Dispossessed in the Name of 'Security'

Dispossessed in the Name of 'Security'

By Robert J. Burrowes, New Age Islam

30 January 2016

A new book, edited by Nick Buxton and Ben Hayes, both involved with The Transnational Institute, brings together a thoughtful collection of scholars, journalists and activists to explain the pre-eminence of the military and corporations in shaping the global response to the climate catastrophe as an 'opportunity'. See 'The Secure and the Dispossessed: How the Military and Corporations are Shaping a Climate-Changed World'. http://www.plutobooks.com/display.asp?K=9780745336961& Do you think that this catastrophe is an 'opportunity'?

In a series of chapters both in the book and online, we are thoughtfully guided through a deeper understanding of how, for the security/military-industrial complex, 'climate change is just the latest in a long line of threats constructed in such a way as to consolidate its grip on power and public finance.' For corporations, the risk posed by climate change is an opportunity for profit as they promise us 'food security', 'water security', 'energy security' … even if it is at the expense of equity and justice and has 'disastrous implications for the security of human lives and dignity'.

For the security industry, for example, it is an opportunity to offer governments an endless supply of resilience and disaster-related services that have little to do with human security, if your concern is ordinary people. Similarly, 'water security' justifies a soft-drinks manufacturer 'securing' water supplies in drought-prone regions of India, denying local villagers clean drinking water.

And 'energy security' is used to justify the aggressive exploitation of 'unconventional' fossil fuels, the use of military violence to 'secure' energy transport routes, the suppression of protests against further fossil fuel extraction and 'the expansion of renewable energy in a way that ignores concerns about human rights, democratic governance, or energy access'.

As this deadly effort to dispossess the many to secure a future for the few plays out, control of the world's food supply concentrates dangerously in the hands of ever fewer corporations – starting with the ABCD of agribusiness: ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus – at the expense of small farmers and consumers. With land and water grabs and the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) exacerbating the concentration of food production, distribution and access, the global elite is happy to systematically starve to death 100,000 people each day and send a billion to bed hungry. Profit trumps people. Insane? You decide.

And having created the 'refugee problem' by starving or bombing people out of their homes, elites now use a related set of corporations to erect border fences, provide 'border security' and maintain detention centres and prisons when these refugees seek a viable place to live away from the starvation/war zone they have been forced to flee. As always for the global elite, human beings are victims to be exploited or killed, not people to be supported and helped out of empathy and compassion.

While some corporations offer 'hi-tech solutions' to the crisis, such as geoengineering (or, more accurately, geopiracy as some have labelled it), we need to gently remind ourselves that there is no technical solution to a vast range of problems, including extinction. More importantly, there is no technical solution to human fear, and particularly the fear that makes some people view humans as 'masters' of the Earth rather than just one part of the web of life (who might also be responsible stewards, if we so chose).

Of course, like corporations, the military is also concerned about the climate catastrophe: how can it maintain its capacity to kill and destroy, and its pre-eminent role because of these capacities, in a world in which environmental impacts threaten military infrastructure, energy supply and transport routes but also reinforce the demand for a sensible reallocation of resources to deal with the crisis and other important social and environmental issues?

As the chapter on 'green washing death' explains, the US military, for example, is responding in a variety of ways, ranging from switching to nuclear power and agro fuels (supposedly 'green') to making 'green bullets' (with copper instead of lead). Strangely, systematically reducing military capacities to reduce the devastating climate and other environmental impacts of the military is not an option being considered. Nor is the option of economic conversion to non-military (that is, socially valuable) production.

In short, the military is looking to expand its role by emphasizing what it portrays as 'security' threats arising from ecological disasters (although there has been no suggestion that military training and bases should be reoriented/converted to disaster training institutes). And, of course: 'There are no military strategies that focus on the root causes of climate change and what should be done to change these, because the military's primary objective is to secure the current world order, no matter how unjust or unsustainable it is'.

And yet, despite everything that the military and corporations do to destroy the bonds of human solidarity in our world, many people still act selflessly as the people of Occupy Sandy did after Hurricane Sandy hit New York and the government and people of Cuba did after surviving the same hurricane. In addition to this simple example, however, the book offers many instances of people responding powerfully to the state of our world.

I have a few friendly issues with the editors and authors of this book reflecting my own long-term engagement with the concerns discussed thoughtfully in it.

First, my own reading of the science persuades me that we do not have 'climate change' but a climate catastrophe. Language is important and 'change' has a benign connotation for most people. Just as the word 'security' has been adversely co-opted so, in the context of the climate, has the word 'change'.

Second, I would talk about capitalism, not neoliberalism. The precise form that capitalism takes in a particular era might reflect 'evolution' of a sort but, in whatever guise, capitalism is fundamentally exploitative as playing the board game 'Monopoly' taught me as a child. Capitalism is designed to bankrupt and eliminate other 'players' from the 'game' leaving just one 'player' (the global elite) to own everything. With corrupted legal systems and military forces also used to defend capitalism as a structure of exploitation, there seems little point to me in shifting the focus to one or another manifestation of it. Capitalism kills people. Our task is to explain this, which this book does superbly.

Prior to the emergence of empires in the past few thousand years (which use/d military violence to extract resources from the empire's periphery and return them to the centre), and in contrast to capitalism (which now performs a similar function using exploitative trading arrangements backed by military violence when necessary), locally self-reliant forms of economic activity have maximised individual and species survival, and nurtured the Earth, for four billion years. These forms must be restored and supported now.

Third, buying into the elite narrative about the time we have to respond to this catastrophe by using an 'end of century' timeframe is unwise. At the current rate of synergistic environmental destruction, and based on the highly problematic assumption that we can prevent nuclear war, I expect human extinction by 2030 without a concerted and strategic effort by individuals, groups and communities. Why 2030? Because it is human fear, not environmental destruction, that is the crux of the problem. See 'Why is Near Term Human Extinction Inevitable?' https://www.oximity.com/article/Why-is-Near-Term-Human-Extinction-Inev-1

Fourth, in my view, it is important to identify and focus on elite insanity. See 'The Global Elite is Insane'. scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1402/S00056/the-global-elite-is-insane.htm For more detail, see 'Why Violence?' tinyurl.com/whyviolence Time and again throughout this book, one author after another described corporate and/or military behaviour that is quite insane. For example, the day after climate scientists reported a record decline in Arctic sea ice, Shell Alaska vice-president Peter Slaiby stated the company's view as follows: 'I will be one of those persons most cheering for an endless summer in Alaska'.

