Recently in Non-Muslims in Muslim countries Category

As noted just yesterday, these are more fruits of the partition of Muslim territories from India. The religious cleansing of those regions continues. "Bangladesh: JeI activists vandalise Hindu temples," from ZeeNews, February 11 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

New Delhi: Fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami activists vandalised several Hindu temples in the Hathazari area of Chittagong in Bangladesh on Thursday and Friday, forcing the law enforcement authorities to impose Section 144 of the Bangladesh Penal Code that bans public gatherings in the affected area.

According to the website bdnews.com, Muslims, allegedly instigated by the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, first damaged a temple in the compound of the Loknath Sebasram at Nandirhat on Thursday evening and blocked the Chittagong-Rangamati Road on Friday morning in retaliation to a mosque being damaged by people coming out of the Loknath Sebasram.

The website report further said that at least three other Hindu temples were attacked by the Islamic activists.

It said that damage was inflicted on the Sri Sri Jagadeshwari Ma Temple, the Jagannath Bigroho Temple at Nandirhat and the Kalibari Temple in Sadar Upazila. The Sri Sri Jagadeshwari Ma Temple was also burnt, it added.

The Primary and Mass Education Minister of Bangladesh, Afsar-ul-Ameen, has visited the area and instructed local authorities to take steps to normalise the situation.

Local administration officials blamed the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir, for the incidents.

Reacting to the incident, liberal and secular minded people in Bangladesh said such events could pose a threat to the country’s secular fabric.

Haroon Habib, a 1971 war veteran and a senior journalist, told ANI in a telephonic interview that: “These are very tragic events. Bangladeshis were never communal even under military rule. People must see a definite political motive behind these events.”

He added: "There is a definite extremist political agenda behind these attacks. There are elements who want to destabilise the incumbent Hasina Government.”

Haroon also blamed the local administration for not acting tough against fundamentalist elements in the area.

Allegations have it that houses belonging to Hindus in the area were also vandalised. Leaders of the minority Hindu community have blamed the ''indifference'' of the administration for the prevailing situation....

"While India is constantly berated for having severe problems with an amorphous communalism, Pakistan is rarely brought to task over this same standard." "Cleansing Hindus From Pakistan," by Rabir Singh for Conservative Papers, February 12:

In his 1993 BBC television series Akbar S Ahmed, former ambassador from Pakistan to Britain and presently Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University in Washington DC, stated that Jinnah had created Pakistan so that India's Muslims could be "safe from Hindu reaction". But he has remained largely silent on the Hindus of Pakistan who have been the victims of Islamic 'reaction', aside from a few meaningless platitudes towards communal harmony. In this he is far from alone.

When British India was partitioned in 1947 Hindus and Sikhs constituted about twenty percent of the population in what is now Pakistan. Now it is barely one percent. This is a demographic catastrophe which has hardly warranted attention in the media, or from human rights groups and other NGOs. While India is constantly berated for having severe problems with an amorphous communalism, Pakistan is rarely brought to task over this same standard. In one way however Pakistan can be said to have resolved the communal issue; by simply having negligible numbers of minorities to strive for equal rights.

The constitution and legal system created for Pakistan openly discriminated against Hindus with a high level of crime and harassment against them. This was exacerbated by periods of tension between India and Pakistan which were always the worst times for Hindus in Pakistan, with large numbers killed and expelled by pogroms by the majority community who were supported by their government. In 1965 The Enemy Property Act was passed, which openly legitimized the confiscation of the property of Hindus whether it was their homes or temples that were destroyed and helped to further reduce the Hindu population in Pakistan.

This was dwarfed by the war of secession which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. A huge undocumented number of Hindus were massacred by the Pakistani army in which the estimated death toll was probably three million.

At independence India chose a secular constitution. Admittedly, along with its parliamentary democracy, has met with varying degrees of success. But it has endured. India has had heads of state which come from minority communities and minorities are active in many spheres notably government service, cinema, music, academia, the media and sport. Pakistan however chose a stridently theocratic form of government right from its inception, in which anyone not adhering to the majority faith and the being part of the majority community was always going to be suspect. By stating that the head of state had to be Muslim that built uncompromising discrimination into the constitution itself.

The pandering to extreme religious intolerance by the secular whisky-drinking Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was taken to new levels by his nemesis General Zia ul-Haq who introduced Islamicisation programmes which utterly changed the nature of the country. The injection of despotic legal changes such as the Hudood Ordinance, Blasphemy Law, Sharia law and a host of other procedures mitigated against democracy and reduced women, Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis to lesser citizenship. This was the time when Saudi influence made itself felt ideologically through Wahhabism as madrasas proliferated and the centuries-long native Sufi tradition of Madhu Lal Hussein, Bulley Shah and Waris Shah was smothered. Under the 1973 constitution Bhutto made Islam the state religion of Pakistan and established a separate electorate for Muslims and non-Muslims so that Hindus could only vote for Hindu candidates. The majority community could therefore ignore the minority Hindus with impunity. Musharraf abolished the separate electoral system in 2002. It is ironic how a democratic 'socialist' leader promoted discriminatory legislation which was only later rescinded by a military dictatator who had seized power from an elected government. Even so, in Pakistan's political system, the minorities, such as Hindus, Christians and Sikhs remain outcasts.

Pakistan is home to some 2.5 million Hindus, 95% of them living in the southern Sindh province. Most are poor peasants living as serfs on the estates of landlords, similar to the caste from which the Bhuttos hailed. However there are also some successful some businessmen. In Sindh, they are a hot commodity for bandits. They have become increasingly subject to kidnapping for ransom which the largely impoverished members of the community can ill afford. Rape, forcible and pressurised conversion to Islam have also become a matter of course for Hindus living in that oppressive state. As with kidnapping the conversion of Hindus is a profitable business in this country.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan stated in 2010 stating that at least twenty-five Hindu girls are abducted in Pakistan every month. In July of that year around sixty members of the minority Hindus in Karachi were attacked and ethnically cleansed when a Hindu youth drank from a water tap near an Islamic mosque. But even more sinister plans have been afoot. Hindu minorities under Taliban rule in Swat were forced to wear red headgear such as turbans as a symbol of their inferior status. Promulgation that Hindus are inferior is however the norm as it is officially sanctioned in textbooks used in governments schools. In November 2011 the US Commission on International Religious Freedom warned that text books in Pakistani schools foster prejudice and intolerance of Hindus and other religious minorities, while most teachers view non-Muslims as "enemies of Islam". In the words of its chairman Leonard Leo:

"Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security"

In 2006 the last Hindu temple in Lahore was demolished to make way for commercial development. In Dera Ismail Khan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a group has illegally acquired the 700-year-old Kali Bari Mandir and is now using it as a hotel. The issue of Kali Bari is not an isolated example. In Islamabad, Hindus have no access to a temple situated at Saidpur model village. Meanwhile the Raam Kunday Mandir in Islamabad, once considered a sacred site by Hindus, is being converted into a picnic spot. Eminabad in Gujranwala region has several temples dating back to the 15th century, which are in shambles today. Most of them are being used as stables to provide shelter to donkeys, horses and other animals. In Punjab's Bakkar city, Sheeran Wali Mandir has been used by Islamic clerics as a madrasa. Nearly 360 sacred Hindu sites are located in Pakistan, including Hanglaj Maata Mandir in Balochistan, Sadho Beela Mandir in Sindh, Hanuman Mandir in Kotri, Kali Ma and Shiva Mandir in Punjab's Imanabad, Ganga Khogi in Saidan Shah Punjab, Kali Bari Mandir and Kala Sathi Kewal Raam in Dera Ismail Khan, Raam Takht in Swat and a Shiva Mandir in Mansehra. But neither is the government ready to ensure the upkeep of these sites, nor is it willing to hand them back to the Hindu community. At a wider level cultural prejudice has become part and parcel of language itself. Hindus are referred to as "na pak." Na means "un" and pak means "pure." Given that the word "pak" is part of the word "Pakistan" -- which means Land of the Pure -- somebody's impurity suggests that they are not really Pakistani. So the 'impure' Hindus are not seen as belonging to the country.

Under these circumstances it is no surprise that those Hindus which were not forcibly expelled from Pakistan on its creation in 1947 have decided to leave, mainly for neighbouring India. In the wake of the world's silence on their systematic persecution they decide as with previous generations to vote with their feet, denied as they are an equal voice in Pakistan's shaky quasi-democratic process. In doing so they make immense contributions to their new host countries where they can at least breath the air of freedom.

One thinks of the prosperous Sindhi community which was uprooted en masse from their native homeland in 1947. But we must also remember filmstars Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, and Sunil Dutt who trace their birthplaces and ancestral homes to Pakistan. Independent India's first Test cricket captain, Lala Amarnath hailed from Lahore, prime ministers I K Gujral and Manmohan Singh are also from the part of what is now the province of Punjab in Pakistan. Former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani was born in Karachi. Nearly all of these individuals left their homes due to the violence and turmoil of independence setting what seems like a precedent for future generations of Hindus in Pakistan who will complete the exodus from lands that were once an integral part of Hindu culture and ancient Indian civilisation.

While western democracies are keen to ignore what they brush off as a 'Hindu' problem the events in neighbouring India should give us cause for concern. Those who are keen to promote the cause of Kashmiri 'freedom' such as the Conservative Party Chair Baroness Sayeeda Warsi conveniently ignore the rather inconvenient fact that this would bring death and destruction to Hindus, just as she and other powerful voices avert their gaze from how almost the entire indigenous Pandit community was ethnically cleansed from the Vale of Kashmir by mujahadeen at gunpoint in 1989. To this day they eke out a miserable existence in refugee camps in Jammu.

The Pakistan backed Kashmiri terrorists have since extended their massacres and atrocities to Hindus, Sikhs and Christians in the whole region. With Pakistan a hotbed for terrorism, awash as it is with weapons and drugs to compliment the intolerance and sense of general hopelessness, with neighbouring Afghanistan due to fall once again to the Taliban once NATO forces withdraw, Iran developing a nuclear weapons programme, and Pakistan's imperial masters in Riyadh presently expanding their colonial interests using their Salafi minions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, western democracies should be very worried. Otherwise they will face a 'Hindu' future. As Pastor Martin Neimoller warned regarding his incarceration by the Nazis:

They came for the Communists, and I didn't object -- For I wasn't a Communist;
They came for the Socialists, and I didn't object -- For I wasn't a Socialist;
They came for the labour leaders, and I didn't object -- For I wasn't a labour leader;
They came for the Jews, and I didn't object -- For I wasn't a Jew;
Then they came for me - And there was no one left to object.

So who will there be to object when 'they' come after the western democracies and there are no Hindus left?

Wherever there arises a renewed interest in Sharia, the observable effect is that tolerance decreases and harassment increases, and violent persecution often results with the aim of putting the unbelievers in their supposed place. "Violence against Indonesia’s religious minorities surges -HRW," from by Thin Lei Win for AlertNet, January 24 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – Violence against religious minorities surged in Indonesia in 2011, with authorities standing aside and failing to uphold the rule of law as Islamist mobs attacked Christians and Ahmadis, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its annual report on the country.

The report, part of a larger HRW publication monitoring human rights in more than 90 countries, also said violence continued to rack [sic] Papua and West Papua. The report said the authorities used excessive force against peaceful protesters in these Indonesian provinces, where a low-level separatist insurgency has been going on for decades.

Elaine Pearson, the group’s deputy Asia director, said attacks on religious minorities and police violence in Papua “got a lot worse in 2011.”

“The common thread is the failure of the Indonesian government to protect the rights of all its citizens,” she said.

The report said senior government officials, including Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali, Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, and Minister of Human Rights and Law Patrialis Akbar, “continued to justify restrictions on religious freedom in the name of public order.”

Incidents of sectarian violence “got more deadly and more frequent” last year, with 184 cases of religious attacks in the first nine months of 2011, the rights group said. Churches as well as Ahmadi mosques and communities in various places came under assault.

The Ahmadis are followers of a minority Ahmadiyya sect founded in the 19th century. They believe there have been other prophets of Islam since its founder Mohammad, although he is regarded as the most important. Mainstream Muslims consider them heretical, and Ahmadis face increasing threats of violence in many countries including Pakistan and Indonesia.

“Short prison terms for a handful of offenders did nothing to dissuade mob violence,” the report added, pointing to the February incident in western Java when some three Ahmadis were killed and five injured when some 1,500 Islamic militants attacked a house.

The event was caught on film – police officers were shown watching as the mob wreaked havoc – but only 12 men were charged, and none for manslaughter. One of the Ahmadis injured in the attack was later convicted of assault and disobeying police orders.

Here is yet another ongoing human rights abuse that goes largely ignored by the international human rights organizations. "PAKISTAN: A lawyer from Hindu community is missing and police refuse to register the case claiming that the abduction of Hindus is of no consequence," from the Asian Human Rights Commission, December 30 (thanks to Linda):

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding that a lawyer belonging to the Dalit caste of Hindu minority community has been missing since December 23 when he was going to attend the Sindh High Court. His car was found abandoned at a Taxi stand with all court files in it. The high police officials of the district Hyderabad, Sindh province have refused to register the case. The police are also fighting on the jurisdiction of the concerned police stations to avoid filing the case. The abductors have asked for ransom of Rs. 10 million but still the police refuse to register the case and are also not investigating it as the abductions of Hindus are not a new thing and the routine business of Muslim fundamentalist groups.

It is feared by his family that he would be killed if he does not embrace Islam or pay the ransom.

The Hindu community remains under threats of abduction, forced conversion to Islam and persecution in the name of blasphemy since many years by the fundamentalist religious organizations that operate through their seminaries (Madressas). Most of the Madressas are not registered by the government but are free to operate with the patronage of the police.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Mohan Lal Menghwar, advocate, son of Karo Mal, resident of village Bhadisindhu, Chachro, district Tharparkar, Sindh province, was on the way to Sindh high court, Hyderabad bench, Hyderabad district, 56 kilometers away from his residence to attend the court proceedings. He proceeded in early morning at 5. 30 AM but when he did not reach the court it created a panic among the lawyers, clients and family members. In the evening at 7 PM local police informed the family that a car was found abandoned at Tando Jam taxi stand. When family members reached there they found the car of Mohan Lal and everything including the court files were there.

Police of three stations, Tando Adam, Tando Jam and Hyderabad, stopped the family members of the victim to file a First Information Report (FIR) and waited for the abductors' demand for ransom. After two days of his disappearance the police of Hyderabad district flatly refused to register the case. The district police officer says they would not file the case as one cannot say from which jurisdiction of which police station he was abducted. He told the family members that he was abducted from some other place and his car was put in the Tando Jam taxi stand therefore it is difficult to file the case.

