ஒரே குற்றத்துக்கு ஒரு பெண்ணுக்கு 202 சவுக்கடிகள், ஆணுக்கு 101 சவுக்கடிகள்.
வாழ்க இஸ்லாமிய சமத்துவம்!
Fatwa: Bangladeshi woman brutally whipped
IANS First Published : 29 Jun 2009 10:32:50 AM ISTLast Updated : 29 Jun 2009 01:11:01 PM IST
DHAKA: A widow was whipped 202 times and a man 101 times following a fatwa by a religious leader for their alleged involvement in "anti-social activity" in a village in southeastern Bangladesh, prompting local protests and action by the police.
Piara Begum, a widow of 40, and Mamun Miah, 25, were whipped before hundreds of people at Khaiyar in Comilla district Saturday night.
The woman fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors said she was critically injured and needed to be given intensive treatment.
Miah was whipped 101 times, The Daily Star newspaper said Monday.
Punishment under a fatwa is held illegal as per a high court ruling of 2001 in Bangladesh that has a predominant Sunni Muslim population.
The police arrested six people, including Moulana Mohammed Manirul Islam, a religious leader working in the local madrassa.
Piara Begum filed a case with the Debidwar police station under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
முஸ்லீம்கள் இந்து மதத்துக்கு மாறவேண்டும், இல்லையேல் முஸ்லிம் வரி கொடுக்கவேண்டும்
கொஞ்சம் தப்பாக தலைப்பு எழுதிவிட்டேன்.
பாகிஸ்தானில் உள்ள இந்துக்கள் முஸ்லீம்களாக வேண்டும் இல்லையேல் லட்சக்கணக்கில் காபிர் வரி கொடுக்கவேண்டுமாம்.
பிரான்ஸில் தலைப்பாகை கட்டிக்கொண்டு சீக்கியர்கள் போகமுடியவில்லை என்றால் பிரதமர் அங்குள்ள ஜனாதிபதியிடம் முறையிடுகிறார்.
இங்கே இருக்கும் பாகிஸ்தானிடம் மனிதர்களை மனிதர்களாக மதிக்க சொல்லத்தெரியவில்லை.
இந்தியாவில் இருக்கும் இந்துக்களுக்கே மனுசனுக்கு உள்ள மரியாதை இல்லை. பிறகு பாகிஸ்தானில் கேட்க முடியுமா?
ஆஸ்திரேலியாவில் கிறிஸ்துவனும் முஸ்லீமும் அடிக்கிறான். கேட்க நாதியில்லை.
இலங்கையில் பௌத்தன் அடிக்கிறான் கேட்க நாதியில்லை.
ஆனால் எல்லோரும் இந்துக்களுக்கு அறிவுரை சொல்ல கிளம்பிடுவார்கள்.
Battagram Hindus told to embrace Islam or pay tax
Monday, 29 Jun, 2009 | 09:45 AM PST |
The Taliban threatened that ‘if you or any other member of your community were kidnapped then we will not release the kidnapped person even after payment of Rs10 million as ransom’. — File Photo Provinces
Kurram Agency violence VIDEO FEATURE
Displaced & Distraught
MANSEHRA: Chief of the Hindu community in Battagram said on Sunday that the Taliban had threatened them to pay Jazia (tax) or accept Islam.
‘It depends on you to choose between Jazia and Islam otherwise you would face abduction and suicide attacks,’ Dr Oam Parkash quoted the Taliban as saying.
While talking to Dawn after receiving the threats on telephone, he said that so far he had received two calls during the last two days: first by a Taliban commander and then by a militant. ‘They demanded Rs6 million from me,’ the Hindu leader added.
The Taliban threatened that ‘if you or any other member of your community were kidnapped then we will not release the kidnapped person even after payment of Rs10 million as ransom’.
Dr Parkash said that he had made clear to both callers that the Hindus in the region were not in a position to pay such a huge amount. The Hindus had been living in Battagram for centuries. ‘My father and grandfather served the people of Battagram as hakeems and now I am also serving the people,’ he said.
In response to a question, Dr Parkash said that 15 Hindu families were living in Battagram but none of them had enmity with anyone in the district.
‘The government should take precautionary measures to protect the Hindu community as the Taliban have threatened even to target our place of worship in Battagram,’ he said.
He said that a delegation of the Hindu community had apprised the district police officer (DPO) Battagram who has beefed up security. The leader of the Hindu minority community thanked the local ulema (Muslim religious leaders) and common people of Battagram who had extended their full support to the Hindus.
Dr Parkash, a renowned homeopathic doctor, said that Pakistan was their motherland and they were as patriotic as anyone could be, saying that the Hindu community always respected the sentiments of their Muslim brothers and sisters.
Following the threat, security agencies have launched an inquiry to confirm the callers’ identity, sources said.
However, DPO Sohail Khalid told this correspondent that such calls and threatening letters, apparently by the Taliban, were also received by some NGOs and other people.
Monday, June 29, 2009
இஸ்லாமுக்கு எதிரானது என்று பெண்கள் பள்ளிக்கூடம் வெடிவைத்து தகர்ப்பு
இஸ்லாமிய ஷரியாவை நிறைவேற்றவேண்டும் என்று போராடும் முஸ்லீம்கள், இஸ்லாமுக்கு எதிரானது என்பதற்காக பெண்கள் பள்ளிக்கூடத்தை வெடிவைத்து தகர்த்தனர்.
கான் அப்துல் கபார் கான் என்ற எல்லைக்காந்தியின் ஊரான பெஷாவரில் இது நடந்துள்ளது. பக்தூனிஸ்தான் என்று அழைக்கப்படும் இந்த பாகிஸ்தான் மாநிலத்தில் கான் அப்துல் கபார் கானின் வழித்தோன்றல்கள் நடத்தும் கட்சியே பெரும்பான்மையான மக்கள் வாக்கு பெற்று ஆட்சியில் உள்ளது. இருந்தாலும், அந்த மக்களிடம் செல்வாக்கு இல்லாத முஸ்லீம்கள் கையில் வன்முறையையும் ஆயுதங்களையும் எடுத்து இஸ்லாமிய ஷரியாவை திணிக்க முடிவு செய்துள்ளனர்.
வன்முறையை கையில் எடுத்துள்ளதால் வெகுவிரைவிலேயே இந்தியாவின் கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளும் இடது சாரிகளும் இந்த தாலிபானை முற்போக்கு விடுதலை வீரர்கள் என்று போற்றுவார்கள்.
வன்முறை எடுக்காத ஆனால் மக்கள் ஆதரவு தெரிவிக்கும் அவாமி நெஷனல் பார்ட்டி (முன்பு இந்திய தேசிய காங்கிரஸாக இருந்தது பின்பு பாகிஸ்தான் பிரிந்ததும் அவாமி நேஷனல் பார்ட்டியாக ஆகிவிட்டது) யை திட்டுவார்கள். அப்போதுதான் அவர்கள் முற்போக்காக ஆவார்கள்!
Militants blow up girls' school
From correspondents in Peshawar, Pakistan
Agence France-Presse
June 26, 2009 05:18pm
Text size
MILITANTS bombed a girls' primary school on the outskirts of Pakistan's Peshawar city today, the latest in a series of such attacks blighting the northwest of the country, police said.
The school was badly damaged during the attack in Mattni village, local police official Abdul Ghafoor Afridi said.
Explosives were used to raze the building, although some of the structures were left standing, he added.
"Three rooms and the outer wall of the government-run community model girls primary school was totally destroyed while the staff room was damaged,'' the police official said.
There were no casualties as schools are closed for the summer in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province that borders Afghanistan.
Pakistan has used schools to shelter some of the roughly two million people displaced by a blistering military operation against armed Taliban hardliners since late April.
Fighters in the northwest district of Swat, where the military assault has concentrated, have destroyed scores of schools, mostly for girls, during a two-year campaign to enforce sharia law.
Militants have destroyed at least 191 schools in the valley, including 122 girls' schools, leaving 62,000 pupils without classrooms, local officials said.
There has been no co-education in Swat for several years and schools have created totally separate sections for boys and girls.
Yesterday, militants blew up a girls' school in South Waziristan, a tribal region that falls outside direct government control and where a full-scale army offensive is expected against Pakistan's Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud.
On Monday, rebels bombed a school in Peshawar and another in the Bajaur tribal region, where past military operations have been concentrated.
கான் அப்துல் கபார் கான் என்ற எல்லைக்காந்தியின் ஊரான பெஷாவரில் இது நடந்துள்ளது. பக்தூனிஸ்தான் என்று அழைக்கப்படும் இந்த பாகிஸ்தான் மாநிலத்தில் கான் அப்துல் கபார் கானின் வழித்தோன்றல்கள் நடத்தும் கட்சியே பெரும்பான்மையான மக்கள் வாக்கு பெற்று ஆட்சியில் உள்ளது. இருந்தாலும், அந்த மக்களிடம் செல்வாக்கு இல்லாத முஸ்லீம்கள் கையில் வன்முறையையும் ஆயுதங்களையும் எடுத்து இஸ்லாமிய ஷரியாவை திணிக்க முடிவு செய்துள்ளனர்.
வன்முறையை கையில் எடுத்துள்ளதால் வெகுவிரைவிலேயே இந்தியாவின் கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளும் இடது சாரிகளும் இந்த தாலிபானை முற்போக்கு விடுதலை வீரர்கள் என்று போற்றுவார்கள்.
வன்முறை எடுக்காத ஆனால் மக்கள் ஆதரவு தெரிவிக்கும் அவாமி நெஷனல் பார்ட்டி (முன்பு இந்திய தேசிய காங்கிரஸாக இருந்தது பின்பு பாகிஸ்தான் பிரிந்ததும் அவாமி நேஷனல் பார்ட்டியாக ஆகிவிட்டது) யை திட்டுவார்கள். அப்போதுதான் அவர்கள் முற்போக்காக ஆவார்கள்!
Militants blow up girls' school
From correspondents in Peshawar, Pakistan
Agence France-Presse
June 26, 2009 05:18pm
Text size
MILITANTS bombed a girls' primary school on the outskirts of Pakistan's Peshawar city today, the latest in a series of such attacks blighting the northwest of the country, police said.
The school was badly damaged during the attack in Mattni village, local police official Abdul Ghafoor Afridi said.
Explosives were used to raze the building, although some of the structures were left standing, he added.
"Three rooms and the outer wall of the government-run community model girls primary school was totally destroyed while the staff room was damaged,'' the police official said.
There were no casualties as schools are closed for the summer in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province that borders Afghanistan.
Pakistan has used schools to shelter some of the roughly two million people displaced by a blistering military operation against armed Taliban hardliners since late April.
Fighters in the northwest district of Swat, where the military assault has concentrated, have destroyed scores of schools, mostly for girls, during a two-year campaign to enforce sharia law.
Militants have destroyed at least 191 schools in the valley, including 122 girls' schools, leaving 62,000 pupils without classrooms, local officials said.
There has been no co-education in Swat for several years and schools have created totally separate sections for boys and girls.
Yesterday, militants blew up a girls' school in South Waziristan, a tribal region that falls outside direct government control and where a full-scale army offensive is expected against Pakistan's Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud.
On Monday, rebels bombed a school in Peshawar and another in the Bajaur tribal region, where past military operations have been concentrated.
மொட்டை என்று கேலி செய்ததற்காக 42 சிறுவர்களை கொண்ற கர்த்தாராகிய ஏசு
பாகிஸ்தானில் தழைத்து வளரும் இஸ்லாமிய அடிமைமுறை
ஒரு பதினாறு வயது சிறுமியை 62 வயது கிழவருக்கு விற்பனை செய்ததை குறித்து லாகூர் நீதிமன்றம் கவலை தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
62 வயதான கிழவர் ஒருவர் தன்னுடைய வீட்டில் திருட்டு போனதை பற்றி குற்றச்சாட்டை போலீஸில் கொடுத்திருக்கிறார்.
அப்போது எப்படி இவர் 16 வயது பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்திருக்கிறார் என்ற கேள்வியை நீதிபதி கேட்டிருக்கிறார். இவர் இந்த பெண்ணை விலைக்கு வாங்கியதை கோர்ட்டிலேயே கூறியிருக்கிறார்.
அந்த அளவுக்கு அடிமைமுறை பரவலாக ஆகியுள்ளது இஸ்லாமிய பாகிஸ்தானில்!
முன்பு பாகிஸ்தான் இந்து மயமாக இருந்தபோது அடிமைமுறையே இல்லாமல் இருந்தது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
LHC takes notice of sale of 16-year-old girl in Faisalabad
LAHORE: Justice Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon of the Lahore High Court (LHC), while taking notice of the reported sale of a 16-year-old girl Ume Kulsoom from Faisalabad to a 62-year-old man, has summoned the people involved and a police official in the first week of July. The ‘sale’ was brought to the court’s notice during the hearing of a petition by Kulsoom and her paternal uncle Aslam, seeking the quashing of a theft case. Haji Khalil Ahmad, the 62-year-old man, had lodged the theft case against Kulsoom and Aslam. The judge asked Khalil how he was married to a 16-year-old girl. Khalil disclosed that he had paid Rs 0.4 million to one of her maternal uncles, Waris. The judge wondered how the crime was brought to the notice of the police, but no action was taken. The judge was surprised that Khalil had confessed to buying the girl, but the police did not take any action. The judge, while ordering that the theft case be quashed, ordered the ‘buyer’, Waris and the investigating officer of the theft case to appear before the court. staff report
62 வயதான கிழவர் ஒருவர் தன்னுடைய வீட்டில் திருட்டு போனதை பற்றி குற்றச்சாட்டை போலீஸில் கொடுத்திருக்கிறார்.
அப்போது எப்படி இவர் 16 வயது பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்திருக்கிறார் என்ற கேள்வியை நீதிபதி கேட்டிருக்கிறார். இவர் இந்த பெண்ணை விலைக்கு வாங்கியதை கோர்ட்டிலேயே கூறியிருக்கிறார்.
அந்த அளவுக்கு அடிமைமுறை பரவலாக ஆகியுள்ளது இஸ்லாமிய பாகிஸ்தானில்!
முன்பு பாகிஸ்தான் இந்து மயமாக இருந்தபோது அடிமைமுறையே இல்லாமல் இருந்தது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
LHC takes notice of sale of 16-year-old girl in Faisalabad
LAHORE: Justice Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon of the Lahore High Court (LHC), while taking notice of the reported sale of a 16-year-old girl Ume Kulsoom from Faisalabad to a 62-year-old man, has summoned the people involved and a police official in the first week of July. The ‘sale’ was brought to the court’s notice during the hearing of a petition by Kulsoom and her paternal uncle Aslam, seeking the quashing of a theft case. Haji Khalil Ahmad, the 62-year-old man, had lodged the theft case against Kulsoom and Aslam. The judge asked Khalil how he was married to a 16-year-old girl. Khalil disclosed that he had paid Rs 0.4 million to one of her maternal uncles, Waris. The judge wondered how the crime was brought to the notice of the police, but no action was taken. The judge was surprised that Khalil had confessed to buying the girl, but the police did not take any action. The judge, while ordering that the theft case be quashed, ordered the ‘buyer’, Waris and the investigating officer of the theft case to appear before the court. staff report
இஸ்லாமுக்கு மதம் மாற மறுத்ததற்காக கிறிஸ்துவர் கற்பழித்து கொலை
இஸ்லாமுக்கு மதம் மாற மறுத்ததற்காக கிறிஸ்துவர் கற்பழித்து கொலை
பாகிஸ்தானில்
Christian Man Raped, Murdered for Refusing to Convert to Islam, Family Says
Saturday, June 13, 2009
By Nora Zimmett
Print ShareThisA young Christian man was raped and brutally murdered in Pakistan for refusing to convert to Islam, and police are doing nothing about it, the victim's brother and minister told FOXNews.com.
Pakistani police reportedly found the body of Tariq "Litto" Mashi Ghauri — a 28-year-old university student in Sargodha, Pakistan — lying dead in a canal outside a rural village in Punjab Province on May 15. He had been raped and stabbed at least five times.
"They have sexually abuse him, torture him with a knife on his testicle and genitals," Ghauri's brother, 24-year-old Salman Nabil Ghauri, said. "They have tortured him very badly, and after that they have stabbed five times with a knife and killed him."
The family believes Litto Ghauri was murdered by the brothers of his Muslim girlfriend, Shazi Cheema, after they found him in a compromising sexual position with their sister.
The Rev. Haroon Bhatti, a Christian clergyman in the village and a friend of the Ghauri family, said Cheema's three brothers came to Litto Ghauri's house on May 11 and gave him an ultimatum: Marry their sister and convert to Islam.
Ghauri agreed to the marriage but refused to accept Islam, and the brothers kidnapped him at gunpoint and drove him to a remote farmhouse, where they tortured and murdered him, the minister said.
"On that farmhouse — four days there — we all, Christians and family, were searching for him," the Rev. Bhatti said. "I was with him. I was searching for him."
After police discovered the body, Ghauri's death was declared a homicide and the family filed paperwork with the Atta Shaheed police station in their small village, Adda 44SB. But Ghauri's brother said police still have not arrested the alleged killers and have refused to meet with his family.
"They don't want to meet us, and the three of them who are murderers are outside," Salman Nabil Ghauri told FOXNews.com. "They are free. Nothing is happening to them. No investigation is running."
The Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., told FOXNews.com that they knew nothing of the incident but were looking into it.
But one embassy official questioned the truth of the report.
"On the face of it, this appears to be exaggerated," said the Pakistani official who asked not to be named. "This does not happen over there."
The official said that minorities are very well represented in the Pakistani Parliament, and if someone in fact were murdered for not converting to Islam, "it would have been reported hugely."
The embassy official added, "if an incident of that nature happened over there, there would have to be an investigation."
Yet human rights watchdog groups say that what happened to Litto Ghauri is not uncommon because Christians in Pakistan are looked upon as the dregs of society. Pakistan's population is 97 percent Muslim, and Christians are only a very small part of the remaining 3 percent.
"What the Muslim society has done in Pakistan is just associate low caste with being Christian," said Jeremy Sewall, Advocacy Director of the International Christian Concern, which first reported the killing. "Many of these people, they clean human waste and that's their job, and that's what Christians are known for in Pakistan."
The Rev. Bhatti says that radical Muslims frequently try to trap Christian men into converting to Islam by using a woman as bait — and Ghauri suspects the involvement of his dead brother's girlfriend in trying to entrap him.
"It's common to offer things — money, women — to Christians to convert," Bhatti said.
Pakistan is one of the most hostile countries in the world for minority religions. The country still has blasphemy laws on the books that forbid saying or writing anything against Islam or the Koran. Punishment can include death.
"You basically have a situation where people can kind of act with impunity in the public," said Paula Schriefer, advocacy director at Freedom House, a human rights group. "They use these laws to sort of settle scores ... or, in situations like this, actually engage in kind of forced conversions."
The U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Report on Pakistan says, "Government policies do not afford equal protection to members of majority and minority religious groups."
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is supposed to protect religious freedom, has a verse from the Koran on its masthead, the report said: "Islam is the only religion acceptable to God."
While the U.S. government has provided millions of dollars in public outreach programs to help teach religious tolerance in Pakistan, human rights watchers say it's not sufficient.
"There's probably not enough that the U.S. government is doing to really talk about this issue because it's such an important issue in Pakistan because faith is so important to them," said Sewall.
The small Christian community is hoping that Ghauri's death will bring attention to the plight of minority religious groups in Pakistan.
"Several incidents of Christian persecution go unnoticed in Pakistan because they occur in the furthest parts of Pakistan," the Rev. Bhatti said. "This is Pakistan — predominantly Muslim. So they're the rulers. They rule us."
For Christian families like the Ghauris, living in a remote village in Pakistan, options are few. Because of their poverty they can neither leave nor help secure their own safety.
"We have very little family," said Salman Nabil Ghauri, whose mother died years ago and whose father worked as a day laborer until the killing. "My father was a daily worker. Now he is earning nothing. He is fully mad now. He cannot understand anything — he is still in the shock of death.
"My elder son is dead, and I am only one person. Where can I run? I cannot start my studies or run after my case. What should I do?"
