Niger: Government Fined for Failing to Protect Woman from Enslavement

Woman wins case against Niger for slavery

(Agence France Presse)

West African judges on Monday fined the state of Niger the equivalent of 15,000 euros for failing to protect a woman sold into slavery aged 12, in a landmark ruling with implications across the region.

The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States recognised that the young woman, Adidjatou Mani Koraou, now 24, had been “a victim of slavery.”

It held “the Republic of Niger responsible for the inaction” of its administrative and legal services, in a ruling read out by a court official…

Indonesia: Encouraging Women to Exercise Their Rights

One Indonesian shares women’s rights in Islamic schools

David Montero (Christian Science Monitor)

Lily Munir asks the 50 young mothers in her classroom to use their imaginations. What would it be like, she says, if your husband supported your right to work and helped with housework?

The women in their seats look surprised at the question. Some of them laugh.

What begins as jokes about bad husbands grows into a serious discussion about gender roles and women’s rights. Islam supports women’s empowerment, Ms. Munir tells her students, so men should, too…

Israel: Cat Stevens Forbidden Entry to Perform at Program Promoting Peace

Israel invites Cat Stevens then tells him ’stay away’

Donald Macintyre (Independent UK)

The British Muslim singer Yusuf Islam has lost the chance to sing “Peace Train”, the hit he made world-famous as Cat Stevens, in Israel after his planned visit to the country was cancelled by the hosts who originally invited him.

Islam was to perform at the high-profile 10th anniversary celebrations in Tel Aviv of The Peres Centre for Peace, a leading organisation founded by Israel’s present President, Shimon Peres, and devoted to improving Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Mali: Toumani Diabate on the Controversy Over His Music on Sonys Little Big Planet

‘Little Big Planet’ Musician Defends Controversial Song To MTV, Muslim Experts Assess Whether Song Is A Problem

Stephen Totilo (MTV Multiplayer)

The musician behind the song that caused the highly anticipated PlayStation 3 game “Little Big Planet” to get recalled just days before its release has defended his song in a statement issued to MTV Multiplayer.

Perhaps even more significantly, singer Toumani Diabate has explained what the song is about and why its inclusion of verses from the Qur’an is his “way to attract and inspire people toward Islam…”

… ‘Little Big Planet’ Musician Defends Controversial Song To MTV, Muslim Experts Assess Whether Song Is A Problem
Posted by Stephen Totilo on 10/21/08 at 10:30 am.

The musician behind the song that caused the highly anticipated PlayStation 3 game “Little Big Planet” to get recalled just days before its release has defended his song in a statement issued to MTV Multiplayer.

Perhaps even more significantly, singer Toumani Diabate has explained what the song is about and why its inclusion of verses from the Qur’an is his “way to attract and inspire people toward Islam.”

Pakistan: Honor Killing – Statistics from Balochistan

Startling “honor” killing statistics from just 1 region of Pakistan.

Honour killings

(The Dawn, Pakistan)

Thirty-eight women died at the hands of their relatives, who killed them on the pretext of protecting their honour during the past three months in Balochistan.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, provincial coordinator of the Aurat Foundation Haroon Dawood Durrani said that 46 women had been killed in the last quarter.

USA: RIP, Scarlett.

Scarlett Hero Calico Cat

Scarlett, the cat that saved kittens from 1996 Brooklyn fire, dies

LARRY McSHANE (NY DAILY NEWS)

Scarlett the cat, a calico hero who drew worldwide acclaim after rescuing her five kittens from a 1996 Brooklyn fire, has passed away….

… Scarlett’s ascension to stardom began in an abandoned Brooklyn garage, where she was tending her litter of five when a fire broke out in March 1996.

Firefighters spotted Scarlett, despite burns to her eyes, ears and face, toting each kitten out of the building to safety. Once outside, Scarlett nudged each baby with her nose to make sure she found all five.

