Islam - Current Day > Damascus in the Dark; Saudi Beats Wife in Public; Muslim Anti-Semites in the UK; Sudan Coup Fails; Terror Attacks Infographic

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Attack on gas pipeline in Syria causes brief power outage

yesterday

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An attack with explosive devices laid along a natural gas pipeline southeast of Syria’s capital knocked out power in parts of the country before it was quickly restored, the electricity minister said Saturday.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the latest incidence of sabotage targeting Syria’s oil and gas infrastructure. During the 10-year conflict, Syria’s oil and gas infrastructure was subject to repeated attacks and many oil fields now lay outside of government-controlled areas.

The attack southeast of Damascus late Friday targeted a pipeline that feeds nearly 50% of Syria’s power plants, according to Electricity Minister Ghassan al-Zamel, whose comments were carried by state media.

He said the attack caused a drop in the transmission pressure, affecting different power plants in the country.

Maintenance work began early Saturday and power was restored to all provinces, al-Zamel said. But he warned that rationing would be “severe” until all repair work was completed.

A statement from the Oil Ministry called it a “terrorist attack that targeted the Arab Natural Gas pipeline” in the Haran al-Awamid area in southern Syria.

The pipeline is part of a transregional gas export pipeline that used to bring natural gas from Egypt to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The exports stopped before Syria’s war, but the pipeline has been integrated into the country’s grid.

Saudi man arrested for beating wife in public

Video of the assault went viral on social media, prompting outrage

Published:  September 19, 2021 17:37

Tawfiq Nasrallah, Senior News Editor

Gulf News

Al Karj, Saudi Arabia

Dubai: A Saudi man, in his 40s, was arrested for beating his wife in public some family disputes, local media reported.

A video of the man beating his wife in a public facility went viral on social media, prompting angry reactions among social media users.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the media spokesman for the Riyadh police, Khaled Al Kuraides, said that they acted upon a video clip that was doing the rounds in Saudi Arabia showing the man attacking a woman in Al Kharj Governorate.

Riyadh police launched an immediate investigation and identified both the man and the woman, who turned out to be his wife. He was apprehended and will be referred to the public prosecution for legal action.

Well, I'm sure he will learn to drag his wife home and beat her there, like a good Muslim.

4 men from Blackburn charged for anti-Semitic abuse in London

during Israel-Gaza conflict

20 Sep, 2021 14:52

Palestinian flags © REUTERS/Toby Melville

British authorities have charged four men for allegedly driving around London – hundreds of miles from their homes in Lancashire – while shouting anti-Semitic abuse from cars adorned with Palestinian flags.

On Monday it was reported that four men from Blackburn, Lancashire had been charged via postal requisition last week and would appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on October 6. 

Mohammed Iftikhar Hanif, 27, and Asif Ali, 25, both of Pringle Street; Jawaad Hussain, 24, of Revidge Road; and Adil Mota, 26, of Leamington Road are accused of incitement to racial hatred as they travelled to London to shout anti-Semitic abuse from their cars on May 16. All of the suspects are in their 20s.

The men were caught on camera, in a number of videos which were widely shared online, driving round parts of the capital known for having sizeable Jewish populations, shouting anti-Semitic abuse from a megaphone. Their cars were draped in Palestinian flags.

Four men were arrested immediately after the events, but were released on May 18. At the time, the Metropolitan Police said the four were released “pending further enquiries.”

Stephen Silverman, director of investigations and enforcement at the Campaign Against Antisemitism, welcomed the charging. “We are pleased that suspects have now been charged, but the convoy should never have been allowed in the first place, and there remain many other unsolved crimes committed against British Jews from that same period of fighting between Hamas and Israel,” he said. 

The anti-Semitic behaviour took place amid the short-lived conflict between Israel and militant organizations in Gaza. A number of protests against Israel took place around the UK and Ireland.

And were they all actioned by Muslims? Is the UK OK with the fact that they are becoming more and more anti-Semitic as they become more and more Muslim?

Military coup attempt fails in Sudan, state TV says

By Clyde Hughes

Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Government officials said an attempted coup in Sudan failed on Tuesday, in which the military tried to take control of the state media building.

Officials said the suspects tried to seize a state-run television station in Omdurman, not far from the capital Khartoum, but were turned back.

A different military coup overthrew Sudan's longtime dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019, leaving the country in a perpetual state of unrest since.

"All is under control. The revolution is victorious," Sudan Sovereign Council spokesman Mohamed al-Faki Suleiman said Tuesday, according to Africa News.

The Sovereignty Council has monitored the lengthy government transition from al-Bashir's military rule to a civil government. Council officials did not give details about the coup attempt or how it was repelled.

Sudan's government transition has been hindered by widespread public discontent spurred by an economic crisis.

Infographic: Terror attacks since 9/11 claim 263,700 lives

Jihadists and other extremists have launched multiple deadly attacks around the globe

The list doesn't even mention the thousands of deaths in Nigeria and elsewhere in the Sahel, from Boko Haram and the Fulani Herdsmen. Most attacks killed a few dozens of mostly Christian farmers, but the total is well into the thousands.