பாகிஸ்தானில்
Christian Man Raped, Murdered for Refusing to Convert to Islam, Family Says
Saturday, June 13, 2009
By Nora Zimmett
Print ShareThisA young Christian man was raped and brutally murdered in Pakistan for refusing to convert to Islam, and police are doing nothing about it, the victim's brother and minister told FOXNews.com.
Pakistani police reportedly found the body of Tariq "Litto" Mashi Ghauri — a 28-year-old university student in Sargodha, Pakistan — lying dead in a canal outside a rural village in Punjab Province on May 15. He had been raped and stabbed at least five times.
"They have sexually abuse him, torture him with a knife on his testicle and genitals," Ghauri's brother, 24-year-old Salman Nabil Ghauri, said. "They have tortured him very badly, and after that they have stabbed five times with a knife and killed him."
The family believes Litto Ghauri was murdered by the brothers of his Muslim girlfriend, Shazi Cheema, after they found him in a compromising sexual position with their sister.
The Rev. Haroon Bhatti, a Christian clergyman in the village and a friend of the Ghauri family, said Cheema's three brothers came to Litto Ghauri's house on May 11 and gave him an ultimatum: Marry their sister and convert to Islam.
Ghauri agreed to the marriage but refused to accept Islam, and the brothers kidnapped him at gunpoint and drove him to a remote farmhouse, where they tortured and murdered him, the minister said.
"On that farmhouse — four days there — we all, Christians and family, were searching for him," the Rev. Bhatti said. "I was with him. I was searching for him."
After police discovered the body, Ghauri's death was declared a homicide and the family filed paperwork with the Atta Shaheed police station in their small village, Adda 44SB. But Ghauri's brother said police still have not arrested the alleged killers and have refused to meet with his family.
"They don't want to meet us, and the three of them who are murderers are outside," Salman Nabil Ghauri told FOXNews.com. "They are free. Nothing is happening to them. No investigation is running."
The Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., told FOXNews.com that they knew nothing of the incident but were looking into it.
But one embassy official questioned the truth of the report.
"On the face of it, this appears to be exaggerated," said the Pakistani official who asked not to be named. "This does not happen over there."
The official said that minorities are very well represented in the Pakistani Parliament, and if someone in fact were murdered for not converting to Islam, "it would have been reported hugely."
The embassy official added, "if an incident of that nature happened over there, there would have to be an investigation."
Yet human rights watchdog groups say that what happened to Litto Ghauri is not uncommon because Christians in Pakistan are looked upon as the dregs of society. Pakistan's population is 97 percent Muslim, and Christians are only a very small part of the remaining 3 percent.
"What the Muslim society has done in Pakistan is just associate low caste with being Christian," said Jeremy Sewall, Advocacy Director of the International Christian Concern, which first reported the killing. "Many of these people, they clean human waste and that's their job, and that's what Christians are known for in Pakistan."
The Rev. Bhatti says that radical Muslims frequently try to trap Christian men into converting to Islam by using a woman as bait — and Ghauri suspects the involvement of his dead brother's girlfriend in trying to entrap him.
"It's common to offer things — money, women — to Christians to convert," Bhatti said.
Pakistan is one of the most hostile countries in the world for minority religions. The country still has blasphemy laws on the books that forbid saying or writing anything against Islam or the Koran. Punishment can include death.
"You basically have a situation where people can kind of act with impunity in the public," said Paula Schriefer, advocacy director at Freedom House, a human rights group. "They use these laws to sort of settle scores ... or, in situations like this, actually engage in kind of forced conversions."
The U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Report on Pakistan says, "Government policies do not afford equal protection to members of majority and minority religious groups."
The Ministry of Religious Affairs, which is supposed to protect religious freedom, has a verse from the Koran on its masthead, the report said: "Islam is the only religion acceptable to God."
While the U.S. government has provided millions of dollars in public outreach programs to help teach religious tolerance in Pakistan, human rights watchers say it's not sufficient.
"There's probably not enough that the U.S. government is doing to really talk about this issue because it's such an important issue in Pakistan because faith is so important to them," said Sewall.
The small Christian community is hoping that Ghauri's death will bring attention to the plight of minority religious groups in Pakistan.
"Several incidents of Christian persecution go unnoticed in Pakistan because they occur in the furthest parts of Pakistan," the Rev. Bhatti said. "This is Pakistan — predominantly Muslim. So they're the rulers. They rule us."
For Christian families like the Ghauris, living in a remote village in Pakistan, options are few. Because of their poverty they can neither leave nor help secure their own safety.
"We have very little family," said Salman Nabil Ghauri, whose mother died years ago and whose father worked as a day laborer until the killing. "My father was a daily worker. Now he is earning nothing. He is fully mad now. He cannot understand anything — he is still in the shock of death.
"My elder son is dead, and I am only one person. Where can I run? I cannot start my studies or run after my case. What should I do?"
Saturday, June 27, 2009
திலகவதி ஐபிஎஸுக்கு முஸ்லீம்கள் செய்யும் கௌவரக்கொலைகள் பற்றி ஒன்றும் தெரியாதா?
திலகவதி ஐபிஎஸ் நக்கீரன் பத்திரிக்கைக்கு அளித்த பேட்டியில் முஸ்லீம் சமுதாயத்தில் கௌரவக்கொலைகள் அதிகம் நடைபெறுகின்றன என்று குறித்திருக்கிறார்.
இது ஒரு முக்கியமான விஷயம். ஏனெனில் வெளிநாடுகளில் கௌரவக்கொலைகள் நடைபெற்றால் அவை ஓரளவுக்கு வெளிவந்துவிடுகின்றன. ஆனால் இந்தியாவில் தமிழ்நாட்டில் முஸ்லீம்கள் செய்யும் கௌரவக்கொலைகள் அதிகம் வெளியில் தெரிவதில்லை.
ஆகவே இதனை ஆவணப்படுத்தியிருக்கும் திலகவதி ஐபிஎஸ்ஸை பாராட்டவே வேண்டும்.
கூகுளில் கௌரவக்கொலை என்று ஆங்கிலத்தில் போட்டால் வரும் செய்திகளை பாருங்கள்.
http://news.google.com/news?um=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=honor+killing&cf=all&start=0
வருவதெல்லாம் ஜோர்டன், துருக்கி, போன்ற நாடுகளில் முஸ்லீம் ஆண்கள் குடும்ப கௌரவத்தை காப்பாற்றுவதற்காக பெண்களை கொன்ற செய்திகள்.
பக்கம் பக்கமாக முஸ்லீம் செய்திகள் போகின்றன. எல்லா செய்திகளும் முஸ்லீம் ஆண்கள் முஸ்லீம் பெண்களை கொல்வதையே சொல்கின்றன.
http://www.altmuslimah.com/a/b/a/3147/
இது முஸ்லீம் பெண்களாலேயே நடத்தப்படும் இதழ். இதில் ஹானர் கில்லிங் என்கிற கௌரவக்கொலை அதாவது வேறு ஜாதி ஆளை காதலித்தால் அந்த பெண்ணை குடும்பத்தினரே கொல்வது. இஸ்லாமில் ஜாதியா? என்று அப்பாவியாக கேட்டால், ஏற்கெனவே எழுதியிருக்கும் பதிவுகளை பாருங்கள் என்றுதான் சொல்லவேண்டும்.
முஸ்லீம் ஆண் வேற்று மத பெண்ணையோ அல்லது வேற்று ஜாதி பெண்ணையோ காதலித்து திருமணம் செய்தால் வெற்றி
ஆனால் முஸ்லிம் பெண் வேற்று மத ஆணையோ அல்லது வேற்று ஜாதி ஆணையோ காதலித்தால் கௌவரம் கெட்டதாம்.
இதற்காக பெரும்பாலான முஸ்லீம் நாடுகளில் தண்டனை கிடையாது. அது ஷரியாவாம். ஷரியாவின் படி, கௌரவத்துக்காக பெண்ணை கொலை செய்தால் தண்டனை கிடையாதாம்.
பாகிஸ்தான் இரண்டு வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னர் அந்த சட்டத்தை மாற்றியமைத்து, கௌரவக்கொலைக்கு தண்டனை உண்டு என்று மாற்ற முயன்றது. எல்லா இஸ்லாமிய கட்சிகளும் எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்தன. இது இஸ்லாமிய முறை என்பதால்தானே இஸ்லாமிய கட்சிகள் எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்தன?
இப்படி கடவுள் கொடுத்த ஷரியா சட்டத்தை பாகிஸ்தான் பின்பற்றவில்லை, நாங்கள் ஷரியா சட்டத்தை கொண்டுவருவோம் என்றுதான் அங்கு தாலிபான் பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்தோடு போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது.
இதில் ஒரு அறிவு, ஒரு இந்து மகன் தனது இந்துதந்தையை கொலை செய்தால், அதற்கு காரணம் பகவத் கீதை என்று சொல்ல முடியுமா? அது போல மகளை தந்தை கௌரவத்துக்காக கொலை செய்வதையும் இஸ்லாத்தையும் முடிச்சு போடக்கூடாது என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறது.
எந்த இந்துவாவது, இந்தியாவில் இருக்கும் இந்துக்கள் கொலைகள் செய்தாலோ, அவர்களது உறவினர்களை கொலைசெய்தாலோ தண்டிக்க வேண்டாம் என்று சொல்கிறார்களா? ஏன் அவர்களுக்கு பகவத் கீதை புரியவில்லையா? உங்களுக்கு மட்டும்தான் சூப்பராக புரிந்திருக்கிறதா?
ஆனால் ஏன் இஸ்லாமிய கட்சியினர் கௌரவக்கொலைகளுக்கு தண்டனை தருவதை எதிர்த்து போராட்டம் செய்தார்கள் என்று விளக்குங்களேன்!
இது ஒரு முக்கியமான விஷயம். ஏனெனில் வெளிநாடுகளில் கௌரவக்கொலைகள் நடைபெற்றால் அவை ஓரளவுக்கு வெளிவந்துவிடுகின்றன. ஆனால் இந்தியாவில் தமிழ்நாட்டில் முஸ்லீம்கள் செய்யும் கௌரவக்கொலைகள் அதிகம் வெளியில் தெரிவதில்லை.
ஆகவே இதனை ஆவணப்படுத்தியிருக்கும் திலகவதி ஐபிஎஸ்ஸை பாராட்டவே வேண்டும்.
கூகுளில் கௌரவக்கொலை என்று ஆங்கிலத்தில் போட்டால் வரும் செய்திகளை பாருங்கள்.
http://news.google.com/news?um=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=honor+killing&cf=all&start=0
வருவதெல்லாம் ஜோர்டன், துருக்கி, போன்ற நாடுகளில் முஸ்லீம் ஆண்கள் குடும்ப கௌரவத்தை காப்பாற்றுவதற்காக பெண்களை கொன்ற செய்திகள்.
பக்கம் பக்கமாக முஸ்லீம் செய்திகள் போகின்றன. எல்லா செய்திகளும் முஸ்லீம் ஆண்கள் முஸ்லீம் பெண்களை கொல்வதையே சொல்கின்றன.
http://www.altmuslimah.com/a/b/a/3147/
இது முஸ்லீம் பெண்களாலேயே நடத்தப்படும் இதழ். இதில் ஹானர் கில்லிங் என்கிற கௌரவக்கொலை அதாவது வேறு ஜாதி ஆளை காதலித்தால் அந்த பெண்ணை குடும்பத்தினரே கொல்வது. இஸ்லாமில் ஜாதியா? என்று அப்பாவியாக கேட்டால், ஏற்கெனவே எழுதியிருக்கும் பதிவுகளை பாருங்கள் என்றுதான் சொல்லவேண்டும்.
முஸ்லீம் ஆண் வேற்று மத பெண்ணையோ அல்லது வேற்று ஜாதி பெண்ணையோ காதலித்து திருமணம் செய்தால் வெற்றி
ஆனால் முஸ்லிம் பெண் வேற்று மத ஆணையோ அல்லது வேற்று ஜாதி ஆணையோ காதலித்தால் கௌவரம் கெட்டதாம்.
இதற்காக பெரும்பாலான முஸ்லீம் நாடுகளில் தண்டனை கிடையாது. அது ஷரியாவாம். ஷரியாவின் படி, கௌரவத்துக்காக பெண்ணை கொலை செய்தால் தண்டனை கிடையாதாம்.
பாகிஸ்தான் இரண்டு வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னர் அந்த சட்டத்தை மாற்றியமைத்து, கௌரவக்கொலைக்கு தண்டனை உண்டு என்று மாற்ற முயன்றது. எல்லா இஸ்லாமிய கட்சிகளும் எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்தன. இது இஸ்லாமிய முறை என்பதால்தானே இஸ்லாமிய கட்சிகள் எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்தன?
இப்படி கடவுள் கொடுத்த ஷரியா சட்டத்தை பாகிஸ்தான் பின்பற்றவில்லை, நாங்கள் ஷரியா சட்டத்தை கொண்டுவருவோம் என்றுதான் அங்கு தாலிபான் பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்தோடு போராடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது.
இதில் ஒரு அறிவு, ஒரு இந்து மகன் தனது இந்துதந்தையை கொலை செய்தால், அதற்கு காரணம் பகவத் கீதை என்று சொல்ல முடியுமா? அது போல மகளை தந்தை கௌரவத்துக்காக கொலை செய்வதையும் இஸ்லாத்தையும் முடிச்சு போடக்கூடாது என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறது.
எந்த இந்துவாவது, இந்தியாவில் இருக்கும் இந்துக்கள் கொலைகள் செய்தாலோ, அவர்களது உறவினர்களை கொலைசெய்தாலோ தண்டிக்க வேண்டாம் என்று சொல்கிறார்களா? ஏன் அவர்களுக்கு பகவத் கீதை புரியவில்லையா? உங்களுக்கு மட்டும்தான் சூப்பராக புரிந்திருக்கிறதா?
ஆனால் ஏன் இஸ்லாமிய கட்சியினர் கௌரவக்கொலைகளுக்கு தண்டனை தருவதை எதிர்த்து போராட்டம் செய்தார்கள் என்று விளக்குங்களேன்!
Friday, June 26, 2009
முஸ்லீம்களை கொன்று குவிக்கும் இந்துக்கள்
ஸ்வாத் பள்ளத்தாக்கில் தாலிபான் இஸ்லாமிய போராளிகள் அங்குள்ள ராணுவத்துடன் போராடி அங்கு கடுமையான இஸ்லாமிய ஷரியா அமைப்பை அமைக்க போராடி வருகிறார்கள்.
இந்த கும்பலில் 5000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட அரபிகள், செச்சன்கள், ஆப்கானியர்கள் போன்ற இஸ்லாமிய போராளிகள் பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்தை எதிர்த்து போரிடுகிறார்கள்.
இந்த கும்பல் தன்னை தெஹ்ரீக் - ஈ- தாலிபான் பாகிஸ்தான் என்று அழைத்துக்கொள்கிறது.
பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்துக்கு ஆதரவான தொலைக்காட்சிகளில் இந்த தாலிபான் கும்பலில் இருப்பவர்கள் இந்துக்கள் என்று பிரச்சாரம் செய்கிறார்கள்.
இந்துக்கள் தாலிபான் வேடம் பூண்டு பாகிஸ்தானை அழிக்க முனைகிறார்களாம். அங்குள்ள முஸ்லீம்களை கொன்று குவிக்கிறார்களாம்.
அடேங்கப்பா!
Editorial: Baitullah Mehsud and America
As Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) comes under pressure from the military operations launched in its stronghold, deserters from its rank and file are making revelations that belie some of the sacred beliefs the media has allowed to become common “analytical” currency. One big diversion from the truth is the “discovery” that Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the TTP, is an agent of the United States and India wreaking havoc in Pakistan to fulfil the US design to establish the hegemony of India in South Asia and to facilitate the elimination by the US of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Who has proof of all this? Who inside the government has spread this “information” without giving sufficient proof? If you ask the state functionaries they insist they have not planned any such massive disinformation. Yet one has to recall that some spokesmen have vaguely named “agencies” on the “other side of the border”, but again without tangible proof. This, however, convincingly looks like a part of the “strategic” decision that the presence of NATO in Afghanistan is not in Pakistan’s interest and that India’s presence in Afghanistan is hostile to the interests of Pakistan. Some Pakistani analysts have now started questioning the “logic” behind the stringing together of these tales of TPP-Indian and TTP-American collusion.
Logic is the first casualty. There are a number of statements of Baitullah Mehsud on record vowing revenge on the Americans for their invasion of Afghanistan, recalling his own time spent in that country fighting alongside the Taliban. His men have preyed on the trucks that take provisions to the NATO troops through Pakistan and for which the Americans bypassed the Pakistan government and made independent arrangements with various private hauling companies and warehouse owners. The TTP now has a good supply of high quality combat vehicles and other military supplies. How does one reconcile this with the “fact” that Mehsud is actually working for the Americans?
The willingness to believe Mehsud rather than the government was in evidence in the media after the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. Mehsud’s telephonic conversation with the mastermind of the suicide attack was intercepted and made known by Pakistan’s intelligence establishment. However when he declared that he had not carried out the attack, Mehsud was immediately believed. Now that deserters from the TTP have revived the truth — that Baitullah Mehsud actually planned the killing and personally sent off the attackers to Rawalpindi — there is a silence of embarrassment in Pakistan. Had the fact been accepted in 2008 when the gang of assassins was apprehended, we would not have horribly falsified the evidence that linked the killing to Al Qaeda’s understanding of Ms Bhutto as an American “asset” in Pakistan.
Then in 2008 came the Mumbai attacks. The Indians reacted by rattling the sabre. Suddenly, India was the enemy and Mehsud a patriot. A “disenchanted” Pakistani analyst sought answers to such newspaper reports as the one quoting an army official saying that Baitullah Mehsud and Fazlullah were “patriots”. Another was reported as saying that in case of an Indian invasion the TTP will fight “shoulder to shoulder” with the Pakistani troops to save Pakistan.
From that to what is being said now is a big leap of the imagination. Such leaps are usually called fantasy. Now Mehsud is the paid agent of the Indians. Analysts appearing on TV have gone so far as to say that the Taliban inflicting savage cruelty on the people of Swat were actually Hindus! Everyone has forgotten about the 5,000 plus foreigners — Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Uighurs — sheltered by Mehsud on behalf of Al Qaeda. One “deserter” has thrown in the red herring about how India trains its Hindu agents in the intricacies of Islamic learning till they become ulema before being sent into Pakistan looking like the Taliban!
So buried are we in our narcissistic obsessions that the world now rebukes us for living on the basis of contradictions. Foreign commentators now ask: If you hate the US so much and know that it is helping the Taliban to create chaos in Pakistan as a prelude to grabbing your nuclear weapons, why do you go asking Washington for money? They also say: If India is destroying Pakistan through the Taliban why are you seeking a “composite” dialogue with it instead of going to war with it? *
இந்த கும்பலில் 5000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட அரபிகள், செச்சன்கள், ஆப்கானியர்கள் போன்ற இஸ்லாமிய போராளிகள் பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்தை எதிர்த்து போரிடுகிறார்கள்.
இந்த கும்பல் தன்னை தெஹ்ரீக் - ஈ- தாலிபான் பாகிஸ்தான் என்று அழைத்துக்கொள்கிறது.
பாகிஸ்தான் ராணுவத்துக்கு ஆதரவான தொலைக்காட்சிகளில் இந்த தாலிபான் கும்பலில் இருப்பவர்கள் இந்துக்கள் என்று பிரச்சாரம் செய்கிறார்கள்.
இந்துக்கள் தாலிபான் வேடம் பூண்டு பாகிஸ்தானை அழிக்க முனைகிறார்களாம். அங்குள்ள முஸ்லீம்களை கொன்று குவிக்கிறார்களாம்.
அடேங்கப்பா!
