Islamic Nigeria - Picture of the Day

Girls in class at a school in Kano, Nigeria. Just last year, the morality police roamed these streets in dusky blue uniforms and black berets, threatening prayer shirkers and dragging fornicators into Islamic courts to face stiff sentences.

Photo: Candace Feit for The New York Times

Two Cases Shed Light on Floggings in Muslim World

An Iranian judiciary officer, whips Mohammed Bijeh, a 22 year old convicted of raping and murdering 22 people including 16 children, is flogged before being hung in public, 50 km south of Tehran, on March 16, 2005 in Pakdasht, Iran. Nicknamed 'The Vampire of the Desert', Bijeh was whipped 100 times before being hung in front of thousands of spectators. (Getty Images)

Two Cases Shed Light on Floggings in Muslim World

British Woman Spared Flogging, but Practice of Lashings not Going Away

By RUSSELL GOLDMAN

Nov. 29, 2007 —

A British teacher charged in Sudan with inciting religious hatred was spared the maximum sentence of 40 lashings with a bamboo cane Thursday, but will spend 15 days in jail before being deported.

Gillian Bibbons was charged after she allegedly allowed her her young students to name a teddy bear Muhammad, the name of the Muslim prophet.

The one-day trial came just one week after a Saudi Arabian court increased the sentence of a 19-year-old rape victim to 200 lashes and six months in prison. According to a Justice Ministry statement, the woman invited the sexual attack by seven men because she was in a parked car with a man who was not a relative.

The two highly publicized cases of women facing the ancient and painful sentence of flogging have aroused an outcry in the West, but the practice is common in some parts of the world, and such sentences aren't extreme examples, experts say.

Human rights organizations describe corporal punishment as a violation of international bans on torture and call these sentences cruel and arbitrary. But academics say the practice is deeply ingrained, particularly in Gulf states, and local support increases in parallel with Western condemnation.

By Saudi standards, the sentence of 200 lashings for the 19-year-old rape victim, known in the Saudi press as the Girl From Qatif for the crime of "illegal intermingling," is not very high, said Chris Wilcke, the Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Wilcke said that flogging is almost always a component of any Saudi sentence, and some lashings can number in the thousands.

Last month two gay men in the Saudi city of Al-Bahah were convicted of sodomy and sentenced to 7,000 lashes each.

Floggings in Saudi Arabia typically take place Thursday nights outside of prisons or marketplaces. The accused is shackled and sometimes permitted to wear a single layer of clothing, like the popular Saudi tunic or dishdash.

A police officer administers the lashes with a bamboo whip about 7 feet long. Under his arm, the officer will typically hold a copy of the Koran in order to regulate the power with which he can whip the accused.

"In the sentence a judge will specify three things: One, the amount of lashes; two, whether the flogging will be held in the prison or publicly; and third, what portions are to be administered at one time," Wilcke said. "No more than 60 to 70 lashes are administered at any one time with usually one to two weeks between floggings. Women will get 10 to 30 lashings a week; a man might get 50 to 60 per week."

If a complete sentence was administered at once, the accused could potentially die. Doctors in Saudi Arabia examine prisoners before each flogging to determine if they are healthy enough to withstand the lashes.

In 1993, British citizen Gavin Sherrard-Smith received 50 lashes for allegedly breaking an alcohol ban in the Gulf country of Qatar.

He recently recounted his punishment in the Daily Mail, saying, "The blows were raining down on my body, from the shoulder blades to the calves, then back up again. But with each blow, the skin softened and the pain grew and grew to the point that my whole back felt like it was on fire. Soon it was unbearable, but they kept coming, mostly on my left shoulder and calf. I had to summon up all my control not to move. I didn't realize the human body could generate and tolerate such pain. I had never felt anything like it before, and I hope I will never feel anything like it again."

Lashing is a common penalty under Wahabi interpretations of sharia law, the Islamic religious laws that underpin the legal systems in Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

For some crimes, the Koran specifies the number of lashes required. But for most crimes, the sentence is at the discretion of the judge hearing the case.

Not everyone agrees that the Koran condones the flogging of women, however.

"There is nothing in the Koran -- that is there is no Koranic justification -- for sentencing the Qatif woman to flogging," said Yvonne Haddad, an Islamic history professor at Georgetown University.

"Flogging has not been used in all places at all times throughout the Islamic world. In the places where it continues to exist it is steeped more in local tradition than Islam. The practice varies from place to place. Pakistan has a flogging law, as does Iran. Most of the Gulf countries, especially those influenced by Wahabiism have flogging," she said.

Human rights advocates question the arbitrary nature of the sentences and the administration of the punishments in public.

On Nov. 5 Saudi Arabia amputated the hand of a convicted thief, Amr Nasr, the first such punishment reported in the kingdom in years.

"Judges have a lot of discretion. One judge may give five lashings, another might give 500," said Curt Goering, the senior deputy director of Amnesty International. "The public nature of the flogging adds to the humiliation and torture," Goering said. "When the woman is accused, the sentence is still often carried out by men. Women sometimes are forced to publicly bear their skin in these very conservative societies."

Polls, however, find that strict interpretations of sharia law and corporal punishment are popular in the Muslim world.

"Sharia law is generally viewed positively by people living in Muslim countries," said Dalia Mogahed of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. "In forming legislation in predominantly Muslim countries, the majority of people want to see sharia as a source of law, and in some countries they want it as the only source."

In Egypt, which is secular, 96 percent of men and women associate justice for women with sharia compliance, Mogahed said.

"The reaction to corporal punishment is mixed," she said, "but when international pressure takes the form of an attack on sacred law rather than specific interpretations, people tend to dig their heels in and take the pressure as an attack on the faith itself. & International pressure is not necessarily bad but has to take on the right tone so it doesn't ignite defenses."

