donderdag 29 januari 2004

Sharia News Watch 101 Sharia News Watch 101 : a collection newsquotes on Sharia, for research & educational purposes only. [*]  Shortcut URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shariawatch/message/101 The Sharia Newswatch provides a regular update of news quotes on Sharia (Islamic Law) & related subjects, as appearing on the major news searchengines. All editions : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shariawatch/ AFGHANISTAN Karzai signs post-Taleban constitution into law - 27 Jan 04 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/27_01_04/art26.asp .. The constitution outlines a tolerant, democratic Islamic state under a strong presidency ­ as sought by Karzai ­ a two-chamber Parliament and an independent judiciary. Ratified Jan. 4 after a sometimes bruising debate at a 500-member Loya Jirga, the text also declares men and women equal before the law ­ a victory for human rights advocates. Two Thousand Ulamas Issue Fatawa Against The Karzai Regime http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=92426 ..      - 26 Jan 04 Two thousand Ulamas in Afghanistan have declared the regime of Karzai to be Kufr and have called for the Jihad against the regime. The Ulamas have issued a fatwa that states it is compulsory to fight the Hamid Karzai regime and any support for the government, either financially or in any other way is not permissible. They have said that the regime is not implementing Shariah law and is proactively resisting the calls to implement Islam. One recent event that caught attention of the people was when the supreme court of the country was rebuffed when it called for the ban on women on Afghan National TV. and any future Islamic government will punish those that do not adhere to these edicts. The fatwa was faxed from Hamid Agha, spokesman for Taliban, to various newspaper offices in the country. The Fatwa states that there is no difference between the government of Karzai and the previous communist government, calls for the youth to join the jihad and for all Afghans who consider themselves good Muslims to keep their families and friends out of the government and to stop supporting them. It also calls for the implementation of Islamic veil on women, the establishment of an Islamic education system and to fight the hypocritical regime just as they fought the British and Soviet regimes. The Fatwa goes on to say that the attack on Afghanistan not only destroyed an Islamic government, but it also is trying to erase the Islamic identity of the nation and that the "crusaders" have come to this land to spread immorality and Christianity under the guise of aid. It called for Muslims to resist their efforts and not to accept any kind of aid being given to the government regardless of its form and declared that helping the regime either materially or financially means would be considered a crime punishable by death. In a related event, Taliban distributed pamphlets inside Afghanistan to warn people to stop supporting the Karzai regime and to keep their family members from working for the regime because any government worker will be considered a legitimate target for attacks by Taliban. BAHRAIN All set for Eid Al Adha celebrations  - 28 Jan 04 http://www.bahraintribune.com/ArticleDetail.asp?ArticleId=20694 .. From festive parties to the more subdued but joyful family reunions, everything's set for Eid Al Adha celebrations this year. Come Sunday the three-day celebration begins and there will be glitzy nightouts or afternoon parties. With the added Arafa holiday on Saturday, it will be a long holiday week ahead. Eid has always been the season to bring families together either relaxing at home for simple but finely prepared dishes or a visit or two for a good family treat at hotels or restaurants.  After the traditional Hedabiya on the eve of the Eid, entertainment activities begin. Museums will be closed but there will always be the alternative open public parks and other places to see. BANGLADESH Belief of Ahmadiyyas by Annie Habib, Stuttgart, Germany - 29 Jan 04 http://www.thedailystar.net/2004/01/29/d40129110296.htm .. There has been much misunderstanding about the true belief of Ahmadiyyas because of one-sided propaganda against them. The Ahmadiyyas believe in all the tenets of Islam and is spread over almost 180 countries of the world, having 200 million members, and preach Islam in a most rational and peaceful way. They believe in Holy Prophet Mohammad (SM) as the last Prophet in the sense that there will be no new sharia after him. It is inferred from the Holy Quran, Hadith and writings from earlier Muslim divines that the promised reformer (Imam Mahdi) of the latter age would be an 'ummati' (follower) of the Prophet not bringing any new law and not discarding any teachings of the Holy Quran. This sect was not founded by the British and is run by the money of its own members. BELGIUM Whatever happened to tolerance?  - 28 Jan 04 http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=48&;story_id=4083 .. the odious far right Flemish Vlaams Blok party has played on the current climate of Islamophobia in its recent campaign against plans to allow non-EU foreigners to vote in Belgium's local elections. This week the Blok proudly announced that it had managed to gather nearly 70,000 signatures for a petition it is supporting against the new law. .. Anti-racism groups say the vast bulk of opponents to the law are more concerned about immigrants from the other side Mediterranean than about transatlantic expats. .. The Strasbourg-based European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), one of Europe's most respected anti-racism organisations, is so concerned about racism at the extreme ends of Belgian politics that it this week openly condemned the casual way parties like the Vlaams Blok and its French-speaking counterpart the Front National use racist language in their propaganda. In a detailed report on racism in Belgium ECRI quite rightly called on the Belgian authorities to prosecute parties like the Blok when they incite race hatred in their literature. