British National Party
Anti-Jihad News Bulletin w/c July 23rd, 2007
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1. MAN JAILED OVER 'BIBLE' RAPE IN AUSTRALIA

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21911631-2,00.html

A man who raped a Muslim woman because she showed an interest in Christianity has been jailed for at least five years by a Sydney court. As Abdul Reda Al-Shawany was sentenced today, the Downing Centre District Court heard a harrowing statement from the victim, revealing that her shame and fear had been compounded by her cultural background. The woman, who cannot be named, arrived in Australia as a refugee from Iraq. But she said that even when she was jailed by dictator Saddam Hussein, she never feared for her life the way she did after the rape. "It is better if I'm dead," she told the court. Al-Shawany's trial was told that he visited the woman, an acquaintance, at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre with another man. The woman had been reading the Bible and Al-Shawany noted her contact with Christians. The men told her they were "infidel people" and if she went with them, her killing "would be halal" - meaning her killer would go to heaven. In September 2002, Al-Shawany lured the woman to a unit at Warwick Farm, claiming to have news about her family in Iraq. She was hit on the head and had her hijab tied around her face before Al-Shawany raped her twice in what Judge Brian Knox described as a degrading, humiliating and brutal attack. Afterwards Al-Shawany told her: "Let your Christ benefit you now".

It took the jury less than half an hour to convict him of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent. His victim - who has since converted to Christianity - wept at the back of the court as a friend read out her victim impact statement. She said she was afraid she would be killed, either in retribution by Al-Shawany's family or in an "honour killing". "In Iraq, if some woman has got a problem like this, her husband can kill her, or her brother or her uncle can kill her, without question," the victim wrote. "They can kill me here too in Australia. Before I'm not afraid of anyone. Even when Saddam Hussein put me in jail, I was still strong. "Now I'm afraid all the time." She said her husband had refused to speak to her for months because of the shame she brought on the family. She had grown isolated within the Iraqi community and feared people "will say I'm a bad woman". "I feel like a piece of dirt," she wrote. "I came to Australia for freedom and Abdul Reda took my freedom away." Al-Shawany, a father of four, maintains his innocence. Judge Knox found the offender believed the sexual assault was justified because the woman was considered an "infidel" for reading the Bible and associating with Christians. "What he did was an attempt to enforce his religious or cultural views on his former countrywoman," Judge Knox said. "Such behaviour is completely intolerable and totally unacceptable in this community." He sentenced Al-Shawany to a maximum seven-and-a-half years in jail. The 52-year-old must serve at least five years, making him eligible for parole in 2012.

2. MALAYSIAN WOMAN FACES JAIL IF SHE DOES NOT RE-CONVERT TO ISLAM

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/5340

A Malaysian woman who converted to Christianity might be jailed for apostasy, or the rejection of her religion, after the Muslim-majority country's highest court ruled that she does not have a constitutional right to convert from Islam to another religion - writes Michele Green. Lina Joy has battled for seven years to have her conversion recognised as legal. She finally took her case to a Malaysian Federal Court, which decided in a 2-1 majority decision on 30 May that she could not remove "Islam" from the religion category of her government identity card despite her conversion to Christianity in 1998. "She cannot simply at her own whims enter or leave her religion. She must follow rules," said Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim. "Apostasy is a matter linked to Islamic laws … civil courts cannot interfere." The court ruling means Joy, who is believed to be in hiding and did not appear at court, will have to take her case to an Islamic, or Sharia, court which has the jurisdiction to impose prison sentences on those it finds guilt of apostasy. It was also a major setback to her hopes of marrying the Christian man she loves.

