Month: May 2010
Arizona: Report on hate – White Supremacists growing in Arizona
Report on hate – White Supremacists growing in Arizona:
UAE: Sex and the City Movie Banned, Called “Anti-Muslim”
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Media Council has decided that the new movie “Sex and the City 2” will be banned from being shown in UAE cinemas. The movie is scheduled to be released on May 27, 2010.
A senior spokesman for the UAE National Media Council told Time Out Dubai that: “Sex and the City 2 will be banned from being shown in cinemas across the UAE when it is released for various reasons. Among them are that the film’s website stated that filming was done in Abu Dhabi even though they were denied permission to do so and that they continue to attribute the locations shot in Morocco as being in Abu Dhabi, which is false, as the theme of the film does not fit with our cultural values. Also, they persisted in using Abu Dhabi’s name in the movie despite the fact that no official permission was given to them to do so.”
The UAE National Media Council is responsible for judging movies to be shown in the UAE, as well as censoring films. The UAE National Media Council censorship board has approved showing of films such as “The Da Vinci Code,” however.
While the story in the movie “Sex and the City 2” purportedly takes place in the UAE, it was not filmed in the UAE, as the UAE government also forbid filmmakers from shooting the movie in the UAE. It was filmed in Morocco instead. However, despite refusing to allow the film to be made in the UAE, and banning showing of the movie in the UAE, analysts believe that the UAE city of Abu Dhabai will get a tourism boost from the showing of the film.
The writer and director of the movie, Michael Patrick King, told Collider.com that the reason for choosing UAE and its city Abu Dhabi for the movie setting was because “it’s the new Middle East and the future… I think there’s a very big story in the Middle East and it also is a very advanced, glamorous capital.”
While the movie was being banned in its “setting,” the UAE — in Hollywood, it was being described as an “anti-Muslim” movie, by the Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter’s review of the movie stated that “[Carrie] and her friends run up against the puritanical and misogynistic culture of the Middle East… The rather scathing portrayal of Muslim society no doubt will stir controversy, especially in a frothy summer entertainment, but there’s something bracing about the film’s saucy political incorrectness. Or is it politically correct? SATC 2 is at once proudly feminist and blatantly anti-Muslim, which means that it might confound liberal viewers.”
Others reviewers have also been critical of the movie regarding women and Islam. USA Today’s Claudia Ping states that “director Michael Patrick King is out of his league attempting to comment on the inequitable treatment of Muslim women,” Roger Ebert criticizes the movie for being “oblivious to Arab ideas about women’s modesty,” and another reviewer states that “‘Sex and the Ctiy 2’ script insults Muslim culture.”
Entertainment Online (E Online)’s Leslie Gornstein’s comments on the movie indicate that she is shocked that the movie is intended to “take place in a Muslim country,” adding that “at least a few Muslims wondering what the filmmakers were thinking.” E Online also quotes the Council of American Islam Relations (CAIR)’s Ibrahim Hooper as stating that “I thought the location was a bit odd for that kind of movie.” (The CAIR organization has been listed as one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial.)
The movie is being released as yet another high-profile UAE prosecution of a woman for alleged sexual “crimes” is in the news. The latest in a long series of UAE oppressive criminal prosecutions is the arrest of an 18 year old girl, who stated that she was a gang rape victim. The Muslim girl “LH” was then charged with the crime of “consensual sex,” which carries a sentence of lashes and up to life imprisonment for a Muslim girl. “LH” has since retracted her rape charges and the UAE government prosecution is considering whether to continue to prosecute her for the crime of “consensual sex,” or reduce the criminal charge to “deception” which carries a prison sentence of 6 months to two years.
In March 2010, the UAE government convicted an Australian woman who was a rape victim of “adultery,” and sentenced her to 12 months in prison. In January 2010, the UAE government arrested and jailed a 23 year old British woman who was a victim of rape, and charged her with “illegal sex.”
In April 2010, a British woman, Charlotte Adams, was put in jail for one month for alleged giving someone a kiss on the cheek in public for the crime of “indecency.”
===============================
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands for women’s rights without borders, and in unequivocal support of women’s universal human rights and dignity. We challenge those who would oppress and attack women to realize that when half of the world is denied basic human rights, such an outrage is an attack on human rights for all people everywhere.
We urge all people to be responsible for equality and liberty.
Pakistan – Report: “Muslim wedding participants desecrate church”
Indonesia: Aceh’s religious police crack down on tight jeans
NYC: “After Fiery Debate, Vote Approves Mosque Plans”
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Nazi Rally on June 19 and YWCA Message of Peace
Gettysburg Times reports on planned June 19, 2010 Aryan Nations Nazi Rally and Gettysburg Times also reports on the plans of the YWCA to hold meetings on peace, and another group to hold a separate event that same date. The Gettysburg Times has also reported on the YWCA’s efforts in a report “Peace promoters want message to resonate beyond Aryan rally,” stating that “Those [interested in the YWCA peace efforts] who cannot attend, but would like to be informed of the planning process, should contact Andyshak Hayes at 717-334-9171, ext. 113 or aahayes@ywcagettysburg.org.”
