 When it comes to honor killings and honor-related violence, America had better start learning a few things from Europe. On October 20, 2009, near Phoenix, Arizona, Noor Al-Maleki’s father, Iraqi-born Faleh Hassan Al-Maleki, ran over his 20-year-old daughter with a two-ton jeep.
He struck down her female companion and protector as well. His daughter died. Although she was seriously wounded, Amal Edan Khalaf, the other woman, survived. Just like Yaser Said, who fled Dallas after honor murdering his two daughters (and who has not yet been found), Faleh Hassan Al-Maleki also fled, first to Mexico, and then to England.
However, he was captured, extradited back to Arizona, and charged with first-degree murder. Well done! The case has been described, correctly, as an “honor killing.” Poor Noor did not want to remain in an arranged marriage and dared to find a fiancée on her own. When she died, she had been living with her fiancée and with her future mother-in-law. Now comes Arizona lawyer Billie Little, who is Faleh Hassan Al-Maleki’s lawyer.
Guess what Mr. Little told the judge? According to Arizona Central, because Andrew Thomas, the prosecutor in the case, is a Christian, Mr. Little actually wrote: “An open process provides some level of assurance that there is no appearance that a Christian is seeking to execute a Muslim for racial, political, religious or cultural beliefs.” Let me understand this. Mr. Little does not want the judge to view a murder as a murder because a Muslim committed that murder? Or because only a Muslim was murdered—and that somehow counts for less? From my own research, published in Middle East Quarterly, it is clear that honor killing is primarily a Muslim-on-Muslim crime. After all, Noor was a Muslim too. And, an honor killing is not like Western domestically violent femicide. Western fathers do not kill their young daughters. (And, by the way, does Noor have a mother? If so, where is she? Why is she so silent?) Clearly, Al-Maleki became judge, jury, and executioner when he took the law into his own hands to punish his daughter because, in his view, she was too western and therefore not a good Muslim. What does that make him? A good Muslim? Or a really bad Muslim? Perhaps Islam is not and should not be on trial here but Muslim customs, Muslim behavior surely is. It is the proverbial elephant in the room. How can the prosecutor not mention it? And, once mentioned, how easy it will be to gain pity for the poor, allegedly “racially profiled” murderer. In addition, Mr. Little is demanding that his client be psychiatrically evaluated because “he does not understand basic court proceedings.”
I wonder: Is Mr. Little consulting with Muzzammil Hassan’s lawyer in Buffalo? He’s the Pakistani-born charmer who severely battered and then beheaded his lovely wife Aasiya. Hassan’s lawyer is arguing “extreme emotional disturbance.”
This is rather ironic since this kind of defense has been used, often unsuccessfully, on behalf of battered women. More at Chesler Chronicles 
 The French are enjoying a debate about their cultural identity. Obviously the word “enjoying” is a euphemism, since the focus of the debate, whether or not to ban the burqa — full female coverage with an eye screen — in public, has riven the population of France, and by no means along the obvious fault line of Muslim vs. non-Muslim. Algerian-born Fadela Amara, France’s cities minister, reinforced her view in an interview with the Financial Times: “The vast majority of Muslims are against the burqa. It is obvious why. Those who have struggled for women’s rights back home in their own countries — I’m thinking particularly of Algeria — we know what it represents and what the obscurantist political project is that lies behind it, to confiscate the most fundamental liberties.” President Nicolas Sarkozy had called for a ban on the public wearing of the burqa altogether. But as of this writing, apparently a compromise has been struck and the burqa will be banned in public buildings only. A partial ban is better than nothing, though, and may hopefully serve to inject some steel into the spine of other European nations who feel threatened by the rise of anti-Western radicalization amongst their own growing Muslim populations. Some pundits argue that the numbers of women in France in full coverage are small — in the low hundreds. But more recent estimates run much higher. A report by the minister of the interior conservatively estimates there are at least 2,000, not a nugatory figure, considering that 15 years ago there were virtually no niqabs or burqas in France. If they are not banned now, it may be impossible to do so when there are critical masses of them, as there surely will be as radicalization rates trend upward, if not checked. Critics will claim that these garments do no harm to others and nobody has the right to interfere with women’s religious choices in a free society. But President Sarkozy got it right last June in explaining to Parliament why the burqa is “not welcome in the French Republic”: “The burqa is not a sign of religion; it is a sign of subservience.” Sarkozy understands what most people refuse to acknowledge. Full coverage is not about religion; it is about ideology. Full face coverage is an ideological symbol of hatred for democracy, particularly the democratic value of gender equality. While some converts wear full cover as a badge of religious commitment and some educated Muslim young women wear it as a political gesture, by and large full cover goes hand in hand with women leading lives of grim physical and mental deprivation, and often routine, unchallenged, lifelong abuse. Most women wearing the niqab or burqa can never aspire to a Western model of citizenship. They have not been provided with the kind of education or upbringing that would allow them to understand the meaning of freedom as we know it. It is insulting to the intellect to speak of women in these “walking coffins” in the same breath with the words “choice” or “rights.” But to hold such rational views is to beat against a strong current of political correctness. As is now the norm whenever hypersensitive Muslim nerves are brushed by political decisions involving perceived insults to Islam, the French debate on cover as well as the recent referendum-driven ban on the further construction of minarets in Switzerland have provoked a great deal of hand-wringing anxiety amongst Islamophobia-phobic liberals. Unwillingness to criticize the burqa, implying a corollary willingness to abandon these imprisoned women to their fate, even within Western borders, is morally tantamount to depraved indifference to voiceless suffering. Liberals hide behind the iron rubric of non-judgmentalism of other “cultures,” but that strain of logic would have absolved slave owners in the “culture” of pre-Civil War America. Yet even conservatives who agree that fully covered women are chattel and a walking insult to American values struggle with the issue of legislative bans against what is misleadingly considered a garment. It seems draconian to prescribe what any individual can or cannot wear in public. They must first understand that the burqa and niqab are not articles of clothing. They are tents thrown over clothing. In their intention and their effect, they perform the function of a ball and chain. Full cover is worn as a reminder to the wearer that she is not free and to remind the observer that the wearer is a possession, something less than a full human being. More at Pajamas Media
 Robin Shepherd's Robust Defense of Israel. Why should a secular non-Jew support the Jewish State of Israel? Foreign policy expert, Robin Shepherd convincingly answers this and related questions in his important new book, A State Beyond the Pale: Europe's Problem With Israel. Shepherd is a non-Jew whose defense of Israel led to his dismissal from a prominent British policy institute. But despite this set back he continues to be a vigorous defender of the Jewish State. Shepherd is an effective advocate because he is not a knee-jerk Zionist ideologue.
