Tag Archives: Topic: Islam

BBC: “A group of village elders and clerics sentenced Sufia Begum under Sharia law to 40 lashes for adultery. The 40-year-old died of her injuries almost a month after the beating in Rajshahi district, her family says.”

Jerusalem Post: “Discrepancies between colloquial and literary Arabic may have far-reaching legal ramifications in Egypt. Egypt may have the highest divorce rate in the Arab world, but that might be moot if a new ruling by the country’s senior jurists goes into effect. Sheikh ‘Ali Goma’a, Grand Mufti of Egypt, found in a recent study that the Egyptian mispronunciation of the Arabic word for ‘divorced’ may nullify the action, meaning the couple was still legally married.”

Raymond Ibrahim writing at Hudson New York: “So much for Sweden epitomizing Al Qaeda’s respect for freedom. Why the change in policy? According to an audio-recording issued by the terrorists minutes before the attack, the vitriol is such that ‘all Mujahadeen [jihadists] in Europe and Sweden’ are to prepare for action: ‘Now is the time to strike, do not wait any longer.’”

Associated Press: “The incoming head of the House Committee on Homeland Security says he will hold hearings on what he calls the ‘radicalization’ of some American Muslims.”

Washington Times: “The second and more threatening wave is the creeping takeover of Western political and social institutions, something Mr. Rubin calls the ‘silent tsunami.’ The spearhead of this movement is ‘collusion between Islamic ideologues and the far left to promote the idea of moral relativism,’ he said, ‘that all values and ideologies are equal. But they are not. Americans have never believed this.’ One dangerous manifestation of this viewpoint is the fashionable intellectual movement to infiltrate Shariah law interpretations into American jurisprudence, something for which there is no need and no precedent and which is antithetical to American norms and traditions.”

Associated Press: “Sudan’s president has vowed to more deeply entrench strict Islamic Sharia law in the northern half of his country if the predominantly animist and Christian south votes to secede in a Jan. 9 referendum.”

Reuters: “The Netherlands could ban the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women, as soon as next year, Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders told Reuters in an interview Thursday.”

Daily News Journal: “Plaintiffs’ attorney Joe M. Brandon Jr. submitted a response today, printed below, to a November court ruling related to his clients suing Rutherford County for approving Islamic Center of Murfreesboro’s Veals Road site plans.”

CBC: “A French court has ruled against a woman who sued a private child-care centre that fired her for wearing an Islamic headscarf and cloak to work.”

Mercury News (AP): “An organization called Concerned American Citizens filed the appeal Thursday, arguing that the panel showed favoritism to the Islamic Center of Temecula Valley.”

Agenzia Fides: “An alliance among radical Islamic groups – which includes religious parties, Islamic movements, organizations allied with terrorist groups – has called a large mass national demonstration entitled Namos-e-risalat, that is, defending the honour of the Prophet Muhammad on 24 December, after Friday prayers, to say ‘no’ to the release of Asia Bibi and any changes to the blasphemy law.”

Asia News: “On the evening of December 15 armed militants abducted a young Christian female student from her home in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul.”

Christian Post: “Ashraf Thabet, 45, is charged with defaming a revealed religion, Article 98f of the Egyptian Penal Code. The charges stem from Thabet’s six-year search for spiritual meaning that eventually led him to become a Christian. During his search, he shared his doubts about Islam and told others what he was learning about Jesus Christ.”

Vatican Radio: “Fr. Rafic Greische is the director of communications for the Catholic Church in Egypt. Speaking from Cairo, he told Tracey McClure Copts and Muslims have organized small protests calling for the release of the many children who were among those arrested. ”

Associated Press: “The U.N. criticized Sweden on Friday for deporting five Iraqi Christians back to their homeland as Iraq’s Christian community comes under severe threat of militant attacks.”

OneNewsNow: “Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, tells OneNewsNow the government’s action is unprecedented. ‘This is an absolute bully club being used by the federal government in this lawsuit against the school to literally force this school to go out of their way to make unreasonable accommodations for a Mecca pilgrimage,’ he says.”

Hudson New York: “The three cables, all of which are from the US Embassy in Madrid, say that Catalonia has become ‘a prime base of operations” for Islamic terrorists; and thanks to uncontrolled immigration the region, it now has a “large Muslim population susceptible to jihadist recruitment.’”

Associated Press: “An Indonesian court has sentenced an American businessman to five months in jail for marching into a mosque during Islamic prayers and ripping cables from the loud speakers.”

IsraelNationalNews.com: “The citizen, 63-year-old Helmut G., was told by the court that his yodeling offended his next-door Muslim neighbors, who accused him of trying to mock and imitate the call of the Muezzin.”

