By Tundra Tabloids

After the Tundra Tabloids reported on the OIC’s publishing of the pig-Mohamed cartoon on its own website, the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten picked up the story yesterday, then today the Swedish paper SVD reported on it, and then the OIC pulled it from its website.

“Thus, under the clear guidelines of Islamic law, it is entirely possible that if someone says something factually true, but which does not benefit Islam, that person can be judged guilty of slander under sharia. This is the net that has snared Geert Wilders: the Amsterdam court is implementing sharia on behalf of the Muslims of the Netherlands, and therefore the truth is no defense.

Now let’s apply the same rules to Mohammed the Pig. The republication of the drawing in Norway is deemed harmful to Islam. Therefore the image has defamed Islam, which makes those who display it guilty of blasphemy under sharia. By a strict application of the law, the offending parties must be put to death.

But the OIC’s use of the same drawing is not harmful to Islam: it is intended to explain to faithful Muslims the iniquitous behavior of the infidels, and to illustrate the dangerous blasphemy in which they are engaged. The OIC is acting in the interests of Islam, for legitimate and sharia-approved reasons, and its actions benefit Islam. Thus no slander or defamation is involved in the Islamophobia report.

There are no contradictions, no double standards. Everything makes complete sense, and is as clear as a bell.

But only if you think like a Muslim.”

Her father donated the statue of Jesus that is placed on the left side of the sanctuary during Easter season.

She and her late husband contributed $1,000 to build the social hall.

But she doesn’t feel part of the church anymore.

As she tries to cope with the changing demographics, Cartwright said she feels out of place in a church where Spanish is now as common as English.

“My church isn’t my church anymore,” said Cartwright, a 72-year-old Fontana resident who attends Blessed John XXIII Parish.

BBC

Tibet’s spiritual leader has said China is trying to “annihilate Buddhism”, as the region marks the anniversary of a failed revolt against China in 1959.

The Dalai Lama’s comments come as Tibetans also mark the anniversary of the bloody riots in 2008, which were crushed by Beijing.

China has stepped up security in Tibet’s capital Lhasa amid fears of fresh protests, local residents say.

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile, a separatist.

The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 and has since been living in India, says he only wants autonomy for Tibet within China.

Beijing says that rioters in Tibet killed at least 19 people in 2008, but Tibetan exiles say Chinese security forces killed dozens of protesters. It was the worst unrest in Tibet for 20 years.

‘Prison-like conditions’

In his annual address on the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama stated that “whether the Chinese government acknowledges it or not, there is a serious problem in Tibet”.

“The Chinese authorities are conducting various political campaigns, including a campaign of patriotic re-education, in many monasteries in Tibet.

“They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions, depriving them the opportunity to study and practise in peace. These conditions make the monasteries function more like museums and are intended to deliberately annihilate Buddhism.”

He also accused Beijing of deploying large number of troops across Tibet and placing restrictions on travel in the region.

But the spiritual leader pledged to continue his policy of “the dialogue” with China.

SOS–California

“God made the Idiot for practice,” Mark Twain observed, “and then He made the School Board.”

In the Poway school district, that famous quip, if posted on a teacher’s wall, might be ordered taken down.

After all, the quotation supposes the existence of a deity with a flair for American design.

By all accounts, Brad Johnson, a 30-year math teacher at Westview High School in Rancho Peñasquitos, is the salt of the classroom. If he feels his AP Calculus students are sagging, he’ll perform a cartwheel to pump them up. What a 57-year-old guy.

About three years ago, Johnson was told to remove two 7-foot banners he had displayed for more than two decades (along with about 200 nature photographs.) Granted, he’ll never be confused with designer Tom Ford, but his students like his folksy style, Johnson told me.

The banners, which the Poway Unified School District suddenly found out of bounds, included the following statements: “In God We Trust”; “One Nation Under God”; “God Bless America”; “God Shed His Grace on Thee”; and “All Men are Created Equal They Are Endowed by Their Creator.”