Mr. Ladha Ram Sharma, the senior lawyer of the victim, has received a call from abductors for the ransom of Rs. 10 Million for his release. This was duly informed to the police who again refused to file the case. Police were taking the call of ransom very lightly and have yet to start its legal responsibility to act according the law. The police attitude is to accommodate the call of ransom.

It is alleged that provincial police know that he has been abducted by the Muslim religious groups who are operating freely in the areas of the Hindu population in the rural parts of the province through the seminaries. Forced conversion to Islam by the abduction of girls and their forcibly marriage to Muslims is common. The situation of abduction, rape and forced conversion has reached such a position that many Hindu families migrated to India among them are also Hindu legislators.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Murders, kidnappings, looting of Hindu families are on high all around the Pakistan. They are selling their properties at cheap rates and wrapping up their businesses at the cost of big losses. In the recent months 37 Hindus have left Pakistan for India due to security reasons. Hundreds of Hindu families leave Pakistan for India or other countries every year to find safe places for them. Fear has spread among the Sikhs and Hindus of Pakistan after the atrocious beheading incident involving a young Sikh man because of his refusal to convert. Furthermore, the Pakistani State has failed to protect the rights of the religious minorities which has left them feeling helpless while living with daily fear. Since the Taliban fanatics identify Pakistani Hindus as people of India, it has left Pakistani Hindus feeling helpless and with a sense of homelessness because they feel that they are being pushed out of Pakistan and at the same time not readily being accepted into their original home country.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has estimated that every year more Christians and Hindus are forcibly converted to Islam. An activist and council member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Amarnath Motumal, stated that Hindus are targeted due to many local Muslims seeing them as kafirs (non-Muslims) and therefore of lower class as well as evil. Threats are commonly given by the dangerous kidnappers that if they are reported, the families will hear of their daughter’s death. Motumal said that the word “Hindu” has become an insult and almost a shame for all Hindus in the Islamic state of Pakistan because of impoverished state 90% of Hindu families live in. He addressed that the government and others in power are to blame for the lack of rights available to the Hindu community....

Read it all. There is much more, including a suggested course of action.

It is better to give than to receive, goes the hoary adage, and Malaysia's ruling Muslims are giving to the Christians in spades -- namely a lot of fear and anxiety. Now, how could Malaysia's modern, moderate Muslim government be so motivated or inspired to cause fear in Malaysia's comparatively small (~10% of the total population) Christian community?

One Malaysian has ascribed such fear and loathing to 'immature' Muslims. In true dhimmi fashion, this writer does not examine Islamic doctrine that causes Muslims everywhere, not just those in Malaysia, to consistently oppress and marginalize non Muslims. This Malaysian writer is almost certainly ignorant of the founder of Islam's own teachings in regards to Christians and Jews that have guided Muslims for the past 14 centuries. So, does that make Mohammed and his own ideology 'immature'? Well, we can't go there, of course -- that sort of thinking would be Islamophobic, xenophobic, bigoted, and probably racist. 

So for this Christmas, let us at Jihad Watch give the gift of knowledge. At least a few of Malaysia's beleaguered Christian community should know why at least a few Muslims always seem to be 'immature'. In short, it's not Muslims per se -- it's Islam. From "Season to be jolly – and afraid for [Malaysian] Christians", by Julia Yeow, Free Malaysia Today, 22 December 2011:

For the minority religious group, there is a sense of unease in the wake of rising tensions with Muslims authorities.

KUALA LUMPUR: In every mall and along every main street in Malaysia’s capital, elaborate decorations and loud, blaring carols bring about festive reminders of the season to be jolly.

But beneath the blinking lights and merry making, many Christians will be celebrating Christmas with an undeniable sense of unease due to rising tensions with Muslim authorities.

Malaysia is a secular state as defined in its constitution, but Islam is the official religion and is embraced by 60 percent of the population. Minority Christians make up about 10 percent, followed by Buddhists, Hindus and people of other faiths.

Religious violence is rare in the multicultural society, but minority religious groups have complained that their right to practise freely is increasingly threatened by a Muslim-dominated government.

Christians have always had to be “cautious” in dealing with the government, said Sam Ang, secretary-general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship, the country’s largest evangelical group.

“I think there is definitely a sense of Christians feeling threatened much more now, although not so much physically.”

He said the authorities often misinterpret the law according to their own convenience.

“There is always a risk. That is why churches would be wise to always exercise caution,” he said.

An emotional thing

But one major church apparently threw caution to the wind on Aug 3 when it allowed an organisation with Muslim members to use its premises for a celebration.

Throwing 'caution to the wind'? Isn't that just blaming the victims (i.e. Christians) for the aggressive acts of the Muslim religious police?

Islamic religious officers raided the church during the dinner, and later claimed efforts were being made to convert the Muslims who were present.

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) denied the allegations and called the raid illegal. It said accusations of conversion attempts were false and malicious.

Christian leaders condemned the raid, saying the authorities showed no proof or warrant to enter the church premises.

The incident also sparked outrage among Muslim groups that demonstarted against what they claimed were aggressive conversion efforts by Christians. They called on Muslims to “take all necessary actions” to protect the sanctity of Islam.

Outrage seems to be the default Muslim response to every slight, either real or imagined.

In response, the Christian community was placed on alert for fears of a repeat of violent attacks on at least eight churches last year, including one that was gutted by a firebomb.

“Religion is such an emotional thing that I find it hard to be at ease during this season,” said Vivienne Pal, a 33-year-old Christian.

“I’m constantly aware that things can get out of hand in a blink of an eye.”

Unwanted attention

Following the August incident, many major churches around Selangor and Kuala Lumpur re-evaluated their activities, for fear of drawing “unwanted attention”.

“We’ve had to be very careful about whom we help, and how we go about doing it because authorities are paying more attention to church activities,” said a pastor who requested anonymity due to his work among the poor and homeless of Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s sad because we don’t care about a person’s race or religion when we offer help, but now we need to be wise and cautious, so that our work doesn’t bring about unwanted attention and negative repercussions to the entire church,” he said.

“Our situation in Malaysia is not new, and Christians have been facing this although over the past three years, it’s become worse,” evangelical leader Ang said.

In spite of the increasing tension between the church and state, there are many who believe the maturity of believers from both religions will be able to mend the rift.

Mazran Nordin, an ethnic Malay Muslim, said he often visited churches in Europe and had no problem attending weddings in churches.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the maturity of a Muslim believer. If you are confident in your beliefs, why would you be afraid of being converted?” Mazran said.

“Everywhere you go, you can see normal Malaysians of all religions celebrating Christmas together,” said Thomas Philips, president of Malaysia’s Council of Churches.

“I don’t believe there is a distrust, and a feeling of any one religion being threatened. Those are just games the politicians and media play.

“From what we have seen, there is still much hope for people of all religions to live peacefully here,” he said.

Hope is great for lines from Hollywood movies, Mr. Philips, but it is not a viable strategy for the real world.

Pakistani authorities turn a blind eye to the plight of religious minorities now, but the same people who torment minorities in the name of Islamic piety will knock on the door in Islamabad when they are strong enough. Then it will be a crisis. "Scarred and scared, these Pakistani Hindus seek refuge in India," from Indo-Asian News Service, November 27 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Sitting hunched with his face cupped in his hands, 42-year-old Shobhamal dreads going back to Pakistan's Sindh province where he has earned the status of a pariah and ''bore the brunt of being a non-Muslim''.

A group of 146 Pakistani Hindus took refuge at capital's Majnu ka Tilla Sep 8 after crossing the Attari border Sep 4.

"I don't fear for my life but for my family. I decided to come here as there is no place for Hindus in Pakistan. Sexual assault, forced conversion, abduction and humiliation is all this country (Pakistan) has given us," Shobhamal told IANS.

Shobhamal's 18-year-old son died of cancer here earlier this month.

With their tourist visas expired some two months ago, these people from Bagidi community are reluctant to go back to Sindh where, they say, there is no security of their life and property.

Hindus form around seven percent of the total population of Sindh province.

"We don't want to go back. We are outcast there. We appeal to the government that please just give us refuge and we don't want any citizenship," rues 45-year-old Ganga Ram.

Gang Ram has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting extension of their visas and shelter.

They are currently living in 12 tents and share one dilapidated toilet -- but say they don't have much complaints.

"We are happy here. Though life is tough here, it's not an ordeal what it used be in Pakistan. There, you bear the brunt of being non-Muslims," said Sagar, a mechanic, who was robbed of all his tools with which he used to make his ends meet.

"They force us to convert to Islam and threaten of dire consequences. They abduct our children and loot our property. If we complain, nobody listens. There, even the prime minister is not safe, let alone Hindus," says Mithalal, who is in his 50s.

When this IANS correspondent tried to speak to the women in the community, a sense of reluctance took over. However, a few narrated their ordeal, after much convincing.

"When our husbands are away for work, we keep our doors locked and live in constant fear. We are not allowed to wear vermillion on our foreheads," said Rukmini.

"We don't eat our food until our children come back as you never know they might be kidnapped or circumcised," said a woman, refusing to reveal her identity.

Longtime readers of Jihad Watch will be familiar with Malaysia's lengthy and ignominious history of demolishing non Muslim houses of worship (see here and here) under a whole gamut of spurious pretexts.

In this latest incident, note the highly personal manner in which this particular temple was destroyed -- Malaysian police officers (who were almost certainly Muslim) attacked this particular temple with sledgehammers and personally smashed statues of Hindu deities. The violence and destruction does not make sense unless one acknowledges the Malaysian government's (not-so-well) hidden agenda of Islamic supremacy.

Imagine the outcry that would result if a Western or non Muslim country demolished a Muslim house of worship. The professional international 'human rights' community and the Western media machine would be in an immediate uproar, and would demand answers for this sort of gross violation of human rights, decency, etc. But as this was yet another Hindu temple deliberately destroyed by a Muslim-controlled government, those voices will be silent.

From "HRP decries ‘ruthless’ razing of temple", by B Nantha Kumar, Free Malaysia Today, 25 November 2011:

SHAH ALAM: The Human Rights Party (HRP) has denounced yesterday’s demolishment of a Hindu temple in Glenmarie and demanded from the Selangor government an acre of land for a new temple.

S Thiagarajan, a pro-tem central executive committee member of the party, said Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim must take “full responsibility” for the violation of the Sri Muneswarar Temple by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and make amends by granting the acre of land.

He said he learned of the destruction when a local resident telephoned him while it was going on. The caller told him 30 police and MBSA officers were using sledgehammers to carry out the demolition.

“A Malay haji sprinkled something around the shrine and then some 10 uniformed enforcement officers started the ruthless act,” he told FMT.

He added that six Hindu deities were smashed into pieces.

“The Hindu devotees there could not stop the bloodletting; they were blocked by policemen,” he said.

“This is a clear cut case of the city council violating Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, and Article 8, which provides of equality before the law and equal protection before the law.

“We demand that the state government allocate one acre of land to the temple committee to build a new temple.”

He also said the state should grant permanent land titles for all Hindu temples in Selangor so that “such flagrant acts of transgression” would not recur.

But will such flagrant acts recur? Malaysia's track record speaks for itself.

''Freedom of worship and of thought is the foundation of all freedoms and it is a value that has to be recognised if we are not to run the risk that the Arab Spring leads to a winter in which dictatorships are replaced by religious despotism." And of course that is already happening. I tried to tell you: "Arab Spring - Europe calls for safeguard of Christians," from ANSAmed, November 22 (thanks to Insubria):

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, NOVEMBER 22 - Eight hundred thousand refugees from Iraq in the wake of the violence following the downfall of Saddam Hussein, dozens of victims among the Copt demonstrators in Egypt following the ousting of president Mubarak. Christians are paying a heavy price under the turbulence that is shaking the Arab world, where there is a risk of nurturing a climate in which Islamic fundamentalism will thrive. This risk has been the subject of a discussion during a conference held in Beirut between Euro-MPs and representatives of the Eastern Churches, which has been promoted by the Euro-Parliament and the Episcopal Conference of European Bishops.

From Italy's Democratic Party, and Deputy Speaker of the Euro-Parliament, Gianni Pittella warned how ''Freedom of worship and of thought is the foundation of all freedoms and it is a value that has to be recognised if we are not to run the risk that the Arab Spring leads to a winter in which dictatorships are replaced by religious despotism''....

Wherever there is a resurgence of Sharia, tolerance suffers, and harassment and abuse increase. "How Iran persecutes its oldest religion," by Jamsheed Choksy for CNN, November 14:

Bloomington, Indiana (CNN) -- As Zoroastrian funerary processions enter the graveyard overlooking the Tehran suburb of Ray, their sobriety is often shattered by the sound of explosions and gunfire. Frequently, the way forward is blocked by Islamic Revolutionary Guards conducting a combat exercise among the tombs. According to Zoroastrian custom, burial needs to take place within 24 hours, and the Revolutionary Guards will not halt their training activities there for the funerals.

This is just another sign of religious freedom fading in the Islamic Republic.

Much that is written about the Zoroastrians of Iran portrays them as a venerable and quaint religious community. But these followers of an ancient faith are not insulated from the tribulations of their country.

Zoroastrianism is named after its founder, the prophet Zarathustra -- or Zoroaster, as he came to be known in the West -- who preached sometime between 1800 and 1000 B.C. Zoroaster spoke of humans siding with God (called Ahura Mazda, or the Wise Lord) against the devil (called Angra Mainyu, or the Angry Spirit) and fighting for all that is right. In time, those concepts became central to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. So did Zoroastrian beliefs that each soul faces judgment after death before entering heaven, limbo or hell, and that all of humanity will experience resurrection, final judgment and heaven on Earth.

Ancient Persian kings like Cyrus and Darius followed their faith's basic tenet of doing good by freeing Israelites from the Babylonian Exile and supporting construction of the Second Temple at Jerusalem. Zoroastrianism's clergymen, or magi, are known around the world as the wise men in attendance at the nativity of Jesus. Until Arabs conquered Iran during the seventh century, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians there could practice their own devotions unhindered. Thereafter, they became minorities who were persecuted and largely converted to Islam.

When the Islamic revolution occurred in 1979, fundamentalist Shiites stormed the fire temple at Tehran. There, Zoroastrians worship in front of a blazing fire, as a symbol of God's grace, just like Christians face a cross and Muslims turn to a qibla pointing toward Mecca. The portrait of Zoroaster was tossed down, a photograph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was put up in its place, and the congregation was warned not to remove the image of Iran's new leader. Only months later could the prophet's picture be mounted upon an adjacent wall.