Editorial: Baitullah Mehsud and America
As Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) comes under pressure from the military operations launched in its stronghold, deserters from its rank and file are making revelations that belie some of the sacred beliefs the media has allowed to become common “analytical” currency. One big diversion from the truth is the “discovery” that Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the TTP, is an agent of the United States and India wreaking havoc in Pakistan to fulfil the US design to establish the hegemony of India in South Asia and to facilitate the elimination by the US of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Who has proof of all this? Who inside the government has spread this “information” without giving sufficient proof? If you ask the state functionaries they insist they have not planned any such massive disinformation. Yet one has to recall that some spokesmen have vaguely named “agencies” on the “other side of the border”, but again without tangible proof. This, however, convincingly looks like a part of the “strategic” decision that the presence of NATO in Afghanistan is not in Pakistan’s interest and that India’s presence in Afghanistan is hostile to the interests of Pakistan. Some Pakistani analysts have now started questioning the “logic” behind the stringing together of these tales of TPP-Indian and TTP-American collusion.
Logic is the first casualty. There are a number of statements of Baitullah Mehsud on record vowing revenge on the Americans for their invasion of Afghanistan, recalling his own time spent in that country fighting alongside the Taliban. His men have preyed on the trucks that take provisions to the NATO troops through Pakistan and for which the Americans bypassed the Pakistan government and made independent arrangements with various private hauling companies and warehouse owners. The TTP now has a good supply of high quality combat vehicles and other military supplies. How does one reconcile this with the “fact” that Mehsud is actually working for the Americans?
The willingness to believe Mehsud rather than the government was in evidence in the media after the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. Mehsud’s telephonic conversation with the mastermind of the suicide attack was intercepted and made known by Pakistan’s intelligence establishment. However when he declared that he had not carried out the attack, Mehsud was immediately believed. Now that deserters from the TTP have revived the truth — that Baitullah Mehsud actually planned the killing and personally sent off the attackers to Rawalpindi — there is a silence of embarrassment in Pakistan. Had the fact been accepted in 2008 when the gang of assassins was apprehended, we would not have horribly falsified the evidence that linked the killing to Al Qaeda’s understanding of Ms Bhutto as an American “asset” in Pakistan.
Then in 2008 came the Mumbai attacks. The Indians reacted by rattling the sabre. Suddenly, India was the enemy and Mehsud a patriot. A “disenchanted” Pakistani analyst sought answers to such newspaper reports as the one quoting an army official saying that Baitullah Mehsud and Fazlullah were “patriots”. Another was reported as saying that in case of an Indian invasion the TTP will fight “shoulder to shoulder” with the Pakistani troops to save Pakistan.
From that to what is being said now is a big leap of the imagination. Such leaps are usually called fantasy. Now Mehsud is the paid agent of the Indians. Analysts appearing on TV have gone so far as to say that the Taliban inflicting savage cruelty on the people of Swat were actually Hindus! Everyone has forgotten about the 5,000 plus foreigners — Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Uighurs — sheltered by Mehsud on behalf of Al Qaeda. One “deserter” has thrown in the red herring about how India trains its Hindu agents in the intricacies of Islamic learning till they become ulema before being sent into Pakistan looking like the Taliban!
So buried are we in our narcissistic obsessions that the world now rebukes us for living on the basis of contradictions. Foreign commentators now ask: If you hate the US so much and know that it is helping the Taliban to create chaos in Pakistan as a prelude to grabbing your nuclear weapons, why do you go asking Washington for money? They also say: If India is destroying Pakistan through the Taliban why are you seeking a “composite” dialogue with it instead of going to war with it? *
Thursday, June 25, 2009
இஸ்லாமிய முறையில் குழந்தைகளை எப்படி வளர்க்க வேண்டும்?
இஸ்லாமிய மதரஸாவில் எவ்வளவு அழகாக படிப்பு சொல்லித்தருகிறார்கள் என்று பார்க்கலாம்.
Boys escape from madrassa in chains
KARACHI: Police in Pakistan are searching for the principal of a religious school who kept young boys chained up and beat them daily to force them to study. Police raided the madrassa in the southern city of Karachi after 8-year-old Mohammad Ammar and 10-year-old Ahsan Mawia jumped from the roof to escape, still wearing their chains. “One of the boys was bleeding profusely and there were visible marks of beating on their bodies,” investigating police officer, Jahan Khan Niazi, said on Thursday. He said police raided the madrassa seeking to detain the principal on charges of keeping the boys in “illegal detention”. “They beat us every day, kept us in chains and gave very little food to eat. We want to go home,” Ammar, the younger boy, told a court hearing after which the boys were handed over to their family. Complaints about conditions in madrassas are widespread in Pakistan, where more than 12,000 religious schools provide free education, food and shelter to about a million children, most of them from poor families. The government launched a drive in 2003 to reform madrassas but this has faltered due to opposition from hardline Islamists. reuters
விதவைகளுக்கு மறுவாழ்வு தர விரும்பும் இஸ்லாமிய போராளிகள்
ஜிகாது செய்ய வந்த இஸ்லாமிய போராளிகளான தாலிபான்கள் மனதை உருக்கும் நல்ல காரியங்களை செய்து வருகிறார்கள்.
முதலில் அவர்கள் கிராமங்களுக்கு வந்தார்கள். அவர்கள் ஏதோ ஆப்கானிஸ்தானில் வெளிநாட்டினரை எதிர்த்து போராடுகிறார்கள் போலிருக்கிறது என்று ஆதரவு தெரிவித்தார்கள். இவர்களது தொந்தரவு அதிகமானதும், ஊர் பெரியவர்கள் சேர்ந்து அய்யா இங்கிருந்து நீங்கள் போய்விடுங்கள் என்று சொன்னார்கள்.
தாலிபான்கள் தங்களுக்கு தெரிந்த பதிலை சொன்னார்கள். அதாவது அங்கிருந்த மசூதியில் எல்லோரும் தொழுகை செய்துகொண்டிருக்கும்போது தற்கொலை குண்டுதாரியை அனுப்பி 39 ஆண்களை கொலை செய்தார்கள். (மகாப்பெரிய சமத்துவமுடைய இஸ்லாமில், பெண்கள் இஸ்லாமிய கோவிலுக்குள் நுழைய அனுமதி கிடையாது. ஆகவே கொல்லப்பட்டதெல்லாம் ஆண்களே)
பிறகு அந்த கிராமத்திற்கு வந்து கொல்லப்பட்ட ஆண்களின் மனைவிகளை எங்களிடம் கொடுங்கள் என்று கேட்டார்கள். ஆஹா விதவைகளுக்கு எப்படி நல்வாழ்வு தருகிறார்கள் என்று நானே ஆச்சரியப்படுகிறேன். விதவைகளை உருவாக்கியவர்களே இவர்கள்தானே என்றெல்லாம் ஹராமாக கேட்கக்கூடாது.
நம் ஊர் தமுமுக, ஜெயினுலாபுதீன் எல்லாம் பாராட்டும் இத்தகைய செயலை பாராட்டாமல், இந்த கிராமத்தினர் ஏக கடுப்பாகி இந்த தாலிபான்களை தாக்க ஆரம்பித்துவிட்டார்கள்.
Pakistan villagers revolt against Taleban after militants want women they widowed
Jeremy Page in Islamabad and Rehmat Mehsud in Peshawar
It was the Taleban’s demand to take the women they had widowed that was the last straw for the residents of Upper Dir.
When the militants arrived in their mountainous corner of northwestern Pakistan in February the locals cautiously welcomed them, thinking they were waging jihad against foreign troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Some even joined them, attracted by the five or six pounds a day they paid. Over the next three months, however, Upper Dir’s residents were increasingly angered by the Taleban’s criminal activities and disrespect for local customs, according to residents and Pakistani officials.
In early June elders asked them to leave the five villages they had occupied. The Taleban responded on June 5 with a suicide attack on a local mosque that killed 39 people. The next day they told the elders to give them the women who had been widowed in the attack.
Taleban defeated by armed residents in Swat
Instead, the elders summoned men from 30 surrounding villages, told them to fetch their weapons (many men in the region own a gun), and launched a “lashkar” — or tribal militia — of more than 1,000 people to drive out the Taleban.
They shot dead the local Taleban leader — who went by the name of Champo — burnt several more to death in the houses that they had occupied, and surrounded the remaining 150 in a mountainside village, where they were still under siege yesterday.
“Don’t call them Taleban because they are gangsters, looters and plunderers,” Omar Rehman, 35, a farmer and member of the lashkar, told The Times.
“The Taleban should be those who are getting religious education peacefully.” Upper Dir’s lashkar is the most dramatic illustration of the public backlash against the Taleban that has accompanied the army’s attack on the militants in the northwestern region of Swat since late April.
It is now being held up as a model for other civilians trying to resist the Taleban across North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) — al-Qaeda’s main sanctuary.
Even General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, has noted its significance.
“For the first time you see the people rising up against them even in the tribal areas with these tribal lashkar standing up against the Taleban,” he said in a recent speech.
Major-General Athar Abbas, Pakistan’s army spokesman, said that lashkars were key to the success of the army’s continuing operations in the northwest. “In the past we didn’t give them enough support but now we recognise their importance,” he said.
When the Taleban advanced into the northwestern region of Buner in April a lashkar raised there had to disband because the Government failed to support it. But the army is now embedding plainclothes officers and providing air and artillery support for the Upper Dir lashkar, which killed eight more militants on Sunday, according to military officials.
The army is also encouraging others to follow suit: a lashkar of 60 men was raised on Friday in Bannu, another part of NWFP, and another is fighting the Taleban in the tribal region of Bajaur. In Swat local authorities are trying to recruit 6,000 people to a civil militia that will back the police force once the army has withdrawn.
In the tribal region of South Waziristan, meanwhile, the army has enlisted the help of two local rivals to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taleban in Pakistan.
One is Qari Zainuddin, a rival leader of the Mehsud tribe, who claims to command about 3,000 men.
The other is Turkistan Bhittani, a former member of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, who is believed to command about 300 men from the Bhittani tribe.
Some critics fear that these lashkars could become part of the problem if the army starts to supply them with weapons and ammunition: Mr Zainuddin and Mr Turkistan remain committed to the jihad in Afghanistan.
Others worry that the army could use the lashkars as an excuse not to enter certain areas at all — particularly in South Waziristan. “I think their importance is somewhat exaggerated,” said retired brigadier Mahmood Shah, a former secretary of Fata.
“I feel these people could be force multipliers but not really a force replacement. There must be a deliberate operation against Baitullah Mehsud.” For the moment, however, the lashkars represent the best hope yet that the Taleban is losing its grip on some corners of Pakistan’s northwest
முதலில் அவர்கள் கிராமங்களுக்கு வந்தார்கள். அவர்கள் ஏதோ ஆப்கானிஸ்தானில் வெளிநாட்டினரை எதிர்த்து போராடுகிறார்கள் போலிருக்கிறது என்று ஆதரவு தெரிவித்தார்கள். இவர்களது தொந்தரவு அதிகமானதும், ஊர் பெரியவர்கள் சேர்ந்து அய்யா இங்கிருந்து நீங்கள் போய்விடுங்கள் என்று சொன்னார்கள்.
தாலிபான்கள் தங்களுக்கு தெரிந்த பதிலை சொன்னார்கள். அதாவது அங்கிருந்த மசூதியில் எல்லோரும் தொழுகை செய்துகொண்டிருக்கும்போது தற்கொலை குண்டுதாரியை அனுப்பி 39 ஆண்களை கொலை செய்தார்கள். (மகாப்பெரிய சமத்துவமுடைய இஸ்லாமில், பெண்கள் இஸ்லாமிய கோவிலுக்குள் நுழைய அனுமதி கிடையாது. ஆகவே கொல்லப்பட்டதெல்லாம் ஆண்களே)
பிறகு அந்த கிராமத்திற்கு வந்து கொல்லப்பட்ட ஆண்களின் மனைவிகளை எங்களிடம் கொடுங்கள் என்று கேட்டார்கள். ஆஹா விதவைகளுக்கு எப்படி நல்வாழ்வு தருகிறார்கள் என்று நானே ஆச்சரியப்படுகிறேன். விதவைகளை உருவாக்கியவர்களே இவர்கள்தானே என்றெல்லாம் ஹராமாக கேட்கக்கூடாது.
நம் ஊர் தமுமுக, ஜெயினுலாபுதீன் எல்லாம் பாராட்டும் இத்தகைய செயலை பாராட்டாமல், இந்த கிராமத்தினர் ஏக கடுப்பாகி இந்த தாலிபான்களை தாக்க ஆரம்பித்துவிட்டார்கள்.
Pakistan villagers revolt against Taleban after militants want women they widowed
Jeremy Page in Islamabad and Rehmat Mehsud in Peshawar
It was the Taleban’s demand to take the women they had widowed that was the last straw for the residents of Upper Dir.
When the militants arrived in their mountainous corner of northwestern Pakistan in February the locals cautiously welcomed them, thinking they were waging jihad against foreign troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Some even joined them, attracted by the five or six pounds a day they paid. Over the next three months, however, Upper Dir’s residents were increasingly angered by the Taleban’s criminal activities and disrespect for local customs, according to residents and Pakistani officials.
In early June elders asked them to leave the five villages they had occupied. The Taleban responded on June 5 with a suicide attack on a local mosque that killed 39 people. The next day they told the elders to give them the women who had been widowed in the attack.
Taleban defeated by armed residents in Swat
Instead, the elders summoned men from 30 surrounding villages, told them to fetch their weapons (many men in the region own a gun), and launched a “lashkar” — or tribal militia — of more than 1,000 people to drive out the Taleban.
They shot dead the local Taleban leader — who went by the name of Champo — burnt several more to death in the houses that they had occupied, and surrounded the remaining 150 in a mountainside village, where they were still under siege yesterday.
“Don’t call them Taleban because they are gangsters, looters and plunderers,” Omar Rehman, 35, a farmer and member of the lashkar, told The Times.
“The Taleban should be those who are getting religious education peacefully.” Upper Dir’s lashkar is the most dramatic illustration of the public backlash against the Taleban that has accompanied the army’s attack on the militants in the northwestern region of Swat since late April.
It is now being held up as a model for other civilians trying to resist the Taleban across North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) — al-Qaeda’s main sanctuary.
Even General David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, has noted its significance.
“For the first time you see the people rising up against them even in the tribal areas with these tribal lashkar standing up against the Taleban,” he said in a recent speech.
Major-General Athar Abbas, Pakistan’s army spokesman, said that lashkars were key to the success of the army’s continuing operations in the northwest. “In the past we didn’t give them enough support but now we recognise their importance,” he said.
When the Taleban advanced into the northwestern region of Buner in April a lashkar raised there had to disband because the Government failed to support it. But the army is now embedding plainclothes officers and providing air and artillery support for the Upper Dir lashkar, which killed eight more militants on Sunday, according to military officials.
The army is also encouraging others to follow suit: a lashkar of 60 men was raised on Friday in Bannu, another part of NWFP, and another is fighting the Taleban in the tribal region of Bajaur. In Swat local authorities are trying to recruit 6,000 people to a civil militia that will back the police force once the army has withdrawn.
In the tribal region of South Waziristan, meanwhile, the army has enlisted the help of two local rivals to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taleban in Pakistan.
One is Qari Zainuddin, a rival leader of the Mehsud tribe, who claims to command about 3,000 men.
The other is Turkistan Bhittani, a former member of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, who is believed to command about 300 men from the Bhittani tribe.
Some critics fear that these lashkars could become part of the problem if the army starts to supply them with weapons and ammunition: Mr Zainuddin and Mr Turkistan remain committed to the jihad in Afghanistan.
Others worry that the army could use the lashkars as an excuse not to enter certain areas at all — particularly in South Waziristan. “I think their importance is somewhat exaggerated,” said retired brigadier Mahmood Shah, a former secretary of Fata.
“I feel these people could be force multipliers but not really a force replacement. There must be a deliberate operation against Baitullah Mehsud.” For the moment, however, the lashkars represent the best hope yet that the Taleban is losing its grip on some corners of Pakistan’s northwest
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
தற்கொலைப்படை தவறு என்று சொன்ன இமாம் மீது தற்கொலை தாக்குதல்
பாகிஸ்தானில் 2 மசூதிகளில் குண்டு வெடிப்பு முஸ்லிம் மதகுரு உள்பட 11 பேர் பலி
பாகிஸ்தானில், லாகூர் நகரில் ஜாமியா நயீமியா நிறுவனம் என்ற அமைப்பு செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. இந்த நிறுவனத்தின் வளாகத்தில் உள்ள ஜாமியா நயீமியா மசூதியில் நேற்று வெள்ளிக்கிழமை பிரார்த்தனை முடிந்து ஏராளமானவர்கள் வெளியே வந்து கொண்டு இருந்தனர். அப்போது ஒரு தற்கொலைப்படை தீவிரவாதி, வேகமாக கூட்டத்துக்குள் புகுந்து ஓடி, மூத்த மதகுரு சர்ப்ரஸ் நயீமியின் அலுவலகத்துக்குள் நுழைந்து தான் கட்டி இருந்த குண்டை வெடிக்கச் செய்தான். இதில், மத குரு சர்ப்ரஸ் நயீமி உள்பட 4 பேர் பலியானார்கள். தற்கொலைப்படை தாக்குதல் நடத்துவது முஸ்லிம் மதத்துக்கு எதிரானது என்று இந்த குரு தீர்ப்பு (பாத்வா) கூறி வந்தவர். இதனால் ஆத்திரம் அடைந்த தலிபான் தீவிரவாதிகள் இந்த தாக்குதலை நடத்தி இருக்கலாம் என்று கருதப்படுகிறது.
இதே போல நவ்சேரா நகரில் ராணுவ ஆயுத கிடங்கு உள்ள இடத்தில் இருந்த மசூதியிலும் நேற்றைய பிரார்த்தனைக்கு பிறகு தற்கொலைப்படை தீவிரவாதி ஒருவன் காருடன் வந்து மசூதியில் மோதி குண்டை வெடிக்கச் செய்தான். இதில் 6 பேர் பலியானார்கள். மசூதி இடிந்தது. மசூதி அருகில் இருந்த பல வீடுகளும், கார்களும் சேதம் அடைந்தன. இரு குண்டு வெடிப்பிலும் 100-க்கும் மேற்பட்டோர் காயம் அடைந்தனர்
பாகிஸ்தானில், லாகூர் நகரில் ஜாமியா நயீமியா நிறுவனம் என்ற அமைப்பு செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது. இந்த நிறுவனத்தின் வளாகத்தில் உள்ள ஜாமியா நயீமியா மசூதியில் நேற்று வெள்ளிக்கிழமை பிரார்த்தனை முடிந்து ஏராளமானவர்கள் வெளியே வந்து கொண்டு இருந்தனர். அப்போது ஒரு தற்கொலைப்படை தீவிரவாதி, வேகமாக கூட்டத்துக்குள் புகுந்து ஓடி, மூத்த மதகுரு சர்ப்ரஸ் நயீமியின் அலுவலகத்துக்குள் நுழைந்து தான் கட்டி இருந்த குண்டை வெடிக்கச் செய்தான். இதில், மத குரு சர்ப்ரஸ் நயீமி உள்பட 4 பேர் பலியானார்கள். தற்கொலைப்படை தாக்குதல் நடத்துவது முஸ்லிம் மதத்துக்கு எதிரானது என்று இந்த குரு தீர்ப்பு (பாத்வா) கூறி வந்தவர். இதனால் ஆத்திரம் அடைந்த தலிபான் தீவிரவாதிகள் இந்த தாக்குதலை நடத்தி இருக்கலாம் என்று கருதப்படுகிறது.
இதே போல நவ்சேரா நகரில் ராணுவ ஆயுத கிடங்கு உள்ள இடத்தில் இருந்த மசூதியிலும் நேற்றைய பிரார்த்தனைக்கு பிறகு தற்கொலைப்படை தீவிரவாதி ஒருவன் காருடன் வந்து மசூதியில் மோதி குண்டை வெடிக்கச் செய்தான். இதில் 6 பேர் பலியானார்கள். மசூதி இடிந்தது. மசூதி அருகில் இருந்த பல வீடுகளும், கார்களும் சேதம் அடைந்தன. இரு குண்டு வெடிப்பிலும் 100-க்கும் மேற்பட்டோர் காயம் அடைந்தனர்
முதுகெலும்புள்ள ஒரே தலைவர்
புர்கா அணிவது அடிமைத்தனம்.
