Saudi in Mohammed Twitter Row 'Repents'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Saudi journalist awaiting interrogation over Tweets deemed insulting to Islam's Prophet Mohammed insisted that he has repented, according to a relative.

Hamza Kashgari "has affirmed to his family that he stands by his repentance, that he has made a mistake and regrets it," said the family member on condition of anonymity.

The 23-year-old fled to Malaysia after his comments sparked a wave of condemnations and threats against his life, but was deported back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Upon his return from Malaysia, Kashgari "informed his family he is in very good condition," the source said. "His family is still waiting for authorities to allow them to visit him and appoint a defence lawyer."

A Saudi lawyer told AFP on Tuesday that Kashgari "has not yet been interrogated and we hope this issue ends before it reaches the attorney general."

Saudi English-language daily Arab News reported earlier this week that Kashgari would face blasphemy charges.

On the occasion of the Muslim prophet's birthday, Kashgari tweeted: "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you."

"I will not pray for you." » | AFP | Wednesday, February 15, 2012

So much for the Prophet's saying that "there is no compulsion in religion"! Vacuous words in today's Saudi Arabia! – © Mark

Egypte: 3 ans de prison pour blasphème sur Facebook
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: JUSTICE ÉGYPTIENNE | Trois ans de prison assortis de travaux forcés: voilà ce à quoi a été condamné un jeune homme pour avoir insulté l’islam dans des propos publiés sur Facebook.

Un Egyptien a été condamné samedi au Caire à trois ans de prison assortis de travaux forcés pour avoir insulté l’islam dans des propos publiés sur Facebook, a rapporté l’agence officielle Mena. Continuez à lire et ajouter un commentaire » | AFP | samedi 22 octobre 2011

ARAB NEWS: Egyptian sentenced to 3 years for insulting Islam: CAIRO: Egypt’s state media says a Cairo court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for postings on Facebook deemed to be inciting sectarianism and in contempt of Islam. ¶ The MENA state news agency said Saturday a the misdemeanor court found Ayman Mansour had intentionally mocked Islam and used “outrageous and scurrilous” language in describing the religion’s holy book, the Qur’an, and its prophet and believers. » | ASSOCIATED PRESS | Saturday, October 22, 2011

Une Pakistanaise chrétienne condamnée à mort pour blasphème

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: En juin 2009, au Pakistan, Asia Bibi, une villageoise chrétienne, boit l’eau d’un puits réservé aux musulmans. Elle est accusée de la souiller. Accusée de "blasphème", elle est condamnée à mort.

"Blasphème". C'est le titre du livre qu'Asia Bibi, chrétienne pakistaniase [sic] condamnée à mort pour avoir bu l'eau d'un puits réservé aux musulmans, a co-écrit avec une journaliste depuis le fond de sa cellule. Dans ce témoignage, elle appelle à l'aide.

Pendant cinq mois, Anne-Isabelle Tollet, reporter à "France 24", a pu communiquer avec cette mère de cinq enfants, condamnée à la pendaison en novembre 2010 pour blasphème. Elle est la seule femme dans ce cas au Pakistan, selon les associations de défense des droits de l’Homme.

Depuis, elle attend dans sa cellule sans fenêtre de la prison de Sheikhupura son jugement en appel. » | AFP | Mardi 31 Mai 2011

Le blasphème qui tue

CYBERPRESSE.CA: (Pakistan) Au Pakistan, personne ne peut offenser le Prophète sans risquer la prison. Cette loi sur le blasphème divise le pays depuis qu'Asia Bibi, illettrée, a été condamnée à mort parce qu'elle a insulté le Prophète. D'un côté, des militants extrémistes prêts à tout pour qu'elle soit pendue, de l'autre, des politiciens assassinés parce qu'ils ont osé la défendre. Au milieu, un gouvernement paralysé qui ne sait plus comment désamorcer la crise. La Presse a enquêté sur le terrain. Histoire d'une bombe à retardement.

Asia Bibi avait 38 ans lorsque sa vie est devenue un cauchemar.

Le 14 juin 2009, elle travaillait dans le champ avec trois femmes. Asia est chrétienne, les femmes, musulmanes.

Elles se chicanaient parfois, mais elles finissaient toujours par se réconcilier. Elles vivaient à Ittanwalli, village pauvre perdu au milieu des champs. La route de terre est craquelée par le soleil, des ânes tirent des charrettes et des chiens dorment au milieu du chemin, tourmentés par les mouches. À Ittanwalli, le temps est suspendu.

