Recently in Kashmir Category

The case against Rev. Khanna for daring to baptize seven converts from Islam continues to grind on, and the question remains: whose law is supreme in Kashmir? Indian law, or the local Sharia courts?

They have also tried to get rid of Fr. Borst before. They have had it in for him for a long time. He is "credited with initiating the translation of the Bible into the Kashmiri language." "3 Christian priests told to leave J&K," by M. Saleem Pandit for the Times of India, January 20 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

SRINAGAR: A self-styled Sharia court in Srinagar on Thursday issued a fatwa asking three Christian priests to leave Jammu & Kashmir for "luring the Valley's Muslims to Christianity". The fatwa also directed the state government to take over the management of Christian schools in J&K, besides monitoring church activities.

The outrageous edict follows last November's arrest of pastor M C Khanna of All Saints Church in Srinagar.

According to Nasir-ul-Islam, deputy to grand Mufti Bashiruddin, four Christian priests are involved in luring Kashmiri Muslim youth to convert to Christianity. "Punjabi MC Khanna, Dutch national, Jim Borst, and Gayoor Messah were told to leave the Valley for their involvement in conversions. Case against the principal of Tyndale Biscoe School, Parvez Samuel Koul, is under investigation. A judgment will announced in due course," said Naib Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam. Besides the decree, Sharia court asked the government to involve itself with the management of missionary schools.

Proselytizing is forbidden. It could get Christians killed. In this case, it could get Christians who had nothing to do with it killed. Good thing an appeals court struck down Oklahoma's anti-Sharia law, eh? Islamic Tolerance Alert from Kashmir: "Indian Christians fear backlash due to Sharia ruling," by M Saleem Pandit for TNN, January 13 (thanks to Twostellas):

SRINAGAR: All India Christian Council in New Delhi on Friday feared backlash against Christians in the country due to incrimination of pastors Jim Borst and CM Khanna by Srinagar's self-styled Islamic Shariat court.

The self-proclaimed Supreme Court of Islamic Sharia headed by Mufti Bashir-ud-din on Wednesday indicted Pastor C M Khanna and Dutch national, Jim Borst for their alleged involvement in luring Kashmiri Muslims to convert to Christianity.

The Deputy Mufti-Azam Jammu and Kashmir and son of grand Mufti Bashir-ud-din, Mufti Muhammad Nasir-ul-Islam in a statement on January 11 said that "it was proved beyond doubt that the accused" pastor Khanna "along with other accomplices was luring Muslim people to change their religion."

"The Kashmir situation is going through a critical phase and if such elements are not brought to book it will have a serious and negative impact on the (Kashmiri Muslim) society. It is shocking and surprising that the state government was allowing such activities. Kashmir society will not tolerate such activities at all and we stand united against such elements," Mufti Nasir said. The deputy Mufti added that a detailed verdict against the accused would be made public soon.

The two pastors have already quit the valley. They left soon after Pastor C M Khanna (who lived in Kashmir for past several years) was released on bail on December 1, 2011. The J&K police had arrested him on November 19, 2011 on charges of fomenting communal trouble in the state.

All India Christian Council in a statement on Friday feared that the Sharia court's threatening that it would issue a sentence soon could "encourage extremist elements to indulge in violence."...

The court allowed Rev. Khanna to be released on bail, but not before lawyers twice stormed the courtroom, and the bar association warned its members not to defend him. An update on this story. "Kashmir: Anglican pastor who baptised seven Muslims to be released," by Nirmala Carvalho for Asia News, November 30:

Srinagar (AsiaNews) – Chander Mani Khanna, the Anglican clergyman from All Saints Church arrested for baptised seven Muslims, will be released on bail, a court in Sranigar, Kashmir, ruled this morning. The pastor’s son, Nathan, said, “We are waiting for his arrival in Jammu. He is in custody but safe.” Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), pleaded with the Kashmir government to guarantee the pastor’s safety after his release. Rev Khanna has been in prison since 19 November.

Twice (on 27 and 28 November), a gaggle of lawyers stormed the courtroom where the pastor’s case was being heard. The presiding judge was forced to postpone the bail hearing. The Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association has called on its members not to provide Rev Khanna with legal counsel.

A threatening poster was hanged in the courtroom promising any transgressor of possible consequence, such as expulsion from the association and ban from practicing law in the State of Kashmir.

Whose law is in effect in Indian Kashmir?

Sajan George warns that Anglican clergyman’s life “is in serious danger. Six years ago, Bashir Tantray, GCIC coordinator in the Kashmir, was gunned down in broad daylight, in front of his father’s home. The government has to guarantee Rev Khanna’s safety when he is released.”....

The fundamental question in this case is one of Indian sovereignty: is Indian law the supreme law of the land in Indian Kashmir, or is Sharia? Local authorities and Muslim clergy are acting as though the latter were.

They have sought to prosecute Rev. Khanna for promoting "disharmony, enmity or hatred" due to religion, and for offending "religious feelings" by welcoming Muslim converts to Christianity. Someone ought to ask them how that logic would apply when some other Kashmiri converted to Islam. Of course, under Sharia's supremacist rule, that concept of reciprocity would not apply at all, and that is exactly the idea.

An update on this story. "Christian leaders for the release of Kashmiri pastor arrested for forced conversions," by Nirmala Carvalho for AsiaNews, November 22:

Srinagal (AsiaNews) - "The Rev. CM Khanna and seven Muslim converts to Christianity were exercising their constitutional rights to religious freedom and freedom of choice, they have done nothing illegal. " So says Sajan K George, President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), commenting on the arrest of Channa Mani Khanna, Anglican pastor of All Saints Church in Kashmir, accused by the Grand Mufti of the region of having forced the conversion of young Muslims in exchange for money. For the Anglican bishop P.K. Samantha Roy, of the Diocese of Amritsar, "the way the police have arrested the pastor is humiliating. Rev. Khanna has never acted in secret. We ask the government of Kashmir for justice. The Anglican Church will seek a legal redress for our innocent pastor. "

A few days before his arrest, on 19 November, the Grand Mufti Bashir-ud-Din had called the Rev. Khanna before a sharia court, to answer charges of forced conversion. On 17 November, the Grand Mufti had then written a letter to the pastor, in which he stated: "Having failed in what I had asked, we will be forced to take action under Shari'a." In addition to Rev. Khanna, the police also arrested the seven Muslim that he baptized, beating them to obtain a confession against the pastor.

The Anglican bishop who oversees Rev. Khanna's diocese has upheld the baptisms as valid:

Msgr. Roy said he had discussed what happened in the Islamic court with the pastor: "The interrogation went on for four hours. When we spoke, the Reverend was serene and calm, not afraid because he was sure of his innocence and that he had not committed any violation of canon law or civil law. The baptisms he officiated are valid. "

"The request to appear before a Shariah court - said Sajan George - is alarming. We must stop the Talibanisation of the only Indian state with a Muslim majority. India is a secular country with a secular constitution, which states without exception, and demands respect for the principles of equality among citizens of the republic."

The state of Kashmir has no anti-conversion laws: the police arrested the pastor according to art. 153A (people who promote disharmony, enmity or hatred based on religion, race, residence, language or caste) and 295A (people who offend the religious feelings of any class, with deliberate and malicious acts).

