Media sources report that a Jewish synagogue in the central Russian city of Tver was damaged by a “homemade bomb” in the middle of the night, but no one was hurt.
— ITAR-TASS reports: “The explosion hit the synagogue at about 02:00 a.m. Moscow time , damaging its entryway and breaking out window glasses in nearby houses, said Igor Elgardt, the chairman of the regional organization Jewish National and Cultural Autonomy.”
— “‘This is not the first vandalism case here,’ he said. ‘Previously, anti-Semitic writings appeared on the synagogue’s wall. There are reports that anti-Semitic leaflets are circulated in the city.'”
— ITAR-TASS also reports: “Anti-Semitic writings have appeared on the walls of the synagogue, anti-Semitic leaflets have been circulated in the city and some 140 graves were vandalized in the Jewish part of the local cemetery in 2009, the statement said.”
Selected Washington DC media outlets have been reporting on the story of controversies over the Islamic Center in Washington DC, and women who seek to pray in the main hall, rather than in a segregated room. Muslim women have been protesting over their segregated prayer facilities since February 2010. Muslim women state that they have had to be segregated in a small room with a 7 foot high wall. WAMU radio quoted one Muslim woman as stating that the segregated prayer room made her feel “Boxed in, stifling, suffocating and totally a second class citizen.”
The Islamic Center, 2551 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C.
The protests seeking equal access to prayer facilities resulted in the Washington DC police being called to evict the Muslim women praying at the DC Islamic Center or threatening to arrest them, and reportedly similar police actions were taken on a related case in the DC Northern Virginia suburb of Falls Church. After Muslim women were evicted from the DC Islamic Center in February 2010, one report stated that the women prayed outside of the mosque, with one male onlooker commenting “build your own mosque.”
But now the practice of the DC police coming to evict or threaten arrest Muslim women as “trespassers” for praying in the main hall of the DC Islamic Center is coming to an end, according to the Washington Examiner. The Examiner reports that it has internal emails from the Washington DC metropolitan police providing guidance to police officers to no longer get involved in such disputes, stating that “We are not to get involved… Important that our officers not escort women out of there.”
WAMU-FM: “Fatima Thompson led a protest against women having to pray in an area other than the main prayer hall in a Northwest D.C. mosque.” (Photo: WAMU/Kavitha Cardoza)
One of the protesters for Muslim women’s equality in worship, Fatima Thompson, has previously been quoted as stating “Wooden barriers have to be taken down and women have to be allowed to join, to pray behind the men in the main praying area. That’s our request. We are against gender segregation, against the fact that women are put aside or in a totally different room at the mosque. The general issue we are pushing is gender segregation and the ramifications it fosters. It’s not healthy, and not reflective of our society here. It’s very reflective of very restrictive, ultra orthodox societies.”
The Islamic Center reportedly has no comment on the Washington DC police decision to no longer evict or threaten to arrest Muslim women praying in the main hall.
The Washington Examiner reports that the police department decision to no longer evict or threaten to arrest women for praying in the main mosque hall has “raised the hackles” of a representative of the libertarian Cato Institute, Ilya Shapiro. Ilya Shapiro was quoted in the Examiner as stating “The religious angle is beside the point. This isn’t a lunch counter or a restaurant or a hotel.. Basically this is a private institution, and that’s what this turns on — private property rights. If you don’t want a trespasser on your lawn … you do rely on the police, ultimately, to eject people you don’t want.”
Cato Institute: Libertarian Ilya Shapiro Defends DC Islamic Center “Right” to Call Police on Muslim Women for Praying in Mosque’s Main Hall
================================= Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) stands in support of our universal human rights for all people, of all genders, equally, and in support of all faiths. Muslim women deserve equality and dignity in their worship like all other individuals. This is not a liberal or conservative issue, but is an issue of human rights and human dignity.
PROTEST
Saturday June 26th, 2010, 1:30 pm in front of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20037
To denounce the confinement of Nathalie Morin and her children, and foreign nationals, in Saudi Arabia
Canadian, Nathalie Morin who is 26 years old, along with her three small children, has been held against her will in Saudi Arabia by her common-law husband since 2005. A victim of conjugal violence, confinement and abuse, Nathalie must return to Canada with her children. But in Saudi Arabia a woman must have the authorization of her male guardian to leave the territory and her aggressor will not allow this.
