Entries Tagged 'Sharia' ↓
August 16th, 2010 — 1389 Blog Mailbox, Bush family, CzechRebel (author), Iraq, Islam, Obama, Saudi Arabia, September 11, 2001, Sharia, Turkey
Keep those cards and letters coming!
From: slvrfox55
Subject: WHY MICHELLE CAME HOME
Date: August 11, 2010 2:16:17 PM EDT
Sheppard Smith, Fox News:
“If you check President Obama’s last trip over-seas, his wife left just after their visit to France…She has yet to accompany him to any Arab country. Think about it. Why is Michelle returning to the states when ‘official’ trips to foreign countries generally include the First Lady.”
Here’s one thought on the matter.
While in a Blockbuster renting videos I came across a video called “Obama”. There were two men standing next to me and we talked about President Obama. These guys were Arabs, so I asked them why they thought Michele Obama headed home following the President’s recent visit to France instead of traveling on to Saudi Arabia and Turkey with her husband. They told me she could not go to Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Iraq…I said “Why not,(?) Laura Bush went to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Dubai..” They said that Obama is a Muslim and therefore he is not allowed to bring his wife into countries that adhere to Sharia Law.
Two points of interest here:
- I thought it interesting that two American Arabs at Blockbuster believe that our President is a Muslim, who follows a strict Islamic creed.
- They also said that’s the reason he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. It was a signal to the Muslim world, acknowledging his religion.
For further consideration, here is a response from Dr. Jim Murk, a Middle Eastern Scholar and expert on Islam. This is his explanation of what the Arab Americans were saying.
“An orthodox Muslim man would never take his wife on a politically oriented trip to any nation which practices Sharia law, particularly Saudi Arabia where the Wahhabi sect is dominant. This is true and it is why Obama left Michelle in Europe. She will stay home when he visits Arab countries. He knows Muslim protocol; this includes, bowing to the Saudi King. Obama is regarded as a Muslim in the Arab world, because he was born to a Muslim father; he acknowledged his Muslim faith with George Stephanopoulus. Note that he downplays his involvement with Christianity, by not publicly joining a Christian church in D.C. And occasionally attending the chapel for services at Camp David. He also played down the fact that America is a Christian country and said, unbelievably, that it was one of the largest Muslim nations in the world, which is nonsense.
He has publicly taken the side of the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel and he ignored the National Day of Prayer, something no other President has ever done. He is bad news! He conceals his true faith to the detriment of the American people.” — Jim Murk, Doctor of Philosophy in Middle Eastern Culture & Religion.
ACTIONS speak louder than words. Another interesting item regarding Sharia Law. Why has Barack Hussein Obama insisted that the U.S. Attorney General hold the trials of the 911 Muslim Terrorists in Civilian Courts as Common Criminals instead of as Terrorists who attacked the United States of America ? If the Muslim Terrorists are tried in Military Tribunals, convicted and sentenced to death, by LAW, Barack Hussein Obama, as President of the United States, would be required to sign their Death Warrants. He would not be required to sign the death warrants if they are sentenced to death by a Civilian Court…Recently, Muslim Jihadist, Army Major Hassan slaughtered non-Muslim, soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas rather than go to Afghanistan and be a part of anything that could lead to the deaths of fellow Muslims. He stated that Muslims ‘could not and should not kill fellow Muslims.’ Is the motive for Barack Hussein Obama’s insistence on civilian trials, to make sure he doesn’t have to sign the death warrants for the Muslim Terrorists? Why would he, as President of the United States, not sign the death warrants for Muslim Terrorists who attacked the United States and murdered over 3,000 U. S. Citizens on 9/11? Could it be that he is FORBIDDEN by his RELIGION to authorize the execution of Muslims?
Think about that! Open your eyes, ears and mind to who the President is, how he behaves and what he is doing.
July 13th, 2010 — 1389, Australia, Chicago, Gramfan (author), Islam, Jihad Watch, Sharia, U.S. Constitution, counterjihad, political correctness
- Jihad Watch: Chicago hotel backs out of hosting Islamic supremacist pro-sharia conference
Good for the Marriott Oak Brook. It will interesting to see which “moderate” Muslim advocacy groups speak out now in defense of Hizb ut-Tahrir and its conference, since Hizb ut-Tahrir openly supports Sharia and the restoration of the caliphate, with all that means for the denial of rights to women and non-Muslims [emphasis mine]. CAIR’s Brave Ahmed Rehab responded with roadblocks and detours when asked about them on Fox last year.
“Illinois hotel backs out of hosting Muslim group,” by Sophia Tareen for Associated Press, July 11
…
And that shows the weakness and short-sightedness of evaluating these groups solely on the basis of whether or not they employ or advocate violence.
Read the rest.
- Islamic hardliners return for Sydney convention after push for ban fails
by Sally Neighbour
HUNDREDS of Islamic activists are assembling in Sydney for a convention being held by the controversial Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
This is its first big event in Australia since a failed push to outlaw it three years ago.
