'You didn't really think we'd free an apostate, did you?'
The Sudanese government is denying
Sunday's report that a Christian woman - married to an American citizen - who has been
sentenced to death for apostasy is to be freed.
“[I am] not aware that any release is imminent,” Abu Bakr
al-Sideeg, spokesman for the Sudanese foreign ministry, stated Sunday.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was sentenced to death on May 15, in
accordance with Sharia law. Sharia law outlaws Muslim women marrying
non-Muslim men - and outlaws conversion under pain of death. Ishag, who
has refused to renounce her faith, also gave birth to a baby girl
Tuesday.
Ishag's husband, US citizen Daniel Wani, also denied that her release was imminent.
“No Sudanese or foreign
mediator contacted me. Maybe there are contacts between the Sudanese
government and foreign sides that I’m not aware of,” Wani told BBC. “As far as I’m concerned I will wait for the appeal which my lawyer submitted and I hope that my wife will be released.”
Manar Idriss, Sudan researcher for Amnesty International, reiterated that reports of a release remain unconfirmed.
“We’ve received no
confirmation that Meriam is going to be released and the appeal court
has yet to issue any such ruling confirming a release," she said.
Ishag was born to a Muslim father, but has insisted that she herself is not guilty of "apostasy," as she is not Muslim.
According to the British Telegraph,
she even produced a marriage certificate as evidence that she had not
committed adultery, and called three witnesses from her home town to
testify of her lifelong adherence to Christianity.
Sharia court
ultimately disagreed, and sentenced her to death and 100 lashes for
"adultery." The death sentence is not due to be carried out until 2016.
How 'humane' of them. They're going to let her nurse her newborn child for two years before they murder her.
Labels: Islam, Islamic apostacy, Sharia law, Sudan
Christian woman sentenced to hang in Sudan to be freed
A rare win for the good guys.
A Sudanese foreign ministry official has told AFP that a Christian Sudanese woman who was sentenced to hang for apostacy
will be released.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was condemned to death on May 15 under the
Islamic Sharia law that has been in place in Sudan since 1983 and which
outlaws conversions under pain of death.
"The lady will be freed within days in line with legal procedure that
will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice," Abdullah
al-Azraq, a foreign ministry undersecretary, told AFP.
Azraq, who spoke via telephone from London, did not elaborate.
The 27-year-old gave birth to a baby girl on Tuesday in a women's prison in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman.
Her husband, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, visited Ishag and the baby on
Thursday, after being denied access earlier in the week, and told AFP both were in "good health."
Ishag was born to a Muslim father but told the court during her trial that she had never been a Muslim herself.
The court gave her three days to "recant" her faith and when she
refused, Ishag was handed the death penalty and sentenced to 100 lashes
for "adultery".
Under Sudan's interpretation of Sharia, a Muslim woman cannot marry a
non-Muslim man, so any such relationship is regarded as adulterous.
Especially given that her husband is a US citizen, she should leave Sudan and move to the US. You have to wonder how many more cases there are like this that we never hear about because there are no westerners involved.
Labels: Islam, Islamic apostacy, Sharia law, Sudan
More 'change from within' at the 'human rights council'
Here's some more of that 'change from within' that the Obama administration is bringing to the United Nations' 'human rights council.'
The council has elected two new vice presidents - Maldives and Mauritania - that have
death penalties for those who leave Islam. Additionally, although it was officially outlawed 31 years ago,
Mauritania still permits slavery. This is from the first link.
Mauritania and Maldives, which
both permit citizens who renounce Islam to be sentenced to
death, were on Monday elected as vice-presidents of the United
Nations Human Rights Council in 2013.
...
Earlier on Monday, the rights records of Mauritania and
Maldives, where an elected president and former political
prisoner was ousted early this year in what he says was a
hard-line coup, came under fire from a global free-thought body.
In a report detailing persecution and discrimination faced
by atheists and humanists around the world, International
Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), said both impose Islam as the
sole religion of the state.
Mauritania, the report said, outlaws apostasy, or the
renunciation of the official religion for another or for a
philosophy that does not recognise the existence of a deity.
Anyone found guilty of the offence is given the opportunity
to repent within three days, according to the report. If this is
not done, the offender is sentenced to death and his property is
confiscated by the state.
Similar laws exist in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan - all of which are Islamic countries.
