Islamic tolerance alert: 750 lashes and over three years in prison for discussing the Bible and praising Jews in the Holy Land of Islam. From Reuters, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -- A court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for "mocking religion" after he discussed the Bible and praised Jews, a Saudi newspaper reported yesterday.Al-Madina newspaper said secondary-school teacher Mohammad al-Harbi, who will be flogged in public, was taken to court by his colleagues and students.
He was charged with promoting a "dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer," the newspaper said.
I wonder if this story, or many more like it have even registered with the Dhimmi C of E?
Whilst they are running in ever decreasing circles apologising & appeasing Muslim fascism, our "Allies" such as Saudi & Pakistan are actively engaging in this sort of despicable behaviour.
I wonder If Princess Tony or His Royal Lug Ears will mention this to them?
I wonder if this story, or many more like it have even registered with the Dhimmi C of E?
They have no excuse for ignorance with this Anglican organisation on the case.
http://www.barnabasfund.org/generalnews.htm
I first heard of them from a flyer in my church. Other JWatchers have been supporters for much longer. I can and do put the monthly news sheet out and about. I can't make people read it.
And the usual human rights activist organizations are to be found where in shining a light on such activities?
In the usual place, so heavily veiled during "support your local jilbab week" (I made that up) that they will not see. There being none so blind as.....
Flogged in public for prasing Jews? This guy got off light. When did Saudi Arabia start going soft on such heinous crimes. In the old days, he would have been beheaded.
Joke over.
And the usual human rights activist organizations are to be found where in shining a light on such activities?
This is why so-called human rights oganizations like Amenesty International have no credibility. They wring their hands over the treatment of terrorists at Gitmo, while real abuses like this go on in Muslim countries everyday.
My hat is off to Muhammad al-Harbi. If he ever shows up in the US of A, I hope they give him asylum ASAP.
However, he may not be alone. I have run into a number of Saudis who have developed kinder and gentler feelings about Jews and Christians after time in the USA. A Sa'udi who blogged under the name "Religious Policeman" and seems to be in England now has also written critical things about his natal country's religious policies. The Western-educated Sa'udi upper crust--whether of the "we've got to change" or "al-Banna got it right" vaiety--however, is simply a very thin veneer on a very tribal and parochial society.
Despite their flagrant bigotry and persecution, our fair-minded country calls Saudi Arabia a good friend and ally. Would we do business with the KKK if they had their own country? Do we determine who our allies are by how much we benefit from them? Are we so desperate?
I have this terrible mental imagery of America dressed like a cheap trollop on her knees servicing a Saudi Prince -- the appendage snaking out from under his robe is a gas nozzle! AACK!
Anybody catch Fox TV's American Dad last night? I was ROTFLMAO. It just slammed everything so Saudi.
Satire and animation can be excellent vehicles for education. It reaches those who are too lazy or too uninterested to search, investigate and read on their own. If just one line from the show, such as when the morality police are called to respond to a woman showing an ankle, sticks in a viewers mind, the next time that viewer reads or hears of a true incident of a woman being arrested or beaten for showing skin, that viewer might not so easily dismiss the true incident as an aberration to be readily dismissed. Instead the little lightbulb, even if it is only a 15 watt bulb, just might go off.
Who recalls the Treasure Chest series of anti-communism comic books? I remember reading those in grade school.
This man may be the victim of students who are being "assisted" by "Islamic Studies" teachers. The students failed a chemistry test that he wouldn't let them retake and was supported by the principal in taking this line. I'm not sure how much was said in favour of Jews, etc., only that this teacher is no friend of the Islamists, hence the animosity from the IS teachers.
http://muttawa.blogspot.com/
"Apparently Al-Harbi’s actions and comments against terrorism upset a number of Islamic studies teachers known for their fundamentalist beliefs. After the Al-Hamra blast in Riyadh, Al-Harbi copied an article, 'Cavemen Go to Hell' written by Saudi columnist Hammad Al-Salmi in Al-Jazirah newspaper, attacking terrorists and extremists. Al-Harbi posted the article on the school bulletin board but it was ripped off and torn to pieces."
How much "praising of Jews, etc." he actually did, although cited in Arab News, is uncertain. (He is also accused of practicing witchcraft.)
And then there's the manner in which he was tried:
"Strangely, the judge did not question anyone from the school except for the students and the teachers who filed the lawsuit. 'I asked the court to talk to the principal and anyone from the school, but the judge refused,' said Al-Harbi.
"One of the charges made against Al-Harbi was that he praised disbelievers. Al-Lahem (Al-Harbi's lawyer) said that this was a very broad statement without an exact meaning.
"Another accusation made by the students and the teachers is that Al-Harbi mocked bearded men since many religious people are bearded. 'That is just ridiculous,' Al-Lahem said, pointing out that Al-Harbi himself has a beard.
