I Hope That N***** Obama Gets Assassinated, But I'm Not a Racist Bigot or Crazy... Honest!!!

Well, that's basically what Denise Helms, a 22-year-old from Turlock, is telling us after her clearly racist and crazy Facebook post received a little more attention that she had originally hoped.

What I find more crazy than her comments is the denial, something that appears to be common among racists. Similar to Whoopi Goldberg with her obscene "rape-rape" comment, they don't seem to understand that you do not have to physically lynch someone before being a "real" racist. No, calling someone a n****** and hoping they're murdered is enough. And to top it all off, some people, including Helms herself, are trying to make this into a free speech issue.

From the Associated Press:

"TURLOCK -- A Turlock woman who posted inflammatory comments on Facebook about President Barack Obama has been fired from her job and reported to the U.S. Secret Service.

Turlock resident Denise Helms, 22, posted shortly after the president's re-election Tuesday on her Facebook page, "And another 4 years of the (n-----). Maybe he will get assassinated this term..!!"

The post quickly made the rounds on social media, prompting Sacramento TV station Fox 40 to interview her about her comments Wednesday night. She told the Fox 40 reporter: "I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. The assassination part is kind of harsh. I'm not saying like I would go do that or anything like that, by any means, but if it was to happen, I don't think I'd care one bit."

Helms has since deleted the post and posted again about the incident. It reads: "So apparently my post last night about Obama got onto Twitter and Fox 40 came and interviewed me cause apparently a lot of people in Sacramento think I'm crazy and racist. WOW is all I got to say!! I'm not racist and I'm not crazy. just simply stating my opinion.!!!"

But the incident and surrounding outrage caused her to lose her job at Cold Stone Creamery, where she had worked for less than a year. Store director Chris Kegle said he was shocked to read her racist slur and see her accompanying interview.

"We found her comments to be very disgusting, and they do not reflect our opinions here,"Kegle said.

When he arrived Thursday at the store, he said, there were more than 20 angry voicemails about Helms.

"We made the decision because of her comments, but also the community feedback," he said.

Helms also caught the attention of the Secret Service. Agent Scott Gillingham from the Sacramento office said he was not familiar with Helms' case specifically, but he would check out her posting and the Fox 40 report. He said threats against the president are a felony under U.S. Code Section 871.

It reads: "Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

Gillingham said his office would be assigned to review any report from Turlock, but he would not comment further on any possible investigation into her posting.

"We get a lot of these kinds of referrals, especially off of the Internet," he said.

Helms graduated from Placer High School in 2008, according to her Facebook page, and has the Romney/Ryan 2012 page among her "likes." She is not listed as a registered voter in the state registry database.

Helms could not be reached for comment by The Bee. She told Fox 40 she wasn't aware she could be investigated by the Secret Service for her post.

"OK, but what did I do wrong? That's fine if they want to," she told the reporter. "But I don't understand what I did wrong.""

Insanity: UK Deports Sikh Man to Afghanistan, Where he is Jailed, Abused and Tricked into Converting

After 18 months in an Afghan prison, the British government finally decided to bring him back to the UK. But that's beside the point. Why on earth would a supposedly civilized country send a non-Muslim seeking asylum back to the Islamic hell-hole he just escaped? This case is just one in a wider trend where white countries are more than happy to accept/tolerate illegal and legal Muslim immigrants, only to then send packing law-abiding Sikhs, Christians, homosexuals, etc. back to their death.

From the Guardian:

A Sikh man who was jailed in Kabul for "falsely claiming" to be an Afghan when he was deported from the UK, and says he was bullied and tricked into making a televised conversion to Islam, has been flown back to Birmingham by the British government.

The case of 23 year-old Baljit Singh highlights concerns about the justice system and the status of religious minorities in Afghanistan as the withdrawal of western troops gathers pace.

Singh was deported from the UK nearly two years ago and was spotted by Afghan government officials as soon as he stepped off the chartered aeroplane that carried the failed asylum seekers, marked out by his distinctive Sikh turban.

He was taken aside for questioning and then was put in prison for 18 months during which he never received a charge sheet, let alone a conviction. Prosecutors told him informally that his crime was falsely claiming to be Afghan.

