Shariah In New Jersey: Muslim Husband Rapes And Abuses Wife, Judge Initially Considered Actions In Accordance With Islam

This is an update on this appalling story from New Jersey, USA.

The account of abuse from the victim is extremely graphic. The contact information for Judge Edith K. Payne, a female judge, is included below for readers who would like to express their dismay.

From The Liberal Heretic:

Hold onto your hats folks. This one is going to have you spitting nails.

On July 31, 2008, two Moroccans, referred as S.D. (wife) and M.J.R. (husband) were married in [Morocco]. It was an arranged marriage, with the bride being only 17 years old. A month later, this couple moved to New Jersey when MJR was employed as an accountant, settling in the town of Bayonne. Within a month, the husband's mother joined the couple.

The abuse of the young bride began on or about November of the same year.

Being so young, she didn't know how to cook, so when her husband demanded that she prepare three Moroccan dishes for his six honored guests, she was incapable, although she tried. When the husband saw that his wife didn't prepare the food, he told her later she would be punished. She was told to go to her room, and await her husband. When he came, he began pinching her all over her body, and the abuse continued for more than an hour, while she cried and begged him to stop.

"At that time I was sitting in my room. I was afraid. I was afraid, what is he going to do to me? So I started to read some of our holy book the Koran and the visitors left around 10 o'clock a.m. and he said to me, now I'm going to start punishing you. So he started to pinch me all over my body. He would go - the pinching he would do it like a sensation with his fingers over circulation in my flesh, then he'd pull his fingers out. I felt he was enjoying hurting me." When asked to describe specifically where defendant was pinching, plaintiff responded that the pinching took place on her breasts, under her arms, and around her thighs; that the pinches left bruises; and that some of the bruises remained at the time that a detective from the Hudson County Prosecutor's office took pictures of her body on November 22, 2008.

She was told by her husband he was doing this to correct her.

Another episode [occurred] November 16, 2008. The wife shoved some papers on the floor:

"When he came in and he saw everything on the floor - so he entered and he came toward me and he took all my clothes off me. It was very cold day. I had two pants on. He said, what, you think you're going to escape my punishment to you? Let's see what we're going to do now. After that he took off all my clothes and he said the first - before we start punishing you, now you're nude. You have no clothes on. Even my underwear wasn't on. So I felt I was an animal, like an animal. So he said first of all, you better go and pick [up] everything from the floor. Then he said, now we're going to start punishing you. Then he started to pinch my private area. And he was pinching my tits or my chest area. I was crying."

SD stated her vaginal area was very, very red and it was hurting. When she attempted to leave, the husband told her: " no, you can not go and sleep on the side of the bed. You're still my wife and you must do whatever I tell you to do. I want to hurt your flesh, I want to feel and know that you're still my wife. After that - he had sex with me and my vagina was very, very swollen and I was hurting so bad."

Asked by the judge (during a hearing for a restraining order) if she told her husband she did not want to have sex, she replied: "Of course, because I was - I had so much pain down there."

He raped her again on November 22, 2008, and again when their Imam ordered her to return to him after he beat and raped her previously. In all, this young girl was raped on an almost daily basis.

When she sought the restaining order after their divorce, a New Jersey judge ruled that the husband did nothing wrong, because he was only following his religion, Islam.

"This court does not feel that, under the circumstances, that this defendant had a criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault or to sexually contact the plaintiff when he did. The court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited."

Thankfully, this decision was immediately overturned.

"As the judge recognized, the case thus presents a conflict between the criminal law and religious precepts. In resolving this conflict, the judge determined to except defendant from the operation of the State's statutes as the result of his religious beliefs. In doing so, the judge was mistaken."

Court documents can be read here....

Judge Payne's contact info is:
Suite 1101, North Tower
Morristown, 07960-3965 Phone: 973-631-6365, 6366
158 Headquarters Plaza

Bus Hits Roadside Bomb, Killing 25 In Afghanistan

From the Associated Press:

A packed bus hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday killing 25 people aboard, as NATO announced another U.S. service member died in a rapidly rising monthly death toll.

The passenger bus was traveling in Nimroz province on a main highway toward the capital, Kabul, when it struck the explosive about 7 a.m., said Nazir Ahmad, a provincial government spokesman. Another 20 people were wounded, he said.

The explosion occurred near Delaram — a volatile area close to the borders of Helmand and Farah provinces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack. "The criminals who did this are the enemies of Muslims," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, NATO forces said a U.S. service member was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, without giving further details. A NATO drone also went down in a Taliban-held area of northern Afghanistan because of mechanical problems, the alliance said in a statement. The craft, called a Luna UAV, contained no weapons or intelligence that could be exploited by enemy forces, NATO said.

July is already one of the deadliest months for U.S. troops in the nearly nine-year Afghan war, with 59 service members killed so far. That's just shy of the 60 that died in June — the deadliest month for U.S. forces. Altogether, 80 NATO troops have died in July. In June, 103 NATO forces were killed.

The rising death toll comes as U.S. forces continue the search for a missing Navy sailor believed captured last week by Taliban forces when he and a colleague drove into an insurgent-held area of eastern Afghanistan. One of the sailors was killed in a firefight with militants, and the Taliban has said they seized the other.

NATO officials were unable to say what the two service members were doing in such a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan.

The Navy identified the missing sailor as Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, a 25-year-old from the Seattle area. The Pentagon lists Newlove as "whereabouts unknown," and did not confirm he was captured.

The service member killed in the firefight was Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley — a 30-year-old father of two from Wheatridge, Colorado. NATO recovered his body Sunday.

The sailors were instructors at a counterinsurgency school for Afghan security forces, according to senior military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case. The school was headquartered in Kabul and had classrooms outside the capital, but they were never assigned anywhere near where the body of the sailor was recovered, the officials said.

U.S. forces have pushed into southern Taliban strongholds in recent months and weeks in an attempt to squeeze insurgents out of the area where they have long functioned as a de-facto government. Along with the surge, attacks on military forces and Afghan supporters of the government have increased. Many civilians have also been killed or wounded in incidents such as Wednesday's bus bomb or caught up in the crossfire.

On Monday, the Afghan government said 52 civilians, including women and children, died when a NATO rocket struck a village in southern Afghanistan last week — a report the international coalition has disputed.

Karzai's office said an investigation by Afghan intelligence officers determined a NATO rocket slammed into Rigi village in Helmand province, one of the most violent areas of the country.

The U.S.-led command also said an investigation was under way but reports of mass civilian casualties in Rigi were unfounded.

NATO said investigators determined alliance and Afghan troops came under attack Friday about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of the village and responded with helicopter-borne strikes. Coalition forces reported six insurgents killed, including a Taliban commander.

Gulam Farooq, deputy commander for the Afghan National Army in the south, said he too sent investigators to Rigi. Eyewitnesses said 14 civilians from three families were killed in the fighting.

Abdul Whab, who lost seven members of his family, told Afghan army investigators his mother, holding a copy of the Quran, pleaded with insurgents to leave the area so civilians wouldn't be hurt, Farooq said.

Whab told investigators coalition fire killed 60 militants suspected of being foreign fighters, because they didn't speak the local Afghan language of Pashtu, said Farooq.

In central Uruzgan province, meanwhile, three Afghan soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb Wednesday, said Gulab Khan, deputy provincial police chief.

German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz told reporters Wednesday in Kabul the Taliban's senior leadership ordered the assassination of multiple tribal elders in an area of Uruzgan.

"This follows the kidnapping and execution of two tribal elders for cooperating with the coalition," he said, alleging recent attacks can be traced to instructions issued by Taliban leader Mullah Omar in June to attack anyone who supports the Afghan government.

During the past 90 days, 350 Taliban figures have been captured or killed by coalition forces, Blotz said.

Al Qaeda's Number 2 Urges Jihad, Calls Women Who Defend Burkas "Holy Warriors"

From the Associated Press via Yahoo News:

Al-Qaida's No. 2 has slammed France's push to ban the Islamic full-face veil and urged Muslim women to be "holy warriors" in the defense of their headdress against the "secular Western crusade" in a new audio message released Wednesday on militant websites.