Gender apartheid and the male guardianship system of Saudi Arabia is a violation of women’s human rights and international law. As long as the U.S. and Saudi governments consider Nathalie and her children’s case a private affair, they will not deploy all efforts to ensure their safety and bring them home to Canada. During this time, Nathalie’s condition continues to deteriorate as the abuse worsens.
On June 26th and 27th, representatives of the Saudi government will participate in the G-20 summit in Toronto to discuss the economy. In June 2009 Obama stated in his speech in Cairo: «But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose.
These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.» We call on President Obama to defend human rights by demanding that any foreign nationals held captive in Saudi Arabia be allowed to exit the country.
This protest is to declare to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Government that Americans are demanding Nathalie Morin and her children, as well as any foreign nationals held captive, be returned to their countries immediately, that they respect the human rights of women and children and ensure the safety of Nathalie Morin and the safety of her children.
Location: 601 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20037
We will not abandon Nathalie and her children to an undeserved fate
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Main Number: (202) 342-3800
The Saudi embassy is near the JFK Center for the Performing Arts and the Watergate complex, not with other embassies in the International Drive / International Court areas.
The Washington DC subway (“Metro”) has a stop at Foggy Bottom (orange / blue line) that is closest to the Saudi embassy. When the Metro trip planner tool is back online, we will post the walking directions.
DC Map of Area of Saudi Arabia EmbassySaudi Arabia Embassy
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Nearby Kennedy Center Directions
By Subway / Metro:
The Foggy Bottom/George Washington University Station (on the Orange and Blue lines, at 23rd and I streets, NW) , is the stop closest to the Kennedy Center. From there it is a short walk via New Hampshire Avenue OR use our FREE Kennedy Center Shuttle (signs are towards the left as you exit the escalator). The shuttle departs every 15 minutes from 9:45 a.m.-Midnight Monday-Friday, and 10 a.m.-Midnight Saturdays, and noon-Midnight Sundays and 4:00 p.m.-Midnight on Federal holidays.
By Bus:
The 80 bus goes to the Kennedy Center. For details on bus routes and schedules, call Metro information at (202) 637-7000 or TTY (202) 638-3780.
By Taxi:
Taxi service to and from the Kennedy Center is convenient and readily available. A taxi dispatcher is available to signal cabs and assign patrons from 6:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. on matinee days) until 30 minutes after the end of the last performance, and taxis queue in the Plaza each evening to serve patrons. Look for the uniformed dispatcher at the Hall of States entrance.
Important Note About SUV’s 6 Feet or Higher
For vehicles taller than 6 ft., there are limited spaces available on levels “B” and “C” South and “C” North (max. clearance 7′).
— UN, US, and human rights activists around the world expressed solidarity with the Burma people and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned on her 65th birthday
— Guardian: “In Burma, any political meeting of more than five people is illegal”
— Guardian: Burma flash mobs
We have written the Hizb ut-Tahrir America organization and challenged them to a public debate before the American people on their views in seeking a global Khilafah (Caliphate) versus our views of unqualified, Universal Human Rights for all people. We are issuing this public challenge to Hizb ut-Tahrir America to do so.
Hizb ut-Tahrir also has repeatedly called for the “death penalty” for those who leave Islam. At Hizb ut-Tahrir America’s July 19, 2009 event in Chicago, they distributed a pamphlet (page 62) that supports killing those individuals who leave Islam as guilty of “treason and a political attack on the Khilafah.”
R.E.A.L. has Muslim supporters who share this commitment for democracy, equality, liberty, and our universal human rights. We know that Hizb ut-Tahrir does not represent all Muslims.
We ask such Muslims who support human freedoms to contact us, so that we can stand in solidarity to show groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir that we are united in rejecting their calls against democracy and against human freedoms. Join us to demonstrate that we are all united in being Responsible for Equality and Liberty.
Our stand for human rights is also a stand for respect, for dignity, and for love of our fellow human beings. We do not offer an upraised fist to those we disagree with, but instead offer an outstretched hand of fellowship to urge them to embrace our unqualified universal human rights.
What We Believe - Responsible for Equality And Liberty's Jeffrey Imm Demonstrating Outside Hizb ut-Tahrir America's July 19, 2009 Chicago EventOrange Ribbon for Universal Human Rights - Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has convicted an 18 year old girl (“LH”) to one year in prison for “consensual sex.” The UAE court convicted her because she agreed to be alone in the car with a man “YM.”