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA Bosnian cleric urges Europe to show support for Muslims - 25 Jan 04 http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0125bosnian25.html .. Mustafa Ceric, the grand mufti of the estimated 2 million Muslims in this former Yugoslav republic, said in an interview in early January that Europe was failing to engage with Muslims, allowing militants to step in and create the kind of groups that have been used to recruit terrorists. In the interview, he called for European governments to help finance Islamic schools as well as to contribute to building mosques. Europe, he said, needs to "institutionalize" Islam, to give it "an official voice."  Ceric also criticized countries that gave support to any single religious group. .. Muslims make up about half of Bosnia's population. The other two main religious groups are Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, but no census has been completed since 1991, before the war broke out. Although the Islamic community here contends it is the "European" branch of Islam, with an awareness of democracy and human rights, it has come under increasing pressure from more conservative movements, promoted by Saudi Arabian groups, which have provided support to some Bosnian groups. EGYPT Freelance Jihad - Crusaders and the Soldiers of Allah    - 27 Jan 04 http://www.islamonline.org/English/Views/2004/01/article06.shtml .. The 43 detainees are awaiting a trial in a martial court after they were picked up in Alexandria, Beheira, and Mahalla 15 months ago. The government charged the suspects with forming an underground group, dubbed as "Jundullah" (Soldiers of Allah), and planning attacks on "Western targets" in Egypt. .. According to defense lawyers and Islamist sources in London and Cairo, the detainees, most of whom are in their mid 20s and 30s, do not have political records. "Everyone is talking about the Intifada," said defense lawyer Mr. Youssef Saqr, in his house, few kilometers away from the military court. The suspects "are simply a group of people who sat down, gave it a thought, and wanted to travel to carry out jihad in Palestine. When they couldn't, they decided to attack the American and Israeli embassies in Cairo."  The state-owned Al-Ahram had reported, on January 5, 2003, that the defendants had allegedly vowed revenge for the Israeli atrocities in Jenin in April 2002. The 67 -year-old Islamist lawyer proudly stated that he would include, in his defense, studies on the "Crusader-Zionist conspiracy plans" against Muslims, hoping "the military judges would realize the threat all Muslims are under today."  The arrest of Jundullah's suspects was followed by a series of security crackdowns on other new amateur groups.  ..  "The group's members confessed they endorsed jihadi thought [regarding it as a way] to protect Muslim minorities under oppression in some Asian countries, and because they were enraged by US and Israeli practices in the Arab region," the minister added. "More of these [amateur] groups will appear, due to the rage against the US policies in the Middle East," commented Islamist lawyer Mr. Montasser Al-Zayat, in his office in downtown Cairo. The expected damage could vary in scale from a couple of rocks thrown at a McDonald's branch to "disastrous operations," he warned. FRANCE French cabinet approves hijab ban  - 28 Jan 04 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C41C5497-BCBD-49FC-ABEA-4B3754CAA20B.htm .. Wednesday's cabinet approval opens the way for the bill's passage through parliament before it finally becomes a law.   .. The bill has its first reading before the National Assembly, parliament's lower house next Tuesday. GERMANY Gunman, allegedly insulted, kills 2 at German mosque  - 26 Jan 04 http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0126MosqueKilling26-ON.html .. A gunman opened fire during morning prayers Monday at a mosque in western Germany, killing two men who reportedly insulted him and his wife, police said.  Shortly after the shooting in Gelsenkirchen, about 25 miles northeast of Duesseldorf in North Rhine-Westphalia state, authorities arrested a 59-year-old Turkish man, who admitted shooting the men in the head before about 20 worshippers. The victims, ages 58 and 48, were Turkish. The man, whose name was not released, told police he killed the victims because they insulted him and his wife. Authorities arrested the suspect after he fled to his home. INDIA The Haj - An Orientation Manual for Trainers of Indian Pilgrims of Haj-2004 http://www.hajcommittee.com/training2.html IRAQ [comments] Iraqi Personal Law Draws Criticism - 26 Jan 04 http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-01/26/article07.shtml .. The major criticism against the new law - yet to be effective - stems from the fact that it virtually complicates matters in Iraq and encourages sectarianism through "establishing a court for each and every faction." This is despite the fact that the law is based on the Islamic Shari'a in general. The 1959 law, on the other hand, has been in breach of some provisions of the Shari'a. .. The second article of the annulled law, passed in 1959 to regulate Iraqi family affairs regardless of their factional affiliations, stipulated that the law was to be applicable to all "Iraqis save those exempted by a special law."  The law had been applicable to all Iraqi factions and to Muslim foreigners residing in Iraq. Yet, it exempted Jews and Christians as they have their own laws and regulations. .. In statements to the Saudi Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper last week, deputy chief of Shiite Waqfs Divan Galal Al-Saghir expressed his strong support of the newly-approved Law. "The law is about referring each claimant in cases of marital affairs to his own sect," Al-Saghir said.  He described the marital affairs law issued by former Iraqi President Abdul-Karim Qassem as being "the worst of laws, as it gave women free reign to divorce themselves and put them on an equal footing with men with regard to inheritance," in a clear breach of the Islamic Shari'a, which is the main source of legislation. .. "The decision has been said to be based on Islamic Shari'a but what provisions it has been based on? There are no specific articles. There are four Sunni doctrines and I do not know the reasons behind it," the [Sunni] member of the Governing Council said.  