Islam - Current Day - ISIS Bride; Afghan Car Bomb; Islamic Rage; Women's Rights Activist Goes Silent

ISIS bride Shamima Begum’s UK return put on hold after British government wins right to appeal decision

Shamima Begum’s return to UK shores has been cast in doubt after the British government dramatically won a court battle allowing it the right to appeal an earlier decision. The appeal will be heard by the UK’s Supreme Court.

Begum, now 20, who was one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria to join Islamic State in 2015, won a High Court appeal earlier this month, allowing her to return to the UK and challenge the withdrawal of her British citizenship.

However, on Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the case raised a point of law of public importance, meaning that Begum’s return must be paused while the UK government appeals the decision.

Begum left the UK five years ago and lived under IS rule for over three years, having married Dutch-born Islamic State fighter Yago Riedijk. She was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, and was discovered to be pregnant.

Then-UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her British citizenship later that year on national security grounds. Last year, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) said that Begum had not been unlawfully rendered stateless while she was living in Syria because she was entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship.

Afghanistan car bomb kills 8, injures 30

By Danielle Haynes

Afghan security officers stands guard outside the emergency hospital in Kabul after a car bomb blast targeted
a crowded market in Logar province of Afghanistan, on Thursday. Photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE

July 30 (UPI) -- A car bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing at least eight civilians and injuring dozens more, the Interior Ministry said.

Multiple children were among the victims.

"The incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. local time in Sharwal Square of Pul-e-Alam city, capital of Logar [province]. The initial information indicated that eight civilians were martyred and 30 wounded," tweeted ministry spokesman Tariq Arian, according to a translation by Xinhua news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack; the Taliban denied involvement, Tolo News reported.

The explosion comes ahead of a planned three-day cease-fire between the Afghan government and Taliban militants for the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Pol-e-Alam, AFG

Egyptian kills brother in row over Eid meat

Accused had warned his family against accepting meat being distributed to the poor

Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
Gulf News

The accused told prosecutors in the Delta province of Beheira that he flew into rage on learning that his family had accepted the meat given away to the poor during the Eid of Sacrifice, private newspaper Al Masri Al Youm said.

He added that his family had ignored his earlier warnings against accepting such gifts. In a fit of rage, he flew the meat piece out of the house window, triggering a fight with his brother. Wielding a knife, the accused reportedly fatally stabbed his brother and inflicted wounds in the abdomen of his sister.

Local prosecutors ordered him to be kept in custody for four days pending further interrogation.

During Eid Al Adha, Muslims, who can afford it, sacrifice animals such as sheep, goats, camels and cows, honouring the Prophet Ebrahim’s willingness to slay his son Ismael at Allah’s command. As the Prophet Ebrahim and Ismael showed unwavering obedience to the divine order, Allah sent a ram slaughtered in the son’s stead.

Was it that he was too proud to accept meat given to the poor? Did his pride exceed all common sense and love for his brother and sister? 

Of course, the son Abraham nearly sacrificed was Isaac. Ishmael had been sent away by Abraham as an illegitimate son after Isaac, the promised son was born. The Ishmael sacrifice story was invented by Mohammed thousands of years after Isaac's story was written.

'It's psychological torture': Saudi activist's family say she hasn't been heard from in 6 weeks

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UBC graduate Loujain Alhathloul turned 31 on Friday in a Saudi jail

Michelle Ghoussoub · CBC News 

Alhathloul, a graduate of the University of British Columbia, was arrested in May 2018 along with nine other high-profile women's rights activists. (Loujain Alhathloul/Facebook)

Women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul, currently jailed in Saudi Arabia, hasn't been heard from in six weeks — the longest time she's been silent since she was arrested over two years ago, according to her brother.

Alhathloul, a graduate of the University of British Columbia, has been detained since May 2018, when she was arrested along with nine other women's rights activists. She turned 31 in prison on Friday.

"We don't know anything about her well-being and we don't know anything about where she is exactly," said her brother Walid Alhathloul, speaking on the phone from Toronto.

He said she was previously detained in Ha'er Prison, a maximum-security prison and the country's largest, but the family now isn't sure whether she's been moved to a different location.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, her family was able to visit her weekly. But those visits were replaced by weekly phone calls when Saudi Arabia tightened restrictions on prison visits to prevent the spread of the virus.

Alhathloul says the family now hasn't heard from her since June 9. "I would say it's a way to torture us, the family. Loujain knows that we are doing fine, but we don't know if she's doing fine," he said.

"We're safe — she's not safe. It's psychological torture."

Detained since 2018

Alhathloul was first accused of attempting to destabilize the kingdom. Since then, those charges have been changed to communicating with foreign journalists and attempting to apply for a job at the United Nations.

Her trial was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're expecting that we're not going to get any updates from the court, or from the judge," said her brother, who said that even two years on, the family maintains hope that she will be released.

"We're holding up. We're used to that and we know that the target is us. This was difficult at the beginning, but right now it's becoming part of our DNA."