The landmark ruling tested Malaysia's claims to offer freedom of religion to its diverse population which is 60 percent Muslim but also includes Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and other faiths. Islam is Malaysia's official religion. "This decision reflects a growing trend of decisions in the courts where civil courts are abdicating their responsibility of providing legal redress to individuals who only seek to profess and live their religion according to their conscience," said Roman Catholic Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, chairperson of the Christian Federation of Malaysia Judge Richard Malanjum, the only non-Muslim on the panel, voted against the decision, saying it was "unreasonable" to Joy her to turn to the Islamic court because it could lead to her being convicted of apostasy. The case was the latest in a series of legal disputes that have raised questions about the country's freedom of religion. They include several high profile custody disputes of children born to parents of different religions as well as burials - including the case of an army officer who was buried as a Muslim despite protests from his Hindu wife. "Freedom of religion here is an illusion," said Leonard Teoh, a lawyer for the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

3. EGYPT: MOBS ATTACK CHURCHES NEAR ALEXANDRIA

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=
news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=4905&backpage=

Muslim rioters attacked two Coptic Orthodox churches, damaged Christian-owned shops and injured seven Christians in two unrelated incidents in northern Egypt during the past week, local Christians said. Witnesses said that a mob in Zawyet Abdel-Qader, 20 miles west of Alexandria, had freely vandalized the town’s Christian quarter for 90 minutes the night of June 8 before police intervened. In a second incident in Dekheila, six miles west of Alexandria, police immediately halted a mob attack on the Church of the Holy Virgin on Tuesday night (June 12), preventing all but minimal damage from occurring. Local Christians confirmed that each attack was triggered by a fight between a Muslim and a Christian, but Akram Anwar Bekheed, a local member of the National Democratic Party in Zawyet Abdel-Qader, laid partial responsibility on the government. Bekheed said that the government had created a permissive atmosphere for sectarian violence by allowing previous attacks on churches to go unpunished in the interest of keeping peace. In April 2006, Alexandria was the scene of three knife attacks on churches that killed one Christian and left a dozen more injured.

The government appeared unable or unwilling to halt subsequent vandalism of Coptic-owned shops and churches, blaming the initial attacks on a man they said was mentally unstable. In a more recent incident in January, local sources said that violent Muslims had attacked a church-owned social services building in southern Zawyet Abdel-Qader, damaging the doors and windows. Hours later, police oversaw the bull-dozing of the building, despite the fact that the church had obtained a permit from Alexandria’s governor. Local Christians in Zawyet Abdel-Qader said that last week’s attack followed a June 7 argument between a Christian truck driver and a Muslim teenager who refused to move out of his truck’s path on a narrow street. Both young men’s fathers became involved in the fight, and police eventually arrested the four men. Eyewitnesses said that on June 8, after mid-day prayers, Muslim worshippers exiting the mosque began congregating at local coffee shops. “We felt that there was some sort of conspiracy, and we couldn’t understand what it was,” local Christians told visitors to Zawyet Abdel-Qader. They said that men from outside the town arrived at the coffee shops carrying large bags, which they said they later found out contained swords, daggers and flammable material. At 9:45 p.m. the Muslims marched to the Christian quarter of town, where they began attacking Christian homes and shops. Local Copts attempted to defend their property, seven of them sustaining injuries during the fighting.

Mariam Adel, 24, suffered burns from an acid solution while grocery store owner Yasser Agaibi received stab wounds to his head, face and back and had to be hospitalized. A poultry and fish shop owned by Abdel Messih Sidqy and a bakery co-owned by Khairi Rizq and William Butros also sustained damage. “They broke glass and windows and looted the shops,” one source told Compass in the wake of the attack. A telephone calling center owned by Nashat Mitiass was badly damaged in the attack. “My losses amount to approximately 40,000 Egyptian pounds [LE],” he told visitors to the town. “Considering it’s a very poor neighborhood, 40,000 LE is like a fortune,” one Copt commented to Compass. “Here they can’t get loans from banks and his place was not insured.” The mob had just turned its efforts toward the St. Mary and St. Mercurius Church when law enforcement arrived and halted the violence. The church sustained relatively little damage. “Zawyet Abdel-Qadir is an informal settlement that grew up around the railway line,” one Egyptian observer told Compass. “There is not much law enforcement there and there are a lot of Islamists.” Police reportedly detained eight Muslims and 10 Christians at the Amriya police station, though no further details were available.