Kurdish leader and Governing Council member Galal Talbani has opposed the decision and deemed it "invalid and illegitimate" for procedural reasons, reiterating that it has not been approved by the majority of two thirds of Council members, in conformity with the existing regulations of the Governing Council. .. In statements to IslamOnline.net, political analysts deem the decision as being a step "to lebanize Iraq" (To turn it into another Lebanon), as it does not only affect the Iraqi family file but it hits at the Iraqi public interests and encourages sectarianism. Some sources said that the Lebanese example does not have a unified personal law, as each religious sect organizes its family affairs, reducing the possibility of marriages among different sects. Such Lebanese method was a factor in the build up to factional wars that lasted for 15 years. [comment] A Reclusive Cleric Holds the Power - 27 Jan 04 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-nakash27jan27,1,7593271.story .. It is hard to know exactly where Ayatollah Sistani wants Iraq to go, but he appears to envision a government founded on Islamic law and precepts in keeping with the tradition of his mentor, Abdul Qasim Khoei, who died in 1992. Sistani accepts, in principle, the political reality of the modern state and advocates that clerics should keep their contacts with the government to a minimum, focusing instead on matters relating to personal status and Islamic learning and worship. .. In statements posted on his website (sistani.org) and related by aides, he has called for a government based on freedom, justice and equality. These terms, as well as the idea of Islamic democracy, have often been invoked by moderate Shiites, who have yet to articulate a clear meaning for these words in the Iraqi context or to demonstrate a commitment to apply these concepts to both men and women. KENYA Team is set up to reconcile factions  - 27 Jan 04 http://www.eastandard.net/headlines/news27010405.htm .. A committee to reconcile warring political and religious factions at Bomas was formed yesterday. Constitution of Kenya Review Commission chairman Yash Pal Ghai said the committee, with the mandate to iron out contentious issues on the Executive and the Kadhi courts, would operate under the umbrella of the steering committee.  ..  The chairman, who refused to name the members, said the group’s responsibility would be to take on board factions operating outside Bomas.  ..  The Judiciary Committee has entrenched Kadhi courts in the Constitution, sparking a row with the Ufungamano masterminds, who walked out to draft a parallel constitution. MOROCCO House of advisors in Morocco adopts Family Code     - 24 Jan 04 http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/040124/2004012403.html .. The House of Advisors unanimously adopted on Friday the new family code that aims at promoting the situation of women in the Moroccan society. Last Friday, the code was adopted by the House of Representatives. The reformed Code puts family under the joint responsibility of spouses, imposes difficult conditions for polygamy, and raises women's age of marriage from 15 to 18. .. Specialized jurisdictions have been set up in Moroccan courts to implement the new Code. .. Changing status of Morocco's shunned wives - 28 Jan 04 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3435153.stm .. Under Morocco's old family code Hadija's husband and thousands of other Moroccan men could verbally divorce their wives at any time, and their decision was legally binding. .. Under a new family code, or the Mudawana as it is known, husbands will now have to go to court to make their repudiation binding and women will no longer be legally required to be "obedient" to their husbands. .. "Under the new family code, whoever keeps the children keeps the marital house. So they will no longer be on the streets. This is an important protection for women." .. Azziza's marriage was not legal, but what was legal in accordance with the Koran, was that her father as a Walli, or male guardian, should decide her fate for her. Under the new Mudawana a woman from the age of 18, may be her own Walli. .. Now a backer of the king's Mudawana, perhaps surprisingly, Nadia Yassine says it does not go far enough because women remain minors under the penal code, which has not changed. On paper at least, with the adoption of the new Mudawana, Morocco is set to become one of the most progressive countries in terms of women's rights in the Arab world. Next, says Layla Rhiwi of Spring Time of Equality, the magistrates and judges must be retrained. .. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3565668D-2B39-4CC5-B1BF-EA90F0E81AEA.htm .. While polygamy is not completely outlawed - a man may take a second wife as soon as his first wife submits a request for divorce on grounds of "wrongs suffered" - women will be able to draw up a pre-nuptial agreement that forbids husbands from taking another wife. .. It offers a new guarantee for wives, giving them the possibility of drawing up a contract to share out goods acquired during marriage in the case of divorce. .. The new law also offers new rights for the protection of children, notably the right of women to have custody of their offspring and the right for children born out of wedlock to trace their fathers. Specialised family courts will oversee the new code. NIGERIA Nigeria to test polio vaccine to counter suspicion - 28 Jan 04 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28121303.htm .. Nigeria is to test samples of the polio vaccine next month in the hope of resolving a dispute with Muslim authorities which has helped spread the crippling disease to children across Africa. .. "A meeting has been scheduled in two weeks' time with all the states that are opposed to the immunisation programme," Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo told Reuters. He said during the meeting, and in the presence of all, the vaccine would be tested for impurities. .. Nasiu Baba-Ahmed, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Sharia (Islamic law) in Nigeria, backed the idea of a joint test with the government. He said tests commissioned by Nigerian Islamic groups in Italy and India confirmed the presence of contaminants in vaccines taken from northern Nigeria. ..  "There are serious suspicions of a conspiracy by the U.S. government to depopulate Nigeria, among other developing countries," he told Reuters.   ..  