Loujain Alhathloul's birthday triggered an outpouring of support on social media, and protests

outside of the Saudi embassy in Washington DC. (Loujain Alhathloul/Facebook)

Alhathloul was a vocal activist known for her vivacity and spirit even prior to her high-profile arrest.

In 2014, following her graduation from UBC, Alhathloul was arrested for live-streaming herself breaking Saudi Arabia's female driving ban by driving across the border from the United Arab Emirates.

The stunt, which captured the world's attention, earned her 70 days of detention. She followed that up by running in Saudi Arabia's first election open to women.

After 14 months of detention, she was offered to sign a deal that would have let her walk free if she posted a video statement denying that she'd been tortured. She tore up the document.

She had previously told her family that she'd been held in solitary confinement and suffered electrocution, flogging, and sexual assault

Alhathloul's birthday triggered an outpouring of support on social media and protests outside of the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C.

Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Walid Alhathloul said he believes his sister, who in February was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by United States Congress members, has become a symbol for women's rights across the world.

"People saw that when she got involved, she didn't have to, because she had all her own privilege," he said. "And despite that, she sacrificed her own privilege for the sake of greater women's rights in Saudi Arabia. She did that unconditionally."

Demonizing Russia Dangerous for World, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Warns West

It's always nice when a Nobel Peace Prize winner

agrees with your assessment of current geopolitics

The scapegoating of Russia, which is actively promoted by the West, is “inexcusable” as it pushes the world back into the Cold War era and puts it on the brink of a disaster, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire has warned.

Russia has become the latest victim of the blame game hysteria, which the US and its western allies engage in to justify their ever-increasing military spending, Maguire wrote in an opinion piece. “All armies must have an enemy to deem them necessary,” she said, adding that people “must be convinced that there is need for action to safeguard the freedom of their country.”

What also apparently drives the Western elites mad is the prospect of losing their perceived superiority and global hegemony in the view of the new rising powers such as Russia and China, the peace activist said. “Do we honestly believe that the Western allies are going to give up their power? My suggestion is: not easily,” Maguire wrote.

“The old dying empires will fight tooth and nail to protect their financial interests such as the petrol dollar and the many benefits that come through their power over poverty-stricken countries,” she warned.

It was the petrol-dollar that was the motivation for invading Libya. Gadaffi was on the verge of selling Libyan oil in currencies other than the American dollar. That could not be allowed to happen and the country was made to pay for such an anti-American idea. It's still paying! It will be paying for a very long time as the country was left in a phenomenal mess.

“The demonization of Russia is, I believe, one of the most dangerous things that is happening in our world today,” Maguire said as she denounced the “scapegoating of Russia” as an “inexcusable game” while saying the amount of propaganda spread by the western media is literally “a throwback to the Cold War era.” She also called on people to wake up to the real results of the West’s self-declared fight for freedom, which left millions in despair but greatly benefited the elites that “financially gained from war.”

“The people of the world have been subjected to war propaganda based on lies and misinformation and we have seen the results of invasions and occupations by NATO disguised as ‘humanitarian intervention’ and ‘right to protect’,” Maguire said as she accused the US and its allies, the UK and France, of being “the most military minded countries,” which are absolutely unable to resolve conflicts through dialog.

Of course not, you can't sell defense systems to countries that are at peace and have no fear of being invaded. The idea of western European countries being invaded by Russia is so utterly absurd, and yet they are spending trillions of Euros to protect themselves when that money could be used to make the world a better place instead of lining the pockets of the military industrial complex.

The peace activist then demanded that “the policies of demonization of political leaders as a means of preparing the way for invasions and wars” be stopped “immediately.” “Surely it is time that we in Europe refuse to be put in a position where we are forced to choose between [Russia and the US],” Maguire added.

She then called for sanctions against Russia to be lifted and trust among the nations to be rebuilt. “It is time for political leaders and each individual to move us back from the brink of catastrophe to begin to build relationships with our Russian brothers and sisters,” she wrote.

Mairead Maguire is a peace activist from Northern Ireland. She was one of the co-founders of the Women for Peace movement, which later became the Community for Peace People, aimed at helping to resolve the conflict in the region. For her peace efforts, she was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize together with Betty Williams in 1976.

Maguire has become an outspoken critic of the US and British policy in the Middle East, including the western invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She particularly refused to attend the 2012 Nobel summit in Chicago as it was hosted by the US State Department, which, according to Maguire, “is continuing with war, removing basic civil liberties and human rights and international law.” She has also been a vocal critic of Israel’s policies towards Palestine. - She can't be right about everything!

In 2009, she slammed the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the US President Barack Obama.

“They say this is for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples and yet he continues the policy of militarism and occupation of Afghanistan, instead of dialogue and negotiations with all the parties to the conflict,” she said at the time.

Aung San Suu Kyi Earned Her Nobel Prize, Let Her Keep It

Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi is gathering criticism from every quarter which seems to be the way things go in this world of social media where people swarm like sharks on a perceived weakling. Suu Kyi's 'weakness' is her refusal to condemn the Burmese (Myanmar) military for their raping and killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma's Rakhine State. 

