Inspired by stance of Palestinians against Israel, US influencer converts to Islam
New Age
Islam News Bureau
02 December 2023
· Mumbai: Over 1 Lakh Women Attend First Day Of Sunni Ijtema At Azad Maidan
· Can A Woman Be Charged With Rape? Supreme Court To Examine
· A Kentucky jail made a Muslim woman remove her hijab and televised her strip search in its lobby, lawsuit alleges
· HRW Raises Concerns About Arrests of Women in Afghanistan
· Pakistan bound by UN conventions protecting rights of refugees: SC justice
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/palestinians-israel-converts-islam/d/131240
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Inspired by stance of Palestinians against Israel, US influencer converts to Islam
Enes Taha Ersen
01.12.2023
NefertariMoonn, a US internet comic
artist and independent fashion designer, said she converted to Islam after
being influenced by Palestinians' commitment and stance against Israeli attacks
on the Gaza Strip.
Moonn, a 35-year-old resident of Tampa, Florida, told Anadolu: “I wouldn't necessarily say that Israel had anything to do with me turning to Islam. It was solely the Palestinian people, and their courage and their faith that had me look into Islam.”
“To see all the devastation that the Palestinians are going through… and to see those still call out to Allah is devastatingly beautiful,” Moonn said.
“I feel like if you see these people in what they're going through in them being able to still keep their faith. You have to look into it and see what was contributing to people still holding on to God and holding on to their faith in calling now in their last words,” she noted.
She described Palestinians as some of the “strongest resilient people” that she has ever seen in her life.
She said this resilience is stemming not only from “years and years of hardship in dealing with Israel,” but also from “something more,” which she believes “has to do with Islam.”
“You're seeing mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters lose their entire families in somehow, they're still thankful for the small things they have. So, like others I was very intrigued,” she said.
Underlining that she has always been respectful of Islam and Muslims’ holy book Quran because her husband is a Muslim, Moonn said: “So, I feel like that maybe it was like a fate type situation for me in ways that something was always maybe calling me to Islam and obviously the situation finally pushing me into the religion and making it my own.”
She called out to Palestinian people, saying: “I want you guys to know that the whole world is fighting for you guys right now.”
“I know right now it could be hard because if you're in it and you see the help coming but I really want you guys to understand that we are all praying for you,” she said, expressing hope for their safety.
The Israeli army announced Friday morning that it had resumed attacks in the Gaza Strip as a humanitarian pause that had been in place for a week came to an end.
The pause had begun early on Nov. 24 as part of an agreement between Israel and Palestinian resistance group Hamas to temporarily halt the fighting and strikes in Gaza for the release of hostages and prisoners on both sides, as well as the delivery of aid.
More than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7. Around 1,200 Israelis have also been killed, according to official estimates.
Source: aa.com.tr
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/inspired-by-stance-of-palestinians-against-israel-us-influencer-converts-to-islam/3070593
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Mumbai: Over 1 Lakh Women Attend First Day Of Sunni Ijtema At Azad Maidan
December 01, 2023
Manoj Ramakrishnan
Salman Ansari
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Over one lakh women attended the first day of the three-day Sunni Ijtema at Azad Maidan on Friday. The religious congregation, which is in its 31st year, is the largest gathering of Sunni Muslims in India. Friday’s event, which was exclusively for women, started at 3pm with a recitation from the Quran and an inaugural prayer by Sayyed Moin Ashraf. This was followed by a session on ‘women’s share in father’s and husband’s property’ by Mufti Nizamuddin Sahad, head of fatwa department, Islamic University AshrafiyaMubarakpur.
Dispelling popular perceptions that Muslim women are not entitled to fair shares in family property, Sahad said that religious laws make men and women financially independent. “A woman enjoys financial independence and no one is entitled to take any part of her property except with her consent. In Islam, greater financial security is assured for women. They are entitled to receive marital gifts – Mahr and to keep present and future properties as livelihood for their own security.”
Sahad added that Muslim women are entitled to financial support during marriage, during the waiting period – iddah – in case of divorce, and child support. “A Muslim woman is generally guaranteed support in all stages of her life, as a daughter, wife, mother, or sister,” he said.
The advantages enjoyed of women over men in property rights are balanced by the provisions of the inheritance which allow the male, in most cases, to inherit twice as much as the female, Sahad explained. “This means that the male inherits more but is responsible financially for other females: daughters, wives, parents, and sisters, while the female inherits less but can keep it all for investment and financial security without any legal obligation to spend any part of it, even for her own sustenance,” said Sahad.
