 By: Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury Jewish festivals are mostly unknown in the Muslim world, especially the non-Arab Muslim nations, though Christmas, Easter and Halloween are greatly known and even celebrated by the Muslims. In Bangladesh, each year, more than 3 million Christmas cards are sold and it is a public holiday. But, unfortunately, Bangladeshis never heard of Jewish festivals even before 2003, when we launched our only anti-Jihadist and pro-Israel newspaper, Weekly Blitz. Weekly Blitz has been publishing articles and features on Jewish religious festivals including Rosh Hashanah as well as Yom Kippur. At our personal initiatives, we made English and Bangla version of Holy Torah available in Bangladesh, which also was very much unavailable in this country before 2003. Now copies of Torah are purchased by Muslim readers even in Bangladesh and only in 2009, more than 5,000 copies of Bangla version of Torah was sold. We certainly are not making any profit from such projects. Weekly Blitz is the only newspaper in the Muslim world, which organizes annual Rosh Hashanah party in the Capital city, which is participated by people from various religious groups, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Bahais, Ahmadiyas etc. When we initiated the celebration in 2005, it was attended only by 20 people. But, this year, our celebration will be attended by over 200 people. There is indication of interest by various important people in the society in participating in the Rosh Hashanah celebration. This year, we also are organizing a mini-seminar titled ‘Understanding Jewish Festival’, where university teachers, scholars, editors and religious leaders are invited as speakers. We really should have made a larger function, as we are unable to invite hundreds of people, who are still willing to participate. We are forced in doing that, because of our limited fund. Many, who participated in our past events of Rosh Hashanah in Bangladesh, are saying that, gradually this event is turning into an example of religious tolerance. Every year, during Rosh Hashanah, we make strong statements against Jihad and Islamist extremism. Moreover, we oppose Holocaust denial. Due to our continuous efforts, significant portion of local intellectuals and editors are gradually raising voice in favor of establishment of relations between Bangladesh [third largest Muslim nation] and Israel and also are pronouncing Israel to be the homeland for the Jewish people. Anti Semitic and anti-Israel activities of Iranian embassy in Bangladesh, which is spending huge amount of money each year in such heinous venture, are greatly opposed by many locals as well recruitment of Bangladeshis by the so-called Palestinian embassy in Dhaka and sending them to fight against Israel is almost stopped. Ultra Islamist militancy group such as Hizbut Tahrir is already banned by Bangladesh government in 2009 due to continues editorials and investigative reports published in Weekly Blitz. We now are actively working in getting a book and DVD named ‘Dajjal’ banned, which contains serious offensive comments against Jews and Christians. Bangladesh government is reportedly considering putting ban on this group too, very soon. In 2006, a minor girl was raped by the Muslim clergy in Chittagong district in Bangladesh. When local press published the report, the clergy and some of the very influential religious leaders in the locality tried to justify this crime by saying, the girl was from a Jewish family. Immediately on seeing this statement, Weekly Blitz not only started publishing reports and editorials, I personally met the minister in the government with the demand of justice for the child. As a result, the culprit was arrested and now serves life term in prison for raping the minor Jewish girl. In 2008, in another incident, a Jewish family [Jews in Bangladesh mostly suppress their religious identity and pronounce them to be ‘Jehovah’s Witness’ to avoid social and state repressions], was attacked by Muslim youths and their 15-years old daughter as well the wife of the Jewish man was gang raped. We once again brought this matter to the attention of the government, and the culprits are already in prison, facing trial. These are just some of the examples of accomplishments of Weekly Blitz since 2003. But, just because of our editorial policy, Weekly Blitz office was bombed in July 2006 and attacked in October the same year. I was physically assaulted in 2006 [October] as well as abducted at gun point in February 2008. My office was again attacked and ransacked in February 2009. I knew with certainty that, some elements, encouraged by the Islamist militancy groups and anti-Israel groups were behind such attacks. We got no protection from the government. In 2009, armed men intruded into my house with assassination plan. Though US Congress passed resolution in 2007 [HR 64], demanding immediate end of all forms of harassment tactics on me as well as protecting me from attacks and taking actions against the attackers, there is in reality, no action from the government. I am facing sedition, treason and blasphemy charges in Bangladeshi court since 2003, for my stand in favor of Israel. According to Bangladeshi law, sedition bears capital punishment. Shall I leave Bangladesh with my family and take political refuge in the West? This is what thousands of my friends keep on asking. But, I was offered political asylum in USA, UK, Australia, Canada and many other countries. I humbly told all of them that, I am unwilling to leave Bangladesh. Rather, I am determined to combat militant Islam and will not rest, until it is completely defeated. Some of my friends ask why I am taking risk of my life. I told them, because I want to see a peaceful world and defeat of militant Islam. But, the sad thing is, my newspaper, Weekly Blitz, is already at the verge of closure, because, we never received even a single advertisement for our editorial policy favorable to Israel. We have been surviving with generous help from some individuals and organizations. While pro-Islamist media is continuing visible conquest and expansion, this only pro-Israel and anti-Jihadist newspaper is facing imminent closure, due to financial constraint. Can anyone, keep us on their prayers, during Rosh Hashanah please? Can anyone extend their hands? Happy Rosh Hashanah!