Apart from displaying a mind quite incapable of grappling with, and responding intelligently to, the complex reality explained by science, he also revealed himself to be someone who is quite insane: incapable of ‘normal perception, behaviour and social interaction’, someone who is incapable of love, compassion, empathy and sympathy for those organisms, human and non-human alike, who are already suffering the adverse impacts of the climate catastrophe. But Slaiby is not alone as an endless sequence of insane pronouncements by elite individuals is given ample publicity by the media. Do I need to mention the current crop of US presidential candidates in this context? We have become so used to this insanity, that it is rarely noted. But it is people in this category who are driving official inaction or wrong action.

And fifth, my own experience is consistent with Gandhi's belief that resistance to structural violence requires powerful individuals to work collaboratively in a strategic manner. For this reason, giving individuals opportunities to experience and expand their individual power is an important corollary of providing opportunities for collective resistance. For this reason, I believe that 'The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth' http://tinyurl.com/flametree offers a superior response for individuals, groups and communities who have not previously engaged in resistance but who must now be drawn into the collective overall effort to both fight the climate catastrophe but also, simultaneously, all other manifestations of elite-driven violence as well.

In short, giving people opportunities to respond powerfully, at home, is invaluable. Some of these will then join organised campaigns of resistance. Even if they do not, they are still personally involved in undermining the structural violence that is destroying our world.

But to return to the book: if you want further evidence of the elite insanity that is driving military and corporate interests to perceive the climate catastrophe as an opportunity to extend their control over people and resources and to maximise profits while doing so, then you do not need to go past this book.

In nauseatingly documented detail, the authors clearly spell out the challenges we face in resisting elite-driven violence while also intelligently responding to a crisis of unprecedented magnitude. For this reason, the book is invaluable.

Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of 'Why Violence?' http://tinyurl.com/whyviolence His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is at http://robertjburrowes.wordpress.com

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/books-and-documents/robert-j-burrowes,-new-age-islam/dispossessed-in-the-name-of--security-/d/106170

Farahnaz Ispahani’s book, bravely records near extinction of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, Hindus, Christians and Jews, and focuses on intensifying sectarian conflict

Farahnaz Ispahani’s book, bravely records near extinction of Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, Hindus, Christians and Jews, and focuses on intensifying sectarian conflict

By Ashok Malik

30 January 2016

Farahnaz Ispahani’s recent book, Purifying the Land of the Pure: Pakistan’s Religious Minorities, is a detailed and extremely educative account of the tragic history of her country. A well-known political activist and writer, Ms Ispahani bravely and categorically records not just the near-annihilation of religious minorities — Hindus, Christians and Pakistan’s now extinct Jews — from the nation founded by Jinnah, but also the intensifying sectarian conflict.

She worries, as others have, that a country born as a homeland for South Asian Muslims, gradually became an Islamic nation and finally a state upholding particular interpretations of Sunni Islam. In her book, she sees Pakistan’s Shia and Ahmadiyya communities as among Pakistan’s oppressed religious minorities. This is certainly a strange paradox, given so many Shias, including the Aga Khan, were instrumental in the Pakistan movement and in financially supporting its fledgling state. As Ms Ispahani reminds her readers, Mr Zafarullah Khan, Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister and an acclaimed politician and diplomat of his times, was a proud Ahmadiyya.

The Ahmadiyya community was officially declared non-Muslim by a constitutional amendment passed by the Pakistan Parliament in 1974. This was one of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s concessions to the Islamists and, rather, than stem demands, put his Government and his country on a slippery slope. Within years, Zia-ul-Haq was in power and promoting even stricter interpretations of (Sunni) Islam, complete with blasphemy laws that discriminated against minorities and other laws that discriminated against women.

The year 1974 and the fact that a modern Parliament decided to define religious identities by classifying sects and groups of populations as belonging to or not belonging to a religion is commonly regarded as a milestone in Pakistan’s history. It is seen as the date when the singling out of the Ahmadiyya people, observant and practicing Muslims, as heretical made them vulnerable to violence and in-country exile.

However, the targeting of Ahmadiyyas was not a recent phenomenon in 1974. It dated back to the earliest years of Pakistan. “In 1948,” Ms Ispahani writes, “an Ahmadi Army officer was murdered in Quetta, near the site of an anti-Ahmadi rally … By 1953, the resentment against Hindus was supplanted by antagonism towards the Ahmadiyya sect.” In 1953, there was a mass killing of Ahmadiyyas that began in Punjab, under the aegis of the Tehrik-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (Movement for the Protection of the Finality of the Prophet): “Its appeal to mainstream Sunni Muslims was emotive. The believers had to defend the Prophet Muhammad’s status as the final prophet of god and this could only be done by legislation declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims and by restricting their role in Government.”

The anti-Ahmadiyya riots began in Punjab in February 1953. In what Ms Ispahani describes as a “pogrom”, some 2,000 Ahmadiyya followers were killed by fellow Muslims. The Government either lost control or didn’t try too hard. The mob murdered the few policemen who sought to do their duty; most policemen didn’t bother.

In about a week, the book quotes an account as saying, “The telephone system, the railways and electrical distribution equipment were damaged and … it seemed as if Lahore might fall totally into the hands of the mob, and the Army’s assistance was requested.” Martial law was declared in Lahore, following the city’s biggest spell of violence since the Partition riots of 1947. Consider the irony. In six years, those who had “won” Lahore were fighting and killing one another.

The import of the 1953 riots is not just in the fact that they signalled the start of a sectarian blood feud among the Muslim people of Pakistan. Their true significance lies in the prescient Munir Commission report, which Ms Ispahani writes about in deserving detail. The two-person judicial commission, the “Punjab Disturbances Court Of Inquiry” to give it its formal name, was headed by Justice Mohammed Munir of the Pakistan Supreme Court. In less than a year, it produced a 387-page report, following 117 sittings, 92 of which, as the book tells us, were devoted to hearing “statements of various parties”.

