Protest erupts outside Jama Masjid demanding Nupur Sharma's arrest

 Protest erupted outside Jama Masjid here after the Friday prayers demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed, police said

Protest erupted outside Jama Masjid here after the Friday prayers demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed, police said. Scores of people, carrying placards, shouted slogans against Sharma. A senior police officer said that while some of the demonstrators left the site after some time, others continued to protest.

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against 31 people, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand, and filed a separate case against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for allegedly spreading hate and hurting religious sentiments. The two FIRs were registered on Wednesday after a social media analysis, they had said. Former Delhi BJP media unit head Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his alleged remarks against Prophet Mohammed, and journalist Saba Naqvi have been named in the FIR.

US, allies call on Taliban to revoke ban on girls' education in Afghanistan

 Condemning the Taliban’s decision not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, the United States and its allies have called on the group to revoke its decision.

Condemning the Taliban’s decision not to reopen secondary schools to Afghan girls, the United States and its allies have called on the group to revoke its decision. A joint statement issued by Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union has condemned the Taliban’s decision on March 23 to deny so many Afghan girls the opportunity to finally go back to school.

“The Taliban’s action contradicted its public assurances to the Afghan people and to the international community,” read the statement, adding that the decision came after months of work by the international community to support teacher stipends based on an expectation that schools would be open for all, with the higher interest of Afghan students and teachers in mind.

“We call on the Taliban urgently to reverse this decision, which will have consequences far beyond its harm to Afghan girls. Unreversed, it will profoundly harm Afghanistan’s prospects for social cohesion and economic growth, its ambition to become a respected member in the community of nations, and the willingness of Afghans to return from overseas,” added the statement…Read More

Sunni Waqf Board-governed trust invites donations for mosque in Ayodhya

The mosque trust has released bank details for donations from a large cross-section of people for constructing a mosque, on the five-acre land in the Dhannipur village in lieu of the Babri mosque

The mosque trust constituted by the Sunni Waqf Board, has released bank details for donations from a large cross-section of people, including non-Muslims for constructing a mosque, hospital, community kitchen and library on the five-acre land in the Dhannipur village in lieu of the Babri mosque. The trust, Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, has opened two current accounts in two leading private sector banks at branches in Hewett Road and Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar.

Trust secretary, Athar Hussain, said, “We will accept donations from all communities to make the Dhannipur complex a unique example of communal harmony and a centre of healing, teaching and preaching.” He said. “We have decided to create a website and portal of the Trust with a gateway to receive donations as we are receiving numerous calls from those willing to donate,” Funds for the Dhannipur complex will be raised from donations from all communities, he said.

“We expect financial aid from the government too. In fact, a Member of Parliament from Assam, Abdul Khalique, has offered to donate and we are receiving messages from the Muslims and Hindus, who are eager to provide funds for the mosque and other facilities,” he added. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust that is overseeing Ram temple construction, has already set up bank accounts for donations for the temple construction. The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation was formed with nine members and six more would be made trust members soon. The trust will supervise the construction of the mosque and the complex in Ayodhya..Read More

26/11 would have been dubbed as ‘Hindu terror’ attack: Maria

Kasab’s body would have been found with an I-card bearing a fictitious Hindu name, Maria writes in his memoir ‘Let Me Say It Now’ released recently.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria has claimed that had Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasab not been caught alive, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack would have been dubbed as the handiwork of “Hindu” terrorists. Kasab’s body would have been found with an I-card bearing a fictitious Hindu name, Maria writes in his memoir ‘Let Me Say It Now’ released recently. In the 624-page book, Maria writes extensively about the investigation helmed by him in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

“If all had gone well,  Kasab would have been dead with a red string tied around his wrist like a Hindu. We would have found an identity card on his person with a fictitious name: Samir Dinesh Chaudhari, student of Arunodaya Degree and P.G. College, Vedre Complex, Dilkhushnagar, Hyderabad, 500060, resident of 254, Teachers Colony, Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru,” Maria writes.

“Ramesh Mahale, Prashant Marde and Dinesh Kadam would have been on their way to Hyderabad to find more about him. There would have been screaming headlines in newspapers claiming how Hindu terrorists had attacked Mumbai. Over-the- top TV journalists would have made a beeline for Bengaluru to interview his family and neighbours,” he wrote. Mahale, Marde and Kadam were senior police officers involved in 26/11 attack investigation…

Aftermath of Aasia Bibi verdict: When Imran govt yielded to hooligans

PM Imran Khan’s tough stance against miscreants turns out to be a damp squib, with no arrests made, no actions taken and, worse, the govt signs a quasi surrender deal with protestors

On October 31, a three-judge special bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar acquitted Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. She was on death row. Many people hailed the verdict and commended the judges who were brave enough to hear Aasia Bibi’s final appeal in a court of law. Justice had finally been served.

Chairman of the Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, said: “Aasia Bibi is free because justice was dispensed wisely and without any fear. This should be the practice in all such cases. Innocent people should not suffer incarcerations due to a fear of backlash.”|Asia Bibi Verdict

A woman who had spent almost a decade in jail due to false charges of blasphemy was finally free. It was heartbreaking to read an AFP report in which Aasia asked the reporter in disbelief if she was actually free and whether they would finally let her out. Her disbelief wasn’t misplaced.

Within hours of the verdict, we saw violent protests erupt all over the country. Roads and highways were blocked in all major cities while buses and cars were set on fire. Life was paralysed in Pakistan.

