Sharia News Watch 76 : a collection newsquotes on Shariah, for
research & educational purposes only. [*] Shortcut URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shariawatch/message/76
The Shari'ah Newswatch provides a weekly update of news quotes on
Shari'a (Islamic Law) & related subjects, as appearing on the major
news searchengines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shariawatch/
AFGHANISTAN
Afghan women life still a misery: says report - 15 Oct 03
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=41612
Taliban Campaigns for Muslim Support - 16 Oct 03
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/7025808.htm
..
After remaining relatively quiet for months, a bevy of Taliban
spokesmen have been turning up on Arab TV and the Pakistani media, and
a handful have started making direct phone calls to the international
press, including The Associated Press. The calls have increased in
step with a bolder, bloodier insurgency that has shaken faith in the
Washington-backed Afghan government's ability to assert its control,
and the U.S. military's resolve at crushing the rebels. Omar Samad,
the Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the Taliban are using the
media blitz to try to get their message out to hard-liners in
neighboring Pakistan who share their strict brand of Islam.
Afghan scholars and clergy back government, condemn Jihad
http://infobrix.yellowbrix.com/pages/infobrix/Story.nsp?story_id=42507164
.. [Text of report by Afghan radio on 10 October]
Over 500 scholars from five provinces of the country offered their
full support for the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan during
a major gathering today. According to the report by a correspondent of
Bakhtar Information Agency, at the beginning of the session held in
the congregational mosque of the Holy Kherka, Governor of Kandahar
Yusof Pashtun read out a telephone message from Hamed Karzai, head of
the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, to the participants.
..
They have strongly rejected the verdicts issued from the outside by
the enemies of the country and its people about the need for Jihad in
Afghanistan. The session of scholars with the consensus of opinions
approved this agreement.
Witnessing punishments on Sharia law still haunts Afghan teen - 13 Oct
http://canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031013/CPW/23163023&;cachetime=15
..
After prayers on the Muslim holy day, Shaheed and his friends would
head down to the national stadium to watch punishments meted out under
Sharia law in the form of executions, stonings and dismemberment.
A shot to the head for murder, a hail of rocks for adultery, a hand
carefully removed for thievery. Only about 200 or 300 people would
attend, recalls Shaheed, but they were almost all young boys,
including him, whom he referred to in the third person throughout his
gruesome account.
BAHRAIN
Women stage mosque vigil - 11 Oct 03
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=63848&;Sn=BNEW&IssueID=26205
..
A group of Women's Petition Committee members yesterday staged a
silent vigil outside a mosque in Hamad Town to demand the dissolution
of the Supreme Judiciary Council.
..
Ms Jamsheer said the council was a failure and urged reforms to
Bahrain's judiciary system that would ensure the independence of the
courts. Scores of divorced women and their children attended the vigil
in front of Kanoo Mosque in Hamad Town, roundabout two, during Friday
prayers. They were protesting at a decision taken by Judge Shaikh
Jalal Al Sherqi, who leads prayers at the mosque, to ask the opinion
of Bahrain University Islamic Studies and Arabic Language Department
head Dr Shaikh Abdullatif Al Mahmood about an agreement reached by a
divorced couple. In his written and signed response, Dr Shaikh
Abdullatif said the eight-year-old boy involved in the case had the
right to decide whether he he wanted to see his mother or not, even if
the agreement stated that the mother had the right to see the boy.
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
Consumers claim contests tainted by gambling - 16 Oct 03
http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Oct03/161003/bb03.htm
..
Not only are Muslims at risk of inadvertently buying products which
are passed off as halal items, they are also of late in danger of
being exposed to lucky draws and similar competitions that are tainted
by an element of gambling. Gambling in whatever form is prohibited in
Islam and a crime in Brunei. But, pointed out several non-Muslim
consumers who are concerned over the trend, some lucky draws and other
prize-offering sales promotion actively practised here have some
degree of gambling.
CHINA
China's Islamic Association celebrates 50th anniversary - 16 Oct 03
http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-10/16/content_272392.htm
..The Islamic religion entered China over 1,300 years ago, and now
boasts 20.3 million Chinese members.
DUBAI UAE
95pc small hotels recruit illegals - 16 Oct 03
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=100341
..
Around 95 per cent of one-star and two-star hotels, and those not
classified, are violating labour rules, official sources said
yesterday. Hotel owners, however, say long procedures to obtain proper
visas prompt operators to illegally recruit visitors. "Nineteen out of
20 hotels were found to be recruiting workers on visit visas," sources
said. .. The Labour Ministry has plans to provide its inspectors
with the right to issue a ticket if they notice illegal practices at a
workplace as per the amendments of the law passed recently by the
Fatwa and Legislations Authority.
EGYPT
Egyptians following twins surgery - 12 Oct 03
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/10/12/egypt.twins.ap/index.html
..
In the Egyptian capital, Cairo, an Islamic scholar criticized the
parents' decision to agree to the surgery to separate the twins.
"This operation is haram (not allowed by Islam)," according to Souad
Saleh, an Islamic theologian who sits on a committee entrusted with
issuing fatwas, or edicts, at Egypt's Al-Azhar University, the world's
highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning. She told the AP that with the
risk of one, or both, of the twins dying, that advice from Islam's
Prophet Muhammad that "harm shouldn't be treated by harm" should be
followed.