Senior Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) members have flown in from Britain for the conference, which is part of a series of events being held around the world, as the group steps up its campaign for the formation of a trans-national Islamic state.
…
In 2007, when HT held its last international assembly in Australia, the federal government considered banning the organisation in response to claims that it incites religious hatred and indirectly encourages terrorism.
But ASIO advised the then attorney-general Philip Ruddock that there was insufficient evidence to proscribe the group as it did not advocate terrorism.
HT explicitly rejects the use of violence in its quest for an Islamic state. But it supports militant campaigns against Western forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and opposes the existence of Israel, which it calls an “illegitimate” state that “must be removed”.
Read the rest.
H/T: Gramfan
Political correctness versus survival, again
It is a disgrace that we should have to be going through this every time our Muslim enemies hold meetings on Western soil.
In the US, it is long past due for a Constitutional amendment to disqualify Islam as a religion protected under the First Amendment. Islam is not a religion in the sense that our Founders envisioned a religion to be. Like Nazism and Communism, Islam is an expansionist, totalitarian, enemy ideology that seeks to rid the world of everything other than itself.
Ideally, the amendment should go further than that, so as to ban immigration or naturalization of Muslims, as well as to forbit the signing of any treaty or alliance, the sale of any weaponry, or the rendering of any form of assistance to any country or nation with a predominantly Muslim population.
Australia and every other civilized part of the world should do the same.
June 27th, 2010 — Afghanistan, Australia, Gramfan (author), Iraq, Islam, Sharia, clothing, counterjihad, women's issues
By Gramfan
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Feminism is defined thus:
Date: 1895
1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
2 : organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests
Who can ever forget the iconic cover of “The Female Eunuch”, by Germaine Greer?
It was everywhere when it was first published in 1970.
It was virtually the next best thing that had happened to women since Emmeline Pankhurst and her Suffragettes worked to get women the vote. So we were told.
And certainly you cannot deny the benefits and progress that have come from these two women, and the many others who have taken over the baton and changed the lives of millions.
Many of today’s other famous feminists are living very comfortably on self-earned wealth: fine with me, it’s well-deserved.
They have turned their politics and activism into income sources by working in journalism and other media.
People listen to them.
They have power, enormous power.
Camille Paglia is but one of many whose opinions are highly respected, and it is easy to see why.
Germaine Greer is still going on strongly about all kinds of issues.
Gloria Steinem is another member of this esteemed crowd and there are also very many not-so-famous feminists.
These feminists are in almost all professions from politics to pianists, parents and yes, prostitutes – the oldest “profession” of them all!
Then of course there are the other women in the world who don’t occupy this rarified space but who have decided, and yes, it is a decison now, to become home-makers and mothers. Some of them decide to resume successful careers and some chose not to.
But I wonder if we all really received so many benefits from all these feminists? Some of us didn’t.
With all that is good and liberating in human progress there are often side effects and “unintended consequences”. Sadly there are goals that have not, and will not be achieved.
Certainly many of us get equal work for equal pay nowadays but not all of us. Then there are those who chose to be wives and mothers, who are often scorned, or looked down upon, for their choices.
They had jobs, but feminists weren’t satisfied; every other woman had to get one too. So they opened fire on homemakers with a savagery that still echoes throughout our culture. A housewife is a “parasite,” [Betty] Frieden writes; such women are “less than fully human” insofar as they “have never known a commitment to an idea.”
And….
Housewives, not men, were the prey in feminism’s sights when Kate Millett decreed in 1969 that the family must go. Feminists do not speak for traditional women. Men cannot know this, however, unless we tell them how we feel about them, our children, and our role in the home.
Men must understand that our feelings towards them and our children are derided by feminists and have earned us their enmity. Whether or not this understanding garners men’s support, traditional women must defend ourselves because the feminist offensive is, most essentially, a breach of solidarity with us, a disavowel of the obligation to honor the Women’s Pact [that religious celibates, professional women, and homemakers respect each other] that women in the movement owed to us (Source).
Oh yes, this site has more. Feminism today goes on and on, intellectualising and re-defining feminism to the extent where it is almost too difficult to follow, let alone comprehend.
Quite frankly I am more interested in the practical day-to-day realities. I take the two definitions at face value and I note it doesn’t specify any nationality,political allegiance or religion.
- the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
- organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests
It is true a lot of this has happened in the West but rather than have Greer et al espouse “intellectual yada yada” I would rather see these women get militant again and do something to help their long-suffering sisters who live in Islamic countries, and who can but only dream of the lifestyle many of their famous feminist sisters enjoy.
All too often I see stories of honour killings, rape, female genital mutilation, subservience, domestic (and other) violence, forced marriage and utter discrimination perpetrated against women in Muslim countries and now also in the West.
