Ghana: GBC Donates to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission

The GBC team called on the Mission to pray for the Corporation’s progress and development, and for an improvement over the successes it had chalked over the years.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Ghana News Agency
By GNA | July 30, 2011

Accra, July 30, GNA - The Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC) as part of activities to mark its 75th Anniversary celebrations, donated GH¢ 100 to the Ahmadiyya Mission on Friday at the Mission’s Osu Headquarters in Accra.

The GBC team called on the Mission to pray for the Corporation’s progress and development, and for an improvement over the successes it had chalked over the years.

The team also stated that the donation was an indication of the station’s wish to strengthen the good relations that existed between the Mission and GBC.

Indonesia: Light Cikeusik sentencing highlights legal discrimination, Says Rights group

The Ahmadis have been the targets of various forms of intimidation and violence by hard-line religious groups who have branded the Ahmadiyah faith as “deviant” to Islamic teachings.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Asia Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post
By TJP | July 29, 2011

An international human rights organization said that the sentences handed out to 12 people accused of slaying members of the Ahmadiyah faith in Cikeusik, West Java, show that religious minorities still“face ongoing discrimination.”

The Serang District Court sentenced 10 men and two boys to between three and six months' imprisonment for their involvement in the killing of three Ahmadis during a brutal attack against the minority community in February.

Pakistan: Mythical narratives and anti-Americanism

According to an Amnesty International report of the period, the United States failed to bring to an end “the very human rights crisis that they helped to create” and this has “quite predictably – given effective consent to the Taliban to continue with its policies.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The News | International
By Talat Farooq | July 30, 2011

Writing for The News on Saturday, (“US-Pakistan relations: poisoned by a mythical narrative,” July 23) Sadiq Saleem has put forward some pragmatic advice vis-à-vis Pakistan’s relations with the US in the prevailing environment. There is no denying the fact that under the circumstances Pakistan needs to use reason and realism and not emotionalism when dealing with the United States.

Saleem is correct in identifying the existence and perpetuation of the ‘mythical narrative about the glory of Muslims and Pakistan being a citadel of Islam’ and how this narrative has been hijacked by Pakistani elements with vested interests.

Indonesia: Ahmadiyah Attackers Get Away With Murders - Once Again Demand to Outlaw Ahmadiyah

Nearly 1,500 white-robed protesters - gathering days after a court sentenced 12 men to jail for lynching three Ahmadiyah sect members - marched through the streets until they reached the presidential palace.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Asia Desk
Source/Credit: Today Online | Singapore
By Today Online | July 31, 2011

Conservative Muslims held a peaceful rally in Indonesia's capital yesterday to demand the government outlaw an Islamic sect they consider heretical. Nearly 1,500 white-robed protesters - gathering days after a court sentenced 12 men to jail for lynching three Ahmadiyah sect members - marched through the streets until they reached the presidential palace.

Indonesia has a long history of religious tolerance but experts say a small, extremist fringe has grown more vocal in recent years.

Ahmadiyah is considered deviant by most Muslims and banned in many Islamic countries. AP


Read original post here: Demand to outlaw Ahmadiyah

Faith and Science: All Non-Africans Part Neanderthal, Genetics Confirm

The ancestors of Neanderthals left Africa about 400,000 to 800,000 years ago. They evolved over the millennia mostly in what are now France, Spain, Germany and Russia. They went extinct, or were simply absorbed into the modern human population, about 30,000 years ago.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Discover News
By Jennifer Viegas |  July 18, 2011

If your heritage is non-African, you are part Neanderthal, according to a new study in the July issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution. Discovery News has been reporting on human/Neanderthal interbreeding for some time now, so this latest research confirms earlier findings.

Damian Labuda of the University of Montreal's Department of Pediatrics and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center conducted the study with his colleagues. They determined some of the human X chromosome originates from Neanderthals, but only in people of non-African heritage.

"This confirms recent findings suggesting that the two populations interbred," Labuda was quoted as saying in a press release. His team believes most, if not all, of the interbreeding took place in the Middle East, while modern humans were migrating out of Africa and spreading to other regions.

Indonesia: Encouraged Islamic groups demand Ahmadiyah group be outlawed

Amnesty International released a statement on Thursday saying that the lenient sentences showed that religious minorities face ongoing discrimination in Indonesia. The New York-based Human Rights Watch also expressed grave disappointment, saying it was a "sad day for Indonesia."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Channel 6 Newsonline
By BNO News | July 30, 2011

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- Hundreds of conservative Muslims on Saturday rallied in the Indonesian capital to demand the government outlaw an Islamic sect, the Jakarta Globe reported. 



Almost 1,500 protesters wearing white robes gathered in Jakarta to urge the banning of the minority Ahmadiyah group. According to reports, some protesters held placards reading "Disband Ahmadiyah or Revolution."

The protests came after a court on Thursday sentenced 12 men accused of killing three members of the group to less than six months in jail. Some of the defendants were released because they had already served their sentences in detention, which began in February.

New anti-Muslim hysteria | Abraham H. Foxman

The Oslo perpetrator in his manifesto quoted extensively from the writings of European and American bloggers — including Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller — who promote a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda under the pretext of fighting radical Islam.