Last year, however, Abd Al Moati Bauomy, a retired dean of the Faculty
of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al-Azhar, said it would be hard for the
twins to live a proper life conjoined, but the dangers of surgery
should be taken into account. "If there are two points of view from
two religious authorities, a person goes with the one that makes most
sense to him," he said. "It's a personal decision." Respected Egyptian
neurosurgeon Said el-Guindi said the boys' parents had no choice to go
ahead with the surgery, despite the risks. "There was no single option
for the parents," he said. "They couldn't choose to let the twins live
such a hard life. At least one of the two might survive."
Egyptian monks help Muslims banish demons - 16 Oct 03
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-10-2003_pg9_9
..
Muslims and Christians gathered in the underground chamber have come
to a festival in honour of a Christian saint to seek his help in
banishing demons they believe are afflicting their relatives. The
monks at the church of St George, or Mar Girgis as the saint is known
in Egypt, in Mit Damsis, 75 km north of Cairo, are renowned in the
predominantly Muslim country for driving demons away.
..
Egypt's Muslim majority and roughly 10 percent Coptic Christian
minority generally live and work together in harmony, although there
have been cases of sectarian violence in the past. Their history has
been intertwined for more than a thousand years in Egypt, where they
observe many of the same beliefs and traditions. In Mit Damsis, both
communities came together in a carnival atmosphere to honour the
Christian saint. Veneration of saints, part of the Coptic worship, is
frowned upon by orthodox Muslim scholars. But like many other ancient
traditions, it is widely practiced by Muslims in rural areas.
Some say such veneration pre-dates Islam and Christianity, and has
roots in Egypt's ancient pharoanic religion. The practice, along with
exorcisms, is often a central feature of rural religious festivals,
known as mulids. "Mulids to honour saints go back to pharaonic times
when people worshipped one national god and a host of local gods,"
said Milad Hanna, a prominent Coptic writer and thinker.
..
"The monks are large, imposing figures robed in black with big beards.
They order the demon to leave the body. This has an effect on the
people watching. They imagine it to be effective because it seems
powerful," Hanna said.
The reasoning of reform - 13 Oct 03
http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_5471.shtml
..
A 1959 graduate of Al-Azhar University's School of Arabic Studies,
[Hamdi] Zaqzouq's life-both personal and professional-were irrevocably
changed when he received a scholarship to do his PhD at Germany's
University of Munich. His thesis was a comparative study of Cartesian
thought, on the one hand, and the teachings of Mohamed Al-Ghazali, the
11th century theologian considered mediaeval Islam's most important
scholar, on the other. After six years in Germany, Zaqzouq came back
with a Phd-and a German wife. He took on a job as a professor of
Islamic thought at Al-Azhar University, rising to become dean of the
Usul Al- Deen (Islamic theology) School from 1987-1995. A year later,
he took on the ministerial post he still holds today [Minister of
Waqfs].
..
Zaqzouq insisted that initiatives to reform religious discourse find
their roots in the Islamic faith itself. "Reform," he said, "is among
the basic precepts of the faith and is based on rigorous scholarship,
so that it carries weight." He also argued that self- criticism was
very much needed and that this was part of the soul-searching process
that Muslims were undergoing because, he said, mistakes have been
committed. "The issue of reform is too complex to be obscured by
simplistic arguments that it is being done based on the requests of
external forces. Actually, long before the events of 11 September, we
thought it was inevitable."
..
It has, therefore, become increasingly difficult for him to remain
faithful to this doctrine of separation, especially when defending
ideas like reforming religious discourse, changing religious
textbooks, and urging imams to address certain issues in their Friday
sermons. These measures have been vehemently attacked by both
opposition movements and establishment conservatives, who have
consistently accused the government and Zaqzouq of bowing to US
pressure. Zaqzouq flatly denies that he is forcing Egypt's religious
establishment to dilute its discourse against US policies in the
region. He insisted that his policies "have absolutely nothing to do
with America's plans for the region. The US might have its own grand
designs for 'reforming' the region's religious discourse or
introducing changes to its textbooks, as is claimed, but Egypt is not
concerned about this at all", Zaqzouq said. "There have not been any
directives or external pressures-American or otherwise-to reform our
religious discourse. If there were, they would be rejected outright."
INDONESIA
NU rejects sharia for Criminal Code - 13 Oct 03
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/beta/Story.nsp?story_id=42576406
..
The country's largest Muslim organization the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
rejected on Friday the inclusion of sharia in the planned amendment to
the Criminal Code (KUHP), saying it would create disputes between
people of different religions or even among Muslim groups.
..
[Chairman] Hasyim suggested that universal principles such as justice
and equality, which could be accepted by all religions and groups, be
incorporated in the draft KUHP. He agreed that the prevailing KUHP,
which was based on a similar code in the Netherlands and applied here
by Dutch colonialists, should be reviewed as it was out of date and
some of its articles were no longer relevant.
..
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mehendra earlier
admitted that the review was to accommodate particular groups who were
demanding the implementation of sharia.
Group threatens to shut down bars during Ramadan - 15 Oct 03
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/World/20031015083917/Article/
..
