Where is the ‘Pak’ in ‘Pakistan’?

Someone was right when they said Pakistan was born in Sialkot when Allama Iqbal the great poet and spiritual founder of Pakistan was born there, and Pakistan died in Sialkot with the brutal bashing and public murder of the two brothers.

Twenty-one people have been arrested in the case.—File photo by APP

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Aisha Amjad | August 30, 2010

Last week at a boardroom luncheon in Sydney, many people asked me about the floods in Pakistan, gave their condolences and shared their views on the humanitarian disaster. One person actually asked me, ‘What is the meaning of Pakistan’, and ‘What does it stand for?’

‘Pak’ means pure and ‘Stan’ means land, so essentially it means land of the pure, I retorted almost robotically. After I answered that question I thought to myself, either I would make a great politician or a great diplomat because although the answer was correct, my sentiments didn’t match my answer as I continued to smile and make excuses for why there was so much of  Pakistan to be salvaged, restored, preserved and promoted.

Faith & Practice: Setting aside fear and partisanship

In May, more than 80 Ahmadiyya Muslims were killed after an attack on their mosque in Pakistan. And in mid-August, Pir Habib-ur Rehman, a Philadelphia resident, was gunned down in Pakistan ... killed for his faith...

Proposed location of Park 51 ('Ground Zero Mosque')

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Cross-post
Source / Credit: The Temple News
By Matthew Petrillo | August 30, 2010

The U.S. may need to stop polarizing the Mosque debate and shift the focus to the people affected by fear and poor politics.

The late-summer debate over the Park51 Islamic cultural center plans, which include building a mosque two blocks from ground zero, is far from over, especially as the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches. Although the issue focuses on whether religious freedoms are encroaching on the sensitivity of the victims of Sept. 11, it has progressed into a politically polarizing feud between the United States’ dominantly liberal mainstream media and the nation’s culturally ignorant, conservative agenda.

Some conservatives’ pathetic attempt to play the victim card with cries that the building’s close proximity to ground zero represents a lack of “sensitivity” to Sept. 11 victims and overall political weakness has somehow gained positive momentum.

Hate Leaflets calling for the murder of Ahmadi Muslims

Having made no arrests in connection with the incident, Kingston police are appealing who may have seen the people handing out inflammatory literature outside the Jane Norman store in Clarence Street.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Spitton | Spitton.org
By Effendi | Published: August 31, 2010

Alarming news from Kingston, Surrey: A police investigation was launched last month, after police saw leaflets being handed out calling on Muslims to murder Qadiyanis, a derogatory term for Ahmadiyya Muslims, who are an evangelical sect of Islam.

It is believed that the literature is linked to a terrorist attack in May, in which 92 worshippers were murdered by Taliban militants in Pakistan, where the government officially regards Ahmadiyya Islam as blasphemy.

Having made no arrests in connection with the incident, Kingston police are appealing who may have seen the people handing out inflammatory literature outside the Jane Norman store in Clarence Street.

A teenage Ahmadiyya girl, who did not want to be named, said she was “shaken and stirred” after being handed a leaflet written in Urdu saying “Kill a Qadiyyani and doors to heaven will be open for you”.

Faith & Honesty: Three Allegations against Islam Refuted

...[P]eople need to be made aware that the true and permanent stance of Islam is the one based on the later revealed verses that call for violent Jihad and the killing of all infidels etc.

Screen Grab: Youtube | "Three Things About Islam"

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Research
Source / Credit: Al-Islam | www.ilislam.org
By Waseem A. Sayed, PhD | Chino Hills, CA

In this short article I want to address three popular allegations made against Islam. It is said that the Holy Quran is composed of verses cancelling each other, that the teaching of the Holy Quran require the imposition of Shariah law by force everywhere in the world and that Islam teaches people to lie wherever needed so long as it is in the interest of spreading the faith!

The first allegation is based on the thesis that verses of the Holy Quran revealed late in the ministry of the Holy Prophet of Islam abrogate the verses that he received early in his ministry. Thus, it is argued, that all that is said about Islam being a religion of peace is just a charade since such statements are always based on verses that were revealed early on.

Belgium: Pakistani Minorities Organize Demonstration Prayer in Front of the Pakistani Embassy

A couple of months earlier, the place of worship of another religious minority of Pakistan, the Ahmadyya community was attacked by Muslim extremists, killing dozens of innocent Ahmadyya minority of Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: PRNewswire
By Press Advisory | August 27, 2010

BRUSSELS/ -- The European Organization for Pakistani Minorities(EOPM) organized today a peaceful prayer protest in front of the Pakistani Embassy in Belgium to remember and pray for the innocent people of the minority communities in Pakistan who are denied their basic human rights. The demonstration highlighted several recent incidents targeting the minorities of Pakistan and EOPM demanded immediate action to ensure security of the lives, property and honour of these patriotic Pakistanis belonging to religions other than Islam.

A representative of the EOPM said "What prompted us to hold this prayer and peaceful protest was the news of an ugly crime, committed by a Muslim Doctor against a poor Christian girl on 14 July, 2010. Dr Jabar threw Miss Magdalene from the fourth floor of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi after raping her.

Dove Church plans to burn Quran: Ahmadi-Muslims protest

People who are for peace do not burn other people's holy books. If you are for peace, you are not for disrespecting other religions. We are not talking about a verbal insult. We are talking about a premeditated act of destruction.

Paster Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Neighbor Newspapers |
By Allison Khan | August 29, 2010

Apparently, despite the opposition of his own neighbors, the minister of Dove Church Outreach still plans to burn the Quran. The insurance on his church has been canceled and his own neighbor plans to protest the event, but he still plans to burn the Holy Book of the Muslims.

Caliphatul Masih the Fouth, the leader of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community stated that the bible believes in the oneness of God, the same as Muslims. Regarding his teachings, Jesus said: "‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29, 30).

Since Muslims, Christians and Jews all believe in the oneness of God, there is no reason to object to the Oneness of God in the Quran.

Indonesia: Ahmadiyah to pray, stay calm over banning issue

“Our imam [leader] tells us to stay calm and pray when we are attacked. However, we are concerned about those who intend to harm us. The government must do something to protect its people, because the nation will carry the burden [if it allows such violence against minority groups].”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Jakarta Post | Jakarta
By JP | National | August 31, 2010

Indonesian followers of the Jemaah Ahmadiyah faith will pray and be patient in response to their possible disbanding by the government, discussions on which will be conducted after the Idul Fitri celebrations.