"When Arab News called the school principal, he refused to make any comment beyond saying that he had been told by 'higher authorities' to say nothing to the media.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73171
I found this on an AI international site. It's something I suppose:
Donato Lama was still distraught when he described to Amnesty International the flogging he had received in Saudi Arabia two years earlier. A Filipino employee of an airline company in Riyadh, he had been arrested for allegedly preaching Christianity because a photograph showed him participating in a secret Roman Catholic service in Riyadh. He was tortured into signing a confession and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and 70 lashes. The lashes were administered in a single session a month before his release in May 1997. Like other victims of flogging, Donato Lama received no medical treatment for his injuries. Nieves (see page 6) described the flogging she received:
"I thought it will be fast but no, it was done one at a time... [The policeman] really takes his time before striking. I started counting and when it reached 40 I thought I could not make it... I prayed so hard... At last it reached 60... I could not explain the pain experienced. The stick he used was like a bamboo, round but hard."
A Filipino returned to his home in mid-1999. Shortly afterwards, a colleague entered the room accompanied by two mutawa'een and a policeman. His colleague, a Christian like himself, was in handcuffs and said, "Brother, I am sorry." Before he could say more, one of the mutawa'een hit him in the face and told him to be quiet. Without explanation the mutawa'een and the policeman searched the room and found a Bible and other Christian material.
The Filipino was then taken without explanation to the office of the mutawa'een, where he was accused of being a preacher. When he denied the allegation, one of the mutawa'een became angry, put one of his wrists in handcuffs and beat him in the ribs. "He shouted in Arabic, 'Refute your God', and spat in my face." The accusation that he was a preacher turned out to be the nearest he ever came to knowing the reason for his detention.
'I was at my most vulnerable state when the police again pressured me to admit or else I would continue receiving the beating. 'We will let you go if you sign this paper. If not, you may as well die here.' Badly bruised and no longer able to stand another beating, I agreed to put my thumbmark on the paper not knowing what it was I was signing.'
From a letter by Donato Lama, a Filipino who was arrested in October 1995, reportedly on suspicion of preaching Christianity. After a summary trial he was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment and 70 lashes.
Did AI call a press conference about the gulags in Saudi Arabia? Did they demand access to Christian victims who are flogged in SA for no other reason then wanting to practice their faith?This is why AI has no credibility.
It is happening in America. University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire Campus bans Resident Assistance in Dormatories from having Bible Studies. (They didn't ban anything else.)
Why is this happening in America and also the increased level of Islamic terrorism.
Many will not believe, but nothing happens in the earthly plane unless it first ocurrs in the spiritual world. That is what is meant in the Lord's Prayer ..."as in Heaven, as on Earth..."
Satan is on the march and "The Great Deveiver" as fooled many!!!
Don't believe in what I say, then I ask you this,
where does a "thought" originate?????
Science cannot answer that!!
When are organizations like Amnesty International going to stop telling us how awful the west is and totally ignoring the nauseating abuses in countries like Saudi.
The West isn't perfect but we're light years ahead of most islamic countries.
I think the west should do as China did....close it's doors to these evil creatures,...not trade or communicate with them but keep a very close watch.
All people from these countries living in the west, if they go for a holiday ...they stay.
I would love to pretend that the world isn't as it is but we have to protect it for our kids and try to make our overwhelming numbers of ostriches take their heads out of the sand.
I have just waffled **********
If they give him 750 lashes all at once , he wont live to do the jail time...thats more like murder than punishment...
RE: If they give him 750 lashes all at once , he wont live to do the jail time...thats more like murder than punishment...
Unfortunately, the 750 lashes will be given at
the end of his jail term and most likely it will kill him.
Time for the whole world to "stand up" and terrorize Saudi Arabia!!
Killer-zombies on parade!!!
Pakistan nowadays makes one think of those atrocious B-horror flicks "THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD!" or "KINGDOM of the ZOMBIES"....
Except it's real....
I am sure this is the long term plan of CAIR. To force us in submission and take our precious freedoms away. I am not talking about the way freedoms have been perverted by some but those created by our founding Fathers. Freedom of religion for one and freedom of speech for another. Not all of us (Americans) will submit or give up as easy as the French have. "Give me liberty or give me death."
I will respect any Muslim who treats me as a an equal but I will never submit to them nor should we!!!
By the way anyone who wants coast to coast am to interview Robert Spencer should contact George Noorey on www.coasttocoastam.com
His email address is under contacts
RE: I am sure this is the long term plan of CAIR. To force us in submission and take our precious freedoms away.
Very true Eaglecap as one of the founders of CAIR had the arrogance to say "Islam is not in America to be part of it, but to be the dominant religion in America"
That statement should have been on the front page of every newspaper!!!
