Death Sentences Upheld for Seven in Egypt over involvement in Blasphemous Movie

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Cairo: A Cairo tribunal on Tuesday upheld death sentences passed on seven Egyptian Coptic Christians in absentia for their involvement in a movie that ridiculed the Holy Prophet [PBUH], a judicial source said.

The accused, including the director of the movie that triggered outrage across the Muslim world when it surfaced last September, are currently living in the USZ.

Terry Jones, an American pastor based in Florida who is said to have promoted the film and who had also been sentenced to death in absentia, had his sentence reduced to five years in jail by the tribunal.

Egyptian courts usually hand out the maximum punishment - execution in this case for a blasphemy verdict - and send the decision to the state’s top Islamic scholar to get his approval.

Tuesday’s confirmation of the sentences occurred after his opinions were taken.

If the defendants do return to Egypt, they could get a new trial, according to legal experts.

• Punishment of Blasphemy in Islam and other Major Religions

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‘Blasphemous’ school set alight

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LAHORE – An angry mob went on a rampage and set a girls’ school alight in the Karim Park area early Wednesday to protest against the administration for allegedly distributing pamphlets carrying blasphemous material among the students. The management of the Farooqi Girls High School, situated on the Ravi Road, denied the allegations and termed the shadowy claims a “conspiracy” by their competitors in the business of private schooling. The police had registered a case against a lady teacher, Arfa Iftikhar, but it did not confirm any arrest until late Wednesday night.

“We have registered a case (FIR No 1470/12) against the (alleged) blasphemer (lady teacher) under section 295-C (of the Pakistan Penal Code) for insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH). She has not been arrested yet but the police are raiding to capture her,” said Allah Rakha, the duty officer at Shafiqabad police station, when contacted. The case was registered on the complaint of Abdullah Saqib, a religious cleric of the locality. But there were conflicting reports about what had actually happened. Some protesters told reporters that Arfa had asked her students to write an essay for which she dictated to them some derogatory remarks against the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and the kids told their parents about the blasphemous material.

But the complaint had a different account of the story. He told the police that the schoolteacher Tuesday morning distributed an examination paper carrying printed derogatory remarks among more than 160 students of class-VI. This claim was contradicted by a local resident, who said he had taken a glance at the said question paper and claimed that it was a just a plain sheet carrying handwritten material in English language rather than anything in printed form.
As the rumour about this contentious, allegedly ‘blasphemous’ paper spread around by late Tuesday night, angry locals converged outside the school building and staged strong protest demonstration against the school management. Later, the police arrived at the scene and managed to disperse the protesters.

Again on Wednesday morning, dozens of area residents gathered outside the school building and chanted slogans against the administration and the teacher. They also forced their entry into the school, ransacked the furniture and set the building alight. Heavy police contingents reached the spot but failed to cool down the angry mob. Eyewitnesses said that the protesters thrashed Asim Farooqi, the school principal, and later handed him over to the police. But police did not confirm the arrest of the principal.

The accused schoolteacher was not present when the police raided her house in Malipura area, police sources said, adding that she had gone into hiding along with her kids. Police raids were underway till filing of this report. Locals said the situation was quite tense in the locality, where reportedly some public representatives too were instigating protests against the management of the school, where hundreds of students are enrolled. The police are deployed around the school to keep the things under control. Adeeb Javedani, president of the All Private Schools Management Association (APSMA), has called for constituting an independent commission to probe into what he said ‘sensitive matter.’

According to Section 295-C of the PPC, “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.”

The incident has come at a time when the international powers are pressing Islamabad hard to amend the blasphemy law. Javedani demanded the Punjab chief minister to personally look into the matter to ensure justice. He said that Farooqi Girls High School is among the leading institutions imparting girls’ education for the last more than 25 years. The Association president also claimed that the incident was a conspiracy against the school management.

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France Vows to kick out Muslims

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France’s Zionist government vowed Thursday to do more to "integrate" the country’s Muslims but warned that it would not tolerate the country becoming a hotbed of so-called Islamic "radicalism".