In the 47-minute recording, Ayman al-Zawahri said the drive by France and other European nations to ban the veil amounted to discrimination against Muslim women.

"Every single woman who defends her veil is a holy warrior ... in the face of the secular Western crusade," he said.

"France, with all its power and clout, can't touch the head-cover of a nun, but it can assault any face-veiled woman."

Al-Zawahri also urged Muslims in Europe to support their women in resisting the Western ban on the veil.

"We must call upon our girls, our sisters and our mothers to put on the veil. We must support them and defend them."

France, Belgium and Spain are debating legislation that would ban the veil. Other nations in Europe too have struggled to balance national identities with growing Muslim populations with cultural practices that clash with their own.

Al-Qaida's deputy leader also eulogized the network's No. 3 official, Mustafa al-Yazid, who was killed along with his family in a U.S. strike in Pakistan in May.

Al-Yazid's killing was among the hardest blows to al-Qaida since the U.S. campaign against the terror network began.

He was the group's prime conduit to Osama bin Laden and played a key role in the day-to-day running of the organization, with a hand in everything from finances to operational planning, as U.S. officials said after his death.

Al-Zawahri praised what he called al-Yazid's achievements in Afghanistan and claimed that although killed al-Qaida militants in Iraq outnumber U.S. soldiers 100-to-1, it is the U.S. that is withdrawing its troops from Iraq.

"The Americans are leaving and the Mujahedden ... are the ones staying," he said.

U.S. combat forces are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of next month, and the rest by the end of 2011.

He said the latest terror attacks against the United States, including a May 1 attempted car bombing in New York city's busy Times Square, were in response to the presence of foreign troops in Muslim nations like Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Leave our land and enjoy security in your countries," al-Zawahri said.

In his audiotape, al-Zawahri also talked about a wide range of topics in the Middle East such as democratic reforms in his native Egypt. He said that holy war was the only way to achieve reforms, not peaceful calls for reforms or elections.

"Change is not coming with ElBaradei ... or yelling in demonstrations," he said, alluding to former U.N. nuclear chief and Egyptian diplomat Mohammed ElBaradei who returned to Egypt this year after decades abroad, declaring that he would seek change in his native country.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Egypt later this year and presidential elections in 2011. President Hosni Mubarak, in office since 1981, has not yet said whether he will run for a sixth, six-year term.

Al-Zawahri also addressed Yemenis, urging them to wage attacks against U.S. targets and the Yemeni government.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, he said, was "ready to do anything to appease America."

"Are you waiting for American soldiers to tour the streets of San'a in their tanks before you wage holy war against them?" He asked.

U.S officials worry that militants of an al-Qaida offshoot have found refuge in Yemen's remote, lawless areas and could be plotting attacks against American and other Western targets from there.

UK Islamist Thugs Threaten ‘New 7/7, New 9/11′ Outside Downing Street

From Un:Dhimmi:

[Note: The video was removed from YouTube.]

Banned by the Government = Business as usual:

It appears that ‘Muslims Against Crusades’, Anjem Choudary’s terror-supporting band of beards (reconstituted from the banned Al-Muhajiroun); are once again spewing their hatred onto the streets of London.

The video, styled to resemble the Jihadist ‘war-porn’ propaganda videos of executions and bombings against westerners in Afghanistan and Iraq, shows the group – known for their distasteful protests at British soliders’ homecoming parades – outside the British Prime Minster’s residence in Downing Street protesting against British and US foreign policy, using the recent Wikileaks revelations about the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan as cover. But they don’t stop there.

The chants contain clear incitements and threats: “UK, Watch your back – Salahudeen is Coming back”, (referring the the so-called ‘liberator of al-Quds [Jerusalem], Salahudeen Ayyubi), and implying violent reprisals. They further warn of ‘new 7/7s, new 9/11s” if the infidels do not immediately withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq.

They also make the usual call for Sharia Law in the UK.

But it’s what they don’t realise they are doing that’s far more interesting – and ultimately, cause for optimism. Their thuggish intolerance, ranting and calls for the barbaric, violent doctrine of Sharia to be implemented in the UK only serves to highlight the vast superiority of the free world’s own systems of democracy, liberty, equality and free speech – which allow them to behave like this the first place.

(the video might also provide some useful intelligence to the Department for Work and Pensions as to the availability for work of our ‘devout’ friends – a good number of whom will inevitably be claiming state benefits)

Keep on ranting, chaps.

Iran Stoning Case Woman Fainted On Hearing Sentence, Says Cellmate

This is an update on this story.

From The Guardian (UK):

A former cellmate of a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran, who spent two years in prison with her and accompanied her to the court when she received the news of her punishment, has told the Guardian how the woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, fainted in shock after hearing the verdict.

"It was in mid-November 2008 when the guards woke us up unexpectedly and told Sakineh and me that we should get ready for the court," said Shahnaz Gholami, 42, whose political activities in support of Azari minorities put her in jail for more than four years in Iran. Gholami, an active blogger, is seeking asylum in Paris.

Later that morning, the officials handcuffed Mohammadi Ashtiani and Gholami and took them to the court. Gholami said: "During the 15-minute journey to the court from the prison, she was just worried for her children, but she was not expecting anything even a bit close to the stoning. When we met once again after the court, she was appalled, absolutely speechless."

The 43-year-old mother of two fainted in shock when they returned to the prison, Gholami said. "For days, she was like a ghost wandering in shock, but when she came back to her senses, she just cried and I didn't see her without crying until the last day I spent time with her in prison."

The Guardian brought Mohammadi Ashtiani's plight to international attention on 3 July. Since then the case has drawn condemnation worldwide and a huge number of politicians, human rights activists and celebrities have joined the campaign for her release. In response, Iran has banned local media from reporting on the case.

Gholami – whose comments cannot be independently verified – said Mohammadi Ashtiani was tortured inside Tabriz prison. "Because of her loving nature, even her malicious cellmates kept distance from her, but the guards couldn't let her live at ease. She was flogged as a part of her sentence, but beside that she was beaten up severely by the guards." According to Gholami, Mohammadi Ashtiani has been refused access to writing materials.

"Until that day she was a calm, ordinary woman whose beauty made prisoners and the guards jealous. She didn't like trouble with other women in the block we were kept in, and because of that she was always alone," Gholami said.

Since May 2006, Mohammadi Ashtiani has been kept in room four of the eighth block of Tabriz prison, in the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province. She shares a room with 25 women who are mostly accused of murder. She was originally sentenced to 99 lashes for adultery, but her case was reopened when a court in Tabriz suspected her of murdering her husband. She was acquitted, but the adultery charge was reviewed and the death penalty handed down on the basis of "judge's knowledge". In Iran, officials consider adultery worse than murder, Gholami said.

"To be among those murderers and live with them is a daily torture for Sakineh, whose tender nature had made her exceptional in the block for everyone," Gholami said.

Iran's judiciary has since changed the sentence, following the international outcry, to execution by hanging "because she is convicted of murder". However, a copy of the document detailing the stoning sentence, which was disclosed to the Guardian by Mina Ahadi, of the Iran Committee against Stoning (ICAS), shows that she was convicted of adultery, not murder.

Ahadi said: "In adultery cases, women are sentenced because of the complaints from their husbands or families generally, but surprisingly, Sakineh is sentenced to death by stoning not because the family of her husband have made a complaint against her, but because the Tabriz prosecutor has made a complaint. In other words, it's the authorities in Iran who want Sakineh to be stoned to death."

Ahadi, who is in regular contact with the families of women sentenced to stoning in Iran, has been told recently that Mariam Ghorbanzadeh, 25, a current cellmate of Mohammadi Ashtiani who has been sentenced to death by stoning, is pregnant. The sentence has not been changed.

After a short visit to his mother in prison last Thursday, Mohammadi Ashtiani's son Sajad told the Guardian that she fears she may be executed without prior notice to her lawyer, especially now that Iran has issued an arrest warrant for Mohammad Mostafaei, the lawyer who represented her until recently. Mostafaei is believed to be hiding from officials after his relatives were imprisoned.

Who Is David Cameron To Say What The 'Real Islam' Is?

