Author Archives: Oracle

UK Muslim group angry at Koran exhibition

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You might expect protests at an exhibition of the Koran to be led by an anti-Islam organization. But, surprisingly, in the British town of Huddersfield an Islamic organization representing more than 15,000 Muslims is campaigning against an exhibition of the Koran that is being held at the local town hall.

The Action Committee is upset that it was arranged by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, which the Action Committee regards as not proper Muslims. Mr Amar Usman Ali, a spokesman for the Action Committee, notes that the Ahmadiyya been declared to be false Muslims.

The Ahmadiyah sect of Islam was… read more.

Kashmir Government “total sell out” over sharia

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Allowing Islamic extremism to go unchecked in Jammu and Kashmir could have long term repercussions for the rest of India says Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National Executive Member and State Chief Spokesperson Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Dr. Singh has accused the National Conference (NC) party-led Jammu and Kashmir Government of “a total sell-out to religious fundamentalists in the valley in a blatant bid to keep the extremists and separatist elements in good humour so as to ensure… read more.

India Announces intention to tap Iran’s oil

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From People of Shambhala.
India will “endeavor in future to tap the Iran[ian] source [of oil] fully because the terms are fairly favorable,”India’s Oil Minister S. Jaipal Redd announced at an energy conference on Monday.

A delegation from India went to Tehran last week to discuss payment for crude oil. Reddy reported that “Iran was very accommodative.”

India’s announcement comes at a moment of heightened tensions between Iran and the USA over Tehran’s nuclear program, and over the alleged planned assassination of the Saudi ambassador to Washington DC. Tehran demanded an apology over the accusation, and denies that it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons.

Reddy says that although India respects United Nations sanctions it will not… read more.

Iran targets Baha’i cemetery for destruction

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From People of Shambhala.
In what appears to be another act of aggression against the Baha’i minority of Iran, authorities there are attempting to repossess a Baha’i cemetery, which will then be bulldozed.

According to Baha’i World News Service, “there have been more than 30 incidents of vandalism, arson, or other problems related to Baha’i-owned cemeteries or efforts by Baha’is to properly bury their dead” since 2007.

In 2010 intruders used a bulldozer to destroy graves in the… read more.

Sri Lanka deports Islamic radicals

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From People of Shambhala.
The predominantly Buddhist nation of Sri Lanka has ordered a group of 161 foreign Muslim clerics to leave the country.

The clerics, of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Maldivian and Arab backgrounds, are allegedly part of the extremist Tabligh Jamat sect. They travelled to the country in small groups last month, presumably to avoid arousing suspicion.

Chulananda Perera, Controller of Immigration and Emigration for Sri Lanka, says that he received several complaints from Sri Lanka’s Muslim community, who claimed that the clerics were practicing an… read more.

Libya’s draft election laws biased against women

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From People of Shambhala.
The ousting of Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 was meant to usher in a new era of pluralism and freedom.

However, as has occurred in Egypt, reactionary Islamists have stepped in to fill the political void. Women in Libya fear that they are being sidelined as the new political arrangement takes shape.

A petition calling on the National Transitional Council to ensure greater participation of women in decision-making, circulated by Women4Libya, has attracted more than 3000 signatures.

Recently the two week consultation period on the draft election laws ended abruptly with Libya’s Electoral Commission announcing that previously proposed laws have been altered and ratified.

Troublingly, the proposed 10% quota for women in the… read more. 

Muslims slaughter pregnant cow in Hindu temple compound

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From People of Shambhala.
A tense atmosphere has prevailed in Perumbavoor, a satellite town of Kochi city and a municipality in the Indian state of Kerala, after a group of Muslims slaughtered a pregnant cow inside the compound of the Sree Dharma Sastha late Tuesday afternoon. The perpetrators slit the cow’s throat.

Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism, and killing them is prohibited. The killing of the pregnant cow inside the temple compound was a deliberate act of sacrilege designed to provoke local Hindus.

A member of the Sree Dharma Sastha temple committee is reported to have said, “If they wanted the cow for meat they could have simply stolen it. That they committed the heinous act right in front of the temple has only one explanation – their intention was… read more.

Tunisian TV executive to stand trial for “blasphemy” over animated movie

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From People of Shambhala.
Nabil Karoui, owner of the Tunisian Nassma TV station is set to stand trial for “violating sacred values” and “disturbing the public order.”

he faces up to three years in jail if he is found guilty. The Tunisian authorities are upset that Karouri allowed the French animated movie Persepolis to be aired on his station in October 2011.

The French animation is based on an Iranian autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. Islamic critics have described the movie as “blasphemous” as it shows a dream sequence in which the heroine imagines herself talking with God.

According to Egyptian media outlet BikyaMasr, “The airing of the film triggered a wave of violence, including an attempt to firebomb Karoui’s home on October 14. Salafi activists also staged angry protests in front of the offices of the station.”

Karoui has told reporters, “I will plead not guilty, of course. It is outrageous that it was I who appear, as people who burned my house were released.

“The new defenders of the moral order in Tunisia want to… read more.

Atheist arrested in Indonesia for writing “God does not exist” on Facebook

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From People of Shambhala.

An Indonesian civil servant is facing five years in jail for writing “God does not exist” on a Facebook page, “Ateis Minang” (“Minang Atheists”), that he moderated.