The same could be said in many places, and especially with regard to U.S. foreign policy in Muslim countries. In Kashmir, the Grand Mufti and the courts are being allowed to act with impunity against other Kashmiris' freedom of conscience, now stretching laws that are either abusive or prone to abuse to accuse the pastor in this case of "insulting" Muslims and upsetting religious "harmony." An update on this story. "Kashmir pastor arrested for baptising seven Muslims," from Asia News, November 21:

Srinagar (AsiaNews) – Police in Kashmir arrested Rev Chander Mani Khanna of the All Saints Church after the head of the Kashmir Shariat Court accused the Christian clergyman of converting Muslims in exchange of money. The case began on 8 November when Grand Mufti Bashir-ud-Din summoned him to appear before the court to explain the alleged conversions.

To back his accusation, the Grand Mufti used a video that appeared on YouTube that shows Rev Khanna baptising seven young Muslim men and women. The same video was then linked by other online platforms provoking an avalanche of verbal attacks against the clergyman.

“Rev Khanna’s arrest is an attack against religious freedom,” said Predhuman K Joseph Dhar, a scholar who translated the Bible in Kashmiri. “The situation is tense and there is great concern that someone might threaten his life.”

“Having failed to do what we asked you to do, we are forced to take measures based on the Sharia,” the Grand Mufti said in a letter to the clergyman.

Afterwards, “police arrested seven people, the seven men and women who are baptised by rev Khanna in the video. According to witnesses, police beat the seven in order to testify against the pastor.”

The Jammu Christian Federation called on the government “to release the pastor since administering the baptism on consenting adults is his prerogative.”

“The rights of Christians are being sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and convenience,” said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). “Christians too are entitled to minority rights. Allowing a Sharia Court to enforce its laws on Christians represents an end to the rule of law and equality of Indian citizens.”

Kashmir does not have any anti-conversion law. In fact, police arrested the clergyman under Articles 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (1860). (NC)

As far as Mufti Azaam Bashir-ud-din is concerned, CM Khanna has some 'splainin' to do. He has allegedly been converting young Muslims to Christianity, and you know what the prophet of the Religion of Peace said about that: "If anybody changes his religion, kill him." Can you imagine the outcry if a Christian priest or minister in Europe or the U.S. summoned a Muslim cleric and demanded that he explain why Christians were converting to Islam?

Islamic Tolerance Alert: "Kashmir’s 'mufti azam' summons Christian priest to explain alleged conversions," by M Saleem Pandit for the Times of India, October 28 (thanks to PM):

SRINAGAR: Mufti Bashir-ud-din - J&K's official " mufti azam", or head Muslim clergyman - issued fresh summons to a leading Christian priest, CM Khanna, on Friday, asking him to appear before his court to explain his activities of reported conversions of young local boys and girls at his church in Srinagar. Khanna said the mufti was annoyed with him because he had expressed his inability to help the mufti in the admission of a boy to a Christian missionary school.

Talking to TOI, Mufti Azaam Bashir-ud-din said: "Our shariat court had summoned the Christian priest, CM Khanna, to appear personally today at 11am but he failed to appear. Now we have issued fresh summons to him for personal appearance on November 12."

A shariat court has existed in J&K since the early 1960s; Mufti Bashir-ud-din is the judge of the court and the appeal against this court lies in the civil court. Mufti Bashir said that the court was recognized by the state government because of the majority Muslim character of the state. The shariat court, however, has no enforcing agency like police to implement its judgments, he said

Mufti Bashir-ud-din said: "I have received the complaint that the said priest, CM Khanna, is involved in converting young Muslim boys and girls to Christianity. This warrants action as per Islamic law. So we summoned him to appear before the shariat court to explain his position."

The mufti claimed to possess a video cassette purportedly showing Reverend Khanna urging young Kashmiri Muslims to embrace Christianity and asking them to take a dip in a pond inside the church near the cricket stadium in Srinagar.

"I will take all necessary measures in exercise of the powers vested in me by Islamic shariat," the mufti said when asked what course he would take if the priest failed to appear in his court.

Threat noted.

"It is a matter of grave concern that Christian missionaries active here should be running an organized and integrated campaign to convert young Kashmiri Muslims to Christianity," he said....

Lashkar-e-Taiba was created by Pakistan and is still owned and operated by the ISI. LeT was also blamed for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, and Indian officials believe them to be behind July's bombings there.

Here, India has dealt them a major setback. "Two LeT commanders killed in Kashmir: Indian police," from Agence France-Presse, August 7:

Indian troops Sunday shot dead two senior commanders of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group in Kashmir during two separate gunbattles, police said.

Fahadullah, a Pakistani national, was killed during a fierce clash in northern Kupwara district, bordering Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Fahadullah was serving as LeT's "divisional commander" for north Kashmir and his death is a "big setback" to the group, senior police officer Muneer Khan told reporters.

Police said government forces also shot dead another "senior commander" of LeT in southern Poonch district during a clash on Sunday.

The slain commander was identified as Abu Usman, police said.

The Pakistan-based LeT has been blamed by India for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. It has denied any role in the attacks.

More than 47,000 people have been killed, according to an official count, since an insurgency erupted in 1989 against Indian rule in the region.

Violence dropped after India and Pakistan launched a peace process in 2004 but rebel attacks have escalated over the past fortnight.

Such an event would be an imitation of a non-Muslim celebration. The festivities also included music, which ample ahadith record Muhammad as detesting. This report serves to demonstrate again the consistency of restrictions that arise wherever Islamic supremacists gain sufficient strength to impose Sharia on any level. "Jammu & Kashmir: Trouble over radical Islam," from NDTV, July 10 (thanks to Simon):

Srinagar: Hours before the golden jubilee celebrations at Government Medical College in Srinagar, three doctors were picked up from the campus for asking students not to attend the programme in the name of "religion and culture".

A campaign was unleashed declaring the music events, which were to be staged, to be anti-Islam by a group of doctors in the college; posters were put up castigating the celebrations.

"We had got a complaint from hospital administration that certain people are trying to vitiate the atmosphere and they may sabotage the golden jubilee function. When we went there we saw three people pasting posters," said Abdul Gani Mir, DIG, Central Kashmir Range.

The administration did not want to take any chances and there was tight security in and around the medical college.

With Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as the chief guest, the golden jubilee was attended by hundreds of doctors & college alumni from all over the world.

The college alumni say a lot has changed since the time they were students.

"In our times back in 1960s we didn't see any sort of politics. It was strictly academics. Out and out academics," said Dr Javid Iqbal, alumnus, Government Medical College, Srinagar.

Just a week ago a charity music concert was declared anti Islam by an online extremist group and now the campaign terming golden jubilee of an institution un-Islamic is a clear sign of growing extremism in Kashmir.....

Geelani clearly sees "Laden," as he is called in this article, as a great hero of Islam. The cognitive dissonance thus continues. Media outlets all over the U.S. have been running stories about local Muslims expressing joy and relief at bin Laden's death, and explaining that he was a notorious hijacker of the Religion of Peace. And yet all over the Islamic world there appear to be Muslims who see him as a great mujahid and martyr. Yet no Muslim spokesman anywhere will deign to explain this dichotomy to the kuffar.

"Geelani to lead prayers for Osama," by Peerzada Ashiq in the Hindustan Times, May 5 (thanks to David):

Hardline Kashmir separatist group Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has planned to lead last rite prayers in absentia on Friday in Srinagar for slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Fearing trouble, the police have restricted Geelani's movement on Thursday. "All religious figures, heads and people in general are appealed to perform Nimaz Jinazah (last rites) in absentia after Friday prayers for the martyr (Laden). All should also pray for an end of foreign occupation and rule in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Kashmir," said 82-year-old Geelani.

