London Times reports:
— “Baghdad was struck by a wave of co-ordinated bombings yesterday, killing 69 Shia Muslims as they left Friday prayers and marking a bloody blow for extremism in the chaotic wake of an election.”
— “A car bomb and two other bombs in Sadr City, the vast Shia suburb of Baghdad, claimed 39 lives, and another two blasts struck the Chalabi mosque and a mosque in the Ameen district.”
— “Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Iraq were blamed for the attack by officials and local people in Sadr City. They are the likely culprits behind a series of large-scale, co-ordinated bombings on embassies, apartment buildings and restaurants since the March 7 elections.”
Iraq: Shiite Muslim Victims after Religious Extremist Bomb Attack (Photo: London Time/Alice Fordham)
Saudi cleric fired for advocating mixing of sexes
— AP: “The head of Saudi Arabia’s powerful religious police has fired the chief of the Mecca branch for advocating the mixing of the sexes, an official from the force said Tuesday.”
— “Ahmed bin Qassim al-Ghamidi’s suggestion in a newspaper interview this week that men and women should be left to mingle freely directly clashed with a central preoccupation of the force.”
Saudi Gazette – April 6, 2010: “Segregation of sexes: Hai’a chief stands by his comment”
— “Ahmed Qassim Al-Ghamdi, the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai’a) in Makkah, has said he will not go back on his previous comments on the segregation of the sexes, and described opposition to his views from within his own organization as disgruntled individuals trying to ‘get their own back’.”
— “With a notable security presence and an audience of both sexes, Al-Ghamdi addressed the Taif Literary Club Sunday on a series of sensitive topics, although questions put to him concerning his views on segregation were blocked by the chairman and any attempt to broach the subject from other angles was quickly put paid to.”
— “Al-Ghamdi said, however, that the policy was not of his making.”
— “‘I didn’t ask the club to bar the subject or any questions on it from discussion,” Al-Ghamdi told Okaz. ‘You can write in the newspaper from my own mouth that I still hold to the view I expressed on ikhtilat, and I won’t go back on it, and I’ll continue to repeat what I wrote.'”
— “In an interview reported by Saudi Gazette last December Al-Ghamdi spoke at length on the subject of the mixing of sexes – “ikhtilat” – in which he described it in the current usage as ‘a recent adoption unknown to the early people of knowledge’.”
— “‘Mixing used to be part of normal life for the Ummah and its societies,’ he said, adding that the word ‘in its contemporary meaning has entered customary jurisprudential terminology from outside’.”
— “‘Those who prohibit ikhtilat cling to weak ahadith, while the correct ahadith prove that mixing is permissible, contrary to what they claim,’ Al-Ghamdi said.”
— “The Sheikh revealed, however, that among those who opposed his views were some Hai’a officials who he had previously ‘punished for administrative irregularities’.”
— “‘Their response was a form of vengeance. They were trying to stir trouble and get their own back,’ he said, believing them to have seen the interview as a ‘provocation’ and a chance to take revenge for being punished. “Some of them were extremists in thought, something which we won’t accept in the Hai’a,” he said.” December 11, 2009 – Saudi Gazette: Hai’a chief: Kaust an ‘extraordinary move and huge accomplishment’ — “The head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Makkah has added his voice of support to the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) and addressed the issue of “ikhtilat” – the mixing of the sexes – that has prompted numerous scholars and commentators to speak out in recent months.”
— “‘The term ‘ikhtilat’ in this usage is a recent adoption that was unknown to the early people of knowledge,’ Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi said in a lengthy interview with Okaz.”
— “‘Mixing was part of normal life for the Ummah and its societies.'”
— “‘The word in its contemporary meaning has entered customary jurisprudential terminology from outside,’ Al-Ghamdi said.”
— “‘Those who prohibit the mixing of the genders actually live it in their real lives, which is an objectionable contradiction, as every fair-minded Muslim should follow Shariah judgments without excess or negligence,’ Al-Ghamdi said.”
— “‘In many Muslim houses – even those of Muslims who say mixing is haram – you can find female servants working around unrelated males,’ he said.”
