Landmark case puts spotlight on dishonour killings in the UK
The Real Toll of the French Veil Ban on Muslim Women
Beating someone to death for their beliefs?
Palestinian woman charged with aiding Islamic Jihad
US woman sues Disneyland for forbidding head scarf at work
Traffickedbride‘ run’of Kutch leads to Bengal
Rinkle effect on Pak Hindus?
Female hitchhikers arrested for looting capital motorists
Pakistan’s first PhD woman BB Qureshi dies at Edhi Home
Woman reporter commits suicide for ‘not being paid for months’
Sharia Law in the US: Courts Are More Islamized Than You Think
Muslim Forced Marriages in Spain
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Landmark case puts spotlight on dishonour killings in the UK
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Landmark case puts spotlight on dishonour killings in the UK
August 16, 2012
London: When Junyad, then only 13, saw his 17-year-old sister Shafilea being suffocated with a plastic bag by his parents, Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, his reaction was utterly shocking - he totally approved of her murder. Turning to his three other sisters, he said that Shafilea "deserved it".
Over the last 50 years there have been numerous Asian "honour killings" in the UK of mostly young Pakistani women, but of a few Indians, too, invariably by their male relatives. But the murder of 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed from a British Pakistani family has been especially horrifying.
Too Western
The recent trial of her father, Iftikhar, 52, and her mother, Farzana, 49, at Chester Crown Court - nine years after her murder at the family home in Warrington, Cheshire, on September 11, 2003 - revealed that Shafilea had long had a troubled relationship with her parents. Both Farzana and Iftikhar were convicted of murder and sent to prison for life by the judge, with a recommendation that they serve, at least, 25 years in jail.
And their reasons for killing their own daughter? In their opinion, Shafilea wanted to be far too "western", wear jeans and fashionable tops and talk to boys. Worse, she would have no truck with an arranged marriage and her parents' choice of a husband for her back in Pakistan - an alien country to Shafilea who was born in Britain.
Post Shafilea, Britain has made "forced marriage" a criminal offence. But when Shafilea was drugged and flown to Pakistan, she drank corrosive bleach as a way of getting back to Britain. She succeeded but paid a high price in the process - her throat was badly damaged and she had to spend several weeks in hospital back home. Her increasingly frustrated parents, who found they could not control her, decided the best course of action was to get rid of their daughter.
Finish It
As she struggled for life on that fateful evening of September 11, 2003, her mother egged on her husband in strident Punjabi: "Itthe khatam kar saro (just finish it here)." They did. It is not only Britain's one million strong Pakistani community that is agonising about how Shafilea's life was extinguished by the very people who should have given her unquestioning love and care.
The British people as a whole are also wondering about twisted Asian notions of "honour" and why those who are so much against western culture insist on living in Britain in the first place. Junyad's attitude is one of the most disquieting aspects of the whole affair for it seems the poison from the father has been passed to the British-born son. The judge Justice Roderick Evans suggested as much.
"As to Junyad, he remains supportive, especially of you, Iftikhar Ahmed," said the judge, referring to the youth who is now 22. "Whether that is simply out of filial affection or the result of the warped values you instilled in him is impossible to tell."
Distorted Values
The judge emphasised, "I express no concluded view on whether Junyad played any part in the killing of his sister. But I have no doubt that, as the result of the distorted upbringing and values to which you subjected him, he told his surviving sisters within minutes of them seeing Shafilea murdered by you that Shafilea 'deserved it'."
Nor does it seem Junyad's view of life is an isolated example of ultra-orthodox thinking. Junyad's attitudes are similar to those of Ashraf Azad, a 28-year-old who was sent to prison for six months last year for beating up and threatening to kill his 21-year-old famous actress sister, Afshan Azad, because she had a Hindu boyfriend. She is well known for playing Padma Patil in the Harry Potter movies. "Who the **** do you think you are talking to? Watch what I will do," Ashraf threatened his sister.
According to Richard Vardon QC, the prosecuting counsel in the case, Ashraf "grabbed her hair and threw her across the room. She began crying and asked him to stop. The defendant began punching her with clenched fists to her back and head area. She struggled to breathe and was scared for her life. She was told she had to 'marry a Muslim or you die' ".
