Sebastian Farmborough is a photographer with a mission: To clear up misconceptions surrounding the Middle East. Armed with his camera and the belief that the Muslim world is severely misunderstood, Sebastian sets out on a photographic project to capture a subject that has been the topic of debates for as long as we can remember: the veil.

He was born and educated in England, but having lived in different countries around the world, Sebastian has bred a love for languages and diverse cultures. Here, he talks about one of his works, ‘An Emerging Mystery’. The photograph has gone viral with almost 20,000 hits from 133 different countries.

Toonari Post (TP): What inspired you to capture this portrait?

Sebastian Farmborough (SF): The image itself was inspired by one of my very first experiences in Saudi Arabia. I headed down to the Arabian Gulf for a dip and there, I became mesmerized by something black and obscure out at sea. It looked like a huge jellyfish. Then, as it approached, I realized that it was in fact a woman.

It was such an overwhelming experience that I just had to capture it for myself. It is entitled ‘An Emerging Mystery’ and I feel as though it is extremely symbolic of the Muslim women’s increasing prominence in the world.

TP: What was your main aim in producing the picture?

SF: Having lived in Saudi Arabia for 3 years and having had some wonderful experiences, I became really fed up of seeing the Saudi veil portrayed in such a degrading way in the Western media. I wanted to produce an image that would convey the beauty and dignity of their women, whilst at the same time respecting their cultural and religious beliefs.

TP: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the veil?

SF: The largest Western misconception is that women are forced to wear it when in fact, most women choose to. With particular reference to Saudi Arabia, it is important to note that the young men are not used to seeing women exposing parts of their body, so should women do so, they run the risk of attracting an awful lot of unwanted attention. I think it is important for Westerners to realize that this is indeed a different world, one which cannot be easily compared to theirs.

Apparently, in the past, it was different. Women typically covered less as they lived in small communities, largely composed of their families. I can imagine that the rapid development and necessity to incorporate themselves into city life must have come as quite a shock. With this considered, it seems quite understandable that a conservative society would encourage greater precaution amongst their women.

TP: How do you intend for the photo to clear up these misconceptions?

SF: I hope that my image can intrigue and encourage Westerners to be more open-minded, while at the same time please those for whom it is both a natural and common occurrence. This is not the face of terrorism, this is a representation of Muslim women as a whole, strong and confident, emerging and progressing into this developed world.

TP: How has the reaction to ‘An Emerging Mystery’ been?

SF: I have received e-mails from women expressing how much the image means to them, and even a lovely e-mail from a Saudi princess. Some Saudi women have even used it as a background to their phones. This image was for them, so I find it enormously fulfilling that they identify with the lady in the water.

Having said this, not every reaction has been a positive one. Some people have become rather enraged, claiming that it is sexual in nature. Though that was never my intention, it is of course enormously difficult to please everyone, particularly where differing cultural perceptions are concerned.

TP: What is in store in the future for your photographic project?

SF: I would love to return to Saudi Arabia and produce a collection of photographs to illustrate the positive aspects of the kingdom. Only negative stories seem to get through in the Western media and I hope that in my lifetime I will be able to do something to redress the balance somewhat. In actual fact, there are many things that we Westerners could learn from Saudis and it would be a real pleasure to convey these to a Western public.

More of Sebastian Farmborough’s work can be found here.

Image Courtesy of Sebastian Farmborough

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The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) in Dubai has announced a plan to convert a mosque to the first eco-friendly mosque in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the Khaleej Times newspaper, the project will cost 25 million UAE dirhams or 6.81 million USD.

The eco-friendly mosque is expected to save about 20 percent of water and power consumption. The normal consumption of water in the mosques is about three liters per person a day while the normal consumption of electricity in the mosques is about  250 kilo watts per square meter a year. Adding to eco-friendly conversion, the mosque would extend to about 9,754.82 square meters (105,000 square feet), making it the largest mosque in Dubai.

After the modifications, the mosque would accommodate about 3,500 worshipers at the same time. The roof of the mosque would be gardened to reduce the sun heat; additionally, it will use the solar energy to heat ablution water. The ablution is an Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body by using water to be prepared for prayer. The recycling plant within the mosque facilities will take the used ablution water for gardening and washroom use. The mosque will be constructed by eco-friendly materials to avoid non-biodegradable waste. It will also use an automatic thermostat to keep cool without wasting energy and will use natural light.

According to the Khaleej Times, Mr. Tayeb Abdulrahman Al Rais, Secretary-General of the AMAF, said: “The construction of the mosque is in line with the UAE leadership’s vision towards the conservation of resources, environment protection, and the adoption of green practices. With the global call for energy conservation, it is essential for developers to take responsibility for creating buildings that comply with green standards. The mosque project complies with best practices in corporate governance, while being transparent and gaining the validation of Awqaf, government and private institutions.”

In the neighboring city, Abu Dhabi’s General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments department approved the plan of an eco-friendly mosque to be built within Saadiyat Island. The design was made by Suhail Mohammed Suleiman, a graduate architecture student at Al-Hosn University. This initiative is not the first in the mosque-building field. In 2008, the Islamic community in Manchester opened Masjid-E-Noor, which was the first partially eco-friendly mosque in the world. The mosque was built with wood from renewable sources.  It also possessed solar panels to generate electricity.

In 2010, the Muslim community in Cambridge opened the first fully operated eco-friendly mosque. The mosque was designed by the award-winning architecture company, Marks Barfield, who designed a lot of projects in the UK and in the world, such as London Eye and Kew Treetop Walk.

Additionally, in 2010, eco-friendly mosques were opened in Buyukeceli village, which is in the Mersin province of Turkey. The mosques were opened by the residents of the village to protest having a nuclear plant there. This action was taken to show the government that there are many renewable sources that generate clean energy and are preferable to a nuclear plant.