 By: Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury On November 29, 2003 I was arrested at Zia International Airport in Dhaka [Bangladesh] on my way to Tel Aviv for attending a Peace Conference, organized by Hebrew Writers Association. At that time, a coalition government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP] with radical Islamist groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote [Islamist Alliance] were partners in the government. Virtually it was an Islamist government in administration in Dhaka. Influential figures in the government played key role in giving me a ‘proper lesson’ for attempting to travel to Israel. It is known to all that, in the eyes of Islamists and pals of Al Qaeda, Israel is an ‘enemy state’. Unfortunately, Bangladesh is the only Muslim country in the world, which continues total ban on Israel, although, Israel was amongst the first four nations to recognize Bangladesh right after its independence in 1971. Since creation of Bangladesh, unfortunately, Islamists either was in power or had tremendous influence on all the governments, which resulted in Bangladesh’s continuous rivalry attitude towards Israel. Till date, such ‘mentality’ of the ruling parties in Bangladesh are unchanged, although, Dhaka presently has Bangladesh Awami League in power, which claims to uphold secularist policy in governance. It may be mentioned here that, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is the founder of Bangladesh Awami League headed the first government after the independence of the country in 1971. During the tenure of Bangabandhu, anti-Israel notions were adopted in the state policy and total ban on any sort of relations with Israel were enforced. Awami League ruled Bangladesh on two more tenure in 1971 and in 1996 and now the party is back to power for the third term with landslide victory during the general election, which was held on December 29, 2008. The key reason behind Awami League’s massive victory was charismatic leadership of Sheikh Hasina [daughter of Bangabandhu] and secularist ideology of her party. On the other hand, Bangladeshis were virtually feeling captive in the hands of BNP-Islamist coalition government, which was trying to turn the country into another Taliban type nation. People of Bangladesh had high aspiration on Bangladesh Awami League of honestly restoring the secularist ideology in governance as well ensuring proper rights to the religious minorities in the country. But, the track record of governance of Awami League for past 11 months is truly frustrating. Persecution of religious minorities, especially various forms of repressions on Hindus are continuing. There is fresh trend of anti-Ahmadiya moves by some fanatics in the country. Destruction of Hindu temples, grabbing of their properties, rapes, murders, abductions and forceful conversions are continuing without minimum sign of any real initiatives by the government in stopping such nasty actions. Islamists are even finding ‘house’ within the present ruling party in Bangladesh, and influence of Islamists are continuing to grow, instead of being dampened. Notorious Islamist militancy group like Hizbut Towhid is continuing provocative actions against Jews and Christians without minimum obstruction from the government. This group is selling hate materials like DAJJAL [a DVD describing Jews and Christians as enemies of Islam] openly in Bangladesh market. BNP led Islamist government brought sedition, treason and blasphemy charges against me for my efforts against militant Islam. They saw ‘severe crime’ in my exposure of rise of Jihadists within the 64,000 [now 73,000] madrassas in Bangladesh. They considered my effort of ensuring inter-faith harmony as a ‘crime’. Moreover, BNP led Islamist government considered my planned travel to Israel as a ‘move to visit an enemy state’. According to Bangladeshi law, sedition bears capital punishment. I was arrested, placed on remand, tortured in custody and held inside a solitary confinement for seventeen months in the worst-ever inhuman condition, where I was denied medical treatment as well minimum human rights were even ignored. I was even not allowed to attend my mother’s funeral by that rogue Islamist government. When Awami League came in power, there was high hope of end of year-long harassment that I have been facing since 2003. But, things never changed! Rather, I am continuing to face the trial, which may even conclude in couple of months, and surely, the present government is equally inclined in giving me a good lesson for attempting to establish relations with Israel as well confronting militant Islam. My next trial date is on mid January 2010. Meanwhile, the government withdrew police protection from my residence, thus leaving me to the grips of Islamists who are continuing to kill me, since I was released on bail in 2005. My office was bombed, office attacked and I was even abducted by the members of Rapid Action Battalion. On 22nd February 2008, members of the ruling party attacked my office. They looted valuables and physically assaulted me and other members of my newspaper Weekly Blitz [online edition available on www.weeklyblitz.net]. Despite lodging of a case with the local police station, there is no action yet by the law enforcing agencies against the perpetrators. Rather, the government and its agencies are trying to save the culprits, instead of punishing them. Reign of terror is continuing on me and members of my family. On my return from two week tour to United States [in October 2009], I was once again threatened over telephone by some terror groups, which was also reported immediately to authorities concerned. But, here again, no action was ever taken. From November 30 2009, I have entered the 7th year of sufferings, which started on November 29, 2003, for my efforts against militant Islam. No one really knows how many more years I will continue to suffer. Each month, I have to meet heavy legal expenses, which is again continuing for past 6 years. There are repeated attempts to suffocate my voice including closing my newspaper Weekly Blitz. Just for the reason that we confront Jihad and militant Islam. Just for the reason, we promote inter-faith harmony. Just for the reason, we demand rights of religious minorities in Bangladesh. And just for the reason, we demand relations between Bangladesh and Israel.