How do you like that 'change from within' at the 'human rights council'?Labels: freedom of religion, Islamic apostacy, United Nations Human Rights Council
Graphic video: What a 'moderate' Islamic revolution does to Christians (and to Jews if they get the chance)
You all remember Tunisia, the place where they had the 'moderate' Muslim revolution, and where the 'Islamists' weren't supposed to be quite so Islamic. Here's a graphic video of what recently happened (posted Saturday) to a Muslim who converted to Christianity in Tunisia.
Raymond Ibrahim
describes what you're about to see (if you stay to watch it - I just threw my 12-year old out of here because I don't want him seeing it).
Liberal talk show host Tawfiq Okasha recently appeared on "Egypt Today," airing a video of Muslims slicing off a young man's head off for the crime of apostasy -- in this instance, the crime of converting to Christianity and refusing to renounce it. The video—be warned, it is immensely graphic—can be seen here (the actual execution appears from minute 1:13-4:00). For those who prefer not to view it, a summary follows:
A young man appears held down by masked men. His head is pulled back, with a knife to his throat. He does not struggle and appears resigned to his fate. Speaking in Arabic, the background speaker, or "narrator," chants a number of Muslim prayers and supplications, mostly condemning Christianity, which, because of the Trinity, is referred to as a polytheistic faith: "Let Allah be avenged on the polytheist apostate"; "Allah empower your religion, make it victorious against the polytheists"; "Allah, defeat the infidels at the hands of the Muslims," and "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."
Then, to cries of "Allahu Akbar!"— Allah is greater!"—the masked man holding the knife to the apostate's throat begins to slice away, severing the head completely after approximately one minute of graphic knife-carving, as the victim drowns in blood. Finally, the severed head is held aloft to more Islamic slogans of victory.
Visibly distraught, Tawfiq Okasha, the host, asks: "Is this Islam? Does Islam call for this? How is Islam related to this matter?...These are the images that are disseminated throughout the electronic media in Europe and America…. Can you imagine?" Then, in reference to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis, whose political influence has grown tremendously, he asks, "How are such people supposed to govern?"
...
Any number of Islamic legal manuals make explicitly clear that apostasy is a capital crime, punishable by death. The first "righteous caliph," a model of Muslim piety, had tens of thousands of former Muslims slaughtered—including by burning, beheading, and crucifixion—simply because they tried to break away from Islam. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the most authoritative reference work on Islam in the English language, "there is unanimity that the male apostate must be put to death."
Finally, a word on the "prayers" or supplications to Allah made by the Muslim executioners in the video: these are standard and formulaic. In other words, these are not just masked, anonymous butchers who pray to Allah as they engage in acts of cutting throats and holding up heads, these are top-ranking Muslim leaders, who appear regularly on TV, who invoke such hate-filled prayers.
Let's go to the videotape.
WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC - WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISKI can't wait to hear all the excuses from the Muslims - that he wasn't an apostate, that they weren't Muslims, that the video isn't authentic, all the usual excuses.
And this is the sort of thing we can look forward to in Egypt and Libya and maybe Syria soon too.
Labels: Arab spring, Christians in Muslim countries, Islamic apostacy, Tunisia
Great interview with Nonie Darwish
My friend the Baron posts a great interview with
Nonie Darwish, an apostate to Islam who grew up in Gaza and now has very different views. Darwish is discussing her new book,
The Devil We Don't Know.
Let's go to the videotape.
Labels: Egypt, Gaza, Islamic apostacy, Nonie Darwish
Christian pastor being treated in Israel after acid attack by Muslims
Pam Geller reports that a Muslim who converted to Christianity and was attacked with acid by Muslims after becoming a pastor is
being treated in Israel for his injuries (Hat Tip:
Jack W).
Umar Mulinde, 38, converted to Christianity from Islam when he was in university. Since then, he has openly criticized Islam, and his ministry has included public debates with Muslims. His wife is a popular gospel singer.
The evangelical minister learned about Israel through JerusalemOnlineU.com, which offers online courses about Israel and Judaism. Mulinde went on to teach the courses at his Gospel Life Church International as well as to neighbouring Christian ministers. He also organized a 5,000-person teach-in about Israel in a local stadium.
The acid attack appears to have had religious overtones.
“I was attacked by a man who called out to me shouting ‘Pastor, Pastor’ and I turned to see who he was,” said Mulinde. “Then he poured acid which burnt part of my face. As I turned away from the attacker, another man poured liquid on my back and ran away shouting ‘Allah Akhbar’ (God is greater).”