En juin, le thermomètre frôle les 50 degrés. Asia travaillait, écrasée par la chaleur. Les femmes avaient soif, elles ont bu de l'eau. Asia a touché leur verre et bu à son tour. C'est à ce moment précis que tout a basculé. Ce geste inoffensif -une chrétienne qui touche l'eau d'une musulmane- a plongé le Pakistan dans une grave crise politico-religieuse.

Les musulmanes ont accusé Asia Bibi d'avoir souillé leur eau. Les femmes se sont chicanées, le ton a monté, Asia s'est énervée et elle a insulté l'islam et le prophète Mahomet. » | Michèle Ouimet, envoyée spéciale, La Presse | Lundi 30 Mai 2011

Clerics Salute 'Brave' Pakistan Killer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of Pakistan's religious leaders have publically applauded the murder of a prominent politician gunned down because of his campaign to reform the country's blasphemy laws.

Mumtaz Qadri, left, is embraced as he arrives at a court in Islamabad. Photo: The Daily Telegraph
In a statement released hours before the funeral of Salman Taseer, a liberal politician close [to] President Asif Ali Zardari, 500 scholars from the Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat group praised his assassin and ordered their followers not to grieve or they would suffer the same fate.

"We pay rich tributes and salute the bravery, valour and faith of Mumtaz Qadri," the statement said referring to the man now in police custody, before going on to warn politicians and academics to learn lessons from Mr Taseer's death.

"Also, there should be no expression of grief or sympathy on the death of the governor, as those who support blasphemy of the Prophet are themselves indulging in blasphemy."

Mr Taseer, the governor of Punjab, was shot dead in Islamabad on Tuesday by a member of his own protection detail.

He had become a hate figure among hard-line clerics for taking on the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, an issue that has illustrated the country's deep religious divide between a small, liberal elite and conservative mullahs who draw huge followings. >>> Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Murder in Pakistan
ARAB NEWS – EDITORIAL – AN EXTRACT: Taseer was murdered by one or perhaps more bigots who believed that he wanted to repeal the country’s blasphemy law. But he was the true face of tolerance that Islam represents. He worked for the good of his country trying to promote tolerance and understanding and peace between its different communities. He stood up against extremism and violence. It cost him his life and his heartless, grinning murderer is an ignorant instrument of evil. >>> Editor | Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Indonesia Seeks Prison Sentence for 'Blasphemous' American
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Indonesian prosecutors on Tuesday sought a seven-month prison sentence for a US retiree accused of blasphemy after he allegedly pulled the plug on a mosque loudspeaker during a prayer reading.

The August 22 incident in the middle of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in retired Californian engineer Gregory Luke, 64, needing a police escort from his home on Lombok island as a mob tore it to pieces around him.

Prosecutors said Luke had blasphemed against Islam, the dominant religion in Indonesia, when he allegedly barged into the mosque to complain that a nightly Ramadan prayer reading was too loud.

"We recommend a sentence of seven months' jail as he is guilty of blasphemy and committing an act of hatred," prosecutor Baiq Nurjanah told a court in Praya, Lombok. >>> | Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Pakistani Cleric Puts Bounty on Christian Woman's Head
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A hardline, pro-Taliban Pakistani Muslim cleric on Friday offered a reward for anyone who kills a Christian woman sentenced to death by a court on charges of insulting Islam.

The sentence against Asia Bibi has renewed debate about Pakistan's blasphemy law which critics say is used to persecute religious minorities, fan religious extremism and settle personal scores. Non-Muslim minorities account for roughly 4 per cent of Pakistan's 170 million population.

Maulana Yousef Qureshi, the imam of a major mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar, offered a £3,700 reward and warned the government against any move to abolish or change the blasphemy law.

"We will strongly resist any attempt to repeal laws which provide protection to the sanctity of Holy Prophet Mohammad," Qureshi told a rally of hardline Islamists."Any one who kills Asia will be given 500,000 rupees in reward from Masjid Mohabat Khan," he said referring to his mosque. >>> | Friday, December 03, 2010

HT: Vlad Tepes >>>

Nonie Darwish: Blasphemy & Incitement

Egypt Bans 'Blasphemous' Magazine
BBC: An Egyptian court has withdrawn the publishing licence of a monthly magazine, Ibdaa (Creativity), because it carried a "blasphemous" poem.