Geelani has emerged only leader from Kashmir separatists' spectrum to publicly call Laden a "martyr". But Geelani was quick to add the 9/11 attacks on the US was "an act of terrorism".

"All Muslims across the globe are brothers. It's the duty of every Muslim to pray for forgiveness and for the best hereafter life for the departed soul of a Muslim," said Geelani, whose house was circled by the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday, fearing him taking out a pro-Laden procession in the valley.

"The slain Laden had entire Muslim world's pain in him. He (Laden) left the life of leisure for the downtrodden and suppressed Muslims of the world. So it’s our duty to repay his good deeds by praying for him," said Geelani.

The Hurriyat chairman is scheduled to perform prayers on Friday at Srinagar's Batamaloo area. "Geelani sahib would lead a special prayers session for Laden. But since 7am on Thursday, the police disallowed Geelani to move out of his house," said Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar....

Geelani, however, has condemned the US for burying the body of Laden at the sea, terming it "an act of Stone Age times."

Not like 9/11, which was very modern.

The ailing Kashmiri separatist leader went ahead and said: "Laden was not just a name of a person but of an ideology and thinking against occupation of Muslim lands by foreigners."

"The Western countries should realize that suppression and occupation meted to Muslims in their lands will manifest resistance time and again," warned Geelani.

Peace between India and Pakistan is not desirable as far as Hafiz Saeed is concerned, because he believes that the jihad must continue until all Muslims in India as well as Kashmir are free from kuffar rule.

"JuD chief slams cricket diplomacy, vows jihad," from Zeenews, April 12:

Islamabad: The 26/11 attacks mastermind and the founder of banned militant outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saeed has once again rubbished the efforts by India and Pakistan to improve bilateral ties in the pretext of a cricket World Cup match between the two nations.

The JuD founder, while addressing a gathering of his supporters in Islamabad, slammed the good will gesture initiated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which led to his Pakistani counterpart accepting the invite to come to Mohali for the India-Pakistan match played on April 30.

And on the sidelines of the epic cricketing encounter, both leaders had held talks on ways to strengthen the bilateral ties.

But Saeed is, for obvious reasons, livid, he said, "This cricket diplomacy, these so called trade and friendship efforts have no value. We want to be clear about this. We are with the Kashmiri people and will continue to give our full support till they are free. We will stand by the Kashmiri people until they have achieved freedom.”

In his highly provocative rant, the JuD chief said that his organisation will continue to support the people of Kashmir against their suppression by Indian forces till they achieve their ultimate goal of freedom.

Saeed made these remarks while leading the funeral prayers for Kashmiri leader Maulvi Showkat Ahmed Shah, killed in Srinagar last week, and vowed for a "jihad" in J&K....

"The path the Pakistani government is adopting, to gain India's friendship is not acceptable to Pakistan under any circumstances and we want to be clear about this, we are with the Kashmiris and, god willing, we will fulfil our commitment," Saeed reportedly told his armed supporters.

Saeed also claimed that the movement in Kashmir would serve as an example for "Muslims in Hyderabad and Junagarh who want independence from the oppression of Hindus"....

After a series of threatening phone calls. Clearly these Misunderstanders of Islam didn't get the memo saying that Islam is tolerant and has no penalty for those who leave the fold. "Kashmir: a Christian school burnt down in Srinagar. Islamic militants suspected," by Nirmala Carvalho for Asia News, February 24 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Srinagar (AsiaNews) - Suspected Islamic militants set fire on Feb. 19 to the School of the Convent of St. Luke, a Protestant educational institution that began its activities about 17 years ago in Srinagar, Kashmir. The damage is estimated at 60 million rupees (958 thousand euro). The attack occurred at about 22.30 local time. Eight rooms, including classrooms, library and computer labs were completely destroyed.

The school's principal, Grace Paljor, said they are currently compiling an inventory of the damages, which are now calculated for 60 million rupees. She also claims to have been verbally threatened, several times, before the accident, for being Christian. The school has 450 students. At the time of the attack it was closed for the holidays and so there was no harm to people. The school will reopen on 1 March.

"The school administration is used to receiving threatening phone calls from time to time from extremists. They had threatened to set fire to the school, and have carried out their threat. After the Tyndale Biscoe was burned in August of 2010, the extremists have begun to target the Christian schools in the valley. We complained to the Munshi Bagh police station. " Sources have told AsiaNews that the school has been targeted because of baseless rumours about a conversion....

The President of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC) has condemned the attack. Sajan K. George told AsiaNews: "Even the most mild and unfounded rumours can cause criminal acts of the fundamentalists. The school was burned down because of false and fabricated rumour of an attempted conversion. In September 2010, Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson schools have suffered the same fate for the same reason. In November 2006, the GCIC coordinator for Kashmir, Bashir Tantray, was killed by Islamic militants. The Christian community has been targeted by religious fundamentalists. We demand that the authorities of Jammu and Kashmir protect Christians”.

The "believers are totally in fear" now, which is part of the point: the murderers understand that they have a divine command to "strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah" (Qur'an 8:60).

"Militants Kill Christian Teenagers For Reading Bible, Missionary Says," by Stefan J. Bos for BosNewsLife, February 8 (thanks to Mackie):

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BosNewsLife)-- Suspected Islamic militants have killed two Christian teenagers who were reading the Bible in the disputed Kashmir valley, divided between India and Muslim Pakistan, BosNewsLife established Tuesday, February 8.

The victims were identified as Arifa, 17, and Akthar, 19, the daughters of Gulam Nabi Dar, said local missionary Mercy Ciniraj, who knew them well. "The [murdered] girls were believers and used to read the Bible through underground ministries."

She told BosNewsLife that "the girls were shot dead" last Monday, January 31, in the Baramulla area in Indian-controlled northern Kashmir, bordering Pakistan.

They were "brutally murdered" by at least three fighters of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based Islamic militant "terrorist" group, she explained. Local police reportedly said in statements that they found two bodies near their home and that militants were to blame.

ISLAMIC STATE

Lashkar-e-Taiba, or the 'Army of the Righteous', seeks to introduce an Islamic state in South Asia and to "liberate" Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

India has identified the group as the alleged masterminds behind the the 2008 terror attack on the Indian financial capital of Mumbai that killed 166 people.

The killings of Arifa and Akthar show that militant attacks also include targetting devoted minority Christians, Ciniraj suggested....

After last week's killings, however, local "believers are totally in fear," added Ciniraj, who founded SVM with her husband, Indian pastor Paul Ciniraj, a former Muslim....

"The only solution to the Kashmir issue is jihad," said Saeed. And oddly enough, it is virtually certain that all 20,000 people in attendance understood him to mean war, not an interior spiritual struggle. Misunderstanding of Islam rampant in Lahore: "JuD leaders chant 'jihad', would not mind Indo-Pak N-war," from PTI, February 6:

Extremist leaders, including Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, have stepped up calls for jihad against India, even advocating the use of nuclear weapons if needed in the "war for Kashmir".

The vicious comments at a massive rally organised by Jamaat-ud-Dawah to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day, have come at a time when India and Pakistan are trying to find ways to revive the peace process.

At the rally, speaker after speaker espoused the use of jihad or holy war to settle the Kashmir issue and Saeed said this approach should be adopted even if even leads to a "nuclear war" with India.

Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the Mumbai attacks, said: "I want to give a message to (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh--quit Kashmir or get ready to face a war".

He was addressing a rally of about 20,000 supporters on the Mall, one of the main thoroughfares of Lahore, yesterday.

