Pakistan: Islamists Demand Death Penalty for Christian's 'Blasphemous' Text Message

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Banners were hung across the city which read, “Only one punishment for the blasphemer; sever his head from the body. ... Life imprisonment not acceptable, not acceptable and not acceptable.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Charishma News
By World Watch Monitor | 7/30/2013

Tensions are high in the Punjabi city of Gojra after a court sentenced a Christian man, Sajjad Masih, to life imprisonment for blasphemy, only weeks before the fourth anniversary of an outbreak of extreme violence against Christians in the same city.

In August 2009, seven Christians from the same family were killed—six burned to death—and more than 100 Christian homes set alight by angry Muslims, again over an accusation of blasphemy.

Now, even as local Islamists demanded that Masih’s life imprisonment sentence be exchanged for the death penalty, a further blasphemy case was lodged on July 20; police arrested a Christian couple who were sent to jail the next day.
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Egypt: Saudi King paid 1$ billion to help army remove Morsi

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Mujtahid believed what the Egyptian army has received up until now is just a small part of what has been promised by the Saudi regime and according to his findings “much more is on the way”.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Al-Alam News Network
By Al Alam | July 29, 2013

Saudi political activist, known as Mujtahidd, has revealed that Al Saud government has helped Egyptian defense minister with one billion dollars to topple former president Mohamed Morsi.

Mujtahid who has gathered lots of attention for his Twitter campaign against Saudi government, said in his latest tweets that Commander-in-Chief of Egyptian armed forces General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who is also country’s defense minister, received a one billion dollar aid from Saudi Arabia for removing Morsi from power on July 3.

Mujtahid wrote Saudi government is now very much concerned that Sisi has failed to establish the new setting in Egypt successfully, as millions of Morsi supporters continue their week-long protests throughout Egypt calling for his return.
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Pakistan: Attacks on Minorities: Jan 2012 – Jun 2013

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What is especially depressing is how, given the now well-established patterns, Pakistan has been unable to provide security to it increasingly imperiled religious minorities.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Independent | Blog - UK
By Omar Waraich | July 30, 2013

Last Friday, hundreds of shoppers were gathered in Parachinar’s main bazaar. In this main town of Pakistan’s Kurram tribal agency, located along the Afghan border, the local residents were buying food items for the looming evening Ramadan meal, when death and carnage visited them again. Within the space of four minutes, two separate bombs exploded, killing 57 people and wounding three times as many.

The first explosion, local officials told reporters, came from a bomb planted in a motorcycle. This is a much-favored method of Pakistan’s many terrorist groups who use the small and light vehicles to pierce large crowds mostly unhindered. Then, four minutes later, a second bomb exploded some 400 yards away. Eyewitnesses said they saw the marketplace’s handcarts fly into the air. Pieces of flesh lay around in small pools of blood. Efforts were made to rush the victims to emergency care, but, within a small amount of time, Parachinar’s main hospital was unable to cope.
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Afghanistan: Al Qaeda, Taliban backers win US contracts

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“There appears to be a growing gap between the policy objectives of Washington and the reality of achieving them in Afghanistan, especially when the government must hire and oversee contractors to perform its mission.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Tony Capaccio | July 31, 2013

WASHINGTON: Supporters of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan have been getting US military contracts, and American officials are citing “due process rights” as a reason not to cancel the agreements, according to an independent agency monitoring spending.

The US Army Suspension and Debarment Office has declined to act in 43 such cases, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said on Monday in a letter accompanying a quarterly report to Congress.

“I am deeply troubled that the US military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the US government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,” Sopko said.
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Pakistan: World's Concern About Minorities In Pakistan

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Ahmadis witnessed 54 attacks, including one bombing, 26 incidents of targeted shootings in which 22 Ahmadis were killed and 39 injured.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Asian Human Rights Commission
By Press Release / Nasir Saeed | July 31, 2013

The issue of minority rights in Pakistan is discussed often around the world these days, in parliaments, human rights groups like Amnesty International, religious freedom departments, foreign affairs committees and international organisations like the Commonwealth and the UN.

By contrast, the Pakistani government hardly mentions it and pays very little attention to the repression minority groups in the country are suffering.  If anyone attempts to lobby or campaign on this issue, they are threatened and silenced like Sherry Rehman, and the late Salman Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti.

Pakistani politicians and the establishment want the world to see the treatment of minorities through their eyes – set within the context of an Islamic state – while at the same time espousing democracy. Yet turning a blind eye to harsh realities suggests we are not interested in Pakistan's future.
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Pakistan: Adventist sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged blasphemy

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“Members of religious minorities in Pakistan live with the constant threat of being accused of blasphemy. They know that if they are accused, they cannot count on a serious investigation.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Adventist.Org /ANN
By Elizabeth Lechleitner | July 30, 2013

A court in Pakistan this month sentenced a Seventh-day Adventist man to life in prison for allegedly defaming the Prophet Muhammad in a case that falls under the country’s controversial blasphemy laws.

 Sajjad Masih, 29, was convicted of sending blasphemous text messages to a member of a religious extremist group in 2011, despite his accuser’s subsequent retraction and prosecutors’ failure to produce any evidence of his involvement. Javed Sahotra, Masih’s defense attorney and fellow Adventist Church member, said the judge buckled under pressure from extremists who dominate the local religious and political landscape.