He quoted the Quran, “... Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children’s inheritance: to the male a portion equal to that of two females...”, explaining that this injunction has nothing to do with the inferiority of woman, with the reason behind this inequality in share being that the male has been given the role of the breadwinner. He also talked about the rights of widows.
Another theme at this year congregation – higher education – was discussed by Maulana Sayyed AminulQadri who spoke on ‘importance of women’s education and their role’.
The audience was told that women are the ‘architects of the society’ who shape the character of generations. "The Quran very strongly differentiates between the knowledgeable and ignorant human being," the audience was told.
Qadri quoted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as saying: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim [males and females].”
The religious books make no distinction between man and woman with regard to the pursuit of knowledge, said Qadri who added that women are commanded to educate themselves in the same way as the men. "If the mother is educated, cultured, pious, possessing moral integrity and wisdom, then the child will get his or her share of all these qualities. The doors of spiritual elevation are open to woman in the same way as they are open to men," he said.
Talking about the arrangements made at the event, Sunni DawateIslami the organiser, said that over 400 buses were engaged to bring the audience to the meeting. Around 1000 female and 1500 male volunteers managed the arrangements. Apart from metal detectors, there were 500 'wazukhanas' for members of the audience to perform ritual ablution before prayers.
Source: freepressjournal.in
https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-over-1-lakh-women-attend-first-day-of-sunni-ijtema-at-azad-maidan
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Can A Woman Be Charged With Rape? Supreme Court To Examine
December 02, 2023
The woman has been granted protection
from arrest for four weeks.
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New Delhi: Can a woman be booked in a rape case? The Supreme Court has agreed to examine this question after a woman petitioned it for anticipatory bail in a rape case also involving her son.
The Supreme Court has asked the Punjab government to respond to the plea filed by a 61-year-old woman who has been implicated in the case filed by her daughter-in-law.
While agreeing to examine the issue, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol granted the woman protection from arrest and directed her to cooperate with the investigation.
"Issue notice, returnable in four weeks. In the meantime, the petitioner is protected from arrest. But she is expected to cooperate with the investigation of the crime," the bench said.
At the outset, advocate Rishi Malhotra, who appeared for the woman, argued that all other penal sections in the FIR are bailable barring the charge under Section 376(2)(n) IPC (repeated rape). Conviction under the section entails imprisonment of not less than 10 years and may extend to sentence for life.
Referring to a Supreme Court judgement, Mr Malhotra submitted a woman cannot be charged with rape.
According to the case, the complainant was initially in a long-distance relationship with the US-based elder son of the woman, a widow, but they had never met in person.
The FIR states that the complainant started living with the widow after entering into wedlock with her son at a virtual marriage ceremony.
Later, the younger son of the widow visited them from Portugal. The widow has claimed that after the arrival of her younger son, the complainant and her family pressured her to end the informal marriage with her elder son. When the younger son was about to leave for Portugal, the complainant insisted that he take her along but he left alone.
As tension mounted between the two families, a compromise was arrived at and the widow gave the complainant ₹ 11 lakh for ending the marriage with her elder son.
The complainant then approached the local police and lodged an FIR against the widow and her younger son, accusing them of rape and other charges.
Source: ndtv.com
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/can-a-woman-be-charged-with-rape-supreme-court-to-examine-4626920
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A Kentucky jail made a Muslim woman remove her hijab and televised her strip search in its lobby, lawsuit alleges
December 1, 2023
(CNN )— A Muslim mother of two, who was detained at a Kentucky jail earlier this year, says she was forced to remove her hijab and underwent “an unnecessary full body strip search,” which was “filmed and projected” on a TV screen for men and women in the jail’s lobby to see, according to a lawsuit she has filed.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, says in the lawsuit the search violated Warren County Regional Jail’s own procedures and also alleges her booking photo, which shows her without the hijab, remains online in a public inmate database, seven months after her arrest.
The lawsuit alleges officers violated Doe’s constitutional rights to religious freedom, subjected her to unreasonable search and seizure and deprived her of equal protection under the law. It seeks a jury trial, changes in jail procedures and unspecified damages.
“Appearing in public without hijab or being photographed without wearing hijab and having that photo available to the public is a serious breach of Mrs. Doe’s faith and a deeply humiliating and defiling experience in conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs,” the suit, filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Legal Defense Fund, says. They did not specify the charges or say how they were resolved.