Roxanne:
Do you remember what the big human rights organizations had to say shortly after the fall of Saddam about human rights @buses under his regime? Basically, they said they knew about the t*rture and mVrder going on by the hundreds on a daily basis at Abu Graib, but they were afraid that reporting on these abuses would lead to their expulsion from Iraq, which would not be in the greater interests of furthering human rights. So, they chose to stay and remain silent and thereby allow the broad public to remain in ignorance of the extent of the human rights violations. Brilliant logic, eh?
Here is the entire article published in the English Language newspaper...
Teacher Charged With Mocking Religion Sentenced to Jail
Ebtihal Mubarak, Arab News —
JEDDAH, 14 November 2005 — The controversial case of Muhammad Al-Harbi, a Saudi high school teacher accused of mocking religion, came to a surprising end on Saturday. Al-Harbi was sentenced to three years in prison and 750 lashes — 50 lashes per week for 15 weeks. The lashes are to be given in the public market in the town of Al-Bikeriya in Al-Qassim.
A number of 12th Grade students, along with some teachers from the same school, filed a lawsuit a year-and-a-half ago against Al-Harbi. He was accused of mocking Islam, favoring Jews and Christians, preventing students from performing ablutions. He was also charged with studying witchcraft. At the time, he was a chemistry teacher at Al-Fowailiq High School in the town of Ein Al-Juwa in Al-Qassim.
“This is a very cruel sentence,” Al-Harbi told Arab News. He explained over the phone that the students who filed the lawsuit had failed the monthly chemistry test. “They asked me to give them the exam again and when I refused, they went to the principal to complain but he upheld my decision,” he explained.
According to Al-Harbi, the students’ actions were triggered by some Islamic studies teachers who used the students’ anger at Al-Harbi and convinced them to file the lawsuit.
The reason for the Islamic studies teachers action has its roots five years ago when Al-Harbi joined the staff of Al-Fowailiq High School after graduating from King Saud University in Riyadh. Based on his academic record and extracurricular activities, the school principal appointed Al-Harbi as school activities organizer.
Deeply disturbed by the explosions at the Al-Hamra Compound in Riyadh in 2003, Al-Harbi felt it his duty as an educator to enlighten his students and warn them of terrorism and its consequences. He went to great lengths by talking to students, hanging anti-terrorism signs around the school and speaking against terrorism.
“The Ministry of Education has recently ordered all schools to lecture students on the dangers of extremism and terrorism in general, but I was a step ahead of their decision,” said Al-Harbi.
Apparently Al-Harbi’s actions and comments against terrorism upset a number of Islamic studies teachers known for their fundamentalist beliefs. After the Al-Hamra blast in Riyadh, Al-Harbi copied an article, “Cavemen Go to Hell” written by Saudi columnist Hammad Al-Salmi in Al-Jazirah newspaper, attacking terrorists and extremists. Al-Harbi posted the article on the school bulletin board but it was ripped off and torn to pieces.
The teachers, as one of the students’ fathers admitted to Al-Harbi, used to visit students in their homes, encouraging them to disobey Al-Harbi and calling him names. One of the Islamic studies teachers stopped Al-Harbi in a morning school assembly from speaking against Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, identified by the Saudi government as a terrorist and who was on the government’s list of wanted terrorists. The teacher told Al-Harbi that Al-Muqrin was a Muslim and that no matter what he had done, no one should speak against him.
“They told the students that I studied under secular teachers and thus I’m not to be trusted in any subject except for chemistry,” said Al-Harbi.
Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, Al-Harbi’s lawyer, told Arab News that the sentence was illegal. “Any case that has to do with sacrilege must be heard in a special religious court and not in a regular one,” he explained. “ The judge heard them individually and did not give the defendant the right to interrogate the witnesses,” said Al-Lahem. He also refused to acknowledge Al-Lahem as the defendant’s lawyer. Al-Lahem will appeal the verdict 10 days from the date of the original sentence.
Strangely, the judge did not question anyone from the school except for the students and the teachers who filed the lawsuit. “I asked the court to talk to the principal and anyone from the school, but the judge refused,” said Al-Harbi.
One of the charges made against Al-Harbi was that he praised disbelievers. Al-Lahem said that this was a very broad statement without an exact meaning.
Another accusation made by the students and the teachers is that Al-Harbi mocked bearded men since many religious people are bearded. “That is just ridiculous,” Al-Lahem said, pointing out that Al-Harbi himself has a beard.
When Arab News called the school principal, he refused to make any comment beyond saying that he had been told by “higher authorities” to say nothing to the media.
The physical education teacher at the school, however, said he had known Al-Harbi as a decent, respectable, cooperative individual. “One of the students came to me today and told me that they really missed their chemistry teacher,” he said.
The Ministry of Education has transferred Al-Harbi from his teaching job to an administrative one at the governorate educational office in Ein Al-Juwa. When he contacted the ministry and asked why he was being moved, Al-Harbi failed to get a clear answer.