In its finite wisdom, the district argues these ancestral phrases, framed in isolation from historical “context,” advance one religion over another.

Johnson did as he was ordered, but he was mystified. No student or parent had ever complained. District officials and board members had been in his classroom over the years. No blowback.

In Poway, it should be said, tradition allows teachers discretion in adorning classrooms.

As revealed in court filings, Poway classrooms included a 40-foot string of Tibetan prayer flags, posters of the Dalai Lama, pictures of Buddha, an American flag with 50 peace symbols in place of stars, and lyrics to John Lennon’s “Imagine”: “Imagine there’s no Heaven/It’s easy if you try/No hell below us/Above us only sky … .”

Johnson contacted the Thomas More Law Center, the Michigan-based law firm that defends Christian expressions, including the Mount Soledad cross. A civil-rights lawsuit was filed.

On Feb. 25, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez issued a blistering summary judgment in favor of Johnson.

Benitez ordered that Johnson’s banners be restored, the district pay Johnson’s legal expenses (up to $250,000) and each of the eight named defendants — board members, the superintendent, an associate superintendent and Johnson’s principal — pay $10 to the math teacher, an exquisite kick in the pants.

A school, Benitez wrote, should sponsor tolerance.

“Fostering diversity, however, does not mean bleaching out historical religious expression or mainstream morality,” the judge wrote. “By squelching only Johnson’s patriotic and religious classroom banners, while permitting other diverse religious and anti-religious classroom displays, the school district does a disservice to the students of Westview High School, and the federal and state constitutions do not permit this one-sided censorship.”

Last week, I sat at a desk in Johnson’s classroom and stared at his banners. To celebrate his victory, he had brought in red, white and blue helium balloons.

I asked him how his students had reacted to the good news. They gave him a round of applause, he said.

For the past three years, an AP government class has argued his case in mock court, creating a high level of campus awareness.

Though he never discusses religion during math class, Johnson told me why he feels such affection for his banners.

“Our national value is that we’re not here by chance,” he said. “When I look at my students, I don’t see them as random things. I see them as somebody God has created, designed, and I have the privilege of having a hand in building them as human beings for the future. That inspires me every day, every day.”

In a district news release, Associate Superintendent Bill Chiment signaled that the beat would go on. The board would vote to appeal Benitez’s ruling:

“School administrators need to have clarity and guidance from the federal court of appeals in this area. It is not just about these particular banners in this particular room, we are concerned with the lawsuits we will get in the future if the district cannot control what goes up on classroom walls.”

Gee whiz, a federal judge, citing precedent, isn’t good enough guidance for Poway?

Tonight, the school board will decide whether to appeal. Another option is strip all extracurricular decorations, closing down that forum for teachers.

By all means, the board should feel free to appeal Benitez’s ruling. With one small caveat.

Every cent of future legal costs should come out of the pockets of the eight defendants.

They’re already $10 in the hole. What’s another few thousand if they can entice yet a higher court to conclude that they truly are divinely perfected idiots.

News AU

NEARLY 80 people were killed in bloody clashes between rival Islamist groups in northern Afghanistan.

The fighting between Taliban rebels and militants loyal to the Hezb-i-Islami insurgent group erupted early Saturday in Baghlan province where both factions are active, said provincial police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi.

Citing local sources in the region, the police chief said the battles took place in the Jangal Bagh area. The interior ministry confirmed the clashes but was not able to give casualty figures.

“We have intelligence reports that 60 fighters, 40 Hezb-i-Islami and 20 Taliban have died so far,” Mr Andarabi said.

“Our reports indicate that up to 19 civilians were also killed.”

The Taliban is the main militant group behind an increasingly deadly insurgency to topple the Western-backed Government of President Karzai and force out about 121,000 US and NATO troops stationed in Afghanistan.

Smaller militant outfits were also battling the government and foreign troops, either joining forces with the Taliban or waging their own insurgency.

Hezb-i-Islami, an Islamist faction loyal to former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, is the second-biggest militant group.