June 8 – Gettysburg Times Report: Group to promote peace, not speak out against Aryan Nation
Gettysburg Times: “As community members continue to hold meetings at the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County to promote peace during the Aryan Nation’s June 19 visit to Gettysburg, the event is beginning to draw national attention.” “Knight Sor, conciliation specialist for the United States Department of Justice, attended Monday evening’s meeting. Sor told roughly 20 people at Monday evening’s meeting that a group known as 4 Civil Rights received a permit for the same date, time and place as the Aryan Nation to demonstrate. ” “According to Sor, 4 Civil Rights will hold a peace rally on the east lawn of the Cyclorama on June 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. No one at the meeting was aware of this group or its receiving a permit at the same time as the Aryan Nation. Sor said that the permit is under the name Carlene J. Mayers.”
Gettysburg to help police Aryan Nation rally
BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 1:10 AM EDT
Gettysburg Police Department has signed an agreement to provide law enforcement services next month when a white supremacist group rallies at Gettysburg National Military Park. The nine-member Gettysburg Borough Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve its resolution with the Park Service for the June 19 event. “We have to put whatever police we have there, in case something comes up,” GPD Chief Joe Dougherty said regarding the event, scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. near the old Cyclorama Center. Taxpayers are underwriting the cost of staffing the Aryan Nation event with law enforcement. U.S. Park Service Police and Cumberland Township Police are also likely to attend the rally. “We pay our own bill, they pay their own, and neither one gets repaid by either side,” said Dougherty, noting that overtime is a budgeted expense. Law enforcement costs are not finalized at this time, but in 2006, when the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held a similar Gettysburg Battlefield rally, taxpayers forked over $64,000 for law enforcement. The KKK was not charged, and the Aryan Nation won’t be charged June 19, with the Park Service citing freedom of speech issues. “It’s very similar to the agreement we had when the Ku Klux Klan was here years ago,” explained Gettysburg Mayor William E. Troxell. Borough police logged 21 hours of overtime at the 2006 rally, and were paid $1,157. Borough Council Solicitor Harold A. Eastman Jr. explained that the borough was approached by the Park Service for the police presence. He described the pact as a “cooperative agreement,” and proactive, in case a police incident transpires. “It’s a safety net in case things go badly,” said Eastman. “Everything will be in place ahead of time.” Veteran Councilman Ted Streeter recounted the 2006 event, noting that the KKK was quarantined in a fenced-off area, and there was no spill-over into the borough. The rally, held on a rainy afternoon, drew 200-300 people, and there were no reported police incidents. “They all go home, and you wouldn’t know they were here if you didn’t go see it,” Streeter said Monday night. Dougherty reported that the “biggest impact” the event is expected to have upon the borough is road closures, with Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue. As an alternative to the Aryan rally, the local YWCA is planning a family-oriented event to draw attention from the neo-Nazi rally. “We don’t really expect any problems,” said Chief Dougherty. “The majority of everything involved is going to be taken care of by the National Park Service,” said Chief Dougherty, adding that federally-trained officers are attending the event. Four citizens attended the 50-minute session Monday night, as council continues its “six-month experiment” in holding two monthly business meetings. The board also approved its annual allocation of $150,000 in state Community Development Block Grant funding, with $80,000 going to American with Disability Act upgrades throughout town, and $40,000 to code enforcement work.
— AP reported on May 20, 2010 that “The National Park Service has approved a permit for a white supremacist group to hold a rally at Gettysburg National Military Park next month.”
— “The Aryan Nations group plans a rally June 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. near the old Cyclorama Center.”
— “Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said the park is obligated to make the land available to the public to exercise their free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”
— “The group has said it plans speeches and discussions of current issues such as immigration and homosexuality.”
UAE: Muslim Woman Faces Lashes, Life in Prison for Consensual Sex
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an 18 year old Muslim woman “LH” has been charged with the “crime” of consensual sex, after claiming that she was raped by 6 men. In the UAE, if a Muslim woman is found guilty of the crime of consensual sex, according to the UAE newspaper “The National,” states that she would “face lashes and a maximum sentence of life in prison.”
“LH” went to file charges against 6 men for rape after being confronted and beaten by her brother for “talking to other men.” “LH” has now withdrawn the charges of rape, after being charged with the criminal charge of “consensual sex.” It is up to the court to decide whether to drop the criminal charge of “consensual sex,” or reduce the criminal charge to “deception” which carries a prison sentence of 6 months to two years.
The report by the National newspaper in UAE states that none of the charges have been dropped at this time. The report describes court proceedings of a case where a man allegedly consensual sex with “LH,” then called five of his male friends to rape “LH.” One of the accused rapists, a 19 year old man, laughed at “LH” as she pleaded with the judge to allow her to drop the rape charges.