Multiple reports from the media and NGOs are being released this week on multiple efforts to attack Nigeria Christians and farmers, some of which have been prevented by the military and some which have resulted in deaths. On April 21, 2010, THISDAY reported the exhumation of seven new bodies of people murdered by Fulani herdsmen in Riyom, where two Christian farmers were murdered on April 19, 2010.
Nigeria – This Day: Jos Killing: Seven Bodies Exhumed in Riyom
— “Seven fresh dead bodies believed to be those of travelers were yesterday evening exhumed from three shallow graves by Military Special Task Force (STF) in Rahoss in Riyom local government area of Plateau State.”
— “They were believed to have been killed secretly in the early hours of yesterday by hoodlums.
— “This followed a renewed attack in the area on Monday evening in which suspected Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed five in the area.
— “The youth in the area were said to have gone wild after the attack, a development that allegedly led to the attack of the travelers.
— “THISDAY gathered that the Fulani made an unexpected attack on Rim village on Monday evening and raided some farmers who were returning from their farms, killing five and injuring many others, before the men of the Military STF got to the scene.
Compass Direct News: “Nigeria: Pastor, Wife Killed in Northern Nigeria ” — “Suspected extremists last week abducted and killed a Church of Christ in Nigeria pastor and his wife in Boto village, Bauchi state in northern Nigeria. The Rev. Ishaku Kadah, 48, and his 45-year-old wife Selina were buried on Saturday (April 17) after unidentified assailants reportedly whisked them from their church headquarters home on Tuesday (April 13) and killed them. Their burnt bodies were found hours later.”
Nigerian troops foil sectarian attack
— AFP: “The Nigerian army said Monday it had averted an attack by suspected Muslim extremists on a mainly Christian village in the flashpoint central Plateau State, killing two gunmen.”
Nigeria: Two Christian farmers killed in Nigeria
— AFP: “Kano – Two Christian farmers were killed on Monday and two others went missing in fresh attacks by suspected Muslim-Fulani nomads in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, police and residents said.”
— “The Fulani nomads allegedly attacked the farmers who were working on their farms ahead of the rainy season in Christian-dominated Riyom village, 30km south of Jos, capital of the volatile state.”
— “‘We received reports that four people were declared missing in Riyom after they went to the farm in the early morning but never returned,” Plateau State police spokesperson Mohammed Lerama told reporters on the phone from Jos.”
— “‘A search team discovered two bodies out of the four missing farmers. The two others are still unaccounted for,’ Lerama said.”
— “Riyom resident, Daniel Pam, blamed Fulani nomads for the attack.”
— “‘It is obvious the killings were carried out by the Fulani nomads who have been on the prowl in the last two months,” Pam also said on phone from Riyom village.” April 19, 2010 – NEXT: Two killed in another attack in Jos — “At least two persons were killed in the early hours of Sunday morning in an attack on Bisichi Community, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.”
— “The Chairman of Jos South Local Government Council, Moses Dalyop, confirmed the attack to the News Agency of Nigeria, saying that the attackers invaded the village at about 3 a.m.”
— “Mr. Dalyop said, ‘I am a very sad person today following an attack on Bisichi again in the early hours of today. I am surprised that innocent people have continued to be killed in their sleep, despite the curfew.'”
Burials of victims at the Dogo Nahawa village, in Jos recently. Photo: NEXT
Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi Cites 7th-Century Muslim Scholar: If Your Wife Bothers You – Beat Her with the Rod
— MEMRI reports: “In a recent TV sermon, Egyptian cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi extolled the virtues of corporal punishment to keep wives in check. Using stories from the early days of Islam to support his argument, Al-Sawsawi said that when there are marital problems, ‘the solution is to give the man a free hand to discipline his family members and to control them. By no means can a woman be the head [of the family].'”
— “In the sermon, aired January 7, 2010 on the Egyptian Islamic channel Al-Nas TV, Al-Sawsawi recounted the story of Said Ibn Al-Musayyib, a 7th-century Muslim scholar known for his piety, who married off his daughter to his student, Abu Wada’. Al-Musayyib imparted to his son-in-law advice on how to deal with his new wife: ‘If she bothers you – if something annoys you, or if you suspect anything – beat her on the spot with the rod. Break her head.'”
