Clipmarks | Deepti's 'muslim' clips

UAE Appoints First Female Judge

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:59:05 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

The Emirati president has appointed the first female judge in this conservative Muslim country

The appointment makes the United Arab Emirates only the second Persian Gulf nation — after Bahrain — with a woman in a high-profile judiciary position

Kholoud Ahmed Juwan al-Dhahiri will serve as a primary judge for Abu Dhabi's Judiciary Department

A primary judge handles civil and criminal cases, and al-Dhahiri could judge both in Abu Dhabi — one of seven emirates, or states, making up the UAE — and at the federal level

There are four female Cabinet Ministers in the UAE, and eight women have been named to the 40-seat advisory council, a panel that is the closest body the country has to a parliament

the decree by President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan proves the oil-rich Gulf city-state's "commitment to engage women in the Emirate's development."

Tags: uae, woman, judge, appoint, first, muslim, arab

Women Living under Muslim Laws

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:51:16 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Interesting website regarding news, views, publications etc all about Muslim women everywhere

Clip Source: www.wluml.org

An international network that provides information, solidarity and support for all women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam.

Tags:

Saudi Arabia opens its first women-only hotel

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:22:25 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

For a country that goes to such great lengths to segregate unrelated men and women, it took Saudi Arabia a long time to hit on the idea of women-only hotels

The kingdom's first hotel exclusively for females opened on Wednesday, offering plush lodgings with a full-range of health and beauty facilities for ladies to pamper themselves away from the accusing eyes of a male-dominated society

New rules announced in January allow women to stay in standard mixed-gender hotels without a male family member in tow, but bureaucracy and conservative family values mean few have been able to make use of their new-found freedom

The Luthan Hotel & Spa is owned by a group of 20 Saudi princesses and businesswomen, but it was left to seven princes headed by Sultan bin Salman, a son of Riyadh's powerful governor, to officially inaugurate it on Wednesday evening

The few female journalists who came along liked the hotel but not the fact that men dominated the opening ceremony

Tags: saudi arabia, women, conservative, islam, arab, muslim, segregation, hotel, spa

New marriage law proposed for Muslim women in India

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:09:03 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Controversial points of new nikahnama

--Triple talaq said in one go will not be acceptable
--Talaq to be spaced out over a period of 3 months
--Talaq not be allowed via phone or SMS
--New Nikahnama insists on free will for the girl in case of nikah
--Talaq cannot be given under the influence of alcohol
--Talaq given to pregnant woman should be considered illegal

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

The All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) has released the Shariat Nikahnama that they claim would give equal rights to both Muslim men and women

Women belonging to both the Shiite and Sunni sects, are demanding a revolutionary nikahnama that does away with contentious issue of triple talaq (divorce)

If the board has its way, a Muslim woman would be entitled to seek divorce if her husband was found having illicit relationship with another woman

The board has also rejected any divorce done through SMS, email, phone as well as video conferencing, besides rejecting divorce done on provocation

A Muslim woman can seek divorce if she is forced by her husband to indulge in unnatural sex. She can also seek divorce if her husband contracts Aids

The new nikahnama has 17-point guidelines for marriage under the sharia for bride and groom, while eight points on the divorce process

Tags: india, women, muslim, islam, sharia, rights, marriage, divorce, equality, law

Bangladesh Government Abandons Women's Rights Policy

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:20:18 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.feminist.org

The government of Bangladesh retreated from a policy that would have given women equal property rights. Last week, the military backed government introduced a policy that would give women equal rights to inherit property. However, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports that Muslim clerics protested the policy, claiming it violates sharia law

Bangladesh's population is 90 percent Muslim, but its legal system is largely secular. Women's rights groups drew attention to the disparities in the law’s treatment of men and women over the weekend in honor of International Women's Day, according to the Independent Bangladesh. As well as fighting for equal rights to property, women called for setting aside a third of parliamentary seats for women in the National Women Development Policy 2008. The policy has frequently been under attack by extremist religious groups

Tags: women, bangladesh, policy, equality, human rights, muslim

First Women to Conduct Marriages in Egypt

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:14:37 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.feminist.org

This week Amal Soliman became Egypt's first woman able to perform Muslim marriages. Soliman's appointment has generated controversy within Egypt's Muslim community, especially among Muslim men who insist that a woman should not hold the position of maazun, or marriage registrar. The BBC News reports that the court chose Solima over 10 male candidates due to her legal qualifications. Solima has a master's degree in law

Sheikh Fawsi Zafzaf, director of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, responded to Soliman's appointment stating, "There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a maazun. But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Koranic verses and that will affect her job, so for that reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman maazun."

Solima focuses on the positive affects her gender can have on her job

Tags: egypt, woman, muslim, arab, islam, marriage, registrar, culture, religion

Hit them back!