In Beyond the Pale he explores why European elites have turned from advocates for Israel to vociferous critics. His analysis is based on facts, not emotions, and he counters their bias with rational reasoning. Shepherd understands that Europe's turn against Israel is part of Europe's turn against itself.
Europe no longer believes in its own values so why should we expect it to come to the defense of Israel, the West's outpost in the Middle East? Europe is allowing foreign cultures to profoundly change its own societies. Europe refuses to defend its own values as it bends over backward to accommodate the most outrageous demands of its Muslim immigrants. If, for example, Europe had any strong beliefs in its Western values would it have made excuses for the violent reactions to the Mohammad cartoons?
Would Europe be creating systems of Sharia finance that compete with its established financial systems? Would Europe be ostracizing Israel (the latest being the labeling of West Bank products being sold in the UK) while tolerating the inhuman actions of Iran's dictatorial regime? Why does Europe side with terrorists who attack innocent Israeli civilians? Europe's identity crisis (and a tinge of anti-Semitism) coupled with its belief that international institutions like the United Nations can solve all the world's conflicts are major influences on Europe's policy toward Israel. For the Europeans, negotiations are central to relations among adversaries. They are not shaken from this belief by adversaries (like Iran and North Korea) who use negotiations to buy time not to come to mutually beneficial agreements. Shepherd's reasoning is impeccable and his writing is wonderful. This is not a dull intellectual tome. It is a pleasurable and an important read. Every friend of Israel will benefit for buying and reading A State Beyond The Pale. One Jerusalem
 “What’s liberating about Islam is that one is spared from having to think.” This, essentially, is how a woman explained to me the change that had taken place in her life since her conversion to Islam. Since then, I’ve thought about her many times, especially because at that time I didn’t know very much about Islam. Now I’ve learned more, have gotten to know many more Muslims, and just begun to worry about her lack of thought. When she explained what was liberating about Islam, it amounted, more or less, to the following: “There are rules for everything. I’m spared from having to think. I just have to learn the rules, and then act. So I know that I’m doing the right thing. It’s liberating.” To me, it sounded as if she had entered her second childhood. She was an adult, but had freed herself of responsibility for her actions. Responsibility lay elsewhere. Later, to be sure, her explanation caused me a good deal of unease, mainly because I have become acquainted with a number of the rules she lives by.
When she decided to become a Muslim, it was a free choice, but having made that choice she is not free to choose which Islamic rules she will follow and which she will not. I have since mentioned her attitude to other Muslim women, and to a large extent they shared it. But these are women who were born into Muslim families, and who thus face another “challenge,” as they call it: namely, the family.
The “family” in question, however, is not a standard-issue Western family consisting of mom, dad, and two kids, but rather an extended family that includes father and mother, their five children, plus the father’s siblings and their offspring, plus the mother’s siblings and their offspring, and, as time goes by, the spouse’s equally sprawling clan. And then there’s the “community,” in which it isn’t necessarily people’s national origin that shapes their identity (there is, for example, a great difference between a Pakistani from a big city and one from a rural village), but rather the sheer fact that they are Muslims. If, in such a context, you don’t follow the established rules, you have enough to fight against. In addition, these are collectivist cultures, so the struggle that you need to undertake is not an individual one; everything you say or do involves others in the family – it affects other people than oneself.
The responsibility lies in the rules, and a violation of them, or an attempt to redefine them, will have consequences for the rules themselves. More at FPM This piece originally appeared on the website of Human Rights Service, www.rights.no, and has been translated from the Norwegian by Bruce Bawer.
 Today I attended a Q&A Wafa Sultan as part of a book signing for her new book, and I noticed that the common theme of virtually every question that was asked by the attendees could be summed up as, "What can we do to stop Islam?"
There is of course no simple answer. Communism, the closest parallel to the current threat we face, attacked us at a military, political and cultural level.
Islam attacks us at a military, political, cultural and religious level-- making it a four part threat. And while the Soviet Union did finally collapse, looking at the state of freedom in America and Europe today, at a political environment that has dispensed with democracy in favor of judicial activism and class warfare politics that owe a good deal to the dictatorship of the proletariat-- the question of whether we defeated Communism, or Communism defeated us, remains open.
The Soviet Union proved unable to defeat us militarily, despite dedicating the bulk of its industrial capacity to building weapons, and successfully allying with much of the Third World to create an anti-Western world order in the U.N.
But culturally and politically, Communism did a great deal of damage in the West. More so than most people understand. The American and European of the year 2009 lives in a system whose political premises resemble those of the USSR more than they do his own country of 1909.
And this goes to show us that Communism accomplished far more through subversion and infiltration than nationalism and armed conquest. And the best proof of that is Eastern Europe, which was today is more honestly capitalistic than Western Europe which spent the last half century free of the Soviet boot.
Had Trotsky's way prevailed over that of his less visionary contemporaries, Communism might have triumphed as an international revolutionary movement, rather than failing as a Second World poorly industrialized armed camp.
And that is a scaled down version of the threat that we face with Islam today, backed by oil money from otherwise backward countries, polished by the disingenuous lies of a merchant culture and driven by a fanaticism that even few Communists could aspire to. And we have no better answers to the problem of what to do about a movement that subverts our society from within, than we did back then.
In her talk Wafa Sultan emphasized the importance of being informed about the real nature of Islam. And certainly the first stage of defense against cultural, political and religious threats-- which circulate by way of ideas, is to be informed.
But information itself is very much a subjective thing. It is possible to tell someone that Islam is currently involved in conflicts all over the world, that it is responsible for millions of deaths through acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
You can list all the objective facts about Islam, without in the least shaking his belief that Islam is all right based on episodes he's seen of Little Mosque on the Prairie or because Mohammed, the deli guy in the store under his office, is always friendly when he comes in for a sandwich.
For rational people the objective facts of the case may suffice, for most people they will not. We live in an age where objective reasoning has been destroyed in the First World through a process of careful cultural obliteration.
