 Richard Lloyd Parry The church attacks reflect deep and long-running tensions in Malaysia. It seemed to come out of nowhere, it ran its course within a fortnight, and the damage inflicted was mild compared with religious conflicts in other parts of the world.
But this month’s attacks on churches in Malaysia, which petered out last week leaving one gutted by fire and nine others vandalised, is a sinister development, a portent of great changes afoot in what used to be one of South East Asia’s most stable and peaceful democracies. On the face of it, the attacks were provoked by a simmering and – to many outsiders – absurd controversy about the use of the word Allah. But below that, they suggest deep and long-running tensions in a country which has successfully bottled them up for 40 years. The row – over whether Christians should have the right to use the word Allah to refer to their own God in Malaysian-language Bibles and liturgy – is just the latest in a series of manifestations of a rising current of conservative Islam. In other incidents last year, a 32-year old mother was convicted for drinking a can of beer, and Muslim demonstrators outraged Hindu opinion by marching with the head of a dead cow, an animal sacred to Hinduism, to oppose the construction of a proposed temple. Malaysia’s success since its independence from Britain in 1963 has been to neutralise the rivalry and mutual dislike between its small majority of Malays (who by law are Muslim) and its Chinese and Indian minorities (who are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh). Relations between Malays and Chinese, in particular, have been marked over the years by outbreaks of mutual antipathy rooted in racial dislike which in Malaysia’s neighbour Indonesia have intermittently erupted into deadly violence. In the Chinese racist stereotype, Malays are lazy, stupid, uneducated, unhygienic and feckless. The equivalent Malay view sees Chinese as clannish, patronising, greedy, dishonest and opportunistic. In May 1969, these resentments boiled over in race riots which killed scores, and perhaps hundreds, of people in Malaysia. The Government’s response was to establish the New Economic Policy, based upon a system of positive discrimination for Malays, who were given favourable access to education, and to business and property subsidies. For years, the resentment among the minorities of such official discrimination was offset by an understanding that it was also a guarantee of long-term racial harmony. The racial character of Malaysian politics was engraved in the name of its rulers. The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, which has held power since independence, is a coalition of parties based upon ethnic identity – one Indian, one Chinese, and, dominating all of them, the United Malay National Organisation (Umno). But in the past ten years, the racial texture of Malaysian life and society has altered, and politics is struggling to keep up. Better educated, better off, and increasingly cosmopolitan, young Malaysians of all backgrounds are less prone to identify themselves purely in racial terms. Opposition parties have been successful campaigning on an inclusive, non-racial platform. After making huge gains in the last general election in 2008, they are now in a position to drive the Barisan Nasional out of power at the next. The result has been confusion among Umno and its partners. Since the retirement of Mahathir Mohamad, the towering figure in Malaysian politics since the 1970s, the party has lacked a convincing leader. Umno is not essentially a party of fundamentalist Islam, but as its racial base erodes it has – inconsistently and without much strategic planning – attempted to curry favour with ultra-conservative Muslims in the hope that religion may fill the ideological gap left by Malay nationalism. A shrewder leader, such as Dr Mahathir, would not have let the Allah row – a ridiculous dispute over a word used without comment by Christians in countries such as Indonesia and Syria – assume the dimensions which it has. But his successor as Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has stoked it. When a court ruled on December 31 that the ban on the use of Allah by Christians was unconstitutional, he had an opportunity to drop the whole thing. Instead, his Government appealed against the decision, and the attacks followed. The police have made no arrests. The physical damage which the attacks have caused may have been minimal. But the damage to the cause of racial harmony in Malaysia is impossible to calculate. Times Online 
 What sweet, loving parents they obviously are. How wonderfully they will treat her if the dhimmi Ohio authorities order her to be returned home. "Parents of Rifqa Bary ask court to hold her in contempt to force her to attend counseling sessions with Muslim counselor," from The Jawa Report, December 18 (thanks to Pamela, who has more here): ...and the counselor they demand she attend filed an affidavit in support of Rifqa being held in contempt! The next episode in the legal battle between Muslim-turned-Christian convert Rifqa Bary and her allegedly abusive parents will occur next Tuesday in an Ohio courtroom.