The woman has been wearing a hijab since July 2013, and like many Muslim women, also wears an abaya, a long-sleeved, loose, robe-like dress, the lawsuit states.
The suit singles out four Warren County officials by name for their roles in the detention, which occurred in April, and alleges violations of the woman’s first, fourth and 14th amendment rights.
Doe was detained in April over a domestic dispute that has since been resolved, Doe’s legal representatives, CAIR Trial Attorney Saad Gul and CAIR Legal Fellow Aya Beydoun told CNN Thursday.
Warren County Judge Executive Doug Gorman and Stephen Harmon, the chief jailer at Warren County Regional Jail are named in the suit, along with the deputy jailer, Brook Lindsey Harp; and Benjamin Carroll, an officer at Bowling Green Police Department. Two other jail officers are identified as females but not named.
Nearly identical statements from Gorman and Harmon on behalf of all accused employees acknowledged the lawsuit to CNN Thursday: “Warren County admits there was an incident involving Jane Doe during intake at the Warren County Regional Jail.”
But the statement continues, “The Complaint contains exaggerations and inaccuracies as to the events that took place. Warren County and its employees deny violating Jane Doe’s constitutional rights and state that they acted to safeguard employees and other persons at the jail in a non-discriminatory manner.”
The statements said the county and its employees would defend their actions.
CNN has reached out to an attorney representing the officials for further comment.
The Bowling Green Police Department declined to comment on pending litigation. CNN has reached out to an attorney representing the city, but has not heard back.
Stripped of her clothes – and pride, the suit claims
On April 6, Bowling Green officers, including Carroll, responded to a call at Doe’s home, where she was wearing both her hijab and abaya, according to the lawsuit.
Officers questioned her outside her home and a female officer handcuffed her and placed her in a police vehicle before taking her to the Warren County Regional Jail, the suit states.
During the drive, she informed Carroll that she needed to keep her hijab on in accordance with her religious beliefs, the lawsuit states, adding that she worried jail attire would conflict with her headscarf. It says Carroll didn’t answer her questions about jail attire.
Because Doe’s arrest happened during the Ramadan religious holiday, when she arrived at the jail and began the booking process, she was offered an Iftar meal at sunset when she would break her fast, to which she agreed, documents show.
After the booking process, Doe received a pat down search with her clothes on from an unidentified female officer, was questioned and her handcuffs were removed, the lawsuit states. Then Doe was told by the officer that “a more thorough search of her person which would involve removing her clothes” would need to happen, and that it “would occur in a private room and the jail would provide her with a uniform to put on afterward.”
“Believing this was standard procedure, and with the understanding that it would be done in a private room with only one female officer present, Mrs. Doe did not argue and agreed to the search,” according to the lawsuit.
Warren County Jail policy states strip searches will only be done by a person of the same sex as the detained person and only when authorized by the sheriff and after a court order from a judge, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.
But the suit alleges that an officer never obtained a court order from a judge before conducting her strip search.
The policy further states no fewer than two officers should be present during a search and that it is to be conducted in an area where others cannot see it. The lawsuit alleges only one female officer was present during the search and that others were able to see it.
After the search, Doe donned her hijab again and had to push to be given a long-sleeved shirt to wear under the jail-issued uniform, instead of short sleeves, which violated her religious requirement to be fully clothed, the lawsuit states.
While Doe waited to have her booking photo taken, she was asked to wait on a bench in the jail’s lobby. The lawsuit states that’s when she realized there was a TV screen “hung right above the door where she had been strip searched” and it was streaming footage from inside the room and facing the lobby, for all in the room to see.
The suit contends she “felt mortified, degraded, violated, and humiliated,” to think individuals in the hallway and lobby might have seen her nude during the strip search, a violation of her religious beliefs, which require her to wear clothes that cover her body in front of anyone she doesn’t know.
‘Memorialized in a permanent way,’ the violation of religious rights, suit says
Before Doe was taken for her booking photo, she was told policy required her to remove her hijab in the facility. Despite her pleas and visible sobbing, she was told by officers she would need to remove it, the lawsuit alleges.
An officer took Doe’s photo without her hijab on and per the jail’s policy uploaded the photo to the public online jail management database, the lawsuit states, where it remains. CNN has not been able to independently verify that claim.
“Every moment that photo remains on Warren County Regional Jail’s website perpetuates the harm and anguish suffered by Mrs. Doe,” Beydoun said in a news release about the lawsuit. “It is a permanent record and consistent reminder of the violations to Mrs. Doe’s privacy and religious beliefs.”