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US-based journalist says MJ Akbar raped her while she was at Asian Age

The journalist, Pallavi Gogoi, narrated her alleged ordeal in a detailed column for the Washington Post, published on November 1

A former Asian Age employee has accused MJ Akbar of raping her at a hotel in Jaipur over two decades ago. The journalist, who is presently based in United States, has also claimed that she faced harassment at the hands of the former minister while working as the editor of the publication’s op-ed page at the age of 23.

The journalist, Pallavi Gogoi, narrated her alleged ordeal in a detailed column for the Washington Post, published on November 1.

Recounting the details of the alleged incident, Gogoi claims that she was once in Jaipur after covering an assignment in a remote village, when MJ Akbar called her to his hotel for discussing a story. Upon reaching there, she was raped by the former editor of Asian Age, the woman alleged.

“In his hotel room, even though I fought him, he was physically more powerful. He ripped off my clothes and raped me. Instead of reporting him to the police, I was filled with shame. I didn’t tell anyone about this then. Would anyone have believed me? I blamed myself. Why did I go to the hotel room?” she wrote.

She further claimed that the incident left her broken and destroyed and she couldn’t muster courage at the time to share it with her immediate colleagues.

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Deoband fatwa bans Muslims from posting their photos on Facebook, WhatsApp

The edict was issued by the fatwa department of the Darul Uloom Deoband after a man approached it recently asking if posting photos on social media sites was allowed in the religion

The Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur has issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslim men and women from posting their or their families' photographs on social media sites.

In the fatwa issued on Wednesday, one of the largest Islamic seminaries in India has said that posting photos of self or family on social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp is not allowed in Islam.

ALSO READ : The case of disappearing mid-wives of tribal Gujarat

The edict was issued by the fatwa department of the Darul Uloom Deoband after a man approached it recently asking if posting photos on social media sites was allowed in the religion.

Mufti Tariq Qasmi, an Islamic scholar associated with a madarssa here, said when clicking pictures unnecessarily is not allowed in Islam how posting photos on social can be allowed.

Time for PM to speak up as abandoned wives outnumber Triple Talaq victims

Women staying in marriage is highest amongst Muslims compared to Hindus and Christians

 

#LATEST| The life of every woman unilaterally separated from her spouse is pathetic. They face challenges and constraints both in their marital and natal families.

The RSS-affiliated Rashtrawadi Muslim Mahila Sangh approached the Supreme Court of India through an application in June for codification of ‘Muslim personal law’, especially to end practices such as polygamy and triple talaq, or instantaneous divorce. The court in October sought the opinion and recommendation of the Government of India on these issues. The government responded that the absence of reforms in the (Muslim) community during the past 65 years has left Muslim women “extremely vulnerable, both socially as well as financially”. Almost immediately on October 24, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the practice of the so-called ‘triple talaq system’. Addressing a rally in Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, he stated that “no injustice should be meted out to our mothers and sisters in the name of religion or community.”

At first glance, this seems like a happy moment for the Muslims of India that even the BJP and its cultural mascot, the RSS, intends to improve the conditions of Muslim women; an indication, surely, that one day this will do good for Muslim men as well.

What the data shows

Yet, our happiness was shattered when we did a little research using data from the Census of India – 2011. This analysis raises the following questions: Is the Muslim women’s condition in India as pathetic as the Modi government, the RSS and other surrogates claim it to be? Are Muslim women socially and financially “extremely vulnerable” – as mentioned in the government’s affidavit to the Supreme Court? And how is their situation compared to their sisters from the Hindu, Christian and other religious communities? Since no credible data was put forth as evidence – neither in the government affidavit nor in the prime minister’s speech – it is useful to see what the census data tells us.

We have analysed data from the ‘Marital Status by Religious Community and Sex – 2011’ C3 table of the census in order to try and establish what the empirical position is.

Our principal finding is that the situation of Indian Muslim women seems far better than women from other religious groups.

For example, the percentage of women staying in marriage is highest amongst Muslims (87.8%) compared to Hindus (86.2%), Christians (83.7%) and other religious minorities (85.8%).

The percentage of widowed women is least amongst Muslims (11.1%) compared to Hindus (12.9%), Christians (14.6%) and other religious Minorities (13.3%). It is likely that the culture of widow remarriages provides a higher level of family protection to Muslim women compared to women from other religious communities.

The percentage of separated and abandoned women is also least amongst the Muslims (0.67%) compared to Hindus (0.69%), Christians (1.19%) and other religious Minorities (0.68%).

The same census data suggests that the divorced women percentage is higher amongst the Muslims at 0.49% and Christians at 0.47% compared to other religious minorities (0.33%) and the Hindus, at 0.22%. The practice of getting a divorce amongst the Hindus is traditionally non-existent. Out of 340 million ever-married women 9.1 lakhs are divorced and amongst them 2.1 lakhs are Muslims.

The process of talaq (divorce) is clearly laid down in the Holy Quran, which is against triple talaq. The triple talaq was an exception rather than a rule under special circumstance. Divorce is not a whim. Both men and women are required to follow a process that involves at least three months (or three menstrual cycles) after separation and reconciliation efforts fail. The logic is twofold; if the woman can bear a child, the system wants to ensure that she is not pregnant and if she were, child support has to be figured in. The other reason is to allow each other to find a place to live and not get thrown on the street.

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