அது பிரான்ஸுக்கு தேவையில்லை. புர்கா அணிவதாக இருந்தால், பிரான்ஸுக்கு வரவேண்டாம் என்று தெளிவாக முகத்திலடித்தாற்போல கூறியிருக்கிறார்
பிரான்சு அதிபர் நிகலாய் சர்கோஸி
அந்த தைரியத்துக்காக பாராட்டலாம்.
Sarkozy: Burkas unwelcome in France
Published: June 23, 2009 at 10:17 AM
PARIS, June 23 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the wearing of burqas, the traditional Muslim garment covering women from head to toe, was not "welcome in France."
In a speech before a joint session of parliament Monday, Sarkozy said the burqa was a "sign of subservience" and a matter of "a woman's freedom and dignity," CNN reported Tuesday.
"The problem of the burqa is not a religious problem. This is an issue of a woman's freedom and dignity," Sarkozy said. "This is not a religious symbol. It is a sign of subservience; it is a sign of lowering. I want to say solemnly, the burqa is not welcome in France."
France has been engaged in a heated debate about Muslim women wearing the traditional covering, with some French lawmakers calling for a ban on them, CNN said.
Muslim leaders reacted with caution to Sarkozy's comments on wearing a burqa and niqab, a face veil, the Times of London reported.
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, said Sarkozy's remarks were "in keeping with the republican spirit of secularism."
Moderate Muslims also consider full face-covering as a symbol of submission, Boubakeur told the Times.
நூறு ஆண்டுகளின் பின் பிரான்ஸ் அதிபர் நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் உரை.
நூறு ஆண்டுகளின் பின் பிரான்ஸ் அதிபர் நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் உரை நிகழ்த்தியுள்ளார். இது ஒரு வரலாற்று நிகழ்வாக பதிவாகியுள்ளது.
இதே வேளை இந்த நிகழ்விற்கு முன்னைய நாள் உயர் அதிகாரிகளுக்கு அழைப்பு விடுக்கப்பட்டிருந்த போதும், அவர்கள் சமூகமத்திருக்கவில்லை.
பிரான்ஸ் அதிபர் உரையாற்றகையில் தற்போது உலக நாடுகளில் காணப்பட்டுவரும் பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சி நிலை முடக்கம் தொடர்பாகவும், ஓய்வூதியம் தொடர்பாக உரையாற்றியிருந்ததுடன் முக்கியமாக பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் முஸ்லிம் பெண்கள் புர்கா அணிவதை ஏற்றக் கொள்ள முடியாது எனத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
பெண்களின் தலையிலிருந்து கால் வரை மூடும் தன்மையானது பெண்களை அடிமைப்படுத்துவதாகவும், அவர்களின் கண்ணியத்தை குறைப்பதாகவும், அதனால் புர்கா உடை பிரான்சில் வரவேற்கப்படாது என்றும் அவர் கூறினார்.
இதே வேளை பிரான்சில் பாடசாலைக்கு செல்லும் மாணவர்கள் மத ரீதியான அடையாளங்களை தவிர்க்க வேண்டும் என்ற நடைமுறை அமுலில் இருப்பதும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.
Friday, June 12, 2009
பிலிப்பினோ பெண்மணியை கூட்டாக கற்பழித்த குவாய்த் இஸ்லாமிய போலீஸ்
பிலிப்பினோ பெண்மணியை கூட்டாக கற்பழித்த குவாய்த் இஸ்லாமிய போலீஸ் விவகாரம் வெளியில் வந்துள்ளது.
Policemen arrested for raping two Filipinas
Kuwait : Security-men have arrested a first police sergeant and a lance corporal for ‘raping’ Filipino women, reports Al-Qabas daily.
A police source said the arrest came following a call by a Kuwaiti man to the Operations Department of the Ministry of Interior. The Kuwaiti told the department two Filipino women were riding with him in the car and the two patrolmen ordered him to pull over.
The two officers then ordered the Filipinos to get into the police car claiming they were violators of residence laws.
The man said after a short time, the two women telephoned him saying the two policemen drove them to an apartment in Hawalli, ‘raped’ them and set them free.
Police then rushed to the place from where the girls called the Kuwaiti and the latter provided police with information of the apartment where they were raped.
The caretaker of the building confirmed seeing the two policemen bringing the women into the building. At first the two men denied the charges against them and later admitted to committing the crime.
Policemen arrested for raping two Filipinas
Kuwait : Security-men have arrested a first police sergeant and a lance corporal for ‘raping’ Filipino women, reports Al-Qabas daily.
A police source said the arrest came following a call by a Kuwaiti man to the Operations Department of the Ministry of Interior. The Kuwaiti told the department two Filipino women were riding with him in the car and the two patrolmen ordered him to pull over.
The two officers then ordered the Filipinos to get into the police car claiming they were violators of residence laws.
The man said after a short time, the two women telephoned him saying the two policemen drove them to an apartment in Hawalli, ‘raped’ them and set them free.
Police then rushed to the place from where the girls called the Kuwaiti and the latter provided police with information of the apartment where they were raped.
The caretaker of the building confirmed seeing the two policemen bringing the women into the building. At first the two men denied the charges against them and later admitted to committing the crime.
அமெரிக்கா- கிறிஸ்துவ வெள்ளையினவாதி தாக்கியதில் ஒரு காவலாளி மரணம்
அமெரிக்காவில் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் அதிகரித்து வருகின்றனர்.
கடந்த இரண்டு மாதங்களில் கிறிஸ்துவ பயங்கரவாதி ஒரு அபார்ஷன் கிளினிக்கை தாக்கி அந்த கிளினிக்கில் பணிபுரிந்து வந்த டாக்டரை கொலை செய்தார்
அடுத்து இப்போது அமெர்க்காவில் இருக்கும் யூத ஹோலோகாஸ்ட் மியூஸியத்தில் ஒரு காவலாளியை ஒரு கிறிஸ்துவ வெள்ளையின பயங்கரவாதி தாக்கி கொன்றிருக்கிறார்.
இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிகளுக்கு சளைக்காமல் கிறிஸ்துவ பயங்கரவாதிகளும் ஆரம்பித்துள்ளனர்
சபாஷ் சரியான போட்டி
For accused museum shooter, a downward spiral
By BRETT ZONGKER and BEN NUCKOLS – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — James von Brunn carried a lifetime of hatred and an aging rifle to the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, authorities say, and was met with a simple act of kindness: a security guard opening the door for him.
Critically injured in a hospital bed Thursday, the 88-year-old white supremacist was charged with murdering Steven T. Johns, the black guard. According to interviews with family, friends and civil rights groups, von Brunn spent decades spewing hate toward Jews and blacks — a hatred that was nearing a crescendo in the weeks before the shooting.
At least one acquaintance said he suspected that von Brunn was preparing for a violent end.
Von Brunn had talked about giving up "precious things" — even the computer from which he spread his angry diatribes against Jews, interracial dating and the government, said fellow white supremacist John de Nugent.
"He said he had gone offline," said de Nugent, who last spoke to von Brunn on the phone a few weeks ago.
De Nugent said von Brunn complained that his Social Security benefits had been reduced, and he suspected that his white supremacist views were the reason.
"He was unhappy with his living situation," de Nugent said.
Von Brunn lived in a condo in Annapolis, Md., with his 32-year-old son, Erik von Brunn, and his son's fiancee, according to charging documents. The couple charged him $400 a month and when he moved in two years ago, he brought two rifles with him, the fiancee, Brandy Teel, told FBI agents. No one answered the door Thursday at their condo.
When next-door neighbor Harold Olynnger, 82, invited von Brunn over for a drink about three months ago, it didn't go well.
Von Brunn sipped on a vodka tonic and talked about how he believed the media paid too much attention to the Holocaust, Olynnger said.
On his Web site, von Brunn said he is a descendant of German immigrants who became convinced Jews controlled the government.
He took his rants on May 29 to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to complain about increased minority enrollment — which will be about 35 percent for the Class of 2013. He walked into the administration building and wanted a meeting with academy officials, said spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter.
Von Brunn, who was a Navy officer during World War II, never got the meeting and was not considered a safety threat, Carpenter said. However, staff quickly notified Naval investigators because of "the extreme views he expressed regarding minorities," Carpenter said.
"He made no threats," Carpenter said.
Von Brunn boasted of having spent a year in jail for fighting a sheriff's deputy in Maryland in 1968 and, a quarter-century later, of serving prison time for trying to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve board.
After he got out, he became a regular in white supremacist circles and soon had his own file with watch groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. He wrote an anti-Semitic text and maintained his conspiracy theories on the Web site.
The St. Louis native worked in advertising in New York City and moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore in the late 1960s, where he stayed in advertising and tried to make a mark as an artist.
Public records show that in 2004 and 2005 he lived briefly in Hayden, Idaho, for years home to the Aryan Nations, a racist group run by neo-Nazi Richard Butler.
When he lived in Easton, Md., von Brunn had a series of run-ins with local residents. He hired Robert E. Denney to create a Web site, then sued him when Denney realized the sort of material von Brunn wanted to publish and balked, said Harry M. Walsh Jr., Denney's former attorney.
In 1994, von Brunn was upset that The Star Democrat of Easton wouldn't run an advertisement for an anti-Semitic program on a public-access channel, recalled executive editor Denise Riley. Von Brunn spouted a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments before he was asked to leave the newsroom, Riley said.
"I was stunned to have met anyone who acted like that. I don't remember encountering anyone that bigoted before in my life," Riley said. "He was right out there for all to know and see and he was just so angry, it was kind of alarming to be around him."
Despite his tirades, his ex-wife was surprised by the charges against him. "He was a fine man and very much of an American," said Pat Sadowski, who lives in Florida and said von Brunn hasn't been a part of her life since their divorce more than 30 years ago. "He was like a John Wayne type."
On Wednesday, von Brunn parked his 2002 red Hyundai in the middle of traffic outside the museum, according to an FBI affidavit. He grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and walked toward the building. He is charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted, officials said.
The gun was a vintage Winchester rifle manufactured between 1908 and 1928, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. The gun is too old to be traced to a purchaser, the official said.
Johns, the security guard, opened the door for von Brunn. Before von Brunn even got into the building, he pointed his gun at Johns' heart and pulled the trigger. Johns later died at a hospital.
Johns' mother described her 6-foot-6 son as a "my teddy bear." Jacqueline Carter said her only child was a thoughtful man who remembered special dates like anniversaries and birthdays.
"He was kind, he was gentle, he was loving," she said. "He loved people and he loved his job."
As von Brunn walked into the doorway and raised his rifle again, two security guards fired at him at least eight times. He was shot in the face and fell backward outside the door.
Investigators found 10 rounds in von Brunn's rifle and a signed, handwritten screed in his car. "You wanted my weapons — this is how you'll get them," von Brunn wrote.
"It was a desperate move," said de Nugent's girlfriend, Margaret Huffstickler, "by a man who thought he couldn't do any more."
Ben Nuckols reported from Baltimore. Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Homosassa, Fla., Kasey Jones in Baltimore, Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., Gillian Gaynair in Temple Hills, Md., and Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report.
கடந்த இரண்டு மாதங்களில் கிறிஸ்துவ பயங்கரவாதி ஒரு அபார்ஷன் கிளினிக்கை தாக்கி அந்த கிளினிக்கில் பணிபுரிந்து வந்த டாக்டரை கொலை செய்தார்
அடுத்து இப்போது அமெர்க்காவில் இருக்கும் யூத ஹோலோகாஸ்ட் மியூஸியத்தில் ஒரு காவலாளியை ஒரு கிறிஸ்துவ வெள்ளையின பயங்கரவாதி தாக்கி கொன்றிருக்கிறார்.
இஸ்லாமிய பயங்கரவாதிகளுக்கு சளைக்காமல் கிறிஸ்துவ பயங்கரவாதிகளும் ஆரம்பித்துள்ளனர்
சபாஷ் சரியான போட்டி
For accused museum shooter, a downward spiral
By BRETT ZONGKER and BEN NUCKOLS – 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — James von Brunn carried a lifetime of hatred and an aging rifle to the entrance of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, authorities say, and was met with a simple act of kindness: a security guard opening the door for him.
Critically injured in a hospital bed Thursday, the 88-year-old white supremacist was charged with murdering Steven T. Johns, the black guard. According to interviews with family, friends and civil rights groups, von Brunn spent decades spewing hate toward Jews and blacks — a hatred that was nearing a crescendo in the weeks before the shooting.
At least one acquaintance said he suspected that von Brunn was preparing for a violent end.
Von Brunn had talked about giving up "precious things" — even the computer from which he spread his angry diatribes against Jews, interracial dating and the government, said fellow white supremacist John de Nugent.
"He said he had gone offline," said de Nugent, who last spoke to von Brunn on the phone a few weeks ago.
De Nugent said von Brunn complained that his Social Security benefits had been reduced, and he suspected that his white supremacist views were the reason.
"He was unhappy with his living situation," de Nugent said.
Von Brunn lived in a condo in Annapolis, Md., with his 32-year-old son, Erik von Brunn, and his son's fiancee, according to charging documents. The couple charged him $400 a month and when he moved in two years ago, he brought two rifles with him, the fiancee, Brandy Teel, told FBI agents. No one answered the door Thursday at their condo.
When next-door neighbor Harold Olynnger, 82, invited von Brunn over for a drink about three months ago, it didn't go well.
Von Brunn sipped on a vodka tonic and talked about how he believed the media paid too much attention to the Holocaust, Olynnger said.
On his Web site, von Brunn said he is a descendant of German immigrants who became convinced Jews controlled the government.
He took his rants on May 29 to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to complain about increased minority enrollment — which will be about 35 percent for the Class of 2013. He walked into the administration building and wanted a meeting with academy officials, said spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter.
Von Brunn, who was a Navy officer during World War II, never got the meeting and was not considered a safety threat, Carpenter said. However, staff quickly notified Naval investigators because of "the extreme views he expressed regarding minorities," Carpenter said.
"He made no threats," Carpenter said.
Von Brunn boasted of having spent a year in jail for fighting a sheriff's deputy in Maryland in 1968 and, a quarter-century later, of serving prison time for trying to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve board.
After he got out, he became a regular in white supremacist circles and soon had his own file with watch groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. He wrote an anti-Semitic text and maintained his conspiracy theories on the Web site.
The St. Louis native worked in advertising in New York City and moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore in the late 1960s, where he stayed in advertising and tried to make a mark as an artist.
Public records show that in 2004 and 2005 he lived briefly in Hayden, Idaho, for years home to the Aryan Nations, a racist group run by neo-Nazi Richard Butler.
When he lived in Easton, Md., von Brunn had a series of run-ins with local residents. He hired Robert E. Denney to create a Web site, then sued him when Denney realized the sort of material von Brunn wanted to publish and balked, said Harry M. Walsh Jr., Denney's former attorney.
In 1994, von Brunn was upset that The Star Democrat of Easton wouldn't run an advertisement for an anti-Semitic program on a public-access channel, recalled executive editor Denise Riley. Von Brunn spouted a series of racist and anti-Semitic comments before he was asked to leave the newsroom, Riley said.
"I was stunned to have met anyone who acted like that. I don't remember encountering anyone that bigoted before in my life," Riley said. "He was right out there for all to know and see and he was just so angry, it was kind of alarming to be around him."
Despite his tirades, his ex-wife was surprised by the charges against him. "He was a fine man and very much of an American," said Pat Sadowski, who lives in Florida and said von Brunn hasn't been a part of her life since their divorce more than 30 years ago. "He was like a John Wayne type."
On Wednesday, von Brunn parked his 2002 red Hyundai in the middle of traffic outside the museum, according to an FBI affidavit. He grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and walked toward the building. He is charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty if convicted, officials said.
The gun was a vintage Winchester rifle manufactured between 1908 and 1928, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. The gun is too old to be traced to a purchaser, the official said.
Johns, the security guard, opened the door for von Brunn. Before von Brunn even got into the building, he pointed his gun at Johns' heart and pulled the trigger. Johns later died at a hospital.
Johns' mother described her 6-foot-6 son as a "my teddy bear." Jacqueline Carter said her only child was a thoughtful man who remembered special dates like anniversaries and birthdays.
"He was kind, he was gentle, he was loving," she said. "He loved people and he loved his job."
As von Brunn walked into the doorway and raised his rifle again, two security guards fired at him at least eight times. He was shot in the face and fell backward outside the door.
Investigators found 10 rounds in von Brunn's rifle and a signed, handwritten screed in his car. "You wanted my weapons — this is how you'll get them," von Brunn wrote.
"It was a desperate move," said de Nugent's girlfriend, Margaret Huffstickler, "by a man who thought he couldn't do any more."
Ben Nuckols reported from Baltimore. Associated Press writers Christine Armario in Homosassa, Fla., Kasey Jones in Baltimore, Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., Gillian Gaynair in Temple Hills, Md., and Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this report.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
ஆஸ்திரேலியாவில் இந்தியர்களை தாக்குவது கிறிஸ்துவர்களா, முஸ்லீம்களா?
லெபானான் முஸ்லீம்கள் இந்திய மாணவர்களை தாக்குகிறார்கள் என்று செய்தி சொல்கிறது.
Indian students in Sydney allege Lebanese youths attack them
Natasha Chaku
Sydney, Jun 11 (PTI) Indian students today alleged that Lebanese youths were behind the racially-motivated attacks on them here as they took to the streets for the third consecutive night protesting against racial attacks.
The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.
Scores of Indian students last night took to the streets of Harris Park in Sydney for the third consecutive night to protest racially-motivated against them by Lebanese youths.
The protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for protection.
The protests came a day after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students against "vigilante action" to prevent attacks against them.
Indian protesters continue to say that they were being attacked by Lebanese youths. A man, who took part in the protest, was issued with a court notice for carrying an offensive weapon after being allegedly found with a piece of timber during a police search.
Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with police, India's Consul General and members of Sydney's Indian community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop protest rallies. PTI
HOME CLOSE
Brutal truth about attacks
Paul Sheehan
June 10, 2009
An Indian male displays his injuries after a group of males attacked him as tensions boiled over in Harris Park last night. Photo: Kate Geraghty
ANOTHER bashing of an Indian student, another angry demonstration by fed-up Indian residents, another brick in the wall of the misconception that Indians in this country have become the frequent victims of violent white racism.
This misconception has hardened into belief in India, where widespread media coverage of the attacks has played on old sensitivities about the treatment of Indians by whites and white Australia.
Indian student tensions rise
RAW VISION: Indian men gather to protest in Harris Park. WARNING: Language and pictures may offend some viewers.
The perception is wrong. Indian students are being attacked in Australia, with at least 100 incidents in Melbourne and Sydney during the past year. The violence is undeniable, the targeting of Indians is undeniable, and the problem is unacceptable and embarrassing.
But the distorted story of white racism has been helped along by the prevailing sensibilities of reporting of crime in Australia, with skittishness about detailing the gritty reality that most violent street crime in Sydney and Melbourne is not committed by whites. The prison populations confirm this.
The attacks on Indians have followed this pattern, with the crimes committed by a polyglot mix reflecting the streets - white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Aboriginal, Pacific Islander.
The most recent attacks, in Harris Park this week, allegedly involved assailants of the proverbial "Middle Eastern appearance". The assault on Monday night was followed by a retaliatory attack by a big group of Indians. Police said three men "of Middle Eastern appearance" were set upon in Harris Park after about 200 Indian men converged on the street after hearing of the latest attack. In Melbourne, an assault on an Indian student on a train was recorded on video and footage depicting the attack was posted on YouTube. The video shows a swarm of young men robbing and repeatedly attacking the student. Most of them do not appear to be white.
A recent assault on an Indian student in Glebe was committed by a young offender described as Aboriginal. Sydney University is bounded on the east and west by Glebe and Redfern and both have crime hot spots involving Aboriginal communities.
Another recent assault on an Indian student, by a knife-wielding assailant in Port Melbourne, involved three attackers identified as Caucasian.
