Controlling the Muslim Population in Myanmar

Rohingya Muslim girls in Myanmar's strife-torn Rakhine state

It is hard to imagine a more inhumane policy than China's one-child policy. But there is one: the two-child policy imposed on Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims. In 2013, the Myanmar government reaffirmed a 2005 policy which punishes Rohingya women who bear more than two children with hefty fines and loss of legal rights for the children.

Here is more on this attempt to control ethnic minorities.

Burma (or Myanmar) has recently passed a law that seeks to control the country's population. According to this report from Deutsche Welle:

“The president of Myanmar has signed a controversial population control bill into law, state media reported on Saturday. The law requires mothers to have their children three years apart. It was passed over the objections of rights activists, who say that it not only represses women, but also religious and ethnic minorities.”

Now, currently Burma's population is about 60 million, but its current total fertility rate is at only 2.23 children per woman, not too far above the replacement rate of 2.1. So where is the crisis of burgeoning population growth to justify such a measure? Well, apparently the Act (The Population Control Health Care Act) was drafted under some pressure “from hard-line Buddhists with anti-Muslim sentiment in mind” according to Burmese media. It is the belief of some that the Muslim proportion of the population (around 10 percent of the whole) has such a high birth rate that it could end up becoming the majority in the future. The head of Human Rights Watch's Asia office, Brad Adams, certainly thinks that this is what is driving the measure and is not afraid of pulling any punches in saying so:

"Activists with a racist, anti-Muslim agenda pressed for this population law, so there is every reason to expect it to be implemented in a discriminatory way"

The power has been given to local authorities to implement the three-year birth spacing requirement in areas with rapid population growth, but as the statute doesn't describe any punitive measures for non-compliance, I presume it will be up to the local authorities to tailor their own penalties.

Once again we can see a government seeking to regulate the most intimate decisions that families can make. Presumably if the new Act is to have any effect on people’s decisions the authorities will have to come up with some way of enforcing it and placing people in impossible situations of bending to the law or facing the consequences. Presumably this Act will fall on the poorest most heavily (particularly if the penalty is pecuniary) and presumably will further exacerbate feelings between the Buddhist majority and Muslim minority. Whether it will have a deleterious effect on Burma’s fertility rate remains to be seen.

From here.

Related reading:  Myanmar's Two-Child Policy for Mulsims

Saying "Merry Christmas" worse than fornication

Lebanese-Born Cleric Abu Musaab Wajdi Akkar: Saying 'Merry Christmas' Is Worse Than Fornication, Alcohol, Or Killing Someone

Following are excerpts from a statement in English by Lebanese-born cleric Abu Musaab Wajdi Akkari, which was posted on the Internet on November 6, 2011.

Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV 

Abu Musaab Wajdi Akkari: "You cannot say: 'Merry Christmas.' Not even if an alien came and said it to you – you cannot even say it to him, and say: "He's just an alien. I'm never going to see him again. He's not going to tell anyone."

"No 'Merry Christmas' – not from a Muslim and not from a non-Muslim. It's not part of our religion – period! It is the concept that God was born on the 25th of December. That's as polytheistic and heretic as you can get.

"When you say: 'Merry Christmas,' you are saying: 'Congratulations on your false religion,' 'Congratulations on your false understanding of life.' You are congratulating them on the most evil of polytheism and heresy.

"As Ibn Qayyim said, this is worse than fornication, drinking alcohol, and killing someone, because you are approving of the biggest crime every committed by the children of Adam – polytheism."

Muslims killing Muslims in Egypt

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) published a fact-finding report produced by a designated committee on 24 June 2013 surrounding the events of the Zawyet Abu Musallam village in Giza, Egypt, during which four Egyptian Shiites were killed after being accused by Sunni villagers of trying to spread their version of Islam. 

Background on the Egyptian village Zawyet Abu Musallam 

Zawyet Abu Musallam is one of the villages in the township of Abul Nomros in Giza, the third largest city in Egypt. There are about 17,000 people living in this relatively peaceful village, most of who identify as Sunnis. There are around 200 Egyptian Shiites living among them. 