See the complete news report by the National Newspaper.
The National newspaper also released an editorial on May 18, 2010 “Rape victims are not the criminals,” which stated that “The case is not unprecedented: when a woman reports rape or other abuse, she frequently finds herself in further trouble… More than half of the women who responded to a survey for The National earlier this year said they would not report a rape to police, not only out of shame but also out of distrust of the system itself.”
In January 2010, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) reported on a 23 year old British Muslim woman who was raped and then charged with the crime of “illegal sex” and put in jail. On April 21, 2010, the Daily Telegraph reported on the case of British woman Charlotte Adams who was convicted of the crime of “indecency” for giving someone a kiss on the cheek, and was sentenced to jail for one month and fined.
In March 2010, Epoch Times reported on the case of an Australia woman Amanda who was raped, and then was convicted of “adultery” and jailed for 12 months. The report quoted another National newspaper interview with a UK rape counselor that “there was ‘no bigger deterrent’ to coming forward to make a rape allegation than the fear of a potential prosecution.” Human Rights Watch’s Nadya Khalife has criticized the UAE on its “shameful record on rape.”
According to the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), “some women’s rights advocates argue that as along as UAE legislates through a personal status code and gender discrimination is built into citizenship laws, women cannot have full rights.” Time Out Dubai recently reported that only 25 percent of Emirati women work due to discrimination and social pressures against women in the workplace.
While women continue to live under such conditions in the UAE, on May 27, 2010, the U.S. film “Sex and the City 2” will be released in theaters. The film’s story is written to take place UAE, but the UAE authorities would not allow filming of it in their country, and it had to be filmed in Morocco. The UAE is considering banning the film.
The Hollywood Reporter issued an initial review of the film as “anti-Muslim,” stating that the characters “run up against the puritanical and misogynistic culture of the Middle East. The rather scathing portrayal of Muslim society no doubt will stir controversy, especially in a frothy summer entertainment, but there’s something bracing about the film’s saucy political incorrectness. Or is it politically correct? SATC 2 is at once proudly feminist and blatantly anti-Muslim, which means that it might confound liberal viewers.”
We would like to hear from Muslim readers on this topic. Please email your comments at info@realcourage.org
===========================
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) calls for the support for our unqualified, universal human rights for woman and all people. We urge all those who would defy such universal human rights, to choose instead to be responsible for equality and liberty.
Nazis Shoot at Suleymaniye Mosque in Australia
Western Australia Today/AAP reports:
— “Police believe they have ‘eliminated; the West Australian chapter of a neo-Nazi group with the arrest of two men charged with shooting at a Perth mosque. In the early hours of Thursday, February 4, three shots were fired into the dome roof of the Suleymaniye Mosque, in the southeastern suburb of Queens Park.”
….
— “The pair, a 25-year-old Greenmount man and a 24-year-old High Wycombe man, are allegedly part of the extreme nationalist group Combat 18 (C18). They have been charged with one count each of causing criminal damage, discharging a firearm across a road and possessing an unlicensed firearm. After Tuesday’s arrests, Inspector Rob Anderson police said believed they had effectively disbanded Perth’s C18 chapter. ‘Two of those offenders we will allege are members of C18, an organisation specialising in hate crime and neo-Nazi affiliated,’ Insp Anderson said. ‘As a result of today’s operation, we are confident that we have more or less eliminated that faction within WA.’ Originally based in the UK, C18 has chapters all over the world and is based on the ideas of neo-Nazism and white supremacy. The number 18 is derived from the initials of Adolf Hitler with A and H being the first and eighth letter of the alphabet. A 19-year-old old Kalamunda man was also charged with one count of possessing an unlicensed firearm.”
Communist China: Hillary Clinton Ignores Human Rights Issues at Shanghai Expo
Reuters reports on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s attendance at a Shanghai Expo, where the U.S. representative avoided addressing human rights issues in Communist China.
In December 2009, we posted on Secretary Clinton’s calls for a “Pragmatic Policy” on Human Rights, support for “Principled Pragmatism” on Communist Chinese government abuses. In February 2009, the Daily Telegraph and CNN reported on Secretary Clinton’s view that human rights issues must be secondary to economic interests in U.S. foreign policy with Communist China. Secretary Clinton stated that “Successive administrations and Chinese governments have been poised back and forth on these issues, and we have to continue to press them. But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crisis.”
Clinton avoids China disputes, hands out teddy bears
— Reuters reports: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed out teddy bears to Chinese children as she toured the Shanghai World Expo on Saturday and carefully skirted the United States’ many policy disputes with China.”
— At Shanghai expo, U.S. ” films made no explicit reference to democracy, human rights, freedom of religion or other political issues where the United States has long criticized China’s record”
— “U.S. exhibit ends with a gift shop where a great many products — from teddy bears and stuffed bison to silver lapel pins and pink cowboy hats — were all marked ‘Made in China.'”