New from France: Nutty Mecca watch

"The meeting also reviewed what has been described as a Mecca watch, the brainchild of a French Muslim.

The watch is said to rotate anti-clockwise and is supposed to help Muslims determine the direction of Mecca from any point on Earth."

BBC, 21 April 2008

Anti-clockwise and anti-future - it's about the same.

Public pool bars father and son from its 'Muslim-only' swimming session

"A father and his five-year-old son were turned away from their local swimming pool because they were the wrong religion.
David Toube, 39, and his son Harry were told that the Sunday morning session was reserved for Muslim men only.

[...]

A leisure centre spokesman said staff were wrong to refuse entry to Mr Toube.
He added: "The member of staff the user spoke with at the time was mistaken when referring to the session as Muslim-only.
"The men's modesty session is not a private hire and is, therefore, open to the public.
"Staff cannot ask your religion on entrance and you won't be refused entry if you don't appear to be Muslim."
A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "Segregating services may amount to unlawful discrimination and could create a sense of unfairness, inadvertently increasing community tension."

Daily Mail, 18th April 2008

Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid Warns: Freedom of Speech Might Lead to Freedom of Belief

"A journalist, or one of those lowlifes, wants to... These people are a mixture of Western, local, and imported ideologies, but they want to express their views with regard to religious rulings. This is the prerogative of religious scholars, not of ignorant people, the prerogative of knowledgeable people, not of fools or heretics.

[...]

The problem is that they want to open a debate on whether Islam is true or not, and on whether Judaism and Christianity are false or not. In other words, they want to open up everything for debate. Now they want to open up all issues for debate. That's it. It begins with freedom of thought, it continues with freedom of speech, and it ends up with freedom of belief. So where's the conspiracy? They say: Let's have freedom of thought in Islam. Well, what do they want? They say: I think, therefore I want to express my thoughts. I want to express myself, I want to talk and say, for example, that there are loopholes in Islam, or that Christianity is the truth. Then they will talk about freedom of belief, and say that anyone is entitled to believe in whatever he wants... If you want to become an apostate – go ahead. Fancy Buddhism? Leave Islam, and join Buddhism. No problem. That's what freedom of belief is all about. They want freedom of everything. What they want is very dangerous."

Al-Majd TV on March 30, 2008, Memritv.org (Transcript)

Hehe, this really cracks me up.

Muslim is spared a speeding ban so he can drive between his two wives

"Mohammed Anwar said a ban would make it difficult to commute between his two wives and fulfil his matrimonial duties.
His lawyer told a Scottish court the Muslim restaurant owner has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow - he is allowed up to four under his religion - and sleeps with them on alternate nights.
He also needed his driving licence to run his restaurant in Falkirk, Stirlingshire.
Airdrie Sheriff Court had heard that Anwar was caught driving at 64mph in a 30mph zone in Glasgow, fast enough to qualify for instant disqualification.
Anwar admitted the offence, but Sheriff John C. Morris accepted his plea not to be banned and allowed him to keep his licence. Instead, he was fined £200 and given six penalty points.
Lorna Jackson, from the road safety charity Brake, called the decision "astonishing".
She said: "Regardless of the number of wives or businesses this man drives to, he broke a law which is there to protect everyone. "Travelling just a few miles over the limit in a 30mph zone can be the difference between life and death if you hit someone, let alone driving at more than twice the speed limit.
"Drivers know the law, and they know the punishment they could face when they break it.
"For the courts to allow someone to keep their licence when they have so blatantly flouted the law and put peoples' lives at risk, on the basis of an excuse such as this, is astonishing."
Anwar, wearing a suit and an open-neck shirt, had made no comment during his five-minute court appearance, apart from confirming his identity.
But last night, speaking from his restaurant Sanam, he said: "It is true I have two wives.
"Muslim men are allowed up to four. But I am not a religious leader and it is not my place to comment.
"As a matter of respect to my wives I would not comment on my home life.
"The sheriff did not ban me because I need my licence to run my business, although my wives were also part of the decision."

Daily Mail, 5th April 2008

The real nut here is of course the sheriff.

