Last December, this article noted: "Families in predominantly Kurdish southeast Turkey are pressing young daughters or wives to take their own lives to spare the men of the family from serving time." Given the prevalence of honor killings in the region, one can't help but wonder if the surge in suicides is more of the same.
"Surge in violence against women in Iraqi Kurdistan," by Shwan Mohammad for Agence France-Presse, May 24:
Medics in Iraqi Kurdistan said on Saturday that they had seen a surge in violence against women in May, with both so-called "honour" killings and female suicides on the increase.
"At least 14 women died in the first 10 days of May alone," a doctor told AFP in the region's second largest city of Sulaimaniyah.
"Seven of them took their own lives, the other seven were murdered in still unexplained circumstances" -- apparently the victims of "honour" killings.
"Over the same period, we recorded 11 attempted self-immolations. These women were so desperate they set fire to themselves," the doctor added, asking not to be identified.
According to Kurdish regional government figures, in Sulaimaniyah province alone more than 50 women attempted suicide by burning in the first four months of the year and another eight tried to hang themselves.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq has regularly highlighted "honour" killings of Kurdish women as being among the country's most severe human rights abuses.
Most such crimes are reported as deaths caused by accidental fires in the home.
Aso Kamal, a 42-year-old British Kurdish Iraqi campaigner, says that between 1991 and 2007, 12,500 women were murdered for "honour" reasons or committed suicide in the country's three Kurdish provinces.
The Kurdish autonomous region runs its own affairs and has enjoyed relative peace and growing prosperity since the US-led invasion of 2003, while Arab areas of Iraq have been plunged into sectarian warfare.
But crimes against women continue despite campaigns by human rights activists and repeated condemnation by women members of the regional government and parliament.
Most of the attacks are carried out by close relatives who believe the victims' behaviour to have been immoral. Desperate to escape the cycle of domestic violence, many women turn to suicide.
The Kurdish region's first centre dedicated to tackling domestic violence against women opened in Sulaimaniyah last October, and provides psychological support and legal advice to victims in complete confidentiality.
"Even if the phenomenon is deeply embedded in the historical roots of our region, it has become alarmingly commonplace in recent months," Layla Abdullah, president of the separate Kurdish women's rights group the Aram Shelter, said.
"In 2004, 48 female victims of domestic violence found refuge at the association in order to escape death," Abdullah said.
"The number rose to 71 in 2007, and now it stands at 25 for the first four months of this year," she added.
In 2002 the Kurdish government abolished a law which reduced the penalties for those convicted of "honour" crimes, but this has still not eradicated the violence, according to those fighting to protect Kurdish women's rights.
In November 2007, Kurdish human rights minister Aziz Mohammed acknowledged that domestic violence occurred in northern Iraq.
"Domestic violence, sexual abuse, death threats, insults, forced marriages, kidnapping, being forced to leave school... these are the problems which confront the women of Kurdistan," a ministry report said, adding that most victims were between 13 and 18 years old.
Paradoxically, Kurdish women are deeply involved in the region's political process with 28 in the 111-seat parliament and three holding ministerial positions.
"Suicide attempts by traumatised women are on the increase," said Bakhshan Zangana, who heads the parliamentary women's group.
"We must discuss and find a solution to this situation. Suicide is clearly one of the consequences of domestic violence and cruelty."
A very disturbing and sickening account of life for these poor women of Kurdistan.
The final statement is what is most frightening:
Let me give you a hint: The root of the problem is right under your very noses. It starts with an "I" and ends with an "m".
How sad. Nothing will improve for these women.
So much for the theory that Kurds are less Islamic in their outlook than the Arabs.
Or for that matter, I might add, than the Iranians or the Turks
And yet there are turncoat women who babble effusively about all the respect they get in Islam. Wonder if this aspect of Islam appeals to them or are they just sticking their pea brained head in the sand about this.
Muslim women are getting tired of all this Islamic BS>.
OT: OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR MCCAIN
(I don't know how much good this will do, but I felt compelled to send to him, didn't bother sending to Senator Obama, as that would be a guaranteed exercise in futility)
Subj: The Jihad Being Carried Out In The United States
Dear Senator McCain,
You need to understand that this country, as well as all of the civilized world, is under a grave threat from Islam. I am not talking about just a "tiny minority of extremists" within the so called "Religion of Peace". Islam is not a religion of peace. There are moderate muslims, but Islam is not a moderate ideology, http://www.jihadwatch.org/islam101/. Islam is not so much a religion as it is an anti-western ideology that has been at war with western civilization for some 1400 years.