The following is an excellent editorial by Ed West for The Telegraph (UK):

David Cameron [pictured] was in Turkey yesterday endorsing Turkish membership of the EU, as blogger Laban Tall says, “doubtless driven by that grass-roots Tory pressure for a few million Turks to come to the UK”.

Personally I’m quite happy for Turkey to have our EU place, if they really want it; or to be a fellow member of a new free trade area along EFTA lines, with restrictions on free movement until some point when its median income reach western European levels.

But until that happens membership of the EU is a non-starter, and everyone knows it.

And as well as being disingenuous about the EU, Cameron is also playing the disingenuous theologian. Rod Liddle points out that he criticises opponents of a Muslim country joining the EU by claiming:

“They see no difference between real Islam and the distorted version of the extremists. They think the values of Islam can never be compatible with the values of other religions, societies or cultures.”

Cameron is falling into exactly the same trap as his predecessors, by trying to play the theologian. Tony Blair called the Koran a “progressive” book, while Jacqui Smith called Islamic terrorism “anti-Islamic” activities, while the phrase “religion of peace” has been used so much by well-meaning politicians that it is now used, exclusively, in an ironic sense by cynics.

Who on earth is Cameron to say what is the real Islam? If a fresh-faced politician from the Islamic world told us that the fundamentalist Christians who funded settlements in the West Bank because they believed in some crazy end times were not “real Christians”, I’d be flattered that he recognised differences within a large and wide ranging religion, but I’d also think “Who are you to say?”

When politicians start claiming to have theological insight into Islam, it usually signals a ham-fisted, expensive and counter-productive attempt to deal with radical Islam. I pray not in this case. As Douglas Murray said last month, on the Government’s disastrous “Prevent” agenda: “Government can’t do many things very well… but the thing it definitely can’t do very well is theology, in particular a theology it knows very little about, or is only starting to learn about.”

The real problem, as no western politician will admit, is that Islam has no experience of secularism. I don’t mean secularism in the secondary sense used by the National Secular Society, which aims to drive religion out of all public life as it was in the Soviet Union – that’s Bolshevism, not secularism – but of a separation of church and state.

From Christ’s declaration to give unto Caesar, to St Augustine’s separation of the City of God and City of Man, to the 11th century Investiture Controversy, Christianity has long had that separation. Islam has no such history, which is why secular democracy has not flourished in the world of Islam.

This is what makes the achievements of Atatürk in setting up a secular state in Turkey so remarkable, and why he was one of the great figures of the 20th century, but his regime still depends on the army.

It is surely in Europe’s interest that Atatürk’s state survives the next few decades, and Turkey acquires western European levels of income; were to this happen, opposition to Turkish membership and free movement would recede. Until then, membership is unlikely. In the meantime Conservative politicians would do well to avoid theology lectures.

Al Qaeda Beheads Retired Engineer Who Was Building School

From AOL News:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed today to seek revenge on the North African wing of al-Qaida for beheading an elderly French aid worker after a joint Franco-Mauritanian raid to rescue him last week failed.

Michel Germaneau, 78, a retired engineer who had been helping build a school for Tuareg nomads, was kidnapped April 19 in northern Niger. The area is in the volatile "Red Zone" on the southern rim of the Sahara desert.

His captors told French officials on July 11 that they would kill him in two weeks unless France agreed to a prisoner exchange.

"I condemn this barbarous act, this odious act which has put an end to the life of an innocent man who was there to help the local population," Sarkozy said today in a televised address. "This crime committed against Michel Germaneau will not go unpunished."

Sarkozy also warned French nationals not to travel to the desolate desert region that includes Mauritania, Mali, Niger and southern Algeria. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is an Islamic insurgent group that aims to overthrow the Algerian government.

But questions remain amid some official versions of what happened in Thursday's desert raid and why Germaneau's body -- like that of a British national, Edwin Dyer, killed by the same group in June 2009 after six months as a hostage -- has not been recovered.

Agence France-Presse reported today that an anonymous local official in Mali said Germaneau had been beheaded in front of AQIM leader Abu Musab Abdul-Wadud in retaliation for Thursday's raid.

"(Germaneau) was still alive during the raid but hidden in a mountainous zone in the Kidal region, near the border with Algeria. The place is an impregnable fortress, where the Islamists have laid mines and built shelters to protect themselves from any air attack," the official told AFP.

But on Sunday, AFP quoted a senior French official as saying many thought Germaneau had been dead for several weeks.

Germaneau had a heart condition and needed medication and had struggled in the desert heat.

Details were also murky about the isolated raid by French and Mauritanian troops on an al-Qaida camp in Mali where Germaneau was thought to be held hostage.

Six al-Qaida members were killed, but Germaneau was not found. On Sunday, Al-Jazeera released an audio statement by Abdul-Wadud.

"Sarkozy was unable to free his compatriot through this failed operation, but he definitely opened one of the gates of hell on himself, his people and his nation," Abdul-Wadud said.

"As a quick response to the despicable French act, we confirm that we have killed hostage Germaneau in revenge for our six brothers who were killed in the treacherous operation," said the voice on the tape, which was said to be similar to that on other recordings attributed to Abdul-Wadud....

Read the rest here.

Muslim Whine Of The Week: Don’t Make Jokes About Burkas

From Un:Dhimmi:

Call out the National Guard: Clarkson dared to make a joking remark about Burkas
Wah. There Is no Fun in Islam* Alert:

Jeremy Clarkson has joined the debate on whether burkas should be permitted in Britain in his own inimitable style.

The outspoken presenter provoked a flurry of complaints after telling viewers of Top Gear on Sunday night that he had seen a Muslim woman wearing sexy underwear beneath her burka.

Clarkson had been discussing the best way to stop drivers being distracted by female pedestrians, along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.

Faeeza Vaid, co-ordinator at the Muslim Women’s Network, said: ‘The debate surrounding the burka is a serious issue which shouldn’t be publicly joked about. Rather than joking about it, we should be having serious dialogue.’

Apparently, humourless, more-PC-than-thou ’singer’ Lily Allen also complained on her Twitter Page about the remark – which makes it all good with us. Full story at the Mail.

* “Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious.” - Ayatollah Khomeini, 1979

Pakistani Taliban Spokesman Says 3,000 Fighters Ready for Attacks in India, Notes: 'For Us, Whether They Are Hindus Or Jews, They All Are The Same'

From MEMRI:

The complimentary full text of this report is made available from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM).

For membership, visit http://www.subscriptions.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_jttm.htm.

You can also subscribe to a year of the JTTM Weekly Digest for $200.00. The Digest includes a selection of material from the JTTM. To subscribe to the JTTM Weekly Digest, visit https://secure3.convio.net/memri/site/Donation2?df_id=1253&1253.donation=form. (Sign up today - subscription price is set to increase in September)

In a recent interview, Azam Tariq, the spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban), has outlined the Taliban's plans for jihad against India, after taking over Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Taliban spokesman warned that more than 3,000 suicide bombers have been trained for battle in India, according to the exclusive interview published by the Indian website rediff.com. Without specifically mentioning Israel, Tariq indicated that the jihad's trajectory will move to the Middle East after a "decisive battle" in "Hindustan," i.e. India.

It does not appear that his threat is a cause of immediate worry for Indian authorities, but the statement will be taken seriously by Indian security agencies in view of the October Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and next year's multi-nation World Cup Cricket tournament in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Following are excerpts from the rediff.com report: [1]

"If Pakistan Changes Its Anti-Taliban Policies, the Mujahedeen Can Not Only Free Kashmir…"

"TTP spokesperson Azam Tariq… has vowed to capture 'Hindustan'…"

"[He stated:] 'India is our jageer (domain)… and we will attack to take possession of it. We are training lots of fighters and suicide bombers who will be used for this purpose…'

"We are preparing fighters to attack India. Sooner or later, when there is no tussle between the Pakistani forces and us, or after we defeat the Pakistani forces, the mujahideen will move toward Hindustan…

"There are around 3,000 trained suicide bombers with the TTP. Others are undergoing training. We are not preparing them for Pakistan, but for our real target – the occupation of India…"

"We don't have any connection with those attackers or their backers [i.e. those involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks], but we appreciate their struggle and sacrifices…"

The rediff.com report noted that "the Taliban would fight a 'decisive battle' in India before proceeding toward the Middle East, presumably to evict Israel from that region."