“We are a legal institution. Therefore, there are rules to dissolving our institution. If the government is committed to banning [Ahmadiyah], we hope it will be done by legal means,” Ahmadiyah spokesman Zafrullah Ahmad told kompas.com Tuesday.

He said the Ahmadis have always forborne any violence against their group, which has existed in Indonesia since 1925.

Indonesia: Religious Affairs Minister's remarks on Ahmadiyah deplored

According to Usman Hamid, Suryadharma should have emulated late president Soekarno in connection with the existence of Ahmadiyah.

Minister of Religious Affair Suryadharma Ali

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Jakarta Post | Jakarta
By JP | National | August 31, 2010

Activist of the National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Usman Hamid deplored on Tuesday a statement by Minister of Religious Affair Suryadharma Ali that the Jamaah Ahmadiyah faith – who claim to be Muslim – had to be broken up as followers violated regulations and were not Muslims.

Suryadharma was criticized for not being able to show his good statesmanship.

“He thought as if it were a simple problem,” Usman said in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com. He expressed fear that the minister's improper statement would spark fresh attacks against Ahmadiyah followers by certain irresponsible groups.

Indonesia: Ahmadiyah must be disbanded: Minister

“Ahmadiyah must be dispersed because its existence may grow more troublesome.” [Suryadharma Ali, Religious Affairs Minister]

Sign: "DISBAND Ahmadiyah for harmony among religious communities"

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
By JP National | August 30, 2010

The government must dissolve Ahmadiyah because its teachings are against a joint ministerial decree, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said.

“Ahmadiyah must be dispersed because its existence may grow more troublesome,” Suryadharma said Tuesday after attending a meeting at the House of Representatives, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The decree clearly states that Ahmadiyah must not be widely spread because it deviates from Islamic teaching — it does not even believe the Koran is the last Holy Book, among other things, he said.

“The sect does not believe that Muhammad SAW was the last Prophet, which is against Islam.
If such understanding is considered religious freedom, then I call it excessive freedom,” Suryadharma said.

The government will make preparations to disband Ahmadiyah after Idul Fitri, he said.

Read original post here: Ahmadiyah must be disbanded: Minister

Pakistan’s human cockroaches – II

So again, if you believe all Ahmadis should be killed, all Jews gassed efficiently, all Hindus made slaves, then you can be a Sialkot killer too! Casual prejudice is what creates violence, which is why there are Ahmadi villages in the flood no one wants to help. Or why ‘kafir’ was written on the coffin of a Hindu youth who died in the Airblue plane crash.

Sialkot murderers appear in a regional court

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Express Tribune
By Fasi Zaka | August 31, 2010 [PST]

No apologies. I signed up for the backlash. If you can’t distinguish metaphors in polemics as figurative and not literal, then you are going to be self-serving to include Edhi and Imran Khan’s philanthropy and the good people of this country so you can conveniently ignore the message.

So again, if you believe all Ahmadis should be killed, all Jews gassed efficiently, all Hindus made slaves, then you can be a Sialkot killer too! Casual prejudice is what creates violence, which is why there are Ahmadi villages in the flood no one wants to help. Or why ‘kafir’ was written on the coffin of a Hindu youth who died in the Airblue plane crash.

There are two segments whose condemnation leaves me unrepentant. First is Pakistanis living abroad. They are incredibly angry that articles like the one I wrote ruin the image of Pakistan. Let’s hide everything, and allow things to continue without addressing cruelties so these Pakistanis can be accepted in their new countries. How selfish. I don’t have a dual passport, this is my only home, and if it sinks so do I.

Ghana: Kaleo Ahmadiyya Muslim Hospital commended for hard work

"Government recognizes and appreciates the contribution the Ahmadiyya Muslims have made so far in the area of health and education".

File Photo: Ahmadiyya Muslim Hospital, Kano

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | int'l Desk
Source / Credit: Ghana News Agency
By GNA | August 30, 2010

Kaleo (UWR), Aug. 30, GNA - Alhaji Issahaku Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, has commended the management of Kaleo Ahmadiyya Muslim Hospital for their hard work and commitment towards quality health delivery in the Region.
  
"Government recognizes and appreciates the contribution the Ahmadiyya Muslims have made so far in the area of health and education".
  
Alhaji Salia made the commendation when he visited the hospital on Monday at Kaleo to acquaint himself with some of the challenges confronting the hospital.
  
Alhaji Salia was accompanied by Mr Bernard K. Puozuing, Jirapa District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Robert Bakah Wavei, DCE for Sissala West, Mr Abu Kansangbata, DCE for Nadowli and Mr Seidu Tungbani, DCE for Wa West.

Analysis: Which is more ‘Islamic’, KSA or USA?

KSA is one of the worst offenders of this Quranic principle. The authoritarian government of KSA disallows construction of churches or synagogues on its soil.  Public practice of non-Muslim religions is strongly prohibited.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: The Pursuit of Light | Blog
By Kashif Chaudhry, MD | August 28, 2010

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA] is the largest Arab country in the Middle East. It is sometimes called “The Land of the Two Holy Mosques” in reference to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest places in Islam. Saudi Arabia’s government takes the form of an Islamic absolute monarchy. The UK and Thailand are also considered monarchies but what sets countries like KSA apart is the unlimited political power and governing authority vested in the monarchy. Oman, Qatar and the Vatican City are other examples of absolute monarchies in this age.

The basic law of the land, based on the salafi interpretation of the Islamic Law [Sharia], declared in 1992 that Saudi Arabia was a monarchy ruled by the progeny of King Abdul Aziz Al Saud. It also declared the Qur’an as the constitution of the country, governed on the basis of Islamic law [The salafi interpretation].

Bermuda: Muslim group protest against the planned 9/11 burning of Holy Koran

"The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat condemns in the strongest terms reports that the Dove World Outreach Center, based in the United States, is planning to burn copies of the Holy Koran on 11 September." [AMC- Bermuda]

Dove World church plans to burn copies of the Holy Quran on 9/11

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Royal Gazette | Bermuda
By Nadia Arandjelovic | August 30, 2010

Members of a Muslim group in Bermuda are protesting the burning of the Holy Koran in the United States on September 11.