Some women are getting hymenoplasties and buying repair kits before they marry.
Some are being recruited as homicide bombers.
One is punished for drinking beer, others face lashings or stonings.
An Australian Islamist tries to justify polygamy for everyone.
There are women who suffer terribly from acid attacks quite frequently.
Women in Gaza are not allowed to ride motorcycles, and Somali women are being scrutinised when wearing a bra!
Where’s Germaine when you need her, or would this make her happy I wonder?
And recently we have the on-going case of Rifka Bary who, as a minor, cannot chose her religion, and could become a victim of honorcide for apostasy. If she is sent back to her parents her fate is unknown. If she is allowed to remain alive the Islamists can deny honorcide even exists. This is happening in the USA now.
Yet in spite of these incidents feminists like Naomi Wolf manage to defend discrimination towards women in Islam and it then takes a compassionate feminist, Phyllis Chesler, who has actually lived in a Muslim country, to sort it out for her!
I know many feminists, and women in general, can be fearless fighters.
Code Pink, for example, have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan. True, they are an anti-war movement, but perhaps, just perhaps, they could have drawn some attention to the women who live and suffer in the war zones they are so adamantly against.
They could have easily added one more mission statement to what is on their website which mentions “social justice”.
Indeed, any other anti-war group could easily have done the same. I know they do not define themselves as feminists per se, but why not do more?
Could they not have met with Malalai Joya and offered some help?
Indeed, could not some of our famous feminists, female politicians and celebrities who spend so much time choking on their own venom over Sarah Palin have done the same? Are they afraid?
Or are they simply not interested in the women’s issues of today because they think it is another culture and therefore they shouldn’t interfere. They know it isn’t right but they can turn a blind eye to it, even as it happens under their noses, in their own countries.
It’s a cop-out.
The improvement of the condition of women in Islam is, to me, a far loftier goal than getting to wear trousers, getting equal pay, getting an abortion on demand, and having a man treat a woman more like a man! This was definitely an “unintended consequence” for me: trivial as it may seem.
I am much heartened by the fact that progress is being made, albeit in small steps.
Kuwati women in parliament refuse to wear the veil.
An Egyptian Cleric wants to ban burqas and other facial coverings.
Honor killing or honoricide is getting more attention.
Lubna Hussein got a lot of media attention over her sentence for wearing trousers.
Najwa Bin Laden and her son, Omar, wrote a book about their husband and father, Osama, and seem to be fearless about it. They have provided a fascinating insight into this man.
I think the real “feminist” heroines now are the ones who have literally put their lives on the line, not only for women in Islam but for the world in general.
Their goals and committment are what is truly deserving of our respect and support.
I am referring to women like Wafa Sultan, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Nonie Darwish, Supna Zaidi, Irshad Manji and women like them.
There is another one who would have possibly made it to this list: Neda Soltan.
Tragically she cannot, but in spirit she can inspire so much. I feel she deserves a mention among these brave, dedicated and fascinating women.
This is my challenge to todays feminists. Use your power again.
I am “just a Mom”. I do not have your platform and power.
This is indeed a most worthy cause to support and fight for.
With thanks to MuslimsAgainstSharia.
“Gramfan” has been blogging since 2002. She is “just a Mom” of two grown-up sons, and helps her husband of 38 years. She has occasionally written pieces for other ‘blogs, and posts comments. She now writes exclusively for Muslims Against Sharia.
February 15th, 2008 — Afghanistan, Atlas Shrugs, CAIR, Canada, Doctor Bulldog and Ronin, Ezra Levant, Islam, Michael Savage, Sharia, Turkey, Winds of Jihad, blog censorship, cartoon censorship, censorship, censorware, military, mobile web
Blogosphere Victory over Jihadist Mole
Hesham Islam, if you recall, is the Islamist mole who maneuvered his patron and mentor, Gordon England, into firing Steve Coughlin, the Pentagon’s only expert on Islamic law.
Hesham Islam’s ‘resume didn’t add up,’ official says
Thanx to Weasel Zippers
In a stunning turn of events, a high-level Muslim military aide blamed for costing an intelligence contractor his job will step down from his own Pentagon post, WND has learned.
Meanwhile, his rival, Maj. Stephen Coughlin, a leading authority on Islamic war doctrine, may stay in the Pentagon, moving from the office of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the office of the secretary of defense. However, sources say a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey is trying to block his new contract.
The top Pentagon aide, Egyptian-born Hesham H. Islam, came under a cloud of suspicion after reports raised doubt about his resume and contacts he had made with radical Muslims. He is expected to leave the government next month, officials say.
Islam and Coughlin recently quarreled over intelligence briefings Coughlin presented showing a close connection between the religion of Islam and terrorism. Coughlin’s contract with the Joint Chiefs, which ends in March, was not renewed.