********************************
After getting her kittens to safety and grievously injured, she collapsed into a coma. With the help of the North Shore Animal League, Scarlett and four of her five kittens survived and were adopted.

Scarlett, though “only” a cat demonstrated the strongest, most selfless motherly love. Contrast Scarlett the cat’s behavior to that of Susan Smith or Nixzaliz Santiago. Scarlett wins, hands down.

Rest in peace, Scarlett. You earned it.

India: Catholic Nun Describes Rape and Humiliation Hindu Fanatics

The rape and mob assault happened during the August riots in India’s Orissa State that were directed against Christians. The Christians are accused of bribing Hindus to convert to Christianity.

The truth of the matter is that many Dalits (untouchables) and lower caste Hindus find converting to Christianity – and to Islam – to be enticing because there is no caste system. They go from being treated very poorly to being treated as brothers and sisters equal to any other brother or sister in the faith. That, combined with any spiritual incentives the converts may have, is probably the only “bribery” going on.

Indian Nun in Hindu Rape Nightmare

(Islam Online)

Accusing police of complicity in anti-Christian violence, a Catholic nun has spoken out of herself being gang-raped and paraded half-naked through the streets by a Hindu mob …

… A mob of up to 50 Hindu men armed with sticks, axes and iron rods dragged the nun and a priest from a prayer hall in the eastern state of Orissa in August.

After gang-raping her, the mob paraded the Catholic nun half-naked through the streets…

Belgium: Womens Imam Appointed

The article “stresses” that Hawaria Fattah will not give the Jumaah prayers (Friday prayer) or give the khutbah (Friday sermon). However, from this article, it’s not clear to me whether in her duties as an imam she will be leading women-only prayers, either. As a “women’s imam”, I would assume that leading prayer would be part of her job.

Europe’s First Woman Imam

Hadi Yahmid (Islam Online)

A mosque in southern Belgium has named a female Muslim professor to the post of imam, the first such a move in the northwestern European country.

“Hawaria Fattah has been granted the rank of imam [...] It is the first move of its kind in Belgium and Europe.”

Chosen along with two male imams, Fattah, a mother of three, will supervise the preaching activities for women at the mosque…

USA: Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, American Soldier

Remembering a Muslim soldier from New Jersey who was killed while serving in Iraq.

Muslim soldier fought for America and his faith

Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers)

… [Kareem Rashad Sultan] Khan was a 20-year-old soldier from Manahawkin, N.J. , who wanted to enlist in the Army from the time he was 10. He was an all-American boy who visited Disney World after he completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. , and made his comrades in Iraq watch “Saving Private Ryan” every week.

He was also a Muslim who joined the military, his father said, in part to show his countrymen that not all Muslims are terrorists.

“He was an American soldier first,” said his father, Feroze Khan …

Haiti: Child Slavery, the RestAveks

Even the poorest of the poor in Haiti are still able to afford a “restavek”, a child slave. After all, you only need to feed them once a day, and instead of going to school, they just work for you 24/7. Even supplying them with shoes is optional.

Children in Servitude, the Poorest of Haiti’s Poor

Marc Lacey (NY Times)

… The hurricanes and tropical storms that have whipped across the western half of Hispaniola, the island divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in the past month have laid bare the poverty and the deep divisions in Haitian society, where there are rich, poor and downright destitute.

Nobody illustrates that last group better than the restaveks, the thousands of young Haitian children handed over by their poor parents to better-off families …

USA: LittleBigPlanet Soundtrack to Get Scrubbed

Videogame delayed over possible offence to Muslims

(Agence France Presse)

Release of one of the most eagerly anticipated games in the history of the Sony PlayStation has been delayed because of concerns that some of the background music may offend Muslims, the game’s developers said Monday.

[The release date of LittleBigPlanet ...]has been put back after one of its background music tracks, a song by Mali-born artist Toumani Diabate, was found to have included expressions from the Koran, which could be interpreted as an offence to Muslims….