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Spectacular Irony - Duterte Outlaws Misogynistic Behavior

Duterte outlaws misogynistic behavior,

despite long history of public rape jokes

But with one loop-hole, just for him

File photo: © REUTERS/Erik De Castro

Outspoken Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill penalizing public sexual harassment ranging from cat-calls and wolf-whistles, to persistent telling of sexual jokes – for which he himself is famous.

Duterte signed the so-called Safe Spaces Act in April but, for unknown reasons, the legislation wasn’t publicly released until Monday.

Among the offending acts for which perpetrators will now be liable are:

intrusive gazing

cursing,

misogynistic acts,

the use of sexual slurs,

persistent telling of lewd jokes both in public and online.

In addition, the law targets those who expose themselves in public or engage in “groping or any advances, whether verbal or physical, that is unwanted and has threatened one’s sense of personal space and physical safety.”

Public spaces like bars, restaurants and cinemas will now be required to install clearly visible warning signs in addition to hotline contact information to report any offences. 

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the main author of the bill, called it a “massive victory” which allowed people to “reclaim our streets from sexual harassers and gender bigots.”

Under the new law, punishments for unseemly behavior range from small fines to imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offense. Foreign violators will be deported after paying their fine or serving their sentence.

Duterte himself has been excoriated by women’s groups and political opponents throughout his presidency for a slew of crude jokes, often involving rape. 

The women’s rights political party, Gabriela, described him in a scathing assessment as “the single most brazen violator of the law’s intent with his staple macho-fascist remarks.”

It looks like many will be watching like hawks in case Duterte breaks any of the stringent new rules himself. However they’ll be wasting their time as a spokesman said on Tuesday that the new law “does not apply” to the president.

“When he cracks jokes, it is intended to make people laugh, never to offend,” Salvador Panelo said, adding that Duterte respects women and is never lewd.

Women Finally Beat Men in Medical Exams after Japanese University Stops Rigging Tests

Corruption is Everywhere,

but no longer in Japan's medical school entrance exams

Juntendo University Hospital, Tokyo

Women are outperforming men at a Japanese University for the first time in seven years, after the medical school admitted to previously rigging entrance exams to limit female entrants.

Juntendo University in Tokyo said on Monday that out of the 1,679 women who took the medical school entrance exam this year, 8.28 percent passed, compared to the 7.72 percent of successful male applicants.

Last year, the private university, along with at least eight other Japanese medical schools, were found to have rigged their exam system (3rd story on link) over the last decade to give first-time male test takers an advantage over women and repeat applicants.

When the revelation came to light, the dean of Juntendo justified the practice by saying women were already at an advantage due to their natural mental maturity. “Women mature faster mentally than men, and their communication ability is also higher,” Hiroyuki Daida said at a news conference. “In some ways, this was a measure to help male applicants.”

The university has now corrected its exams for 2019 and added female teachers to the board that interviews prospective students.

'I've Got a Surprise for You': Husband Blindfolds His Wife.... and Then Chops Off Her Fingers to Stop Her Studying for a Degree

This is not the first such story I have reported on this blog.

By DAILY MAIL 

A jealous husband is facing life in prison after chopping off his wife's fingers because she began studying for a degree without his permission.

Rafiqul Islam, 30, blindfolded his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, and taped her mouth, telling her he was going to give her a surprise present.

Instead he made her hold out her hand and cut off all five fingers. One of his relatives then threw Ms Akhter's fingers in the dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.

The madness of Islam is not restricted to individuals. Whole families commit torture and great evil on women attempting to improve their lot, or actually accomplish something outside the home.

Hawa Akhter has said she will continue her studies, despite the horrific attack

Mr Islam, who is a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, had warned his wife there would 'severe consequences' if she did not give up her studies.

'After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me,' Ms Akhter told The Times.

'Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand. He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers.'

Mohammed Saluddin, the Bangladesh police chief said that Mr Islam had confessed after he was arrested in the capital, Dhaka, and will face charges of permanent disfiguration.

Human rights groups are demanding life imprisonment.

'He was enraged. He was jealous because while he only had a grade eight standard education, she was off to college to pursue higher studies,' said Mr Saluddin.

Ms Akhter says she is learning to write with her left hand and is determined to resume her studies. She is now back at her parent's house.

The attack is the latest in a series of acts targeting educated women in the Muslim-majority company.

In June, an unemployed man gouged out the eyes of his wife, an assistant professor at Dhaka University, apparently because he could not stand her pursuing higher studies at a Canadian University.

There are many such stories of jealousy of Muslim men when a woman asserts herself. It may be one reason why Bangladesh and many Muslim countries has an average IQ in the low 80s. Men of low intelligence forbid, maim, or kill women vastly superior to themselves resulting in a general and persistent decline in intelligence in the overall population.

Thousands Protest Against Menstrual-Age Women Accessing Hindu Temple in India

© AFP/ SAM PANTHAKY

Hundreds of police officers had to be deployed in India as thousand-strong crowds poured onto the streets to stop women of menstruating age from entering one of Hinduism’s holiest sites.

India’s Supreme Court, at the end of September, struck down a ban on females aged between 10 and 50 from entering the temple for Ayyappa, god of growth, in the southern Kerala state.

