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.""

Maldives: A Real Moderate Muslim Blogger has Throat Slit for Advocating Free Speech and Tolerance

Unfortunately, real moderate and courageous Muslims like Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed are few and far between . Most so-called "moderates" are only interested in deflecting criticism away from Islamists, leading them to spend  all of their time trying to "refute" critics rather than actually attempting reform by discussing problems within Islam with fellow Muslims.

From Minivan News:

Prominent Maldivian blogger and journalist Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed is in a critical condition after he was stabbed in the neck near his house in Male’ on Monday evening.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that Rasheed was stabbed around 8:15pm and was undergoing emergency treatment in ADK hospital.

No arrests have been made, “however there is CCTV in the area and we are trying to get something on it,” Haneef stated.

Police had cordoned off the area around the blood-stained pavement at time of press. There was on Monday evening no indication as to the motivation of the attack.

An informed source at ADK hospital said Rasheed was bleeding but conscious when he was brought to the hospital, and that he was expected to remain in surgery until 2:30am.

“They slit his throat clean through the trachea, and missed a vital artery by millimetres,” the source said, around 11:30pm, giving Rasheed a “five percent chance … It doesn’t look good.”

Early on Tuesday morning the source reported that Rasheed’s condition had stabilised: “He’ll be in intensive care for a couple of days. He’s breathing through a tube now.”

Sub-Inspector Haneef said a second individual was stabbed in the back at 11:00pm near Male’s garbage dump and had been taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in a critical condition. Local media reported that the victim was believed to be a Bangladeshi national.

Second attack

Rasheed, a once outspoken blogger against extremism and former editor of newspaper Haveeru, was previously attacked by a group of men on December 10, 2011 – Human Rights Day – while attending a protest calling for religious tolerance.

A group of men attacked the protesters with stones, and Rasheed was taken to IGMH with a fractured skull.

He was subsequently arrested by police for questioning over his involvement in the protest gathering, and jailed for over three weeks.

Amnesty International declared him a ‘prisoner of conscience’, and said it was “dismayed that instead of defending Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed, who has peacefully exercised his right to freedom of the expression, the government of Maldives has detained him. Moreover, the government has taken no action to bring to justice those who attacked the ‘silent’ demonstrators, even though there is credible photographic evidence of the attack.”

The Foreign Ministry subsequently called for an investigation “by relevant authorities” into the attack on the protest.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also condemned both the December 10 attack on Rasheed and his arrest, noting that he was not only one of the country’s leading free speech advocates, but one of the few Maldivians bloggers to write under his own name.

“The Maldivian constitution bans the promotion of any religion other than Islam but guarantees freedom of assembly and expression as long as it does not contravene Islam. Rasheed professes to be an adherent of Sufism, which emphasises the inner, spiritual dimension of Islam,” RSF stated at the time.

Censored blogger

Rasheed’s popular and controversial blog, www.hilath.com, was blocked in November 2011 by the Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The Ministry made the request on the grounds that the site contained anti-Islamic material, CAM confirmed at the time.

Hilath claimed he was being censored for expressing his version of Islam, and called for more freedom of interpretation within the faith.

“I call upon all concerned to amend the clause in the constitution which requires all Maldivians to be Sunni Muslims only,” his statement read. “‘Unto you your religion and unto me my religion,’ and ‘There is no compulsion in religion’,” he said, quoting Qur’an 109:6 and 2:256.

Hilath claimed at the time that the blocking of his website had a political edge: “If Sunni Muslims are the conservatives, then the Sufi Muslims are the liberals,” he told Minivan News. “I think this is a conservative attack on the site. They think if you’re not a Sunni, you’re an unbeliever.”

Following the blocking of his blog and his attack in December, Rasheed became less outspoken on the subject of religion and withdrew from the public spotlight.

On May 12 he tweeted his intention to stop blogging altogether, and stated that he had “repented and am now a Muslim. But a very tolerant one at that.”

Faith Freedom International Dutch Forum is Back Online

It was previously hacked by Muslim Cyber-Jihadists.

From the FFI Forum (English):

The dutch forum is back. http://www.dutch.faithfreedom.org/forum/

This forum was completely wiped out, we lost the server guy and it was all upto me. I'm not the server guy I'm web guy. I build things and stuff. So I have to figure this thing out and recover the wiped files from the age old hard drive. I'm a volunteer, i do this in my free time and WWDC was going on.

I'm also updating the main dutch site because the database upgrade in the process. I have downloaded the data temporarily and backup things before I do anything. This isn't hard stuff, will restore in few hours. meanwhile, please let everyone informed about the forum.

Thanks guys

Islamophobia in US? Muslim Threatens Christians, "F**K Freedom of Speech... Shari'ah is Coming, Baby!"

I thought it was only deluded and "Islamophobic" right-wingers who believed Shari'ah law was coming to America, and that it was only them who believed "peace-loving moderate Muslims" in the US couldn't give a damn about freedom of speech. Apparently not....

From Answering Muslims:

Politicians, the media, and Muslim organizations assure us that Muslims have no desire to establish Sharia in America. For whatever reason, some Muslims didn't get the memo.

"Moderate Indonesia": Atheist Jailed for 2 ½ Years for Writing ‘God Doesn’t Exist’ on his Facebook Page

From Mail Online:

An Indonesian man was jailed for 30 months after writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page.

Alexander Aan, 30, was imprisoned on Thursday for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online.

He started an atheist group on Facebook on which he shared comic strips of the prophet having sex with his servant, a court in western Sumatra heard today.

Alexander Aan, 30, waits in the jail holding area during his verdict
at the Muaro Sijunjung district court in West Sumatra today

He was found guilty of 'deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity', presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma told the Muaro Sijunjung district court in western Sumatra.