 By: Salah Uddin Shoaib ChoudhuryHizbut Tahrir, an Islamist group banned in Bangladesh in October 2009 has organized a ‘demonstration rally’ in London on December 9, 2009 demanding release of the kingpin of this notorious group in Bangladesh, Mohiuddin Ahmed, who was placed under ‘house arrest’ since the group was banned in October.In a leaflet issued by Hizbut Tahrir, they are claiming that their ‘leader’ Mohiuddin Ahmed is placed under house arrest for demanding the country to be an Islamic State.Meanwhile, it is learnt from various reports published in the Bangladeshi media that, all bank accounts of Hizbut Tahrir, which were freezed by the government in October, will be automatically released if Bangladesh authorities will fail to lodge criminal charges against it by December 10, 2009. Bangladeshi government is reluctant in arresting Mohiuddin Ahmed or bringing any specific charge against him for giving Jihadist instigation to people. In the name of house arrest, virtually this kingpin of notorious Islamist outfit is allowed to freely communicate with his party cadres and international contacts via phone and other communication devices from his residence. Hizbut Tahrir, although is banned in Bangladesh, activities of it is continuing in various parts of Bangladesh including the capital city. Law enforcing agencies are also reluctant in taking any action against those members of Hizbut Tahrir, who are violating the ban order. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, hundreds of Hizbut Tahrir members rallied on the World AIDS day demanding implementation of Sharia law to prevent the spread of AIDS rather than condom use. They also demanded immediate closure of all brothels in Indonesia. Around 270,000 Indonesians are estimated to be infected with HIV, and AIDS has claimed about 8,700 lives in the Muslim-majority nation of 228 million people, according to the UNAIDS agency. "We have to admit that using condoms is equal to legalizing free sex," Muslim Women of Hizbut Tahrir spokeswoman Febrianti Abassuni said in a statement. In Bangladesh, Dhaka University's vice chancellor received death threats on Sunday from banned Islamist outfit Hizbut Tahrir. The organization in two letters asked A A M S Arefin Siddique to reinstate central coordinator of the outfit and spokesman professor Mohiuddin Ahmed to his position in the university without delay. He has also been asked to take steps for releasing arrested relatives of some of the convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case. The letters claimed that Hizbut Tahrir has 200 trained commandoes. In another letter Hizbut Tahrir asked for removal of all barriers regarding admission of Madrassa students in the university. It also asked the vice-chancellor to get the government to release family members of the killers of founding father of Bangladesh and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami [Huji] leader Mufti Abdul Hannan. While notorious Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir is continuing its activities in Bangladesh despite the ban imposed by the government on October 22, 2009, another ferocious Islamist group Hizbut Towhid is continuing various forms of hate speech as well recruiting members for its planned Jihadist offensives in Bangladesh and abroad with its goal of establishment Sharia rule in the world. Sale of hate materials by Hizbut Towhid is continuing in Bangladesh without minimum legal obstacle. One such material named ‘DAJJAL’ terms Jews and Christians as enemies of Islam and gives provocations in waging Jihad against them. Hizbut Towhid, which originated from Bangladesh, has already established branches in a number of countries in the world. Main source of fund of this group is largely unknown though it claims that the group runs on donations from its members. Hizbut Towhid kingpin Selim Panni maintains links with a number of terror outfits in the world. Bangladesh presently has a secularist party in power, which promises to combat Islamist militancy and all forms of religious extremism in the country. Though Bangladesh Awami League came in power in December 2009, there is no sign of its genuine effort in dealing with these Islamist groups like Hizbut Towhid with tougher hands.
 Women and young girls at risk of being taken abroad and forced into marriage are being failed because local officials fear 'offending' minority communities, according to a Government report.Social workers are being slow to use new court orders aimed at stopping potential victims being spirited overseas to be married without their consent, the report said.
It pointed to 'a fear of being accused of racism or not being culturally sensitive'.
Judges who rule on applications for the orders warned of a 'political correctness agenda' hampering efforts to help.
Schools were accused of failing to alert pupils to the issue, for fear of offending parents.
Children as young as nine have been taken overseas by their parents and forced to marry complete strangers. Around 70% of cases are from families originally from Pakistan and 10% of Bangladeshi origin.
At least 1300 Britons have been involved in forced marriages in the last four years. As well as very young children, cases have involved adults with mental health problems.
Last month a Muslim father who threatened to kill his wife for blocking a forced marriage in Pakistan for their daughter became the first person to be prosecuted for breach of an order.
(..)
The report praised police for being 'active' in bringing cases to the courts. But it pointed to 'issues' with social services, who have tried to negotiate between victims and their families instead of offering immediate protection.
In some 'closed' minority communities community leaders were acting as 'gatekeepers' to forced marriage instead of challenging the practice, the report found.
Charities helping victims of forced marriage backed the report's findings.
Kiran Cheema, regional adviser at Karma Nirvana, which runs a helpline for victims said schools had refused to put up posters warning children because parents might object.
'The reason for not enough orders is because people are worried about cultural sensitivities,' she said.
'They are worried about stepping on people's toes in regards to their culture. That's why people don't bring those orders forward - because they are afraid.'
(more)
Source: Daily Mail With thanks to Islam in Europe
 From CAN: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that Ashrafuzzaman Khan, a former president and secretary-general of the Islamic Circle of North America, is being investigated by the government. Khan is suspected of lying about his previous activity in a Southeast Asian paramilitary group when he applied to become a U.S. citizen. “According to an online Bangladesh newspaper based in Washington, U.S. officials wrote to Bangladesh’s State Minister for Home Affairs in September requesting files related to Khan’s role in a series of 1971 political murders. The bloodshed came during Bangladesh’s fight for independence,” the report says.
“The targets included university professors and a journalist. Khan is suspected of war crimes and of carrying out some of the killings.” The Islamic Circle of North America has previously been accused of being a branch of Jamaat-e-Islami, a violent extremist group founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in Pakistan. The group expanded its reach into Bangladesh in 1978 under the name Bangladesh Islami Chhatri Sangstha. Joe Kaufman, Chairman of Americans Against Hate, pointed out in an article for FrontPage Magazine in June that BICS and ICNA use the same logo. World Threats
 These photos show what happens to real women who wear the Islamic Veil. The photos depict horrifying hate and the unbearable suffering it inflicts upon female innocents. The photos were taken by Emilio Morenatti of the Associated Press. The text is based on work done by Nicholas Kristof—one of the few people at the New York Times whose work I am proud to quote. You may find them HERE. (Thanks to Yehuda for calling this to my attention). What are we seeing? The Arabization or the Saudi-ization of Muslims in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is the hidden hand behind these acid attacks upon women. These poor girls and women have had their lives ruined; some have been forced to undergo surgery 20-30 times in order that they may see a little, or breathe a bit, hear something, perhaps in order to eat or make themselves understood. They look like…monsters. That was what their attackers wanted to accomplish. To render their faces into self-portraits of their attackers. Why was acid thrown into their faces? The main reasons are because they dared to reject someone in marriage or because they wanted a divorce.
The “jilted” suitors (or husbands) took their revenge in this fashion. If he can’t have her, no man will; I will make sure that no man will ever want her.” One young girl was gang-raped aftger which her rapists threw acid on her face. Another committed the “crime” of disappointing her father by being born female, not male. Many were disfigured as a result of a “family dispute.” Thus, the punishment for being born female, for exercising any will of one’s own is, Saudi-style, the most horrible punishment. The men tried to make the women loathsome to humanity, to sentence them to painful surgeries, self-hatred, perhaps to lives lived in isolation. Make no mistake. This tendency to disfigure women–even those who wear the Islamic Veil–is real. And, it might be coming our way if we do not stop the Wahhabi and Salafi influence which is funding our universities in North America as well as the Islamic religious schools. For once, I will leave aside the question of what must be done and allow the photos to speak to you. To continue reading this article, click here. More at FPM
 Madeline Brooks, M.A. Is a movement to reform Islam from within already here - something that has been devoutly hoped for - and some of us don't even know it?
