Category: Uncategorized

California: FBI joins investigation of Muslim leader’s death – “found inside a burned home that had recently been spray painted with racial epithets and Nazi symbols”

(U.S.) California: FBI joins investigation of Muslim leader’s death
— “The FBI is investigating the death of a Muslim leader whose body was found inside a burned home that had recently been spray painted with racial epithets and Nazi symbols”

Philippines church bomb blast kills five

Philippines church bomb blast kills five
— London Times: “Islamist militants have been blamed for a bomb blast in the Philippines today which killed at least five people and wounded dozens more.”
— “The bomb exploded outside the Immaculate Conception cathedral in Cotabato city, 545 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, as church-goers celebrated Mass.”

— GMA TV News Video

— GMA TV News: “Bomb attack on Cotabato City cathedral kills five, hurts 29”

— Philippines Daily Inquirer: “Blast near church kills 5, wounds 35”

— Herald Sun reports: “Catholic church blast kills five” — blames “Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the blast”

Gaza woman journalist: Hamas “police” “accused me of laughing in public” – now gets death threats

Asma al-Ghul — ‘They accused me of laughing in public’
— Jerusalem Post reports: “A Palestinian female journalist complained over the weekend that Hamas policemen attempted to arrest her under the pretext that she came to a Gaza beach dressed immodestly and was seen laughing in public.”
— report continues: “The journalist, Asma al-Ghul, said that the policemen instead confiscated her passport. Since the incident, she added, she has been afraid to leave her home, especially after receiving death threats from anonymous callers.”
— “‘They accused me of laughing loudly while swimming with my friend and failing to wear a hijab,’ Ghul told a human rights organization in the Gaza Strip. ‘They also wanted to know the identity of the people who were with me at the beach and whether they were relatives of mine.'”
— “In a phone interview with the Dubai-based Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news Web site, the journalist said that the policemen who stopped her belonged to the Hamas government’s Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice security force.”
— “The special force reports directly to the Ministry of Waqf Affairs and is said to be a copy of units that have long been operating in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.”
— “The Hamas government, according to local reporters, has refrained from publicly admitting that the force exists out of fear of being branded fundamentalist.”
— “The Hamas force consists of dozens of plainclothes police officers who patrol beaches, public gardens, restaurants, hair salons and coffee shops to make sure that males and females are not mixing together and that the women are dressed modestly.”
— “Ghul said that many Palestinian women have noticed the presence of the police officers at the beaches and other sites. She said that the talk in the Gaza Strip these days was about Hamas’s intention to impose the hijab on all female school children from first to 12th grade.”
— “She said she was astonished by the fact that the Hamas security forces were providing security to hotels that are frequented by women wearing miniskirts while at the same time targeting ‘common people’ who go to the beaches and public parks.”
— “Ghul said that Hamas has banned men in the Gaza Strip from swimming topless. ‘And as in my case, Hamas has banned women from laughing while swimming,’ she added.”
— “She and her friends were stopped by Hamas policemen while swimming in the sea. She said that the policemen confiscated her passport and laptop after accusing her of laughing loudly and appearing in immodest clothes in a public place.”
— “Two of her male friends were detained for questioning for three hours. They said the police officers beat them and abused them verbally before releasing them.”
— “Hamas security commanders initially said that the journalist and her friends were stopped because they were having a mixed party at the beach. Later, one of the commanders said that Ghul was stopped because she was not wearing a hijab while swimming. Another commander claimed that the journalist and her friends were stopped because they had been seeing smoking nargilas and partying in a public place.”
— “Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas security forces, said that policemen have been deployed at the beaches at the request of the Ministry for Waqf Affairs. He said the policemen’s task is to impose law and order and prevent harassment of families picnicking and swimming at the beaches.”
— “‘We are there for the safety of the people,’ he said. ‘We operate there to prevent men from harassing women. We’ve received many complaints about these negative practices.'”
— “Shahwan said that Hamas does not interfere with the way women want to dress. However, he stressed, ‘we must preserve our Islamic culture and traditions. If there’s a woman who wants to dress as she wishes, she must go to a private swimming pool and not to a public place.'”