Their schools and classrooms began to be covered with images of Supreme Leaders Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and with verses of the Quran that denounce non-Muslims. Those who do well academically nonetheless find no openings within state-controlled universities.

When the bloody war with Iraq raged from 1980 to 1988, young Zoroastrians were involuntarily drafted for suicide missions in the Iranian army. Rejecting the Shiite mullahs' claim that military martyrdom would lead them to a heaven full of virgins was futile. Failing to offer their lives on the battlefield could result in execution for treason.

Then in November 2005, Ayatollah Ahmed Jannati, chairman of the Council of Guardians of the Constitution, disparaged Zoroastrians and other religious minorities as "sinful animals who roam the earth and engage in corruption." When the Zoroastrians' solitary parliamentary representative protested, he was hauled before a revolutionary tribunal. There, mullahs threatened execution before sparing his life with a warning never to challenge their declarations again. A frightened community subsequently declined to re-elect him.

Over the past two years, many Muslim Iranians have begun publicly rejecting the Shiite theocracy's intolerant ways by adopting symbols and festivals from Zoroastrianism. Those actions are denounced as causing "harm and corruption" by ayatollahs like Khamenei and Jannati.

Sensing that popular sentiment among Iran's Muslim majority is shifting away from the mullahs, even President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has begun utilizing Zoroastrianism's past for his own political ends. In September 2010, he arranged for the Cyrus Cylinder, a sixth-century B.C. document that speaks of religious tolerance and Iranian greatness, to be loaned from the British Museum. During a public ceremony in Tehran, Ahmadinejad lauded indigenous traditions as superior to Arab-imposed Islam. Privately, his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, even referred to King Cyrus as "a messenger of God."

Their tottering political base has sharpened the Shiite clerics' ire. Like members of the Christian, Jewish and Baha'i minorities, Zoroastrian activists who protest the theocracy's excesses are sent to Tehran's notorious Evin prison on charges of sedition. At the ayatollahs' instigation, Iranian media characterizes the followers of Iran's ancient faith as polytheists and devil worshipers. Lesser mullahs rant against Zoroastrians not only in Iran, but even at mosques in Toronto.

The Zoroastrian cemetery outside Tehran now faces another challenge: The municipality seeks to lay a highway through it. Some schools and devotional centers in other Zoroastrian strongholds like Yazd and Kerman have also been notified of pending annexation. Communal gatherings are routinely monitored by fundamentalist Muslim authorities who allege that Zoroastrianism "threatens national security and subverts the Islamic revolution."

Protections offered by the Islamic Republic's constitution have been rendered meaningless in practice. Not surprisingly, the daily regimen of discrimination makes Zoroastrians feel wholly unwelcome in their Iranian homeland. Only between 35,000 and 90,000 now remain in a country of approximately 74 million citizens -- and, fearing persecution, many do not readily identify themselves as Zoroastrians.

Yet, Zoroastrians are no mere footnote in human history and religiosity. Their ideas still determine how many of the globe's residents behave. The end of Zoroastrianism in Iran should be prevented. Making religious freedom a priority in U.S. and EU foreign policies will help achieve that goal.

This is the same mayor who earlier decided that churches can't be built on streets with "Islamic" names. How higher levels of government respond to this latest escalation will determine whether we see more officials like Mayor Budiarto emerge in Indonesia. Behavior that is rewarded by inaction is likely to be repeated and intensified, as Budiarto's own track record in Bogor has shown.

"Moderate" Indonesia is paralyzed with indecision for the sake of saving face: it does not want to make a high-profile, public decision that would stop Muslims from enforcing Sharia over the constitution. It wants legislation that looks good on paper, and to have the dust settle quietly in practical matters at some point. When Islamic supremacists gain sufficient strength, the legislation will catch up.

"Bogor: mayor shuts down access roads to Yasmin Church, thus breaking the law," from Asia News, November 14:

Bogor (AsiaNews) – Bogor Christians celebrated Mass at home yesterday. After the ban on meeting at their church, members of the Yasmin Church (KGI) were not allowed to hold their Sunday service in the street. Despite criticism and international focus on the case, Bogor Mayor Diano Budiarto continues to refuse to bow to public opinion and a court order. In his latest action, he has exceeded his authority and blocked all access roads to the Yasmin Church. A dozen of local plainclothes security agents and uniformed police did not however prevent anti-Christian extremists from blocking one access road to the place of worship. In the end, Christian worshipers went to the home of a parishioner to celebrate Sunday service.

This is the first time in months that this happens since Budiarto’ decision to freeze the construction of the church despite the fact that the congregation had all the right permits.

In a message to AsiaNews, a KGI spokesman, attorney Bona Sigalingging, said that opposition to the church comes from the Muslim Indonesia Communications Forum (Forkami), an organisation chaired by Ahmad Iman, a local extremist.

In a number of fiery speeches against the Yasmin Church, the latter has claimed that KGI leaders falsified the signatures by residents on the application for a construction permit in order to pursue their goal of building the church.

In Indonesia, a construction permit is necessary and requires a certain number of signatures by local residents before it is issued.

Sigalingging dismissed the charge out of hand. “This accusation is false,” he said.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation is expected to act too. Its president, Todung Mulya Lubis, a well-known figure in the human rights field, has written to President Yudhoyono, asking him to exercise his constitutional prerogatives and uphold the law.

The time has come that “you, Mr President apply the law without preferences as stipulated by the constitution and that every citizen comply with the law.”

The Yasmin Church is in a desperate situation, Lubis added, since court orders have been ignored using different legal means in order to revoke the building permit, and that the mayor appears bent on pursing his path, no matter what happens.

“Mr President, you are the last hope for the Yasmin Church to see its rights respected,” Lubis said in his letter.

President Yudhoyono's past comments on violence against Christians over the building with churches have tended to downplay the situation, sounding more like he was discussing a homeowners' association dispute.

When even the reliably dhimmi Time Magazine notices Muslim intolerance and persecution of people of other faiths (and "heretical" Muslims like the Ahmadis), you know the situation has gotten very bad in modern, moderate Indonesia. "The Other Indonesia," by Emily Rauhala in Time Magazine, November 21:

[...] A key measure of the level of justice and compassion in any society is how it treats its minorities — often its most vulnerable citizens. On that score, Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, is failing. In the past year, public violence against religious minorities, who together make up about 12% of the 240 million population, has been relentless: there has been a slew of incidents, from burnings and bombings of churches to attacks by radical Muslims on moderates. The authorities appear unable or unwilling to firmly intervene.

That seemed to be the case when I was in a packed courtroom outside Jakarta a few months ago. On trial were 12 men charged in connection with a mass assault early this year on members of the peaceful Ahmadiyah sect. Ahmadis believe that their Indian founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) was also a prophet, after Muhammad — a claim orthodox Muslims find heretical. This plus other differences have made Ahmadis a target for hard-liners in Pakistan, Bangladesh and, of late, Indonesia too. The attack on the Ahmadis was brutal. A hundreds-strong crowd gathered at opposite ends of a remote rice-farming village on the western edge of Java and converged on an Ahmadi home. The people inside were surrounded and attacked with machetes, sharpened sticks and stones. Three men died; five were badly injured.

At the trial, before the judges entered the chamber, an Islamic cleric in a white robe stepped from the gallery and led the courtroom in prayer. Those inside — plus many more pressed against the outside gate — prayed for the mob, not those killed. People in the crowd told me the Ahmadis had it coming, that the mob was provoked and the violence spontaneous.

One of the accused, 17-year-old Dani bin Misra, was filmed smashing an Ahmadi man's skull with a rock. He and the other defendants were convicted of "participation in a violent attack that results in casualties." Dani was sentenced to three months' jail. The rest, including two clerics, received five to six months. (By contrast, an Ahmadi got six months for wounding an attacker when defending a family's property.) Said New York City — based Human Rights Watch: "The trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities will be treated lightly by the legal system."

I raised the Ahmadiyah verdict with Suryadharma Ali, Indonesia's Minister of Religious Affairs, one of whose responsibilities is to keep the peace among all faiths. Suryadharma was unapologetic in tone: he said Indonesia respects religious freedom, but that minorities could not use that freedom to "completely modify" Islamic beliefs. He also defended regulations that ban Ahmadis from proselytizing or openly practicing their faith. The minister compared antagonism toward Ahmadis to flag burning: "Your country would get angry if you burned their flag. And the case of religion is higher than the flag." Perhaps so, but for Indonesia to be truly the modern, moderate society it claims to be, it needs to show through word and deed that it will not tolerate intolerance.

“Abolition of this body would send an unintended message to the rest of the world. Oppressive groups may come to believe that the United States is not committed to the protection of religious liberty.” Indeed. But since Muslim states commit most of the violations of religious liberty, and the victims are mostly Christians, the shutdown of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is consistent with the Obama Administration's clear determination to say and do nothing at all that Muslims might construe as offensive.

"Senate May Force Shutdown of Religious Freedom Watchdog," by Patrick Goodenough for CNS News, November 11 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

(CNSNews.com) – For more than a decade, an independent, statutory monitor has been advising the U.S. executive and legislative branches on international religious freedom, drawing attention to the persecution of people of faith under Muslim, communist and autocratic regimes from Riyadh to Rangoon. But by this time next week, it may have to close its doors.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) will shut down unless the U.S. Senate approves a reauthorization bill before then, or unless funding is included in a new continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through the end of the year.

Last September the House of Representatives passed by an overwhelming vote a bill extending the USCIRF’s life for another two years. The bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it has been held up – by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), according to published reports.

Durbin’s office has not responded to inquiries and requests for comment....

It has drawn attention to the plight of Christians in predominantly Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Iraq and Nigeria; to ongoing religious restrictions and harassment of believers by Vietnam’s communist authorities; to incitement in Saudi school textbooks and materials used in mosques in the U.S.; to attempts by the Islamic bloc at the U.N. to outlaw religious “defamation” and promote blasphemy laws; and to the persecution of Baha’is in Iran, Buddhists and Protestants in Burma and Uighur Muslims in China.

A key function of the USCIRF has been its recommendations for the State Department to designate “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) under the International Religious Freedom Act, the same 1998 legislation that created the commission.

The Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations all followed some recommendations, but not others. The Obama State Department recently overruled USCIRF recommendations to designate Pakistan, Vietnam, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria and Turkmenistan as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs), in addition to those currently on the list (Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan.)

CPCs are countries whose governments either perpetrate or condone “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” abuses of religious freedom. The U.S. may impose sanctions or take other diplomatic steps as incentives to improve....

When the House debated the reauthorization bill on Sept. 14, its author, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) voiced frustration with the situation in the Senate, saying some members there “are trying to kill this commission, for some reason.”

“Quite frankly, I believe that some over there [in the Senate] and this very administration would not mind seeing this commission shut its doors,” he said.

During the same debate Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) described the USCIRF as “the quintessential watchdog agency in this town.”

“It doesn't get the big press, as Mr. Wolf said,” Smith said. “It doesn't have the big bucks – no K Street lobbyists – but it is a wonderful and a very important and effective commission that keeps track of religious persecution globally, that keeps us in line in the House and the Senate and also the State Department.”...

CitizenLink, an affiliate of Focus on the Family, is urging Americans to contact their senators to urge reauthorization of the USCIRF.

"Religious minorities are often portrayed as inferior or second-class citizens who have been granted limited rights and privileges by generous Pakistani Muslims, for which they should be grateful."

In other words, they are dhimmis, at the mercy of the whims of their overlords. Wherever a society designates second-class citizens, they are automatically and unfairly burdened with more responsibility to keep the peace with the ruling class by "knowing their place." Provocations are in the eye of the ruling beholder, whose pride and sense of entitlement are paramount even at the expense of the dignity of others.

The consequences are visible all over Pakistan, in story after dismal story of abuse, often on the flimsiest of pretexts (see also: Asia Bibi). "Pakistan schools teach Hindu hatred: US commission," from the Associated Press, November 9 (thanks to all who sent this in):

ISLAMABAD: Text books in Pakistani schools foster prejudice and intolerance of Hindus and Christians, while most teachers view religious minorities as " enemies of Islam", according to a study by a US government commission released on Wednesday.

The findings indicate how deeply ingrained hardline Islam is in Pakistan and help explain why militancy is often supported, tolerated or excused in the country.

"Teaching discrimination increases the likelihood that violent religious extremism in Pakistan will continue to grow, weakening religious freedom, national and regional stability, and global security," said Leonard Leo, the chairman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Pakistan was created in 1947 as a homeland for the Muslims of South Asia and was initially envisaged as a moderate state where minorities would have full rights. But three wars with India; state support for militants fighting Soviet-rule in Afghanistan in the 1980s; and the appeasement of hardline clerics by weak governments seeking legitimacy have led to a steady radicalisation of society.

Religious minorities and those brave enough to speak out against intolerance have often been killed, seemingly with impunity, by militant sympathisers. The commission warned that any significant efforts to combat religious discrimination, especially in education, would "likely face strong opposition" from hardliners.

The study reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1-10 from Pakistan's four provinces. Researchers in February this year visited 37 public schools, interviewing 277 students and teachers, and 19 madrases, where they interviewed 226 students and teachers.

The Islamisation of textbooks began under the US-backed rule of army dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, who courted Islamists to support his rule. In 2006, the government announced plans to reform the curriculum to address the problematic content, but that has not been done, it said.

Pakistan's Islamist and right-wing polity would likely oppose any efforts to change the curriculum, and the government has shown no desire to challenge them on the issue. The report found systematic negative portrayals of minorities, especially Hindus and, to a lesser extent, Christians. Hindus make up more than one per cent of Pakistan's 180 million people, while Christians represent around two percent. Some estimates put the numbers higher.

There are also even smaller populations of Sikhs and Buddhists.

"Religious minorities are often portrayed as inferior or second-class citizens who have been granted limited rights and privileges by generous Pakistani Muslims, for which they should be grateful," the report said.

These doctors were murdered because "local Hindu boys brought a Muslim dancing girl to the area." Islamic law forbids a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim man -- and apparently even if she just dances with one, people are going to get killed. "Three Hindu doctors gunned down on Eid, Sindh observes mourning," from AFP, November 8 (thanks to Kapil):

SHIKARPUR: Gunmen shot dead three Hindus in Shikarpur in a dispute over a dancing girl with a local Muslim tribe, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday in Chak town near Shikarpur city, 400 kilometres north of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province.

“Two men riding a motorbike opened fire at a clinic, killing three Hindu doctors and wounding a paramedic seriously,” Pakistan Hindu Council chief Ramesh Kumar told AFP.

He said the dispute had erupted between the Hindu community and the local Baban Khan Bhayo tribe after local Hindu boys brought a Muslim dancing girl to the area.