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The Human Rights Watch Group has been working with Dhaka, a global human rights group, in an effort to convince Bangladesh to take in more Myanmar Refugees. Dhaka is urging Bangladesh to keep its borders open to the refugees of Myanmar, who are seeking refuge from the violence going on in western Myanmar. Additionally, according to the Associated Press, “New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Bangladesh should also allow independent humanitarian agencies free and unfettered access to the border areas.”

Both groups got involved after word got out that Bangladesh turned away approximately 1,000 Muslims that came over in three boats. By doing this, “Bangladesh is putting lives at grave risk,” said Bill Frelick, Refugee Programme director at Human Rights Watch. Frelick also added, “Bangladesh has an obligation under international law to keep its border open to people fleeing threats to their lives and provide them protection.”

The violence is Myanmar has escalated between minority Muslims (known as Rohingyas) and Buddhists. As the tension grows between the two religious groups, hundreds of homes have been burned in Myanmar.

While Frelick believes it is Bangladesh’s duty to help these refugees, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni of Myanmar disagrees. At a news conference in the country’s capital, Dhaka, he stated, “it was not in Bangladesh’s interest to accept any refugees because the impoverished country’s resources already are strained.”

Buddhists are outraged about the Rohingyas living in Myanmar, claiming that the Royingyas are illegal immigrants and should be denied citizenship. Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, “Bangladesh says Rohingya have been living in Myanmar for centuries and should be recognized there as citizens.”

Not knowing where to go or turn, Rohingyas are turning to Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese opposition politician and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Burma, to help end their persecution.

According to the Sunday Times Newspaper in Sri Lanka, “Bangladesh, which shares a 200-km (125-mile) border with Myanmar, is home to an estimated 300,000 Rohingya refugees, about a tenth of whom live in squalid conditions in UN-assisted camps.”

Mohammad Islam, leader of Rohingya refugees living in Nayapara camp in the Bangladesh border town of Teknaf, stated, “in her [Suu Kyi] first visit outside Myanmar in 24 years, Suu Kyi last month met thousands of Myanmar refugees now living in a Thai border camp. She promised to try as much as she could to help them return home, vowing not to forget them.” Islam added, “we heard the relations between the government and Suu Kyi have mended and there are now reforms sweeping the country. But for Rohingya, these changes mean nothing.”

Still Suu Kyi is hopeful and has no plans of giving up on the refugees.

“I would like to do my best for the interests of the people,” she said.

Image Courtesy of  Zzvet / Shutterstock.com

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Over the course of the years since its independence from the British empire in 1947, Pakistan has tried to establish itself as a Muslim state that borders in between a liberal one and a more conservative Islamic country. The attempt at trying to find the right balance to accommodate the opposing viewpoints have led to some clashes, including the buzz of Maya Khan, a Pakistani morning talk show host who has taken it upon herself to chase down unmarried couples in local parks and publicizing their actions on a local TV channel. A relationship before marriage is largely frowned upon and is deemed immoral in the Islamic point of view.

Mehreen Kasana, an American/Pakistani student and a TEDxKinnaird speaker based in Lahore was outraged by Maya Khan’s action. Even though this incident happened a few months ago, Mehreen Kasana, a member of the younger generation of Pakistan has spoken out and stood up as part of the more liberal side of Pakistan by writing an open letter to Maya Khan.

Toonari Post (TP): What was your main reason behind writing the letter? Why did you feel compelled to even write one?

Mehreen Kasana (MK): I’ll put it bluntly: I had seen way too much of intrusion by media into personal lives on TV, newspapers and social media outlets, and I thought it’s about time I did my part even if it meant like jotting down a simple, open letter to one of these people who should display regard for ethics and privacy.

TP: Did you expect the the letter to go viral?

MK: No. I never knew a serious, slightly angry letter would garner so much attention. I guess I hit a nerve somewhere. I’m glad it did.

TP: Do you feel that your views might be influenced by the fact that you were born and raised in the USA?

MK: Yes and no. While there is considerable respect for personal space and privacy in the US where I was raised, there are ample instances of the same in Pakistan and other places in the subcontinent but, like I’ve said before, that regard is unfortunately rejected by a certain type of self-righteous moral police that believe that the sole purpose of their existence is to dictate what is perfect conduct according to them.

In this dictation they completely forget that the religion (Islam in this case) they’re using as an excuse to carry out this invasion of privacy, is the same religion that places emphasis on hiding the flaws of others, leaving private affairs between said person and Allah only. I think this problem is one of the consequences of conflating culture with religion. In the cultures of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, there are some men and women who believe that the ‘goodness’ of their character is determined by their ability to cleanse society of its ‘evil.’  Imagine if such a figure is given a microphone, camera and their very own morning talk show. Things can get messy.

TP: What is your personal view on unmarried couples hanging out in such public places?

MK: If you want my take on simple, unmarried couples taking walks in public parks or eating vanilla ice cream, it’s simple: Please let them be. One of the driving concerns of Maya Khan’s interrogation of the couple was that, according to her, perhaps they were indulging in sex trafficking. I understand that because it has happened in family parks and, yes, this is detrimental to the safety of the people (including children) in those parks but you can seek the help of law for that. Public vigilantism is not the way to go about it.

TP: Do you think that Pakistan is ready for more strictly imposed Islamic laws as they have in Saudi Arabia, whereby unmarried couples can be caught and fined?

MK: That’s enforcing Islamic law on everyone – including minorities that don’t follow these restrictions basically because they’re not Muslims to begin with. That’s wrong. In my opinion, no one should be penalized merely due to a theocratic state’s set of laws. It’s an infringement on their autonomy – something that is un-Islamic. While there are people in Pakistan who would happily endorse such a punishment, there are also a considerable number of people – including Muslims like yours truly – who oppose it.