Aan also uploaded three articles on his Facebook account, including one describing the prophet being attracted to his daughter-in-law.

'Under the Electronic Information and Transactions law, we sentence him to prison for a length of two years and six months,' Dharma said.

'What he did has caused anxiety to the community and tarnished Islam.'

Aan listens to the judges before being jailed for 30 months for setting
up an atheist Facebook group, writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook
page, and for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online

Aan was beaten by an angry mob and arrested by police in his hometown of Pulau Punjung in western Sumatra in January after posting the material online and declaring himself an atheist.

The court had earlier indicted Aan with two other charges - persuading others to embrace atheism and blasphemy.

Prosecutors had sought a three-and-a-half-year jail term for him.

But the court convicted him of the most serious charge and dropped the other two.

Alexander Aan has been jailed for setting up an
atheist Facebook group

Aan's arrest sparked outrage among Indonesians and international activists, who showed their support on his Facebook group and circulated petitions to have his charges dropped.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but only recognises six faiths: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Confucianism

Its courts have in recent years given light sentences to perpetrators of violent attacks on Christians and Islamic minority Ahmadis, some of which have been fatal.

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi: Moderate Indonesia? The Limits of Islamic Democracy

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University, and an adjunct fellow at the Middle East Forum. His website is http://www.aymennjawad.org.

From The American Spectator:

Indonesia -- the world's largest Muslim country by population (with over 200 million Muslims constituting a demographic of just under 90 percent of the population) -- is often held up as an example of a modern, moderate Islamic democracy.

Indeed, this is precisely how David Cameron -- the current UK prime minister -- characterized Indonesia in a visit to the capital Jakarta back in April, addressing students there with the following remarks: "The people of Indonesia can show through democracy there is an alternative to dictatorship and extremism. That here in the country with the biggest Muslim population on the planet, religion and democracy need not be in conflict."

But is this conventional wisdom accurate? To begin with, it is worth noting that as of this year, Indonesia is still denoted "Free" by Freedom House, scoring (on a descending scale of 1 to 7) 2 for political rights and 3 for civil liberties. A report by the think-tank from last year affirmed, "Indonesia is an electoral democracy. In 2004, for the first time, Indonesians directly elected their president and all members of the House of Representatives (DPR), as well as members of a new legislative body, the House of Regional Representatives (DPD)."

These elections -- as well as direct elections for regional leaders that began in 2005 -- have generally been judged free and fair. In addition, Freedom House declared that "Indonesia is home to a vibrant and diverse media environment."

However, these points do not make Indonesia a model of democracy and civil rights for the Muslim world.

To begin with, consider the case of Aceh, an autonomous region of Indonesia in the far north of Sumatra. Aceh rigorously enforces aspects of Islamic law that curtail civil liberties. For example, the sale of alcohol is banned and those caught gambling are subjected to caning. Further, there is a special Islamic police force in the province known as "Wilayatul Hisbah" that oversees observance of a dress code, targeting women wearing shorts or seemingly tight trousers.

Debate also continues over whether adulterers should be beaten publicly -- as is the current practice -- or subject to the punishment of stoning. In fact, the question of whether Islamic law is enforced strictly enough was a talking point behind the election of the provincial governor back in April. The incumbent Irwandi Yusuf, who opposes stoning for adultery, lost out to Zaini Abdullah, who promises to introduce a "purer" form of Shari'a to the province.

It should be noted that Abdullah was a former rebel leader in the Free Aceh Movement, which waged a 30-year insurgency campaign against the central government. Autonomy and local elections came as part of a peace agreement in 2005.

Yusuf, who was elected governor for a five-year term in December 2006, has always been seen as a maverick among the rebel movement that has since morphed into the Aceh Party, which is described by the International Crisis Group as an "autocratic, almost feudal party that brooks no dissent." With the rise of Abdullah, who is strongly backed by the Aceh Party, the latter can consolidate its power in the province.

Aceh was probably the first area in what is now Indonesia to adopt Islam. The Sultanate of Aceh that emerged in 1496 always had a reputation for religious observance and fierce independence. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was renowned for its pirates who regularly conducted raids against Thailand, besides attacking European and American trade convoys in the straits of Malacca. This was one of the motives behind the eventual Dutch conquest of Aceh in 1913.

As scholar and adviser on colonial affairs Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje noted in his work The Acehnese:

From Mohammedanism (which for centuries she [i.e., Aceh] is reputed to have accepted) she really only learnt a large number of dogmas relating to hatred of the infidel without any of their mitigating concomitants; so the Acehnese made a regular business of piracy and man-hunting at the expense of the neighboring non-Mohammedan countries and islands, and considered that they were justified in any act of treachery or violence to European (and latterly to American) traders who came in search of pepper, the staple product of the country. Complaints of robbery and murder on board ships trading in Acehnese parts thus grew to be chronic."

Now, it could be argued that Aceh is only an anomaly in Indonesia. To be sure, the sale of alcohol is allowed elsewhere in Indonesia. In addition, it would be wrong to generalize and claim that Islam as practiced in Aceh is the same across the entire country.

For instance, on the island of Java, which is home to the country's capital of Jakarta and has a population of 138 million, the conversion from Islam to Hinduism was for many only a nominal process, unlike Aceh. Consequently, they practiced a rather syncretic form of the religion, and in recent years there has been to a certain extent a Hindu revival in Java.

Nonetheless, the overall trend is pointing in a negative direction with respect to treatment of religious minorities. In February of last year, a Christian man was convicted of "blasphemy" against Islam and sentenced to five years in prison. For Islamists in Java, this punishment was not enough, and in a subsequent rampage they attacked members of the Ahmadiyya sect that affirms its Muslim identity but is deemed heretical by most orthodox Muslims. At the same time, two churches were burned and a third razed to the ground.