The local branch of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have said the act, to be carried out by a Florida church, is "absolutely illogical".

Bermuda resident Shabnam Jheengoor told The Royal Gazette: "I do not understand their actions. For me it is trying to generate more hatred in society."

On the anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, Dove World Outreach Center church members in Gainesville, Florida will burn copies of the Koran.

'Cricket is all Pakistan has - this has destroyed any hope'

"It's very shameful and very disturbing. It's not just affecting cricket, but is a blow to the very body politic of Pakistan." [Aitzaz Ahsan, former interior minister]

Graphic: Deccan Herald

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source / Credit: The Independent | UK
By Omar Waraich | August 30, 2010

Omar Waraich: 'Cricket is all Pakistan has - this has destroyed any hope'

The shock is still being registered, and the outrage grows. Already weighed down by over a month's misery of unprecedented floods, the mood worsened further across Pakistan yesterday as match-fixing allegations involving the national cricket team led every news bulletin.

"Our heads have been bowed by shame," said the Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, echoing a widely voiced sentiment. "I am going to ask the Ministry of Sports to order a full inquiry." President Asif Ali Zardari said that he had taken notice of the allegations and ordered a full report.

In a country where cricket serves as a rare source of cohesion, the allegations are a major blow to national pride. The timing has also sparked local fears that global sympathy for the flood victims will be diluted by yet another sorry episode implicating some of Pakistan's most prominent names in corruption.

"It's very shameful and very disturbing," said Aitzaz Ahsan, the country's top lawyer and former interior minister. "It's not just affecting cricket, but is a blow to the very body politic of Pakistan."

Pakistan: Extremists’ war on people’s Islam

"I do not wish to insinuate that all Deobandis and Salafis are terrorists or extremists, but my point is this: all terrorists in Pakistan are Deobandis."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Daily Times | Pakistan
By Yasser Latif Hamdani | July 05, 2010

The Deoband philosophy is a rejectionist philosophy, which rejected modernity and saw the British as the embodiment of western irreligious thought and materialism

The attack on Hazrat Ali Hajvery’s shrine has struck at the root of Lahore’s religious and cultural ethos. For 1,000 years, this city has been sustained by the cultural openness and tolerance that Ali Hajvery, or as he is known to the people of Lahore, Data, gave us. Indeed, Lahore is famously called Data Ki Nagri for the Data was, in a way, the famed Afghan warrior-plunderer, Mahmud of Ghazni’s most lasting bequeath to the subcontinent. For 1,000 years, Hajvery’s shrine has fed Lahore’s hungry, clothed its naked and given shelter to the shelter-less.

Pakistani mullah's explain cause of flood; Its the 'Ahmadis'

The Mullahs told their congregations that the reason they are being punished is due to the fact that "they left some Ahmadi-Muslims alive."

Mullah and non-Mullahs of Pakistan on a prayermat

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Neighbor Newspapers
By Allison Khan | August 29, 2010

Pakistan has been hit by the worst flood it has ever had. The flood extends from the top of Pakistan in the Frontier, near Peshawar all the way down to the Punjab. The reason the flood has increased its devastation is due to the fact that the ocean level has risen, causing the outgoing rivers to reverse with incoming water.

Muslims believe in all the prophets of God, including the punishment given the people of Noah's time. Noah delivered his message to the people, but they told him that if he didn't stop preaching his message, they would kill him. At that point, Noah turned to God, in supplication and God decided to bring the flood.

Saudi Arabia closes Shiite mosques, restricts congregational prayers

The closed mosques are located in Al-Khobar, Damam, Abqeeq, Ras Tanora and Al-Khafeji towns. The Wahabi influence in the Saudi Government is responsible for the bigoted action against the Shiites.

Shiite worshipers being arrested for offering prayers - File Photo

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: ShiiteNews.com | August 20, 2010
Translated / Edited by Ahmadiyya Times | August 29, 2010

In efforts to restrict the Shiite Muslims' religious activities, the Saudi Government has started summoning the eminent Shea personalities to the area police stations for their religious practices.

According to Al-Rasd website, the security personal in the town of Al-Khobar have repeatedly ordered the Shiite leaders, Baqir Al-Nasir and Abdullah Al-Mihna, to appear at the police station. The leaders are being threatened to cease the offering of prayers in congregation.

The Saudi Government had previously ordered the Shiite community to stop offering congregational prayers at their homes.

Tired of the Saudi Government's bigoted policies and persistent harassment, the Shiites of Al-Khobar town had arranged a place outside of the town limits to offer their congregational prayers. Now, the authorities have forced the Shiite from offering their prayers at the new location as well.

Muslim demand publicly hanging of blasphemy accused Christian in Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Pakistan Christian Post
By PCP | August 28, 2010

Gujranwala, Punjab: August 28, 2010. (PCP) “Hang Waris Masih before us in AliPur Chowk” Muslim protesters were chanting slogans and blocking road in Gujrawala on August 18, 2010, after accusing Waris Masih alias Bhaloo Pehlwan s/o Diwan Masih of blasphemy.

Waris Masih is a famous wrestler and living from decades in Rajkot with his family in inherited home of his father. He had some argument with one Muslim living in his neighborhood in July 20.2010, which ended in compromise but Muslim disliked that why a Christian dared to speak before a Muslim.

In Park51, America faces its Indonesia moment

While the New York protests have not turned violent save for a few minor scuffles, the ground is ripe for the breakout of conflict if polemical views are allowed to fester. The protests have popularised the extremist views of the far right.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Commentary
Source / Credit: Today Online
By Nazry Bahrawi | August 28, 2010

The latest uproar over an American evangelical pastor's plan for a bonfire of Qurans - to memorialise Sept 11 - is another manifestation of the religious intolerance that hovers over America today.

As its citizens bicker over the proposed Park51 Islamic community centre in New York, this spectre of bigotry has long haunted another fiercely independent state - Indonesia.

While the socio-political contexts between the two nations differ in many ways, American policy-makers could still learn a thing or two about countering extremism by studying the example of the world's most populous Muslim nation. One can begin by focusing on that which links the two nations: Mr Barack Obama.