Doe’s attorneys also believe the jail still has the recording of her strip search in its records, Beydoun said.
Calls for a change in policy
As part of her suit, Doe is calling for a change in policy, the suit states.
“WCRJ has no written policy forbidding its employees from removing detainees’ religious head coverings or describing scenarios when detainees would be permitted to wear religious headwear or other clothing,” the suit states.
But around 150 miles north of Warren County, the Lexington-Fayette County Detention Center changed its policy regarding religious clothing after a Muslim woman was forced to take off her hijab during her booking process in July, CNN affiliate WLEX reported at the time.
The chief of corrections told WLEX that CAIR was instrumental in policy revisions there that allow religious head coverings, including Islamic hijabs, Jewish kippas and Sikh turbans. When religious clothing must be removed for security, it will occur in a private setting in the presence of a corrections officer who is the same sex as the detained person. Booking photos will now be taken of those detained with head coverings, provided the person’s face can remain fully visible.
Doe’s suit encourages Warren County to follow the same guidance, and calls for any images and video footage of the incident to be destroyed.
Source: cnn.com
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/01/opinions/kentucky-jail-lawsuit-muslim-woman-hijab/index.html
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HRW Raises Concerns About Arrests of Women in Afghanistan
02.12.2023
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about the current situation of activist women in Afghanistan and said that the arrests, threats, and suppression of women are still ongoing.
A report published by Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the continued detention of female protesters, including Julia Parsi, ManijehSediqi, Neda Parwani, and Parisa Azada.
“These are four women’s rights activists arbitrarily detained by the Taliban right now. Remember their names. But please also remember that there are many more in custody who have not been named.
You haven’t heard of most of the detained women. Families are terrified into concealing their arrests, hoping silence might buy their release or reduce abuses in custody,” said Human Rights Watch.
However, the Islamic Emirate said that some women have been arrested to prevent the implementation of foreign programs and to maintain public security. “Seizure does not mean that we silence someone's voice or that someone is oppressed; It is for the sake of maintaining public security and preventing external conspiracies from happening in Afghanistan,” said Mujahid.
Some women's rights activists are calling for the release of the protesting women.
“The goal of women's rights activists and those who took to the streets was to be able to hear the voices of Afghan women for the world,” said Hwaida Hadis, a women's rights activist.
“The women who were arrested did not have any anti-government and security activities, they only wanted Afghan women and girls to study,” said Sonam Latif, a women's rights activist.
After the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate in the country, some women took to the streets in the capital and other provinces and started protests demanding women's right to education and work in the country.
Source: tolonews.com
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-186303
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Pakistan bound by UN conventions protecting rights of refugees: SC justice
December 2, 2023
Pakistan Supreme Court’s Justice Ayesha A. Malik on Friday observed that Pakistan was bound by the United Nations conventions that protected the rights of refugees.
She passed these remarks as a three-member bench of the apex court took up a petition seeking restraining orders against the caretaker government’s decision to deport illegal Afghan nationals, Dawn newspaper reported.
As the proceedings commenced Friday, the court remarked that the deportation of illegal Afghan citizens was also a matter of “constitutional interpretation” and directed the Attorney General for Pakistan to assist the bench on the same.
The court issued notices to the federal government, the foreign ministry, apex committee — that had taken the decision to expel Afghans under the leadership of the caretaker prime minister and army chief — and the AGP.
In November, the government initiated a nationwide campaign to deport illegal foreign nationals, the majority of whom are Afghans.
Of more than four million Afghans living in Pakistan, the government estimates 1.7 million are undocumented. Around 400,000 Afghans have returned since Pakistan announced plans to deport illegal refugees.
Last month, Pakistani politicians and rights activists had approached the top court to declare the decision of mass deportation of Afghans as illegal, unconstitutional and against the fundamental rights.
One of the petitioners, former PPP senator Farhatullah Babar, contended that the interim government did not have the mandate to deport illegal Afghan citizens. He highlighted that the Afghans being expelled had already applied for political asylum.
“Afghan citizens are being treated inhumanely by the government of Pakistan,” Babar further stated, reiterating that the caretakers did not have constitutional authority to make a final decision on policy-related matters.
Source: ariananews.af
https://www.ariananews.af/pakistan-bound-by-un-conventions-protecting-rights-of-refugees-sc-justice/
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