Street Violence

Four days later, on Tuesday (June 12) at 9 p.m., tension flared between 16-year-old Christian Bassem Mikail and 21-year-old Muslim Abdel-Dayem, both construction workers, directly in front of Dekheila’s Holy Virgin church. The conflict escalated into a street fight between local Muslims and Christians, and the Muslims launched an attack on the nearby church, throwing bottles and stones. A church guard quickly closed the church gates and called police, who immediately arrived and surrounded the church, quelling all violence. According to Christian members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), police arrested 15 Copts and seven Muslims. Compass sources said that four Christians were referred to the state prosecutor, who charged them with assault.

No charges have been brought against the other 11, who remain in detention. The source also said that three charges of assault, destruction and inciting people to destruction have been brought against the seven Muslims, one of whom is the imam (Muslim cleric) of a mosque next to the church. Attacks against Egyptian Christians have been on the rise in recent months. In May, Muslims in the town of Bemha attacked Christian homes after hearing a rumor that the community was building a new church. According to Coptic editor and columnist Youssef Sidhom, sectarian violence will continue to erupt in Egypt as long as underlying issues remain unaddressed. “Fanatic thought, the culture of rejection of the other, and the curtailed freedom of worship, if left unchecked, constitute a time bomb that can go off any minute,” Sidhom stated in his June 10 column in Coptic weekly Watani. Coptic Christians are estimated to make up 8 to 15 percent of Egypt’s population. The majority of these belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

4. CHRISTIANS IN GAZA STRIP WARNED: ACCEPT ISLAMIC LAW

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56241

Christians can continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, an Islamist militant leader in Gaza told WND in an exclusive interview. The militant leader said Christians in Gaza who engage in "missionary activity" will be "dealt with harshly." The threats come two days after a church and Christian school in Gaza was attacked following the seizure of power in the territory by the Hamas terror group. "I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza," said Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a "military wing" to enforce Muslim law in Gaza. Jihadia Salafiya is suspected of attacking a United Nations school in Gaza last month, after the school allowed boys and girls to participate in the same sporting event.

One person was killed in that attack. "The situation has now changed 180 degrees in Gaza," said Abu Saqer, speaking from Gaza yesterday. "Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public," Abu Asqer told WND. "Also the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls and bars must be stopped," he said. "If it goes on, we'll attack these things very harshly." Abu Saqer accused the leadership of the Gaza Christian community of "proselytizing and trying to convert Muslims with funding from American evangelicals." "This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza," he said. Abu Saqer claimed there was "no need" for the thousands of Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory. About 2,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of over 1 million. Abu Saqer said Hamas "must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people."

His comments come after gunmen Sunday attacked Gaza's Latin Church and adjacent Rosary Sisters School, reportedly destroying crosses, bibles, pictures of Jesus and furniture and equipment. The attackers also stole a number of computers. The attack was the first targeting of Christian institutions since Hamas last week staged a coup against the rival Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, seizing all Fatah positions and security compounds, essentially taking complete control of the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials in Gaza claimed to WND Fatah was behind Sunday's church attack in an attempt to discredit Hamas to the international community. Abu Saqer claimed he had "good information" the attack actually was a robbery aimed at the church's school computers, even though Bibles and Christian holy objects were destroyed.

Christians, secular institutions targeted

Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005. Since then, there have been a slew of attacks there against Christians and non-Muslims. A month before the U.N. school was targeted, Palestinians bombed a Christian book store in Gaza reportedly funded by American Protestants that exclusively sold Christian books. Two nearby Internet cafes also were bombed. At the time, Abu Saqer, who didn't take credit for the attack, told WND the Christian bookstore was "proselytizing and attempting to convert our people." "As a principle, we believe that Jews and Christians will always do everything in order to keep Muslims far from their religion," Abu Saqer said. Even before Hamas took over Gaza last week, some analysts here called the recent bombings of secular and Christian institutions in the territory indications Hamas may be seeking to impose Islamic rule on the Palestinian population. Israeli officials said Hamas in 2005 established hard-line Islamic courts and created the Hamas Anti-Corruption Group, described as a kind of "morality police" operating within Hamas' organization. Hamas has denied the existence of the group, but it recently carried out a high-profile "honor killing" widely covered by the Palestinian media. A Hamas-run council in the West Bank came under international criticism last year when it barred an open-air music and dance festival, declaring it was against Islam.