The ruling will take effect on Wednesday and allows for females of all ages to flock to the place of worship, which sees tens of millions of devotees each year.

© Reuters/ SIVARAM V

But protesters, including women, gathered to protest the judgement, which they say goes against their religious beliefs. The god Ayyappa is considered to be celibate, so women of menstruating age are banned from entering his temple. Some Hindu communities also consider women on their periods to be unclean and ban them from religious practices.

According to local news agency PTI, mobs circled vehicles attempting to reach the shrine to stop women of the banned age from accessing the site. But Kerala police spokesman Pramod Kumar told AFP the situation is “under control.”

Temples across the country mostly allow for women of menstruating age to access holy sites, but there are still those who oppose their entry, despite ongoing rights activists’ campaigns.

© AFP/ Kaviyoor Santosh

Activist Trupti Desai who received death threats as she planned her visit to the temple, said: “It is our constitutional right, and we will stand up for it. People are trying to bully me but I am not scared.”

It is understood Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist BJP party, supported the marches against the court’s order.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, however, warned there would be “stern action” against those attempting to block women from reaching the site, local media reports.

18 Year Old Sex Assault Allegation Paints Justin Trudeau into His Own Corner

Trudeau has boxed himself in with his own zero-tolerance policy on sexual misconduct: Robyn Urback

An 18-year-old allegation against Trudeau, originally printed in a community paper,

resurfaced this month

Robyn Urback · CBC News 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made clear, over and over again, that there is no time limit on defending women's rights or for standing up for what is right. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

If the climate in Canada were different, an 18-year-old allegation of sexual misconduct against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would be swiftly addressed, then probably dismissed.

The allegation originally appeared in an August 2000 edition of the Creston Valley Advance, a small community newspaper in B.C. The editorial, which resurfaced earlier this month, claimed that the then-28-year-old Trudeau "groped" a young reporter at a music festival, noting that he only apologized when he learned that she worked for a newspaper.

If there was no merit to the allegation, in this hypothetical alternative climate, the Prime Minister's Office could simply say so.

If there was merit to the allegation — again, theoretically speaking — Trudeau could concede that he had indeed behaved unacceptably, and remind us that he has since devoted his life to defending the integrity of all Canadians, but especially women.

Again, only if the climate in Canada were different.

In reality, neither of these options is available to Trudeau.

Cannot recall 'negative interactions'

If the allegation is false (CBC News continues to investigate the claim) Trudeau doesn't really have the option, from a political perspective, to say so.

In the current climate, denying the claim is akin to saying, "She's lying," which is a taboo phrase for the leader of a government that has made believing women central to its approach to sexual misconduct allegations.

If the allegation is true, on the other hand, Trudeau can't simply explain, apologize and attempt to move on. It would look like he afforded himself leniency that he'd denied to members of his caucus who were accused of misconduct.

So the prime minister is stuck: he can't confirm or deny. As a result, his office opted for the most unsatisfactory of all possible responses, telling the National Post that Trudeau does not recall any "negative interactions" in Creston during that time. In other words, Canada's highest-profile women's rights advocate has been stricken by a convenient bout of amnesia. 

There is room to distinguish this allegation from some of the others that have plagued Ottawa over the past couple of years. The claim is from nearly two decades ago, long before Trudeau entered politics, and without the power imbalance we sometimes see in cases where prominent men abuse their authority. For those reasons, some will surely argue that Trudeau is being unfairly railroaded by a movement that lacks necessary nuance.

And indeed, there would be ample sympathy for this notion, had Trudeau not helped to create the very climate to which he is now vulnerable. 

In 2014, he suspended two MPs from the Liberal caucus after allegations surfaced about sexual misconduct. Trudeau publicly named the two — Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti — before actually informing them of the allegations against them. A subsequent independent investigation concluded there was merit to the complaints, though they were of two decidedly different natures: Andrews was accused of harassing behaviour, unwelcome groping and grinding, while Pacetti was accused of sex without "explicit" consent. 

There are different contexts, implications and considerations when it comes to what these different claims mean, but the Liberal machine nevertheless lumped them together, forcing the pair to share headlines, a hired investigator, and an announcement of their expulsion. Andrews eventually accepted the findings of the review, saying he's since learned how his "jovial Newfoundland friendliness can be perceived," but Pacetti has always maintained his innocence. That important distinction is often overlooked. 

Alberta MP Kent Hehr is out of the federal cabinet permanently following an investigation into his conduct with women.

(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

More recently, Kent Hehr, once the minister for sports and persons with disabilities, stepped down from cabinet, initially temporarily, in response to allegations that he made sexually suggestive and other unwelcome comments to a woman in an elevator, and touched a woman inappropriately at an event. Though the subsequent independent investigation found the touch was involuntary (Hehr is a quadriplegic and has limited feeling in and control of his limbs), Hehr conceded that his comments were inappropriate, even though he says he cannot remember the interaction. In any case, Hehr will not return to cabinet.

Interestingly, Hehr managed to maintain his cabinet position up to that point, despite reportedly telling thalidomide survivors that "everyone in Canada has a sob story," and dismissing a Calgary mother's "loaded question" about why the government was denying maternity benefits to sick mothers, saying it was akin to "the old question … 'When did you stop beating your wife?'" 