Baba-Ahmed questioned why there was so much emphasis on polio, which affects hundreds of children in Nigeria, when thousands are killed every year by other preventable diseases such as measles, typhoid, malaria and meningitis. Analysts warned the joint test may not clear up the dispute, as its roots went beyond purely scientific matters. "The problem is geopolitical, not a health matter," said political commentator Pini Jason. "The controversy over the vaccine is similar to the debate over Sharia. Those who oppose the vaccine are making a global political statement against the United States as regards its foreign policy to Islamic nations," he said. Sharia: Kano Warns Hotel Proprietors  [Vanguard - Lagos] - 28 Jan 04 http://allafrica.com/stories/200401280669.html .. Addressing the hoteliers at a one day meeting organized by the commission, the chairman of the State Sharia Commission, Sheike Ibrahim Kabo said the meeting was meant to establish an effective working relationship with Hoteliers and come up with ways to sanitize their business activities in the state.Sheik Kabo pointed out that the commission had identified, prostitution, gambling, alcoholism, etc as some of the social menace bedeviling the state, adding that ther is need to work together to address the ugly development in the state. .. His words ' by this directives Sharia commission is assigned with the serious challenge of carefully studying the social ways of living with a view to sanitizing it from anti Islamic activities which are alien to Islamic culture'. .. [Chief Adeaga] recalled that some of their members have been victims of some ruthless Hisba officials (Islamic voluntary sharia enforcers) in the past, and appealed to the commission to help caution the Hisba members against destroying vehicles of hoteliers or burning their houses. Contractors, Govt Officials to Face ICPC in Kano - 26 Jan 04 http://allafrica.com/stories/200401260387.html [Weekly Trust - Kaduna] .. All contractors and senior government officials found to be involved in the misappropriation of monies meant for contracts in Kano State during the last administration are to be arraigned before the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC. .. Governor Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau promised that no stone will be left unturned in carrying out the final report of the committees and as required by the Sharia. Taraba Dep Gov Under Probe   [P.M. News - Lagos]  - 27 Jan 04 http://allafrica.com/stories/200401270733.html .. A seven-member panel set up by the Taraba State Government to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Deputy Gov. Uba Maigari by the House of Assembly has begun sitting in Jalingo. .. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the deputy governor was present at the Sharia Court of Appeal in Jalingo, venue of the sitting. But the case was adjourned to Tuesday to enable witnesses to appear before the panel. Maigari was served with six-point allegations of gross misconduct in December last year, but has denied all the charges. OMAN Four-day Eid holiday in Oman   - 26 Jan 04 http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2004/January/middleeast_January578.xml .. Oman on Monday declared a four-day holiday for the private sector to mark Eid Al Adha; government offices will remain closed for five days. The holidays for both sectors will start on Saturday. PAKISTAN [editorial] 'Zalim' on Line [on religious tv channels] - 26 Jan 04 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_26-1-2004_pg3_1 [Punjab] LHC tells police to stop harassing couple   - 28 Jan 04 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_27-1-2004_pg10_2 .. The Lahore High Court on Monday directed the police not to harass a woman whose parents had registered an abduction case against her husband, whom she had married against their consent. .. Ms Nooshi, through advocate Nawab Ali Mayo, told the court she was over 18 and had married of her own will. She said her parents wanted her to marry an elderly man because he was rich. When she refused and married Mr Akhtar instead, her father Ghulam Hussain had a false abduction case registered against Mr Akhtar, she said, adding the police were harassing her and her husband. The judge said that the police could not take action against an adult couple that married of their own will. .. LHC frees 21 kiln workers .. The Lahore High Court has set free 21 people who were illegally detained by a Manga Mandi kiln owner. The court directed the detained people to approach the district police officer of Lahore for action against the kiln owner. The court observed that Islam and the law prohibit using anyone for bonded labour and strict measures should be taken against those involved in such activities. .. Food, Labour depts issued notice .. The Lahore High Court on Monday issued notice to the Labour and Food departments on a writ petition alleging that labourers at various markets in the Punjab are being forced to carry weight on their back greater than that permitted under the law. NWFP courts yet to take up case under Shariat Act  - 27 Jan 04 http://www.dawn.com/2004/01/27/nat11.htm .. The courts in the province have not dealt with even a single case under the NWFP Shariat Act 2003, enacted last year by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government, as the law is not practicable, observed speakers at a seminar on Monday.  The provincial parliamentary leader of the People's Party Parliamentarians, Abdul Akber Khan, and former president of the Peshawar Bar Council, Sher Afgan Khattak, said under the Shariat Act the courts in the province had to interpret laws in accordance with Islamic Shariat, but despite the passage of more than seven months the provisions of the act had not been followed by any of the courts. "Even the members of the MMA or the provincial government have not asked any of the court to decide their cases in accordance with the said act as they also know that the law was faulty and could not be implemented," said Mr Khattak. .. [The NWFP Minister for Law] said: "We have finalised debates on laws aimed at safeguarding the right of inheritance of women, prohibiting the inhuman custom of Swara and honour killing." He added that Talaq Mughaliza (pronouncement of three Talaqs in one go) would also be declared a penal offence. .. Mr Khattak said there were more than 100 judges of different categories in the province. If all of them were empowered to interpret laws in accordance with Shariat, he remarked, it would create complete confusion in society as they might not be well versed in Islamic Shariat.  