On October 27, 2009, the well-known Muslim peace activist from Bangladesh , Shoaib Choudhury, arrived in New York City to give talks on the problem of jihad at several prestigious institutions in the area. Shoaib, as he likes to be called, has gained the respect of much of the world, especially among Jews, for his heroic efforts to stop the Muslim persecution of Jews and other religious minorities in Muslim countries.
For this, his life has been threatened several times after he was accused of sedition, imprisoned and tortured. He still is at risk of being hanged by the state for his supposed crimes.
[http://thesilentmajority.wordpress.com/just-say-no-to-appeasement/must-he-die-meet-a-muslim-dissident-who-loves-jews-christians-and-free-speech/]
Relaxing on a rainy evening after a long flight from his native Bangladesh , he met with several counter-jihad activists in midtown Manhattan . The plan was to see how mutual support and alliances could be developed.
However, that plan was aborted by the truculent attitude of some of the activists.
They tore into Mr. Choudhury as a supporter of Islamic intolerance regarding other religions, as a wife abuser who forces his spouse to veil herself, and even as a liar. None of this had any relationship to reality, but Shoaib was deemed untrustworthy by them. Why? Because he would not join the "activists" in publicly bashing Mohammed and the text of the Qu'ran.
No, he has chosen not to do that. Instead, he spends his time and uses his journalistic skills to dig out buried information about al Qaeda's infiltration of the government and schools of his country, and to publish his findings in his online journal and in his publishing house.
One new piece of information, for example, is that there is wide-spread sexual abuse of children in the madrassas, resulting in an epidemic of venereal diseases among these unfortunate children.
Shoaib's goal is to expose evil to the light of day so that public outcries can bring about needed reforms. He attacks the broad central branches of self-serving and sadistic Islamic practices rather than taking an axe to what the American counter-jihadists consider to be the main problem: the trunk of the tree - that is, Islam itself.
Why does he do this? Shoaib reasons that if he were to criticize Islam per se, he would lose all credibility in the Muslim world. He would be seen as an outsider, an apostate, somebody to be automatically despised - and his voice would be lost. Since he is a native to his own country and has taken life threatening risks in it, why should he change his strategy to reflect the approach of his armchair counter-jihadist critics?
Moreover, Shoaib is not the only one disdained in this way. There are other Muslim reformers working more or less under cover to bring Islam out of its convulsive cruelty and into a calmer, more peace loving practice. In addition, there are some Muslim sects, like Sufis, Dervishes and the Ahmadiyya movement that make a point of turning their backs on all violence.
The handful of critics noted here are part of a larger problem. Many American counter-jihadists become rigid, even fundamentalist, in their thinking.
They demand a kind of theological purity from those they are willing to describe as "not enemies." In a way, this is understandable, since fellow Americans not in the counter-jihad movement have proved so dense about the core issues of jihad that frustration is bound to grow. Having the deceiving phrase, "Islam is a religion of peace" bandaged over the national consciousness by presidents adds rage to the frustration. Read more at Global Politician
 SOMALI pirates have freed nine Indian and Bangladeshi seafarers after businessmen and clan elders in the country's semi-autonomous northern Puntland region negotiated their release, residents said on Sunday. The sailors were dropped off late on Saturday in Puntland's capital Garowe. It was not immediately clear which vessel they came from, or whether any ransom was paid. Somali sea gangs have been holding at least 13 ships and more than 230 crew hostage. "I can't tell them apart, but they are from India and Bangladesh," said Ali Said, a driver hired by the gunmen to take the former captives to Garowe from Eyl, a pirate stronghold. "Now they are all healthy and at a hotel here waiting for their departure, although they do not have even one penny for transport," Said told Reuters by telephone from Garowe. He said the Indian and Bangladeshi sailors had been on board a fishing boat when they were abducted off Oman, but Said said he did not know its name or when the hijacking had taken place. Patrols by a multinational naval force in the strategic shipping lanes that link Europe to Asia through the busy Gulf of Aden only appear to have forced the sea gangs to extend their range and strike deeper into the Indian Ocean. The Australian
 In Islamic Bangladesh, rife with sexual violation and rape of women, being beautiful for a women is rather a curse than blessing, more so when she belongs to a minority community.
Some people might say that beauty becomes a curse for a woman, because she is often targeted for rape. I disagree with the idea that the woman's physical beauty is a curse.
It is not beauty of the woman that causes sexual violence, but the beast inside the rapist. Not all of the women or girls, who get raped, have great physical beauty either.
Rapists generally spare their mothers, sisters or daughters, even if beautiful, from sexual violence, but go out and rape unrelated women or girls, not necessarily beautiful at all? If it is the religious teachings that prevent rapists from abusing their own, then the same religious norms also fail to stop them from sexually abusing someone else.
In Bangladesh, if you look at the newspapers on a morning, you will see news about various forms of sexual violence against females. There have been reports of such violence upon two-year-old girls to elderly grandmothers.
There are stories about girls raped by strangers, by relatives, by teachers in schools, or even by clerics in religious institutions. The victims may go to the police for justice, but often fail to get justice. There are also cases of women getting raped by policemen, when they go to police stations for reporting sexual crimes against them.
We talk about educating about violence against women in Bangladesh, but in some cases, teachers harass female students in schools, from the Mohila Madrasa (Islamic Girls School) to well-known institutions of higher education. On May 14, 2009, the Bangladesh High Court pronounced a judgment to prevent sexual abuse of women at offices, educational institutions and all types of governmental, non-governmental and other organizations.
Especially for minority girls and women, Bangladesh is an extremely fearful place.