As I reported last Friday, one of the issues that will be heard by the court is a motion by the CAIR-appointed attorney to the Bary parents demanding that all Christmas cards sent to Rifqa be banned, and any cards she has already received be seized. On Monday, we provided clear evidence of CAIR's backstage handling of the media in this case. Another issue next week will be another motion filed by the Bary parents asking the court to hold Rifqa in contempt for refusing to attend counseling sessions with a Muslim counselor. Amazingly, the counselor that the Bary parents are attempting to force her to see filed a affidavit supporting the parents' motion to hold Rifqa in contempt of court. How could this counselor be remotely neutral? But wait a second - haven't all the media stooges in this case, from Meredith "Hijab" Heagney of the Columbus Dispatch to Michael Kruse of the St. Petersburg Times, insisted that the Bary family intends to respect Rifqa's Christian faith? Haven't these media stooges repeated assurances from the Bary parents that Rifqa has nothing to fear from returning home?... Her parents have defamed Christians who have attempted to help their daughter flee their abuse; they have filed criminal charges against Rifqa accusing her of being a delinquent; and now they ask the Ohio courts to ban and seize Rifqa's Christmas cards and to force her to see a Muslim counselor that has demonstrated his own partiality.
What this long sequence of events clearly shows is that Rifqa Bary has much to fear from being returned to her parents and that they have no intention to honor her personal religious choices.... With thanks to JihadWatch
 By Bill Warner When you study the incident of Major Hasan at Fort Hood, you realize that there were some questions that needed to have been asked. But, no one knew what to ask, since the wrong questions might seem, well, politically incorrect. No one wants to be politically incorrect. We don’t want to offend. If you look around you will find that no one is asking any Muslims hard questions. Never mind the Major Hasan types, no one asks questions to the Muslim at work. It turns out that there are many questions that each and every Muslim should be asked. These are simple ones that deal with the core of Islam. Every Muslim knows the answers. “Do you believe that the Koran is perfect?” This is not offensive. Muslims must believe that the Koran is perfect, without error. They also believe that it is eternal and universal. Most of all, it came from the lips of Mohammed. “Is Mohammed the ideal Muslim? Should Muslims pattern their life after Mohammed?” Again, don’t worry that Muslims will find this awkward. Mohammed is admired, looked up to, and idealized. He is the perfect father, husband, friend, warrior, wise elder and best companion that could be. These questions establish the Islam of the believer. Every Muslim believes that the Koran is perfect, and Mohammed is the ideal human.
Islam is only partially based on the Koran. Far more of a Muslim’s life is governed by Mohammed than the Koran and Allah. Why is this so important? The practical way to understand Islam and what Muslims believe and think is to know about Mohammed. This is very good news. Anyone can understand Mohammed’s life.
However, once you get to know Mohammed, the perfect Muslim, Islam becomes problematic.
From the first days of being a prophet Mohammed not only preached a better way of life, but he attacked all those who did not believe him. He created a new type of human being called the kafir, usually called unbeliever, but this is not an accurate translation. A kafir is the worst person in the world; an unbeliever is just someone who does not believe. A kafir can be mocked, deceived, tortured, enslaved, murdered, robbed, raped, and plotted against. Kafir is the worst word in the human language. Now we are ready to ask a Muslim another question. “Am I a kafir?” The only answer is yes, but that is not the answer you will get. If you are a Christian you will be told no, you are a person of the Book. That sounds nice, but if you don’t believe that both Jesus and Mohammed were the prophets of Allah and that the Gospels are false, then you are a Christian kafir. They also might say that you are a non-Muslim, but that is not what the Koran says. The Koran says that you are a kafir. Now we come to more questions that should be asked, but most people do not have the knowledge to ask them, since the questions are based on knowing Mohammed’s life. As an example, Mohammed repeatedly advised Muslims to deceive kafirs if it would advance Islam. So: “Have you ever deceived a kafir?” is appropriate to ask. Mohammed assassinated kafirs, tortured, enslaved, robbed and plotted against them. His entire life as a prophet was an attempt to make kafirs submit to Islam by any means possible. It is proper then to ask: “How do you feel about what he did?” If you are a Christian, ask: “Over 60 million Christians have been killed in jihad. Christians are persecuted daily in Islamic lands. Have you ever apologized for this?” If you are a black American, ask: “Islam sold slaves on the West coast of Africa, the east coast of Africa and the Mediterranean. You enslaved over a million Europeans. Why do you never take any responsibility for slavery?” If you are a Jew, ask: “How do you see the war against Israel as jihad?” The other reason we do not ask questions is that we have become a nation of deceivers under political correctness. We don’t ask Muslims any question that would make them feel “uncomfortable”. It is completely reasonable to ask anyone about their ideology. Christians, Jews, liberals, conservatives and every other ideology have to answer questions about what they believe. Why not Muslims? That is the true question for kafirs: “Why are Muslims the only people in the world who don’t have to be asked difficult questions about what they believe?” All Muslims must answer questions about Islam, questions about Mohammed and the Koran for the only way to know a Muslim is to know their Islam. Western Front