[Convert nut] Muslim bus driver halts bus to pray

"A MUSLIM bus driver told stunned passengers to get off so he could PRAY.

The white Islamic convert rolled out his prayer mat in the aisle and knelt on the floor facing Mecca. Passengers watched in amazement as he held out his palms towards the sky, bowed his head and began to chant. One, who filmed the man on his mobile phone, said: "He was clearly praying and chanting in Arabic.

"We thought it was a wind-up at first, like Jeremy Beadle."

The 21-year-old plumber added: "He looked English and had a London accent. He looked like a Muslim convert, with a big, bushy beard.

"Eventually everyone started complaining. One woman said, 'What the hell are you doing? I'm going to be late for work'."
After a few minutes the driver calmly got up, opened the doors and asked everyone back on board.

But they saw a rucksack lying on the floor of the red single-decker and feared he might be a fanatic. So they all refused.

The passenger added: "One chap said, 'I'm not getting on there now'.
"An elderly couple also looked really confused and worried.

"After seeing that no-one wanted to get on he drove off and we all waited until the next bus came about 20 minutes later. I was left totally stunned. It made me not want to get on a bus again."

The bizarre event unfolded on the number 81 in Langley, Berkshire, at around 1.30pm on Thursday."

The Sun, 29 Mar 2008 (H/T Islamineurope.blogspot.com)

Idiot.
On my way home after I had read this story, I was waiting for the bus at the end station. Guess what, the driver was praying inside the bus. First time I've seen that. But that's OK, because he was doing it without interfering with other people.
But the English guy (have a look at the picture) is another good reason to look closer at how people interpret Freedom of Religion.

"2. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Rome, 4.XI.1950"

There must be violence against women

"This title may sound strange, but it's actually not just a way to attract readers to the topic because I really do mean what it indicates.

[...]

Despite such instructions, beating is considered a type of violence, according to human rights organizations, which urge women to complain to the police. I just wonder what kind of families our societies would have if Muslim women started doing this regarding their husbands.

Relationships between fathers and daughters or sisters and brothers also provoke argument from human rights organizations, which propose the suggested solutions for all relationships. Personally, I don't think fathers or brothers would undertake such behavior unless there was a reason for it.

Fathers are responsible for their daughters' behavior, but human rights organizations deny this too. Brothers also should take action regarding their sisters' behavior, especially if their parents are too old or dead. If a daughter or sister makes a mistake – especially a moral one – that negatively affects the entire family and its reputation, what's the solution by such organizations?

According to them, women should complain to the courts about any type of violence against them. Likewise, should fathers and brothers complain to police if their daughters or sisters violate moral, Islamic or social norms?

Fathers should handle their daughters via any means that suits their mistake; thus, is it better to use violence to a certain limit or complain to the police? Shall such women then complain to the police against their fathers or brothers? It's really amazing to hear this.

In some cases, violence is necessary, but there must be limits. Those "good human rights organizations" don't make any exceptions in their solutions because their aim is to serve society. Will it be a better society once we see wives, mothers, sisters and daughters going from one police station and one court to another, complaining against their husbands, fathers, brothers and even sons?

As the proverb goes, "If the speaker is mad, the listener should be mindful." This proverb is good advice for every man and woman not only to keep their ears open, but also to avoid the misleading propaganda of such organizations, whose surface aims hide other destructive ones to destroy society's religious, social and moral norms. This matter requires consideration.

Dear readers – especially women – don't think that I hate or am against women; rather, I simply mean to preserve the morals and principles with which Islam has honored us."

Maged Thabet Al-Kholidy, Yemen Times, January 2008

Well, what can I say?

(Found via The Apostate.)

Saudi Crime News: 57 Men Arrested for Flirting at Malls

"Prosecution and Investigation Commission will start investigating on Saturday 57 young men arrested here by police for allegedly flirting with girls at local malls.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice summoned the police to make the arrests Thursday night.
The Commission had received reports of their "bad" behavior at different malls in Makkah.
The young men were accused of wearing indecent clothes and playing loud music and dancing to it to attract girls' attention.
A source at the Commission said that 20 of its staffers and policemen were dispatched to the troubled areas and police arrested the young men and transferred them to the Al-Mansour Police Station.
None of them resisted arrest, the source said.
The source added that those found innocent upon investigation would be released. The others would be referred to a court of law.
Guardians of some of the young men came to their defense, saying that the young men would usually get together on the weekend to have fun without violating the social code of conduct by imposing themselves on the girls at the malls."