In its ruling the court said the poem, printed two years ago, had included "expressions that insulted God".

Egyptian courts have in the past convicted individuals or groups of people in blasphemy cases.

But correspondents say that it is unusual for a magazine to have its licence withdrawn.

The offending poem, On the balcony of Leila Murad, by Egyptian poet Hilmi Salem, was published in the small circulation magazine in 2007.

The court's ruling said: "Freedom of press... should be used responsibly and not touch on the basic foundations of Egyptian society, and family, religion and morals." [Source: BBC] Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Norway Anti-Immigration Opposition Party Wins Support
BLOOMBERG: Support for Norway’s Progress Party rose this month, with one pollster ranking it the country’s biggest political group, as voters backed its anti-immigration stance less than six months before parliamentary elections.

While governments in other parts of Europe lose support as voters condemn their handling of the financial crisis, Norway’s Labor government is struggling in polls after it tried to push through laws banning blasphemy and allowing police women to wear the hijab. The laws were withdrawn after a public outcry. Justice Minister Knut Storberget, whose ministry issued the proposals, has since gone on sick leave.

“People are losing their jobs, the economy seems to be going into recession but people are focusing on these issues instead,” said Torkel Brekke, professor of culture studies and oriental languages at the University of Oslo. “It tells you how important issues of identity are to small European countries and how people feel insecure about immigration.” >>> By Marianne Stigset and Meera Bhatia | Friday, March 27, 2009

Holocaust Row Bishop Arrives in Britain
THE TELEGRAPH: Bishop Richard Williamson, who was asked to leave Argentina after making "deeply offensive" comments about the Holocaust, has arrived back in Britain.

Richard Williamson, the Holocaust-denying bishop, has arrived back in Britain. Here, he is being escorted out of Heathrow. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
The British-born Roman Catholic bishop flew into London's Heathrow airport from Buenos Aires where he was met by a crowd of international media and an armed police guard.

The bishop, who was given 10 days to leave Argentina by the country's government, declined to answer questions from the press as he was taken to a waiting car by police officers.

Those meeting him, including other Roman Catholic priests, also declined to comment before the vehicle sped away.

The bishop had been resident in Argentina until this week at the St Pius X seminary in the capital.

But after remarks he made in a Swedish television interview were broadcast, the government branded his view "deeply offensive".

He claimed in the interview last month that historical evidence was "hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I believe there were no gas chambers."

He added: "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in the Nazi concentration camps but none of them in gas chambers."

The Vatican has ordered Bishop Williamson to retract his comments and the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said he must do so before he can "enter into full communion with the church". >>> | Wednesday, February 25, 2009

THE TELEGRAPH: Vatican Complains to Israel about 'Blasphemous' TV Programme

The Vatican has lodged a formal complaint with the Israeli government over a TV programme that "ridiculed and blasphemed" Jesus and Mary.

In the programme, the host denied Christian traditions - that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water - saying he would do so as a "lesson" to Christians who deny the Holocaust, a reference to the Vatican's recent lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War. The rehabilitation sparked outrage among Jews.

The host, a well-known Israeli comedian Lior Shlein, also claimed that Mary became pregnant at 15 by a schoolmate and said that Jesus could never have walked on water because "he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit."A statement from the Vatican press office said its representative in Israel had complained to the government about the show, which was broadcast recently on private Channel 10, one of Israel's three main television stations. >>> | Saturday, February 21, 2009

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Pakistan: Christian Activist’s Life in Danger after Arrest on Blasphemy Charges
ASIANEWS.it: Hector Aleem was arrested at night at his home after he was accused of sending a blasphemous text message. Since then he has been allowed to see his family only once. Muslim clerics want the court to hand him over to them so that they can execute him. The blasphemy law under which he was arrested also penalises members of other minorities. Five members of the Ahmadi community were in fact arrested on the same charges; four of them minors. >>> Qaiser Felix | Friday, January 30, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy) >>>

Freed Turkish Barber Reaches Home
ARAB NEWS: RIYADH: A Turkish barber who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia on blasphemy charges but later pardoned by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and released, left for Istanbul from Jeddah by a Turkish Airways flight on Monday night.