To tell someone that a million are dead in Darfur is to give him a meaningless statistic that is "awful", but not relatable. By contrast, to chronicle the story of a single orphan does far more than listing the millions dead and raped.
h/t gramfan
 "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" Edmund Burke
As the story of Nidal Hassan unfolds, it becomes painfully clear that the Jihadi Shrink who opened fire on US troops at Fort Hood did everything but spray paint, "I Am Going To Kill You All" on the wall, before he actually carried out his attack. Not only did Hassan put a Jihadist abbreviation on his business cards, he delivered repeated lectures justifying Jihad, accused the soldiers he was supposed to treat of War Crimes and was already being investigated for contacts with Al Queda and for defending suicide bombing online. At a time when snow globes are banned at airports and detectors are positioned in every Federal building, in the heart of the United States Army, a Jihadist like Nidal Hassan could openly and freely express his sympathies and affinity for terrorism. But the thing that Nidal Hassan had going for him, that the snow globes and baby bottles filled with breast milk didn't, is that Hassan was a Muslim, and ever since 9/11, Americans have been repeatedly warned against criticizing Islam. Told over and over again that Islam is the Religion of Peace, and that just because all our foreign terrorists happen to be Muslims acting in the name of Islam does not actually matter. Just as all those Japanese planes flying toward Pearl Harbor and the German factories producing tanks meant nothing in the 1930's. Hassan's superiors were well aware of what he was, but none of them wanted to risk a charge of Islamophobia. And so they remained silent and soldiers died. That is not a chant you will hear from anti-war activists at the gates of the White House, but that is exactly what happened. And Hassan's case is far from unique. There is no telling how many terrorists have flown under the radar because officials were afraid to be accused of profiling or charged with racism. We may never know what reports were never paid attention to because it has become more acceptable to lose American lives, than detain a Muslim. In the face of Islamic terror, there are endless desks staffed by good men who do nothing and say nothing. Because they have been told that it is more important to be silent, than to take action, when it comes to the Islamic Jihad against all non-Muslims. It is more important to search everyone, than to profile Muslim terrorists. It is better to have lax security, than to have good security that may make some of our friends from Saudi Arabia or Pakistan feel upset. That is how we did it before 9/11. And that is how we are doing it today, as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gets his lawyers and the media does the hard work of manufacturing Nidal Hassan's PTSD by Proxy defense for him out of thin air, and the radical Imams whom Nidal Hassan came into contact with are whitewashed with the usual thin paste of the Religion of Peace. But silence on Islam kills. It kills when we remain silent about the Nidal Hassans in our midst. It kills when people look away as honor killings among Muslim families continues to grow. It kills as Muslim gangs like the Muslim Boys in the UK form and it kills as Muslim riots claim the lives of innocent people, as they repeatedly do in Europe. But when it comes to Muslims, there is a code of silence that falls over even the most committed officials. A directive that warns them to look away, to make excuses and to blame anything and everything but Islam. To deny the truth and cover up the crime. While Hassan is one example of the cost of silence, honor killings are another. The willingness of American and European social workers to ignore abuse in Muslim families as "part of their culture" or worse yet to recruit Muslim police officers who often take the victim right back to the abuser, is part of the same Culture of Silence on Islam.
 Haneen Dajani Oprah Winfrey's production company has apologised after a show that featured comments about Dubai. Harpo, the production company behind The Oprah Winfrey Show, has apologised for misrepresenting Dubai in a segment of the programme featuring women around the world.
Dr Lamees Hamdan of Dubai, an Emirati mother of five and the founder of the Shiffa cosmetics brand, sparked controversy when she appeared via Skype as one of six women featured on the hugely popular US-based show.
The segment began with a voice-over by Ms Winfrey that said: “Thanks to this country’s rich oil supplies, the government provides its citizens with free water, electricity and health care. The best part? No income tax!” Dr Hamdan said, incorrectly, that water, electricity and health services were free in the UAE. And she referred to the shela and abaya as “cultural” and not religious. She said she does not wear them, although her sisters do.
On Monday, a spokeswoman for Oprah’s production company told PageSix of the New York Post that “it was never the intention of the Oprah show to misrepresent the people of Dubai”.
Many local viewers of the show have reacted. Haif Zamzam from Abu Dhabi wrote on The National website that she was “highly disappointed that people got this worked up about what [Dr Hamdan] said.
I feel she said nothing (of substance) that was wrong, except for the fact we don’t pay utility bills. Other than that, it was all spot-on.” The National
 AMMAN : A newborn boy was found abandoned in a rubbish bin in southern Jordan last month while a two-month-old girl was found on a pavement in Amman with a plastic bag containing a carton of milk beside her.Both children are believed to be “illegitimate”, according to news reports, abandoned by mothers who had them out of wedlock.
The incidents have brought into focus a sensitive issue in Jordan, where unmarried women with illegitimate children feel inclined to abandon their offspring rather than face social stigma or even violence from family members looking to salvage the family’s “honour”. Some analysts put the blame on the prevailing conservative culture that ostracises those who have broken with tradition, while others point to the decline of religious and family values that leads to promiscuity and more women having children out of wedlock. Still others say it is a combination of the two. “The phenomenon is tied up to the culture of shame,” said Sari Nasir, a professor of sociology at the University of Jordan and the president of the Community Centre Association. “When unmarried girls are unable to have an abortion and they give birth and do not know what to do with their babies, they wrap them up and get rid of them because they are afraid for their lives.” Prof Nasir said young people are lacking direction as society undergoes changes that often undercut traditional values.
“The numbers [of illegitimate children] are likely to grow as our society is undergoing drastic changes and old traditions are dying. Sometimes we feel that we don’t really have a new value system,” she said Adultery is punishable by law and carries a one to three-year prison sentence. Abortions are illegal, and if conducted in secrecy may endanger the woman’s life. While some doctors illegally perform them in clinics, most cannot afford the cost.
With few options, many women who give birth to illegitimate children feel their only choice is to abandon them. Usually the babies are dumped on the doorsteps of mosques or in bins. Read more here,,,, Source: The National
 For Saudi Arabia's lone female cartoonist drawing is more than just satire, it's "a duty." "I think men have put women in an unfavorable position in this part of the world. They've put women in an oppressive situation," said Hana Hajjar, who works for the English-language newspaper Arab News. "I feel it is my duty towards women to speak out on their behalf, because I have the tools and venue to do so," she told CNN. Hajjar's drawings both challenge gender roles and critique political policy, often depicting inequality between the sexes and support for the Palestinian people, but she is careful not to push too far. "I like to draw thought-provoking and argument-provoking caricatures. I like to see how much I can push people to think, but am mindful never to cross societal red lines," she said. For a woman in the conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be dealing with such issues represents a significant break in cultural convention. "The general attitude in Saudi about caricaturists is that women don't have the stamina and inspiration to last long in this field, unlike their male counterparts," Hajjar explained, adding that luckily her parents had always been supportive of her career. "I think men have put women in an unfavorable position in this part of the world. They've put women in an oppressive situation.
"Caricature is regarded as a man's profession, which has discouraged women in the past from entering the field but I hope my presence is a dent in that armor and will open up the path for others." Over the past five years, Saudi society has made some modest progress toward greater gender equality. There are now a handful of prominent women sitting in the Chamber of Commerce, working in the media and there is even a woman in government, the Deputy Minister of Education.
