UK: Juror held in contempt for music under hajib (sic)

Hey, It's The Sun, what do you expect?

ANOTHER indication of the respect the average Muslim has for the United Kingdom and it's laws.

A MUSLIM woman juror could be facing jail after she was arrested in court for apparently listening to music during a murder trial.

She is said to have used a traditional hijab headscarf to hide earphones to her MP3 player while ignoring vital evidence from a retired businessman who brutally bludgeoned his disabled wife to death.

She has been accused of contempt, an offence which can carry an unlimited fine and indefinite imprisonment.

More about this "unidentified due to legal reasons" piece of work at the link - and she is definitely a piece of work. It did my heart good to at least see that they used the word "Muslim" in the piece - even if they did spell hijab wrong.

Khamenei speaks: Women - don't play with sharia law

you'll get lashed.

Activists should not try to change Islamic laws relating to women's rights, Iran's supreme leader said on Wednesday, two days after one campaigner was reportedly sentenced to 34 months in jail and ten lashes.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also lambasted the West for using women as a tool to advertise products, make money and to satisfy "disorderly and unlawful sexual needs," state television said.

He was addressing a group of women, most dressed conservatively in head-to-toe black chadors, in Tehran ahead of Thursday's anniversary of the birth of Prophet Mohammad's daughter, Fatima, when Iran honors mothers and women.

The Islamic Republic rejects allegations it is discriminating against women, saying it follows sharia law.

(Sharia law = The official handbook of the 'He-man-woman-hater's-club also known as Islam'.)

More on Delaram Ali, the protestor who is going to feel Khamenei's lash.

The hijab is the 'flag of Islam", represents Muslim life, scorn of Western Civ

Iran: Majlis Speaker says Iran defies West on women rights

Oh God. Just read it all - it's making my head spin but this neatly sums up why the hijab should be banned IMO:

"... the hijab (Islamic dress) is the “flag of Islam” and represents “Muslim life” and any woman who wears hijab it means that she has scorned Western way of life."

Just more women's rights Iranian style.

Pakistan: Red Mosqueteers are at it again.

Mosque Students, security forces exchange fire. At least two people were injured and dozens of girls enrolled in a madrassa religious school fainted as security forces and militant students exchanged fire at a besieged mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Tuesday. Clerics of the Red Mosques also asked the students to take up their positions and prepare to carry out suicide attacks, local reports said.
Soldier killed, five wounded. Jihadettes faint. Muslims seethe. Dog bites man.

Get the Rangers in a circle, Pilgrim. Pakistan had on Monday deployed more forces near the mosque to tighten security around it, Dawn newspaper reported on Tuesday. The move has brought the total number of Rangers deployed around the mosque to 1,500, with 500 police commandos in support. The newspaper quoting informed sources said the authorities of the mosque have also reinforced security of its brigade, which is equipped with advanced weapons and wireless systems, and threatened to raid more massage centres in the city.

Dare I say it? Sure I will. Musharraf is a pussy. President Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that the potential loss of human lives was preventing him from taking any action against the Lal Masjid, while adding that suicide bombers from Jaish-e-Mohammad were also hiding in the mosque.

“We are afraid of the baton-wielding madrassas who will stand by Lal Masjid if we launch action,” he said, while addressing the concluding ceremony of the National Media Workshop organised by the National Defence University. He said the female students of the Lal Masjid’s adjoining madrassa were “prepared for suicide attacks” and up to 500 children “were being used as human shields” to stop the government from contemplating any operation.

He said members of Jaish-e-Mohammad, the banned militant group linked to Al Qaeda, were also hiding in the mosque, adding that they were all capable of suicide attacks. “How can I take action?” he said. “Action is ready but will be taken at a right time.”

He goes on to add: that the government would take action against the Lal Masjid if the media guaranteed that it would not show any of the bodies of those killed during the operation.

Jihadis from all over the region are reported to be riding to the rescue. Contacts in jihadist circles told Asia Times Online that there will be a reaction all over the country, including in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. They claimed that more than 1,000 jihadis were already on their way to the capital.

And all 'peace agreements' are off. The jihadi contacts also said any peace agreements with the government in Bajur agency and the Waziristan tribal areas would be terminated. After a series of disastrous military offensives to try to contain militancy and Taliban activities in the tribal areas, the government made several deals under which it withdrew its troops and made peace deals.