“On arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport yesterday, Sabri Bogday, 31, was received by his wife and family members,” Turkish Ambassador Naci Koru said here yesterday.

Speaking on behalf of the people and the government of Turkey, Koru thanked King Abdullah for the royal pardon. He said that the Turkish barber was welcomed at the airport by a big crowd, including his wife, Muazzez Bogday, two-year-old son Suleyman, and mother Hadra.

The diplomat said that a Saudi court overturned Bogday’s sentence after he repented and asked God for forgiveness. The Ministry of Interior informed us about the release of Bogday last week, said Koru.

The barber, who had been behind the bars for the last three years, called his family on Monday night after being finally released in Jeddah and said he would be in Turkey soon.

Bogday has been released at a time when Turkish President Abdullah Gul is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on Feb. 3. The release prior to the visit is also perceived as a gesture of goodwill and friendship between the two nations, said a report published by a Turkish newspaper.

Muazzez, the barber’s wife, thanked President Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for their efforts and appeal to King Abdullah while saying that “the humanitarian gesture on the part of the Saudi king himself, cannot be expressed in words.”

Bogday, from the southern Turkey’s Hatay region, arrived in Jeddah 11 years ago and opened a barbershop.

According to reports, the barber argued with his neighbor, an Egyptian tailor, and was arrested after the tailor told police that Bogday was involved in blasphemy. >>> Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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Head of Italian Museum Displaying 'Blasphemous Frog' Sacked
Photo of Martin Kippenberger’s ‘crucified frog’ courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: The head of an Italian museum who offended the Pope by exhibiting a wooden sculpture of a crucified frog has been sacked amid a debate over artistic freedom.

Corinne Diserens, the Swiss director of the museum in Bolzano, in the mountainous north-east of Italy, was dismissed after months of controversy over the bright green, bug-eyed amphibian, which is nailed to a cross and holds a frothing mug of beer and an egg.

She had refused to remove the work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger despite protests from the Vatican that it was blasphemous.

She said the museum had a right to artistic freedom, and kept the frog on display as originally planned from May to September.

But a majority of the museum's board of directors disagreed and instead dismissed her this week.

The official reason given by the museum was that Ms Diserens had caused a "difficult financial situation" by overspending her budget, but supporters said she was being punished for the row over the frog.

Her sacking prompted a debate on contemporary art in the German-speaking region of Alto-Adige, where a far-right party with anti-immigration views tripled its support in local elections this week, becoming the province's second most powerful political force.

"The relationship between art and politics is never an easy one, but to be sacked because of one work of art is really incredible," said the head of a gallery in nearby Trento, Fabio Cavallucci.

Pope Benedict XVI condemned the four-foot-high frog, entitled Zuerst die Fuesse (Feet First), when he heard about it during his summer holiday in the nearby town of Bressanone.

He said it "injured the religious feeling of many people who see in the cross the symbol of the love of God and of our salvation which deserves recognition and religious devotion". >>> By Nick Squires in Rome | October 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Italy)

New Dark Age Alert! Qatar’s UN Ambassador Urges Prosecution for Blasphemy
THE NATIONAL: NEW YORK - A Gulf diplomat has urged foreign governments to prosecute individuals who make offensive and defamatory statements against Islam and other faiths during a heated debate at United Nations headquarters.

 Speaking on behalf of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nasser Abdulaziz al Nisr, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Nations, told delegates at a recent meeting that “freedom of expression” should not permit the abuse of religions.

The GCC speech marked the latest episode in a fractious debate that was raging even before Sept 2005, when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed.

 Speaking in New York, Mr Nisr described blasphemy as unacceptable, while western governments allege leaders from the Islamic world are trying to stifle basic freedoms and infringe the rights of non-Muslims.

“Our countries categorically reject all forms of incitement, discrimination, hostility, violence, attempts to justify the distortion of religions and hostility-based incitement of religions in the name of freedom of expression,” Mr Nisr said this week. “The responsibility rests, therefore, with the governments to address such conduct by legal and executive possible means, including amending legislation that allows such practices in the name of freedom of expression and opinion.”

Mr Nisr was speaking in advance of a vote in the UN General Assembly’s committee on human rights on a draft resolution intended to “combat defamation of religions”.

The draft resolution is supported by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference and has passed every year since 2005. Although not binding in international law, the resolution sets a global moral standard.

