Current Islamic Jihadism/Sharia Law News

April 2008 to May 2008

Britain Tries To Keep The Influence Of Radical Islam Out Of Schools

Recently, the British government has given a warning that school children are at risk of being manipulated by Islamic extremists. Ed Balls, the British Secretary for Children, Schools and Families, gave a warning that school children were at risk of being exposed to Islamic extremism. He has brought up fears that these children could be new recruits for militant Islamic movements. Balls has urged teachers to attack the problem early by winning the “hearts and minds.”  The term “hearts and minds” is not new. Several months ago, the newest update to the US Army Manual added a section on winning the “hearts and minds” of the locals. This has been the newly adopted term for many initiatives across the globe…..(Digital Journal, 31 May 08)

Schoolchildren at risk of being drawn into crime by extremists

Schoolchildren are at risk of being radicalized and drawn into criminal activities by extremists, the Government warned yesterday. Teachers are being urged to help stamp out the problem by winning the 'hearts and minds' of youngsters from an early age. They must do more to tackle the threat of violent extremism such as by drafting in British-born imams to teach citizenship lessons. The proposals form part of new guidance that will be published next week to ensure local authorities and police work more closely with schools…..(Daily Mail, 30 May 08)

Iranian schools teach Islamic version of history: CIA contractor

The U.S. Department of National Intelligence (the body that oversees spy agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency) recently decided it wanted to know what Iranian students were taught in school these days… they hired SAIC , a major CIA and NSA contractor, to do the job. On December 31st, 2007, the company published the results: a 17 page report on 85 Iranian textbooks that the company downloaded off the Internet from the Iranian government's website.  The final report was not made public, but Secrecy News, an excellent electronic newsletter written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists, obtained a copy. The textbooks that are used in Iranian schools "reveal a clear emphasis on Islam, as it has been interpreted by the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran," is one of "the most important conclusions" of the study and they "provide a distorted view of Shia Islam as the only true path in Islam, and among religions."….(Corp Watch, 30 May 08)

Malaysia widens sharia-compliant stock list

Malaysia has increased the number of Islamic stocks listed on its stock exchange to 843, the market regulator said on Friday, widening the range of assets offered to investors seeking sharia-compliant investments. The list of sharia-compliant securities was updated to take include 23 stocks, such as top mobile phone company TM International (TMIT.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) and energy firm Dayang Enterprise (DEHB.KL: Quote, Profile, Research), the Securities Commission said in a statement….(Reuters, 30 May 08)

Call for sharia-compliant finance services to be available in Ireland

There is an “urgent need” for sharia-compliant financial services to be made available in Ireland so that Muslims living here do not contravene religious teachings, representatives from Irish financial institutions were told at a seminar on Islamic banking yesterday. The seminar was held at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI), which is based at Ireland’s largest Sunni mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin. “We organised this conference because there is an urgent need for the Muslim community here to have mortgages and other financial services that do not drive them to break their Islamic teachings,”…..(Ireland, 30 May 08)

Report: Iran Arrests Suspected Converts to Christianity

Amid a growing crackdown on religious freedom, Iranian police reportedly have been rounding up people they suspect have converted to Christianity. On May 11, police arrested eight people in the southern city of Shiraz, according to Carl Moeller, president of Open Doors USA, a Christian organization that fights religious persecution.

Converting from Islam is a crime in Iran; converts can face jail and other penalties….…(Fox, 29 May 08)

Islam: blasphemy and the law

Last week on Tuesday, May 13th, Human Rights Watch urged Saudi Arabia to revoke a death sentence.  Sabri Bogday, a Turkish man who had a barbershop in the Saudi kingdom, had been given a death sentence in April this year. Mr Bogday was accused of blaspheming against Allah. The incident allegedly took place 14 months ago during an argument with his neighbor, an Egyptian who ran a tailor's shop. The Egyptian filed the complaint and then disappeared. Mr Bogday admitted charges of "swearing against Allah," but was not given a chance to repent. Mr Bogday retains his Turkish citizenship, even though he has lived in the Saudi kingdom for 11 years. The Turkish government is trying to assist his attempts to have the death sentence removed. In Afghanistan this weekend, on Sunday May 18th, an apprentice journalist appeared briefly in court. 23-year-old Parwiz Kambakhsh was sentenced to death in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of Afghanistan on January 22nd this year for blasphemy. Mr Khambakhsh had downloaded an article from an Iranian website, and brought it into his journalism class……(Energy Publisher, 29 May 08)

The Party of Jurisprudence vs. The Party of Action: Sayyed Imam, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and the Split in the Jihad Movement

Following is the text of a presentation delivered by Daniel Lav, Director of MEMRI's Middle East and North Africa Reform Project, at the inaugural conference of the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2008. The presentation explains the meaning and the significance of the polemic between the prominent jihadist scholar Sayyed Imam, who has called for a stop to the jihad against Muslim regimes, and Ayman Al-Zawahiri; in addition, it clarifies the important differences between Sayyed Imam's initiative and that of the Egyptian Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya group, which has made a clearer break with jihadism……(MEMRI, 29 May 08)

Former Saudi Information Minister: In Interfaith Dialogue, We Tell Christians and Jews That Their Holy Books Are Distorted and That We Want to Bring Them Back to the Original Religion

Following are excerpts from an interview with former Saudi information minister Muhammad Abduh Al-Yamani……(MEMRI, 29 May 08)

Islam’s growth result of western relativism, warns Muslim convert

Italian journalist and Muslim convert to Catholicism, Magdi Allam, warned this week that Islam is growing as a result of the ideology of relativism that pervades the West and claims that there are many truths instead of one unique Truth. In an article published by the magazine Mundo Cristiano and quoted by Analisis Digital, Allam explained that relativism, which attributes “equal dignity to everything regardless of the content” has made it possible for extremism and Islamic terrorism “to be introduced and to take root” in Europe, to the point that there are Islamic extremists with European citizenship who “act upon and spread an ideology of hatred and violence.”….(CNA, 29 May 08)