TP: What do your friends and family think of the open letter? How has the public response been?

MK: I’ve received immense support and positive criticism after I wrote the letter along with some angry trolling too. It opened ways for dialogue concerning Islam, societal ethics, the obvious deteriorating state of professional journalism in Pakistan and a lot more. My mother laughed while reading the letter because she knew it took a lot for me to contain my disdain for invasive media.  My father has been my pillar despite our difference of opinion on religion, culture, politics, etc. He also supported the letter.

Unlike many Pakistani fathers, he refuses to give in to the public outcry that is, “Your daughter has brought shame to your family by having a male friend!” We’re from a very traditional family of landlords. The idea of a liberated, outspoken daughter is dangerous because the orthodox concept of ‘honor’ clashes with progressive, moderate followers of Islam – what we happen to be. There were some threats from the fans of Maya Khan. Someone said they’ll “show up at my college” and “teach me a lesson.” I waited for the lesson. It never came.

TP: If there is one thing you could say to Maya Khan, what would it be?

MK: Bearing no grudges against you, I am certain that you’ve realized you made a mistake by chasing those couples but I hope that, now that you’ve started another show, you’ll rise above your error and become someone worth admiring in terms of media ethics. Channel that energy for a good, legitimate cause.

For more of Mehreen Kasana, visit her personal blog.

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London, UK – A British Muslim community has set out plans to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with street parties, lighting up of mosques throughout the UK, feeding the homeless and a launch of 200 special Diamond Jubilee buses across London – a unique contribution to this historic event.

Ahmadiyya Muslims will play the national anthem in street parties across 30 towns and cities from London to Glasgow. In Birmingham for example the celebrations will feature the Royal Navy band playing the national anthem at the mosque and congratulatory messages being read out in 60 languages by local community representatives.

There will also be special prayers for The Queen at 100 mosques and prayer halls belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – one of the oldest Islamic groups in Britain.

The community has also launched a special edition of the book ‘A Gift for the Queen’ written by their founder, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

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

“In the history of the British monarch there have only been two diamond Jubilees, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have been involved with both.

“We share in our country’s pride and joy at Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. It is our heartfelt prayer that may God continue to protect the Queen and we look forward to the festivities of the Jubilee weekend and to make them as inclusive as possible.

“As Muslims, we are duty bound to serve Queen and country and we regard this as an important part of our religion as we were taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that loyalty to one’s country is a part of faith.”

In addition, Ahmadi Muslims will:

- Take part in the Big Lunch on 3rd June

- Light up all its mosques across the UK

- Say special prayers for the Queen on 1st June

- Feed the Homeless – 10,000 will benefit from this endeavour

- Hold charity walks to raise GBP400,000 for the Queen’s charities

- Fundraise through the community’s women’s network

- Organise blood donation sessions

- Hold interfaith symposia throughout the UK

A charity walk by thousands of community members around the Tower of London has already raised tens of thousands of pounds for the Queen’s Jubilee charities.

London buses with the special Diamond Jubilee poster also feature the peace campaign website for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Image Courtsey of  Pacificnw.co.uk

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Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) announced  a national Shariah education campaign to promote religious freedom and combat Islamophobia. ICNA’s campaign, Defending Religious Freedom, Understanding Shariah, will include a 25 city education tour to introduce the Islamic faith to the American public.

ICNA is also promoting awareness through a public service announcement campaign, billboards across the country, college campus seminars, radio ads and a national hotline dedicated to addressing questions about Shariah and the Islamic faith.

Outreach has already started, including a seminar in Pittsburgh, billboards and radio ads in Kansas Cityand public service announcements in San Francisco. The next scheduled event will be in Miami on March 10th, followed by Washington, D.C. on March 27th and Los Angeles on April 17th. More dates will be announced shortly.

The campaign will include these elements:

• Shariah education and interfaith events, town hall forums and activities in 25 cities including New York City, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Kansas City, Detroit and Hartford
• Billboards in 15-20 cities nationwide including Kansas City, New Jersey, New York (near the Lincoln Tunnel, seen by 120,000 people each day), Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami
• 40 national ICNA chapters mobilized, including thousands of volunteers
• National hotline dedicated to answering questions about Shariah and the Islamic faith. The toll-free number is: 1-855-SHARIAH
• A public service announcement campaign distributed and aired in 20 cities nationally
• Seminars on 20 college campuses including George Washington University, Bradley University,George Mason, and University of Delaware in March and April
• Radio ads aired in approximately 20 cities nationally
• Local media outreach by trained spokespeople and leaders from 30-35 ICNA chapters across the country
• ICNA annual convention in Hartford, CT, during Memorial Day weekend, attracting over fifteen thousand people as it did last year

“The First Amendment guarantees religious freedom for every citizen. Muslim Americans are asking for the same fundamental rights to observe Shariah, a component of the Islamic faith, in our personal, familial and religious affairs within the boundaries of the United States Constitution and all local, state and federal laws.” says Dr. Zahid H Bukhari, President, Islamic Circle of North America.

In each city visited on the “Defending Religious Freedom, Understanding Shariah” education tour, ICNA plans to hold town hall events that foster positive discourse about religious freedom and the state of Islamophobia in our country. The plan is to clear up common misconceptions about Shariah and the Islamic faith and present the facts through open dialogue with Americans of all faiths.

“ICNA is making an honest attempt to reach out and connect to our fellow Americans and introduce them to our Islamic faith,” says Naeem Baig, Vice President of ICNA Public Affairs. ”We see it as our responsibility to clarify misconceptions about American Muslims.”