The Power of the Bloggers:
But as a result of the ensuing firestorm that played out in the conservative press – led by Washington Times Pentagon reporter Bill Gertz – Islam was put under a microscope, and questions were raised regarding his background…
Hesham Islam has been in the new recently. Well, not really. He has been covered by conservative news sites like World Net Daily, NRO and The Washington Times but there’s been precious little MSM coverage outside of that. Bloggers have also covered the news.
I wrote about it here. You can catch other stories at 1389 Blog, Atlas Shrugs, The Jawa Report and elsewhere.
Hesham is a close friend, confidant and advisor to Gordon England. England is the #2 man at the Department of Defense. The problem is that Hesham is also something of a mystery. Despite a DoD published biographical profile which described his early life as akin to a Hollywood thriller, there was more to Islam than met the eye. It all came to light after Hesham Islam used his influence to punish Stephen Coughlin, possibly the best Islamic analyst at the Pentagon. Coughlin’s contract was not renewed after Islam described him as a “Christian zealot with a poison pen”. That statement came after Coughlin’s Pentagon reports became increasingly alarmist with respect to Islamic activity which precipitated an ideological conflict with Hesham Islam…
Blogosphere Victory for Ezra Levant
Ezra Levant has been prosecuted by the Alberta Human Rights Commission for having published the Muhammad cartoons.
Excellent! Chalk one up for freedom of speech. Also, Ezra Levant says he is going to sue Syed Soharwardy for the thousands of dollars in legal fees! Go get ‘em, Ezra!!!
Muslim leader drops Ezra Levant cartoon complaint
Western Standard publisher plans to launch a civil lawsuit
Graeme Morton, Canwest News Service February 12, 2008
National Post —CALGARY — Calgary Muslim leader Syed Soharwardy says he is withdrawing his Alberta Human Rights Commission complaint against former Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant.
The complaint was launched in February 2006, after the Western Standard and the Jewish Free Press reprinted cartoons from a Danish newspaper that many in the Muslim world felt insulted the prophet Muhammad. The cartoons sparked violent protests in a number of countries…
This guy is the greatest.
HUDNA! (hat tip Josef)
Today Syed Soharwardy told the Calgary Herald editorial board that he is withdrawing his human rights complaint against me that he filed two years ago when I published the Danish cartoons of Mohammed. (Seriously, if you haven’t done so, you’ve really got to look at his hand-scrawled complaint here. I know dyslexic ten-year-olds with ADD who are more coherent.)
If he’s really withdrawing the complaint, this is the first I’ve heard about it; and when I spoke with my lawyer this afternoon, the complaint was still proceeding against me.
It might be a lie — it wouldn’t be Soharwardy’s first, but then again, lying to an infidel newspaper isn’t immoral to someone like Soharwardy. It’s called taqqiyah.
But even if Soharwardy withdraws his complaint against me, an identical complaint filed by the Edmonton Muslim Council still proceeds.
So why would Soharwardy do this — and why now?
The answer lies in another Arabic word: hudna. A hudna isn’t a peace treaty. It’s a temporary truce called by a Muslim warrior who’s losing in battle. It’s pretty easy to understand how hudnas work by watching Israel fight Hamas and Hezbollah. Those two terrorist groups lob rockets and send suicide bombers into Israel for months; then, every once in a while, Israel deploys its military and flattens Hamas and Hezbollah, who then call for a hudna. The UN intervenes, saving Hamas and Hezbollah to fight another day. That’s a hudna: a tactical truce for a strategic advantage.
Soharwardy wants a hudna because he’s osing badly. Not financially: he hasn’t spent a penny to further the complaint against me — that has been done courtesy of Ed Stelmach’s government and the taxpayers of Alberta, to the tune of $500,000, I’d guess. Nor has Soharwardy had to spend hundreds of hours battling against me at the commission — Alberta government employees do that for him. It’s because over the past two years — and the past month in particular — Soharwardy has become known for what he is: an Islamofascist imam, who’s trying to bring Saudi values to Canada. Though I’m being pummelled in a kangaroo court, he’s being pummelled in the court of public opinion. He didn’t expect it, and he hates it.
He hates that hundreds of bloggers ridicule him. He hates that my video clips, in which I describe his illiberal nature, have been viewed almost 500,000 times. He hates that his own enemies within his mosque have taken advantage of this media coverage to shine a light of scrutiny on the way he runs his mosque - from his financial irregularities, to his abusive treatment of women.
There’s much more. Go!
What does the Afghan Constitution really say?
Does the new Constitution of Afghanistan actually mandate shari’a law – including the death penalty for blasphemy – or not?
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
February 11, 2008
(CNSNews.com) – The death penalty given to an Afghan journalist accused of insulting Islam has more to do with judges’ interpretation of the country’s laws than with a constitutional provision entrenching Islamic primacy, according to a leading scholar in Islamic law.
