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[1] From: jindia <raj.justindia@gmail.com Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 Subject: British Teacher Faces 40 Lashes for Naming Class Teddy Bear 'Muhammad' http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312895,00.html *British Teacher Faces 40 Lashes for Naming Class Teddy Bear 'Muhammad'* Monday, November 26, 2007 A British primary school teacher arrested in Sudan faces up to 40 lashes for blasphemy after letting her class of 7-year-olds name a teddy bear Muhammad. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was arrested at at Khartoum's Unity High School yesterday, and accused of insulting the Prophet of Islam. Her colleagues said that they feared for her safety after reports that groups of young men had gathered outside the Khartoum police station where she was taken and were shouting death threats. The Unity school is a Christian-run but multi-racial and co-educational private school that is popular with Sudanese professionals and expatriate workers. Bishop Ezekiel Kondo, chairman of the school council, told The Times that the school was in dispute with authorities over taxes, and suggested that Gibbons, who arrived in Khartoum in August, may have been caught up in that. "The thing may be very simple but there are people who are trying to make it bigger. It's a kind of blackmail," he said. Teachers at the school, in central Khartoum, a mile from the Nile River, said that Gibbons had made an innocent mistake by letting her pupils choose their favorite name for the toy as part of a school project. Robert Boulos, the Unity director, said Gibbons was following a British National Curriculum course designed to teach young pupils about animals and their habitats. This year's animal was the bear. In September, she asked a girl to bring in her teddy bear to help the class focus and then asked the children to name the toy. "They came up with eight names including Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad. Then she explained what it meant to vote and asked them to choose the name," Boulos said. Twenty out of the 23 children chose Muhammad. Each child was allowed to take the bear home for weekends and asked to keep a diary about what they did with the toy. Each entry was collected in a book with a picture of the bear on the cover, next to the message "My name is Muhammad." Boulos said that the bear itself was not marked or labeled with the name in any way, adding that Sudanese police had now seized the book and asked to interview the 7-year-old girl who brought in the bear. He said that he had decided to close down the school until January for fear of reprisals in Sudan's predominantly Muslim capital. "This is a very sensitive issue. We are very worried about her safety," he said. "This was a completely innocent mistake. Ms. Gibbons would have never wanted to insult Islam." The British Embassy in Khartoum said that it was still unclear whether Gibbons had been charged formally. "We are following it up with the authorities and trying to meet her in person," it said. Under Sudan's Sharia law, blasphemy could attract a large fine, 40 lashes or a jail term of up to six months. ----------- [2] From: kashif-ul-huda <kaaashif@gmail.com Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 Subject: No place in India for it Taslima Nasreen has nothing to do with Nandigram, but for some illogical reason she was moved out of Kolkata as an answer to months of protest against the Nandigram violence in West Bengal. This is the latest in a long list of examples of politics of appeasement practised in India since its independence. By shipping Nasreen out, the West Bengal government seems to be "giving in" to the demands of Muslims, but it has chosen to act on an issue that has no socio-economic relevance to a majority of them. This appeases known anti-Muslim parties more than the average Muslim individual, as it gives them more ammunition to target Muslims with. It might also please those Muslim leaders and organizations that have been campaigning against Nasreen for their own ulterior motives. These Muslim leaders can now claim victory and be on the lookout for another symbolic issue to add another feather in their cap. Read more here: http://www.livemint.com/2007/11/28222726/No-place-in-India-for-it.html ----------- [3] From: kashif-ul-huda <kaaashif@gmail.com Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 Subject: Taslima Nasrin vs MF Hussein??