Under the Constitution, he added, only the Federal Shariat Court was empowered to decide cases in accordance with Shariat and even the high courts were not given those powers. He asked when a power could not be exercised by the high court how could the courts subordinate to it exercise it. [NWFP] PHC dismisses plea against Hasba push     - 29 Jan 04 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-1-2004_pg7_25 .. A division bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition of lawyer Sher Afgan asking the court to stop the provincial government from presenting the proposed Hasba Act in the Frontier Assembly.  The bench consisting of Chief Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan dismissed the petition by declaring it premature. The chief justice observed that it was premature to hear the petition because the assembly had not passed the proposed act into law. He also observed that the act was under consultation with different sections of the society. .. The petitioner stated that 25 laws already covered the offences mentioned in Section-23 of the proposed Hasba Act and there was no need for fresh legislation for them. RUSSIA Despite Difficulties, 5,000 Russian Muslims Perform Hajj  - 26 Jan 04 http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-01/26/article03.shtml .. Many Russian Muslims complained about the highly-priced visa issuance, hajj costs and the hardships faced by pilgrims traveling by buses. Traveling by road costs about 36,000 Russian rubles ($1300), while by plane around 51,000 ($1800). According to the Saudi consul in Moscow, Abdal Razek Al-Kashmi, 3500 pilgrims were traveling by road this year. In sub-zero temperatures, the last 180-strong batch of pilgrims left the capital of Ingushetia, Nazran, saturday, January 24, for the holy places in Saudi Arabia. .. Dagestan makes up the majority of Russian pilgrims this year with 1582 people and followed by Tatarstan with 559. SAUDI ARABIA Women Allowed to Pray on Grand Mosque's Terrace   - 27 Jan 04 http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&;section=0&article=38708&d=27&m=1&y=2004 .. The authorities at the Grand Mosque have allowed women to pray on its terrace for the first time this year as part of their efforts to reduce congestion inside the mosque. Several escalators have been installed to take the worshipers to the terrace. A light system has also been installed on the mosque's 126 gates to let worshipers know in advance whether the mosque is crowded. If it is crowded, a red light is on; if not crowded, a green light will be on. .. Dr. Abdul Mohsen Humaid, director of the department of projects and studies at the presidency, said the expansion of the mataf (circumambulation area) on the mosque’s first floor and terrace had reduced the tawaf length from 662 to 572 meters. There are special areas for the handicapped and elderly to perform tawaf.  He said the shifting of the entrance to the Zamaam Well and Zamzam water drinking area from the mataf had created more space for circumambulation this year. The mataf will be crowded when the faithful come to perform tawaf al-ifada on the third day of Haj. .. Numbers swell as Haj start nears   - 28 Jan 04 http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=109251 .. Makkah and the nearby holy city of Madina were hit with torrential rains last week causing floods. The cold weather has caught some of the pilgrims coming from warm countries by surprise, with health experts blaming some of the recent deaths on that. At least 113 pilgrims, mostly from southeast Asia, have died, many of them from exhaustion, chr-onic illnesses or road accidents, the Saudi Gazette reported on Sunday. Many pilgrims were seen wearing masks as the bird flu grips Asia and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), appears to be making a comeback in Hong Kong. .. More than 100 medical specialists and nurses from Britain, the United States and Malaysia have been brought in to work in emergency, intensive care and anaesthetic units bolstering 9,500 local doctors, nurses and administrators. The Haj Ministry is focusing on preventive measures and checking pilgrims as they arrive at 24 entry points. .. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-1-2004_pg7_40 .. Last year 14 people were trampled to death on the third day of the haj -- the latest in a series of tragedies to hit the holy rite, a duty for every able-bodied Muslim. .. The main trouble spot has been the Jamarat Bridge, where pilgrims will flock on Saturday night and Sunday to stone thrones where Muslims believe the devil appeared to Abraham. .. Sami Angawi, who set up the state's Haj Research Centre in 1975, said crowd control plans had been obstructed by "five-star pilgrims" who refuse to walk and insist on performing rites at the time specified by the kingdom's creed of Sunni Islam. Following Wahhabi religious teaching, clerics say the stone-throwing should take place in the afternoon, as booklets handed out to pilgrims advise. Most pilgrims are not Wahhabi. Angawi said the problem was that there could be an estimated 50,000 cars at the same time in one location. The haj rituals, laid down by Prophet Mohammad 14 centuries ago, see Muslims move around a circuit of several km in the mountainous terrain around Mecca over a five-day period. [comment] clerics set boundaries on reforms - 27 Jan 04 http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?type=worldNews&;storyID=4212773 .. Some analysts and academics say the country was not always so restrictive, pointing to a period of liberalism in the 1960s when Saudi Arabia had a Shura (advisory) council, municipal elections and women could work and mix with men.  