I implore you to read this attachment:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf
and this column I am sending you:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/021133.php#comments
May 22, 2008
McCain praised pastor who called Islam "a conspiracy of spiritual evil"
America was founded in order to destroy Islam? Statements like that give the anti-jihad movement a wingnut patina that, of course, ABC is happy to perpetuate in this anti-McCain hit piece, which breezes by the fact that his campaign has strongly disavowed these statements.
But when McCain's campaign strongly disavows these statements, is he disavowing them all -- including the manifestly true statement that some Muslims quite obviously intend to conquer and Islamize the world? Is McCain completely unaware of the 1991 Muslim Brotherhood document, An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America," in which Brotherhood operative Mohamed Akram explains that the Brotherhood's work in America is "a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions"?
Probably he is.
"McCain Pastor: Islam Is a 'Conspiracy of Spiritual Evil,': by Brian Ross, Avni Patel and Rehab El-Buri for ABC News, May 22 (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):
May 22, 2008 — Despite his call for the U.S. to win the "hearts and minds of the Islamic world," Sen. John McCain recruited the support of an evangelical minister who describes Islam as "anti-Christ" and Mohammed as "the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil." McCain sought the support of Pastor Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, Ohio at a critical time in his campaign in February, when former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was continuing to draw substantial support from the Christian right.
At a campaign appearance in Cincinnati, McCain introduced Parsley as "one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide."
Campaign aides positioned Parsley right behind McCain for photographers, apparently unconcerned about Parsley's well-established denunciations of the Islamic faith in a book "Silent No More" and on DVDs of sermons about Islam.
"Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world," Parsley says on the DVDs reviewed by ABC News.
"America was founded with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed," Parsley says, "and I believe Sept. 11, 2001 was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore."
[...]
In a statement to ABC News about Parsley's comments, McCain's campaign said the senator "obviously strongly rejects such statements." The campaign did not answer the question of whether it was aware of Parsley's widely publicized statements prior to seeking his endorsement in February.
McCain has not disassociated himself from the pastor, but the campaign statement said, "Just because someone endorses John McCain doesn't mean he endorses all of their views."
McCain has repeatedly urged the U.S. to show respect for Islam. "Our goal must be to win the 'hearts and minds' of the vast majority of moderate Muslims who do not want their future controlled by a minority of violent extremists," McCain told the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles on March 26.
But well before he was asked to endorse McCain, Pastor Parsley took a much different view about moderate Muslims in his book and sermons. "I would counter respectfully that what some people call extremists are instead mainstream Muslim believers who are drawing from the well at the very heart of Islam," he said....
Posted by Robert at May 22, 2008 9:39 AM
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Please take special note of the English translation portion of the attachment, paragraph 4, (page 7 of 18 in the document and page 22 of the pdf file):
"a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
This document is also referenced here:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/FrankJGaffneyJr/2008/05/05/amerabia?page=full&comments=true
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Non-Muslims in the West, as well as in India, China, Russia, and the world over, are facing a concerted effort by Islamic jihadists, the motives and goals of whom are largely ignored by the Western media, to destroy their societies and bring them forcibly into the Islamic world -- and to commit violence to that end even while their overall goal remains out of reach. That effort goes under the general rubric of jihad. Jihad (in Arabic, "struggle") is a central duty of every Muslim. Modern Muslim theologians have spoken of many things as jihads: the struggle within the soul, defending the faith from critics, supporting its growth and defense financially, even migrating to non-Muslim lands for the purpose of spreading Islam. But violent jihad is a constant of Islamic history. Many passages of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are used by jihad warriors today to justify their actions and gain new recruits. No major Muslim group has ever repudiated the doctrines of armed jihad. The theology of jihad, which denies unbelievers equality of human rights and dignity, is available today for anyone with the will and means to bring it to life.Jihad Watch is dedicated to bringing public attention to the role that jihad theology and ideology plays in the modern world, and to correcting popular misconceptions about the role of jihad and religion in modern-day conflicts. We hope to alert people of good will to the true nature of the present global conflict.
