Munir Commission Report into Anti-Ahmadiya Riots in Pakistan – 1: Contents and Introduction, Books and Documents, NewAgeIslam.com

Books and Documents

Munir Commission Report into Anti-Ahmadiya Riots in Pakistan – 1: Contents and Introduction

In the beginning of March 1953, widespread disturbances broke out in the Punjab which in some places continued till the middle of April 1953. These took so alarming a turn and assumed such a menacing form that in several places the military had to be called in, and in Lahore Martial Law had to be proclaimed, which remained in force till the middle of May 1953. Before the declaration of Martial Law, the police had to resort to firing in several places and at least two persons were killed on the night of 4th March and ten on 5th March, Sixty-six persons more must have been injured in the firing because that number of wounded persons admitted to the Lahore hospitals had gunshot wounds. The number of casualties admitted by the military to have been caused in quelling the disturbances in Lahore was eleven killed and forty-nine wounded. In some other towns also there were a number of casualties caused by firing by the police or the military.

The disturbances were the direct result of the rejection by Khwaja Nazim-ud-Din, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, of an ultimatum delivered to him in Karachi on 21st January 1953 by a deputation of the ulama who had been authorised to do so by the Majlis-i-Amal constituted by the All-Pakistan Muslim Parties Convention held in Karachi from l6th to 18th January 1953. The ultimatum was to the effect that if within a month the Qadiani Ahmadis were not declared a non-Muslim minority and Chaudhri Zafrullah Khan, the Foreign Minister who is an Ahmadi. and other Ahmadis occupying key posts in the State, not removed from their offices, the Majlis-i-Amal would resort to direct action (rast iqdam). At a conference of the Central Ministers and representatives of West Pakistan Provinces held in the early hours of the morning of 27th February it was decided to reject the ultimatum and to arrest the prominent members of Majlis-i-Amal in Karachi and some leaders of the movement in the Punjab. The disturbances commenced immediately after, and as a direct result of, these arrests.

http://newageislam.com/munir-commission-report-into-anti-ahmadiya-riots-in-pakistan--1--contents-and-introduction/books-and-documents/d/2553

Save Muslims, not just a few non-Muslim converts from the faulty Muslim Personal Law, Islamic Sharia Laws, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic Sharia Laws

Save Muslims, not just a few non-Muslim converts from the faulty Muslim Personal Law

For A Common Cause

By Arif Mohammed Khan

18 August 2009

"Family law is undoubtedly most important among the civil laws. Conscious of its primacy, Islam had prescribed a law based on right principles, and Muslims had received a family code that was useful, complete and comprehensive...but unfortunately this law became victim of 'Mohammedan Law' (Muslim Personal Law) and has become so distorted that now there exists a remote resemblance between the two. The law as applicable in the name of Shariat is neither useful nor comprehensive. In fact, no other law has so adversely affected the social life of Muslims. Today, there should be hardly any Muslim family among whose members someone's life has not been ruined by this pernicious law.''

This scathing attack on the Muslim Personal Law was not penned by any modern, liberal thinker but by Maulana Maudoodi, the founder of Jamaat Islami, whose members in India are ardent votaries of the impugned law.

One cannot agree more with the observation of the Law Commission in its 277th report that "traditional understanding of Muslim law on bigamy is gravely faulty and conflicts with true Islamic law in letter and spirit". Based on this understanding the commission has rightly proposed insertion of a new clause in Hindu law to ensure that the provision for bigamy in Muslim law is not taken advantage of by non-Muslims who, allured by this law, resort to sham conversion.

http://newageislam.com/save-muslims,-not-just-a-few-non-muslim-converts-from-the-faulty-muslim-personal-law/islamic-sharia-laws/d/1684

Shias, Sunnis celebrate Eid together in Lucknow, Islam and Pluralism, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Pluralism

Shias, Sunnis celebrate Eid together in Lucknow

By Kamal Khan, Anant Zanane

October 02, 2008, (Lucknow)

Personally, I see myself as in between these two extremes. I feel that our survival depends critically on excellence in modern education. But I also stress the importance of religious knowledge. Through science and technology you can control the world, but true religion means control over oneself, one's soul. And so you find big scientists spending their lives inventing machines to destroy human beings because they have no faith in God. So, I keep stressing, what we need is both 'modern' as well as religious education.

The Sachar Commission report has brought out the fact that Muslims are behind even Dalits in terms of education and in many other fields. Hence, my appeal to Muslims is, for God's sake, open your eyes. This time is not for building palatial mosques, but, instead, for using our resources for setting up schools, colleges, polytechnics and research institutes. I also say that much of what is being taught in the name of religion has nothing top do with true religion or spirituality. True religion inheres in values, not just rituals. But, unfortunately, much of what is imparted in the name of religious education is ritualism, without the foundational values of true religion.

http://newageislam.com/shias,-sunnis-celebrate-eid-together-in-lucknow/islam-and-pluralism/d/843

SAUDI ARABIA: Father of dead infant willing to forgive Sri Lankan maid, but not mother, Islam and Human Rights, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Human Rights

SAUDI ARABIA: Father of dead infant willing to forgive Sri Lankan maid, but not mother

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

October 6, 2008

To the recipients of communications through the AHRC network, Rizana Nafeek is a familiar name. The 17-year-old girl from a poor family from a conflict ridden area with a passport indicating her age as 18 arrived in Saudi Arabia as a domestic helper. Within two weeks this young girl was accused of the murder of an infant which she denied, claiming that the death was the result of accidental choking. However, by the time the news reached the outside world she had already been sentenced to death by beheading by a Saudi court and she had only 20 days remaining to make an appeal. The BBC Sinhala Service broadcast this news and expressed the fear that, like four Sri Lankans who had been beheaded earlier, she might face a similar fate.

At this stage the Asian Human Rights Commission wrote twice to the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry urging intervention to provide legal assistance to the girl. However, it was then learned that it is not the policy of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry to provide financial assistance for legal fees. On this basis the Asian Human Rights Commission launched an appeal for raising SR 150,000 which amounted to around US$ 40,000 as legal fees for a very competent legal firm, Al Shammary. With the quick responses received from local as well as outside sources the appeal was launched in the nick of time and the death sentence was suspended until the final hearing of the appeal.

http://newageislam.com/saudi-arabia--father-of-dead-infant-willing-to-forgive-sri-lankan-maid,-but-not-mother--/islam-and-human-rights/d/855

White House Watch: Bush's Idea of Swift Justice,

White House Watch: Bush's Idea of Swift Justice

By Dan Froomkin

Special to washingtonpost.com

Thursday, August 7, 2008; 11:51 AM

"'We're pleased that Salim Hamdan received a fair trial,' White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. 'The military commission system is a fair and appropriate legal process for prosecuting detainees.' . . .

"Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who attended the trial as one of several human rights observers, ridiculed the administration for inaugurating the military system on 'a marginal figure.' . . .

"'We were told that Guantanamo was necessary because these were the world's most dangerous terrorists,' said Wizner, who criticized the Pentagon for revealing little about U.S. interrogation techniques. 'Salim Hamdan is not one of the world's most dangerous terrorists.'"

William Glaberson writes in the New York Times: "The conviction of Mr. Hamdan, who was part of a select group of drivers and bodyguards for Mr. bin Laden until 2001, was a long-sought, if qualified, victory for the Bush administration, which has been working to begin military commission trials here for nearly seven years.

"The six senior military officers on the panel deliberated for eight hours over three days. Four votes in a secret ballot were required for conviction.

http://newageislam.com/white-house-watch--bush-s-idea-of-swift-justice/war-on-terror/d/446