Saudi woman makes a stand against feared religious police

As of Monday, the video was viewed more than 1,142,000 times Photo: YOUTUBE

A YouTube video of a Saudi woman defying orders by the notorious religious police to leave a shopping centre because she is wearing nail polish has gone viral, attracting more than a million hits in just five days but thousands of negative comments.

Telegraph | May 28, 2012

The three and a half minute video posted on May 23 shows members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice telling the women to “get out of here”

But she refuses to comply, saying: “I’m staying and I want to know what you’re going to do about.”

“It’s none of your business if I wear nail polish,” the unidentified woman, who is not seen on tape, is heard shouting at bearded men from the feared religious force.

“You are not in charge of me,” she defiantly shouts back, referring to new constraints imposed earlier this year on the religious police banning them from harassing Saudi women over their behaviour and attire.

“The government has banned you from coming after us,” she told the men, adding “you are only supposed to provide advice, and nothing more”.

Saudi Woman Defies Religious Police: It Is None of Your Business If I Wear Nail Polish

As of Monday, the video was viewed more than 1,142,000 times, with over 12,000 people posting comments online, most of them denouncing the woman’s behaviour.

One posting said she had “no shame” and accused her of “prostituting” herself. Another called her a “slut” and a “whore.”

The clip earned only about 1800 “likes”. The number of “dislikes” reached almost 7000.

In January, Saudi King Abdullah appointed a more moderate head of the religious police raising hopes that a more lenient force will ease draconian social constraints in the Islamic country.

Two weeks into his post, Sheikh Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh banned volunteers from serving in the commission which enforces the kingdom’s strict Islamic rules.

And in April he went further prohibiting the religious police from “harassing people” and threatening “decisive measures against violators”.

The woman filmed the incident herself and posted it on YouTube. At one point during the video, she cautions the religious police that she has already posted the exchange online.

It is also not clear if the woman was eventually forced to leave the centre. The religious police prevent women from driving, require them to be covered from head to foot in black, ban public entertainment, and force all commerce, from supermarkets to petrol stations, to come to a halt at prayer times, five times a day.

Egyptian comedian going to jail for ‘offending Islam’

Imam was sentenced to three months in jail and fined around $170 for insulting Islam in roles he played in movies such as “The Terrorist”, in which he acted the role of a wanted terrorist who found refuge with a middle class, moderate family, and the film “Terrorism and Kabab. “

A Cairo court upholds a three-month jail sentence and a fine against veteran comedian Adel Imam for defaming Islam in several roles he played on stage and screen.

AP | Apr 25, 2012

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court on Tuesday upheld a conviction against one of the Arab world’s most famous comedians, sentencing him to jail for offending Islam in some of his most popular films.

The case against Adel Imam and others like it have raised concerns among some Egyptians that ultraconservative Muslims who made gains in recent elections after Hosni Mubarak’s ouster last year are trying to foist their religious views on the entire country. Critics say the trend threatens to curb Egypt’s vibrant film industry and freedom of speech.

Imam was sentenced to three months in jail and fined around $170 for insulting Islam in roles he played in movies such as “The Terrorist”, in which he acted the role of a wanted terrorist who found refuge with a middle class, moderate family, and the film “Terrorism and Kabab. “

The actor was also found guilty for his 2007 role in “Morgan Ahmed Morgan,” in which Imam played a corrupt businessman who tries to buy a university diploma. The film included a scene parodying bearded Muslim men wearing traditional Islamic clothing.

Author Alaa al-Aswany, whose best-seller “The Yacoubian Building” was turned into a film costarring Imam, said the court ruling sets Egypt back to the “darkness of the Middle Ages.”

“This is an unimaginable crime of principle in developed nations,” he said in remarks posted on his Twitter account Tuesday.

The case is one of many brought by conservative lawyers in recent months seeking to punish individuals they deem as having offended Islam. Earlier this year, two courts rejected blasphemy cases against Christian media mogul, Naguib Sawiris, after he relayed a cartoon online of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie in a face veil.

The cases highlight the newfound sense of empowerment among followers of the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam in Egypt after Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising. Their newly formed Al-Nour party won 25 percent of seats in parliament, emerging as the second most powerful group in Egypt after the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood.

The mere filing of such blasphemy cases by Salafi lawyers has raised concern among rights groups and liberals about attempts to curb freedom of speech.

Egyptian entertainment reporter Tarek el-Shinnawi said the case against Imam is a setback for Cairo’s famed film industry, which has produced the region’s most popular films.

“It will make any writer, director or actor think before considering the role of a Muslim figure,” el-Shinnawi said.