Official reaction from the governments of both countries has been mixed. Tuesday, while visiting the United States for the Annapolis Conference, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his country's government would review the sentence, but an official statement from the Justice Ministry earlier in the week supported the court's decision.

"The Saudi justice minister expressed his regret about the media reports over the role of the women in this case, which put out false information and wrongly defended her," the ministry said on Saturday.

By Wednesday, the government had officially decided to review the case.

Also Wednesday, one day after the Sudanese government said it would drop the charges against British teacher Gibbons, Khartoum reversed its decision and decided to charge her.

Sudan's top clerics, known as the Assembly of the Ulemas, said in a statement that parents at the school had handed them a book that the teacher was assembling about the bear.

"She, in a very abusive manner, used the name of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah shame her," according to the statement.

British Meet Teached Jailed in Sudan

Angry Sudanese protesters burn a newspaper carrying a photo of British teacher Gillian Gibbons, during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan, after Friday prayers, Friday Nov. 30, 2007, The protestors called for the execution of Gibbons, who was convicted of insulting Islam for letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad. (AP Photos/Abd Raouf)

British Meet Teached Jailed in Sudan

Visiting British Parliamentarians Meet Teacher Jailed in Sudan, Say She's in Good Spirits

Visiting British Parliamentarians Meet Teacher Jailed in Sudan, Say She's in Good Spirits
By MOHAMED OSMAN

The Associated Press

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Visiting British parliament members met Saturday with a British teacher imprisoned in Sudan for allegedly insulting Islam by letting her students name a teddy bear Muhammad and they said she was in good spirits.

The two Muslim members of Parliament's upper house also met with Sudanese officials and said afterwards that the government in Khartoum wants to resolve the case.

A lawyer for Gillian Gibbons said President Omar al-Bashir could inform the visiting parliamentarians that he had pardoned the teacher.

Labour peer Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi, a Conservative, arrived in Sudan Saturday on what the British Foreign Office called a private visit to meet with Sudanese officials and seek the release of Gibbons. They visited Gibbons in prison for more than an hour.

"Gillian was surprisingly in good spirits considering the last seven days," Warsi told Sky News.

Warsi said she and Ahmed met Sudanese officials Saturday morning and more meetings were scheduled later.

"The Sudanese government do want to resolve this matter. ... (We) hope we can come to an amicable resolution soon," she said.

Gibbons' lawyer Kamal al-Gizouli said Sudan's president could deliver news of a pardon when he meets the British visitors. But it was not immediately clear when they would meet.

"I would not be surprised if president of the republic will tell delegation we have dropped this charge," al-Gizouli told The Associated Press.

Gibbons, 54, was sentenced Thursday to 15 days in jail and deportation for insulting Islam by naming a teddy bear Muhammad the name of Islam's prophet. The naming was part of a class project for her 7-year-old students at a private school in Sudan.

Al-Gizouli said only the president has the power to lift Gibbons' 15-day sentence which runs until Dec. 9.

Gibbons was moved from the Omdurman women's prison to a secret location on Friday after thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums, burned pictures of her and demanded her execution.

There was no overt sign that the government organized the protest, but such a rally could not have taken place without at least official assent.

The teacher's conviction under Sudan's Islamic Sharia law shocked Britons, and the British government has said it was working with Sudan's regime to win her release.

Gibbons escaped harsher punishment that could have included up to 40 lashes, six months in prison and a fine. Her time in jail since her arrest Sunday counts toward the sentence.

During her trial, the weeping teacher said she had intended no harm. Her students, overwhelmingly Muslim, chose the name for the bear, and Muhammad is one of the most common names for men in the Arab world. Muslim scholars generally agree that intent is a key factor in determining if someone has violated Islamic rules against insulting the prophet.

But the case was caught up in the ideology that al-Bashir's Islamic regime has long instilled in Sudan, a mix of anti-colonialism, religious fundamentalism and a sense that the West is besieging Islam.

The uproar comes as the U.N. is accusing Sudan of dragging its feet on the deployment of peacekeepers in the western Sudanese Darfur region.




Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

French Teen's Rape Case Exposes Dubai's Dark Side

French Teen's Rape Case Exposes Dubai's Dark Side
Alleged Victim Tells His Story of Violent Sex Crime in Modern Arab Metropolis

Nov. 30, 2007—

Alexandre Robert with his mother, Veronique Robert, outside a Dubai Courts complex. (Steve Crisp/Reuters)

Dubai -- with its world famous luxury hotels and what will soon be the world's tallest building -- is the Arab world's most modern oasis. But beyond the sandy beaches and tourist attractions, the western dress and the bustling buildings, Dubai is struggling to modernize one aspect of its conservative Muslim culture: the taboos and treatment of sexual violence.

16-year-old French-Swiss Alexandre Robert and his mother Veronique were the perfect example of Dubai's cosmopolitan makeup. Alex was living in Dubai when he says he was gang raped at knifepoint, beginning an ordeal that has shed light on how Dubai's justice system treats victims of violent sex crimes.

"Before, I felt like it was paradise, it was honestly paradise," Alex said of the city. "Today I feel like they lied to me, they treated me like nothing, like a toy. And they played with my life and I don't know, they&they destroyed me."

What happened to Alex has thrown a worldwide spotlight on the dark side of a city where a victim can be treated as a criminal, where homosexuality is outlawed and where AIDS is buried under a layer of shame.

"Homosexuality is taboo, rape is taboo, and AIDS is taboo," said Veronique Robert.

Watch the story tonight on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET

Saturday July 14th of this year was just another summer day in paradise. Then 15-year-old Alex spent the day at the beach with his friend. When it was time to go home, a local teenager they barely knew offered to give them a lift when they couldn't find a cab. He called two older friends who had a car.

Alex and his friend accepted the ride and got in the car. Alex says the man behind the wheel drove past the turnoff to his house, beyond Dubai's landmark Mall of the Emirates, and into a desolate stretch of desert.