Muhammad Riziq Shihab, chairman of the Front for the Defenders of
Islam (FPI), said city officials "must be stern in carrying out the
law" or they could face wrath from "people who will take matters into
their own hands". "As long as my followers go out on raids to uphold
the law and their faith, why should I stop them?" Shihab said by
mobile telephone from his jail cell in Jakarta. He is serving a
seven-month term for instigating violence during a series of
vandalistic attacks on entertainment centres by FPI members in Jakarta
last year.
Jakarta governor Sutiyoso is expected next week to issue a decree
ordering nightclubs, bars, discos, saunas, massage parlours and games
parlours closed for the month, which will start in Indonesia around
Oct 25. Cafes, restaurants and live music halls are allowed to operate
for reduced hours except on six days considered especially holy. The
decree does not explicitly order a ban on the sale of alcohol but says
any violation of the closure order would cost businesses their
licences.
Ban demanded on VIP haj service - 14 Oct 03
http://infobrix.yellowbrix.com/pages/infobrix/Story.nsp?story_id=42617299
..
A team of lawmakers evaluating the services for Indonesian haj
pilgrims called on Monday for an end to first-class services given to
state officials while on pilgrimage. The team suggested that the
Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia focus on services for regular haj
pilgrims. "Extra services given to state officials in the past had
been provided by sacrificing services for regular pilgrims,'' said
Heri Akhmadi, deputy chairman of House Commission VI for haj and
education affairs. There were more than 200 state officials, both from
legislative bodies and government institutions, requesting extra
facilities while they were making the haj pilgrimage in the last
season early this year. The first-class treatment was estimated to
reach Rp 5 billion, taken from the fees paid by the regular pilgrims.
Jakarta silent over jihad teachings - 16 Oct 03
http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7573351%5E954,00.html
..
Indonesia's infamous Muslim boarding school, Pondok Ngruki, has
churned out some of the top terrorists, including three of the 10 main
Bali plotters.
..
A recent report by the International Crisis Group, a respected
think-tank, called Pondok Ngruki one of the "Ivy League" of JI
schools. The report said the terror group had relied on a network of
10 linked Islamic boarding schools for "ensuring that the jihadist
ideology was passed down to a new generation". And for a school which
claims to promote non-violent Muslim struggle, there is an alarming
emphasis on jihad and military-style exercises. If students wanted to
go and fight a jihad against Americans in Iraq, Pondok Ngruki would
not object, says Wahyudin.
..
Despite these worrying signs, the Indonesian authorities appear
reluctant to close down the school or to investigate what exactly is
being taught at Ngruki, where nearly 2000 students are studying.
Chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told a conference
in Australia recently that he had no plans to close down any Islamic
schools.
IRAN
[Nobel Prize] Ebadi a thorn in side of hardliners - 10 Oct 03
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/10/nobel.peace.profile.reut/index.html
..
Now a lawyer, writer and part-time lecturer at Tehran University,
Ebadi has spent much of her time since the revolution campaigning for
better rights for women and children in her native country. She argued
passionately that Sharia law could be adapted to modern times without
undermining religion in the officially Shi'ite Islamic Republic. "The
legal keys that Shia religion has given us enable us to transform and
act according to the times," she wrote in a recent article.
..
Nobel Peace Prize winner wants independent judiciary in Iran
http://www.helsinki-hs.net/news.asp?id=20031014IE15 - 14 Oct 03
..
"The judiciary should be outside politics, but now it looks like
politics has found its way into the court system," Ebadi says,
pointing out how conservative elements have started to use the courts
as a means of silencing prominent members of the reform movement.
Authorities constantly violate the law by keeping people in prison
without charges. Long periods of time can pass after an arrest without
anyone knowing where the detainee is being held. Political prisoners
are also often placed in special cells. Even forced and televised
confessions appear to have made a comeback.
..
"Changes are also needed in laws that dictate the position of women.
For instance, a man can still divorce his wife without reason. This is
not the case for women, for whom getting a divorce is very difficult.
Consequently men can simply trade in their wives for a newer model",
Ebadi huffs. In a divorce the mother has the right to have custody of
a son only up to the age of two, and a daughter up to the age of
seven. Older children automatically go to the father."These issues
apply to nearly all Iranian women, because nearly all women here get
married."
Some reforms to practices based on Islamic Sharia law have been
implemented. A girl now has to be 13 years old before a marriage can
be arranged for her. The minimum age used to be nine years, but Shirin
Ebadi feels that 13 is also too young an age. In divorce cases women
are now entitled to force their husbands to pay compensation for the
years that the woman took care of the home. A woman still needs her
husband's permission to get a passport, and a woman's testimony in a
court is considered to have half the value of that of a man. Family
violence is commonplace, as are so-called morality crimes; mere
suspicion of adultery can entitle a man to kill his wife, sister, or
daughter. These kinds of laws give men permission to commit violence."
IRAQ
[Karbala] Mosque standoff into second day - 15 Oct 03
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,7569734%5E1702,00.html
..
Sadr's Mehdi Army militia clashed yesterday with followers of senior
Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani after his group attempted to
seize two of the most revered shrines in Shiite Islam, the mausoleums
of the seventh-century leaders Abbas and Hussein.
..
Shiite Muslim factions in the holy city of Karbala were negotiating to
try to end a tense standoff at a mosque where followers of firebrand
cleric Moqtada Sadr took at least eight hostages, a police source said
today. "They are negotiating about the situation at al-Mukhaiyam
mosque," the police source said.