To take another example, in May of this year, on the outskirts of Jakarta, a Muslim mob threw stones and bags of urine at a church on Ascension Day: the culmination of an intimidation campaign that had begun in January.

One could go on (a Christian center burned by a mob believing that a new church was being built in violation of traditional Islamic law), and the problem is that the government has failed to protect religious minorities, with violence against them on the rise.

For concrete statistics, one need only look at a Guardian report from last month, which points out that "last year, the local Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace recorded 244 acts of violence against religious minorities -- nearly double the 2007 figure."

The Guardian article, which focuses on the case of a civil servant facing a prison sentence for posting "God doesn't exist" on Facebook, also points to the Indonesian Communion of Churches, which says that around "80 churches have been closed each year since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took power in 2004, and an additional 1,000 congregations have faced harassment."

In the case of West Papua, which has like Aceh been the center of a separatist movement, it is reported that the Indonesian security forces are actively persecuting Christians (see here as well).

This is exactly reminiscent of the security forces' behavior not only in what is now East Timor but also in the Maluku Islands in 2000-2002, where many Indonesian soldiers cooperated with the Islamist militant group Laskar Jihad's campaign against Christian Melanesians that killed up to 10,000 Christians.

The trend towards increasing intolerance was also noted by the liberal Muslim writer Irshad Manji, who faced harassment multiple times during her recent book tour in Indonesia to promote her book Allah, Liberty, and Love, which has now been banned in neighboring Malaysia.

Compared with much of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as countries like Pakistan, Indonesia is distant from Islamist theocracy. It should be noted that many of the reports linked to above come from Indonesian outlets like the Jakarta Post. This indicates a commendable degree of press freedom that is by contrast being increasingly eroded in Turkey, which is also upheld as a model for the Muslim world but leads the globe in the number of imprisoned journalists.

Nevertheless, the recent trends in Indonesia point to an environment increasingly intolerant of religious minorities and civil liberties: not only in Aceh, but also the nation in general.

Observers often point to an influx of Wahhabi clerics from the Middle East as the cause, but in my view one should also bear in mind that what Daniel Pipes terms the "Islamic revival," which began in the 1970s on a global scale, is deeply rooted in issues of identity and cannot simply be put down to oil revenues flowing into Saudi Arabia, has not quite run out of steam.

In sum, one cannot put it any better than the headline of an op-ed by Andreas Harsono in the New York Times: Indonesia today is "no model for Muslim democracy."

Update from June 6, 2012: Today comes a report in the Jakarta Post, in which an Indonesian think-tank called Charta Politika discusses encroachment of Shari'a into local politics, mentioning the specific case of the city of Taskimalaya in West Java that will soon require all Muslim women -- visitors or residents -- to wear veils. Again, it should be emphasized that the secular trend that was certainly apparent in the early 1970s is being reversed.

Tunisia (Video): Apostate Beheaded by Religious Muslims to Cries of "Allahu Akbar!" (Allah is Greater)

Don't Muslims feel any shame when they boast of conversions to Islam or how fast their religion is growing? The "uneven playing field" and massive birthrate Islam needs in order to sustain itself is truly horrifying.

From The Gatestone Institute:

"There is unanimity that the male apostate must be put to death."

Liberal talk show host Tawfiq Okasha recently appeared on "Egypt Today," airing a video of Muslims slicing off a young man's head off for the crime of apostasy -- in this instance, the crime of converting to Christianity and refusing to renounce it. The video—be warned, it is immensely graphic—can be seen here (the actual execution appears from minute 1:13-4:00). For those who prefer not to view it, a summary follows:

A young man appears held down by masked men. His head is pulled back, with a knife to his throat. He does not struggle and appears resigned to his fate. Speaking in Arabic, the background speaker, or "narrator," chants a number of Muslim prayers and supplications, mostly condemning Christianity, which, because of the Trinity, is referred to as a polytheistic faith: "Let Allah be avenged on the polytheist apostate"; "Allah empower your religion, make it victorious against the polytheists"; "Allah, defeat the infidels at the hands of the Muslims," and "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger."

Then, to cries of "Allahu Akbar!"— Allah is greater!"—the masked man holding the knife to the apostate's throat begins to slice away, severing the head completely after approximately one minute of graphic knife-carving, as the victim drowns in blood. Finally, the severed head is held aloft to more Islamic slogans of victory.

Visibly distraught, Tawfiq Okasha, the host, asks: "Is this Islam? Does Islam call for this? How is Islam related to this matter?...These are the images that are disseminated throughout the electronic media in Europe and America…. Can you imagine?" Then, in reference to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis, whose political influence has grown tremendously, he asks, "How are such people supposed to govern?"

Only the other day, a prominent Egyptian Salafi leader -- referring to the canonical hadiths, including Muhammad's command, "Whoever leaves his religion, kill him" -- openly stated that no Muslim has the right to apostatize, or leave Islam.

Any number of Islamic legal manuals make explicitly clear that apostasy is a capital crime, punishable by death. The first "righteous caliph," a model of Muslim piety, had tens of thousands of former Muslims slaughtered—including by burning, beheading, and crucifixion—simply because they tried to break away from Islam. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the most authoritative reference work on Islam in the English language, "there is unanimity that the male apostate must be put to death."

Finally, a word on the "prayers" or supplications to Allah made by the Muslim executioners in the video: these are standard and formulaic. In other words, these are not just masked, anonymous butchers who pray to Allah as they engage in acts of cutting throats and holding up heads, these are top-ranking Muslim leaders, who appear regularly on TV, who invoke such hate-filled prayers. See here for examples of Muslims supplicating Allah to strike infidels with cancer and disease "till they pray for death and do not receive it;" there are even formalized prayers in Mecca, blasted on megaphones as Muslims honor their obligation to go on a pilgrimage at least once in their lives, supplicating Allah to make the lives of Christians and Jews "hostage to misery; drape them with endless despair, unrelenting pain and unremitting ailment; fill their lives with sorrow and pain and end their lives in humiliation and oppression."