Active Encouragement
With active encouragement from his Bangladeshi father, Abul Azad, 54, and his mother, Nilofar, who called her daughter a "prostitute", Ashraf went looking for knives in the kitchen of the family home in Manchester. "I'm going to kill you, I'm actually going to kill you," he raged at his sister.
Judge Roger Thomas told Ashraf, "It must have been a miserable and frightening experience for your sister... The background to this offence lies in the concern that you, and perhaps other family members, had about Afshan's relationship with a young man who was not of the Islamic faith."
Cultural Attitudes
In the Shafilea case, the conviction of Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed became inevitable because the main prosecution witness was Shafilea's sister, Alesha, who was only 15 at the time of the murder.
It was Alesha's organisation of an armed robbery at her own family home - she was alleged by the defence to be in debt to criminal gangs - which led to her remarkable admission, after seven years, that her parents had killed her older sister.
Crying in the witness box, Alesha, now 23, told the court that her parents held down a terrified Shafilea on the settee in their living room as a plastic bag was forced into her mouth. "You could tell she was gasping for air," she said, before adding that Shafilea "wet herself because she was struggling so much".
Asked what happened next, she told the court: "That was it, she was gone." Alesha described how the other sisters ran upstairs to their bedrooms in shock and she saw her father carry Shafilea's body to the car wrapped in a blanket. The children were later told to say nothing to the authorities and warned they would otherwise suffer the same fate as their sister.
Decomposed Remains
Among the siblings, apart from Alesha, there is Mevish, 21, who was 12 when her sister was killed; brother Junyad; and the youngest Ahmed daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was just seven years old. She is now 16.
Shafilea's decomposed remains were discovered in the River Kent in Cumbria in February 2004. But it was not until 2010 that Alesha provided the "final piece of the puzzle" about her death, the prosecution said. When the trial began, both Iftikhar and Farzana said they were innocent. Then Farzana dramatically changed her evidence and claimed only her husband was responsible for Shafilea's disappearance.
Alesha's version of events was corroborated by the written notes Mevish gave to her close friend Shahin Munir in 2008 - their existence emerged shortly after the start of Alesha's evidence.
After Mevish had confided how Shafilea had been killed, a shocked Shahin made a note in her diary: "Oh my god. Today I met up with Mev..... Eventually she told me what happened with her sister Shafilea..... That night ...Shafilea came home from work and they started shouting at her because she had a T-shirt on and she forgot her coat. They sat her down on the chair. Her Dad went mad and started proper hitting her. Mev tried to stop it but her Mum pushed her away... Shafilea was still weak from the whole bleach thing. Then (they) got a plastic bag...They used the bag to suffocate her, 1-2 minutes gone."
Justice Roderick Evans told Iftikhar and Farzana, "Your concern about being shamed in your community was greater than the love of your child." The judge asked them: "What was it that brought you two, her parents, people who had given her life, to the point of killing her?"
He continued, "You chose to bring up your family in Warrington but although you lived in Warrington your social and cultural attitudes were those of rural Pakistan and it was those which you imposed upon your children. You wanted your family to live in 'Pakistan in Warrington'."
He said, "However, you could not tolerate the life that Shafilea wanted to live. ...Although she went to local schools, you objected to her socialising with girls from what has been referred to as 'the white community'. You objected to her wearing western clothes and you objected to her having contact with boys."
He said, "On the evening of September 11 2003, you berated her for her behaviour and in temper and frustration you two suffocated her. It was you, Farzana Ahmed, who said to your husband, 'Finish it here.'"
He analysed the dilemma of the parents. "In order to rid yourselves of that problem, you killed Shafilea by suffocating her in the presence of your other four children."
"Thereafter, you got rid of her body by dumping it or having it dumped in undergrowth on a riverbank in Cumbria and you told your children what to tell anybody who asked about the disappearance of Shafilea," the judge said. "You killed one daughter, but you have blighted the lives of your remaining children. Alesha escaped but she is unlikely to be able to avoid the legacy of her upbringing."