™s case Taslima Nasrin vs MF Hussein's case<http://www.twocircles.net/2007nov28/taslima_nasrin_vs_mf_hussein_s_case.htm\ l <http://www.twocircles.net/2007nov28/taslima_nasrin_vs_mf_hussein_s_case.html *By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The current episode of Taslima Nasreen once again has brought out the hypocritical attitude of many Indians. I am amused about the hullabaloos made by the BJP the Sangh Privar and some others for this Bangladeshi writer. However, when it comes to dealing with the economic migrant from our neighbouring court, the same set of people wear the Hindu nationalist cloak and demand 'operation push back' for those poor and hungry people who want to feed their belly on the Indian soil. To them such people would turn India a Muslim Rashtra. The other hypocrisy that comes out very clearly from this episode is while the Sangh Privar and others welcome Taslima Nasrin, a foreigner with open arms to live any where in India, they have booted out MF Hussein, the living Picasso of India from his own country. Read more<http://www.twocircles.net/2007nov28/taslima_nasrin_vs_mf_hussein_s_case.htm\ l -------------- [4] From: Pradip Kumar Datta <pradip200@yahoo.com Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 Subject: Secularism is not about appeasing terrorists : Bhaskar Roy Secularism is not about appeasing terrorists Bhaskar Roy, who retired recently as a senior government official with decades of national and international experience, is an expert on international relations and Indian strategic interests. In this exclusive column for Sify. com, he says the Taslima Nasreen issue is no longer about the writer. It has revealed a much larger conspiracy in the making. In a surprising decision, the Marxist government of West Bengal literally bundled out progressive Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen from the State on November 22. Visibly agitated, senior CPM Minister Biman Basu sharply told the media that if Taslima Nasreen’s presence was causing disturbances, she must leave the State immediately. The State government’s action sent shockwaves across the nation, particularly among the secular Indian diaspora. West Bengal has been one of the most secular and non-communal states in the country. It has been ruled by the Communists -- who proudly tout their secular ideology -- for 30 years without a break. The Marxist ideology as protectors of the have-nots helped the CPM get a captive vote-bank. The mass migration of Muslims from Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) form a sizable chunk of this vote-bank. Most of these refugees have acquired Indian citizenship through illegal means, helped by CPM cadres. While Hindu refugees who fled communal persecution in Bangladesh may not have become supporters of the CPM as a whole, the Muslims have generally remained loyal to the party. Taslima Nasreen was hounded out of her country by Muslim fundamentalists, who announced a fatwa on her head. A sensitive and liberal woman, Taslima’s fault was writing a novel about how Hindus were attacked, and particularly women were raped and pillaged by her Muslim countrymen in reaction to the Babri Masjid demolition and the Bombay riots in India. She was incensed by the Bangladeshi government’s impotence, as it stood by without taking any action against these barbaric acts. Most of the people who accuse Taslima Nasreen of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed have not read her book Lajja (Shame). There was no such intention on Taslima’s part. She was trying to expose the vicious socio-political issue created by Islamic fundamentalists in Bangladesh to expand their grip on society and the government. Fundamentalist parties like the Jamaat-e-Islami, Islamic Oikyo Jote and others were in the ascendancy when the protests against Taslima erupted in Bangladesh in the 1990s. It was the period when both the BNP (1991–1996) and the Awami League governments (1996–2001) were wooing the Islamists for votes. Taslima Nasreen was dispensable. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism under government patronage in Bangladesh since then has been obvious on both sides of the Indo–Bangladesh border. There is a connection between Bangladeshi terrorism and the demand of the fundamentalists in Kolkata during the November 21 bandh, which took on a communal hue. The Nandigram issue was deliberately mixed up with protests against Taslima’s stay in Kolkata. Unfortunately, the Trinamool Congress and the Congress used this for petty political mileage against the CPM, not caring that it furthered and encouraged an anti-national fundamentalist threat. The violent protests in Kolkata on November 21 were well choreographed in advance. Disturbances were engineered in specific areas to enable hit and run tactics, and target the CPM offices. The Taslima Nasreen issue did not come in accidentally. It was part of the plan. The All India Minority Forum (AIMF), a little known organisation, spearheaded the protests. What contacts does this group have within and outside the country? Similar questions need to be raised about Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind. For years, the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was wooed by political parties for vote, until its diabolical anti-national nature was exposed. The fundamentalists had been pressuring the West Bengal authorities to expel Taslima for quite some time. There were some small, scattered protests. But attempts to get her books banned were quashed by the High Court. By ignoring the decision of the court, the Muslim fundamentalists are rebelling against the Constitution of India. The West Bengal government made a show of rehabilitating