The Afghan government has reiterated its assurance that President Hamid Karzai will “find a just solution” to the case of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh. A statement released by the Afghan Embassy in Washington said that this would be done “in accordance with Afghan law and our nation’s international obligations.”
A three-judge court in northern Afghanistan on January 22 sentenced the 23-year-old to death, after he was accused of distributing to students an online article questioning why Muslim men may have more than one spouse while women may not…
Broadcast Radio Talk Show Censorship
Silencing the truth tellers – run amok.
From my comrade Ron over at Rocket’s Brain:
Need I say more re the political hit and removal of the Mark Fuhrman Radio Show.
Mapleton LLC is the group that bought these stations from Citadel Broadcasting. A key factor in this sale was the termination of the Mark Fuhrman Show.
Not available on the Net yet but from the today’s S-R’s Business
Section:
S-R to broadcast on Mapleton Stations
The Spokesman-Review will begin producing radio news reports that will be broadcast over stations owned by Mapleton Communications LLC in
Spokane under an agreement announced Tuesday.
At least four daily
newscasts, plus a weekend talk show and a week-in-review program, will be broadcast from the Spokesman-Review building . . .
Isn’t it enough that it is estimated the Cowles Co control 80% of the local media in our market? As I write in a reply (draft form) to the new Spokesman-Review Ombudsman:
Because of the significant amount of property that the Cowles Co owns or controls in Downtown Spokane and along the Spokane River to the Idaho border, there inherently is a conflict of interest regarding its involvement in development projects and reporting by the S-R. A close analogy is the period genre movie Chinatown. River Park Square is only one of several projects where there is a similar pattern and practice in quasi public/private developments where the public was defrauded.
Friends of Mark Fuhrman Radio Show
The unofficial fan site of Mark Fuhrman Radio Show that was squelched in my opinion by the "usual suspects." This list is dedicated to pursuing among other things the River Park Square fraud et al in Spokane, WA and other related topics that you will never read about in the Spokesman-Review. Read regular updates from Fuhrman Show regulars, Larry Shook, Tim Conner, Cherie Rodgers, former Spokane Mayor John Talbott, Dick Adams, "Ron the Cop" and others.
nar9350@gmail.com
Recent posts at the blog Rockets Brain:
A complaint for the new S-R Ombudsman
To the Citizens of Spokane – Time to take a stand!
An Army of Davids Strikes – Spokane, WA
"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing"
As many of you now know the Mark Fuhrman Radio Show was axed by KGA1510 AM (Citadel Broadcasting) in Spokane, WA.
. . .
I have information from a reliable source that the Fuhrman Show was in play from the very first contact by Mapleton representatives with Citadel about purchasing KGA. IMHO this was a "hit" plain and simple by a criminal enterprise to cover its ongoing robbery of the citizens of Spokane. This criminal enterprise has so thoroughly and systemically corrupted the political and governmental bodies in Spokane to a level I’ve never witnessed before in my entire thirty-five year law enforcement career. . .
Other News and Commentary:
February 13th, 2008 — Europe, Islam, Sharia, activism, cartoon censorship, censorship, counterjihad, terrorism
News Roundup
The Mo-toons are back in the news – and it’s all about Islamic terrorism versus freedom of the press:
COPENHAGEN – Danish authorities arrested three people yesterday on charges of plotting a cartoonist’s assassination for his depiction of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban that enraged Muslims two years ago.
Three of Denmark’s largest newspapers said they would reprint the cartoon today to show they would not be intimidated by fanatics. It was one of 12 Mohammed cartoons published in 2005 and then again in 2006 that led to protests in Muslim countries.
Investigators said they foiled the plot in its early stages in a pre-dawn raid in the western Denmark city of Aarhus. The police intelligence agency, PET, said two Tunisians and a Danish citizen of Moroccan origin were arrested.
“The case shows that, unfortunately, there are in Denmark groups of extremists that do not accept and respect the basic principles on which the Danish democracy has been built,” Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that the plotters may be getting away with little more than a slap on the wrist.
By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press Writer
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Danish police said Tuesday they have arrested three people suspected of plotting to kill one of the 12 cartoonists behind the Prophet Muhammad drawings that sparked a deadly uproar in the Muslim world two years ago.
Two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin were arrested in pre-dawn raids in western Denmark, the police intelligence agency said.
The Dane was suspected of violating Danish terror laws but likely would be released after questioning as the investigation continues, said Jakob Scharf, the head of the PET intelligence service. The two Tunisians would be expelled from Denmark, he said…
Danish newspapers stand up for freedom
COPENHAGEN (AFP) — Several Danish newspapers reprinted on Wednesday a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that caused bloody riots in the Islamic world two years ago, a move that prompted Iran to angrily summon Denmark’s ambassador.
Three of Denmark’s biggest dailies were among 17 that published the cartoon, vowing to defend freedom of expression a day after police foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist.