 Although we Americans have the right to attend whatever Church, Synagogue, or Mosque we choose to, it isn’t so peachy in lots of other places. The photo that accompanies this piece is of an Iranian woman who was flogged for having the temerity to worship as a Christian, for example. The American Spectator’s December 11th analysis of the State Department’s 2009 Report On International Religious Freedom illustrates how really bad it is not only in Iran, but in at least 30 different countries. Author Doug Bandow divides the offenders into two basic camps: “The first are Muslim nations that seek to reinforce the Muslim faith — often the particular branch, Shia or Sunni, that controls the state. The second are authoritarian states that either are still communist or have only recently escaped communism. Their authoritarian impulses typically cover civil and political liberties as well as religious freedom.” The old saw about Muslims demanding full rights to worship (minarets, anyone?) while simultaneously denying it to others (including incompatible strains of their own religion) rings particularly true here. And the Communists just keep humming along. Whether it’s Burma, Eritrea, or even India, those with power often seek to force others to adhere to their narrow conception of the Godhead – and if the “others” fail to feel the magic, they are often tortured and killed. Although it is tempting to want to ban religions that preach the destruction of all competitors, so far we in the U.S. have stayed above the fray. Perhaps the adherents of those religions can learn something from our approach. Of course that isn’t guaranteed. NewsReal Blog
 The irony is most likely completely lost on the EU. "Turkey prepares to join EU in a building confiscated from the Orthodox," by Nat da Polis for AsiaNews, December 11: Istanbul (AsiaNews) - Unbelievable but true: the headquarters of the Secretariat for the entry of Turkey into the European Union is a building confiscated from the Orthodox Christian community in the 90s.
The building is located in Istanbul, in the well-known area of Ortakoy, under the first bridge over the Bosphorus. Before the seizure, the building was used as a primary school for children of the minority Orthodox in Ortakoy. Here, once lived a thriving Orthodox community, now non-existent because of past purges against minorities, executed by the "secular" Turkish State. Thanks to the policy of purging, the building and many other schools, at one point found themselves without students, unused and then confiscated. The forfeiture rule however prevented foundations - owners of buildings - from allocating them to different uses.
The community of Ortakoy appealed to the administrative courts in Istanbul, which have yet to rule on the issue. In case of a ruling to the contrary, the Orthodox intend to apply to the court in Strasbourg. The inauguration of the Secretariat took place in the presence of Prime Minister Erdogan, accompanied by Minister for European Affairs Bajis and by various authorities and European representation. The event has aroused unease in diplomatic circles in Brussels, so much so that on the eve of the inauguration, a senior government official visited Patriarch Bartholomew I to let them know that the courts decision will be respected. The question also arises whether the current Turkish government aware of the building's history. Hmm. Meanwhile in Brussels some discomfort is spreading towards politicians who are champions of Turkey's entry into the EU. Ankara has not yet shown a convincing European orientation, it is believed that the "champions" are tied to the country by economic and financial interests. One suggestion for resolving the issue comes from Lakis Vigas, representative of minorities in Turkey in the General Directorate of Foundations. Interviewed by the newspaper Milliyet on the case of Ortakoy, he says a possible solution would be if the Ortakoy foundation were granted the possibility to lease the building to the Turkish nation. This gesture would have a noble purpose: the entry of Turkey into the EU the "source of our hopes." That is, be a good dhimmi and play along. Anyway, for a truly noble, tolerant gesture, how about giving back the Hagia Sophia? With thanks to JihadWatch