"Is this Islam?" You decide.

SQOTW: This Muhammad of Yours is a Dwarf and Fat

No wonder present-day Islam forbids depictions of Muhammad....

From WikiIslam:

Narrated AbuBarzah: AbdusSalam ibn AbuHazim AbuTalut said: I saw AbuBarzah who came to visit Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad. Then a man named Muslim who was there in the company mentioned it to me.

When Ubaydullah saw him, he said: This Muhammad of yours is a dwarf and fat. The old man (i.e. AbuBarzah) understood it. So he said: I did not think that I should remain among people who would make me feel ashamed of the company of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Thereupon Ubaydullah said: The company of Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a honour for you, not a disgrace. He added: I called for you to ask about the reservoir. Did you hear the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) mentioning anything about it? AbuBarzah said: Yes, not once, twice, thrice, four times or five times. If anyone believes it, may Allah not supply him with water from it. He then went away angrily.

By saying he "heard and understood it", it is saying that the description was accurate. His only thought was that he didn't want to be around those who made him feel ashamed of the company of Muhammad. If the description wasn't accurate, you'd expect him to object or think "these people have no idea what they're talking about" or whatever, right? 

Indonesian Ulema Council and Militants Threaten to Exterminate Ex-Muslim's Family & Children

For those who may not be aware of who the Indonesian Ulema Council are, they're Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body funded by the "moderate" and "secular" Indonesian government.

From Islam-Watch:

Brave Pakistani ex-Muslim Firasar Imran – who petitioned to the Spanish government for banning the Quran for its violent and totalitarian ideology and has received many death-threats himself – has now received a letter from the "Ulema Majelis of Indonesia" (Ulema Council Indonesia) and a radical Islamist group, threatening to annihilate his family living in Indonesia. Shown below is threatening email:

This letter from the nationally respected Ulema Council was followed by another from an Indonesian Islamist group, "Front Pembela Islam" (Islamic Defenders Front), also threatening to kill Firasat's children in Indonesia:

The Islamic Defenders Front has been involved in numerous incidents of violence and murder of Christians and Ahmadi Muslims, as well as attack and vandalism of their places of worship. 

It should be noted that Imran Firasat is married to an Indonesian woman, and his family and children live in that country.

Imran is used to threats of violence and murder from Muslims. But this time, with threats to massacre his vulnerable family and children living in Indonesia from a extremely violent and dangerous militant Islamist group, egged on by the respected Ulema Council of Indonesia, he went to the Spanish police in Madrid on May 13 to lodge a complaint. But the police treated him dismissively, refusing to take in complaint and reminded him of lodging complaints in the past too. Police officers blamed him for the threats against his family and children by going against the Islamists. Only when he pleaded that this time the threats were against his vulnerable children living in Indonesia and threatened to report the case to the interior ministry, the police reluctantly filed the complaints, but without mentioning the letters of threat against his family and children. And despite taking in the complaint, the Spanish authorities have done nothing of note, when the threats of massacring his family in Indonesia come from well-known Islamic organizations there.

When he asked for protection, police officers blamed himself for the mess in his life by messing up with the Islamists. When insisted on a solution to ensure the safety of himself and my family, officers said: "Remove your website and stick with the Islamists."

Officers also told him not to come any more for lodging further complaints on the issue, advising him deal with his mess with the Islamists by himself.

It may be mentioned that Imran Firasat's petition to ban the Quran has been accepted for review by the Spanish Parliament.

And despite the threats and these setbacks, says Imran,

"No matter what I will continue fighting until everyone is free of Islam. I can not convince anyone to join but no one can force me to leave my battle for awakening the world about the dangers of Islam and Islamism’s growing threats against the Western world."

Virgins or Raisins? A Dilemma for Intellectually Dishonest Muslim Apologists

Little do Muslim apologists realize that when they attempt to defend the Qur'an against the claim (actually, the fact) that it promises Muslim men virgins in paradise, they are actually committing apostasy via blasphemy in belief.

As you will find out, any Muslim who claims the Qur'an refers to "white raisins", not "virgins", has to also accept that "the Qur'an was not written by Allah or revealed to Muhammad in Arabic during the 7th century, but was in fact written by Christian evangelists in Syro-Aramaic during the 8th century."

From WikiIslam (visit the original page for references):

This false myth of "white raisins" originated from Christoph Luxenberg, a modern author writing under a pseudonym. His anti-Islamic claim, which has been accused of having a "Christian apologetic agenda", is that the Qur'an was drawn from Christian Syro-Aramaic texts in the early 8th century, in order to evangelize the Arabs, and that the Aramaic word 'hur' (white raisin) had been mistranslated by later Arab commentators into the Arabic word 'houri' (virgin).

The Qur'an describes the physical characteristics of the houri in many places, and a reading of relevant verses show that Luxenberg's theory regarding heavenly white raisins is in error.

Raisins, which are dried grapes, cannot have large eyes, big breasts, cannot restrain their glances, cannot be described as chaste, or have any of the characteristics listed above. The Qur'an further states that men will be wed to these houri. Men cannot be married to raisins or white grapes.

Additionally, for someone to accept this "72 raisins" theory, they would also have to accept that the Qur'an was not written by Allah or revealed to Muhammad in Arabic during the 7th century, but was in fact written by Christian evangelists in Syro-Aramaic during the 8th century.

