Miami: Teens Get Plea Deal In Mosque Vandalism – Police: Teens Slashed Tires, Broke Windows
— Post-Newsweek reports:
— “MIAMI — Two teenagers accused of vandalizing a West Kendall mosque have accepted a plea deal.”
— “Michael Lobo and Juan Carlos Gonzalez were arrested in connection with vandalism in June at the Islamic School of Miami. Investigators said they smashed two windows and slashed the tires of a van used to feed the homeless.”
— “As part of their plea agreement, Lobo and Gonzalez have been ordered to perform 75 hours of community service, and they have apologized.”
— “The leaders of the mosque supported the plea deal in the hope of sending a message of forgiveness.”
Day: September 18, 2009
Iranian President Ahmadinejad calls the Holocaust “a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim”
Iran president says Holocaust “pretext” to form Israel
— Reuters: “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday the Holocaust was a ‘lie’ and a pretext to create a Jewish state that Iranians had a religious duty to confront.”
— Reuters reports on Ahmadinejad comments on Holocaust: “The pretext (Holocaust) for the creation of the Zionist regime (Israel) is false … It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim”
— Reports that “he told worshippers at Tehran University at the end of an annual anti-Israel ‘Qods (Jerusalem) Day’ rally”
— AP: “Ahmadinejad slams Israel”
— AP reports: “Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel and the West saying Friday the Holocaust was a lie”
— Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust, two top reformists attacked
Iran: “‘Torture, murder and rape’ – Iran’s way of breaking the opposition”
Iran: “‘Torture, murder and rape’ – Iran’s way of breaking the opposition”
— London Times reports:
— “Javadifar is just one among scores of alleged cases of murder, torture and rape unearthed by opposition investigators – cases that a regime claiming to champion Islamic values is doing its utmost to suppress by denouncing the charges as lies, arresting the investigators and seizing their files. The Times has been given access to 500 pages of documents – a small fraction of the total – that include handwritten testimony by victims, medical reports and interviews.”
— “They suggest that security forces have engaged in systematic killing and torture to try to break the opposition.”
— “‘The use of rape and torture was similar across prisons in Tehran and the provinces. It is difficult not to conclude that the highest authorities planned and ordered these actions. Local authorities would not dare take such actions without word from above,’ wrote one investigator, in a coded reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader.”
Iran security forces clash with protesters-witness
Iran security forces clash with protesters-witness
— Reuters: “Iran security forces clashed with supporters of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi and arrested at least 10 of them during annual anti-Israel rallies in Tehran on Friday, a witness said.”
— “Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami took part in the rally, but was attacked by hardliners and had to leave after his robe was ripped and his turban fell to the ground, an ally of Khatami who accompanied him told Reuters.”
— London Times reports: “First anti-government protest since July at annual pro-Palestinian rally as rival demonstrators fight on streets of capital”
Hindu American Foundation Human Rights Reports and Issues
Hindu American Foundation Human Rights Reports and Issues
Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2008
— “The Foundation’s 2008 Hindu Human Rights Report details violations against Hindus in areas where they are minority – namely in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago, in addition to Pakistan and the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir. The report provides detailed accounts of human rights violations are in the areas of violence against women, murder, ethnic cleansing, temple destruction, socio-political ostracization, disenfranchisement, discrimination and forced conversions.”
— Download report
— Press Release
— “Bangladesh and Pakistan saw the most egregious human rights abuses according to the report and garner specific censure. In Bangladesh, nearly 300 acts of murder, rape, kidnappings, temple destruction and land grabs targeting Hindus were recorded over the nine months of reporting available to the Foundation. The practice of enslaving children as bonded laborers continues unabated in Pakistan, and forced conversions and systematic persecution of Hindus has caused the continued decline of their population from 30% to around 1% over fifty years.”
Hyperlink to Hinduphobia: Online Hatred, Extremism and Bigotry Against Hindus
— “Extremist websites with hate against Hindus and Hinduism are the focus of this document in the conviction that if left unchallenged, these websites will perpetuate hatred at best, and breed violence at worst. This report provides an overview of the methods used to demean Hinduism and the individuals and organizations responsible for the content. Whether by maligning Hinduism as ‘devil-worship’ to promote a fear of Hindus and their beliefs, demeaning Hindu scriptures and deities, or falsifying Hinduism’s teachings and principles in order to claim the religious superiority of other traditions, these individuals and organizations seek to undermine tolerance and pluralism. This is the first report to systematically document hate against Hindus on the Internet, an issue of serious concern to Hindu-Americans and Hindus globally.”
— Download report
— “Attacks on Hindus and their institutions are a daily reality in countries such as Bangladesh. Last year, even within the United States, a newly completed Hindu temple in Minnesota was desecrated by vandals that went on to destroy deities within the inner sanctum. The hate sites reflected in this report inspire and justify such violence.”