Hajjar has one female colleague at the newspaper where she works. Nonetheless social change is slow and resistance is strong.
The opening of an elite new university in September caused uproar for offering mixed-gender classes and allowing women to drive on the campus. Hajjar herself said she has never felt repercussions from the government or society in the five years she has been working professionally, but noted that since she works in an English-language newspaper she feels she is less subjected to censorship. "People who read the newspaper I work for are either foreigners or come from the upper middle class in Saudi, and so I haven't gotten much negative reaction." When a cartoon is rejected Hajjar typically publishes it on her personal Web site anyway: HanaHajjar.com The youngest of nine children, Hajjar grew up constantly caricaturing everything around her. She drew her first political cartoon at the age of 12 and since then has received the support of her parents and siblings. Read more here,,,, Source: CNN
 Wearing the burqa — the traditional female covering for Muslim women — is “contrary” to French values, Immigration Minister Eric Besson said in an interview Sunday. The remarks come just under a week after three Afghans were deported from France back to Kabul, and Besson has once again sparked the outrage of French opposition members with his claims that French culture is being lost on immigrants. “I want to launch a major debate over national values and identity,” Besson said in an interview quoted by Radio France Internationale.
Besson asserts that immigrants should have a certain understanding of the French language, the country's history and French culture “to reaffirm the values of identity and the pride of being French,” Besson said. Besson called the burqa “inacceptable” in France, but stopped short of calling for a public ban of the garment. Besson defended the country's decision to deport three undocumented Afghan immigrants last week, and said that he will continue the country's hard-line approach to illegal immigrants to the country. France has already deported 21,000 undocumented immigrants in 2009.
 A SHIEKH from the United Arab Emirates is likely to take over Christian Lacroix, the loss-making French fashion house, tomorrow when his 100 million euros ($163m) rescue deal goes before the Paris Commercial Court.
Sheikh Hassan bin Ali al-Nuaimi, a nephew of the ruler of Ajman, the smallest member of the UAE, has emerged as a clear favourite to become owner of the designer.
Lacroix's house went into administration in May after filing for protection from creditors as the global crisis hit its already weak finances.
Rival offers have been submitted by Bernard Krief Consulting, of France, and the Financiere Saint-Germain, a holding company that owns Daum and Lalique, the crystalware makers.
The proposition from a sheikh with few international investments surprised observers in France. But Regis Valliot, the administrator, said that "it fulfils perfectly all the necessary criteria. It is the fantastic solution we dared not hope for."
Borletti Group, the Italian owner of the La Rinascente retail chain and Lacroix's first choice as a partner, dropped out of the race after the sheikh's move.
His offer includes an injection of €70m into the business and a pledge to take on all 124 employees, with debts of €14m to suppliers and part of €30m that it owes to the Falic Group, Lacroix's Florida-based owner.
The overall sum injected by the sheikh will be about €100m, according to Mr Valliot.
"On the face of it, there seems to be little suspense," industry insiders in Paris said. "The sheikh's offer is by far the most solid."
Mr Nuaimi said that he wanted to diversify the business. "The idea is not to focus on fashion by itself,” he said.
“We are discussing different activities in leisure ... private jets, hotels, high-quality yachts, palaces and interior decoration. We will focus on very exclusive areas and don't want to sell his name cheap in the market.
“Christian Lacroix is one of the lords of fashion design in the world ... but, on another side, as a businessman he has a lot of problems. We will run it better commercially."
Lacroix himself would become a minority shareholder in the house under the terms of the deal. Despite a glowing reputation and widespread admiration for his colourful, often baroque style, Lacroix has never made a profit in 22 years of trading.
Last year, losses reached €10m on sales of €30m.Falic, an American duty free retailer that bought Christian Lacroix from LVMH, the French luxury goods group, in 2005, has put forward a restructuring plan, which involves shedding the haute couture line and cutting the workforce to 12.
The plan provoked fury in France, when Frederic Mitterrand, the Culture Minister, said that the loss of the fashion label would be a "cultural disaster".
Christian Estrosi, the Industry Minister, also promised backing for a designer whom he described as a "flagship for haute couture", which had "contributed to fame of French elegance and skill".
Ajman has followed Dubai with a huge real estate development program, which includes shopping centres, hotels and residential areas. But, like Dubai, it has suffered from the economic slowdown this year.
 By Bill Warner The fruit never falls far from the tree. What are the practical results of Islam’s political and cultural ideology?
What is the fruit on the tree? Islam is a complete civilization that rejects every aspect of kafir civilization as being inferior. Islam’s Golden Age claim is an assertion that Islam is the superior civilization. The Koran says that Muslims are the best of nations. [1] How does the best of nations compare at the level of politics, economics, and culture? Islam claims that the Koran is the perfect book with the perfect political and social doctrine that will make Muslims intellectually superior to kafirs. Remember that the Koran is the perfect recording of the mind of infinitely intelligent god, Allah, so Muslims should be the absolute leader in knowledge and ideas. Islam is the finest, most perfect idea that can exist. Knowledge First, a personal question: what Muslim author have you read lately? That is a personal approach and since this book is about objective reasoning, we need objective data.
The United Nations has put together a series of four books that measure Arab society. Now Arabs are a minority of Muslims, but there is little data about Islam as an entire civilization and so the Arabs have to represent all of Islam.
The Arabs are the oldest Muslims and Saudi Arabia can make a claim to being the most perfect Islamic nation. Mohammed was from there, and the Koran makes special claims about the Quraysh tribe and Arabs in general. So the Arabs are not a perfect measure but they are the best measure. The most popular way to move information today is the Internet. England has about 48% of its population connected to the Internet; while Saudi Arabia has 2% of its population connected to the Internet [2] . High-income nations have 380 computers per thousand people. Arab nations have 20 computers per thousand people. The world as a whole has 80 per thousand. But there is not as much need for a Muslim to explore the information on the Internet. “Starting in early childhood, the [Arab] child becomes accustomed to suppressing her or his inquisitive and exploratory tendencies.” [3] The education curricula “seem to encourage submission, obedience, subordination and compliance, rather than free critical thinking.” [4] This lack of critical thinking can be seen in patents. Over a 20-year period, Saudi Arabia got 171 patents, while South Korea to 16,328 patents. [5] This is a natural result from the research and development funding.