— “He continued with another story – that of Asmaa, the daughter of the Caliph Abu Bakr, whose husband Zubeir would tie her to his other wife by their hair and beat them both. When Asmaa complained to her father about this unfairness, (‘he beat me black and blue, even though I didn’t do a thing”), Abu Bakr’s response was: ‘Go back to Zubeir. He is a good man, and he may become your husband in Paradise.'”
— “Al-Sarsawi blamed modern media – television and the movies – for fomenting ‘a revolution in domestic leadership,’ such that today ‘in many homes, the woman is the man. She tells her husband what to do, and he says: ‘Yes, ma’am.'” He warned that handing over the leadership to women, who “cannot drive a car, let alone head a home, or anything beyond that,’ is destroying Muslim homes.”
— “Al-Sarsawi also lashed out at women’s rights supporters, saying that they hate women and “bring them down to sin.” He said that women who go out to work expect equality and want to discuss everything – with the result that the home is turned “into a parliament.” “Women’s rights supporters in Europe and America are all swindlers,’ he said.”
Clip 1 from MEMRI Translation of Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi Television Broadcast on Women (Photo: MEMRI)Clip 2 from MEMRI Translation of Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi Television Broadcast on Women (Photo: MEMRI)Clip 3 from MEMRI Translation of Egyptian Cleric Mazen Al-Sarsawi Television Broadcast on Women (Photo: MEMRI)
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our unqualified, universal human rights for all people.
Media reports state that “students” of the anti-democracyextremist organization “Islam4UK” leader Anjem Choudary attacked MP George Galloway’s entourage at a public event. BBC is reporting that Anjem Choudary claims the report is “fabricated.” Anjem Choudary has repeatedly called for the end of secular democracy and human rights in the United Kingdom.
— BBC reports: George Galloway entourage ‘attacked by Islamic pupils’
— “Mr Galloway’s spokesman said: “There were three characters who were shouting abuse.”
— “‘They were shouting ‘kafir’ [a derogatory word for non-believer], which is very insulting, and that Mr Galloway deserved to die.'”
— “‘They were very aggressive and then they lunged forward towards Mr Galloway. I would certainly consider it an attack.'”
— “The spokesman said that the men barged and pushed other members of the entourage and, had they not been in the way, he believes Mr Galloway would have been assaulted.”
— “He said: ‘It was their intention to have physical contact. Their ire is directed at us because we have Muslims involved in the campaign, and they don’t think Muslims should play a part in democracy.'”
— “Anjem Choudary, ex-leader of Islam4UK, said the claim was ‘fabricated’.”
— “He said the men were his former students who had studied the Islamic religion with him, but refused to say if they were former members of the now-banned Islam4UK group.”
East London Advertiser reports:
— “MP GEORGE Galloway has been attacked by a group he claims were Muslim extremists while election campaigning in East London.”
— “He was with supporters in Shadwell’s Watney Market around 3pm on Saturday when he says he and his Respect party colleagues were abused, then attacked by the group.”
— “‘They called me a filthy Kaffir,’ said Galloway. ‘They shouted that no-one should shake the ‘filthy Kaffir’s hand.'”
— “‘They hate me because I encourage Muslims to vote and take a full part in our society.'” East London Advertiser also reports:
— “THREE men have been bailed on suspicion of hurling abuse at Respect politician George Galloway as he hit the campaign trail in Shadwell.”
— “The men aged 22, 25 and 27 are all from the Bethnal Green and Shoreditch area and were arrested on Saturday afternoon on suspicion of using threatening words and behaviour and attempting to lunge at Mr Galloway at Watney Market. They have been bailed until May.”
— “Trio bailed after ‘abuse attack’ on Galloway”
— “He believed the men the men were shouting insults to deter people from voting because they are opposed to the political process.”
Anjem Choudary of Anti-Democracy Group "Islam4UK"
See also previous R.E.A.L. Postings on Anjem Choudary’s Group in the United Kingdom
R.E.A.L. summarizes reports on a new proposed domestic violence bill in Pakistan, opposition to it, and reports on domestic violence in Pakistan. In August 2009, a similar bill was reportedly “passed” by the Pakistan National Assembly, but was rejected due to inaction by the Pakistan Senate and the rest of the Pakistan government by December 2009. In January 2010, the U.S. government announced plans for $7.5 billion in aid for Pakistan.