Imam was initially found guilty in February in a case brought by an ultraconservative Islamist lawyer. He was given a retrial since he was first tried in absentia. He did not appear in court Tuesday but his lawyers did. Imam has the right to appeal.

Under Mubarak, government censors controlled what could be shown in theaters or filmed by major studios. The films Imam starred in were approved by the censors.

El-Shinnawi argued that a legally sound case would involve the writers and directors, and the censors who approved the movies, not just the star of the films.

Imam, 71, has acted in dozens of films in a career that spans nearly 50 years.

Long a beloved figured in Egypt, Imam lost popularity among Egyptian protesters for supporting Mubarak during last year’s 18-day revolt.

In one of his most popular roles, Imam played an Arab dictator in a 1998 satirical play called el-Zaeem. The play has since been aired on satellite television across the Arab world, bypassing state censors and gaining popularity through its comedic take of a tyrannical figure.

US Marine Fighter Squadron Switches To Knights Templar “Crusader” Logo Used by Norway Killer

“Crusader” Mentality Shared by U.S. Military, Norwegian Extremist

scoop.co.nz | Apr 20, 2012

 

The insignia for the VMFA-122 "Crusaders" that was used from 1957-2008. The name and symbols were changed to Werewolves for four years, but the historic nicname and symbols were recently reinstated.

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – Does the U.S. Military think it’s engaged in a holy war? The constitutionalist watchdogs at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) are asking this question following the recent decision to rename Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 (VMFA-122) the “Crusaders” and adopt the red cross of the medieval Knights Templar.

As the dust in Afghanistan settles following weeks of violence resulting from the burning of the Qu’ran at Bagram Air Base, resulting in 30 dead and the death of six Americans, the decision to rechristen the jet fighter squadron as Crusaders threatens to reignite passions across the Muslim world. Meanwhile, the same red cross was heavily utilized in the video “manifesto” of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who claims to have carried out his gruesome attacks for the sake of advancing a “crusade” against multiculturalism and European Muslims. Breivik, who is currently standing trial for his gruesome attacks that claimed the lives of 77 people, claims allegiance to a network called the “Knights Templar” and has stated that he aspires to a “crusader” mentality. The Knights Templar was a Christian military order that participated in bloody campaigns across the Middle East, wearing white uniforms emblazoned with a red cross.

This same red cross has now been re-adopted as the logo for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122. Confidential MRFF sources have confirmed that VMFA-122 F/A-18 Hornet jets have been repainted to reflect last month’s name change. Base commanders have confirmed that the new artwork is identical to that shown in images from 2004 which have been uncovered online, which depict designs on the tails of the Hornets displaying a white teardrop-shaped medieval “kite shield” bearing the red Knights Templar cross against an Old Glory Blue backdrop.

Pork Eating Knights Templar Crusader Patch Huge Hit With Troops In Afghanistan

Civil rights group objects to Beaufort squadron’s name change

Group blasts Marine Corps for reviving Knights Templar Crusaders name and symbols

In 2008, VMFA-122, based out of Beaufort, South Carolina, was renamed the “Werewolves” after having borne the “Crusaders” label since 1958. With United States service personnel based across the Arab and Islamic world, the “Crusaders” name was dropped due to its clearly incendiary and offensive nature. At the time, Lt. Col. William Lieblein stated “The notion of being a crusader in that part of the world doesn’t float.”

“Crusader” is an epithet that is routinely used to describe U.S. service personnel throughout the Arab and Islamic world. A phrase with deeply resonant connotations in the region, “Crusader” recalls a history of colonization and a campaign of conquest and plunder spearheaded by European Christian military orders that claimed the lives of millions of inhabitants throughout the Middle East. In March 2012, Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri referred to International Security Assistance Force troops stationed in Afghanistan as “Crusader Swine”. During last year’s NATO intervention in Libya, then-leader Muammar Gaddafi referred to Western forces as a “crusader alliance.” Likewise, insurgent forces in Iraq have regularly called U.S. personnel “crusaders.”

However, on the occasion of the squadron’s 70th anniversary in March, present commander Lt. Col. Wade Wiegel stated that the “Crusader” label was “not politically incorrect”, according to a story broken by the Beaufort Gazette. According to Wiegel, “It’s a way for our Marines to draw on the service of the Marines before them, and to make their own history under the same name… the name change is a reflection of our heritage.”

Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, president and founder of the four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominated MRFF, blasted the decision to rename the Werewolves, stating that “It will absolutely serve as a priceless propaganda bonanza of jovian magnitude for our nation’s fundamentalist Islamic foes and, thus, represents a veritable national security threat to the United States of America. Likewise, it will incontrovertibly, directly and indirectly hasten the maiming and deaths of our armed forces members.”