"The only thing in his file was a note saying 'this is the day he was arrested'," said Kimberley Motley, a Kabul-based lawyer who took on his case pro bono and helped secure his release and his return to Britain.

"I wrote to the attorney general's office saying he is being held without charge, which is illegal. You can't just keep him indeterminately locked up for no reason."

But although illegal, his fate was not unusual in Afghanistan, activists say. The country is still struggling to build up its justice system and hundreds of people are jailed without a valid criminal charge.

"There are lots of people in prison in Afghanistan without legal cause, some of whom have completed their prison sentences but not been released, others charged for things that are not a crime under the penal code," said Heather Barr, Afghanistan researcher for Human Rights Watch.

"His case is unusual, but unfortunately the pattern of being put in prison without anyone finding a section of the law that you violated is not that unusual."

As well as the prospect of an indefinite spell in prison, in a country he had left when only five years old and where he no longer had friends or close relatives, Singh said he was being harassed for his religion and pressured to convert.

He was verbally and physically abused in prison. One inmate threw boiling water over him, Singh said, pulling out a picture of his bandaged face shortly after the assault.

He was also ordered to sleep in a corner of an outdoor courtyard, next to the toilet, he said. Men had to step over him on their way to relieve themselves, and as they did so, some kicked the turban that marked him out as a Sikh.

"Basically they were trying to say 'be like us'," he said of the beatings prior to his conversion, which he described as a superficial change he was tricked and harassed into.

"They said 'you should say these words', it was just an accident thing, and they lifted me up and said 'you are a Muslim'."

TV cameras were called in to record the moment and despite promises his face would be obscured, it was broadcast along with his name. "They played it on national television. They were very proud that a Sikh converted."

Singh said the conversion angered the country's already beleaguered Sikh community, which has dwindled from thousands of families to just a few hundred over 30 years of war and persecution.

"It makes me very sad, now we Sikhs only own four houses round here, most people have sold up," said Narander Singh, a fortune teller and herbalist who took his own family to India over a decade ago but could not find work so returned to Kabul to support them from a distance.

Many other men were in a similar situation, he said, with Afghan objections to the Sikh tradition of burning their dead a particular irritant. "Day by day, they are trying to leave," added Singh, who is not related to Baljit.

Baljit, who never lived in Kabul, was part of the wider exodus. He was born in the eastern town of Jalalabad. His father died when he was young and the rest of the family left Afghanistan soon after.

He was separated from his family during a journey through Pakistan, the Middle East and Europe, and ended up in England in 2007.

His first request for asylum was refused, but he remained in the UK pending an appeal, until he was abruptly arrested when he tried to register for marriage in 2010. Shortly afterwards, he was deported following what both he and Motley describe as mistakes by careless lawyers.

"It's extremely difficult to get asylum in the UK, especially if you are not physically in the country," said Motley.

"I think by them taking him back to the UK it is a recognition that there was a legal error that took place and that they are trying to correct."

Barr said the UK government's decision to deport a Sikh to Afghanistan was "shocking" given the country's limited religious freedom.

"Religious minorities are a very small portion of the population in Afghanistan, and are sometimes tolerated and sometimes not tolerated. So for the UK to send him back in the first place without carefully considering the situation of Sikhs in Afghanistan and the treatment that would await him is shocking," she said.

Singh told the Guardian by phone from Birmingham, where he is now seeking asylum, that being there felt "unbelievable". He had asked that his case not be publicised until he was back on British soil, because of worries it could complicate his departure.

"I never thought I would see the UK again … So many people are still stuck in jail [in Afghanistan]. I am so lucky," he added.

The British embassy declined to comment on the details of Singh's case, but suggested that it was convinced he is Afghan, and he was returned to the UK only because that could not be proved.

"Individuals are only returned to a country when there is substantial evidence that it is their country of origin," an embassy spokeswoman said.

"We have agreements in place with certain countries that mean we will re-admit individuals unable to prove their nationality to the satisfaction of the receiving country's authorities."

The Afghan justice ministry said it was not aware of the case, and the attorney general's office did not respond to requests for comment.

MEMRI Video and Transcript: Sunni Fatwa Allows Sodomy for Jihad Purposes

I'm not against 'sodomy' between two consenting adults, but this may be taking it a little far....