Algeria: Prosecutor Demands 2-Year Sentence For Converts From Islam

A state prosecutor in western Algeria demanded two-year jail sentences and large fines for six Muslim converts to Christianity yesterday in one of two trials against Christians that have caught the north African nation’s attention in the past week. The same court in Tiaret city yesterday delayed the verdict of a Christian woman facing three years in prison for “practicing non-Muslim religious rites without a license.” Under intense scrutiny from Algerian and international observers, the case of Habiba Kouider gained notoriety last week when Algerian newspapers reported that court officials in Tiaret mocked the Christian for her conversion and pressured her to return to Islam. At the trial of the six converts yesterday, a state prosecutor raised a second charge of illegally practicing non-Muslim worship and demanded two-year jail sentences and 500,000 dinar (US$8,145) fines each. Initially the men were charged with “distributing documents to shake the faith of Muslims.” As the cases become better known, a number of newspapers are openly criticizing the government for stirring up anti-Christian sentiment……(Compass Direct, 29 May 08)

Sectarianism is Destroying the Islamic Nation

Internecine conflicts and sectarian fighting have paralyzed Muslims, broken their ranks, and caused their enemies to gloat over their misfortune. This is because each sect claims that it is the only sect that is right and everyone else is wrong. I know for certain that not all sects are right and that God does not allow all his servants to deviate from what is right. Rather, he guides them toward what is right, manifest in following the Koran and the Sunnah, and understanding them as Arabic speakers would and as they were understood by the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, and his companions……(Al Awsat, 28 May 08)

Arab and Islamic Anti-Semitism

The following is a lecture delivered by MEMRI Chairman Menahem Milson at the opening of the annual international conference of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism held in Jerusalem on Sunday, 24 February 2008: Arab and Islamic anti-Semitism is today the form of anti-Semitism that poses the most danger to Israel and to Jews everywhere in the world. Numerous anti-Semitic attacks in France and elsewhere in Europe in recent years have made it very clear that the pernicious impact of this anti-Semitism is not confined to Arab and Islamic countries.....(MEMRI, 27 May 08)

Pakistan: Pro-Taliban militants allow girls to attend school

Pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan have agreed to allow female education and protect government employees in the tribal region of Mohmand.  The move was announced by a jirga or council of tribal elders after a meeting with a pro-Taliban delegation on Monday. The leader of the 10-member jirga, Abdul Manan Kodakhel, said that the Taliban had agreed to allow girls’ schools providing their teachers wore a veil…..(AKI, 27 May 08)

‘Taliban to sue Musharraf’

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Sunday that they intend to sue President Pervez Musharraf in the Federal Shariah Court for being responsible for the deaths of people at Jamia Hafsa and in the Tribal Areas, if their peace accord with the government succeeds, Dawn News reported. TTP spokesman Muslim Khan, in an open letter to the government, army and the public, said militant groups had come into being in reaction to the pro-American policies of the previous government. He added that if the current peace accord succeeded, the TTP intended to file a case against Musharraf for killing innocent people in Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat and Jamia Hafsa……(Daily Times, 26 May 08)

Hundreds of Afghans protest over Quran shooting

Hundreds of Afghans demonstrated Monday in two different provinces against a U.S. sniper in Iraq who used a Quran, the Muslim holy book, for target practice.

Demonstrators tore apart an effigy of President Bush and chanted anti-U.S. slogans. A Lithuanian soldier and two Afghan civilians were shot and killed last week when about 1,000 Afghans gathered in western Afghanistan to protest the incident. Monday's demonstrations in Balkh and Logar provinces involved several hundred people but were not violent……(AP, 26 May 08)

A Look at the Arab League Satellite Broadcasting Charter

On February 12, 2008, Arab information ministers signed the "Charter of Principles for Regulating Satellite Broadcasting in the Arab Region." The charter, and the summit at which it was signed, were initiated by Egypt and Saudi Arabia in a bid to hobble the satellite TV networks, which had been provoking their regimes. The document was signed by all the Arab League countries except Qatar and Lebanon. The charter sparked much criticism within media circles in the Arab world, on the grounds that it stifles freedom of expression and increases the Arab regimes' control over the media. Controversy focused on several articles that state that the satellite channels must defend national interests, preserve Arab solidarity, protect the values of Islam, and refrain from defaming Arab leaders. They also stated that channels violating these principles would have their license revoked….(MEMRI, 23 May 08)

Crackdown against Christian converts in Shiraz

The Compass Direct news agency reports a wave of searches and arrests in mid-May against house churches in the southern part of the country. The police targets former Muslims who left Islam. Some of them are still in prison. Tehran (AsiaNews) – Iranian police in southern Iran arrested Muslim converts to Christianity searching their in mid-May, Compass Direct News reported. The series of arrests began on 11 May when two couples were taken into custody before boarding their flights at the Shiraz International Airport……(Asia News, 22 May 08)

Pakistan peace deal depends on Sharia enforcement: Taliban

Pakistani Taliban militants said Thursday the success of a peace deal with the government in a northwestern area depends on the complete enforcement of Islamic law in the region. The agreement in the scenic Swat Valley ends months of fighting between troops and rebels loyal to a pro-Taliban commander, Maulana Fazlullah, who was campaigning for the introduction of harsh Sharia law. Under the terms of the deal signed on Wednesday the government agreed to gradually pull out troops and introduce an Islamic justice system, while the rebels said they would halt attacks and surrender arms……(AFP, 22 May 08)

Iranian Women's Magazine Shut Down for Publishing Investigative Article on Martyrdom Movement