............ Robert Spencer
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Mainstream media would love for you to lump religious leaders who call attention to the valid threat of Islam in with the likes of Reverend Wright.
Please don't fall for this trap.
Sincerely,
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P.S. If you get a chance, please ask your congressional colleagues from Minnesota why they are using taxpayer money to fund Islamic schools.
http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=292720073560464
Minnesota Madrassa
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILYPosted 4/10/2008 Islamofascism: As school officials and secularists turn a blind eye, Muslim radicals in Minneapolis take a publicly funded charter school and turn it into a madrassa.Read More: Religion | Education Flagrantly violating the constitutional ban on state promotion of religion, the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, or TIZA, herds children into bathrooms to perform ritual Islamic cleansing before leading them into the school gym to pray to Allah each day.In three visits to the K-8 school, the Minnesota Department of Education never noticed a problem, even though the tax-funded school is located at a mosque. And the ACLU didn't bother until a Minneapolis columnist exposed the madrassa earlier this week."It appears the school may be impermissibly blurring the line between providing a secular education and endorsing and promoting religion and religious activities," said Charles Samuelson, who heads the group's Minnesota office.Blurring the line? It has erased it. There's overwhelming evidence the public school's endorsing the Islamic faith, including:• Daily scheduled prayer led by an imam.• Classroom instruction in the Quran.• Compulsory "after-school" Islamic Studies classes (buses don't leave the school until after Islamic Studies is over).• Halal cafeteria food.• Observance of Islamic holidays.• Early release for Friday mosque.Forced conversion is a genuine concern at TIZA. How many of its 300 students have recited the shahada, or Islamic profession of faith, without their parents' consent? Radicalization also is a worry. Are Muslim boys being indoctrinated into violent jihad?The school, named after an 8th century jihadist who invaded Spain, shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society (MAS) of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The FBI says MAS, based in Washington, D.C., was founded by members of the radical Muslim Brotherhood.What's more, the school is sponsored by Islamic Relief, a Muslim charity identified by the U.S. Treasury as an al-Qaida front group.If this school instead had been found with so much as a copy of the Ten Commandments in its dumpster, lawsuits would have already flown, and it would be out of business.But TIZA merges mosque and state, using tax dollars since 2003, when its Islamist sponsor took advantage of new charter-school rules. Last year it took in nearly $3 million in government grants.The ACLU also was slow to respond to complaints from parents about similar Shariah creep at a public school in San Diego. Carver Elementary carved out a school within a school for Somali Muslims to bow and pray to Mecca, eat special meals and speak Arabic.The disease of Islamofascism continues to spread across America, and liberal multiculturalists are its vector.
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Also, Senator McCain, I have twice written my congresswoman, Lois Capps, on the following story about Islamist training camps on U.S. soil, and I have been essentially ignored:
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/233691.aspx?option=print
Terrorists Training in Rural America?
By Erick StakelbeckCBN News - Terror AnalystSeptember 22, 2007
CBNNews.com - RED HOUSE, Va. - Islamic extremists in the United States have traditionally set up shop in big cities with large Muslim populations: places like New York City, Dearborn, Michigan and even Washington, DC. But one secretive group is doing just the opposite.
They call themselves Muslims of America. They've established compounds throughout the rural U.S. Members say they moved to the countryside to lead peaceful lives free of "Western decadence." But others say that doesn't tell the whole story.
"Certainly, when you're in a rural area it enables you to better escape from the prying eyes of law enforcement," said CBN News consultant David Gartenstein-Ross.
He says Muslims of America has close ties to a violent Pakistani group named Jamaat Al-Fuqra. Both groups are led by the same extremist cleric: Sheikh Mubarak Gilani.
"Sheikh Gilani is an extremist figure known to be very much involved in the jihads against India, also known to be very much anti-Semitic," Gartenstein-Ross said.
Gilani's images and messages are all over the Muslims of America Web site.
He founded the group during a visit to Brooklyn in 1980. Shoe bomber Richard Reid and Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammed are said to have been among his followers.
Gilani encouraged his U.S. pupils-mostly African Americans-to move to rural areas and establish Muslim communes. The group now has dozens of these communes nationwide.
"Al Fuqra has compounds from coast-to-coast.and what this indicates is they're going to areas where land is plentiful--where you can get land for relatively cheap prices," Gartenstein-Ross said.