Faith & Practice: Fasting a commonality among religions

The institution of fasting is extremely important because it cultivates the believer in almost every area of his spiritual life. Among other things, he learns through personal experience about what hunger, poverty, loneliness and discomfort mean to the less fortunate sections of society.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Research
Source / Credit: Times of Malta
By Laiq Ahmed Atif | August 28, 2010

When we study the history of religions we find plenty of commonalities among different religions of the world. One commonality is fasting for the sake of the Almighty God, the Creator and Lord of the entire universe.

Remembrance of God the Almighty and pondering over His attributes helps man in refining his spirit, bringing it more into harmony with the nature of God. Man who was created on the image of his Lord and he must ever strive to gain closeness to Him. Man is supposed to adopt the attributes of God and he should reflect them in his personality and in everyday life. If we think about it we can see that those who develop a close relationship with God, those who think according to His will and try their best to act like Him within the limitations of the human sphere constantly improve in their relations with all other human beings and even other forms of life.

Bradford: Smoke bombs thrown at English Defence League protest

The EDL, formed last year, has become the most significant far-right street movement in the UK since the National Front in the 1970s. It claims to be a peaceful, non-racist organisation opposed only to "militant Islam".

Fikle Photo | English Defense League

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Guardian.co.uk | August 28, 2010
By Matthew Taylor and Martin Wainwright

More than 1,600 officers on horseback and in riot gear pen in 700 activists, including BNP members and soccer thugs.

Far-right activists threw smoke bombs and missiles and fought with the police as trouble flared in a protest organised by the English Defence League.

Bricks and bottles and smoke bombs were thrown at anti-racist supporters and police as around 700 EDL activists – including known football hooligans and BNP members – held a "static protest" in Bradford city centre. Mounted officers and others in riot gear were attacked as they pushed the EDL into a penned area. Skirmishes continued as EDL speakers addressed the crowd and there was more violence as its supporters were put back on coaches.

Pakistan Media watch: Millionaires in hiding and selfish TV anchors

Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has offered Pak army’s services in distributing relief goods, collected by the business community, to help the flood affected people of the country.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: The Express Tribune
By Shaheryar Popalzai | August 28, 2010

Media watch is a daily round-up of key articles featured on news websites, hand-picked by The Express Tribune web staff.

Aid commitments top $1 billion: UN
Addressing a press conference at the UN headquarters here, Mr Holmes said that so far 70 per cent of the UN flash appeal of $460 million had been funded plus additional direct donations and pledges amounted to $1 billion. Masood Haider (dawn.com)

114 rich families can generate Rs 80 bn for flood victims in no time: Riaz
Business tycoon and chairman of Bahria Town Malik Riaz believes that 114 richest families of Pakistan could generate Rs 80 billion in no time, needed for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the flood affected people of Pakistan, if they show generosity and fear of God. (thenews.com.pk)

Muslim World: Just Who Is Not A Kafir? | War On The Kafirs

“Labelling others infidel and kafir has become a preferred task of the mullahs. It’s clear that every sect considers others heretical, kafirs and dwellers of hell. Even verses of the Quran are wrongly used to disprove others’ faith and sects.” [Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, Scholar]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Outlook India
By Amir Mir | July 19, 2010

War On The Kafirs | The Islamic faultlines in the state widens with extremists 

The broad Sunni-Shia division does not explain all of it

• Most Sunnis adhere to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. Only 5 per cent of the country’s population belongs to the Ahle Hadith sect or Wahabis.
• The Sunnis are subdivided into the Barelvi and Deobandi schools of thought
• The Deobandis and Wahabis consider the Barelvis as kafir, because they visit the shrines of saints, offer prayers, believe music, poetry and dance can lead to god
• Barelvis constitute 60 per cent of the population. Deobandis and Wahabis together account for 20 per cent
• Another 15 per cent are Shias, again considered kafir and subjected to repeated attacks
• Since 2000, the Sunni-Shia conflict has claimed 5,000 lives
• Others considered kafir are the religious minorities—Christians, Ismailis, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Ahmadias, etc, who account for 5 per cent of the population
• So, 20 per cent of the population effectively considers the remaining 80 per cent as kafir

Obama's Religion: Christianity 101 For The Willfully Ignorant

Jesus referred to his followers as disciples. Only decades later in Antioch was the term "Christian" used of Jesus followers, and it was a derisive term coined by detractors.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: The Huffington Post | August 26, 2010
By Dick Staub | Religion News Service

(RNS) The flap about President Obama's religious affiliation reveals our national ignorance about religion in general and Christianity in particular. Here are some facts we ought to understand about Christianity before we go around rating the Christian character of Obama or anyone else:

1. Much is being made of Obama's childhood years in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. Obama attended a Catholic School and later a public school that he has described as "Muslim" where the Quran was part of the curriculum.

Praying to saints in Catholic school didn't make Obama Catholic; praying with friends inside a mosque didn't make him a Muslim, either.

KASHMIR: India Grabs It | TIME Archives

Nehru paid lip service to the principle of self-determination, but, in fact, steadily tightened India's hold on Kashmir. At first India ruled the state through 6-ft. 4-in. Sheik Mohammed Abdullah, a Kash miri Moslem who had long been a friend of Nehru's. But in 1953. when Abdullah showed signs of objecting to Indian domination, he was thrown into jail, and remains there now without trial.

"Kashmir Hamara Hai"
"historical speech of Sheikh Mohammd Abdulla
in presence of Pandit Nehru in Lal Chowk.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Archives
Source / Credit: TIME | Archives
By TIME | Monday, Feb. 04, 1957

For the better part of two days last week. India's gaunt, silver-maned V. K. Krishna Menon waved his arms, flashed his eyes and showered the U.N. Security Council with words. When the torrent finally petered out, the exhausted Menon held the alltime U.N. record for a single speech—7 hours 48 minutes. It was a performance worthy of a Southern Senator, and had a purpose familiar to any Southern filibusterer hoping to frustrate the majority will. Menon was out to stall Security Council proceedings while India's moralizing Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru completed India's illegal annexation of most of the strategic state of Kashmir.

Kashmir, a mountainous never-never land that lies jammed in between China, Tibet and Afghanistan, was a prize which both India and Pakistan had been eying greedily ever since the British left India. As a princely state, it was entitled to choose which new nation it would join. Kashmir's Hindu maharaja, panicked by an invasion of tough Pathan Moslem tribesmen from northwest Pakistan, chose India—despite the fact that 77% of his subjects were Moslems.* There followed a 14-month war in which the Indian army badly mauled both the Pathans and the Pakistani regulars who had come in to give the tribesmen a hand. By the time the U.N. succeeded in arranging a cease-fire in January 1949, India held two-thirds of Kashmir.