Oslo killers and the American connection

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Washington Post
By Abraham H. Foxman | July 29, 2011

Norwegian attacks stem from a new ideological hate

The savage acts of terrorism in Oslo last week shocked people of goodwill and conscience around the world. The deadliness of the attacks — 77 people, many of them youths, were killed during a calculated, merciless shooting rampage and a bombing near the government’s headquarters — and the cruelty behind them make it difficult to set aside emotion and consider their significance. Yet when studying the apparent motivations, as expressed by confessed perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik, a crucial point emerges.

Europe and the United States have been no strangers to violence motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments over the past decade. Muslims have been assaulted and killed, their mosques and institutions damaged and destroyed. Yet the majority of the attacks have fallen into only a few categories:

●Hate crimes typically motivated by culturally or religiously based anti-Islamic prejudice.
●Acts of retaliatory or reactionary violence.
●Violence by white supremacists, who usually hate the race and religion of the majority of Muslims.

[Defining a Muslim] - Is the Pakistani Constitutions's definition Islamic?

The Holy Quran states: “Say not to anyone who greets you with the greeting of peace, Thou art not a believer.” In Pakistan, an Ahmadi Muslim not only gets to be declared a non-believer for saying the greeting of peace, he is thrown behind bars for three years.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Jersey City Islam Examiner
By Kashif Chaudhry | June 5, 2010

By any standard of justice, anyone who claims to be a Muslim should be considered one. ‘Muslim’ literally means one who ‘submits to the will of God’. However, Muslim scholars have passed uncountable edicts of heresy against other fellow Muslims in recent times. It confuses an observer as to what yardstick is used to gauge a Muslim’s faith in Islam. Is there a basis for some Muslims considering other Muslims ‘not Muslims’? Let us open Scripture to learn how the word is defined.

“A Muslim is an adherent of the religion of Islam” says Wikipedia. Another prominent Islamic website defines a Muslim as a person who says, “There is no God but One God (Allah) and Mohammed [pbuh] is a messenger of God.”

Kazakhstan: "One nation – one religion"? | Ban on Ahmadi Muslim mosque upheld

Following President Nursultan Nazarbaev's April speech calling for greater controls on unspecified religious communities, statement that the Minister of Education and Science should take charge of this, and pressure on smaller religious communities, an Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA) was established by Presidential Decree on 18 May.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: Forum 18 News Service
By Mushfig Bayram | July 28, 2011

Yesterday (27 July), Southern Kazakhstan Regional Court upheld a 12 May Economic Court decision to fine the the southern city of Shymkent's Ahmadi Muslim community, and suspend its rights to use its mosque and land. Judge Sabit Zhaksylykov ruled that the suspension applies until the alleged violations of land usage claimed by the joint Zhambyl-Kyzylorda-South Kazakhstan inter-regional Land Inspection Agency are "eliminated", according to the verdict seen by Forum 18 (see F18 News 7 June http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1577).

Aygul Tilhodjayeva, Secretary of the Court's Panel, on 27 July told Forum 18 that the Court will not make any comment on the decision. However, she said that "the Ahmadiyya Community may within a year file a cassation appeal". She also stated that the Appeal Court's decision will not enter into force until after the case is heard by Cassation Court" This means that the community can for the moment continue to use the building.

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya leader's mother laid to rest

Millions of Ahmadiyya viewers and well-wisher worldwide joined the Ahmadiyya leader in viewing of the funeral proceedings via an audio-visual hookup from Rabwah, Pakistan that was being re-broadcast live from London via the Ahmadiyya satellite television channel, Muslim Telivision Ahmadiyya, International.

Ahmadiyya leader viewing funeral proceedings via an audio-visual
hookup from Rabwah, Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune / Ahmadiyya Times
By Shamsul Islam -ET / Imran Jattala -AT | July 31, 2011

RABWAH: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community leader Mirza Masroor Ahmed’s mother Sahibzadi Nasira Begum passed away on Friday evening and was laid to rest in “Bahishti Maqbara” (Heavely Graveyard) in Chenab Nagar on Saturday.

Executive Director of Jamaat-i-Ahmadiya Pakistan Mirza Khurshaid Ahmad, led the funeral prayers for the late Sahibzadi Nasira Begum.

The funeral was attended by 45,000 people and scores of volunteers were also present around the graveyard for security.

Earlier, the body of deceased was placed at Darul Ziafat (Guest House) at 5.15pm.

Millions of Ahmadiyya viewers and well-wisher worldwide joined the Ahmadiyya leader in viewing of the funeral proceedings via an audio-visual hookup from Rabwah, Pakistan. The video stream was being re-broadcast live from London via the Ahmadiyya satellite television channel, Muslim Telivision Ahmadiyya, International.

Light sentences in Indonesia’s Ahmadiyah killings spark condemnation

Three Ahmadis died and five were seriously injured in the attack, which was widely condemned by both local and international human rights organizations.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Wire Update | BNO
By BNO | July 28, 2011

JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) -- A wave of condemnation greeted the verdicts imposed on Thursday against 12 people accused of killing three members of the minority Ahmadiyah group in Indonesia.

The Jakarta Globe reported that the district court in Serang in Banten province cleared the defendants of the primary charge of inciting hatred and mob violence, but found them guilty of "participation in a violent attack that resulted in casualties." The sentences handed down ranged from between three and six months in jail, even though the charge of which they were found guilty carries a jail term of up to seven years.

