New Dark Age Alert! Saudi Judge 'Asks Hospital to Paralyse Man as Punishment'
THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals to paralyse a man by damaging his spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man, the brother of the victim said on Thursday.

Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralysed and subsequently lost a foot after a fight more than two years ago.

He asked a judge in north-western Tabuk province to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker, his brother Khaled al-Mutairi told The Associated Press.

He claimed one of the hospitals, located in Tabuk, responded that it was possible to damage the spinal cord, but it added that the operation would have to be done at another more specialised facility.

Saudi newspapers reported that a second hospital in the capital Riyadh declined, apparently on ethical grounds, saying it could not inflict such harm.

Administrative offices of two of the hospitals and the sharia court in Tabuk were closed for the Saudi weekend beginning on Thursday and could not be reached for comment. >>> | Friday, August 20, 2010

Libya Has Made Fools of Us All Over Lockerbie Bomber Megrahi, and Much Else Besides
THE TELEGRAPH: Gaddafi was playing Tony Blair long before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, argues Con Coughlin.

It doesn't matter how much money BP stands to make from its deep-water exploration off the Libyan coast – it is never going to compensate for the humiliation Britain has suffered over last year's decision to repatriate the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

Britain's leading oil company says it has postponed plans to drill its first deep-water well in Libya's Gulf of Sirte until later in the year, because of the concerns that have been raised by the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But that is not the only reason BP is holding fire: its senior executives fear that if work commences just as Megrahi is celebrating his first year of freedom, it would further infuriate the members of the US Senate who are already demanding a full Congressional inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Megrahi's release.

The fact of the matter is that Megrahi, according to what we were told at the time, should not be alive, and certainly not the subject of the sickening spectacle that has been arranged today by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator's son and political heir. This will see 500 teenagers, flown in from around the world at vast expense, acting as guests of honour at a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of Megrahi's return home from his Scottish prison cell.

Precisely what role BP played in securing Megrahi's release, or what bearing this had on its $900 million oil exploration contract, remains unclear. The company says it did no more than lobby the Scottish Parliament for a prisoner swap. But many senior officials in the Obama administration believe that BP was more deeply involved. They point to the role played by Sir Mark Allen, a former senior MI6 officer who headed the negotiations that persuaded Libya to stop work on its nuclear weapons programme, in late 2003, and wrote to the Foreign Office seeking Megrahi's release.

The lenient approach that Scottish officials adopted in dealing with Megrahi's case, in which no serious assessment appears to have been made of the terrorist's medical condition, certainly fits with the approach that Tony Blair encouraged British officials to adopt towards Libya following the nuclear deal. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi might remain one of the region's less appealing dictators, but that did not prevent Mr Blair from working tirelessly to bring him in from the diplomatic cold. Continue reading and comment >>> Con Coughlin | Friday, August 20, 2010

Romanian and Loving Islam

Muhammad in the Bible
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Muslim Woman Sues Disneyland Over Headscarf
THE TELEGRAPH: A Muslim woman is suing Disneyland, accusing the company’s California theme park of discrimination for telling her she could not serve customers if she chose to wear a headscarf.

Imane Boudal is now bringing Disney before the US Equal Opportunity Commission. Photo: The Telegraph
Imane Boudal, 26, asked her employers at Disneyland’s Grand Californian Hotel several months ago whether they would permit her to wear a headcovering while working as a hostess, a spokesman for a worker’s union said.

But when no reply was forthcoming, she decided to don the headscarf anyway, timing her decision with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Leigh Shelton, a spokesman for the Unite Here Local 11 union said.

“Disney told Boudlal that if she wanted to work as a hostess she had to remove her hijab because it did not comply with the 'Disney Look,’” the spokesman said.

“Disney further advised Boudlal that if she refused to remove her hijab, she could either work a back-of-the-house position where any customers would not see her, or else go home.” >>> | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Poll: 1 in 5 Americans Believe Obama Is a Muslim: Should new findings worry White House?

Controversial Imam on U.S.-Sponsored Mission: Muslim religious leader behind embattled Ground Zero mosque on tolerance trip to Middle East paid for by tax dollars

Obama Following Jimmy Carter's Path? : President's approval rating trending eerily similar to last Democratic one-term president

Muslims in America

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Interviewed by Fareed Zakaria
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Australian Court Orders Muslim Witness to Testify Without Burka
THE TELEGRAPH: An Australian court has ruled that a Muslim woman must remove her burka while she gives evidence so that the jury can assess her facial expressions.