 LEHIGH ACRES, Fla: A religious Christian in Florida tried to send Fort Hood massacre suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan a bouquet of flowers and a note that calls him a "hero," but the man got a knock on his door from the FBI instead, according to a Florida television station. Dan M. Ross told NBC 2 he was guided by his faith when he tried to send yellow roses to the accused shooter, who has been charged with 13 premeditated killings in the Nov. 5 attack on soldiers waiting to deploy from Fort Hood. Twenty-nine others were wounded, including Hassan, who, doctors say, may be permanently paralyzed. Ross ordered flowers and requested a card that read "In God's eye, and those who submit, you are a hero!" But instead of completing the $59.95 order, the owner of the Texas flower shop said he reported it to the Army base and the FBI. Ross, a Vietnam vet, said he has kids in the military, but he wanted to reach out as a show of respect. With a Bible close by, a declaration of his Christian beliefs and a website outlining his visits by an angel, Ross said in a television interview that he believes we should all love our enemies. Ross said he's hopeful some kind of good can come out of the shooting at Fort Hood and hopes the incident will bring an end to the conflict between religions. The local sheriff's office did confirm the FBI visit to Ross' home, but agents for the FBI will not comment on the visit or the investigation. H/T: gramfan
 Southern Sudan may secede from the Muslim-dominated north of the country in an upcoming referendum because unity has become "unattractive," the south's leader said Monday. Salva Kiir accused the Khartoum government of never making "unity an attractive option" for the mostly Christian and animist southerners. Sudan's savage two-decade civil war ended in a 2005 peace agreement that included a provision for a 2011 referendum for the southerners to choose if they wanted to remain in the country. A southern decision to secede could well reignite one of Africa's worst conflicts, claiming 2 million lives. "There is hope that Sudan may stay united if the other party is serious," Kiir told reporters after a meeting Monday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss Sudan's conflicts. Kiir also accused the northern government of failing to implement fully the peace agreement including the demarcation of the oil-rich border region between the north and the south. He said the maps should be ready next month. The peace deal put an end to the 21-year-old civil war between the mostly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the Christian-animist south that left 2 million people dead and 4 million displaced. But the deal is plagued by distrust between the two sides and has repeatedly threatened to unravel, bringing to the two sides to the brink of war. Under the deal, Sudan is to hold key parliamentary and presidential elections in April — the first national elections to include all of South Sudan in four decades — as well as the referendum. In both cases, smooth elections are seen as crucial for keeping peace. But disputes have arisen between north and south over census results, which are the basis for drawing election constituencies. The two have also yet to agree on north-south borders, an already explosive issue because it also involve dividing oil and grazing rights. The U.S. has been actively pushing the two sides to iron out their differences over the votes, considered vital to prevent a return to war. A disagreement over how to conduct the referendum has been settled recently. But southern lawmakers are now boycotting parliament to pressure the northern government to discuss election-related laws, such as press freedom and a security bill, ahead of the vote. In Monday's statement Kiir refused to postpone both the election and the referendum. "So far we have agreed to hold the elections in 2010. I hope this happens." Source: FoxNews
 More than a year after he was forced to disown his Chicago pastor, President Obama has begun to attend services led by a Christian chaplain who views Islam as a violent faith. Mr Obama has been an irregular church attender since becoming President, but has expressed a fondness for Carey Cash, the navy chaplain at the Camp David presidential retreat who has been criticised for proselytising in the military and his mistrust of Islam. The White House insists that the Rev Cash, the great-nephew of the singer Johnny Cash, has not become Mr Obama’s new pastor, but it appears that the President has heard more sermons by him than any other minister since taking office. The emergence of Mr Cash, 39, who was profiled on the front page of The Washington Post yesterday, will pose some tough questions for the White House — and for President Obama, whose father was Muslim. In a 2004 book describing his deployment to Iraq the year before, Mr Cash calls Islam violent, a faith that “from its very birth has used the edge of the sword as a means to convert or conquer those with different religious convictions”. He added: “Sadly, grace is often absent in Islam, which is based upon binding religious law, requiring strenuous adherence to every tenet of the ‘Five Pillars of Allah’. “A religion that emerges from the soil of strict adherence to law as a means of gaining God’s favour will always tend toward extreme selfsacrifice.” Since Mr Obama, who opposed the war in Iraq, disowned the Rev Jeremiah Wright for his incendiary sermons during the presidential campaign last year, he has been hesitant about choosing a new pastor and has declined to pick a church to attend regularly. He likes Mr Cash and the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, which is 70 miles (113km) from Washington and closed to the public and press. He told reporters this summer that Mr Cash “delivers as powerful a sermon as I’ve heard in a while. I really think he’s excellent”. According to the report in The Washington Post, the White House has instructed Mr Cash and his family not to talk to the newspaper. Mr Cash has been criticised by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog that monitors proselytising in the military, for his work with Campus Crusade for Christ’s Military Ministry. According to the watchdog, the group’s goal is to transform the US military into a force of “government-paid missionaries for Christ”. Source: Times Online