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:41:48 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Lebanon cleric advises 'modern Shiites'

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah's liberal fatwas, or edicts, have shocked conservative Muslims around the world.

The ayatollah has a simple piece of advice for any Muslim woman being abused by her husband: Hit him back.

"A woman can respond to physical violence inflicted on her by a man with counter- violence as a self-defense measure," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, Lebanon's senior-most Shiite cleric, wrote in a fatwa late last year that shocked conservative Muslims around the world.

Tags: muslims, women

Afghan Reporter To Die For Insulting Islam

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 04:06:43 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

Afghanistan's upper house of parliament lauded the death sentence handed down against a local journalist who was found guilty of insulting Islam, an official said Wednesday.

The journalist, 23-year-old Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, was sentenced to death last week by a three-judge panel in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif for distributing a report he printed off the Internet to journalism students at Balkh University.

The article asked why men can have four wives but women can't have multiple husbands.

The court in Mazar-i-Sharif found that the article humiliated Islam. Members of a clerical council also pushed for Kaambakhsh to be punished.

Kaambakhsh has appealed his conviction and the case will now go to an appeals court. President Hamid Karzai will have the final say in the matter.

Tags: islam, muslim, death penalty, afghanistan, internet, marriage

Offended Muslim Syndrome

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:15:45 GMT

clipped by: ColoradoRight
clipper's remarks: In order to guard against OMS, health officials warn individuals who are at risk to make sure that the objective reality they are exposed to does not:

* Make them aware of the outside world
* Trigger curiosity about the Western notions of "logic" or "rationality"
* Make life more enjoyable
* Cause them to question the need for martyrdom
* Have side effects such as independent thinking and longing to live as a productive individual
* Create an illusion that communication with infidels is possible without hostage-taking

Clip Source: www.thepeoplescube.com

Following the misery inflicted on Islam by a toy bear that ended up with calls for the execution of an English woman, more Muslims are stepping forward with stories of long-suppressed emotional trauma imposed on them by so-called reality.

Studies conducted by mental health professionals have shown that Muslim men and women are often offended by the most unexpected items, including baby rattles, hummingbirds, home appliances, or geographical maps with polar ice caps.

Symptoms of Offended Muslim Syndrome (OMS)

Irritability, agitation, anxiety at the sight of women who are not fully covered
Prolonged rage or unexplained killing sprees
Significant changes in immigration patterns
Brooding about the past glory of the Caliphate
Decreased effectiveness and minimal work productivity
Difficulty in understanding new information without a trial lawyer
Feelings of despair or hopelessness about the existence of Israel
Recurring thoughts of death to the infidels

Tags: parody, sarcasm, humor, muslim, self-help, 12 step groups

run girls, run!!!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:43:07 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: It couldn’t possibly be that these young girls see clearly the life that awaits them in the loving arms of Saudi Arabia and don’t want to live like an identity-less being, someone else’s third-rate possession and be doomed to a life of beatings, unending labor, and even death if they step out of line, could it?

Clip Source: www.alarabiya.net

The Saudi Ministries of Interior and Social Affairs, in collaboration with the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, are conducting a study on runaway girls, press reports said Wednesday

The move comes as the number of girls who ran away from their families hit 3,000, according to Saudi newspaper Okaz. Other local papers have reported that 850 of the runaways were under the age of 14

Psychiatrist Mohei Abdullah Al-Qurani, who heads the psychotherapy center in the southwestern governorate of Baljorashi, attributes the girls' behavior to the absence of devout religiosity and to family problems

According to Qurani, the solution is to raise children in accordance with Islamic principles and constantly monitor their behavior and circle of friends

The social affairs director in the Mecca Region, Ihsan Tayeb, warned in earlier press statements that a lack of monitoring and negligence on the part of parents are the main reasons behind the phenomenon

Tags: saudi arabia, runaways, adoloescents, muslim, islam

DNA uniting factor in Lebanon

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:53:48 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: Geneticist Pierre Zalloua has charted the spread of the Phoenicians out of the eastern Mediterranean by identifying an ancient type of DNA which some Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians share with Maltese, Spaniards and Tunisians
A seafaring civilization which reached its zenith between 1200 and 800 BC, the Phoenicians' earliest cities included Byblos, Tyre and Sidon on Lebanon's coast. Their link to Lebanon, has long been a subject of controversy in a country split between an array of religious communities. "Negotiating these waters is a very delicate job," Zalloua said.
Seeking to set themselves apart from their Muslim compatriots, some Lebanese Christians have drawn on the Phoenician past to try to forge an identity separate from the prevailing Arab culture.
"Whenever I use the word 'Phoenician', people say 'this guy is trying to say we are not Arabs'," said Zalloua, himself a Christian. After five years of research, his work has shown what Lebanese have in common.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

A Lebanese scientist following the genetic footprint of the ancient Phoenicians says he has traced their modern-day descendants, but stumbled into an old controversy about identity in his country

The genetic marker which identifies descendants of the ancient Levantines is found among members of all of Lebanon's religious communities, he said. "It's a story that can actually unite Lebanon much more than anything else."