In a speech marking the inauguration of the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, the biggest Islamic place of worship ever built on French soil, Interior Minister Manuel Valls pledged to come down hard on suspected extremists, warning that foreign activists trying to stir up trouble would be immediately deported.

But he also held out an olive branch to the country’s four million Muslims by promising state help for the construction of more mosques and for the training of Muslim clerics.

“Islam has its place in France because the Islam of France, it is a part of France,” he told representatives of the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant communities attending the official opening of the mosque capable of hosting 1,500 people.

Relations between the French state and a Muslim community that has its roots in former colonies Algeria and Morocco have been strained in recent years by a string of controversies pitting their faith against France’s secular tradition.

Legislation introduced under Sarkozy which bans women from wearing full veils in public is widely resented and long-running debates over halal methods of animal slaughter and whether public prayers should be authorised have added to tensions linked to the economic marginalisation of many Muslims.

Valls warned Thursday that he would not “hesitate to expel those who claim to follow Islam and represent a serious threat to public order and, as foreigners in our country, do not respect our laws and values.”

He also made it clear that the Muslim community as a whole had to accept responsibility for tackling extremism, which he linked to a reemergence of anti-Semitism in the country.

“France’s Muslims can congratulate themselves on the singular model that they are building,” Valls said. “Of course it remains fragile, not every problem has been solved or overcome.

“If all religions have their share of fundamentalists, it is in Islam that this raises fears. It was on French soil and with a French passport that Mohammed Merah killed in the name of Islam.

“Anti-Semitism is a terrible scourge and its resurgence cannot be disguised.”

Built within two kilometres from Strasbourg’s celebrated cathedral, the new mosque has a capacity of 1,300 square metres, making it 1.5 times as big as the previous largest one in France, at Evry in the Paris suburbs.

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‘Innocence of Muslims’ producer jailed for probation violation

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The filmmaker reported to be behind the Islamophobic video that sparked anti-US protests the world over has been arrested and jailed for violating the terms of his probation.

­Federal Judge Suzanne H. Segal ruled that the California man, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, should be jailed after a federal prosecutor said he had eight probation violations, including lying to his probation officers and using aliases.

"The court has a lack of trust in the defendant,” Judge Segal said, ordering Nakoula to be handcuffed and shackled in court.

He “has every incentive to disappear,” Assistant US Attorney Robert Dugdale added, noting that the filmmaker has a “lengthy pattern of deception.”

Nakoula, was arrested earlier in the day and brought before a Los Angeles court over the probation violation. The US District Court hearing was closed both to media and the public.

He was arrested after federal probation officials determined he violated the terms of his supervised release, and filed a request to revoke it, said Thom Mrozek of the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

Probation officers who suspected that he violated violated the terms of his parole by uploading a 14-minute trailer of the film to YouTube had opened an investigation into Nakoula's status, resulting in the arrest.

Nakoula had also been taken into custody for questioning by his probation officer earlier in the month.

In 2010, Nakoula, known under at least a dozen aliases including Sam Bacile, was found guilty of opening bank accounts using stolen identities and Social Security numbers, and was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

One condition of his June 2011 release was a ban from accessing the Internet or using aliases without the permission of a probation officer.

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USZ Consulate behind Shia Killings; Citizens Slam American Terrorism

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Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen has buried the dead bodies of three citizens on Thursday.

Earlier, they staged hours-long sit-in protest at the Numaish Chowrangi against the killing of Shias in the metropolis and country as well.During the sit-in, MA Jinnah Road remained block, the MWM has announced that Friday will be observed as a day of protest against the targeted murders of Shias and an unjustifiable crackdown on Shias in Karachi. 