The caricature, which featured the prophet’s head with a turban that looked like a bomb with a lit fuse, was one of 12 cartoons published in September 2005 by the Jyllands-Posten daily.
The controversy sparked violent protests in a number of Muslim countries in January and February 2006 that culminated with the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and the death of dozens of people in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.
French papers lend their support
Spiegel Online – 16. February 2007
DANISH CARICATURES ON TRIAL IN FRANCE. A French republication of the controversial Muhammad cartoons from Denmark has led to a fierce legal battle. But France’s politicians — in a year when some of them are running for president — are clearly on the side of satire … By Stefan Simons
France’s satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo was taken to court by Islamic groups in France for reprinting the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Sales shot from 60,000 to 400,000.
The style of debate was intellectually on a par with that of any literary salon; the legal arguments will be sure to enter the canon of every lawyer’s professional training; and the appearances made by high-ranking representatives of science and politics were often reminiscent of high theater. When Muslim organizations sued French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, everyone posed — in unexpected ways — as defenders of this or that French tradition. (…)
Norwegian papers, on the other hand…
Norway’s major newspapers have no plans to publish the controversial “Mohammad Cartoons”, following the decision by Denmark’s leading newspapers to reprint them today
The cartoons depict the Prophet Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban, a move that irritated Muslim leaders.
The Danish papers said they wanted to show their firm commitment to freedom of speech after Tuesday’s arrest in Denmark of three people accused of plotting to kill the man who drew the cartoon.
More coverage:
Murder plot against Danish cartoonist
(Jyllands-Posten, English article)
Early Tuesday morning, Danish police arrested several people with a Muslim background suspected of conspiring to kill Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.
Apparently the would-be murderers are two Tunisians (who will be deported) and a 40-year old Danish citizen of Moroccan descent, who’ll be released after interrogation. The police have known about the plans for at least 3 months:
(Danish text, my translation):
“When I came home, three bodyguards were standing with guns. We were told that we could do whatever we wanted. As long as we disappeared from our homes.”
[. . .] the threat has never been as concrete as the information that the Security and Intelligence Service (PET) brought to him 3 months ago: “They want to kill you. They will do it here in your home. They know where you live. And they know your home well enough that they have been able to draw a basic plan over the design of the house.”
Spiegel February 13 2008
Viby: Authorities in Denmark have foiled what came close to becoming the first assassination of one of the cartoonists behind the 2006 Muhammad caricature scandal. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke to Flemming Rose, the editor responsible for commissioning the caricatures in Jyllands-Posten, who has also been the subject of death threats.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Rose, today three man were arrested who are suspected of having planned the murder (more…) of Muhammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Are you surprised that, two years after the Muhammad cartoon crisis, there are still people under threat?
Flemming Rose: Unfortunately it doesn’t come as a surprise to me. I have known about the threat for a while and last year three young men were convicted of conspiring to plan a terrorist act somewhere in Denmark. Part of their plan was also to attack Jyllands-Posten. And in the first phase of their planning, they also discussed killing me. (…)
But wait, there’s more!
February 1st, 2008 — Africa, India, Islam, Latin America, Sharia, activism, blog censorship, blogging, censorship
Put your email and your blog to work for freedom!
From a Letter from Esra’a Al Shafei:
…Also, I wish to let you know that I’m the Director of the Free Kareem Coalition. Kareem Amer is an Egyptian blogger who was sentenced to 4 years in prison for writing posts critical of Islam and the Egyptian government. This coming Feb 22nd, it will be a full first year since he was officially sentenced, even though he was in prison for a year and 3 months now (3 of these months, he was imprisoned with no official charge or trial.)
On this date, we are organizing a worldwide op-ed day. Basically, this means that many people around the globe will be writing about Kareem’s case in order to increase awareness on it and making the Egyptian government realize that we have not forgotten this brave, young, innocent man whose only crime is free speech.
Also on this date, 2 rallies will be taking place: One in France and the other in Washington DC. Last year, we organized 3 worldwide rallies which took place everywhere from Brazil to India to Romania. Over 20 cities were involved and thousands wrote about it on their blogs.
This year however, since our last rally just took place in November, we are trying to take another approach and directly target the media to help keep Kareem in people’s minds and prayers.
I hope you can get involved in any way, at least by posting something about it on your blog. We could really use the help in spreading the word.
Thanks a lot,
Esra’a
Visit Free Kareem! to learn what else you can do.
You can put this badge on your blog. Here’s how:
- Right-click on the badge image above.
- Save the image as 180-200-kareem.jpg on your computer.
- Upload the image file to a directory on your host.
- On your blog, create a link to this URL:
http://www.freekareem.org/
- In place of the anchor text, insert the link to the image file that you have uploaded on your host.
- Example:
February 1st, 2008 — Afghanistan, Islam, Sharia, activism, censorship, litigation jihad
Update:
Another blogosphere victory – keep the pressure on!
