From People of Shambhala.
For a newly-wed that has allegedly embraced Islam of her own free will Rinkle Kumari, 18, looked strangely unhappy as she spoke before the Karachi Press Club today.

To say the proceedings were unusual would be an understatement. Kumari was unable to answer journalists’ questions. During the conference she was also passed notes by two people who said they were from an Islamic organization. And she acknowledged that she had never met her husband before marrying him — at that point the conference was abruptly ended.

Her parents allege that Kumari was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married to a Muslim man against her will.

Abdul Haq (alias Mian Mitthu), a Member of the National Assembly, has been accused of orchestrating the kidnapping. Police appeared to stand guard during the press conference, and a police escort waited outside.
Visibly shaking, Kumari told the conference: “My name is Syeda Faryal Bibi, I have embraced Islam without any force and have married Syed Naveed Shah of my own free will. Earlier my name was Rinkle Kumari.”

Two bearded men, who said they were from Dargah Bharchundi Sharif, kept passing notes to Kumari, as if… read more.

Shambala People:

Shyamali Bag was one of the women reportedly
attacked by Islamists in Domjur.

The Hindu town of Madhyakolra, Domjur, in West Bengal, India, was attacked by approximately 600 Islamists on March 4, reports Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

Reports also suggest that Bangladeshi Muslims may have been involved in the large-scale attack. Domjur is approximately 100 km from India’s border with Bangladesh.
“Hindu women were […] molested, manhandled and thrashed in large numbers,” reports Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. Kolra Maitree Sangha, a local club known for its welfare work, was looted and destroyed.

A Hindu-owned house destroyed in the attack.

From People of Shambhala.
The Hindu town of Madhyakolra, Domjur, in West Bengal, India, was attacked by approximately 600 Islamists on March 4, reports Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

Trouble began when four Muslim property developers arrived to have a pond covered over and construction work begun on the site. Local Hindus came out to protest.

The four men — Mohsin Mufti, Sheikh Khokon Dewan, Atiyar Mallik and Nurududdin Sardar — allegedly returned to the neighboring Muslim-majority village.

They then returned to Madhyakolra, reportedly with 600 Islamists, who attacked the village and molested many of the Hindu women there… read more.

Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Mian Mitto has forced 20 Hindu girls in in the province of Sindh to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men, according to the Pakistan Sikh Youth Council (PSYC).

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday PSYC chairman Radesh Singh Tony alleged that “More than 80 Hindu families have already migrated to India” because of the actions of MNA Mitto, “who has tried to compel many Hindu girls to covert them to Islam.”

Forced conversions of Hindu girls occur… read more.

From People of Shambhala.
Hindu women in Pakistan are being pressured into converting to Islam, says AsiaNews.it. The conversions are forced through “violence and coercion. [And] Looming in the background is the blasphemy law, seen by many as the most serious obstacle to social and cultural equality.”

Forced conversions of Hindu girls and women are nothing new, although they have been getting more attention lately due to the high profile abduction of Rinkle Kumari and the high profile of some of those involved in the crime. Rinkle, a 17-year-old Hindu girl, was violently attacked and kidnapped by a mob of Muslim men, “with the help of a member of the [local government] National Assembly,” reports the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Local “Muslim fundamentalist groups” were also involved. “Following her abduction,” says the AHRC, “she was forced to embrace Islam.”

“Naveed Shah, a member of a famous criminal group of Hassam Kalwarh, along with more than dozen persons abducted Kumari from her house on 23 February,” says the AHRC. “They kidnapped her at gunpoint and took her to… read more.

From People of Shambhala.
Hindu girls are being kidnapped and forced to marry Muslim men in Pakistan, according to a number of largely Pakistani and Indian news sources. Between 15 and 20 Hindu girls are abducted each month and wedded to Muslim men in the province of Karachi. In the province of Sindh the number is even higher, with between 20 and 25 Hindu girls being kidnapped. Most are reportedly no more than 13 or 14 years old.

Radha “was abducted from Karachi about 13 months ago by a group of young men who offered her ice-cream and a ride in their car,” reports Pakistan Today. “Before she knew what was happening, she was dragged into a larger van, and driven to an area she did not know.” She was then forced to sign a number of legal forms and to convert to Islam in front of a Muslim cleric. After that she was… read more.

From People of Shambhala.
Railway police in northwest Mumbia arrested a male youth after hew threw acid on a a young woman’s face at a suburban railway station on Tuesday.

“The accused, identified as Pintoo Sheikh, has been arrested by the railway police. He had thrown acid on the victim, identified as Aarti Thakur, at Goregaon railway station yesterday,” an officer at the Borivli Railway Police Station is reported as saying.

The incident occurred just before 7 p.m. on Tuesday when Aarti was talking on her cellphone at the railway station. She was on her way… read more.

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.

A close-up of the naked statue image of the Hindu goddess Durga published by the Toronto Star in August 2011.

We hear a lot about the importance of respecting different faiths these days. Remember how few newspapers carried the drawings of Mohammed after Muslims rioted across the globe, burned down a Swedish embassy and murdered a Christian nun? That was because of respect, remember? The Left-wing Toronto Star was one of those newspapers sensitive to religion. But, just one.

In 2003, the Star published a photograph of a statue of Durga, the Hindu goddess that provoked demonstrations by 300 Hindus. Statues of Durga are always elaborately clothed. The Toronto Star‘s photograph upset devout Hindus because she was shown naked, in the workshop of a sculptor.

The demonstrators gave the newspaper a letter that complained about its”entirely inaccurate and misleading depiction of the goddess.” A number of Sikhs also joined the demonstration in support of the Hindus who chanted “give respect, get respect” and “we want an apology.”

Fast forward to 2011. In a move that was certain to upset the Hindu community of Canada, in August and September the same newspaper again published photos of the goddess Durga naked. Continue Reading →