Life Imprisonment
He went on, "Mevish, after a period of trying to live independently, was recaptured and brought home, and has since become compliant with your wishes." He concluded, "There is only one sentence that I can impose upon you and that is a sentence of imprisonment for life."
Speaking after the sentencing, Paul Whittaker, Chief Crown Prosecutor of Mersey-Cheshire, said, "Shafilea Ahmed was 17 when she died and her 26th birthday fell during the course of this trial.....The statement of Alesha Ahmed, Shafilea's younger sister, was crucial to our case and the result is a testament to her courage over the last two years."
Whittaker urged other victims of abuse to come forward. "There are many ways to describe what happened to Shafilea: child abuse, domestic violence and honour-based violence being just three. However you choose to characterise it, the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) is committed to convicting perpetrators such as the Ahmeds. But to do that, we need victims and other family members to break ranks and give evidence as Alesha Ahmed did. If you do come forward, this case has shown that the justice system will not let you down."
No Honour
He commented, "The word 'shame' has been heard many times during the course of this trial, but the shame is not on Shafilea, it is on her parents... There is no honour in murder and Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed are now starting life sentences for abusing and killing their daughter."
It emerged after the trial that Iftikhar was not so much against western culture - for himself. He had gone from Pakistan to Denmark via the UK where he had been a biscuit factory worker. In June 1982 in Copenhagen he married a Danish woman called Vivi Lone Andersen. They had a son, Tony Andersen.
But in 1986, Iftikhar returned to Pakistan on receiving a letter from his family and married his cousin, Farzana - their marriage had been fixed when they were children. In May 1986, from his new home in Bradford, Iftikhar sent for his Danish wife. She arrived and assumed the heavily pregnant Farzana was one of her husband's relatives. A local health visitor told her that the father of the unborn child was her husband, who now admitted he was also married to Farzana. At this, a distraught and betrayed Biwi No 1 packed her bags and returned to Denmark.
Andersen recalls subsequent conversations with Iftikhar in which he said he could leave his son to grow up without his influence because he was a boy. But if their child had been a girl, he would not have allowed her to grow up "without his guidance in the Islamic ways".
Andersen gave an interview to a British paper in which she said that as a young man in Denmark, Iftikhar, who had the nickname "Bazza", was liberal, dated white girls and cut quite a dash at parties and discos in his tight jeans and sunglasses. "Bazza was the life and soul of the party," remembered Andersen. "He was completely westernised: he loved fashion, he loved parties and discos and he loved girls."
Painful Poem
The tragedy of Shafilea is she was let down by everyone. She told her teachers at Great Sankey High School, which she and her siblings attended, that she had been abused at home from the age of 15. On occasions, she even ran away. But she would then come back home and withdraw her complaints, partly because she did not wish to be parted from her youngest sister, her favourite. Shafilea has left behind some amateurish poems in which she had expressed her feelings. "I don't pretend like we're the perfect family no more Desire to live is burning My stomach is turning But all they think about is honour...."
The chorus ran:
"I feel trapped so trapped I'm trapped I'm trapped, so trapped I'm trapped (I don't know wot to do) I feel trapped."
Blood in the family: Viewpoint
Shafilea is a case of a Pakistani woman in the UK but honour killings are taking place here in India too. Shockingly, these are not just confined to rural areas but have taken place in cities too. In many instances, they are expertly couched so it is difficult to term them as honour killings.
The honour killing is perhaps one of the hardest to prove, simply because it is an 'inside' job done by relatives, majority of the time. The Supreme Court of India has advocated the death penalty for those convicted in honour killing cases.
How can India call itself an emerging superpower when archaic and abhorrent practices like honour killings still happen not just in rural but also urban areas? Opposing marriages in various ways like branding women prostitutes for having an affair, locking up women in rooms and homes, controlling them by curbing their freedom, hiding their passports and even policing who they can talk to or whether they can go to work at all, this is still present in urban areas too.