Perhaps it was simply the weight of all of the allegations that made keeping Hehr in cabinet untenable by the time the sexual misconduct claims landed, but the implication is that while there is some tolerance for cabinet members in terms of disparaging the disabled community, there is zero tolerance for harassing women.

Trudeau: Misconduct standards apply to me, too   03:44   

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the zero-tolerance standards on misconduct toward women applies to him, too, in an exclusive interview with CBC News. Trudeau says women who come forward with allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment should be supported 3:44

Trudeau has said as much in various interviews about his approach to tackling sexual harassment. "We have no tolerance for this — we will not brush things under the rug, but we will take action on it immediately," he told The Canadian Press earlier this year. In a CBC Radio interview around the same time, the prime minister said he should be held to high standards of conduct, adding: "I've been very, very careful all my life to be thoughtful, to be respectful of people's space and people's headspace as well."

In his many interviews on the topic, he has not included an appeal for allowances for youthfulness or genuine remorse, or simply the acknowledgement that people sometimes do bad things. This is not to suggest that any combination of these factors should necessarily exonerate the aforementioned men. I only mean to point out that the excuses that some have already used to defend the prime minister against this one accusation (This was almost 20 years ago!) haven't actually crossed his lips.

Trudeau has essentially boxed himself in with his own zero-tolerance policy. He has made clear, over and over again, that there is no time limit on defending women's rights or for standing up for what is right. This is the climate that Trudeau helped create. He can't forget that now.

It's interesting that opposition parties are being pretty quiet about this so far. Is it a case of, 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone'? Are opposition leaders afraid of being caught in the same net?

India may Start Jailing for ‘Instant Divorce’ Still Used by Local Muslims

Triple-Talaq on its way out in most of India

© Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

A law has reportedly been drafted in India to ban the controversial practice of instant divorce, known as triple talaq, with violators facing three years in jail. Dozens of Muslim men still use the practice yearly, including by means of WhatsApp or SMS.

The draft law – entitled the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill – was sent to the authorities of Indian states on Friday, a senior government official said as reported by The Indian Express. 

“Triple talaq” amounts to divorce in traditional Muslim circles in India, although it is considered to be a glaring misinterpretation of the Koran. The apocryphal ritual is performed when a husband utters the Arabic word ‘ṭalaq,’ meaning “I divorce you,” to his wife three times.

The draft law was prepared by an inter-minister group led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The document states that a woman whose husband gave her a triple talaq can report him to authorities and demand “subsistence allowance” for herself and minor children, NDTV reported. 

Should a husband decide to give his wife an instant divorce online (via e-mail, WhatsApp or SMS), such a procedure will also be illegal, the draft clarifies. “The provision of subsistence allowance and custody has been made to ensure that in case the husband asks the wife to leave the house she should have legal protection,” the official said.

The draft comes as the practice of “instant divorce” continues across India: “There have been 177 reported cases of instant talaq before the judgement and 66 after the order this year... Uttar Pradesh tops the list. Hence, the government planned a law.”

The law can be applied everywhere in India, except Jammu and Kashmir province, which has a Muslim-majority population. It is not clear exactly why this bill won’t be applied there.

A range of Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan, have long since abolished the instant divorce. However, it remains legal under Indian law. In April this year Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his opinion of the triple talaq by saying that “injustice should not be done to Muslim women.” 

Judge Quotes Bible, Allows Ex-Husband Who Battered ‘Adulterous’ Wife Walk Free

The judge quotes from the Old Testament and alludes to the Quran, both of which are examples of legalism. Jesus fulfilled the law and supplanted it with grace. When He was brought an adulterous woman, her accusers wanted Him to lead the stoning, but Jesus said, 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone'. Her accusers disappeared; Jesus forgave the woman and told her to go and sin no more. That's grace! That's Christianity!

© West Coast Surfer / Global Look Press

Portuguese judges sparked anger after quoting the Bible as justification for handing down a suspended sentence to a man who attacked his ex-wife with a nail-studded bat. He had alleged that she was unfaithful to him.

The attacker was given a 15-month suspended sentence, and a fine of €1,750, for the 2015 assault, which left his victim covered in cuts and bruises. Prosecutors had argued that the sentence was too lenient and appealed for three-and-a half-years jail time. This request was rejected by appeal court judges on October 11, according to AP.

In the Porto court's written ruling, which became available only on Monday, the judges wrote that "adultery of the woman is a very serious attack on the honor and dignity of man," before further noting that there are still some societies in which "the adulterous woman is stoned to death,” as cited by Publico.

"In the Bible we can read that the adulterous woman should be punished with death,” wrote judge Neto de Moura, who then went on to use a 19th-century law to justify the lenient sentence for the attacker.

He used a 4,000 year old law to condemn the woman. Was he confident that the man had never committed adultery on his wife? Was it even a consideration? Is a wife justified in beating her husband if he cheats on her? Portuguese law has just taken a step back into the dark ages. I'm sure Muslim men will be thrilled.