The 31 year-old man, who is known as Alexander, was reported to the police by the Indonesia Council of Ulema, which is not a state organization.

Police have confirmed that they have charged a man with blasphemy in connection to the case.

Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz told the Jakarta Globe “that the district branch of the council, known as MUI, and other Islamic organizations believed Alexander, 31, had defiled Islam by using passages from the Koran to denounce the existence of God.”

Chairul says that because Alexander cited the Koran in… read more.

Iran: actress should be “put to death” for nude pics

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From People of Shambhala.
The Western media has been reporting that Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani has been told not to return to Iran because of her recent nude photo shoot published in Madame Le Figaro magazine.

It’s actually much worse, and a little more complicated than that.

When Egyptian blogger Aliaa Mahdy, 20, published nude photos of herself on her blog in December Egypt exploded.

Although Egypt’s liberals supported her right to self-expression, and while many women hailed her bravery, the country’s religious conservatives in particular were enraged. Mahdy was subsequently threatened with death and rape.

The same is now occurring with Farahani. The Iranian-born actress has been… read more.

UK Muslims petition against “Jesus and Mo” cartoon

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From People of Shambhala.

Lucky beer. Yes, the bottle is in the shape of the Buddha. No, so far there have been no petitions, riots, murders, etc. in response.

Do you wish the West was just a little more like Victorian Britain? No? Then you might be surprised to know that some people do. The Atheist, Secularist & Humanist Society of the University College London is currently under the spotlight for posting an image from the online “Jesus and Mo” cartoon on its Facebook page. The ASHS uses the page to promote social events that usually involving drinking — they’re students. The image depicts Jesus and Islam’s prophet Mohammed in a bar with a pint of Guinness beer each.

No prizes for guessing that the college union has received “complaints” and that the society is being pressured to remove the image.

Something needs to be pointed out here. I understand that Muslims are upset, but how many of them are going to be checking the Atheist, Secularist & Humanist Society’s Facebook page for the next boozing session? Err… well… none. That’s right, none of the offended actually need to be offended. It’s a lifestyle choice.

Anyway, Muslims in Leamington, a northern British town 131 miles from London, have added their names to a petition that demands the ASHS take down a cartoon. The ASHA has received an… read more (and WARNING: see the offending image).

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From People of Shambhala.

Bangladshi Hindus came out to form a human chain on the streets in protest against “land grabs” by Muslim organizations on 15th January, the day of the Makar Sankranti festival. Hindus allege that Islamic organizations have been seizing Hindu property, especially Hindu temples.

Moth Mandir and Debbottor Sampatti Raksha Committee, the Hare Hrishna body ISKCON Dhaka, and the Sree Sree Radha kanto Jeo Temple committee jointly organized the protest, and demanded the authorities ensure the safety and security of Hindu and Buddhist temples in Bangldesh.

According to Hindu Existence, “Over a thousand Hindu protesters today came down to streets before the Press Club Dhaka, Bangladesh and blocked the roads for hours with a demand to arrest the perpetrators.” They say the police and authorities have turned a blind eye to the illegal actions.

Hindu Existence alleges that, since 2008, some Islamist groups… read more.

Muslim Brotherhood nominates Egyptian Parliament’s speaker

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From People of Shambhala.
Mohamed Morsi, chairman of the Muslims Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) announced during a press conference on Monday that FJP secretary-general Saad al-Katatni will be nominated as speaker of the new parliament. FJP vice president Essam El-Erian was also a possible candidate.

The political parties in Egypt have been debating who would take the position, and who will fill the two deputy speaker positions.

The Muslim Brotherhood-led alliance won more than 45% of the 498 Egyptian Parliament seats, while the Nour Salafist Party won another 25 percent. 

Mohammed Morsi said the FJP had met with all the other parties to… read more.

NY Jewelry store forced to remove “offensive” Hindu, Buddhist earrings

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Does "diversity" mean some religious symbols should be banned?

In Indonesia in 2010 a Muslim organization forced a Buddhist temple to remove a Buddha statue from public view. Wouldn’t happen in the US, right? That’s the kind of intolerance Americans are against. As Ron Meier, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s New York office told Fox News this week, the city is all about diversity. Oh, sorry, no.

It was an “innocent mistake,” says Meier. But who’s making it? Bejewelled, a jewelry store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn owned by Miss Young Sook Kim, had been selling Hindu/Buddhist swastika earrings for $5.99.  Visit the cozy “lemon hued” shop, and you’ll be given a “silk-lined straw basket for corralling” the shop’s sections, where you can buy  “Totes, evening clutches, and jeweled hair accessories,” says NY Mag

Is this shop really a magnet for neo-Nazi haters? Continue Reading →

Egyptian court bans anti-revolutionary TV program

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From People of Shambhala.
Cairo Administrative Court banned a television program on Saturday that has been attacking Egypt’s pro-democracy revolutionaries. The television program is hosted by Tawfiq Okasha, an Egyptian Presidential candidate for the Egypt National Party.

According to Egypt Independent, ” the General Authority for Investment and Nile Sat authorities should stop the broadcasting of a program titled Misr al-Youm, which is aired by Al-Faraeen private channel and presented by Tawfiq Okasha, the channel’s president.”

Egyptian Independent has named Okasha as one of Egypt’s five most controversial figure.

“Some media professionals have raised concerns over his tendency to label revolutionary forces as… read more.