While well-meaning parents may object to their daughter meeting and seeking to marry a particular person, maybe, sometimes for justifiable reasons, that objection is different from using patriarchal or other power to put chains on women. Honour killings are an extreme manifestation of this power. Women are made to feel that they have brought shame on the family by their deeds.
That guilt is thrust upon them, while men are not made to feel this pressure whatever they do, because the 'honour' of the family is supposed to be vested in women, whatever that means. The sensational ongoing Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murder case has a possible honour killing angle to it. Honour killings are a sinister, dangerous and dastardly way to control women through shame, guilt and when that does not work, extreme violence.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/landmark-case-puts-spotlight-on-dishonour-killings-in-the-uk-255426
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The Real Toll of the French Veil Ban on Muslim Women
Ngalula Beatrice Kabutakapuain
16 August 2012
French law against fully covering veils continues to raise controversy, as clashes between Muslim groups and the police make headlines in local and national newspapers.
Recently, an 18-year-old woman refused to remove her veil when the police asked her to in Roubaix, on the Belgium border. Reports say she shouted and fought, and ended up in jail. She will appear in court next October.
Similarly, last July, an identification check on a fully veiled woman turned into a fight in Marseilles. Four people were held back, and trial is scheduled for September.
France became the first country to ban the use of veils in public spaces in April 2011. The law – which prohibits women to wear niqab and burqas, passed under former president Nicolas Sarkozy who stated that religious face veils were “not welcomed in France.” The regulation affected some 2000 veiled women living in France.
Belgium followed suit with a similar law in July 2011. And other countries such as Italy and Netherlands are considering the idea, as France sticks to it. During the elections, the then candidate François Hollande promised to uphold the law if elected.
In Sarkozy’s words the regulation was passed “to protect women from being forced to cover their faces.” That's why women’s rights groups are supporting the ban. Last April, Le Figarò reported that 300 women were stopped, questioned or fined following this law. No man was questioned. But sanctions go from a €30,000 fine to jail time -- for whoever forces a woman to cover her face.
Other supporters of the regulation say it is a security measure and ensures people can be identified The safety issue can only be read between the lines of the first article of the draft written in July 2010 that reads, “No one can wear clothing intended to conceal his face, in public.”
Despite from undermining religious rights, as the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently stated, the French law is unsuccessful for the following reasons.
Firstly, assuming the law sincerely aims to empower women, one might ask why women are the ones paying for it -- and not only metaphorically. Fines for wearing a niqab or burqa start from €150 and the costs of going through trial orbit around €3000.
Another issue is the safety of women in the households in case they are forced to wear the veil. Forcing to cover the face “by threat, violence, coercion, abuse of power or because of the sex” is punishable by law. But to discover these cases women would have to speak out. This is more likely to happen through an empowerment program than a law. Police won't go into a home where a woman is being abused and arrests the husband, unless the wife denounces it.
In second place, a forced removal of the veil – portrayed as a symbol of oppression, might result in French veiled women to be isolated. Media are already calling them “the fully veiled women.” The ban however, was considered as a way to stand by French traditions and not a mean to exclude a minority.
Lastly, public opinion is greatly influenced by the law. Last year in Rome, a woman ripped off the veil of two women in a market, shouting, “I’m scared of you!” Similar episodes of violence and discrimination should be expected in countries that decide to apply such ban.
http://www.policymic.com/articles/12634/the-real-toll-of-the-french-veil-ban-on-muslim-women
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Beating someone to death for their beliefs?
08.14.12
Saffiya Ismail takes a perspective on the misconceptions of being Muslim in a prejudiced society and sees how Islamophobia is no different to anti-Semitism or racism.
Prejudice in South Africa has a long history. Years after the end of apartheid, have we really dealt with our prejudices and hatred?
When a man is called a “kaffir” and “terrorist”, beaten, and dies from injuries sustained, makes us question whether we have really moved away from the hatred. I don’t know the deceased, Mohammed Fayaz Kazi, but this incident really shocked me. We hear about hate crimes in other countries, from the Sikh shooting to the burning of mosques in Joplin to other countries facing ethnic cleansing.
Racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, every possible phobia you can think off; continues to threaten social unity in South Africa and globally.