As soon as a girl is born into a minority family, they have to worry about her being victim of sexual violence by Muslim thugs, and how they can protect her from such a fate. While not all minority girls and women are raped, but the number of victims of rape, especially in Bangladesh's Hindu community, are quite high.
At dawn each day, there is another story about a minority woman or girl, raped, maybe even murdered, or she has committed suicide out of shame after rape.
It must be noted that it’s not the men, perpetrators of the odious crime, who commit suicide out of shame, but the victim. Famous U.S. author, educator and theorist Freda Adler had rightly said: “Rape is the only crime, in which the victim becomes the accused.”
All the major religions, practiced here in Bangladesh, are male-dominated organizations. In the holy book of Islam, the dominant religion, creation begins with a man, “Adam”, for whose pleasure and consort, “Eve”, the first a woman, was created. The Abrahamic faiths differ from one another in many things, but are united in this beginning story, thus creating male-dominated paradigm of human history, which ends in today's daily-life practices. From Adam to Prophet Mohammed, all prophets were male.
Bangladesh has a vast population practicing and following Islam in their lives. Islam initially controls their way of life. In Islam, Prophet Mohammed left an example by having sexual relations with many women, including little girl Aisha, whom he married at the age of six and consummated at nine. At his death, he left behind thirteen wives and concubines.
Different religions, being generally male-dictated, have created institutions of marriage to suit men, normally polygamist by nature. Especially the Prophet of Islam, who maintained about a dozen wives and concubines during his best days, has set an example for Islam’s followers to be polygamist forever.
The Roman philosopher Seneca said: “Injustice never rules forever.”
The injustice that is going on in Bangladesh against women can be stopped if we can dig out and discredit the rotten teachings of religions, especially of Islam. Islam makes it followers to be extreme male chauvinist, dominant over women and polygamist, and, thus, foster deprivation of women of their basic rights and dignity by making them dependents of men. And this male-dominance is also responsible for engendering the horrible culture of sexual violence and rapes of women in Bangladesh.
We must work toward achieving equally between men and women, when beauty will not be a curse, will not rouse men to rape, but be an object of appreciation. William Gomes is a former Muslim, freelance Journalist and Human Rights Activist. Source: Islam Watch
 Bangladesh claims to possess the second largest religious school system in the world. Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports from Dhaka, the capital, where over the past few years the government has been implementing a series of reforms to include more secular subjects in the curriculum and increase the numbers of female students. The authorities have been offering incentives - providing cash to cover 80 per cent of scholastic costs - to see their reforms through. This is proving to be hugely successful, bringing most madrassas under state supervision; religious schools that are largely funded by the government now follow both the state and religious curricula. Zainul Abedine, the headmaster of the country's largest Islamic school, says: "In order to access government funds, many madrassas have opened their syllabus to other subjects like teaching languages such as English or Bengali. The number of madrassas have multiplied and so have the [numbers of] students". With more then six million students currently enrolled, the madrassa system in Bangladesh is the second-largest in the world and is likely to get even larger as religious institutions open their doors to female students for the first time. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a senior Islamic scholar, has welcomed the move to educate girls in madrassas. "Girls are thriving – they tend to perform better than male students," he said. A recent study by Nazmul Chaudhury, of the World Bank, found that young people's attitudes were interlinked with that of their teachers and that the presence of female instructors leads to increased openness in both female and male students. In stark contrast to the allegations that madrassas cultivate intolerance, this study found that in Bangladesh "modernised religious education is associated with attitudes that are conducive to democracy". Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 Bangladeshi women scarred by acid attacks are refusing to withdraw from society.
Fozila was attacked because she refused a marriage proposal. Hasina was set upon after an argument over a bucket of water. Two women in the seething Bangladesh capital Dhaka whose lives changed in a blinding flash. They were attacked with acid.
Last year in Bangladesh there were 179 recorded cases of acid attacks. Hydrochloric and nitric acid are cheap and readily available - used by the gallon in the grimy jewellery workshops in the backstreets of the city. In the wrong hands though, it can be devastating. Eating quickly through skin and bone and doing irreparable damage. The victims are targeted usually over land disputes or spurned advances.
And while women are the main targets of a despicable crime, children – even babies – are also often in the line of fire, attacked for being born female or boys splashed with acid because of petty inter-family jealousy.
In a powerful and confronting report South Asia correspondent Sally Sara investigates acid attacks in Bangladesh and asks what’s being done to arrest this shameful phenomenon.
Sara discovers Bangladesh is trying to reform itself. Police have been told to crack down on the acid throwers, and the death penalty has been introduced. The message is that these attacks should no longer be considered just family business.
‘Our face is our identity. When it is changed our whole identity is changed.
Women and girls are so cheap in this society, so men can destroy them’.
MONIRA RAHMAN, ACID SURVIVORS FOUNDATION
In a society that shuns people with disabilities it would appear impossible for some of these women to survive let alone prosper but some do through remarkable strength and determination. They have landed good jobs and now can afford to live independently in the city, building a new life they may have only dreamed of in their villages.
They’re sustained by a new self belief, drawing courage and confidence from an inner beauty.
‘Beautiful is what’s inside, what’s there in your heart. My heart is beautiful. I can feel that.’