“It was not long ago that the criminal law [of 1886] punished with little more than a symbolic penalty the man who, finding his wife in adultery, in that act killed her. Women’s adultery is a conduct that society has always condemned and strongly condemns (and honest women are the first to stigmatize adulteresses), and so she sees with some understanding the violence exercised by the man [who was] betrayed, vexed and humiliated by the woman,” he added.

But men's adultery has always been excused. Come on Portugal; enter the 21st century. It's time to retire some senior judges!

Criticizing the ruling, Attorney General Guilherme Figueiredo said: "It creates the false idea that the adulterous woman deserves punishment, unlike the adulterous man, which can create a wrong idea for violent citizens. We must be aware that there is a very serious problem of domestic violence in Portugal.”

Women's rights groups also criticized the judges, with the Women’s Alternative and Response Union describing the ruling as “inadmissible” because it legitimizes violence against women. The group also said it planned to hold protest rallies this Friday.

Two ‘Honor Killing’ Suspects Charged After Teen Found Dead in Fridge in UK

Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged honor killing of a teenage girl whose stuffed body was found in a fridge in a south London property.

On Wednesday evening, authorities discovered a body of a 19-year-old girl in a £1.5million property in Kingston-on-Thames. According to initial reports, the corpse had been found inside a fridge.

Investigators believe the victim was kidnapped along with another woman described as being in her 20s, but who managed to escape her captors after being slashed across the throat. She remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Immediately following the murder, the Metropolitan police detained three suspects – two men and a woman – in connection with the killing. While the 29-year-old female has been released, police charged both male suspects.

The 33-year-old man was “charged with the murder, rape and kidnap of a 19-year-old woman,” police said. “He is further charged with the rape, attempted murder and kidnap of a second victim, a woman aged in her 20s.”

The second suspect in the case was “charged with the kidnap of both the 19-year-old woman and the woman aged in her 20s.”

Both men, who have not been named, are scheduled to appear at the Wimbledon Magistrates Court Monday.

Earlier, media reports indicated that the perpetrators were believed to be the uncle of the 19-year-old and the step-father of the other victim. Neighbors also told local news outlets that the crime could have been an honor killing.

That has not yet been officially confirmed.

Police earlier noted that both kidnapped females knew their kidnappers who subjected them to the violent attack.

Police have also dismissed reports that the teenage victim had been “chopped up,” saying the woman was discovered “intact,” the Daily Mail reported.

A formal identification of the body has not yet taken place, but the post-mortem examination Friday confirmed an incised wound to the neck as the cause of death.

Police have identified the deceased and have informed her next of kin. They have yet to release her name.

Say Good-Bye to the Old Sweden; Embrace the New - Gov't Charity Ad

‘No way back, Sweden will never be what it was’:
TV ad urges Swedes to ‘integrate’ with migrants

This is a great ideal and might even work to some degree, but a portion of Islam will never integrate with western values. And what values do Muslims bring to the table that Swedes should embrace: hijabs, misogyny, Sharia, jihad, child brides, female genital mutilation, unaccompanied or underdressed women as fair game for rape?

Since this is not an ideal world we have to consider the reality of it all, and that is that Muslims have a much higher birthrate than Europeans and, consequently, will be in the majority in most European countries sometime in this century. A majority Muslim state is very vulnerable to an Islamic Revolution which means we will all be under Sharia. Then Swedes will wonder, how did this happen?


© Bax Lindhardt / Reuters

A Swedish TV ad made by a government-backed charity has urged citizens to accept that “Sweden will never be what it once was” and to find a way to “live side by side” with the growing number of migrants and refugees.

The 75-second video, called ‘Det Nya Landet’ (The New Country), shows smiling faces of different racial and ethnic profiles. The voiceover says, "New Swedes will claim their space and bring their culture, language and customs – and it's time to see it as a positive force," adding that “there is no way back.”

The video also calls on the country’s people to “live side by side” with the newcomers, and “build a country where we put fear and hate aside.”

“It’s not just new Swedes who need to integrate. Everyone needs to be integrated, established Swedes too,” the video added. “Integration does not mean that one party should adapt to the other, or that everyone should think, do and feel the same. Integration is about meetings, and real meetings are built on reciprocity.”

The ad was produced by the Swedish charity Individuell Manniskohjalp (Individual Relief), and the group says its activities are dedicated to fighting and exposing poverty and exclusion.

The organization is an official member of the government-backed Swedish Fundraising Council (SFC), and the campaign is reportedly a recipient of taxpayer’s funds, according to Swedish news source Fria Tider.

The campaign is accompanied by the hashtag #detnyalandet, which Twitter users can share in reaction to the ad.

“Individual relief is proof that SIDA [the Swedish government agency aimed at reducing poverty in the world] money goes to activism instead of help. A reform is needed,” one user posted.

“A better PR trick would have been to calm people and persuade them that everything will become good again, not ‘there is no way back.’"

“Sweden has really vile anti-whites in government, they must be tried for their treason and will be sooner or later,” one of the messages read.

The charity had to apologize following the reaction, saying that it was not asking Swedes to give up their “old” culture, but rather was promoting “mutual integration,” which “means that the two go together into something bigger.”

Good luck with that.

Last year, nearly 200,000 refugees and migrants entered Sweden – more per capita than any other nation in Europe.