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an address by London-based Shiite cleric Abdallah Al-Khilaf, which aired on Fadak TV and was posted on Youtube, on June 16, 2012.

Abdallah Al-Khilaf: First, we'd like to show you a fatwa, which appeared on the Lions of Sunna Internet forum. One Wahhabi wrote: "Dear Sheik, may Allah grant you martyrdom and black-eyed virgins in Paradise, I wanted to commit a martyrdom operation. I turned to Sheik Abu Dimaa Al-Qassab, who told me that they had invented a new and unprecedented form of martyrdom operations – explosive capsules are inserted into your anus.

"In order to train for this method of Jihad, you must consent to being sodomized for a period of time, so that your anus becomes wider, making room for the explosives.

"My question is whether I am permitted to allow one of the mujahideen access to my anus, if my intentions are honorable, and the purpose is to train for Jihad by widening my anus."

The sheik praised Allah and said: "In principle, sodomy is forbidden. However, Jihad is more important. It is the pinnacle of Islam. If sodomy is the only way to reach this pinnacle of Islam, then there is no harm in it.

"The rule is that necessity makes the forbidden permissible. Something that is required in order to perform a duty becomes a duty in and of itself. No duty takes precedence over Jihad.

"Therefore, you must be sodomized... After you have been sodomized, you must ask Allah for forgiveness.

"Know, my son, that Allah resurrects the mujahideen on Judgment Day on the basis of their intentions. Allah willing, your intention is to support Islam. May Allah include you among those who heed His call."

This is the fatwa that led a man a while ago to carry out a bombing attack against then Interior Minister Naif bin Abd Al-Aziz [sic].

[...]

Muslim Insanity: Launch of New Middle-Eastern TV Channel Run Solely by Veiled Women

From Middle East Online:

The administration arm of ‘Alummah’ channel is getting ready for the launch of "Maria" satellite channel in the Arab region. Its pilot broadcasts will start towards the end of this month, where all the staff including the broadcasters will be veiled women. No men or non-veiled women will be employed says Sheikha Safaa , the manager of the channel.

Even though these employment plans might be considered sexist, Sheikha Safaa seems to think otherwise. She has made it quite clear that the objectives of launching this channel is to offer veiled women the chance to appear on the screens and to empower other veiled women by activating their roles. She claims veiled women suffer marginalization.

Sheikha Safaa explained that the staff of the satellite channel will be all women, and men are not going to interfere in its general policies or programs quality. Even the owner of the channel will have only a consultative role based on his experience and skills in the field of media, she said.

“The affairs of the channel will be handled by the sisters who will be running the television channel, since women are more qualified to address and talk about their own needs”. She added Sheikh Abu Islam Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, the owner of the "Al Ummah" channel and the new “Maria” Channel, said in a statement that "God willing, the channel will employ Muslim women graduates of various departments of media collages and institutions. This project aims at protecting women from temptations by finding them suitable work opportunities ."

Sheikh Abdullah explained: “We plan on hiring all our staff of veiled women and finish that within three months. We have already hired women, filming professionals from other television channels to train our all women team on production, filming, and other skills. But for the technical skills we have to rely on men because we were not able to find skilled women in this field yet”.

Abu Islam confirmed that the pilot will start with a broadcast of 6 hours through ‘Al Ummah’ channel, until the time of actual broadcast. He also made it clear that this channel will not host guests who are men or unveiled women, but telephone interventions from both will be permitted.

He predicted that "Maria" Channel will attract high viewership and advertising revenues that will cover the running cost of the channel" he said.

He explained that "Maria" Channel will broadcast all that matters to women, including economy, politics, literature, morality and religion, and he noted that they will begin airing next month.

Muslim Insanity: Woman Arrested... After Trying to File Complaint Against Husband for Beating Her

This reminds me of a previous incident in Dubai, where a teenaged Moroccan rape victim who called police for help was arrested and charged with being a prostitute.

Why would Kuwaiti police be interested in a man who is only following what the Qur'an tells him? Maybe he feared "disloyalty and ill-conduct" [Qur'an 4:34] and had to take this "necessary" action?

From The Arab Times:

An Egyptian woman who went to file a complaint against her husband, ended up behind bars, reports Al-Shahed daily.

The woman went to a police station to complain about her husband who was maltreating her and beating her for no reason. When the investigating officer asked the woman for the marriage contract she said she does not have one.