Moral deficit: Losing faith in humanity

...[R]eports about systematic discrimination in aid distribution are utterly disgraceful. There were reports earlier of Ahmedis not being given shelter during the floods and now reports of discrimination against Hindus and Christians are also emerging.

Faces of disaster

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Daily Times | Editorial
By Mehmal Sarfaraz | August 28, 2010

The Taliban have hinted at attacking foreign aid workers who are helping the flood victims in Pakistan, citing their presence as “unacceptable”. Hundreds of foreigners arrived in the country following the worst ever floods to hit Pakistan in living memory. In the wake of their arrival, US officials have warned of attacks by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after receiving some intelligence reports. According to US officials, the TTP “plans to conduct attacks against foreigners participating in the ongoing flood relief operations in Pakistan” and they “also may be making plans to attack federal and provincial ministers in Islamabad”. It was heartening to know that despite these warnings, the UN has decided to continue its humanitarian work. “We would find it inhumane for someone to target us and our work, effectively harming the millions of people whose lives we strive to save,” said UN spokesman Maurizio Giuliano.

Humanity First - Canada: Volunteer group at Union Station accepting cash donations for Pakistan

Union Station will host volunteers from Humanity First who will be accepting cash donations for Pakistan. Volunteers will be located on the GO concourse and outside the GO Bus Terminal, on the east side of Bay Street.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Canada News Wire
By CNW | August 27, 2010

TORONTO, Aug. 27, 2010 /CNW/ - On August 30 and 31, GO Transit will work with a charitable partner to do its part in raising funds for Pakistan flood-relief efforts. Union Station will host volunteers from Humanity First who will be accepting cash donations for Pakistan. Volunteers will be located on the GO concourse and outside the GO Bus Terminal, on the east side of Bay Street.

The flooding in Pakistan has affected more than 17 million people, killed at least 1,600, injured nearly 1,600 and has destroyed and damaged 1.2 million homes.

"We urge our employees, customers and friends to help the people in Pakistan in any way that they can," says Gary McNeil, GO Transit Managing Director.

India: Muslim clerics threaten Mayawati government over Ahmadiya issue

But on the other hand practically every Muslim “scholar” is eager to denounce virtually every Muslim sect other than his own as Kafir or murtid and out of Islam.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Opinion
Source / Credit: New Age Islam | India
By Sultan Shahin, editor, | August 27, 2010
Edited by Ahmadiyya Times for relevance, stance

Mullahs and maulvis of Uttar Pradesh and some other self-styled Muslim leaders have threatened Mayawati government of dire consequences unless a chapter on Ahmadiya Islamic sect is removed from the Social Study book of standard xth. These maulanas,  reverentially called ulama (scholars), although most of them, completely ignorant of the world around them as they are, some say should be better called Juhala (ignoramuses), have warned U P chief minister Mayawati of country-wide protests, if this section of the book is not immediately removed.

The maulanas may have actually struck gold in the form of this mention of Ahmadiyas as an Islamic sect in the UP social science book. They have been on the lookout for long for an emotional issue on which to create more disturbances in the country and mint money. Babri demolition did not only rob the Sangh Pariwar of an issue to befool Hindus with; it also made our maulanas jobless.

Kafirs, Murtids galore, deserve their throats being slit

Additional U.S. helicopters to deploy to support Pakistan flood-relief efforts

The aircraft, which include 10 CH-47 Chinook and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and associated personnel are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Photo: Jameel Matin

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: U.S. Department of Defense
By Press Advisory | August 27, 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deployment of 18 additional helicopters to Pakistan as part of the expanding U.S. contribution to flood-relief efforts.

The aircraft, which include 10 CH-47 Chinook and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, and associated personnel are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.  The unit will operate in partnership with the Pakistani military throughout flood-impacted areas.

These helicopters are expected to begin flood-relief efforts in Pakistan in mid-September.

This is the latest in a series of deployments in response to Pakistan's urgent request for flood-relief assistance.  Approximately 15 U.S. military helicopters and three C-130 aircraft already supporting flood-relief efforts in Pakistan have transported more than 2 million pounds of humanitarian assistance supplies and rescued more than 7,000 people, delivering much-needed aid and providing transport to people who urgently need emergency assistance.

Since the floods began July 29, the U.S. has provided $150 million to support immediate relief efforts and has allocated an additional $50 million to assist with re-establishment of communities impacted by the floods.

Moral Deficit: Pakistan relief organisations 'discriminating against Christian flood victims'

"I appeal to organisations and countries which are giving aid to government of Pakistan for flood victims to allocate separate or special funds for Christian flood victims and transfer it to Caritas Pakistan or Bishops Conference of Pakistan for food, tents and medical facilities." [Nazir Bhatti, President of the Pakistan Christian Congress]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: Telegraph.co.uk
By Rob Crilly | Islamabad August 27, 2010

Relief organisations in Pakistan are discriminating against Christians when they distribute flood aid, the Vatican said on Friday, as one million more people were displaced by fresh floods.

Christians and members of other minority religions are being treated as second-class citizens, said Father Mario Rodrigues, the Lahore-based director of Catholic Mission.

"They often receive little assistance or are excluded altogether," he told Fides, the Vatican's news agency.

Aid is being delivered by "government officials sympathetic to Islamic fundamentalism or by Muslim relief organisations", Fides claimed in its report, citing other unnamed aid workers.

Pakistan: Deficits galore

Pakistan's image deficit? How about moral deficit? Democracy deficit? Honesty deficit? Tolerance deficit? Justice deficit? The Hindustan Times of Aug. 18 reports the exclusion of minorities as recipients of flood aid.

File Photo | Pakistani Extremists group leaders join forces

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Calgary Herald | Canada
By Marvin Levant | Calgary | August 27, 2010

Re: "Pakistan's 'image deficit' is unfair and undeserved," Robert Remington, Opinion, Aug. 21.

Pakistan's image deficit? How about moral deficit? Democracy deficit? Honesty deficit? Tolerance deficit? Justice deficit? The Hindustan Times of Aug. 18 reports the exclusion of minorities as recipients of flood aid. In particular, the Ahmadiyya community is singled out for further victimization, (as if lynchings, burning of property, kidnapping and general harassment aren't enough) as they are considered non-believers.