In late January 2008, the Media Supervision Committee of Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance ordered the closure of the women's movement monthly Zanan, which had appeared in Iran for 16 years. The order came after the magazine published an investigative article on istishhad (i.e. martyrdom) operations. The conservative news agency Fars reported, citing a knowledgeable source, that the magazine had been shut down for "breaking the law and defaming military and revolutionary institutions, including the Basij," and for "publishing reports and [raising] issues that undermine [society's] spiritual security, morale, and ideological strength, and that create a sense of insecurity in society and discredit the status of women in the Islamic Republic of Iran."…..(MEMRI, 22 May 08)

Exclusive: Islam 101: The Aims of Islam

To virtually all of us in the West, even to those at very high levels in our government who are charged with the responsibility of knowing, Islam is poorly known and therefore not understood. It is our contention that, until we fully understand Islam, we will not be able to address it properly. To begin our understanding, we should know that Islam is much more than a religion; it is a doctrine of law that governs all areas of life, and there exists within Islam no Western concept of the separation of church and state. Islam believes in the integration of mosque and state while the West believes in the separation of church and state. Therefore, the form of government under which many Muslims live is a theocracy...far from a democracy, which is the form of government under which we thrive in the West. This vast disparity in how we organize our societies would not be a problem for us if it were not for the fact that Islam seeks to dominate….(FSM, 21 May 08)

Clarifying the meaning of Jihad

‘Jihad’ is extracted from the source, ‘Jaahada’ and it measured upon the fourth verb structure, which means interaction between two sides, al-Mufa’ala. Another example is ‘Al-Khisaam’ which means to quarrel and is extracted from its roots source – Khaasama. Also, there is the example of ‘Jidaal’, which means to discuss or to argue and is taken from the root source ‘Jaadala’. In the tongue of the Arabs, al-Jihad means, ‘exerting ability and effort to do an action or express opinions’.
In Al-Munjid, the words Jaahada, Mujaahada and Jihadan means, ‘exerting effort and ability to push the other away’. In the Tafseer of al-Naysaboori it is clearly stated that ‘al-Jihad’ means to exert effort to achieve the objective or what is intended. After all of these related definitions of the word ‘al-Jihad’ in the language, it is possible to give a clear linguistic definition…..(Pakistan Daily, 21 May 08)

Iranian Activists Criticize New Restrictions on Web Sites

Iranian bloggers and activists on Tuesday condemned a move by a government panel to block access to several Web sites related to women's issues and human rights. "It's like a big attack," said Parvin Ardalan, who works for http://www.change4equality.net, a Tehran-based feminist Web site affected by the new restrictions. "Now, most sites related to women's and human rights issues have been blocked in one day," she said. Ardalan's site is part of a campaign to collect 1 million signatures aimed at pressuring the government to change what activists call discriminatory laws against women. "The authorities want to silence us,"……(Washington Post, 21 May 08)

Saudi Critic Jailed After Decrying Justice System

An outspoken critic of the Saudi government who was previously jailed for calling for greater democracy has been arrested, his wife said Tuesday. atrouk al-Faleh, a professor of political science at King Saud University in Riyadh, the capital, was detained Monday after he left for work, said his wife, Jamila al-Ukla. Over the past year, Faleh has accused the Interior Ministry of disregarding laws that ban arrests without charge and guarantee the right to counsel. An Interior Ministry spokesman was unavailable for comment on Faleh's arrest…..(Washington Post, 21 May 08)

National Assembly Speaker for removing West’s misperceptions about Islam

Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance that abhors terrorism and extremism in all it forms and manifestations and it was the responsibility of religious scholars to play their role to remove the misperceptions of the West about Islam. She was speaking to the delegation of the Guardian Council Islamic Republic of Iran, headed by Ayatullah Ahmed Jannati, that called on the Speaker in the Parliament House Tuesday…..(APP, 21 May 08)

Hamas ministry to censor Internet sites in Gaza

The Hamas-run Telecommunications Ministry will start blocking websites deemed unfit according to Islamic rules, an official said Sunday. This was made possible after a deal was struck with the Palestinian telecommunications company, said Ihab al-Hussain, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza, adding that the plan went into effect last week. It is not yet known which sites have been blocked….(Monsters & Critics, 20 May 08)

Appeal against woman renouncing Islam in Malaysia

The Malaysian government has said it would challenge a court decision allowing a Chinese woman to renounce Islam and revert to Buddhism. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the court verdict was not final and an appeal before the higher court was almost complete. He noted that the court decision favouring the woman, Tan Ean Huan - who called herself Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah as a Muslim - was protested by Islamist groups including a Kuala Lumpur-based political group, Hizbut Tahrir……(Deccan Herald, 18 May 08)

Afghan journalist appeals death sentence

An Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for insulting Islam denied the charges before an appeals court Sunday, saying he only confessed to questioning the religion's treatment of women because he was tortured. During an hour-long hearing, a judge read aloud a transcript of the Jan. 22 proceedings against 24-year-old Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh at the primary court in northern Balkh province…..(AP, 18 May 08)

Pakistan Takes Steps Towards Shari'a State In Seven Districts

On May 11, 2008, the secular government in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) finalized a deal with the Taliban groups for the implementation of shari'a in the province's seven districts. The Pashtun nationalist government in the NWFP, which came to power last month, had vowed to talk to the Taliban in order to establish peace in the region. The talks were held between the government, Pakistani Taliban and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e -Muhammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Shari'a)……(MEMRI, 16 May 08)

Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us

Although some bright spots can be found among textbook lessons, serious omissions and misrepresentations in Islam-related chapters are apparent, and not in just one or two textbooks. To understand how this happened, it is important to take into account the system that oversees the textbook adoption process. State departments of education are usually eager to quiet the unquiet. Boards of education may take sides on content for political reasons. The system encourages pressure groups to do what they do. For simple economic reasons, not on account of ideology, publishers allow partisan participation in editing and writing. Editors make changes in response to detailed lists and objections submitted by recognized religious and nonreligious lobbies. Local panels want to minimize friction. Whether the subject is abstinence or Islam, religion-based groups are easily upset when textbooks don't go their way……(FSM, 16 May 08)