HASINA AKTER, ACID SURVIVOR
 By Richard L Benkin Reports began trickling out of Bangladesh this spring about an anti-Hindu violence in the heart of its capital carried out in three stages: March 30, April 17, and April 29. A community of approximately 400 Hindus was reportedly going about its business when “hundreds of Muslims” suddenly descended on them and demanded they quit the homes where they and their families had lived for the past 150 years. Witnesses also report that police watched passively while attackers beat residents and destroyed a Hindu temple. And although every Hindu, as well as the international community, should have reacted with horror and outrage, neither did. The Bangladeshi Government denied that any such thing happened, and local police captain Tofazzal Hossain declared, “No demolition of temple occurred. There was no temple there, only a few idols.” Yet, sources for the charge — Global Human Rights Defence at The Hague and the Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council, as well as several local human rights groups and newspapers — are highly credible, prompting our two-month investigation that confirms something terrible did occur, even if not exactly as described by initial reports. For while not all 400 Hindus were made homeless, a significant number were, which is tragic enough, especially since many remain so months later. Nor has the Bangladeshi Government even bothered to deny that Hindus were beaten, some religious desecration occurred, or that police were present during the attacks. We also confirmed that the area attacked was located directly behind the Sutrapur Police Station in Dhaka and the Shiv Mandir only about 18 m from it; yet, the police did nothing to stop its destruction. Read more ...Source: The Pioneer
 Since 2003, Bangladeshi journalist and peace activist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury has been investigated by Bangladeshi authorities on charges of sedition, treason and insulting religious belief. Choudhury, 44, has spent years opposing Muslim extremism through his writings, especially the Weekly Blitz which he started in 2003. He has called for interfaith dialogue and for normalizing relations between Muslim countries and Israel. On Wednesday, Choudhury returns to court. He is accused of insulting Islam and harming the state's reputation abroad, charges which, when couched as "sedition," carry a possible death penalty. "According to my lawyers in Bangladesh, the government is determined to conclude the trial as soon as possible," he wrote in a public letter over the weekend. "No one knows what will be the verdict. But, of course, seeing the past track record, we cannot hold any hope for a good [result] because the court is not applying its judicial mind, but trying to appease the Islamists." Choudhury's newspaper offices were bombed on July 6, 2006, after he expressed public sympathy for the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam. On October 5, he was attacked in his office by a mob that included prominent members of the then-ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which historically has aligned itself with Islamist parties in the country, who accused him of being an Israeli agent. He was badly beaten. Choudhury was the subject of US House Resolution 64 of March 13, 2007, which objected to continued "harassment and intimidation" and his incarceration in 2004 for 17 months without legal recourse, during which he was placed in solitary confinement and "suffered harsh interrogation techniques and received no treatment for a debilitating case of glaucoma," according to the resolution. The House resolution called for the Bangladeshi government to "immediately drop all pending charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury… and take steps to protect Mr. Choudhury." It noted that the "US Commission on International Religious Freedom visited with Mr. Choudhury on their trip to Bangladesh in February and March 2006... and identified Mr. Choudhury as one of those voices that should not be silenced." Choudhury's case has been taken up by human rights groups and activists including Canadian human rights expert and MP Irwin Cotler, Dr. Richard L. Benkin - like Choudhury, an advisory board member of the Islam-Israel Fellowship - the Committee to Protect Journalists, the American Jewish Committee and Reporters Without Borders. Source: JP Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Honorary Member of Muslims Against Sharia
Latest recipients of The MASH Award
Breaking the Silence: ensuring Justice for Women
By William Gomes Various organizations and individuals have been fighting for decades to ensure justice for women and children in Bangladesh. While progress has been nominal, violence continues to be notable.
Innocent souls are crying for justice. According to a local human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK)[ Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). ] ,From January to March 2009, 73 women and children were the victims of rape or attempted rape; among those, 29 were gang raped and 13 were between ages 7 and 12. In May alone, 33 women and girls were the victims of rape. Among those, 16 were women and 17 were children under the age of 16. Out of the 16 women, five were victims of gang rape and three were killed after being raped. Out of the 17 girls, five were victims of gang rape and two were killed after being raped.
According to a local human rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), Between January and March 2009, six serious acts of violence against women were instigated by fatwas. When I discussed this issue with the law minister, he denied the necessity of introducing a specific law to ban fatwas. I repeatedly insisted on the necessity of a specific law to fight fatwa, as well as a law to identify the paternity of a child in cases where it is disputed.
Dowry is another social disease in Bangladesh. From January to March 2009, 44 women faced dowry-related violence; among these women, 23 died.
Bangladesh has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world: 440 per 100,000 live births, according to UNICEF, and more than 20,000 women in Bangladesh die annually from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.
In Bangladesh, women do their best to fulfill their duties and take care of all their men’s needs; yet, from January to March 2009 alone, 45 women were abused by their husbands or their husbands’ relatives. Very recently, a woman, Parul Akter, who was seven months pregnant, was killed and her body thrown in a river; her two other children are still missing. This is the reality that many women in Bangladesh face.
We can name thousands of ways that women and children are facing oppression and repression in Bangladesh. Confucius said, “We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.” I do agree with that. For almost two decades, Bangladesh’s prime ministers have been women. The number of people who oppose and oppress woman and children are larger than the number of people who are oppressed or suppressed.
Women’s empowerment alone will not solve the problem; we need to treat women as human beings first, rather than simply as women. We need to break the silence and stand up against religious and cultural traditions that encourage the repression of women and children. I dream of a day when a woman will be treated as a human being first, when women will really be empowered and lead the nation toward a more humane way, as they are the source of the human race.
The whole system in Bangladesh is male-dominated, inspired by common prophet religions that have a culture of suppressing women historically. We need to deal with these oppressors first. Many aw and wonderful steps had been taken to bring an end to the suppression to woman and children but hopefully none of them succeed.
Sometimes, a police officer who oppresses his wife in the home is used to investigate a case of oppression against a woman. In this case, the police officer should be brought to trial before anything else. Bangladesh even has cases where, after being raped, the woman gets raped again in the police station by police officers.
More than anything, the religion of Islam encourages the majority of people in Bangladesh in the historical cultural traditions of oppressing women. Laws can change, while religion inspires adherents through heaven and hell; in this light, how will jail or capital punishment be able to make any significant change?
The Prophet Mohammed said, “I was standing at the edge of the fire (hell) and the majority of the people going in were women.” When the Quran and the Prophet Mohammed guide the majority of people in Bangladesh, and the Quran (4:34) orders a man to beat his wife if she doesn’t obey him, how will the law prevent the beating of women? Laws and conventions contradict the holy sayings of the Prophet and Allah and will surely fail to ensure the rights of women.