She added she got married to the man through ‘urfi’ (Urfi is a kind of Muslim marriage similar to the nikah ceremony but without an official contract. Couples repeat the words, ‘We got married’ and pledge commitment before God. Usually a paper, stating that the two are married, is written and two witnesses sign it) which is considered ‘illegal’ in Kuwait.

It is said most Muslim countries do not recognize urfi marriages and no partner can get a ‘legal’ divorce.

Yemen: Donkey Chases & Rapes Ass, Sparks Tribal Massacre that Leaves 15 People Killed or Injured

From Emirates 24/7:

Fifteen people were killed or injured in tribal fighting in Yemen after a male donkey chased an ass and raped it just near the house of its owner.

Newspapers in Yemen said the owner of the ass got mad after he saw the donkey attacking his animal, prompting him to chase the donkey and hit it.

The attack infuriated the donkey owner, who called his armed tribe men and asked them to take revenge.

“The problem snowballed into an armed fight between Makabis tribe, which owns the donkey, and Bani Abbas which owns the ass…15 people were either killed or injured in the battle,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Aleqtisadiah said, quoting newspapers in Yemen.

A large police force intervened and stopped the fighting at a village in the southwestern province of Abb, newspapers said, adding that police had arrested eight persons involved in the conflict.

Belgium Court Charges 6 People in Deadly Exorcism of Muslim Woman

Welcome back to the Dark Ages (and contrary to what the victim's ignorant brother claims, exorcisms certainly are a part of mainstream Islamic beliefs).

From Al Arabiya:

A court in Brussels opened on Monday the trial of six people charged in connection with the 2004 murder of a young Muslim woman in a deadly act of exorcism, a practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person believed to be possessed.

The woman was reportedly deceived into believing that she could not have children because she was possessed and that she had to undergo a practice of exorcism.

But the woman apparently could not stand the severe punishment the exorcism allegedly entails to scourge the demon out of the body, and she lost her life.

The detainees in the case include two self-appointed exorcists, the victim’s husband and three female members of a radical Muslim group, will be standing trial for three weeks and facing charges of “torture leading to death.” If they are convicted, they face up to 30 years in prison.

Hours after Latifa Hachmi, 23, died in the evening of Aug. 5, 2004, her husband, Mourad Mazouj, made an emergency call reporting that his wife was feeling ill and stuck in the bathroom.

But the hypothesis of a natural death was quickly dismissed, as her body was found covered with bruises and her lungs filled with water.

Her husband later admitted to investigators that his wife was subjected month-long sessions of exorcism to evict from her body the demons that “prevented her from becoming pregnant.”

 The practice was conducted in the couple’s apartment in Brussels by Abdelkrim Aznagui, a Moroccan self-proclaimed “Sheik” and his “disciple,” Xavier Meert, a Belgian native who converted to Islam. They were reportedly assisted by the woman’s husband and three Muslim “sisters” of the victim.

During this period, the young woman had swallowed dozens of liters of “holy” water, according to Belgian media reports. She was fed two spoons of yogurt every day and always had earphones playing verses from the Quran.

In order to evict the demons, the exorcists reportedly put their fingers down the woman’s throat, forced her into bathing in hot water and beat her with a stick.

 “The husband and Latifa herself asked Xavier Meert for the exorcism sessions,” the husband’s lawyer, Peter Chomé said. “He may have misjudged her health condition, but it has nothing to do with torture,” he added.

Latifa’s family asked the court to consider the practice that led to the death of their daughter as an act of torture.

“They made Latifa believe that she could not have children because the devil was inside her. That’s why they started the exorcism rituals, but exorcism is not recognized in the Islamic faith,” the victim’s brother said.

Anti-Muslim Terrorist Attacks Worshipers in Packed Saudi Mosque

Actually, it was a monkey. But considering the Qur'an tells us Allah turned Jews into apes, and the hadith tell us of monkeys that still practice old Jewish laws, some of the media in the Islamic world is probably reporting it as an attack by a Zionist agent.

If you think that's too far-fetched for the Islamic world, you'd be wrong. Last year in Pakistan, a monkey was arrested.... on suspicion of being an Indian spy.