"You (Singh) must remember that the movement of the Kashmiri people is nearing an end and I am telling you very clearly to immediately leave Kashmir.

"Otherwise we are ready to start a war against you to get this at any cost," Saeed told the rally held to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.

"The only solution to the Kashmir issue is jihad," said Saeed.

The jihad should continue "as long as Kashmir remains under Indian occupation" and there would be "no problem" if the fighting leads to nuclear war between Pakistan and India, he contended.

JuD deputy chief Abdur Rehman Makki demanded that Pakistan's prime minister should set up an independent ministry for the jihad in Kashmir.

"The JuD will provide the budget for this ministry if (the prime minister) accepts our proposal," he said.

Offering to provide one million trained fighters to wage the jihad, Makki called on the Pakistan army chief to provide Kalashnikovs for these fighters.

Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Liaquat Baloch, who also addressed the rally, said it was obligatory for Muslims to be ready for jihad....

Hafiz Saifullah Mansoor, one of Saeed's close aides and chairman of the Kashmir Action Committee, said the government should use its atomic weapons, if needed, in the "war for Kashmir".

Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith leader Rana Nasrullah said Pakistan's nuclear weapons were not for deterrence alone and should be used against India for the "independence of Kashmir"....

Saeed further claimed the Indian government would not be successful with such a "trap" as the JuD would continue its struggle for Kashmir....

Though even the US has said that the Kashmir dispute could trigger a nuclear war, the JuD is not afraid of such a war, he said.

He rejected the labelling of the JuD as a terrorist group and said it was only taking up the Kashmir cause and helping Kashmiris in their "freedom movement".

India could not prove anything against the JuD after blaming it for the Mumbai attacks, he claimed.

Yes, I'm sure it is as pure as the driven snow.

But remember, the real problem is "Islamophobia." "Two sisters shot dead in Indian Kashmir," from AFP, February 1:

SRINAGAR -- Suspected Islamist rebels have shot dead two sisters in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Tuesday, in what would be their first major attack of the year.

The two women were killed in Sopore town, 55 kilometres (35 miles) north of the region's main city Srinagar, senior police officer Altaf Ahmad told AFP, adding that the motive was unclear.

"Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants barged into the house of Ghulam Nabi Dar late Monday night and dragged his two daughters, Akhtar and Arifa, out of their house before gunning them down," the officer said.

Chief Minister of the region, Omar Abdullah, condemned the murders, saying the sisters were 19 and 17.

The LeT, a Pakistan-based organisation that targets India, has not claimed responsibility for the murders.

Militant groups are known to kill people suspected of being police informers, while security forces have been accused by human rights groups of extrajudicial killings and acting with impunity....

You'd think they would have come out of the mosque in a state of calm and serenity, but clearly they misunderstood the message of peace they heard there. "Violence erupts in Kashmir Valley after Eid prayers," from The Economic Times, November 17 (thanks to Maxwell):

ANANTNAG: Protestors burnt a police vehicle near the Eidgah here on Wednesday as violence erupted in various parts of Kashmir Valley after the Eid prayers.

The mob reportedly raising anti-India slogans set ablaze a police vehicle and started pelting stones on the security personnel deployed in the area soon after the Eid prayers today.

The police personnel had to later open fire in the air to disperse the mob....

Some went there in order to "propagate Islam." How odd, isn't it, that they would dedicate themselves to knowing Islam well enough to propagate it and would end up misunderstanding the Religion of Peace so spectacularly. "Militants train for anti-India Jihad in PoK: Report," from Rediff, November 4 (thanks to Keshto):

Hundreds of university students, including foreigners, are being trained in militant camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to wage jihad against India, BBC Urdu Service has reported.

After a lull, several militant outfits have increased their activities in and around Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK, and pro-Jihad slogans can be seen on the walls of the city, said the report.

A 25-year-old engineering student from Lahore, fresh from a training stint in one of camps, told BBC from Muzzaffarabad, that "a large number of youths from Pakistani universities and abroad are undergoing training in PoK under the supervision of a militant group to wage jihad against India."

The student, who identified himself as a Kashmiri, said he received training for two months in PoK after finishing his engineering course this year.

"Nearly 20 per cent youths in the training camps are from Kashmir and 10 per cent are from other countries...Majority of those receiving training are from Pakistan's Punjab province," he claimed.

He also said that many other students from his university have joined the militant training programme run by a tanzeem (group) located near Lahore, an apparent reference to Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which is headquartered at Murdike on the outskirts of the city. He said a decision to send them to Kashmir will be taken by the Tanzeem's Amir.

"We could be sent to Kashmir or we could be stationed in Pakistan itself for propagating Islam," he said in response to a question.

He claimed that his family approved of his association with the jihadi group. But when contacted by the reporter, his mother said, "My son sought my permission for propagating Islam which I gave him. But I was not aware that he associated himself with the jihadi group".

"After returning home, he told me that he has received militant training and wants to join jihad. I was disappointed and I told him you cannot go to Kashmir to fight till I'm alive," she said.

The claims made by the student contradict the statement by Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik [ Images ], who had recently denied reports about the existence of militant camps in PoK.

An update on this story. Also in this report is news that a priest who had come under threat earlier because his schools' performance surpassed Muslim ones is now under police protection. "Kashmir: Muslims try to burn a Christian school (only in name)," by Shefali Prabhu for Asia News, September 15:

Mendhar (AsiaNews) - A mob of Muslim radicals have tried to burn a school with a Christian name (St. Francis School), unaware that it is governed by Muslim and Christian in name only. The police managed to stop the arsonists, but fired into the crowd, killing four people and wounding 19. Christian leaders say "these people are being manipulated.

The protest against the "Burn the Koran" campaign is spreading in several areas of Kashmir and has already left 22 dead and hundreds injured. The events used the announced (but subsequently cancelled) desecration of the Koran in the United States, to increase the tension against the Indian government, which refuses to grant autonomy to the region, also disputed by Pakistan.

After three days of demonstrations and violence, protests erupted yesterday in Mendhar, about 60 km from Poonch near the border with Pakistan. From 10 am at least 3,000 people gathered also from nearby villages, marching towards the school of St Francis and the residences of teachers.

The crowd were stopped by the police who used firearms, batons and tear gas grenades. In the clashes four demonstrators were killed and 19 wounded. The mob destroyed dozens of government offices, the police station and burned at least eight cars.

The irony is that the school targeted is Christian in name only and is owned by local Muslims, even if the teaching staff is made up of Christians from Kerala.

Mgr. Peter Celestine, bishop of Srinagar tells AsiaNews: "The so-called St Francis School has nothing to do with Catholic Protestant or evangelical institutions. They only use the Christian name to attract students. This shows that even for the local Muslims, Christian educational institutions have a very high standard".

That's got to stick in the craw of the supremacists; it's very bad for business.

"These people - he added -are rounded up from nearby villages and incited to attack, inflamed by religious zeal."

In recent days, however, some Catholic schools were affected. Among them the Good Shepherd's School of missionary Jim Borst, in Pulwama. The mob burned the main building and two other buildings were looted. Witnesses said the protesters were from villages under the influence of "Allahwales" and Devbandis "fundamentalist groups close to the Wahhabis.

Local people, Muslim, expressed solidarity with the missionary and say they are ready to help re-start the school. Fr. Jim, for his part, sent a letter to the families linked to the school, promising to reopen immediately as soon as the curfew ends. Meanwhile the priest is under police protection to prevent attacks against him.