..
A peaceful solution also looked possible as Sadr scrapped plans
Wednesday for an Islamic-style government he had announced last week
in the aftermath of clashes that left two US soldiers and two Iraqi
Shiites dead in Baghdad's Sadr City, his stronghold of support.
..
Iraqi Shiite split widens - 15 Oct 03
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1015/p01s01-woiq.html
Iraqi Shiites Converge in Iraq Hily City - 12 Oct 03
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/beta/Story.nsp?story_id=42547515
..
Up to one million pilgrims gathered in Karbala to mark the birthday of
Mohammed al-Mahdi, the last of 12 Shiite leaders who disappeared in
the 9th century but who devout Shiites believe will return to rule the
world. There was no violence, and by midday the crowds were returning
home. The celebrations took place about two weeks before Ramadan, the
Muslim month of fasting, and were expected to heighten religious
sentiments as radical cleric Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr is challenging the
authority of the U.S.-led coalition and the U.S.-appointed Governing
Council, which serves as Iraq's interim leadership.
Postwar crime confining women to house arrest - 12 Oct 03
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2003/10/12/2003071396
..
The US occupation has ushered in an explosion of organized crime,
trafficking in drugs and stolen cars - and there are particular
horrors for women.
..
Amid the ordinary lawlessness of a city of 5 million with a barely
functioning police force, there are particular horrors for women. The
last few months have seen the emergence of organized crime,
trafficking in drugs and stolen cars -- and, the evidence suggests, in
women as well. At the same time, Baghdad remains a city consumed by
thoughts of revenge, against Baathists at first and now increasingly
against rival gangs. Many scores are settled by kidnapping and rape.
..
Last week she reached breaking point. Armed thugs from a gang involved
in prostitution tried to kidnap the apprentice on her first day at
work, and beat up Amina's husband and two other men who managed to
save the girl. A day later, on Sept. 29, Nada, a prostitute who has
become one of Amina's regulars, was not so lucky. Four armed men
stormed into the coffee shop where she works, and dragged her by the
hair to a waiting car. Nada says they stopped the car once, to grab
another woman wearing a headscarf. They punched her in the face, and
shoved her in the car. They drove the women to the riverside north of
Baghdad and raped them. Nada believes her attackers wanted to punish
her because she intervened to save a woman friend from a gang. Other
women have been raped to avenge wrongs committed by men of the same
clan, or singled out for their own associations with the regime.
..
Asma was bundled inside, where two men pushed her head to her knees,
and drove for several hours to a farmhouse on the edge of Baghdad,
where she was repeatedly raped. It is unclear why she was targeted,
but she was admonished for wearing trousers and for failing to cover
her hair. The next day she was encased in hijab -- the traditional
headscarf -- and dropped off near her parents' home. She has barely
spoken since, and sits at home playing cards with her mother.
..
All of the women recount stories of abduction -- a great horror in a
society like Iraq's, where a family's reputation is measured by the
perceived virtue of its women. A woman suspected of transgressing
social codes suffers extreme consequences for bringing shame on her
family. Such codes also apply if she has been raped. She may even be
murdered by her family to wipe out the stain on their reputation.
KUWAIT
Govt planning to ensure ISPs take measures to block obscene sites
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/kuwait/Viewdet.asp?ID=1091
.. - 16 Oct 03
Minister of Communications, Minister of Planning and State Minister
for Administrative Development, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said
Wednesday Ministerial Decree 70/2002 stipulates all Internet service
providers (ISPs) must install monitors to block access to obscene
sites. [..] Sheikh Ahmad said with the coordination between Ministry
of Finance, the Bids Central Committee, Fatwa and Legislation
Department and the Auditing Bureau, the Ministry will not renew
contracts of some companies as long as they continue to violate this
decree.
MALAYSIA
Malaysian National Library to Develop Digital Library on Islam 16 Oct
http://libraryjournal.reviewsnews.com/index.asp?layout=article&;articleid=CA329018&display=NewsNews&industry=News&industryid=1986&verticalid=151&publication=libraryjournal
..
The National Library of Malaysia will launch the International Islamic
Digital Library (IIDL) this week during the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit. http://www.iidl.net/ .. The library
aims to create a comprehensive, reliable, and authoritative source of
information about Islam.
Infad to set up global fatwa database [New Straits Times] - 16 Oct 03
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/beta/Story.nsp?story_id=42668566
..
Local and international fatwa (Islamic religious rulings) bodies will
soon be able to gain access to a universal reference facility for the
operating mechanisms of fatwa issuance, methodologies and framework of
Muslim and Muslim-minority countries. This follows the efforts by
World Fatwa Management & Research Institute (Infad), an institution
within the Islamic University College of Malaysia (IUCM), to set up a
Web-based system to collate findings and information on fatwa as well
as share and extend their knowledge systematically. Infad's acting
director Prof Dr Abdul Samat Musa said the Fatwa Management System
(FMS) is core to the institute's effort to contribute towards the
social and economic development of Islamic countries through a more
holistic, multi-dimensional scope via the use of information and
communications technology (ICT).
..
The content management system comprises the fatwa management system
itself which lists the types of fatwa produced throughout the world
and classifies them according to issues, subject matters, date of
issue, place of issuance, and the respective issuing institution. It
also comprises a Quran database, Hadeeth database, publications
excerpt database, article management system, community management
tools and external partner content management system which provide
linkages to bodies such as State Fatwa Councils and Jabatan Kemajuan
Islam Malaysia (Jakim).