The most recent version of the resolution, which passed in December, emphasises that the freedom of expression “carries with it special duties and responsibilities” and may be “subject to limitations as are provided for by law”.

The cartoons in the Jyllands-Posten and their republication by a string of western newspapers provoked riots in parts of the Islamic world, boycotts on Danish goods and demands for prosecution of those responsible.

Denmark’s justice ministry this week rejected the third bid by seven Muslim lobby groups to take the newspaper to the Supreme Court for publishing the cartoons.

 Other cited examples of defamation of religion have included Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 address at the University of Regensburg and Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.

A coalition of countries that advocate free speech, including the United States, is trying to thwart the OIC resolution this year by persuading more moderate Muslim nations to vote against it.

In publishing its annual report on global religious freedom last month, the US state department criticised the Muslim bloc for using the United Nations to “export” anti-blasphemy laws found in some of its member countries to the international level. >>> James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent | October 29, 2008

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Jordan’s Legal Jihad
MIDDLE EAST AND TERRORISM (BLOG): In a brazen attempt to stifle free speech in the West, a Jordanian court recently summoned twelve European citizens to answer criminal charges of blasphemy and inciting hatred.

Among those sought by the court is Geert Wilders, the Dutch liberal politician who made the anti-Islamist film, Fitna. Released last March, the Dutch MP's production caused an uproar in Islamic countries, since it equated Islam with violence. Now a Middle Eastern court would like to prosecute Wilders for the "crime." (Ironically, a Dutch court dropped charges against him for inciting hatred against Muslims with his film the day before the Jordanian court issued its subpoena.)

The Jordanian court's move is only the most ambitious attempt to silence debate about Islam. Until now, the preferred strategy has been to file civil lawsuits in western courts to intimidate critics. The latest version of what may be called the legal jihad Jordan’[sic] is even more disturbing.

In one subpoena, issued in early June, the Jordanian court ordered ten Danish newspaper editors to travel to Jordan for the "crime" of having republished the "Mohammad cartoons" last February. The cartoons, first published in 2005, were also greeted with disturbances in Muslim lands. Seventeen Danish newspapers republished the controversial cartoons as a response to the discovery of an Islamist plot to murder Kurt Westergaard. Westergaard, a caricaturist, drew the most famous of those cartoons in the form of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban, for which he is also included in the summons. Jordan’s Legal Jihad >>> By Stephen Brown | September 28, 2008

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Pervez Kambaksh Still Faces Death in Afghanistan on Charges of ‘Blasphemy’, and Has Difficulty Finding a Lawyer to Represent Him
Photo of Perves Kambaksh courtesy of The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: Pervez Kambaksh, the Afghan student sentenced to death after being accused of downloading internet reports on women's rights, yesterday pleaded innocent to charges of blasphemy. He told an appeal court in Kabul that he had been tortured into confessing.

Mr Kambaksh, 24, vehemently denied that he had been responsible for producing anti-Islamic literature. He insisted the prosecution had been motivated by personal malice of two members of staff and their student supporters at the university in Balkh, where he was studying journalism.

He was convicted in proceedings behind closed doors in a trial which he said had lasted just four minutes and where he had been denied legal representation.

Yesterday, in the first public hearing of the case, the prosecution claimed that Mr Kambaksh had disrupted classes at the university by asking questions about women's rights under Islam. It also said he distributed an article on the subject after writing an additional three paragraphs including the phrase "This is the real face of Islam ... The prophet Mohamad wrote verses of the holy Koran just for his own benefit."

In a highly emotional statement, Mr Kambaksh said: "I'm Muslim and I would never let myself write such an article. These accusations are nonsense, [they] come from two professors and other students because of private hostilities against me. I was tortured by the intelligence service in Balkh province and they made me confess that I wrote three paragraphs in this article."

Mr Kambaksh represented himself because his family are having difficulties finding a lawyer to represent him after threats by fundamentalist groups that anyone taking on the job would be killed. I Was Tortured to Confess, Pervez Tells Appeal Court >>> By Kim Sengupta | May 19, 2008

Galloway audio on Afghanistan: ‘Afghanistan to Execute Student for Blasphemy’ >>>

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE PERVEZ KAMBAKSH HERE

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Saudi Arabien: Todesstrafe gegen Türken wegen Gotteslästerung
WELTONLINE: Ein Wutanfall in Saudi-Arabien könnte einem türkischen Friseur das Leben kosten. Nach einem Streit war er ausgerastet und hatte über Gott und den Propheten Mohammed geschimpft. Zwei Zeugen zeigten ihn wegen Blasphemie an. Ein Gericht verurteilte den 31-jährigen Handwerker zum Tod durch das Schwert.