On 14 September another school risked being burnt: it is the Christ School in Poonch. Only police intervention stopped the mob just 500 meters from the building.

Fr. Matthew, the principal told AsiaNews: "We have 1522 students and only 40 are Christians, 40% of the students are Muslims, then there are Hindus and Sikhs. We have always enjoyed a deep respect from the locals. Many Islamic authorities have expressed their displeasure at the attempt to burn the school and condemned the attack. But people are manipulated and have been driven to a frenzy by false news reports".

That ability to be so easily "driven into a frenzy" aggravates underdevelopment in the area: it's hard to develop anything stable, let alone an educational system, in a "frenzy"-prone area. Hence, here is another study in jihad and its accompanying attitudes and sense of entitlement causing poverty, rather than the other way around.

More madness. "Twelve dead in Kashmir, Christian school torched," by Izhar Wani for AFP, September 13 (thanks to Maxwell):

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Indian police shot dead 12 people in Kashmir on Monday as stone-throwing protesters defied curfews and torched a Christian school in a surge of anger stoked by the desecration of the Koran.

The death toll was the highest for a single day since a wave of anti-India demonstrations began three months ago, with 83 civilians now killed in unrest in the disputed Muslim-majority region. One policeman was also killed Monday....

Some of Monday's worst violence was reported in Tangmarg village, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the region's main town of Srinagar, where a crowd chanted anti-US and pro-Islam slogans before burning down a missionary school.

No one was injured in the fire at Tyndale Biscoe School, but five civilians were killed when security forces opened fire on the crowd as it attempted to set fire to government buildings and a police station.

Thousands of Muslims defied curfew orders overnight and on Monday to hold protests across the Himalayan region, many shouting "Death to the US!" and "Death to Koran desecrators!", according to local residents.

Simmering anger in Kashmir was fanned by reports on Iran's state-run Press TV that a group of Christians had torn pages from the Koran in a demonstration outside the White House on Saturday, the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

"We strongly condemn those involved in setting ablaze the missionary school," said hardline Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Geelani, who has orchestrated the anti-Indian demonstrations.

"I urge the Muslims to protect the members of minority community and their religious places. We should at any cost maintain the age-old communal harmony and brotherhood for which Kashmir is known the world over," he said.

The US ambassador to India, Timothy J. Roemer, said he was "dismayed" to see the reports of violence and repeated President Barack Obama's condemnation of the Koran-ripping....

He should have condemned the people who perpetrate these irrational acts of violence against innocent people.

It is a long-standing practice in Islamic warfare to invite the targeted population to convert before attacking. Indeed, it goes back to Muhammad himself:

"When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. ... If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them...." (Sahih Muslim 19.4294)

Meanwhile, jihadist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani is urging the Sikhs to relax and ignore the letters. Easier said than done. More on this story: "Kashmir: Islamic groups pressuring Sikhs to convert," by Nirmala Carvalho for AsiaNews, August 20:

Srinagar (AsiaNews) - Some Sikhs living in Kashmir have received anonymous letters recently, urging them to "embrace Islam, join the protests against civilian killings or pack up and leave the Valley." In one letter, the anonymous writer said, "Since you are benefitting from the joys here, why can't you share the grief and sorrow of Kashmiris as well? We know you are afraid of bullets" but "hold protests inside your gurdwaras [Sikh temples] or leave."

For decades, Pakistan and India have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region. The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir now occupies the eastern half of the territory. For years, it has been the scene of a Muslim insurgency dedicated to the reunification of the greater Kashmir region under Pakistani rule.

Yesterday, hard-line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani tried to reassure Kashmir Sikhs. He told them to ignore the letters, and not feel threatened....

Maybe the Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf should stop by the Kashmir Valley on his U.S. taxpayer-funded tour and explain to these Islamic supremacists how they're getting their religion all wrong, wrong wrong. "Embrace Islam or leave Valley, Sikhs threatened," by M. Saleem Pandit for the Times of India, August 20 (thanks to all who sent this in):

SRINAGAR: Sikhs in the Kashmir Valley have received anonymous letters from Islamic militants asking them to either embrace Islam and join the protests against civilian killings or pack up and leave the Valley. The 60,000-strong Sikh community is the single largest minority group in the Valley.

An organisation of Kashmiri Sikhs said that several community members have received these letters. "Community members have received unsigned letters at various places," said All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (ASCC) coordinator Jagmohan Singh Raina. He said the community has decided to stay put and fight these "evil designs" at a meeting in Srinagar on Thursday.

Raina quoted a letter as saying: "When you are enjoying the joys here, why can't you share the grief and sorrow of Kashmiris as well? We know you are afraid of bullets... Hold protests inside gurdwaras or leave Kashmir." He added, "Some letters have asked Sikhs to embrace Islam."

Raina urged both factions of the Hurriyat, JKLF and PoK-based United Jihad Council to take serious note of the threats to maintain amity and brotherhood in the Valley....

From our This is Why You're Poor Department comes this study in Islamic supremacist turf-control. As is standard, both schools have been "attacked and accused of trying to convert children to Christianity," a major no-no when the propagation of non-Islamic religions is absolutely forbidden under Islamic law.

The fact that so many in prominent positions of Kashmiri society have relied on these and similar schools must certainly be an embarrassment to those who insist Islam can and must control every aspect of human existence. "Missionary forced to leave Kashmir because his schools are 'too good'," by Nirmala Carvalho for AsiaNews, July 12:

Srinagar (AsiaNews) - Fr Jim Borst, a Dutch Catholic missionary, in charge of two schools must leave Kashmir and India by the end of July after receiving notice from the government of Jammu-Kashmir. Fr. Borst already received a similar warning in 2003, but just four months ago the government had renewed his visa until 2014.

Fr. Borst is the only member of the Institute Mill Hill missionary in the Kashmir valley and along with Predhuman Joseph Dhar, a Brahmin Hindu convert to Catholicism who is very close to Fr. Borst, had been working on a tranlstion of the Bible into the local Kashmir language. The Mill Hill institute has been present in Jammu-Kashmir since 1891-92, where it has always been involved in educational and health care.

"I'm really sorry. It is a great loss for me and the entire civil society of Kashmir. Fr. Borst has lived here since 1963", Mgr. Peter Celestine, Bishop of Jammu-Srinagar, tells AsiaNews.

Predhuman Joseph Dhar, tells AsiaNews: "The notice is a sparked by jealous vested interests".

Fr. Borst has run two schools in Kashmir since 1997. Both are called "School of the Good Shepherd", one in Pulwama and the other in Shivpora, Srinagar. The Dutch Catholic priest has always been active in education and his schools, where staff is 99% Muslim, is renowned for the quality of teaching.

Joseph Dhar believes that this is why they want to remove Fr. Borst: "The Muslim intelligentsia schools are unable to compete with his". Twice, in 2003 the schools of the Good Shepherd were attacked and accused of trying to convert children to Christianity.

Previously Fr. Borst directed St. Joseph School in Baramulla and Burn Hall School in Srinagar. The educational facilities of Catholic and Protestant missionaries in Jammu-Kashmir have never had the aim of proselytism. Many Muslim personalities in position of authority were educated in these schools such as Omar Abdullah, the current head of government in Jammu-Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, a former head of government, and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, one of the founders of Aphc (All Parties Hurriyat Conference).

Jammu-Kashmir is a state in northern India that Pakistan has claimed for decades. In Kashmir the Christian population counts 14 thousand faithful, less than 0.0014% of the population, which is 97% Muslim.

