learn more about Malaysia's approach to being a successful, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural society in a rapidly changing world. In a world of increasing interdependence, where mass migration and urbanisation are bringing together more and more people from differing cultures and religions, we need more understanding, more dialogue and more cooperation."

There is nothing "multicultural" about Malaysia. Muslims comprise 60% of the population, but the "multi-religious, multi-cultural society' means that the remaining 40% of the population - Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and animists, are second class citizens. And even Muslims are oppressed under Malaysia's laws. Sharia courts rule on issues of divorce and family matters. A man can have up to four wives under Malaysian law, but women cannot divorce abusive husbands without permission from the Islamic courts.

Take the case of Aida Melly Tan Mutalib - who struggled to get a divorce from a violent husband. He had taken a second wife, but the issue was bounced around the Sharia courts like a squash ball for seven years until finally she was awarded rights to divorce her brutal partner. Then her husband challenged this appeal, and the case bounced around some more...

In June, 22-year old Nornashimah Mohammed Nor, a woman who was already married and was five months pregnant, had her marriage annulled by a sharia court against her wishes. The reason given for the annullment was that she had not obtained permission from her father before she got married. Even Marina, the daughter of the last prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has campaigned against the poor treatment of women in the country. On December 22, a law was forced through parliament, the Islamic Family Law Bill, which made it easier for men to marry and divorce, and also enabled them to freeze the bank accounts of former spouses and their children.

Hindu temples are bulldozed with no warning. On April 18, a temple which had stood for 100 years in Kuala Lumpur was holding a service when bulldozers arrived. No prior warning had been given, and there was no right of appeal. The temple was torn down. Several temples have suffered the same fate. Churches too are targeted. Before Christmas, a nearly completed Christian church near Skudai in Johor state was completely demolished.

But Hindus and Christians feel oppressed for the way in which the Islamic courts interfere with their personal lives. In December, a Hindu mountaineering hero died after an illness which had paralyzed him. Before he died, someone told the Islamic courts that he had become a convert to Islam. Lieutenant Corporal M. Moorthy's body was then claimed by the Islamic courts, despite his widow's protestations. Kaliammal Moorthy took the case to the High Court, and was told by the judge that he had no power to intervene. Moorthy's body was given to the Islamic courts, who buried him in a Muslim graveyard.

Article 121 (1A) of Malaysia's constitution states that civil courts have no jurisdiction on "any matter" which falls within the jurisdiction of the Syariah (sharia) courts. The same judge who said he could not interfere in the Moorthy case, Justice Mohammad Raus Sharif, also ruled on December 28 that he could not allow members of the Sky Kingdom Sect to announce that they had left Islam.

Kamariah Ali and Daud Mamat had renounced Islam years before, but no Islamic court had allowed them to officially change their faith.

Article 3(1) of the constitution states that "other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation." Article 11 of the constitution states that a citizen can follow any religion of their choosing. But Article 121 (IA), introduced in 1988, makes issues of apostasy out of the realm of the civil and high courts.

As soon as a person reaches the age of 12, they are issued with an identity card, or MyKad. On this card are recorded one's details, including religion, which are registered with the National Registration Department (NRD). And all ethnic Malays are automatically designated as "Muslim". Once registered as a Muslim, only an appeal from Malaysia's Syariah (Sharia) courts can allow a person to claim to have another faith.

And so far, the Sharia courts, which exist in every state and have the powers to send people to prison or to "religious rehabilitation camps" have never granted such a privilege to any living person. The only person ever to allowed to apostasise freely was an 89 year old Buddhist woman, Nyonya Tahir (pictured) who had appealed to the NRD repeatedly to have her designation as "Muslim" removed from her MyKad. Mrs Tahir was only granted this privilege after she had died.