CBN News visited the group's 45-acre site in Red House, Virginia - a town so small you can barely find it on a map. There are no traffic lights, and the only signs of industry are a pair of convenience stores. So when a street sign popped up named after a radical Pakistani sheikh-along with men and women dressed in traditional Islamic garb- the locals took notice.
Sheikh Gilani has been on U.S. intelligence agencies' radar for years. He's currently under investigation for possible ties to al-Qaeda. He also trained jihadists to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
In addition, Gilani attended a 1993 jihadist conference in Sudan along with members of Hamas, Hezbollah and Osama bin Laden himself.
American journalist Daniel Pearl was on his way to interview Gilani in 2002 when he was murdered. The sheikh denies any involvement in Pearl's killing.
CBN News spoke to a former member of Muslims of America who wishes to remain anonymous. 'Mustafa' says Gilani runs the group from Lahore, Pakistan.
"He's the leader of the group. He's a former member of the Pakistani military. His father was one of the founding fathers of Pakistan. He has great connections to Pakistani intelligence, the ISI," he said.
Mustafa says Muslims of America serves as a cash cow for Gilani and Jamaat Al-Fuqra. Each member is required to send 30 percent of their income to Gilani. The group even had a treasurer that checked members' pay stubs.
"He said that the 30 percent is money that God has chosen to take from you. And if you spend that 30 percent you are stealing from God," Mustafa' said.
Group members hand deliver thousands of dollars in cash at a time to Gilani in Pakistan.
Mustafa said, "The money got to Pakistan through the elders who traveled to Pakistan. They carried cash with them or they sent it Western Union. Since there's Americans under Gilani's rule who live in Pakistan, it's like from one American name to another American name and it's never linked to Gilani at all."
Sheikh Gilani uses these American dollars to help fund the Taliban and other terrorist groups, according to Mustafa.
Muslims of America compounds are filled with ex-cons from rough backgrounds. Many converted to Islam in prison. Mustafa says there's at least one semi-automatic weapon in every home.
A local law enforcement official told us he's had no problems with Muslims of America in Red House. But the group has a long track record of violent activity on U.S. soil.
During the 80s and 90s, members firebombed Hindu and Hare Krishna temples and assassinated two rival Muslim leaders. Federal raids on the group's Colorado compound in the early 90s turned up bombs, automatic weapons, and plans for terrorist attacks. And at least three members have been arrested on weapons charges since 9/11.
Mustafa says the group raises money through a variety of criminal activities.
"A lot of the guys will do bootlegging--you know, it's all illegal- videotapes, CDs, clothing," he said.
In March, federal investigators broke up a multi-state counterfeit goods ring. Local residents tell CBN News that some of those arrested lived at the Red House compound.
Mustafa said, "The counterfeiting comes in with the bootlegging. It's all counterfeit movies not sanctioned by Paramount or MGM or things like that -- they're not legitimate."
Law enforcement sources say they're keeping a close eye on Muslims of America compounds.
"One of the law enforcement sources that I spoke to was concerned that you could have a Waco-type situation," Gartenstein-Ross said.
But a video on the group's Web site calls into question just how seriously authorities understand the group's beliefs and intentions. The clip shows the former head of South Carolina's FBI branch speaking at a Muslims of America-sponsored event in 2004 that honored "diversity."
Mustafa says such "outreach" efforts are a mistake. He continues to fear for his safety since leaving the compound. But he says he's speaking out because he considers Muslims of America a dangerous group.
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I understand we have some of these style camps in California.
My question to you, Senator McCain, as our (hopefully) next president, is ...
When it comes to a response by our government to the threat of Islam, who is minding the store?
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Please feel free to copy any or all of this and send to your congressman. There are not nearly enough of the likes of Sue Myrick, Tom Tancredo, and Peter King.
"Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world," Parsley says on the DVDs reviewed by ABC News.
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I am 100% in agreemant with that. I'd call it an iron-clad fact.
--
"America was founded with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed," Parsley says, "and I believe Sept. 11, 2001 was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore."
--
Wishful thinking on the first part or we'd have destroyed it already. We have the means to do it but not the will.
The part of Sept. 11th being a Call To Arms is correct. Unfortunately only the other side is heeding the call.. Our 'leader' told us to ignore everything and 'go shopping'.