Christian Science Monitor: “German officials said the preemptive raids, conducted under German anti-Nazi laws of association, were aimed at uncovering unconstitutional or separatist acts and not part of an international terror hunt.”

Christian Post: “The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom wants the government to use Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council meeting on Iraq as an ‘opportunity’ to address the ‘grave situation facing that country’s Christians and other imperiled religious minorities.’” | USCIRF press release is here.

Washington Post: “Police fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse hundreds of Muslims participating in religious processions in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Wednesday. At least six people were injured, police said.”

Al Masy Al Youm: “Egyptian fathers and sons are expected to save 100 percent of their joint salaries for 3 to 8 years in order to save for marriage, according to Singerman. But with Egyptian saving rates currently at around 17 percent, it can take a father and son duo anywhere from 16 (highest income bracket surveyed) to 43 (lowest income bracket surveyed) years to come up with sufficient marriage funds.”

National Post: “The remains of a Canadian diplomat buried in Turkey were reportedly forcibly removed from a local cemetery after a prominent Muslim family said they weren’t comfortable praying next to a Christian grave.”

Boston.com [AP]: “Iranians convicted for same-sex activities are on death row and awaiting hanging, including several who were minors when arrested, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.” Access the report here.

Associated Press: “Two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a mosque in southeastern Iran on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people, including a newborn baby, at a Shiite mourning ceremony, state media reported.”

Daily Camera: “Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle will allow a Muslim woman to wear her head-covering in a jail booking photo, provided she push the scarf back far enough to expose her hairline and ears.”

Douglas Murray writing in the Wall Street Journal [full text via Google News]: “It’s that time of the year again. And alongside the familiar traditions of carols, tinsel and unwanted gifts, comes a new tradition: Somewhere in the world a Muslim radicalized in Britain will try to blow up innocent men, women and children in a suicide mission.”

Panacea or Pathetic Fallacy? The Swiss Ban on Minarets

“On November 29, 2009, Swiss voters adopted a ballot initiative introducing a constitutional ban on the construction of minarets. This Article provides a thick description of the minaret vote’s context. A legal analysis addresses the implications of the ban under national, regional, and international normative frameworks. The Article argues that the ban is irreconcilable with the Swiss constitutional bill of rights and several international human right provisions. In Switzerland, however, respect for the vox populi potentially trumps any concern over conflicting international obligations, and there is no effective judicial review of initiatives. This lack of judicial review is partly a result of the myth system of modern Switzerland and its emphasis on popular sovereignty. Yet, the fears that fueled the prohibition of minarets in Switzerland are widespread in Europe. Hostility to Islam is partly rooted in historical traditions and partly due to disagreement over how to integrate newcomers into Western society, and this Article suggests an approach that carefully balances expectations of Muslim adaptation with a less exclusive construction of European identity.”

UPI: “The European community is ‘very concerned’ about the plight of members of the Christian minority in Iraq, the president of the European Parliament said.”

European Parliament resolution of 25 November 2010 on Iraq: the death penalty (notably the case of Tariq Aziz) and attacks against Christian communities | Press Release

WSBTV: “On Monday, the Lilburn City Council voted 2-2, causing the council to deny the zoning request because the city’s legal counsel said that has the effect of a denial.”

AFP: “A Muslim group in India on Tuesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging a ruling that divided a bitterly-contested religious site between Hindus and Muslims.”

Associated Press: “The federal government sued a suburban Chicago school district Monday for denying a Muslim middle school teacher unpaid leave to make a pilgrimage to Mecca that is a central part of her religion.” | Department of Justice press release is here. | Eugene Volokh comments here.

My Fox Atlanta [AP]: “A Muslim woman who was arrested after she refused to remove her headscarf in a west Georgia courthouse has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Douglasville and the officers who arrested her.”

“It is estimated that of the 100,000 Christians who once lived in Mosul, Iraq, only some 5,000 are still there.”

AP: “German authorities raided homes and religious schools connected to two radical Islamist groups with suspected terrorist links on Tuesday morning, the Interior Ministry said.”

Reuters: “A Catholic church that has been a landmark in Algeria’s capital for over a century officially re-opened on Monday after restoration work, providing a symbol of religious tolerance in the mainly Muslim country.”

Guy Milliere writing at Hudson New York: “There are no political alternatives here: in every European country, political parties fall into one of two camps:Protest Movements that foment and channel discontent and resentment though they have no chance to prevail in national elections; and Incumbent Establishment Parties that offer only statism, political interventionism, redistribution and stagnation. Even if an elected politician actually did try to move in an encouraging new direction, his efforts would be quickly squelched: Europe’s key decisions are now made in technocratic and bureaucratic spheres where voters have no sway.”