Nyonya Tahir died on Thursday, January 19 this year. She had married a Chinese man in 1936, and adopted Buddhism. Following her death, the Sharia courts prevented her from being buried, and held an inquisition. For the first time in recorded history, the inquisition heard evidence in court from two of Nyonya's children, who were Buddhist like their mother. Finally, on January 23, the Sharia court allowed Mrs Tahir to be buried as a Buddhist, allowing her to become the first person ever allowed the right of apostasy, even though Nyonya could not appreciate it by then.

Kamariah Ali, a native of Kelantan state, was formerly a scholar of Islam, who attended the Al-Azhar Muslim University in Cairo. She was sent to jail by the Sharia courts in Terengganu state in 2005 for "insulting Islam". Her husband, Mohammed Ya, had also been a follower of the Sky Kingdom Sect. He had been imprisoned for two years for "insulting Islam" by an Islamic court in Terengganu state, for his attempts to apostasize. Mohammed Ya died shortly after his release from jail. Upon his death, the Muslim courts who refused his right to leave Islam also refused his right to be buried in a Muslim graveyard. He was finally buried in the compound of the Sky Kingdom Sect.

Kamariah Ali publicly renounced Islam in 1999 in a Kota Baru Syariah (sharia) Court, seven years ago. Mustafar Hamzah, chief prosecutor for the Syariah High Court said on June 20that the onus was upon Kamariah herself to prove that she had left Islam. She is charged under Section 7 of the Syariah Criminal Offence Enactment (Takzir) Terengganu. It is alleged that she only declared that she is saying that she is no longer a Muslim because she is trying to evade punishment. Her case, which has seen her imprisoned for her beliefs, has still not been resolved.

The most famous case of apostasy being disallowed is that of Lina Joy, who took her case to the Federal Court, the highest legal body in the land, in July this year. In 1998, the National Registration Department granted her the right to change the name on her MyKad from her Muslim birth-name, Azlina Jailani, to her Christian name, Lina Joy. But the NRD refuses to allow her to change her status from "Muslim" to "Christian", as this must first be authorised by the Islamic courts. And despite almost a decade of petitioning the Syariah courts, Lina Joy has never been allowed to "apostasise". As Ms Joy has a boyfriend, who is a Christian, whom she wishes to marry, she has good reason to want to have the NRD's decision on her religious status revoked. Under Malaysia's fascistic Syariah laws, a Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Christian.

On August 23, Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim of the Federal Court announced that the court needed more time to consider the submissions in the case, thereby stalling the ruling which has been expected for some time. He said: "Coming soon (the decision) we have to have some time. We cannot rush this thing. You must also remember that there were three judges who heard the appeal."

43-year old Lina Joy has been through countless court appearances. On April 23, 2001,the High Court had ruled that being a Muslim, Lina, could not renounce Islam and that the issue should be decided by the Syariah Court. On September 19 last year, her submission to the Court of Appeal was turned down by a 2-1 verdict. It was then ruled that her renunciation of Islam was not confirmed by the Syariah Court or any other Islamic religious authority.

The church of Our Lady of Fatima, in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, where Lina Joy had been baptised, had been the subject of a police report, claimed Asia News a day after the court's decision. A Muslim fascist called Taib Hisham had claimed that her baptism had contravened part of the controversial Article 11 of the constitution, which states: "The law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam."

Lina Joy's lawyer, Benjamin Dawson, has said that Lina has been subjected to death threats because of her desire to apostasise. Her fiance has also been threatened with death by Muslim fascists.

So now, Britain's bloated genitally challenged deputy prime minister has arrived in Malaysia. John Prescott has said he wants to learn from Malaysia about how a multi-cultural, multi-faith society operates.

Prescott is being attacked by Christian groups, states the Telegraph. The fool has written a 1,000 word article in the Malaysian Star. Copyright rules in the US and UK allow an entire article to be quoted in its entirety if it is for the purposes of review. As we have commenters writing in, we automatically open up all of our writings here for review. So here is Prescott's article in its entirety.