Background on ANHRI's committee and the methodology used 

The committee, which consists of two lawyers from ANHRI's Legal Aid Unit, began its research soon after news broke on 23 June of the clashes between Shiites and Sunnis in the village. 

The committee visited the site of the clashes and interviewed villagers, government personnel, police officers, eyewitnesses, and some of those who knew the victims. The committee partially relied on videos taken during the events and TV interviews conducted with government officials on the topic. 

Challenges encountered by the committee 

Members of the committee were unable to move around freely inside the village as the Central Security Forces (CSF) had closed down most entrances. They were also unable to reach the victims as many of the injured were sent to hospitals away from the village, and others had, by the time the committee arrived, fled the village. 

Witness statements 

All witness testimonies, whether from villagers or government officials, unanimously agreed that the crisis had begun over a month ago when some Sunni imams in the village's mosques broadcast a speech filled with hatred and incitement against Shiite Muslims living in the village. Their speeches turned into fatwas, in which Shiites were called infidels, thus leading to the rise of demonstrations led by certain Muslim groups against the village's Shiite community. The demonstration took place in the streets of the village over the course of next three weeks and was particularly targeting the Shiite Abu Meshry family. They stood in front of the family's home and chanted loudly, calling the Shiites infidels who cursed two of the first four Muslim Caliphs, Abu Bakr and Mu'awiyah. 

On 23 June, Shehate Abu Meshry invited Sheikh Hassan Shehata, a prominent figure in the Shiite community, to his house even though, according to witness statements, some villagers had demanded that he not receive Shehata. Abu Meshry refused to comply with their demands prompting the villagers to surround his house in the late afternoon. They then attacked the house by throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails. Abu Meshry and his guests tried to flee the house by heading to the second floor of the building but couldn't escape as villagers began raiding the house, partially destroying the roof with iron hammers. Shehata and three others present at the house were killed and he was then dragged into the streets while the CSF and the mayor of the village stood by, refusing to intervene because they had reportedly not received any orders to do so. 

According to an officer of the CSF who spoke to the committee, investigators asked Abu Meshry to hand Shehata over to them, he refused by replying, “Over my dead body.” 

The committee also visited the Abul Nomros police station to speak to some officers but they refused to comply. However, one person at the station, who also happened to be a resident of the village, did co-operate. He told the committee that the four Shiites killed where at the Hawamdiya hospital. He added that the reason for the violence was the hate speeches delivered at the mosques at Friday prayers against the Shiite community. He refused to offer any additional information regarding the incident. 

The committee then headed to village and found it partially surrounded by the CSF. There were eight security vehicles spread out across the village. One police officer they were able to speak to said that clashes took place at around 3 pm between the villagers and that those killed were not involved in the clashes whatsoever. 

ANHRI's committee also spoke with a resident of the village who explained that people in the village disapproved of the Abu Meshry family because they were 'Shiites and infidels'. He said that some Shiites in the country had invited other Egyptians to join their religion and that some had accepted the invitation and joined in their rituals. The reason those present at Abu Meshry's house that day were killed, he said, was because the Sunni preachers in the village had called them infidels. 

The last testimony given to the committee was by another resident of the village and a photographer, Hazem Barakat. “Today [23 June 2013], I was surprised to see a procession of people walking through the village. I went down to see what was going on and found that people had attacked Abu Meshry's house and threw stones and Molotov cocktails at it. The house didn't burn though, but Abu Meshry and his guest tried to flee to the second floor. The house was then raided, Shehata and three others were killed, and he was dragged across the streets and his body was mutilated,” he said. Barakat then added that he had asked the police officers to interfere but they refused, “their only role was to remove the bodies from the streets later.” 

Videos of the incident on 23 June obtained by ANHRI's committee verified eye witness accounts and media reports. The videos show people dragging lifeless bodies across the streets while the CSF stood by watching until after the bodies were abandoned. Officers then carried the bodies to their police vehicles. In one TV interview, Giza's head of security stated that the police officers present did do their jobs. He said that when the villagers surrounded 34 Shiite citizens, policemen were able to smuggle out 30 of them, but the villagers got of four. 