From Emirates 24/7:

A packed Saudi mosque plunged into pandemonium after a money found its way inside and attacked worshippers just as they were about to kneel down for their daily prayers, a newspaper in the Gulf Kingdom said on Sunday.

Hundreds of people have converged on the mosque in the western town of Taif for their evening prayers and lined up behind the preacher when the monkey jumped into the lines and attacked them.

"They stopped their prayers to chase the monkey…after a few minutes, they failed to catch it and the monkey succeeded in fleeing outside the mosque,” Sabq daily said without mentioning where the monkey had come from.

Old but Shocking (2009): Christian Beaten to Death for Drinking from Teacup “designated for Muslims”

Along with "Scripture Quote of the Week " (SQOTW) and "Newly Discovered", I plan on making "Old but Shocking" a regular feature of this blog. "Old but Shocking" will tend to feature old, but not ancient, news stories which have  been, in all probability, undeservingly forgotten or overlooked by most.

From Worthy News:

LAHORE, PAKISTAN (Worthy News) — A Christian man was beaten to death in Pakistan's Punjab province for drinking from a tea cup “designated for Muslims,” the latest in several attacks against the Christian minority in this region, local Christians and rights investigators said Friday, June 12.

Advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC) said it learned that “radical Muslims” running a tea stall beat Ishtiaq Masih last month after he ordered tea at a roadside stall in Machharkay village where his bus stopped “to allow passengers to relieve themselves.”

“When Ishtiaq went to pay for his tea, the owner noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross and grabbed him, calling for his employees to bring anything available to beat him for violating a sign posted on the stall warning non-Muslims to declare their religion before being served,” ICC said.

Ishtiaq had reportedly not noticed the warning sign before ordering his tea, as he ordered with a group of his fellow passengers. “The owner and 14 of his employees beat Ishtiaq with stones, iron rods and clubs, and stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives as Ishtiaq pleaded for mercy.”

PASSENGERS INTERVENE

Other bus passengers and passers-by finally intervened and took Ishtiaq to the Rural Health Center in the village. ICC said. “There Ishtiaq died as a result of spinal, head, and chest injuries. The doctor who took Ishtiaq's case told ICC that Ishtiaq had excessive internal and external bleeding, a fractured skull, and brain injuries.”

Makah Tea Stall is located on the Sukheki-Lahore highway and is owned by Mubarak Ali, a 42-year-old radical Muslim, ICC said. An ICC investigator visiting the area apparently observed a large red warning sign with a death's head symbol which read, "All non-Muslims should introduce their faith prior to ordering tea. This tea stall serves Muslims only." The warning also threatened anyone who violated the rule with "dire consequences."

A neighboring shopkeeper told ICC on condition of anonymity that Ali is a fundamentalist Muslim and all his employees are former students of radical Muslim schools, known as madrassas.. Ali kept separate sets of cooking-ware for Muslims and non-Muslims at his stall, they said.

Ishtiaq's family reportedly said they immediately reported the incident to police and filed a case against Ali. “Though the police registered their case, no action has been taken to apprehend Ali or his employees.”Ali was not immediately available for comment.

POLICE INVESTIGATION

In published comments, a police official of the local Pindi Bhatian Saddar police station said however that investigations were underway and they are treating it as a faith-based murder by biased Muslims. When asked about Ali's warning sign, police chief Muhammad Iftikhar Bajwa claimed that he could not take it down, ICC said.

ICC said Pakistan “explicitly prohibits such discrimination, and the police could take strong action against the warning sign.” Ishtiaq's father has reportedly said that police are reluctant to take action as they are also Muslim and that “the murderers who are still freely operating the tea stall.”

The case is the second reporter murder of Christian my radical Muslims in Punjab province in recent weeks. Last month, another young Christian man was reportedly and murdered by angry Muslims, for making love with his Muslim girl friend and refusing to convert to Islam.

Christian leaders have also been targeted, Christians say.

In one of those incidents a traffic incident in Punjab Province led to Muslim assailants later mounting an attack on the home of a Christian pastor in the town of Kila Sardar Shah in Sheikhupura district, who they already criticized for his evangelism “and justice ministries,” said mission group Christ for All Nations Ministries (CANM) in published remarks.