The commission tackled the question of Pakistan being declared an Islamic state and what this may mean. The two judges — Justice Munir’s colleague was Justice AR Kayani, a noted jurist and civil liberties voice who suffered in later years due to his criticism of Ayub Khan’s dictatorship — were clearly concerned about the influence of religion on affairs of state. They pointed to the absence of consensus on basic definitions of Islam and Muslim identity, stressing that these were matters the Government and state would be wise to avoid.

“According to the Shias all Sunnis are Kafirs,” the commission’s report said, “and Ahl-i-Quran, namely person who consider Hadith to be unreliable and, therefore, not binding, are unanimously Kafirs and so are all independent thinkers… (as such) neither Shias not Sunnis nor Deobandis nor the Ahl-i-Hadith nor Barelvis are Muslims nor any change from one view to the other must be accompanied in an Islamic state with the penalty of death if the Government … is in the hands of the party which considers the other party to be Kafirs.”

As Ms Ispahani stresses, with her carefully chosen extracts from the report, Justice Munir and Justice Kayani were astutely and firmly establishing the absurdity of the arguments made before them. “No two Ulema,” they wrote, “have agreed before us as to the definition of a Muslim. If the constituents of each of the definitions given by the Ulema are given effect to, and subjected to the rule of ‘combination and permutation’ and the form of charge in the inquisition’s sentence on Galileo is adopted mutatis mutandis as a model, the grounds on which a person may be indicted for apostasy will be too numerous to count.”

In conclusion, the Muslim Commission made a pithy remark: “If we adopt the definition given by any one of the Ulema, we remain Muslims according to the view of that Alim (scholar) but Kafirs according to the definition of everyone else.” In reproducing that line, Ms Ispahani has said it all.

Ashok Malik is senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

Source: dailypioneer.com/columnists/edit/how-pakistan-played-with-secularism-creed.html

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/books-and-documents/ashok-malik/farahnaz-ispahani’s-book,-bravely-records-near-extinction-of-pakistan’s-religious-minorities,-hindus,-christians-and-jews,-and-focuses-on-intensifying-sectarian-conflict/d/106172

ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Other Islamist Terrorists are Kharijites? An Analysis of 40 Major Characteristics of Kharijites

By Ghulam Ghaus, New Age Islam

30 January 2016

Is it fair to describe Members of ISIS, Taliban and their likes as Kharijites or Khawarij? A number of Sunni religious scholars (‘Ulema) have identified these modern terrorists as neo-Kharijites. On the contrary, some argue that Kharijite ideas were particular to a historical period and could not re-emerge among these terrorists. How should a Muslim respond to these contradictory views? Should he or she believe such ‘Ulema’ or be neutral? Such are the questions answered in this article, with reference to 40 significant characteristics of the Kharijites.

Who are the Khawarij?

Before we begin, we must of necessity understand the concept of Khawarij. The Arabic term “Al-Khawarij is plural of kharija i.e. a faction. They are a group of (blameworthy) innovators who are named as such due to their leaving the Din (religion) and rebelling against the best of Muslims.” (Fathul Bari Sharh Sahih Ul Bukhari, vol 12, page 283).

Imam Ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi says, “Khawarij are a group that possesses strength and fanaticism and revolt against Muslims or governments, owing to their (self-styled) interpretation. They hold the view that Muslims or governments are upon falsehood, disbelief or disobedience and thus it is necessary to fight against them. They declare that the blood and wealth of Muslims are lawful for shedding. (Bahr al-Raiq by Ibn Nujaym, vol 2, page 234). This precise definition by Imam Ibn Nujaym fits on Kharijites of all times.

The history of Khawarij dates back to the first century of Islam and has appeared throughout the centuries since. They deviated from mainstream Muslims, adopted extremist tendencies, anathematized many illustrious Companions of the prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam), rebelled majorly against Hazrat Ali (radi Allahuanahu) and were popularly known for killing Muslims under allegations ofTakfir (excommunication).

Characteristics of Kharijites currently apply to ISIS, Taliban and Al-Qaeda?

Several characteristics of Khawarij, mentioned in Hadith and prophecies of the prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) speeches of holy companions and scholars, assuredly prove that the modern terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Taliban and Al-Qaeda are Kharijites. Their forty major Characteristics are as follows:

1.       They are mostly young in age (حداث الأسنان/حدثاء الأسنان/أحداث الأسنان)

As prophesized by the prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam), "In the last days of this world there will appear some people among you who are young in age, immature and senseless; they will use (in their claim) the best speech of all people (i.e. the Qur'an) and they will abandon Islam as an arrow going through the game. Their belief will not go past their throats (i.e. they will have practically no belief), so wherever you meet them, kill them, for he who kills them shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection."

This hadith has been narrated in several places of the hadith books. The Arabic words used in hadith to refer to this first characteristic are ‘أحداث الأسنان’ or ‘حدثاء الأسنان’ or ‘حداث الأسنان’; all of them have the same meaning i.e. ‘Young people’ or ‘People with new teeth’ (i.e. young in age).

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 61, Chapter: “The signs of Prophethood in Islam”, Hadith 118)

(Ibid. Book 88, Chapter 6, Hadith 12)

(Ibid. Book 61, Chapter: “The signs of Prophet hood in Islam”, Hadith 118)

(Ibid. The book on Virtues of the Qur'an, Chapter: The sin of the person who recites the Qur'an to show off or to gain some worldly benefit, or to feel proud etc, Hadith 82)

(Sahih Muslim 1066 the Book of Zakat (12), Chapter (48): “Exhortation to kill the Khawarij”, Hadith 199)

(Jami` at-Tirmidhi, the Book On Al-Fitan (33), Chapter (24): What has been Related About The Description Of The Renegades, Hadith 31, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 42, Chapter 31 “Fighting Against the Khawarij” Hadith 172, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, the Book of the Sunnah, Hadith 168. Grade: Sahih)

2.       They are immature/people with foolish thoughts and ideas (سفهاء الأحلام)

We see that the people of ‘ISIS’ and their likes are easily brainwashed by the dreams of so-called ‘heaven’ (i.e. ‘Jannat’) and have foolish thoughts.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 88, Chapter 6, Hadith 12)

