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Politics : The Truth About Islam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ExCane who wrote (7522)	5/12/2007 1:33:58 PM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Clashes over Pakistan's ousted chief justice leave 27 dead ZARAR KHAN Associated Press May 12, 2007 at 11:19 AM EDT KARACHI, Pakistan — Government supporters and opponents turned entire neighbourhoods of Pakistan's largest city into battlegrounds Saturday, leaving at least 27 people dead in the worst political violence since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended the chief justice. Even before political rallies had begun, street battles throughout the sprawling city killed and injured scores, as gunmen traded assault rifle fire in a residential area of bungalows and concrete apartment blocks just a kilometre from Karachi's international airport. A private TV network came under fire, but stayed on air as rioters torched vehicles outside. The fighting broke out as Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry arrived for what organizers hoped would be the largest in two months of rallies by lawyers and opposition parties protesting his ouster. Pro-government parties were responding with their own shows of strength. Hospital officials and a senior security official told The Associated Press that 27 people had died in the violence and more than 100 were injured. Enlarge Image Pakistani paramedics rush an injured man into a hospital in Karachi, May 12, 2007, as clashes erupted between government and opposition parties supporters. (Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images) Pakistanis rally in support of suspended judge Protests grow over firing of Pakistan's top judge Protests erupt across Pakistan as judge crisis deepens Pakistan's military ruler won't delay elections amid crisis The judge refused an offer from authorities to travel to the planned downtown rally by helicopter and was stranded at the airport — as were hundreds of passengers from earlier flights — by the makeshift roadblocks surrounding it, as well as at least one gunfight a half-mile away. “The chief justice will only go to the city by road,” said Aitzaz Ahsan, an attorney for Justice Chaudhry. Witnesses said that shipping containers, trucks and oil tankers, many with deflated tires, had been parked on key roads in Karachi overnight — apparently to obstruct Justice Chaudhry's supporters from welcoming the judge at the airport. A few dozen lawyers walked to the airport anyway to greet Justice Chaudhry, chanting, “We are with you! Down with Musharraf!” General Musharraf on Saturday ruled out declaring a state of emergency in response to the turmoil sparked by his March 9 suspension of Justice Chaudhry. In comments reported by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, the military leader urged the nation to stand united and remain peaceful. Karachi police chief Azhar Faruqi said 19 people died and 65 were wounded in the violence. Opposition activists accused a pro-government party, the Mutahida Qami Movement (MQM), of attacking them with batons and gunfire as they attempted to greet the judge at Karachi airport. An AP reporter saw MQM supporters calling for ammunition and firing from buildings; opposition supporters fired back. Wasim Akhtar, an MQM official with the provincial government, urged the chief justice to go back to Islamabad to avoid further violence. General Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and is still army chief, was due to address a huge gathering in the capital Islamabad later Saturday that organizers expected would draw over 300,000 ruling party supporters. Speaking earlier in the day, General Musharraf made no explicit mention of the Karachi violence, but ruled out declaring a state of emergency — which some analysts have suggested would let him cling onto power if his efforts to seek a new presidential term flounder. “There is absolutely no requirement and absolutely no environment for taking such drastic measure,” General Musharraf was quoted as saying. In a speech made by phone to a rally of thousands of his supporters in a Karachi square, MQM leader Altaf Hussain — who lives in exile in London — indirectly blamed Chaudhry for the violence, saying he should have heeded warnings from provincial officials to stay away. Mr. Hussain urged the crowd to “control your emotions and demonstrate peace, as we are peace-loving people.” But the government's failure to contain the unrest in Karachi, despite the presence of 15,000 security forces in the city of 15 million, will deepen the political turmoil gripping Pakistan. Baton-wielding MQM supporters were accused of attacking about 200 lawyers as they marched to Sindh High Court, where Justice Chaudhry was due to make an address. Naeem Quereshi, a spokesman for the Karachi Bar Association, said dozens of lawyers were injured in attacks by MQM activists across the city. Earlier, Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao, had offered assurances that no one would be allowed to “disrupt peace” in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub — although opposition parties accused the government of condoning the unrest. “The government is providing all facilities to the MQM for its rally, and we are being harassed, attacked and humiliated,” said Marajul Huda, Karachi chief of Jamaat-e-Islami. In the 1990s, scores of MQM activists were arrested for allegedly kidnapping dozens of their rivals and attacking security forces. Party activists are still heavily armed, but critics say they enjoy impunity as part of General Musharraf's government. theglobeandmail.com

To: ExCane who wrote (7522)	5/15/2007 6:49:58 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Malaysian Islamic body says it was right to separate Muslim woman from Hindu man Turkish Daily News ^ \| 15 May 2007 \| AP via Turkish Daily News turkishdailynews.com.tr Islamic authorities in Malaysia insist they were right to detain a Muslim woman living with her Hindu husband, a marriage considered illegal under local laws that are straining religious and race relations, a news report said Monday. Many such cases have surfaced in recent months, resulting in an outcry in the public who say minority rights are being compromised by the dominance of Islam in the country. The Islamic Religious Department, known by Malay acronym Jais, said it acted within the law when removing the woman from her home late last month for illegally cohabiting with a Hindu man after the couple failed to show any "relevant marriage documents," The Star reported. "Certain media reports had made out the detention to be a case of Jais trying to break up families. That is not true at all," the daily quoted Jais director Mohammed Khusrin Munawi as saying. Jais officials could not immediately be reached for comments. Khusrin was out of town Monday. Although the article did not name the woman or man, the case appears to be that of ethnic Indian Hindu truck driver Magendran Sababathy, 25, who filed a suit last Tuesday asking a high court to order Jais to free his wife. Officials raided the couple's home on April 28 and took away Najeera Farvinli Mohamed Jalali, telling Magendran their year-old marriage under Hindu rites was illegal since she was a Muslim. The Star quoted Khusrin as saying that no coercion was used, and the woman herself asked Jais to put her in a rehabilitation center, where erring Muslims are given lessons to strengthen their faith. "It is clear Jais is not prejudiced or acted irrationally in this matter," Khusrin was quoted as saying. Under Malaysia's Islamic or Shariah laws, anyone marrying a Muslim must convert to Islam, and anyone born into a Muslim family cannot legally convert to another faith. Muslims - nearly 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people - are governed by Islamic Shariah laws in family and personal matters. Separate civil laws apply to others. Magendran's lawyer Karpal Singh has alleged Najeera's detention is illegal because no detention order was served on her. Magendran said last Wednesday he was not told where she was taken and had not seen her since. Magendran's case is the latest of several disputes this year that involve minority groups' religious rights and are straining ties in multiethnic Malaysia. Minorities include Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. Last month, Selangor state Islamic officials forcibly separated a Hindu from his Muslim wife of 21 years and their six children. He won custody of his children, but the couple could not live together legally and decided to separate. In January, Islamic officials detained a Muslim woman living as a Hindu and sent her for rehabilitation, separating her from her Hindu husband. Her baby daughter was also seized and handed to her mother.