Kutubuddin Ansari, a tailor who was a victim of the Gujarat riots. He was the famous face of the Muslim victims. But today, these protectors of secularism decided to throw out Taslima Nasreen, following pressure from Islamic fundamentalists. Whether the CPM government in West Bengal has realised it or not, by expelling Taslima from Kolkata they have succumbed to the fundamentalists in the state, who have links with the Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists in neighbouring Bangladesh. This expulsion would further encourage the rise of Islamic terrorism in the state, which will then flow into other parts of the country. Intelligence agencies have evidence linking Bangladesh with a number of terrorist attacks in the heartland of India – from the attack on the STF headquarters in Hyderabad, on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and on Sankatmochan Temple in Varanasi among others. The border area of West Bengal with Bangladesh, especially the Murshidabad belt, has been used for safe houses for these terrorists who are primarily funded by Pakistan’s ISI through Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi Islamic terrorist organisation, the Jamaatul Muslim Bangladesh (JMB), established its first ‘foreign cell’ in Murshidabad. Bangladesh based terrorist organisations like the JMB, HuJI, Ahle Hadis Bangladesh are increasingly active in areas bordering West Bengal. Their major arms training is, however, in the hill tracts of Chittagong and Sylhet. All these organisations are linked to Pakistan’s ISI, the al Qaeda and its International Islamic Front (IIF). Islamists have suborned large sections of the population in West Bengal, specially in the border areas. A lot of time has been lost, but the moment has come to pull down the shutters firmly on vote politics and ensure the security of the country. Secularism is not appeasing fundamentalism and terrorism. The November 21 incidents could have led to communal riots in Kolkata. Fundamentalism, whether Muslim or Hindu, is a challenge which must be taken very seriously. The Taslima Nasreen issue is no longer about Taslima Nasreen the writer. It has revealed a much larger conspiracy in the making. It was a test case, and the CPM’s decision has conveyed to the Islamic fundamentalists that they have won round one. http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php? id=14568036&vsv=SHGTslot1 --------------- [5] From: SANSAD <sansad@sansad.org Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 Subject: Pakistan under Emergency: "Charlatans, humbugs and a few heroes" By Ayaz Amir Dear friends: A very peceptive, well written, analytical piece on the curent political quagmire Pakistan is in today. for your information. hari sharma for SANSAD < November 23, 2007 Friday Ziqa'ad 12, 1428 <http://www.dawn.com/weekly/ayaz/arc-ayaz.htmArchives <mailto: ayaz.amir@dawn.comWrite to Mr. Ayaz Amir Charlatans, humbugs and a few heroes By Ayaz Amir OUR tin-clad Generalissimo may not be blessed in his own talent or powers (if he were he wouldn't be in the mess he is in) but he sure is blessed in the humbugs masquerading as the people's champion. With a stellar cast that includes Benazir Bhutto, one thing in the morning and another in the evening, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the deadliest secret weapon in Musharraf's arsenal, it is no wonder the opposition parties are in such a state of confusion. But if they are not to miss the bus altogether they better make up their minds quickly. The Generalissimo, political genius that he is, has put himself in a desperate hole and the only way he can get out is if the opposition parties are foolish enough to fall into the trap of his Jan 8 election. If they participate, Musharraf is home and dry, the crisis he faces abating. But if they have sense not to, the election will lose all credibility and the hole the general is in will become deeper. Repression can't be kept up indefinitely. People can't be locked up all the time. Even the police get tired in the end and the army seems not in a mood to behave like the Myanmar army. If the political class and the intelligentsia are in a state of shock it should be of some consolation for them to know that Musharraf and coterie are also not having much fun. What is the fun of being absolute ruler when assailed from all sides, enduring lectures from the likes of John Negroponte and having to plead with the Saudis to keep Nawaz Sharif in the Holy Land? There are real 'strongmen' and there is then the tinpot variety, helpless and distraught when the weather turns wet, as it has for the paladins of this setup. Amazing, isn't it, that Nawaz Sharif should prey so much on their nerves? Amazing too that they should be afraid of so many shadows. Afraid of My Lord Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, afraid of Justice Ramday, Rana Bhagwandas, retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, Muneer Malik, fiery Ali Ahmed Kurd, Aitzaz Ahsan. Power becomes a poisoned chalice when there are so many ghosts at the feast to be terrified of. Even the great Hakim