Mr Andarabi said four Hezb-i-Islami commanders surrendered to the government following the clashes and more could follow.

Murad Ali Murad, an army general, said Afghan security forces sent reinforcements to the area and said his initial reports suggested 50 militants were killed in the fighting.

Qazi Burhaan, who calls himself a Hezb-i-Islami commander, said that fighting erupted after Taliban militants snatched some of his men. He said they lost one fighter and killed 15 Taliban.

Afghanistan is gripped in an insurgency launched after a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

The Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami differed in the past over their policies, with Hekmatyar saying he was open to peace talks with the Afghan Government and the US as long as foreign troops left the country.

The Taliban leadership, however, ruled out any talks with either the US or Mr Karzai’s Government.

Daily Mail

A Muslim woman was barred from boarding a flight to Pakistan after refusing to go through a new ‘naked’ full-body scanner at Manchester Airport on religious grounds.

Her companion also declined to be scanned for ‘medical reasons’.

The women were travelling together to Islamabad when they were selected to pass through the controversial security screen after checking-in at Terminal Two at the airport.

An estimated 15,000 people have already passed through the scanners, with the pair the first passengers to refuse a scan.

Naked scan: A Manchester Airport employee tests the scanner, with suspicious substances in his pockets that show up as a dark colour identified in the red squares

Both told airport staff they were not willing to be scanned. They were warned they would not be allowed to board the Pakistan International Airlines flight if they refused.

The pair decided they would rather forfeit their £400 tickets and left the airport with their luggage.

The £80,000 scanners were introduced at Heathrow and Manchester airports on February 5.

The X-ray machines allow security staff to see a ‘naked’ image of passengers to show up hidden weapons and explosives, but it has attracted criticism for also showing clear outlines of passengers’ genitals.

Manchester Airport confirmed the passengers had refused to be scanned but said it had received no complaint from the women. 

However, civil liberties campaigners say the incident could form the basis of a legal test case to challenge the use of the Rapiscan device in airports.

Alex Deane, director of campaign group Big Brother Watch, said the organisation would represent the women if they wished to challenge the decision in court.

He said: ‘People shouldn’t have to sacrifice their health, their faith, their dignity, or their privacy in order to fly.

‘People with health and religious concerns shouldn’t be forced to go through these scanners if they have good reason not to. Foolishly, the government has ignored both issues and ignored privacy concerns to boot – they are in the wrong on this.’

There is one Rapiscan scanner in use in a trial at Manchester Airport’s terminal two, which has seen 15,000 people pass through it.

A further two devices – one each for terminals one and three – have been delivered and are set to be operational within the next month.

The scanners have been criticised by the human rights group Liberty and the government’s own Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Only selected passengers are scanned. Security staff say they are chosen at random and not according to race, religion or ethnicity.

Councillor Afzal Khan, who was Manchester’s first Asian lord mayor, said the vast majority of Muslims believed that any privacy concerns should be outweighed by ensuring they are safe when flying.

He said: ‘Hundreds of Muslim passengers have gone through without a problem. While I appreciate people’s concerns for privacy, these steps are necessary for our safety and security.’ 

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: ‘Two female passengers who were booked to fly out of Terminal Two refused to be scanned for medical and religious reasons.

‘In accordance with the government directive on scanners, they were not permitted to fly.

‘Body scanning is a big change for customers and we are aware that privacy concerns are on our customers’s minds, which is why we have put strict procedures in place to reassure them that their privacy will be protected.’

Last month, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis stressed that an interim code of practice on the use of body scanners stipulated that passengers would not be selected ‘on the basis of personal characteristics’.

Two weeks ago, a week after the scanners were introduced at Manchester and Heathrow airports, Islamic scholars in the U.S. said Muslim travellers should not pass through the scanners because they violate religious rules on nudity.

The Fiqh Council of North America issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, warning Muslims not to go through the scanners.

‘It is a violation of clear Islamic teachings that men or women be seen naked by other men and women,’ read the order.

‘Islam highly emphasises haya (modesty) and considers it part of faith. The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts.’