 The Florida pastor who helped a 17-year old girl who fled from her home, fearing her Muslim parents would kill her for converting to Christianity, told MyFoxOrlando.com that he is hopeful the runaway will be able to stay in Florida even though a judge ruled she must return to Ohio. "We expected Ohio would get jurisdiction... that's just the legal way it is," Paster Blake Lorenz told MyFoxOrlando.com. "But we are excited there is still a possibility she could stay in Florida, if the legal documents are not presented with her immigration. So you never know...maybe they don't have them." Before the girl gets sent back, florida Judge Daniel Dawson said he needs immigration papers proving her status in the U.S. and proof from the state of Florida that she can continue her virtual schooling and receive credit in Ohio. Lorenz claims he and his wife have been operating under the belief that Bary's parents may not be able to produce the required documents. Bary's family came from Sri Lanka, and Lorenz said Rifqa did not think they would look for her for fear their immigration status would be revealed. They eventually did report her as missing, and Lorenz has since felt pressure from law enforcement and some segments of the public. Read more here,,,, Source: FoxNews
 By Robert Spencer Pakistan is, of course, an Islamic Republic, but why is it that "there is no compulsion in religion" (2:256) seems only to be invoked by Islamic apologists in the West, and never where it could actually do some good for non-Muslims in an Islamic state?
Hmmm, now why might that be?
Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Land of the Pure: "All students in Pakistan's schools required to study Islam," from AsiaNews, September 26 Islamabad (AsiaNews) - The new guidelines for school students in Pakistan requires non-Muslims to study Islam and ignore other religious traditions in the country.
The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Church of Pakistan is critical of the National Education Policy 2009, launched September 9 by the government in Islamabad. Mgr. John Saldanha, Archbishop of Lahore and chairman of the NCJP, and Peter Jacob, secretary of the Commission are concerned about the often implicit discriminatory and coercive aspects of the new guidelines content. In a press release issued on 25 September, the two leaders of NCJP point the finger at Chapter 4 of the document, dedicated to Islamic Education. They claim that "If government thinks public education is not possible without a compulsory subject of Islamic Studies and Arabic, then we are forced to demand religious education for Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, etc. in their respective religions". The program drawn up by the Government contemplates that Islamiyat (Islamic studies) become compulsory until the 12th class (15 and 16 years). For students that from then on will not want to follow the lessons of Islam attendance of alternative courses of public ethics is permitted, but the Commission notes also on this front the discrimination, though latent, is clear.... Source: JihadWatch
 by Pamela Geller Rifqa Bary, the teenage girl who converted to Christianity from Islam and then fled for her life after her father threatened to kill her, faces daunting obstacles in her quest to be free.
As a high-profile apostate, she is a high value target for Islamists.
And she faces a Leftist media that is complicit with those who want to see her fall prey to them.
Witness the treatment that Newsweek gave to her story in its September 9 issue, and especially to Jamal Jivanjee, Rifqa’s friend and confidante.
Newsweek reporter Arian Campo-Flores, Jivanjee told me, asked him for an interview “about my connection to Rifqa Bary, as well as other questions regarding her situation.” But when Jivanjee saw the Newsweek published, he told me in a detailed interview about the newsmagazine’s unfair coverage that he was “very disappointed at the clear bias that was demonstrated in the article,” and that he found many aspects of the piece “troubling.”
Campo-Flores’ Newsweek article describes Mohamed Bary, Rifqa’s father, as “a polite, mild-mannered man who seems deeply pained by the acrimony.”
Jivanjee asked pointedly, “What is the journalistic purpose of describing Rifqa’s father in such a manner?” And he supplied what Campo-Flores left out: “Rifqa has been physically and psychologically abused in the past at the hands of her family.”
These charges did not come from third parties: “Rifqa has made these allegations personally, and these claims are being investigated and will be brought out should a court trial become necessary.” Rifqa has previously recounted that her father said to her, “If you have this Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me! You are no longer my daughter…I will kill you! Tell me the truth!”