— April 8, 2010: AP reports: “Pakistan edges closer to banning domestic violence” — after acid attack on her face, destroying her left eye, wife Zakia Perveen said “I just thought it was my destiny, my fate.”
— “Rights advocates hope a proposed law banning domestic violence will chip away at such attitudes, giving women a more even playing field and bringing Pakistan in line with a growing number of developing nations that have outlawed spousal abuse.”
— “But Islamist lawmakers in Parliament are objecting, claiming the law could tear apart the social fabric by undermining families.”
— “In 2008, there were at least 7,571 incidents of acid attacks, rapes, spousal beatings and other violence against women, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights group. Because the group relied mostly on media reports, the figure is likely a vast undercount.”
— “Other surveys have shown up to 80 percent of wives in rural parts of Pakistan fear physical violence from their husbands, while 50 percent of women in urban areas admit their husbands beat them, according to a 2009 U.S. State Department report on Pakistan.”
Pakistan: Abused Wife Zakia Perveen - who was attacked with acid in her face by her husband - losing her left eye (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
“The number of cases of violence in different categories of offenses and their province-wise breakdown is as follows. There were:
— 1384 cases of murder:
(752 in Punjab; 288 in Sindh; 266 in NWFP; 39 in Balochistan; 39 in Islamabad);
— 604 cases of honor killing:
(245 in Punjab; 284in Sindh; 14 in NWFP; 59 in Balochistan; 2 in Islamabad);
— 1987 cases of abduction/kidnapping:
(1698 in Punjab; 160 in Sindh; 64 in NWFP; 13 in Balochistan; 52 in Islamabad);
— 608 cases of domestic violence:
(271 in Punjab; 134 in Sindh; 163 in NWFP; 22 in Balochistan; 18 in Islamabad);
— 683 cases of suicide:
( 448 in Punjab; 176 in Sindh; 43 in NWFP; 10 in Balochistan; 6 in Islamabad);
— 928 cases of rape/gang-rape:
(786 in Punjab; 122 in Sindh; 7 in NWFP; 4 in Balochistan; 9 in Islamabad);
— 274 cases of sexual assault:
(227 in Punjab; 44 in Sindh; 0 in NWFP; 2 in Balochistan; 1 in Islamabad);
— 50 cases of stove burning:
(33 in Punjab; 10 in Sindh; 4 in NWFP; 1 in Balochistan; 2 in Islamabad);
— 53 cases of acid throwing:
(42 in Punjab; 9 in Sindh; 1 in NWFP; 0 in Balochistan; 1 in Islamabad);
— 1977 cases of violence were of miscellaneous nature (vanni/swara, custodial violence, torture, trafficking, child marriages, incest, threat to violence, sexual harassment, attempted murder, suicide & rape) in the four provinces and Islamabad.”
A year ago, similar media reports stated efforts were in progress on a new domestic violence law in Pakistan. In August 2009, Dawn reported that a “private bill” on domestic violence had passed in the Pakistan National Assembly, which required approval by the Pakistan Senate. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) in Pakistan has previously warned that a law against domestic violence will “push up divorce rates,” according to Dawn. But by December 25, 2009, ANI reported “the [Pakistan] Government has seemingly lost sight of it.” On December 25, 2009, ANI reported: “when the bill was sent to the Senate, Mohammad Khan Sheerani, of the JUI-F, raised some objections, leading to a deferment of hearing, and then the Government slept on the matter and now the bill has lapsed… to make it a law the Government was required to get the bill passed through the upper house within 90 days of its receipt.”
— In another report by Shirin Sadeghi, Pakistan group Women Protection Project’s Dr. Khola Iram states “When you talk about domestic violence in Pakistan, some men in the educated classes, for instance, say that women are not the ones who are dying, it’s the police officers, they are all males… They don’t consider citizen security as security of women also.”