Of course, everyone knows that the jizya, the tax levied upon non-Muslims and which they must pay with "willing submission, and feel themselves subdued" according to Qur'an 9:29 is a relic of history, never to be revived again. Everyone knows that now Islam is tolerant and peaceful, and accords full equality of rights to non-Muslims (except in every single Muslim country in the world).

And so this is just an "entry fee," not the jizya -- understand? Never mind that only Hindus will want to enter for this. Nothing to see here. Move along.

"BJP slams entry fee on Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir," from Sify News, June 18 (thanks to Maxwell):

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday criticised the Jammu and Kashmir government for its decision to charge entry fee of Rs.2,000 per vehicle to the Amarnath and Vaishnodevi temples.

'The Jammu and Kashmir government's decision to impose fees on lakhs of pilgrims going for 'darshan' (visit) of Amarnath and Mata Vaishnodevi by their private vehicles is reminiscent of 'jaziya' (tax) imposed during Mughal period that was forcefully imposed on Hindu pilgrims to torture them,' BJP national general secretary Vijay Goel told reporters here.

The state government had issued a notification under Jammu-Kashmir Motor Vehicle Taxation Act 1957 to charge Rs.2,000 as entry fee valid for seven days. The same amount will be charged per day if the stay extends more than seven days.

'The Jammu and Kashmir government is playing with the sentiments of Hindu pilgrims. Instead of providing better amenities to the pilgrims the state government is making attempts to disturb the 'teerth yatra' (pilgrimage).'

He demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ask the Jammu and Kashmir government to desist from practising 'such shameful politics'.

Doesn't Syed Ali Geelani know that Islam teaches tolerance? Has he been learning Islam from Islamophobes? When is Honest Ibe Hooper of CAIR going to catch a flight to Kashmir to straighten him out about the true nature of Islam?

But of course, Geelani is not against the pilgrimage. He knows all about how tolerant Islam is. He just wants to be tolerant for a restricted period of time. Or else.

"'Restrict Hindu Pilgrimages in Kashmir to 15 Days or Face Opposition,'" by Fayaz Wani for NewsBlaze, June 18 (thanks to Maxwell):

The hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has asked Indian administered Kashmir government to restrict the Hindu annual pilgrimage to 15 days or face opposition.

The annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir's Pahalgam area will commence next month. Thousands of Hindus from all over India will converge in South Kashmir during the two month pilgrimage.

"We are not against the Amarnath pilgrimage. We will continue to welcome the Hindu pilgrims as we have been in the past. Islam doesn't teach us to create hurdles in the religious rituals of non-Muslims but we urge the government to restrict the pilgrimage to 15 days from two months. This will help in safeguarding the fragile economy of the region," Geelani said while addressing people during a peaceful sit-in against human rights violations being committed by Indian soldiers.

Accusing Indian government of following double standards, the separatist leader said, "Only 150 pilgrims a day are allowed to pilgrimage to Gangortri in India's Uttar Pradesh state to safeguard environment. However, here in Kashmir, Indian government is following a different approach. It seems that destroying the environment and culture of a Muslim majority region is in the national interest of India."

He asked the government to restrict the Hindu pilgrimage in Kashmir to 15 days only. "If government fails to concede to our demand, we will be compelled to launch an agitation," he said....

I see London, I see France, but if I see a mosque, it's time to riot! "Alleged blasphemous images trigger protests in Kashmir," by Faiz Ahmad in National Turk, June 6 (thanks to Maxwell):

Srinagar, June 5: The alleged blasphemous images of a mosque on undergarments sparked protests in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir on Saturday with the protestors clashing with police and paramilitary soldiers, who fired tear smoke shells and resorted to cane charge.

And it turns out it wasn't even a mosque:

Police said after verification it was found that the image does not resemble to any Muslim religious place or building.

The protests started in Nowhatta area of Srinagar after some people spotted brown colored sketch of a building with a huge dome fitted with a cross mast and a transept imprinted on an undergarment. Some people termed it as blasphemous depiction of holy Al-Aqsa Mosque. The residents in Nowhatta and the adjoining localities of the old city started gathering and started protesting against the incident.

Terming it the blasphemous depiction of holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, the residents of the area and adjoining localities took out a protest march and staged demonstrations. Chanting pro-Islamic, anti-Israel and anti-India slogans, the agitating people alleged that conspiracies against Muslims are being hatched across the globe.

Just to reiterate: It's a pair of underwear.

"The images of sacred places on the undergarments have hurt our sentiments. It is a conspiracy of America, Israel and other Western countries to hurt Muslim sentiments," said a protestor Javed Ahmad.

He said Muslims cannot tolerate such indecent acts.

As the protestors amidst chanting of anti-India and anti-Israeli slogans tried to march towards city centre, police and paramilitary soldiers swung into action. They fired tear smoke shells and resorted to heavy baton charge to disperse the agitating people.

The clashes also broke out between the cops and protestors at Nowpora, Khayam, Rainawari, Maisuma, Koker Bazar and other other places in Indian Kashmir. At least a dozen persons including some protestors were injured in the clashes that continued for quite some time.

The shopkeepers in old city and some other parts of Indian Kashmir closed shutters of their business establishments as a mark of protest against the alleged blasphemous images.

However, police spokesman said the undergarment did not bear imprints of any Islamic workshop place.

"The underwear garment in question was produced and examined and it was found that it carries the imprints and sketches of various buildings on it which resemble places like Big Ben in London, St. Paul's Cathedral of London and other places. No sketch has any likeness to any Muslim religious place or building. The attempt to create tension in the society is a deliberate move to disturb the situation by indulging in blasphemous rumors.

St. Paul's Cathedral? When was the Christian riot? Oh, wait...

The general public is advised to remain calm and caution against such elements," he said.

This working with jihadists goes back twenty years, and continues. And Obama is pressuring India and favoring Pakistan. "Pak used terrorists as a tool in Kashmir: UN," from Indian Express, April 16 (thanks to Slothy):

Pakistan's powerful spy agency ISI continues to have close links with Lashkar-e-Taiba and has used the terror group's services to foment anti-India passion in Kashmir and elsewhere, a UN report said today.

"The Pakistani military organised and supported the Taliban to take control of Afghanistan in 1996. Similar tactics were used in Kashmir against India after 1989," said the much-awaited report by UN-appointed independent panel to probe the killing of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto.

The three-member panel concluded that such a policy of the Pakistan military to use terrorists as a tool to achieve its strategic objectives against its neighbours resulted in active linkages between elements of the military and the Establishment with radical Islamists at the expense of national secular forces.

Noting that the jihadi organisations are Sunni groups based largely in Pakistan's Punjab, the 65-page report said that members of these groups aided the Taliban effort in Afghanistan at the behest of the ISI and later cultivated ties with Al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban groups.

"The Pakistani military and ISI also used and supported some of these groups in the Kashmir insurgency after 1989. The bulk of the anti-Indian activity was and still remains the work of groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has close ties with the ISI," said the panel headed by Chile's UN ambassador Heraldo Munoz.

"A common characteristic of these jihadi groups was their adherence to the Deobandi Sunni sect of Islam, their strong anti-Shia bias, and their use by the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir," the report said....

Misunderstanders of Islam gather together and misunderstand the inner spiritual struggle. "Pakistani hardliners vow holy war to liberate Kashmir," by Sajjad Qayyum for AFP, March 23:

KOTLI, Pakistan -- Pakistani hardliners on Tuesday vowed to wage a holy war to liberate the disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir from Indian control.