Sweden spends 3.1% of its GNP on research, while the Arab states spend 0.2%. [6] Switzerland has 79.9 frequently cited scientific papers per million of citizens. Saudi Arabia has 0.07 frequently cited papers per million of citizens. [7] What that means is that Saudi Arabia published 1 paper that was frequently cited by others. The thirst for knowledge can be seen in that in the five-year period from 1970-75 only 330 books were translated per year.
There have been only 1000 books translated into Arabic in the last 1200 years. [8] That is less than one book per year over the centuries.
As a comparison, Spain translates 10,000 books per year into Spanish. In scientific publications the industrialized nations generate about 6 publications per ten million citizens, while the Arab countries create about 0.1 per ten million citizens. [9] Read more here,,,, Source: Western Front America
 By Daily Mail ReporterLondon Mayor Boris Johnson today encouraged people to undergo a day of fasting to help understand their 'Muslim neighbour'. He said Muslims in the capital were 'challenging traditional stereotypes' to show they wanted to be part of the mainstream during a visit to the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre.
Mr Johnson's visit coincided with the holy period of Ramadan in which participating Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.
He said: 'Whether it's in theatre, comedy, sports, music or politics, Muslims are challenging the traditional stereotypes and showing that they are, and want to be, a part of the mainstream community.
'That's why I urge people, particularly during Ramadan, to find out more about Islam, increase your understanding and learning, even fast for a day with your Muslim neighbour and break your fast at the local mosque.
'I would be very surprised if you didn't find that you share more in common than you thought.'
He added: 'Muslims are at the heart of every aspect of society. Their contribution is something that all Londoners benefit from.
'Muslim police officers, doctors, scientists and teachers are an essential part of the fabric of London.
'Islamic finance is contributing to the economy by changing the way Londoners invest, save, borrow and spend.
'There are valuable lessons that people of all backgrounds can learn from Islam such as the importance of community spirit, family ties, compassion and helping those less fortunate, all of which lie at the heart of the teachings of Ramadan.' Source: Daily Mail H/T: Vlad Tepes and Gramfan
 By Ghassan Rubeiz Arabs face stubborn obstacles to social change. They recognize their problems but do not settle on alternatives; and they are worried about replacing their autocratic political regimes. Change, they fear, may lead to even worse circumstances. Responding to the challenge, Arab scholars have collaborated over the past seven years in examining the causes of societal underachievement. They have studied a range of issues: governance, the economy, gender, poverty, education, environment, health, and conflict. Their conclusions, published starting in 2002 in successive UN Human Development Reports, under the auspices of the United Nations Development Program, have been seminal but also short on effective action for reform. The UNDP reports have forecast continued deterioration in the wellbeing of the Arab community. The major findings of the 2009 report were released on July 21. The document revolves around the concept of personal insecurity. Its underlying thesis is that citizens facing intense personal stress can not change their circumstances for the better. The findings of the 2009 report spell danger and call for intervention. Arab regimes are in constant search for legitimacy and do not receive much support from their peoples in this regard. Arab countries score low on political freedoms and high on corruption. Regimes threaten the security of their citizens. The legal environment for non-governmental organizations is too restrictive. In six countries political parties are utterly forbidden. Emergency law is declared to justify police-state activities. Elections are predictable and manipulated. Rulers stay in office for long periods. Read more here ... Source: Al Arabiya
July 28 By Boualam Ghimrassa
Algiers, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Algerian authorities have been trying to propagate Sufism in Algeria to contain a strong Salafi movement in the country, espoused by most members of the armed Islamist groups. An event was officially launched last Saturday, organized by the Zaouia [religious confraternity] Alaouia, with the participation of 5,000 people from 34 countries.
The event featured lectures and seminars calling for moderation and shunning hardline behavior, and Sufi chants. As part of a fierce war that has been going on with the extremist Islamist groups since the early nineties of last century, the authorities have found a different way of stemming the influence of the Salafi jihadist ideology which is espoused by the armed hardliners.
This new approach consists of propagating the Sufi thought through bodies that have thousands of followers inside and outside Algeria. In this respect, the Mostaganem Governorate, 250 km to the west of Algiers, has been the scene of festivals commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Allaoui religious confraternity, under the slogan: "Let us sow the seeds of hope in the minds of people." The organizers of this week-long event say that it is aimed at "encouraging people to return to traditional Islam, the Islam of tolerance and open-mindedness." Its aim is also to "revive the spiritual and cultural heritage."
The event's launching ceremony was marked by a parade of folklore troupes, with the participation of scout groups from several countries. The Algerian news agency said that 5,000 people would be watching the planned spiritual activities, including 2,200 coming from 34 countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Jordan, some European countries, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Japan and Indonesia. According to the event's program, the week-long lectures and seminars will go beyond broaching the spiritual aspects of Islam to include discussions on current world issues such as the environment and communication technology. This will be in parallel with lectures on "revelation," "Sufi spiritualism," and "awareness-raising education." For their part, the organizers of the event say that the Alaouia-Dargaria-Chadhilia religious confraternity dates back to the time of the descendants of Prophet Muhammad, God's prayers and peace be upon him, and is strongly inspired by the ideas of the man who revived it early in the 20th century, namely Cheikh Allaoui. The latter succeeded his master, Cheikh El Bouzidi, in 1909. The Cheikh Allaoui confraternity is known for associating traditions to modernity in Islam, and its current Cheikh is called Adlan Khaled Ben Tounis. He is a writer and lecturer on Sufism and Islam. These celebrations are sponsored by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika personally, and call for brotherhood, tolerance, fighting hatred and spreading the values of tolerance. They are keenly used by the Algerian authorities to confront the activity of the propagators of Salafia jihadi ideology, which is infiltrating society through mosques, books and compact discs distributed to the young in various places, including schools.