We have a dynamic and beautiful country. We strive every day to unite through our diversity, our years living under apartheid; made us never want to live that way again. The reality is that prejudice and hatred remains in South Africa, are we doing enough to address it.
“Rainbow Nation” defines our society; yet HATE crimes are on the rise.
“Practicing one’s religion is not terrorism”
Unfortunately, after 9/11 and the escalation of the “war on terror”, Muslims are viewed under a cloud of suspicion, and this suspicion has become universal.
Being Islamic does not mean being a violent, extremist person, it simply means you are committed to a spiritual purpose; you respect all Gods’ creations irrespective of race, colour, gender, creed or nationality.
Having a beard, wearing a turban, a headscarf, a niqaab, dressing in a modest way should not be taken as a symbol of backwardness or oppression nor should it be seen as a symbol of terrorism; violence or extremism. No person should be ridiculed or mocked for their attire either. The beard has great significance in other faiths like Judaism, Sikhism or Christianity. Priests, Rabbis, clerics, Religious Authorities have beards.
So this isn’t just Islamophobia; it’s a hatred of anyone who is different or religious.
I am not talking about hearing someone say: “the family next door are Muslim but they’re not too bad’ or “a woman walks past wearing a headscarf or niqaab and the glances you get ‘that woman’s either oppressed or making a political statement’.
I am talking about the hatred which causes someone to lose their life because of how they look, what they believe in and for standing up for those beliefs.
When did a beard, become a lethal weapon?
When did a persons’ attire become grounds for insults and harassments and death?
Muslims worldwide are constantly judged by the actions of misguided followers. We are 700 000 ordinary and peace loving Muslims in South Africa. We are not perfect, but I can tell you this much we condemn groups or individuals who kill innocent people in the name of our religion. They are not martyrs. ISLAM is a religion of peace and forbids violence and unjust killings.
MUSLIMS with a real understanding of Islam know that the word and the essence of Islam emanate and preach peace, compassion, tolerance of all religions and beliefs, and respect for humanity and human dignity.
Those who commit criminal acts of violence need to be dealt with not just by the full force of the law and their acts must not be used as an opportunity to undo all that our country has done thus far to get rid of racial, religious stereotyping and prejudices. They should never be allowed to divide our country on the basis of faith.
http://www.women24.com/Wellness/BodyAndSpirit/Islamophobia-Racism-and-Anti-Semitism-Fruits-of-the-same-hate-tree-20120814
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Palestinian woman charged with aiding Islamic Jihad
08.13.12
Southern District Prosecution says woman sought to transfer funds to terror group via third party
The Southern District Prosecution has indicted a Palestinian woman from the West Bank on charges of conspiracy to fund a terror group.
Najah al-Qunawi, 49, was charged with having conspired with an Islamic Jihad operative to transfer funds to the terror group via a third party – a man residing in the Bedouin city of Rahat.
According to the indictment, al-Qunawi – who was staying in Israel sans the necessary permits – told the Rahat man that the money she wanted to transfer to the Islamic Jihad was the product of donations, and that it was meant to support widows and orphans in the West Bank.
The prosecution motioned the court to remand her pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings in the case.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4268065,00.html
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US woman sues Disneyland for forbidding head scarf at work
Aug 14 2012
Los Angeles : A former Muslim employee of Disneyland has sued the entertainment giant for racial discrimination saying that she was forbidden to wear a head scarf to work.
Imane Boudlal, 28, has charged Disneyland in a lawsuit filed yesterday that she was harassed after she began wearing a hijab in 2010 while working as a cafe hostess.
Boudlal got a job two weeks after moving to California, a hostess position at Disney's California Adventure theme park.
Boudlal alleged in the lawsuit that her co-workers taunted her, calling the Moroccan-born Muslim a "terrorist," a "camel" and someone who learned how to make bombs at her mosque, the Los Angeles Times reported.
She complained to her managers verbally and in writing, she said, with no results.
Boudlal has sued Walt Disney Corporation in federal court, saying that she was discriminated against and harassed for her religious beliefs. She also alleged that she unfairly lost her job in 2010 after refusing to remove her head scarf at work.