John Graz, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist world church, said Masih’s case is not unusual.
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Indonesia: Political parties’ pandering hurts Shia, Ahmadiyah

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Golkar deputy secretary-general Nurul Arifin said that the party did order all of its members to promote pluralism but that politicians had often disregarded the directive, bowing to pressure from local majority groups.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post
By Margareth S. Aritonang | July 30 2013

Political pragmatism by major political parties, that have long pandered to majority Sunni voters, has prevented the parties from protecting the rights of minority Muslim groups such as the Ahmadiyah and Shia.

Although nine political parties in the House of Representatives have provisions in their statutes to protect the rights of minority groups, some of them, particularly the Islamic-based National Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), have openly supported the Religious Affairs Ministry’s decision to maintain regulations deemed discriminatory against minorities groups, including the 2008 Joint Ministerial Decree that bans Ahmadis from practicing their faith over fears of blasphemy.
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Pakistan: Who wants to win a baby?

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We've created a symbol of peace and love, that's our show's theme -- to spread love. I'm setting an example. Giving a childless couple an abandoned child - TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: CNN | Asia
By  Saima Mohsin and Katie Hunt | July 29, 2013

Karachi (CNN) -- Plumbing new depths in the battle for television ratings, abandoned babies are being given out as prizes on a controversial prime-time game show in Pakistan.

TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain presented baby girls to two unsuspecting couples during his show, which is broadcast live for seven hours a day during the month of Ramadan.

"I was really shocked at first. I couldn't believe we were being given this baby girl," said Suriya Bilqees, now a mother of a two-week old. "I was extremely happy."

Another baby, a boy, is due to be given to another couple at some point in the coming days.
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Pakistan: Ahmedis banished from place of worship

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Asked why no assault case had been registered on the Ahmedis’ complaint after members of the community were beaten up and thrown out of the place of worship on the first day of Ramazan, the SHO said that since no blood had been spilt, there could be no FIR.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune
By Tanvir Rana | July 31, 2013

LAHORE: Ahmedis in Fatehpur, Gujrat district, have been banished from their own place of worship in Ramazan and fear that they will be deprived of the property by the local government and clerics.

On July 11, the first day of Ramazan, a group of Sunnis beat up the Ahmedis and kicked them out of the place of worship, telling them not to return, according to members of the Ahmedi community.

The Ahmedis filed a complaint with the police for the registration of an FIR against the assailants. The police did not register a case, nor heeded their request for protection. Instead, they sealed the place of worship, which is located on a four-marla plot, “because of concerns of a clash,” Dolatnagar SHO Riaz Qadir told The Express Tribune. He said that previously, both Sunnis and Ahmedis had prayed there.
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New Zealand: Muslim sect offering its message of peace

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One Ahmadiyya faith sharer in Queen St wearing a T-shirt that said "Meet a Muslim" told the Herald he was offering to meet those who wanted to "be friends with a real-life Muslim".

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The New Zealand Herald
By Lincoln Tan | July 31, 2013

Mubarak Minhas, of the Ahmadiyya community, with a message of love and understanding. Photo / Natalie Slade

A Muslim sect is taking its faith to the streets of Auckland this Ramadan month to counter "Kiwi ignorance" of Islam.

The Ahmadiyya community, which considers itself Muslim but is rejected by most followers of mainstream Islam, has embarked on a range of public faith-sharing programmes - including offering a hand in friendship to shoppers in the city and having stalls at weekend flea markets.

One Ahmadiyya faith sharer in Queen St wearing a T-shirt that said "Meet a Muslim" told the Herald he was offering to meet those who wanted to "be friends with a real-life Muslim".
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USA: Hope Beyond Our Ignorance - Daily Inspiration

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I still have much to learn about these neighbors, but time with them buoyed my hope in God at work to overcome fear, prejudice, and rancor toward a world more reflecting, what Christians call, God's Kingdom. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Post-Standard
By Rev. Jim Kerr-Whitt | July 29, 2013

Talking in my living room, a dentist, a businessman and I discovered we have much in common, including grandchildren living in faraway places (a hard thing for grandpas) and the pleasure of spoiling these grand-kids when we can.

Also convictions like: honoring God in all relationships, God's justice and love, and God's definition of "neighbor."

Until this, I was unaware of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

I still have much to learn about these neighbors, but time with them buoyed my hope in God at work to overcome fear, prejudice, and rancor toward a world more reflecting, what Christians call, God's Kingdom.
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Understanding a Billion Muslims: Ten Days, Ten Deeds

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So if you would like to know what the 99 percent of Muslims secretly believe in, man, do I have an absolutely great idea for you: perform ten deeds in ten days as the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan winds down.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post
By Dr. Faheem Younus | July 29, 2013

Who can decipher the mind of a terrorist? In the post 9/11 America, there is a dollar-spending, ink-spilling, competition between the government and the academia to answer this question.

The faith of the terrorist in the above question is typically implied while the magnitude of the problem -- less than 0.1 percent of the world's Muslims have committed acts of terror against the western world -- is typically denied.

Which brings me to the consequential next question: How much effort has gone into decoding the minds of the 99.9 percent of, yes, Muslims?

Zilch. Nada. None.
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Pakistan: In pursuit of clarity

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No videos, sketches or hate speeches have hurt Islam more than the reckless army of blood thirsty goons justifying vandalism in the name of religion.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Sana Saleem | July 29, 2013

Dear Parliamentarians,

I write to you in the hope of assisting you in a rather arduous task being assigned to you by the PTA. If recent reports are to be believed, the Pakistan telecommunication authority has done the unthinkable; in a rare moment of clarity the PTA has requested the parliament to define 'blasphemy'.