Christians in Pakistan are in mortal danger as are Muslim apostates. On Aug. 11, Christians again observed the "Black Day" of protest to mark the many discriminations they endure, including the blasphemy law which inflicts great suffering, including murder.

Eye on Extremism: Pakistani Man Murdered During Visit To Pakistan

The family of the Peer brothers is pessimistic about their killers being apprehended. The reason is that both brothers are Ahmadiyya Muslims. Ahmadiyya is a Muslim movement that recognizes Mirza Gulam Ahmad, an Indian mystic as their messiah.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: IndyPosted
By IndyPosted | August 26, 2010

Habib Peer, a 60 year old Pakistani man was murdered in front of his 13 year old nephew by 2 gunmen on motorcycles in Sanghar, Pakistan. He had returned to Pakistan to live after having worked for years in the United States at a news stand. Four years before, Peer’s brother had been murdered by gunmen, who were never apprehended.

The family of the Peer brothers is pessimistic about their killers being apprehended. The reason is that both brothers are Ahmadiyya Muslims. Ahmadiyya is a Muslim movement that recognizes Mirza Gulam Ahmad, an Indian mystic as their messiah. Most Muslims consider the Ahmeddiya to be heretics.The Philadelphia Enquirer describes as follows the impediments to civic equality under which Ahamadiyya Muslims labor in Pakistan.

 “That nation’s four million Ahmadis are forbidden by law to publicly practice their religion, and they can be jailed for blasphemy if they greet Sunni or Shiite Muslims with the traditional “salaam alaykum” or wear Muslim garb.

Pakistan Floods: UN vows Pakistan relief despite threats

“We are talking to and working with the government of Pakistan to do everything we can to make sure that disaster response and Pakistan’s disaster response can continue in light of this threat.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Express Tribune
By AFP | Express | August 27, 2010

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations pledged on Thursday to forge ahead with relief operations in Pakistan’s worst-ever floods despite Taliban threats to attack foreign humanitarian workers.

“We will not be deterred from doing what we believe we need to do, which is to help the people of Pakistan,” John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, told a news conference at the world body’s headquarters.

“Those threats existed before the floods and we’ve always known that the security issues are there,” he said.

Holmes said that the United Nations would take “appropriate precautions.” “Even if the security situation has been relatively calm in the last few weeks, we will obviously take these threats seriously as we did before,” Holmes said.

Indonesia: An evolutionary perspective on Indonesia’s religious conflict

...[T]he solving of the problem is not only a task for the government but also for academics from all disciplines, to understand the nature of Indonesian people in handling their “beliefs”.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Opinion
Source / Credit: The Jakarta Post | Jakarta
By Dyna Rochmyaningsih, Tangerang | August 26, 2010

In spite of our happiness in the fasting month of Ramadan, we – Indonesian Muslims – know that religious conflict has happened – and continues to happen – in our country: the attack on Ahmadiyah followers by other Muslim observants, the Poso conflict, violent deeds conducted by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), catastrophic bombings that have killed many innocent victims, etc.

Using common sense, we may say that this conflict should not have happened, since all religions teach their followers to be good people. So why did it happen?

Some people would argue that the conflict is proof that religion is bad – as most people in Western Europe would say – and some would say that it is proof of the government’s inability to guarantee religious freedom in our country.

Analysis: The Ground Zero-Sum Game

...[R]eactions to the great success of Islam institutionalized a deep fear and resentment that became imbedded in the very core of Western identity. This is Islamophobia, even if no special word had yet been coined to describe the sentiment, and it reflects a zero-sum view of the world.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: Religion Dispatches
By Reuven Firestone | August 23, 2010

Lurking behind suspicion about the new Islamic Center planned to be built near Ground Zero is something much more ominous than would appear. Skepticism about funding sources and concern for the sensibilities of those traumatized by the horror of 9/11—while legitimate concerns—are heightened by a deep-seated bigotry against Muslims and their religion. We come by it naturally because Islamophobia is deeply imbedded in the very culture of Western civilization. But most of us don’t recognize it.

The word “Islamophobia” began to appear only in the 1980s. While it is a recently coined term, it refers to a history of fear and hatred of Muslims in the West that has had a long time to become implanted in our collective psyche. Its roots can be traced to the fourth century when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. After suffering centuries of bloody persecution under pagan Roman authority, Christians suddenly became privileged citizens of the empire. Many leaders of the Church considered the sea-change a divine sign of the absolute truth of their religion, that historical success proves theological truth. It was a zero-sum view of the world: “Truth is with us. All else is falsehood.”

[Islamophobia] - Muslim Driver Stabbed in New York

Americans as a whole are peace-loving, tolerant and civilized people. Unfortunately, a few have been affected by Islamophobia in recent times. These people must understand that the Muslim faith is not to blame for any inhumanity across the Muslim world.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Jersey City Examiner
By Kashif Chaudhry | August 26, 2010


In recent times, we have seen a surge in Islamophobia. The latest manifestation of this trend was seen today in New York when a Muslim cab driver was stabbed in the throat for his faith.

The Huffington Post reported, "A 21-year-old man is being held without bail on charges he stabbed a New York City cab driver in the throat after asking whether he was Muslim."

Manhattan prosecutors say Michael Enright spoke to the cabbie in Arabic and then said, "Consider this a checkpoint," before attacking him Tuesday night on the Lower East Side.

Faith & Science: NASA's Kepler Mission discovers two planets transiting the same star

"Kepler's high quality data and round-the-clock coverage of transiting objects enable a whole host of unique measurements to be made of the parent stars and their planetary systems." [Doug Hudgins, the Kepler program scientist]

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: NASA | Kepler Mission
By Michael Mewhinney | August 26, 2010
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet crossing in front of, or transiting, the same star.

The transit signatures of two distinct planets were seen in the data for the sun-like star designated Kepler-9. The planets were named Kepler-9b and 9c. The discovery incorporates seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. The findings will be published in Thursday's issue of the journal Science.

Kepler's ultra-precise camera measures tiny decreases in the stars' brightness that occur when a planet transits them. The size of the planet can be derived from these temporary dips.