Introducing Islam

ISLAM AND MUSLIMS: The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace. One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one’s self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to God, the Lord of the Universe…..(Daily Pakistan, 16 May 08)

Islamic world urged to stand against Western-style human rights

Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of Iran's Judiciary Mohammad-Javad Larijani called on all Islamic states on Thursday to stand against the Western-style human rights. Addressing a local gathering of judiciary officials, Larijani criticized the West's interpretation from the human rights. He stated that after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the country committed to fulfill international undertakings on human rights…..(IRNA, 15 May 08)

Headscarf Law Applies to All Religious Coverings, Judges Say

A law which prohibits Muslim women teachers from wearing headscarves in a German state's public schools also forbids Catholic nuns from wearing their veils in regular classrooms, judges said Wednesday.  The administrative tribunal of Baden-Wuerttemberg state set out the position in a detailed written judgment, two months after ruling verbally that a woman convert to Islam, aged 58 at the time, could not teach in her scarf…..(Deutsche Welle, 15 May 08)

Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us Part 3 of 5

After jihad, in some textbooks, comes Islamic law, shariah, which textbooks spell in a variety of ways. In their definitions, some textbooks lapse into intentional vagueness. The Holt seventh-grade volume says Islamic law "makes no distinction between religious beliefs and daily life." This is absolutely correct, but the textbook does not explain what this statement means……(FSM, 14 May 08)

Afghan teacher killed after speech condemning suicide bombings

A teacher was shot to death in northern Afghanistan after he gave a speech condemning suicide bombings, officials said Wednesday. Abdul Hadi criticized such attacks as un-Islamic and un-Afghan during a speech Tuesday in the Archi district of Kunduz province, said Khair Mohammad Subat, the provincial education department director. Hadi spoke at a gathering of about 700 people, including the Kunduz governor, and was on his way home when he was killed…..(AP, 14 May 08)

Saudi Arabia: Stop Trials for ‘Insulting’ Islam

Courts in Jeddah should dismiss cases against a Saudi web critic and a Turkish barber charged with “insulting” Islam, an unequivocal violation of freedom of expression protected under international law, Human Rights Watch said today.  

The Saudi man used his website to criticize the religious police while the Turkish barber is accused of cursing the name of God. “Criminalizing speech on grounds that it is insulting might appease some people, but it violates the fundamental human right of free speech,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Saudi government uses these laws primarily to silence its critics.”….(HRW, 13 May 08)

Taliban ban TV in Afghan province

Taliban insurgents have ordered residents of a province near the capital Kabul to stop watching television, saying the networks were showing un-Islamic programs, officials and local media said on Tuesday. The order is the last in a wave of curbs that the resurgent militants have announced in areas they are active. A senior Afghan information ministry official, Najib Manelai, said that dozens of masked men with weapons entered mosques in Logar province at the weekend and threatened residents against watching television….(Reuters, 13 May 08)

Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us   Part 2 of 5

Seventh-grade world history textbooks introduce Islam's origins, creeds, and core beliefs as a blend of history and scripture, weaving together revelation, legend, and fact. "Muslims believe that God had spoken to Muhammad through the angel," says the Holt book before going on to explain that "Muhammad reported new revelations about rules for Muslim government, society, and worship. God told Muhammad that Muslims should face Mecca when they pray."… The seventh-grade world history textbooks reviewed avoid all conflict and bloodshed in describing Islam's push out of Arabia and rapid conquest of most of the Mediterranean world. They fail to explain how Islam spread in the seventh and eighth centuries. Islam appears out of nowhere, spreads smoothly and by implication without conflict. Once it was common to state that Islam was spread by the sword. Now, textbooks imply, it moves peacefully with traders. Islam is "brought" to apparently willing populations. People adopt it freely……(FSM, 13 May 08)

Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us  Part 1 of 5

At the end of 2005 a major publishing event occurred in California. After a lengthy process the state adopted newly developed - not merely revised - world history textbooks…The Lodi parents were not objecting to a word or two that they took out of context but to a textbook long on chapters filled with adulatory lessons on Islam. In a passage meant to explain Jihad, they encountered this: "Muslims should fulfill jihad with the heart, tongue, and hand. Muslims use the heart in their struggle to resist evil. The tongue may convince others to take up worthy causes, such as funding medical research. Hands may perform good works and correct wrongs." There was puffery and misinformation. Muhammad "taught equality," said one chapter summary. "He told followers to share their wealth and to care for the less fortunate in society." In Lodi some of the parents objected on religious grounds, motivated by their awareness that educators and courts have minimized the story of Christianity in the curriculum. Others had different reasons. One thoughtful parent was disturbed by the "unrestrained admiration" that the textbook lavished on Islam in contrast to a sketchy and unsympathetic view of Europe and Western civilization….(FSM, 12 May 08)

President Apostate? Security issue of Barak Obama's conversion

…As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother’s Christian background is irrelevant. Of course, as most Americans understand it, Senator Obama is not a Muslim. He chose to become a Christian… His conversion, however, was a crime in Muslim eyes; it is “irtidad” or “ridda,” usually translated from the Arabic as “apostasy,” but with connotations of rebellion and treason. Indeed, it is the worst of all crimes that a Muslim can commit, worse than murder (which the victim’s family may choose to forgive)…..(New York Times, 12 May 08)

New York Times presents Islamic supremacist as moderate non-zealot

…(Jihad Watch, 11 May 08)

In Iran, Covert Christian Converts Live With Secrecy and Fear

…Leaving Islam for another religion, or apostasy, has long invited reprisals from the Iranian government, forcing the likes of Illyas and his family into absolute secrecy, practicing their new beliefs only in the privacy of their home. In Iran, Christians are prohibited from seeking Muslim converts, although there has been tolerance for those who are born into Christian families. The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has introduced legislation before the Iranian Majlis that would mandate the death penalty for apostates from Islam, a sign that it will brook no proselytizing in the country. "Life for so-called apostates in Iran has never been easy, but it could become literally impossible if Iran passes this new draft penal code,"….(US News, 9 May 08)

Islamic Court Says Muslim Convert Can Return to Buddhism

A Malaysian Islamic court allowed a Muslim convert Thursday to return to her original faith of Buddhism, setting a precedent that could ease religious minorities' worries about their legal rights. Lawyers said the Shariah High Court's verdict in the northern state of Penang was the first time in recent memory that a convert has been permitted to legally renounce Islam in this Muslim-majority nation.