“Police raided the house where the girl was dancing and arrested four boys,” said Kumar.

He said that the issue had been taken to the local assembly of elders to be resolved peacefully after the ongoing Eid holidays, but before that could happen the shooting took place, he said.

Kumar said the Hindu community had sought protection from police after receiving anonymous calls threatening them with “serious consequences”....

The kidnapping of Hindus have been on the rise, especially in the province of Balochistan where at least four Hindu traders have been kidnapped in the past 30 days, while Basant Lal, a paint shop owner, was was abducted while on his way home to Saryab Road from Liaquat Bazaar on Friday.

UPDATE: Make that four Hindu doctors: Four Hindu doctors gunned down in Pakistan (thanks to Slothy)

Funny how those Malaysian Muslims keep finding excuses to demolish one 'infidel' house of worship after another. This time, the pretext is a new Malaysian mass transit line, and wouldn't you know it, there's not one, but two pesky temples that are somehow right in the way of this new line. And of course, those troublesome temples -- two Buddhist temples this time -- have gotta go.

Isn't it interesting how, despite the vast number of mosques, suraus, madrassahs, etc. that Malaysia surely has, how not one of these Muslim holy place is ever inconvenienced in any way? It's almost as if Malaysia's government is chock-full of Islamic supremacists or something, dedicated to sweeping away all traces of Jahiliyya (i.e. all non Islamic culture).

From "Devotees pray to save temples," by Joseph Kaos Jr, The Star, 7 November 2011:

KUALA LUMPUR: Appeal letters have been sent, appointments have been set.

Now, devotees of two temples in Cheras are seeking divine intervention to spare their place of worship from being demolished.

The temples are in the path of the Klang Valley My Rapid Transit line.

About 500 devotees held special prayers at the Xian Fa Chinese temple in Kg Landasan Keretapi here yesterday.

“On Oct 6, the Federal Territories Land Office sent the Xian Fa Chinese and the Buddhist temples at Kg Landasan Keretapi eviction notices,” said MCA Bukit Jalil Resort chairman Chew Yin Keen at a press conference yesterday.

“They were told to move out by November before their temples are demolished,” he said.

“I have told the land office that it cannot demolish any place of worship without providing a replacement location,” he said, pointing out that Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan had stated this before.

“There is a plot behind the temple large enough to build five or six temples,” Chew said.

“Perhaps, the temples can be relocated there.”

Buddhist temple committee member Lee Mun Yoong said the temple had been in existence for 70 years.

He said they had moved to the current location when their previous site in Cheras was taken over to house the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium.

Xian Fa Chinese temple committee member Yap Chee Kong said they could not afford to build a new place of worship even if they were asked to move.

He suggested that the Government readjust the track alignment so that the temple would not be affected.

“Our temple has been here since 1976,” said Yap.

“Since the MRT alignment is only in its planning stage, perhaps they can still consider changing it.”

Last week, Land Public Transport Commission chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the commission would not accept any more complaints on the MRT final alignment and urged the public to refer to MRT Co instead.

They're only destroying Christian or Buddhist statues when they appear in public places. If they're kept inside churches or temples, that's fine. This recalls the dhimmi laws that stipulate that non-Muslims must not make any public display of their religion, such as holding processions or ringing bells, but could practice it behind closed doors, in hushed, furtive tones. Islamic Tolerance Alert from modern, moderate Indonesia: "Java: Muslim violence against statues of other religions," by Mathias Hariyadi from Asia News, November 2 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – The Islamic Defender Front (FPI) launched an appeal on its website on 29 September 2011 with an order to destroy all “un-Islamic” statues in the country, above all those in public places. FPI members were asked to take a stance against the making of statues that Islam does not approve. The request to reject un-Islamic statues was extended to other Indonesian Muslim groups.

The appeal follows a controversy in Purwakarta (West Java) where hundreds of hard-line Muslims destroyed puppet statues representing mythological figures used in traditional theatre in the city’s downtown.

Purwakarta mayor had offered the puppets used in traditional theatre to represent a more “native” Indonesian identity. However, for Muslim fundamentalists, the puppet statues were “religiously wrong”. On 18 September, hundreds of Muslims destroyed a number of them (see Mathias Hariyadi, “Islamic fundamentalists in Java target puppet statues,” in AsiaNews, 20 September 2011).

The FPI also denounced the existence of several “profane” statues, like a big dragon in Singkawang, in West Borneo Province, and a statue of Buddha in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, which are still standing despite the hostility of Muslim radicals.

“The statue of the big dragon in Singkawang is a form of evil provocation performed by locals of Chinese descent,” the FPI said in its statement.

Singkawang is about 100 km north of Pontianak, the capital of West Borneo, and has a long-established Chinese community. Despite the presence of indigenous Christian Dayaks and Melayu Muslims, the Chinese are in fact a majority in the city.

This year, Muslims destroyed three statues of Our Lady in Bekasi, West Jav. Still, the FPI said that it would not destroy Catholic statues of Jesus or the Virgin as long as they are kept inside churches. The same goes for Buddhist statues in temples. However, “if they are placed elsewhere, especially in public places, they are to be considered an evil provocation and the state should take action,” its statement read.

There is no compulsion in religion (Qur'an 2:256), but to use the old Clinton Qualifier, that depends on your definition of compulsion. Islam itself is contradictory on this point, as Islamic law is rife with various forms of subtle and not-so-subtle coercion to submit, up to and including the choices afforded to unbelievers by Qur'an 9:29: conversion, subjugation, or war. But hey, no compulsion or anything. Just an offer you can't refuse if life can be made sufficiently uncomfortable, humiliating, or dangerous for your intransigence.

That is the situation in which this community finds itself. "Conversions threaten Pakistan’s 'Macedonian' tribe," from Dawn, October 20 (thanks to Anup):

BUMBORET VALLEY: Nestled among the valleys of Pakistan’s mountainous northwest, a tiny religious community that claims descent from Alexander the Great’s army is under increasing pressure from radicals bent on converting them to Islam.

The Kalash, who number just about 3,500 in Pakistan’s population of 180 million, are spread over three valleys along the border with Afghanistan.

For centuries they practiced polytheism and animal sacrifice without interference from members of Pakistan’s Muslim majority.

But now they are under increasing danger from proselytising Muslim militants just across the border, and a hardline interpretation of Islam creeping through mainstream society —as Pook Shireen discovered.

See also: Afghanistan's Nuristan, formerly Kafiristan.

After falling unconscious during a car accident, the mid-20s member of the paramilitary Chitral Scouts woke to find that people with him had converted him to Islam.

“Some of the Muslim people here try to influence the Kalash or encourage them by reading certain verses to them from the Quran,” said his mother, Shingerai Bibi.

“The men that were with him read verses of the Quran and then when he woke up they said to him, ‘You are a convert now to Islam’. So he converted.”

The conversion was a shock for his family. But they were lucky compared with other religious minorities under threat from growing religious conservatism that is destabilising Pakistan.

Therein lies the assumption that it is "religious conservatism," whatever that is supposed to mean in a given context, rather than any one religion's teachings, that pose a problem.

In May 2010, more than 80 Ahmadis were killed in attacks on two worship places in Lahore.

Then in March this year, the Christian minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, whose job it was to protect groups like the Kalash, was assassinated outside his home in the capital, Islamabad.

Smooth co-existence

The lush green Kalash valleys, which sit below snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush, have been a magnet for tourists, both for the scenery and for the people, who are indigenous to the area.

Most are fair and with light eyes, which they say proves their descent from the army of Alexander of Macedonia that passed through the area in the 4th century BC to invade India.

The community brews its own wine and women are not veiled.

But the smooth co-existence between the Kalash and Muslims has been fading in recent months and the area is suffering from many of the religious tensions marring the rest of Pakistan.

The conversions are causing splits among the Kalash —converts become outcasts overnight, described by many as “dead to their families”.

“When a Kalash converts we don’t live with them in our houses anymore,” said farmer Asil Khan, sitting on a neighbour’s balcony.

“Our festivals and our culture are different. They can’t take part in the festivals or the way we live.”...

But no death penalty, apparently, as a convert to Islam who changes his mind would face.

Malaysia's beleaguered Christians can breathe a sigh of relief; the Muslim authorities have, for now, ceased the official investigation into the (laughable) idea that Christians are plotting to take over the country and make Christianity into the official religion. A followup on this story from May of this year; "Home Ministry confirms no case in Christianity becoming official religion," by Aaron Ngui, The Sun Daily, 17 October 2011: 

GEORGE TOWN (Oct 16, 2011): Investigations have found no evidence to support allegations of efforts to make Christianity the official religion of the country, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed.

At a press conference today, Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi said this was in Hishammuddin's written parliamentary reply to Kulim MP Zulkifli Noordin, and therefore there is no evidence to incriminate any individuals in the matter.

Ooi pointed out that the investigation papers had been referred to the Attorney General's (AG) Chambers and the case has been classified as NFA (no further action) by the deputy public prosecutor.

In other words, after more than five months of investigating involving government prosecutors and going all the way to a major government ministry, with thousands of man hours and an untold sum of money expended, only now are the Malaysian authorities ready to drop the case that had precious little merit in the first place. No one can assert that Islam's permanent sense of conspiracy-addled paranoia comes cheap.

Zakhir Mohamed, the author of the blog ‘bigdogdotcom’ first suggested the existence of the alleged conspiracy, reporting a hearsay account of a plan to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia and for a Christian to be Prime Minister.

The allegation was then featured on the front page of Utusan Malaysia on May 7. Another blog ‘Marahku’ also carried the allegation but later removed the posting.

Mind you, this entire government investigation was launched by Muslim bloggers who offered not a shred of proof. Additionally, these Muslim bloggers, the Utusan Malaysia (government owned) newspaper and other Muslims involved will likely face no punishment for their actions.

The second-class Christians of Malaysia may be in the clear, but it is safety of a very temporary kind. When the next whiff of a rumor of infidel malfeasance pops up -- which is 100% certain; it could happen as soon as tomorrow -- the mighty Muslim machine of justice will swing into action. Muslim brutalities are ignored and excused, but conspiracy theories? The Muslim mind is an indeed fertile place for that.

Cambodia's ban (or at least suspension) comes after a number of its citizens have been reported as being beaten and raped while working here in Malaysia. Funny how that keeps happening in majority Muslim countries -- poor people from third world countries endure working in brutal conditions that closely resemble slavery and the antebellum plantations of the old American South. Unless governments like Cambodia's intervene as has been done in this particular instance, the masses are compelled by poverty and persistent unemployment in their homelands to keep coming to work in Muslim lands, despite all the horror stories that these forsaken people have likely heard about what happens far too often to other non Muslim workers in Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan Muslim-occupied India, and others.

It is true that this Malaysian media article doesn't address the issue, but how many of these Cambodian maids were beaten, raped and otherwise brutalized by Muslims or Muslim employers while here in Malaysia? Consider that Malaysia already has a lengthy and sordid track record on human trafficking and systematically persecuting its own non Muslim population. And with the widespread depredations of Muslims towards non Muslims in other Muslim countries to also go by, we likely already have our answer. From "Cambodia stops its citizens from working as maids in Malaysia," The Star, 14 October 2011:

PHNOM PENH (Reuters): Cambodia has banned its citizens from going to work in Malaysia as maids, its prime minister said on Friday, following a series of horrific reports of beatings and rapes.

The order follows a similar ban imposed by Indonesia on its citizens from taking new jobs as domestic workers in Malaysia, where maids are common in middle class households, thanks in part to a large migrant labour pool.

“I would like to congratulate the prime minister for the suspension,” Cambodia opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party told Reuters after the decision by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodia's Community Legal Education Center, which is working with abused domestic workers, said there had been reports of three maids who were killed in Malaysia, and two were raped and kept in isolation, their passports held from them.

An Bunhak, president of the Association of Cambodian Recruiting Agencies, said it would uphold the order from the government to stop sending people to work as maids in Malaysia.

Islamic tolerance goes binary in Afghanistan: 1 Jew, 0 churches.

There were up to 40,000 Jews in Afghanistan in 1839. There were still 5000 in 1948. What an April Fool's prank it would be to call up Kabul next April 1 and claim Afghanistan's Jewish diaspora was claiming its "right of return," and the charter flights just landed.

And say "April Fool!" very quickly before they drew their weapons. "Only One Jewish Resident Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department," by Edwin Mora for CBN News, October 11:

(CNSNews.com) – There is only “one known Jewish resident” still living in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. State Department.

That is despite the fact that Jews have lived in Afghanistan for nearly three millenia, and had a local population that was 40,000 strong as of the mid-1800s, according to the Jewish Virtual Library, a division of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.

By 1996, when the Islamist Taliban regime came to power, there were only 10 Jews still living in Afghanistan.

By 2005, four years after the U.S. invaded the country and overthrew the Taliban, there were only two Jews still living in Afghanistan, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.

Now, the latest State Department Report on International Religious Freedom says: “There is one known Jewish Afghan” left in the country, “only one known Jewish resident.”

Afghanistan is 402,356 square miles in size and estmates of its population range from 24 to 33 million. “Reliable data on religious demography is not available because an official nationwide census has not been conducted in decades,” says the State Department report. “Observers estimated that 80 percent of the population is Sunni Muslim, 19 percent Shi'a Muslim, and other religious groups comprise less than 1 percent of the population.”

“According to self-estimates by these communities, there are approximately 3,000 Sikhs, more than 400 Baha'is, and 100 Hindu believers,” reads the report. “There is a small Christian community; estimates on its size range from 500 to 8,000. In addition, there are small numbers of adherents of other religious groups.”

As CNSNews.com reported earlier today, there are no public Christian churches left in Afghanistan, according to the State Department. The last Christian church was razed in 2010.

The last Jew in Afghanistan is known by name. Also, there is only one synagogue left in that country.

But the State Department report says that synagogue is no longer “in use for a lack of Jewish community.”

According to media reports, by the end of 2004 there were only two known Afghan Jews left in Afghanistan. But one died in 2005, leaving just one survivor.

According to the State Department, “in the 20th century, small communities of Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Sikhs lived in the country, although most members of these communities emigrated during the years of civil war and Taliban rule.”

“By the end of Taliban rule, non-Muslim populations had been virtually eliminated except for a small population of native Hindus and Sikhs,” reads the report. “Since the fall of the Taliban, some members of religious minorities have returned, many settling in Kabul.”

Israel and the United States were the primary destinations for Jews emigrating from Afghanistan.

"More than 10,000 Jews of Afghan descent now live in Israel," says the Jewish Virtual Library. "The second largest population of Afghan Jews is New York, with 200 families. [...]