"So we keep driving and I see him taking an exit to go in the desert and I told him 'Where are you going?' And this is where I started to think and realize that something was wrong, you know, and they told me to shut up," Alex recalled.

First Alex says the driver secured the child locks on the doors, trapping the boys inside. Then they stopped along a desert road on the outskirts of the city.

"They asked my friend to get out of the car, he said no, so they pulled him out with violence and they started hitting, hitting him and they hit me. And after that -- I'm sorry&" Alex said, unable to continue.

"Alex started to scream," his friend told ABC News, adding that Alex tried to grab his hand. The friend spoke about the attack on the condition that his name be kept secret because he still lives in Dubai and fears retaliation.

"I was very afraid," said the friend. "I thought they wanted to kill me, me and Alex. So it was like the last minute of my life I was living."

Desperate for help, Alex says he tried to call 999 -- Dubai's version of 911 -- on his cell phone.

The local teen who brought them to the car overheard the police respond to the call, Alex says, and grabbed for the phone.

"I had the phone in my hands, I was screaming and shouting for help," said Alex. "He took my phone and he was hitting me. I started screaming and crying."
'I'm Gonna Kill You'

"He was saying, 'I'm gonna kill you, your mother, father. I know where you live. Don't do that any more,'" recalled his friend.

"He said to me right in the eyes, right in the eyes that if I, if I speak about this one day, he knows where I live, he'll go to my house, he'll burn my house, he'll kill my parents, he'll f*** them and he'll burn them," Alex said. "And it was hard."

"They will not touch us. Don't worry about that, it's done," said Veronique. "They will pay for that, they will pay for that."

As dusk settled in the desert, the friend says he was forced to walk behind a sand dune, where he couldn't see or hear anything. That's when Alex says the 36-year-old driver threatened his life.

"He took out a pool stick and a hunting knife. He told me that he wanted to f*** me and I told him no way, I told him this, you can forget about it. I won't let you touch me, I won't let you. And after this, I had no choice."

When he finished, the teenager who had first offered them the ride came back to the car, Alex says. "I told them, 'Listen, if you're going to kill us, just let me use my phone, just give me back my phone and let me, let me call my family, I won't tell them where I am, I'll talk in English, I won't tell them what's happening, but just&if you're going to kill me, just let me call them, tell them that I love them or something, just let me do this," said Alex." And they keep telling us to shut up."

In the end their salvation may have turned on something as simple as sand. Alex says the attackers' car got stuck and they had to call a relative, who drove to the scene.

"I got my head up and I saw this plate number&I still remember it today," said Alex. "And I think this, this plate saved my life."
'Homosexuality Is An Illegal Act'

Instead of killing them, Alex says their attackers brought them to one of Dubai's luxurious hotels, where they were thrown out of the car.

"They pushed us like, like we were nothing, you know, like if we were bags," he said.

Alex says he felt dizzy and passed out. He had survived a violent rape that could happen anywhere in the world, but the legal nightmare ahead would turn out to be a second tragedy, he says.

After the attackers left them on the curb Alex and his friend went to the first safe place they could think of. They took a taxi to a local shopping mall, hid in the bathroom, and called for help.

They immediately reported the crime, going in person to the local police station. But Alex says the police doctor who examined him that night seemed intent on proving there was no rape, just a consensual sexual act between three men and a 15 year-old gay boy.

"He told me, admit it, you are a homosexual and everything," said Alex. "I got really angry, I told him, 'Listen, I just got raped by three guys.'"

And perhaps more damaging to Alex's case, the doctor asserts the examination "showed a history" of homosexual activity, according to the doctor's report obtained by ABC News and translated from the original Arabic.

"In their minds if I admit that I am a homosexual, the crime would be over, everything would be over," Alex believed.

Moreover, Veronique Robert says police and local authorities failed to tell Alex that one of the men was HIV positive for weeks after they learned of it.

Alex has so far tested negative for the AIDS virus. However, he can't know for sure until January, since the virus needs six months for definitive test results.

"I have to wait until January, and in January I'll know, so I cross fingers and I hope," he said.

Veronique Robert says the Dubai authorities twice assured there was no threat of sexually transmitted disease, even though there was a report identifying one of the attackers as being HIV positive in government files for years.

"I'm so furious, I cannot tell you how I'm furious, you know, and I said why they lie, they just play with the life of Alex," said Veronique Robert.
The Case Against Alex

Homosexuality is against the law in the UAE, where anyone found guilty of sodomy faces years in jail.

The Dubai government denies that the doctor accused Alex of being gay or that he was ever at risk of being charged with homosexuality. But Robert Jongeryck, the French consul, was so worried a case was being built against Alex as an illegal homosexual he advised the boy and his mother to flee Dubai before he was arrested.

"I think that if we had not reacted and asked the authorities to do something, probably Alexandre would have been charged," said Jongeryck.
A Victorian Value System?

Arab-American psychiatrist Dr. Raymond Hamden works in the Dubai courts and says it's important for foreigners to remember that while everything looks modern there, it is a young, developing city.

"It's no different than were we in America were a hundred years ago, right after or during the end of the Victorian era," said Hamden. "Even though we are seeing globalization, in the city that has defined globalization, were still seeing a value system that still looks like new Victorians."

Dr. Habib al-Mulla, an attorney and government spokesman, defends the social conservatism that makes homosexuality a crime in Dubai.

"Every country and every culture has&its own values, its own morals, and the laws and legislations reflect the way every society looks at those morals," Al-Mulla said.

"This is a conservative society. Homosexuality, conducted homosexuality is an illegal act. And we are not ashamed of that."

"So, when you invite people to come [to Dubai], are you inviting everyone but homosexuals?" ABC News' Jim Avila asked the spokesman.

"Everyone is more than welcomed to come," said al-Mulla. "However, no one is welcome to commit any illegal activity."