The ethnicity of the attackers thus varies from crime to crime. The police are telling the truth when they describe the attacks as largely motivated by opportunism, because Indian students work late at night, live in lower-cost neighbourhoods, and are regarded as soft targets.
It is also true that Indians have been targeted, hence the demonstration by about 1000 Indian students in Melbourne 10 days ago, and this week's eruption by hundreds of Indian men in Harris Park, which has Sydney's largest concentration of Indian residents. The suburb has experienced a spate of attacks on Indians in recent months.
Indian students in Sydney allege Lebanese youths attack them
Natasha Chaku
Sydney, Jun 11 (PTI) Indian students today alleged that Lebanese youths were behind the racially-motivated attacks on them here as they took to the streets for the third consecutive night protesting against racial attacks.
The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.
Scores of Indian students last night took to the streets of Harris Park in Sydney for the third consecutive night to protest racially-motivated against them by Lebanese youths.
The protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for protection.
The protests came a day after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students against "vigilante action" to prevent attacks against them.
Indian protesters continue to say that they were being attacked by Lebanese youths. A man, who took part in the protest, was issued with a court notice for carrying an offensive weapon after being allegedly found with a piece of timber during a police search.
Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with police, India's Consul General and members of Sydney's Indian community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop protest rallies. PTI
HOME CLOSE
Brutal truth about attacks
Paul Sheehan
June 10, 2009
An Indian male displays his injuries after a group of males attacked him as tensions boiled over in Harris Park last night. Photo: Kate Geraghty
ANOTHER bashing of an Indian student, another angry demonstration by fed-up Indian residents, another brick in the wall of the misconception that Indians in this country have become the frequent victims of violent white racism.
This misconception has hardened into belief in India, where widespread media coverage of the attacks has played on old sensitivities about the treatment of Indians by whites and white Australia.
Indian student tensions rise
RAW VISION: Indian men gather to protest in Harris Park. WARNING: Language and pictures may offend some viewers.
The perception is wrong. Indian students are being attacked in Australia, with at least 100 incidents in Melbourne and Sydney during the past year. The violence is undeniable, the targeting of Indians is undeniable, and the problem is unacceptable and embarrassing.
But the distorted story of white racism has been helped along by the prevailing sensibilities of reporting of crime in Australia, with skittishness about detailing the gritty reality that most violent street crime in Sydney and Melbourne is not committed by whites. The prison populations confirm this.
The attacks on Indians have followed this pattern, with the crimes committed by a polyglot mix reflecting the streets - white, Asian, Middle Eastern, Aboriginal, Pacific Islander.
The most recent attacks, in Harris Park this week, allegedly involved assailants of the proverbial "Middle Eastern appearance". The assault on Monday night was followed by a retaliatory attack by a big group of Indians. Police said three men "of Middle Eastern appearance" were set upon in Harris Park after about 200 Indian men converged on the street after hearing of the latest attack. In Melbourne, an assault on an Indian student on a train was recorded on video and footage depicting the attack was posted on YouTube. The video shows a swarm of young men robbing and repeatedly attacking the student. Most of them do not appear to be white.
A recent assault on an Indian student in Glebe was committed by a young offender described as Aboriginal. Sydney University is bounded on the east and west by Glebe and Redfern and both have crime hot spots involving Aboriginal communities.
Another recent assault on an Indian student, by a knife-wielding assailant in Port Melbourne, involved three attackers identified as Caucasian.
The ethnicity of the attackers thus varies from crime to crime. The police are telling the truth when they describe the attacks as largely motivated by opportunism, because Indian students work late at night, live in lower-cost neighbourhoods, and are regarded as soft targets.
It is also true that Indians have been targeted, hence the demonstration by about 1000 Indian students in Melbourne 10 days ago, and this week's eruption by hundreds of Indian men in Harris Park, which has Sydney's largest concentration of Indian residents. The suburb has experienced a spate of attacks on Indians in recent months.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
பாகிஸ்தான் எங்கும் தகர்க்கப்படும் தர்காக்கள் - ஏன்?
பாகிஸ்தான் எங்கும் தகர்க்கப்படும் தர்காக்கள் - ஏன்?
வினவு மாதிரி அரைகுறைகளிடம் கேட்டால், இந்து பார்ப்பனிய பயங்கரவாதம்தான் காரணம் என்பார்.
அங்கேயே போய் கேளுங்கள்
Shrines become terror-attack targets
Sunday, 24 May, 2009 | 12:11 PM PST | Devotees visit the shrine of Sufi great Rehman Baba after it was bombed by militants. —APP/File photo Provinces
Shrine of Shah Almas blown up in Hangu INFLUX CONTINUES
Mardan echoes with the plight of IDPs PESHAWAR: Worshippers still flock to the grave of Rahman Baba, a Muslim mystic revered by millions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But they now pray at a mound of rubble and twisted steel – all that remains of his tomb since militants bombed it.
The blast in March was the most high-profile in a recent spate of attacks against Pakistan’s homespun, tolerant brand of Islam by hard-liners trying to replace it with the more austere version espoused by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
‘This hurts deep in my heart,’ said Ihasanul Haq, as he looked through a rainstorm onto the ruins of the once ornate, whitewashed tomb on the outskirts of Peshawar.
‘And to think they do this in the name of Islam.’
The attack was a sign of the extreme intolerance of the militants and the threat posed by the insurgency to the religious and cultural heart of Pakistan.
As in other countries where Islam replaced earlier religions, the faith widely practiced in Pakistan is different to that in its birthplace, the Arabian Peninsula. While still devout and socially conservative, most Pakistanis follow or are influenced by Islam’s mystical path of Sufism and incorporate local trappings such as visiting the shrines of saints, devotional songs and dancing. Some estimates say up to 75 per cent of the country belongs to this group.
However, the extremists take their cue instead from Islam as practiced in the deserts of 7th century Arabia and are opposed to Sufism and indigenous forms of the faith – particularly the veneration of saints – which they consider dangerous deviations. The extremists gained strength in Pakistan in the 1980s, partly on the back of funding by the United States, which used hardline groups as proxies to fight Soviet rule in Afghanistan.
The fissure between the two forms of Islam has left some wondering whether the government or its western allies could harness the moderation of the Sufis, and any anger they feel toward the militants, against the Taliban’s spreading grip over the country.
In a study in 2007, the US-based RAND cooperation recommended the United States reach out to Sufis to strengthen moderate networks in Muslim countries, citing as an example Indonesia, another Muslim country where foreign groups have been discreetly helping the moderates.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the descendant of a famous mystic and the keeper of his shrine, speaks often of the need to promote Sufism over extremism. But there has been little sign yet of a sustained effort by the government to reach out to the Sufis as allies or highlight how far out of step the extremists are with the country’s religious mainstream.
‘If you want to understand the inclusiveness and tolerance of Islam, you have to visit the shrines of Sufis,’ Qureshi said. ‘I believe that if you want to counter terrorism in long term, the strongest weapon is not the Kalashnikov, it is education, it is a changing of hearts and minds.’
But even with their shrines under attack, Sufis are not rising against the militants or even loudly criticising them.
Some of this silence is down to fear. The Taliban are known to terrorise and kill opponents. Many people also complain that the security forces would not support them if they put their necks on the line.
Another reason is that for many ordinary Pakistanis, anger at the Taliban is offset by anger at the United States for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that many here view as directed against Muslims. Experts also note the Taliban are primarily a political movement, not a religious one, despite how they may present their struggle.
‘If most of Pakistan believed what the Taliban believe, the story would be over,’ said Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the US Council on Foreign Relations. ‘So there is something there, but a lot of it has to do with political control. They use the rhetoric of Islam and claim to follow a pure version of it, but this is not a religious issue.’
The shrines to the saints, which range from simple tombs tucked away in tiny villages to large complexes in cities that rake in thousands of dollars a day in donations, are found across the country.
They are traditionally visited by men and women – another red flag to the extremists, who believe in the strict segregation of the sexes. Such is the pull of the saints, members of the country’s tiny Hindu and Christian minorities pray at some shrines – and meet no objection from other worshippers.
Many are havens for hashish smokers and dealers. Beggars, fortune tellers, food hawkers, drummers, devotional singers and wealthy folk handing out plates of lentil curry mingle at the most popular tombs, which pulsate with life late into the night.
In Karachi, hundreds remove their shoes each day to climb the steps to the seaside shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, an 8th century saint credited with bringing Islam to the area. Incense fills the air, as families, the young and the old, file past the tomb, pressing their heads against the stone, kissing it and throwing rose petals. Before leaving they take a pinch of supposedly holy salt from a pot on the tomb.
Mohammed Ahmed, a devout Muslim who teaches computer studies, started visiting the shrine after his wife had trouble conceiving. Now with a grinning one-year-old girl on his hip, he comes each Saturday to say ‘thank you’ to the saint for granting his wish.
For orthodox Muslims, asking any power but God for help is a grave sin that represents a watering down of the fierce monotheism that is at the heart of Islam. But Ahmed sees no sin, jokingly saying that asking for help by way of Ghazi ensures that his prayers get ‘priority’ with God.
Militants have attacked or seized shrines before, but in targeting the resting place of Rahman Baba, they chose one of the most famous tombs in the region.
Scholars say it is hard to overestimate the affection felt by the Pashtun ethnic group of northwest Pakistan and southern Afghanistan for Baba, who lived 300 years ago. In many houses in the region, his verses of love, peace and devotion to God sit alongside the Quran, as the only books on the shelf.
‘His grave is the centre of Pashtun culture,’ said Dr Raj Wali Khattak, from the Peshawar University’s Pashtun literature department. ‘While there is some dispute over who the greatest Pashtun poet is, no one disagrees that he is the most popular.’
The attackers, who have not been caught, crept into the complex before dawn as the watchman was praying at the adjoining mosque. They detonated explosives left on the pillars of the tomb and on his tomb before fleeing.
The blasts irreparably damaged the building, which has since been demolished to allow for a new one to be built.
The complex is a frequent meeting place for Peshawar’s literati and houses a small library that is visited by around 60 people each day. The library, which was undamaged, is home to a collection of around 100 books in English, including biology text books and general knowledge tomes.
‘This place is like a paradise for us,’ said Khurshed Afridi, who is studying for a Masters degree in sociology. ‘It enhances our mind.’
வினவு மாதிரி அரைகுறைகளிடம் கேட்டால், இந்து பார்ப்பனிய பயங்கரவாதம்தான் காரணம் என்பார்.
அங்கேயே போய் கேளுங்கள்
Shrines become terror-attack targets
Sunday, 24 May, 2009 | 12:11 PM PST | Devotees visit the shrine of Sufi great Rehman Baba after it was bombed by militants. —APP/File photo Provinces
Shrine of Shah Almas blown up in Hangu INFLUX CONTINUES
Mardan echoes with the plight of IDPs PESHAWAR: Worshippers still flock to the grave of Rahman Baba, a Muslim mystic revered by millions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But they now pray at a mound of rubble and twisted steel – all that remains of his tomb since militants bombed it.
The blast in March was the most high-profile in a recent spate of attacks against Pakistan’s homespun, tolerant brand of Islam by hard-liners trying to replace it with the more austere version espoused by the Taliban, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.
‘This hurts deep in my heart,’ said Ihasanul Haq, as he looked through a rainstorm onto the ruins of the once ornate, whitewashed tomb on the outskirts of Peshawar.
‘And to think they do this in the name of Islam.’
The attack was a sign of the extreme intolerance of the militants and the threat posed by the insurgency to the religious and cultural heart of Pakistan.
As in other countries where Islam replaced earlier religions, the faith widely practiced in Pakistan is different to that in its birthplace, the Arabian Peninsula. While still devout and socially conservative, most Pakistanis follow or are influenced by Islam’s mystical path of Sufism and incorporate local trappings such as visiting the shrines of saints, devotional songs and dancing. Some estimates say up to 75 per cent of the country belongs to this group.
However, the extremists take their cue instead from Islam as practiced in the deserts of 7th century Arabia and are opposed to Sufism and indigenous forms of the faith – particularly the veneration of saints – which they consider dangerous deviations. The extremists gained strength in Pakistan in the 1980s, partly on the back of funding by the United States, which used hardline groups as proxies to fight Soviet rule in Afghanistan.
The fissure between the two forms of Islam has left some wondering whether the government or its western allies could harness the moderation of the Sufis, and any anger they feel toward the militants, against the Taliban’s spreading grip over the country.
In a study in 2007, the US-based RAND cooperation recommended the United States reach out to Sufis to strengthen moderate networks in Muslim countries, citing as an example Indonesia, another Muslim country where foreign groups have been discreetly helping the moderates.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the descendant of a famous mystic and the keeper of his shrine, speaks often of the need to promote Sufism over extremism. But there has been little sign yet of a sustained effort by the government to reach out to the Sufis as allies or highlight how far out of step the extremists are with the country’s religious mainstream.
‘If you want to understand the inclusiveness and tolerance of Islam, you have to visit the shrines of Sufis,’ Qureshi said. ‘I believe that if you want to counter terrorism in long term, the strongest weapon is not the Kalashnikov, it is education, it is a changing of hearts and minds.’
But even with their shrines under attack, Sufis are not rising against the militants or even loudly criticising them.
Some of this silence is down to fear. The Taliban are known to terrorise and kill opponents. Many people also complain that the security forces would not support them if they put their necks on the line.
Another reason is that for many ordinary Pakistanis, anger at the Taliban is offset by anger at the United States for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that many here view as directed against Muslims. Experts also note the Taliban are primarily a political movement, not a religious one, despite how they may present their struggle.
‘If most of Pakistan believed what the Taliban believe, the story would be over,’ said Daniel Markey, a senior fellow at the US Council on Foreign Relations. ‘So there is something there, but a lot of it has to do with political control. They use the rhetoric of Islam and claim to follow a pure version of it, but this is not a religious issue.’
The shrines to the saints, which range from simple tombs tucked away in tiny villages to large complexes in cities that rake in thousands of dollars a day in donations, are found across the country.
They are traditionally visited by men and women – another red flag to the extremists, who believe in the strict segregation of the sexes. Such is the pull of the saints, members of the country’s tiny Hindu and Christian minorities pray at some shrines – and meet no objection from other worshippers.
Many are havens for hashish smokers and dealers. Beggars, fortune tellers, food hawkers, drummers, devotional singers and wealthy folk handing out plates of lentil curry mingle at the most popular tombs, which pulsate with life late into the night.
In Karachi, hundreds remove their shoes each day to climb the steps to the seaside shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, an 8th century saint credited with bringing Islam to the area. Incense fills the air, as families, the young and the old, file past the tomb, pressing their heads against the stone, kissing it and throwing rose petals. Before leaving they take a pinch of supposedly holy salt from a pot on the tomb.
Mohammed Ahmed, a devout Muslim who teaches computer studies, started visiting the shrine after his wife had trouble conceiving. Now with a grinning one-year-old girl on his hip, he comes each Saturday to say ‘thank you’ to the saint for granting his wish.
For orthodox Muslims, asking any power but God for help is a grave sin that represents a watering down of the fierce monotheism that is at the heart of Islam. But Ahmed sees no sin, jokingly saying that asking for help by way of Ghazi ensures that his prayers get ‘priority’ with God.
Militants have attacked or seized shrines before, but in targeting the resting place of Rahman Baba, they chose one of the most famous tombs in the region.
Scholars say it is hard to overestimate the affection felt by the Pashtun ethnic group of northwest Pakistan and southern Afghanistan for Baba, who lived 300 years ago. In many houses in the region, his verses of love, peace and devotion to God sit alongside the Quran, as the only books on the shelf.
‘His grave is the centre of Pashtun culture,’ said Dr Raj Wali Khattak, from the Peshawar University’s Pashtun literature department. ‘While there is some dispute over who the greatest Pashtun poet is, no one disagrees that he is the most popular.’
The attackers, who have not been caught, crept into the complex before dawn as the watchman was praying at the adjoining mosque. They detonated explosives left on the pillars of the tomb and on his tomb before fleeing.
The blasts irreparably damaged the building, which has since been demolished to allow for a new one to be built.
The complex is a frequent meeting place for Peshawar’s literati and houses a small library that is visited by around 60 people each day. The library, which was undamaged, is home to a collection of around 100 books in English, including biology text books and general knowledge tomes.
‘This place is like a paradise for us,’ said Khurshed Afridi, who is studying for a Masters degree in sociology. ‘It enhances our mind.’
13 வயது சிறுவனை கற்பழித்த முஸ்லீம் இமாம் கைது
டாம்பா புளோரிடாவில் 13 வயது சிறுவனை கற்பழித்த முஸ்லீம் இமாம் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார். மஸ்ஜித் ஒமார் அல் முக்தார் மசூதியில் இமாமாக இருக்கும் 35 வயது யாசர் முகம்மது ஷகதீ ஒரு பையனை வார இறுதி முழுவதும் பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்திருக்கிறார்.
இமாம்களிடம் தமிழர்கள் ஜாக்கிரதையாக இருக்கவேண்டும்.
Imam at Tampa Mosque Charged With Sexual Battery of 13-Year-Old Boy
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Florida police have charged an Imam at a Tampa mosque with sexual battery after, they said, he molested a 13-year-old boy there over the weekend.
Police said the victim was spending the night at Masjid Omar Al Mukhtar mosque Sunday when he was attacked, MyFOXTampa.com reported.
After getting a phone call from the boy’s family, police interviewed him at Tampa General Hospital and arrested 35-year-old Yasser Mohamed Shahade hours later, the station reported.
"That's what makes it the most disturbing, that it's someone who you trust, that you think your kids are safe with and unfortunately they weren't safe," Tampa police spokesperson Andrea Davis told the station.
They supplied no information as to the boy’s condition.
Worshippers at the mosque told MyFOXTampa.com they didn’t want to believe the accusations but, in time, the truth would reveal itself.
Shahade reportedly was being held without bail at Falkenburg Road Jail.
இமாம்களிடம் தமிழர்கள் ஜாக்கிரதையாக இருக்கவேண்டும்.
Imam at Tampa Mosque Charged With Sexual Battery of 13-Year-Old Boy
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Florida police have charged an Imam at a Tampa mosque with sexual battery after, they said, he molested a 13-year-old boy there over the weekend.
Police said the victim was spending the night at Masjid Omar Al Mukhtar mosque Sunday when he was attacked, MyFOXTampa.com reported.
After getting a phone call from the boy’s family, police interviewed him at Tampa General Hospital and arrested 35-year-old Yasser Mohamed Shahade hours later, the station reported.
"That's what makes it the most disturbing, that it's someone who you trust, that you think your kids are safe with and unfortunately they weren't safe," Tampa police spokesperson Andrea Davis told the station.
They supplied no information as to the boy’s condition.
Worshippers at the mosque told MyFOXTampa.com they didn’t want to believe the accusations but, in time, the truth would reveal itself.
Shahade reportedly was being held without bail at Falkenburg Road Jail.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
நோர்வேயில் இமாம் கைது
சிறு குழந்தைகளை அடித்ததற்காக இமாம் ஒருவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
சிறு குழந்தைகளை அடிப்பது நோர்வேயில் தடை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.
அல்லா மனைவியை அடிக்கலாம் என்று அனுமதி தந்திருக்கும்போது சிறுவர்களை அடிப்பது இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்துக்கு எதிரானதா?
இவ்வாறு இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்க தெரியாத நோர்வேயை இன்னேரம் இஸ்லாமியர்கள் கண்டிக்க ஆரம்பித்திருப்பார்கள்.
Imam held for alleged child beatings
June 09 2009 at 11:51AM
Oslo - A Muslim imam was arrested on Tuesday in southern Norway suspected of hitting children in the classes he taught on Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, police said.
"Some children were hit if certain words or phrases were not pronounced correctly, or if the children did not behave themselves, or if they arrived late for class," police in the town of Drammen said in a statement.
Corporal punishment of children has been banned in Norway since 1987.
"Several attempts by police to put a stop to the beatings did not succeed," police said.
Police also said they were unable to find the rods used in the alleged beatings during a search of the mosque.
சிறு குழந்தைகளை அடிப்பது நோர்வேயில் தடை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.