Not only are the Red Mosqueteers against vice and modern life, at issue is a fatwa (again with the fatwas!) that provoked the reaction against the Pakistani military. The decree mandated that people were not allowed to say funeral prayers or bury soldiers in Muslim graveyards if they were killed fighting against the Taliban.

Sudanese Rape injustice - I'm smelling sharia law

And it stinks - even more alarming? I actually find myself in agreement with people like Gov. Bill Richardson of NM and Refugees International ....I'm telling you, you'd better repent for the end is surely near...

The Washington-based organisation Refugees International today has released a report - "Laws Without Justice: An assessment of Sudanese laws affecting survivors of rape" - looking into the Sudanese legislation. The analysis came to shocking conclusions on how rape victims in Sudan are denied justice, especially in war-ravaged Darfur.

The study resulted from a January meeting between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. During this visit, the officials in Sudan's Ministry of Justice extended an invitation to analyse the government's purported efforts to address sexual violence against Sudanese women. Refugees International president Ken Bacon, who was in the Richardson delegation, accepted this invitation, and lawyer Ms Fricke and Amira Khair, a Sudanese human rights advocate, met in Khartoum in March to interview people with knowledge about the crisis of rape in Darfur. "

After a week, the Sudanese government turned uncooperative and gave 24 hours to leave the country," the organisation however claims.

Rape of Darfuri women on a mass scale is one of the hallmarks of the conflict in Darfur. Several analysts claim it is part of a calculated plan to destroy communities and contributes directly to ethnic cleansing.

If a woman cannot prove that she did not consent to intercourse, she can be accused of adultery - a crime that carries a sentence of one hundred lashes or even stoning - even if she was raped.

Sudan's laws also grant immunity to members of the military, security services, police and border guards. Many members of the Janjaweed militias that carry out the worst atrocities in Darfur are integrated in the Popular Defence Forces, which is also exempt from prosecution. The Khartoum government also was said to "harass organisations who work with rape victims and doctors who provide medical treatment to raped women."

The dead giveaway this study and article was written by a bunch of lefty sympathisers?

The word Muslim Mohammedan was not mentioned ONCE despite the fact that Sudanese rape laws are clearly based on Sharia law and the Janjaweed are Mohammedans.

Iran: 3rd phase of "moralisation campaign" to kick off.

Primavera - Botticelli

Going to the mountains? Or a park? Singing? Laughing out loud?

You're busted, buddy.

A new phase of the Iranian government's moralisation campaign is due to kick off on Friday, and "is set to intensify over summer" said police chief General Ahmad Reza Radan. "The third phase involves the cleaning up of our parks and of our mountains of immoral elements which prevent families from passing their weekends peacefully."

Behaviour in holiday spots, which is not in adherence with strict Islamic morality, will be punished. As well as dressing in appropriately, this could involve listening to music, singing or laughing out loud or walking hand in hand.

And don't EVEN be thinking of going to a promiscuous party.

140 young people, both male and female, were arrested during "promiscuous" parties organised in private homes.

Some interesting numbers from the article. Up to this point almost 63,000 women have been arrested for being "malveiled", half of them "business women" (uppity beyotches). 2500 businesses, internet cafes and restaurants have been closed down and over 8000 "offenders of public morals" have been arrested, 2000 remain in custody. 350,000 indecent and offensive CD's and DVDs have also been destroyed.

And how about this?

The news agency FARS, which is close to the Tehran government, also reported that some 175 'indecent' paintings and sculptures at Tabriz, the capital of Iranian Azerbaijan. Among those seized in a shop there was a reproduction of the famous Primavera by Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli which has near naked figures cavorting in a pastoral scene.

Magistrate walks out on "Shocked, Distressed Veil-Wearing-"

ZOOBIA HUSSEIN

MOHAMMEDAN MISFIT!

(First off, I'd like to hear more about the charges against Zoobia.)

A magistrate refused to deal with a defendant wearing a veil it has been revealed.

At Manchester Magistrates Court Ian Murray walked out of the case because Zoobia Hussain, 32, of Crumpsall, was covered. Ms Hussain's lawyer, Judith Hawkins, said in a statement "She Hussain remains shocked and distressed.

"She feels that the court's treatment of her was insensitive, unacceptable and against the traditions of fairness and equality that we have come to expect from our system of justice.