In an environment where homosexuality is a crime, can a victim of "forcible homosexuality," as the law calls it, be treated fairly under the law?

The trial is big news in Dubai. The two adult defendants, both of whom face the death penalty, have denied all charges. Veronique Robert says she was in juvenile court -- closed to the press -- when the local boy who first led Alex and his friend into the car pled guilty to charges of kidnapping, threatening, and rape. Because he is a minor he does not face execution.

"I'm sure the court will deal with this [verdict] in a fair and reasonable manner," said government spokesman Al-Mulla, leaving open the possibility that what happened to Alex would lead to some reforms in the handling of rape cases.

"We will look into the system, we'll see if there was anything deficient. And if we believe that there is any room for&improvement in that system of course we'll do that."

Armed with the promise that he would not be prosecuted, Alex returned to Dubai to testify against his alleged attackers, a moment he will never forget.

"You could read it in their eyes, they were saying like, if we go out, if we find you, my God, poor kid, run for your life, run for your life, if we get you, you're dead," he said.

As she waits for a verdict, Veronique Robert relentlessly warns anyone who will listen not to go to Dubai expecting a world-class justice system. She has even created a Web site called www.boycottdubai.com designed to hit the emirate where it hurts -- in the carefully cultivated image put forth to tourists and visitors.

"A part of me is really sad," she said. "I was loving Dubai, I was loving to come here to visit my child, [to] go to the beach with Alex&seven years of my life&it's gone. I think I will not come here&I will never see Dubai with the same eyes."

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

Video

Danger in Paradise

US Muslim Responds to Jailing of Teacher in Sudan / Muslim's GOP Debate Question Spurs Threats

From the Council on America-Islamic Relations

November 30, 2007 Forward to a Friend Support CAIR Contact Us Update Your Profile

ISLAM-OPED: US Muslim Responds to Jailing of Teacher in Sudan Given the ongoing controversy over the jailing of British teacher Gillian Gibbons in the Sudan for "insulting Islam," perhaps it is time to remind us all how the Prophet himself reacted to insults, both real and perceived. Even if Ms. Gibbons had the intent to cause insult, which does not seem to be the case, Islamic traditions include a number of instances in which the Prophet had the opportunity to retaliate against those who abused him, but refrained from doing so. AL: Muslim's GOP Debate Question Spurs Threats Yasmin Elhady of Huntsville initially felt lucky to be one of the few chosen to ask a question during Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, carried live on CNN. But within minutes, the online discussion at YouTube.com and CNN.com turned cruel, upsetting the young law student and causing her to second-guess her participation. . . To view that segment of the debate, click here. CAIR-FL: Muslim Trapped in Gaza Returns Home (MIAMI, FL, 11/30/07) - The South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFL) today announced that a Florida man who had been trapped in the Gaza Strip for nearly eight months returned last night to his family in Boca Raton. Hafez Almbasher, a permanent resident of the United States, had traveled to Gaza to care for his ailing mother nearly eight months ago. When he attempted to return, Israeli authorities blocked his exit from Gaza. SEE: CAIR-FL: Man Back from Gaza After Red-Tape Hassle CAIR-FL: Man Trapped in Gaza Returns to South Fla. VERSE OF THE DAY Proclaim the Pilgrimage to Humankind "And proclaim the pilgrimage to humankind. They will come to thee on foot and (riding) on every kind of lean mount from every distant quarter; that they may witness the benefits (provided) for them and celebrate the name of God…" The Holy Quran, 22:27-28 CAIR IN THE NEWS CAIR-TX Recognized at Dallas Peace Center Awards CAIR-FL: Judge Mixes Humanitarian Work, Religion on Israel Trip CAIR: Romney Rules Out Appointing Muslim to Cabinet PRESS RELEASES 'USA vs. Al-Arian' Doc to Premiere in DC CAIR-FL Co-Sponsors 'Peace Not Prejudice' Panel CAIR-NY Joins NYC Council in 'Day Out Against Hate' IN OTHER NEWS AL: Muslim Raises $4,000 for Children in Need TSA Issues Hajj Travel Information WA Sikh Beaten After Being Mistaken for Muslim Update my profile Sign up for other newsletters Unsubscribe Please help CAIR continue its important work: Make a donation Update email preferences | Unsubscribe | Forward to a friend | Visit our web site Council on American-Islamic Relations 453 New Jersey Ave, S.E., Washington, D.C., 20003 Council on American-Islamic Relations Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Faisal Alam
alam.faisal@gmail.com

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
   — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Iran Holocaust drama is a big hit