According to the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, a Jewish presence in Afghanistan goes back around 2,700 years. While there were possibly 80,000 Jews in the region in the 12th century, the number was about 40,000 in 1839.

40,000 to 5,000 in just over 100 years:

“The decline came in 1870 after Afghan Muslim authorities enacted anti-Jewish measures, triggering a mass exodus to Central Asia, Persia and Palestine,” states the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. “The 1933 assassination of King Nadit Shah triggered another anti-Jewish campaign. Jews were banished from most Afghan cities, limiting them to Kabul, Balkh or Herat. In addition, Jews were forbidden to leave town without a permit and forced to pay special taxes.

Jizya, that is.

“By the time Israel was created in 1948, approximately 5,000 Jews remained in Afghanistan, but they could not legally immigrate. Once the restriction was lifted in 1951, most Afghan Jews made their way to Israel. By 1969, only 300 Jews lived in Afghanistan, most of whom left in 1979 after the Soviet invasion. In 1996, 10 Jews remained in Afghanistan, nearly all in Kabul. In 2005, there were two Jews in Afghanistan.”

And now there is only one.

Developments continue to emerge in regards to the raid that was not a raid conducted by the Malaysian religious thugs for Allah police on a Kuala Lumpur-area church last August. It seems that the Muslim authorities have made their final determinations as to what happened, and have proclaimed the infidels guilty of trying to proselytize to Muslims (which is illegal in Malaysia) by continuing to rely on what a Malaysian Catholic bishop refers to as 'dubious evidence'. What the bishop fails to realize is that under Shariah, the infidel is automatically presumed guilty, and Muslims are under no compunction to substantially prove anything; in fact a Muslim solely accusing a non Muslim of misconduct is prima facie evidence under Shariah. Americans would be well advised to remember this before allowing Islamic law to embed itself any deeper into the American legal system. From "Bishop: Hasan has been 'grossly negligent'", Malaysia Chronicle, 11 October 2011:

Catholic Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing (pic) today reminded Hasan Ali of PAS [Malaysia's Islamist Party], the Selangor minister for Islamic affairs, that he is a “an elected representative of a party that cannot rely on dubious evidence when accusing others of wrongdoing”.

Responding to Hasan’s opinion that yesterday’s statement by the Selangor sultan showed that there was Christian proselytisation of Muslims at a function hosted by a Christian group in August, the head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese said: “More than any other party, PAS has to be extremely fastidious about the evidence before preferring an accusation.”

He explained: “Need I remind him his party wants to implement a judicial system - at least in one state in the country - that in the terminal finality of the punishments it encompasses makes the sifting of evidence a matter of the gravest responsibility.

“In leaping to his conclusions in the matter of alleged Christian proselytisation of Muslims at the dinner hosted by the Damansara Utama Methodist Centre (DUMC), Hasan has been grossly negligent in respect of evidence evaluation.

“He has done a grave disservice to the cause of the judicial system his party is on record as propounding for the good of citizens in this country.

“People are going to look at the way he has leaped from arbitrary fact to accusatory conclusion in this matter and say what kind of system is his party propounding that allows a grave accusation to be preferred on a dubious evidentiary basis.”

Islam is the system that PAS favors and it, good sir, is a system of conquest and humiliation for the dhimmis (non Muslims) in accordance with Quran 9:29: "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day ... (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."

Bishop Paul Tan reminded Hasan that “not only in Selangor but every other state in Malaysia, his party is in contention with the supposedly corrupt and unprincipled”.

“Therefore it is incumbent upon him to hold himself to a higher standard of public conduct and exposition than of those he is in contention with.”

The bishop said he was “extremely dismayed” that Hasan has “now compounded his initial error committed last August when he leaped to a conclusion about what had allegedly happened at the DUMC function and was in peril of disciplinary action by his party”.

“Just because the Sultan of Selangor, against the better counsels of his constitutional role as non-partisan arbiter, has stooped to partisanship in this matter, it doesn’t mean the state minister of religion can ride pillion.

“The let-off his party afforded him when it did not take disciplinary action has become a licence for him to disport as he wishes. So much for a higher standard of conduct by a senior PAS legislator,” mused Bishop Paul Tan.

Malaysia's recent dust-up involving the theoretical non-implementation of hudud, or Shariah laws that govern apostasy, theft, consumption of alcohol, et cetera in this country has been nothing if not educational. Muslims, even the 'moderate' ones who are supposedly in abundance in this country, tell everyone that they as Muslims must support such a throwback, retrograde legal code, even though now is not (supposedly) the time to put such a despicable system into effect. Well, there's always tomorrow. Now comes word that a local Christian Archbishop has gone on record to state that he's more than happy with the promulgation of hudud laws, provided the Muslims mouth the necessary lies in advance. "Top Catholic bishop tells non-Muslims to support hudud in Kelantan", Malaysian Chronicle, 24 Sept 2011:

Sep 23 - A top Catholic bishop has thrown his support for the implementation of the Islamic criminal laws stipulating deterrent punishment on serious crimes, or hudud, in Kelantan, provided non-Muslims were given "a cast-iron guarantee that it will not be implemented on us".

In comments on the issue sparked by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's challenge to Kelantan Menteri Besar Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, said it was wise for non-Muslims not to oppose such laws among Muslims "if they so desire".

“I say it's time to allow Muslims in Kelantan, if they so desire, to implement shariah only for them and with that the hudud enactments provided non-Muslims are exempt from its implementation,” online news portal Malaysiakini quoted Dr Paul, also the titular head of Catholics in the Melaka-Johor diocese, as saying.

This archbishop is, at best, incredibly naive, as anyone who does a couple of minutes' worth of honest research on Shariah can readily attest to. Hudud, and by extension the rest of Shariah, are long proven to be never exclusively for Muslims, but for absolutely everyone, whether they like it or not. As Jihad Watch readers should know all too well, shariah has shown itself as a ruthless form of suffocating totalitarianism that spares no one and in particular victimizes non Muslims. The present-day paucity of Christians in their ancestral homelands of the Middle East should make unmistakably clear. Shariah equals persecution and institutionalized terror not just for the unfortunate non Muslims who fall under its jurisdiction, but for insufficiently pious Muslims as well.

So perhaps someone should inform the good archbishop that when infidels and useful idiots like himself schlep for Shariah, it's like brushing one's teeth with a loaded gun. It may not cause immediate harm, but in the medium to long term, it means certain extinction.

This is the other side of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's ongoing efforts to compel the West to criminalize "defamation of religion" -- that is, realistic and truthful portrayals of Islam. Once the foolish kuffar has done that, then this other shoe will eventually drop.

Islamic Tolerance Alert: "Religious Unity Regulation prohibits preaching a religion except Islam," from Haveeru Online, September 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

MALE, September 17 (HNS) – President’s Office has gazetted the controversial Religious Unity Regulation, declaring it an offence to preach a religion except Islam in the Maldives.

The 12-clause regulation makes it mandatory for preachers of Islam, both locals and foreigners, to have a first degree in a field of Islamic education from a ministry-approved college, university or centre....

The regulation, which instructs scholars to consider the social harmony, states practices that should be avoided in preaching Islam in the Maldives, including the practice of making comments in contradiction with prophetic traditions and majority view of the scholars....

The regulation also prohibits comments of hatred towards people of other religions, spreading a religion other than Islam and using an object that resembles a sign of a religion other than Islam.

A person who violates the regulation will be sentenced to 2-5 years in prison, banishment or house arrest.

Just one question: Why? "Pakistan Passes Obama's 'Religious Freedom' Test—After Sentencing Christian to Death," by Terrence P. Jeffrey for CNS News, September 16:

(CNSNews.com) - Pakistan, which has issued a death sentence to a Christian mother of five for allegedly blaspheming the prophet Mohammed, and which regularly prosecutes Christians for allegedly blaspheming Islam, has passed the religious freedom test imposed by the Obama administration.

The woman mentioned above is Asia Bibi, whose name every official on Capitol Hill ought to know.

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the U.S. government's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom this week, Pakistan was not listed among the so-called “Countries of Particular Concern”

“Secretary Clinton designated eight countries as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan,” said the report. “The Secretary applied CPC sanctions to six of these: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan.”

As U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Suzan Johnson Cook pointed out on Tuesday when Clinton released the religious freedom report, the International Religious Freedom Act “calls on the U.S. government to designate the worst violators of religious freedom as Countries of Particular Concern or 'CPCs.'"

“The President's authority to designate CPCs has been delegated to the Secretary of State,” Cook said.

Clinton did not designate Pakistan even though the State Department’s own report stated that Pakistani law calls for the death penalty for people who commit “blasphemy” against Islam or who convert from Islam to another religion--and even though the report listed multiple instances of the Pakistani government using the law to persecute Christians.

“The [Pakistani] constitution and other laws and policies restricted religious freedom and, in practice, the government enforces these restrictions,” says the State Department report.

“Freedom of speech was subject to ‘reasonable’ restrictions in the interest of the ‘glory of Islam,’ as stipulated in sections 295(a), (b), and © of the penal code,” says the report.

“The consequences of contravening the country’s blasphemy laws were death for defiling Islam or the prophets; life imprisonment for defiling, damaging, or desecrating the Qur’an; and 10 years imprisonment for insulting ‘another’s religious feelings,’” says the report.

Christians are the top target of these Pakistani laws. “Laws prohibiting blasphemy continued to be used against Christians,” says the State Department report.

In the latter half of 2010, the report says, 24 blasphemy cases were registered in Pakistani courts. Ten were brought against Christians, seven against Hindus, three against Ahmadis and only four against Muslims.

Also, according to the State Department, the government schools in Pakistan denigrate members of non-Muslim religions, including Jews....

REVIEW OF
PAUL B. FENTON and DAVID G. LITTMAN
L’EXIL AU MAGHREB. LA CONDITION JUIVE SOUS L’ISLAM 1148-1912.
PUPS [PRESSES DE L’UNIVERSITÉ PARIS-SORBONNE] PARIS, 2010.
792pp. Illustrated [Black and White Photos and Color Plates]. Maps. List of Illustrations. Bibliography. Glossary [of Hebrew and Arabic Terms], Index of Names, Index of Places, Analytical Table of Contents. [In French]
by Ibn Warraq

Abraham Ibn Ezra, Hebrew scholar and polymath, left Andalusia in 1140 C.E., just before the invasion of the Almohads, a particularly violent and bigoted Islamic dynasty of North Africa and Spain [reigned 1130-1269], which destroyed so many Jewish communities and towns. He wrote a lament on this destruction of North African and Hispanic settlements:

“I weep like an ostrich for Lucena [cf. Lam.4:3 and Mic. 1:8].
Her remnant dwelt innocent and secure…
Alas, the city of Cordoba is forsaken, her ruin as vast as the sea!
Her sages and learned men perished from hunger and thirst.
Not a single Jew was left in Jaen or Almeria;
Majorca and Málaga struggle to survive…
I cry out like a woman in labor for the congregation of Sjilmasa—
A city where genius and wisdom flourished; their brilliance obscured the darkness….
Woe, the congregation of Fez is no more; this day they are given to the plunderer;
Where is the protection for the congregation of Tlemsan?
Its glory is melted away.
A bitter voice I raise over the fate of Ceuta and Meknes;
I rend my garments for Dar‘ī already vanquished…"[1]

Ibn Ezra’s elegy serves as a sad but fitting motto to Paul Fenton and David Littman’s scholarly and indispensable survey of the plight of Jews in North West Africa [Maghreb] under Islam between 1148-1912. No two scholars could be better qualified than Fenton and Littman for such an immense task. Paul Fenton is Assistant Director of the Department of Arabic and Hebrew Studies at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, where he is also Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature. He is a world authority on Jewish Civilization under Islam, and author of Moïse ibn Ezra, philosophe et poète andalou du XIIeme siècle (1997); and Juda ibn Malka. La Consolation de l’expatrié spirituel.

David Littman, with a B.A. and an M.A. degree in Modern History and Political Science from Trinity College, Dublin, began his research on this subject in 1970, first in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministère des Affaires Étrangères Français), more informally known as le Quai d’Orsay, and secondly, in the extraordinary archives of The Alliance Israélite Universelle [AIU]; a Paris-based international Jewish organization created in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to defend the human rights of Jews around the world; it promotes the ideals of Jewish self-defense and self-sufficiency. The motto of the organization is Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh -- "All Jews bear responsibility for one another." The AIU wished to advance the Jews of the Middle East through education and culture, and to that end established schools, so that by 1900 it was running 100 schools with a combined student population of 26,000. The bulk of the schools were in Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. [2]

Nor did David Littman forget the archives of the Foreign Office in London, U.K. Littman has published numerous articles on the Jews of North West Africa and the Orient. Of particular relevance is Littman’s pioneering monograph on Sir Moses Montefiore’s mission to Morocco between 1863-1864, which appeared in 1985 in a volume commemorating the centenary of Sir Moses. Since 1986, he has dedicated himself to defending Human Rights at the United Nations in Geneva in his capacity as representative of several non-governmental organisations.

The book is dedicated to the memory of Hayyim Zeev Hirschberg [1903-1976], the eminent historian of North West African Judaism. Littman began a collaboration with Hirschberg in the 1970s which was unfortunately cut short by the latter’s premature death in 1976. Nonetheless, Hirschberg instilled in Littman the importance of the archives of the AIU which were to provide irrefutable proof of the abject condition of the Jews in the Maghreb in the Nineteenth Century, destroying along the way a number of myths that were current up to that time.

This work will surely become the definitive source book on its subject -- supplemented perhaps with some details, but unlikely ever to be completely superseded. All further research on North African Jewry surely must begin here. It is organized along principles established by such scholars as Jacob Landau in his Jews in Nineteenth-Century Egypt [1969], and Bat Ye’or in her Le Dhimmi: Profil de l’opprimé en Orient et en Afrique du Nord [1980]; that is to say, each work begins with an historical introduction that summarises and surveys the entire period in question. It is then followed by the original documents from the various archives. While Jacob Landau is content to provide the documents in their original languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, and French), Fenton and Littman (and for that matter Bat Ye’or) have translated all the documents into French, have carefully noted and annotated each source. In a series of scholarly footnotes each contributor – traveller, historian, diplomat, poet -- is identified, and his biographical details, which are quite substantial in some cases, are given. Obscure terms, and characters that flit through the extracts are explained, and brought to light. The book is a pleasure to handle physically -- a feast for the intellect as well as the eyes, and other senses since it is printed on glossy paper (accounting for the book’s weight of over three pounds). It is illustrated with ten colour plates of paintings by Delacroix, Alfred Dehodencq, Du Nouÿ, and others, and sixty three black and white pictures of places, events, and copies of documents.

