Pakistan: Tabligh Jamaat Annual Meeting Passes Quietly Amidst Surrounding Political Chaos

Pakistani Group, Suspected by West of Jihadist Ties, Holds Conclave Despite Ban

Jane Perlez (NY Times)

For six days they came: hundreds of thousands of Pakistani men squashed onto a barren rice field, dressed in baggy trousers, crocheted caps on their heads, sandals on their feet and long beards a common feature.

They prayed five times a day, listened to preachers, ate by the flicker of oil lamps and slept, cheek by jowl, on the hard ground.

By Sunday night, the annual convention of the Pakistan-based group Tabligh Jamaat, the largest gathering of Muslims outside Mecca, had come to an end without incident. That, in itself, was remarkable this year: amid the current political crisis, the government had banned all large gatherings and had broken up several others by force…

Honor Killings Plague Palestinian Women

In discussing the dismal situation facing Palestinian women accused of “dishonorable” acts, this article highlights the dirty underside of honor crimes. It may be puzzling to some, but many women are also involved in aiding and abetting the men who commit honor killings.

As order slides, Palestinian women face honor killings
Rights activists say such murders have increased as a result of the worsened security situation, and press for a new law.

Ilene R. Prusher (The Christian Science Monitor)

… According to local organizations, such murders have risen in the Palestinian territories to nearly 50 this year – a fact that many here blame on the absence of any true law and order, which allows individuals to enforce their own version of justice. Palestinians here say the image of an ever-weaker Palestinian Authority has increased after Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June, making this local vigilantism harder to combat.

Particularly galling to many here is the fact that a man who admits to murdering a female relative for reasons of honor can be sentenced to as little as six months in jail. Palestinians say that policy is based on an old Jordanian law, which still holds in the West Bank: Article 341 considers murder a legitimate act of defense when the killer acts “in defense of his life or his honor…”