I silently cry for justice for women like Parul, Rahima, Rebeka, Shima, who was raped in front of her father, and Mili Rani, a minority girl who was raped and later committed suicide. All this happened inside of the society before you and me.
We need to break the silence and step up a revival for humanity and justice.
William Gomes is an independent human rights activist ,Freelance Journalist and a political analyst. He can be reached at cda.exe@gmail.com. Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/07/10/breaking-the-silence-ensuring-justice-for-women/
DHAKA: A widow was whipped 202 times and a man 101 times following a fatwa by a religious leader for their alleged involvement in "anti-social activity" in a village in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting local protests and action by the police.
Piara Begum, a widow of 40, and Mamun Miah, 25, were whipped before hundreds of people at Khaiyar in Comilla district Saturday night.
The woman fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors said she was critically injured and needed to be given intensive treatment.
Miah was whipped 101 times, The Daily Star newspaper said Monday.
Punishment under a fatwa is held illegal as per a high court ruling of 2001 in Bangladesh that has a predominant Sunni Muslim population.
The police arrested six people, including Moulana Mohammed Manirul Islam, a religious leader working in the local madrassa.
Piara Begum filed a case with the Debidwar police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. Source: Indo-Asian News ServiceH/T: Jihad Watch
Friends, has the "Cairo speech" pushed the American Embassy in Dhaka to
abandon our Muslim friend in Bangladesh, on trial for trumped up charges
for wanting to visit Israel? Here is his letter.
"Today, new set of 'intelligence people' appeared in front of my residence
at 9:00 and they stayed upto 6:00 pm. They were very aggressively trying to
provoke all my neighborhood and were asking if they knew who I am and I was
an Israeli spy. These people were even looking for the name and address of
my land lord, of the rented residence I reside. All such actions prove
evidently that the government and the intelligence agencies are actively
pursing to push me and my family on the street saying we were 'volatile' for
the state and anti Islamic elements.
As usual the US Embassy in Dhaka are extremely silent on this matter. This
is happening since the new government came in power in Washington DC.
This is a terribly disturbing situation.
The intelligence agencies are trying everything to compel me in leaving the
country. But, under any circumstance, I shall never leave Bangladesh. We
shall fight the evils and the Islamists.
It is also clear that the government is under heavy influence of the
Islamist forces in this country.
For further details, please look into news story at the front page of Blitz.
This is for your kind information please.
Shoaib
SALAH UDDIN SHOAIB CHOUDHURY
Journalist, Columnist, Author & Peace Activist
Editor & Publisher, Weekly Blitz www.weeklyblitz.net
Director, FORCEFIELD
PEN USA Freedom to Write Award 2005; AJC Moral Courage Award 2006
Key to the Englewood City, NJ, USA [Highest Honor] 2007; Monaco Media Award,
2007
Source:Naomi Ragen
 Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
According to news, catered by internationally acclaimed AFP news agency, Bangladesh security forces are investigating a link between a British-based charity and an Islamic school where a huge cache of weapons and a bomb-making factory were found.
Police in southern Bangladesh conducted the raid on the Islamic seminary or Madrassa March 24, 2009, uncovering firearms, bullets and explosive devices. A member of the elite Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] told AFP the school had opened only 45 days ago on the remote island of Bhola in the south of the country.
"It is owned by the Green Crescent charity, which is a UK charity. They were running a school and an orphanage here," RAB officer K.M. Mamunur Rashid said, adding that the building was surrounded by water with a drawbridge so that locals could not access it.
"It's a mini-ordnance factory. “We found small arms – about nine or 10 in total – plus equipment to make small arms, about 3,000 rounds of ammunition, two walkie-talkies, two remote control devices and four sets of army uniforms,” he said.
“We also found enough explosives and other equipment to make several hundred grenades. We found some ordinary Islamic books, but others that are in line with extremists like bin Laden," he said.
"It is a big Madrassa and we have so far gathered that this whole compound is being used for militant training. The charity also has plans to build two more Madrassas in Bhola," the RAB source told AFP.
Green Crescent’s web site, www.greencrescent.org, shows that it is involved in projects in Bhola, as well as several others around Bangladesh and at least one in Pakistan. The charity, which is registered in the UK under the number 1099233, was founded in 1998 by students in Britain and Bangladesh, and is based in Stockport, six miles from Manchester.
In the website of the NGO, it is mentioned “Green Crescent charity was created by students in 1998 from the United Kingdom and Bangladesh who believed that individuals with vision are capable of changing society in a positive way and decided to do whatever possible to make life that much better for those who have very little. The charity operates mainly in Bangladesh, but has also started some work in Pakistan. We concentrate on long-term education and health projects. All donations go directly to where it is needed, as we have no U.K. administration costs, thus, we are able to carry out humanitarian work where ever and whenever the need arises, efficiently.”
Bangladeshi authorities have long viewed Madrassas with suspicion, fearing they could be potential recruiting grounds for Islamic militant groups. The country was hit by a series of coordinated bomb attacks in August 2005, for which Bangladeshi court awarded death penalty to a number of kingpins and members of Jamaatul Mujahedin Bangladesh [JMB], a notorious Islamist outfit in the country.
The recent recovery of the “mini-ordnance factory” inside the Madrassa, funded by British non-governmental organization [NGO] opens a new window for counter-terrorism specialists to re-assess the funding sources of the religious militant groups in Bangladesh as well in the Indian sub-continent. It was already known that notorious Islamist groups like Hizb-Ut-Tahrir, although being banned in a number of countries, are continuing to operate in several nations through its headquarters in Britain.
A neighbor of the Madrassa named Harona Begum said, she had witnessed strange behavior near the building for months.
"I was excited when they started building the school. I wanted my three children to go there but was told no locals were allowed. A lot of people from out of town would go to the Madrassa. They did not talk to anyone in the village.”
Meanwhile, United Kingdom’s Charity Commission, commenting on the recent recovery of militant training camp and arms haul inside Madrassa, funded by British NGO said, “These reported activities said to be run under the auspices of a UK charity, Green Crescent Bangladesh UK, raise very serious concerns.”