Saudi Gazette, 23 February 2008

Try to read this with the voice of a news reporter.

Iran: Gott mit Atoms

"Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that God would punish Iranians if they do not support the country's disputed nuclear program, state radio reported.
"The Iranian people openly announce that they will defend their rights... God will reprimand them if they do not do so," state radio quoted Khamenei as saying."

Associated Press, Feb 17 2008

Religious police ban red roses

"Saudi Arabia's religious police have banned red roses ahead of Valentine's Day, forcing couples in the conservative Muslim nation to think of new ways to show their love.
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered florists and gift shop owners in the capital Riyadh to remove any items coloured scarlet, which is widely seen as symbolising love, newspapers said.
"They visited us last night," the Saudi Gazette quoted an unidentified florist as saying.
It is not unusual for the Saudi vice squad to clamp down ahead of Valentine's Day, which it sees as encouraging relations between men and women outside of wedlock, the newspaper said.
Saudi Arabia imposes an austere form of Sunni Islam that prevents unrelated men and women from mixing, bans women from driving and demands that women wear a headscarf and a cloak."

News.com.au, February 11, 2008

Why not also shut down postal services that day?

See also these pictures from Karachi (I guess).
Love.
Heart.

11 books on Islam banned in Malaysia

"Malaysia has banned 11 books for allegedly giving a false portrayal of Islam, such as by linking the religion to terrorism and the mistreatment of women, an official said Wednesday, The Associated Press reported from Kuala Lumpur.

The government ordered the books - most of them released by American publishers - to be blacklisted this month 'because they are not in line with what we call the Malaysian version of Islam,' said Che Din Yusoh, an official with the Internal Security Ministry's publications control unit.

'Some of them ridicule Islam as a religion or the facts are wrong about Islam, like associating Islam with terrorism or saying Islam mistreats women,' he said.

The banned books include eight English-language ones, such as 'The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and its Role in Terrorism,' 'Secrets of the Quran: Revealing Insights Into Islam's Holy Book' and 'Women in Islam.' There are also three books written in the local Malay language.

New York Times/Khaleej Times Online, 1 February 2008

The banning, however, gives a very accurate portrayal of Islam.

Prince Charles's letter in support of Islamic 'fundamentalism'

"Demonstrating the extent to which he sees himself as "defender of faith", the Prince of Wales wrote to Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, saying that he was "determined to continue the battle to spread the message that proper fundamentalism is in the best interest of the future of our world."
Charles told Mahathir, who later claimed that Jews "rule the world by proxy", he understood the "frustrations" Muslims experience "as a result of apparent Western misunderstanding and misrepresentation. I have, for a long time, despaired of the ignorant and thoroughly evil 'role' of the tabloid media in deliberately misrepresenting Islam and reducing everything to the level of the absurd."

[...]

Charles said he saw the appeal of "proper fundamentalism" in "a world, in my part of it at any rate, which is increasingly without meaning, without roots, without a spiritual dimension and which worships the God of Technology." He finished his letter with the rallying cry: "There is much to be done…!"

Daily Telegraph, 20/01/2008

His uncle, Prince Edward always had a fancy for Fascism, too.

Suicide bomber blows himself up

"A WOULD-be suicide bomber fell down a flight of stairs and blew himself up as he headed out for an attack in Afghanistan, police say.
It was the second such incident in two days, with another man killing himself and three others on Tuesday when his bomb-filled waistcoat exploded as he was putting it on in the southern town of Lashkar Gah.
Yesterday's blast was in a busy market area of the eastern town of Khost, a deputy provincial police chief said.
The would-be attacker tripped as he was leaving a building apparently to target an opening ceremony for a mosque that was expected to be attended by Afghan and international military officials, said Sakhi Mir.
"Coming down the stairs, he fell down and exploded. Two civilian women and a man were wounded,'' Mir said.
Suicide attacks are regular feature of an insurgency led by the extremist Taliban movement that was in government between 1996 and 2001. The most deadly was in November 2007 and killed nearly 80 people, most of them school students."