Indonesia: Islamic Scholars React to Cikeusik Criticism, criticize West

Slamet Effendy Yusuf, of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), criticized Western nations for only seeing the verdict from their own perspectives.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Ismira Lutfia | July 30, 2011

Indonesian Islamic scholars had mixed reactions to criticism launched by Western nations of the apparent light sentences handed down to Islamist extremists who killed members of the Ahmadiyah sect in Cikeusik, Banten.

The district court in Serang, Banten’s capital on Thursday handed down jail sentences of between three and six months for all 12 defendants.

The men were found guilty of “participation in a violent attack that resulted in casualties.”

Indonesia: Religious tolerance suffers another defeat in Indonesia

In the ensuing case against the attackers, Human Rights Watch said that police did not conduct thorough investigations and prosecutors sought reduced sentences on the basis that Ahmadiyah provoked the attack.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Global Post
By Kate Lamb July 28, 2011

Indonesia struggles with that whole "freedom of religion" thing.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Donned in skull caps and sarongs and fingering prayer beads, more than a hundred conservative Muslim men, standing outside a West Java courtroom on Thursday, prayed for the release of their brethren.

The 12 men they were praying for were on trial for taking part in a brutal attack on members of the minority Islamic sect (graphic video) known as Ahmadiyah in West Java earlier this year. Three people were killed in the assault, and several others were seriously injured.

In Indonesia, Murders by a 'Lynch Mob' Go Lightly Punished

Human Rights Watch called it “a sad day" for Indonesian justice. The United States issued a statement saying it was disappointed by “the disproportionately light sentences.”

Islamist mob awaits court sentencing announcement of Ahmadiyah killer

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Time | Blog | Global Spin
By Emily Rauhala | July 29, 2011

Less than six months after a hundreds-strong mob beat members of a minority sect with machetes, rocks and bamboo poles, killing three, the leaders of the barrage will walk free. The attack, which took place in a remote village in Banten province, was captured on video. Yesterday, at a heavily fortified courthouse  outside the capital, the twelve men convicted in the case received sentences of just three to six months. Dani bin Misra, a young man filmed smashing the skull of a limp, bloodied body, got three months for public incitement.  Both local and international observers have questioned the impartiality of the investigation, the trial and the sentences. But the government won't back down.

On Friday, Indonesia's minister of religious affairs, Suryadharma Ali, told TIME that he was "not in a position to judge the fairness of a court result," but he believed the country's judges were both willing and able to enforce the law.

Indonesia: Courts verdict encourages further attacks against religious minorities

In 1980 and 2005, Indonesian Ulama Assembly (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) issued a fatwa against the Ahmadiyah community in Indonesia denouncing Ahmadyah followers as an errant sect. In 2008 a joint ministerial decree banned the group for promulgating its religion and other basic religious rights.

Ahmadiyah victim being buried (Photo AFP)

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Asia Desk
Source/Credit: Asian Human Rights Comission
By AHRC | July 29, 2011

(Hong Kong, July 29, 2011) Three to six months in prison was the shocking sentence given to the perpetrators of the mob killing of three Ahmadiyahs earlier this year. The remaining perpetrators will be released on the reading of the verdict on 23 August this year. Most of them will be released during the coming weeks. This lenient punishment and the conduct of the judges in the trial sends a clear signal to religious fundamentalists that they not need to worry about the law and constitutional protection of minorities.

"The verdict and trial conduct does not meet national or international standards" Wong Kai Shing, Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission said. "The lenient punishment will encourage more extremist action against religious minorities" Wong added," the courts failed to enforce Indonesian law for the protection of citizens."

Update: Muslims convicted for murdering Christian in Pakistan

On July 7, the Sessions Court in Mian Channu convicted the three men of torturing and killing Rasheed and sentenced them to life sentences of 25 years.

Rasheed Masih was tortured and killed by 
Muslims wanting to force-convert him to Islam

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: European Centre for Law and Justice
By Canada Free Press | July 28, 2011

Three Muslims were recently sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Christian who refused to convert to Islam. Rasheed Masih, a 36-year-old potato business owner in Punjab province, was brutally killed in March 2010 by Muslims resentful of his success. Rasheed was also pressured to renounce his faith. On July 7, the Sessions Court in Mian Channu convicted the three men of torturing and killing Rasheed and sentenced them to life sentences of 25 years. They were also each ordered to pay 100,000 rupees (approximately $1,000 CAD) to Rasheed’s family. A fourth suspect was acquitted.

Thank the Lord that Rasheed’s murderers were brought to justice by the court. Pray that they will repent of their actions and come to know Christ as Lord. Pray for continued comfort and provision for Rasheed’s family. Pray that authorities will strive to provide safety for vulnerable Christians and other minorities in Pakistan.

Indonesia: Anger at 'light' sentences on sect killings

The sentences handed down ranged from between three and six months in prison - well below the maximum 12-year penalty sought by prosecutors.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: BBC | UK
By BBC | July 28, 2011

Indonesia police block Muslim supporters who are rallying in support of men accused of assault on members of the Ahmadiyah sect Supporters of the defendants gathered outside the court in Serang

Three men who took part in an attack on members of a minority Muslim group in Indonesia have been sentenced to between three and six months in jail.

Three Ahmadiyah members were bludgeoned to death in west Java in February.