Prescott seeks Malaysian formula

By John Prescott, Britains Deputy Prime Minister

I'M DELIGHTED to be here in Malaysia. During the last week, I have travelled across Asia, exchanging views in Japan, South Korea, and China, on global issues such as climate change, technology, trade and security that affect all of us.

Now I am seeking Malaysia's perspective on these issues, to learn more about your approach to the peaceful co-existence of different faiths.

In a world of increasing interdependence, where mass migration and urbanisation are bringing together more and more people from differing cultures and religions, we need more understanding, more dialogue and more cooperation.

Last month, I represented Prime Minister Tony Blair at the international summit which brought together the heads of government of Asia and Europe in Helsinki.

During the Sixth Asia-Europe Meeting, your Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi gave a powerful speech about dialogue between people from different cultures.

He said: "Modern Europe has generally embraced secularism, and largely removed religion from the public domain into the confines of the home and family. For the Muslims, Islam is their way of life, both public and private."

It's clear that we need to be sensitive to the differences which arise from religious and cultural beliefs.

Malaysians may be aware of the recent controversy, both within and outside the Muslim communities in Britain, about the wearing of the veil. The answer is not to close down that discussion but to have an open debate, with open minds.

There must be no "no go areas" for discussion. We must have the confidence to talk to each other, with mutual respect, in order to achieve understanding.

This week, the Muslim festival of Eid (Hari Raya Aidilfitri), in which people open their homes to friends and neighbours, is a good example of that openness.

I'm keen to learn more about Malaysia's approach to being a successful, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural society in a rapidly changing world.

As Abdullah had said, Malaysia aims to be "a progressive society that is compatible with modernity yet firmly rooted in the noble values and injunctions of Islam."

Muslim communities in Britain are involved in every walk of life, and they make a significant contribution to the economic and social success of our country.

At the Islamic Art Museum here in Kuala Lumpur, where I will meet leaders and scholars, I will also be reminded of the astonishing creativity of Muslim art, architecture and science.

Islam enriches Britain's society in many ways. It teaches that we have a duty to look after each other – that we are all part of one moral universe, that humanity is intertwined and interlinked like different parts of a human body, reflecting each other's condition. This is a universal moral principle we can all learn from.

Indeed, whatever our beliefs, whether Christian, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, or even agnostic, we share common values: respect for the law and each other, freedom of speech, equality of opportunity, and responsibility towards others.

Such values often require a legislative framework to protect them. That's why our government has brought in legislation to promote equality and make expressions of religious hatred illegal.

But in our desire to treat all as equals, we must also recognise the differences which define us. To be truly equal and fair, we must treat some people differently from others, and our law must be sensitive to, and reflect, these issues.

I remember participating many years ago as a Member of Parliament in debates about safety legislation to enforce the use of motorcycle helmets. This was a matter of indifference for most of the population. But for the Sikh community, this was in conflict with their religious beliefs. So the law was framed to allow them to wear turbans instead of helmets.

I'm proud that our government was the first in Britain, not just to have Muslim MPs, but also to allow syariah compliant lending, so that Muslims can invest and borrow in ways that are consistent with their beliefs.

Syariah compliant home financing arrangements now enjoy the same tax treatment as traditional forms of home finance.

These are practical examples of how we can and should be tolerant, flexible and aware of the needs of different religious beliefs in a modern British secular society.

We've achieved a lot in recent years to realise our goal of a Britain in which those of all backgrounds, races and religions overwhelmingly live side by side in tolerance and friendship.

For example, as you sit on the Tube, bus, train or walk about London today, or visit a school, the chances are you'll overhear many languages being spoken, by people of all races and creeds. London is both one of the most economically successful cities in the world and also one of the most cosmopolitan.

But we recognise that some of our poorest communities are also those with significant Muslim populations, and that's why policies like the minimum wage and the New Deal - aimed at helping everyone in disadvantage - will also help many thousands of British Muslims. Not because they are Muslim, but because they are in need.