Of course, none of this has stopped the ignorant and agenda-driven Western media from repeating this blasphemous claim to more ignorant and agenda-driven Western viewers/readers as the "correct" interpretation of the Qur'an. An interpretation that, if accepted, would prove Islam to be a man-made religion just like any other.

From Answering Muslims:

SQOTW: Prophet Muhammad Gives his Seal of Approval to Muslim Vigilantism

From Abu Dawud, Book 38, Number 4348:

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet (peace be upon him) and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (peace be upon him) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed about it.

He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up.

He sat before the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.

Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.

Allahu Akbar: Faith Freedom International Dutch Forum Hacked by Cyber-Jihadists

Nothing really surprising here. A temporary forum for Dutch FFIers has been opened here.

From the FFI Forum (English):

To the admins, some cyberjihadi decided to collect his 72 virgins and blow up the dutch forum of faithfreedom.org. You can find the forum here:

http://dutch.faithfreedom.org/forum/

The forum was hacked about a week ago, and has not been restored as of yet.Please consult with Ariel prior to chasing us refugee infidels back to our homeland. The thread is intended to stay open and used until our forum is back up. Which is expected to occur within a week or so. I hope you allow us to conduct our infidelic business in our native tongue in the mean time.

Nederlandse & Vlaamse leden,

laat wat van je horen!

New York Times‎ Op-Ed: "Moderate" Indonesia Not so Moderate

I've made several posts about this in relation to Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey who are all continually mislabeled by the media and apologists as "moderate".

Their logic goes something like this; what? Malaysia has banned homosexuals and the portrayal of homosexual characters from appearing on television, radio or in movies? Well, Iran has executed 4,000 homosexuals between 1979-1999, so Malaysia is moderate!

As you're probably all aware, apologists often try to paint critics (even non-white critics such as myself) as racist bigots. But the truth is, it is them who are the bigots for holding followers of Islam and Islam-dominated governments to a much lower moral standard than the rest of us.

Thankfully, the tide appears to be turning.

Someone else (I forget who) noted that Turkey had recently been referred to as "semi-democratic" by a mainstream media outlet, and now this by Andreas Harsono (a researcher for the Asia division at Human Rights Watch) on Indonesia.

As another blogger pointed out, "yet again, the mainstream media is behind the game, for the trampling of minority religions by this, the largest Muslim majority nation in the world, has been regularly reported in blogs for years now. Still, it's good to see some straight reporting from 'the newspaper of record'"

From The New York Times:

IT is fashionable these days for Western leaders to praise Indonesia as a model Muslim democracy. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has declared, “If you want to know whether Islam, democracy, modernity and women’s rights can coexist, go to Indonesia.” And last month Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, lauded Indonesia for showing that “religion and democracy need not be in conflict.”

Tell that to Asia Lumbantoruan, a Christian elder whose congregation outside Jakarta has recently had two of its partially built churches burned down by Islamist militants. He was stabbed by these extremists while defending a third site from attack in September 2010.

This week in Geneva, the United Nations is reviewing Indonesia’s human rights record. It should call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to crack down on extremists and protect minorities. While Indonesia has made great strides in consolidating a stable, democratic government after five decades of authoritarian rule, the country is by no means a bastion of tolerance. The rights of religious and ethnic minorities are routinely trampled. While Indonesia’s Constitution protects freedom of religion, regulations against blasphemy and proselytizing are routinely used to prosecute atheists, Bahais, Christians, Shiites, Sufis and members of the Ahmadiyya faith — a Muslim sect declared to be deviant in many Islamic countries. By 2010, Indonesia had over 150 religiously motivated regulations restricting minorities’ rights.

In 2006, Mr. Yudhoyono, in a new decree on “religious harmony,” tightened criteria for building a house of worship. The decree is enforced only on religious minorities — often when Islamists pressure local officials not to authorize the construction of Christian churches or to harass and intimidate those worshiping in “illegal” churches, which lack official registration. More than 400 such churches have been closed since Mr. Yudhoyono took office in 2004.

Although the government has cracked down on Jemaah Islamiyah, an Al Qaeda affiliate that has bombed hotels, bars and embassies, it has not intervened to stop other Islamist militants who regularly commit less publicized crimes against religious minorities. Mr. Yudhoyono’s government is reluctant to take them on because it rules Indonesia in a coalition with intolerant Islamist political parties.

Mr. Yudhoyono is not simply turning a blind eye; he has actively courted conservative Islamist elements and relies on them to maintain his majority in Parliament, even granting them key cabinet positions. These appointments send a message to Indonesia’s population and embolden Islamist extremists to use violence against minorities.

In August 2011, for example, Muslim militants burned down three Christian churches on Sumatra. No one was charged and officials have prevented the congregations from rebuilding their churches. And on the outskirts of Jakarta, two municipalities have refused to obey Supreme Court orders to reopen two sealed churches; Mr. Yudhoyono claimed he had no authority to intervene.

Christians are not the only targets. In June 2008, the Yudhoyono administration issued a decree requiring the Ahmadiyya sect to “stop spreading interpretations and activities that deviate from the principal teachings of Islam,” including its fundamental belief that there was a prophet after Muhammad. The government said the decree was necessary to prevent violence against the sect. But provincial and local governments used the decree to write even stricter regulations. Muslim militants, who consider the Ahmadiyya heretics, then forcibly shut down more than 30 Ahmadiyya mosques.

In the deadliest attack, in western Java in February 2011, three Ahmadiyya men were killed. A cameraman recorded the violence, and versions of it were posted on YouTube. An Indonesian court eventually prosecuted 12 militants for the crime, but handed down paltry sentences of only four to six months. Mr. Yudhoyono has also failed to protect ethnic minorities who have peacefully called for independence in the country’s eastern regions of Papua and the Molucca Islands. During demonstrations in Papua on May 1, one protester was killed and 13 were arrested. And last October, the government brutally suppressed the Papuan People’s Congress, beating dozens and killing three people. While protesters were jailed and charged with treason, the police chief in charge of security that day was promoted.