Islam allows cord blood donation [New Straits Times]- 11 Oct 03
http://infobrix.yellowbrix.com/pages/infobrix/Story.nsp?story_id=42565113
..
Cord blood donation is permitted in Islam if the donors do it
willingly, according to the Minister in Prime Minister's Department,
Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin.
..
Cord blood is the blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta after
childbirth and is rich in stem cells, which can be used to repair
damaged immune systems, tissues and organs. In January, it was
reported that the National Fatwa Council welcomed the use of stem
cells derived from embryos of fewer than 120 days. On Jakim's
celebrations, Abdul Hamid said the department had launched a digital
library which could be accessed at www.jakimdilworldwide.com or
www.islam.gov.my .
Johor standardises religious bills with federal laws - 16 Oct 03
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/content.asp?y=2003&;dt=1016&pub=Utusan_Express&sec=Home_News&pg=hn_10.htm
..
In MUAR, the Johor State Government on Wednesday agreed to standardise
five of the State's Religious Enactment Bills with the Federal
Religious Laws. The five are the Johor Islamic Administration
Enactment Bill (Johor State) 2003, Islamic Family Enactment Bill
(Johor State) 2003, Syariah Court Testimony Enactment Bill (Johor
State) 2003, Syariah Court Criminal Procedure Enactment Bill (Johor
State) 2003 and the Syariah Court Mal Procedure Enactment Bill (Johor
State) 2003.
Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said when the five bills were
passed, the existing religious legislations will be abolished. The
five existing enactments are the Johor State Islamic Administration
Enactment (No.4) 1978, Johor State Syariah Court Enactment 1993, Johor
Family Law Enactment 1990, Syariah Court Testimony Law Enactment 1993
and the Johor State Syariah Court Criminal Procedure Enactment 1997.
"All the bills will be tabled in the State Legislative Assembly soon
for approval," he said after chairing the weekly State Executive
Council meeting at the Gunung Ledang Resort, Sagil, here Wednesday.
Pahang Assembly: Syariah court backlog not as alarming - 14 Oct 03
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/NewsBreak/20031014143317/Article/
..
Syariah Courts in Pahang are not facing a huge backlog of cases as
only 498 cases remained to be settled, the House was told today.
..
"The main reason is that the authorities cannot get in touch with most
parties involved in the proceedings because their postal addresses
have changed. "The parties involved here are the witnesses and lawyers
who do not notify us about the changes in postal addresses when the
proceeding dates have been fixed." Ahmad Munawar, who is also Luit
State Assemblyman, said another reason was lawyers seeking
postponements of their cases. "There is also an acute shortage of
judges and courts here especially high courts.”
[Terengganu] Hudud: No need for police aid, says Hadi - 15 Oct 03
http://www.emedia.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/20031016082152/Article/
..
The State Government will implement the Terengganu Syariah and
Criminal Offence Enactment (Hudud and Qisas) with or without the
co-operation of the police when the law is gazetted on Oct 27.
..
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/10/16/nation/6499940&;sec=nation
..
Hadi said although the laws would not apply to non-Muslims, they could
choose to be tried under the laws. He also expressed confidence that
non-Muslims would eventually prefer the Hudud and Qisas laws. Citing
an example, he said those found possessing firearms could face the
mandatory death sentence under existing laws. Under the Hudud laws, he
said, the death sentence was not allowed if they were merely found
possessing firearms and had not committed any crime.
MOROCCO
Morocco women win rights - 11 Oct 03
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3183576.stm
..
Women will get property rights within marriage, and both spouses will
have equal authority in the family. Divorce will be made easier for
women, and the age of marriage for girls will be raised from 15 to 18.
Polygamy will not be outlawed but will be made more difficult - a man
will need to get consent from his existing wife before marrying
another.
..
the King stepped in, setting up a Royal Commission, made up of both
Islamic scholars and women's representatives. It was meant to report
last year, but the controversial and sensitive nature of the subject
has meant they have had difficulty reaching agreement. Announcing the
changes to parliament, the King said he wanted to prevent society from
splitting apart over the issue.
..
King Mohammed surveys reforms of the family law - 11 Oct 03
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/031011/2003101124.html
..
"As a token of my special concern for my dear subjects residing
abroad, and in order to reduce the hassle they face to get marriage
contracts processed, I have decided that the procedure shall be
simplified. The marriage contract shall simply be drawn up in the
presence of two Muslim witnesses, in accordance with the procedures in
force in the country of residence, and shall then be registered with
the relevant Moroccan consular or judicial authorities. In this
regard, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon Him, is quoted as
saying: "Seek ease, not hardship." The reforms make the husband's
right to resort to repudiation limited by specific restrictions and
conditions designed to avoid misuse of this right. For this purpose,
mechanisms for reconciliation and mediation, through the family and
the judge, shall be strengthened, king Mohammed VI said. The sovereign
expand the woman's right to file for divorce if the husband fails to
observe any of the conditions in the marriage contract, or if he harms
his wife through lack of financial support, abstinence, violence, or
any other wrongful deed. This provision is in line with the general
legal principle which advocates balance and moderation. Its aim is to
promote equality and fairness between husband and wife. A provision
allows divorce by mutual consent, under judicial supervision.