About 5,000 people attended a rally in the town of Kotli in Pakistan-administered Kashmir about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Islamabad, shouting: "We are ready for jihad (holy war), we are ready for jihad!" [...]

"Diplomacy, talks and negotiations spanned over several decades have not worked," said Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the United Jihad Council, which consists of 16 Islamist groups, militant outfits and political parties.

"The only way to liberate Kashmir is jihad," said Salahuddin, who also leads Hizbul Mujahedin, a militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

He denied that the jihadi groups were behind attacks within Pakistan.

More than 3,100 people have been killed in suicide attacks and bomb blasts across the nation since July 2007, which are blamed on Islamist militants opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.

Tuesday's rally was also attended by leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a charity widely viewed as a front for banned Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which India and the United States blamed for the Mumbai attacks.

A resolution adopted after the meeting said: "Jihad will continue until India ends its occupation of Kashmir."

And beyond that, no doubt.

What? No negotiations? Jihad as warfare? Honest Ibe Hooper better catch the next flight to Kashmir -- it looks as if it's filled with Misunderstanders of Islam!

"Kashmir militants vow jihad against Indian rule," from AFP, February 4:

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani militant leaders vowed Thursday to press holy war to "liberate" the divided Himalayan state of Kashmir from Indian control and called for moral support from Pakistan.

They addressed a rally attended by thousands as India proposed foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, signalling a breakthrough in relations frozen since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were blamed on Pakistani militants.

"The Kashmir issue cannot be resolved through dialogue. Jihad (holy war) is the only solution to free Kashmir from the Indian yoke," said Syed Salahuddin, chairman of the 16-party United Jihad Council.

"I want to tell my brothers across the border that we will remain with you until India quits Kashmir," said Salahuddin, who is also supreme commander of the hardline Hizbul Mujahedin group....

A statement issued after the meeting said: "Jihad will continue until India ends its occupation of Kashmir....

"The area was sealed off and troops were hunting down the attackers but rain was hampering the operation." Seems like it's raining all over the world.

Kashmir Jihad Update: "Muslim rebels kill 2 soldiers," from Straits Times, January 29 (thanks to Twostellas):

SRINAGAR (India) - SUSPECTED Muslim rebels ambushed army soldiers early Friday in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, killing two troops, an official said.

Soldiers, acting on an intelligence tip, launched a search operation Thursday night in a village in the remote and mountainous Kishtwar region, about 170 kilometers southeast of Indian Kashmir's main city Srinagar, said Lt. Col. Biplab Nath, an Indian army spokesman.

As the soldiers entered the area early Friday militants opened fire, triggering a fierce gunbattle in which two soldiers were killed, Nath said.

The area was sealed off and troops were hunting down the attackers but rain was hampering the operation....

But no worries, the clashes were "minor." Just stay in your house and don't ask questions.

It sometimes seems as if the whole world is in denial and trying to downplay the magnitude of the jihad. "Shia-Sunni clashes erupt in J&K," from The Asian Age, January 5 (thanks to Twostellas):

Jan. 5: The Jammu and Kashmir police with CRPF are enforcing strict security restrictions on the town of Magam near here and its neighbourhood following clashes between groups of Shias and Sunnis.

Tension gripped the area earlier over the naming of a marketplace. Minor clashes also occurred between the two sides in half a dozen villages around Magam town along the Srinagar-Gulmarg road. When the police intervened and tried to restore peace, it was attacked with rocks and other missiles by irate mobs forcing it to fire teargas canisters and swing bamboo sticks against the urchins. Earlier, Sunni and Shia residents targeted each other's homes and others properties overnight causing damaged to these and injuries to some people. In all started after unidentified men pulled down a hoarding which had a photograph of an Iranian spiritual leader on it.

The Shias blamed the incident on their Sunni neighbours triggering clashes between the two sides. Also, an old dispute over the use of a plot of land adjacent to a mosque has played a role towards escalating tensions.

Soon loudspeaker-fitted police jeeps went round to announce imposition of curfew and ask people not to venture out from their homes.

Though this and deployed of hundreds of policemen and CRPF personnel did not stop the groups of people indulging in violence, the officials described the incidents as "minor" and that the situation was now peaceful.

Tuesday's incidents came close on the heels of clashes between the Shia and Sunni residents of Teetwal, Karnah area in frontier Kupwara district.

Probably Methodist extremists. "Militants kill Indian policemen in Kashmir," from the BBC, December 23 (thanks to Maxwell):

Suspected militants have killed two policemen in Indian-administered Kashmir, the police said.

A third policeman was injured in the attack which happened in Pampore township, south of the summer capital, Srinagar, the police added.

No militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Separatist violence has declined sharply in Indian-administered Kashmir in the past few years, though sporadic incidents happen, correspondents say.

Police said Tuesday afternoon's incident happened when the militants fired at a police patrol.

The three injured policemen were taken to the hospital, where two of them died of their injuries....

The UN will no doubt be opening a commission on "Islamophobia" among bears forthwith. No doubt this bear's den is now dar al-Islam, and must be reclaimed for the umma at all costs. "Bear kills militants in Kashmir," by Altaf Hussain for BBC News, November 3 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A bear killed two militants after discovering them in its den in Indian-administered Kashmir, police say.

Two other militants escaped, one of them badly wounded, after the attack in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar.

The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise - police found the remains of pudding they had made to eat when the bear attacked.

It is thought to be the first such incident since Muslim separatists took up arms against Indian rule in 1989.

Bodies found

The militants had made their hideout in a cave which was actually the bear's den, said police officer Farooq Ahmed.

The dead have been identified as Mohammad Amin alias Qaiser, and Bashir Ahmed alias Saifullah....

Shops and establishments in most parts of Kashmir Valley were closed Thursday to protest...suicide bombings by Muslims in Bangladesh and Iraq? The PA paying money to the families of terrorists? The Danish Muslim organization accused of funding terrorism? The Al-Arian verdict?

No, they were protesting...cartoons of Muhammad that were printed in a newspaper. No, not in Kashmir. In Denmark.

From IANS, with thanks to A Thinker:

Srinagar : Shops and establishments in most parts of Kashmir Valley were closed Thursday to protest a Danish newspaper publishing a caricature of the Prophet and the alleged desecration of the Quran in Sopore town.

The strike call was given by the separatist Hurriyat Conference group led by Syed Ali Geelani. The Kashmir bar association and other groups supported the shutdown.

Authorities have made elaborate security arrangements all over the valley to maintain law and order. Though shops in parts of Kashmir capital Srinagar and other major towns were closed, traffic was plying.

Tension is still high in the north Kashmir town of Sopore, famous for its apples, where three drunk youths had desecrated the Quran and also tried to set ablaze the mosque earlier this week.

Though the three have been arrested by the state police, locals are demanding stringent punishment.

Is Saudi Arabia's intention one of compassion or one of subversion? From
Onlinenews.com.PK:

[The] people and government of Saudi Arabia equally shares the grief of quake affectees and will stand by them in this critical moment, said deputy Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz here on Monday.

Talking to a group of newsmen during his visit to Combined Military Hospital Muzaffarabad, he said we will continue our relief and reconstruction efforts for the rehabilitation of people in the quake affected areas.

He said our Kashmiri as well as Pakistani brothers are passing through a difficult time and they need our help. In these circumstances, he said other states and international relief agencies are supplying relief goods to the people in quake ravaged areas.

He said we will have to continue coordinated efforts to help people of quake-hit areas come out of this difficult moment so that they could start a new life.