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In July 2004, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg presided over a celebratory signing ceremony at City Hall for a new law that banned the NYPD from racial or religious profiling. Advocates gushed. The mayor hailed the new law.

“Racial profiling will not be tolerated in our city,” Bloomberg declared after reading the law’s definition of racial profiling, which includes religion. “New York City is home to 8 million people of every race, ethnicity and religion from all over the world.”

Fast-forward to the present, and the NYPD has come under fire for spying on the Muslim community in the city and beyond, including using informants to prepare reports on political speech at mosques and dispatching undercover officers to map Muslim-owned businesses in Newark, N.J.

The activities seem to counter at least the spirit of the law. So, why hasn’t there been an investigation or enforcement?

The answer may lie in the text of the law itself, which experts say is vaguely worded and lacks a clear enforcement mechanism. Further, there appears to be little political will among city and state officials and prosecutors to go after the NYPD over profiling.

“The racial profiling law, to me, does not appear to be worth the paper it’s written on,” says Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYPD officer and prosecutor who is now a professor of police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York.

O’Donnell and others point to the section of the law defining profiling. Here it is:

an act of a member of the force of the police department or other law enforcement officer that relies on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin as the determinative factor in initiating law enforcement action against an individual, rather than an individual’s behavior or other information or circumstances that links a person or persons of a particular race, ethnicity, religion or national origin to suspected unlawful activity.

Those two bold-face phrases are at the heart of the matter. The law does not define either phrase. “The word ‘determinative’ – what does that actually mean?” asks O’Donnell.

“The devil is in the details, and it all boils down to how we define profiling,” says Udi Ofer, advocacy director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “Right now, the definition is very weak. ”

That may be by design. The original version of the bill drafted by the city council defined racial profiling somewhat differently — it focused on the NYPD’s practice of “stop and frisk,” and it outlined specific penalties. Officers could have their leave reduced, be ordered to do community service, and be suspended or fired for violating the law. But the final version was watered down, reportedly following objections by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. The measure was “reduced from a toughly worded proposal several pages long to a single paragraph,” the Associated Press noted at the time.

“Unless there’s an explicit enforcement provision, it’s difficult to enforce laws,” Ofer says. On Wednesday, City Councilman Jumaane Williams introduced a tougher anti-profiling bill, which outlines how victims of profiling can sue the city.

The city and state officials who might investigate have so far declined to do so or aren’t commenting.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last week said he would not to look into the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims, citing ”significant legal and investigative obstacles.” Asked by ProPublica about potential violations of the 2004 law, the office of New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance declined to comment. The office of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, which plays a watchdog role for city residents, also declined to comment on the surveillance of Muslims by the NYPD.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder did say this week that the Justice Department is beginning to review whether to investigate possible civil rights violations by the NYPD.

The 2004 anti-profiling law has apparently not yet come up in court, so there is no precedent that might offer clarity on its phrasing. “The 2004 law, as far I know, has never been used in terms of someone claiming in court that it’s been violated,” Ofer says.

As we noted earlier this week, the NYPD’s activity also raises questions about potential constitutional violations and other rules that govern police investigations.

Bloomberg’s office and the NYPD did not respond to requests for comment. The mayor recently maintained that the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims is “legal” and “constitutional,” though he has not repeated his earlier claim that the NYPD merely follows threats and leads, and does not consider religion.

by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, March 2, 2012, 12:53 p.m.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanprogress/

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Britain is among the safest places for people to worship freely and in peace, an Islamic leader has said at the opening of a new GBP900,000 mosque in Feltham, west London.

His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Caliph of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, made the remarks before MPs, councillors and worshippers at the new Baitul Wahid Mosque. His comments were broadcast around the world via the community’s own satellite channel.

In the wake of attacks on mosques and other places of worship by hardline fanatics in a number of countries including Pakistan and Indonesia, he spoke about his admiration for British values of justice and equality.

Speaking about how planning permission for the mosque was granted upon appeal, His Holiness said:

“Ultimately we were granted permission to build this mosque and this was because, as I have said many times, that here in the UK the system of governance is just and one which affords citizens their due rights. We, who are Ahmadi Muslims, always pray that God Almighty enables just and fair governments to be established throughout the world.”

The Caliph highlighted how acts of revenge following burnings of the Holy Quran were sheer acts of criminality that ran counter to the very teachings of the book that zealots claimed to ‘defend’. His Holiness said:

“The Qur’an calls for the establishment of peace. It calls on Muslims to act compassionately towards all of mankind.”

And he highlighted the fact that the establishment of places of worship augmented peace in the community:

“This Mosque has been built only for the worship of God, and as a means to develop love, affection and peace. We have no other purpose, and we never will. Any true Muslim can never desire injustices or suffering for any other person because that would run entirely contrary to what the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) have taught.”

The National President of the UK branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mr Rafiq Hayat, said:

“We welcome this ringing endorsement of the purpose of mosques, which is to instil inner peace and to spread a message of peace.

“That is why the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is active in cities across Britain to raise funds for charities and to hold interfaith activities, blood donation drives and to serve our neighbours. We are also in the midst of a nationwide peace campaign to counter Islamophobia and highlight Islam’s message of Love for All, Hatred for None.”

Mary Macleod, MP for Brentford & Isleworth, offered her support for the wide ranging work being undertaken by Ahmadi Muslims and praised the community’s role towards building a peaceful society. Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham & Heston, highlighted the interfaith work of the community and said that the community’s values were an example for others.

The Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Amrit Mann, called the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Hounslow ‘a model community’. He praised the community’s motto of ‘Love for All, Hatred for None’ and its commitment to humanitarian efforts. Mr Jagdish Sharma, MBE, Leader of Hounslow Borough Council, said Ahmadi Muslims had the distinction of being ‘law abiding and tolerant’.