(Ibid. Book 61, Chapter: “The signs of Prophethood in Islam”, Hadith 118)

(Ibid. the book on Virtues of the Qur’an, Chapter: the sin of the person who recites the Qur'an to show off or to gain some worldly benefit, or to feel proud etc, Hadith 82)

(Sahih Muslim 1066, The Book of Zakat (12), Chapter (48): “Exhortation to kill the Khawarij”, Hadith 199)

(Jami` at-Tirmidhi, the Book on Al-Fitan (33), Chapter (24): What has been related About the Description of the Renegades, Hadith 31. Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 42, Chapter 31 “Fighting Against the Khawarij” Hadith 172, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 1, the Book of the Sunnah, Hadith 168, Grade: Sahih)

3.       They will be the people with tucked-up loincloth / a waist sheet that was tucked up (مشمر الإزار)

(Sahih Muslim: The Book of Zakat 12, Chapter 47: The Khawarij and their attributes Hadith 189)

(Sahih al-Bukhari: The Book of Al-Maghazi 64, Chapter: Sending 'Ali and Khalid to Yemen, Hadith 378)

4.       The people (Kharijites) will emerge from the East (يخرج ناس من قبل المشرق)

(Sahih al-Bukhari 7562: The Book of Oneness of Allah (Tawheed) 97, Chapter 57: The recitation of the Qur'an by an impious person or a hypocrite, Hadith 187)

In one narration, the prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said while pointing his hand towards Iraq: “There will emerge from [Iraq] a people who recite the Qur’an but it will not go beyond their throats, and they will stray from Islam as an arrow strays from the animal [at which it is shot].” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 9, Hadith 68)

5.       They will continue to appear until the last of them comes with Dajjal [Anti-Christ] (لا يزالون يخرجون حتى يخرج آخرهم مع المسيح الدجال)

This prophecy refutes those who think that kharijite ideas were particular to historical period and could not re-emerge in modern days among terrorist groups.

(Sunan an-Nasa'i 4103, The Book of Fighting [The Prohibition of Bloodshed] 37, Chapter: “The One Who Unsheathes His Sword and Starts to Strike the People With it”, Hadith 138, Grade: Hasan)

6.       Their faith will not exceed their throats (لا يجاوز إيمانهم حناجرهم)

(Sahih al-Bukhari, The book on Virtues of the Qur'an, Chapter: The sin of the person who recites the Qur'an to show off or to gain some worldly benefit, or to feel proud etc, Hadith 82)

(Ibid., Book 61, Chapter: “The signs of Prophet hood in Islam”, Hadith 118)

(Ibid. Book 88, Chapter 6, Hadith 12)

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 42, Chapter 31 “Fighting Against the Khawarij” Hadith 172, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan an-Nasa'i, the Book of Prohibition of bloodshed, Chapter: “The One Who Unsheathes His Sword and Starts to Strike the People With it”, Hadith 137, Grade: Sahih)

7.       They will become so deeply absorbed in the Din (Religion) to the point that they will leave it. (يتعمقون في الدين حتى يخرجوا امنه)

(As- Sunnah of Ibn Abi Aasim (no. 930) from 'Abdullaah bin 'Amr (Radi Allahu Anhu)

As the extremism of Khawarij is widely known, some scholars argue that Khawarij are disbelievers, adducing the prophet’s statement “to the point that they will leave it” as evidence for their standpoint. Other group of scholars keeps silence over the Takfir of Khawarij. However, all of them unanimously agree that the Khawarij have nothing to do with Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama’ah: “orthodox Muslims”. 

8.       They are excessive in performing acts of worship (يجتهدون في العبادة)

(Mu’jam fi Usami Shuyukh e Abi Bakr Al-Ismaaeli by Abu Bakr Ahmed bin Ibrahim, Hadith 246, Zammul kalamWa Ahlihi, Hadith 58, Ithaaful Maharah, hadith 11567)

9.       Every one among you will consider his prayer and fasting insignificant as compared with their prayer and fasting (يحقر أحدكم صلاته مع صلاتهم وصيامه مع صيامهم)

The Messenger of Allah (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Leave him (Dhul Khuwasira, one of BanuTamim), for he has friends (who would outwardly look to be so religious and pious) that everyone among you would consider his prayer insignificant as compared with their prayer, and his fast as compared with their fasts. They would recite the Qur'an but it would not go beyond their collar-bones. They would pass through (the teachings of Islam so hurriedly) just as the arrow passes through the prey”.

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6933, Book 88, Hadith 15)

(Ibid. 6163: The Book of Good Manners (Al-Adab) 78, Chapter 95: Saying “Wailaka.”, Hadith 189)

(Ibid. 3610, Book 61, Hadith 117)

(Sahih Muslim 1064: the Book of Zakat 12, Chapter 47: the Khawarij and their attributes, Hadith 193)

(SUNAN IBN MAJAH, Book 1, Hadith 174. Grade: Sahih)

10.     Their prayer will not pass their collar-bones (لا تجاوز صلاتهم تراقيهم)

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4768, Book 42, Hadith 173, Grade: Sahih)

(Sahih Muslim 1066, Book 12, Hadith 204)

11.     They will recite the Qur'an, the teachings of which will not go past their throats (يقرءون القرآن لا يجاوز حلوقهم)

Meaning: TheKhawarij will recite the Qur’an but they will not understand the teachings of Allah Almighty. This is why it is reported that the Qur’an “will not go past their throats”

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6931, Book 88, Hadith 13)

(Ibid. 6934, Book 88, Hadith 16)

(Ibid. 7562, Book 97, Hadith 187)

(Ibid. 7432, Book 97, Hadith 59)

(Ibid. 3610, Book 61, Hadith 117)

(Ibid. 5058, Book 66, Hadith 83)

(Ibid. 3344, Book 60, Hadith 19)

(Sahih Muslim 822, Book 6, Hadith 336)

(Ibid. 1067, Book 12, Hadith 206)

(Ibid. 1066, Book 12, Hadith 199)

(Ibid. 1064, Book 12, Hadith 193)

(Ibid. 1064, Book 12, Hadith 188)