"She is angry that, as a result of the ensuing publicity, she has now had to explain to her children what happened."

Hussain, was charged with criminal damage, covered her entire face apart from her eyes when she faced the magistrates. However, Mr Murray felt the veil raised identity issues and left the hearing without explaining why.

Mr. Murray attempts to cover his a&& with veiled apology.

The Judiciary of England and Wales said: "Mr Murray is concerned about questions of identity when the full veil is worn in court.

"However, he agrees that he acted unwisely in disqualifying himself without giving reasons, and acknowledges that he should have sought the advice of his legal advisor in court, and discussed the provisions of the national guidelines with his colleagues on the bench, before taking action.

"Mr Murray is supportive of those of different faiths and cultural traditions and acknowledges and regrets his action could be misinterpreted."

Hussain's case was dealt with immediately after Mr Murray withdrew and was adjourned until July 18.

I'd say see you in court Zoobia, but with you wearing that rig I don't think I will...

About Crumpsall

(from wICKipedia): The area came to unwanted national prominence in 2004 when Detective Constable Stephen Oake, a Greater Manchester Police officer was fatally stabbed whilst arresting a suspected terrorist in a house on Crumpsall Lane. DC Oake therefore became the first British national to be killed by terrorists in the "War on Terror" on UK soil, a tragic distinction.

Heaton Park on the borders of Crumpsall has been used as the location for the "Red Rec'" on Granada's Coronation Street. Additionally, the UK TV drama 'Queer as Folk' was partially filmed in the terraced streets off Cravenwood Road.

And from Manchester Online there's this about Crumpsall:

There was a well-publicised case of a girl who was tragically burnt to death by her teenage boyfriend, who was living in a hostel. A gangland stabbing in Crumpsall Park and the burning down of part of the Abraham Moss Centre were enough to send out very negative signals.

The Abraham Moss Centre not only burned at the hands of drunken teens it denied a two year old entrance to a swim class because she wasn't Muslim.

Saudi Arabia: Young Men Not Allowed

"And it's the young women who are to blame"

This is a sign that proudly hangs at the entrances of supermarkets and shopping malls across Riyadh, and is directed at all men above the age of 16. It is an annoying sign for many, especially since in some parts of the Kingdom this rule is not adhered to.

Many youngsters are fed up and are calling on security guards and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice to give them a break. One high school student told Arab News: “This is something we see wherever we go. Is this rule only applied to Riyadh? In Jeddah and the whole of the Eastern Province the situation is quite different.”

Speaking about the situation in Jeddah, he said: “Youngsters in Jeddah are free to go anywhere. Why is that? Are we all bad in Riyadh? Why is it that all Saudi young men in Riyadh are punished because of the wrongdoings of a few?”

The youngster, who did not want to be named, said the situation was unfair. “We feel wronged because women are the source of problems and can go anywhere they want wearing fashionable clothes under their abayas. They wear provocative clothes and the only people who are punished are the ones who bother them. Young women are to blame,” he said.

More emasculated, frustrated, complaining Sons of Allah at the link.

Saudi Arabia: No more Hanky Panky in the Bank

Saudi Arabia to separate men and women in Bank HQs

Saudi authorities have ordered banks to separate female and male workers at their headquarters in a new setback for women's rights in the conservative kingdom. Banks are one of the main employers of women in Saudi Arabia. Though women are already separated from male employees in branches, they have up to now worked together in bank headquarters. Under the new system, women employees in bank headquarters could now be obliged to work on separate floors and use different lifts, entrances and canteens from men.

Meanwhile a law has been passed in Kuwait that restricts women from working between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am and bars them from 'arduous and dangerous' jobs. Oh, and jobs where they provide services to men only.

Ridiculous.

Paki appeasers cave into Red Mosque demands

Pakistan appeases Red Mosqueteers. Will close down all mixed sex massage parlors. No lady on man acupuncture either.

A top cleric at the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) said they were freed after the authorities gave assurances they would shut down mixed-sex massage parlours.

"After the administration assured us they would close down the massage parlours in Islamabad, and in view of the Pakistan-China friendship, we are releasing all nine men and women," said Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy head of the Red Mosque.

He said the massage of men by women was "not allowed according to the values of Islam".
The Interior Ministry said the abduction was a "shocking and unlawful act".