"It's been hard," Boudlal said in an interview.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-woman-sues-disneyland-for-forbidding-head-scarf-at-work/988381/
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Traffickedbride‘ run’of Kutch leads to Bengal
By D. P. Bhattacharya
MAILTODAY EXCLUSIVE
Aug 16 2012
Skewed sex ratio sends men on bride ‘buying spree’
THE coastal district of Kutch in Gujarat is witnessing a sea change in its demographic profile.
Hundreds of Bengali- speaking Muslim women are being trafficked from Bengal and Bangladesh to Kutch, where they are sold off as brides helped by the district’s skewed sex ratio and unmarried men’s desperate hunt for wives. A large number of these women are even pushed into the flesh trade.
Across villages inside huts of local fishermen, one comes across Bengali Muslim girls who have been married into Kutch families.
At Baroi village, we meet a heavily pregnant Asma, who appears to be in her late teens. The mother of two says she is from Dubra in Purulia district, West Bengal.
Asma, who speaks a Bengali dialect popular in Bangladesh, is married to Abdul, who insists her age is 24. “ I brought her from Kolkata 11 years ago,” he claims, as he abuses Asma for daring to agree with this reporter on her age being around 19 years.
It emerges Asma is not the only girl Abdul has brought to Kutch from Bengal. Villagers say Abdul has spent a good time behind bars for trafficking. “ He brings women from Kolkata and marries them off here, charging between ` 40,000 and ` 50,000,” says Meghiben, a community worker.‘
Full report at: Mail Today
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Rinkle effect on Pak Hindus?
Aug 15, 2012
For 19-year-old Rinkle Kumari, the ordeal began in February 2012 when she was allegedly abducted from her village Mirpur Mathelo in Ghotki province of Pakistan. Though the case is six months old, it perhaps explains the sudden influx of over 200 Pakistani Hindus into India over the weekend, with several refusing to go back, alleging atrocities and oppression.
Rinkle was allegedly forced to convert to Islam and coerced into marrying one Naveed Shah. The 'abductors' were reportedly supported by a People's Party of Pakistan member, Abdul Haq alias Mian Mitho. After a legal battle between Rinkle's parents and the 'abductors', which lasted nearly two months, the Pakistan supreme court ruled in April that Rinkle (christened Faryal Shah after the conversion) chose to live with her "husband" and "embraced" Islam of her own volition.
The New York Times reported in March how the court verdict was welcomed by Mitho's supporters by firing Kalashnikovs into the air, chanting "God is calling you" as a burkha-clad Rinkle was paraded through the streets of Sindh. Her family filed a review petition in May. But several questions remain unanswered.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rinkle-effect-on-Pak-
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Female hitchhikers arrested for looting capital motorists
August 16, 2012
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have busted a gang of three female hitchhikers besides arresting nine other outlaws who used to loot motorists after offering intoxicated juice to them.
According to a police official, Sub-Inspector Muneer Hussain from Ramna Police Station arrested three female hitchhikers who used to get lift from motorists and then loot them after giving intoxicated juice.
They have been identified as Tahira Bibi, Nasira and Shazia. They were recognised by one of the complainants, Fida Hussain. Further investigation is underway from them.
Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector Mansoor Ahmed from Bani Gala Police Station arrested two dacoits, Mukhtar Hussain and Shamasur Rehman, with the help of local people and recovered two 30-bore pistols from them. These dacoits have admitted to snatching cash and mobile phones from a complainant, Lehrasab Khan, and his family at gunpoint.