(Ibid. 1064, Book 12, Hadith 192)

(Sunan an-Nasa'i 4101, Book 37, Hadith 136, Grade: Sahih)

(Ibid. 4103, Book 37, Hadith 138)

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4764, Book 42, Hadith 169, Grade: Sahih)

(Ibid. 4765, Book 42, Hadith 170, Grade: Sahih)

(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2188, Book 33, Hadith 31, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 173, Grade: Sahih)    

(Ibid. Hadith 177, Grade: Sahih

(Ibid. Hadith 175, Grade: Sahih)

(Ibid. Hadith 179, Grade: Hasan)

(Ibid. Hadith 180, Grade: Sahih)

(Muwatta Imam Malik Book 15, Hadith 482)

12.     They would recite the Qur'an thinking that it supports them, whereas it is evidence against them (يقرءون القرآن يحسبون أنه لهم وهو عليهم)

(Sahih Muslim 1066, Book 12, Hadith 204)

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4768, Book 42, Hadith 173, Grade: Sahih)

13.     They call to the book of Allah, but they have nothing to do with it (يدعون إلى كتاب الله وليسوا منه في شيء)

It means they will try to use evidences from the Qur’an but err in understanding it and deriving the best meaning from it.

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4765, Book 42, Hadith 170, Grade: Sahih)

14.     They talk (in such a manner) as if their words are the best among the creatures (يَقُولُونَ مِنْ خَيْرِ قَوْلِ الْبَرِيَّةِ)

(Sahih al-Bukhari 5057, Book 66, Hadith 82)

(Sahih Muslim 1066, Book 12, Hadith 199)

(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2188, Book 33, Hadith 31, Grade: Sahih)

15.     They will be good in speech and bad in work (قَوْمٌ يُحْسِنُونَ الْقِيلَ وَيُسِيئُونَ الْفِعْلَ)

It means the Khawarij beautify their speech but commit vile actions such as killing innocent lives and creating division in Muslim community.

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4765, Book 42, Hadith 170, Grade: Sahih)

16.     They are worst of the people and animals/creatures (هم شر الخلق والخليقة)

(Sahih Muslim 1067, Book 12, Hadith 206)

(Ibid. 1065, Book 12, Hadith 194)

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4765, Book 42, Hadith 170, Grade: Sahih)

(Sunan an-Nasa'i 4103, Book 37, Hadith 138, Grade: Hasan)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 175, Grade: Sahih)    

17.     They disparage their rulers and claim them to be upon misguidance, as 'Abdullaah bin Dhil Khuwaysirah did with the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) (يطعنون على أمرائهم ويشهدون عليهم بالضلالة)

(As Sunnah by Ibn ‘Asim, 2/455, Hadith 967)

(MajmauzZawaid, Al-Haithmi, 6/228)

18.     They will come out at the time of difference among the (Muslim) people. (يخرجون على حين فرقة من الناس)

(Sahih al-Bukhari 6163, Book 78, Hadith 189)

(Ibid. 6933, Book 88, Hadith 15)

(Ibid. 3610, Book 61, Hadith 117)

(Sahih Muslim 1064, Book 12, Hadith 193)

19.     They will kill the Muslims and leave alone the idolaters (يقتلون أهل الإسلام ويدعون أهل الإسلام)

This is a fact known to all of us by the situation in Syria, Iraq and other Muslim countries that they fight primarily against Muslims.

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3344, Book 60, Hadith 19)

(Ibid. 7432, Book 97, Hadith 59)

(Sahih Muslim 1064, Book 12, Hadith 188)

(Sunan Abi Dawud 4764, Book 42, Hadith 169, Grade: Sahih)

20.     They shed forbidden blood- whether their own by way of suicide or others by attacking them by way of murder (from the speech of Hazrat Ali Radi Allahu Anhu) (يسفكون الدم الحرام)

(Sahih Muslim 1066, Book 12, Hadith 204)

21.     They lie in wait on the roads for the purpose of attacking the passers- by and spilling their blood without any justification from Allaah (from the speech of Hazrat Aisha RadiAllahuAnha)

(Al- Mustadrak by Al Hakim (2/153) and MajmauzZawaa'id (6/236)

22.     They will believe the Muhkam verses and fight over allegorical verses (Mutashabihat) (يؤمنون بمحكمه ويهلكون عند متشابه) (from the speech of Ibn Abbas RadiAllahuAnhu)

(Jamiul Bayan fi Tafsiril Quran by Tabari, 3:181)

(Fathul Bari by Hajar Al-Asqalani 12/300)

23.     They will speak the truth with their tongues, but it will not go past from their throats (يقولون الحق بألسنتهم لا يجاوز حلوقهم)

(From the speech of Hazrat Ali RadiAllahuAnhuh, Sahih Muslim, The book of Zakat, Hadith 1066)

24.     They take verses that were revealed concerning the disbelievers and apply them to the believers. (ينطلقون إلى آيات نزلت في الكفار فيجعلوها على المؤمنين)

(From the speech of Ibn Umar (RadiAllahuAnhu), Sahih Al-Bukhari, chapter 'Killing the Khawarij and Heretics after establishin the proof against them)

25.     They will go out of the religion (i.e. Islam) as an arrow goes through a game's body (يمرقون من الدين كما يمرق من الرمية)

(Sahih al-Bukhari: The Book of Al-Maghazi 64, Chapter: Sending 'Ali and Khalid to Yemen, Hadith 378)  (Sahih Muslim)

26.     Those who kill them (kharijites), shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection (الأجر العظيم لمن قتلهم)

Those who are fighting against neo-Kharijites including ISIS, Taliban and Al-Qaeda, shall get a reward on the Day of Resurrection.  