The mosque was funded entirely from donations for the community itself with some members donating tens of thousands of pounds.

Contact:

Basharat Nazir media@ahmadiyya.org.uk Tel +44-7703-483-384

Mr Zaheer Khan +44-7768-336-873

http://www.loveforallhatredfornone.org

http://www.alislam.org

The article Britain Exemplary Place for Freedom of Faith According to Islamic Leader appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the New York Post to apologize for publishing a political cartoon that the Muslim civil rights group says “evokes anti-Semitic themes” through its depiction of hook-nosed terrorists objecting to the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) widespread campaign of spying on Muslims without warrants or evidence of wrongdoing.

View the cartoon:
http://tinyurl.com/7s6llpm

CAIR is also asking American Muslims and other people of conscience to contact the newspaper and to politely ask that they apologize for the offensive cartoon. E-Mail: letters@nypost.com, Copy to:info@cair.com

The cartoon by Sean Delonas was published Friday in the Post and shows the turban-wearing, hook-nosed terrorists preparing bombs and weapons in an apartment, with an NYPD vehicle in the street. One of the terrorists is depicted on the phone with The Associated Press news agency, and says: “Hello, AP Press?. . .I’d like to register a complaint against the N.Y.P.D. for spying on us.”

The cartoonist’s reference is to a series of Associated Press investigative articles exposing the NYPD’s spying on Muslim individuals, students, businesses, and religious institutions –- a campaign that has been condemned as unconstitutional by American Muslim and civil liberties groups.

Video: NJ Muslims Condemn NYPD Spying (CAIR)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ioUX1-h5Y

CAIR-NJ: Muslims Denounce ‘Complete Betrayal’ of NYPD Surveillance
http://tinyurl.com/6msj2z3

NYPD Spying Program Aimed at Muslims
http://tinyurl.com/6sf8myz

“This offensive and inaccurate political cartoon evokes anti-Semitic themes that would be recognized by any historian of pre-war Nazi Germany,” said Zead Ramadan, board president of CAIR’s New York chapter. “The cartoon is not only offensive in its portrayal of a religious minority; it is also inaccurate in its depiction of those targeted by the NYPD spy campaign in that there is no evidence that those monitored were suspected of wrongdoing of any kind.”

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR’s E-Mail List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/cairtv 

Image Courtesy of     http://www.flickr.com/photos/icpja2/

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The producers of The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America have a direct response to media outlets that have referred to the critically-acclaimed documentary as an “anti-Islam” or “hateful” film.

“Claims that The Third Jihad is an anti-Islam film are ignorant and misinformed,” says Raphael Shore, Producer of The Third Jihad. “These claims are meant simply to defame the filmmakers and prevent the public from judging the film for themselves.”

The film opens with the following frame in bold letters for all viewers to read: “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are radical.” The film’s message urges the Muslim community to look within itself to root out the indoctrination that affects a minority of Muslims.

Narrator Dr. Zuhdi Jasser

“The New York Times and other media outlets are conveniently choosing to overlook the fact that the film isolates a small sector of the Muslim community, and more importantly that the film is narrated by Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, the founder and president of the American-Islamic Forum for Democracy [http://www.aifdemocracy.org ],” Shore added.

Dr. Jasser is a devout Muslim and a full-time physician and has served the United States of America admirably as medical officer in the US Navy and as an attending physician to the US Congress.

The documentary is founded on credible evidence presented by the FBI of a ‘Manifesto’ published by radicals calling for the implementation of extremist ideology-both violent and politicized-within the United States.

Yet the media are blasting the film’s usage by the New York Police Department in their counterterrorism training.

“There is a very good reason the NYPD selected to show The Third Jihad to nearly 1,500 police officers, and other law enforcement agencies have done the same,” Shore said. “The film deals with the very real process of radicalization and indoctrination of anti-American ideology taking place in some sectors of the Muslim community today.”

While many media outlets are presently taking a noticeably negative stance – before even watching the film – the film has been spotlighted in over 100 interviews since its release in 2009.

The film’s narrator, Zuhdi Jasser, has consistently appeared in mainstream media outlets including MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, and has published Op-Eds in numerous mainstream publications including the Wall Street Journal to point out concerning trends within the Muslim community.

Experts

Jasser is not the only credible expert to appear in The Third Jihad, nor is NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

The film’s producers conducted exclusive interviews with:

-Former Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge,

- Former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey

- Former NYC Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

- Former Associate Director of the FBI

- Former FBI Asst. Dir. of Public Affairs John Miller

- Senator Joseph Lieberman

- Professor Bernard Lewis

- New York Times Best-selling Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali

- Former CIA Officer Clare Lopez

- Former CIA Officer Wayne Simmons

- New York Times Best-selling Author Mark Steyn

- And more (http://tinyurl.com/about3J)

Screenings

Since its release in 2009, The Third Jihad has screened and continues to be screened at several hundred locations across the United States including at the Library of Congress, Museum of Tolerance, Directors’ Screen Guild, and the National Press Club.

The film previously aired on cable television’s AmericanLife TV Network, and is currently available on Netflix and Amazon OnDemand.

Praise

The film has also received notable praise from some of the nation’s leading policy makers.

“It is imperative that The Third Jihad reaches a mass audience in the U.S. so that the urgency of this threat becomes clear to the American public,” declared US Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee.

Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (AZ) said, “The Third Jihad alerts Americans to the dangers of Islamic radicalization in our own communities. Zuhdi Jasser is sounding the alarm before it is too late.”

Rudy Giuliani called the film, “a wake up call for America.”

“Those that have blasted the film are attempting to stifle an important debate about the internal state of the Muslim community in America, and whether politicized Islam and indoctrination pose tangible security threats,” Shore added.