Almost 100 people remain in prison for peacefully protesting. Dozens are ill, but the government has denied them proper treatment, claiming it lacks the money. Even the Suharto dictatorship allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit political prisoners, yet the Yudhoyono government has banned the I.C.R.C. from working in Papua.

Instead of praising Indonesia, nations that support tolerance and free speech should publicly demand that Indonesia respect religious freedom, release political prisoners and lift restrictions on media and human rights groups in Papua.

Mr. Yudhoyono needs to take charge of this situation by revoking discriminatory regulations, demanding that his coalition partners respect the religious freedom of all minorities in word and in deed, and enforcing the constitutional protection of freedom of worship. He must also make it crystal clear that Islamist hard-liners who commit or incite violence and the police who fail to protect the victims will be punished. Only then will Indonesia be deserving of Mr. Cameron and Mrs. Clinton’s praise.

Germany: Islam vs. Nazism, Muslims win Game of Intolerance (3 Attempted Murders to 0)

A group of protesting Muslims more intolerant than a group of protesting Nazis? There is little surprise here.

From Stripes:

A 25-year-old Islamist was remanded in custody in Germany on Monday, accused of the attempted murder of three policemen as they were separating neo-Nazis from Islamic fundamentalist protesters.

Two officers were stabbed in the thigh on Saturday and a third officer dodged an attack by the knife-wielding man during a melee outside a mosque in the western city of Bonn.

Pro NRW (North Rhine Westphalia), a far-right party with neo-Nazi canvassers, had organized a protest event drawing nearly 30 rightists to the mosque, holding up cartoons ridiculing Islam and its founder Mohammed to publicize the group's anti-immigrant views.

A larger group of 500 to 600 Salafists, who seek to impose what they say are the original doctrines of Islam, held a counter-demonstration, trying to break a police cordon.

The police made 109 arrests, and 29 officers were hurt in the Saturday clashes.

Hannelore Kraft, premier of North Rhine Westphalia state, told the mass circulation newspaper Bild, "We will not put up with attacks on our legal system, and our police and will come down hard on both Pro NRW and the Salafists."

Prosecutors said the 25-year-old, who was born in Germany but has Turkish nationality, admitted to attacking the police but denied an intent to murder. He said he knifed the officers because they were protecting people insulting Muslims.

Prosecutor Robin Fassbender said the stabbings could have been fatal.

"If a major blood vessel had been punctured, the victim could have bled to death within minutes," he said.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany condemned both sides.

"We expressly dissociate ourselves from violent Muslims who urge lynch justice and attack the police," general secretary Nurhan Soykan said in Cologne. She termed Pro NRW a hate group.

Kraft's government has tried to prevent further anti-mosque demonstrations by Pro NRW.

But a court cited free-speech grounds to quash a police ban on a similar demonstration by 15 Pro NRW activists Monday. Police said 400 mainly leftist counter-demonstrators yelled abuse at them in the city of Bielefeld without violence.

G Ramalingachetty: I Urge all British Asians to Complain to the Press Complaints Commission

I wouldn't normally link to something posted by the EDL. Not because there's anything I particularly disagree with in their stated goals, but more due to the fact that their behavior has been less than stellar and leaves much to be desired. This has led me to be critical of them and leaves me unable to endorse them.

Nevertheless, this is an important piece written by a South Asian. As Ramalingachetty notes, even non-Muslim Asians in India are rightly upset at being " labelled as a ‘sex beast’ by the British media". He urges all British Asians to "complain to the press complaints commission about these continued references to ‘Asians’," and I urge the same.

From the English Defence League:

Recent media reports describing the members of the Rochdale grooming gang as ‘Asians’ are both unfair and offensive. The media’s blanket use of the term to describe these criminals risks branding all Asians as potential offenders and attributes this kind of behaviour to Asians in general. It is a lazy categorisation that is offensive to a large section of the law-abiding Asian community and borders on racism.

Why is it that the national press struggles to use the words ‘Pakistani’ or ‘Afghan’ when reporting about groups of sexual offenders? Or, more to the point, why is the word ‘Muslim’ so conspicuously absent?

Why is it in their efforts to be politically correct they must print headlines that not only twist and hide the truth but libel all people of Asian heritage with racial slurs?

The actions of the Rochdale gang, along with previous Muslim grooming gangs, owe much to a religiously-inspired cultural perspective that is incompatible with British society and is not shared by the vast majority of the Asian community.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Christianity all have an older religious and cultural tradition in Asia than Islam, each with a moral code that is compatible with British law and values. It’s disgraceful that the media should use such racial terms to link the sexual abuse crimes committed almost exclusively by Muslims with all Asians.

I speak as part of a Tamil family whose members fought bravely in the Second World War for the British and are proud of both their cultural heritage and the place they have earned in British society. The people in my community are all more than tired of the problems associated with Muslim drug gangs, Muslim sex gangs and Muslim supporters of terrorist groups. The funds raised by Muslims for Islamic terrorists are used to finance attacks on Indian as well as British innocents in Mumbai and in London.

The Sikh community’s contribution to British culture and society has also been a loyal and honourable one. How unfair it is to associate them with the kind of behaviour we’ve seen from Muslims? Sikhs also have a long and proud history in both the British and Indian military and as a valued part of British society.

A Sikh told me today, “…the politicians and the politically correct left wing press refuse to accept that there is this problem in the Muslim community.”