Luqman, it is said, had no cure for wehm (suspicion or the fear of the unknown). For the paranoia gripping Islamabad there is also no cure. The president has issued an ordinance amending the Constitution whereby no action of his post-Nov 3 can be challenged in any court of law. He can issue a hundred ordinances and amend the Constitution a hundred times but the fears preying on him, and of which he is already a victim, will not go away. A hundred Sharifuddin Pirzadas can be set to work day and night to amend the Constitution in the president's favour, the entire commando strength of the Pakistan army can be deployed around Army House, still those fears will not depart. According to Chinese tradition, a ruler losing the mandate of heaven is doomed. Something similar seems to have happened to the present order of things after March 9. No move, not a single step, has been in the right direction, everything having the opposite effect to that intended. We now approach the end-run of this crisis. Gen Musharraf has run out of options, his bag of tricks empty. He can either follow the path of repression which, as already said, can't be sustained for long. Or he can be saved not by his own efforts but the treachery of the opposition parties. Only if they throw him a lifeline - by agreeing to fall into the trap of the Jan 8 election - can he make it to the other shore. Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif have it right. Asfandyar Wali has it right. The Baloch nationalists - Abdul Hayee, Hasil Bizenjo, Mahmood Achakzai, Akhtar and Sardar Ataullah Mengal - are on the right track. These people have their hearts in the right place. They are not keen to fall into the general's trap. But others are playing a double game, none more so than that undisputed master of double-talk, Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Perhaps the time has come for the rest of the opposition parties to bid him farewell and say 'good riddance'. A Trojan horse like him in their midst can only be a danger, spreading confusion and undermining unity from within. Better to be without such allies. Benazir Bhutto's is a slightly more complicated case. She is too intelligent not to realise that any election under Musharraf will be a farce. But there are skeletons in her cupboard - let's not go into details - limiting her freedom of action. She also cannot ignore American wishes entirely because it is the United States which is her principal backer, desperate to push Musharraf and her into some kind of understanding. She faces a tough choice. Does she go along with America's reading of the situation or can she bring herself to do the right thing by her own party and the people of Pakistan? In any case, she should be under no illusion. If she decides to participate in the coming election she will have thrown a lifeline to Musharraf, in effect siding with his neo-martial law. What a picture this will present: Q League, MQM and assorted allies the king's party and Benazir Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman standard-bearers of his generalship's loyal opposition. Holy fathers are used to such transmutations but from his eyrie up in the clouds hard to imagine the great Zulfikar Ali Bhutto being amused. As for the Jamaat-i-Islami, time perhaps to call a spade a spade. It has to decide whether it will remain a satellite orbiting around Maulana Fazlur Rehman or it has a mind of its own. Qazi Hussein Ahmed's rhetoric is loud but the Jamaat so far has not proved very effective in the ongoing struggle. Where does its true heart lie and can it ever be a sincere partner in the struggle for democracy? The Jamaat and its student wing, the Jamiat, both now realise the extent of the blunder committed when Jamiat goons misbehaved with Imran Khan on Nov 14. This has brought a searching light to focus on the Jamiat's politics, exposing it and the Jamaat to perhaps the severest criticism in their blood-charged history. The Jamiat, desperate to make amends, is now saying it will arrange a reception in Imran's honour. Imran will have to be a fool to go along with such a charade. Such double-faced companions are best kept at a distance. But you'll have to hand it to Imran for being so plucky. The kind of setbacks he has suffered would have made a lesser man say goodbye to politics long ago. But he persevered and is now reaping the fruits of his perseverance. If there is one politician who has emerged tall during the stormy events of this year it is Imran. To judge by the courage and keen judgment of events he has shown, he may well be coming into his stride. Courage not fine speeches is what we need and if Nov 3's neo-martial law has thrown up chicanery and brutality in ample measure, this most glorious of years in our history, 2007, has thrown up a new leadership consisting of judges, lawyers, civil society activists, and a new breed of students (from the most 'liberal' campuses, by the way). In this lies our hope for the future. But first a clear decision regarding the forthcoming election. ------------- |
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