அல்லா மனைவியை அடிக்கலாம் என்று அனுமதி தந்திருக்கும்போது சிறுவர்களை அடிப்பது இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்துக்கு எதிரானதா?
இவ்வாறு இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்க தெரியாத நோர்வேயை இன்னேரம் இஸ்லாமியர்கள் கண்டிக்க ஆரம்பித்திருப்பார்கள்.
Imam held for alleged child beatings
June 09 2009 at 11:51AM
Oslo - A Muslim imam was arrested on Tuesday in southern Norway suspected of hitting children in the classes he taught on Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, police said.
"Some children were hit if certain words or phrases were not pronounced correctly, or if the children did not behave themselves, or if they arrived late for class," police in the town of Drammen said in a statement.
Corporal punishment of children has been banned in Norway since 1987.
"Several attempts by police to put a stop to the beatings did not succeed," police said.
Police also said they were unable to find the rods used in the alleged beatings during a search of the mosque.
தமிழ்நாட்டில் - பிரார்த்தனையில் மாணவிக்கு முத்தம்-பாஸ்டர் கைது
பிரார்த்தனையில் மாணவிக்கு முத்தம்-பாஸ்டர் கைது
வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, மார்ச் 13, 2009, 11:18 [IST]
பணகுடி: பிரார்த்தனை செய்ய சர்ச்சுக்கு வந்த பிளஸ்டூ மாணவிக்கு முத்தம் கொடுத்த பாஸ்டர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.
நெல்லை மாவட்டம் பணகுடி அருகேயுள்ள வடக்கன்குளத்தை சேர்ந்தவர் எஸ்.நியூட்டன். இவர் அப்பகுதியில் விக்டரி அசெம்பளி ஆப் காட் என்ற சபையை நடத்தி வருகிறார்.
இங்கு காலை, மாலை நேரங்களில் சிறப்பு பிரார்த்தனை மற்றும் ஜெபக்கூட்டங்கள் நடைபெறும். இதில் சுற்றுவட்டார பகுதிகளை சேர்ந்த ஆண்கள், பெண்களும் கலந்து கொள்வர்.
அடங்கார் குளத்தை சேர்ந்த கிருஸ்டி என்பவர் கடந்த 2 ஆண்டுகளாக சபை பிரார்த்தனை கூட்டங்களில் கலந்து கொண்டுள்ளார். இந்நிலையில் கடந்த 6 மாதங்களாக சபைக்கு வரும் கிறிஸ்டியிடம் பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டன் இரட்டை அர்த்தங்களுடன் பேசியுள்ளார். மேலும் இரவு நேரங்களில் செல்போனில் மிக ஆபாசமாக பேசியும், ஆபாச எஸ்எம்எஸ் அனுப்பியும் தொந்தரவு செய்துள்ளார்.
இதுபோல் கிறிஸ்டியுடன் வரும் அதே ஊரை சேர்ந்த பிளஸ் டூ மாணவி ஒருவரையும் சபை அலுவலகத்தில் யாரும் இல்லாத நேரத்தில் கட்டி பிடித்து முத்தம் கொடுத்து விட்டார்.
இதனால் மனமுடைந்த கிறிஸ்டி பணகுடி போலீசில் புகார் செய்தார். இதில் பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டன் எங்களிடம் தவறாக நடக்க முயன்றதுடன் சபைக்கு நாங்கள் செல்லாததால் அங்கு வருபர்களிடம் எங்களை பற்றி அவதூறு பரப்பி வருகிறார். எனவே அவர் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.
இது தொடர்பாக சப்-இன்ஸ்பெக்டர் செய்யது நிஷார் அகமது வழக்கு பதிவு செய்து பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டனை கைது செய்து விசாரணை நடத்தி வருகிறார்.
வெள்ளிக்கிழமை, மார்ச் 13, 2009, 11:18 [IST]
பணகுடி: பிரார்த்தனை செய்ய சர்ச்சுக்கு வந்த பிளஸ்டூ மாணவிக்கு முத்தம் கொடுத்த பாஸ்டர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டார்.
நெல்லை மாவட்டம் பணகுடி அருகேயுள்ள வடக்கன்குளத்தை சேர்ந்தவர் எஸ்.நியூட்டன். இவர் அப்பகுதியில் விக்டரி அசெம்பளி ஆப் காட் என்ற சபையை நடத்தி வருகிறார்.
இங்கு காலை, மாலை நேரங்களில் சிறப்பு பிரார்த்தனை மற்றும் ஜெபக்கூட்டங்கள் நடைபெறும். இதில் சுற்றுவட்டார பகுதிகளை சேர்ந்த ஆண்கள், பெண்களும் கலந்து கொள்வர்.
அடங்கார் குளத்தை சேர்ந்த கிருஸ்டி என்பவர் கடந்த 2 ஆண்டுகளாக சபை பிரார்த்தனை கூட்டங்களில் கலந்து கொண்டுள்ளார். இந்நிலையில் கடந்த 6 மாதங்களாக சபைக்கு வரும் கிறிஸ்டியிடம் பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டன் இரட்டை அர்த்தங்களுடன் பேசியுள்ளார். மேலும் இரவு நேரங்களில் செல்போனில் மிக ஆபாசமாக பேசியும், ஆபாச எஸ்எம்எஸ் அனுப்பியும் தொந்தரவு செய்துள்ளார்.
இதுபோல் கிறிஸ்டியுடன் வரும் அதே ஊரை சேர்ந்த பிளஸ் டூ மாணவி ஒருவரையும் சபை அலுவலகத்தில் யாரும் இல்லாத நேரத்தில் கட்டி பிடித்து முத்தம் கொடுத்து விட்டார்.
இதனால் மனமுடைந்த கிறிஸ்டி பணகுடி போலீசில் புகார் செய்தார். இதில் பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டன் எங்களிடம் தவறாக நடக்க முயன்றதுடன் சபைக்கு நாங்கள் செல்லாததால் அங்கு வருபர்களிடம் எங்களை பற்றி அவதூறு பரப்பி வருகிறார். எனவே அவர் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார்.
இது தொடர்பாக சப்-இன்ஸ்பெக்டர் செய்யது நிஷார் அகமது வழக்கு பதிவு செய்து பாஸ்டர் நியூட்டனை கைது செய்து விசாரணை நடத்தி வருகிறார்.
49 வயது பாஸ்டருக்கு சிறை தண்டனை கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. காரணம்?
49 வயது பாஸ்டருக்கு சிறை தண்டனை கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. காரணம்?
சிறுவர்களை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததுதான்.
ஜாக்கிரதை ஜாக்கிரதை ஜாக்கிரதை
Ex-pastor sentenced for lewd conduct with minor
Floyd
Published: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 10:36 PM MDT
ST. ANTHONY -- Reuben Elmer Floyd Jr., 49, has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for lewd conduct with a minor. He was pastor of Ashton Bible Church and a substitute teacher for Fremont School District.
The sentencing took place Tuesday at the Fremont County Courthouse.
Prior to the sentencing, 7th District Judge Greg Moeller told Floyd he had betrayed a public trust as a teacher and a pastor.
"As a minister, you were supposed to be a shepherd to a flock, and you became a wolf," he said
Moeller also imposed a $5,000 fine along with restitution to pay for any counseling for the victim, a boy whom court records say was 15 years old in September 2008 when the crimes were committed.
In addition, Floyd will be required to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
The potential penalty for lewd conduct with a child under 16 is up to life imprisonment and up to $50,000 in fines.
Floyd will receive credit for the time he has served since he was arrested.
Floyd's attorney, Paul Butikofer, noted that Floyd had no previous criminal record and cited a psycho-sexual evaluation that was required by the court that contained a recommendation for supervised probation along with counseling.
Assistant Fremont County Prosecutor Gilman Gardner said the entire case was troubling because of Floyd's position as a substitute teacher and religious leader.
"He was using his position to groom other victims," he said.
At the sentencing Floyd testified in his own behalf, and asked for forgiveness from the community and leniency from the court.
"I realize I have done wrong and I take responsibility for it," he said.
Floyd was arrested on March 9 after an investigation that began that day, and he was charged with four counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16.
On March 24, Floyd pleaded guilty to one of the charges against him and in accordance with a plea agreement with the court, the other three counts were dropped.
At a preliminary hearing that day, Floyd waived the hearing and requested that a change-of-plea hearing be held in District Court that afternoon.
As part of a plea agreement, the court agreed to consider a recommendation that the sentencing not exceed that recommended in the presentence report, but the recommendation was not binding.
The court also agreed not to file additional charges from the initial police investigation unless other victims were identified, but no additional charges were filed.
After the sentencing, Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries, whose office assisted the Ashton Police Department with the investigation, said, "I feel the sentence was appropriate for the crime that was committed. It removes from society a predator who has shown the tendency to prey on young people."
Butikofer said his next step is to advise Floyd about his appeal options.
"He'll make a decision on those," he said.
JOSEPH LAW
சிறுவர்களை பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததுதான்.
ஜாக்கிரதை ஜாக்கிரதை ஜாக்கிரதை
Ex-pastor sentenced for lewd conduct with minor
Floyd
Published: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 10:36 PM MDT
ST. ANTHONY -- Reuben Elmer Floyd Jr., 49, has been sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for lewd conduct with a minor. He was pastor of Ashton Bible Church and a substitute teacher for Fremont School District.
The sentencing took place Tuesday at the Fremont County Courthouse.
Prior to the sentencing, 7th District Judge Greg Moeller told Floyd he had betrayed a public trust as a teacher and a pastor.
"As a minister, you were supposed to be a shepherd to a flock, and you became a wolf," he said
Moeller also imposed a $5,000 fine along with restitution to pay for any counseling for the victim, a boy whom court records say was 15 years old in September 2008 when the crimes were committed.
In addition, Floyd will be required to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
The potential penalty for lewd conduct with a child under 16 is up to life imprisonment and up to $50,000 in fines.
Floyd will receive credit for the time he has served since he was arrested.
Floyd's attorney, Paul Butikofer, noted that Floyd had no previous criminal record and cited a psycho-sexual evaluation that was required by the court that contained a recommendation for supervised probation along with counseling.
Assistant Fremont County Prosecutor Gilman Gardner said the entire case was troubling because of Floyd's position as a substitute teacher and religious leader.
"He was using his position to groom other victims," he said.
At the sentencing Floyd testified in his own behalf, and asked for forgiveness from the community and leniency from the court.
"I realize I have done wrong and I take responsibility for it," he said.
Floyd was arrested on March 9 after an investigation that began that day, and he was charged with four counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16.
On March 24, Floyd pleaded guilty to one of the charges against him and in accordance with a plea agreement with the court, the other three counts were dropped.
At a preliminary hearing that day, Floyd waived the hearing and requested that a change-of-plea hearing be held in District Court that afternoon.
As part of a plea agreement, the court agreed to consider a recommendation that the sentencing not exceed that recommended in the presentence report, but the recommendation was not binding.
The court also agreed not to file additional charges from the initial police investigation unless other victims were identified, but no additional charges were filed.
After the sentencing, Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries, whose office assisted the Ashton Police Department with the investigation, said, "I feel the sentence was appropriate for the crime that was committed. It removes from society a predator who has shown the tendency to prey on young people."
Butikofer said his next step is to advise Floyd about his appeal options.
"He'll make a decision on those," he said.
JOSEPH LAW
28 வயது கிறிஸ்துவ பாஸ்டர் கைது
நான்கு சிறுவர்களை தொடர்ந்து பாலுறுவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக 28 வயது பாஸ்டர் ஆண்ட்ரூ பெலாண்ட் என்பவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
கிறிஸ்துவ பிரச்சாரம் செய்யும் அப்பாவிகள் எதனை வளர்க்கிறார்கள் என்பதை தெரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும்.
Humboldt pastor convicted of child molestation
The Associated Press
Posted: 06/01/2009 11:24:42 PM PDT
Updated: 06/01/2009 11:24:43 PM PDT
EUREKA, Calif.—A former youth pastor and teacher's aide is facing four life sentences after he was convicted in a Humboldt County court of child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Twenty-six-year-old Andrew Belant was found guilty Monday of more than a dozen charges. Authorities say he abused four boys, aged nine through 13, between January 2007 and March 2008.
At the trial, the boys testified the abuse began with inappropriate touching.
Belant denied abusing at least one of the boys and said he did not recall taking pornographic photos of boys found on hard drives in his possession.
Belant was a teacher's aide at Jacoby Creek Elementary School and a middle school ministry director at a Eureka church when he was arrested in March 2008.
———
கிறிஸ்துவ பிரச்சாரம் செய்யும் அப்பாவிகள் எதனை வளர்க்கிறார்கள் என்பதை தெரிந்துகொள்ள வேண்டும்.
Humboldt pastor convicted of child molestation
The Associated Press
Posted: 06/01/2009 11:24:42 PM PDT
Updated: 06/01/2009 11:24:43 PM PDT
EUREKA, Calif.—A former youth pastor and teacher's aide is facing four life sentences after he was convicted in a Humboldt County court of child molestation and possession of child pornography.
Twenty-six-year-old Andrew Belant was found guilty Monday of more than a dozen charges. Authorities say he abused four boys, aged nine through 13, between January 2007 and March 2008.
At the trial, the boys testified the abuse began with inappropriate touching.
Belant denied abusing at least one of the boys and said he did not recall taking pornographic photos of boys found on hard drives in his possession.
Belant was a teacher's aide at Jacoby Creek Elementary School and a middle school ministry director at a Eureka church when he was arrested in March 2008.
———
மற்றொரு கிறிஸ்துவ பாஸ்டர் செய்த சேவை
சிறுவயது பெண் ஒருவரை தொடர்ந்து பாலுறவு பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக ஜோஸ் அல்பிரேடோ கோர்னேடோ என்ற பாஸ்டர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
தமிழ்நாட்டில் சிறுபான்மைமதம் என்று இது போன்ற கேஸ்களை ஊற்றி மூடுகிறார்களா தெரியாது.
எதற்கும் ஜாக்கிரதையாக இருந்துகொள்வது நல்லது.
Former youth pastor charged with molestation
MILLARD K. IVES
Staff Writer
CENTER HILL -- A former youth pastor was charged with four counts of sexual battery Tuesday, on accusations he had a four-year sexual relationship with a teen-aged member of the church.
Jose Alfredo Coronado, 38, of Center Hill, was arrested at his job at the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections office. He is being held at the Sumter County jail in lieu of $120,000 bail.
Sumter County Sheriff's officials said the 18-year-old alleged victim went to the sheriff's office on Tuesday, saying he had been sexually involved with Coronado between the ages of 12 and 14.
The victim told police that the molestation began while Coronado was his youth pastor and took place mostly at Coronado's home in Center Hill.
Sheriff's officials said Coronado was associated with the Church of God of the First Born during the time of the alleged incidents.
Lt. Bobby Caruthers, sheriff's spokesman, said detectives coordinated a phone call between the victim and suspect, in which Coronado admitted sexual involvement with the victim. Detectives located Coronado at his workplace, where he was employed as the elections services center manager, and arrested him.
Deputy Jeremiah Price said the victim initially came to the sheriff's office complaining of harassing emails from the suspect. An investigation led to the molestation allegations.
Karen S. Krauss, Sumter County Supervisor of Elections, said Wednesday she is deciding what to do about Coronado's employment.
தமிழ்நாட்டில் சிறுபான்மைமதம் என்று இது போன்ற கேஸ்களை ஊற்றி மூடுகிறார்களா தெரியாது.
எதற்கும் ஜாக்கிரதையாக இருந்துகொள்வது நல்லது.
Former youth pastor charged with molestation
MILLARD K. IVES
Staff Writer
CENTER HILL -- A former youth pastor was charged with four counts of sexual battery Tuesday, on accusations he had a four-year sexual relationship with a teen-aged member of the church.
Jose Alfredo Coronado, 38, of Center Hill, was arrested at his job at the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections office. He is being held at the Sumter County jail in lieu of $120,000 bail.
Sumter County Sheriff's officials said the 18-year-old alleged victim went to the sheriff's office on Tuesday, saying he had been sexually involved with Coronado between the ages of 12 and 14.
The victim told police that the molestation began while Coronado was his youth pastor and took place mostly at Coronado's home in Center Hill.
Sheriff's officials said Coronado was associated with the Church of God of the First Born during the time of the alleged incidents.
Lt. Bobby Caruthers, sheriff's spokesman, said detectives coordinated a phone call between the victim and suspect, in which Coronado admitted sexual involvement with the victim. Detectives located Coronado at his workplace, where he was employed as the elections services center manager, and arrested him.
Deputy Jeremiah Price said the victim initially came to the sheriff's office complaining of harassing emails from the suspect. An investigation led to the molestation allegations.
Karen S. Krauss, Sumter County Supervisor of Elections, said Wednesday she is deciding what to do about Coronado's employment.
பெந்தகொஸ்தே பாஸ்டரின் சீரிய சேவை
முந்தைய செய்தியில் பாப்டிஸ்டு பாஸ்டரின் லீலைகளை பார்த்தோம்
இந்த செய்தி பெந்த கொஸ்தே பாஸ்டரின் கொடூர குணத்தை சொல்கிறது.
இவரும் குழந்தைகளை பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
குழந்தைகளை எச்சரிக்கையாக பார்த்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள். கிறிஸ்துவ பள்ளிகளை தவிருங்கள்.
கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரிமார்களிடம் குழந்தைகளை பழக விடாதீர்கள்.
Rockingham County Pastor Arrested For Sex Offenses
Posted by: Devetta Blount Created: 5/26/2009 1:45:41 PM Updated: 5/26/2009 2:25:09 PM
Rockingham County, NC-- Investigators in Rockingham County say a 15 year-old girl and her mother came forward with allegations of sexual offenses involving a man know as "Tommy" Wheeler.
He is accused of having inappropriate sexual dealings on multiple occasions with the child since early 2009. After the investigation detectives announced the arrest of Gary Thomas Wheeler, 56, of U.S. 158 West in Reidsville.
Wheeler is charged with second degree sexual offense, and other felony sex offenses. He is currently in the Rockingham County Jail with a bond of 1 million dollars.
Tommy Wheeler told officers that he is a self employed painter and pastor of a Pentecostal Holiness Church in Rockingham County.
Stay tuned to WFMY News 2 and digtriad for updates on this story.
WFMY News 2/ ROC Sheriff's Office
இந்த செய்தி பெந்த கொஸ்தே பாஸ்டரின் கொடூர குணத்தை சொல்கிறது.
இவரும் குழந்தைகளை பலாத்காரம் செய்ததற்காக கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்.
குழந்தைகளை எச்சரிக்கையாக பார்த்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள். கிறிஸ்துவ பள்ளிகளை தவிருங்கள்.
கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரிமார்களிடம் குழந்தைகளை பழக விடாதீர்கள்.
Rockingham County Pastor Arrested For Sex Offenses
Posted by: Devetta Blount Created: 5/26/2009 1:45:41 PM Updated: 5/26/2009 2:25:09 PM
Rockingham County, NC-- Investigators in Rockingham County say a 15 year-old girl and her mother came forward with allegations of sexual offenses involving a man know as "Tommy" Wheeler.
He is accused of having inappropriate sexual dealings on multiple occasions with the child since early 2009. After the investigation detectives announced the arrest of Gary Thomas Wheeler, 56, of U.S. 158 West in Reidsville.
Wheeler is charged with second degree sexual offense, and other felony sex offenses. He is currently in the Rockingham County Jail with a bond of 1 million dollars.
Tommy Wheeler told officers that he is a self employed painter and pastor of a Pentecostal Holiness Church in Rockingham County.
Stay tuned to WFMY News 2 and digtriad for updates on this story.
WFMY News 2/ ROC Sheriff's Office
பாப்டிஸ்ட் பாஸ்டரின் மகத்தான சேவை
கத்தோலிக்க பாதிரியார்கள் மட்டுமல்லாது, எல்லா கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரிமார்களுக்கும் இந்த கொடூர குணம் உண்டு போலிருக்கிறது.