The mosque has been openly defying the government for months, resulting in a tense stand-off.
Officials have tried to appease the mosque and its students with talks and concessions, saying they do not want to use force against the women and in a holy place.

But critics have attacked the government for failing to enforce its authority in the capital.

Islamic group takes over Nursery school

From the Copenhagen Post. No singing, no dancing and don't even think about SANTA CLAUS hats! They want their kids "to grow up Muslim and so they don't run around and behave like apes."

Members of the fundamental Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir with children at the Salam day care centre in Copenhagen have taken control of its operations by obtaining a majority on its parental committee, according to Berlingkse Tidende newspaper.

In February the group took over after the school's two female administrators quit in protest of the difficulties Hizb ut-Tahrir parents were creating for the centre's operations. The Islamic group was refusing to allow the school's 25 Muslim children to participate in singing and dancing and required both an Islamic dress code and boys and girls to be segregated.

It was revealed that after a Christmas trip to Copenhagen Zoo, during which the children were given Santa Claus hats to wear, the committee members required the hats to either be thrown out or cut into pieces, claiming they forced Christian traditions onto the children. The group has allegedly been operating the school according to traditional Islamic law since the two administrators quit.

Since that time, the formerly private-run centre has no longer been receiving state funding and is now being administered by the City of Copenhagen. The city is still trying to find new leadership for the school and has sent letters to the children's parents informing them that they must either allow the city to run the centre or it will be closed.

More detail here at Islam in Europe.

The case exploded in December, 2006. In a call for help to the municipality, the kindergarten's personnel said that Hizb ut-Tahrir was taking over the administration. They came up with twenty parent's signatures to have new elections.

On election day at the end of January they Hizb ut-Tahrir criticized the new rules, saying that children were taught equality and a democratic spirit.

A pedagogic consultant from Frie Børnehaver, an association for private kindergartens, was present at the elections meeting. She had never experienced anything similar and she asked for a meeting with the municipality.

Four new parents were chosen to the administration, with completely different attitudes to raising kids than the existing administration. The consultant had the impression that there were no other candidates because the older members were threatened to stay away. She wrote that the voting was completely unpleasant. A new member of the administration said that his children will not be raised to have understanding for democracy.

Gaza: Christians must accept Islamic rule

Christians must accept Islamic rule. Hey, I thought there was no compulsion in Islam...

Christians can only continue living safely in the Gaza Strip 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."

Blames church attack on Fatah.

Abu Saqer claimed he had "good information" that the attack really was a robbery aimed at the church's school computers, even though bibles and Christian holy objects were destroyed.

Afghan woman radio boss shot dead.

Where's the outrage? From the Beeb.

Zakia Zaki was shot seven times, including in the chest and head, as she slept with her 20-month-old son at her home north of Kabul, officials say. The governor of Parvan province, where the attack took place, told the BBC he did not know who killed her. No one has admitted carrying out the attack.

Her murder came just days after a woman newsreader was killed for reasons which were described as "family-related". (see below for details of her HONOR KILLING)

The Parvan governor, Abdul Jabbar Taqwa, visited the scene of the killing in the town of Jabal as Siraj, about 70km (40 miles) north of the capital. He said the attackers were three men armed with pistols and rifles, who broke into Ms Zaki's house and got into the bedroom.

The killing comes six days after the shooting dead of another Afghan woman working in journalism, a 22-year-old newsreader from a private television station, Shokiba Sanga Amaaj. According to senior police sources in Kabul, her father has blamed two male relatives and one person has been arrested.

There's more about this brave woman's career at the link.

Pakistan: "Millitants" threaten music shops

No ring tones or hash for you!

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pro-Taliban militants have warned music and video shops as well as clandestine hashish and alcohol outlets in a northwest Pakistan town to close down, local residents said Saturday.

The threat came in pamphlets distributed in Darra Adam Khel town, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Peshawar, the main town in North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan.

At least 10 music shops in the region have suffered grenade attacks by militants over the past eight months. The latest threats also warned shopkeepers to stop downloading songs as mobile telephone ringtones.

"The Taliban have set July 1 as a deadline to abandon all un-Islamic business in the area," local resident Murtza Khan said. "All the music shops in this area are closing now," shopkeeper Jan Alam said.

Iran invents ISLAMOCYCLE for the lady bikers...

Good news. Soon she'll have a bike of her very own!

