17 February 2011
According to a video from Al-Jazeera, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan are viewing negotiations with the United States and NATO as a victory.
16 February 2012
According to the below news video, an Iraqi mother has been arrested and charged with a felony-for allegedly tying up and padalocking her daughter to a bed and then beating her. This punishment, it has been alleged, is in response to one of her daughters talking to a man. The mother is seen in the video below saying, ”In America not allowed to hit the girls, we don’t know about this.”
Feb 162012
16 February 2011
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below.
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CBS-Denver
11 February 2012
According to an article in the Guardian, dated 10 February 2012, the government of Saudi Arabia used the Interpol system to arrest a journalist. Twenty-three year old, Hamza Kashgari, was arrested in Malaysia.
Here are some brief excerpts from the article:
Kashgari, a newspaper columnist, fled Saudi Arabia after posting a tweet on the
prophet’s birthday that sparked more than 30,000 responses and several death
threats. The posting, which was later deleted, read: “I have loved things about
you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don’t understand
about you … I will not pray for you.”
More than 13,000 people joined a Facebook page titled “The Saudi People Demand
the Execution of Hamza Kashgari”.
Clerics in Saudi Arabia called for him to be charged with apostasy, a religious
offence punishable by death. Reports suggest that the Malaysian authorities
intend to return him to his native country (Saudi Arabia)…
Interpol, which has 190 member countries, has a series of coloured notice systems
that police forces around the world use to pass on requests for help. Contacted at
its headquarters in Lyon, France, the organisation did not immediately reply to
requests for comment on the Kashgari case.
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below.
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The Guardian
Islamic Countries Who Demand US Punish Blasphemers Given Grants to Protect Religious Freedom at Home
Dec 152011
15 December 2011
According to an article at The Daily Caller, the US Department of State is meeting with numerous Islamic countries who demand the USA curb individual free speech and punish people who criticize Islam and its prophet. Among these countires is Pakistan, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Here are some brief excerpts from the article:
The State Department began a three-day, closed-door meeting Monday to talk about
U.S. free speech…with representatives from numerous Islamic governments that have
lobbied for 12 years to end U.S. citizens’ ability to speak freely about Islam’s history
and obligations.
Free speech advocates slammed the event…but it was defended by Hannah Rosenthal,
who heads the agency’s office to curb anti-Semitism.
The meeting is a great success, she said, because governments in the multinational
Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have dropped their demand that criticism
of Islamic ideas be treated as illegal defamation. Member countries include Pakistan,
Iran, Saudia Arabia and Qatar.
In exchange for dropping the demand, she said, they’re getting “technical assistance
[to] build institutions to ensure there will be religious freedom” in their countries, she
told The Daily Caller.
“That’s a joke,” said Andrea Lafferty, a conservative activist…
Rosenthal’s claim that the OIC is accepting freedom of speech and religion implies
revolutionary changes in Islamic countries…because Islamic texts set myriad laws for
behavior, and sharply restrict non-Muslim religions, free speech and women’s rights…
If the OIC countries are giving up on their religious obligation to ban criticism of Islam,
she said, “does this mean that Pakistan is no longer going to kill Christians and kill
religious minorities? … Are women in Saudi Arabia going to vote, to drive, …?”
“We hope so,” said Rosenthal, who added that such progress will not occur rapidly…
Clinton’s statement was issued at Istanbul, where the United States and the OIC launched
the joint project to combat “religious intolerance.”
…OIC officials spent 12 years lobbying for a U.N. resolution that would declared criticism
of religion to be defamation…
In March, the OIC dropped the defamation resolution in exchange for passage of a
resolution in the Human Rights Committee, dubbed 16/18.
This week’s State Department meeting is intended to begin implementing the 16/18
decision…
Another meeting is slated for February or March…
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below.
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The Daily Caller
Creeping Sharia
Dec 142011
14 December 2011
The BBC reports that the Canadian government has banned the wearing of veils for individuals wishing to take the oath of citizenship. One of the reasons given by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration-according to the article-appears to be that question of whether or not the applicant was actually reciting the oath.