Report results 

Four Shiites were killed, three of whom were Hassan Shehata, Shaban Abu Meshry, and AbdulMonjy Abu Meshry. The fourth victim's name could not be obtained. 

Police officers knew about the event, some of them were present at the scene, but none had taken an precautionary measures to prevent a potential attack. 

Leading up to the incident, there had been hate discourse targeted at Shiites in the village by Sunni imams. 

There is a lack of supervision by the Ministry of Awqaf, which is in charge of religious endowments, over the village's mosques and imams. 

Recommendations

• The government should launch a prompt and fair criminal investigation into those who incited hatred against Shiites in the village.
• The government must arrest the perpetrators for raiding a house and killing four people.
• The Ministry of Awqaf must take legal measures against the imams responsible for spreading fatwas in the village.
• The government must take the necessary measures to investigate police inaction during the incident.
• The government must reaffirm the right of citizenship and a citizen’s right to freedom of belief and religion.
• Islamic TV stations must remain professional and must not be allowed to spread hatred.

Conclusion 

We must not distinguish between the spread of hate speech against religious minorities in Egypt, especially Shiites, Christians, and Baha'is, and especially after such discourse had reached a conference held by Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi last week. Hate remarks were uttered in Morsi's presence and those who uttered them were not deterred nor stopped. Recently, posters displaying clear incitement against minorities have also been hanged around the country and there has been no intervention by the authorities. President Morsi should be held accountable for this widespread sectarianism being witnessed in the country, whether it is for turning a blind eye to the hate speech or by failing to end impunity.


Source: IFEX

Jihadists love liberal "coexist" nonsense

How did Islam coexist with the Buddhists in what is now Afghanistan? Jihad annihilated every single Buddhist and their libraries and monasteries.

There is a massive data base of the coexistence between Islam and the rest of the world at thereligionofpeace.com. It catalogs more than 20,000 jihad attacks around the world since 9/11 2001. Here is a chart of the data of the top 4 nations as victims of jihad:

Put another way, this is how Islam coexists today with Jews, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. It practices jihad against all non-Muslims, Kafirs.

The idea of coexist has a social ring to it, we’re all one big happy family. But how do we talk about all religions and not get into which one is right or best? Well, there is an easy way to do it. If you are not a member of a religion, the only thing you care about is how you are treated by those who belong to that religion. In short, you only care about the ethics and character of the adherent.

All of the world’s religions have an ethical code that is rooted in the Golden Rule. Islam 

does not have a Golden Rule. Mohammed’s life is the perfect example of how not to be a good neighbor. How do you coexist with a neighbor who has the ethical choice of jihad of murder and deceit?

What do religious leaders in American think about coexisting with Islam? They love it. Coexist is the mental mush that fills the heads of the useful idiots that go to the Family of Abraham religious dialogues. The ministers and rabbis who go to these dialogs know as much about Islam as what is found on the Coexist bumper sticker. Really, their ignorance is astounding. They are there to coexist and the imam is there to dominate. Dhimmi Christians and Jews want to tie, the Muslim wants to win.

Read it all here.


Related reading:  Jihad weapons cache found in Nigeria

Religious Intolerance in Sudan

The Secretary of State first designated Sudan as a CPC in 1999, and most recently redesignated it in August 2011. Consequently, the country was ineligible for aid under Section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Sudan’s Interim National Constitution (INC) and other laws and policies restrict religious freedom and, in practice, the government generally enforced legal and policy restrictions on this right. The trend in the government’s respect for religious freedom did not change significantly during the year. The government at times enforced laws against blasphemy and defaming Islam. Authorities harassed religious practitioners of unregistered groups and limited the freedom of the four registered religious groups. There were instances of abuse and mistreatment. The security services detained foreign English teachers on suspicion of proselytizing, and ultimately deported them, along with several family members, without court proceedings. State governments and local authorities razed two churches.

In Sudan, most non-Muslim groups refrained from public proselytizing due to a vaguely worded law that allowed the government to charge them with supporting apostasy. The government stepped up its efforts to prosecute suspected proselytizers. In October the security services detained several foreign English teachers, who were Christians, on suspicion of proselytizing, which the teachers denied. Authorities held two teachers for several weeks before ultimately deporting them, along with several family members, without court proceedings.