A rising number of disputes about religious conversions has sparked anxiety among minorities _ predominantly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu _ because in the past courts virtually always ruled against people seeking to leave Islam……(AP, 8 May 08)

Universities to open Islam centers

Two of the country's top universities have announced plans to create new research centers for Islamic studies. The move by Edinburgh University and Cambridge University is funded by a £16 million endowment from Prince Alwaleed bin Albdulaziz Alsaud, chairman of the philanthropic organization Kingdom Foundation. The new centers will aim to carry out research and public engagements designed to increase understanding between the Muslim world and the West…..(UK Press, 8 May 08)

Ahmadinejad Criticized for Saying Long-Ago Imam Mahdi Leads Iran

Several leading Iranian clerics criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday for saying that the last imam of Shiite Islam, a messianic figure who Shiites believe was hidden by God 1,140 years ago, leads modern-day Iran.  "We see his hand directing all the affairs of the country," Ahmadinejad told theological students in the city of Mashad during a speech that appears to have been given last month but was not broadcast until Tuesday. "A movement has started for us to occupy ourselves with our global responsibilities. God willing, Iran will be the axis of the leadership of this movement," Ahmadinejad said…….(Washington Post, 8 May 08)

Saudi Anthropologist Sa'd Al-Sowayan Advocates Modern Interpretation of Religious Texts, Suggests Swords Be Removed from Saudi Flag

The following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi anthropologist Sa'd Al-Sowayan, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on April 25, 2008:…..(MEMRI, 7 May 08)

Indian Cleric Ashraf Mohamedy: Every Muslim Should Be a Terrorist against the Anti-Social Elements in Society

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Indian cleric Ashraf Mohamedy, which aired on Peace TV on April 22, 2008…..(MEMRI, 6 May 08)

Saudi Daily Arab News Publishes Article on Eunuch Hajjis: 'We Are Neither Men nor Women, But Muslims like Anyone Else'

In its December 20, 2007 issue, the Saudi English-language daily Arab News published an article about a group of eunuchs from India who regularly perform the Haj. The eunuchs discuss their lives in their home town of Bhopal, their practice of Islam, how they adopt and raise baby girls, and their experiences with other worshippers on the Haj……(MEMRI, 6 May 08)

Women clerics counter al-Qaida teachings

Scholars in Morocco launched a program to train female Muslim clerics in an effort to counter the ideologies of al-Qaida, officials said.  More than 400 applicants applied to courses in general business management, Islamic studies and psychology. Applicants must have a university degree and expertise in the Koran and only 50 women will be accepted…..(UPI, 6 May 08)

The Muslim Interfaith Charade

Despite the outward appearance of infirmity, Omar Abdel-Rahman, the "Blind Sheikh" is a central figure in the Islamic global jihad. He was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to bomb the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, which killed 6 and injured over 1,000. Rahman is now serving a life sentence for that crime…Rahman has written and spoken voluminously on his conception of the faith and that vision should serve as welcome, though unsettling candor, in the make believe world of interfaith exchange. Understanding the new Islamist game plan - the stealth jihad - is important because so many resources are being devoted to it and the phenomenon itself is roundly misunderstood. As we have previously written, for example in Islamic Marketing 101 - Maha ElGenaidi Takes Da'Wa Act On The Road, "...Islamic speaker's bureaus are proliferating in the United States. They represent the vanguard of a new paradigm in jihad being waged by Islamists under the guise of "dialogue." This emphasis on "legal" Islamism, the stealth jihad has been dictated in part by circumstances on the ground, where many of the most violent Islamists have been either killed, captured or forced to go into hiding, proving that aggression has been counter-productive……(Pipeline News, 6 May 08)

Fundamentalism on rise due to lack of govt’s influence, says Fatima

Fundamentalism is on the rise in Pakistan because of the lack of the government’s influence in the country’s rural areas, Fatima Bhutto said in an interview published at the weekend by Counterpunch, an American political newsletter.  She said that because the government did not provide the most basic needs for the people, Islamic organisations had come in and set up madrassas. Therefore “families do not have any other option to get their children educated apart from sending them to madrassas,” she added. She also slammed the Western media for portraying madrassas as terror training camps, which she said was not true. “Of course not all madrassas are bad, and we have to distinguish between good and bad madrassas,” she added……(Daily Times, 5 May)

Women's rights, often wronged

Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma ended up in prison, too. Rukhma, who doesn't know her age but looks younger than 20, had put up with her mistreatment for three months last summer before seeking protection and justice from authorities. Instead, she was given a four-year sentence Dec. 5 for adultery and "escaping her house" in Pakistan, even though she says she was kidnapped and raped……(AP, 5 May 08)

Pakistan Taliban leader gives beard warning: residents

A Pakistani Taliban leader has warned local tribesmen to grow beards within the next two months in accordance with Islamic teachings or face harsh punishment, residents said Monday.  The threat came amid an apparent increase in incidents of militants trying to enforce Islamic Sharia law in Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, where the new government is trying to make peace with hardliners……(AFP, 5 May 08)

TTP institutes two-month ‘beard deadline’

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) warned people on Sunday against shaving their beards, giving people two months to comply with their directive……(Daily Times, 5 May 08)

"Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off": Honor Killings On Rise in Iraq