In Britain, there has been a lot of discussion, quite rightly, about how we ensure "community cohesion." But what do we mean by that? Some take it to mean how our Muslim and other minority communities integrate into wider society. But it is something far more complex, challenging and comprehensive than that.

There needs to be a far wider debate than one between politicians or political parties. It needs to be within and between all our communities. And that debate can be radical. People should be free to express their thoughts within the law of the land.

I've come to Malaysia, not just to represent my government and to discuss common economic and political interests, but also to listen and to learn about your approach to achieving peaceful co-existence in your communities.

As Malaysia moves towards 2007, the 50th anniversary of your independence, I offer my congratulations and I look forward to our countries continuing to work together for a safe and secure future for all our people.

The fool....what posturing self-inflated naive nonsense. The sooner he is relegated to the dustbin of Britain's political history, the better.

The Telegraph states that Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, a human rights lawyer who founded a group which promoted religious freedom was this year ordered by the government to disband the organization. This group was called Article Eleven. When it tried to have a meeting on May 14, it was disrupted by members of the Anti-Interfaith Commission Body. This group is linked to the PAS party (Parti Islam Se-Malaysia) an extreme Islamist party, which seeks to have Malaysia entirely ruled by Sharia.

Article Eleven, named after the contentious clause in the Constitution, was formed of eleven member groups: All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Malaysian Bar Council, Catholic Lawyers Society, Interfaith Spiritual Fellowship, Malaysian Civil Liberties Society (MCLS), Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS), National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), Pure Life Society, Sisters in Islam (SIS), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Vivekananda Youth Movement, Seremban, Women's Aid Organization (WAO), and Women's Development Collective (WDC).

When Article Eleven tried to have a forum in June, no hotel would allow the group to use their premises for a conference. Finally, in July, they held a meeting in Johor Baru. It was the last conference they would ever have. Members of Article 11 maintain that the constitution is secular, and they have supported the rights of Lina Joy and Kamariah Ali to apostasise from Islam. They argue for the government to honour constitutional guarantees enabling all citizens to practise their faith as defined in Articles 11 and 3 (1).

A month later, as Malaysia prepared for the 49th anniversary of its independence from Britain, (August 31), the prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on August 26: "My advice to everyone is to stop (raising such issues). Do not create a situation that can lead to difficulties. Difficulties will make everyone apprehensive. Adhering to the articles will not create any problem. Discussing these articles again.... this will cause a storm if left unchecked. I have stated that there is no necessity to amend Article 121 ... there is no necessity to amend Article 11. These cause problems between one side and the other. They relate to matters sensitive to religion. Even in the developed countries such as the United States, there is sensitivity in matters related to religion and race."

The porcine deputy prime minister of Britain will be staying in Malaysia for a total of four days. In that time, he will learn nothing other than the propaganda spewed out incontinently by the UMNO party, which is headed by Badawi. The Telegraph relates that Baroness Cox, a human rights campaigner, has said Prescott's praise of the so-called tolerance of Malaysia is "gratuitously misleading". She said: "There is a great deal of religious discrimination. Christians there are finding that human rights and religious rights are crumbling away."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 11:32 PM | Comments (2)

Thailand: Four-Year Old Child Shot In Head In Muslim Insurgency

The insurgency in the predominantly Muslim provinces of Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and some districts of Songkhla province has continued unabated since January 4, 2004. On that date, a military base in Narathiwat was raided, with four soldiers killed and a large quantity of weaponry stolen. Coinciding with the raid, twenty schools were set on fire.

The insurgency has since claimed more than 1,700 lives. Some of the Muslims seek secession of the southern provinces from Thailand, while others, such as the Pattani United Liberation Organization (Pulo) and four other groups included in the coalition Barisan Bersatu Kemerdekaan Pattani (Bersatu) are now seeking only reform in the south.

Formerly, the regions where the insurgency now rages comprised an independent sultanate called Pattani. In 1786, this sultanate was invaded by Siam (Thailand) and thenceforward existed as a vassal state of Siam. In 1902, the sultanate of Pattani was annexed into Siam/Thailand, to act as a buffer against encroachment of the British who ruled Malaya. In 1909, the British officially recognized the annexation of Pattani.