Likewise, the Golra police arrested one Fiaz Shah and recovered 30-bore pistol from him. The Tarnol police also recovered 290 grammes of hashish from one Ali Rehman. Sub-Inspector Asghar Bhatti from CIA police arrested Gulraiz Masih for possessing 10 bottles of wine while Kohsar police apprehended four thieves, identified as Abdul Waheed, Sarfaraz, Banaras Khan and Amjad Hussain.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\08\16\story_16-8-2012_pg11_2
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Pakistan’s first PhD woman BB Qureshi dies at Edhi Home
August 16, 2012
KARACHI: Doctor BB Qureshi, Pakistan’s first PhD woman, died in Edhi Old Home on Wednesday. BB Qureshi taught in different national and international universities and also claimed to have taught former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. She has been living in Edhi Home for long as she had not married due to her busy life. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan offered BB Qureshi accommodation at the Governor House but she had excused.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\08\16\story_16-8-2012_pg12_9
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Woman reporter commits suicide for ‘not being paid for months’
August 16, 2012
LAHORE: A 24-year-old woman reporter ended her life on Wednesday by jumping off the fifth floor of a hostel for allegedly not being paid her salary for four months.
Seemab, a resident of Narang Mandi, was a reporter for a local magazine, Anti-crime, for the last three years. She was disturbed as she was not given her salary for the last four months.
She reportedly requested her boss a few days ago to pay her the due money but to no avail. On Wednesday, Seemab again requested her boss to pay the amount but received the same reply. A dejected Seemab jumped off the fifth floor of Madina Hostel and died instantly.
Separately, an activist of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba was shot dead by unidentified people in Lohari Gate area.
The deceased, identified as Akbar Ali, was a resident of Chunia and served as a teacher in a local school. Unidentified people entered his house forcibly on Wednesday and shot him dead. His body was shifted to a morgue for autopsy.
In another incident, a cashier of a petrol pump was shot dead by four robbers, some 20 yards from the CCPO Office and Civil Lines Police Station, in wee hours of Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as 50-year-old Ashraf. He was a father of five children and hailed from Harbanspura.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\08\16\story_16-8-2012_pg13_6
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Sharia Law in the US: Courts Are More Islamized Than You Think
Lena Kheirin
14 August 2012
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced plans to build four women-friendly industrial cities, aiming to increase its female workforce within the framework of Islamic guidelines. Saudi Industrial Property Authority said the proposed plans are “consistent with the privacy of women according to Islamic guidelines and regulations."
Critics of the proposed industrial cities say that gender-based segregation will not solve Saudi Arabia’s low productivity rates, and that they only call attention to the inequality in the country. Saudi Arabia has laws regulating certain aspects of public life, particularly banning women from driving and travelling alone. This year was also the first time that Saudi Arabia sent women to the Olympic Games.
Many are quick to attribute the Wahhabi Islamic country’s harshness to Sharia law, but most of Saudi Arabia’s decisions stem from cultural norms, not religion. A Muslim-majority state like Saudi Arabia may label itself as “Islamic,” but its court decisions prove otherwise.
In what may come as a surprise to anti-Islamization advocates like Pamela Geller, the United States legal system incorporates elements from the Sharia system better and on a larger scale than Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, or any other Muslim-majority country.
Full report at:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/12839/sharia-law-in-the-us-courts-are-more-islamized-than-you-think
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Muslim Forced Marriages in Spain
Soeren Kern
August 14, 2012
Children, on their own initiative, have even approached the police for help. As forced marriage is not an offense under the Spanish Criminal Code, police have been trying to use other legal avenues such gender violence and kidnapping, but as often happens in Spain, the judge orders the man released from jail.
Police in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia have intervened to prevent the forced marriage of a 13-year-old girl belonging to a Muslim immigrant family from Morocco.
The girl was one of nine reported victims of forced marriage in Catalonia during the first six months of 2012. Seven of the reported cases involved minors, but in several instances when police were alerted, they were unable to intervene in time to prevent the marriages from taking place.
Catalan police, known locally as Mossos d'Esquadra, have reported a cumulative total of more than 50 forced marriages involving minors since the regional government began compiling official data in 2009. Police, however, say this figure represents only "the tip of the iceberg"; many victims are unaware of their rights and most of the cases go unreported.
The issue of forced marriage is especially acute in Catalonia, where the Muslim population has skyrocketed in recent years. Catalonia, a region with 7.5 million inhabitants, is now home to an estimated 400,000 Muslims, up from 30,000 in the 1980s.
Full report at:
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3272/muslim-forced-marriages-spain
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/landmark-case-puts-spotlight-dishonour/d/8289