The funeral prayers of Nisar and Bilal, who were killed on Wednesday in North Karachi and Kharadar areas, were held at the Numaish Chowrangi after Zohr prayer, and buried in Wad-e-Hussain graveyard. However, the Namaz-e-Janaza of Zahid Hussain, a resident of Jafferia Colony, Golimar, was held after Maghrabain at the same venue, while his dead body was taken to Wad-e-Hussain graveyard for burial.Allama Hassan Zafar Naqvi, central spokesman of MWM, while talking to reporters at Mehfil Shah-e-Khorasan Road, announced that Friday would be observed as a day of protest against the targeted murders of Shias and an unjustifiable crackdown on Shias.

The MWM leaders Allama Mirza Yousuf Hussain, Allama Aftab Haider Jafri, Maulana Sadiq Raza Taqvi, Asif Safvi and Maulana Muhammad Hussain Karimi were also present. “In first phase, protests will be held outside the mosques after Friday prayers. In second phase, the protest will be expanded to country level and in final decisive phase, protest will be staged outside the government headquarters and the USZ embassy,” Allama Zafar said.He said seven Shias were killed in targeted attacks during last 24 hours. He said that some state institutions patronise the terrorists who are the agents of the United States and Israel.

He said that targeted murders of Shias had been increased in the wake of a peaceful protest that Shias staged outside the USZ Consulate against the blasphemous anti-Islam film. He said that enemies of Islam and Muslims were trying to divert public attention from worldwide Muslims’ reaction to the profane movie by targeted murders of Shias.“In a bid to defame Islam and Muslims, banned terrorist groups sabotaged Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (SAWW) by arson and attacks on public properties,” he said, adding that the USZ embassy and consulates were directly involved in these plots.

He said that on one hand, terrorists were killing innocent Shias and on the other, police failed to arrest the culprits. Instead, police have launched a crackdown on Shia youths. In particular, SSP District Central Captain Asim Qaim Khani proved him a biased official and he has got training from the USZ. He said that SSP Central had given a free hand to terrorists. He said that police misbehaved with women during raids on the houses.The MWM officials demanded the government to take action against the corrupt, dishonest and biased officials of the police and punish the terrorists responsible for targeted murders.

They demanded that the USZ Consular General Michael Dodman, IGP Sindh and DIG South should be punished for the murder of Syed Ali Raza Taqvi who was shot dead outside the USZ Consulate while he was registering a peaceful protest.They demanded an end to the ongoing genocide of Shias. They demanded that those terrorists of outlawed outfits involved in sabotage of Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (SAWW) should be punished. They warned that if police and rangers do not stop crackdown on Shias, they will stage sit-ins outside the police and administration’s offices in all over Sindh. They said that protest could be continued till the USZ ambassador was not expelled.

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Punishment of blasphemy in Islam & other major religions

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The punishment for blasphemy in most of the major religions is death. It is stated in the Old Testament of the Bible, which is the authority for both the Jews and the Christians:

And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: [Book of Leviticus 24:16]

Moreover, if we read Manusmriti, the Law book of the Hindus, it says:

“If a man born of a lower class intentionally bothers a priest, the king should punish him physically with various forms of corporal and capital punishment that make men shudder”. [Manusmriti 9:248]

Regarding the punishment for blasphemy in Islam, it is mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an:

“The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter”; [ Surah Al-Maidah 5:33].

In Islam, a person who has committed blasphemy can either be killed or crucified, or his opposite hands and feet can be cut off, or he can be exiled from that land. On the other hand, in other religions there is no other option except capital punishment. Islam at least has four options of punishment for an act of blasphemy. In spite of all the negative propaganda in a section of the western media, ironically Islam still happens to be the fastest growing religion, not just in the west but also across the world. The more people try to suppress Islam, the more it will prevail. Allah (swt) will make His Deen (Islam) to prevail over all the other ways of life irrespective of people mocking and ridiculing His messengers. As Allah says in the Glorious Quran:

“Mocked were (many) Messengers before thee; but the scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked”. [Surah Al-An’aam 6:10].

(Excerpt taken from Dr. Zakir Naik's question and Answer session. Read full version here)

Enticing Fury

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