UK: Report on Sharia courts state women’s word not sufficient – even in abuse cases

Daily Mail report: “Sharia law UK: Mail on Sunday gets exclusive access to a British Muslim court”
— “If the husband has disputed his wife’s word, the court demands her account is corroborated by other witnesses – preferably male. If the wife refuses to agree to give the husband access to their children, even in cases of possible child abuse, the divorce is stalled until that issue is resolved.”
…..
— “A few hardline leaders would like it to be taken even further. One told me that Britain should adopt sharia punishments such as stoning and the chopping off of hands to reduce violent crime.”
…..
— “Dr Hasan tells them that in every part of the world, there can be only one authority.”
— “‘In Britain, the ultimate authority is the Prime Minister. In an army, it is the commander-in-chief. On the bus, it is the bus driver. And in the house, the smallest unit of society, sharia says authority must be with the man to maintain the house.”
— “‘The woman’s duties are much harsher. Biologically, she differs,’ he says. Her duties lie with the cleaning and childcare.”
— “The mood turns black as Dr Hasan continues that under Islam, the woman is seen as someone who needs the protection of a man. In matters of divorce, the right of ending a marriage lies with the man because ‘women have emotions, whereas a man thinks first before he speaks’. “

Egyptian woman killed in German court drama

Egyptian woman killed in German court drama
— AFP/Expatica reports:
— “The 32-year-old woman was killed in a court in Dresden before she could testify against her attacker.”
— “Cairo — A woman stabbed to death in a German court was an Egyptian who had sued her attacker after he insulted her for wearing the Islamic headscarf, Egyptian newspapers reported on Friday.”
— “Marwa al-Sherbini, 32, who was killed in a court in Dresden on Wednesday, was the wife of Egyptian academic Elwi Ali Okaz who was also hurt in the incident and is now in critical condition in hospital, the state-owned Al-Akhbar reported.”
— “The attacker stabbed Sherbini ‘shortly before she was to give evidence in an appeal lodged by the man against a conviction for insulting her over wearing the hijab,’ said the state-owned Egyptian Gazette.”
— “The 28-year-old man, identified only as Axel W., was overpowered and was being investigated for manslaughter over the killing of the woman, a spokesman for the Dresden prosecutor’s office said.”
— “Magdi al-Sayed, press officer at the German embassy in Cairo, said the case was isolated and did not reflect German attitude towards Muslims.”
— “‘It is a criminal act — it has nothing to do with persecution against Muslims,’ Sayed told the Gazette.”

Uganda President says Uganda to pass law banning female genital mutilation (FGM)

— Mail and Guardian reports: “Uganda to outlaw female circumcision”
— “Uganda will pass a law banning female genital mutilation, which is rampant among pastoralist tribes in the country’s eastern region, the president said in a statement on Friday.”
— “Last year, the United Nations passed a resolution that called female genital mutilation a violation of the rights of women and said it constituted ‘irreparable, irreversible abuse'”

Pakistan: Another “Honor Killing” of Eloped Couple — Barki

— Pakistan Daily Times: “Couple killed in name of ‘honour'”
— “A newlywed couple was killed in the name of honour on Thursday within Barki Police precincts. Khalid and Shamim, the deceased, had eloped two months ago and were married without the consent of their families.”
— “On their return, Ramazan shot the couple, who died on their way to hospital. Police sources said Ramazan was Shamim’s cousin and she had been engaged to him when she eloped with Khalid. The deceased and the accused were all residents of village Chacho Wali.”
— “Love marriage couple shot dead”

— follows a similar “honor killing” of a couple and their family in Charsadda district on Monday June 29 – husband named Kamran Nawaz

Syria “amends” “honor killing law” – deciding that two years in jail is sufficient punishment for murdering a woman

“Syria amends honour killing law”
— “The new law replaces the existing maximum sentence of one year in jail with a minimum jail term of two years.”
— “The new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour ‘provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing'”
— “Activists say some 200 women are killed each year in honour cases by men who expect lenient treatment under the law”