They attribute the change to the 1979 takeover of the Grand mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, by a group of Sunni fanatics who opposed modernisation in the birthplace of Islam. A disconcerted royal family empowered the clergy to bolster the validity of its rule; the House of Saud bases its legitimacy on safeguarding the holy mosques in Mecca and Medina. .. Wahhabi clerics then waged a campaign against art and other pleasures of life. Music was banned from public places and the few cinemas closed. Religion hijacked most of the school curriculum with students having less time for other topics. .. No significant changes in the kingdom, from the introduction of telephones and television to the start of education for girls have ever gone ahead without fierce resistance from the clerics. .. Crown Prince Abdullah has pledged to press ahead with reform but said change would be gradual and in harmony with Islam. "This country is either Muslim or nothing at all," he said. .. "It was the mistake of the government to allow them (the clerics) to expand their influence," said [analyst Khaled] al-Fadely. "The state gave them power and the magic turned against the magician." SUDAN Chief Justice Suspends Flogging of Girl  - 23 Jan 04 http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/7537.html .. The London-based human rights organisation Amnesty International has welcomed the suspension of a flogging sentence against a 16-year-old girl convicted last year of adultery, but urged the Sudanese authorities to treat the case in accordance to their obligations under international human rights law.  Sudan's chief justice on Wednesday suspended the sentence against Intisar Bakri Abd al-Qadir, pending her appeal against it. She was to have received 100 lashes, with the punishment due to be carried out on Friday. .. According to [Amnesty's] Goderiaux, the law was applied unfairly against Intisar, whose pregnancy was used in court as sufficient evidence for a conviction, yet the man involved only needed four witnesses to prove his innocence. Intisar's lawyer Ghazi Sulayman, who is also a human rights activist, told IRIN on Thursday that he had appealed against the sentence on the grounds that she was not only a Christian, and therefore not bound by Shari'ah, but also that she was still was a minor. "The chief justice of Sudan ordered a stay of execution and promised to look at my appeal," Sulayman told IRIN from Khartoum. "I am very optimistic that the high court of Sudan will dismiss the case against her," he added. .. The girl, who reportedly lives with her mother in a shanty town outside Khartoum, gave birth in September to a son. The man who she alleged to have raped her has, however, denied having had any connection with her. The punishment had initially been postponed because she was pregnant, and then in December because she was in poor health. .. Nine people were at risk of execution and cross-amputation, without the right to further appeal, the Supreme Court in Khartoum having dismissed their initial appeals against their sentences, which had been issued by a specialised criminal court, the organisation said in a statement.  THAILAND 'Religious conflict' worries premier  - 27 Jan 04 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FA28Ae03.html .. "Don't take what happened as a religious conflict, otherwise we could become a tool of the [Muslim] separatists," warned Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra after three members of the Buddhist clergy were killed in Thailand's Muslim-majority south. Muslims fighting for a separate Islamic nation are suspected of countless bombings, arson attacks, shootings and other assaults during the past several years in southern Thailand, to destabilize Bangkok's grip and allow Islamic Sharia law to dominate there instead. .. Islam and Buddhism are at different ends of the spiritual spectrum because, unlike Islam, there is no "god" in Buddhist belief. Muslims also denounce the "worshipping of idols", while statues of Buddha appear throughout Thailand and are revered by bowing Buddhists who comprise more than 90 percent of this Southeast Asian nation's population. .. Thai officials suspect that returnees from Afghanistan, plus Wahhabi-financed religious schools, have influenced some Thai Muslims at more than 100 small, private Islamic campuses in the south. Relentless arson attacks on government schools in the south during the past decade have been blamed on Muslims who want to cripple the official education system so more Muslim children end up in local Islamic schools or fundamentalist institutions in the Middle East. TURKEY Many Turks Become Christians     - 23 Jan 04 http://www.beliefnet.com/story/139/story_13903_1.html .. Some 35,000 Turks converted from Islam to Christianity last year,with most joining evangelical congregations the newspaper, "Milliet," reports. If true, this would amount to a mass movement, considering Christians make up only 0.2 percent of Turkey's 68 million population. .. The German protestant news service Idea reported most converts are descendants of Orthodox Christians who ostensibly became Muslims to avoid being killed in Turkey's 1914-22 genocide of its Armenian minority. UGANDA Kibuli PTA Reject 'Hijab'  [New Vision - Kampala]  - 26 Jan 04 http://allafrica.com/stories/200401260610.html .. Members of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of Kibuli Senior Secondary School have rejected the school management proposal of making every girl student put on a hijab. [change in school uniform]. .. "The members of the association as a policy body have not been officially informed and have not met over the new regulation requiring all girl students to put on long skirts and long sleeved blouses, so we are not part of it and don't accept it," UK [Cambridgeshire] Teacher 'insults' Muslim girl - 27 Jan 04 http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1474821,00.html .. A 16-year-old Muslim student told a British court on Tuesday how a senior teacher at her high school insulted her religion after pulling an Islamic scarf from her head.  .. The jury trial has been told that the girl arrived for class wearing a black hijab, and that Dick told her to change it for a [school] uniform hijab which was black-edged with a red and grey stripe. .. http://www.edinfo-centre.net/cgi-bin/croner/jsp/Editorial.do?cache=true&;contentId=101895 .. yesterday (27 January), the case against the teacher collapsed. Judge Nicholas Coleman halted the trial and discharged the jury following a series of legal discussions between lawyers. A new trial has been ordered for 8 March 2004. More people attend mosques than Church of England: Census http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5983_548391,00430005.htm ..       - 26 Jan 04 More people in Britain attend mosques than the Church of England. It is for the first time that Muslims have overtaken Anglicans. According to figures 930,000 Muslims attend a place of worship at least once a week, whereas only 916,000 Anglicans do the same. Muslim leaders are now claiming that, given such a rise of Islam in Britain, Muslims should receive a share of the privileged status of the Church of England. .. Although the census recorded 1.59 million Muslims but Ceri Peach, professor of social geography at Oxford University said the census could not record the correct balance because the question was voluntary. Academics believe the figure to be at least 1.8 million. Tariq Modood, a professor of sociology at Bristol University has found that 62 per cent of Muslims pray in places of worship. The figure, after excluding young children, most of whom do not worship in mosques, is about 930,000. The figure is said to underestimate the number of practising Muslims. Many, it is said, pray at home. .. The Church of England has 26 seats in the House of Lords. However, the recent figures do not include Catholics. The Catholic church has 1.5 million British worshippers. USA [California] Muslims acquire burial ground in Oceanside - 28 Jan 04 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/01/29/special_reports/religion/1_28_0421_53_38.txt .. Burial is a collective obligation for Muslims, he said, and the mosque has recently contracted for an exclusive burial area in Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside. The allotted space, which will include "72 spaces with some land around it," will be enclosed by a fence. A sign outside will indicate that it is a Muslim burial ground.  "The fencing is because Muslim burial grounds have to be identified differently," Khan said. "No other graves are allowed."  Muslim scholars say the burial segregation is to maintain the placement of the bodies in an unbroken pattern.   All the spaces will be aligned toward the Ka'ba, or Kaaba, the place in Mecca toward which Muslims turn when they pray. The body rests on its back, but the face is turned toward the right. The depth should be at least half the body's length, but deeper is better. This is according to the Islamic Sharia, or law. Burials are not extravagant. If not for the fence, it might be difficult to discern what lies beyond it. Markers, statues and mausoleums are not used to mark graves. And the amount of earth mounded above the grave should not be higher than the breadth of a man's hand, said Imam Nader Dehaini.  ..  Essentially the poor and the rich go into the ground the same way, and that's the important thing."  The mourning or grieving period should last no more than three days. After 33 years, the space can be used to bury another person, scholars say. .. There are five phases to prepare a Muslim's body for burial: * The obligatory washing, or ghusl, which is conducted according to strict rules: Men wash men and women wash women; * Wrapping (kafan) the body in a clean, preferably white cloth, three pieces for men, five for women, and tied to allow differentiation between the head and legs; * Prayers (salat) and supplication (du'a) are offered for the dead, the Prophet Mohammed and for all Muslims. The burial prayer is done standing. * Funerals are conducted without music, screaming or crying; the deceased is buried with the head slightly elevated but with nothing inside the grave other than the body. * Burial should take place as soon as possible to minimize contact with the dead. Planting flowers or wreaths on the grave or returning to visit it is strictly forbidden. [Texas] Islamic academy receives accreditation - 26 Jan 04 http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7798388.htm .. Fort Worth's Al-Hedayah Academy has become the second Islamic school in Texas to receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. .. Open since 1992, the school, which teaches students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, offers classes in Arabic and Muslim religious classes and Muslim history. Children also learn the Islamic way to conduct themselves in daily routines and relationships and to respect nature and the environment. .. Receiving accreditation will allows Al-Hedayah's 180 students to move more easily to a public school system when they graduate. .. Al-Hadi School of Accelerated Learning in Houston became the first full-time Islamic school in 2001 to receive the association's accreditation in the region. [Virginia] Woman fights for equality in mosque  - 26 Jan 04 http://www.arabtimesonline.com/arabtimes/world/Viewdet.asp?ID=1886 .. [Asra] Nomani, a journalist who has written for the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, is trying to change a rule that women should enter the Morgantown mosque through a side staircase and pray separately from the men. A growing number of mosques have such rules. "I can interview the Taleban," said Nomani,38 , "but I can't walk through the front door of my mosque." Before ever approaching the front door, Nomani asked the mosque's board of trustees for equal access for women. But when she later went to the mosque, the board president stood at the front door and said, "Sister, please, the back entrance," Nomani noted in a discrimination complaint she filed with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. .. About three months ago, Nomani, her mother and her12 -year-old niece rejected the women's entrance for the front door. Once inside, the women chose not to pray in a balcony built for women in the rear of the mosque - where the main prayer space cannot be seen. Instead, they began praying under the same vaulted, sunny ceiling as the men - but several feet behind them. "The men interrupted the start of 'taraweeh' prayer," Nomani recalled in the discrimination complaint. "A man said, 'We cannot pray until she leaves.' A group of men told my father to tell me to leave. He said he would not. "Four men assembled around me and told me to leave. Two men took positions directly behind me and started to pray. [comment] Team Jackson and the Nation of Islam    - 20 Jan 04 http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17607 .. Nation officials have been prominent at team Jackson's press conferences, the advisor's meeting, and Muslim bodyguards will probably surround the Pop King at his court appearances. But there's no evidence that they are anything other then one more ornament in Jackson's traveling ménage. In the past decade, Jackson has had a penchant for drawing into his circle anyone that he takes a momentary liking to, and believes can be useful. .. Though the black Muslims have long drawn public fire for their past black separatist, anti-white, anti-Semitic rhetoric, the Nation is run as a top down, hard-nosed corporate structured, money making operation.  