It said, “Terrorist activity is clearly under no circumstances acceptable for a charity. We are actively examining the information available.”
The commission's website said that in 2008, Green crescent had a turnover approaching £70,000 [$102,733].
 Israeli media is marking today by taking a hard look at the challenges that Israel women still face on the path to full equality:
Statistical reports published to coincide with International Women's Day Sunday reveal that in some aspects, the situation of women in the country has worsened. Weeks after an unprecedented number of women were chosen as MKs, data shows that the number of women in management positions in Israeli companies stands at 14.8 percent - five percent less than last year. A global average of women in management positions stands at 30%... Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics data shows that in general, women in Israel are relatively highly educated and pleased with their employment. They also display a high level of optimism, despite making salaries about a third less than men in parallel positions.
Meanwhile in Saudi Arabia police are shutting down women's only parks because - seriously - there were reports of singing. That's a particularly interesting case because orthodox Jewish law also has qualms about exposing men to the dulcet tones of the female voice. The issue actually came up at an Israeli film festival last year, where the planners were asked by the filmmaker to ban men out of the screening. Being citizens of a modern democracy, the planners responded with a very firm hell no.
Of course that's not the only difference between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israeli officials, for instance, wouldn't lash an American girls into strips for getting knocked up by her boyfriend. Israel judges would never punish the theft of two rams twice as severely as they'd punish a man who beat his wife until she swallowed her tongue and died. Overall, it's probably fair to say that we're dealing with different approaches to women's rights:
Female Saudi writer Suhaila Zeinul Abideen Hammad has penned several articles complaining about the unequal treatment received by women in the kingdom. In response, a column by Osama Ahmed Al-Subaie in today's Arab News displays the following. "Women are incomplete in our society. They will remain incomplete and will always be considered inferior. Their participation in literary clubs, journalism training courses, conferences and seminars would lead to them mixing with men. This would open the door for seduction, a source of corruption. Women would then become shameless and coveted by men."
Like Saudi Arabia, Iran also recently imposed the sharia-mandated "100 lashes for adultery" penalty. Only instead of lashing a besotted girl they tortured a woman who had been forced into prostitution by her husband. This was in between enforcing their new law banishing women to the back of the bus.
In Iraq they're beheading women's rights activists.
In Bangladesh women are being declared too dirty to walk past mosques:
Women in the Bangladesh town of Pirojpur are being physically prevented from walking down a road where a mosque is located, regional media said on Tuesday. Graffiti on Bara Masjid Road in Mathbaria says "women are forbidden on this road" and a retired soldier and self-styled "cleric" - one Abdus Sattar - has been guarding the area with a stick for a month." There is a mosque on this road. Use of this road by women is najayez [illegal in Islam]," he said.
In Yemen, there's an ongoing controversy over whether the government was wrong to ban the sale of teenage girls into marriage. This is after their controversy about the eight year old girl who wanted a divorce.
In Pakistan 60 year old sisters are being hacked to death by their brothers, 45 year old mothers are being killed by their sons, and 26 year old brides are getting shot by relatives. For the sake of honor, you see. And that's before we get to the Taliban-controlled parts of Pakistan:
The Taliban are their own worst enemy. Despite the pressure from the Pakistani army along the Afghan border, some Taliban leaders are demanding that tribes hand over young women to be wives for Taliban fighters. This is very unpopular with the tribes, and was one of the major complaints that led to tribes going to war with al Qaeda groups. In addition to burning down schools for girls and killing those who teach girls, the Taliban are also ordering women to stay away from markets, or working outside the home, unless they have a male escort from their family. These are the same attitudes that turned the Sunni Arab tribes against al Qaeda in Iraq, and is doing the same thing among the Pushtun tribes on both sides of the Afghan border.
"Marry or get raped," by the by, is being formally systematized into policy in the Swat areas that Pakistan surrendered to the Taliban.
In related news, Yakin Erturk, the UN's rapporteur on violence against women, recently noted that "Islamic countries have become stigmatised as being mysogynist societies which are inherently anti-women." Yes the operative word was "stigmatised." No I don't think she was mistranslated.
Source: Mere Rhetoric H/T: photonh2o via LGF
 In this picture taken on Friday, Bably Akter
hugs her mother at her home in DhakaAt first glance, Bably Akter looks like any other nine-year-old Bangladeshi girl, dressed in a brightly coloured pink and turquoise skirt and top trimmed with silver sequins. A matching headband conceals her left ear, badly deformed and the only obvious sign she is the victim of an acid attack, a practice rampant in the impoverished country, used mainly in domestic disputes and against women and children. As her mother, Parul, recounts the story of how Bably’s father put drops of acid on different parts of her body for five days when she was a baby, the little girl lifts her skirt to reveal a large scar on her legs and feet. “ Her father wanted a son. He’d been violent towards me before Bably was born but it was not until day five, when he actually fed her acid I realised something was seriously wrong,” Parul, 26, said. She complained to the police but charges were never laid. “We ran away and spent two years at the Acid Survivors’ Foundation (ASF) hospital where Bably had a lot of plastic surgery on her mouth. She still needs more operations.” Read more ...Source: Gulf TimesBably Akter's Father
Latest recipient of The Face of Evil Award
Why is the West ignoring human rights abuses in Bangladesh that, had they happened in Tibet or Burma, would stir the fires of indignation?Dr. Sami Alrabaa If what happened to Salahuddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor in chief of the Bangladeshi Weekly Blitz and peace activist, and his colleagues, happened in Tibet or Burma, for instance, the international media would rush to these regions and report about them meticulously, and human rights activists worldwide would take to the streets and demonstrate against the oppressors. Mr. Choudhury is fighting radical Islam in one of largest Muslim countries of the world (150 million). If the West does not support Choudhury’s struggle, a whole society will increasingly drift to Islamism. Bangladesh is being Talibanized day after day. Read more ... Source: Family Security MattersSalah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Latest recipient of The MASH Award
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