Iran Holocaust drama is a big hit

By Jon Leyne BBC News, Tehran   The film tells the story of a Jewish woman saved by an Iranian diplomat The scene is wartime Paris. Swastikas adorn the Champs Elysees. Jackbooted Nazis are rounding up Jews for the concentration camps, while terrified Parisians look on. It is a familiar plot for a television blockbuster. And this time the formula has been as popular as ever, drawing in massive audiences week after week. The only difference is that this is a series made for Iranian state TV, and it has been piling up the ratings in the country whose president once questioned the very existence of the Holocaust. The fact that Zero Degree Turn has been allowed on TV, shows the official sensitivity over the accusations of anti-Semitism that have followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's various comments about Israel and the Holocaust. 'Iranian Schindler' "There's been a menu of demonising Iran to portray it as anti-Jewish, which is not the case at all," argues Iranian commentator and film-maker Nader Talebzadeh.   We sympathise just as much with those innocent Jewish victims of the Nazis, as much as we do with the Palestinian victims of Zionism Hassan Fathi TV series writer and director "This popular television series, which is visually also very attractive, has tackled this issue because of all the propaganda against Iran." The series has gone a step beyond simply acknowledging the Holocaust. The central character is an Iranian diplomat, who provides false Iranian passports to enable Jews to flee the Nazi-occupied France, a sort of the Iranian Schindler. He even has a love affair with a Jewish woman. | The writer and director of the series, Hassan Fathi, says he used a true story from World War II to show the outside world they have the wrong impression of Iran. "In those terrible years there were many people who could help the Jews, but they didn't because they were afraid they would be arrested," Mr Fathi explains. | "But some Iranians, when they saw they could save some Jews, they left their fear behind and did so - because of their character and their culture, their beliefs and their traditions," he adds. Ahmadinejad's stance But the outside world also sees Iran's relentless criticism of Israel and Zionism. In fact, the Islamic Republic sometimes seems almost to define itself by its opposition to the Jewish state.   Ahmadinejad has accused Israel of propagating a "Holocaust myth" Mr Fathi's argument - one echoed time and again in this country - is that you can be anti-Zionist, without being anti-Jewish. "Let's be absolutely clear about this. We sympathise just as much with those innocent Jewish victims of the Nazis, as much as we do with the Palestinian victims of Zionism," Mr Fathi insists. "And this is not just the view of a minority, it's the position of most Iranians." President Ahmadinejad takes pride in meeting members of Jewish sects who are also opposed to the existence of a Jewish state. But most other Jews would take issue with his claim not to be anti-Semitic. Mr Ahmadinejad no longer openly questions the existence of the Holocaust. Instead he calls for further research on the issue. To the West, he defends this as an innocent call for academic freedom. But the signal to the Arabs and Muslim masses that he is trying to rally is that there is still some doubt over the Holocaust - if not over its existence, then at least over the scale of it. 'Wishful thinking' And what of Mr Ahmadinejad's call for an end to the Israeli state (when he was quoting the leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Khomeini) and his description of the holocaust as a myth? There is an interesting perspective from Mr Talebzadeh.   Some six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II He is a firm supporter of the Islamic Revolution, but also someone who has spent time in the United States, as his American accent betrays. "The media loves to harp on that theme," Mr Talebzadeh complains. "'They want to wipe Israel off the map', 'This is Hitler'. I mean that 'Hitler - Ahmadinejad' is almost a strategic theme now for three years. "You know, the Soviet Union disintegrated very unexpectedly. It's a very good example of what would happen. Does America think it's going to be there for ever? "I could right now see America dismantling into different states. Israel, I think, would probably fall into the same pattern, and that, I think, is what the president [Ahmadinejad]is trying to convey right now," Mr Talebzadeh says. The idea that the US is about to splinter apart is a piece of wishful thinking quite widely shared here in Iran. | 'Hollywood standard' But there is also a very genuine belief here in Iran's history of religious tolerance. There's a small Jewish community here, as well as Christian and other minorities (though the government has been criticised by human rights groups for its treatment of the Bahai minority). Most Iranians, even those taking part in the most ardent anti-Zionist demonstrations, would be quite shocked at any accusation that they are anti-Semitic. The new TV series also happens to be extremely well produced, with music and cinematography up to the highest Hollywood standard. Week after week, Iranian audiences have been pulling out their handkerchiefs as the tragically doomed romance unfolds between an Iranian diplomat and a French Jewish woman.

Protests in Khartoum

Protests took place in Khartoum following Friday prayers

 

Protests in Khartoum

Protests in Sudan Follow British Woman's Sentence

What we have here is a case of cultural misunderstandings
Ali Alhadithi
Federation of Student Islamic Societies

From BBC - November 30, 2007

Protests took place in Khartoum following Friday prayers

Crowds of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for a tougher sentence for a UK teacher jailed for insulting religion.

Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Some news agencies reported protesters had called for her to be shot.

Muslim Labour peer Lord Ahmed is to lead a parliamentary group to Sudan to try to secure Mrs Gibbons' release.

Lord Ahmed expects to meet the president and possibly the chief justice, and is travelling at the invitation of the Sudanese government.

'Kill her'

A Foreign Office spokesman has said Ms Gibbons said she was "fine" when visited by consular staff on Friday.

The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient.

The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks.

Some news agencies reported thousands of people took part in the protest, but a BBC reporter at the scene said up to a thousand marchers turned out.

According to some agencies, some of the protesters chanted: "Shame, shame on the UK", "No tolerance - execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad".

One demonstrator told reporters that it was unacceptable to take a toy and call it Muhammad.

"We can't accept it from anybody. Even if they can do that in Europe, they cannot do it here in Sudan. We ask our rulers and judges to review what they have said. Fifteen days is not enough."

Hundreds of riot police were deployed but they did not break up the demonstration.

The Foreign Office said it was seeking more details about the protest.

'Strongest terms'

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been in touch with Mrs Gibbons' family for a second time, speaking to a close relative of the teacher.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has expressed "in the strongest terms" the UK's concern at her detention.

On Friday afternoon a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Consular staff have visited her today and she said she is fine."

He said there were no plans to issue advice to British nationals living and working in Sudan in the light of the trouble, but diplomatic staff were keeping "a close eye" on the situation.


 

Musharraf: "We want democracy... human rights.. but we will do it our own way..."

to: faisalalam.queermuslims@blogger.com

when: november 30, 2007 at 11:50am

 

Quote from Musharraf's speech on taking the presidential oath of office

 

It is indeed a historic day and an emotional day for me. This is a milestone in the transition of Pakistan to the complete essence of democracy.

Elections alone do not mean democracy... We want democracy, we want human rights, we want civil liberties but we will do it our own way.

We understand our society, our environment better than anyone in the West (...which has an) unrealistic obsession with your form of democracy, your human rights and civil liberties... which you took centuries to (evolve), but you want us to adopt in months... this is not possible.

Pakistanis Flee Northwestern Areas

 

Large numbers of people are fleeing the Mingora area in northwestern Pakistan as the army continues to shell Islamic militants in the region bordering Afghanistan.