Yes, after the country's governor was shot 27 times for seeking pardon for a blasphemy accused mother, his murderer garlanded by lawyers and defended by the ex-Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, a 14-year-old young girl and her family driven out of the country, a 70-year-old mentally unstable woman sentenced to 14 years in jails, several hundred burnt houses and dozens of lynched dead bodies later, you've finally been approached to determine what exactly classifies as blasphemy.
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India: 5 Women beaten in marketplace for sharing faith

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The assault began with a powerful slap to the face of one woman and continued to the others, one of whom was isolated and surrounded by five men.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Charisma News
By Taun Cortado | July 26, 2013

Five women have been beaten by a man in the Andhra Pradesh region of India while sharing about the love of Jesus in a public marketplace. Amazingly spared, they retreated to safety, thanking God for the honor of suffering for His sake.

The women, all leaders in the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-sponsored Women’s Fellowship ministry, had been sharing with store owners and shoppers when one man demanded to know what they were doing. The assault began with a powerful slap to the face of one woman and continued to the others, one of whom was isolated and surrounded by five men.

“Jesus promised persecuting and hardships,” says Daniel Punnose, vice president of GFA (gfa.org). “These young ladies see it worth facing the beatings in order to share the love of Christ.”
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Pakistan: Hate-Speech and Social Media

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The most high-profile case of a local Facebook page being blocked by the PTA recently has been that of Roshni – a page promoting progressive, secular, liberal ideas and sharing messages in support of Malala, Ahmadis, the Shia community, the local Hindu community and anti-blasphemy laws.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Jinnah Institute
By Jahanzaib Haque | July 28, 2013

Pakistani media is an agent of CIA and RAW, Shariat ya Shahadat (Shariah or Martydom), Maslak-e-Deoband (Cult of Deoband) and Shias are unbelievers. This is not a list of slogans chanted by extremists on the streets of Pakistan. It is a very small sampling of the thousands of hate-fueled extremist Facebook pages that make up the Pakistani online experience today.

It is a matter of grave concern that for a country that is extremely sensitive to controversial material, the 8.5 million Facebook users from inside Pakistan, have access to messages from local extremists banned organizations and militants with complete impunity. More worryingly, it seems the hate speech against minorities such as the Shia and Ahmadiyya communities is resonating with a majority of local users, along with demands for jihad and making Pakistan an Islamic caliphate.

Do you know which locally run Facebook page has the highest engagement levels – the ‘talking about this’ metric – with Pakistan audiences? Most would assume it is OLX Pakistan, which social media analytics site Social Bakers lists as the number one Facebook page in Pakistan, but that is simply not true. Sorry OLX, your massive ad spend on local media, social media and your marketing teams may have you at 1,965,047 likes and 110,722 users talking about your page as of July 18, but My Ideology is Islam & My Identity is Pakistan (MIMIP) stands at 581,990 likes and a whopping 491,154 talking about the page.
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Indonesia: Political parties pass the buck on FPI

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“The police, for example, should have no excuse but to follow up on the President’s instruction to enforce the law against members of the FPI who commit violence."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post
By Margareth S. Aritonang | July 29 2013

In spite of the recent public condemnation of violent raids in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and Kendal, Central Java, the firebrand group Islam Defenders Front (FPI) will remain a feature of the country’s political life, with no major political parties prepared to curb the hard-line organization.

Almost all political parties, except for the United Development Party (PPP), which is chaired by Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, have issued condemnations of the role of the FPI in the fatal clash in Kendal, which left a pregnant resident, Tri Muniarti, dead.

But when pressed about what to do next with the organization, three major political parties, the ruling Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) maintained that it was up to the National Police and the Home Ministry to deal with it.
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USA: Marriage Rate Declines To Historic Low, Study Finds

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A new report released Thursday by Bowling Green State University's National Center for Marriage and Family Research found that the U.S. marriage rate is 31.1, or 31 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post
By Huff Post Weddings | July 22, 2013

We've been hearing for years that fewer and fewer people are tying the knot, and a new study reveals just how much the marriage rate has declined in the last century.

A new report released Thursday by Bowling Green State University's National Center for Marriage and Family Research found that the U.S. marriage rate is 31.1, or 31 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women. That means for every 1,000 unmarried women in the U.S., 31 of those previously single women tied the knot in the last year. For comparison, in 1920, the national marriage rate was 92.3.

Meanwhile, the average age at women's first marriage is 27 years old, its highest point in over a century.

In 2011, the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of Americans were married, compared to 72 percent in 1960. However, rates of cohabiting couples are rising -- according to private research company Demographic Intelligence, less than half a million couples were cohabiting in 1960, compared to 7.5 million in 2010.
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Indonesia: Sampang Shiites worried conversions will haunt homecoming plan

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“We reject all statements from state officials and local figures that ignore our religious freedoms and right to practice our own beliefs as Shiites.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Arientha Primanita | July 28, 2013

Sampang’s persecuted Shiite Muslim minority, fearful of another round of forced conversions by Sunni Muslims, called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to ensure their religious freedom after a forum meant to negotiate the exiled group’s homecoming placed the matter in the hands of Sunni clerics accused of inciting sectarian tensions in Madura Island.

“We reject all statements from state officials and local figures that ignore our religious freedoms and right to practice our own beliefs as Shiites,” said attorney Herstaning Ikhlas in a statement sent to the Jakarta Globe. “The reconciliation forum must give more space to grassroots dialogue and not accommodate local figures known for their hate speech.”
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Guyana: Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Berbice hosts 1st Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention)

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"Your universal motto and Slogan; “Love for All. Hatred for None” is a unique one and I hope and wish that all Guyanese would adopt this slogan in their day to day life."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Ahmadiyya Muslim Jma'at Berbice
By Staff Report | July 27, 2013

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Berbice, Guyana, South America held its very first Regional Jalsa Salana on May 26th, 2013.