In Sudan, there were credible reports that state governments and local authorities razed two churches. In June, authorities in Khartoum State overrode a longstanding informal agreement and destroyed a building used as an Episcopal church, and two days later, a Catholic church. In Eritrea, the government continued to harass members of unregistered religious groups, and detained many without due process, occasionally for long periods of time, sometimes by informally charging them with threatening national security. At year’s end, NGOs estimated the total of those imprisoned because of their religious beliefs at 1,500, including several dozen members of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In April, in Sudan, rioters in Khartoum brushed aside inadequate local police forces and burned an evangelical church compound used by a mix of Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Sudanese worshippers. The authorities did not charge any of the attackers by year’s end.

Information from International Religious Freedom Report for 2012

White House Petitioned to Label Catholic Church a Hate Group

WASHINGTON — An online petition asking the White House to designate the Catholic Church as a “hate group” for its views on marriage is drawing criticism for generating unjust animosity.

The petition reveals an “underlying agenda,” which is not simply to prevent violent crimes, but to “stigmatize any disapproval of homosexuality at all and essentially to silence us,” said Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council in Washington.

He explained to Catholic News Agency on Jan. 3 that applying the “hate group” label to organizations that are morally opposed to redefining marriage is simply “name-calling designed to cut us out of the public debate.”

Initiated on Christmas Day, a petition on the White House website had collected 1,640 signatures by Jan. 3.

Read it all here.


Related reading:  Genesis and Homosex: Beyond Sodom

Imam Arrested in Blasphemy Case

ISLAMABAD: A blasphemy case took a bizarre turn here on Saturday when police arrested Khalid Jadoon, a prayer leader who had allegedly put some pages of the holy Quran among the burnt papers to strengthen the case against a Christian girl.

The arrest was made after a statement before a magistrate by a witness, Hafiz Zubair, a Muezzin in the same mosque, in which he alleged that he saw Khalid Jadoon putting the pages of Quran in the polythene bags containing the burnt papers.

A heavy contingent of police raided the residence of the prayer leader after obtaining arrest warrants, picked him up and put him behind bars.

The witness disclosed before an executive magistrate that the Imam of the mosque in Mehra Jaffer had included two pages of the Quran among burnt papers brought to him by the complainant in order to exacerbate the situation.

He said he was sitting in Aitkaf in the mosque located in front of the house of the girl when complainant Malik Hammad brought the burnt pages in two polythene bags to the prayer leader. The witness said he tried to stop the cleric from tampering with the evidence, but he insisted it would strengthen the case and lead to eviction of the girl’s family from the locality.

Source: Pakistan Dawn

Misuse of Blasphemy Law in Pakistan

After a Christian girl was arrested and charged with blasphemy for reportedly burning religious texts, it has come out that she is Downs Syndrome and may be exonerated.  If not, she will be executed. Pakistan's blasphemy law has been used to kill innocent people on trumped up charges. This is what members of the Sanhedrin did to Jesus.

Read about the misuse of the blasphemy law here.

Media Bias Against Christians... Again!

Several days ago in an act of public provocation a member of the Israeli parliament (Knesset), Michael Ben Ari, denounced the Christian scriptures, tore up a copy of the New Testament and threw it in the garbage. Since then he has been denounced by several leading Jewish groups in the USA including the influential Anti-Defamation League. The American Jewish Committee issued a statement saying that Ben Ari’s actions were “unacceptable” while the only Christian member of the Knesset, Hanna Sweid, described it as an act of “hooliganism.”

What, though, was the response of Christian leaders in the West? Nothing. Not a peep. Not only did Ben Ari’s actions not rate a mention in the Western media, but Christian leaders in the West remained silent. An extensive search across the internet did not reveal a single word of outrage or condemnation from Christian leaders including nothing from the usually vocal and quick-to-offend Religious Right in the USA. This is in contrast to Muslim responses to wanton attacks upon the Koran. When Christians burn or deface the Koran Muslims worldwide riot. In contrast, when the Christian scriptures are attacked, nothing.

Read it all here.

Related reading:  Member of Israeli Parliament Destroys Bible