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 61, Chapter: “The signs of Prophethood in Islam”, Hadith 118) (Sahih Muslim)

27.     The best of the Slain are those who were killed by them (خير قتلى منقتلوه)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 181) (Tirmidhi)

28.     The Khawarij are the worst of the slain who are killed under heaven (شر قتلى تحت أديم السماء)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 181) (Tirmidhi)

29.     They (Khawarij) are dogs of the hellfire (إنهم كلاب النار)

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 1, Hadith 181) (Tirmidhi)

30.     The Khawarij hold that a Muslim becomes disbeliever due to every sin,saying “they leave the fold of faith and enter into disbelief”. (Sharhul 'Aqeedah al- Tahawiyyah page. 298)

31.     The Khawarij believe that the Muslims who commit major sins will live eternally in the Hellfire.  (Sharhul 'Aqeedah al- Tahawiyyah page. 360)

32.     The Khawarij are the worst people in deriving rulings based on analogy. (Al-Milal wan Nihal 1/116)

33. Some sects of Khawarij consider those who do not accept their views to be disbelievers, and then declare their blood lawful for shedding. They also allow killing women, children and the old who oppose them. (Lawaamiul Anwaar al Bahiyyah (1/86)

34.     One of the characteristics of khawarij is that those Muslims who are following Taqleed are a cause for disbelief and the destruction of Islamic ummah. Thus they oppose Muqallid scholars. (Diraasatun Anil FiraqwaTaareekhil Muslimeen, pg. 146-147)

35.     Some of the Khawrij believe that a person who believes that the consensus (Ijma’) of the scholars is proof in Islamic Sharia is a disbeliever. (Diraasatun Anil FiraqwaTaareekhil Muslimeen, pg. 143)

36.     They prefer illiteracy to education, claiming that the combination between religious sciences and the practical secular sciences is not possible. (Diraasatun Anil FiraqwaTaareekhil Muslimeen, pg. 134)

37.     They use only those verses of the Qur'an that are about Wa'eed (Allaah's warning of punishment) while they avoid using the verses regarding the Wa'ad (Allaah's promise of forgiveness and mercifulness) (Al Khawarij Awwal ul Firaq fi Taarikhil Islam p. 38)

38.     They make rulings in haste. (Al Khawarij Awwalul Firaq fi Taarikhil Islam p. 146)

39.     They outwardly display the attributes of calling towards good and forbidding the evil, using Religious texts, while they dispute with and rebel against the rulers and fight against those Muslims who do not obey them.  (Al Khawarij Awwal ul Firaq fi Taarikhil Islam p. 37)

40.  They incite teenage girls, family members, and wives, mothers and fathers to break away from their relatives and family to join their Kharijism.

Ibn Kathir describes this characteristic of Khawarij:

"ثم خرجوا يتسللون وحدانا ، لئلا يعلم أحد بهم فيمنعوهم من الخروج فجرجوا من بين الآباء والأمهات والأعمام والعمات وفارقوا سائر القرابات ، يعتقدون بجهلهم وقلة علمهم وعقلهم أن هذا الأمر يرضي رب الأرض والسماوات ، ولم يعلموا أنه من أكبر الكبائر والذنوب الموبقات والعظائم والخطيئات وأنه مما يزينه لهم إبليس وأنفهسم التي هي بالسوء أمارات. وقد تدارك جماعة منهم بعض أولادهم وقراباتهم وإخوانهم فردوهم و وبخوهم ، فمنهم من استمر على الاستقامة ، ومنهم من فر بعد ذالك فلحق بالخوارج فخسر إلى يوم القيامة"

Translation: “Then they (Khawarij) went slipping away alone to avoid detection so that no one would be able to prevent them from leaving. They went from the midst of their fathers, mothers, uncles and aunts, leaving behind all the kith and kin. Due to their ignorance, little knowledge or understanding, they believed that it would please the Lord of Earth and Heaven, not realising that it was in fact of the greatest crimes, the most destructive sins, monstrosities and wrong doings. They did not realise that this had been made attractive to them by the devil and their own egos hell-bent on wickedness. Some people were able to salvage some of their offspring, relatives, and brethren, and return them back and rebuke them. Then, some of these remained upright while others fled afterwards and joined the Khawarij, and so became losers until the Day of Resurrection.” (Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya, v. 10, p. 581)

Given the characteristics of Kharijites clearly mentioned in several Hadith, speeches of holy companions and religious scholars, as some of which referenced above, it is quite fair to describe the ‘ISIS’ and other Islamist terrorists as Kharijite terrorists. It is also worthy to note here that in several Sahih Hadith, the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has commanded Muslims to fight Kharijites. It is, therefore, incumbent (Wajib) upon Muslim governments and rulers to fight against the ISIS, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram, in order to protect Muslims and non-Muslims and establish peace worldwide. As for Muslim scholars, they ought to perform this fight as a wajib on ideological ground, refuting their Kharijite narratives and characteristics.

        A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Ghulam Ghaus is an Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background. He completed the classical Islamic sciences from a Delhi-based Sufi Islamic seminary Jamia Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Zakir Nagar, New Delhi with specialization in Tafseer, Hadith and Arabic. He completed his Alimiat and Fazilat respectively from Jamia Warsia Arabic College, Lucknow and Jamia Manzar- e- Islam, Bareilly, U.P. He did his graduation in Arabic (Hons) and post-graduation (Arabic) from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

URL:http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/ghulam-ghaus,-new-age-islam/isis,-taliban,-al-qaeda-and-other-islamist-terrorists-are-kharijites?-an-analysis-of-40-major-characteristics-of-kharijites/d/106173

Egyptian Writer Faitma Naoot Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Talking About Animal Rights

Photo: ISIS Yazidi sex slaves subjected to traumatic 'virginity tests' after escaping

ISIS Yazidi Sex Slaves Subjected To Traumatic 'Virginity Tests' After Escaping

Tareena Shakil: Why British Woman Is Guilty Of Joining Islamic State

Four UAE Clubs To Participate In The 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament

Asian Development Bank Project For Improved Legal Literacy For Women In Pakistan

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: http://newageislam.com/islam,-women-and-feminism/new-age-islam-news-bureau/egyptian-writer-faitma-naoot-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-talking-about-animal-rights/d/106178

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Egyptian Writer Faitma Naoot Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Talking About Animal Rights

January 28th, 2016

Fatima Naoot, an Egyptian secular writer, has been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of insulting Islam. The charges related to an October 2015 Facebook post which decried the tradition of slaughtering sheep on Eid al-Adha as the “greatest massacre committed by human beings.” She was also ordered to pay a fine of $255.