News.com.au, January 24, 2008

LoL.
(Shame with the wounded, but lives were probably saved)

Saudi divorces wife for watching male TV host: report

"A Saudi man divorced his wife for watching alone a television programme presented by a male, an act he deemed immoral, the Al Shams newspaper reported on Saturday.

The man, whom the paper did not identify, ended his marriage on the grounds his wife was effectively alone with an unrelated man, which is forbidden under the strict Islamic law enforced in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the paper said.

Men in Saudi Arabia have the authority to divorce their wives without resort to the courts."

Yahoo/AFP, September 29 2007

Muslim GP faces disciplinary hearing for attack on gays

"The president of the Islamic Medical Association is to face a disciplinary hearing after making a ferocious attack on gay people in Pulse, the magazine for GPs.

In the letter, Dr Muhammad Siddiq says that gays need “the stick of the law to put them on the right path" and that they deserve neither help nor pity.

"There is punishment and fine if you throw rubbish or filth in the streets. The gays are worse than the ordinary careless citizen,” wrote the GP, who is employed by the Walsall Primary Care Trust in the West Midlands, “They are causing the spread of disease with their irresponsible behaviour. They are the root of many sexually transmitted diseases." The letter went on to say that a depressed transsexual awaiting gender reassignment was "twisted."

Dr Siddiq denies that he authored the letter and claims his son was playing a "cynical spoof" on him by forcing him to sign the letter and sending it to Pulse, a magazine for GPs. When the magazine checked with Dr Siddiq, he made no effort to deny that these were his views. Allegedly, he has privately told his colleagues that he had actually written the letter." [more]

National Secular Society, 27.07.2007

Lame views, but the excuse is possibly the lamest.
I guess his opinions won't be changed after reading this:

"Gay Artist Burns Rare $60,000.00 Koran"

I think that's shameless though. Think of all the money!

Wife urged man to die for jihad, court told

"A young wife urged her husband to die waging jihad, and offered herself and her baby son as martyrs, a court heard yesterday.

[...]

The letter which the court heard was written by Ms El Hor to her husband stated: "The moment has come that you and I have to separate for the sake of Allah.
"I am happy that Allah has granted you the chance to be a martyr ... I wish I could go with you because I too feel obligated.
"Maybe one day I can follow you. If I can't, I will send our son to you so he can follow his father's footsteps."

The Guardian, May 31, 2007

We do use books that call Jews 'apes' admits head of Islamic school

"The principal of an Islamic school has admitted that it uses textbooks which describe Jews as "apes" and Christians as "pigs" and has refused to withdraw them.

[...]

[Dr Sumaya Alyusuf] said: "Yes, I do recognise these books, of course. We have these books in our school. These books have good chapters that can be used by the teachers. It depends on the objectives the teacher wants to achieve."

[...]

The school is owned, funded and run by the government of Saudi Arabia."

Thisislondon.co.uk 07.02.07

Long story. In short: Religious schools = propaganda schools.
(Found via politicsandreligion.wordpress.com)

Michael Jackson 'Confirms Conversion To Islam'

"Pop superstar MICHAEL JACKSON has confirmed his conversion to Islam, according to reports in the Middle East.
The Arab-Israeli newspaper Panorama claims Jackson has announced the move and revealed plans to move to Bahrain, where he has bought property."

Andpop.com 2/26/07

Not sure if the story is true or not, but I think I know why he converted. There's one thing that unites Michael Jackson and Muhammed... and I'm not thinking of Bubbles.

Muslim puritan preoccuppied with sex

"Please read my entire blog, read how islam will win the clash of civilization."

No thanks, but I will occasionally take a look at all the pics of women.

Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Exhibit 3
Exhibit 4
Exhibit 5
Exhibit 6
Exhibit 7

"2. how can you stop/slowdown spreading of islam ?
simplely, ban bikini and other skin revealing clothing and porn."

Easy as that!