In the U.S., there are now 40 scanners in 19 airports and could be as many as 450 by the end of the year.

The powerful council of ten scholars that issued the fatwa is affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America.

KOMO News

SEATTLE — A young basketball team was forced to forfeit its chance at the championships on Thursday in order to put faith first.

The Mercer Island girls made history just getting to the tournament, but once they got there, there was a roadblock they simply could not get around.

Northwest Yeshiva School was scheduled to face off against Endicott. But faith led Northwest Yeshiva to forfeited instead.

It wasn’t the outcome they’d dreamed after reaching their goal.

“It’s the first time that a Jewish girls team anywhere in the world has made it to a state championship, made history, accomplished our goals by being here,” said Mike Colbrese, executive director of Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The Jewish school is strictly orthodox and Thursday was fasting day before Purim. The girls can’t eat or drink until after sunset. And playing a game without hydration could put players at risk.

“Although we really do wish we could play further, we’re really just happy we got the chance to play here,” said student Julie Owen.

The school asked the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to move the tournament game to a spot where they could play after sunset, but the request was denied.

“We’re just going to keep our fast day today, and we’ll be back next year,” Owen said.

And the girls showed their good sportsmanship by putting on their uniform and congratulating their opponents.

“We do want to show respect to team, league and anyone who gets to play here,” said Owen.

Northwest Yeshiva became the first school in Washington to forfeit out of a state tournament game. It’s not known whether the WIAA board will consider imposing any sanctions against the team for forfeiting.

Hani Khan, who did not want her face shown, said she was fired from the Hollister store at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo because she refused to remove her headscarf.

SAN MATEO –CBS 5

A Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. alleges she was fired for not removing her headscarf.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Wednesday it filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint on behalf of Hani Khan.

Khan had worked for the company’s Hollister outlet in San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall. A call to the Ohio-based company was not immediately returned.

Khan says she was initially told she could wear a hijab, or headscarf, but a visiting district manager said scarves were not allowed during work hours. Khan said she was fired when she refused to take it off.

A 2009 suit filed in Oklahoma against the store for refusing to hire a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf is pending.

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In the VIDEO Khan says she was a part-timer working in the back stockroom for four months when she was allegedly fired and that if she were offered her job back, she would not take it.  

She goes on to say that what she wants from the company is for them to be tolerant of her beliefs.

What’s she going to do if they’re not tolerant—strap a bomb to her waist?

Judicial Watch

In the Obama Administration’s latest effort to appease Muslims, the U.S. government will begin delivering special meals, prepared according to Islamic law, to home-bound seniors in a city known for its thriving Muslim population.

The government-funded Meals on Wheels program, designed to feed disabled seniors who are confined to their homes and unable to make their own food, will begin offering halal cuisine this month in Detroit’s Wayne County, which is home to the nation’s most concentrated Muslim population.

American tax dollars will pay a special company to make the so-called halal meals, which are prepared according to Islamic teachings. Halal is an Arabic term for lawful under Islamic code. This means that pork is prohibited and all meat must come from animals that are ritually slaughtered. Allah must be pronounced during the kill and animals must be properly nourished, well rested and not stressed or excited prior to slaughter. 

The costly Detroit program will soon expand into other areas with large Muslim populations, according to officials, who predict New York, Texas, California and Illinois are next. The company that makes the special Islamic meals is also working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop an accredited halal food program. 

Convicted felons in California will also get their religiously prepared halal meals in jail after Muslim inmates cried discrimination because Jewish prisoners get kosher meals. Taxpayers in the nation’s most populous state, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, will dish out an additional half a million dollars a year to purchase the halal meals for its 5,000 Muslim prisoners. 

This keeps with President Obama’s mission to befriend Muslims. The administration has met with Arab, Muslim and Sikh extremists to discuss national security matters, ordered the nation’s space agency (NASA) to focus on Muslim outreach and diplomacy and has allowed the reentry of two radical Islamic academics whose terrorist ties have for years banned them from the U.S.