Her sentence comes into effect immediately, but it is reported that she will be able to appeal from prison. While she did admit to writing the Facebook post, she argued that it was in no way meant to be an insult to Islam.

“I'm not sad about the sentencing as I don't care about going to jail. I'm sad that the efforts of reformists have been wasted,” she told AFP.

Sherif Adeeb, her defence attorney, expressed his surprise at the court’s decision.

“Despite having hoped for an acquittal, I cannot comment on court decisions but the situation in general is odd because we have submitted proof that there were no criminal intentions on the part of my client, a claim that the prosecution authorities also supported,” he said.

During the Eid al-Adha celebrations, domestic animals are sacrificed as a symbol of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son.

albawaba.com/loop/egyptian-writer-faitma-naoot-sentenced-three-years-prison-talking-about-animal-rights-799030

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ISIS Yazidi sex slaves subjected to traumatic 'virginity tests' after escaping

Lizzie Dearden | The Independent | Jan 31, 2016

Yazidi women and girls who manage to escape ISIS after being captured as sex slaves have been undergoing traumatic "virginity tests" to prove they were abused.

Human Rights Watch interviewed victims who survived organised rape, captivity and forced marriage only to be subjected to the "abusive" examinations after believing they had reached safety in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Rothna Begum, a researcher at the group's women's rights division, said she spoke to a woman called Luna who had been kidnapped by ISIS as the group swept through northern Iraq in 2014, sold four times and raped by all her "owners".

She was one of hundreds of Yazidi women and girls believed to have since undergone painful "virginity tests" as a method of proving the rapes to Iraqi officials documenting ISIS crimes.

A judge told Human Rights Watch researchers that the committee gathering evidence has subsequently stopped using the examinations and that a new reporting method has been adopted by the health directorate in Dohuk, based on UN recommendations.

"This is an important step for women and girls like "Luna" who can now pursue justice for the crimes against them in a process that shows deeper respect for women's rights and a commitment to providing better care for rape survivors," Begum said.

The World Health Organisation has stated that there is no place for virginity testing in modern practice, saying the commonly-used method of inserting two fingers "has no scientific validity" and can be painful and distressing.

It is based on the inaccurate belief that all women and girls who have not had penetrative sex have intact hymens that bleed during first intercourse.

The same misapprehension has been driving former sex slaves to seek surgery to "restore their virginity" by repairing the membrane because of fears they will be shunned by future husbands or ostracised by family members and their communities.

"In the most extreme cases, women and girls were so traumatised by the fact they were no longer virgins that they were insisting on this surgery to feel whole again - they feel they have lost something," Begum told The Independent last year.

ISIS, also known as the Islamic State and Daesh, issued guidelines to its fighters last year attempting to justify the taking of non-Muslim women as sex slaves under Islamic law and even released a "price list" for the women, who have been sold for as little as a packet of cigarettes.

Zainab Bangura, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict, has documented cases of victims being "sewn up" after being raped so their "owners" can sell them on as virgins.

All Yazidis have been declared heretics under ISIS' interpretation of Salafism and have been driven from their homes, enslaved and massacred in territories under the group's control.

A prominent religious leader, Baba Sheikh, decreed that returning women should be treated as victims and welcomed back into the community but that has not been the case for all.

Those women and girls face not only stigma over sex outside of marriage, whether it was consensual or not, but also the trauma of pregnancy.

Abortion is illegal in Iraq except in cases where the mother's life is directly at risk, forcing victims to turn to dangerous "back-street" doctors or bear the children of their rapists, sometimes giving birth at a dangerously young age.

Human Rights Watch is among the groups campaigning to have terminations made legal for rape victims or women at risk of suicide or honour-based violence.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/ISIS-Yazidi-sex-slaves-subjected-to-traumatic-virginity-tests-after-escaping/articleshow/50792686.cms

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Tareena Shakil: Why British woman is guilty of joining Islamic State

29 January 2016

Tareena Shakil has become the first woman in the UK to be convicted of "membership" of the self-styled Islamic State organisation - but she never had a membership card, says she deeply regrets going to Syria, and - in a courtroom twist - told the jury she'd even helped MI5 on her return.

So why did she face this very serious charge and end up with a criminal conviction that could see her in prison for 10 years?

She is among approximately 60 women and girls known to have gone from the UK to Syria - but she is the first to have faced such serious charges on her return.

Terrorism legislation says that membership of a banned group means to "belong" - but how could "belonging" be proved in the case of a so-called organisation like Islamic State?

Experts say that men swear an oath to IS, but the situation with women is less clear.

Islamic State has an official women's wing, known as Al Khanssah, that is said to control the lives of women who migrate to the territory - but there was no direct evidence that Shakil was part of it, only that her life was dominated by its matrons once she arrived.

Instead, the prosecution and her conviction came down to her pattern of behaviour and her own evidence about what she did and posted on social media.

The 26-year-old from Burton upon Trent, left the UK to join IS in October 2014.

Shakil began planning her journey after fleeing domestic abuse as her relationship with her partner collapsed.

After weeks of research, including talking to two key British women inside Islamic State, the court heard she had convinced herself that going to Syria was a good idea.

The prosecution said she wanted to further the aims of the banned terror group. She said she was looking for safety and peace within "an Islamic state" where there would be no alcohol or drugs.

But two of her key contacts in Syria were well-known jihadist sympathisers - Britons Sally Ann Jones, also known as Umm Hussain Britaniyya, and Glasgow woman Aqsa Mahmood.

Mahmood has published extensive diaries and guidance online, telling women how to arrive and what to bring.

Shakil spoke to both and in one message told Jones: "I wish I was there".

In October, Shakil told her family she was going on holiday to Turkey with her son, then around 18 months old. They helped her pack and saw her off at East Midlands Airport.

Days later she announced she wasn't coming back - and the family found two notes she had left behind.

"If you are reading this then I am long gone and you clearing out the house," she wrote. "I love you all, never forget that. Whatever is in the house I'll leave to you mum, have it all, it's yours. I won't say goodbye because this isn't the end."

She later confirmed her location.

"We crossed the border today so we are now in Syria living there. I love you loads… this is the hardest thing I've done x."

When she first returned to the UK, she told police she had been kidnapped. But her evidence at trial was completely different.