Photo: Mohammad Zubair/Associated Press

British Teacher Found Guilty in Sudan

Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla/Reuters

Sudanese men read a newspaper with a picture of Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher.

British Teacher Found Guilty in Sudan - NY Times


By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

Published: November 30, 2007

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 29 — The British teacher in Sudan who let her 7-year-old pupils name a class teddy bear Muhammad was found guilty on Thursday of insulting Islam and sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation.

Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher, in an undated personal photo. Pupils in her class voted to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
Under Sudanese law, the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, could have spent six months in jail and been lashed 40 times.

"She got a very light punishment," said Rabie A. Atti, a government spokesman. "Actually, it's not much of a punishment at all. It should be considered a warning that such acts should not be repeated."

British officials, meanwhile, were furious. As soon as the news broke that Ms. Gibbons had been convicted, the Foreign Office in London, which had called the whole ordeal "an innocent mistake," summoned the Sudanese ambassador — for the second time in two days.

"We are extremely disappointed," said Omar Daair, spokesman for the British Embassy in Khartoum, the capital.

Ms. Gibbons, 54, has been in jail since Sunday, and Mr. Daair said her sentence would include time served, which means she will spend 10 more days behind bars before being sent to Britain.

The case started in September when Ms. Gibbons, who taught at one of Sudan's most exclusive private schools, began a project on animals and asked her class to suggest a name for a teddy bear. The class voted resoundingly for Muhammad, one of the most common names in the Muslim world and the name of Islam's holy prophet.

As part of the exercise, Ms. Gibbons told her students to take the bear home, photograph it and write a diary entry about it. The entries were collected in a book called "My Name Is Muhammad." Most of her students were Muslim children from wealthy Sudanese families.

The government said that when some parents saw the book, they complained to the authorities. In Islam, insulting the Prophet Muhammad is a grave offense, and in northern Sudan, where Khartoum is, it is a crime. The government said it was insulting to name an animal or toy Muhammad.

On Thursday, Ms. Gibbons was whisked into a Khartoum courtroom under heavy security. She spent all day there, with the verdict announced after 9 p.m. It was not clear whether she would appeal.

Sudan's relations with the West — especially Britain — are as strained as ever. Many developed countries are increasingly frustrated with what they consider stalling tactics by the Sudanese to delay the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur, the troubled region of western Sudan.

Sudan, meanwhile, has accused the West of being anti-Islamic.

Beyond that, on Tuesday, Sir John Sawers, the British representative to the United Nations, criticized the Sudanese government on a number of issues, including the languishing international arrest warrants for a Sudanese official and a militia leader in Darfur.

The next day, the Sudanese government decided to press charges against Ms. Gibbons.

Despite the attempts by Islamic clerics to mobilize the masses against Ms. Gibbons, many Sudanese did not take to the streets.

Najla Hussein, who works at a mobile phone company in Khartoum, said she thought Ms. Gibbons should have been set free.

"Our government creates such problems to divert the eyes of the world community from our domestic problems," Ms. Hussein said. "I am sure that the case of the British teacher is politically motivated and has got nothing to do with our prophet."

Izzadine Abdul Rasoul Muhammad contributed reporting from Khartoum.
 

Afghan Boy Receives Toy from US Soldiers - Picture of the Day

 

 

 

An Afghan boy was another beneficiary of the soldier's relief effort, holding a toy and other items he had received.

Photo: Rafiq Maqbool/Associated Press

Benazir Bhutto Files Her Nomination Papers in Larkana

 

 Another former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, who also plans to challenge General Musharraf in the general election in January, bought sweets from a vendor on the way to court in Larkana to file her nomination papers. Ms. Bhutto said she was ready to form an alliance with Nawaz Sharif.

Muslim Girls Turn to Boyscouts

Allen Brisson-Smith for The New York Times

Farheen Hakeem, right, with a predominantly Muslim Girl Scout troop she leads in Minneapolis.

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Published: November 28, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS — Sometimes when Asma Haidara, a 12-year-old Somali immigrant, wants to shop at Target or ride the Minneapolis light-rail system, she puts her Girl Scout sash over her everyday clothes, which usually include a long skirt worn over pants as well as a swirling head scarf.

Full article...

Romney denies ruling out Muslim for Cabinet post

From CNN Political Ticker

November 27, 2007




Romney said he did not rule out appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney disputed a report Tuesday that he categorically ruled out appointing a Muslim to a Cabinet position.

Mansoor Ijaz, an American born businessman of Islamic faith, writes in the Christian Science Monitor that at a recent campaign event Romney said assigning a Muslim to his Cabinet would not be "justified" based on their percentage of the population.

"Romney, whose Mormon faith has become the subject of heated debate in Republican caucuses, wants America to be blind to his religious beliefs and judge him on merit instead," Ijaz writes. "Yet he seems to accept excluding Muslims because of their religion, claiming they're too much of a minority for a post in high-level policymaking."

Campaigning in Florida, the former Massachusetts governor denied making such a blanket statement.

"His question was did I need to have a Muslim in my Cabinet to be able to confront radical jihad and would it be important to have a Muslim in my Cabinet," said Romney, "and I said, 'No I don't think you need to have a Muslim in the Cabinet to take on radical jihad any more than during the second world war we needed to have a Japanese American to help us understand the threat that was coming from Japan.

"The people who would be part of my cabinet is something that I really haven't given a lot of thought to at this point, but I don't have boxes I check off as to their ethnicity…instead I would choose people based upon their merits and their capabilities," he added.

Meanwhile, rival John McCain took aim at the alleged comments while campaigning in South Carolina. (Watch McCain's comments )

"I think his comment is indicative of how he might govern and I think it's absolutely wrong," said the Arizona senator. "You appoint the most qualified people for the job, no matter who they are, where they come from, or where in America, as long as they're citizens."