It provided security for political, entertainment, and sports figures Jesse Jackson, P. Diddy Combs, and O.J. Simpson attorney Johnnie Cochran. It has brokered contracts with various municipal agencies to provide security and run anti-drug and anti-gang prevention programs. (These contracts have raised howls of protest from conservative groups and demands that they be rescinded). It has established numerous farms, stores, and restaurants. The Nation has waved its rugged, capitalist business prowess as an emblem of black pride that other blacks should emulate. WORLD  REGIONS Islamic Medieval Medical Manuscripts on the Web - 06 Jun 00 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/press_releases/islamicmedPR00.html [al Qaeda] Muslim web sites under terror spotlight    - 28 Jan 04 http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040128/80/ekklb.html .. Analysts say the sites, used by al Qaeda backers to spread their message, are unlikely sources of exact information on where or how Osama bin Laden's network might strike next -- though an experienced eye may spot the more probable comments.  Mainly, the Arabic-language sites, usually bulletin boards where anyone can post anonymous messages, provide a forum for users with nicknames like erhabi (terrorist) and abuosama (Osama's father) to vent anger at the West and United States. "There's no official al Qaeda site, only sites run by Qaeda supporters but even these lack credibility as anyone can post there," London-based Islamic activist Yasser el-Serri said on Wednesday. .. London-based analyst Paul Eedle who closely follows pro-Qaeda sites, agreed that a trained eye was needed. "The way to assess the authenticity of statements is to see what other Islamists on the Net think of them," he said. "In this and other spheres, the Internet is a self-authenticating community." .. Gary Bunt, a University of Wales lecturer who runs a site on Islam, virtuallyislamic.com, said Islamists had proven much more tech-savvy than their governments. "A number of these site are exciting to take a look at. They've been designed very intelligently, a great deal of thought goes into how to put the message across," he told Reuters by telephone. "That has had an impact." ISLAMIC FINANCE Special standards needed for Islamic banking - 29 Jan 04 http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=40363 .. The Basel II agreement, which is expected to enter into force by the end of 2006, imposes stringent new standards on banks around the world, which will have to increase their capital adequacy ratios and apply a more thorough rating of operation and market risk to avoid receiving low credit ratings from international agencies. .. " The new Basel II standards, which will become mandatory to all banks around the world, apply to banks in general and do not address the characteristics of only particular banks, such as Islamic banking," Joseph Torbey, president of the Union of Arab Banks, said at the opening session [in Lebanon] of the three-day conference on Basel II Standards and Islamic Banking. .. Islamic banks around the world have achieved an annual growth rate of 15 to 20 percent over the last few years, and currently have $262 billion in combined assets, Torbey said. Roughly 265 Islamic banks collectively handle investment portfolios worth $400 billion, and have $202 billion in deposits and $13 billion in capital, he added. .. "These standards will make it difficult for Arab banks in general to attract international capital flows due to our low credit ratings if these ratings ever existed," he said, adding that the "standards will also impose new capital adequacy ratios due to the new risks, particularly operational risk." [Indonesia] 'Sharia banks should invite foreign investors - 28 Jan 04 http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailbusiness.asp?fileid=20040128.M01 .. Sharia banks need to improve their capacity to absorb risks and deliver loans by expanding capital through inviting foreign investors or going public, Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor Maulana Ibrahim said.  ..  "When they raise capital, their risks will decline and they will be ready to lend more," he announced on the sidelines of an international seminar entitled Money and the Real Economy from an Islamic Perspective organized by Trisakti University on Monday. .. "Sharia banks have a higher financing-to-deposit ratio (FTR) as they are not disturbed by the (government's previous) recapitalization program," said Maulana.  Bank Muamalat recorded an FTR of 80 percent as of August 2003, while conventional banks' average loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) stood at 52 percent. .. Currently there are two fully Islamic banks and about eight sharia branches of conventional banks. The trend of conventional banks opening sharia branches started with the enactment of dual system banking by the government in 1998. [Malaysia] Qatar Sukuk pushes up LFX market cap to US$ 3 bil - 29 Jan http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/1/29/business/7197125 .. The listing of the inaugural Sukuk by the Government of Qatar on the Labuan International Financial Exchange (LFX) yesterday increased the market capitalisation of the exchange to US$ 2.95 bil.  The secondary listing of the US$ 700 mil Trust Certificates (Sukuk) due 2010 of Qatar Global Sukuk is the 14th listing on LFX, said a joint statement by LFX and Commerce International Merchant Bankers Bhd (CIMB). ..  The Sukuk has an A+ rating by Standard & Poor's Rating Services and was listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on Oct 9, 2003.  It was also endorsed by the Bahrain-based International Islamic Financial Market in September 2003. .. The Qatar Sukuk is the fourth Syariah compliant instrument listed on LFX after Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd's Serial Islamic Lease Sukuks due 2004 (US$ 100 mil) and 2006 (US$ 50 mil) and the Government of Malaysia Sukuk Trust Certificates due 2007 (US$ 600 mil). [*]  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] 2:17:25 PM    comment []