Other stipulations introduced are meant to further protect children's
rights by making the provisions of the relevant international
agreements ratified by Morocco, to protect the child's rights to
acknowledgment of paternity in case the marriage has not been
officially registered for reasons beyond control, to grant them the
right to inherit from their grandfather, as part of the compulsory
legacy.
..
No progress possible if women' rights are violated, says king - 11 Oct
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/031011/2003101123.html
..
He also insisted that "the Family Law should not be considered as a
legislation devised for women only, but rather as a code for the
family: father, mother and children. The proposed legislation is meant
to free women from the injustices they endure besides protecting
children's rights and safeguarding men's dignity.
..
Family law amendments, a revolution, justice minister - 14 Oct 03
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/031014/2003101427.html
..
The minister recalled how the king has given instructions to activate
the law enforcement by set up, as a provisional measure, facilities
for the new family jurisdictions Moroccan courts.
..
Morocco's Islamist party welcomes reform family law - 13 Oct 03
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/031013/2003101323.html
..
Moroccan Party of Justice and Development (PJD) (moderate Islamist
party represented in the parliament) welcomed the reform of the family
law (Mudawana) announced Friday by king Mohammed VI at the opening of
the fall parliament session. The party says in a communique-release
this Saturday it "welcomes and supports the review of the Family law
announced by Amir Al-Muminin (commander of the faithful) as a
pioneering reform, and considers it to be in favor of the family and
of women, in addition to being a substantial asset for the entire
Moroccan nation." The PJD adds that "it values the keen concern of
Amir-Al Muminin, His Majesty king Mohammed VI to see to it that the
reform of the family law is in line with the prescriptions of Islam
and with the aims of our religion, which advocates justice, equity and
call for honoring human beings."
NIGERIA
UBE to Integrate Qur'anic Education - 13 Oct 03
http://allafrica.com/stories/200310130807.html [Daily Trust - Abuja]
..
In its bid to provide basic education to all children of school age in
the country, the Universal Basic Education, (UBE), programme has
worked out a blueprint for the proper integration of the qur'anic
education into its activities. The National co-ordinator of UBE,
Professor Gidado Tahir, who made the disclosure in Kaduna during the
inauguration of the technical committee on the integration of qur'anic
education into UBE, also explained that the programme was 'aimed at
providing basic education to all Nigerian children of school age
inspite of whatever circumstances they may find themselves in."
..
Professor, Tahir further explained that the integration would involve
the provision of basic literacy, numeracy and basic skills without
interference with the modes of operations of the Qur'anic schools.
[Kaduna] Sharia is Justice, Says Buhari - 12 Oct 03
http://www.thisdayonline.com/news/20031012news02.html
..
Former Head of State and the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP)
presidential candidate in the April general elections, major-general
Muhammadu Buhari, (rtd) has advocated a special enli-ghtenment
programme for the Islamic Sharia legal code. Buhari spoke yesterday
in Kaduna at the launch of a book "Sharia and Justice" where Zamfara
state governor, Alhaji Ahmad Sani, vowed that northern Nigeria would
not succumb to pressures aimed at stopping the implementation of
Sharia in the area. .. [Buhari] defended the implementation of sharia
in parts of the north adding that," I challenge Nigerians to show me a
non-Muslim taken to a sharia court."
..
The Zamfara governor regretted that it was erroneous to credit him
with the introduction of sharia in Nigeria. He explained that, "what I
simply did was to revive and make it (sharia) practical in Zamfara
state, by expanding its scope to include Hudud (capital punishments)
which were hitherto removed from our laws."
..
The author of the book, Malam Bashir Sambo, was at a time Grand Khadi
of the sharia Court of Appeal, Abuja and later appointed chairman,
Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja.
Muslim Women Protest "Passport Without Headcover" Requirement
http://allafrica.com/stories/200310100273.html - 10 Oct 03
.. [Daily Trust - Abuja]
Controversy and protest from Muslim Women over the use of hijab has
greeted the issuance of Electronic Tax Clearance (e-TCC) and
pay-at-sight exercise of Lagos State government currently going on in
the state for the civil servants. The Muslim women civil servants in
the state are protesting the requirement of "passport photographs
without headcover" being demanded by some ministries.
..
It was gathered that despite frequent audit control system the
phenomenon of ghost workers still persist in the state.
PAKISTAN
Hudood cases domain of Shariat Court - 13 Oct 03
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en41567
..
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) has ruled that high courts have no
jurisdiction to interfere with cases relating to Hudood laws as those
fell into the exclusive jurisdiction of the Shariat Court. The FSC
which, apart from examining the laws to bring them in conformity with
Islamic injunctions, sits as an appellate court in criminal cases
covered by Hudood laws, held that high courts' writ jurisdiction under
Article 199 could not be invoked in respect of matter falling within
the jurisdiction of the FSC.
..
The FSC, after examining all the constitutional provisions relating to
its jurisdiction, ruled: "By taking into consideration the
accumulative effect of above provisions of the Constitution, no doubt
it felt that High Court stands denuded of powers to exercise writ
jurisdiction under Article 199 in respect of any matter falling within
the jurisdiction of Federal Shariat Court."