Indonesia mob trial 'sends chilling message' to minorities

Idris bin Mahdani, who led the 1,500-strong mob in the February attack, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete and received five months and 15 days in jail.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Yahoo News | AFP
By P. Saputra | AFP | July 29, 2011

Indonesia mob trial 'sends chilling message'

An Indonesian court sent a "chilling message" Thursday by giving Muslim extremists light sentences for a vicious mob attack in which three sect members died, rights activists said.

Twelve people stood trial but none faced murder charges in what human rights campaigners said was a travesty of justice in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

The sentences ranged from between three and six months' jail -- less than prosecutors had sought and well below the maximum penalty of 12 years.

Indonesia: Extremists encouraged by Ahmadiyya attacks verdict, stage fresh protests

[The Extremists have] been emboldened by the inaction of Mr Yudhoyono, who relies on the support of Islamic parties in Parliament, and does not want to offend conservative Muslims by taking sides.

Photo: Reuters / Strait Times

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Strait Times | AP
By Strait Times | July 30, 2011

JAKARTA - HUNDREDS of conservative Muslims held a noisy but peaceful rally in Indonesia's capital on Saturday to demand the government outlaw an Islamic sect they consider heretical.

Nearly 1,500 white-robed protesters - gathering days after a court sentenced 12 men to less than six months in jail for lynching three Ahmahdiyah sect members - marched through the streets until they reached the presidential palace.

Some held placards that said 'Disband Ahmadiyah or Revolution' and 'War against Ahmadiyah.'

Pakistan: Another blasphemy case reported

The charged mob also set a bike of the publisher ablaze at the Fresco roundabout. They blocked the road for more than three hours causing a massive traffic jam at II Chandigar Road, MA Jinnah Road and its surrounding areas.

File photo

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Times | Pakistan
By Staff Report | July 30, 2011

KARACHI: There has been another case of arrest on blasphemy charges reported from the remit of Aram Bagh police station here on Friday.

Scores of people staged a protest demonstration against a book, which is said to have blasphemous contents.

They took to the streets to express their disenchantment with the book entitled ‘Pehla Zehar’, burning tyres and chanting slogans against its author and publisher.

The protesters marched from Burns Road to Tower, causing a severe gridlock at all main and adjacent arteries for hours.

Cikeusik Ahmadiyah attack sentences not surprising: Indonesian judges scared, says lawyer

Human rights groups are outraged by light sentences handed out to members of a violent mob that killed three members of the minority Ahmadiyahs in February.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | AU Desk
Source/Credit: ABC News | Australia
By Sen Lam | July 28, 2011

AUDIO from Asia Pacific
Erna Ratnaningsih, chairwoman, Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation



Judges hearing cases involving religious freedom in Indonesia are frightened by fundamentalists attending court, says a lawyer representing the persecuted Ahmadiyah sect.

Human rights groups are outraged by light sentences handed out to members of a violent mob that killed three members of the minority Ahmadiyahs in February.

Islamic extremists set up Sharia law controlled zones in British cities

In the past week, dozens of streets in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham have been targeted, raising fears that local residents may be intimidated or threatened for flouting ‘Islamic rules’.

Photo David New / Daily Mail - UK

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Mail | UK
By  Rebecca Camber | July 29, 2011

Islamic extremists have launched a poster campaign across the UK proclaiming areas where Sharia law enforcement zones have been set up.

Communities have been bombarded with the posters, which read: ‘You are entering a Sharia-controlled zone – Islamic rules enforced.’

The bright yellow messages daubed on bus stops and street lamps have already been seen across certain boroughs in London and order that in the ‘zone’ there should be ‘no gambling’, ‘no music or concerts’, ‘no porn or prostitution’, ‘no drugs or smoking’ and ‘no alcohol’.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has claimed responsibility for the scheme, saying he plans to flood specific Muslim and non-Muslim communities around the UK and ‘put the seeds down for an Islamic Emirate in the long term’.

In the past week, dozens of streets in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham have been targeted, raising fears that local residents may be intimidated or threatened for flouting ‘Islamic rules’.

USA: Ramadan fast in summer brings challenges and rewards

"I just didn't understand what people were so focused on. They were running to this, they were running to that, trying to make a living. You realize that there's a whole different world, a spiritual world, that is so much a part of our lives that we get out of touch with."

Baitur Rehman Ahmadiyya Muslim Mosque, Silver Spring, MD
Photo: AlIslam.Org

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Partial
Source/Credit: Fredrick News-Post
By Blair Ames | July 30, 2011

Becoming more spiritually awakened is the purpose behind Ramadan, said Anser Ahmad, president of the Potomac and Frederick chapters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

"The keeping of a fast is much more than the physical exercise of not eating," he said.

Most Muslims that have completed the fast during Ramadan become more awake spiritually, have a better connection with their creator, and more sympathy for humanity, he said.

Preparing to fast

Indonesian court lets anti-Ahmadi mob perpetrators off 'lightly'

“The Cikeusik trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities like the Ahmadiyah will be treated lightly by the legal system. This is a sad day for justice in Indonesia.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune | AFP
By AFP | July 28, 2011

SERANG, INDONESIA: In what seems to have been a light sentence, an Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced religious fanatics who killed three members of the minority Ahmadiyah Muslim sect in a frenzied mob attack to between three and six months in jail.

Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who smashed a victim’s skull with a stone, received three months for manslaughter. While Idris bin Mahdani, who led the mob of more than 1,000 Muslims in the February attack, was convicted of illegal possession of a machete and received five months and 15 days in jail.

