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  thabet 3:39 pm on September 13, 2010 Permalink
  Tags: bible ( 15 ), interfaith ( 69 ), muslims ( 433 ), Quran ( 51 ), religion ( 521 ), sacred ( 5 ), sectarianism ( 53 ), south africa   

  Muslims block Bible-burning in South Africa:

  A South African court on Friday blocked a Muslim activist’s planned “Bible burning day,” meant as a response to the now-cancelled Quran burning in Florida.

  Several Muslims in Johannesburg, where the event was set to take place, launched an 11th hour interdict in the High Court to stop Mohammed Vawda from setting a Bible bonfire on Sept. 11. They argued that such an event would be divisive and an insult to all religions.

  After a 40-minute hearing in the South Gauteng High Court, Judge Sita Kolbe agreed and banned the event. The ruling also amounts to a ban in South Africa on the burning of any Bibles and other religious books.

  Lawyer Yasmin Omar, who represented an Islamic intellectual organization called Scholars of the Truth, spearheaded the legal bid with her husband, Zehir.

  They called Mr. Vawda’s plans “appalling.”

  After the verdict Mr. Omar said, “I’m very pleased the judge came to this decision. Not only did he ban this protest but he also banned other people from burning the Bible.

   
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  Lawrence of Arabia 12:44 am on August 23, 2010 Permalink
  Tags: freedom of speech ( 88 ), freedom of the press ( 8 ), south africa   

  South Africa moves towards criminalizing reporting that is against the “national interest”.

  As now written, the A.N.C.-led government’s Protection of Information Bill would empower heads of government agencies to classify broad categories of information in the “national interest.” It would also mandate the imprisonment of those who disclose the material for 3 to 25 years. National interest is defined as “all matters relating to the advancement of the public good” and “the survival and security of the state.” The bill is moving through Parliament, where the A.N.C. has a nearly two-thirds majority.

  …fears about the government’s motives have flared since Aug. 4, when a Sunday Times reporter, Mzilikazi wa Afrika, was arrested on fraud charges. Days earlier, he and another reporter had written a front-page article reporting that the national police chief, Bheki Cele, had approved what the paper called a suspicious property deal with a politically connected businessman without competitive bidding.

   
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  thabet 12:04 am on July 22, 2010 Permalink
  Tags: london review of books, lrb, media ( 491 ), racism ( 249 ), south africa, sport ( 38 ), united kingdom ( 929 ), world cup 2010 ( 2 )   

  The London Review of Books was rightfully criticised for putting up a racist post on the World Cup in South Africa, and then refusing to take it down or give an explanation for why it was eventually taken down.

   
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  AA 10:57 am on March 4, 2010 Permalink
  Tags: farid esack ( 2 ), Islam ( 451 ), mawlid ( 2 ), milad ( 3 ), scholars ( 12 ), south africa   

  Farid Esack will be live delivering his lecture in few hours. Check here.

   
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  johnpi 8:18 pm on October 11, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: al qaeda ( 102 ), al Shabaab ( 41 ), al Shabab ( 44 ), somalia ( 90 ), south africa, Terrorism ( 456 )   

  A South African newspaper is reporting that a plot by Somali extremists affiliated with Al Qaeda to “blow up American interests” was foiled in Cape Town.

  The Sunday Tribune can reveal that the US’s closure of its offices in the country [on September 22] was because of intercepted cellphone communication detailing planned attacks on American interests here. It is unclear whether American interests necessarily include a possible visit by US President Barack Obama for the official opening of the World Cup.

  Intelligence officers, according to two sources, intercepted a call made in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, to a group based in Somalia, and the conversation confirmed a plot to blow up American interests in South Africa last month.

  A source said US intelligence agents, South Africa’s National Intelligence Agency and SAPS Crime Intelligence operatives launched a surveillance operation on the Cape-based group, gathering crucial information before the operation was thrown into disarray.

  Could FBI director Robert Mueller’s comments about al Shabaab to a congressional hearing last week have been a reference to this attack?

  “I would think that we have seen some information that the leaders would like to undertake operations outside of Somalia,” Mueller told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

   
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  thabet 6:46 am on September 4, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: canada ( 28 ), Crime ( 56 ), Identity ( 89 ), international relations ( 267 ), race ( 90 ), racism ( 249 ), south africa   

  A white South African has been granted refugee status in Canada. The African National Congress (the ruling party in South Africa) has called this decision ‘racist’, while the Canadian government is challenging the decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board.

   
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  thabet 4:54 am on August 16, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: apartheid ( 27 ), history ( 151 ), neocons ( 30 ), politics ( 979 ), racism ( 249 ), resistance ( 3 ), south africa, Terrorism ( 456 ), united kingdom ( 929 ), violence ( 208 )   

  The reason why fanatical neocon Nile Gardiner is outraged about David Miliband’s comments on terrorism in South Africa is that his idols, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, were supporters of the South African apartheid regime.

  (That Miliband’s father was a well-known Marxist only helps further neocon and right-wing outrage.)

   
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  Fatemeh 3:38 pm on May 10, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: marriage ( 73 ), Muslim women ( 106 ), News ( 31 ), sexism ( 18 ), south africa, Zahra Rahnavard   

  This week on MMW, we laud Shahina Siddiqui’s idea of “true Muslim society”, look at South Africa’s Muslim Personal Law bill and its media characterization, harp on the Guardian’s coverage of Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, and like up all the news that’s fit to print…about Muslim women.

   
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  Fatemeh 11:14 pm on April 12, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: Al Huda, canada ( 28 ), dubai ( 52 ), India ( 234 ), Muslim women ( 106 ), News ( 31 ), Pakistan ( 682 ), sexism ( 18 ), south africa   

  Salam, everybuddy! Sorry I’ve been absent these last few weeks; no  good reason, just laziness.

  This week, we take a look at how a South African Muslim magazine has been revitalized by its new female editor, how a Canadian immigrant uses women’s bodies to prove the “I’m not like them!” spiel, how the Financial Times gets sidetracked in its story about Dubai horse-racing, how a Canadian documentary looks at Indian Muslims, and at the misplaced concern generated by the video of the girl being whipped in Pakistan. Plus: LINKS!

   
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  thabet 2:13 pm on March 21, 2009 Permalink
  Tags: Crime ( 56 ), homophobia ( 12 ), rape ( 41 ), Real Men Watch ( 21 ), south africa   

  “Corrective” rape in South Africa.