[NWFP] Ban on registration of madressahs opposed - 14 Oct 03
http://www.dawn.com/2003/10/14/local41.htm
..
NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq on Sunday alleged that the rulers
under pressure from the West had stopped financial assistance to the
seminaries and banned their registration. Speaking at the certificate
awarding ceremony of the Iqra Rozatul Quran, Hayatabad, he termed the
charges against the seminaries ofspreading terrorism baseless. "These
seminaries are the cradle ofreligious knowledge and humanity, which
have played an exemplary role in maintaining discipline and respect of
law as compared to othereducational institutions," he said. Mr Haq
said the provincial government had restored funds for the madressahs
by providing Rs39.5 million this year besides releasing Zakat funds to
their students. He said the funds would be increased next year. He
said the provision of education, food, clothing and residential
facilities to millions of children helped reduce the burden on the
government.
RUSSIA
Religious official in Russia's Dagestan justifies anti-Wahhabi steps
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/beta/Story.nsp?story_id=42549870
.. [BBC Monitoring Central Asia] - 12 Oct 03
The chairman of the Dagestani committee on religious affairs has
hailed the religious situation in the republic as "satisfactory". In
an interview to the Dagestani newspaper Molodezh Dagestana, Akhmed
Magomedov spoke about the work done by his committee and said that it
aims "to coordinate interaction between religious denominations". He
also said that the republic had to take steps against Wahhabis because
they refused "to give up their aggressive plans, did not hand in a
single item of weaponry, they went on calling traditional believers
'kafirs' and issuing threats against them".
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia holds first human rights forum - 14 Oct 03
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3609510
..
Saudi Arabia was hosting a human rights conference on Tuesday, the
first in the conservative kingdom which has faced international
condemnation over its own rights record. The Gulf state, the cradle of
Islam, has come under harsh criticism from Western human rights groups
for severe sharia law punishments, including public beheadings, and
for discrimination against women. They also accuse Saudi Arabia of
arbitrary detention without trial and torture. But the more
controversial issues were unlikely to be addressed at the Human Rights
in Peace and War Conference in Riyadh, organised by the Saudi Red
Crescent Society.
..
"There is a misunderstanding between Islamic and Western societies and
we believe the reason is a lack of intellectual contact. The more we
can provide such contact, the wider the understanding for Islamic
sharia in the West," [the organizer] said.
..
In January, a team from New York-based Human Rights Watch became the
first international independent human rights group to visit the
oil-rich country and said then that Riyadh signalled its intent to
implement tougher human rights standards.
..
Saudi Police Break Up Demonstration for Reforms - 14 Oct 03
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&;storyID=3611671
..
Saudi police fired into the air during a rare demonstration Tuesday
and arrested up to 50 protesters calling for greater political reforms
during the country's first human rights conference. The demonstration
and arrests in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, came a day after the
kingdom, an absolute monarchy, announced it would hold its first ever
elections to vote for municipal councils.The announcement by the
cabinet under de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah followed growing
demands for reform to allow wider political participation, elections
and freedom of expression in the conservative Muslim state.
Witnesses said police fired into the air to disperse demonstrators
Tuesday and arrested up to 50 individuals. The authorities also set up
roadblocks to prevent them from reaching the building where the human
rights conference was being held in central Riyadh. Witnesses told
Reuters protesters, mostly under the age of 30 and wearing traditional
Saudi flowing robes, chanted the Islamic rallying cry, "God is
greatest," and called for reforms. Carrying banners, they also called
for the release of political prisoners held in the kingdom.
..
Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia's profile - 15 Oct 03
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=7403
..
The Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA), which succeeded in
organising a rare protest in Riyadh, is the best-known Saudi
opposition group, but few are aware it is also inspired by the same
brand of conservative Wahhabism that reigns in the kingdom. Based in
London, MIRA was created in 1996 after it split from the Committee for
the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), a Saudi group founded by academics
and Islamists in May 1993 to rally against the ruling regime's
"corruption and anti-democratic methods."
..
MIRA defines itself as an "organisation aiming to achieve total reform
in Saudi Arabia with political reform being its foremost goal ... and
all its work is governed by Islamic sharia (law), the Koran and sunna
(prophet Mohammad's teachings)," according to a message posted on its
website www.yaislah.org .
Seventeen girls suspended from Saudi school for uncovering their faces
on school bus - 16 Oct 03
http://www.fox23news.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=1DAEF1DF-F306-4802-B5E7-E49F54CBDFCE
..
At least 17 expatriate teenage girls in eastern Saudi Arabia [Dammam]
have been suspended from school for a week for uncovering their faces
on the school bus, the school's headmistress said in remarks published
Wednesday.
SINGAPORE
Muslim serial divorcees a growing concern - 14 Oct 03
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,214500,00.html
..
The rising number of Muslims who have gone through two or more
divorces is worrying social workers and MPs.
..
In 1997, 380 Muslim marriages that broke down had one or two partners
who had been previously divorced. They made up 31 per cent of all
Muslim divorces that year. In contrast, 8 per cent of non-Muslim
divorces involved previously divorced people. The figures for the
Muslim community rose steadily in the late 1990s but dipped to 26 per
cent in 2001. However, last year, they climbed again, such that 30 per
cent or 452 divorces out of a total of 1,532 Muslim divorces involved
previously divorced individuals.