The source material is divided geographically, (North West Africa generally, then Algeria and Morocco) and into two parts. First, we have the historical and literary sources [part A,of which there are 135 extracts], and then the truly archival material [Part B, of which there are 185 extracts]. The greatest amount of material comes from the nineteenth century, though we have startling eyewitness accounts from the twelfth century onwards. Unlike Algeria, we possess many contemporary Jewish accounts of their situation under Islam in Morocco, particularly from the 1850s onwards. It is unfortunately a story of pillage, the torching of synagogues, the burning of Hebrew sacred texts, the rape and abduction of Jewish women and murders.

To give an example, I shall quote from the original eighteenth century English source that is translated into French in Fenton and Littman’s book:

“It has been observed in squabbles among them, or when a poor Man falls out with his ass, that the first name is carran (i.e.) cuckold, then he calls him son of a Jew…." [p.45]

“In the middle of the City live the Jews, having a Place to themselves, the Gates of which are locked at Night, which Privilege they also have in most of the Cities of this Emperor's Dominions. They have an Alcayde to guard their Gates, and protect them against the Common-People, who otherwise would plunder them; for they live in great Subjection, it being Death for them to curse, or lift up a Hand against the meanest Moor, so that the Boys kick them about at their Pleasure, against which they have no other Remedy but to run away, away, they are obliged to pull off their Shoes whenever they pass by a Mosque, and to wear black Cloaths and Caps; nor are they allowed the use of Horses; for Ben Hattar himself (tho' he had Power over Life and Death) was always forced to ride a Mule…” [p.185]

The source is John H. Windus, A Journey to Mequinez, the Residence of the Present Emperor of Fez and Morocco, On the Occasion of Commodore Stewart’s Embassy thither for the Redemption of the British Captives in the Year 1721. London, Jacob Tonson, 1725. Fenton and Littman’s footnote explains that Ben Hattar [died 1724] was a Jewish merchant from Meknès, often employed by the Emperor Mawlay Isma‘il as financial advisor in his diplomatic negotiations. In 1721, he negotiated, notably, a commercial treaty with the British Commodore Stewart.

A further footnote tells us all that we would wish to know about John H.Windus. The latter [fl. 1725] was a historian who accompanied Commodore Charles Stewart, who had been sent to negotiate the release of three hundred English captives. Windus gathered much material on the country in the four months he spent there. Windus’ account was the second ever published in English on Morocco (after that of Addison). His book went through several editions and generated a great deal of interest, particularly Windus’s recitation of the daily life in the Moroccan countryside.

Even a cursory glance at the analytical table of contents gives a grim picture of the situation of Jews in the Maghreb. Confining ourselves to Nineteenth Century Morocco, here is a rapid tour d’horizon:

SUFFERANCE IN ISOLATION (1800-1860)

A 70: The inequality of Jews in front of the Law (Fez, c.1800)
A 71: The Jews of Morocco live in a state of slavery of the most horrible kind. (1803)
A.72: The Sultan exempts a Jewish interpreter from wearing distinctive clothing. (Marrakech. c.1806)
A.73: Jews cannot leave Morocco without imperial authorisation. (1808)
A.74: The payment of Jizya described by an American navigator. (Mogador, 1815)
A.75: Constraint imposed on Jews (c.1820)
A.76: The sack of the Jewish Quarter of Fez as seen by a Muslim chronicler (1820)

Now some examples from the archives:

THE RISE IN PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS OF THE MAGHREB, AND THE HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION OF EUROPEAN JEWS (1863-1864).

B.3 Persecutions at Chechaouan (1864)
B.4 Persecutions of Jews of Demnate (1864)
B.5 The persecutions continue despite the protection of France (1864)
B.6. Disastrous consequences of the events of Safi (1864)
B.7 In the footsteps of Moses Montefiore.

I hope I have been able to give an idea of the riches of material gathered in this remarkable collection. I trust that eventually an English translation will appear, since the contents deserve the widest possible dissemination.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Abraham Ibn Ezra : Twilight of a Golden Age: Selected Poems of Abraham Ibn Ezra, edited and translated by Leon J. Weinberger. Tuscaloosa (Alabama): University of Alabama Press, 1997, pp.3-.4

[2] Notes from the excellent article from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_Israélite_Universelle

"Perhaps [the assailants] have been emboldened by the flabbiness of the state in dealing with them." Indeed, behavior that is rewarded tends to be repeated. "HRCP alarmed by assault on non-Muslims," from The Nation, September 10 (thanks to Twostellas):

LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed acute concern at serious excesses against non-Muslims in Pannu Aqil, Sindh. A statement issued by the Commission on Friday said: “HRCP is extremely distressed and shocked at the atrocities reported against non-Muslims residents of Pannu Aqil.

HRCP has received reports of houses burnt, property looted and women violated. This is absolutely intolerable. Those who commit excesses against non-Muslims are among the worst enemies of Pakistan, but perhaps they have been emboldened by the flabbiness of the state in dealing with them.

The government must intervene to save the citizens from this savagery and try those who riled up and led the mob to attack the non-Muslims and heaped shame upon the nation by their barbaric actions.”

The message they send: Your life is cheap, and we're entitled to your self-sacrifice. Also in this report is a major escalation against Ahmadis in Pakistan, with the emergence of a hit list of 50 of their members, following the recent demolition of an Ahmadi mosque. "Islamabad discriminates against non-Muslim war heroes," by Jibran Khan for Asia News, September 7:

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - Discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan also affects non-Muslim war heroes, protagonists of the battles in the 1965 conflict between Pakistan and India. Their names do not appear in history books, textbooks, or celebrations which Islamabad organizes every year to remember those who sacrificed their lives for their country. Meanwhile the summary execution of Ahmadis continues in the country, in the complete indifference of police and government who have failed to intervene to stem the violence. So much so, that an Islamic extremist group has issued a list with the names of 50 Ahmadi faithful to kill, in order to gain "preferential access to paradise."

On 6 September, Pakistan commemorates the 1965 war with India during which heroes who sacrificed their lives for their country are remembered. However, every year the authorities ignore the sacrifice of many non-Muslims, who have fought and died for their country. The discrimination and humiliation that religious minorities of a nation held hostage by the Islamic fundamentalism are subjected to also affect those who have contributed to the birth and survival of Pakistan.

To protest against government censorship and the exclusion of non-Muslims in the armed forces of the country, the Lahore based humanitarian organization Life for All organized a seminar focusing on the heroes of war who were Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus and of other religions. Among others, the Air Force Commander Cecil Chaudhry, and Major General Israel Noel Khok. Rizwan Paul, an activist of Life for All, said that "the government has obscured the service rendered by religious minorities", in addition to having their names omitted "in the history books and textbooks." Instead, he intends to "pay homage to these great names, for their impeccable service to Pakistan."

Fr. Edward Joseph, of the Diocese of Lahore echoes this call and also reminds the Government continued incidents of exclusion, violence and abuse that Pakistani Hindus, Ahmadis, Christians, and Jews face. In addition to the notorious blasphemy laws, the priest recalls an incident that occurred recently: two Christian brothers who were forbidden to play in a music club in town "because they are Christians." And their father, he says, is a lieutenant colonel in the service of the Pakistani army. "How long will this continue?" Fr. Joseph asks disconsolately.

But violent episodes also target other minorities, among them the Ahmadis, a Muslim sect considered heretical because it does not recognize Muhammad as the last prophet. On September 5 last Naseen Ahmad Butt was shot dead in broad daylight in Faisalabad, by four students of the Islamic extremist movement the Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Federation,. The man's name, an Ahmadi, was included in a list containing 50 names of members of religious minority. Accompanied by a message that "the person who kill [sic] these 50 Ahmadis, will gain preferential access to paradise."

The police and the Punjab government have covered up the case, by not punishing the perpetrators of the murder and the authors of the list of defenseless civilians to be killed. Fr. John Isaac, of the diocese of Faisalabad, points the finger at the provincial government of Punjab guilty of providing "a golden refuge " to extremists and the Taliban. "Hate and extremism - confirms the priest - are becoming the trademark of our society."

Recent events in Malaysia -- i.e. various outrages and provocations committed by Muslims officially or non-officially towards non Muslims -- have, as is often delicately put, 'raised tensions' between Malaysian Muslims and its various non Muslim minorities. More specifically, these recent events have exposed the fiction that Malaysia is one 'harmonious' multi-ethnic and multi-religious society as being more phony than ever.

The Official Malaysian-Muslim Establishment has responded in two ways: first, by promising an 'investigation' into biggest recent outrage, namely the recent inspection of a church by the Islamic religious police (which may or may not involve or talk to the 'infidels' who actually own the church that was raided in the first place), and secondly, a propaganda offensive via the vetted government-approved mainstream media. The best and brightest of the Malays are on the case, and what one of them has to say may surprise you. Or perhaps not. From "Forging unity through religion", by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, The Star, 24 August 2011:

Universal values shared by all religions should be the fount of unity in a multi-religious society.

Is religion in multi-religious Malaysia a force for unity or disunity? This is an important question to ask at this juncture since religion has assumed tremendous significance in the public arena in recent times.

In the first decade and a half of our independence, religion was not perceived as a hindrance to national unity. The Constitution recognised Islam as the religion of the Federation.

It was an affirmation of the identity of the new nation which had evolved from Muslim Sultanates. If this identity was not acknowledged, the Malay-Muslim populace would have felt that the Malaysian state had not taken cognisance of their identity as a people.

Of course, then as now, violence would have resulted, and does result, whenever the Malay-Muslims feel that their Islamic identity is in any way infringed or 'threatened'. And it doesn't take much for that to happen -- all a Christian has to do is say 'Allah' a few times, and before you know it, churches start going up in flames. But I digress.

However, the relatively tension free coexistence among the majority and minority religious communities of the first 15 years, began to witness some strains from the 1980s onwards.

This is about the same time that a certain infamous Malaysian, terrorist apologist and notorious anti Semite named Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister. Coincidence?

Often, in situations like this where interaction gives rise to friction, segments within a religious community become more conscious of religious boundaries. Any breach of what is sometimes an artificially constructed boundary arouses passions and heightens tensions.

Yup, that 'friction' just mysteriously arises. Passions get 'aroused'. Never mind which religious group that is always getting riled up and 'aroused' in the first place.

There will be no solution to controversies such as child conversion as long as one accords primacy to religious injunctions that have developed over time rather than the perennial values and principles of the Quran.

Which Quranic values is our wise Doctor referring to? The slaying of infidels wherever they are found? The beating of women? Does he mean those values?

Anyway, the good Doctor soon dispenses with his monkeyshine and warms to his main theme -- all these 'religious tensions' that keep arising between Muslims and everyone else in Malaysia are not the fault of Muslims at all.

If a certain mindset within a segment of the Muslim population is a barrier to national unity, so is a certain movement within the growing Christian community. Evangelical Christians determined to spread Christianity are becoming more zealous.

Non-Muslim communities are their main targets in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak. But there is increasing evidence to suggest that Malays are also being approached in spite of the constitutional provision that restricts “the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.”

Of course! Muslims reserve the right to proselytize to everybody everywhere (which in this country is funded by infidels), but the Evangelical Christians dare to demand the same? Outrageous! Religious freedom for us, for not for unbelievers -- our religion forbids it. To a Muslim, the Golden Rule is apparently for suckers.

The evangelical push in Malaysia and other parts of the world has a lot to do with the rise of what is broadly described as the Christian Right in the United States.

For the Christian Right exporting their brand of the religion serves to strengthen the global hegemonic power of the US.

When in doubt, blame America, and you're never wrong.

As Iain Buchannan shows in his superb academic study of this movement entitled “The Armies of God”, converting Muslims to Christianity is one of the evangelist's cherished goals.

Since Muslims worldwide have always resisted conversion, the tactics employed are more subtle and sophisticated.

Many Christian groups in Malaysia and other countries are opposed to this sort of evangelism.

Christians dare to convert Muslims using peaceful methods? How culturally insensitive! But let's hope this Buchannan fellow is correct. And speaking of conversion, if Muslims are so resistant to it, as the author claims, then why are Muslims and Muslim governments everywhere so touchy about 'protecting Muslims' from 'corrupt infidel beliefs'? After all, that's why the Malaysian government banned Muslims from practicing yoga a few years ago. As for the local Christians, they apparently meet with the Doctor's approval for being tame and truly dhimmified.

They know that it is not only a betrayal of the essence of Jesus' message of love, compassion and justice but also inimical to harmonious relations among different religious communities. They emphasise universal values shared by Christianity, Islam and other religions.

It is these shared values that should be the fount of unity in a multi-religious society.

They underscore our common humanity. If religions through the deeds of their adherents bring forth our common humanity, they will help forge unity in this land that we call our home.

> Dr Chandra Muzaffar is chairman of the board of trustees, Yayasan 1Malaysia and Professor of Global Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

This Muslim has the unbelievable chutzpah to tell evangelical Christians -- and all Christians, really -- that they misunderstand Jesus' message. Apparently, to this so-called doctor, the only 'real' Christians are the ones that meekly submit to church 'inspections', second class status, and the overriding agenda of Islamic supremacy.

If this taqiyya master 'doctor' Muzaffar wants 'unity', then the only unity he plainly seeks is the kind with a distinctly Islamic hue.

2011 is shaping up to be yet another ill-starred year for the dhimmis (non Muslims) of Malaysia. If it isn't getting their Bibles seized by the authorities in carload lots, then it's blasphemous rumors (in the government-backed media) of the Christians supposedly wanting to make a Christian the prime minster and/or make Christianity the official religion of the country. Last month, the Islamist party PAS threatened to shut down all restaurants and other 'entertainment venues' in a Malaysian state they controlled, all in order to ensure that Muslims remain sufficiently pious during the 'Holy Month' of Ramadan.

The latest misfortune to befall the infidels was recent infamous raid 'inspection' on what might be an 'unauthorized' church that was conducted by Malaysia's Thugs for Allah (Religious Police).  Several Muslims had the misfortune to be caught red-handed in the act of attending a Christian-sponsored fundraiser for a local AIDS charity. Now, the Christians have been 'revealed' by government-backed media sources to be nefarious plotters of the worse kind, bent on illegally proselytizing to vulnerable Muslims (i.e. Muslim schoolchildren).  

How could this possibly get worse?  Well, finding another way to offend followers of the Religion of the Perpetually Offended is never too difficult, and a local newspaper found one. From "Home Ministry reprimands The Star over supplement", The Star, 16 Aug 2011:​

PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein has reprimanded The Star over the publication of articles on non-halal restaurants with buka puasa [the meal Muslims have in the evenings during Ramadan to break their daytime fasts] stories in its “Dining Out” supplement.