The Taliban spokesman added: "For us, whether they are Hindus or Jews, they all are the same. Soon, we will teach India a lesson. India's defeat at the hands of the mujahideen is written in our religious books…

"We are not against Pakistan, but we don't like its pro-American policies; we will target their security forces, the secular leaders and other sensitive installations until the government does not change its anti-Islamic policies…

"What has Pakistan gained from American friendship? Despite Pakistan's role as a frontline ally in the war against terror, India is closer to the U.S.

"The Americans are not interested in solving the Kashmir issue and have shown their inclination toward India in this regard. Pakistani rulers should remember that only the mujahideen would come to their rescue in case of Indian aggression against their country…

"If Pakistan changes its anti-Taliban policies, the mujahedeen can not only free Kashmir from India, but can also capture India itself…"

Endnote:

[1] www.rediff.com, India, July 26, 2010. The text of the report has been lightly edited and order of paragraphs changed for clarity.

Rape Victim Murdered By Uncle To Preserve Family Honor

From Business Today:

A Jordanian man confessed to killing his 16-year-old niece to save his family’s “honour” after she was sexually assaulted, a judicial official said today.

The 43-year-old fired 30 machine-gun rounds in the direction of the girl yesterday, killing her instantly, at Deir Alla, west of the capital Amman, said the official who requested anonymity.

The man confessed to the murder, saying he did it to “cleanse the family honour” over suspicions of “bad behaviour” after the girl “lost her virginity a month ago in a sexual assault by a young man aged 17,” said the same source.

The girl’s family later married her off to a cousin “to conceal the facts,” the official added, stressing that the suspect in the sexual assault was being tried.

Prosecutors have charged the uncle with “premeditated murder.” Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but in so-called “honour killings” courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim’s family asks for leniency.

Between 15 and 20 women are murdered in honour killings each year in the kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.

Muslim Cleric Accuses Pakistani Christian Minister Of Committing Blasphemy

This is an update on this story.

From Christian Today:

Allama Ahmed Mian Hammadi, a Pakistani Muslim cleric, has claimed that Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Minorities has himself committed blasphemy by branding the recently murdered Christian brothers as victims of Pakistan blasphemy laws.

Bhatti had spoken out about the murder last week of Rashid Emmanuel [pictured], 30, and his brother Sajid, 27, by unidentified masked gunmen inside a courthouse in Faisalabad. The brothers had been accused of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad earlier this month, a charge they had both denied.

According to Mr Hammadi's statement, published in Daily Jasarat, a Pakistani Urdu daily newspaper, the Muslim cleric said that Muslims cannot tolerate blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.

"It is not a cruelty to kill blasphemers, rather blasphemy itself is such an enormous brutality that the one who commits it neither has got a right to live in this world nor is there any pardon for the blasphemer," Daily Jasarat quoted Mr Hammadi as saying.

"Muslims won't tolerate even a slightest blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. If Shahbaz Bhatti committed blasphemy he would be beheaded."

He maintained: "A Muslim loves [the] Prophet Muhammad more than anyone else."
The newspaper quoted Mr Hammadi as saying that the incident of killing of the Christian brothers due to non implementation of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

According to the newspaper, the Muslim cleric criticized Mr. Bhatti for stating that the law had been abused vis-à-vis the case of the Christian brothers.

"No law has been implemented in this case. Court implements the law not people," Daily Jasarat quoted Mr. Hammadi as saying. "Christian brothers were killed after Muslims became angry."

Mr Hammadi, according to Jasarat, also demanded the arrest of Christian rioters who he said threw stones at the houses of Muslims after the murder of the Christian brothers.

Saudi Technology Guards Against Women Escaping

From the Jerusalem Post:

Air flight will trigger SMS to 'guardian.'

When women’s rights activist Wajiha Al-Huwaidar flew out of Saudi Arabia last week for a holiday in Italy with her family, she was hoping for a brief respite from what she describes as the ‘gender apartheid kingdom.’

She wasn’t so lucky.

As she left, her husband received an automated SMS text message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informing him that his wife, legally considered his ‘dependant’ under Saudi Arabia’s strict gendered guardianship system, had left the country.

Al-Huwaidar’s husband received the same text, she learned last week, when she had left Saudi Arabia on another recent trip to Germany.

“It is sad how Saudis use technology in a way not intended to be used for,” she told The Media Line. “In Saudi Arabia, technology brings more restrictions and misery! They use it to have more control over people’s lives, especially women.”

“I am an adult woman that has been earning my own income for over a decade now but according to the Saudi government, I am a dependent until the day I die because of my gender,” Al-Huwaidar said. “I'm not sure how it works, but lately we get to be informed through our mobile phones about our bank accounts, sale ads, jobs, donation campaigns and others. I'm sure it's a new service that the government is using for different purposes. They don’t state which country the dependent left for, but simply state that they did leave.”

Saudi authorities did not respond to requests to comment on this article, and whether the text messages received by Al-Huwaidar’s husband indicate a new system of monitoring or a case-specific effort to track Al-Huwaidar’s movements.

“I’m a member of the Saudi women’s rights group and my husband did not tell me he received a message which means he probably didn’t,” Reem Asaad, a Saudi economics lecturer and women’s rights activist told The Media Line. “It’s possible that Wajiha [Al-Huwaidar] has been spotlighted by the authorities.”

Saudi Arabia’s strict patriarchal guardianship system requires all women to be represented by men -- either their husband, father or son -- in all public and official spheres of life. Women are not allowed to drive, inherit, divorce or gain custody of children; and cannot enter most public spaces without a male guardian.

“My husband had to fill out a form at the passport control authority to allow me and my children to travel outside the country whenever I like,” Asaad explained. “He has to renew that with each passport every five years. Most women travel this way.”

Nadya Khalife, the Middle East Women's Rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the guardianship system presents an enormous barrier to Saudi women’s freedom of movement.

“Guardianship is a really complicated system and has a great effect not only on women’s travel within Saudi Arabia but also to the outside world, prohibiting women’s freedom of movement in a very critical way,” she told The Media Line. “A woman cannot leave the country without the permission of her guardian, who might be her youngest son. The text messages just adds another level of controlling women’s movements. I guess they’re getting more technologically advanced.”

The Saudi government has gone to great efforts recently to improve the image of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the country’s religious police who are tasked with enforcing the guardianship system.

Earlier this year the commission’s national director was fired and the new director, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Humain, announced a series of training programs and a special unit to handle complaints against the religious police.

“The government has promised to change the system and said that women over 40 can travel a bit without a guardian,” Khalife said. “But from what we’ve seen and the complaints we’ve received from women in Saudi, the system is still very much in place. Women still need their guardian’s permission to travel, to study, to work, and even to go to a court to complain about domestic violence. So there’s a bit of a disconnect between the promises that have been made and the reality on the ground.”

Dr. Edit Schlaffer, founder of the advocacy group Women Without Borders, said the Saudi guardianship system is in violation of international law.

“The guardian system is one of these things that is not justified by the Qu’ran,” she told The Media Line. “No other Muslim country has a system like this. It’s a unique Saudi interpretation of Islam and according to the freedom of movement provisions under the Human Rights Act the guardianship system is totally unacceptable to the international community. But unfortunately, women’s rights are not at the forefront of international humans rights issues.”

Dr. Schlaffer, who recently concluded an extensive study on gender in Saudi Arabia, argued that while there is a growing Saudi movement opposed to the guardianship system, outside pressure will not help.

“There is a growing movement within Saudi Arabia which is supported by women and forward-looking men who oppose the guardianship system,” she said. “But Saudi Arabia is outside the international time zone so change is extremely slow.”

“At the same time I feel that interferance from outside is helpful,” she continued. “It creates new blockages. The way forward is to help civil society within Saudi to provide a space for change.”

Muslim Extremist To Lead Police Liaison Unit Once Again

From Un:Dhimmi:

Azad Ali: The British Police seem to think that the man who thinks killing coalition troops in Iraq is OK, should be their chief liaison link with UK Muslims
The Dhimmification of the British Police Service is at an advanced stage:

An Islamic extremist who has described al-Qaeda as a “myth” and justified the killing of British troops in Iraq has been chosen as the main link between the Metropolitan Police and the Muslim community.