Judge Shauna Deane of the Perth District Court said that it was "inappropriate" for the woman, only identified as Tasneem, to have her face covered while testifying in the A$752,000 (£433,000) fraud trial.

Lawyers for Tasneem, 36, had asked the judge to allow her to give evidence while wearing the burka because she had not removed the veil in public as an adult and would find the experience highly stressful.

The full Islamic veil covers the whole body except the eyes and hands.

Mark Ritter, prosecuting, told the court that Tasneem, who emigrated to Australia seven years ago, had worn the garment since she was 17.

He said she wanted to give evidence but would feel uncomfortable without the burka and that could prejudice the way she presented her evidence.

"It goes beyond stress, it would have a negative impact," he said.

However, the defence raised concerns about how the jury could assess her credibility if they could not see her face. They argued that wearing the garment was a cultural, not a religious, choice and that even in Islamic courts women were required to remove the veil. >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Thursday, August 19, 2010

Burqa Decision Ripples Across World
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: IT WAS just one decision made by one judge in one case in Perth and Judge Shauna Deane was at pains to make that clear.

But the impact of her decision yesterday to order a Muslim woman to remove her burqa in Western Australia's District Court is unlikely to remain so localised.

A prosecution witness known only as Tasneem, 36, has kept her surname a secret but will have to show her face in the fraud trial of a former Muslim school director called Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed's defence team - to their client's apparent dismay - had argued the jury should be able to see her facial expressions.
Tasneem had a ''right to religious expression'', Judge Deane found, but she had to be fair to everyone involved in the trial.

The decision was reported around the world and will be popular in Western Australia, with about 80 per cent of 3000 recent respondents to the watoday.com.au and 6PR radio websites believing the witness should be made to remove her burqa. >>> Joel Gibson | Friday, August 20, 2010

Judge Bans Burqa From Perth Court
WA TODAY: The Muslim woman who wished to testify while wearing a full-face veil says she accepts the decision by a Perth District Court judge to ban the niqab.

The 36-year old woman, known only as Tasneem, is a witness in a case against Anwar Sayed.

Mr Sayed is accused of fraudulently stealing up to $750,000 in public funds by artificially inflating student numbers at his school, the Muslim Ladies College in Perth's southern suburbs.

Today, judge Shauna Deane said that in the interest of a fair trial the witness should not be allowed to wear a niqab, commonly known as a burqa.

But she said she would speak to counsel about ways to accommodate Tasneem's desire to maintain her modesty in line with how she practices her faith.

Tasneem issued a written statement following the decision, which said: "I accept her decision and thank her for her careful consideration of this matter.

"I appreciate my request to wear my niqab in court has stirred much public debate, however, I would emphasise that this was not a demand, I merely asked to dress as I normally would in front of people I do not know."

She said she was not trying to make a religious statement.

"This is my personal choice and rather than oppressing me, it liberates me," Tasneem said.

"Like many Australians I believe in God and for me wearing the niqab serves as a constant reminder that I am accountable for my actions.

"I respect that other women who share my religion do not share this particular belief and that interpretations surrounding Islamic dress standards do differ.

"Therefore I understand this can be confusing for non-Muslims as they witness varying degrees of cover and I accept the full cover I choose to wear can be confronting to some." (+ video) >>> Aja Styles | Thursday, August 19, 2010

This Is a Must Read! If a Mosque Opens at Ground Zero on 9/11 Next Year, Obama Can Kiss the White House Goodbye
MAIL ONLINE: Nine years after 9/11, the site of the Twin Towers is still an open sore on the face of New York — a festering reminder of the terror attack which claimed almost 3,000 lives.

To add insult to injury, in the eyes of the victims’ families and the majority of Americans, approval has just been granted for a mosque to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero.

What began as a local planning dispute could come to determine the fate of Barack Obama’s Presidency.

In favour: America’s liberal elite. Against: 70 per cent of the American people. With crucial mid-term elections looming in November, the President finds himself marooned on the wrong side of public opinion. It could cost him control of Congress and, in two years’ time, the White House itself. At an event to mark the Muslim festival of Ramadan, Obama backed the plans for a mosque and Islamic cultural centre 400 yards from Ground Zero, saying: ‘As a citizen and a President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practise their religion as anyone else in this country.

‘That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.’