— Shirin Sadeghi reports “Dr. Iram is subdued as she explains that Pakistan, a nation of over 90 million women and girls, does not have a domestic violence law.”
— Shirin Sadeghi also tells of how Pakistani women have been “married” to inanimate objects and even pigeons to save their inheritance. Shirin Sadeghi reports: “The concept of marrying a female family member to an inanimate object, such as the Koran, or an animal, is too often employed to ensure that the inheritance will never be lost. ‘We had a case in Bhawalpur where the lady was married to a pigeon just to save the inheritance. I mean, what kind of Islam is that?’ Dr. Iram says.”
Pakistan: Report on Al-Huda International – “Many girls have been ‘transformed’ by Ms Hashmi who now believe in limiting their existence to the four walls of the house”
Pakistan’s The News reports: “25 Hindu girls abducted every month, claims HRCP official”
— “As many as 20 to 25 girls from the Hindu community are abducted every month and converted forcibly, said Amarnath Motumal, an advocate and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.”
— “‘There is no official record to support this statement, but according to estimates, in Karachi alone, a large number of Hindu girls are being kidnapped on a routine basis,’ Motumal told The News. “The families of the victims are scared to register cases against the influential perpetrators as death threats are issued to them in case they raise their voice. So, the victims choose to remain silent to save their lives,’ he said.”
— “Motumal said the word ‘Hindu’ had become an insult and a kind of abuse for the Hindu community. ‘Almost 90 per cent of the Hindu community comprise poor and impoverished families whose needs and rights have been neglected by the ones at the helms of power,’ he said, adding that since a majority of the people feel helpless, only a few families come to him with their cases.”
— “A former MPA, Bherulal Balani, said that the Hindu girls, especially the ones belonging to scheduled castes, were mostly being abducted from the Lyari area. “Once the girls are converted, they are then sold to other people or are forced to do illegal and immoral activities,” Balani said. He added the perpetrators were very powerful and that was the reason that no cases were being registered against them.”
— “The number of attacks against the Hindu community has increased in the interior Sindh during the last three months. At least nine incidents have been reported which range from forced conversion of Hindus to rape and murders.”
— “In one incident, a 17-year-old girl ‘K’ was gang-raped in Nagarparker area. In another incident, a 15-year-old girl ‘D’ was allegedly abducted from Aaklee village, Tharparkar, and was forced to convert. About 71 families migrated from the village in protest against the girl’s abduction.”
— “Moreover, the Hindu communities were not even spared on the occasion of their joyous festival of Holi as two girls, Anita and Kishni, were kidnapped in Kotri. Moreover, two Hindu boys, Ajay and Sagar, were abducted from another place on the same day.”
— “One Amir Gul was murdered in the beginning of March in Tando Haider, Umerkot, allegedly by a landlord. Later in the month, a boy, Kishan Kumar, was kidnapped from Kandhkot, Jacobabad.”
— “MPA Pitamber Sewani told The News that these acts were being done by certain elements who believe that these minority communities might support the government in the upcoming local bodies’ elections, and these elements want to harass them.”
— “However, President Pakistan Hindu Council Ramesh Kumar criticised the minorities’ representatives for not raising their voice at relevant forums. He said that they were simply representing their respective parties and not the poor people. He added that poor economic conditions had led to an increase in kidnapping cases in the province, especially in the Kandhkot and Jacobabad areas.”
— “Coordinator HRCP Task Force Sindh Dr Ashothama Lohano told The News the according to their one fact-finding report, the most affected persons of violence belonged to Hindu and Christian communities. He said that various reasons have been cited for this. ‘The recent wave of extremism is one reason, which has destroyed the harmony of the land of Sufis. Another reason is the destruction of the agriculture sector and small markets that has led to frustration and lawlessness. Yet another reason is that the elected representatives are working only for the party and not for the community,’ Dr Lohano added.”
— “He further said that minority communities were easy targets as the Hindus were generally hesitant to raise voice against the injustices. ‘When the Hindu communities become politically active, they are blamed for having Indian connections,’ doctor Lohano said.”
Pakistan: 12 year-old girl Nadini abducted and missing since December 2009 (Pakistan Daily Times)