I’m not sure what “expressions” from the Quran were involved, but Sony made the right decision. I don’t think anyone thinks that the background music was included out of disrespect for anyone, and for that reason I don’t think the situation would have escalated to same intensity as that caused by the intentionally blasphemous cartoons insulting Prophet Muhammad. I wonder if all of Toumani Diabate’s music will be removed from the game, or if just certain tracks will be edited out.

The article goes on to mention that…

Sony was forced to apologise in June 2007 when it emerged that one of its video games, “Resistance: Fall of Man”, featured a violent shootout inside a building that resembled an Anglican cathedral in Manchester, northern England.

“Resistance: Fall of Man” was not removed from the shelves. I suppose the difference here might have been the “resemblance” to an Anglican cathedral in Manchester, as opposed to including actual excerpts from the Anglican Book of Prayer in the game.

Or, maybe not. I’m not sure what goes on in the minds of companies that distribute some these mind-numbingly violent games, anyway.

LittleBigPlanet actually sounds like a decent game for the “general audience”, and I hope it sells well.

Iraq: Childhood Lost

Childhood cut short in Baghdad

Many children in Sadr City shoulder responsibilities beyond their age, some not in their teens yet but earning a living to support their families. School, and a better life, are just a wistful dream.

Jeffrey Fleishman and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times)

UK: Amina Wadud Leads Prayers in Oxford

I’ll go on record as not having any problem with Amina Wadud’s actions. Even if I did, I fail to see how that would justify the death threats that have been leveled against her.

For those who object to praying behind a woman, the solution is very simple: don’t participate.

Also, I find interesting that some Muslims who had intended to attend the prayers in Oxford were told they would no longer be welcome in their own mosques if they did so. I wonder if adulterers, wife beaters, child abusers, “honor” killers and folks who force their children to marry receive the same intimidating visits from these “concerned” Muslims.

US academic first woman to lead Muslim prayers in UK

Riazat Butt and Niki Nixon (The Guardian)

It was, said the organisers, as historic and radical an act as Emmeline Pankhurst chaining herself to railings outside the Houses of Parliament. But for others a Muslim service led by a woman was sacrilege.

Amina Wadud, an American academic, yesterday became the first woman to lead British Muslims in mixed congregational prayers and deliver the Friday sermon…

Congo: Country Begins to Realize that the Epidemic of Rape and Violence Against Women Must End

Rape Victims’ Words Help Jolt Congo Into Change

JEFFREY GETTLEMAN (NY Times)

… No one — doctors, aid workers, Congolese and Western researchers — can explain exactly why Congo’s rape problem is the worst in the world. The attacks continue despite the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping force, with more than 17,000 troops. Impunity is thought to be a big factor, which is why there is now so much effort on bolstering Congo’s creaky and often corrupt justice system. The sheer number of armed groups spread over thousands of miles of thickly forested territory, fighting over Congo’s rich mineral spoils, also makes it incredibly difficult to protect civilians….

USA: Afghan Immigrants Abuse and Enslave 13-Years Old Girl

I wonder if the adults in question, who abused and colluded in the rape of this girl, gained admittance to the USA as refugees fleeing political or religious persecution in Afghanistan. In any case, these folks clearly deserve to be deported for what they’ve done. If they end up suffering some cruel fate there, it will be of their own making.

Prosecutors: Afghan girl enslaved in Seattle area

GENE JOHNSON (Associated Press)

Five Seattle-area immigrants from Afghanistan enslaved a teenage girl they brought to the U.S., with some forcing her to do chores and one — her 37-year-old husband — beating and sexually assaulting her, according to a federal indictment unsealed this week.

The girl is from an impoverished single-parent home in Afghanistan, and she was informally adopted by another family there that forced her to marry at age 13 in 2005, Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Thursday. The girl’s husband is Mohammad Atahee, a friend of the adoptive family; U.S. officials don’t recognize the marriage…