At the beginning of September, it was reported that the percentage of Swedes who want their country to welcome fewer refugees has nearly doubled in a year, with 60 percent urging the authorities to reduce immigration.

Only 13 percent of the population said that they thought more refugees and migrants should be accepted.

German Interior Minister Calls for Partial Burqa Ban

© Regis Duvignau / Reuters

The German interior minister has advocated a partial burqa ban amid a debate on the integration of Muslim refugees. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that a “completely covered” woman has almost “no chance of integrating” herself into German society.

Ahead of a meeting with regional representatives of the German Conservative Party (DKP), German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told journalists that wearing a full veil in Germany “has no place in our country and… does not comply with our understanding of the role of women.”

About 5 million Germans are Muslims, making up 5 percent of the total population.

Having met with regional representatives of the Conservatives, the minister said: “We agree that we reject the burqa, we agree that we want to introduce a legal requirement to show one's face in places where it is necessary for our society's coexistence: at the wheel, at public offices, at the registry office, in schools and universities, in the civil service, in court.” 

The Muslim burqa – a full-body covering –  “does not belong in our cosmopolitan country,” the interior minister said, stressing that wearing a burqa will be prohibited in certain public places, but not as a cultural practice.

“We want to show our faces to each other and that is why we agree that we reject this. The question is how we put this into law,” de Maiziere said.

In turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) group of newspapers that, in her opinion, “a completely covered woman has almost no chance of integrating herself in Germany.”

The head of the German government did not, however, go as far as expressing unconditional support to the idea of a burqa ban, stressing that "This is a question of finding the right political and legal balance, and Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has my full support in finding a solution,” TheLocal.de reported her as saying.

The bill implies banning burqas from public offices – namely schools, universities, kindergartens and child care institutions, in government offices and courts (members of the jury and witnesses included), in registrar and civil registration offices, at passport and transport controls, during rallies and demonstrations, also while driving a vehicle.

De Maiziere made it clear that the “blanket ban” on burqas suggested by the right wing of the ruling Christian Union bloc is a non-starter, but expressed hope that the Bundestag lower house would support the current bill.

The burqa ban bill presents a compromise with the hardline right wing of Merkel’s right-left “grand coalition” ahead of two key state elections next month, where the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is expected to show gains.

Back in 2009, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees held a poll which revealed that two out of three Muslim women in Germany did not even wear a headscarf, let alone burqa or niqab – which fully covers the head, except for the eyes.

I wonder if that is still true today?

In Merkel’s cabinet, Labor Minister Andrea Nahles, representing the junior partner in Merkel's ruling coalition, the Social Democrats (SPD), said the burqa ban demands prove that political discourse in Germany is becoming “increasingly xenophobic,” Reuters reported.

Ferry Catastrophe: Muslim Men Beat Women and Children to Save Themselves

It's often in a crisis that a person's true character is revealed. In the sinking of the Norman Atlantic, some Muslim men revealed what they are made of, and it wasn't pretty.

December 29, 2014 , by Nicolai Sennels, News 10.DK

Greek soprano Dimitra Theodossiou

"Witnesses report about the hell on the ferry Norman Atlantic and tell of chaos, panic and people fighting for their own survival."

The ferry caught fire Sunday morning at. 6 local time. At that time the ferry was 61 km from the coast near Corfu.

The fire broke out on the deck, and has been impossible to extinguish. And it took 32 hours before the last person had been evacuated from the ferry.

The Norman Atlantic 

The Greek soprano Dimitra Theodossiou was on board the ferry. She told the Italian media that she saw men beat women in order to come first to the rescue helicopter.

“It was hell. I saw some scary scenes. There were men, Iraqis, Turks, Pakistanis on the ship, who were told to sit down to allow rescuers to prioritize children, elderly and women. But they climbed, beat and pulled the people to come first to the rescue helicopter and into safety. I was also beaten. I was so furious. It was really ugly. I will never forget it.”, Said Dimitra Theodossiou.”

Isn't it nice to know that if you are a 13 year old Muslim girl with a baby, that your husband would probably knock you down and step on you to save his own life?

Saudis Increase Security at Jeddah Stadium for Fear That a Woman Might Sneak In

Authorities have intensified security around a stadium in the Red Sea city of Jeddah to ensure no woman could sneak in to watch a football match.

Jeddah Stadium - no room for women

Manama, Bahrain: Saudi Arabian authorities have intensified security around a stadium in the Red Sea city of Jeddah to ensure no woman could sneak in to watch a football match.

The much-awaited match between local team Al Ittihad and the Riyadh-based squad of Al Hilal in the Crown Prince Cup competition was a crowd puller, but the authorities wanted to make sure no woman could enter the 60,000-seat Jawhara Stadium at the King Abdullah Sports City.

Security was beefed up at the main gates and spectators had to show their identity cards to be allowed inside, Saudi daily Makkah reported on Wednesday.

The unusual step was taken after a woman was able this month to sneak past stadium guards to watch a match between Al Ittihad and Al Shabab before she was spotted and referred to the police for questioning. Actually, she was arrested, and, I believe, is still in jail.

Woman in disguise watching soccer. Heaven forbid!