'West can learn from Islamic values'

In response to the uproar, Hamas chief in Gaza and former foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar told WND in a recent interview: "I hardly understand the point of view of the West concerning these issues. The West brought all this freedom to its people but it is that freedom that has brought about the death of morality in the West. It's what led to phenomena like homosexuality, homelessness and AIDS." Asked if Hamas is seeking to impose hard-line Islamic law on the Palestinians, al-Zahar responded, "The Palestinian people are Muslim people, and we do not need to impose anything on our people because they are already committed to their faith and religion. People are free to choose their way of life, their way of dress and behavior." Al-Zahar said his terror group, which demands strict dress codes for females, respects women's rights. "It is wrong to think that in our Islamic society there is a lack of rights for women. Women enjoy their rights. What we have, unlike the West, is that young women cannot be with men and have relations outside marriage. Sometimes with tens of men. This causes the destruction of the family institution and the fact that many kids come to the world without knowing who are their fathers or who are their mothers. This is not a modern and progressed society," al-Zahar explained. The terror chieftain told WND the West can learn from his group's Islamic values. "Here I refer to what was said in the early '90s by Britain's Prince Charles at Oxford University. He spoke about Islam and its important role in morality and culture. He said the West must learn from Islam how to bring up children properly and to teach them the right values."

5. DENMARK: ISLAMISTS SEIZE POWER IN KINDERGARTEN

http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003789.html

Men from Hizb ut-Tahir have seized power in a privately owned kindergarten in the Narrebro district of Copenhagen. They demand that children are not taught democratic values. The authorities threaten to close the institution down. The municipal administration of Copenhagen has under dramatic circumstances taken over the administration of the institution and threatens to close it down, according to a report in the Danis newspaper 'Berlingske Tidende' This unusual step has been taken after parents and members of the Islamistic party Hizb ut-Tahir earlier this year have gained majority in the governing board and taken control over the institution named Salam, and demand that the children are not taught according to democratic values. The parents have also demanded segregation, different playground for boys and girls. Last year, furious parents demanded the destruction of Christmas related items the children had picked up at a visit to the zoo, claiming the Santa Claus headgear represent Christian values.

In February, after Hizb ut-Tahir gained the upper hand in the board, the leader of the institution quit her job together with another pedagogue. The institution is now lead by a team of 6 believing Muslim women, which has lead the auditors of the municipality of Copenhagen to raise the alarm. The municipality has now taken direct control over the place until a new leadership has been appointed. "It is unquestionably the tension between what is called pious or fundamentalistic Islam and traditional Danish democratic thought that is at the core of this conflict. The municipality has on other occasions experienced conflicts in its institutions, also religious conflicts, but never has the tension been as high as now", says Jan Dehn of 'Children and Youth office'. One of the leading members of the parents group, the convert Abdul Hamid Henrik Lund, confirms his connection with Hizb ut-Tahir: "All the parents are what the Danes will call fanatics. We are Muslims and determined that 'the brain of our children get the right programming' (sic). We don't want them to 'run about on Blagards Plads (a square in Copenhagen), behaving like monkeys' (sic). Those children cause trouble because they have neither Danish nor Muslim roots. To us it is important that children grow up with values - they must know what is halal and haram."

6. MONTREAL MAN KILLED BY HIS BROTHER FOR BEING A BAD MUSLIM

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016801.php

When a society imports large numbers of people from a culture that tolerates this kind of murder of the religiously deviant, or at very least from countries in which many people believe that if El-Mehdi really was a bad Muslim, then he deserved everything he got, then no one should be surprised when this kind of thing happens in the new land. No one dares address the idea that it is permissible to murder apostates in Islam. No one would dare require immigrants to renounce this idea. No one would dare require mosques to hold programs teaching against this idea, and other Sharia provisions, if they want to stay in the West. No, they're imported wholesale, with no consideration of the ramifications. Since none of the high-profile Muslim groups in the U.S. have declared the execution of apostates, as sanctioned by Islamic law, to be impermissible and wrong in all circumstances today, and none have renounced jihad warfare against unbelievers in order ultimately to subjugate them, is that really a wise course to take? Jihad Watch reader Marc has kindly sent in this translation of this French article,