Following the bloodless coup of September 19, led by the Muslim army general, Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, there have been hopes for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Representatives of Pulo, Bersatu, and the Barisan Revolusi National (BRN) have been meeting with Thai officials on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. The talks about improving living conditions for Muslims in the south have been brokered by the former prime minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his son Mukhriz Mahathir and their charity, the Perdana Global Peace Organisation.

Despite talks taking place with known insurgents, there are other militants who are not known to the authorities and who have recently escalated the violence. On Monday October 22, five Buddhists monks and also villagers were injured in a bomb explosion in Muang, Narathiwat province. A soldier, 22-year old Private Pramote Wannasuk, who was escorting the monks on their alms round was killed.

Three other soldiers who had been with the monks suffered injuries, and on Saturday morning (today), a second soldier died from his wounds. TNA English news reports that Private Vachiravuth (Wachirawut) Kerdsuwan, who had lain in a coma for six days, died in hospital without recovering consciousness.

On October 17, it was announced that the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, or SBPAC, which had been disbanded by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, would be re-established. This body served to act as a mediator, which listened to locals' grievances, and channelled ideas and suggestions between people in the south and the government. It has been announced by defense minister General Boonrawd Somtas that the new SBPAC will start its operations on Wednesday (November 1).

The body will be larger than before, and will include the Justice Ministry. Where the former SBPAC covered only Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, the scope of the new body will extend to include Songkhla and Satun provinces.

The Bangkok Post quotes several commentaters on the insurgency who have said that the revived SBPAC will lessen tensions in the southern provinces, which are 80% Muslim. The chairman of the Pattani Provincial Muslim Commission, Waedueramae Mamingji, welcomed the reformation of the SBPAC. Worawit Baru, an academic and researcher from the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani, similarly praised the move.

Additionally, the Bangkok Post and Agence France Presse via Gulf Times state that the state of emergency would be removed by January.

Though the coup leaders have established a cabinet and an interim government, the real power in Thailand lies with the leaders of the coup, who comprise the Council for National Security (CNS). On October 19, the CNS announced that it would extend the state of emergency, or the Executive Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations. This ruing, which allowed for searches without warrants and detentions without trial, had first been introduced by Thaksin Shinawatra on July 17, 2005. Every three months since then, the Emergency decree has been extended. Before the coup of September 19, it had last been extended in July this year.

Waedueramae Mamingji welcomed the decision to no longer extend the decree when it runs out in January, as did Somboon Amadbualuang, a former member of the disbanded National Reconciliation Commission. Somboon said the decision was a "bold move".

But, as reported in the Nation, on Friday night the violence continued. In Bannang Sata district in Yala province, a Buddhist married couple riding on a motorcycle were shot and killed. Their young old daughter who was with them was shot in the head and seriously injured. Agence France Presse in the Bangladesh Daily Star reports that the four year old girl died.

The coup leaders' puppet prime minister, Surayud Chulanot has been on a tour of neighbouring countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia the Philippines and Vietnam, where he met the leaders of these nations. On Friday he made a surprise visit to the south of Thailand, an hour after the Buddhist family were killed. He arrived in Songkhla, and visited the Prince of Songkhla hospital where the monks and marines who where injured on Monday were being treated. He said he personally knew the parents of Private Wachirawut Kerdsuwan, who died this morning. Surayud said: "I told his father to be proud of his son, as he did his best to carry out his duty."

On Saturday morning, before dawn, a 53-year old rubber plantation worker, Romkaew Kraikong, was followed by two assailants on another motorcycle in Kok Pho district in Pattani province. The plantation worker was riding with his wife to the rubber plantation where he worked. He was shot dead. His wife survived.