In SBY's Muslim Indonesia: Cikeusik: A Criminal Verdict

The sad truth is that Indonesia, despite its progress on so many fronts, still allows preachers of hate to foment criminal acts against others. In this upside-down world, Ahmadiyah followers can be killed for their belief that their prophet came after Mohammed. They are fair game.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By A. Lin Neumann | July 29, 2011

I still cannot get one sound from the Feb. 6 Cikeusik mob attack on a handful of Ahmadiyah followers out of my head. At some point the shouting and mayhem, which millions have seen on YouTube, seems to subside as a lifeless body in the mud is beaten with wooden staves. There follows a series of sickening wet slaps against the corpse as a crowd shouts in approval.

But that man and two other victims were not murdered, according to prosecutors who chose the lightest possible charges to throw up against the clearly identifiable suspects in the Banten province attack. On Thursday, a court made it official, handing out sentences of three to six months to 12 men accused of leading and carrying out the assault.

60 Years of the Geneva Refugee Convention: Europe must uphold its values

The EU certainly has the capacity to enlarge its share of responsibility for refugees and asylum seekers. At present, a truly common asylum system remains elusive, as significant differences persist among member states in their reception and treatment of asylum-seekers.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: The Malta Independent | Online
By  Cecilia Malmstrom and Antonio Guterres
Submitted by Laiq Ahmad Atif  | July 28, 2011

Sixty years after the signature of the Geneva Convention on Refugees, which has helped millions of men, women and children fleeing persecution, wars and torture, to secure protection and the prospect of a brighter future, the world remains scarred by conflicts new and old

Since the spring, we have seen more than a million people leave everything behind and flee the war in Libya. Although only a relatively small number have come to Europe, the images have shocked us all. Men, women and children putting their lives at risk in often unseaworthy boats, trying to cross the Mediterranean in rapidly variable weather - an unknown but large number drowning in the attempt.

Indonesia: Cikeusik Verdicts Met With Disbelief

The court handed down sentences of between three and six months in jail for each of the men, even though the charge of which they were found guilty carries a jail term of up to seven years.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Heru Andriyanto & Ulma Haryanto | July 29, 2011

Serang, Banten. A wave of condemnation greeted the lenient sentences handed down on Thursday to 12 men found guilty of attacking members of the minority Ahmadiyah group in Cikeusik, Banten, leaving three dead.

The district court in Serang, Banten’s capital, cleared the defendants of the primary charge of inciting hatred and mob violence, but found them guilty of “participation in a violent attack that resulted in casualties.”

The court handed down sentences of between three and six months in jail for each of the men, even though the charge of which they were found guilty carries a jail term of up to seven years.

Verdict in Indonesia: A Disturbing Blow to Religious Freedom and Pluralism

"...The recent escalation in attacks on religious minorities, particularly the Ahmadiyya, greatly detracts from Indonesia’s reputation as a multi-ethnic, multi-faith country of tolerance.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Freedom House | Release
By Press Release | July 28, 2011

Washington: The disproportionately lenient sentences handed down today by an Indonesian court against twelve people accused of brutally killing three members of the Ahmadiyya community sends a disturbing signal that religious minorities will not be adequately protected in Indonesia, according to Freedom House.

A court in Serang District, West Java sentenced the ten men and two boys to 3 to 6 months in prison today on a variety of assault charges, but stopped short of convicting them of murder. The charges stem from a February 2011 incident in which a mob of approximately 1,500 Islamic militants attacked an Ahmadiyya community in Cikeusik in the province of Banten, West Java, leaving three dead and at least five injured.

Indonesia: HRW slams Indonesian ruling on Ahmadi attack

“It’s outrageous that the prosecutors asked for a reduction in sentences on the basis that the Ahmadiyya filmed and distributed a video of the attack on their community. It is telling victims of serious crime that they should keep quiet rather than come forward.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AlterNet | Trust.Org
By Thin Lei Win | July 28, 2011

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – The short sentences imposed on Indonesian Muslims who attacked followers of the minority Ahmadiyya sect in February, leaving three dead and five seriously injured, are “a setback for religious freedom in Indonesia”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.

The rights group also called police investigation of the attack “woefully inadequate” and criticised both police and prosecutors for failing to present a compelling case against the accused.

On Thursday, the Serang district court in Java sentenced the 12 defendants to between three to six months in prison.

USA: No bail for Florida imam accused of aiding Terik-i-Taliban

The other three charged in the case, Ali Rehman, Alam Zeb and Amina Khan, were living in Pakistan when the indictment against them was handed down and are believed to be at large.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune | Reuters
By Reuters | Peter Cooney | July 27, 2011

MIAMI: A federal judge in Miami denied bail on Tuesday to a young Muslim cleric arrested in May on charges of financing and supporting the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

The judge cited flight risk and a potential threat to community safety in rejecting bail for Izhar Khan, 24, who has been charged along with his father and brother with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
The three Pakistani-born US citizens are among six charged in a US indictment with “supporting acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming in Pakistan and elsewhere” carried out by the Pakistani Taliban, which Washington calls a terrorist organization.