64 வயதான இந்த பாப்டிஸ்டு பாஸ்டர் குழந்தைகள் வன்புணர்வு குற்றத்துக்காக கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
தமிழ் சினிமாவில் அன்பு ததும்பும் பாதிரியார் படத்தை பார்த்துவிட்டு குழந்தைகளை ஒப்படைத்துவிட்டு பின்னே அழாதீர்கள்.
கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரிமார்கள் ஜாக்கிரதை. குழந்தைகளை பத்திரமாக பார்த்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்.
Crossville pastor arrested on child sex charges
Posted: May 22, 2009 05:52 PM EDT
Updated: May 22, 2009 05:52 PM EDT
Associate pastor charged with sexually abusing a boy
By Barbara Czura - email
Posted by Dana Franks - email
FORT PAYNE, AL (WAFF) - An associate pastor at the Harvest Baptist Church in Crossville was arrested Friday afternoon on sexual abuse charges.
It's the second time Billy Paul Masters, 64, has been accused of abusing a child. Masters was convicted of three counts of first degree sodomy in 2001 and was released from prison in 2007.
Then, while he was on probation for that previous charge, he was arrested again Friday amidst accusations that he abused a boy under the age of 12.
Investigators said the victim was a member of the church. The boy confided in his parents, who called officers to report the crime.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said they've been following masters since January.
"This is always his M.O.," Harris said. "He gets into a situation where there are children he has contact with from time to time. So no good comes out of this. So we hope at this time we got a good enough case it'll stick this time."
Masters is a registered sex offender. He was being held at the DeKalb County Detention Center Friday afternoon.
64 வயதான இந்த பாப்டிஸ்டு பாஸ்டர் குழந்தைகள் வன்புணர்வு குற்றத்துக்காக கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
தமிழ் சினிமாவில் அன்பு ததும்பும் பாதிரியார் படத்தை பார்த்துவிட்டு குழந்தைகளை ஒப்படைத்துவிட்டு பின்னே அழாதீர்கள்.
கிறிஸ்துவ பாதிரிமார்கள் ஜாக்கிரதை. குழந்தைகளை பத்திரமாக பார்த்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்.
Crossville pastor arrested on child sex charges
Posted: May 22, 2009 05:52 PM EDT
Updated: May 22, 2009 05:52 PM EDT
Associate pastor charged with sexually abusing a boy
By Barbara Czura - email
Posted by Dana Franks - email
FORT PAYNE, AL (WAFF) - An associate pastor at the Harvest Baptist Church in Crossville was arrested Friday afternoon on sexual abuse charges.
It's the second time Billy Paul Masters, 64, has been accused of abusing a child. Masters was convicted of three counts of first degree sodomy in 2001 and was released from prison in 2007.
Then, while he was on probation for that previous charge, he was arrested again Friday amidst accusations that he abused a boy under the age of 12.
Investigators said the victim was a member of the church. The boy confided in his parents, who called officers to report the crime.
DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said they've been following masters since January.
"This is always his M.O.," Harris said. "He gets into a situation where there are children he has contact with from time to time. So no good comes out of this. So we hope at this time we got a good enough case it'll stick this time."
Masters is a registered sex offender. He was being held at the DeKalb County Detention Center Friday afternoon.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
பாகிஸ்தான் இஸ்லாமாபாத் போலீஸ் வளாகத்தில் தற்கொலை குண்டு தாக்குதல்- 2 பேர் பலி
பாகிஸ்தான் இஸ்லாமாபாத் போலீஸ் வளாகத்தில் தற்கொலை குண்டு தாக்குதல்- 2 பேர் பலி
Suicide Bomber Hits Islamabad Emergency Call Center
By VOA News
06 June 2009
Pakistani policemen inspect suicide attack site at the 'rescue 15' office in Islamabad, 06 Jun 2009
A suicide bomber has attacked a police emergency call center in the capital of Islamabad, killing two police officers and wounding others.
Pakistani police say the bomber approached the building late Saturday and detonated explosives when security officers opened fire.
The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks on Pakistani cities that officials say are retaliation for the military's campaign against the Taliban in the country's northwest.
Earlier Saturday, two high-ranking prisoners were killed in a bomb and gunfire attack on a military convoy that was transporting detainees.
Pakistani officials identified the prisoners as Muhammad Alam and Ameer Izzat. The two men were arrested Thursday and were senior members of the militant group Tehrik-e-Nifaz-i-Shariat-e-Muhammadi. Alam was a deputy while Izzat was the group's spokesman.
Major-General Athar Abbas says the men were being taken from Malakand to the city of Peshawar for interrogation. He said it was possible they were the target of the attack.
The group's leader, Maulana Sufi Muhammad, helped negotiate the failed peace deal in the Swat Valley that required militants to disarm in exchange for the establishment of strict Islamic (Sharia) law there.
Pakistani officials say one soldier was killed and five others wounded in Saturday's attack on the military convoy.
A political scientist at Lahore University (Rasul Bahksh Rais) told a Pakistani television network (Express 24/7) the killings may have been deliberate to prevent Alam and Izzat from giving the military information about militant leaders' whereabouts.
The Pakistani military has been battling Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley area for more than a month. Pakistan says more than 1,300 militants and more than 100 soldiers have been killed during the offensive. A Pakistani military spokesman says government forces have killed 17 militants in the past 24 hours.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
இந்துவுடன் பேசிய முன்னாள் இந்துவுக்கு பிரம்படி
பங்களாதேஷில் கமலா என்ற முஸ்லீம் மாது, ஒரு இந்துவுடன் பேசியதற்காக பிரம்படி கொடுத்து திருத்தப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
முஸ்லீம் பெண்கள் மீது முஸ்லீம்களுக்கே அவ்வளவு நம்பிக்கை!
Mother caned in Bangladesh for talking to Hindu man
3 hours ago
DHAKA (AFP) — A Muslim mother has been caned for talking to a Hindu man in Bangladesh, police said Saturday, prompting fresh concerns about a rise in cases of harsh treatment of women under strict Islamic law.
The punishment was carried out in a remote village in Muslim-majority Bangladesh on the orders of village elders, local police chief Enamul Monowar told AFP by telephone.
The village elders found Kamala Begum, 38, a mother of four children, guilty under Islamic sharia law of chatting with an unidentified Hindu man, Monowar said. Hindus make up around 10 percent of Bangladesh's population.
"The villagers got bundles of 25 sticks and hit her four times on the back. They claimed it was a symbolic punishment. But she's humiliated and has been in great mental pain," Monowar said.
It was the third such reported case in two weeks in the country and stirred concern among women's groups in Muslim-majority but officially secular Bangladesh about what they say is a rise in brutal treatment of women under locally applied Islamic laws.
"In the last few months, we have seen villagers invoking sharia to mete out barbaric punishments to women," said Salma Ali, the head of rights group Bangladesh National Woman Lawyers Association.
Police have arrested one man and are looking for others who meted out the punishment to the woman in Shason in northeastern Bangladesh, Monowar said.
Earlier this month a man and a woman were caned for adultery after being convicted by a village court, police said.
Village courts are common in Bangladesh, particularly in more conservative rural areas, but are not recognised as legitimate courts of law.
Also this month, a 22-year-old unmarried Bangladeshi woman was caned 39 times and left fighting for her life after saying a neighbour was the father of her six-year-old son.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்க தெரியாத கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவர்கள்
பாகிஸ்தானில் சீக்கியர்கள், இந்துக்கள், கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் எல்லோரும் தாலிபானுக்கு ஜிஸியா வரி கொடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று தாலிபான் கோரியிருக்கிறது. சீக்கியர்களும் இந்துக்களும் ஜிஸியா வரி கொடுக்க தயார் என்று அறிவித்துள்ளார்கள்.
ஆனால் கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் மட்டும், மேன்மையான இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்காமல், ஜிஸியா கொடுக்க முடியாது என்று அறிவித்திருக்கிறார்கள்.
அப்புறம் ஜிஸியா கொடுக்கவில்லை என்று எங்களை தாலிபான் கொன்றுவிட்டார்கள் என்று புலம்பினால், ஒத்துக்கொள்ளமுடியாது.
Pakistani Catholic leaders come out against the Taliban and the imposition of the jizya
by Qaiser Felix
Tax on non-Muslims is a threat that violates basic human rights. In tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan more than 700 non-Muslim families are persecuted and forced to pay. Federal Religious Minorities minister strongly condemns the tax, pledges help for the victims.
Lahore (AsiaNews) – The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has condemned the imposition of the Jizya, the poll tax for non-Muslims, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan because of its discriminatory nature and because it constitutes a direct threat to basic human rights.
Mgr John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore, and Peter Jacob, NCJP executive secretary, have urged the federal and provincial governments in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to do something to alleviate the plight of non-Muslim families forced to “hand over their hard earned bread and butter to the extremists.”
Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant Islamist organisation based in Bara, about 10 kilometres south-west of Peshawar, is responsible for applying the tax.
Local sources said that more than 700 non-Muslim families have had to pay the tax.
NCJP leaders have complained about the lack of security among religious minorities in Orkazai and Khyber agency areas and that they are victims of harassment, religious taxation and expulsion.
The tax also is a threat to the country’s “democratic credentials and political system”. For this reason the government “should make it clear that Pakistan is a democratic country that cannot allow religious minorities to be subjected to such discrimination and economic injustice because they are equal citizens and not a conquered people.” These principles, the NCJP statement said, “are still part of the Constitution and the political system.”
Religious Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti reacted to the appeals of Catholic leaders by strongly condemning the demand on non-Muslims to pay the jizya.
Speaking to AsiaNews, the minister, who is Catholic, said that the tax “is illegal, unethical and against the Constitution of Pakistan.”
Moreover, in condemning those who perpetrate violence in the name of religion, he insisted that the protection of non-Muslims “is our constitutional obligation and moral duty”. The government, he reiterated, “will not let the Taliban threat and harm the minorities.”
ஆனால் கத்தோலிக்க கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் மட்டும், மேன்மையான இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்காமல், ஜிஸியா கொடுக்க முடியாது என்று அறிவித்திருக்கிறார்கள்.
அப்புறம் ஜிஸியா கொடுக்கவில்லை என்று எங்களை தாலிபான் கொன்றுவிட்டார்கள் என்று புலம்பினால், ஒத்துக்கொள்ளமுடியாது.
Pakistani Catholic leaders come out against the Taliban and the imposition of the jizya
by Qaiser Felix
Tax on non-Muslims is a threat that violates basic human rights. In tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan more than 700 non-Muslim families are persecuted and forced to pay. Federal Religious Minorities minister strongly condemns the tax, pledges help for the victims.
Lahore (AsiaNews) – The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has condemned the imposition of the Jizya, the poll tax for non-Muslims, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on the border with Afghanistan because of its discriminatory nature and because it constitutes a direct threat to basic human rights.
Mgr John Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore, and Peter Jacob, NCJP executive secretary, have urged the federal and provincial governments in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to do something to alleviate the plight of non-Muslim families forced to “hand over their hard earned bread and butter to the extremists.”
Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant Islamist organisation based in Bara, about 10 kilometres south-west of Peshawar, is responsible for applying the tax.
Local sources said that more than 700 non-Muslim families have had to pay the tax.
NCJP leaders have complained about the lack of security among religious minorities in Orkazai and Khyber agency areas and that they are victims of harassment, religious taxation and expulsion.
The tax also is a threat to the country’s “democratic credentials and political system”. For this reason the government “should make it clear that Pakistan is a democratic country that cannot allow religious minorities to be subjected to such discrimination and economic injustice because they are equal citizens and not a conquered people.” These principles, the NCJP statement said, “are still part of the Constitution and the political system.”
Religious Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti reacted to the appeals of Catholic leaders by strongly condemning the demand on non-Muslims to pay the jizya.
Speaking to AsiaNews, the minister, who is Catholic, said that the tax “is illegal, unethical and against the Constitution of Pakistan.”
Moreover, in condemning those who perpetrate violence in the name of religion, he insisted that the protection of non-Muslims “is our constitutional obligation and moral duty”. The government, he reiterated, “will not let the Taliban threat and harm the minorities.”
இஸ்லாமிய பெண்குறி வெட்டும் கலாச்சாரத்தை மதிக்க தெரியாத ஐரோப்பா
ஐரோப்பியர்களின் போலி ஜனநாயகம் போலி சுதந்திரத்தில் இஸ்லாமிய கலாச்சாரப்படி பெண்குறியை வெட்டுவது அனுமதிக்கப்படுவதில்லையாம்.
இவர்களது போலி சுதந்திரத்தை பாரீர்
Europe Pushes Back Against Female Genital Mutilation
Islamist Watch Blog 02 June 2009
By David J. Rusin
In a recent interview, activist Ines Laufer explains how female genital mutilation (FGM), which aims to destroy the ability to experience sexual pleasure, threatens thousands of Muslim girls in Europe. "The number of FGM victims and minor girls at risk and the prevalence of FGM in the EU are much higher than assumed," she reports. Some families send their daughters overseas for the procedure; others utilize practitioners who travel from those countries to the West.
Yet several positive developments are of note. Last week a woman in Sweden was awarded compensation from her mother, who had subjected her to FGM during a "holiday" to Somalia in 2001 when she was eleven. "Torture" is how an administrative body describes her ordeal:
She was held down by her mother and two other women while her clitoris and inner labia were removed by a man in return for payment.
The girl's vagina was then sewn up down to the opening of her urethra. The whole procedure was conducted without anesthetic.
A similar case from Denmark resulted in a mother being sentenced earlier this year for allowing a pair of daughters to undergo the operation, which has been illegal there since 2003.
Other nations also are taking notice, as demonstrated by the following actions:
* In France, where genital mutilation continues despite a relatively vigorous record of prosecution, "the government is handing out 100,000 leaflets to schools, doctors, and other public services explaining the health and legal risks and providing information on support services for victims."
* In Britain, which outlawed the procedure in 1985 but where hundreds of girls still are mutilated each year, some schools are instituting programs by which "teachers there would soon be trained to detect victims of female circumcision and pupils at risk." This is an important safety valve; an alert teacher played a key role in the Danish case.
* In Italy, the president of the Association of Moroccan Women, who also is an MP, has spoken out against FGM "because unfortunately we have noticed that the practice has anything but ceased" since such operations were prohibited in 2006.
* In the Netherlands, a government minister has proposed that parents planning to take at-risk children to their countries of origin be made to sign a statement acknowledging that FGM is criminal, thus enabling prosecution if they do not comply.
The campaign to protect the human rights of Muslim girls in the West will be a long and difficult one. To paraphrase Churchill, this is not the beginning of the end. But with rising awareness, we are, perhaps, moving toward the end of the beginning.
இவர்களது போலி சுதந்திரத்தை பாரீர்
Europe Pushes Back Against Female Genital Mutilation
Islamist Watch Blog 02 June 2009
By David J. Rusin
In a recent interview, activist Ines Laufer explains how female genital mutilation (FGM), which aims to destroy the ability to experience sexual pleasure, threatens thousands of Muslim girls in Europe. "The number of FGM victims and minor girls at risk and the prevalence of FGM in the EU are much higher than assumed," she reports. Some families send their daughters overseas for the procedure; others utilize practitioners who travel from those countries to the West.
Yet several positive developments are of note. Last week a woman in Sweden was awarded compensation from her mother, who had subjected her to FGM during a "holiday" to Somalia in 2001 when she was eleven. "Torture" is how an administrative body describes her ordeal:
She was held down by her mother and two other women while her clitoris and inner labia were removed by a man in return for payment.
The girl's vagina was then sewn up down to the opening of her urethra. The whole procedure was conducted without anesthetic.
A similar case from Denmark resulted in a mother being sentenced earlier this year for allowing a pair of daughters to undergo the operation, which has been illegal there since 2003.
Other nations also are taking notice, as demonstrated by the following actions:
* In France, where genital mutilation continues despite a relatively vigorous record of prosecution, "the government is handing out 100,000 leaflets to schools, doctors, and other public services explaining the health and legal risks and providing information on support services for victims."
* In Britain, which outlawed the procedure in 1985 but where hundreds of girls still are mutilated each year, some schools are instituting programs by which "teachers there would soon be trained to detect victims of female circumcision and pupils at risk." This is an important safety valve; an alert teacher played a key role in the Danish case.
* In Italy, the president of the Association of Moroccan Women, who also is an MP, has spoken out against FGM "because unfortunately we have noticed that the practice has anything but ceased" since such operations were prohibited in 2006.
* In the Netherlands, a government minister has proposed that parents planning to take at-risk children to their countries of origin be made to sign a statement acknowledging that FGM is criminal, thus enabling prosecution if they do not comply.
The campaign to protect the human rights of Muslim girls in the West will be a long and difficult one. To paraphrase Churchill, this is not the beginning of the end. But with rising awareness, we are, perhaps, moving toward the end of the beginning.
முன்னாள் இந்துக்களின் கொலைவெறி தாக்குதலில் 40 பேர் பலி
பாகிஸ்தானில் மசூதிக்குள் முன்னாள் இந்துக்கள் கொலைவெறித்தாக்குதலில் ஈடுபட்டத்தில் முன்னாள் இந்துக்கள் இன்னாள் முஸ்லீம்கள் 40 பேர் மரணமடைந்தார்கள். இதில் பெண்களும் சிறுவர்களும் அடங்குவர்
Bomb kills around 40 at mosque in NW Pakistan
Fri Jun 5, 2009 6:25am EDT
ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed around 40 worshippers attending Friday prayers at a mosque in a remote area of northwest Pakistan, a senior official told Reuters.
"Around 40 people are killed. The death toll is 40. We have no idea as yet how many have been wounded," Atif-ur-Rehman, the senior-most government administrator in Upper Dir, where the explosion occured, said.
Upper Dir is close to Swat valley where Pakistani security forge launched a major offensive last month to expel Taliban militants.
Pakistani officials have warned that militants would strike back.
U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke was due to hold talks with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani on Friday.
Dir's blast is the ninth bomb attack in the country since the offensive began, and the Taliban has threatened more revenge. (Reporting by Zeeshan Haider, writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Bomb kills around 40 at mosque in NW Pakistan
Fri Jun 5, 2009 6:25am EDT
ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed around 40 worshippers attending Friday prayers at a mosque in a remote area of northwest Pakistan, a senior official told Reuters.
"Around 40 people are killed. The death toll is 40. We have no idea as yet how many have been wounded," Atif-ur-Rehman, the senior-most government administrator in Upper Dir, where the explosion occured, said.
Upper Dir is close to Swat valley where Pakistani security forge launched a major offensive last month to expel Taliban militants.
Pakistani officials have warned that militants would strike back.
U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke was due to hold talks with army chief General Ashfaq Kayani on Friday.
Dir's blast is the ninth bomb attack in the country since the offensive began, and the Taliban has threatened more revenge. (Reporting by Zeeshan Haider, writing by Simon Cameron-Moore; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Thursday, June 04, 2009
இந்தியாவில் முஸ்லீம் பெண்கள் கார் ஓட்டலாமா? வீடியோ
முஸ்லீம் பெண்கள் கார் ஓட்டினால் அல்லா கடுப்பாகிவிடுவார் என்று இஸ்லாமிய படிப்பாளி கூறுகிறார்.
ஏனென்றால், பெண்கள் கார் ஓட்டினால், ஆண் துணையில்லாமல் பெண்கள் போகலாமாம். பிறகு எல்லாவிதமான ஆண்களையும் பெண்களையும் சந்தித்துவிடுவார்களாம்.
இந்த காரணங்களுக்காக பெண்களை கார் ஓட்டக்கூடாது என்றால், எந்த அளவுக்கு பெண்கள் மீது இஸ்லாம் நம்பிக்கை வைக்கிறது என்று தெளிவாகிறது
ஒன்று செய்யலாம்.
பெண்களது கால்களை வெட்டிவிடலாம். பிறகு எங்கும் ஆண்கள் துணையில்லாமல் போக முடியாது. பிறகு பெண்களது ஒழுக்கத்தை இஸ்லாம் கட்டிக்காப்பாற்றுவதாக கூறிவிடலாம்
வாயினால் மற்ற ஆண்களிடம் பேசிவிட்டால் என்ன ஆவது? ஆகவே நாக்கை அறுத்துவிடலாம்.