AFP reports that also on Saturday, a Muslim army ranger was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province while he was off-duty. A 74-year old rubber plantation owner was also killed on Saturday. He was shot at point blank range, as he rested at his plantation in Narathiwat province.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 7:17 PM | Comments (2)

Australia: Muslim Wives Cannot Refuse Sex, Says Group

The Darulfatwa is a Muslim group which styles itself as the "Islamic High Council of Australia". It is funded and organized by the Lebanese group Al-Ahbash. In November last year, 36 Muslim organizations signed a petition stating that al-Abash (the Islamic Charitable Projects Association) held "deviant and perverse views". In Lebanon, two members of al-Ahbash were implicated in the truck-bomb which killed the Lebanese former Prime Minister, Rafiq al-Hariri, in February 2006.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that on the Darulfatwa website, a Muslim asked the resident Islamic scholars: "Is it haram [forbidden] for a lady to say no if her male partner wants to make love with her?"

The scholarly response to the question was: "In this case she should not refrain from such a legitimate right of marriage, but she could Islamically request for a place of living from her husband."

Mohammed Mehio, spokesman for Darulfatwa and head of Muslim Community Radio (MCR), said that Islamic teaching maintains that a wife had no rights to refuse sex unless she had a valid reason such as being ill, tired, or depressed.

The Sun-Herald asked Mehio about the answers on the website, and he said that that a clarification had been published. The answer to the question of refusing sex in marriage was amended to read: "In this case she has the right to refuse."

Darulfatwa (meaning "House of Law/Jurisprudence"), which is based in Bankstown, Sydney, was set up by Ghayath Al-Shelh (head of al-Ahbash in Australia and a sworn enemy of Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilaly) in 2004. Its offices are next to MCR Radio, and it was set up to dispense Islamic legal advice to the faithful.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 5:03 PM | Comments (0)

UK: Shot Muslim Has Child Pornography Charges Dropped

On June 2, 250 police raided a house in Lansdown Road, Forest Gate in east London. They were working on intelligence that a chemical weapon was being kept in the house. Two brothers of Bangladeshi origin were arrested and the house was searched. The elder of the two brothers, postal worker Mohammed Abdul Kahar (right) was shot in the shoulder. No bomb was found inside the house.

The case brought strong reactions from the Muslim community, with claims being made that the two brothers had been the subject of police discrimination. On June 9 radicals from the Islamist group Al Ghurabaa staged a noisy protest outside Forest Gate police station. Al Ghurabaa was banned shortly afterwards but glorifies acts of terrorism such as the 7/7 bombings.

The brothers, Kahar and Abul Koyair, were released within a week of their arrest, and no charges were brought. Representatives from the Muslim Council of Britain claimed that the release of the brothers confirmed their "innocence".

The brothers and their family were placed in a Holiday Inn Hotel while repairs were made to the house. The stay at the luxury hotel cost the Metropolitan Police £30,000 ($56,243) per month. On August 3 Mohammed Abdul Kahar was arrested on child pornography charges. Images of children of a sexual nature had been found to be uploaded onto a computer removed from the house in Lansdown Road.

On the previous day, the Times reported the findings of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which exonerated the officer who had shot Kahar. The marksman had safety-catch on his Heckler and Koch MP5 carbine released, complying with police guidelines for "high risk entry". The marksman, called B6 in the report, said he collided with two people "approaching from his right at high speed", which made him lose his balance and hit the wall. The report states: "B6 says that he was aware of person(s) pulling at his right arm. He states that he feared that the person(s) were trying to take his weapon, and that he feared for his life. The individual who had pulled his arm had been the Kahar's younger brother, Abul Koyair.

A few days after Kahar's arrest on child pornography charges, the Sun newspaper reported that the two brothers had taunted army personnel at Wellington Barracks, near Buckingham Palace, shouting "We hope you die in Iraq!"

Yesterday, the Daily Mail and the BBC reported that the Crown Prosecution Service announced that no charges would be pressed against Mohammed Abdul Kahar.