“We hope that the general public will consider the sensitive content in the film, and will not simply accept the baseless innuendos being made in the media. We invite the general public to watch and judge the documentary for themselves.”

The Third Jihad is now available for free viewing online at http://www.thethirdjihad.com.

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on Mayor Richard Meehan of Ocean City, Md., to reconsider his speaking invitation to retired Lieutenant General William G. “Jerry” Boykin, who believes that “[Islam] should not be protected under the First Amendment” and that there should be “no mosques in America.” Boykin is scheduled to speak at the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on January 26.

In a letter he emailed to Mayor Meehan, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper wrote in part:

“We question the appropriateness of this choice for an official event, given Boykin’s long, shameful history of extreme and bigoted views. . . It will be a discredit to your office and a disservice to the citizens of Ocean City if such a man is allowed to spread his divisive falsehoods and prejudiced ideas at a government-sponsored function.

“We respectfully ask whether any taxpayer funds are being spent on this year’s Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast, and how your office plans to address the appearance of an official endorsement of Boykin’s extremist views. We ask that you reconsider inviting him, given that the biased ideas he espouses — though protected by the First Amendment — should be repudiated, not given a legitimizing platform.”

Boykin’s views came under scrutiny in 2003 when media reports revealed that in a public discussion of his efforts to capture a Muslim Somali warlord, Boykin said: “I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol.” Speaking in uniform, the general said America’s “spiritual enemy. . .will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.”

Since then, Boykin has continued to openly attack Islam and portray Muslims as a “threat,” even stating that there can be no interfaith dialogue or cooperation between Muslims and Christians. In September 2011, Boykin declared on the radio show Focal Point that there should be “no mosques in America.”

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s leading Muslim civil liberties organization, has condemned “inaccurate and offensive” remarks by GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, who said that the concept of equality “doesn’t come from Islam” or “Eastern religions.” He claimed equality comes from “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:

“The Quran, Islam’s revealed text, is the best refutation of Mr. Santorum’s inaccurate and offensive remarks, which are unbecoming of anyone who hopes to hold our nation’s highest office. Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same God and share religious traditions that promote justice and equality.

“God states in the Quran: ‘Say ye: ‘We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.’ (The Holy Quran, 2:136)

“The Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stress racial and gender equality. The Prophet said: ‘All people are equal as the teeth of a comb.’

“As the Prophet said in his last sermon: ‘All humankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Also, a white person has no superiority over a black person, nor does someone who is black have any superiority over someone who is white — except by piety and good action.’

“The Prophet once told a companion: ‘You are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in piety.’ (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1361)

“Islam’s holy text also promotes gender equality when it states: ‘So their Lord answers their prayers, saying: ‘I will never let the (good) work of any of you, whether male or female, be wasted. You are members one of another.’ (The Holy Quran, 3:195) The Quran also states: ‘The believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another.’ (Quran 9:71)

“The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Whoever has a daughter and does not bury her alive (a pre-Islamic practice forbidden by Islam), does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, God will enter him into Paradise.’

“We suggest that Mr. Santorum educate himself about Islam and the American Muslim community by reading the Quran that we will send to his campaign headquarters next week.”

[NOTE: CAIR has an initiative designed to send free copies of the Quran to the nation's opinion leaders and policy-makers. The Qurans are sponsored and distributed through CAIR's ongoing "Explore the Quran" campaign.

Hooper noted that CAIR recently called on Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and other GOP representatives to reaffirm their support of an American republic that treats citizens of all faiths as equals after Gingrich told a South Carolina town hall that he would only support a Muslim for the presidency if that person would "commit in public to give up Sharia [Islamic principles].”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/

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Conservative Muslims shouted anti-Semitic slogans when Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza government, arrived in Tunisia. The leader of the Tunisian Islamic party chastised them for their discrimination, which had shocked the Jewish community in the area. Tunisia is among the more secular Arab countries, and the remarks made by the group of Muslims distressed and mortified the government.

Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of the Ennahda party which is at the head of the government, said the Jews of Tunisia are “full citizens with equal rights and duties.” He said in a statement, “Ennahda condemns these slogans which do not represent Islam’s spirit or teachings and considers those who raised them as a marginal group.”

Haniyeh was greeted by Salafists chanting, “Kill the Jews!” and “Crush the Jews!” when he arrived at the Tunis Airport, according to online videos of the incident. The Salafists are conservative Muslims who have been very vocal in the country as of late.

Roger Bismuth, the president of Tunisia’s Jewish community stated, “It is worse than bad, it is catastrophic for Tunisia — particularly in regard to the repercussions that these attitudes provoke abroad.” Ghannouchi and Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali met with him on Monday and assured him they would deal with this the state of affairs and might even address the nation about it.

Perez Trabelsi, the head of the Jewish community on Djerba, the island where most of the Jewish community resides, said the chants were “unreasonable” and that the government “could not let it pass.”

After decades of oppression, the elected Ennahda party wants to prove their belief in the universal rights and freedoms of the Tunisian people. They have been embarrassed by the conservative Muslim groups that appeared after President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown last year.

The groups have staged sit-ins over women university students not being allowed to wear face veils to class and have protested over other various moral issues. When the Ennahda party lagged in reproaching them, it received criticism from the already suspicious liberal groups who are unsure of the Islamist party.

“I think if Ennahda doesn’t come up with some way of being unequivocal in its rejection of some of these ideas and tactics, it really does risk damaging its credibility with some of its coalition partners, progressive voters, and international donors,” said Chris Alexander, an expert on Tunisia from North Carolina’s Davidson College. “I think a lot of people will see that hesitancy as a mark of their true intentions.”

Samuel Perry / Shutterstock.com

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The September 11 terrorist attacks brought more than the loss of American lives, they brought considerable impact on internal affairs of the United States. The CIA’s involvement with the NYPD is considered, by many, another stain on the Agency’s long history of scandals.

