Islamic Groups Offer Reward for Arrests for Crimes Committed in Muslim Garb
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: A recent wave of bank holdups and a homicide committed by men dressed as Muslim women has prompted the Philadelphia-area Islamic community to offer a $20,000 reward for tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.

The Majlis Ash Shura, an organization representing the membership of 71 masajids and congregations in the Philadelphia area, was joined by elected officials at a news conference Tuesday at City Hall.

The message from the District Attorney’s Office and the Islamic community: zero tolerance.

“Philadelphia is a unique city in that Islam is not new here,” said Aliya Khabir, a public relations official representing the national United Muslim Masajid. “It’s up to us to set the tone for how this is addressed.”

Five bank robberies

Since December, there have been at least five bank robberies in Philadelphia in which the suspects wore Muslim clothing. The most recent holdups include a robbery at the Wells Fargo Bank in the 700 block of Adams Avenue and the Sovereign Bank in the 8300 block of Stenton Avenue. On April 18, a suspect dressed in Muslim garb entered an Upper Darby barber shop and fatally shot Michael Turner, 35. Sharif Wynn, 27, of Philadelphia has been arrested. » | Laura Cofsky | Inquirer Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 25, 2012

BBC Middle East Business Report: Designer Dishdasha

Malaysia Bans Women from Wearing Men's Clothes and Lesbian Sexual Relations
THE TELEGRAPH: Malaysian women have been banned from "tom-boyism" and lesbian sexual relations in a fatwa from one of the country's top religious authorities.

According to the chairman of the National Fatwa Council, Abdul Shukor Husin, many young women admire the was [sic] men dress and behave, which is a denial of their femininity and a violation of human nature.

"It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear," he complained, adding, "(Masculine behaviour) becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender, that is woman and woman."

"In view of this," Dr Abdul explained, "the National Fatwa Council which met today have decided and taken the stand that such acts are forbidden and banned."

Male homosexuality - specifically sodomy - is illegal in Malaysia and punishable with up to twenty years in jail. Accusations of sodomy have twice been levelled against the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in what he says are politically motivated attempts to destroy him. >>> By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent | October 24, 2008

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Row Over Obama in Turban and Islamic Garb
Photo of Barack Hussein Obama in Somali gear courtesy of the The Examiner
THE GUARDIAN: Barack Obama's campaign today accused Hillary Clinton of engaging in "shameful, offensive fear-mongering" over the circulation of a picture of him dressed in traditional African clothes, including a turban.

Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, blamed the Clinton team for distributing the picture, taken in 2006 when Obama, whose father was Kenyan, visited Wajir in the north-east of the African country and was dressed by the locals as a Somali elder.

The Drudge Report said it had obtained the picture after it was circulated in an email between Clinton's staff under the heading: "Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were [Hillary Clinton]?"

The Clinton team today hit back by claiming that Obama's team had turned the picture into a row to distract attention from her foreign policy speech.

Obama and Clinton are battling it out in Texas and Ohio, which hold their primaries next week. If Clinton loses either, her bid for the White House could be over.

While Americans have signalled in the primaries and caucuses a readiness to vote for a woman or an African American as president, many are not ready to back a Muslim because of 9/11. Obama has throughout the campaign stressed he is a Christian. Row over Obama in turban overshadows Clinton policy speech >>> By Ewan MacAskill

Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs

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