He also urged international community to start provision of tents to quake hit remote hamlets and villages to save people from bitterness of winter.

Meanwhile, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan thanked people and government of Saudi Arabia for supporting Pakistani and Kashmiri people at this critical moment.

He was talking to newsmen after his meeting with a high level delegation of Saudi Arabia.

"Whether it is matter of financial assistance or OIC platform Saudi government`s continuous support for quake affectees could not be forgotten and we thank them for this gesture," he added.

Well, as we all know, Islam condemns suicide, so this guy must have been an Episcopalian. What's that? A jihad group claimed responsibility? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe? Kashmir jihad update from UPI, :

A suicide car bomb in Indian-administered Kashmir killed five people Wednesday, including the bomber, and injured more than a dozen.

The explosion occurred in the Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar, the region's summer capital, Australia's Special Broadcasting Service reported.

The Pakistan-based Islamic militant group Jaish-e-Mohammend claimed responsibility for the explosion in a telephone call to local news agency Current News Service.

The recent earthquake in South Asia which has killed thousands and laid waste to the regional infrastructure could end up benefiting the area madrassa system. With so many government schools having been destroyed, localities may need to take the initiative in order to educate their own children. Able and more than willing are the local madrassas, from Rediff.com:

The destruction of the education infrastructure in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and some parts of the North west Frontier Province due to the October 8 earthquake may force parents to enroll their children in madrassas run by jIhadi groups.

The earthquake has flattened all schools in the region. Bagh district, 100 km from Muzaffarabad, had 341 schools including a degree college for a population of 500,000 people. Muzaffarabad had 1,512 schools for a population of 900,000 people.

Thousands of students face an uncertain future and may lose the academic year if their schools are not rebuilt. The Pakistan government has expressed its inability to restore the infrastructure in the immediate future. Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that reconstruction and rehabilitation of the quake-hit areas would take decades.

"The Bagh Degree College was the best in the region. It took us decades to build it. And now it is going to take us decades to restore it. You know how difficult it is to develop infrastructure in this country," says Sajid Iqbal, a teacher at the college. He is mourning the death of more than 700 students -- still buried in the college's wreckage.

"I have enough food. What I really need is education. I don't want to lose my academic year. I want to be in school as soon as possible," says Shahid, an eighth grade student in Bagh.

"Bagh was already short of schools. The government will take years to reconstruct the destroyed schools. Only Allah knows what will happen to our children," says Aslam Manzoor, whose daughter is in the 10th grade.

Zafarul Haq Kiani, a 46-year-old engineer employed by the public health division in Bagh, plans to migrate to Rawalpindi if the schools are not opened soon.

"If the schools are not reconstructed immediately or no alternative is provided promptly, then the children will lose interest in studies," says Muzaffar Khan, a social worker in Bagh.

And the fear is they might be lured by jihadi groups.

Since, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory, it is the hub of jihadis. Almost all the buildings in the province display a slogan prominently -- 'Kashmir will become Pakistan through jihad!'

Taking advantage of the recent earthquake and the chaos which followed, Kashmiri-based jihadists stormed the house of State Education Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone yesterday, murdering him in cold blood. The attack breaks the so-called truce announced last week by the United Jihad Council, an umbrella organization representing various Kashmiri terrorist groups, per Voice of America News:

Indian officials say a group of militants hurled grenades as they launched a daring daylight raid Tuesday on a high security residential complex for state ministers in Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar.

After exchanging fire with security guards, the militants broke into the house of State Education Minister Ghulam Nabi Lone, and shot him dead.

Social Welfare Minister Gulam Hassan Khan, who also lives in the compound, described what happened.

Mr. Khan says he heard shooting. His bodyguard told him militants had entered the complex and ordered him to stay inside and lock the door. He says he later heard of the fatal attack on Lone.

The raid is the most brazen attack in Indian Kashmir since the October 8 earthquake killed at least 1200 people in the Indian controlled area and more than 50,000 in the Pakistani controlled sector.

Australian jihadist David Hicks once wrote, "Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan (will) join together in a true Islamic state. The Islamic state is nearly completed." Was his jihadist experience just an "adventure" or is he now adopting the standard line of rehabilitation? From the Times Online:

David Hicks, 30, whose mother was born in Croydon, South London, believes that he will be released if he becomes a British citizen. There is no legal bar to Mr Hicks being granted citizenship but his lawyers are concerned that the Home Office is stalling on a case that threatens to sour Anglo-US relations.

This year the Government secured the release of all British citizens held as terrorist suspects at Camp Delta after protesting against the unfairness of the planned military tribunal trial system, but the Australian Government has expressed itself content for Mr Hicks to face the tribunal, and the US authorities plan to try him next month.

He fought for the Kosovo Liberation Army and in Kashmir before going to Afghanistan in 2001. Mr Hicks converted to Islam but he is reported to be less than diligent in practising the faith. One Australian official said he was not a committed Islamist but “a young man looking for adventure”.

An update to the article below. From the WebIndia:

Unidentified terrorists killed around ten persons in three different incidents in Rajouri on Sunday night, despite the Muttahida Jihad Council's (MJC) chief Syed Salahudin having decided to suspend terrorist activities in the quake-hit Valley for the time being, as a condolence over the loss of lives.

While five members of two Hindu families were massacred in Rajnagar in the Budhal area, four Hindus were killed in Gabbar village, and one Muslim in Kulhar village.

Budhal is said to be the worst quake-hit area where about 100 houses collapsed and 20 people sustained injuries.

Police said that terrorists barged into two homes in Rajnagar village in Budhal, about 200 km north of Jammu, around 11 pm, and killed the people with sharp-edged weapons.

Stating that it was a clear act of terrorism, Rajouri SSP Jaipal Singh said: "We are investigating". The police are yet to ascertain the terrorist group behind the killings.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan-based Online News agency reported that the MJC on Sunday decided not to carry out jihadi activities in the quake-hit areas in Jammu and Kashmir. Participants of the meeting reportedly expressed their deep sorrow and sympathised with the quake victims.

As the death toll surpasses 20,000 from the devastating earthquake in Pakistan, India and Kashmir, the Muttahida Jihad Council decided to suspend all jihad activity in India Held Kashmir (IHK). This act will certainly prevent further suffering by the victims of this natural disaster, but it hardly denotes a change in their overall goals. From The PakTribune:

Muttahida Jihad Council, chaired by Syed Salahudin, was held here to condole over the loss of lives following the earthquake in Jammu Kashmir, Azad Kashmir and Pakistan .

Participants of the meeting expressed their deep sorrow and sympathies with Pakistani people and prayed to overcome this critical situation.

It was also decided in the meeting that no effort would be spared to help out the affectees while Mujahideen have been directed to take measures to contribute in the restoration of affectees and Mujahideen would also postpone their activities for time being in earthquake-affected area of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir jihad update from the IANS, with thanks to Fanabba. The "militants" in the story, as is obvious from the context, are Islamic mujahedin:

JAMMU: Unleashing a wave of terror in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, militants axed to death a woman and slit the throats of five men after segregating Hindus and Muslims in the village.

Both the incidents in separate villages in Rajouri district, about 200 km north of Jammu, took place Thursday night.

In what is being seen as the first major killing of Hindus in the last two years, five men in the age group of 40-60 were brutally killed when militants allegedly barged into their homes in Deb village in Rajouri.

Though initial reports said the five were gunned down, it later came to light that their throats were slit after the militants segregated Hindu and Muslim populations.