In Saudi-Arabien sitzt ein türkischer Friseur in der Todeszelle, weil er in einem Wutanfall auf Gott und den Propheten Mohammed geschimpft hat. Die Zeitung „Arab News“ berichtete, ein Berufungsgericht in der Stadt Mekka werde kommende Woche über den Fall von Sabri Bogday (31) entscheiden, der Ende März von einem Gericht in Dschidda wegen Gotteslästerung zum Tod durch das Schwert verurteilt worden war. Ein ägyptischer Schneider und ein saudischer Zeuge hatten ihn, nachdem er mit dem Ägypter gestritten hatte, wegen Blasphemie angezeigt.

Die Zeitung berichtete, Bogday habe während einer ersten Anhörung vor Gericht zugegeben, in seinem Friseursalon geflucht und dabei Gott und den Propheten beleidigt zu haben. Später soll er dies jedoch bestritten haben.

Der türkische Friseur, der seit 13 Monaten im Gefängnis sitzt, lebt bereits seit elf Jahren in Saudi-Arabien. Seine Frau erklärte gegenüber türkischen Medien, ihr Ehemann kenne die Gesetze des islamischen Königreiches sehr genau. Er hätte deshalb niemals in der Öffentlichkeit auf Gott geschimpft. Der ägyptische Schneider, der nicht vor Gericht erschienen sei, habe gelogen, erklärte sie. Das türkische Außenministerium hatte in der vergangenen Woche erklärt, es kümmere sich um den Fall des Friseurs.

In Saudi-Arabien wurden im vergangenen Jahr 143 Menschen auf Geheiß eines Richters enthauptet. Die Todesstrafe wird in dem islamischen Land meist wegen Mordes oder Drogenschmuggels verhängt. [Quelle: Todesstrafe gegen Türken wegen Gotteslästerung]

ARAB NEWS:
Blasphemy Case Moves to Appeals Court: No chance of a pardon because the ruling was “hadd” (based on Qur’an and Sunnah) >>> By Ebtihal Mubarak

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Afganistán: La mordaza de Sayed
ELPAÍS: En la cárcel de Bakh, al norte de Afganistán, no se puede leer ni escribir. Algunos días, tampoco se desayuna ni se cena. Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, un estudiante de periodismo de 23 años, lleva tres meses entre rejas. Comparte una pequeña celda con otros 30 presos que cumplen penas por robo, asesinato o violación. Él está allí por blasfemia. Y está condenado a muerte.

Su hermano, Yaqub Ibrahimi, es periodista. Va a verlo una vez a la semana. A Sayed Parwez se le acusa de insultar al profeta Mahoma por distribuir entre sus compañeros de clase un artículo, descargado de un blog en Internet, en el que se considera discriminatorio que el Corán permita al hombre tener cuatro esposas, y a la mujer sólo un marido. "En Afganistán cualquier cosa puede ser blasfemia, sobre todo lo que tiene que ver con los derechos humanos", cuenta por teléfono Yaqub. Ahora está en Kabul, la capital, haciendo todo tipo de gestiones para que el caso se transfiera al Tribunal Supremo y poder así apelar la sentencia. La mordaza de Sayed: El hermano del periodista afgano condenado a muerte por blasfemia asegura que los 'mulás' le tendieron una trampa >>> De Silvia Blanco

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'Muhammad' Teddy Teacher Arrested
BBC: A British school teacher has been arrested in Sudan accused of insulting Islam's Prophet, after she allowed her pupils to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

Colleagues of Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, said she made an "innocent mistake" by letting the six and seven-year-olds choose the name.

Ms Gibbons was arrested after several parents made complaints.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, said it was unclear whether she had been charged.
Embassy officials are expected to visit Mrs Gibbons in custody on Monday.

The BBC's correspondent Amber Henshaw said Ms Gibbons' punishment could be up to six months in jail, 40 lashes or a fine.

The school has been closed until January for fear of reprisals. >>

THE GUARDIAN:
Teacher charged with blasphemy for calling bear Muhammad By James Sturcke and agencies

Mark Alexander