The Kerala Story: Girl Elopes With a History-Sheeter Muslim Lover after BJP MP Takes Her to Watch The Kerala Story
New Age
Islam News Bureau
06
June 2023
• The Kerala Story: Girl Elopes With a History-Sheeter Muslim Lover After
BJP MP Takes Her to Watch The Kerala Story
• Iraq Appoints New Ambassador, Safia Taleb Al-Suhail, To Saudi Arabia
• Iran Debates New Penalties for Veil Violations
• Bangladeshi Women Praise Saudi ‘Special Care’ For Hajj Pilgrims
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/kerala-story-muslim-lover-pragya/d/129934
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The Kerala Story:
Girl Elopes With a History-Sheeter Muslim Lover after BJP MP Takes Her to Watch
The Kerala Story
BJP
MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had taken the teenage girl to watch The Kerala
Story before she eloped. (Photo: File)
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Jun 5, 2023
Ravish Singh
By Ravish Singh: A
19-year-old nursing student in Bhopal eloped with her lover, Yusuf, just before
her marriage.
Notably, the girl
was advised by BJP's Member of Parliament (MP) from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh
Thakur, to distance herself from Yusuf. Pragya Singh Thakur had also taken the
girl to watch The Kerala Story movie.
The Kerala Story
follows the story of a Hindu woman from Kerala, played by Adah Sharma. She is
brainwashed to embrace Islam and sent to Syria, where she is forced to join the
terror outfit, IS. The movie was in controversy since its teaser was released last
year.
According to the
family of the 19-year-old girl, who resides in the Naya Basera area of Bhopal,
Yusuf is their neighbour
The girl eloped
with Yusuf before her marriage, which was scheduled on May 30, with the cash
and jewellery that were kept for her wedding, according to her family.
In their complaint
filed at Bhopal's Kamla Nagar police station, the girl's family alleged that
Yusuf had "trapped their daughter with his sweet talk and later eloped
with her".
Yusuf, they
alleged, had also taken a bank loan in the name of the girl and forced her to
pay its equated monthly instalment (EMI).
However, contrary
to the family's allegations, the girl, in her confession before the police,
said that she had eloped with Yusuf, who is a history-sheeter with more than
six criminal cases against him, out of her own will.
Source: indiatoday.in
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/madhya-pradesh/story/girl-elopes-with-muslim-lover-bhopal-mp-sadhvi-pragya-singh-thakur-madhya-pradesh-the-kerala-story-2389038-2023-06-05
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Iraq Appoints New
Ambassador, Safia Taleb Al-Suhail, To Saudi Arabia
Safia Taleb
Al-Suhail
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June 5, 2023
Baghdad
(IraqiNews.com) – The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs received on Monday the
diplomatic credentials of the new Iraqi Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Safia Taleb
Al-Suhail.
The new Iraqi
Ambassador was received by the Undersecretary of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign
Affairs for Protocol Affairs, Abdulmajeed Al-Samary, on behalf of the Saudi
Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier, the Iraqi
President, Abdul Latif Rashid, signed a republican decree appointing an
extraordinary ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Al-Suhail is an
Iraqi politician and the daughter of the former member of the Iraqi Parliament
for Baghdad governorate, Taleb Al-Suhail.
The new Iraqi Ambassador
previously held the positions of Undersecretary of the Iraqi Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to Jordan and Italy.
Al-Suhail was born
in 1965 and is married to the former Minister of Human Rights, Bakhtiar Amin.
The Iraqi diplomat
is a women’s rights activist who calls for the inclusion of Iraqi women in the
political process.
She was the
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until May 2023, when she
became Iraq’s Ambassador Extraordinary to Saudi Arabia.
Source: iraqinews.com
https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-appoints-new-ambassador-to-saudi-arabia/
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Iran debates new
penalties for veil violations
06/06/2023
Since the aftermath
of the Islamic revolution of 1979, women have been required to cover their hair
and neck in public places, with offenders facing fines or prison terms of up to
two months.
But a growing
number are defying the law and appearing bareheaded in the streets.
The trend
accelerated during the nationwide protests sparked by the September death in
custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for
allegedly violating the law.
The protests rocked
Iran, provoking a crackdown by authorities that claimed the lives of hundreds
of people, including dozens of security personnel, and saw thousands more
arrested.
Iran's
conservatives, who dominate the country's parliament and leadership, have
passionately defended the dress code and believe relaxing rules would begin a
process leading to profound shifts in "social norms".
But with many
Iranians demanding change, in May the judiciary and the government proposed a
"Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity" bill, to
"protect society" and "strengthen family life".
The text proposes
increased fines for "any person removing their veil in public places or on
the internet" but withdraws the threat of a prison sentence.
"This bill
reduces the removal of the hijab from a felony to a misdemeanour, similar to a
traffic violation but with heavier fines," sociologist Abbas Abdi told
AFP.
After Amini's death
and the subsequent protests, society "no longer accepts that we imprison a
woman because she does not wear the veil", he said.