Scotland Yard will now face pressure to renounce Azad Ali, the new chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, which is recognised by the Met under a formal written agreement as “the principal body in relation to Muslim community safety and security”.

The deal says that the Met will “use the MSF as a consultation body to help formulate policy or practice”. Mr Ali was the founding chair of the MSF in 2006, but left that job in 2008 and resigned entirely from the group last year after publicity over his extremist comments. Last week, he was quietly reappointed as its chairman.

Mr Ali is a senior official of the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), which works, in its own words, to create an Islamic state under sharia law in Europe. The IFE and the MSF share the same offices.
He has previously praised a key mentor of Osama bin Laden. Earlier this year, he was filmed by an undercover reporter from Channel 4’s Dispatches stating: “Democracy, if it means not implementing the sharia, of course nobody agrees with that.”

When the documentary was aired, Mr Ali attacked the reporter on the IFE’s official radio station, saying: “We’ve got a picture of you and a lot more than you thought we had. We’ve tracked you down to different places. And if people are gonna turn what I’ve just said into a threat, that’s their fault, innit?”

Mr Ali’s comments about terrorism were made on his official blog on the IFE website. Earlier this year, he lost a libel action against a newspaper which reported them. The judge, Mr Justice Eady, said that Mr Ali “was indeed taking the position that the killing of American and British troops in Iraq would be justified”, describing his claim as “bound to fail” and having an “absence of reality”.

Patrick Mercer, a Conservative MP and counterterrorism expert, said: “It beats me why the police should want to take the advice of this man. They should have nothing to do with him. I know for a fact that there are just as knowledgeable members of the Muslim community who do not share his subversive views.”

Fool Me Once…

Once again the Metropolitan Police appears to be about to accept terror-supporting Azad Ali is its principal interlocutor for relations with the Muslim community.

Ali believes, among other things, that Britain should become a Sharia state and that the killing of coalition troops in Iraq is ‘acceptable’. He is also associated with the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE), which plots the Islamisation of Europe from its headquarters in the shady East London Mosque complex.

You can get some idea of the man we are writing about by watching the strongly-recommended Channel 4 ‘Dispatches’ video, ‘Britain’s Islamic Republic’, which you can find featured in of our earlier articles here.

Watch the video – then ask yourself whether you’re comfortable with the fact that this is the man our national police chief seems happy to trust relations with Britain’s Muslims to?

[Source: The Telegraph]

Shariah In New Jersey: Muslim Husband Rapes Wife, Judge Sees No Sexual Assault Because Islam Forbids Wives To Refuse Sex

From Jihad Watch:

Muhammad said: "If a husband calls his wife to his bed [i.e. to have sexual relation] and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning" (Bukhari 4.54.460).

He also said: "By him in Whose Hand lies my life, a woman can not carry out the right of her Lord, till she carries out the right of her husband. And if he asks her to surrender herself [to him for sexual intercourse] she should not refuse him even if she is on a camel's saddle" (Ibn Majah 1854).

And now a New Jersey judge sees no evidence that a Muslim committed sexual assault of his wife -- not because he didn't do it, but because he was acting on his Islamic beliefs: "This court does not feel that, under the circumstances, that this defendant had a criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault or to sexually contact the plaintiff when he did. The court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited."

Luckily, the appellate court overturned this decision, and a Sharia ruling by an American court has not been allowed to stand. This time.

"Cultural Defense Accepted as to Nonconsensual Sex in New Jersey Trial Court, Rejected on Appeal," by Eugene Volokh in The Volokh Conspiracy, July 23 (thanks to CameoRed):

From today's opinion in S.D. v. M.J.R. (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div.), a domestic restraining order case:

The record reflects that plaintiff, S.D., and defendant, M.J.R., are citizens of Morocco and adherents to the Muslim faith. They were wed in Morocco in an arranged marriage on July 31, 2008, when plaintiff was seventeen years old. [FN1] The parties did not know each other prior to the marriage. On August 29, 2008, they came to New Jersey as the result of defendant's employment in this country as an accountant....

[Long discussion of the wife's allegations of abuse, which included several instances of nonconsensual sex as well as other abuse, omitted for space reasons. -EV]

Upon their return to the apartment, defendant forced plaintiff to have sex with him while she cried. Plaintiff testified that defendant always told her

this is according to our religion. You are my wife, I c[an] do anything to you. The woman, she should submit and do anything I ask her to do.

After having sex, defendant took plaintiff to a travel agency to buy a ticket for her return to Morocco. However the ticket was not purchased, and the couple returned to the apartment. Once there, defendant threatened divorce, but nonetheless again engaged in nonconsensual sex while plaintiff cried. Later that day, defendant and his mother took plaintiff to the home of the Imam and, in the presence of the Imam, his wife, and defendant's mother, defendant verbally divorced plaintiff....[...]

While recognizing that defendant had engaged in sexual relations with plaintiff against her expressed wishes in November 2008 and on the night of January 15 to 16, 2009, the judge did not find sexual assault or criminal sexual conduct to have been proven. He stated:

This court does not feel that, under the circumstances, that this defendant had a criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault or to sexually contact the plaintiff when he did. The court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited.

After acknowledging that this was a case in which religious custom clashed with the law, and that under the law, plaintiff had a right to refuse defendant's advances, the judge found that defendant did not act with a criminal intent when he repeatedly insisted upon intercourse, despite plaintiff's contrary wishes.

Having found acts of domestic violence consisting of assault and harassment to have occurred, the judge turned to the issue of whether a final restraining order should be entered. He found such an order unnecessary, vacated the temporary restraints previously entered in the matter and dismissed plaintiff's domestic violence action....

The appellate court reversed this absurd decision, saying:

As the judge recognized, the case thus presents a conflict between the criminal law and religious precepts. In resolving this conflict, the judge determined to except defendant from the operation of the State's statutes as the result of his religious beliefs. In doing so, the judge was mistaken.

A close call. But no doubt more of this is to come.

Human Events: Muslim Brotherhood Jockeys For Power In Egypt

The following is an editorial by Robert Spencer for Human Events:

The Islamic supremacist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood, which is dedicated—according to a captured internal document—to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within,” has its best chance in years to take power in Egypt, with implications for the Middle East and beyond.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has terminal stomach cancer, and is not expected to survive beyond another year. Mubarak has anointed his son Gamal as his successor; however, the Brotherhood, from which sprang both Hamas and al Qaeda, could attempt to seize power upon the elder Mubarak’s death, and is maneuvering now to ensure that once Hosni Mubarak is gone from the scene, the Muslim Brothers will be more powerful than ever.

The Brotherhood is banned in Egypt, but often runs candidates in Egyptian elections as independents. In this way it won one-fifth of the seats in the 2005 parliamentary elections. Since the days of President Gamel Abdel Nasser (1956-1970), the Egyptian government has looked the other way as the group terrorized Coptic Christians and enforced Islamic strictures upon the Egyptian populace, but cracked down when the Brotherhood showed signs of growing powerful enough actually to seize the reins of the Egyptian government.

Shortly before he was assassinated, Nasser’s successor Anwar Sadat released all the Brotherhood political prisoners who had been languishing in Egyptian prisons, and even promised the Brotherhood that Islamic law would be fully implemented in Egypt.

The Islamization of Egypt has been proceeding steadily for decades. The Brotherhood’s societal and cultural influence has long outstripped its direct political reach, and shows no sign of abating. Nonetheless, nearly 30 years after Sadat’s promise, the Brotherhood is still pressing for that full implementation of sharia law.

Gamal Mubarak said in July 2008, in a clear reference to the Brotherhood, that “confessional political parties” were “multiplying anti-Western references” and thereby “building barriers between the different cultures” and “destroying the bridges between the Eastern and Western worlds that the past generations had so much trouble building.”

But will he be able to out-maneuver the Brotherhood? The Brotherhood recently came out for the presidential candidacy of Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Brotherhood leaders may be banking on being able to exploit the popular discontent with the Mubarak regime that is unwilling to take up the cause of the Brotherhood itself, and to holding real power in a weak ElBaradei presidency. ElBaradei is widely regarded as ineffectual.