…The 19-year-old Iraqi was, according to her father, murdered by her own in-laws, who took her to a picnic area in Dokan and shot her seven times. Her crime was to have an unknown number on her mobile phone. Her "honor killing" is just one in a grotesque series emerging from Iraq, where activists speak of a "genocide" against women in the name of religion…Despite the outrage, recent calls by the Kurdish MP Narmin Osman to outlaw honor killings have been blocked by fundamentalists. "Honor killings are not actually a crime in the eyes of the government," said Houzan Mahmoud, who has had a fatwa on her head since raising a petition against the introduction of sharia law in Kurdistan. "If before there was one dictator persecuting people, now almost everyone is persecuting women.   "In the past five years it is has got [much] worse. It is difficult to described how terrible it is, how badly we have been pushed back to the dark ages. Women are being beheaded for taking their veil off. Self immolation is rising -- women are left with no choice. There is no government body or institution to provide any sort of support. Sharia law is being used to underpin government rule, denying women their most basic human rights."….(Alternet, 2 May 08)

Imams condemn Islamic teacher

Angry Muslim groups have attacked the University of Western Sydney over an Islamic studies course they claim is too sexually explicit, promotes lesbianism and derides the Koran as misogynistic. Students, community members and the Australian National Imams Council have complained about the content of the course, Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature, being taught at the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies. They say it gives a negative view of women in Islam.  The imams council has circulated a petition recording its "deep concern with regards to the course structure and content”…..(Australian, 2 May 08)

Ranchi boils over exam paper

…The language used in the paper so incensed some Muslims that they assembled in large numbers and attacked the university building. Police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd following which the agitators forced down the shutters of shops on the Jharkhand capital's main road. Later, a delegation of socio-religious organizations met DC Avinash Kumar and SSP M S Bhatia demanding inquiry into the lathicharge and arrest of those who hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims by posing such an inflammatory question… Admitting that the life of Prophet Muhammad was discussed under the topic "Rise of Islam" in the section "Islamic world" in PG history course books, Khan said there's no mention of the content raised in the form of the impugned examination question…..(Times of India, 2 May 08)

Tawheed: The essence of Islam
Literally Tawheed means to make something one or to call it one. In English when something is made one it is deemed to be unified. However, in Islamic terminology Tawheed means to believe that Allah is the one and only God. It is sometimes referred to as monotheism, however in the purest sense in that no other entity can in any way have the attributes or be equivalent or even in competition with Allah……(Gulf Times, 2 May 08)

Minister: Muslim decree to condemn bombings

High-ranking Shiite and Sunni leaders are preparing to issue a religious decree condemning suicide bombings and other forms of violence, according to an Anglican minister who has led efforts to bring the two Muslim sects closer. The draft decree, also called a fatwa, cites Quranic verses and says, "The prophet Mohammed prevents the spilling of blood, Muslim against Muslim, and thus suicide bombings are totally prohibited," said the Rev. Canon Andrew White during a dinner Monday with Pentagon officials. The draft calls on Iraqis "to reject and forsake all violence, forsake all killing and provocation," White said.  "What is new is that this will be a fatwa from Shiite and Sunni,"….(USA Today, 1 May 08)

A Comprehensive Interview with Syrian Philosopher Sadik Jalal Al-'Azm

In an extensive January 2008 interview with the Qatari Al-Raya daily, eminent Syrian philosopher Sadik Jalal Al-'Azm discussed the state of religious thought in the Muslim world, democracy in Turkey and in Arab countries, Hizbullah and the 2006 war, and the role of the intellectual in Syria and the Arab world. The following are excerpts from the interview…..(MEMRI, 1 May 08)

University question riles Indian Muslims

In India, the University of Ranchi in Jharkhand state had to cancel its post-graduation history paper on Thursday, after thousands of Muslims took to the streets protesting against a reference to the Prophet Mohammed, which they said was derogatory. The university Vice Chancellor cancelled the paper after studying the history paper question which caused some Muslim organizations to march and ransack university offices….(Irish Sun, 1 May 08)

Saudi religious police arrest Filipina nurse, male colleague

Saudi Arabia’s religious police have arrested a Filipina nurse for sitting in a restaurant with a male colleague, a Philippine diplomat said.Abigail Valdez, a nurse who works at the Riyadh Military Hospital, is being held at Al-Malaz Prison on charges of “immorality,” Philippine Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor told Arab News.

Villamor said the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh was trying to gain access to Valdez, who was arrested by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on Monday evening for being with an unrelated man, a taboo in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom……(Global Nation, 1 May 08)

Why Islamic States Would Be Bad for Muslims

Maybe it's an only-in-America sort of irony: A prominent scholar who happens to be Jewish makes the case for more Islamic sharia law in Muslim-majority states, while another distinguished legal scholar, a devout Muslim, argues that the best thing for those states, and for sharia, is to keep them separate.

But beyond the little irony, there is much at stake in the difference of opinion that emerges from their respective books: Noah Feldman's The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State and Abdullah Ahmed An-Na'im's Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a. That difference is of such crucial importance, in fact, that its wise resolution should be of great concern to all who claim to be interested in the cause of promoting democracy in the predominantly Muslim parts of the world……(US News, 1 May 08)

April 2008

Al-Qaeda’s al-Zawahiri Repudiates Dr. Fadl’s “Rationalization of Jihad”

A previous issue of Terrorism Monitor discussed a document issued by Sayed Imam Abdulaziz al-Sharif, an imprisoned founder of the Egyptian Jihad organization and a prominent jihad theoretician better known as "Doctor Fadl." The work, called Tarshid al-amal al-jihadi fi misr wa al-alam (Rationalizing the Jihadi Action in Egypt and the World), was a critical look at Salafi-jihadist extremism (see Terrorism Monitor, December 10, 2007; Terrorism Focus, January 8). As predicted, al-Qaeda did not open direct dialogue with Dr. Fadl but rather responded with a book of their own refuting the document. In March the second man in al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, published a 188-page document through al-Sahab Islamist media called A Treatise Exonerating the Nation of the Pen and the Sword from the Blemish of the Accusation of Weakness and Fatigue (The Exoneration), refuting the views expressed in Dr. Fadl's document……(Jamestown, 30 Apr 08)