The CIA has been accused of infiltrating the police department and using its resources to conduct spying operations on a domestic level, mainly targeting the Muslim community in New York City. After a thorough investigation, the Associated Press has published an article revealing the relationship between the Agency and the NYPD in the past ten years.

Work have been done on two main levels. First, a veteran CIA officer was assigned to be in charge of training a police officer who would put into practice new espionage techniques inside the police units. This action allowed the CIA to influence and reorient NYPD towards serving intelligence instead of fulfilling its normal duty as a law enforcement institution.

Secondly, a senior CIA officer was sent to work as a clandestine operative inside the police headquarters, with the main goal of supervising and watching the progression of the project. Bookstores, cafes, bars and nightclubs are some of the public places targeted by the program which consisted of citizens’ surveillance, also referred to in the AP report as “human mapping.”

The same reports said that the NYPD has sent “rakers” into minority neighborhoods to spy and gather data. Police have also used informants, referred to as “mosque crawlers,” to report on religious sermons or gatherings in mosques, even in the absence of suspicious activity.

In his comments on the issue, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, admitted that NYPD is working with the CIA, but defended its practices saying, “If there are threats or leads to follow, then the NYPD’s job is to do it. The law is pretty clear about what’s the requirement and I think they follow the law. We don’t stop to think about the religion. We stop to think about the threats and focus our efforts there.”

In a response to the report, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights organization, asked the Justice Department for an investigation into the case. CAIR attorney, Gadeir Abbas, believes that “the first amendment protects our right to associate freely with one another.”

“An investigation of a community [rather than of a crime or a particular person] unlawfully chills the rights of persons within that community. Furthermore, the Establishment Clause requires NYPD to maintain neutrality between all religions. Their intelligence unit appears to be failing to maintain that neutrality by institutionalizing suspicion of all things Islamic,” Abbas said.

Police involvement in CIA activities has blurred the lines of domestic and foreign affairs as well as the limits between local and federal jurisdiction.

Some say that the CIA’s dependence on the help of the NYPD is because of the the agency’s inexperience dealing with a domestic environment. The lack of diversity among the CIA’s personnel may also play into its inability to conduct operations independent of the police department. The NYPD has both features; a direct contact with citizens, as well as a culturally and linguistically diverse staff that more easily blends into the community.

Others are questioning why the CIA doesn’t try collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instead of NYPD. Whatever the reason, the issues surrounding privacy and freedom is not only found in the U.S. Many Arabs are currently fighting against regimes, where spying on citizens is routine. Meanwhile, many New Yorkers are unaware of the spying efforts of the CIA and police department.

Glynnis Jones / Shutterstock.com

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Vinegar tainted with antifreeze is suspected of killing 11 people and sickening 120 after a communal Ramadan meal in China’s far western region of Xinjiang on August 21. Investigators suspect the victims consumed vinegar that was put in two plastic barrels which had previously been used to store toxic antifreeze, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to official Chinese media the mass food poisoning occurred on a Saturday night in a village close to Hotan City in Xinjiang, a border region that abuts Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. The victims were ethnic Muslims sharing an evening meal after the daily fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan.

Xinhua said children as young as 6 were among the dead. One person among the 120 sickened was in critical condition. Authorities were still testing to confirm the source of the poisoning, it said. China’s food safety record has been battered by the rampant use of illegal or substandard additives by unscrupulous food producers.

Milk powder laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and sickened 300.000 in 2008. Producers added the nitrogen-rich melamine powder so their milk would seem higher in protein. Revenge attacks using rat poison or other chemicals are also common in China, where access to firearms and other deadly weapons is tightly controlled.

In April, three children died and another 35 were sickened by milk tainted with nitrite. An investigation showed that a local dairy farmer had put the poison into their competitor’s milk supply. Accidental contamination is also a problem, caused by low hygiene standards, particularly in rural areas, and weak quality control by regulators.

Moreover this year there has been hundreds of people, seriously sickened by clenbuterol-tainted pork. In fact, around twelve noodle makers were ordered to stop production because they were using ink, industrial dyes and paraffin wax as ingredients, and 16 tons of pork was pulled from the marketplace for containing sodium borate.

This chemical seemingly transforms cheap pork into darker, higher-value “beef.” Except from that, Chinese authorities became conscious of a 40-ton bean sprout debacle — farmers were using sodium nitrite (a known carcinogen), urea, antibiotics and a plant hormone called 6-benzaledenine to make the sprouts grow faster and look shinier.

Chinese officials have made 12 arrests and have investigated 1.200 criminal cases concerning “the illegal adding of non-edible materials in food” till now. Chinese officials have also destroyed key elements of black market food production as part of the latest crackdown, leading to 2.000 arrests and 5.000 business shutdowns.

Furthermore, exploding watermelons and pork scandals, caused by excessive chemical use, took hold of international media headlines. In the first six months of 2011, 45 people died from food poisoning, mostly from toxic chemicals according to China’s Ministry of Health, but despite all the government crackdown efforts food safety scandals continue in China.

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Do you remember Herman Cain? He is one of the many fringe Republican candidates who are pretending to run for the GOP presidential nomination. The former Godfather Pizza CEO is known for his controversial statements. He is not going to stop making outlandish claims just because he is running for president.

Last week, Cain criticized the planned mosque in Tennessee. “This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Sharia law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that,” Cain told reporters. “This isn’t an innocent mosque,” Cain said.

On Sunday, Cain was asked by Chris Wallace about that comment. He elaborated and stated he believes that Americans should be able to ban Muslims from building mosques in their communities. And I really think he was serious.