The Salafia jihadist ideology is also propagated through films inciting combat, which are shown on the Internet. Investigations indicate that a large number of armed groups' members have espoused this ideology as a result of the propagation of a discourse calling for war against the state. Moreover, the Algerian gendarmerie announced over the weekend that border gendarmes had seized four tons of drugs, two weapons, ammunition, and a mobile telephone in the small town of Oued Ritma, Bechar Governorate, 965 km to the south west of the Algerian capital Algiers. In this respect, an Algerian source stated that border guards in Oued Ritma ambushed and opened fire on a convoy composed of four vehicles belonging to drug smugglers; the gendarmes arrested four and seized 4,060 kg of treated drugs and an automatic weapon. Source: Asharq Alawsat
By Souhail Karam, Reuters, in Riyadh | 20 July Saudi Arabia's only film festival has been cancelled, dealing a blow to reformist hopes of an easing of clerical control over culture that was raised by the low-key return of cinemas in December. In a country where cinemas were banned for almost three decades, the Jeddah Film Festival has since 2006 presented aspiring Saudi film-makers and actors with a rare opportunity to mingle with more experienced peers from other countries. On the eve of the festival, Mamdouh Salem, one of the festival's organisers, received a call. He said: "The governorate of Jeddah notified us of the festival's cancellation after it received instructions from official parties. We were not told why." Abdullah al-Alami, a Saudi writer, said he was not sure why the fourth Jeddah festival, expected to start in the Islamic kingdom's most liberal city this weekend, was cancelled. "However, there is a trend of attacking cultural festivities," he added. "This is a dark day for art and literature in our modern history." King Abdullah has tried cautious reforms in the kingdom, a US ally which has no elected parliament, but diplomats say he is facing resistance from conservatives opposing changes. Many Saudi religious conservatives believe films from more liberal Arab countries such as Egypt could violate religious taboos. Some also view cinema and acting as a form of dissembling inconsistent with Islam. "The film festival was cancelled upon indirect instructions from the interior ministry," said an official at the information and culture ministry. Cinema made a low-key return in December with the showing in Jeddah and another southern city of the Saudi comedy Menahi. The film, produced by a company owned by King Abdullah's nephew, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, attracted such large numbers that it had to be screened up to eight times a day. It was shown before mixed audiences, a rare thing to happen in a country that bans unrelated men and women from mixing. But there was a sharp reaction from Ibrahim al-Ghaith, the former head of the kingdom's religious police, which showed the opposition from hard-liners to efforts to open up the society. He said cinema was an evil, although he eased his tone 24 hours later to say cinemas should show good things and not violate teachings of Islam. In February, King Abdullah removed Mr Ghaith and another influential cleric in a wide government reshuffle. However, when the film came to the the more conservative capital, Riyadh, local newspapers reported that conservative Saudis, including volunteers with the religious police, tried to disturb the screening. The Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, later signalled his backing for the religious police saying they were on a par with the security forces. Prince Alwaleeed was undettered. His company, Rotana, boldly put itself up as the main sponsor of the Jeddah festival, donating proceeds from his film.
The week-long festival was to have featured a competition between eight feature films made in the Gulf – two from Saudi Arabia itself – and show dozens more shorts by local and regional film-makers. Source: The Independent
'The United States is not at war with Islam and will never be. In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical in rolling back a fringe ideology that people of all faiths reject." So spoke President Barack Hussein Obama in Turkey last week. Following in the footsteps of the Bush administration, Mr. Obama wants to avoid labeling our enemy in religious terms. References to "Islamic terrorism," "Islamic radicalism," or "Islamic extremism" aren't in his speeches. "Jihad," too, has been banished from the official lexicon. But if one visits the religious bookstores near Istanbul's Covered Bazaar, or mosque libraries of Turkish immigrants in Rotterdam, Brussels or Frankfurt, one can still find a cornucopia of radical Islamist literature. Go into the bookstores of Arab and Pakistani immigrant communities in Europe, or into the literary markets of the Arab world and the Indian subcontinent, and you'll find an even richer collection of militant Islamism. Al Qaeda is certainly not a mainstream Muslim group -- if it were, we would have had far more terrorist attacks since 9/11. But the ideology that produced al Qaeda isn't a rivulet in contemporary Muslim thought. It is a wide and deep river. The Obama administration does both Muslims and non-Muslims an enormous disservice by pretending otherwise. Theologically, Muslims are neither fragile nor frivolous. They have not become suicide bombers because non-Muslims have said something unkind; they have not refrained from becoming holy warriors because Westerners avoided the word "Islamic" in describing Osama bin Laden and his allies. Having an American president who had a Muslim father, carries the name of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, and wants to engage the Muslim world in a spirit of "mutual respect" isn't a "game changer." This hypothesis trivializes Islamic history and the continuing appeal of religious militancy. Above all else, we need to understand clearly our enemies -- to try to understand them as they see themselves, and to see them as devout nonviolent Muslims do. To not talk about Islam when analyzing al Qaeda is like talking about the Crusades without mentioning Christianity. To devise a hearts-and-minds counterterrorist policy for the Islamic world without openly talking about faith is counterproductive. We -- the West -- are the unrivalled agent of change in the Middle East. Modern Islamic history -- including the Bush years -- ought to tell us that questions non-Muslims pose can provoke healthy discussions. The abolition of slavery, rights for religious minorities and women, free speech, or the very idea of civil society -- all of these did not advance without Western pressure and the enormous seductive power that Western values have for Muslims. Although Muslims in the Middle East have been talking about political reform since they were first exposed to Western ideas (and modern military might) in the 18th century, the discussion of individual liberty and equality has been more effective when Westerners have been intimately involved. The Middle East's brief but impressive "Liberal Age" grew from European imperialism and the unsustainable contradiction between the progressive ideals taught by the British and French -- the Egyptian press has never been as free as when the British ruled over the Nile valley -- and the inevitably illiberal and demeaning practices that come with foreign occupation. Although it is now politically incorrect to say so, George W. Bush's democratic rhetoric energized the discussion of representative government and human rights abroad. Democracy advocates and the anti-authoritarian voices in Arab lands have never been so hopeful as they were between 2002, when democracy promotion began to germinate within the White House, and 2006, when the administration gave up on people power in the Middle East (except in Iraq). The issue of jihadism is little different. It's not a coincidence that the Muslim debate about holy war became most vivid after 9/11, when the U.S. struck back against al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Many may have found Mr. Bush's brief use of the term "Islamofascism" to be offensive -- although it recalls well Abul Ala Maududi, a Pakistani founding father of modern Islamic radicalism, who openly admired European fascism as a violent, muscular ideology capable of mobilizing the masses. Yet Mr. Bush's flirtation with the term unquestionably pushed Muslim intellectuals to debate the legitimacy of its use and the cult of martyrdom that had -- and may still have -- a widespread grip on many among the faithful. When Sunni Arab Muslims viewed daily on satellite TV the horrors of the Sunni onslaught against the Iraqi Shiites, and then the vicious Shiite revenge against their former masters, the debate about jihadism, the historic Sunni-Shiite rivalry, and the American occupation intensified. Unfortunately, progress in the Middle East has usually happened when things have gotten ugly, and Muslims debate the mess. Iran's former president Mohammed Khatami, whom Bill Clinton unsuccessfully tried to engage, is a serious believer in the "dialogue of civilizations." In his books, Mr. Khatami does something very rare for an Iranian cleric: He admits that Western civilization can be morally superior to its Islamic counterpart, and that Muslims must borrow culturally as well as technologically from others. On the whole, however, he finds the West -- especially America -- to be an amoral slippery slope of sin. How should one talk to Mr. Khatami or to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the less curious but morally more earnest clerical overlord of Iran; or the Saudi royal family and their influential state-supported clergy, who still preach hatred of the West; or to the faithful of Pakistan, who are in the midst of an increasingly brutal, internecine religious struggle? Messrs. Khatami and Khamenei are flawlessly polite gentlemen. They do not, however, confuse civility with agreement. Neither should we. It's obviously not for non-Muslims to decide what Islam means. Only the faithful can decide whether Islam is a religion of peace or war (historically it has been both).