Since the protests,
authorities have imposed a series of measures to enforce Iran's strict dress
code, including the closure of businesses whose staff do not conform with the
rules and installing cameras in public places to track down offenders.
In recent days, at
least three officials have been sacked or arrested for failing to prevent
unveiled women from entering historic sites.
'Not dissuasive
enough'
Under the proposed
law, the text of which has been published in government-affiliated media,
offenders will first receive a warning text message from the police.
A second breach
will incur fines of between five million and 60 million rials (around $10 to
$120), a large sum for many Iranians. The law would also provide for other
penalities, including the confiscation of a woman's vehicle for up to 10 days.
Defending the bill,
judiciary chief GholamhosseinMohseniEjei stressed the need to avoid polarising
society, saying he understood the "concerns of believers" supportive
of the dress code.
As the bill awaits
examination by lawmakers, it faces accusations of not being tough enough from
ultra-conservatives, an influential bloc in the current parliament.
Relaxing
punishments for violations will see "the expansion of a repugnant
phenomenon" by "removing legal barriers" for women not wearing a
veil, the ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan said.
Those supporting
the law "do not know that the enemy" seeks to "destroy the
family as an institution and ultimately, to attack the foundations of the
Islamic system" by removing headscarves, the newspaper said.
Social networks and
foreign media, particularly television channels broadcasting in Persian, are
calling for "social disobedience", according to some
ultra-conservatives.
Within Iran's
leadership "there is no consensus on the hijab", as some favour
repression, while others "believe that other means must be tried",
the sociologist Abdi said.
"The bill
satisfies neither the supporters of compulsory hijab nor, of course, the
supporters of the freedom to cover up or not."
A similar situation
developed in the 1990s with a law prohibiting the use of satellite dishes, he
said.
"It was only
implemented for a while before it was dropped."
Source: france24.com
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230606-iran-debates-new-penalties-for-veil-violations
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Bangladeshi women
praise Saudi ‘special care’ for Hajj pilgrims
June 05, 2023
DHAKA: Bangladeshi
women pilgrims have lauded Hajj operations in Saudi Arabia, describing their
experience so far as smooth while thanking authorities in the Kingdom for
treating them with care and kindness.
Bangladesh is
sending about 125,000 individuals for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, more than
double the quota it received last year, when it was 60,000. This year, over
35,000 pilgrims will be women.
Hajj flights from
the country commenced on May 21 and with Hajj expected to begin on June 26,
over 57,000 Bangladeshis have already arrived in Saudi Arabia.
As they continued
their spiritual journey, Bangladeshi women told Arab News they were delighted
by the thoughtful attention they received in the Kingdom.
For Eva Haque, such
treatment was extended to her as soon as she landed in Saudi Arabia, when she
found herself unwell.
“I was hospitalized
for one day. As a Hajj pilgrim, I received very special care from all the
doctors and nurses at the hospital. They took care of me as though I were one
of their closest family members,” the 43-year-old told Arab News.
Following
treatment, she felt fit to start following Hajj rituals. Haque, who is from
Dhaka, believes the pilgrimage will be good for her well-being.
“My health has not
been good for the last two years, so I intended to perform the holy Hajj this
year as I believe it will bring mental peace and heal my pains,” Haque said.
“I will never
forget the hospitality and cordial behaviors of the hospital staff. They made
me feel like I was home. Words are not enough to convey my gratitude.”
That Saudi
hospitality was also felt by Umm Kulsum, a 64-year-old pilgrim from the Sylhet
district in northeast Bangladesh.
When she became
lost trying to reach her hotel last week, Kulsum said a Hajj volunteer in
Madinah helped her find her way back.
“Seeing me in a
puzzled situation suddenly, a volunteer came to help me. I was able to mention
my hotel name and the volunteer assisted me to reach the hotel gate easily,”
she told Arab News. “I pray from the core of my heart for the well-being of
that young man.
“I am amazed to see
the management here. It’s a herculean task, but people here with the management
are so well-trained that everything is running very smoothly.”
In moments when
women need specific care and attention, Shehnaz Begum said she saw Saudi
authorities addressing the issues subtly, while also keeping the women’s
comfort in mind.
As she is traveling
with her youngest son this time around, Begum said she might consider going
solo for her future pilgrimage.
“Maybe, in my next
pilgrimage, I will travel alone as the Kingdom now allows single women to
perform Hajj without their male guardians,” she said.
Like many pilgrims
who had waited years to perform Hajj, Begum found herself unable to hold back
tears when she arrived in Madinah.
“By the grace of
the Almighty, I have landed in the Holy Land after waiting so many years,”
Begum told Arab News. “Thousands of devotees from different countries of the
world are walking side by side, offering prayers together. But everything
remains peaceful here. It’s like a celestial moment on Earth.
“I must thank the
Kingdom authorities for managing this great task in a smooth way.”
Source: arabnews.com
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2316231/world
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/kerala-story-muslim-lover-pragya/d/129934