Poll: God's approval rating exceed that of Speaker Boehner

God's approval rating exceeded that of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, as well as both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, with each party receiving only a 33 percent approval rating.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post | RNS
By Jack Jenkins | RNS | July 27, 2011

Poll: God's Approval Rating Barely Breaks 50 Percent

WASHINGTON (RNS) More than half of U.S. voters approve of God's job performance, according to a new poll, making God more popular than all members of Congress.

The poll -- which was conducted by the Democratic research firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) -- surveyed 928 people and found that 52 percent of Americans approved of God's overall dealings, while only 9 percent disapproved.

Indonesia under fire for light sentences in Islamic sect attack | CNN

The most grievous charge, attack causing serious injuries, carried a maximum penalty of nine years. Prosecutors demanded a maximum seven months.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: CNN | World News
By Kathy Quiano, CNN | July 28, 2011

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- An Indonesian court Thursday convicted 12 Indonesians to sentences of six months or less for their roles in a mob attack that killed three followers of a minority Muslim sect.

The attack also injured five followers of the Ahmadiyah, a minority Muslim sect.

Critics decried the sentences as too light and a blow to religious freedom in Indonesia.

"This trial is obviously engineered. This is a case of torture, murder, where is the justice?" said Muhamad Ahmad, who was injured in the assault.

UK: Ahmadiyya community in Southfields condemns killings in Norway

The world Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who is based at the Fazl Mosque, in Southfields, said the killings served "no purpose other than to destroy the peace of a society and to bring devastation to the nation and the wider world".

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Your Local Guardian | Wandsworth
By Your Local Guardian | July 29, 2011

Ahmadiyya Muslim's have united in condemnation of the bomb and gun attacks which claimed 76 lives in Norway.

The world Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who is based at the Fazl Mosque, in Southfields, said the killings served "no purpose other than to destroy the peace of a society and to bring devastation to the nation and the wider world".

He said: "Just a few days ago a horrific incident occurred in Norway where scores people were killed in a bomb and gun attack.

Pakistan: Security Forces ‘Disappear’ Opponents in Balochistan

“Pakistan’s security forces are engaging in an abusive free-for-all in Balochistan as Baloch nationalists and suspected militants ‘disappear,’ and in many cases are executed. The national government has done little to end the carnage in Balochistan, calling into question its willingness or ability to control the military and intelligence agencies.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Human Rights Watch
By Press Release | July 28, 2011

Government Fails to Confront Military, Intelligence Agencies on Abuses

(New York) – Pakistan's government should immediately end widespread disappearances of suspected militants and activists by the military, intelligence agencies, and the paramilitary Frontier Corps in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Several of those “disappeared” were among the dozens of people extrajudicially executed in recent months in the resource-rich and violence-wracked province.

Malta: Former First Lady Mary Fenech Adami | Woman who lives on in people’s hearts

Mary Fenech Adami, a great person, highly respected and loved, was a real example of this, because she was a person who lived and no doubt lives in the hearts of thousands.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: Times of Malta | Online
By Laiq Ahmed Atif | July 28, 2011

Death is as real as life and death is an integral part of life. The life of a human being is limited on this earth and everyone has to leave this world to join the hereafter. It is true that death physically separates a person from its dear and loved ones but those who live in hearts cannot ever be separated from them.

Mary Fenech Adami, a great person, highly respected and loved, was a real example of this, because she was a person who lived and no doubt lives in the hearts of thousands.

The former First Lady lived her life with great determination, passion for serving others, feeling others’ pain and helping the needy. She dealt perfectly with her public as well as family life.

Indonesia: Troubling and Disappointing Verdict in Killing of Ahmadiyahs

Extremist groups also instigated violence against religious minorities and new provincial bans on Ahmadiyah practice have been put in place in East and West Java and South Sumatra. During the past several years, nearly 40 places of worship belonging to religious minorities were closed, either forcibly by extremist groups or through the denial of building permits by government officials.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The U.S. Comm. on Int'nl Religious Freedom
By USCIRF / Press Release | July 28, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today called the verdict in a February mob attack in Indonesia targeting Ahmadiyah Muslims “troubling and disappointing.”

 An Indonesian court sentenced the leader of the attack in Banten Province to 5 1/2 months in prison. Eleven others were convicted of lesser charges. Indonesian human rights groups called the sentence far too lenient and a blow to tolerance and religious freedom in Indonesia.

“This is a very troubling and disappointing verdict, and shows that Indonesia continues to struggle with extremism and intolerance in its midst," said Leonard Leo, USCIRF Chair.

Faith and freedom: UN experts set out tough rules on human rights

It has no enforcement mechanism, but countries generally prefer to avoid falling foul of the 18 jurists who all have reputations as strong-minded legal and human rights specialists ready to speak out on violations anywhere.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn Pakistan | Reuters
By Reuters | July 29, 2011

The UN’s Human Rights Committee said on Thursday that freedom of expression was a “meta-right” underpinning all human rights everywhere.

A long-awaited document from the panel of 18 jurists also said that freedom of opinion, and by extension religion, should not be restricted under any circumstances and warned governments that did so they would be violating a basic UN accord.

The independent experts set out their trenchant stance in a “general comment” on how parts of the UN’s Covenant on Civil and Political Rights should be interpreted and applied.