The acid caused severe burns to Mulinde’s face and torso and damaged his right eye. While in hospital in Kampala, he contacted Andrea Gottlieb, executive director, JerusalemOnlineU.com, and asked whether the school could help him seek more advanced medical treatment in Israel. Gottlieb turned to Professor Zeev Rotstein, director, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, in Tel Hashomer, Israel. In addition to its global humanitarian work, Sheba has specialized in providing care for eye and burn injuries throughout Africa. Rotstein offered to provide acute and rehabilitative care to Mulinde at no charge.
But it's okay because the attackers don't represent Islam. Count on it.
And I have readers who call Pam a 'hate blogger.' Sheesh.
Labels: Christians in Muslim countries, Islamic apostacy
ACLU suing over Seattle bus ads
Remember the
Seattle bus ads that
weren't? Well, the ACLU is
going to court over them.
The American Civil Liberties Union is taking King County to court over its refusal to post controversial bus ads criticizing the Israeli government.
KING 5 News first broke the story that the ads reading, "Israeli war crimes, your tax dollars at work," were set to appear on 12 Metro buses. That set the stage for a showdown where the county ultimately backed down.
This wouldn't be Metro's first time running controversial ads. You might remember the one that ran last Christmas, "Yes Virginia, there is no God." The ad for the "Bodies" exhibit at Pacific Science Center was controversial, even "Save Gaza," in 2009. None of those ads elicited much of a response. This one did.
If the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign's goal was to raise awareness about its cause, it succeeded. Just about everyone knows about the ad and its now infamous slogan. Not because they saw it on the side of a bus, but because they didn't.
"We still don't know who informed the press," says Ed Mast with the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign. Word got out, before the signs came out. "The local media exposure, of course, quickly created a media controversy about the ads."
King County, citing security concerns, opted not to run the ads. That, says the ACLU, violates the First Amendment right to free speech.
"If every time we have a concern that some speech is going to cause some kind of problem, we might as well all just shut up right now," says ACLU of Washington's Executive Director, Kathleen Taylor.
Several bus drivers have told us they feared they could be targeted in the backlash. Many in the Jewish community were appalled, some even proposed their own counter ad, "Palestinian war crimes, your tax dollars at work."
Read the whole thing.
Free speech, yadda, yadda, yadda. So here's my question folks: If these were ads by Pam Geller and Robert Spencer's group seeking to help people to
leave Islam safely, and they were banned, does anyone think that the ACLU would care? My recollection is that Pam's and Robert's ads were almost banned in Florida and that the ACLU didn't say a word.
Labels: ACLU, bus advertisements, Islamic apostacy, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Seattle
Her life is in danger
Does this picture look familiar to you? If not, ask your children who is in the picture.
Her name is Afshan Azad and she has starred in four of the Harry Potter movies. Her life is in danger. Go
here to find out why.
Labels: honor killing, Islamic apostacy
'Palestinian' blogger faces life in prison for insulting Islam on Facebook
A 'Palestinian' blogger faces life in prison for
insulting Islam and the 'prophet.' No, not in Hamastan. In the 'moderate' 'Palestinian Authority.'
A mysterious blogger who set off an uproar in the Arab world by claiming he was God and hurling insults at the Prophet Muhammad is now behind bars – caught in a sting that used Facebook to track him down.
The case of the unlikely apostate, a shy barber from the West Bank town of Qalqilya, is highlighting the limits of tolerance in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority – and illustrating a new trend by authorities in the Arab world to mine social media for evidence.
Residents of Qalqilya say they had no idea that Walid Husayin – the 26-year-old son of a Muslim scholar – was leading a double life.
Now, Husayin faces a potential life prison sentence on heresy charges for "insulting the divine essence." Many in this conservative Muslim town say he should be killed for renouncing Islam, and even family members say he should remain behind bars for life.
"He should be burned to death," said Abdul-Latif Dahoud, a 35-year-old Qalqilya resident. The execution should take place in public "to be an example to others," he added.
Read the whole thing - it describes what he wrote and how he was caught. It ought to make the Obama administration think twice about what kind of 'state' they are backing in Judea and Samaria and how much different from Hamastan it is likely to be. But they won't have any second thoughts as a result of this incident.
What could go wrong?
Labels: blogosphere, Facebook, Islamic apostacy