Associated Press: “Attorney General Eric Holder reiterated his resolve to prosecute hate crimes while standing behind the methods used in anti-terrorism cases during a speech Friday night before a Muslim advocacy group near San Francisco.”

Hurriyet Daily News: “Turkish State Minister Faruk Çelik introduced a new draft curriculum for compulsory religious classes Monday in continuing efforts to accommodate the country’s Alevi community’s demands that new textbooks be produced for the classes.”

Hudson New York: “The German state of Lower Saxony will start including Islam in its schools’ core curriculum as part of an initiative to counter growing anti-Islam sentiment in Europe. Dr. Bernad Althusmann, Minister of Education in Lower Saxony announced that schools there will start including Islamic education in their main curriculum . . . ”

Christian Science Monitor: “The key symbol in the matter is Aasia Bibi, a 45-year-old Christian woman currently facing the death penalty on the charge of insulting the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. Government officials originally promised to pardon but she continues to languish in jail. Some analysts say that the government’s apparent willingness to bow to Islamist extremists in the matter could undermine the country’s gains in the ongoing battle against the Taliban.”

AFP: “Indonesian Christians appealed to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for protection on Monday after Muslim vigilante groups, backed by police, surrounded their homes and forced them to leave.”

SanaNews: “The religious parties of the country have announced to launch movement on the expected amendment in blasphemy laws by the government.”

OneNewsNow: “Britain’s interior minister said Sunday she will consider barring from the country a Florida pastor who threatened to burn a Quran on the anniversary of 9/11.”

Associated Press: “At his local mosque in England, Taimour Abdulwahab alarmed elders with his extreme views on Islam. On the Internet, he posted videos of Chechen fighters and abused Iraqi prisoners.”

New York Times: “A new wave of Iraqi Christians has fled to northern Iraq or abroad amid a campaign of violence against them and growing fear that the country’s security forces are unable or, more ominously, unwilling to protect them.”

TIME: “Authorities refused to comment on press reports naming a 29-year-old, Iraqi-born Swede as the perpetrator, nor is it known if the explosions were the work of a single individual or a terrorist cell. But already the incident has raised an uncomfortable question for a country that prides itself on open democracy: Can Sweden continue to guard civil liberties while meeting 21st century security threats?”

Associated Press: “A French court has annulled a fine given to a woman driver wearing an Islamic face veil, months before a ban on wearing the garments goes into effect.”

Radio Free Europe: “Hundreds of people protested in Azerbaijan today for the right to wear Islamic head scarves in schools, challenging the strictly secular regime.”

Telegraph: “The backtracking happened quietly, and it’s not even mentioned in the official press releases. At a meeting of the Council in charge of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) on 7th December 2010, Ministers dropped the plans for the compulsory labelling of non-stunned meat and meat products. It will now be impossible for European meat-eating consumers to know whether or not they are eating meat from animals that were stunned prior to slaughter.”

MSN / AFP: “Turkey’s Alevis, a distinct moderate sect of Islam, have put government support for religious freedom to the test by pressing for broader rights in a country where they are often seen as heretics.”

Gay City News: “In an historic first for the country considered the most Catholic in Europe, Krystian Legierski became Poland’s first openly gay elected official when he was elected to Warsaw’s City Council in country-wide municipal elections on November 21.”

Christian Century: “Backers of a referendum that would bar Oklahoma courts from considering Islamic law admit they suffered a setback when a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the measure last month. But they are pinning their hopes on Attorney General-elect Scott Pruitt, a minor league baseball team owner and former state senator who has already made a big mark on religious laws in Oklahoma.”

Crosswalk: “Nurta Mohamed Farah, who had fled her village of Bardher, Gedo Region to Galgadud Region to live with relatives after her parents tortured her for leaving Islam, died on Nov. 25. Area sources said they strongly suspected that the two unidentified men in Galgadud Region who shot her in the chest and head with a pistol were relatives or acting on their behest.”

Jonathan Wynne-Jones writing in The Telegraph: “Today may come to represent a significant milestone in the changing face of religion in Britain, following the Church of England’s publication of plans to merge three dioceses into one . . . It is also difficult not to see the merger – or axing depending on which way you’re looking at it – in the context of the rise of Islam in Britain. In Bradford, one of the dioceses that is being subsumed, Muslims make up as much as three-quarters of the population in some parishes.”

Christian Concern: “It is reported that more than 140 primary and secondary schools across Britain have won the right to opt out of the legal requirement to provide a daily act of worship which is ‘broadly Christian’ in character. Some schools have adopted Islamic assemblies where pupils are reading the Koran whilst others promote the multi-faith approach.”