Aung San Suu Kyi is the face of democracy in Myanmar. In 1991 she easily won federal elections but was denied power by the military junta that was in control. She spent 15 of the next 21 years under house arrest. She consistently encouraged her many supporters to remain patient and non-violent. For this, and for the extraordinary courage she displayed in facing down military shooters, she won a Nobel Peace Prize, one which other Nobel Laureates would see her return. Is that fair?

The Rohingya

The Rohingya people are native to the sub-continent although a few can trace their heritage in Rakhine State back hundreds of years (some say a thousand years). Some were brought to the state by Portuguese slave traders a few hundred years ago while some others can trace their migration to Rakhine State to British colonialism. Burma was a British colony as well as the entire sub-continent.

After independence in 1948 there were many Rohingyas in Rakine State, such that they elected 5 Rohingya members to Burmese parliament. But then in 1982, the Burmese government passed a law which changed everything. Declaring Rohinyas non-citizens without the right to vote, without education, and ineligible for positions in the civil service, and with movement restrictions. 

 Jihad

The Rohingya jihad movement began in 1947, even before independence, in northern Rakhine State. They wanted the northern part of the state to join Pakistan, but Pakistan refused to entertain that idea, so they began to fight for an independent state. There are still pockets of mujahidin active today and the Burmese military blame the current operation against the Rohingyas on jihad attacks on Rakhine police.

Suu Kyi

This brings us back to Suu Kyi. During her 15 years of house arrest, Suu Kyi studied and practiced Buddhism intensely. She gracefully applied Buddhist pacifism in her struggles with the military junta, but seems to have abandoned that pacifism when it comes to the Rohingya. Is it because, only occasionally in Burma's history have they recognized the Rohingya as Burmese? Is there something in Buddhism where you don't need to apply it to non-Buddhists? Is it because they are mostly Muslim with a minority of Hindi, and therefore are a threat to Buddhists? 

The fact that northern Rakhine Muslims started fighting for independence from Burma even before Burma gained its independence from Britain is rather telling for states where there is a Muslim majority. They do not like to be ruled by a non-Muslim entity and will resort to violence to end such rule. 

Suu Kyi is 'far-thinking' enough to see that nothing good can come from having a Muslim majority state in Myanmar. They will not blend into society, nor will they be ruled by a religion they think is evil. 

The 'religion of peace' proclaims itself as tolerant of other religions but reality testifies otherwise. 

What Muslims call “tolerance,” others correctly identify as institutionalized discrimination.  The consignment of Jews and Christians to dhimmis under Islamic rule means that they are not allowed the same religious rights and freedoms as Muslims.  They cannot share their faith, for example, or build houses of worship without permission. No Muslim majority country has a thriving Christian or Buddhist community.

It seems obvious to me the Suu Kyi is doing what she always did - protecting her country and its Buddhist heritage. Her departure from 'what she always did' is that she is no longer applying Buddhist pacifism in her methods. Is it a case of 'power corrupts'? Or, is there simply no other way to save her country?

Rakhine State, Myanmar

Desmond Tutu Nominates Palestinian Mass-Murderer for Nobel Prize

South African archbishop says Marwan Barghouti

- jailed for masterminding suicide attacks -

is a 'defender of human rights.'

By Ari Soffer, Aretz Sheva


Marwan Barghouti - Reuters

South African archbishop and prominent anti-Israel campaigner Desmond Tutu has joined other activists in nominating imprisoned Palestinian arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tutu tabled the nomination in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Monday - cited by Al Arabiya - in which he hailed the Fatah-Tanzim commander as a symbol of the "struggle for freedom, [which] constitutes a clear signal of support for the realization of the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, including to self-determination."

Desmond Tutu is a longtime anti-Israel activist, and is a member of the "International High Level Committee of the Campaign for the freedom of Barghouti and all Palestinian prisoners."

Barghouti was jailed for five life terms in 2002, for masterminding scores of deadly suicide bombing attacks on Israeli civilian targets during the Second Intifada. But many anti-Israel activists still tout him as a symbol of "nonviolent resistance," and label him a "political prisoner."

In his letter, Tutu characterized Barghouti's actions as fighting "for freedom and peace," and - even more ironically - hailed the mass-murderer as "an active advocate and defender of democracy and human rights, include women's rights, and of pluralism, both religious and political, in a region and a world that desperately needs such advocates."

The victims of Barghouti's attacks and the countless grieving relatives he left behind would likely beg to differ.

An advocate and defender of rights as long as they don't include Jewish right to life. Is Tutu in this for the money or the prestige? He is certainly not in it for the truth. He has accepted the absurd propaganda that Palestinians are the most oppressed people on earth; they must be - more UN business has to do with Israel and Palestinians than anything else. 

It's curious that Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and even Gaza are a lot freer than any Palestinians living in the many refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Most of them receive little or no medical care or education, in stark contrast to the unlimited possibilities for education and medical care in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Yet, no-one seems to complain about their treatment. 

Barghouti, like all Palestinian terrorists, wants only one thing - the complete annihilation of Jews from the Holy Land. If Tutu is blind to that, what is it that hampers his view?