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Saudi foreign minister says court will review sentence for woman who was raped

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, center, attended the Mideast peace conference Tuesday.

From CNN

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Saudi court will review the case of a teenage gang rape victim sentenced to jail and flogging after she was convicted of violating the country's strict sex segregation laws, the foreign minister said Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, center, attended the Mideast peace conference Tuesday.

The remarks by Prince Saud al-Faisal, made in the United States and carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, were the latest in response to a salvo of international condemnation of Saudi judicial authorities' handling of the case.

It was also a sharp turn from a statement Saturday in which the Saudi Justice Ministry condemned the 19-year-old woman as an adulteress who had allegedly confessed to cheating on her husband. She was raped by seven men and then sentenced to six months prison and 200 lashes.

In the statement, the ministry said the flogging sentence would be carried out and condemned foreign interference. The statement likely sought to ease international outrage over the case by discrediting the woman.

On Tuesday, SPA quoted al-Faisal as saying "the Saudi judiciary will review the case."

But al-Faisal was also on the defensive and maintained the case was being used against Saudi authorities.

"What is outraging about this case is that it is being used against the Saudi government and people," he said, speaking in Annapolis, Maryland, where he was attending the U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference.
Don't Miss
Saudi government justifies punishment
Saudi rape victim's husband blames judge
U.S. candidates slam Saudi rape verdict
CNN Arabic.com

Known only as the "Girl from Qatif," the victim said she was a newlywed who was meeting a high school friend in his car to retrieve a picture of herself from him when the attack occurred in the eastern city of Qatif in 2006.

While she was in the car, two men got into the vehicle and drove them to a secluded area where others waited, and then she was raped.

The ministry's account Saturday alleged that the woman and her lover met in his car for a tryst "in a dark place where they stayed for a while."

The girl was initially sentenced to prison and 90 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her. An appeals court then doubled the lashes to 200.

The increase in sentence received heavy coverage in the international media and prompted expressions of astonishment from the U.S. government. Canada called it "barbaric."

Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, women are not allowed in public in the company of men other than their male relatives. Also, women in Saudi Arabia are often sentenced to flogging and even death for adultery and other crimes.

The seven men convicted of gang raping the woman were given prison sentences of two to nine years.

The case has sparked rare domestic debate about the Saudi legal system, which gives judges wide discretion in sentencing and where rules of evidence are shaky and sometimes no lawyers are present.

Justice in Saudi Arabia is administered by a system of religious courts and judges appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council. Those courts and judges have complete discretion to set sentences, except in cases where Sharia outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes. That means that no two judges would likely hand down the same sentence for similar crimes. A rapist, for instance, could receive anywhere from a light or no sentence to death, depending on the judge's discretion.

Abu Dhabi and the grand history of gays and religion

From the Washington Square News

By: Abbey Fenbert

Posted: 11/28/07

NYU in Abu Dhabi is freaking me out. It's a little weird that someone could get a degree from New York University without leaving the United Arab Emirates. Higher on the WTF scale, there's the fact the UAE is governed partly by Islamic law, and "homosexual acts" are a crime that could earn you prison time or a regimen of forced hormone injections.

Gay students only risk this prosecution if they leave the Academic Free Zone - the administration has made that clear. Peachy. NYUAD: The perfect place to relive your days in the closet.

But the admins put forth a more compelling argument. University spokesman John Beckman reminded us that in some NYU study abroad sites, such as Shanghai and Ghana, homosexual acts are more than frowned upon. Parts of the United States have been slow to overturn anti-sodomy laws. So why are we only getting hysterical about the rules of a Muslim country?

Maybe we're racists. Or maybe there's a difference between cultural homophobia - "two dudes kissing is icky" - and God Shall Strike You With His Fist, Degenerate Sons Of Sodom.

I'm not excusing any type of gay-bashing, god-inspired or not. But this is a religion column, and I want to examine the tangled, troubled history of queerness and faith.

God and the Gays have been enemy teams since before the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah. According to the Sharia, a set of Islamic laws, homosexuality is punishable by death. Christianity has its own qualms. My new favorite website, GodTube.com, automatically filters out the word "gay" - though "fag" is allowed. And in Hebrew scriptures, "such a thing is an abomination." (Leviticus 18: 22)

You can also find anti-gay sentiment in Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, the Baha'i faith, Shinto, Sikhism, Jainism and Scientology.

Of course, some LGBT-accepting traditions have survived past classical Greek paganism (ah, the days of Sappho!). Wicca, Voodoo and Unitarian Universalism are pretty tolerant, and the more mainstream religions all have sects and members who say it's OK to be gay.

And if you look carefully, it's not hard to find the subversive queerness in the bowels of religion. Cough, Ted Haggert, cough.

Hiding between all the stone-the-gays laws and "cleanliness" precepts, there are some juicy tidbits to trigger your biblical gaydar. One of my favorites is in the Book of Judges. The Israelite judge Deborah is called the "wife of Lappidoth" (Judges 4:4). Lappidoth translates to "woman of fire."

Some take this to mean that Deborah, as a judge and prophetess, is herself a woman of fire. Maybe. Or maybe "wife of Lappidoth" means there was a woman named Lappidoth, and Deborah was her wife. You know. Just maybe.

At any rate, the Abrahamic tradition usually finds lesbianism less sinful than male homosexuality- it has to do with penetration and the seed and a bunch of gross things I have trouble picturing an all-powerful deity ruminating over.

But onto the New Testament. Jesus calls his disciples by saying, "I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19)

All right, that's juvenile. But he proceeds to spend his days unmarried in the company of 12 dudes. And forget Mary Magdalene - the Gospel of John refers, several times, to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." During the Last Supper, he's "reclining at Jesus' side" and "lean[s] back against Jesus' chest." (John 13:23-24)

Ah, fascinating how the places gays are most hated are the places that often seem the very gayest - pages of scripture, football locker rooms, the army. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.