He said the newspaper should be more sensitive on such matters and exercise extra care on issues related to race and religion.

“The mainstream media should be more responsible and try to avoid offending any community. They should know their limits and must not follow the style of online media,” he said at a press conference at his ministry.

Trying to avoid offending 'any community' meaning not offending one community in particular, of course.

Hishammuddin met The Star executive director and group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai for 45 minutes to listen to the action taken by the daily to ensure that there would be no repeat of such errors.

Wong also met ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mahmood Adam and deputy secretary-general (security) Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Radzi to explain the error and hand over the reply to the ministry's show-cause letter.

Wong said the newspaper had suspended its supplements editor and was conducting an internal inquiry chaired by former industrial court president Yussof Ahmad.

He said The Star sincerely apologised for the mistake and the daily had no intention to demean Islam and the Muslim community.

With a senior government minster meeting directly with a newspaper editor, you'd think that the newspaper had done something horribly illegal, like printing government secrets or something. Nevertheless, let us be reassured by the fact that certainly no one at The Star had any intention to demean Mighty and Noble Islam (or Muslims). The only real question is this: was 45 minutes enough time for the dhimmi to grovel to his Muslim overlords? One can only hope.

The recent church raid in Malaysia by the Muslim lifestyle police (i.e. 'Jais') is highly instructive. As my fellow Malaysian counterjihad blogger Timothy Leif at Scribes Malaysia has eloquently put it, it shows that Sharia is not just 'for' Muslims -- it's for everybody. Whether you like it or not. From "JAIS: Sharia For Non-Muslims (At Least) Since 1988", Timothy Leif, Scribes Malaysia, 9 August 2011 (reproduced with Mr. Leif's permission here):

The latest turn in the JAIS-DUMC [Damansara Utama Methodist Church] debacle reads: 1988 state law allows JAIS to act against non-Muslims

(Bar Council chief) Lim said there were four existing state Islamic legislation that give the authorities wide powers to act on religious matters, namely:

• Enakmen Jenayah Syariah (Selangor) 1995 [Shariah criminal enactment]
• Enakmen Ugama Bukan Islam, 1988 [Enactment for religions other than Islam]
• Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003; and
• Syariah Criminal Procedure (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.

How wide-reaching are such powers? Well.

The Selangor’s Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment(The second enactment in the list), which outlines offences deemed as acts of proselytisation by non-Muslims towards Muslims, grants the religious authorities powers to launch investigations and arrest individuals without producing a warrant.

That’s you they’re talking about, proselytisers!

Some offences include the persuasion or incitement of Muslims to convert, to receive instructions or to participate in any activity for the benefit of any non-Islamic religion; if non-Muslims communicate with a Muslim for the purpose of subjecting the latter to any speech on a non-Islamic religion; if a person uses certain prohibited words to describe any belief pertaining to any non-Islamic religion, and others.

Otherwise known as de facto syariah supremacy.

Take a gander at some of the comments below the article and you will find those who insist on forbidding non-Muslims to weigh in on the matter even though the syariah enactments affect non-Muslims.

But, really, all this isn’t news. From the Pact of Umar, circa 7th Century, a peace accord between the Caliph Umar and Syrian Christians:

We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks’ cells, nor shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.

Wonder why permits to build churches is one of the hardest things to come by in Malaysia—let alone having one that resembles a church, or display any loud-and-proud Christian symbols?

We shall not manifest our religion publicly nor convert anyone to it. We shall not prevent any of our kin from entering Islam if they wish it.

Proselytisation: A one-way journey since the 7th century.

We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of their garments, the qalansuwa, the turban, footwear, or the parting of the hair. We shall not speak as they do, nor shall we adopt their kunyas.

We shall not engrave Arabic inscriptions on our seals.

I’m sure using ‘Allah’ in Malay [language] Bibles counts as an offence [link added] in this case.

We shall not display our crosses or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims.

We shall show respect toward the Muslims, and we shall rise from our seats when they wish to sit.

You get the idea. Such a relationship survives until this day, thanks to the dhimma who continue to aid and abet such master-servant relationships (MCA [Malaysian Chinese Association, one of the dhimmi auxiliaries to Malaysia's ruling party] gave its thumbs-up to impose the 1988 enactments). Ignorance is to some quarters, indeed, bliss.

Ignorance of the true nature of Islam is also bliss in many quarters outside of Malaysia.

The recent brutal religious police raid on a Malaysian church is proving to be a watershed moment, a moment that, for Christians in Malaysia, is showing just how bad the persecution in their own country has become. Even Malaysia's Christians have begun to notice. From "Upset, Christians tell each other to pray for a change in government", by Dana Kay, Malaysia Chronicle, 8 August 2011.

A Head Elder, Senior Pastor Ambrouse Linang who is also the Secretary-General of the Association of Churches in Sarawak expressed shock at the continuation of the Christian attacks, commenting that it made nonsense of [Prime Minister] Najib's recent high-profile visit to the Vatican.

“Paranoid is the word. It has become a norm for some Muslim to over-react over rumors or hearsay. This government used to say Muslims all over the world are being persecuted. Look at us Christian, are we not being persecuted in our own country?"

Christian parish council member, Ding worried about the Christians' freedom of worship in Malaysia. “It appears to be getting worst by the year. A wise government unites its entire people, not divide them. It is time for Christian to rise and pray together for a better government and for a better country, not a government which is so bent on making the races suspicious and scared of each other,” she said.

Malaysia's Christians sole remaining defense appears to be to depend on the power of prayer to maintain what few shreds of freedom they have left.

Meanwhile, the Muslims are closing ranks to defend the actions of the defenders of Allah. From "Islamic groups defend Jais raid", By Lisa J. Ariffin, The Malaysian Insider, August 08, 2011:

Several Islamic groups have united in support of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on a church in Petaling Jaya last Wednesday which has sparked an outcry.

Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam (Pembela) leader Dr Yusri Mohamed said today that Jais did not “storm”, “raid” and “barge” into the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) as portrayed in the media.

Why would a organization named 'Muslim Organizations in Defence of Islam' be necessary? Who is 'attacking' Islam in Malaysia, exactly? The Christians? The Buddhists? The Hindus?

“Based on information obtained from Jais, the reason for inspection was to see if there were Muslims present during the function and to make sure there was no derogation of Islam,” Yusri told reporters here.

“The operation was carried out in accordance to principles and provisions of existing law.”

What exactly is considered to be 'derogation' here? The fact that Muslims are in a church, receiving aid from Christians? And of course the thuggish action the inspection such as that carried out by religious police is legal and never a derogation of any kind, permitted by laws that were written by Muslims. As the principles and provisions of existing Malaysian law are written in order to maintain Islamic supremacy in perpetuity, what is the moral worth of such laws? What is the use of following an unjust law in an unjust system that guarantees the supremacy of Islam?

From the 'Being Islamic means never having to say you're sorry" department:

After the Malaysian lifestyle slash religious police raided a Christian church during a 'multi-racial' dinner there -- a raid based on the flimsiest of pretexts -- the (Muslim) authorities are not backing down one inch. From 'Hasan Ali backs JAIS raid on church', The Star, 4 August 2011:

PETALING JAYA: Selangor state exco member Datuk Hasan Ali of PAS has defended Wednesday night's raid by the State Religious Department (JAIS) [religious police] on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church.

"We found evidence of proselytisation towards Muslims," he said in a statement Thursday.

"We carried out the raid after receiving information that there were Muslims who attended a breaking-of-fast event at the church.

"In the early part of the event, a person was quoted saying the words 'Quran' and 'pray' in the speech," he added.

It was reported earlier Thursday that JAIS officials, accompanied by police, had raided the church during a thanksgiving dinner being held at its rented premises over suspicion that Muslims were present.

The raid did have a positive side, at least as far as Islam (not the Muslims involved) is concerned. Twelve Muslims who attended the dinner have been ordered to appear at the religious police HQ for what is termed as 'further investigation'. No doubt these wayward Muslims will become much more pious after their sentences have been handed down by the shariah court and duly carried out.

In accordance with the wishes of Allah, all Muslims are perpetual minors. It is the job of the fascistic system that their ideology mandates to keep it so.

The dhimmis, of course, are less than amused. From "Raided church wants action against Jais for trespass, harassment", Debra Chong for The Malaysian Insider, 4 August:

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) has called on all Malaysians to lend support and object to what it called the authorities’ breach of their constitutional right to assemble freely, after it was raided by Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) officials and the police last night.

In a statement today, DUMC’s senior pastor Daniel Ho related how a group of 20 to 30 of Selangor’s religious police had entered its rented premises at the Dream Centre in Petaling Jaya late last night without a warrant and intimidated invited guests, including Muslims, at its private dinner celebration.

They have subjected all guests at the Thanksgiving Dinner to undue harassment,” he said, noting that not all the enforcement group were in uniform and had failed to produce a copy of the complaint when asked for the reason for the raid.

Ho stressed that the dinner was non-religious in nature but held to celebrate the work of non-profit organisation Harapan Komuniti in helping women, children, HIV/AIDS sufferers and victims of natural disasters.

“We call on all Malaysians not to condone this breach of freedom of assembly and association as provided by provided Article 10 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, but to live in mutual trust and love, to promote peace, harmony and unity in the true spirit of 1 Malaysia,” he said.

Pastor Ho, you think the constitution that you revere contravenes the laws of Allah as (supposedly) codified in Shariah? You think '1Malaysia' means equality of infidel and Muslim? Think again.

This article in the Malaysian government media mouthpiece 'The Star' vainly tries to downplay the slow-motion economic catastrophe otherwise known as the ongoing Chinese exodus from Malaysia. "Decrease in Chinese population ‘purely arithmetic’", by Mazwin Nik Anis and Lee Yen Mun, The Star, July 31, 2011:

PETALING JAYA: The Chinese population in the country has declined by 2% last year from the figure recorded in the 2000 population census.

However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the report did not necessarily mean there were fewer births.

The percentage of Chinese might look like it was getting smaller when a census was carried out, but he stressed that this was “purely arithmetic”.

According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census report, the Chinese constitute 24.6% of Malaysia’s 28.3 million population while 67.4% were bumiputra [i.e Muslim], Indians (7.3%) and others (0.7%).

In the 2000 population census, the Chinese made up 26% of the country’s 23.27 million population.

When the census was carried out in 1991, the Chinese community made up 28.1% of the country’s 18.38 million population.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall president Tan Yew Sing said the declining Chinese population was a natural trend due to urban culture.

He said more Chinese were moving to the urban areas, where they preferred to raise smaller families.

“A significant portion of the Chinese community is also known to migrate overseas,” said Tan.

Geez, it's just one of those things -- the Chinese migrate. What could the reason be for this? Naturally, it's a complete mystery to the writer of this article, the apparently clueless officials quoted therein, and to most Malaysians reading this piece. And furthermore, the Malaysian government would almost certainly prefer that we not wonder too much about why the Chinese would prefer to leave rather than stay. But for anyone familiar with the long and tragic record of non Muslims in Muslim-ruled countries -- the Hindus of Pakistan, the Jews of Iran, the Christians of Egypt, and many others over the centuries -- the reason for such population transfers is no mystery.  Is it any wonder that the persecuted, second-class residents of Malaysia, the Chinese dhimmis, are leaving and have been for a very long time?

Prime Minister Najib's disingenuous "1Malaysia" rhetoric notwithstanding, there is no chance that the Chinese will be treated with true equality in Malaysia, as equal citizens of their own country, no matter how many elections take place, no matter who the Chinese vote for, and no matter which set of Muslims (UMNO or the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition) is in charge. Islamic supremacism, the placement of Islam at the centre of national life, the persecution of non Islamic belief systems, the primacy of Shariah law, are not up for discussion nor debate of any kind. So, as they cannot vote any other way, non Muslims under Islamic suzerainty have but one choice -- voting with their feet. And it's a choice the Malaysian dhimmis are continuing to avail themselves of.

At the rate the Chinese are leaving (two percent per decade), it looks like Malaysia will run low on, or run out of, the two most crucial driving forces for its economy -- the entrepreneurial, dynamic, and wealthy Chinese minority, and its petroleum reserves -- at around the same time, which is probably sometime in the second half of the 21st century. Poverty is sure to follow, but hey -- at least the impoverished Malaysian Muslims of the future will then have a more purely Islamic nation as their home.

Islamic law forbids a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man, although a Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim woman. The idea is to ensure that the Islamic community is always growing, and the non-Muslim community always in decline.

By the way, I suspect that this woman's name is Asma, not "Asthma," and that the latter is an unfortunate spell-check correction for the former. "Muslim woman forced to flee for marrying a Christian," by Jibran Khan for Asia News, July 21 (thanks to C. Cantoni):

Islamabad (AsiaNews) - The religious intolerance that is destroying Pakistan continues unabated. The latest case in point is that of a couple comprising a Christian and a Muslim, who married without the consent of the families of origin and are now forced to live on the run from one place to another for fear of violence. The bishop of Islamabad has defended them: "Marriage should be free. The state must guarantee them freedom of choice. "

The pair is composed of Asthma Zubaida, a Muslim, and Basharat Masih, a Christian. Both lived in the town of Gujranwala, where they met and fell in love: the first was a teacher in the local government school, while Masih was an official of the Department of the school administration. Without parental consent, they were married in September 2010: since then have started to receive frequent death threats forcing them to flee.

The newlyweds have sought police help. Malik Arif, a police officer, said: "We have been contacted for assistance, they claimed the situation was life threatening. In fact, their complaint explains that her family attacked Masih a couple of months ago, when they discovered the marriage. The attacks also targeted the family of Christians. " "They too have been forced to flee."

One of Masih’s relatives, anonymous for security reasons, said: "We have been threatened, our home came under attack, they have even arrived at throwing stones at us from the street That Basharat is obviously more at risk: they want him dead. We asked for help, but nobody paid any attention to us: neither the police nor the local politicians. " Despite the fact she gave police a statement confirming that the marriage took place without any constraint.

Maulana Muhammad Sultan Haider, a Muslim scholar in Islamabad says that this "does not change anything. Only a Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman, because it would water down future generations. I condemn this marriage, I call it illegal, these two could be killed for what they did. "...

Shariah courts in Malaysia, or anywhere else, do not exist to serve the 'public', nor to safeguard anyone's 'rights'.  This is especially true for those seen as less than worthy by Islamic scripture (women, apostates, non Muslims, gays, etc etc etc).  Rather, Shariah courts exist solely to protect and advance the cause of Islam.