The convention was held at the New Amsterdam, Town Hall, in the Capital Town, New Amsterdam, of the Berbice County, Guyana.

Nearly ninety people including 33 non-Ahmadis from various walks of life attended the Jalsa Salana.

Mr. Jhagroop, Vice Chairman of Region 6, East Berbice, Guyana was the Chief Guest of Honor of the event.
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Bangladesh’s political violence this year rivals Egypt’s

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Incredibly, much of the violence stems from events that occurred more than four decades ago, back when the country was mired in a bloody battle for independence from Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: GlobalPost – International News
By Maher Sattar | July 28, 2013

Riots, executions and war crimes: Bangladesh’s political violence this year rivals Egypt’s. And it’s bound to get worse.

DHAKA, Bangladesh — This nation of 150 million is mired in turmoil.

Some 322 people have perished this year from political violence. That’s the highest death toll outside a conflict zone, and probably still worse than in Egypt.

Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets in riots that have seen buses burned, cars torched, and policemen targeted by Islamist mobs. Protests are expected to intensify.
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USA: Some Mormons Search the Web and Find Doubt

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“I felt like I had an earthquake under my feet. Everything I’d been taught, everything I’d been proud to preach about and witness about just crumbled under my feet. It was such a terrible psychological and nearly physical disturbance.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The New York Times
By Laurie Goodstein | July 20, 2013

In the small but cohesive Mormon community where he grew up, Hans Mattsson was a solid believer and a pillar of the church. He followed his father and grandfather into church leadership and finally became an “area authority” overseeing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout Europe.

When fellow believers in Sweden first began coming to him with information from the Internet that contradicted the church’s history and teachings, he dismissed it as “anti-Mormon propaganda,” the whisperings of Lucifer. He asked his superiors for help in responding to the members’ doubts, and when they seemed to only sidestep the questions, Mr. Mattsson began his own investigation.

But when he discovered credible evidence that the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, was a polygamist and that the Book of Mormon and other scriptures were rife with historical anomalies, Mr. Mattsson said he felt that the foundation on which he had built his life began to crumble.
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My name is Pakistan and I’m not an Arab

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In the early 1980s when Saudi money and influence truly began to take hold on the culture and politics of Pakistan, there were many families (especially from the Punjab) that actually began to rewrite their histories.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn Pakistan
By Nadeem F. Paracha | 2013-07-28

In 1973, my paternal grandparents visited Makkah to perform the first of their two Hajj pilgrimages.

With them were two of my grandmother’s sisters and their respective husbands.

Upon reaching Jeddah, they hailed a taxi from the airport and headed for their designated hotel.

The driver of the taxi was a Sudanese man. As my grandparents and one of my grandmother’s sisters settled themselves in the taxi, the driver leisurely began driving towards the hotel and on the way inserted a cassette of Arabic songs into the car’s Japanese cassette-player.

My grandfather who was seated in the front seat beside the driver noticed that the man kept glancing at the rear view mirror, and every time he did that, one of his eyebrows would rise.
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Who will end the anti-Muslim discrimination: The White House or the “Right” House?

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Internal Muslim discord is part of the reason these boycotts fizzle out. We all know the sectarian rifts that lurk beneath the diplomatic smiles. No surprise, both Muslim Congressmen and over four dozen diplomats attended the event on July 25th.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune
By Faheem Younus | July 27, 2013

This is the story of two Washington Iftar dinners.

First, the Israeli Ambassador, Michael Oren, invited Muslim leaders to a diplomatic Iftar dinner last week and Imam Antepli of Duke University wondered aloud if the event was meaningful. Then the Obama administration invited Muslim leaders to the White House Iftar dinner and Omid Saifi, the Islamic studies professor from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, called to boycott it.

It’s obvious that we, the American Muslims, are struggling to identify the right posture: Boycott, and you sever a diplomatic tie; attend, and you are seen as the “enemy’s” ally.
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India: Increase in attacks against Christians, existing anti-conversion laws hardened

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Karnataka state alone has witnessed 1,000 cases of persecution of Christians in the three years from 2010, according to former high court judge Michael Saldana.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Cross Rhythms
By Release International | July 27, 2013

Release International, which is running a petition calling for religious freedom in India, is condemning a controversial new anti-conversion law.

India's Madhya Pradesh state has taken steps to harden up its existing anti-conversion law, effectively overturning the religious freedom guaranteed under India's constitution.

The Bill requires anyone wanting to change their religion to first seek official permission. It obliges religious leaders to report conversions, and mandates a three-year jail sentence for failing to do so. That rises to four years in the case of a minor, a woman or a Dalit (untouchable).
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Pakistan: US lawmakers call for new hate crime legislation

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The lawmakers reminded Secretary Kerry that promoting religious freedom was vital to US national security interests in the region, and must play an important role in its policies towards Pakistan.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Anwar Iqbal | July 27, 2013

WASHINGTON, July 26: Twenty-seven senior US lawmakers have sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to encourage Pakistan to create a legislation against hate crime to protect non-Muslims from attacks.

“We write to you to express our profound concern over the escalating violence and intolerance towards religious minorities in Pakistan, including Hindus, Christians, Ahmadis and Shia[s]…,” they wrote.