But the Brotherhood is not necessarily hoping for an ElBaradei presidency at all. Hossam Tamam, a political analyst and former editor at the Islamic supremacist website IslamOnline, has suggested that the Brotherhood is using its support for ElBaradei to win concessions from the Mubarak regime: “The Muslim Brotherhood wants to use ElBaradei as a card in its negotiations with the regime ahead of the upcoming elections. By supporting ElBaradei, the Muslim Brotherhood can put pressure on the regime and force it to reach a compromise with them, eventually granting them a certain quota of parliamentary seats.”

If the Brotherhood succeeds in imposing a sharia regime in Egypt via a figurehead or weak ElBaradei presidency, the Camp David Accords, already much transgressed and ignored by Egyptian authorities, could be swept aside altogether. Egypt could follow Turkey’s path of a new belligerence toward Israel as it jockeys for power with the Saudis and the Turks among the major players of the Sunni Muslim world. If, on the other hand, it wins enough concessions from Gamal Mubarak and his ailing father to push forward its agenda with new energy, confidence, and power, an Egyptian sharia state inveterately hostile to the United States and Israel is not necessarily forestalled, but merely postponed.

Hosni Mubarak is the third Egyptian strongman in a row to keep a lid on the Brotherhood’s power. Whether his son will be able to do so as well remains to be seen—but if he doesn’t, the consequences of an Egyptian political scene dominated by the Brotherhood will almost certainly extend far beyond the borders of Egypt itself.

Much Of Gaza Flotilla ‘Aid’ Worthless Expired Medicines, Old Equipment

This is an update on this story.

From Un:Dhimmi:

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are overloaded with expired drugs and medicines, Palestinian officials said. The officials insisted on Thursday that the drugs and medicines, which were donated to the Gaza Strip by aid organisations all over the world over the last two years, had expired.

Only 30 percent of the medical aid, sent to Gaza after the last Israeli military offensive 19 months ago, were used at hospitals and medical aid centres, an official in the Hamas-ruled ministry of health said.

The official said that several countries as well as civil society organisations sent to the Gaza Strip huge amount of medical aid, which included drugs, medicines and equipment.

“Such random donations, mainly drugs had caused lots of problems,” he said. “22 percent of the medical aid sent to the Gaza Strip had its date expired, where different kinds of medical donations were not helpful for medical emergency and medical care.”

Officials in the ministry of health declined to reveal the names of the countries and organisations that sent expired drugs and medicines to the Gaza Strip over the past 19 months.

Israel has been imposing a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has a population of 1.5 million people, after Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the costal enclave by force in 2007. Gaza rights groups said that around 300 patients died over the past three years due to medical aid shortage.

Whilst it may be argued that some medicines retain efficacy after their expiry dates and that old equipment may, in some circumstances, be better than no equipment; the reality is that the generally low grade of the so-called ‘aid’ sent to Gaza by the flotilla movement reveals rather more than it would like us to know about the true priorities of the Islamo-Left alliance behind it.

The true objective of the flotillas was, and remains, the destabilisation, delegitimisation – and ultimate destruction – of the Jewish State.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to send upwards of 100 trucks per day of real aid into Gaza.

[Source: Hindustan Times]

Libya Amends Income Tax, Keeps “Jihad Tax”

From Money Jihad:

PricewaterhouseCoopers has released its biannual update on taxes in the Middle East (see Zawya’s article on July 20 about the report here).

Libya, which operates a nasty little Islamist zakat system alongside its income tax laws, features in PwC’s report for several changes related to flattening Libyan income tax rates and allowances.

One thing that has not changed, however, is Libya’s jihad tax (which PwC calls a “jehad tax” to misdirect you). What? A jihad tax? (Not to be confused with zakat or jizya taxes.) That’s right! Daffy Qaddafi has imposed a jihad tax since the 1970s for the purposes of “national defense.” Individuals pay a 3 percent jihad tax; corporations, 4 percent (see also here and here).

Like much of the money in the Islamic world, it’s not clear where these revenues wind up. The funds are thought to support attacks by Palestinian terror groups against Israel.

PwC’s report is supposed to help clarify tax rules for corporations doing business in the Middle East. But would you really enjoy conducting business in a country where, on top of every other silly banana republic tax you get smacked with, you have to pay an additional 4 percent to pay for Qaddafi’s jihad?

Indonesian Police Tears Down House Church

Dhimmis in the Islamic state "are forbidden to build new churches" ('Umdat al-Salik O11.5(7))

"Indonesian police tears down house church," from Asia News, July 23 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Police demolished a residential building in Bogor (West Java) that regularly hosted a house church. Police also detained, interrogated and released ten people, Compass Direct News (CDN) reported.
Last Monday, police raided a house used for worship by Narogong Pentecostal Church in the village of Limusnunggal, Cileungsi sub-district. The action was followed by clashes between agents and worshippers. The building was eventually torn down and ten people arrested.

"Local residents, including non-Christians, had accepted the presence of the church," said local Block Captain Junaedi Syamsudin, "but a group called the Forum of the Muslim Brotherhood of Limusnunggal has worked since 2008 to have the church eliminated."

"Three months ago members of the forum went to Cileungsi offices to object to the church's presence," Syamsudin added, "and the regent promised to demolish the house."

Bogor Police Chief Eddy Hidayat said that the house "lacked a use permit", but Pentecostal Church coordinator Hotlan P. Silaen retorted that police were not neutral in the dispute.

"The clash with citizens could have been avoided if the police had been neutral and not been goaded into a situation that caused bodily harm," Silaen said....

Survey Shows Polygamy Leads To Unhappy Family Situations

From the Canadian Press:

Malaysian children and first wives in polygamous families overwhelmingly oppose the practice because the men seem too stretched to devote enough time and money to them, according to the country's largest study on the effects of polygamy.

Though sanctioned by Islam, polygamy is a hot-button issue for Malaysia's Muslims, who make up nearly two-thirds of the country's 28 million people. Statements made by about 1,600 members of polygamous households to university researchers appear to bolster claims by women's rights activists, who have long said the practice undermines the well-being of wives and children.

"We do not oppose polygamy, but we believe that monogamy is preferable," Adibah Jodi, a representative of Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian women's advocacy group, said Thursday.

There are no official Malaysian statistics on the number of polygamous marriages, but activists estimate they account for about 5 per cent of all new marriages every year, including ones not legally registered.

Sisters in Islam worked with researchers from Malaysian universities to conduct face-to-face interviews with polygamous families between August 2008 and April 2010. Their data are only preliminary, and since the number of polygamous marriages is unknown, they do not represent a scientific sample.

At least 90 per cent of 523 children interviewed insisted they would not start polygamous households when they grew up, according to the survey. Nearly 70 per cent of 259 women whose husbands took a second wife would not recommend polygamy and said their husbands were now unable to meet their needs fairly.

Many wives felt betrayed when their husbands married another spouse — 65 per cent of those interviewed were not consulted first. They also reported feeling ashamed and isolated themselves from their friends.

Sisters in Islam said they supported the survey after receiving a growing number of complaints from women who said they had suffered in polygamous marriages.

But the practice also has supporters in Malaysia, where last year a club was started by about 1,000 people who insist the marriages deter adultery and improve the marriage prospects of single mothers and reformed prostitutes.

Islam allows a man to take up to four wives but also warns men not to neglect any of them. Sisters in Islam and other women's groups have grown outspoken in recent years, saying Islamic courts sometimes permit men to take a second wife too easily before determining if they can cope. Polygamy is illegal for non-Muslim minorities.

Although nearly 80 per cent of 214 husbands interviewed believed they could provide for their families, many of their first wives felt cash-strapped. The results were different for 228 second wives interviewed, as they were evenly split on whether to support polygamy.

The husband is "the family member who most successfully achieves his own desires," the survey said. "He can have access to more than one sexual partner every night, while his wives have to wait their turn."

Sisters in Islam has recommended setting stricter conditions for men who seek the approval of Islamic Shariah courts to become polygamous.

The group plans to submit the results of the survey, the largest on the issue, to the government and urge authorities to formulate better family policies for Muslims.