Michelle Malkin writing at Townhall: “When jihad-bent American Muslims target American soldiers on American soil, why does America yawn? The Fort Hood massacre has faded from view. The Little Rock Army recruiting station ambush barely registered on the national radar screen. And the arrest this week of a Baltimore-area bomb plotter, intent on blowing up a military center and murdering our troops in the name of Allah, was met with a collective shrug.”

The Constitutional Court of Austria [Google Translation]: “The Constitutional Court has ruled [against] the approach taken by the Federal Minister of the Constitution. Nowhere in the relevant Austrian Laws is [it said] that . . . only one Islamic or confessional community must be [the] religion. [On the contrary]: Such a view violates Article 9 of the European Human Rights Convention (right to Religion).”

Federal Administrative Court of Germany [Google Translation]: “The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, by orders from today in two cases in which this is about the refugee status because of religious persecution, called [on] the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg . . . for a preliminary ruling [concerning] the interpretation of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of the European Union (Qualification Directive). This [includes] the alignment of legal conditions for the granting of refugee status within the European Union. The German legislature . . . implemented the directive in August 2007.”

Central Chronicle: “In an apparent move to appease its 20-million-strong Muslim minority, Communist China plans to build mosques across the country to meet their religious requirement.”

USA Today: “Although Oklahoma’s law is the first to come under court scrutiny, legislators in at least seven states, including Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah, have proposed similar laws, the National Conference of State Legislatures says. Tennessee and Louisiana have enacted versions of the law banning use of foreign law under certain circumstances.”

The Legal Project: “Through cases like those enumerated above related to expression concerning Islam, and through countless others directed more generally at protecting individual liberty on our campuses, the FIRE is helping students to unlearn some dangerous lessons they are being taught at our colleges and universities about the scope of individual liberty.”

Cleveland.com [RNS]: “A new educational program in the western German town of Osnabrueck is about a month into an experiment to help imams learn about European society so that they, in turn, can give better advice to their followers . . . Supporters of the German programs eventually want to go beyond filling knowledge gaps on Western society to providing university degrees for would-be imams or Islamic teachers in grade schools.”

Arutz Sheva: “Several weeks ago, Palestinian Authority police arrested 26-year-old Walid al-Husseini because of a series of anti-religious blog posts he had written. Now PA officials say Husseini is not in jail for his religious beliefs, but rather, for his own safety. If he is released, they say, he could be murdered.”

Jeff Jacoby writing in the Boston Globe: “America is many things, but ‘Islamophobic’ plainly isn’t one of them. As Time itself acknowledged: ‘Polls have shown that most Muslims feel safer and freer in the US than anywhere else in the Western world.’ That sentiment is powerfully buttressed by the FBI’s newly released statistics on hate crimes in the United States.”

Radio Netherlands Worldwide: “Malaysia’s law minister on Wednesday shot down calls to ban underage marriage, despite an uproar over the recent wedding of a 14-year-old Muslim school girl.”

Sydney Morning Herald: “An Islamist militant group, the Indian Mujahideen, has circulated an email claiming responsibility. It said the attack was to ‘avenge’ the 1992 destruction of the 16th-century Babri mosque by Hindu mobs in the Uttar Pradesh town of Ayodhya.”

Interfax: “The organization is called the Russian Association of Islamic Accord (All-Russian Muslim Board). This organization will be the fourth centralized Muslim organizations, the three others being the Central Spiritual Muslim Board, the Council of Muftis of Russia, and the Coordination Center of the North Caucasus Muslims.”

Associated Press: “The father-in-law of a young Afghan woman who said her nose and ears were sliced off to punish her for running away from her violent husband has been arrested, officials said Wednesday.”

Pakistan Christian TV has posted this document which purports to be a filing with the Pakistan Supreme Court on behalf of Aasia Bibi and other persecuted Christians.

AP: “Three dozen top Israeli rabbis threw their support Tuesday behind a religious ruling barring Jews from selling or renting homes to non-Jews – an indication of growing radicalism within the rabbinical community at a time of mounting friction between Israeli Arabs and Jews.”

Breitbart Big Peace: “The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is preaching a global Caliphate and Islamic Shari’a law over America to its members, according to the 2010 ICNA Member’s Hand Book. This is a very different message than the group’s public outreach efforts, and contradicts claims that the organization is a tolerant, mainstream Islamic group . . . ”

Tom Strode writes at Baptist Press: “Religious freedom advocates welcomed the continued decline in international support for the concept of “defamation of religions” as evidenced in a recent vote in the United Nations.”

Religion Clause Blog: “According to M and C, a Pakistani court yesterday temporarily blocked action on government-proposed amendments to relax the country’s blasphemy laws while the court considers a citizen’s petition claiming that Parliament does not have a constitutional right to amend the country’s laws relating to religion . . . ”