The lawmakers said that minorities in Pakistan faced systemic violence, attacks on their places of worship, constitutional and legal discrimination and widespread restrictions on religious freedom.

Non-Muslim women and girls, in particular, were often subject to abductions and forced conversions, they added.

The lawmakers reminded Secretary Kerry that promoting religious freedom was vital to US national security interests in the region, and must play an important role in its policies towards Pakistan.

The lawmakers observed that the election of a new government in Pakistan had created a good opportunity for the United States to address the mounting crisis and to “ensure that religious freedom is a top priority as our nation moves into a new stage in the US-Pakistan relationship.”
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Ghana: Parents urged to take moral training of children seriously

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Parents to be steadfast and prayerful as they 'entered the month of Ramadan,' adding that Muslims must live righteously for others to emulate them.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Graphic
By Abdul Aziz | July 27, 2013

Alhaji Alhassan Ghansah, Greater Accra Regional President of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, said moral education imparted into children, a sense of politeness and lawfulness. He also said people with a solid internal sense of right and wrong were less easily coerced by others, especially in school where peer pressure could be intense.

Alhaji Yawson made the observation at the 23rd Greater Accra Regional Conference of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Accra on the theme: 'The Importance of Moral Education.''

He explained that moral training helped the youth to be patriotic, respectful and law-abiding so that they can uphold human dignity and traditional values, as well as preserve national assets.
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Indonesia: President Won’t Disband FPI Without Islamic Support, Democrat Says

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“Because SBY is the chairman of the most corrupt party, he is causing people to lose and suffer. Worse than that, according to Yudhoyono’s former minister, the president never prays. Those two points mean he’s not only hurting Islam, but betraying Islam.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Carlos Paath | July 27, 2013

A prominent politician says the president will not use his authority to disband a hard-line Islamic group notorious for its vigilante antics without first consulting with the country’s major Muslim organizations.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s decision to consult with the religious-based organizations Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah was disclosed by senior Democratic Party legislator politician Melanie Leimena Suharly.

“The president will probably take action if all elements, especially NU and Muhammadiyah, agree that the FPI needs to be disbanded,” Melanie said on Friday, referring to the Islamic Defenders Front.
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Indonesia: Displaced NTB Ahmadis to get ID cards, but with no religious preference

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The officials’ visit was made following a recommendation made by the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) that the Ahmadis were in dire need of ID cards in order to get access to the government’s assistance programs.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Post
By Panca Nugraha | July 26 2013

After spending years living in Wisma Transito displacement camp without ID cards, dozens of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Ahmadis may finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel after a group of local officials visited them and promised they would soon be given the cards.

However, the ID cards would say nothing of the Ahmadis’ religion.

“A group of officials led by Sautma Sihombing from the Home Ministry has stated they want to issue ID cards for us, but with one condition that the religion column is left empty,” Ahmadiyah displacement coordinator Syahidin said on Friday.

He said according to Sautma, the Ahmadis would be treated like people who had no religious preferences.
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Marshall Islands: Micronesia's Muslims get their own newspaper

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The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community spans more than 200 countries and is said to be perhaps the oldest active Muslim organization in the USA.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: ABC | Radio Australia
By Geraldine Coutts | July 26, 2013

Listen to Audio Report



The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Marshall Islands has released the first ever Micronesian Muslim publication.

The publication, which released it's first edition this month, is titled "The Voice of Islam in Micronesia" and gathers content from Muslim community writers worldwide.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community spans more than 200 countries and is said to be perhaps the oldest active Muslim organization in the USA.

They have been established in Majuro, Marshall islands for many years now.
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USA: Feds demand web companies turn over users’ passwords, encryption algorithms

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The question of whether the National Security Agency or other law enforcement agencies have the legal power to demand passwords remains unresolved.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Caller
By William Green | July 25, 2013

The federal government has ordered major internet and tech companies to turn over their users’ passwords, according to two unnamed industry sources who spoke to CNET on Thursday.

Armed with someone’s password, the government could log into their account on any number of services and access private communications and other information.

“I’ve certainly seen them ask for passwords,” said one internet industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We push back.”

A second source and Silicon Valley veteran confirmed that his company had received legal orders from the government for passwords.
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Indonesia: Ahmadiyah Teachers Ousted From School in Cianjur

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“We could not do anything else. We moved them out of the school because of the demands of the local people. For the sake of the security and peace of the Sukadana village, especially in this school, we submitted to the local people’s request by moving them.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Jakarta Globe
By Camelia Pasandaran | July 26, 2013

Two Ahmadiyah teachers and a school attendant have left a state elementary school in Cianjur following pressure from local residents.

“There have been threats from local people since last year,” Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) spokesman told the Jakarta Globe on Friday. “They threatened to take the law into their own hands if the headmaster refused to move them. They’ve moved to different schools but still remain in Campaka subdistricts.”

Firdaus said the names of the teachers and the school attendant would not be revealed out of fears for their security.
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Saudi Arabia will send imams to Pakistan

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Relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are based on deep love and reverence, Sheikh Al-Sudais told the Pakistani minister and the accompanying delegation. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Dawn Pakistan
By Syed Rashid Husain | 2013-07-25

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia would send imams, one each from Masjidul Haram in Makkah and Masjid-i-Nabawi in Madina, to Pakistan every year.

Talking to visiting Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Mohammed Yousaf, President of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais made the announcement.

He said this was being done to promote ties between the two countries. He said that King Abdullah attached great importance to Pakistan and its people.

Relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are based on deep love and reverence, Sheikh Al-Sudais told the Pakistani minister and the accompanying delegation.

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Pakistan’s top TV cleric gives babies away in hit Ramadan show

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In 2008 he was the host of a programme in which Muslim clerics denounced members of the minority Ahmadi sect, saying they deserved to die.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Telegraph
By Rob Crilly | July 24, 2013

Pakistan's television wars have intensified in the battle for Ramadan ratings with the country’s most controversial TV cleric giving away babies on his prime-time show.

Aamir Liaquat Hussain has presented two abandoned babies to childless couples so far during Islam’s holy month.

His show’s heady mix of charity, piety and kitsch have made it a hit with viewers but also brought accusations that he is using religion to generate headlines.

In an episode broadcast last week, Mr Hussain stunned the studio audience by promising the gift of a baby.
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UK: Centenary Milestone for one of Britain's Oldest Muslim Communities

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Ahmadi Muslims have condemned violent Jihad ever since the community was founded in India in 1889 by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, and it stands firmly against firebrand clerics and those who incite hatred and violence.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: PRNewswire
By Press Release | July 25, 2013

A celebration of contribution to British life

• 100 years of countering extremism by promoting peace and serving as loyal citizens
• Built Britain's biggest mosque and London's first purpose-built mosque
• Massive programme of charity fund raising, interfaith events, blood donations, homeless feeding, environmental protection, and nationwide door-to-door messages of peace

LONDON,  /PRNewswire/ -- The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community - whose ethos is Love for All Hatred for None - marks a historic milestone tomorrow 25th July 2013, its centenary in Britain.

At more than 100 of its centres set up throughout Britain, thousands will gather at the crack of the dawn to offer special prayers, followed in the evening by a collective breaking of the Ramadan fast at the sunset. It would be a day full of thanksgiving- but also a day for renewing a long-standing commitment to Britain and its prosperity.
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Pakistan: Accusations of blasphemy by text message is an alarming trend

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“Blasphemy accusations are no joke in Pakistan. They can mean years languishing in prison without trial and death sentences that cause huge distress to the accused and their families."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Pakistan Christian Post
By PCP | July 25, 2013

London: July 25, 2013. (PCP) The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) is deeply concerned by reports that a Christian couple in Gojra have been charged with blasphemy for text messages sent to a local Muslim.

According to a report by Pakistan Today, 43-year-old Shafqat Masih and his wife Shagufta, 40, were accused of sending blasphemous text messages to Rana Muhammad Ejaz.

A case was registered by the Gojra City Police under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which make derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad punishable by death or life imprisonment. The police reportedly verified that the SIM used to send the text messages was registered to Shagufta but Shafqat has admitted using it in his phone to send the messages to Ejaz.
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Indonesia: Ahmadiyya teacher, students expelled by school

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Sunarya, Principal of the Sukadana Public Elementary School, said that people started protesting the presence of Ahmadiyah within the school walls. 

File photo: Anti-Ahmadiyah protests

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Tempo |
By Deden Abdul Aziz | July 25, 2013

TEMPO.CO, Cianjur – As many as 10 students, one teacher, and one school staff in Sukadana Village, Cianjur, were expelled for 'security reasons'.

The decision was made after local residents went into a rage when they found out that the students and teacher were Ahmadiyya believers.

Sunarya, Principal of the Sukadana Public Elementary School, said that people started protesting the presence of Ahmadiyah within the school walls.

Sunarya explained that the people started out by demanding a teacher named IR to be expelled.

"We could not do anything. We transferred him to another school to meet the demand of local residents," he said.
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USA: Letter criticizing Muslim faith went too far

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I understand that the Reverend believes strongly in his faith. I also understand that he has a duty to his faith to teach others about his faith, and to work his message to “non-believers”. But the Reverend’s letter went too far.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Northwestern | Letters To The Editor
By David J. Hable | July 23, 2013

I've noticed within the past couple of years, letters written to the editor of the Northwestern by various members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. These letters have always been well-written by obviously well educated and well meaning people. Their intent has always been to explain their Islamic beliefs. They have never proselytized. They have never belittled any non-Islamic religious beliefs. They have never placed their faith or way of life above anyone else’s faith or way of life. They have simply explained who they are, and have invited others to come see for themselves.

On July 22, I read a letter written by the Rev. James E. Reiff, a local Lutheran Minister. The Rev. Reiff told the Islamic letter writers, specifically Mr. Bilal Mian, that they were, well…wrong. He accused them of wasting their time and efforts in practicing their faith. Among many other Islamic beliefs, he ridiculed their belief in fasting. While quoting his Bible, he criticized their Koran.
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USA: George H.W. Bush shaves head in solidarity with cancer-stricken child

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“Once President and Mrs. Bush learned of this 'Patrick's Pals' effort, they made a donation and President Bush volunteered to shave his head as well.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Yahoo! News
By Olivier Knox | July 24, 2013

What did you expect from a guy who didn't hesitate to celebrate his 85th birthday with a parachute jump?

Former President George H.W. Bush shaved his head this week in solidarity with the leukemia-stricken 2-year-old son of a member of his security detail. Little Patrick — seen in one of the pictures provided by Bush's office clutching toy cars as he sits on the smiling former commander in chief's lap — started losing his hair because of his cancer treatment.
Bush, 89, shaved his head after learning that many members of his security detail had done so to support Patrick and his father, Jon (the family asked to withhold their last name).

Security detail members also created a website, www.patrickspals.org, to help defray medical costs. They also raised funds with a 50-mile motorcycle ride through Maine, followed by a lunch and silent auction.