Only the faithful can banish jihad as a beloved weapon against infidels and unbelief. Only Muslims can decide how they balance legislation by men and what the community -- or at least its legal guardians, the ulama -- has historically seen as divine commandments. Westerners can, however, ask probing questions and apply pressure when differing views threaten us. We may not choose to dispatch the U.S. Navy to protect women's rights, as the British once sent men-of-war to put down the Muslim slave trade, but we can underscore clearly our disdain for men who see "child brides" as something vouchsafed by the Almighty. There is probably no issue that angers militants more than women's rights. Advancing this cause in traditional Muslim societies caught in the merciless whirlwind of globalization isn't easy, but no effort is likely to bear more fruit in the long term than having American officials become public champions of women's rights in Muslim lands. Al Qaeda's Islamic radicalism isn't a blip -- a one-time outgrowth of the Soviet-Afghan war -- or a byproduct of the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. It's the most recent violent expression of the modernization of the Muslim Middle East. The West's great transformative century -- the 20th -- was soaked in blood. We should hope, pray, and do what we can to ensure that Islam's continuing embrace of modernity in the 21st century -- undoubtedly its pivotal era -- will not be similarly horrific. We are fooling ourselves if we think we no longer have to be concerned about how Muslims talk among themselves. This is not an issue that we want to push the "reset" button on. Here, at least, George W. Bush didn't go nearly far enough. Mr. Gerecht, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Source: Wall Street Journal
 By Jeremy Pierce | December 02, 2008
PROTESTERS have swarmed the Gold Coast City Council headquarters, and with blaring rock anthems vented anger over a planned Muslim school.
Almost 200 residents turned out for the demonstration, draped in Australian flags and shouting pro-Aussie slogans while Australian rock classics such as Down Under and Great Southern Land boomed across the parkland, The Courier-Mail reports.
Australian International Islamic College, planned for Carrara, has raised the ire of residents who fear it will lead to the local Muslim population withdrawing from the rest of the community.
A rally last week attracted about 400 people, while people turned out yesterday carrying placards bearing slogans such as "no Muslim school, hell no" and "integration, not segregation".
Resident's spokesman Tony Doherty said Muslim schools did not encourage multiculturalism.
"It's segregation, not integration," he said.
"They're not trying to integrate into the rest of society.
"Since we have started protesting against this our churches have been covered in hate-filled graffiti."
He denied it was hypocritical to oppose Muslim and not Christian schools.
"Catholics aren't a different culture," he said.
"They are the same as us."
Some residents say they are opposed to the school more because of parking issues rather than religious grounds.
Mayor Ron Clarke has publicly said he would support the school as long as it satisfies the council's planning criteria.
The council will not make any decision on the future of the school until next year. If approved, the school is unlikely to open until at least the middle of next year. Source: The Australian
 From the desk of Tiberge on Tue, 2008-10-14 11:14
The French government is strongly advocating the teaching of Arabic language and civilization in French schools. Not surprising, considering the number of Arabs and Muslims in France, and the unctuous deference with which they are treated by officials, beginning notably with Nicolas Sarkozy, who cannot praise enough the splendor of Arabic contributions to the world.
The French National Assembly was the scene of a meeting earlier this month of the first Conference on the Teaching of Arabic Language and Culture, attended by a variety of interested parties. There was much wearisome blather about the need for "dialogue."
In his message to the participants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Arabic the "language of the future, of science and of modernity," and expressed the hope that "more French people share in the language that expresses great civilizational and spiritual values."
"We must invest in the Arabic language (because) to teach it symbolizes a moment of exchange, of openness and of tolerance, (and it) brings with it one of the oldest and most prestigious civilizations of the world. It is in France that we have the greatest number of persons of Arabic and Muslim origin. Islam is the second religion of France," Sarkozy reminded his listeners.
He proceeded to enumerate the various "advances in terms of diversity," the increase in Muslim sections of cemeteries, the training of imams and chaplains and the appointments of ministers of diverse backgrounds.
"France is a friend of Arabic countries. We are not seeking a clash between the East and West," he affirmed, emphasizing the strong presence of Arab leaders at the founding summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, last July 13. "The Mediterranean is where our common hopes were founded. Our common sea is where the principal challenges come together: durable development, security, education and peace," added the French president.
Source: Brussels Journal
I have been thinking long and hard about this article and have finally decided that it should be printed although I have a few things to say at the end which should put some of it into "Perspective!" Two weeks ago in England, a newspaper, (The Observer) revealed how 17-year-old student Rand Abdel-Qader was beaten to death by her father after becoming infatuated with a British soldier in Basra. In this remarkable interview, Abdel-Qader Ali explains why he is unrepentant - and how police backed his actions. (Afif Sarhan in Basra and Caroline Davies report.)For Abdel-Qader Ali there is only one regret: that he did not kill his daughter at birth. 'If I had realised then what she would become, I would have killed her the instant her mother delivered her,' he said with no trace of remorse.
Two weeks after The Observer revealed the shocking story of Rand Abdel-Qader, 17, murdered because of her infatuation with a British soldier in Basra, southern Iraq, her father is defiant.
Sitting in the front garden of his well-kept home in the city's Al-Fursi district, he remains a free man, despite having stamped on, suffocated and then stabbed his student daughter to death.
Abdel-Qader, 46, a government employee, was initially arrested but released after two hours. Astonishingly, he said, police congratulated him on what he had done.
'They are men and know what honour is,' he said.
Rand, who was studying English at Basra University, was deemed to have brought shame on her family after becoming infatuated with a British soldier, 22, known only as Paul.
She died a virgin, according to her closest friend Zeinab.
Indeed, her 'relationship' with Paul, which began when she worked as a volunteer helping displaced families and he was distributing water, appears to have consisted of snatched conversations over less than four months.
But the young, impressionable Rand fell in love with him, confiding her feelings and daydreams to Zeinab, 19.
It was her first youthful infatuation and it would be her last.
She died on 16 March after her father discovered she had been seen in public talking to Paul, considered to be the enemy, the invader and a Christian.