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 6 (UPI) — A student journalist convicted of violating Islamic law in Afghanistan may escape the death penalty, a senior official in the Afghan government said.
An Afghan court found Sayed Pervez Kambaksh guilty of violating Islamic law for distributing information regarding women’s rights. Afghan law holds violations of Islamic law a federal offense and a court imposed a death penalty.
The Independent Wednesday quoted Najib Manalai with the Afghanistan Culture Ministry saying of the case, “I am not worried for his life. I’m sure Afghanistan’s justice system will find the best way to avoid this sentence.”
Mounting criticism of young journalist’s death sentence
By: IFEX
Posted on: 1/25/2008
SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris
**Updates IFEX alerts of 23, 17 and 15 January 2008**
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has appealed to President Hamid Karzai, currently attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, to quickly respond to the many appeals for clemency for Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the young journalist who has been sentenced to death by a court in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of the northern province of Balkh.
“Kambakhsh’s death sentence was the outcome of an unfair trial orchestrated by local officials and extremist religious leaders,” the organisation said. “We urge President Karzai to take a swift and clear decision in this case, which threatens press freedom in his country.”
A petition for Kambakhsh’s release can be signed on the Reporters Without Borders website at: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25199
The United Nations, many European countries and the European parliament’s president have all condemned Kambakhsh’s arrest and death sentence.
Balkh provincial state prosecutor Hafizullah Khaliqyar has nonetheless dismissed the charges that the court violated human rights and press freedom, insisting that the verdict was given “in accordance with Islam’s values.”
The case is now supposed to go before an appeal court, but Balkh provincial judge Fazel Wahab said “only President Hamid Karzai is in a position to pardon Kambakhsh because he confessed to his crime.”
Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, Kambakhsh’s brother, said the verdict was “unjust.” Kambakhsh was not represented by a lawyer and was forbidden to defend himself. It appears that Ibrahimi is the real target in this case. A respected journalist who has covered the political situation in the north for International War and Peace Reporting, an NGO, he has been getting death threats for months from the henchmen of local officials and the security forces have searched his home several times, warning him of more reprisals to come.
The culture and information ministry said it had no authority over the case because “neither Kambakhsh’s arrest nor conviction was linked to his journalistic activities” and therefore “it is not a press freedom violation.” The ministry nonetheless added that it was “confident that the Afghan judicial system will handle the issue of the death penalty with the utmost care and will render justice, especially as the lower court’s sentence is not final.”
Rahimullah Samandar, the head of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association, firmly condemned the trial and verdict on the grounds that they violated the constitutional rights to a legal defence and to free speech. He vowed to appeal to national and international courts, and called on President Karzai to overturn the verdict.
The French foreign ministry has expressed outrage at the verdict. “France stresses that it is completely opposed to the death penalty,” the ministry said. “Freedom of expression must be guaranteed, respecting the principles and values enshrined in the Afghan constitution.”
The president of the European parliament called on the Afghan authorities on 18 January 2008 to release Kambakhsh.
For further information, contact Vincent Brossel, RSF, 47, rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 70, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51, e-mail: asia@rsf.org, Internet: http://www.rsf.org
The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility of RSF. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
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mediaforfreedom.com
Save Sayed Kambakhsh
Sentenced to death for reading about women’s rights
A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country’s rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after “liberation” and under the democratic rule of the West’s ally Hamid Karzai.
The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.
That is terrible. We need to support Sayed Kambaksh – it is unthinkable that he should be executed merely for reading something.
Please sign the Independent petition for his release.
Posted by Yvonne
(h/t: Esra’a)
Petition for Afghan Journalist Perwiz Kambakhsh (Bumped)
Updated/Bumped 02/01/08: Come on now. Only 154 200 sigs [as of 12:30pm CST 2/1/08] and we’re the only blog running this? A man’s life hangs in the balance.
So sign the petition.
Call your public officials. Write about it.
Thanks to all those who have already signed or ran the petition. To the rest of you, Get with it people!
Who Is Perwiz Kambaksh?
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh has been sentenced to death by the moderate regime in Afghanistan for blasphemy.
The Afghan Senate has just endorsed his death sentence.
Via AFP: KABUL (AFP) — Afghanistan’s senate has endorsed a death sentence handed down by a court to a reporter and journalism student accused of blasphemy, the parliament media office said.
The senate, called the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), issued a statement Tuesday backing last week’s decision by the Balkh province primary court and criticising international pressure over the case, an official told AFP.
The court sentenced Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, to death for distributing articles downloaded from the Internet that were said to question the Koran and the role of women in Islam.
“The Meshrano Jirga endorses the Balkh primary court’s verdict on sentencing to death Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh who has been sentenced over insulting Islam and misinterpretation of Koran verses,” said the statement read to AFP.
The house also “strongly criticises those domestic and international organisations which are pressurising Afghanistan’s government and legal authorities when pursuing such people,” it said.