Indonesia: Sentence in Brutal Ahmadiyah Attack Case “Shocking”

“Today’s lenient sentences for these heinous crimes are shocking. Justice has not been served. The Indonesian government failed to prevent this attack. In fact, police officers stood by and watched as people were killed. It then failed to bring a solid case before the court that adequately reflects the harm caused.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Human Rights First
By HRF Press Release | July 28, 2011

New York, NY – An Indonesian court today handed down sentences ranging from three to six months of imprisonment for 12 defendants convicted of charges – including public incitement, property destruction, and assault leading to serious injury or death – stemming from a February case of deadly mob violence targeting members of the minority Ahmadiyah religion in Banten. In Indonesia, assault resulting in death carries a maximum of 12 years imprisonment. The case was among the religious-based violent incidences highlighted in a 2011 Human Rights First blasphemy report and in the organization’s intervention before the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in March.

Indonesia: Rights Group Slams Police, Prosecutors in Cikeusik Verdicts

Much of the attack on the Ahamadiyah home, which involved some 1,500 Islamist militants against about 20 Ahmadiyah members, was captured on video and posted on the Internet.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By TJG | July 28, 2011

A prominent rights organization said on Thursday that the light sentences handed down to 12 men involved in the deadly February attack on an Ahmadiyah community were a result of frustratingly weak efforts made by prosecutors and police investigating the case.

Human Rights Watch in a statement criticized the police and prosecutors, saying they did not conduct a thorough enough investigation, failed to call key eyewitnesses to the stand and erroneously blamed the Ahmadis for provoking the attack.

Faith and science: Islam and Miracles

...[P]re-Islamic Arabia had a primitive understanding of the universe. Islam, however, anticipated Einstein and Hubble’s discoveries more than 1,000 years prior.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Fingure Lake Times
By Sardar Anees Ahmad | June 24, 2011

In 1917, Einstein published his paper on general relativity, proving that the universe was expanding. Because of prevailing scientific views, however, Einstein rejected this notion and adjusted general relativity to conform to the prevailing view that the universe was static – not expanding. When, in 1929, Edwin Hubble literally showed (through advanced telescope technology) that the universe was expanding, Einstein not only believed it but added that his adjustment twelve years prior was, “the biggest blunder of my life.” What follows is an adaptation from the writings of Mirza Tahir Ahmad which argues that the event involving Einstein and Hubble can help identify a miracle.

Indonesia: Meager jail time for murderous raid on Ahmadiyya sect

Attacks on the sect have spiked in recent years and a group connected to this vigilante attack, the Islamic Defenders Front, has tried to portray the group as a scourge on Indonesian society.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Global Post
By Patrick Winn | July 28, 2011

Light sentence for videoed vigilantes: Meager jail time for murderous raid on hated Islamic sect

Though they were caught on video raiding a village and bludgeoning men to death, members of a Indonesian mob caught prison sentences of only five-to-seven months.

According to the Jakarta Globe, the raid's mastermind received a five-month sentence. Another teenager was sentenced to only three months despite widely circulated footage of him cracking a man's head with a stone.

How do you take part in or provoke killings, get caught on video doing it and basically get away with it?

Indonesian Mob Leaders Get Away with Murder

As hundreds of people prayed outside the Serang District Court, the leader, Idris bin Mahdani, was convicted of nothing more than illegal possession of a machete. He was jailed for five months and 15 days. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Asia Sentinel | News
By Asia Sentinel Correspondent | July 28, 2011

District court hands out slaps on the wrist for religious fanatics who murdered sect members in February

In what Human Rights Watch called “a sad day for Indonesia,’ a court Thursday gave astonishingly light sentences to religious fanatics who led a frenzied mob on that killed three members of the Ahmadiyah sect on video to between three and six months in jail.

An estimated 1,000 Muslims descended on the Ahmadiyah compound in the western Java town of Cikeusik in Banten province in February. The videotape, shot secretly, went viral across the world, showing the mob running down three men as they fled for their lives and beating them to death with rocks and sticks.

Al Jazeera: Believers or heretics? The battle between mainstream Muslims and the Ahmadiyya community

Currently, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws prohibit Ahmaddiyas from calling themselves Muslim, proselytising in the country, or referring to their places of worship as mosques. Human rights activists say Ahmadiyyas face discrimination in education, jobs, and housing in addition to physical violence and legal action under that country's blasphemy laws.

An Ahmadi man mourns for the lost loved ones in Lahore terrorist attack

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Al Jazeera | AJStream
By Al Jazeera | July 27, 2011

In response to requests from our [Al Jazeera] online community, we are focusing on the Ahmaddiya Muslim community.

The ongoing battle between Ahmaddiyas and mainstream Muslims has gone largely unreported in the mainstream media. It's based on the Ahmaddiya belief that their founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was a Prophet and Messiah sent by God to save the world. Mainstream Muslims consider that heretical because they believe Muhammad was the last Prophet. So are the Ahmaddiyas believers or heretics?

Indonesia draws criticism over light sentences for sect killings

'The EU Delegation shares the strong concerns voiced by many Indonesians that sentences imposed for violent crimes against religious or other minorities should always be commensurate with the gravity of the crimes committed."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Monsters And Critics
By Deutsche Presse-Agentur | July 28, 2011

Jakarta - Indonesia drew international criticism on Thursday as a court handed down light sentences to 12 men convicted in connection with the killing of three followers of the Ahmadiyya Muslim sect.

The court in the western Java city of Serang sentenced the defendants to between three and six months for the February attack, in which dozens of Muslim radicals raided a house and killed three members of the minority sect.