— “Documenting ongoing human rights problems, the Hindu American Foundation recently released its second annual report on the status of Hindu human rights titled, ‘Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005.'”
— “Atrocities committed against Hindus in various parts of the world are documented in the report. In each of the regions covered, an environment of hostility and hatred towards Hindus was created in order to enable persecution and violence to take place”
Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2005 Executive Summary
Pakistan: Suicide Bombing Apparent Attack on Minority Shiite Community – Hotel, Shops Destroyed, Many Killed
AP: “Official: Suicide bomb kills 25 in NW Pakistan”
— AP reports: “A suicide car bomb destroyed a two-story hotel and several shops in a northwestern Pakistani town on Friday, killing 25 people in an apparent attack on the country’s Shiite community, police and a government official said.”
— “The blast took place in the Shiite-dominated village of Usterzai. The Hikmat Ali Hotel – owned by a Shiite – was among several buildings destroyed or badly damaged, police official Asmat Ullah said. At least eight cars were mangled by the force of the explosion, witnesses said.”
— “Sunni extremist groups like those believe Shiites are infidels, and their presence has fueled sectarian attacks that have long plagued “
Pakistan – ICC report: “Pakistan Grants Bail to 13 Muslims Accused of Carnage Against Christians”
ICC reports:
“International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on September 7, a Pakistani court granted bail to 13 Muslims, including radical clerics who incited mob attacks against Christians, that resulted in 11 Christians being killed and over 40 Christians homes being burned down in Gojra.”
“Chief Justices Khawaja Muhammad Sharif and Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhary of the Lahore High court decided to grant the bail to the following: Bashir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Abid, Kaleem Ullah, Touqir Ahmed, Muhammad Yaqoob, Sajid Farooqi, Qari Majid Farooqi, Saeed Afzal, Rizwan Akram, Amer Hayyat and Muhammad Rehman.”
“On August 1, 2009, a Muslim mob estimated at 3000 assaulted Christians in Gojra after radical Muslim clerics accused the Christians of blasphemy and called for the attacks.
For a detail story on the attacks, please go to: http://www.persecution.org/suffering/pressdetail.php?presscode=322.
“ICC’s Jonathan Racho said, ‘We condemn in strongest terms the decision by the Lahore High Court to release the individuals responsible for the carnage in Gojra. Pakistan has repeatedly failed to bring perpetrators of violence against Christians to justice, and this latest decision helps to perpetuate a culture of impunity in Pakistan. We urge Pakistan to arrest all individuals responsible for the attacks against Christians. We also ask the government Pakistan to repeal blasphemy laws that are fueling violence against Christians.'”
“ICC urges all concerned parties to sign the petition that calls for repeal of blasphemy laws in Pakistan.”
To read and sign the petition, please go to: http://tinypetition.com/RepealBlasphemyLaw.
Virginia: Judge grants bond to neo-Nazi leader William White
Virginia: Judge grants bond to neo-Nazi leader William White
— Roanoke Times: Judge “Turk based his decision on a finding by Dr. Conrad Daum, who is the second psychiatrist to evaluate White and determine that he does not pose an imminent threat to the community.”
— Judge OKs bond for Virginia neo-Nazi leader
U.S. Media Reports on Comments Regarding Bus Racial Segregation – Talk Show Host States They Were “Sarcastic Riff”
U.S. Media Report on Talk Show Host Comments Regarding Bus Racial Segregation
— FOX News reports: “Limbaugh: Buses Should Be Segregated”
— reports: “Conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh is getting heat after he said on his show on Wednesday that buses should be racially segregated.”
— FOX also reported that “Aaronk on ThinkProgress.org passed off Limbaugh’s comments as Rush being Rush . ‘I can’t stand Rush, but I just listened to this clip, and please tell me that you guys realize he is being sarcastic right?'”
— Full source document — states that comments were a “sarcastic riff”
— Alabama press reports
— Salt Lake City Headlines Examiner report
Pakistan – ICC report on rape of Christian minority girl
ICC reports:
“International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on August 15, a Muslim man kidnapped and raped an 8th grade Christian girl in Pakistan.”
“Muhammad Akmal, accompanied by Khurshid Bibi, kidnapped Fouzia and took her to his farmhouse where he repeatedly raped her for two days. He released her only after threatening to kill her if she told anyone that she had been kidnapped and raped.”
“Salam Masih, Fouzia’s brother, told ICC that they reported the incident to the local police, but the police have not yet apprehended Muhammad, who is an influential landlord in the district of Toba Tek Singh.”
“Rana Ahmed Hassan, a police officer from the district, told ICC that Muhammed had fled from the village, but the police were doing their best to apprehend him.”
“Christian minorities in Pakistan are easy targets for harassment and attacks due to discriminatory laws that relegate them to the level of second-class citizens. In the past two months alone, 12 Christians were murdered by Muslims. The government of Pakistan has repeatedly failed to protect Christians from attacks and violence.”