“Our Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state,” Cain said in an interview with “Fox News Sunday.” “Islam combines church and state. They’re using the church part of our First Amendment to infuse their morals in that community, and the people of that community do not like it. They disagree with it.”

“Let’s go back to the fundamental issue,” Cain said. “Islam is both a religion and a set of laws — Sharia laws. That’s the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it’s just about religious purposes.”

“So, you’re saying that any community, if they want to ban a mosque…” Wallace began.

“Yes, they have the right to do that,” Cain said.

On Sunday, Cain defended his past comments about not allowing Muslims to serve in his administration, telling Wallace that it’s not discrimination.

“Aren’t you willing to restrict people because of their religion?” Wallace asked.

“I’m willing to take a harder look at people who might be terrorists, that’s what I’m saying,” Cain replied. “Look, I know that there’s a peaceful group of Muslims in this country. God bless them and they’re free to worship. If you look at my career I have never discriminated against anybody, because of their religion, sex or origin or anything like that.”

“I’m simply saying I owe it to the American people to be cautious because terrorists are trying to kill us,” Cain said, “so yes I’m going to err on the side of caution rather than on the side of carelessness.”

Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

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Despite the impending rapture, Fox News’ hosts Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck were busy with other conspiracies and causes.  I am pretty sure the Fox pundits do not realize that there are actual statistics out there, instead choosing to pull random numbers out of thin air when it suits them.  These same pundits pretend to be outraged when organizations such as Media Matters call them out on their made up numbers.  It is a vicious cycle.

First up, we have Beck.  Beck’s new project is Israel.  He is planning a rally there in August.  Yay, I have no idea either.  President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East last week really set off Beck.  Beck said that Obama’s Middle East policy would lead to the “destruction of Israel.”  Beck also stated that policy was more proof that Obama was “not like” Beck’s viewers.   He doesn’t mean race though, of course. “The key to understanding this president is colonialism,” Beck said on his show last Thursday. “And if you understand this president you will understand you are not like him. And it has nothing to do with the man’s color. It has everything to do with colonialism.”

Beck said he had previously not understood “the infatuation this president has with world change to stop the colonialists.”

Bill O’Reilly, not to be outdone by Beck’s brand of craziness, made another false statement about Muslims on his Thursday evening show.  O’Reilly stated that half of the world’s Muslims want to “blow the hell” out of Muslims who want democracy and human rights.  O’Reilly has always believed that the world has a “Muslim problem” and made the crazy assertion after a guest said that Obama should emphasize that there are Muslims who want liberty.

“For every Muslim in the world who wants democracy and human rights, there’s one who doesn’t,” O’Reilly responded. “And the one who doesn’t have any rules, and he’ll blow the hell out of the one who does. So that silences the good Muslims who see the danger from the Muslim world.”

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2011 March 2nd  in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan the Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti died.

He was driving through a residential district in broad daylight going to a work meeting after leaving his mother’s home, when suddenly his vehicle was surrounded by several armed men and sprayed with bullets. Witnesses said that before to open fire they asked the minister’s driver to get out of the car sparing his life.

“The initial reports are that there were three men who attacked him. He was probably shot using a kalashnikov, but we are trying to ascertain what exactly happened”, said Wajid Durrani, Islamabad police chief. At the arrival to the capital’s Shifa Hospital his corpse was already lifeless.

The Minister Bhatti was traveling with no security escort when the attack happened .It is not clear yet the reason why he was not accompanied by his guards and did not have the standard ministers’ security vehicle.

In recent weeks he expressed his concern about security after he received death threats from some Islamist militants for his efforts to reform the blasphemy law. He explicitly requested extra security when some shots were fired at his residence in Islamabad by some unknown aggressors and the capital’s police chief insisted that proper security had been provided to him, but inexplicably that fateful day no escort was accompanying him.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab,a branch of the Taliban in the most populous province of Pakistan, claimed the responsibility of the attack. “This man was a known blasphemer of the Prophet [Muhammad]. We will continue to target all those who speak against the law which punishes those who insult the prophet. Their fate will be the same”, said Ahsanullah Ahsan, the group’s deputy spokesman. At the scene of the killing were found pamphlets by the Tehrik-i-Taliban and Al-Qaeda warning anyone opposing the blasphemy laws of the same fate of Shahbaz Bhatti.

The blasphemy laws in Pakistan are the strictest among all the Muslim-majority countries. The religious feelings’ outrage is forbidden, the defilement of the Quran is punished with life imprisonment, and the death penalty is prescribed for the “use of derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet”.

Bhatti had always criticized the Pakistan’s blasphemy law and had struggled for the support and the saving of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman mother of four children, sentenced to hang in Punjab in November 2010. She was charged with blasphemy for having insulted the Prophet Muhammad during a row with Muslim women villagers about sharing water. She denied the charges and although the minister Bhatti supported her nothing could be done to save her.

Also the governor of the province of Punjab, Salman Taseer, had strongly opposed the blasphemy law and had fought for the presidential pardon for Bibi. On January he was shot and killed in Islamabad by one of his bodyguards,who has been acclaimed as a hero by many people in the country. For both Tasser and Bhatti their involvement in the recommendation to amendments to the blasphemy law has been the cause of their death.

The event was condemned by the government and by the Christians,that in Pakistan are the 1,5% of the Pakistan’s population.

“We have been orphaned today!Now who will fight for our rights?”, told Rehman Masih, a Christian resident of Islamabad.

Shahbaz Bhatti in all his political career had always supported the religious minorities and he dedicated his life to struggle for human equality, social justice, religious freedom, and to uplift and empower the religious minorities’ communities.

With his death Pakistan lost a fundamental figure that represented a gleam of hope for the minorities for equality and freedom in a country where the civilization and the essential human rights are just an utopia.

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