 A LEADING Muslim spokesman has criticised new NSW laws that enshrine the rights of staff to refuse to work on Christian-orientated public holidays. The State Government is banning most shops from opening on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Easter Sunday and Good Friday unless their owners can prove compelling demand from the local community. Shops will also only be able to open for half a day on ANZAC day. The new law prevents shop owners forcing staff to work on those days. Sydney-based Muslim community spokesman Keysar Trad said workers of all faiths were entitled to a break and called for the two main Muslim public holidays to be recognised as well. "It does give the impression that we are a solely Christian nation and it raises the issue of other religions too, whether you are Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim," he said. "I know Muslim workers face problems asking for their public holidays off work at the moment. "There are only two Muslim public holidays, so it is not a lot to ask." He cited the example of Lebanon where Christian and Muslim public holidays are widely celebrated by members of both faiths. "Productivity in Lebanon has not been hurt by the way they do things. Celebrating other faith's public holidays, actually, is excellent for community relations." Shops in Sydney CBD, Newcastle CBD and in Cabramatta are exempt from the new law, as are small businesses. NSW Minister for Industrial Relations John Hatzistergos introduced the legislation to Parliament in a bid to allow shop workers to spend the major Christian public holidays with their families. A spokesman for Mr Hatzistergos admitted the days involved were Christian-orientated, but said the new law, which is supported by opposition ministers, was not about religion. "It's about allowing workers to spend time with their families," he said. "It's not about enshrining something for religious reasons, it's about protecting workers rights."
The law has been applauded by unions, some major retailers and veteran groups. Source: The Australian
 Christians in Kenya say Islamic courts are not necessary but some unnamed Muslims in the east African country have been quoted as saying if such institutions are not in the constitution, they could break away and form their own state - writes Fredrick Nzwili. Last week representatives of the two different faiths engaged in a shouting match in the coastal city of Mombasa. They were putting their views to a group of experts at a hearing where a group of Muslims insisted that Islamic courts, known locally as Kadhis, should be included in a new constitution. "The courts are not necessary since the current constitution gives individuals the right to religious preferences and worship," Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of Mombasa said, while presenting views to the Committee of Experts on the Constitution Review. Church leaders have, since 1991, when Kenya started a debate on writing a new constitution, protested against including the Islamic courts in the basic law. Currently one section of the constitution provides for a Chief Kadhi and Kadhi Courts and gives them powers to decide on personal legal issues between Muslims. Read more ...Source: Ecumenical News InternationalH/T: Jihad Watch
 By Fareed Khan Gojra (AsiaNews) - Pakistani special forces have taken control of the town of Gojra (Punjab) after yesterday’s bloody episode in which at least 8 people - including 4 women and a child of 7 years - were burned alive and 20 others wounded. At least 50 houses of Christians were burned and destroyed and thousands of faithful fled to escape execution. Relatives of the victims refuse to take care of dead bodies and do not want funerals until the culprits are arrested. Some of the killed have been identified: Hamed Masih, 50, Asia Bibi, 20; Asifa Bibi, 19, Imam Bibi, 22; Musa 7; Akhlas Masih, 40, Parveen, 50. At least 3 thousand Muslims, after they have were incited by local religious authorities, marched to the Christian village Gojra founded 50 years ago. Groups of young Muslims - perhaps from the Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahabaha - with their faces covered started to shoot wildly. The villagers fled, but some were trapped and were killed by the uncontrollable fire unleashed by the mob. Read more ...Source: Asia NewsH/T: Jihad Watch
 Christians in Pakistan's Punjab
province and other areas often face
persecution, rights groups say.By Jawad Mazhar SANGLA HILL, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- A 13-year old impoverished Christian girl in Pakistan's Punjab province was recovering Thursday, February 19, after she was gang raped at gun point by five Islamic extremists, her family told BosNewsLife. Family members, speaking on condition that the girl's name would not be identified, said the incident happened February 7 in a village of the Sangla Hill area when she went out to dump trash and relief herself, as most Pakistani villages have no toilets at home. While on her way to nearby fields two Muslim men, identified as Muhammad Qalla and Muhammad Kakku, allegedly kidnapped her at gun point and forcibly took her to their nearby farmhouse where three other Muslim men were waiting. "They ruined her chastity one by one for several hours until we reached her. She was in critical condition," a family member said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of revenge attacks. Read more ...Source: BosNewsLife