He also managed to ignite the Bible Belt and God-fearing, moderate Middle America by proclaiming that Islam was a major force in ‘advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings’ and had ‘always been part of America’.

In so doing, he displayed an ignorance of history which made David Cameron’s recent confusion over the timing of America’s entry into World War II look like a minor clerical error.

Obama’s words would have come as a surprise not only to the Founding Fathers, who established the United States on concrete Christian principles, but also to those unfortunate women being stoned to death and subjugated in the more barbaric outposts of Islam.

The President’s inept intervention hosed fuel on the flames of a furore which has been smouldering for months. His attempts to backtrack 24 hours later only made him look weak and indecisive.

This all began when an Islamic group submitted plans to convert a former clothing factory. Despite local protests, City officials could see no lawful impediment to the mosque/cultural centre being built.

In that respect, Obama is absolutely right when he talks about ‘local laws and ordinances’. He is also perfectly justified in defending America’s constitutionally protected religious freedom.

But his reaction was characteristically legalistic, when it should have been empathetic. He concentrated on process, when he should have been focusing on politics and public reaction. Continue reading and comment >>> Richard Littlejohn | Thursday, August 19, 2010

'One in Five Americans Think[s] Barack Obama Is Muslim’
THE TELEGRAPH: One in five Americans mistakenly * believes Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a new poll.

Despite the US president’s attendance in church and his repeated and public statements about his Christian faith, the number of Americans who believe he is actually Muslim is rising, the Pew Research Center poll found.

Meanwhile, the number of Americans who correctly identify Mr Obama as a Christian has fallen by nearly half from a year, to 34 per cent.

The poll, conducted by The Washington Post, found one third of conservative Republicans believe Mr Obama is a Muslim, nearly double the figure who said so last year.

The number of independent voters with the same mistaken belief has also risen, by eight points, to 18 per cent, the Post said. >>> | Thursday, August 19, 2010

* Are they truly mistaken? – Mark

Moosa Benneth: How I Came to Islam
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Australia – ‘Brother Tom’: How I Came To Islam

The Future Belongs to Islam
MACLEANS.CA: The Muslim world has youth, numbers and global ambitions. The West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it. It's the end of the world as we've known it. An excerpt from 'America Alone'. >>> Mark Steyn | Friday, October 20, 2006

Sending Bibles to Judges ‘Puts Sharia Law to Shame’
THE CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE: Thousands of Bibles are being sent to Scottish law courts and judges as part of a campaign urging them to reflect on the Christian virtues of justice and mercy.

But Terry Sanderson, head of the National Secular Society, blasted the scheme saying it “could put the Sharia laws of the Middle East to shame”.

The initiative has been launched by the Scottish Bible Society (SBS) and it is backed by one of Scotland’s most respected legal figures, Lord Mackay of Clashfern.

Foundational

Lord Mackay, a former Lord Chancellor and Lord Advocate of Scotland, wants to highlight the Bible as the “foundational source book for Scotland’s legal system.”

The SBS, of whom Lord Mackay is the honorary president, is also sending an introductory pamphlet to every court in the land.

The pamphlet, entitled The Bible in Scots Law: A Guide for Legal Practitioners, features an introduction by Lord Mackay. >>> | Monday, August 16, 2010

Appeal of Sukuk Spreads Beyond Strongholds
FINANCIAL TIMES: Malaysia and the Gulf have been the traditional strongholds of Islamic bond issuance, but the market is beginning to broaden to other countries, Muslim and otherwise.

On Monday Norton Rose, the law firm, revealed it had advised on a $10m mini-issue by International Innovative Technologies, a maker of industrial milling machines in north-east England. It raised $10m from Millennium Private Equity, based in Dubai.

Millennium will be the sole investor in the sukuk, which will be listed on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. The sukuk will pay 10 per cent a year and expire in 2014. It uses a musharaka structure, also known as profit and loss sharing, allowing Millennium an option to take a stake in IIT.

The offering is the first by a European corporate. Other prominent international companies, though, have tested the waters. >>> Robin Wigglesworth | Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Former Muslims United: Nonie Darwish

Barack Obama Earns Lowest Marks on Handling of the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has earned his lowest ever marks on his handling of the economy, as only 41 per cent said they approve of his performance, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by Associated Press-GfK, taken just 11 weeks before the Midterm elections, found his approval rating dropped from 44 per cent in April. It also found that 61 per cent say the economy has got worse or stayed the same under Mr Obama’s presidency. >>> | Wednesday, August 18, 2010