She told investigators that she was not aware of any ban on women attending games.

The woman, in her 20s, said she did not have any problem buying her ticket online and that she arrived early and chose a place where she would not be in the middle of a crowd.

Police spokesman Atti al-Qurashi said security spotted her at the stadium "deliberately disguised" in male attire to avoid detection, reported the state-linked news website Twasul.

Okaz reported Sunday that police questioned the woman, who is in her twenties, for "impersonating" a man by wearing pants, a long-sleeve top, a hat and sunglasses. Most women in Saudi Arabia cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab and all women are required to wear a loose black dress known as the abaya in public.

The paper said the woman has been in police custody since Friday and is being held at a center for girls in the western province of Mecca. No charges have been raised so far.

City of Jeddah on the Red Sea

Ultraconservative Saudi clerics shun female access to exercise and women's teams are not part of the kingdom's federation that oversees sports. Women often struggle to find facilities to train and are not allowed to attend matches in stadiums.

Saudi Arabia has a very strict policy regarding female attendance at sports matches. Permissions are needed to allow foreign women to watch the matches in which their home teams play. There is talk of assigning a section of the stadium for 'families'. This would be a good time for that to happen.

Football is highly popular in the kingdom and fans follow with great interest the British, Italian and Spanish leagues.

Meriam's Brother Denounced Her and Thinks She Deserves to be Executed

The brother of a Sudanese woman facing the death penalty for ‘abandoning her Islamic faith’ has said she 'should be executed' if she continues to be a Christian.  

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Matt 24:9

Meriam Ibrahim, who gave birth to a daughter in her prison cell last week, has been sentenced to  100 lashes and death by hanging after a Sharia court convicted her for converting to Christianity, and ‘adultery’ because she had wed a non-Muslim.

Today her brother Al Samani Al Hadi told CNN that he had denounced his sister to the authorities because his family are 'Muslim people.' 

But Ms Ibrahim, 27, maintains that her Muslim father left when she was young and that she was raised a Christian by her Ethiopian mother, who is an Orthodox Christian.

'It's one of two; if she repents and returns to our Islamic faith and to the embrace of our family, then we are her family and she is ours,' he said.

'But if she refuses she should be executed,' he told CNN. Who would want to be part of a family like that. That's not family by any definition I know of. It's a pity that Allah is so devoid of forgiveness and grace. No wonder she worships Jesus - the epitome of forgiveness and grace.

Today Ms Ibrahim's lawyer said she has appealed the sentence. 

The appeal demands the release of Ms Ibrahim, saying the court that tried her committed 'procedural errors,'  said her lawyer, Eman Abdul-Rahim.

Ms Ibrahim ,a qualified doctor, was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for apostasy and adultery for marrying Daniel Wani in 2011, a Christian Sudanese man with U.S. citizenship who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire.

As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their faith.

Ibrahim has a son, 18-month-old Martin, who is living with her in jail, where she gave birth to a second child last week. By law, children must follow their father's religion. So that means that the children have to be Christians. But the Mother being Christian is worthy of death? Islamic insanity!

Amnesty International condemned the sentence against Ibrahim, calling it 'abhorrent,' and the U.S. State Department said it was 'deeply disturbed' by the sentence.

Sudan introduced Islamic Shariah law in the early 1980s under the rule of autocrat Jaafar Nimeiri, a move that contributed to the resumption of an insurgency in the mostly animist and Christian south of Sudan.

The south seceded in 2011 to become the world's newest nation, South Sudan.

Sudanese President Omar Bashir, an Islamist who seized power in a 1989 military coup, has said his country will implement Islam more strictly now that the non-Muslim south is gone.

A number of Sudanese have been convicted of apostasy in recent years, but they all escaped execution by recanting their new faith.

Religious thinker and politician Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, a critic of Nimeiri and his interpretation of Shariah, was sentenced to death for apostasy. 

He was executed in 1985 at the age of 76.

Campaigners had said that they feared the Sudanese government was just ‘playing games’ to try and get the international community off its back.

Women in Iran are Taking Off the Hijab - Stealthy Freedom

Women across Iran are posting photos of themselves without the hijab to a dedicated Facebook page called "My Stealthy Freedom".

The Facebook page was set up just over a week ago, and already has 130,000 "likes". Almost all are from people in Iran, both men and women.

So far the page has around 150 photos. They show women on the beach, on the street, in the countryside, alone, with friends or their partners - but crucially - all without the headscarf. Most include a few words, for example: "I loathe the hijab. I too like the feel of the sun and the wind on my hair. Is this a big sin?"

Ever since the Islamic Revolution 35 years ago, it has been illegal for a woman to leave the house without wearing a headscarf. The punishment ranges from a fine to imprisonment. "My hair was like a hostage to the government," says Masih Alinejad, an Iranian political journalist who lives in the UK and who set up the Facebook page. "The government still has a lot of hostages," she adds.

A woman on the beach - one of the images of the "My Stealthy Freedom" Facebook page

Alinejad got the idea after she posted some photos of herself without the hijab to her own Facebook page. The images were liked thousands of times. So many women began to send her their own pictures that she decided to set up a dedicated page. Though she's well-known for being critical of the government in Iran, she insists the page is not political. "These are not women activists, but just ordinary women talking from their hearts."