Muslim judges are defying Islamic law in custody battles involving Christian mothers and Muslim fathers to shield children from Christian influence. Egyptian law's Article 20 st ates children younger than 15 should stay with their mothers. But, without fail, Egypt's judges are ruling for Muslim fathers if the mothers are Christian, Compass Direct News reports. The judges are bypassing Article 20 and referencing a portion of Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution: "Principles of Islamic law are the principal source of legislation." On Sept. 24, an appeals court defied the statute and awarded custody of 13-year-old twins Andrew and Mario Medhat Ramses Labib to their father. Read more ...Source: WND
 Worship is not allowed in St Paul’s Church, TarsusBy Christopher Landau The Turkish government says it is "out of the question" for it to hand over a revered medieval church where Catholics want to hold Christian services. The church, currently run as a museum, stands in the south-eastern town of Tarsus, where St Paul was born. The Turkish constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Christian groups in the country believe that in practice they face discrimination. Next week the Vatican will hold a Catholic-Muslim forum to improve ties. It was the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne in Germany who first challenged the Turkish government to hand over the church in Tarsus. Read more ...Source: BBC
Anti-Christian violence spills into Kenya as Somali Muslims attack in Nairobi. NAIROBI, Kenya, October 27 (Compass Direct News) – Among at least 24 aid workers killed in Somalia this year was one who was beheaded last month specifically for converting from Islam to Christianity, among other charges, according to an eyewitness. Muslim extremists from the al Shabab group fighting the transitional government on Sept. 23 sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, 25, a World Food Program (WFP) worker, before horrified onlookers of Manyafulka village, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Baidoa. The militants had intercepted Mohammed and a WFP driver, who managed to escape, earlier in the morning. Sources close to Mohammed’s family said he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005. The eyewitness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the militants that afternoon gathered the villagers of Manyafulka, telling them that they would prepare a feast for them. Five masked men emerged, carrying guns, wielding Somali swords and dragging the handcuffed Mohammed. One recited the Quran as he proclaimed that Mohammed was a “murtid,” an Arabic term for one who converts from Islam to Christianity. Mohammed remained calm with an expressionless face, never uttering a word, said the eyewitness. Source: Compass Direct News
 Bangladeshi Christians constitute
about 300K of the 140 mln people
in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. DHAKA, BANGLADESH (BosNewsLife)-- Muslim clerics and neighbors have ordered the father of a Muslim man who converted to Catholicism to remain confined to his home in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka until retaliatory punishment can be carried out against the convert, Christians said Thursday, October 16."Are you not ashamed that your son became Christian?" the founder of a mosque here reportedly asked Ruhul Amin Khandaker, father of a 32-year-old businessman who went to Australia earlier this year to court a Philippine Catholic woman, converting to her faith in April. "Why did you not sacrifice your son like cattle before telling the news to us,?" Christian news agency Compass Direct News quoted the mosque as saying. Khandaker said he has become a social outcast and that his family members live under threat from their fellow Muslims. His son, Rashidul Amin Khandaker, has reportedly applied for protection from Australian immigration officials as he believes police in 88 percent-Muslim Bangladesh would do nothing to protect him from Islamists threatening to kill him. Read more ... Source: BosNewsLife
 Life for Rashin Soodmand, her siblings and her mother
became extremely difficult after her father was executed
in Iran for the 'crime' of abandoning his religion Eighteen years ago, Rashin Soodmand's father was hanged in Iran for converting to Christianity. Now her brother is in a Mashad jail, and expects to be executed under new religious laws brought in this summer.By Alasdair Palmer A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against. Imposing the death penalty for changing religion blatantly violates one of the most fundamental of all human rights. The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in the European Convention of Human Rights. It is even enshrined as Article 23 of Iran's own constitution, which states that no one may be molested simply for his beliefs. And yet few politicians or clerics in Iran see any contradiction between a law mandating the death penalty for changing religion and Iran's constitution. There has been no public protest in Iran against it. David Miliband, Britain's Foreign Secretary, stands out as one of the few politicians from any Western country who has put on record his opposition to making apostasy a crime punishable by death. The protest from the EU has been distinctly muted; meanwhile, Germany, Iran's largest foreign trading partner, has just increased its business deals with Iran by more than half. Characteristically, the United Nations has said nothing. Read more ... Source: Telegraph
 |
|
|
Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
|
|
|
Posts