Of course, until my queer-friendly Bible commentary becomes standard, LGBT people in the UAE just have to be grateful they're not in Iran or Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is a capital offense.

To clarify, being gay isn't the crime - it's just getting caught doing ... You know, stuff. So I can quietly lust after Jennifer Connelly all I want, it's only when I start picturing her while kissing some chick that I'm rebelling against the state.

Queer people are used to hiding. To sticking to "safe zones." Beckman's right, it's nothing new. But New York University is a place that values freedom, newness and pluralism. It's been ranked "Most Accepting of the Gay Community" by the Princeton Review two years running. A degree from New York University should mean you've ventured outside of the bubble.

Is NYUAD worth abandoning that ideal?

But who knows. If you get sent to prison for getting it on with your "unnatural" partner, maybe Beckman or Sexton will bail you out.


Abbey Fenbert is a columnist. E-mail her at afenbert@nyunews.com.

---

© Copyright 2007 Washington Square News

Somali Online Gay Community Causing Worldwide Outrage

From UK Gay News

Commentary by Andrew Prince
Editor, UKBlackOut

LONDON, November 27, 2007 (UKBlackOut) � When we think of very homophobic communities we automatically think of places like Jamaica, but recently I have come to know that there are other dimensions to homophobia.....one from the Somali community.

At least in the Jamaican community they are more informed idiots (pardon the pun), but what I have been witnessing over the past few days goes beyond anything one could identify on planet earth.

Recently I was asked to develop a website for a group of gay Somalis in London, www.somaligaycommunity.org. (click HERE for the main page in the Somali language)

This is the first website of it's kind anywhere in the world and as it happened, it drew a lot of attention during it's first week online with over 133,000 hits.

To say the least, there have been a lot of excitement and news coverage, with some of the major online news sites, including ones serving the mainly Somali Muslim community, carrying the story and asking for interviews from the Moderator of the website.

Somali gays and lesbians worldwide have welcomed the site as long overdue and although it is only a web presence it will help to unite Somalis online where they can share experiences, learn from each other and at the same time knowing that there are others like themselves out there.

Then the bombshell dropped.

The international Somali community is up in arms and the forums, weblogs, and sites dedicated to Somali news are awash with hate writers.

I mean really vile stuff.

One individual calls for them to be "hunted down in the street and stoned like dogs" while another said, "Allah will punish them", another, "It's a western illness", and yet another, "motherfocker if i ever see you on the street, am gonna chop you to pieces then feed ur crap to dogs" � this last one from a Muslim woman.

One Somali woman even mentioned that there was less than 100 gay people in all of Somalia. How does she know this? Did she take up a census?

Then there is that old nemesis in African countries that seems to keep rearing it's head throughout all this � the clan.

North Somalis blames the south Somalis saying that is the part of the country where all the gay and lesbian people come from.

With all the genocide going on in their country and the murder of innocent women and children of which you don't hear a peep out of them on, I am amazed that they have so much energy hating a group of people who only wants to share their experiences on a website and improve their quality of life. Where is the threat?

What strikes me in all of this is the fact that most of these people are refugees themselves, living in countries all over the world.

These same countries allows them the freedom to be who they are regardless of which clan or region they are from and yet, they wish to take away that same freedom from their countrymen and women.

If they are such patriots why did they flee their country, why aren't they still there or in other Muslim countries where their extreme views are more appreciated?

I guess it's because, according to one person on the SomaliNet Forums, "muslims own the entire world, soon or latter everybody will become muslim, so shut da fock about why did you come to a christian country".

To this I say, wake up, get your head out of the sand. It will never happen.

What I would like to know is this: How can a devout Muslim person preach such hate when there is nowhere in the Koran (I am told) that says they should go out and hurt people for not conforming to their idea of what a good Muslim should be?

As with all cultures, people twist things to suit their needs and then hides behind religion to justify their vile actions.

The saga continues. I was then made aware that my name, address and telephone number was made public on a particular website forum, along with one of the guys from the group.

Someone with a little bit of internet savvy (a woman) did a Domanin Name Whois lookup (Oops my mistake, I should have made it a private listing) and found out some details that one would rather not have flashed around the world on the internet.

But this person thought that they would be harming me. What she did not realise was that I am one of the most OUT black gay man in London and I'm no stranger to having my face or name in the public domain.

The site was threatened with being hacked so I had to take extra security steps to protect the site so that it stays online to serve the community that it was intended for.

The good thing that came out of all this is the fact that the website was actually promoted around the world by people who are against it, something that these guys could not pay for in the form of advertising.

So next time you think of violent homophobes, don't all only look to Jamaica, you can find it in other cultures too.

■ Since writing this article, the website with my name and address on their forum has been deleted. Another forum with really vile threats have been entirely deleted, albeit without our intervention.

© 2007, Andrew Prince/UKBlackOut

SEE ALSO

Gay Somalis in London Launch Community Website. A new website, Somali Gay Community, has been launched to serve the small gay Somali community in London � and beyond. It is believed to be the first of its kind in Somali history and culture anywhere in the world. Ku soo Dhawow Bulshadayada - Somali language (UK Gay News, November 17, 2007)

Hiiraan Online reproduces the UK Gay News article on November 17 and following it has visitor comments.

LINKS

		website

website (in English

Iraqi Cardinal Being Congratulated

 

 

A newly appointed Iraqi cardinal, Emmanuel III Delly, was congratulated after being selected as one of 23 new cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The cardinal is the first Iraqi in modern times to be elevated to that position by the Roman Catholic Church.

Photo: Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse--Getty Images

US Military Delivers Aid to Afghan Villagers - Picture of the Day

 

United States soldiers with the 413th Civil Affairs Battalion at Bermel in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, delivered aid, including blankets, shoes, radios and toys, like the one held by this girl, to villagers.

Photo: Rafiq Maqbool/Associated Press