The problem afflicts mainly the very poor. According to figures from
the Syariah Court - which administers Muslim divorces - three in four
serial divorces involve men and women who are either unemployed or
earn less than $500 a month. The wives in such marriages which break
down are also more likely to stay at home rather than work, said
social workers. Social work lecturer and Sembawang GRC MP Mohamad
Maliki Osman said many Malay men still hold fast to the idea that they
should be the sole breadwinner. 'They don't realise how hard it is to
survive on a single income these days. 'Their financial struggles then
put a strain on the marriage,' he said. When a divorce occurs, the
women are often left to fend for themselves and their children.
..
As cohabitation and casual intimacy are frowned upon in Islam, some
couples marry to avoid disapproving stares from fellow Muslims.
Syariah Court executive counsellor Siti Aishah Hashim said: 'Many
younger men marry or remarry for short-term goals, mostly to satisfy
physical needs. 'They don't think about the long-term needs of the
children.' Although it makes financial sense for the poor to have
fewer children, few heed this arithmetic, say social workers.
'Lower-educated couples are often not the best family planners,' said
Covenant Family Service Centre director Florence Lim.
SUDAN
Sudan Islamist leader released - 13 Oct 03
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3187776.stm
..
Sudan has freed the Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi after more than
two years in detention and lifted a ban on his party's activities.
..
[President] Mr al-Bashir accused Mr Turabi of trying to grab power and
was detained soon after signing a peace deal with the Sudan People's
Liberation Army (SPLA), the main rebel group fighting the government
for greater autonomy of Southern Sudan.
..
Profile: Sudan's Islamist leader - 14 Oct 03
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3190770.stm
..
Analyst says Turabi's release due to confidence at home - 16 Oct 03
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=37241&;SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=SUDAN
..
[ICG's co-director for Africa] Prendergast said Turabi's party, which
has about five percent hardline support among the electorate, might
choose to campaign on specific issues that are relevant to the peace
process, such as the issue of Sharia in the capital, or the
territorial integrity of Sudan.
UK
Medieval script shows Islam's role in learning - 13 Oct 03
http://www.news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1131512003
..
Sotheby's will hold its annual Arts of the Islamic World Sale in
London on Wednesday. As an illustration of the influence of Islam in
modern-day Britain, this is now one of the most important sales to
take place in the firm's New Bond Street salerooms, attracting
attention from around the world. A sale of this nature demands a very
special highlight, and on Wednesday, Sotheby's will duly oblige. On
offer will be the earliest known manuscript of one of the most
influential medieval texts on medical remedies and drugs. Entitled
Kitab al-Musta'ini, or Book of Simple (or Single) Drugs, the
manuscript is dated 1130AD, and is written on paper in Arabic script
with Latin headings, and was presented by its Jewish author, Yanus Ibn
Baklarish, to his Arab patron, al-Musta'in bi-llah Abu Ja'far Ahmad,
the Muslim ruler of Saragossa in Spain.
The manuscript stands as a uniquely important monument to the central
role of Jews and Muslims in the spread of knowledge and learning
throughout medieval Europe, as well as being possibly the earliest
known example of Latin script of any kind written on paper. Sotheby's
says that only four other copies of this work are known. The most
important is that in the National Library in Madrid, which is not
dated, but has been attributed to the 12th century. Another, also
undated, is in Leiden in the Netherlands, while that in the National
Library in Naples was made in 1482. The fourth, in Rabat, is a very
late copy made in Morocco in 1891.
USA
[Oklahoma] US schoolgirl in hijab victory - 16 Oct 03
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9A905A11-1711-4876-A45F-AA83FB0E1E2D.htm
..
The case is the first of its kind in the US, involving a state school
pupil. After a high profile camapign by civil rights groups and
Nashala's family, the Muskogee school district council in Oklahoma,
reversed their decision and Nashala returned to the classroom.
A future meeting on uniform and dress code policy is pending.
WORLD
HISTORY MAN: Sweet Schimmel of Islam - 15 Oct 03
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_15-10-2003_pg3_6
Sweet Schimmel of Islam II - 16 Oct 03
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-10-2003_pg3_6
FINANCE
Islamic Finance: Contract - A look at the definition and ingredients
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=100371
[Malaysia] IDB urged to formulate masterplan for Islamic finance
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/BTimes/Thursday/Nation/20031015232703/Article/
.. - 15 Oct 03
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) should formulate a masterplan for
Islamic financial system to improve trade among Muslim countries in
the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Commerce
International Merchant Bankers Bhd (CIMB) chief executive Nazir Razak
said such a plan would help to set the standards of Syariah-compliant
financial system and products. He also said there is a lack of
participation from OIC-member countries to invest in Malaysia despite
having one of the most developed Islamic financial system.
[UAE] Islamic Retail Banking With NSBC - 13 Oct 03
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/pages/beta/Story.nsp?story_id=42588280
..
HSBC has rolled out the first ever Islamic banking service from a
major international bank in the UAE. Sharia compliant current accounts
and personal finance facilities are now available to existing and new
clients. Local Islamic banks face their biggest challenge yet as HSBC
moves into their core market.
[*] Copyright: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 -
http://liimirror.warwick.ac.uk/uscode/17/107.html - this material is
distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If
you wish to use copyrighted material from this list for purposes that
go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner. [USA: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html]
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