Lucky girls. I imagine that riding the bike with its specially designed cabin (!) and wearing a sleeping bag should be tons of fun! Especially in the warmer climates!!!

Iran plans to make special bicycles designed for women that will be compatible with Islamic regulations and not expose their body movements while riding. The new bicycle would have a cabin to cover half of a rider's body, the newspaper Iran quoted project manager Elaheh Sofali as saying.

Women's sports in general, and cycling in particular, have been a constant controversial issue in Islamic Iran. Several efforts to promote athletics by reformist circles and women's activists have failed because of opposition by the conservative clergy... The clergy considers women's body movements made while riding a bicycle to be provoking to men and not compatible with social rules.

Saudi woman files first case ever against religious police

They are known in the Kingdom as the Muttawa and number 5000 strong. Their mission? Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Oh and pulling women from cars and interrogating them for 'not wearing decent clothing.'

I predict this case will go nowhere.

A Saudi civil court is to hear the first ever case brought against the kingdom's religious police charged with enforcing a strict Islamic moral code, the woman plaintiff's lawyer told AFP on Saturday.

The unnamed woman is seeking compensation after she and her daughter were allegedly wrongfully arrested in a shopping centre car park in 2004 for "not wearing decent clothing," her lawyer Abderrahman al-Lahm said.Women in Saudi Arabia must be covered from head to toe when they go out in public.

The religious policeman in question arrested the pair, commandeered the car from their driver and drove them to his headquarters where the already sick mother suffered "health complications," said Lahm.

The woman's family is bringing the case before a civil court in Riyadh on Sunday after an Islamic court rejected the complaint, reportedly ruling that "a member of the religious police cannot be judged," Lahm said

That's Shar'ia justice for you, folks. Get a taste of it.

Driving Miss Fatimah

Parents to blame for girls getting involved with drivers

In households where menfolk are often too busy to drive the women of the house around, having drivers is a necessity and also a luxury. However, many women, including young girls, are increasingly becoming sexually involved with their drivers.

Some people blame women for the problem, others blame drivers who are usually low-paid workers living single in the Kingdom for long periods at a time. However, the fault really lies with husbands and parents who put their wives and daughters in situations that are sure to lead to illicit sexual relationship.

According to social scientist Nura Abdullah Al-Hawshan, there is an increasing number of such women who are living in care centers. “There are many such women. I feel sorry for them and we try providing them with support in whichever way we can. Al-Hawshan believes that the majority of girls who fall into such relationships are naive and very young. “They are not properly supervised by their parents. The parents trust them too much and this is what leads to these problems,” she said.

“It is time to reconsider whether it would be a good idea to allow women to drive in the Kingdom and stop the need for drivers. People are looking at this issue from a narrow perspective,” said Al-Hawshan, adding that women can drive with their veils as is the case with many Muslim women in the West.

More Saudi Girls Gone Bad at the link.

Iranian Fashion Victims: 150,000 arrested. 100 to stand trial.

IRAN: 100 WOMEN TO STAND TRIAL OVER NEW DRESS RULES
An Iranian judiciary spokesman said Wednesday that 100 women have been ordered to stand trial after the first week of a moralisation campaign imposing stricter Islamic dress code rules. Alireza Jamshidi said the women were charged with breaking the law on the veil and instigating prostitution with their dress style. Jamshidi added that thousands of others stopped by police on the street over the past week for failing to respect the Islamic dress code would not be tried because "they were not covered by the veil properly, but not in an evident matter and not intentionally."

Iranian authorities said last Friday they had arrested 150,000 women for breaking dress codes in the first week since the new rules were implemented.Under the new regulations, women found guilty of infringing Islamic dress rules can be sentenced to jail.

More local color on the situation from Persian Journal. It states that 13 are being held for trial not 100 - but is dated a few days ago:
Iran president manages to connect gooz-be-shaqiqe, "again"


P.S. I'm still trying to find out what gooz-be-shaqiqe means.

Divorce: Arabian Style

High Divorce Rates Alarm Gulf States.

Yet to attain the heights of industrialized countries, divorce rates have been climbing in every Arab Gulf state. In Saudi Arabia, a divorce rate of some 20 percent was reported in the last couple of years. Translated into real numbers, this means that 33 Saudi women get divorced daily. The high court in Jeddah reported last year divorce rates in the Red Sea city had jumped by 60 percent over the previous two years while it reached 39 percent in the capital Riyadh. In a symposium held late last year in Kuwait, a study presented by Dr. Abdulaziz Alahmed estimates the divorce rate in Kuwait at over 25% while in Qatar at 38%. In the UAE, the rate amounted to 46%. The statistics have created intense debates over the issue with experts cite many reasons for the staggering figures which alarmed local government officials and religious leaders.