Sunni-Shia conflict not hurting Islam

A large majority of participants at Qatar Foundation's Doha Debate yesterday expressed the view that the Sunni-Shia conflict was not damaging the reputation of Islam. A majority of 61 percent voted against the motion, "This House believes that Sunni-Shia conflict is damaging Islam's reputation as a religion of peace", while about 39 percent supported it. The panelists supporting the motion included Professor Juan Cole and General Ali Shukri, who was a military and intelligence adviser to the late King Hussein of Jordan for more than 20 years….(Peninsula Qatar, 30 Apr 08)

Mahsud Scouts commandant woos militants through Quran

Col Mujahid Hussain, the Mahsud Scouts commandant in Khyber Agency, on Tuesday recited some verses from the holy Quran to appeal to the tribal people to join hands with the Pakistan Army against terrorism. “This (Pakistan Army) is the army of Islam. This is the army of Pakistan. But there are forces, which want to divide the army and the tribal people,” Hussain told students of a private school at a function…..(Daily Times, 30 Apr 08)

Islam cannot be separated from the politics of Somalia

Much of today's world is transfixed on the ideology of political Islam, as if this is a new phenomenon and not a feat with a centuries-old track record of just governance, tolerance, human and economic development. The one-sided news and views spewed across Western media, and incorporated into the media outlets of cultures subservient to Western interests and hegemony, wrongly portray Islam and the Muslims as a people intent on overthrowing every government on earth and forcefully installing militant regimes. Somalia is a classic example; in December 2006, the U.S. government backed Ethiopia's ill-thought military invasion that aimed to topple Mogadishu's rulers: the Islamic Courts Union. No diplomat in Washington, D.C., or London, Paris or Addis Ababa, seemed to care that Somalia's first-ever Islamist rulers succeeded in a few months where tens of thousands of Ethiopian troops and their Somali government allies continue to fail to date: secure Mogadishu! While the Islamists' methodology remains a topic of heated debate, they were nonetheless credited for bringing stability to one of the world's most unstable regions…….(Garowe, 29 Apr 08)

In Saudi Arabia, moderate article on Islam draws death fatwa

In his youth, Abdullah Bejad al-Oteibi was devoted to a doctrinaire version of Islam. He regarded those who disagreed with him as unworthy Muslims. But during a government crackdown on religious militants in the 1990s, Mr. Oteibi spent time in prison, then traveled outside Saudi Arabia. Today, he says he believes in a more open-minded, moderate Islam and is an outspoken critic of extremists. In a recent article in Ar Riyadh newspaper, for example, he wrote that some clerics, to advance their own interests, make Islam more complicated and uncompromising than it actually is. Unlike his past articles, this one drew an unusually harsh response from the hard-line religious community. Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Barrak declared that Oteibi's "heretical" ideas meant that he should be brought to court and asked to recant. If he refused, \Sheikh Barrak said, he should be put to death – an outcome, he added, that no Muslim would mourn… Barrak's so-called "death fatwa" against Oteibi and another Saudi writer, Yusuf Aba al-Kheil, shocked many Saudis. Despite the extreme conservatism of Islam in this country, it is rare for a religious scholar to publicly call for someone's execution because of his writings……(Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr 08)

Mosque belonging to sect burned by protesters in Indonesia

Hundreds of protesters chanting "kill, kill" set fire Monday to an Indonesian mosque belonging to a Muslim sect they claim is heretical, police officials said, as calls mounted for the group to be formally banned. No one was injured in the early-morning blaze at the mosque in West Java Province, and several suspects were taken in for questioning…..(AP, 28 Apr 08)

Morocco training female clerics to promote moderate Islam

Morocco has recently started recruiting and training mourchidat, female Muslim clerics whose role is to help usher in a more moderate Islam, according to a report published in the Telegraph on Saturday. The Dar al-Hadith al-Hassania – a madrassa training the mourchidat (female guide) – is training a second batch of 50 female students, after a first batch of 50 graduated in April 2006. Men and women learn side by side, but only men will be able to lead prayers……(Daily Times, 28 Apr 08)

Police warned convert: 'stop being crusader'

Police told a man attacked and threatened after his family converted to Christianity from Islam to "stop being a crusader," according to a report published today. Nissar Hussein, 43, from Bradford, claims an officer made the comment….(Edinburgh Evening News, 29 Apr 08)

Undercover Officer Complains of Mistreatment by Vice Cops

An undercover Saudi intelligence officer filed an official complaint yesterday at the Governorate of Riyadh for allegedly being sworn at, humiliated and offended by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice while he was accompanied by his friends at the Thumama desert area early Thursday morning…..(Arab News, 28 Apr 08)

Indonesians torch Muslim sect's mosque

Hundreds of protesters chanting "Kill, kill" set fire Monday to an Indonesian mosque belonging to a Muslim sect they claim is heretical, police said. A policeman was wounded in the head when the crowd stoned the mosque in West Java province before setting it ablaze, said police spokesman Col. Dade Ahmad. Several suspects were taken in for questioning. The attack was the latest targeting the Ahmadiyah sect in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation……(Bakersfield, 28 Apr 08)

Christians 'should wear veil'

Outspoken Muslim cleric Taj Din al-Hilali says the Bible "mandates" the wearing of the veil by Christian women. Writing in a new book, Sheik Hilali, who lost his job as mufti of Australia after comparing scantily clad women to uncovered meat, argues that the Bible and the Koran make similar demands of a woman's modesty…In the soon-to-be published The Legitimacy of the Veil for Women of the Scripture - Evidence of the Veil in the Bible, the cleric points to references in the Old and New Testaments to women wearing a veil. "Through this I hope to raise awareness and understanding and eliminate apprehensions and misunderstandings about the veil," he writes…..(Australian, 25 Apr 08)

Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid Warns: Freedom of Speech Might Lead to Freedom of Belief

The following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid. The interview aired on Al-Majd TV on March 30, 2008…..(MEMRI, 24 Apr 08)

Nigeria: Muslim Rioters Attack Christians in Kano

Hundreds of Muslims took to the streets of this northern Nigerian city on Sunday (April 20), attacking Christians and their shops and setting vehicles on fire on claims that a Christian had blasphemed Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Thousands of Christians were trapped in churches until police dispersed rioters. Fearing that Muslims may attack again, many Christians have relocated to army and police barracks in the city. An as yet unidentified Christian was said to have written an inscription on a shop wall that disparaged the prophet of Islam. Muslims at a market in the Sabon Garia area of the city reportedly attacked the Christian, whom police rescued and took to the area police station…..(Compass Direct, 23 Apr 08)

Open Meeting with Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri – Part II

On April 22, 2008, Al-Ikhlas and other Islamic websites posted an Al-Sahab audio recording titled "An Open Meeting with Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri - Part II." This recording is the second set of replies to questions reportedly addressed to Al-Zawahiri by Muslims via Islamist forums. Among the topics discussed are Al-Zawahiri's religious credentials, the role of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) in the future Islamic caliphate, the need to fight the Arab regimes, the Muslim Brotherhood's political platform, women's participation in jihad, and the duty of Muslims residing in the West to carry out attacks against the host countries……(MEMRI, 23 Apr 08)

'Prophet' jailed for contempt of Islam

The leader of an Indonesian sect who had controversially claimed he was a prophet has been jailed for four years for contempt against Islam. Ahmad Mushaddeq alias Abu Salam, 63, leader of the Al Qiyadah Al Islamiyah sect, was "guilty of showing contempt in public against a religion recognized by the state," Judge Zahrul Rabaid told a packed courtroom today…..(Australian, 23 Apr 08)

On Hamas TV: Hamas Culture Minister Presents Excerpts from Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Claims Jews Trying to Control the World

The following are excerpts from an interview with Hamas Culture Minister 'Atallah Abu Al-Subh. The interview aired on Al-Aqsa TV on April 9, 2008…..(MEMRI, 22 Apr 08)

Website proposed to improve Islamic studies

The Higher Education Funding Council for England is considering creating a virtual centre of excellence that would network academics, faith and community Islam groups to boost Islamic studies in the UK. The moves were discussed at a closed conference on improving Islamic studies in universities held last week, after the government earmarked £1m to improve the subject following last June's Siddiqui report. The website would act as a national resource, listing who is teaching Islamic studies and where, give details of conferences and act as a link between academic and non-academic organizations…..(Guardian, 21 Apr 08)

AP IMPACT: Islamic schools lure African boys into begging

…Since the 11th century, families have sent their sons to study at the Quranic schools that flourished on Africa's western seaboard with the rise of Islam. It is forbidden to charge for an Islamic education, so the students, known as talibe, studied for free with their marabouts, or spiritual teachers. In return, the children worked in the marabout's fields. The droughts of the late 1970s and '80s forced many schools to move to cities, where their income began to revolve around begging. Today, children continue to flock to the cities, as food and work in villages run short. Not all Quranic boarding schools force their students to beg. But for the most part, what was once an esteemed form of education has degenerated into child trafficking. Nowadays, Quranic instructors net as many children as they can to increase their daily take……(AP, 21 Apr 08)

Covering Up the Plight of Muslim Women

Islamic spokesmen in the West routinely claim that non-Muslims are only suspicious of Muslim intentions out of “ignorance” of the true, peaceful Islam. This, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the idea that it is not Muslims, but non-Muslims (like Geert Wilders in Fitna), who are responsible for linking Islam with violence. This approach deftly shifts the focus away from acts of violence committed by Muslims in the name of Islam, and onto the alleged “Islamophobes” who are supposedly victimizing Muslims by connecting Islam with violence. An example of this came Friday in The Ranger Online, a publication of San Antonio College and Alamo Community College. An article entitled “Islam teaches respect for women” by Martin R. Herrera reported on a lecture series held on women in the Islamic world…..(FrontPage, 21 Apr 08)

Saudi women 'kept in childhood'

Saudi women are being kept in perpetual childhood so male relatives can exercise "guardianship" over them, the Human Rights Watch group has said.

The New York-based group says Saudi women have to obtain permission from male relatives to work, travel, study, marry or even receive health care.

Their access to justice is also severely constrained….(BBC, 21 Apr 08)

Aid group: Only 35 percent of Afghan students are girls

Only 35 percent of the students in Afghanistan's schools are girls, and while overall enrollment is increasing, the percentage of female students is not, an aid group said Monday. A shortage of female teachers, a number of boys-only schools and cultural barriers are factors keeping girls out of school, the group Care International said. The education of girls in post-Taliban Afghanistan is held as an example of success by Afghan and Western officials. During Taliban rule, which ended after a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, girls were banned from going to school, and only about 1 million boys attended classes…..(AP, 21 Apr 08)

Egyptian Author Sharif Hatata Talks about Life with Egyptian Feminist Nawal Al-Sa'dawi, States: The Hijab Symbolizes the Claim that Women Have No Brains

The following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian author Dr. Sharif Hatata, husband of Egyptian feminist and activist Nawal Al-Sa'dawi. The interview aired on Al-Mihwar TV on March 31, 2008…..(MEMRI, 18 Apr 08)

Pakistani Taliban Hold Jihad Conference, Issue 6-Point Shari’a Implementation Program

Pakistani Taliban have successfully held a two-day jihad conference at the shrine of 20th-Century local Islamic preacher Haji Sahib Turangzai in Pakistan’s tribal district of Mohmand Agency. According to the Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Mashriq, the local Emir of the Movement of Pakistani Taliban Umer Khalid issued a 6-point program for the implementation of Shari’a in Mohmand Agency…….(MEMRI Blog, 18 Apr 08)