MANY ATTACKERS

Some 17 attackers struck the mother and sister-in-law of pastor Riaz Masih with rifle butts June 1 after the pastor’s brother in the same housing complex complained to a local councilor about the official nearly driving into his sons, CANM said.

CANM said the attackers threatened more violence against Pastor Riaz Masih if he does not assault charges. Masih had reportedly complained to a to a local councilor about the official nearly driving into his sons.

Christian leaders have described the roadside incident as “only the fuse igniting hostilities” that have grown due to meetings held by CANM, as they apparently attracted many youths, including some Muslims.

Christians make up less than five percent of the country's mainly Muslim population of about 176 million people, according to United States Central Intelligence Agency estimates.

Muslim Insanity: Moroccan Woman Beaten, Stoned and Striped By Pious Muslims... Over Revealing Dress

What is it with devout Muslims and stripping people naked in public? This was the case with Ahmadis in "Moderate" Indonesia who were stripped naked and beaten to death. This was also the case with a Christian woman in Pakistan who was harassed, beaten and stripped in front of her son. And there are countless other reports that I have read over the years which follow a similar pattern.

Now in Morocco, a women is ironically stripped naked in public because she wore "too little" to begin with. What next? Will they punish child rape victims by raping them again? Well, I suppose some may consider that an improvement over stoning them to death.

From the International Business Times:

A Moroccan woman was reportedly stripped off her cloths in broad daylight after an ultra-conservative Islamist sect deemed her attire to be "too revealing" and not in line with religious code of conduct in the country.

The young woman, whose name and age remains undisclosed, was said to have been beaten and stoned for wearing a "short dress" at a market place in the city of Rabat, reported North African news website Magharebia. It was not known when the incident had happened.

The assault was reportedly carried out by Salafists, an extremist group who in recent years are believed to have a link with Al-Qaeda. The attack reportedly came on the heels of an announcement made by Quran reciter Abu Zeid, who called for a particular day to be consigned to "chastity and modesty", the report said.

The incident fuelled outrage among several human support organizations, especially women's right groups, who condemned the attack and brought to light the deficit in women's freedom in the country. Many Moroccans even took to Facebook to decry the assault and necessitate the increased protection of personal liberties, the publication said.

"Though this incident appeared in the media and gained wider attention, that does not mean it is not repeated on an almost regular or semi-daily basis in all the alleys and streets of our cities," activist journalist Nora Al-Fuari from the Al-Sabah daily said, according to the report.

"It may not end in stripping the girl off her clothing, but the verbal and physical harassment that women may experience is sometimes more heinous and horrible".

The incident also drew Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's attention. Benkirane reportedly said, "Individual liberties are sacred and are not to be touched".

Prior to becoming prime minister, Benkirane had said in statement that he "will never ask if a woman is wearing a short skirt or a long skirt."

Baghdad-based rights organization Beit Al-Hikma cited "a government headed by an Islamic party" as perpetuators of the attack, and that the incident "would block the move towards democracy, freedoms and the rule of law".

With over 98 percent of the population being Muslims, Morocco imposes idealistic concepts of Islam on its women population. These women, however, enjoy far more rights compared to women in other Muslim-dominated countries, and hold positions in several jobs strictly designated for men, according to the Professional Women's Network.

Muslim Insanity: More Angered by 'Insult' to Qur'an than Dragging Death of Muslim Who Dropped it

From the Yemen Observer:

Outrage erupted in Yemen and more specifically in the Sunni community when a video posted online showed the body of a Salafi being dragged throughout the northern city of Sa’ada by al-Houthi militants, whose Quran, which dropped from the deceased pocket was seen being trampled over.

Al-Houthi militants, a group of Shia Muslim which advocates a return to the ancestral rule of the Imams have been enthralled in a war with Salafists, a group of hard-liner Sunni Muslims calling for a strict application of the Scriptures; both factions seeking to control Yemen northern territories.

 Al-Houthis which famously fought the government back in 2004-2009 in a lengthy and bloody war, used last year’s unrest to awaken its army, finding in Teheran an enthusiastic ally against the Saudis, and hence Sunni hegemony in the Peninsula.