Here are some brief excerpts from the article:
Canada’s government has introduced a ban on the wearing of veils while
swearing the oath of citizenship.
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney told a news conference
in Montreal anyone wanting to become a Canadian would have to show their face.
He said citizenship judges and MPs had complained it could be hard to tell if
veiled applicants were actually reciting the oath…
Mr Kenney dismissed the idea that the ban could infringe the religious freedom
of those taking the oath…
“This is a public act of witness in front of your fellow citizens, in front of the law
and you should be willing to show yourself in that public act of witness. I think
it’s very straightforward.”
Mr Kenney also announced further language requirements for new immigrants.
Some European countries are also debating the issue. France and Belgium have
introduced a ban on wearing the full Islamic veil in public.
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below…
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BBC
Reuters
Nov 062011
06 November 2011
The Hajj season begins. An article at CNN goes over some of the details of this year’s Hajj activities. Here are some brief excerpt from the article.
Millions of Muslims from around the world were in the holy city of Mecca on
Saturday for the first day of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that every
able-bodied Muslim is expected to perform at least once in his or her life…
This year’s pilgrimage is unique as it is the first to happen since the Arab
Spring began last year.
Some experts are watching for potential flare-ups in Saudi Arabia, a country
governed by an unelected royal family and where freedoms are limited.
The pilgrims this year have come from 183 countries, the Saudi Press Agency
reported. About 54% of the pilgrims are male.
U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement of (sic) Saturday to coincide
with the start of Hajj…
“Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid al-Adha to Muslims
worldwide and congratulate those performing Hajj…
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below.
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CNN
26 October 2011
An article in the St. Petersburg Times (25 October 2011) reports that a Florida Appeals court has apparently upheld the use of Islamic Law (Sharia) by a judge considering the disposition of Mosque assets. Surprisingly, it was actually the intneded use, by the judge, to use sharia that prompted the Islamic Education Center of Tampa to challenge its use.
Here are some brief excerpts from the article:
In a case that has attracted national attention, the 2nd District Court of
Appeal on Friday denied without comment a petition to prevent Judge Richard
Nielsen from invoking Islamic law.
The petition, filed by the Islamic Education Center of Tampa, contested a
March ruling by Nielsen announcing his intent to use “ecclesiastical Islamic
law” in the case…
Like everything else in the litigation, the meaning of the appeals court
ruling is in dispute.
Attorney Paul Thanasides, representing the mosque, said an appeals court
decision without a written opinion means the court wasn’t addressing the merits
of the case.
Thanasides said the U.S. Constitution and Florida law prevent Nielsen from
following Islamic law. On Monday, he filed a motion with the judge asking him
to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction…
“Florida law is clear that courts may not decide corporate governance disputes
involving religious organizations,” the motion said…
At the time of Nielsen’s original decision, the political atmosphere was already
charged with debate that Islamic law had gained a toehold in U.S. courts.
Even before Nielsen’s ruling, two Florida lawmakers, Sen. Alan Hays and Rep. Larry
Metz, announced legislation to prevent the use of any foreign legal code being
applied in state courts.
The legislation was not adopted by Florida lawmakers.
In May, the Center for Security Policy released a study that evaluated 50 appellate
court cases in 23 states involving issues related to Islamic law.
The study noted Islamic law has been “formally recognized” in state courts.
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below:
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St. Petersburg Times
22 August 2011
According to an article at the Heritage Foundation, the new internationally recognized transitional government of Libya has released a draft version of Libya’s new constitution.
A copy of what is reported to be the draft constitution is available for viewing on their website.
Here is a brief excerpt from the article:
But despite the Lockean tenor of much of the constitution, the inescapable
clause lies right in Part 1, Article 1: “Islam is the Religion of the State, and
the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia).”
Links to more articles, on this story, can be found below.
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The Heritage Foundation