Though her horrified mother, Leila Hussein, called Rand's two brothers, Hassan, 23, and Haydar, 21, to restrain Abdel-Qader as he choked her with his foot on her throat, they joined in.
Her shrouded corpse was then tossed into a makeshift grave without ceremony as her uncles spat on it in disgust.
'Death was the least she deserved,' said Abdel-Qader. 'I don't regret it. I had the support of all my friends who are fathers, like me, and know what she did was unacceptable to any Muslim that honours his religion,' he said.
Sitting on a chair by his front door and surrounded by the gerberas and white daisies he had planted in the family garden, Abel-Qader attempted to justify his actions.
'I don't have a daughter now, and I prefer to say that I never had one. That girl humiliated me in front of my family and friends.
Speaking with a foreign solider, she lost what is the most precious thing for any woman!'
'People from western countries might be shocked, but our girls are not like their daughters that can sleep with any man they want and sometimes even get pregnant without marrying. Our girls should respect their religion, their family and their bodies.'
'I have only two boys from now on. That girl was a mistake in my life. I know God is blessing me for what I did,' he said, his voice swelling with pride.
'My sons are by my side, and they were men enough to help me finish the life of someone who just brought shame to ours.'
Abdel-Qader, a Shia, says he was released from the police station 'because everyone knows that honour killings sometimes are impossible not to commit'.
Chillingly, he said: 'The officers were by my side during all the time I was there, congratulating me on what I had done.'
It's a statement that, if true, provides an insight into how vast the gulf remains between cultures in Iraq and between the Basra police the British army that trains them.
Sources have indicated that Abdel-Qader, who works in the health department, has been asked to leave because of the bad publicity, yet he will continue to draw a salary.
And it has been alleged by one senior unnamed official in the Basra governorate that he has received financial support by a local politician to enable him to 'disappear' to Jordan for a few weeks, 'until the story has been forgotten' - the usual practice in the 30-plus cases of 'honour' killings that have been registered since January alone.
Such treatment seems common in Basra, where militias have partial control, especially in the districts on the outskirts where Abdel-Qader lives.
While government security forces and British troops have control over the centre, around the fringes militants can still be seen everywhere on the streets or at the checkpoints they have erected. And they have imposed strict laws of behaviour for all the local people, including what clothing should be worn and what religious practices should be observed.
There are reports of men having their hands cut off for looting and women being killed for prostitution.
Homosexuality is punishable by death, a sentence Abdel-Qader approves of with a passion. 'I have alerted my two sons. They will have the same end [as Rand] if they become contaminated with any gay relationship. These crimes deserve death - death in the name of God,' he said.
He said his daughter's 'bad genes were passed on from her mother'. Rand's mother, 41, remains in hiding after divorcing her husband in the immediate aftermath of the killing, living in fear of retribution from his family.
She also still bears the scars of the severe beating he inflicted on her, breaking her arm in the process, when she told him she was going.
'They cannot accept me leaving him. When I first left I went to a cousin's home, but every day they were delivering notes to my door saying I was a prostitute and deserved the same death as Rand,' she said.
'She was killed by animals. Every night when go to bed I remember the face of Rand calling for help while her father and brothers ended her life,' she said, tears streaming down her face.
She was nervous, clearly terrified of being found, and her eyes constantly turned towards the window as she spoke. 'Rand told me about the soldier, but she swore it was just a friendship.
'She said she spoke with him because she was the only English speaker. I raised her in a religious manner and she never went out alone until she joined the university and then later when she was doing aid work.
'Even now, I cannot believe my ex-husband was able to kill our daughter. He wasn't a bad person. During our 24 years of marriage, he was never aggressive. But on that day, he was a different person.'
The mother is now trying to raise enough money to escape abroad. 'I miss my two boys,' she said. 'But they have sent a message saying that I am wrong for defending Rand and that I should go back home and live like a blessed Muslim woman,' said Leila, who is now volunteering with a local organisation campaigning for better protection for women in Basra.
One of those running the organisation, who did not want to be identified, said that Rand's case was similar to so many reported in Basra, with the only difference being she was in love with a foreigner, rather than an Iraqi.
'There isn't too much to say. Rand is dead. It is a tragedy and will be a tragedy for many other families in Iraq in the days to come.
'According to information we have been given, some from Rand's colleague, we have doubts that her love was reciprocated. We have the impression that Rand was in love, but the English soldier wasn't.
But, for a girl to be paid nice compliments about her beauty and her intelligence, it was enough for her to think she was in love.
'She isn't here any more for her mother to ask any of the questions she would like to. Rand's case had repercussions because she fell in love with a foreigner. But what about the other girls murdered through "honour" killings because they fell in love with some of a different sect, or lost their virginity, or were forced to become prostitutes?'
Rand's mother used to call her 'Rose.' 'That was my nickname for her because when she was born she was so beautiful,' she said.
'Now, my lovely Rose is in her grave. But, God will make her father pay, either in this world ... or in the world after. A shocking and sad story but one that teaches us a valuable lesson about the Middle-East! This is not only a religious problem, no sir! It's also cultural!In spite some of the more progressive teachings of Islam and advancement in the rest of the world, a lot of Arab males still remain stuck in the twelfth century and there is nothing but time and education that will change the situation. Arab civilization used to be the envy of the world and they brought culture, learning and sophistication (comparatively speaking) to the world!!!Then, for whatever reason, (although I suspect that the Crusades and imposition of European culture caused a lot of it...) the Land of a 1001 Nights got stuck in a time warp and certain aspects of the culture and mindset of the population did not keep up with the rest of the world! Just as the Catholic Church is responsible for the "Dark Ages" that kept Europe form developing for almost a thousand years, so to the Arabs and Islam's refusal to change with the times left them culturally behind on the world stage. This does no mean that Islam was blameless in this whole mess since it was used as the the principal weapon against modernization and advancement, but more, rather than less of the problem can be put right on the doorstep of the Arab population's refusal to change with the times. Yes, I realize that it was the conquering and colonization by Europeans that is partly to blame for the Arab woes, but it is more a case of a subjugated population (Much like the North American Indians) loosing that spark which kept their community alive. Refusal to change is at the heart of every population that has been decimated and destroyed by outsiders and until this " Raison d' Etre" (Reason to be!) and " "Raison d'État"" (A coutries/populations/cultures goals and ambitions) is acknowledged and better defined, they will remain as second class citizens on the world stage. Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the web site www.God-101.com Visit the blog "Perspective" at http://Allans-Perspective.blogspot.com
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Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
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When it comes to honor killings and honor-related violence, America had better start learning a few things from Europe.
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