"My problem is not having to wear the headscarf. My problem is not having a choice," writes one woman on the Facebook page. "Stealthy freedom means, just for a few seconds, I will be what I want to be," writes another.

This, of course, flies in the face of comments by Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau, who forced more than 100 Christian girls to 'convert' to Islam. Shekau says that he 'liberated' them, then showed them dressed in long black gowns with hijabs in the hot sun of sub-Saharan Africa. 

A woman without the hijab looks down to the street -
one of the images of the "My Stealthy Freedom" Facebook page 

The hijab is a controversial issue in Iran. A recent billboard campaign reminding women to cover themselves up, was mocked on social media for comparing women to chocolates in a wrapper. But many support the wearing of the hijab, arguing it's an important part of Islamic law - there was a demonstration in Tehran last week, with protesters calling for a more strict implementation of the rules. Apparently, they want to 'liberate' more women!

That Silver-tongued Rouhani is at It Again

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged equal opportunities and rights for men and women, and condemned sexual discrimination.

In a speech marking Women's Day, Mr Rouhani criticised "those who consider women's presence society as a threat" and said Iran still had "a long way to go" to ensure gender equality.

Mr Rouhani, a religious moderate, was elected to office in June 2013.

President Rouhani waiving

Foreign activist groups argue that Iran's laws discriminate against women.

Speaking on Sunday at the National Forum on Women Shaping Economy and Culture in Tehran, Mr Rouhani said: "We will not accept the culture of sexual discrimination."

"Women must enjoy equal opportunity, equal protection and equal social rights," he said in comments that were broadcast live on television.

"According to the Islamic rules, man is not the stronger sex and woman is not the weaker one," he said.

Of course, there is no possibility that equality is ever going to happen, but it's to his political advantage to have women think that it might, some day. His words might have more effect if they were actually accompanied by some action, but they weren't. Nor is there any indication that Rouhani has done anything for women in the 10 months he's been in office.

However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in Iran, said in comments on Saturday that gender equality was "one of the biggest mistakes of the Western thought".

"Justice is a right. But equality is sometimes right and sometimes wrong," he said, according to his personal website.

He added that he did not oppose women's employment, but that it should not conflict with "the main issue", which was women's role in the "family environment and household".

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in its 2013 report on Iran that women there "faced discrimination in law and practice in relation to marriage and divorce, inheritance, child custody, nationality and international travel".

In May 2013 a constitutional body in Iran ruled that women could not run in presidential elections. However, women have served as lawmakers in parliament.

In 2012 several Iranian universities introduced rules banning female students from nearly 80 degree courses, drawing criticism from campaigners.

Get a Backbone, Canada: The Country Needs to Regain its Cultural Confidence

BY BRIAN LILLEY ,PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU, Sun News

This story out of Halifax is really bothering me.

Sonja Power is a 17-year-old girl who was told her Aikido class would be divided by gender, men on one side, women on the other, in order to accommodate a Muslim man who enrolled in the class.

The class was run out of the Lakeside Community Centre, owned by the city of Halifax. The city and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission both supported this gender segregation.

All of that bugs me, but it was what Sonja and her mother, Michele Walsh, told Sun News was the reaction of the sensei when they complained.

“You better get used to it because this is going to happen more and more in Canada,” is how Walsh remembers sensei Steve Nickerson responding.

Sonja Power and Michele Walsh

My initial reaction was, “I bloody well won’t get used to it,” but now I realize I may not have a choice.

Gender segregation and other unreasonable accommodations will happen more and more, but not because I want it or you want it. It will happen because of cowardly political leaders and bizarre, twisted human rights commissions that no longer believe in real human rights.

Look at the York University decision.

A male Muslim student in an online course that required some group work asked not to work with women. 

This wasn't a group program that required contact, he wouldn't have to hug the women or even be alone with them.

The professor said no, the student thought about the professor’s reasoning and the student decided the prof was right.

The university administration and the Liberal provincial government say the prof is wrong and the student must be accommodated.

Another victory for gender apartheid.

These two accommodations on their own will not change the face of Canada, but as they say on the infomercials — wait, there’s more.

We already have what are essentially Muslim-only swims at public pools across Canada.

Windows are blacked out, change rooms are locked and male lifeguards relieved of duty so men and women cannot swim together nor see each other.

It’s an Islamic accommodation, one that happens across the country, including my neighbourhood.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that Muslim women can testify in court with veils over their faces, denying the accused the right to face their accuser in an open court.

In Canada, the right to a fair trial is secondary to religious accommodation.

We allow veiled voting which can only encourage voter fraud. The Conservatives did try to ban this when the issue came up a few years ago, but that was during their minority government days and the Liberals and NDP blocked it.

Canada, and the western world in general, needs to find its backbone, it needs to regain its cultural confidence that stood for basic rights for all.

In the 1840s, when Sir Charles Napier was governing a large part of India, he is said to have witnessed an attempt to practice suttee, the burning of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre. His response could instruct us today in standing up for our principles.

“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them.

“Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”

We need to find that backbone again before Canada is no longer recognizable.