I also spoke with a Christian friend from Goa in India today who told me how upset his brother was at being labelled as a ‘sex beast’ by the British media. His brother had just read a British newspaper article that seemed to imply that this was exactly what all Asians are!

The use of the term Asian not only puts an undeserved racial spin on the story but demonises the whole British Asian community. British Asians are, unsurprisingly, disgusted with the racist slurs and reporting in the UK media. Why insist on introducing a racial element where there is none? Why not instead report on the real problems within the Muslim community and with Islam more generally?

I myself have already complained to the press complaints commission about these continued references to ‘Asians’, and I urge all British Asians to do the same in an effort to put an end to these offensive and counterproductive racial slurs.

Press Complaints Commission
Halton House
20/23 Holborn
London EC1N 2JD
Tel: 020 7831 0022
Website: www.pcc.org.uk

Finally from the BBC: Groups representing Sikh and Hindu communities complain about the term "Asian"

As pointed out, the repeated use of the term "Asian" to describe Pakistani Muslims is playing into the hands of far-right racists such as the BNP.

This gives them the ammo to scream "Look! See, we're right! All those brown people are the same. They just want to defile your innocent native British children!!!!" (as if only white kids can be "British").

From BBC News:

Groups representing Sikh and Hindu communities have complained about the term "Asian" being used to describe the men involved in grooming trials.

Earlier this month, nine men were jailed for being part of a sex ring in Rochdale which groomed girls for sex.

The groups said the men involved were "almost always of Pakistani origin" and the term "Asian" was inaccurate.

The Ramadan Foundation has said grooming is "a significant problem for the British Pakistani community".

The joint statement was released by the Network of Sikh Organisations UK, The Hindu Forum of Britain, and The Sikh Media Monitoring Group UK.

It says the reluctance of the media and the government to discuss the "disproportionate representation of Muslims in such cases" and the fact victims are "almost always non-Muslim girls" is adding to the cause of far-right groups such as the BNP.

It said blanket use of the word "Asian" was "unfair to other communities of Asian origin".

"We believe that in this case the government itself is sanctioning the use of term Asian as a way of clouding responsibility," the groups say.

Stifled debate

The groups say sex gangs have targeted Hindu and Sikh girls but the cases are rarely reported as they seldom reach the courts.

The statement says: "We believe that political correctness stifles debate and will not facilitate a frank and mature discussion or solutions to get to the root of why the above pattern is emerging in these crimes and how to help find a solution to the problem.

"We will not be able to do that if we mask the identity of those involved based on misguided views of 'protecting a vulnerable community' of the perpetrators and not looking at the vulnerable community of victims."

Last Week Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of The Ramadhan Foundation, said: "There is an over-representation [of Asian men] amongst recent convictions in the crime of on-street grooming [and] there should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals," he said.

He said community elders were "burying their heads" over the issue and police and local councils should not "be frightened" to address the problem, as there was "a strong lesson that you cannot ignore race or be over-sensitive".

On Monday, the chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Trevor Phillips, said the race of the men involved could not be ignored and it was "fatuous" to deny racial and cultural factors.

But assistant chief constable Steve Heywood, of Greater Manchester Police, said the case was not about race, but about "adults preying on vulnerable young children".

Liverpool Crown Court heard the nine men plied their victims, one as young as 13, with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

The case sparked protests by far-right groups but police insisted the grooming was not "racially motivated".

Lady Gaga's Sold-Out Indonesia Concert Banned Due to Muslim Opposition and Threats

A high-ranking member of Indonesia’s highest Islamic authority had previously deemed her shows to be "haram". She's not the first "haram popstar", and certainly will not be the last. When I get some free time I will make a post covering some of the other condemned stars (some who aren't even left alone even after they're dead).

From the Jakarta Globe:

Pop star Lady Gaga’s upcoming Jakarta concert was canceled by the National Police on Tuesday amid harsh protest from Indonesia’s hard-line Islamist organizations.

“The National Police said verbally that [the concert] would not be permitted,” Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said.

The Jakarta Police previously recommended canceling the sold-out concert in response to public opposition.

Lady Gaga’s planned concert pitted Indonesia’s “little monsters” against the nation’s hard-line Islamist organizations.

Ticket sales were strong, with concert selling some 52,000 tickets in two weeks. Promoter Big Daddy released another 2,000 tickets on Monday.

But hard-line groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) have rallied against the concert — Lady Gaga’s first in Indonesia — calling the pop diva a “dangerous” influence on Indonesia’s youth. The organization’s Jakarta chairman Salim Alatas told Agence France-Presse that FPI members would mobilize 30,000 supporters to forcibly prevent Lady Gaga from stepping off her plane.

“We will stop her from setting foot on our land. She had better not dare spread her satanic faith in this country,” FPI Jakarta chairman Salim Alatas told AFP. “Her style is vulgar, her sexual and indecent clothes will destroy our children’s sense of morality. She’s very dangerous.”

The Muslim Defenders Team, a legal aid organization known for representing Islamist and terrorist groups, claimed that Lady Gaga teaches fans to worship the devil.

Michael Rusli, president director of Big Daddy, dismissed the claims as ridiculous on Monday as he announced the release of an additional 2,000 tickets.

Michael was not available for immediate comment on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Council of Churches (PGI), a Christian organization, threw its support behind the concert on Tuesday, explaining that Indonesia’s constitution protects freedom of expression. Gomar Gultom, secretary general of the PGI, said that it was the job of religious leaders — not pop stars or the police — to keep the nation’s moral fiber intact.

“It is the duty of religious figures to guide people to have a clear mind and stand against pornographic temptations,” he said.

The June 3 concert was planned for Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Although the concert was canceled in Jakarta, Lady Gaga could perform in another Indonesian city, as long as local police supported the event, the Indonesian news portal Detik.com reported.