The researchers hope to release their complete analysis by year-end.

Pakistan: Woman Freed After Spending 14 Years In Prison Without Trial For “Blasphemy”

From Asia News:

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.”

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.
Expressing his “dismay” over her long and unjust confinement, the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Khawaja Mohammad Sharif, "ordered the release of Zaibul Nisa after no evidence was found against her," a court official said.

Nisa was arrested in the town of Rawat, near the capital Islamabad, after a local resident filed a complaint at a police station that someone had desecrated the Koran, defence lawyer Aftab Ahmad Bajwa said.

Nisa's name was not even mentioned in the police complaint, Bajwa explained, and “Nobody, not even her relatives, pursued the case. She was sent to jail and then forgotten by everyone”.

Police arrested her on the basis of the infamous blasphemy law, namely article 295, sections B and C, of the Pakistan Penal Code, which respectively impose life in prison on anyone defiling the Qur‘an and the death penalty on anyone defaming Prophet Mohammed.

However, very often blasphemy charges are falsely laid or motivated by sordid reasons, generating scandals and stirring angry people to seek mob justice.

For example, two Christian brothers (one a Protestant clergyman) accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet critical of the Prophet Mohammed were shot dead last Monday outside a court that was going to acquit them.

More Muslim Riots In France

The following is a commentary news item by Ryan Mauro for Pajamas Media:

Muslim youths have taken to the streets of France once again, rioting against perceived abuses at the hands of police in their "special urban zones" that separate them from the rest of society.

You probably didn’t hear about it, but Muslim youths rioted in Grenoble, France, on July 16, sparking some of the worst instability the country has faced since the 2005 riots. Now, like then, most of the media declined to mention the religious or ethnic background of the rioters, instead painting them as unruly youngsters and covering the eyes of the public to the slow dissolution of France as we know it.

The violence began soon after a Muslim robbed a casino and opened fire as he tried to flee the police, who then shot and killed him. This apparently raised the ire of major elements of the mostly Muslim urban communities who live in poor neighborhoods unassimilated into the greater society. The shooting was seen as an attack on Muslims, rather than an act of justice. Shortly following a speech by an Islamic cleric at a ceremony for the robber, the match was struck. As of now, there are no media reports revealing what the cleric said, if anything, to stoke the flame.

Over fifty cars were set ablaze. Stores were also burned and a tramway stoned. Gang members carrying baseball bats took over buses. When the police arrested one rioter, things got worse. Law enforcement officers were fired upon and targeted with stones and Molotov cocktails. It wasn’t for four days that a level of calm returned.

This is France today. Police must fear that any use of force against a criminal with a Muslim background could be interpreted as an act of brutality and racism that must be responded to with violence.

The country was first forced to recognize the problem in 2005 when riots broke out in 300 towns for three weeks following the deaths of two Muslim teenagers who were electrocuted when they hid in a power station believing they were being chased by police. Fires were set to over 300 buildings and over 9,000 cars. A state of emergency was declared and nearly 3,000 rioters were arrested and 126 police officers were injured. Schools, gyms, stores, churches, and police stations were attacked as the rioters clashed with police. Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal would later boast that he convinced Rupert Murdoch to order Fox News to stop describing the rioters as Muslims.

It didn’t take long for the disgruntled Muslim urbanites to go for a second round. In May 2006, about 100 youths with baseball bats fought with police on the same battlefields from the previous year. The mayor had to flee his home when it was stoned, homemade explosives were tossed at the town hall building, trash cans were in flames, and four cars were blown up. It is not clear what exactly sparked the violence, but two arrests for separate incidents did precede the upheaval.

Then in November 2007, a police officer arrived at a traffic accident involving a police vehicle and motorcycle that killed two teenagers. The officer’s car was set on fire before he could escape. He ended up in the hospital with several broken ribs and a punctured lung from being beaten with baseball bats and iron bars. Clashes with police continued for two days as gang members, armed with shotguns, fired at police as they committed acts of looting and arson. About 130 police officers were injured, 70 cars were burned, and various buildings were attacked including a library and two schools. One police officer described the scene as an “open rebellion” by “urban guerillas.”

These hubs of impoverished, mostly Muslim immigrant communities exist because the French government has designated them as “sensitive urban zones.” These are areas where the police do not have control, effectively making them “no-go zones,” as Dr. Daniel Pipes describes them. Almost five million people live in these areas which are left to themselves, allowing gangs and hostility to authority to breed.

In his book Disinformation, Richard Miniter makes the case that a lack of assimilation is a key factor in breeding terrorism. A survey of terrorists by former CIA case officer Marc Sageman found that “80 percent were, in some way, totally excluded from the society they lived in.” The rioters may be more motivated by a belief that they are being persecuted on the basis of their religion or ethnicity and a desire to self-govern than by radical Islam, but the lack of assimilation will also breed extremism. In the United Kingdom, pro-terrorist gangs are forming in such areas and that is a trend that will come to France if it has not already.

Al-Qaeda and other forces hostile to the French government and police can be counted on to try to paint France’s ban on the wearing of the burqa and niqab as an act of oppression, even if few actually wore them. If the past is any indication, this line will be bought by those who have violently reacted to any potential police action with a knee-jerk belief that it is ill-intentioned and abusive.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, based in Algeria, threatened to retaliate when the ban was first being discussed. A Muslim group called “Sheikh Yassin,” in honor of the Hamas founder killed by the Israelis, rioted at a debate about the ban in May. Islamist forces are undoubtedly looking at violent opposition to governing authorities in the “sensitive urban zones” as an opportunity.

The riots are the result of a French government too afraid to exercise control over its own territory. The question now is how long it will take for Islamism to transform these areas into Sharia enclaves.

Netherlands: Paintings Featuring Pigs Removed From Hospitals To Avoid Offending Muslims

From Jihad Watch:

Pre-emptive dhimmitude! "Paintings with Pigs Removed from Hospitals," from NISNews, July 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):

LEERDAM, 23/07/10 - Three paintings depicting pigs have been pre-emptively removed from a hospital in Leerdam because they might offend Muslims.

One patient, not actually himself a Muslim, made a complaint about the paintings because he wanted to avoid Muslims having confrontations with the pigs. The leadership of the healthcare institution, the Linge Polyclinic, thereupon decided to remove the paintings immediately, Algemeen Dagblad newspaper reports....

The Linge Polyclinic has stated that the pictures were removed because "all visitors must feel comfortable in the institution".

Muslims In UK Complain About Soap Opera (Again)

Muslims have also complained that the Muslim character in the soap opera is gay and have complained about a Ramadan scene in which he breaks his fast. Lots of complaints- and this is just a telenovela.

From The Guardian:

Gay character of Syed Masood dropped religious text in frustration during episode screened earlier this week

The BBC today defended an episode of EastEnders following complaints from viewers who said they were upset by a scene in which a Muslim character slammed down a copy of the Qur'an. The gay character of Syed Masood, played by Marc Elliott had been struggling with his love for Christian Clarke (John Partridge) in the face of disapproval from his devout family. He dropped the religious text in frustration during the episode, screened earlier this week, The BBC said yesterday that it had not intended to cause offence, but merely to demonstrate Syed's "utter confusion".

Muslim Clerics Claim Soccer Shirt ‘Glorifies The Devil’

From Who Ate All The Pies:

Conservative clerics in Malaysia have warned that Muslim Manchester United fans must not wear club merchandise as the crest ‘glorifies the devil’ and ‘promotes devil worship’.

Nooh Gadot, an Islamic scholar from Johor state, has condemned supporters who choose to, saying;

“This is very dangerous. As a Muslim, we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils. Even if it is a gift, we should decline it. It is even more sinful when people realise this is wrong and still buy these jerseys to wear.”

Noor also insisted that Muslims wearing a Manchester United shirts ‘should repent immediately’ and his views were echoed by another leading Malaysian cleric, Harussani Zakaria, from the northern state of Perak – who agreed that the brazen depiction of devils should be condemned;

“Yes, of course in Islam we don’t allow people to wear this sort of thing, devils are our enemies, why would you put their picture on you and wear it? You are only promoting the devil.”