Remember, death sentences are often carried out very quickly in these countries. So time is very short and its critical that we act as quickly as possible. There are only a few legal steps left before he is executed
The death sentence must pass through various higher courts and be approved by Karzai, who has been called on by international and Afghan media rights organisations to intervene in the case.
The extremist Taliban movement that is waging an insurgency against Karzai’s administration has also called for “severe punishment” for Kambakhsh, whom they called the “new Salman Rushdie”….
A petition to try and help Mr. Kambakhsh has been started here. Please sign it and spread it as far as you can. Hopefully we can help get Mr. Kambakhsh a pardon or a reduced sentence.
Never mind the absolute idiocy of allowing Afghanistan to enact a constitution based on Sharia law. If our soldiers fought and died to liberate Afghanistan we should have required they enact a better constitution like we did with Japan. I’ve been very disappointed with the new constitutions for both Iraq and Afghanistan.
More on that here.
More:
January 31st, 2008 — Iran, Islam, Sharia, activism, censorship, counterjihad
Shari’a in action – see it for yourself
This is what shari’a – Islamic law – is all about. Both in theory and in practice, shari’a is inimical to the US Constitution. Shari’a is inimical to the freedoms that are valued and treasured in every civilized part of the world. Among other things, shari’a means no freedom of speech, assembly, or the press.
Posted by Kamangir on January 28th, 2008
As mentioned before (see: January 30th, Solidarity of Bloggers with the Imprisoned Iranian Students), this blog, and its Persian counterpart, proudly support bloggers’ solidarity with Iranian imprisoned students. Join in! Spread the news!
Solidarity of Bloggers with the Imprisoned Iranian Students
“There is no doubt winter will have an end
And, the post of spring will come to our land
With thousands of flowers in his hand
Certainty it will come,
That other should be passed”
The spring is coming while many Iranian students are still behind the bars. Here is the names of some of them,
- Arash Paknejad (m), Mozandaran University
- Saeid Habibi (m), as member of student’s human rights reporters
- Anoshe Azadbar (f), Tehran University
- Elinaz Jamshidi (f), Azad University of central Tehran student of communication
- Mehdi Gerilo (m), Tehran geophysics center
- Nader Ahseni (m), Mazandaran University
- Behroz karimizade (m), Tehran University
- Nasim Soltan-beigi (f), Alame Communication University
- Ali Sa`lem (m), Polytechnic University, student of Master degree in polymer
- Mohsen Qanim (m), Polytechnic University
- Rozbeh Saf-Shekan (m), Tehran University
- Yaser (Sadra) Pirhaiaty (m), Shahed University
- Saeid Aqam-Ali (m), Yazd University
- Ali Kolaee` (m), Azad University of Shahriar City
- Amir Mehrzad (m), (high School Student)
- Hadi Salary (m), Rajaey University
- Farshid Ahangaran(m), Rajaey University
- Amir Aqai (m), Rajaey University
- Milad Omrani (m), Rajaey University
- Keivan Amir Eliasy (m), Master of industrial engineer
- Soroush Hashem-poor (m), Ahvaz University
- Farshad Doosti-poor (m)
- Sohrab Karimi (m)
- Javad Alizade (m)
- Mohammad Salleh Auman (m)
- Mehdi al-lahyari (m), Sharif industrial University, student of master degree
- Rozbehan Amiri (m), Tehran University, Student of computer sciences
- Bahram Shojaee (m), Tehran-south Azad University, Student of Chemistry engineer
- Saied Aqakhani (m)
- Majid Ashraf Nejad (m)
- Peiman Piran (m), by other student report about him*
- Aabed Tavanche (m), Polytechnic University
- Soroosh Dastestany (m)
- Amin Qazaei (m)
- Bijan Sabaq (m), Mazandaran University
- Anahita hosini (f), Tehran University
- Morteza Khedmatlo (m)
- Mohamad Pour Abdol-lah (m), Tehran University
- Bita Samimi-zad (f), Polytechnic University
- Behzad Baqery (m), Mazandaran University
- Soroosh Sabet (m), Sharif University
- Morteza Eslahchi (m), Allame University
- Mostafa Shirvani (m)
In the past month and half, many students from different cities and universities have been arrested, on charges related to holding peaceful ceremonies for the celebration of the 7th of November, the National Day for Students. They have been behind the bars since. During these days, their families have not been able to visit them and only some of them have been given the chance to have short phone calls with the inmates. This has caused a lot of anxiety and tension for the families and has resulted in their many protests in order to pressure the government to release the students, to no avail.
We honor the freedom-loving students of Iran, some of whom are also bloggers, and thus on January 30th we rename our blogs to “Bloggers’ Solidarity with Imprisoned Iranian Students”.
We wish the release of our friends.
International bloggers who joined in:
Got a blog? Spread the word!
(h/t: Blazing Cat Fur)
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