Pakistan Gen. Kayani’s personality transplant

As it well known, Musharraf not only kept dialogue going with India. He took it beyond expected lengths to get within striking range of cracking of vexed issues, including Kashmir. What tripped the talkative general were his face-offs on the domestic front.

Gen's Petreaus & Kayani - Photo:Reuters

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: Hundustan Times Blog
By Vinod Sharma | August 23, 2010

Pakistan is a land of compulsive talkers and conspiracy theorists. People with the least understanding of issues manage to come across as the best informed.

Those who know the most, talk seldom. But when they do, they make sense.

The outcome in either case could be mere theory with no relation to truth. But the experience in lavish living rooms, over delicious meals and choicest drinks (yes, don’t be surprised), is exhilarating. At one such sitting during my recent visit to Lahore, I heard a man of “few words” speak up to share his views on Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s controversial extension as Chief of the Army Staff.

Anaheim, California: Hostess won't wear Disney's head scarf alternative

She has gone home without pay seven times rather than remove her hijab or accept jobs away from customers.

Disneyland | Photo:AFP

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: Yahoo News | AP
By Associated Press | August 23, 2010

ANAHEIM, Calif. – A woman who accused the Disney Co. of discrimination for refusing to let her wear a Muslim head scarf at work says she won't wear a specially designed hat instead.

Imane Boudlal, who's a restaurant hostess at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, says Disney's suggested hat-and-bonnet is embarrassing and makes a joke of her religion.

She has gone home without pay seven times rather than remove her hijab or accept jobs away from customers.

Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the head covering accommodates both Boudlal's beliefs and Disney costuming guidelines. She says it was one of several options Disney made after Boudlal requested alterations to her approved apparel.

Last week, Boudlal filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.


Read original post here: Hostess won't wear Disney's head scarf alternative

Silver Spring, PA: Local Muslims advocate message of peace, unity

The message "Love for all, hate for none" is clearly stated on the doors of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam's mosque along Wertzville Road in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: WHP-TV | CBS-21
By Ben Russell | August 26, 2010

Although New York City is nearly 200 miles away from central Pennsylvania, the recent attack on an Islamic cab driver in New York City is still being felt locally.

Ahmed H. Sharif, the cab driver, picked up a passenger who asked if Sharif was Muslim. When Sharif said, "Yes," the passenger allegedly slashed Sharif's face and throat with a knife.

Local Muslims are speaking out against violence like that.

Their concern is that, amid the charged atmosphere surrounding a proposed community center near Ground Zero and this recent attack, people will continue to associate their faith with violence.

The message "Love for all, hate for none" is clearly stated on the doors of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam's mosque along Wertzville Road in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County.

Militants plan to attack foreign aid workers in Pakistan: US

"According to information available to the US government, Tehrik-e-Taliban plans to conduct attacks against foreigners participating in the ongoing flood relief operations in Pakistan."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source / Credit: The Express Tribune
By AFP | Express | August 26, 2010

WASHINGTON: A Taliban faction is planning attacks on foreigners participating in flood relief operations in Pakistan, a US official warned on Wednesday.

“According to information available to the US government, Tehrik-e-Taliban plans to conduct attacks against foreigners participating in the ongoing flood relief operations in Pakistan,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Tehrik-e-Taliban also may be making plans to attack federal and provincial ministers in Islamabad,” the official warned.

Worldview: The other Pakistani crisis - Intolerance and violence threaten to tear the country to pieces.

Their [Pakistan's] only Nobel Prize winner, physicist Abdus Salam, was an Ahmadi; when the physics faculty at Quaid-i-Azam University invited him to lecture in 1979, it was thwarted by a religious student group that threatened violence. Is this the country Pakistanis want?

Scene of May 28 attacks on Ahmadiyya in Lahore | Photo:AP

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: The Philadelphia Enquirer
By Trudy Rubin | August 26, 2010

A shocking e-mail on Monday informed me of a Philadelphian murdered in Pakistan.

Habib Peer, 60, was a hardworking Pakistani American who had raised three children and run two businesses in the city. He considered himself a devout Muslim and was a leader in his Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Last week, he was shot dead by masked men in the southern Pakistani city of Sanghar, where he was helping the family of his brother - who had been murdered four years before.

Both brothers were killed by militants who believe the Ahmadis are apostates. Since 1974, Pakistan's constitution has labeled its two to four million Ahmadis "non-Muslim" because their beliefs contradict traditional Islam. (They follow a 19th-century mystic they believe was the messiah predicted by the prophet Muhammad.) In no Muslim country is the repression of Ahmadis so severe or so officially sanctioned as in Pakistan.

U.S., Pakistani Militaries Bond in Disaster Relief

Though Nagata declined to discuss how the flooding has affected the Pakistani military’s counterinsurgency effort in the Swat Valley, he said they had made “substantial progress” there when the flooding began four weeks ago.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source / Credit: American Forces Press Service
By Lisa Daniel | August 25, 2010

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2010 – The Pakistani military has shown tremendous cooperation, support, and friendship toward U.S. forces providing flood relief in northern Pakistan, the U.S. general in charge of troops there said today.

“The collaboration, the cooperation, the support, the protection, and the friendship – and I use that word very deliberately – extended to us by our Pakistani partners has been nothing but impressive,” Army Brig. Gen. Michael Nagata told Pentagon reporters during a video-teleconference briefing from Ghazi Air Base in northern Pakistan.

“This is one of the best examples of combined collaborations among military partners that I’ve ever seen,” Nagata said.

Pakistan flood aid from groups in Queens virtually nonexistent

“[Edhi] is the one that everybody will vouch for and Humanity First,” Humanity First is a charity originating in Britain that provides disaster relief response.

Pakistani flood relief | AP Photo:Aaron Favila

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source /Credit: YourNabe.com
By Rebecca Henely | August 26, 2010

An effort to provide aid to victims of the flooding that has devastated Pakistan since the July monsoon rains has been slow to emerge even though the borough is home to a substantial population from the South Asian nation.

“The number of donations are not at the level of comparable disasters,” said Shan Rehman, a Pakistani resident in Sunnyside.

The floods, which covered one-fifth of the country, have left 2,000 dead and 20 million people displaced. But despite the length and scope of the disaster, a central organization to funnel relief to the stricken is just now coming to the forefront.

America, Home of the Free -- Except for Muslims?