She admitted she had used smugglers working for IS to go on a clandestine journey from Turkey into Syria - and from there to Raqqa, the self-styled Islamic State's capital, and was being ideologically prepared as a prospective jihadi bride.

"U think I'm a terrorist lol," she quipped to people back home. "It is part of our [religion] to kill the murtadeen [apostates]. U shouldn't communicate with terrorist, they will take your phone. I can't give you personal information about how we travel because no-one can be trusted. They bomb us daily - to give u this would be silly."

She posted a series of messages professing her support for IS.

Two clearly include her son, who cannot be named for legal reasons. In one, the toddler is smiling next to a large rifle. Text superimposed over the image give him the name "Abu Jihad al-Britani".

And in mid-November she confirmed to a friend in the UK she had met a prospective husband.

But she found no happiness in Syria either.

Shakil told the jury she realised she had made a mistake when she took against the idea of marrying an American-Italian fighter with a limp. She organised a daring escape that involved a taxi ride to the Turkish border - and a run across open land and through a barbed wire fence.

So why did the jury convict her of membership?

Judge Melbourne Inman QC told the jury they had to test what membership amounted to.

He told them to not think about membership in terms of belonging to a library or a gym. Instead, they had to decide whether Tareena Shakil voluntarily went to be with IS in Syria, knowing its aims, how it would achieve them and, crucially, seeking to associate with like-minded individuals.

"Obviously if someone is associated with members of a terrorist organisation and only submits to the organisation's requirements or will because they have to and don't share with furthering the aims of that organisation, then clearly that does not amount to them being a member of it."

Tim Maloney QC, defending, urged the jury to think twice before convicting.

"Her partner was sleeping around and getting drunk… abusing her physically and psychologically," he said.

"It's breakdown time; she's vulnerable. [The IS recruiter] cultivates her and at that time she goes from nought to 60 in no time whatsoever, because she's being groomed.

"She may have been attracted to an idealised vision of ISIS [Islamic State], but as soon as she saw what it was like she came back.

"When she got back she helped the authorities. She's not in ISIS, she's someone who has done something really wrong that she badly regrets."

bbc.com/news/uk-35291347

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Four UAE clubs to participate in the 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament

January 31, 2016

The UAE is taking part through four clubs in the 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament, Sharjah 2016 (AWST), which will be held under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, in Sharjah from February 2nd to 12th.

The tournament is approved by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees and the League of Arab States . It is organised by the Women Sports Department and Sharjah Ladies Club, and their partners, the General Authority for Youth Welfare and Sports, the National Olympic Committee, and Sharjah Sports Council.

The list of the  UAE clubs includes Sharjah Ladies Club, Baniyas Club, Al Wasl Sports Club, and the Emirates Equestrian Centre. Sharjah Ladies Club will participate in all eight sports included in the third edition, which are basketball, volleyball, shooting, fencing, table tennis, athletics, archery, and equestrian.

The distribution of competitions for  the UAE clubs will be as follows: Sharjah Ladies Club and Baniyas Club will compete in basketball, Sharjah Ladies Club and Al Wasl Sports Club will compete in volleyball, Baniyas Club and Sharjah Ladies Club will compete in fencing, the Emirates Equestrian Center and Sharjah Ladies Club will compete in equestrian while the UAE's participation in table tennis, athletics, and bow-and-arrow games will be limited to the host club, Sharjah Ladies Club.

Shaikha Shamsa bint Hashr Al-Maktoum, the board member in the Arab Volleyball Federation, Chairwoman of the Women's Committee and Supervisor of Ladies Games in Al-Wasl Sports Club, stated that the strong presence of Arab clubs and participation of Emirati clubs is very significant as it serves women's sports in the UAE.

Shaikha Shamsa said, "We are looking forward to seeing our players from Emirati clubs on the various award podiums. The Emirati clubs participating in the Arab Women Sports Tournament are ready for the competitions, and most of the UAE's teams have participated in training camps locally and abroad, which has helped put the final technical touches to the tournament's organizational plan."

Major General Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Reessy, Chairman of Baniyas Club, Chairman of the UAE Shooting Federation, noted that the 3rd Arab Women Sports Tournament is a perfect opportunity for  the UAE clubs to gain exposure and interact with different levels of Arab clubs, especially since the third edition will include the participation of 17 Arab countries represented by 55 clubs.

He added that the UAE clubs that will participate in the third edition have a strong chance to win titles and awards.

khaleejtimes.com/sport/local/four-uae-clubs-to-participate-in-the-3rd-arab-women-sports-tournament

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Asian Development Bank project for improved legal literacy for women in Pakistan

January 31st, 2016

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering launching a capacity development project in Pakistan and Afghanistan to improve legal literacy of women, government, judicial officials and religious and community leaders on gender-based violence.

The project titled ‘Regional Capacity Dev­e­l­opment Technical Assistance (R-CDTA)’ will address a plethora of issues affecting gender equality in the legal and related sectors and to plug gaps among institutions.

It aims to strengthen the capacity of investigating, prosecuting and decision-making bodies and equip women with adequate knowledge of their rights to access social and legal justice, leading to a stronger and more inclusive society.

According to ADB, the project will help increase skills of government, civil society organisations, legal and judicial officers to respond to clients on gender issues, and increase awareness and support for women’s legal literacy and access to legal aid and services.

It will also assist Pakistan and Afghanistan to fulfil their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The project is likely to be expanded to cover Tajikistan.

ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy 2015-2019 for Pakistan acknowledges that gender inequalities in the country are still large and states that the ADB’s support has a direct impact on women’s empowerment and well-being.

For the first time, the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN member states includes a target on eliminating gender-based violence.

The ADB says that citizens’ access to the legal system and assertion of their rights is severely constrained by poverty, lack of knowledge of rights and the law, and the complexities of the system.

A major constraint to the delivery of justice is that enforcers and administrators of the law are not adequately versed in the duties and obligations of their professions.

dawn.com/news/1236544/adb-project-for-improved-legal-literacy-for-women-soon

URL: http://newageislam.com/islam,-women-and-feminism/new-age-islam-news-bureau/egyptian-writer-faitma-naoot-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-talking-about-animal-rights/d/106178

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