As previously reported, the teenage girl had previously alleged that she was gang raped by six men. the UAE “The Nation” newspaper reported that LH had “12 bruises ranging from 1cm to 7 cm long on her upper lip, hands, thighs, knee, and behind her left ear.” LH indicated that her brother had beaten her, although the beatings happened at different times.
However, after the teenage girl “LH” filed charges of rape, according to the “The Nation” on May 25, “LH” was then charged with the crime of “extramarital sex,” which could have led to a penalty of “lashes and a maximum sentence of life in prison,” with a minimum of three years in prison. LH then pleaded with the court to allow her to withdraw the rape charges, while one of the accused rapists laughed at her in court. According to the LA Times, LH appeared before the court “shackled and clothed in an inmate’s uniform of hunter green and a black headscarf” and “she rescinded the allegations ‘to get out of’ jail, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.”
The UAE court had reportedly considered the lesser criminal charge of “deception” against “LH,” but chose to convict of “consensual sex,” with a sentence of 1 year in prison.
One of the alleged rapists was also convicted of “consensual sex” with a sentence of 1 year in prison. Two of the men were given sentences of three months in prison “for being alone in the company of a woman.” The other men were only given fines.
According to “The Nation” that fines represented an application of Sharia law only, whereas the other convictions were a combination of UAE law and Sharia law together.
Human Rights Watch’s Middle East North Africa researcher Nadya Khalife told the Los Angeles Times that “The major legal ramification for women who have been raped is that they will most likely be charged with illegal sex or sex outside marriage. Illicit sex carries a harsh sentence of imprisonment and/or flogging.
Canadian media have reported on the conviction of Muhammad Parvez and Waqas Parvez, the 60 year old father and brother of 16 year old Muslim girl Aqsa Parvez, in the “honor killing” murder of Aqsa Parvez on December 10, 2007 in Mississauga, Canada.
Aqsa Parvez - 16 year old victim of December 10, 2007 "honor killing"
Canadian Justice Bruce Durno told a Brampton court that the actions of Muhammad Parvez and Waqas Parvez were “that twisted, chilling and repugnant mindset could imply that the family pride could at least be kept intact — or perhaps even enhanced — by having two grown men overpower and kill a vulnerable teenager.” Justice Durno stated that “It is profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old woman, no doubt facing significant challenges adjusting to living in a very different society than her parents’, could be murdered by her father and brother for the purpose of saving the family pride.” Justice Durno concluded that the “twisted, repugnant mindset requires a sentence that sends a message to others who would be like-minded. Because of the abhorrent motivation behind this crime and the gender inequality issues, 18 years is a fit sentence.”
Muslim teenager Aqsa Parvez killed in "honor killing" in December 2007 (Photo: Courtesy Ebonie Mitchell)
The Parvez family moved from Pakistan to Mississauga, Canada in 2001. Media reports that 16 year old Aqsa Parvez spoke to school officials about abusive home conditions. She preferred to wear Western fashions, rejected the hijab, sought to spend time with friends her age, sought to have a room with a door for privacy, and was seeking to hold a part-time job. She had gone to her first movie shortly before her death in December 2007. She had run away from home twice.
Canadian prosecuting attorney Sandra Caponecchia was quoted as stating “She confided in her closest friends that her father had sworn to her on the Koran that if she ran away again, he would kill her.”
The Toronto Star reported: “Based on their admissions and Aqsa’s mother’s words that were recorded in a police interview room, Durno seemed to agree with Crown prosecutors Sandra Caponecchia and Mara Basso that they killed her to uphold the family honor in their community.”
Mississauga News reported that Tarek Fatah, founder of the Canadian Muslim Congress stated Aqsa Parvez’ murder was “a blight on Islam” and that “Canadians are justified in raising concerns as to whether this is a sign of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in their own backyard… A young life has been snuffed out — likely in the name of honor and Islam.” On June 17, 2010, the National Post reported that “Canada should expect rise in honor killings,” quoting “Amin Muhammad, a professor of psychiatry at Memorial University of Newfoundland who specializes in transcultural psychiatry.”
Muslim teenager Aqsa Parvez killed in "honor killing" in December 2007 (Photo: Courtesy Ebonie Mitchell)
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports women’s rights and children’s rights to live without oppression, without fear, without intimidation, and without the threat and reality of violence against them. We urge all to support such universal human rights and dignity for all people, in accordance with our universal human rights. Choose Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.
