Mullahs up in arms over protection of women bill in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday passed the bill providing protection to women against sexual harassment at the workplace. All the MNAs present in the house supported the bill, but JUI’s Maulvi Ismatullah opposed the bill, terming it un-islamic and staged a walkout from the National Assembly against the bill. Religious parties in the Senate have already rejected the bill, calling it un-Islamic and unconstitutional. The bill provides for a three-year imprisonment and Rs 500,000 fine to anyone proven guilty of harassing a woman and also calls for formulating a three-member inquiry committee in the private and public sector. –DawnNews Continue reading Mullahs up in arms over protection of women bill in Pakistan

Bible codes in Afghan army guns

aljazeera American guns inscribed with Bible codes are being used by US forces and Afghans to fight the Taliban. Al Jazeera has discovered that some Afghan soldiers are using guns engraved with coded biblical references. The weapons come from Trijicon, a manufacturer based in Wixom, Michigan, that supplies the US military. The company’s now deceased founder, Glyn Bandon, started the practice which continues today. David Chater, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in the Afghan capital Kabul, said: “It is a rallying cry for the Taliban. It gives them a propaganda tool. “They’ve always tried to paint the US efforts in Afghanistan as a Christian … Continue reading Bible codes in Afghan army guns

The Doctrine of Mahdism

In the Ideological and Political Philosophy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Mesbah-e Yazdi By: A. Savyon and Y. Mansharof* Background According to Shi’ite tradition, the Twelve Imams, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law Ali Ibn Abi Talib, were endowed with divine qualities that enabled them to lead the Shi’ite believers and to function as Allah’s emissaries on earth. However, when the Twelfth Imam Muhammad Al-Mahdi[i] disappeared in 941 CE, his connection with the Shi’ite believers was severed, and since then, the Shi’ites are commanded to await his return at any time. In the meantime, Shi’ite senior clerics are … Continue reading The Doctrine of Mahdism

Reeducation of Extremists in Saudi Arabia

By: Y. Yehoshua* In its efforts against domestic terrorism, the Saudi regime is attempting to fight Islamist ideas such as tafkir (accusing other Muslims of apostasy) against the regime and its clerics. One method being used is “reeducation” of extremists. Two large-scale projects using this approach are underway. The first is a counseling program, supported by the Saudi Interior Ministry, for outreach to Saudi security prisoners. The second is the Al-Sakinah Campaign for online dialogue with extremists, which is supported by the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs. This report will review these two projects. 1. The Counseling … Continue reading Reeducation of Extremists in Saudi Arabia

Countering the Internet Jihad

(cc) powtac/flickr As Saudis react to jihadists using the internet to recruit and coordinate, the West is at a standstill on the information superhighway, Peter A Buxbaum writes for ISN Security Watch. By Peter Buxbaum in Washington, DC for ISN Security Watch Radical Islamic groups are increasingly recruiting operatives over the internet, as illustrated by several recent examples. US Army Major Nidal Hasan – the accused in the November shootings in Fort Hood, Texas – used email to coordinate with the radical Yemen-based American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Five young American Muslims arrested in Pakistan last month and accused of seeking … Continue reading Countering the Internet Jihad

Tabligui Jamaat ‘Mega’ Humiliated in Climb Down

It seems that the movement for Mosque reform is gathering pace. Tablighi Jamaat have been forced to drop plans to build the Mega Mosque, due to a combination of unconnected opposition, including a virulent, hostile reception from Islamophobes and those who have been taught to fear Islam and Muslims, a genuine community opposition from non-Tabligui Jamaat Muslims and to top it all a heavy-handed, impervious, dysfunctional ‘like it or lump it’ attitude from the Mega Mosque committee towards all who had real concerns about the style and content of the project. MPACUK always opposed the Mega Mosque committee until it … Continue reading Tabligui Jamaat ‘Mega’ Humiliated in Climb Down

The unholy law to appease Mullahs and shame Muslims

By Mansoor Raza Pakistani Christians protest extra-judicial killings prompted by accusations of blasphemy. – File photo It is widely believed that the draconian Blasphemy Law is used for the miscarriage of justice; it is exploited ruthlessly by fanatics to settle scores with rivals and by religio-political parties to gain political leverage over administrative apparatuses. In Jawaid Ghamdi’s book, The Penal Shariah of Islam, Ghamdi maintains that capital punishment can only be given to a person who has killed someone, or to someone who is guilty of spreading disorder in society. With reasonable certainty, during a seminar organised by People’s Resistance … Continue reading The unholy law to appease Mullahs and shame Muslims

Witnesses’ accounts differ at Dr. Aafia’s trial

Dr. Aafia told the court that she is being misrepresented by the prosecutor’s statement, that only negative thoughts are being portrayed. –Photo by AP KARACHI: The trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui has taken a bizarre turn when a witness’s testimony came out to be different from the one given by American official Captain Schnieder, reports DawnNews. Furthermore, an FBI agent testified that they did not find Dr. Aafia’s finger-prints on the rifle. The US federal court in Manhattan heard Aafia Siddiqui and 5 other witnesses. Dr. Aafia told the court that she is being misrepresented by the prosecutor’s statement regarding … Continue reading Witnesses’ accounts differ at Dr. Aafia’s trial

Angry blondes and bad science

// Attractive women are more likely to be right-wing, say scientists. New research proves that, like men with greater upper-body strength, women who consider themselves good-looking tend to favour law-and-order policies and the use of force to settle international conflicts. Presumably this explains Sarah Palin. Such a presentation of scientific findings is, needless to say, over-simplified to the point of absurdity. It is, however, one observation that could validly be drawn from a paper published last August by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which bore the less-than-enticing title Formidability and the logic of human anger. You can … Continue reading Angry blondes and bad science

British Government and its ‘God Squad’

In a little-noticed press release on Wednesday, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced a group of 13 “inter-faith” advisers to act as its “sounding board” on all things faith. The statement expresses the hope that the lucky thirteen will “will enhance ministerial understanding of, and engagement, with faith communities nationally.” // The Secretary of State, John Denham, claims that the panel “brings together an unprecedented wealth of knowledge and experience that will help advise on the big issues facing society such as the economy, parenting, achieving social justice and tackling climate change….We should continually seek ways of supporting … Continue reading British Government and its ‘God Squad’