“Once President and Mrs. Bush learned of this 'Patrick's Pals' effort, they made a donation and President Bush volunteered to shave his head as well,” the former president’s office said in a statement. “The Bushes lost their second child, Robin, to leukemia 60 years ago this October at the age of four.”
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UK: The government's silence over attacks on Muslims is worrying, and divisive

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It suggests not only that a Muslim life is less sacred than a non-Muslim one, but that Muslims do not have the same rights as others to be reassured. That attacks on them are attacks on a minority, and not on British citizens.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Guardian | UK
By Nesrine Malik | 22 July 2013

The police have performed well following the recent terrorist attacks on Muslims, but from the politicians … nothing

Last week, a nail bomb partially exploded at a mosque in the West Midlands – the fourth attack in two months on mosques in Britain during Friday prayers. A suspect in one of those attacks is also being questioned in connection with the killing of Mohammed Saleem, a Muslim pensioner in Birmingham, who was stabbed to death as he returned home from prayers. The police response to these attacks has been heartening, but the silence from government, and the establishment in general, has been deeply worrisome.
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Pakistan: Democratic Delusions

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The problem is not just a failure of political will, but rather a deep conflict between the doctrines of political Islam and the tenets of liberal democracy. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Huffington Post
By Joseph Loconte, Ph.D.| 7/24/2013

The contrast between political rhetoric and everyday reality is often stark, even in democracies, where politicians are free to speak the truth about the ills facing their societies. But the discontinuity seems greatest in the Islamic world, where religious dogmas and delusions thrive, and nowhere greater than in Pakistan.

Just consider President Asif Ali Zardari's address to a joint session of parliament last month, following national elections that returned Nawaz Sharif to power as prime minister. After noting his role as the nation's first elected civilian to oversee a "democratic" transfer of power, Zardari praised the establishment of democratic government in Pakistan. He extolled the "grace and glory of democracy" that had taken root in his country. He announced the "success of a prolonged struggle" toward democracy, insisting that "a dream has come true; a promise has been redeemed." He claimed that parliament had "purged the Constitution of undemocratic articles." He explained that voter participation in the parliamentary elections "shows that the ethos of our people is democratic." Thanks to the sacrifice of the nation's political leaders, he said, "democracy has arrived."
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State of religious freedom in Pakistan considered ‘dire’

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Representatives of the primary minorities in Muslim-majority Pakistan — Christians, Hindis, Ahmadiyya Muslims and Shiite Muslims, spoke out about the horrors their peers have suffered.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Todays Catholic News
By Zoey Di Mauro | July 23, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Panelists at a religious freedom session on Pakistan called for reform of the nation’s laws, calling the situation for minorities dire.

In June alone, 47 religious minorities were killed in Pakistan, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The victims included an 18-year old Christian man tortured to death by police after he was suspected of kidnapping a Muslim woman, the commission said.

“Basic law enforcement and legal reform are desperately needed,” Knox Thames, director of policy and research at the commission, said July 18 at a hearing about the state of religious freedom in Pakistan.
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USA: Muslim community joins cultures at Ramadan dinner in Milpitas

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Leaders from various communities, including Sikh, Christian, Buddhist and Jewish, conversed over the similarities in their faiths.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Mercury News
By Idrees Munir | July 24, 2013

More than 300 guests gathered during an annual Ramadhan celebration dinner Saturday evening at Baitul Baseer Mosque, under the rolling hills in Milpitas, hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Silicon Valley.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset. This has shown to increase focus on worship, charity and human welfare in an effort to strengthen their relationships with God. Emphasis is given to the holy book, Quran, by reciting and understanding the message. As Muslims who believe in the promised Messiah, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, are especially conscious of the sense of sacrifice during this month for the less unfortunate through charity giving.
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Perspective: Dear God …

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The worst part, of course, is that SA also send tons of money - one way or another - to slowly enforce their own brand of Islam: Wahhabism.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Windmills of My Mind | Blog
By Zakintosh | July 24, 2013

 Dear God …

… why does Ramzan make everyone believe they are Soddy Arabians?

That, I suppose, should have been
Dear Allah, why does Ramadan … etc.

OK, maybe some of them did come from there, too, to India, Africa, Malaysia, and also to other Eastern and European places, when the Arab Muslims were expanding their empire. What they did about this set of rules from the Qur'an, I don't know. But surely some Aalims of the times must have thought that you could bend it a bit. Not too much, though!
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Bangladesh: Ghulam Azam and the wheels of justice

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The Jamaat-e-Islami caused murder and mayhem when it went after the Ahmadiyya community in Lahore in 1953. Hundreds of Ahmadiyyas died in the violence; their homes were destroyed because the Jamaat said they were heretics, were no part of the Islamic faith.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Daily Star.
By Syed Badrul Ahsan | July 17, 2013

THE wheels of justice do not always turn. But when they turn, they do so with the clear message that the perpetrators of ancient crimes always get their comeuppance at a point in historical time. The judgement delivered in the matter of the crimes committed by Ghulam Azam during Bangladesh’s War of Liberation reinforces the old argument that sooner or later those who commit misdeeds must pay for their acts. Now a frail ninety-one year-old man, Azam is proof that criminality is never forgotten, some sins are never expiated. He joins the ranks of men who have killed or helped to kill and were therefore condemned by law and censured by history.
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USA: Local Muslims Celebrate Ramadan in Florida

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Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide. It will commence Wednesday, July 10th and end on August 8th.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Miami Islam Examiner
By Mansura Minhas | July 22, 2013

American-Muslims observe 30-day fast to enhance spirituality and increase their service to humanity.