The frankly ridiculous religious zealots (if you’ll excuse my western infidelity – so to speak) have also declared Brazil, Norway, Portugal, Serbia and Barcelona shirts to be ‘un-Islamic’ as they all carry the images of the cross.

Six Afghan Police Officers Beheaded By Taliban Terrorists

From The Telegraph:

Six Afghan policemen were beheaded when Taliban militants overran their checkpoint during an assault on government buildings.

The police were killed during an attack in the previously calm northern province of Baghlan where Taliban influence has grown significantly in the past two years.

The Nato-led coalition said the officers died as police fought off an attack on a school, clinic and the district governor's building in Dahanah-ye Ghori, killing several insurgents.

Decapitation is a favoured Taliban punishment for those who work with the government, or are accused of spying for Kabul.

Col Rafael Torres, a spokesman for the Nato-led coalition, said: "This incident once again demonstrates the brutal, barbaric and senseless acts committed by the Taliban." Some districts of Baghlan and neighbouring Kunduz have become inaccessible for government workers and foreigners as insurgents have grown in strength.

The encroachment of the Taliban in Baghlan triggered clashes with fighters from the allied Hizb-i-Islami insurgent faction in the province in March this year.

Meanwhile the Afghanistan government said a shoot-out at an army boot camp where a soldier killed two Americans appeared to have been triggered by an argument.

There were no initial reports the killer was a militant sympathiser, though an investigation was continuing.

An Afghan solider training recruits at Camp Shaheen near Mazar-i-Sharif opened fire killing two American civilian trainers during a firing-range exercise. The killer was shot dead and another Afghan soldier died in the crossfire.

The ministry of defence said: "It's said that after a verbal argument between an army soldier and his two US trainers, the soldier opened fire." Almost 6,000 Afghan soldiers graduate from basic training each month as Nato pursues ambitious targets to grow the army so it can take over front-line duties from foreign troops by 2014.

Army training was temporarily suspended nationwide after the attack, but resumed on Wednesday.

Pakistan Christians Mourn Brothers Murdered For Blasphemy, Police Use Teargas On Christians

From the R.E.A.L. Organization:

Pakistani Christians are mourning the death of two brothers, Christian pastor Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajjad, who were shot to death on court house ground on July 19, 2010 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The two brothers had left a court hearing on on charges of “blasphemy,” when they were gunned down and their police escort wounded by what COMPASS Direct News reports as “five armed, masked men.” The Pakistan Christian Post reports that on July 20, “the two brothers were buried in the Jamra Road grave yard after their last rites were completed in a catholic Church.”

The Pakistan Christian Post reported that the Pakistan police had concluded that there was no evidence of blasphemy” against the two Christian men, and that the handwriting on the “blasphemous” leaflets that they were charged with did not match the handwriting of the suspects. Dawn reported that the alleged “blasphemous” leaflets “unbelievably, also contained phone numbers” of the brothers. The Pakistan Christian Post reported that “investigation officer Mohammad Hussian produced Rashid Emmanuel and Sajjid Emmanuel before Judge in District Courts where he testified that police have investigated allegations leveled against them but found no proof that they may be charged under blasphemy.” BBC reported that “Atif Jameel, spokesman for the Pakistan Minorities Democratic Foundation, told the BBC: ‘No-one in his right mind would issue a derogatory pamphlet against the Prophet and put his name and address on it. This appears to be a conspiracy against peace and religious harmony in Faisalabad.’” Asia IT News reports the two men had continued to assert their innocence. Dawn reported that “Khurram, believed to be an activist of the little known Tehrik-i-Hurmat-i-Rasool, got the two brothers arrested.”

Turkey: Hizb ut-Tahrir Member Charged In “Honor Killing” Of Sister

From R.E.A.L. Organization:

Turkish news media is reporting on an “honor killing” of a 17 year old girl, Seyma G., by her brother “Y.G.” The brother accused with the murder was a member of the anti-democracy group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The murdered girl, Seyma G. had reportedly been staying in a shelter for women, fleeing family abuse.

The international group Hizb ut-Tahrir is against democracy and freedom, seeks the creation of a global Islamic caliphate, and calls for the “death penalty” for “traitors” who leave Islam. The Hizb ut-Tahrir America organization had a conference scheduled for July 11, 2010 in a Chicago area suburb, that was canceled by Marriott Hotels. See additional reports by Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) on Hizb ut-Tahrir at http://bit.ly/htwatch.

Turkish media Today’s Zaman reports: “Girl’s murder by brother was ‘honor killing” ’states that “The police statement also noted that Y.G. was a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation), an outlawed fundamentalist organization. Y.G., who was detained during the Diyarbakir police investigation, was questioned and then jailed on July 16.”

Hurriyet Daily News reports that: “A 17-year-old woman found dead one month ago was allegedly murdered by her 15-year-old brother in an ‘honor killing’ after she left the women’s shelter where she was staying, daily Radikal reported Wednesday.”… “The body of Seyma G. was found half buried in the ground in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, while subsequent tests revealed that she had been strangled to death. Her brother Y.G. was caught by police and then arrested July 16.” “The victim had reportedly been staying in a women’s shelter after being subjected to violence at home. Family members allegedly found her after they learned she had left the shelter.” “Her brother, who is accused in the murder, had previously been detained for being a member of the illegal Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir.”

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) rejects violence and threats of violence, including those who rationalize “honor killings” and related threats with claims that such violence is justified by one’s culture or religion. R.E.A.L. rejects such rationalizations for hate and violence. R.E.A.L. supports our universal human rights for women and for all human beings.

African Jihad Spreading: Al-Shabaab In Deadly Kenyan Border Attack

From Un:Dhimmi:

Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda – and now Kenya – it seems that no African nation is off-limits for Islamic Jihad:

Kenyan security forces on the border with Somalia have clashed with suspected members of the al-Shabab group, officials and residents said.

Wilson Murungi, the commissioner of Lagdera, said al-Shabab fighters ambushed a Kenyan border patrol and wounded one officer [Updated - one officer injured and one dead - Ed].

“The attack was not a raid inside [Kenya]. Our officers were attacked as they conducted a normal patrol. The armed group fired at them on the other side of the border,” Murungi said.

Residents near the Liboi border post in Kenya, located 18km west of the Somali border, said there was a fierce exchange of fire between the two sides.

Both Kenya and al-Shabab were reported to be sending reinforcements to the area along the Kenyan border district of Lagdera on Tuesday. Such skirmishes have not previously escalated into any wider violence.

Al-Shabab, an armed opposition group with links to al-Qaeda, controls much of southern Somalia bordering northeastern Kenya and is fighting to topple the UN-backed government in the Horn of Africa nation.

Local fears

The armed group staged its first attack outside Somalia on July 11, when it carried out twin suicide bombings in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, leaving at least 74 people dead.

However, there have been fears for some time in Kenya that the violence could spill over the long and porous border between the two countries.

Yusuf Ali Mohamed, a resident in the Somali town of Dhobley, told the Reuters news agency: “Here in Dhobley, al-Shabab are calling people to jihad against Kenya and deploying more fighters to the border.

“Local people fear new fighting between the two sides.”

Kenya tightened security along its border with Somalia in February in anticipation of a government offensive against al-Shabab and other anti-government groups, which has yet to materialise. There were fears that Somali fighters might try and enter Kenya if attacked at home.

Kenya has twice been hit by al-Qaeda-linked attacks and while it cannot take part in the African Union peacekeeping in Somalia because it is a neighbour, the government has pledged to do what it can to prevent the chaos next door spreading.

This is no opportunistic attack, or ‘isolated incident’ (the mainstream media’s favourite ‘play-down’ line.

Al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are already active in Kenya – not only at the margins, but deep in the capital. Eastleigh, a suburb of Nairobi, is already well established as a hub of Somali Islamist activity, as we pointed out last summer.

By now, It should be becoming clear to even the most casual observer that Islamic supremacism is not confined to the Middle East. From Europe to Australasia, the US to South America, the Far East and China to the former Soviet ”Stans’; Islamists are striving to spread terror across the globe.

It’s just that most of the ‘globe’ is in denial about the fact.

[Source: Reuters/Al-Jazeera]