Indonesia: 6 months for Ahmadiyah riot organizers that brutally killed three

Three Ahmadiyah members were savagely beaten to death by an unruly mob of Islamic hard-liners in Cikeusik, Banten in February.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post | Jakarta
By TJP | National | July 28, 2011

Twelve men were sentenced on Thursday to three to six months’ imprisonment for various charges, starting from limited involvement to masterminding the riot that led to the deaths of 3 minority Ahmadiyah sect members in Banten.

Three panels of judges at the Serang District Court levied six month sentences on Kh. Ujang Arif bin Abuya, Kh Muhammad Munir, Kh Endang, the local clerics who masterminded the fatal riot, and on Adam Damini bin Arman, Ujang Bin Sohari and Muhammad bin Syarif.

Indonesia: Ahmadiyya killings verdicts will not stem discrimination

In September 2010, Indonesia's Minister of Religion, Suryadharma Ali, called for the Ahmadiyya to be banned. Several provinces across Indonesia have also brought in local regulations restricting the group’s activities.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Amnesty International
By AI | July 28, 2011

The verdicts imposed against 12 people accused of killing three members of the Ahmadi community in Indonesia, show that religious minorities face ongoing discrimination, Amnesty International said today.

Earlier today, a court in Serang District, West Java sentenced 10 men and two boys to three to six months’ imprisonment for their involvement in the killing of three Ahmadis.

Three members of the Ahmadiyya community were beaten to death on 6 February this year when a 1,000 strong mob wielding rocks, machetes, swords and spears stormed the house of an Ahmadi leader in Cikeusik, West Java.

USA: Atheist group sues over cross at Sept. 11 museum

The cross days has been blessed by a Catholic priest and brought from a temporary home to a spot north of the memorial where it will become part of the museum's permanent collection.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AJC | The Associated Press | CNN
By Colleen Long, AP | I. Jattala | July 27, 2011

NEW YORK — A group representing atheists says the installation of a cross-shaped beam at the Sept. 11 museum is unconstitutional.

Joe Daniels, 9/11 Memorial president, says, according to CNN, that the cross is "an important part of our commitment to bring back the authentic physical reminders that tell the history of 9/11 in a way nothing else could.

The American Atheists filed the suit in Manhattan State Supreme Court on Wednesday claiming the museum is a public institution and should not reflect a specific religion. The group asks for a judge to either order the cross removed or order that other religions be represented equally.

Memorial President Joe Daniels says the museum's mission is to tell the history of Sept. 11 through artifacts like the cross.

However, the American Atheists said in a press statement that the “government enshrinement of the cross was an impermissible mingling of church and state.”

Faith and Science: Quantum Theory And God

The fact is that on a large scale, such as that of the observable physical world, nature is comprehensible and largely fixed. However, quantum mechanics implies there is a limit to which man can understand reality. In other words, the universe is indeterminable to some degree.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Finger Lakes Times
By Sardar Anees Ahmad | July 23, 2011

One of the world’s greatest scientists, Albert Einstein was asked to opine on various fields of knowledge – including God. Einstein considered himself a strict determinist, meaning he believed God created the universe but that God did not answer prayers or intervene in human affairs. Einstein’s views resulted from his own remarkable scientific discoveries – discoveries that spurred great technological advancements and reinforced Einstein’s views on God. My colleague, Dr. Zia Shah, recently pointed out that science itself would, ironically, debunk Einstein’s determinism.

In the early 1900s, physicist Werner Heisenberg would find himself struggling with a problem in Neil Bohr’s model of the atom.

USA: Presidential Hopeful Herman Cain's Muslim Apology Leaves Unanswered Questions

Left unresolved by this statement though is whether Cain has changed his mind on the specific discriminatory policy positions he claimed to support. Would he still require Muslims to take special loyalty oaths to serve in his cabinet? Does he still believe religious freedom doesn't apply to Muslim places of worship?

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Faith in Public Life | Blog
By Nick | July 27, 2011

After meeting with a group of Muslim leaders in Northern Virginia, Herman Cain has issued an apology for his past anti-Islam comments:

"While I stand by my opposition to the interference of shariah law into the American legal system, I remain humble and contrite for any statements I have made that might have caused offense to Muslim Americans and their friends," he said in the statement. "I am truly sorry for any comments that may have betrayed my commitment to the U.S. Constitution and the freedom of religion guaranteed by it." 

Left unresolved by this statement though is whether Cain has changed his mind on the specific discriminatory policy positions he claimed to support. Would he still require Muslims to take special loyalty oaths to serve in his cabinet? Does he still believe religious freedom doesn't apply to Muslim places of worship?

Indonesia: Court Delivers Light Sentences in Ahmadiyah Mob Killings

Three sect members were killed and at least eight were injured in the assault, in which the mob surrounded a house and attacked its 21 occupants with planks and machetes.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Voice of America
By VOA | July 28th, 2011

A court in Indonesia has handed sentences of less than six months to two men for their roles in an mob attack that killed three members of a minority religious sect.

Human rights groups criticized the sentences, saying they were far too lenient to discourage future violence by religious extremists.

The court Thursday gave a three-month sentence for manslaughter to Dani bin Misra, a 17-year-old who was seen in a widely distributed video striking a man in the head with a large stone as he lay on the ground. Idris bin Mahdani, who led about 1,000 people in the mob attack, received five and a half months for illegal possession of a machete.