Those newfangled career gals...
The rapid technological development the GCC states witnessed in the past decades is one of the major reasons for the rise in divorce rates, according to social experts. The "oil boom" gave a boost to women's education, but this has not been accompanied by a parallel change in traditions and attitudes. Thus, many men, experts claim, don't know how to cope with educated women.

The most telling paragraph at all...
Experts also claim that the strict rules segregating the sexes are blocking the couples from creating "normal" relations after they get married. In a conservative country like Saudi Arabia couples simply can't go out before they get married, and some don't see their spouses until their wedding night. Even after they get married, it is difficult for couples to go out together.

I wonder if they get my favorite soap, The Young and The Restless?
In a recent seminar held in Riyadh, many specialists claimed the proliferation of TV shows which do not reflect traditional and local values as a principle culprit. One study even indicated that 78 percent of Saudi youth rely on mass media for their sex education.

The second most telling paragraph. New fatwas from the He-Man-Woman-Haters-Club.:
Other types of marriages with less economic responsibilities for the husbands also damaged the tradition. Among these are “summer marriages” and “Mesyar marriage” whereby they relieve men of financial responsibilities and other obligations, including having to reveal them to family or other wives. The popularity of these arrangments have grown in the Gulf after new fatwas (Islamic edicts) supported them.

As things seem at this stage, it is likely to assume that divorce rate in the Gulf region will continue to rise unless authorities take serious steps to curb it.

Look for a rash of honor killings, stonings, floggings and hangings.

What DOES give with Western Feminists?

Dymphna of The Gates of Vienna has a new piece up at The Global Politician today and boy oh boy, she packs a wallop with it.

What gives with Western feminism? Families of Muslim women rape, torture, behead, crucify, and hang them in public squares - all because they have committted the truly mortal sin of being female - yet the silence here on the behalf of these victims is deafening.

Compared to the suffering of their Islamic sisters, the indignant chatter about 'oppression' emanating from women in the West is obscene.

Feminists in the U.S. claim that girls in school do less well than boys, and this happens because "America today is a girl-destroying place. Everywhere girls are encouraged to sacrifice their true selves...girls come of age in a misogynistic culture in which men have most of the political and economic power, and girls sense their lack of power." Misogynistic? Girl-destroying? Is America, the destroying place for girls, a recognizable country?

For contrast, try these cautionary tales:
In Sudan women who refuse to convert to Islam from Christianity are gang-raped, their breasts are cut off. Then they are left to die.

In Pakistan laws are structurally biased against women, especially since the advent of the Hadood Ordinances in 1979. Now when coerced sexual assaults cannot be proved, the victim becomes an offender, one who enjoyed illicit sexual activity. She is therefore liable to punishment. Safia Bibi, a blind eighteen year old was raped, subsequently becoming pregnant. Since there was insufficient evidence to prove rape ("sufficient" evidence being eye-witness testimony of four adult Muslim men), the pregnancy itself was evidence of her immoral behavior. Thus she was sentenced to three years in jail and fifteen lashes for having sex outside marriage.

In Yemen on learning that his daughter had eloped with a man from another clan, a father gathered sons, brothers, uncles and cousins, and headed a convoy of twenty cars to storm the bride's new home. Upon retrieving her, she was thrown into one of the cars. As the convoy returned, and reached the edge of her village, her father hurled her to the asphalt and had every car drive over her.

In Jordan, a man received a six-month prison term for stabbing his younger divorced sister thirty times. The murder, termed a misdemeanor by the tribunal, was minimized because the father of both brother and sister dropped charges against his son. The defendant was also sentenced to one week for intoxication and to two months for carrying a knife.

In Palestine a sixteen year-old was raped by her younger brother. Once her pregnant condition became known in the wider community it fell to her older brother to kill her in order to avenge the family honor. "She made a mistake," said one of her male cousins. "She had to pay for it."

Ah, the absolute power of Muslim women, holding Islamic men by the short hairs; indeed the old Arab saying is true: "a man's honor lies between a woman's legs."