 With sectarian sentiment slowly taking over what started off as territorial ambitions, Ahmed al-Sofi a political analyst based in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital warned that such an event and a clear attack against the Sunni faith could potentially sets the region ablaze. “Yemenis do not take lightly to religiously driven insult, especially when it comes to its most sacred and revered book, the Quran. Unless some apologies are formulated, Salafists will retaliate in the most violent manner possible as it constitutes for them a clear call for Jihad [holy war].”

A man in Sana’a who saw the video online told the Yemen Observer that he felt utterly disgusted with al-Houthis, stressing further that the move was a declaration of war against every respectful Muslim. “The Quran is our heart and soul, walking on it equates to insulting our beloved Prophet, his teachings and God himself. Surely our clerics will issue a fatwa condemning the culprits. Those men should be tried for apostasy,” said Abdullah Goorgoor.

UK: Murderous 'Traditional Muslim Family' Claim Pregnant Woman was Killed by a Genie

This is just crazy. You would be forgiven for thinking you had entered some sort of time-warp. How on earth could they possibly believe that they would get away with murder by using such an excuse? And, yes, Muslims believe in genies (and witches).

From the Mail Online:

A pregnant wife was smothered to death by her husband, his parents and his brother-in-law who later all claimed she may have been killed by an evil spirit, a court has heard.

Nalia Mumtaz, 21, was pronounced dead at hospital after being rushed there by paramedics who found her lying lifeless and ashen faced on a bed at the family home. Her unborn child died with her.

Her husband Mohammed Mumtaz, 24, his father Zia Ul Haq and mother Salma Aslam, both 51, as well as his brother in law Hammad Hassan, 24, all deny charges of murder and manslaughter.

At Birmingham Crown Court today, prosecutor Christopher Hotten said the cultural context in which Mrs Mumtaz met her death on July 8, 2009 was of importance, as were the religious beliefs of the defendants, described as a ‘traditional Muslim family with an emphasis on religious observance’.

He asked the jury: ‘Was she or may she have been possessed by an evil spirit which took her life as the defendants were to suggest both at the time and after her death?

‘Or may she have died as a result of some unknown or undetected illness?

'Or will you be sure that, as we say, she was assaulted, smothered, by these four defendants all of whom admit they were present when she died?’

Mrs Mumtaz was born in Pakistan and willingly entered into an arranged marriage with her husband, then a student at Wolverhampton University, in August 2007.

She came to Britain for the first time the following May after obtaining a visa and moved into his parents’ modern, three bedroom detached home in Birmingham.

Mr Hotten said she was attractive, bright and was ‘thrilled’ by the prospect of motherhood after falling pregnant in February 2009.

During her pregnancy, she was regularly seen by a GP and various midwives – the last time two days before her death - and both she and her unborn child appeared healthy.

But her parents said she phoned them at their home in the Jhellum district of Pakistan the day before her death and told them she was ‘not at peace’ living with her in-laws and was upset, Mr Hotten said.

The jury was also told that numerous telephone calls were made to Mrs Mumtaz's relatives in Pakistan, the emergency services and other individuals in the hours before she was taken to hospital.

During the calls it is alleged that Ul Haq claimed that a ‘djinn’ - or evil spirit - had been sent from Pakistan, while a woman at the house was allegedly heard to say ‘don’t call an ambulance yet - we will cure her ourselves.’

Part-way through Mr Hotten’s opening speech, Mumtaz collapsed in the dock in a clearly distressed state and the jury was sent home until tomorrow.

The case continues.

Woman Kills Hubby for Demanding 'Too Much Sex', "Camouflages" Crime by Putting Dead Donkey on Bed

Hmm. This must be the world's most incompetent criminal. Surely no one will notice anything strange if there is a slaughtered donkey left on the bed....

From Emirates 24/7:

An Egyptian woman who was fed up by her husband’s excessive demands for sex drugged the man before strangling him. She then slaughtered a donkey and put it next to him to cover her crime.

The woman left her husband’s body and the dead donkey on the bed for eight days before they were discovered by the husband’s grand son who came to visit them at their house in the southern town of Qena.

Newspapers quoted police as saying the 25-year-old wife, identified as Duaa, confessed to murdering her 57-year-old husband by putting drugs in his juice. She then strangled him while unconscious.

“The woman said she decided to get rid of him because he never stopped demanding to have sex with her…she slaughtered his donkey and placed it next to her husband’s body as a camouflage,” a police source said.