The marker, known as the J2 haplogroup, was found in an unusually high proportion among Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians tested by Zalloua during more than five years of research. He tested 1,000 people in the region

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

The same marker was found in unusually high proportions on other parts of the Mediterranean coast where the Phoenicians are known to have established colonies, such as Carthage in today's Tunisia

Many Lebanese were keen to take part in the research, giving either a blood sample or a cheek swab so DNA could be extracted from their cells

Tags: lebanon, dna, lebanese, people, history, phoenicians, research

Muslim woman asked not to live with Hindu 'husband'

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:11:51 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Islamic authorities in Malaysia have freed a Muslim woman after detaining her for four months for marrying a Hindu, the couple's lawyer said yesterday.

The Selangor state Islamic authorities have, however, ordered the 25-year-old ethnic Indian woman to live separately from her husband, arguing that her year-old marriage was illegal under Islam.

In Malaysia, Muslims cannot marry non-Muslims. Her case is the latest strain in the social fabric of the multiracial nation, where many non-Muslims believe the authorities and the courts are allowing their rights to be trampled by the Muslim majority

Religious police had raided the couple's house in April and arrested her, arguing she was "illegally cohabiting" with a Hindu and for failing to produce any relevant marriage documents

Tags: muslim, malaysia, woman, husband, illegal, islam, religion, convert

Convert goes into hiding after death threats

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 05:07:08 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

An Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity and then took the unprecedented step of seeking official recognition for the change said he has gone into hiding following death threats.

Mohammad Hegazy, who sparked controversy when pictures of him posing with a poster of the Virgin Mary were published in newspapers, was threatened by a cleric vowing to seek his execution as an apostate

Hegazy said he went into hiding in an apartment with his wife, a Muslim who took the name Katarina when she converted to Christianity several years ago

Hegazy made a public splash when he took the unusual step of going to court to change his religion on his national ID card. His first lawyer filed the case, but then quit after the uproar; his second is still considering whether it's worth pursuing

Tags: egypt, convert, christianity, muslim, hiding, death, threats, christian

Breaking repression, Saudi style

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:28:44 GMT

clipped by: Deepti
clipper's remarks: About 150 gang members emerged from Jeddah's shadows. The graffiti died down after the scheme was introduced but some rogue graffiti artists remain

Jeddah gangs benefit from being from powerful families. Ordinary Saudis who dare to paint graffiti can pay a heavy price. A teenager in the northern desert town of Hafr Al Baten was sentenced in February to 60 lashes of the whip and fined 2,000 riyals for defacing walls in his school

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Using spray paint cans, they defaced public property, and complained that youths didn't have a voice in Saudi Arabia.

Dozens of young Saudis in the coastal city of Jeddah have challenged the authorities with street graffiti which has highlighted a growing generation gap in one of the world's most socially conservative countries

The municipality waived financial or other punishments and made the scribblers clean up some of the obscenities, while seeking corporate sponsors for the official spaces and walls

Local authorities also took the unusual step of sitting down with some of the youths to hear what was bothering them about life in Saudi Arabia, or at least in Jeddah

What they heard was a litany of complaints that cut to the heart of life in a country so reluctant to let go of traditional ways that cinemas are not allowed, women are banned from driving and huge efforts go into segregating the sexes in public places

Tags: saudi arabia, repression, protest, graffiti, youth, arab, muslim, voice, culture

Miss Arab World 2007

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 14:04:51 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

Miss Arab World 2007 Wafaa Ganahi.

Miss Arab World 2007 Wafaa Ganahi poses with first runner-up Egyptian Shaimaa Mansour (second left), second runner-up Lebanese Rula Bahij (left), third runner-up Tunisian Khadija Mrabt (second right) and fourth runner-up Libyan Rima Al Kseri, following the contest results in Cairo late on Friday.

Miss Bahrain bagged the Miss Arab World 2007 crown in Cairo on Friday night after nearly six hours of contest

Wafaa Ganahi, a 23-year-old teacher from the Law Faculty of Bahrain University, won the title, while the first runner-up was 25-year-old Miss Egypt Shaimaa Mansour. Miss Lebanon Rula Bahij, 23, was the second runner-up

Wafaa, Bahrain's first ever contestant in the event, was crowned by Miss Arab World 2006 Claudia Hanna from Iraq

Seventeen women from 15 countries attended the final competition, one of the major attractions of the second Arab Tourism Festival, which opened in Cairo

Tags: beauty, contest, arab, muslim, bahrain, iraq, lebanon, egypt, tunisia, libya