Sweden: Muslim Prof. Says it's a Real Shame that Facts Confirm the "Prejudices of Islamophobes"

This is ridiculous. Surely if the facts confirm "the Islamophobes prejudices", then you should no longer refer to them with such a nonsensical label? If, like the BNP, they are using Islam as a cover for their racist views, then call them racists, bigots, xenophobes, or whatever else is applicable. The truth is, facts matter little to those who use this Muslim Brotherhood-created neologism. A neologism specifically created in order to "beat down critics".

From The Local:

Six out of ten mosques in Sweden gave women advice about how to deal with spousal abuse and polygamy that contradicted Swedish law, a media investigation has revealed.

Using hidden cameras and telephone recording equipment, two women posing as abused spouses visited ten of Sweden's largest mosques as part of a report put together by Sveriges Television (SVT) investigative news programme "Uppdrag granskning".

 The women then asked leaders at the mosques for advice about how to address issues such as polygamy, assault and non-consensual sex.

 Six out of the ten mosques visited by the women, who had also claimed that their husbands had multiple wives, told them that they should nevertheless agree to have sex with their husbands even if they didn't want to.

 Six of the mosques also advised the women against reporting spousal abuse to the police. Leaders at another mosque were divided on the issue, while women received vague advice from yet another mosque.

 Only two of the mosques gave the women clear advice directing them to report their abusive husbands to police.

 The women were also told by nine of the ten mosques that men had the right – under certain circumstances – to have more than one wife.

 Only one mosque told the women that men didn't have the right to be married to several women at the same time and that their husbands needed to follow Swedish law.

 The advice, which in many cases advocated violating Swedish laws, came from imams or family counselors at the mosques.

 When "Uppdrag granskning" host Janne Josefsson approached two of the largest mosques featured in the programme to inquire about their official position on matters discussed by the women, the answers he received were totally different than what the women heard.

 The chair of the Islamic Association in Uppsala claimed in the story that people should follow Swedish law.

 When confronted by what the imam at the Uppsala mosque told the women, the Islamic leader explained that the imam had expressed his personal opinion in urging the women to forgive their abusive husbands rather than report them to police.

 The imam with whom the woman met at the mosque in Stockholm defended polygamy and also advised against filing a police report about husbands who beat them.

 He suggested instead that the women try to show their husbands more love.

 "Don't refuse to give him love, because then he might change," said the imam.

 Upon seeing the SVT report, however, the board of the Islamic Association in Stockholm (Islamiska förbundet Stockholm) decided to suspend the imam immediately and launch an internal investigation.

 "This is a clear breach of Swedish law and they commit professional misconduct in their capacities as imams and associations," Mohammad Fazlhashemi, a professor and author of books on Muslim intellectual history, told the TT news agency.

 Fazlhashemi, who also appears in the SVT report, has reviewed a written transcript of the advice given to the women.

 "What these men are saying to the woman violates their human rights. The men demean and insult the women when they say 'you need to tolerate that these men hit you'," said Fazlhashemi.

 He is highly critical of the imams featured in the SVT report for not following Swedish law.

 "Considering the fact that the mosques have received state funding, they have also committed to following Swedish law and the basic principles of democracy," he said.

 Fazlhashemi describes the Muslim leaders featured in the piece as "conservative, letter of the law traditionalists".

 "Now it's time for some housecleaning. They need to weed out the bad seeds," he said.

 Fazlhashemi, who is also a Muslim, expressed concerns that such outdated mosque representatives benefit Muslim-haters and the far-right Sweden Democrats.

"They confirm the negative picture of Muslims. It's a real shame that they confirm of the prejudices that Islamophobes have," he said.

Moderate Malaysia: “If it Means Canceling Some of the Shows, so be it,” Gay TV Characters Banned

This disgraceful treatment of the LGBTT community in "Moderate" Malaysia is nothing new. How the media and apologists can continue to refer to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey as "moderate" with a straight face beggars belief.

From Bikya Masr:

KUALA LUMPUR: Gay television characters can be a mode to tolerance and understanding, say Malaysia’s LGBT community. But the government disagrees, and they barred gay television characters from being shown on the country’s airwaves last month, in a move that has activists frustrated that the government is pushing the conservative tide against the community.

“We are facing an uphill battle for acceptance and this ruling will do a lot to continue negative stereotypes of the gay community in Malaysia,” lesbian activist Anita told Bikyamasr.com.

She added that culture is “a strong part of Malaysian society and to not allow gay characters on television will be a negative push toward alienating gay people who are simply wanting to live their lives,” she added, saying a number of activists are petitioning the culture ministry to change its policy.

The ongoing debate stems from the information department overseeing television in the country decision in April to ban TV shows that show gay characters.

The country’s Culture Minister Datuk Maglin Dennis D’Cruz made the decision last month, despite protests from human rights groups and the LGBT community.

The ban became effective immediately with state-owned TV and radio stations, he said. No specifics about which shows will be affected were revealed, but the ban will likely be expanded to cover privately-owned stations as well as satellite TV providers.

“If it means canceling some of the shows, so be it,” he said. The decision was to curb the “influence” of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, he added.

As for foreign productions, he said the Censorship Board will remove indivudual episodes from current TV shows and bar movies with gay characters from being screened locally.

“Effective immediately, radio and TV stations are asked to stop screening shows which feature gay, effeminate men as well as characters that go against the norm of a religious society because this encourages and promotes LGBT now,” said the directive.

That could mean any television show that has an inkling of “gayness” would be removed from Malaysian television, which has sparked controversy on censorship in the country and the future of the LGBT community.

For Anita, it is a sign that “the government wants to make us seem like we are the enemy of morality, and that is a path that could lead to violent backlashes against people in the country.”

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.