ஆமாம் அவர்கள் கண்களால் பேசிவிட்டால் என்ன செய்வது? கண்களையும் குருடாக்கிவிடலாம்.
ஓக்கே.. இப்போது எல்லா பெண்களின் கற்பையும் ஒழுக்கத்தையும் காப்பாற்றிவிட்டது இஸ்லாம்.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
பெண்கள் விளையாட்டில் கலந்துகொள்வது அல்லாவுக்கு பிடிக்காது..
முஸ்லீம் பெண்கள் விளையாட்டுகளில் கலந்துகொள்வது அல்லாவுக்கு பிடிக்காதாம்.
Debate in Saudi Arabia over Women's Sports
Recently, the Saudi public, government, and religious discourse has been engaged in a debate over women's sports, particularly women's gyms, physical education instruction in girls' schools, and competitive sports clubs for women.
The issue of women's sports clubs has reemerged on the public agenda following the International Olympic Committee's threat to suspend membership of any country that has not established sports frameworks for women by 2010. [1] Nevertheless, when discussion of this issue took place, in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, [2] some senior Saudi officials, including the deputy head of the Saudi Shura Council, opposed the idea, while others supported and even promoted the idea of women's sports. A well-known Saudi businessman, Prince Walid ibn Talal, even organized a reception honoring the country's first women's soccer team, Ittihad Al-Muluk. [3]
Another issue making headlines recently was the closure of women's gyms in several cities, on order of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs - on the grounds that the centers were operating without proper medical supervision. [4] The Saudi English-language daily Arab News commented that the General Presidency for Youth Welfare and Sports (GPYWS), the only institution authorized to license gyms, had been granting licenses only to men's gyms while ignoring women's. [5] The Saudi daily Al-Madina reported that Saudi women had launched an Internet campaign protesting the closures, under the slogan "Let her be fat!" Members of the Parliamentary Social, Family, and Youth Affairs Committee demanded that the GPYWS implement the existing Shura Council order and open gyms for women. [6]
As to physical education in girls' schools, this has been a topic of public debate for a number of years now. GPYWS deputy head Nawaf bin Fahed announced at a Shura Council session that in the near future the GPYWS would allow this in girls' schools. [7]
An Al-Riyadh article, titled "Women's sports: The Minority of Opponents Has Prevailed over the Majority of Supporters," presented data from a public survey on women's sports, which was conducted by the SaudiCenter for Statistical Research. According to the survey, 89% of the population think that sports are important for women; 10% think that they are important to some degree; and only 1% hold that sports are not important for women at all. Furthermore, 48% supported gyms for women; 44% supported them provided that they were designed in accordance with the unique nature of Saudi society; and only 4% were categorically opposed to gyms for women. [8]
Clerics' opinions on this issue were diverse; some categorically opposed all sports activities for women, while others sanctioned them under certain conditions.
Following are excerpts from relevant articles in the Saudi press:
Saudi Mufti: Women's Sports Are Against the Will of Allah
Saudi Mufti Sheikh Abd Al-'Aziz bin Abdallah Aal Al-Sheikh refused to sanction women's sports, stating that "[such] demand is tantamount to a call for wantonness, for transgressing [the rules of] modesty, and for disobeying [feminine] nature, which Allah instilled in the woman upon creation." He further stated: "A woman is expected to be a homemaker and a caregiver for her children; it is she who builds the family and shares [responsibility] for its management. If she leaves [her home] for the sake of such things [i.e. sports], she will forget herself… she will neglect her husband and children, and waste her time on games and amusement, unaware of what is happening to her and to her children. [And] what will become of [her] home?" [9]
The religious establishment's negative attitude to women's sports was manifested in a fatwa issued by senior Saudi cleric Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Barak, who maintained that women's sports clubs should be banned. Thus, when asked for a ruling on this issue, he stated: "The foundations of shari'a and its emphasis on upholding the woman's honor and the purity of society prescribe that these clubs be banned. It is clear to anyone who understands the place of sports in the Muslim world as well as shari'a ordinances and laws that these clubs are one of the main factors in the Westernization of the Muslim woman and the corruption of Muslim society. Hence, the opening of such clubs would be improper; [it is] forbidden because they breed vice. A woman must always - even today - fulfill Allah's commandment [to women] - as Allah commanded the Prophet's wives: 'And stay in your houses' [Koran 33:33].
"As for the arguments offered by several [advocates] of such clubs - that some women go out on the rooftops to exercise [such that gyms would be a lesser evil], the answer is that a sin committed by a minority of women should not be redressed by a greater sin, which [in this case] would be tantamount to opening the door for women throughout Saudi Arabia to leave [their homes].
"It is well known that these clubs do not cause all women to engage in sports, but only a small part who [actually] take part in competitions, while the rest watch and cheer… It is also known that these clubs are appropriate only for those women whose sense of shame is either lacking or absent altogether.
"These clubs are nothing but playgrounds and amusement venues, and [the cause of] moral corruption… [for they], along with men's sports clubs, contribute to the degradation of the [Muslim] nation by wasting private and public funds on useless things…
"It is both inconceivable and incompatible with Islam that our nation, which is threatened by enemies, should promote amusement and play - [indeed,] this would gratify the enemies of the Muslims… Those who call to establish such clubs, and who like them, collude in [sowing] corruption, which these clubs have promoted in the past and will promote in the future…" [10]
Columnist for Islamic websites Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Azraq supported Al-Barak's fatwa and argued that it did not ban all women's sports activities, but only prohibited the establishment of competitive sports clubs for women. He said that Sheikh Al-Barak was not banning women from running a race against her husband, or from working out on a treadmill in her home. [11]
Saudi Cleric: Only Virgins Are Forbidden to Participate In Sports
In opposition to Sheikh Aal Al-Sheikh, member of the Council for Muslim Clerics Dr. 'Ali 'Abbas Al-Hakami sanctioned women's sports, saying it was a religious precept. He stated: "Women are undoubtedly permitted to participate in sports if the purpose is to keep healthy and enhance physical activity; more than that, this is a religious obligation. Sports is a means of keeping one's body healthy, which is a religious obligation. Our body is entrusted to us, and we must look after it and protect it from sickness, including obesity, diabetes and so on, which cannot be done in any other way except by watching our diet and doing sports."
Al-Hakami further stated, "There is nothing [in religious law] that precludes the opening of women's gyms, provided that they do not cause transgression, for example, by the mixing of men and women, the exposure of intimate body parts, or the violation of any other religious prohibition." [12]
Other clerics permitted women to engage in sports under certain conditions. Thus, member of the Saudi Council of Muslim Clerics Sheikh Dr. 'Abdallah bin Suleiman Al-Mani'i stated: "Religious law does not prohibit [all] women from engaging in sports, but only virgins… Some 'ulama and religious authorities hold that a girl who is still a virgin must not be allowed to participate in sports, lest her hymen be damaged." Al-Mani'i refrained from commenting specifically on the issue of separate sports clubs for women, stating that this must be ruled on by the Council of Muslim Clerics, the country's highest religious legislative authority. He added that women's participation in sports was a central element in the plan to corrupt the feminine virtue, and one of the central items on the agenda of those who promote Westernization and who seek to undermine the rule of Islam in Saudi Arabia. [13]
Dr. Muhammad bin Musa Al-Sharif, a researcher at the Islamic studies department of King 'Abd Al-'Aziz University in Jeddah, stated that religious law permitted women to engage in sports, albeit under the following five conditions: "That the type of sport [she chooses] is not one of those that doctors do not recommend [for women]; that it does not endanger women's health; that it won't cause a woman to expose her intimate body parts or won't cause her embarrassment by exposing these parts [accidentally]; that it is not competitive - [because] this might lead to enmity, foul language, and invective; that a woman be warned against modern sports clubs where women gather together and where their intimate body parts are exposed; and that a woman be warned against leaving her home alone under the pretext of going to a training session or jogging."
Al-Sharif went on to state: "If she wants to do these things, she must go with a male relative or with a group of women… It would be wrong to categorically prohibit women from engaging in sports, and it would be equally wrong to permit this unconditionally… The middle-of-the-road [approach] is a hallmark of Islam and the course taken by the believers." [14]
Saudi Columnist: Participating in Sports Will Help a Woman Find a Husband
Many Saudi columnists opposed the fatwas prohibiting women's sports, and argued that religious discussions of this issue were unnecessary. Columnist for the Saudi daily 'Okaz Muhammad bin 'Ali Al-Harafi maintained that Islam encouraged women to engage in sports, and that there was no need to wait for a fatwa in order to introduce physical education in schools: "A religious principle stipulates that a thing is permitted unless there is an explicit prohibition against it. Is it stated [anywhere] that girls are forbidden to [engage in] sports of any kind? I am not aware of such a text; conversely, I know a text that states the opposite. Our Prophet encouraged everyone - men and women alike - to engage in sports, and he [even] enumerated [the kinds of activities] popular during his time. Indeed, 'Omar bin Al-Khattab said: 'Teach your children archery, swimming, and horseback riding.' Everyone knows that the word 'children' means girls and boys.
"Isn't it obvious that young men are reluctant to marry fat girls? Only Mauritanian men still keep the old Arab tradition whereby a girl's status increases with her weight. Do [opponents of women's sports] want to send our girls to [Mauritania to find husbands]? Isn't it better to offer them [another] solution - sports?" [15]
Columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Watan Rakan Habib wrote: "When 'ulama meet these clubs with fatwas, it is as though we were saying to the future generations: 'We have failed in [rational] dialogue; we have failed in tolerance; and [we have failed] in honoring and accepting the other.' This will increase confusion in [our] society." [16]
Saudi Intellectual: Sports Clubs Prevent Disease
Saudi intellectual Halima Al-Muzafar also responded to Sheikh Al-Barak's claim that women's sports clubs and gyms would undermine tradition. She stated: "How will we shut the door on the [daily manifestations of] corruption stemming from the fact that young women have too much free time on their hands, suffer from unemployment, are not given jobs at universities, and remain single because of the trafficking in dowries and [for the sake of] preserving the purity of the tribe?"
In response to Sheikh Al-Barak's argument that sports clubs for women would be a waste of public funds, she wrote: "How much does it cost the state to treat women for serious illnesses associated with obesity?… Two-thirds of [Saudi women] suffer from obesity or osteoporosis… [Medical] treatment for two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's female population costs the country much more than opening women's sports clubs would." [17]
Debate in Saudi Arabia over Women's Sports
Recently, the Saudi public, government, and religious discourse has been engaged in a debate over women's sports, particularly women's gyms, physical education instruction in girls' schools, and competitive sports clubs for women.
The issue of women's sports clubs has reemerged on the public agenda following the International Olympic Committee's threat to suspend membership of any country that has not established sports frameworks for women by 2010. [1] Nevertheless, when discussion of this issue took place, in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, [2] some senior Saudi officials, including the deputy head of the Saudi Shura Council, opposed the idea, while others supported and even promoted the idea of women's sports. A well-known Saudi businessman, Prince Walid ibn Talal, even organized a reception honoring the country's first women's soccer team, Ittihad Al-Muluk. [3]
Another issue making headlines recently was the closure of women's gyms in several cities, on order of the Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs - on the grounds that the centers were operating without proper medical supervision. [4] The Saudi English-language daily Arab News commented that the General Presidency for Youth Welfare and Sports (GPYWS), the only institution authorized to license gyms, had been granting licenses only to men's gyms while ignoring women's. [5] The Saudi daily Al-Madina reported that Saudi women had launched an Internet campaign protesting the closures, under the slogan "Let her be fat!" Members of the Parliamentary Social, Family, and Youth Affairs Committee demanded that the GPYWS implement the existing Shura Council order and open gyms for women. [6]
As to physical education in girls' schools, this has been a topic of public debate for a number of years now. GPYWS deputy head Nawaf bin Fahed announced at a Shura Council session that in the near future the GPYWS would allow this in girls' schools. [7]
An Al-Riyadh article, titled "Women's sports: The Minority of Opponents Has Prevailed over the Majority of Supporters," presented data from a public survey on women's sports, which was conducted by the SaudiCenter for Statistical Research. According to the survey, 89% of the population think that sports are important for women; 10% think that they are important to some degree; and only 1% hold that sports are not important for women at all. Furthermore, 48% supported gyms for women; 44% supported them provided that they were designed in accordance with the unique nature of Saudi society; and only 4% were categorically opposed to gyms for women. [8]
Clerics' opinions on this issue were diverse; some categorically opposed all sports activities for women, while others sanctioned them under certain conditions.
Following are excerpts from relevant articles in the Saudi press:
Saudi Mufti: Women's Sports Are Against the Will of Allah
Saudi Mufti Sheikh Abd Al-'Aziz bin Abdallah Aal Al-Sheikh refused to sanction women's sports, stating that "[such] demand is tantamount to a call for wantonness, for transgressing [the rules of] modesty, and for disobeying [feminine] nature, which Allah instilled in the woman upon creation." He further stated: "A woman is expected to be a homemaker and a caregiver for her children; it is she who builds the family and shares [responsibility] for its management. If she leaves [her home] for the sake of such things [i.e. sports], she will forget herself… she will neglect her husband and children, and waste her time on games and amusement, unaware of what is happening to her and to her children. [And] what will become of [her] home?" [9]
The religious establishment's negative attitude to women's sports was manifested in a fatwa issued by senior Saudi cleric Sheikh 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Barak, who maintained that women's sports clubs should be banned. Thus, when asked for a ruling on this issue, he stated: "The foundations of shari'a and its emphasis on upholding the woman's honor and the purity of society prescribe that these clubs be banned. It is clear to anyone who understands the place of sports in the Muslim world as well as shari'a ordinances and laws that these clubs are one of the main factors in the Westernization of the Muslim woman and the corruption of Muslim society. Hence, the opening of such clubs would be improper; [it is] forbidden because they breed vice. A woman must always - even today - fulfill Allah's commandment [to women] - as Allah commanded the Prophet's wives: 'And stay in your houses' [Koran 33:33].
"As for the arguments offered by several [advocates] of such clubs - that some women go out on the rooftops to exercise [such that gyms would be a lesser evil], the answer is that a sin committed by a minority of women should not be redressed by a greater sin, which [in this case] would be tantamount to opening the door for women throughout Saudi Arabia to leave [their homes].
"It is well known that these clubs do not cause all women to engage in sports, but only a small part who [actually] take part in competitions, while the rest watch and cheer… It is also known that these clubs are appropriate only for those women whose sense of shame is either lacking or absent altogether.
"These clubs are nothing but playgrounds and amusement venues, and [the cause of] moral corruption… [for they], along with men's sports clubs, contribute to the degradation of the [Muslim] nation by wasting private and public funds on useless things…
"It is both inconceivable and incompatible with Islam that our nation, which is threatened by enemies, should promote amusement and play - [indeed,] this would gratify the enemies of the Muslims… Those who call to establish such clubs, and who like them, collude in [sowing] corruption, which these clubs have promoted in the past and will promote in the future…" [10]
Columnist for Islamic websites Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Azraq supported Al-Barak's fatwa and argued that it did not ban all women's sports activities, but only prohibited the establishment of competitive sports clubs for women. He said that Sheikh Al-Barak was not banning women from running a race against her husband, or from working out on a treadmill in her home. [11]
Saudi Cleric: Only Virgins Are Forbidden to Participate In Sports
In opposition to Sheikh Aal Al-Sheikh, member of the Council for Muslim Clerics Dr. 'Ali 'Abbas Al-Hakami sanctioned women's sports, saying it was a religious precept. He stated: "Women are undoubtedly permitted to participate in sports if the purpose is to keep healthy and enhance physical activity; more than that, this is a religious obligation. Sports is a means of keeping one's body healthy, which is a religious obligation. Our body is entrusted to us, and we must look after it and protect it from sickness, including obesity, diabetes and so on, which cannot be done in any other way except by watching our diet and doing sports."
Al-Hakami further stated, "There is nothing [in religious law] that precludes the opening of women's gyms, provided that they do not cause transgression, for example, by the mixing of men and women, the exposure of intimate body parts, or the violation of any other religious prohibition." [12]
Other clerics permitted women to engage in sports under certain conditions. Thus, member of the Saudi Council of Muslim Clerics Sheikh Dr. 'Abdallah bin Suleiman Al-Mani'i stated: "Religious law does not prohibit [all] women from engaging in sports, but only virgins… Some 'ulama and religious authorities hold that a girl who is still a virgin must not be allowed to participate in sports, lest her hymen be damaged." Al-Mani'i refrained from commenting specifically on the issue of separate sports clubs for women, stating that this must be ruled on by the Council of Muslim Clerics, the country's highest religious legislative authority. He added that women's participation in sports was a central element in the plan to corrupt the feminine virtue, and one of the central items on the agenda of those who promote Westernization and who seek to undermine the rule of Islam in Saudi Arabia. [13]
Dr. Muhammad bin Musa Al-Sharif, a researcher at the Islamic studies department of King 'Abd Al-'Aziz University in Jeddah, stated that religious law permitted women to engage in sports, albeit under the following five conditions: "That the type of sport [she chooses] is not one of those that doctors do not recommend [for women]; that it does not endanger women's health; that it won't cause a woman to expose her intimate body parts or won't cause her embarrassment by exposing these parts [accidentally]; that it is not competitive - [because] this might lead to enmity, foul language, and invective; that a woman be warned against modern sports clubs where women gather together and where their intimate body parts are exposed; and that a woman be warned against leaving her home alone under the pretext of going to a training session or jogging."
Al-Sharif went on to state: "If she wants to do these things, she must go with a male relative or with a group of women… It would be wrong to categorically prohibit women from engaging in sports, and it would be equally wrong to permit this unconditionally… The middle-of-the-road [approach] is a hallmark of Islam and the course taken by the believers." [14]
Saudi Columnist: Participating in Sports Will Help a Woman Find a Husband
Many Saudi columnists opposed the fatwas prohibiting women's sports, and argued that religious discussions of this issue were unnecessary. Columnist for the Saudi daily 'Okaz Muhammad bin 'Ali Al-Harafi maintained that Islam encouraged women to engage in sports, and that there was no need to wait for a fatwa in order to introduce physical education in schools: "A religious principle stipulates that a thing is permitted unless there is an explicit prohibition against it. Is it stated [anywhere] that girls are forbidden to [engage in] sports of any kind? I am not aware of such a text; conversely, I know a text that states the opposite. Our Prophet encouraged everyone - men and women alike - to engage in sports, and he [even] enumerated [the kinds of activities] popular during his time. Indeed, 'Omar bin Al-Khattab said: 'Teach your children archery, swimming, and horseback riding.' Everyone knows that the word 'children' means girls and boys.
"Isn't it obvious that young men are reluctant to marry fat girls? Only Mauritanian men still keep the old Arab tradition whereby a girl's status increases with her weight. Do [opponents of women's sports] want to send our girls to [Mauritania to find husbands]? Isn't it better to offer them [another] solution - sports?" [15]
Columnist for the Saudi daily Al-Watan Rakan Habib wrote: "When 'ulama meet these clubs with fatwas, it is as though we were saying to the future generations: 'We have failed in [rational] dialogue; we have failed in tolerance; and [we have failed] in honoring and accepting the other.' This will increase confusion in [our] society." [16]
Saudi Intellectual: Sports Clubs Prevent Disease
Saudi intellectual Halima Al-Muzafar also responded to Sheikh Al-Barak's claim that women's sports clubs and gyms would undermine tradition. She stated: "How will we shut the door on the [daily manifestations of] corruption stemming from the fact that young women have too much free time on their hands, suffer from unemployment, are not given jobs at universities, and remain single because of the trafficking in dowries and [for the sake of] preserving the purity of the tribe?"
In response to Sheikh Al-Barak's argument that sports clubs for women would be a waste of public funds, she wrote: "How much does it cost the state to treat women for serious illnesses associated with obesity?… Two-thirds of [Saudi women] suffer from obesity or osteoporosis… [Medical] treatment for two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's female population costs the country much more than opening women's sports clubs would." [17]
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