So woe betides anyone who has an actual grievance and tries, in good faith, to navigate the twisted, unjust world known as Shariah. Rest assured, such a person will find that the deck is stacked against him/her, as a Malaysian female apostate recently discovered, no doubt to her chagrin. But anyone familiar with Shariah, or with how Shariah courts operate, should hardly be surprised.

But first some background. In 2005, the compound of an eccentric but otherwise mostly harmless cult called 'Sky Kingdom' was savagely attacked by a Muslim mob. Shortly thereafter the cult compound was bulldozed on orders of Malaysia's 'moderate' Muslim government. In the years since then, many of the cultists, having had the misfortune to be 'born' Muslim, were arrested and tried by the Shariah courts for 'apostasy'.

One of the cultists thus arrested was a Malay woman named Kamariah Ali. In an attempt to be recognized as a non Muslim and avoid likely imprisonment for apostasy, Ms. Kamariah tried to obtain permission from the Shariah courts to leave Islam. From "Malaysian 'teapot cult' woman loses Islam legal bid", by BBC News, 19 July 2011:

Malaysia's civil court has refused a woman permission to leave Islam to avoid being jailed for apostasy.

Kamariah Ali, 60, says she should not be tried under Islamic law because she is no longer a Muslim.

She follows the Sky Kingdom sect, known as the teapot cult because it built a giant teapot to symbolise its belief in the healing purity of water.

But judges ruled that only Malaysia's Islamic courts could decide on the case because Ms Kamariah was born a Muslim.

Malaysia's Islamic courts have authority over only Muslims - the rest of the population are not bound by their rules.

Actually, Malaysia's Islamic courts have undisputed authority over anyone they say is a Muslim, dead or alive. In repeated instances, Sharia courts have seized bodies from their (non Muslim) families, and justified the body snatching after the fact by saying the deceased were Muslims.

The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur says Ms Kamariah's case is one of a growing number of legal challenges brought by those caught between the Islamic authorities and the civil courts.

Ms Kamariah had asked the civil courts to declare her freedom to worship, as guaranteed by the [Malaysian] constitution.

As it turns out, any 'guarantees of freedom' made by Muslims or Muslim nations mean very little indeed.

Note the Muslim attempts to appropriate the Sikh site. Islamic Tolerance Alert from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: "Sikh community in Lahore prevented from celebrating festival," from Indian Express, July 17 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

The Sikh community in the eastern city of Lahore has been barred from organising a religious celebration at a disputed gurdwara after a religious group persuaded authorities that celebrating the Muslim holy day of 'Shab-e-Barat' is more important than the Sikh festival.

The musical equipment of the Sikhs was thrown out and their entry to the gurdwara barred due to the efforts of the Dawat-e-Islami, a Barelvi proselytising group, The Express Tribune newspaper reported today.

Police were deployed outside the gurdwara to prevent Sikhs from conducting a religious ceremony until after the end of Shab-e-Barat, which falls tomorrow.

The Sikh community wanted to commemorate an eighteenth-century saint at the gurdwara on Friday.

Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh at Naulakha Bazaar in Lahore was built to honour the memory of a Sikh saint who was executed in 1745 on the orders of the Mughal governor of Punjab, Zakaria Khan.

Every July, Sikhs have held religious ceremonies to commemorate his sacrifice.

Though the gudwara was taken over by the Evacuee Trust Property Board after Partition, Sikhs were allowed to continue using it with relatively few restrictions.

Four years ago, the Dawat-e-Islami claimed the gurdwara was located on the site of the grave of a 15th century Muslim saint, Pir Shah Kaku....

From the "Heads I win, tails you lose" department:

For once, the president of the Malaysian dhimmi political auxiliary called MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) is correct. Dr. Chua Soi Lek has correctly stated that if the opposition stays in power at the state level, or manages to take control of the national government, the treacherous infidels will only lose more of what little rights they have left. Following up our initial story on the upcoming shutdown of business in the Malaysian state of Kedah during Ramadan, "Rights will be eroded if PAS remains in power, says Chua", in The Star, 16 July 2011:

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah's ban on certain entertainment outlets during Ramadan has served as a warning on the erosion of rights if the opposition party is allowed to continue to be in power.

The decision conflicted PAS' promise to protect the interests of people of all races, said MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

He condemned the announcement made by Mentri Besar [the state governor] Seri Azizan Abdul Razak on Thursday.

“(With this incident) We can imagine that decisions made by PAS may erode the rights and freedom of the non-Muslim, should they gain power whether at state or federal levels.

“We disagree with PAS' move as it is a form of coercion for the non-Muslims in the state,” Dr Chua told reporters after attending the MCA Federal Territory 2011 Annual Convention here yesterday.

Chua must be some sort of Islamophobe. Surely he must know, from all the fawning coverage of Islam in Malaysia, that Islam is the very embodiment of 'moderation' that abhors coercion. Right? After all, every taqiyya-laden spokeperson and useful idiot loves to quote Quran 2:256, the abrogated verse that states "let there be no compulsion in religion".

But Dr. Chua only let loose a part of the truth. To be completely truthful, he would have to openly admit that the temporary privileges rights of non Muslims will continue to wither away in this country, no matter which set of Muslims are in charge. The Muslims of Malaysia's ruling party UMNO (United Malay [Muslim] National Organisation), to which Chua's MCA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of, have long seen to that.

But if the opposition took over, that would not change one iota, and in fact could even accelerate under the tender mercies of PAS.  PAS, which is a pro sharia, pro Jihad, Islamic supremacist party, is a major component of the opposition coalition.

Malaysian politics is a no win situation for Dr. Chua and his kind. In other words, "Heads the Muslims win, tails the kafr lose."

The 'holy month' of Ramadan  -- which takes place roughly during the month of August -- is fast approaching, and Muslims in Malaysia and elsewhere are eagerly preparing for it. One way the Muslims are doing precisely that in the Malaysian state of Kedah is that the Muslim authorities have issued a pre-emptive, sweeping shutdown decree in advance affecting 13 different types of "entertainment establishments" in the state. These "entertainment establishments" include restaurants. And this decree is not just for the Muslims, mind you, but for everyone and every concern in the state of Kedah, both believer and kufr alike. The livelihoods and wishes of the so-called infidels matter not at all. From "Ban violates human rights of non-Muslims, says Chua" in The Star, 14 July 2011:

PETALING JAYA: The move by the Kedah government to stop 13 types of entertainment outlets from operating during the Ramadan month violates the human rights of non-Muslims, MCA Young Professionals Bureau chief Chua Tee Yong said.

He said non-Muslims had the absolute freedom and rights to visit these entertainment outlets.

“This policy is not only disrespectful of the non-Muslims but it will also affect their livelihood,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak should explain the matter while the DAP must also protect the interests of the non-Muslims by ensuring that such an unfair policy was abolished.

It was reported that the Kedah government had prohibited entertainment outlet operators from renewing their monthly licence and operating during the fasting month.

The state government also restricted the opening hours of restaurant chains, which are only allowed to open after 3pm during the fasting month.

“PAS has always claimed that its policies only apply to Muslims but such a move has definitely violated the human rights of non-Muslims, as provided for under the Constitution. Can the party still say that its policies will not affect the non-Muslims?

“This shows that PAS has never given up on forming an Islamic state,” Chua said, adding that he is worried that other Pakatan Rakyat-run state governments will follow suit to show their consistencies in their implementations.

No, PAS, which is part of the political opposition, have most certainly not give up their plans for an Islamic state in Malaysia, one totally compliant with barbarous Sharia.  Why would they?

Usually MCA, which is one of the dhimmi auxiliaries of the ruling party, the Malay-Muslim political entity called UMNO, can be relied upon to faithfully follow the orders of their Muslim overlords. The fact that MCA is attempting to speak for the rights of their infidel brothers, even in this tactically limited fashion, is noteworthy. Almost certainly the effort is doomed to fail before it even gets off the ground, but yes, such efforts are rare in Malaysia.

Note that the organization called MCA is making its challenge in a rather obsequious manner, by 'requesting' clarification and 'urging' various so-and-so's to 'look into' the matter. This is an acknowledgment of the blatantly obvious fact that Muslims rule supreme, and any challenge to their rule, or to Islam, or to Shariah, no matter how limited or reasonable, could carry severe consequences -- for the infidels of course. MCA knows it's their necks (politically or perhaps even physically) on the line, not the Muslims of PAS.  

And speaking of PAS, they are indeed part of the opposition. Hence, if the opposition in Malaysia advances to power in the national government, as is possible in the next general election, they will be in a position to make decrees like this Ramadan proclamation for the entire country. And if UMNO stays in power, Islam will also advance. So you see, it matters not if UMNO or the opposition in Malaysia is in power; Islam continues its advance in this country regardless. 

And let us not forget one last thing. This affair shows that Shariah, a system of tyranny and a comprehensive violation of human rights unlike the world has ever seen, a system that Muslims assure us is solely reserved for Muslims, is inevitably imposed on the rest of us. It is always imposed by those very same Muslims the moment they are in a political position to do so.

From the Islam equals hypocrisy par excellence department:

Fallout and spin continues in the wake of the thousands who protested against the (Muslim) government in Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.  From "Street demonstrations not part of Malaysian culture, says [Prime Minister]", by Mazwin Nik Anis and Rahimy Rahim for The Star, 11 July 2011:

KUALA LUMPUR: Street demonstrations must not be made a part of the Malaysian culture, the Prime Minister said.

The people should not have to live in chaos and uncertainty, [Malaysian Prime Minister Najib] said.

“We are peace-loving citizens and we want to live in a nation that has a bright future,” the Umno president added when addressing thousands of people comprising party grassroots leaders and representatives from Malay-based [Muslim-based] non-governmental organisations yesterday.

Street protests not part of the Malaysian culture, you say?  Well then, what is part of Malay, I mean Malaysian culture, Dear Leader Najib? Threats of naked (Muslim) violence against any dissent? Islamic supremacism and intimidation of any and all kufr within Malaysia's borders?

And lest we think that street protests are not "part of Malaysian culture", let us not forget these instances. First, a street protest in 2008 in favor of the Sri Lankan terrorist group LTTE was staged in Kuala Lumpur by Najib's own party in front of the Sri Lankan embassy. Over one thousand attended the event, including women and children. Other protests have been staged by pro-Government groups over the years, including ones in favor of government laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA), and demonstrations by various Muslim supremacist groups against Israel, against cartoons, in favor of Hamas, et al. All were permitted by the police and/or endorsed by UMNO (i.e. the Government). I suppose having street marches that support 'laudible goals' like the Tamil Tigers, Islamic supremacism and the indefinite suspension of civil rights like ISA is less objectionable than the clean and fair elections that  Bersih 2.0 had in mind.

So, are demonstrations really "not part of our culture"? It depends on who's doing the demonstrating and what their message is.

Yesterday's opposition rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur is now history, and in the aftermath is being frantically spun by both sides as maneuvering continues in the court of public opinion. The rally has been proclaimed as a 'victory' by both. The opposition and Bersih managed to get its message of electoral reform a significant amount of publicity, both here and abroad, as well as successfully assemble a large number of protesters in the downtown area (most sources say about 20,000) despite a massive police presence.

On the other hand, the government is spinning this as a victory, having successfully made mass arrests (1600+), arrested major opposition figures, and having kept the thousands who did show up from being able to organize as they had planned. The government is also stressing the disruption, damage, and economic losses taken by downtown merchants who lost an entire day's worth of business on what should normally have been a lucrative day on a weekend.

Now that Prime Minister Najib is back from his European tour and his visit with the pope, which was all about looking 'moderate' to the dhimmis back home, he's back to playing up to his base here in Malaysia. Namely, his not-so-moderate, decidedly Islamic base. "Najib ridicules Bersih, says Umno not afraid of fair elections", from The Malaysian Insider, 10 July 2011:

KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak ridiculed and dismissed the impact of yesterday’s Bersih rally, declaring today that Umno was not afraid of fair elections.

In a fiery speech in front of 6,000 Umno members, NGOs and martial arts (silat) groups, the prime minister mocked the turnout of yesterday’s rally, claiming that Umno would have outnumbered Bersih if they had wanted to protest on the streets.

“Don’t doubt our strength. Umno has three million members. If we gather one million members, it is more than enough. We can conquer Kuala Lumpur.

“If we want to create chaos, we can. But we uphold the laws of Malaysia, we like peace,” Najib said to a roaring crowd of Umno members and supporters.

'Conquer' sounds so '1Malaysia', doesn't it? And Najib and company surely 'love peace', provided that they are able to maintain their (i.e. Muslim) domination of it. Otherwise, they're ready to go violent "...at the drop of a hat", which keeps in perfect tune with the Islamist playbook.

During his speech, Najib thanked everyone who attended the “Majlis Penerangan Perdana” event, saying that the NGOs present, including silat organisations [martial arts organisations], were waiting to defend the country at a drop of a hat.

“If you mention or question Islam, they will rise up,” he said.

Wait an infidel minute, who questioned Islam here?  Bersih is very narrowly focused on holding fair and clean elections and has been careful to never attack or criticize Islam. But no matter. In Malaysian politics, the quickest way to discredit and marginalize anyone is to put yourself on the side of 'good' (i.e. Islam) and to make your opponents as apostates, or worse, kufr (i.e. dirty unbelievers).

Consequently, Malaysian government newspapers are busy spinning Bersih as infidels versus Muslims and Islam. One Malay (Islamic) newspaper called Utusan Malaysia has estimated that 70% of those who attended the recent launch of the 'Bersih 2.0' movement were non Muslim. Additionally, Bersih is being reported by the same paper as being funded by unnamed foreign Christian organizations and furthermore, Bersih is inherently against Islam. See! Proof positive that non Muslim Malaysians are plotting war against Islam!  

To be a Muslim, in Malaysia or anywhere else, means to see conspiracies and plots behind every rock and tree. Every infidel is suspected, and probably guilty, of plotting corruption in the land, of plotting war against Islam. Conspiracy theories and rampant paranoia are inherent in the DNA of Islam and explain, to a large degree, the intellectual barrenness and stagnation of the Islamic world. It is why Najib can come back from smiles and handshakes with the pope, and then threaten rhetorical fire and brimstone against his own people, and be immensely popular with the Muslim-Malays as a result.

Bersih means well but has made a serious mistake if they think that they can deal with this government in good faith. As it turns out, hardly to my surprise, Najib has just declared war on them. Remember this, the next time a deluded or deceiving talking head goes on about how 'pluralistic and moderate' Islam is. Najib and his Islamic ilk amply demonstrate how Muslims cannot stand criticism, rational or otherwise, no matter how well intentioned it may be.