First Amendment means anything, the government cannot single out a particular religion for constructing a worship facility. The Free Exercise Clause would mean little if politicians could willy-nilly close down mosques -- or churches, synagogues, temples, and other religious sites.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: The Huffington Post
By Doug Bandow | August 23, 2010

Religion stirs our deepest passions. That helps explain the furor over the planned construction of a mosque in lower Manhattan near Ground Zero. Why else would Americans, who normally glory in their right to practice their chosen faiths, be debating whether people can build a house of worship in the nation's most populous city?

It is a disturbing discussion. The tone is ugly; the charges are vicious. And no Christian, Jew, or other religious person can feel safe if angry mobs -- even if only virtual -- are able to stop the activities of an unpopular faith.

USA: Muslim cabbie's throat slashed in religious hate crime

...[T]he NY Times reports that Enright volunteered for a Christian based organization, Intersections International, an NGO dedicated to fostering interfaith harmony.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: Examiner.Com | National
By Qasim Rashid | Richmond, VA

August 25th: Ahmed H. Sharif, a NYC cab driver, picked up who he thought would be just another fare.  However, the man being held behind bars tonight, Michael Enright, 21, evidently had a different plan.

Enright asked Mr. Sharif if he was Muslim, which Mr. Sharif confirmed.  Enright then responded to him with the Islamic greeting of Asalaamo Alaikum or, peace be upon you.  Next, Enright stated, "Consider this a checkpoint," pulled out a Leatherman utility knife and violently attacked Mr. Sharif's neck.  In the aftermath, Mr. Sharif's throat lay sliced open, with slash marks across his arms and body.

Fortunately, Mr. Sharif was able to flag down a police officer who not only called for help, but immediately arrested Mr. Enright.  The suspect's lawyer, Jason Martin, was quoted in the NY Times as saying, "He’s terrified [and] shocked at the allegations. He’s just trying to cope with it right now.”

Re: Here’s Some Religious Intolerance for You | National Review Online

Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online added a post entitled "Here’s Some Religious Intolerance for You" which was an except from Philadelphia Enquirer reporting the murder of an US Ahmadi Muslim while he was in Pakistan. The following was posted by Andy McCarthy referencing the aforementioned post by Jonah Goldberg.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source / Credit: National Review Online
By Andy McCarthy  | August 25, 2010

Jonah, I’m glad you mentioned the Ahmadiyya Muslims, whose plight I’ve described from time to time (e.g., here). The Ahmadis are an unorthodox Islamic sect who, among other things, do not accept Mohammed as Allah’s final prophet and reject violent jihad. They are brutally persecuted by their fellow Muslims, including in Indonesia (the world’s most populace Muslim country, and — everything being relative — probably the world’s most moderate Muslim country). Just this past spring, 93 Ahmadis were killed in Pakistan when their fellow Muslims bombed some of their mosques.

It would be interesting to ask imam Feisal Rauf whether he really thinks Muslims commit atrocities against the Ahmadis, just as Sunnis and Shiites often slaughter each other, because of American foreign policy, which allegedly humiliates them and makes them “feel the need to conflagrate.”

Is there, instead, just a teeny-weenie chance that they do it because mainstream Islamic doctrine, endorsed by influential clerics like Yusuf Qaradawi (much admired by Rauf for his mastery of sharia), teaches that departures from core Islamic beliefs constitute apostasy, and that the punishment for apostasy is death?




Read original post here: Re: Here’s Some Religious Intolerance for You

‘Burn the Quran Day’ plan prompts warnings of anger, unrest

In 2007 the anti-Islamist Dutch politician Geert Wilders called the Quran a “fascist” text that should be outlawed in the Netherlands, in the same way as Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is banned there.

Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source & Credit: | CSN News | August 25, 2010
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor

(CNSNews.com) – The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has joined the growing condemnation of plans by a Florida church to burn copies of the Quran on the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

A spokesman for the Jeddah-based bloc of Islamic states expressed concern Tuesday that the planned action by the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville would stir up “anger across the Muslim world and provoke unrest.”

The OIC said it hoped the U.S. government would “take appropriate steps to protect the sacred religious sentiments of Muslims of America and of the Muslims across the world.”

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community - UK: Let’s Keep London Free of Religious Discord

“Freedom of speech is one thing, but incitement of hatred is another matter altogether. We appeal to the authorities to nip this in the bud; otherwise this campaign of hatred against Ahmadi Muslims today will tomorrow grow into a threat against other moderate Muslims and indeed the wider society."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source / Credit: Ahmadiyya - UK
By Press release | August 25, 2010


The vast majority of people of all faiths and of none are passionate about peace and the need to create a harmonious society. It is one of the human factors that binds us all together, and rightly so, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim community is dedicated to this cause the world over.

As Muslims we know that Islam is a religion of peace and it pains us even more when actions are carried out in the name of Islam that create disorder. Recently in the UK and London in particular we have noticed a growing campaign that is doing just that – spreading hatred and in some cases even inciting violence against our community.

Mr Rafiq Hayat, National President Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK said:

“Through leaflet distribution, posting of hate material on websites and via programmes on satellite TV (often in Urdu and other south Asian languages) our community is being made a target of hatred and hostility by preachers of hate.

“The perpetrators of this act are Muslims and whilst they are certainly not representative of the vast majority of Muslims in this country, they are creating hatred in society.

Pakistani Muslims in Spain promoting radicalism and hate

“Government of Pakistan in general and Punjab government in particular is harassing PCC leaders and activists in Pakistan and now it is surprising that our victimization is expanded by PML(N) and PPP in Europe which is danger bell of presence of radical elements in EU”

Pakistani Christians protest in Pakistan | File Photo

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Europe Desk
Source / Credit: Pakistan Christian Post
By PCP Reporter | August 21, 2010

Philadelphia: August 21, 2010. (PCP) Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC have expressed grave concern on a statement published in Europe based Urdu Newspaper against PCC Holland Chapter President Parvez Iqbal in which he is threatened to charge in case under blasphemy law on his statement to demand repeal of blasphemy law in Pakistan.

The Muslim leaders of Azad Kashmir Muslim League PML(N) in Barcelona, Spain Branch, have issued a statement which is published in Urdu Newspapers owned by Muslims in Europe that PCC leader have committed blasphemy on talking against blasphemy law and have urged Muslim owners of those newspapers who published Mr. Parvez article to repeal such controversial laws victimizing Christians in Pakistan to delete his statement.