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide. It will commence Wednesday, July 10th and end on August 8th.

Tens of thousands of American Muslims belonging to one of the nation’s oldest Muslim organizations, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA are observing Ramadan across 73 chapters nationwide this year. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. Fasting, a discipline also practiced by Jesus Christ and many honored Biblical Prophets, is a time to reflect, repent, and become spiritually pure, which, in turn, helps lead to societal peace. Ramadan is also a time to increase charity and service to the poor.
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India: Muslim women saying prayers at mosque kicks up a row

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“I have recommended to the board to appoint an administrator for the mosque abolishing the managing committee, whose term expired two years ago, and also stop this practice of women taking part in prayers.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The Hindu
By G. T. Satish | July 19, 2013

Hassan wakf committee recommends action against mosque

Hassan District Wakf Committee has raised objections to Muslim women gathering in a mosque at K.R. Puram here for special prayers during the month of Ramadan. The committee has recommended that Karnataka State Wakf Board take action against the mosque’s managing committee.

However, the managing committee of the mosque has said that the Wakf Board has no authority to decide who should go to a mosque or who should not.

Syed Umar Farooq, secretary of the managing committee, said: “For last 8-10 years, women have been taking part in the special prayers conducted during Ramadan. We have constructed a hall for this. The board is meant to look after administration, not decide who should pray there.”
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Pakistan: Leaked report confirms high civilian death toll in CIA drone strikes | TBIJ Exclusive

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Ambassador Rustan Shah Mohmand, who was a senior administrator in the tribal areas for 25 years between 1973 and 1998, cautions that the released file might not be the fullest data available.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
By Chris Woods | July 22, 2013

A secret document obtained by the Bureau reveals for the first time the Pakistan government’s internal assessment of dozens of drone strikes, and shows scores of civilian casualties.

The United States has consistently claimed only a tiny number of non-combatants have been killed in drone attacks in Pakistan – despite research by the Bureau and others suggesting that over 400 civilians may have died in the nine-year campaign.

The internal document shows Pakistani officials too found that CIA drone strikes were killing a significant number of civilians – and have been aware of those deaths for many years.

The confidential 12-page summary paper, titled Details of Attacks by Nato Forces/Predators in FATA was prepared by government officials in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
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Bangladesh to seek extradition of 1971 war crimes accused

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"We know one of them (Mueenuddin) is living in Britain and the other is in the United States. We will do all we can to return them home to be exposed to justice."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: The Times of India
By PTI | July 21, 2013

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Sunday said it would launch legal and diplomatic efforts to repatriate an alleged 1971 war crimes accused from the UK, who is now one of Britain's most prominent Muslim leaders.

The reaction came a day after Choudhury Muenuddin in an interview with the Al Jazeera declined to appear before the Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal saying "the tribunal in Bangladesh is a joke, its a sham trial."

"Choudhury Mueenuddin himself is an accused who is wanted particularly for the systematic killings of top intellectuals just ahead of the December 16, 1971 victory against Pakistan. Don't you think it is natural on his part to make such claims about the trial," attorney general Mahbubey Alam told PTI.

Alam said, Mueenuddin, a former journalist, and his fellow war crimes accused Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Khan alias Nayeb Ali would be tried in absentia if they could not be brought back.
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Pakistan Telecom Authority asks parliament to define blasphemy and make new laws

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In a rare episode, an official meeting in the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) witnessed an highly unwarranted situation when its DG for Strategy and Planning (S&D) was labeled as “liar” in a derogatory manner by the representative of an NGO in the presence of several other participants.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: The News | Pakistan
By Mehtab Haider | July 23, 2013

ISLAMABAD: A meeting to discuss the blasphemous material and the ban on YouTube turned into an exchange of abuses on Monday and the Pakistan Telecom Authority lobbed the issue in the court of parliament, asking legislators to pass a new law and create a new set-up to decide what is blasphemous.

After witnessing nasty scenes in the official meeting on Monday called for holding consultations for blocking access to blasphemous material on YouTube, the PTA proposed to the government to enact new laws through parliament for establishing an independent department having the mandate as well as the authority to block access of such links on the internet.
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Recognizing the End of the Chinese Economic Miracle | Stratfor

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The Chinese have maintained a strategy of depending on exports without taking into account the operation of the business cycle in the West, which means that periodic and substantial contractions of demand will occur. 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Stratfor | Geopolitical Weekly
By George Friedman | July 23, 2013

Major shifts underway in the Chinese economy that Stratfor has forecast and discussed for years have now drawn the attention of the mainstream media. Many have asked when China would find itself in an economic crisis, to which we have answered that China has been there for awhile -- something not widely recognized outside China, and particularly not in the United States. A crisis can exist before it is recognized. The admission that a crisis exists is a critical moment, because this is when most others start to change their behavior in reaction to the crisis. The question we had been asking was when the Chinese economic crisis would finally become an accepted fact, thus changing the global dynamic.

Last week, the crisis was announced with a flourish. First, The New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-recipient Paul Krugman penned a piece titled "Hitting China's Wall." He wrote, "The signs are now unmistakable: China is in big trouble. We're not talking about some minor setback along the way, but something more fundamental. The country's whole way of doing business, the economic system that has driven three decades of incredible growth, has reached its limits. You could say that the Chinese model is about to hit its Great Wall, and the only question now is just how bad the crash will be."
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