Notorious Blasphemy Law in Pakistan

07/23/2010, PAKISTAN
Woman freed after spending 14 years in prison without trial for “blasphemy”

Zaibul Nisa had been arrested on vague blasphemy charges. The judge who released her is dismayed by her long and unjust confinement. Her lawyer complains that she “was sent to jail and then forgotten by everyone.”

Lahore (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The High Court in Lahore has ordered the release Zaibul Nisa, a 60-year-old woman who spent the past 14 years in the prison section of a mental asylum for blasphemy, on allegations of desecrating the Qur‘an. Back in 1996, police arrested her and then locked her up without a shred of evidence.

Indian Muslim Condemns Blasphemy Law

Indian Muslim condemns the murder of Christian brothers accused of blasphemy

by Nirmala Carvalho. 07/20/2010

Asghar Ali Engineer, head of Mumbai’s Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, calls the murder a horrible crime that is also against Islam. He blames Muslim clerics for using the blasphemy laws to promote their own interests. “I am completely against the blasphemy laws; there is nothing in Qur‘an about it,” he said.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – “The murder of the two Christian brothers is a horrible crime and such criminal acts are repeatedly taking place in Pakistan. I received the news with deep sorrow and regret,” said Asghar Ali Engineer, an Indian Muslim who heads the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism in Mumbai. “I am completely against the blasphemy laws; there is nothing in Qur‘an about it,” he added.

Catholics Continue to wait for Allah in Malaysia

By Debra Chong, July 19, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, July 19 – The Catholic Church won the constitutional right to print the word “Allah” in its newspaper seven months ago but a government application to stay the ruling could delay its use for a while longer.

The Court of Appeal has yet to indicate when it is taking any step to move the case along but retired jurists say it can’t take very long while a lawyer said it could take up to two years to get a hearing.

Appellate and trial division chief from the Attorney-General’s Chambers Datuk Kamaludin Md Said has confirmed that the Court of Appeal has yet to set a hearing date for the appeal.

France Ban Burqa

France ban on burqa a welcome law!

by Samir Khalil Samir. 07/15/2020

For the expert on Islam, the law is an invitation for European Muslims to strive for integration and marginalize Salafi trends of opposition and conflict. Moreover, the burqa has no justification in the Koran or Islamic tradition, it is merely a custom of Saudi Arabia (and some other countries) which confirms chauvinism and the "the woman’s grave".

Beirut (AsiaNews) - What happened? Two days ago the French parliament passed a law banning the complete covering the face in public places, making it illegal to wear a burqa. The amazing fact is the unanimous nature of the vote (355 out of 500, only 1 against). There has been talk of banning the burqa for over a year in France. Initially, a police survey stated that the phenomenon involved a few hundred. But today - in a similar manner to Islamic countries - there are at least 2 000 people who wear the full veil in France. Likewise, in Egypt, from a few hundred in 2001, that number has now reached up to 16% of women.

I Cry for MALAYSIA

by Dr Tan Kee Kwong - Malaysian Christian Politician.

Email: tkk18247@yahoo.com.sg

To The Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Cabinet.

One month ago, on a Sunday morning after Church I was driving near Jalan Duta. I was so overcome with emotion & pulled by the side of the road & wept silently for about 3 mins.
"What has happened to this beautiful country of Malaysia, how come now there are so many racial & religious problems facing our country?"
In addition to the outright looting & plundering of our country's resources & wealth, there seems to be a group of evil people who want to disrupt the peace & harmony that we cherish & enjoy, so far.

MALAYSIA-Three People Stand Trail on Charges for Boming Churches

TIGA ORANG TENGAH DIADILI DENGAN TUDUHAN TELAH MELAKUKAN SERANGAN BOM PADA GEREJA-GEREJA DI MALAYSIA

Tiga orang yang diyakini telah menyuruh para pengendara sepeda motor, tengah diadili di Malaysia pada hari Selasa lalu dengan tuduhan sebagai orang-orang yang ada di belakang penyerangan atas tempat-tempat ibadah, dan yang telah meningkatkan ketegangan etnis di negara dengan mayoritas Muslim itu.

Ketiga orang ini adalah orang-orang pertama yang diadili karena kasus penyerangan, yang dipicu oleh keputusan pengadilan yang membatalkan larangan yang dikeluarkan oleh pemerintah terhadap non-Muslim untuk menggunakan kata “Allah” sebagai sebuah terjemahan untuk “Tuhan.”

Azuwan Shah Ahmad dan saudara-saudara Raja Mohamad Faizal Ibrahim dan Raja Mohamad Iszham didakwa telah melemparkan bom molotov terhadap sebuah gereja di pinggiran Selatan Kuala Lumpur pada tanggal 7 Januari dan terancam dipenjara selama 20 tahun jika terbukti bersalah. Agama dan bahasa adalah isu-isu sensitif di Malaysia yang multi-rasial, yang pernah mengalami kerusuhan ras yang menimbulkan banyak korban tewas pada tahun 1969.

Why Islam ill treat Women

Fatwa on Saudi women can "breastfeeding their drivers."

"Do the women have to breastfeed the driver in the presence of their husbands or can they do this alone?"
"Who will protect the wife if the husband entered the house unexpectedly and found his wife breastfeeding the driver?" she asked.

Saudi women plan to turn a controversial fatwa (religious ruling) to their advantage and launch a campaign to achieve their long-standing demand to drive in this conservative kingdom.

If the demand is not met, the women threatened to follow through the fatwa which allows them to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons.

Iran cleric says dogs ‘unclean’, not to be kept as pets

An expatriate walks her pet dogs on a beach in Boracay island, Philippines. Iran is against the keeping of dogs as pets as they are considered “unclean”. – Reuters pic

TEHERAN, June 19 – A senior Iranian cleric has decreed dogs are “unclean” and should not be kept as pets – a move aimed at discouraging Western-style dog ownership in the Islamic state, a newspaper reported today.

Dogs are considered “unclean” under Islamic tradition but, while relatively rare in Iran, some people do keep them as pets.

Somali Islamists kill two for watching World Cup

Somali Islamists kill two for watching World Cup

By ABDI SHEIKH | REUTERS Published: Jun 15, 2010 16:43 Updated: Jun 15, 2010 16:43

MOGADISHU: Somali Islamist militants killed two people and arrested dozens of others for breaking a ban on watching the World Cup on television, residents said.

They said the masked fighters from the Hizbul Islam group raided houses on Sunday and Monday in the Afgoi district, 30 km (19 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, after hard-line Islamist groups banned Somalis from watching the tournament. "Hizbul Islam killed two people and arrested 35 others, all World Cup fans," Ali Yasin Gedi, vice-chairman of the Elman rights group, told Reuters on Tuesday. "Islamists unexpectedly entered houses in Afgoi district and then fired (at) some people who tried to jump over the wall to escape" he added. Hizbul Islam and another group, al Shabaab, which is widely seen as Al-Qaeda's proxy in the region, control large swathes of the country and much of the capital.