44 indecent pictures of children had been found on the hard drive of a Dell computer and on a Nokia 3G phone. The CPS said that 23 of these images had been "embedded' into the computer, and 21 had been deleted from the computer and mobile phone.

Scotland Yard confirmed on Thursday that no charge would be made against the brothers for the abuse hurled at Welsh Guardsmen at Wellington Barracks. A police source said: "We couldn't tell which brother was at fault."

While Kahar seems to have got off scot-free after having child pornography on his computer, there is still an investigation ongoing into an alleged benefits fraud. When police raided the house, a sum of £38,000 cash ($72,125) was discovered. It was claimed that this was rent money from tenants.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

North Caucasus: The Caliphate Cometh

Recently, Western Resistance set off to Russia's North Caucasus region to get a better understanding of what is happening in this tumultuous area. WR visited North Ossetia, Ingushetia, and Chechnya and met with a wide variety of people on both sides of the conflict, including federal forces and Islamists.

Before I go into my series of articles from this trip, I will say right away that Russia is still in great danger of losing the North Caucasus. The efforts by Moscow over the past decade to stop devout Muslims from establishing a totalitarian Caliphate in the region could well come to naught.

Even though the Chechen insurrection has been crushed, the republic is being islamicized by the brutal warlord, Ramzan Kadyrov. Other regions --- Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Adygeya as well as the nominally Christian North Ossetia --- are also facing violent revivals of the Mohammedan cult of death.

Islam in Russia is focused in two areas --- Tatarstan and the North Caucasus. Since Islam was voluntarily accepted by the Tatars and Bashkirs, its version of the Mohammedan cult is not so violent. The peoples of the North Caucasus, however, were converted by the sword, as was the case in most Muslim countries in the world today. Some of these nations, such as the Ingush, were Christians until just a few centuries ago. An Ingush scholar, over hushed conversation, told me how he knew of 18th century Ingush structures in the mountains with Christian symbols engraved on them.

Given the violence and bloodshed that led to the conversion of the peoples of the North Caucasus, it's no surprise that feelings of violence and militancy remain strong among them.

Our trip began in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the North Ossetian republic. Breakfast at the central hotel is full of Russian men. Even if most aren't in uniform, it doesn't take a genius to realize that they are federal soldiers and FSB agents. Some are to be deployed in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Others are preparing for a possible conflict with Georgia over its break-away region of South Ossetia.

In the very heart of Vladikavkaz, the 19th century mosque on the river embankment (pictured above) has reopened. It was still closed a year ago when I visited last. The authorities have made a big mistake by allowing this mosque to reopen. While most Ossetians are nominally Christians, there are only two or three churches in this city of about 300,000. Most people don't believe in anything.

The mosque was built before the Bolshevik revolution, when Inghush lived in the city. Stalin deported all of them to Siberia in 1944, along with the Chechens for their support of Hitler's armies. Khrushchev let them return in the 1960s, but by that time many of their homes were being lived in by other people. In late 1992, the Ingush made a rash attempt to seize their ancestral lands, and launched ethnic cleansing against the Ossetians and other nationalities.

Witnesses of that fighting told WR that the conflict was not only ethnic. Some Ingush fighters wore green headbands and shouted Islamic slogans going into battle. This was just the beginning of the jihad in the North Caucasus.

The Ingush are slowly starting to return to certain parts of North Ossetia, and they are bringing the Mohammedan cult with them. The region seems fertile ground for them. The opening of the central mosque on the river bank is just one step. Islam's intolerance meets you at the door. One of the notices on the mosque's facade tells visitors that there is no god but Allah, and that Mohammed is his one and only prophet. The message is clear --- you are either with us or against us. I thought back to such a bulletin board that I've seen many times in many American churches, where you often see, ``God is love'' or something similar. Has anyone ever seen, ``Allah is love'' on a mosque's bulletin board? What will happen to this lovely mountainous republic if Muslims ever become a majority?

Well, I did got the chance to see what might happen. I set off for Beslan, a 50-minute drive, to see its schoo