Just under one hundred U.S. Marines, the vast majority of whom are Christians who wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, contacted Weinstein after the renaming was brought to light. One “Crusader”, a member of VMFA-122, expressed his disgust and confided that he expected MRFF, an organization that represents over 27,000 clients within the U.S. armed forces (approximately 96% of whom are Christian), “to do something about this”.

Many Christian fundamentalist extremists endorse the idea of a new crusade, believing that it fulfills biblical prophecies. In August 2001, Protestant prophecy magazine The Philadelphia Trumpet published an article opening with the lines “Most people think the crusades for Jerusalem are a thing of the past—over forever. They are wrong. Preparations are being made for a final crusade, and it will be the bloodiest of all!” Immediately following the attacks on September 11, 2001, George W. Bush raised the hackles of European allies after referring to “This crusade, this war on terrorism”.

MRFF holds that much of U.S. Military doctrine has been tainted by supernatural theological concepts and a “Clash of Civilizations”, “us vs. them” ideology which warps order, discipline, and servicemember morale. The latest news of the “Crusader” renaming comes hot on the heels of recent controversies in Afghanistan involving brazen religious and cultural insensitivities by U.S. forces which have dramatically enflamed tensions in the region. These incidents have included the display of a Nazi Waffen-SS banner by U.S. Marine Corps Scout Snipers, a video of Marines urinating on dead irregular fighters, the widespread phenomenon of “Pork-Eating Infidel” patches worn by U.S. service personnel (which feature uniformed Templar knight crusaders), and the mass-burning of Qu’rans by U.S. forces at Bagram Air Base.

English Defence League leader forced to deny praising Norway killer Anders Breivik

independent.co.uk | Apr 12, 2012

EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has been forced to deny supporting mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik after he was quoted praising the man who killed 77 people in a Norwegian newspaper.

In an interview conducted in his home town of Luton, Mr Yaxley-Lennon called Breivik “smart” and said the murders he carried out would have been easier to justify if they had been perpetrated against Muslims.

“The [Breivik’s] blogs are full of facts. You can not yell at people because they tell the truth. You may find the truth hurts, but it is still the truth. I read the blogs themselves – they contain facts about Islam.”

In the interview with the Dagbladet newspaper, Mr Yaxley-Lennon, who also goes by the name “Tommy Robinson”, added: “Yes, it would been easier to justify it [if the crime were committed against Muslims], but he would only have been swept aside as the one that killed Muslims because he did not like Islam. Whether you like it or not, that guy was pretty smart…What he did is despicable, but he managed to make people curious.”

Today, Mr Yaxley-Lennon was forced to insist that he did not condone the killings. He acknowledged the quotes given to the Norwegian paper but told The Independent: “they were not in support of Breivik. I was saying that it is bad we are all playing out what he wants us to. Everything that is happening, he thought about. He has planned all of this; it is disturbing to give him what he wants.

“What I said was if it was Muslims, he would have been swept aside as a Muslim-hater. The man is a monster, he took kids away from their families. But the blogs are the truth.”

The anti-Islam group whose marches have been marked by violence and numerous arrests, has been at pains to distance itself from Breivik ever since he mentioned it in the largely racist writings he used to justify his actions.

There were reports that Breivik attended EDL marches in the UK before carrying out the murders, although these were denied by Mr Yaxley-Lennon.

Tunisians jailed for Facebook cartoons of Prophet Mohammad

Reuters | Apr 5, 2012

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS | Two young Tunisians have been sentenced to seven years in prison for posting cartoons of the prophet Mohammad on Facebook, in a case that has fueled allegations the country’s new Islamist leaders are gagging free speech.

The two men had posted depictions of the prophet naked on the social networking site, the justice ministry said, inflaming sensitivities in a country where Muslim values have taken on a bigger role since a revolution last year.

“They were sentenced … to seven years in prison for violation of morality, and disturbing public order,” said Chokri Nefti, a justice ministry spokesman.

One of the two, Jabeur Mejri is in jail while the second, Ghazi Beji, is still being sought by police and was sentenced in absentia.

The sentence was handed down on March 28 but was not reported until Thursday, when bloggers started posting information about the case on the Internet.

“The sentences are very heavy and severe, even if these young people were at fault,” one Tunisian blogger, Nebil Zagdoud, told Reuters.

“This decision is aimed at silencing freedom of expression even on the Internet. Prosecutions for offending morals are a proxy for this government to gag everyone.”

Tunisia electrified the Arab world in January last year when protests forced its autocratic president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, to flee the country. In their first democratic election, Tunisians elected a government led by moderate Islamists.

The revolution also brought tension between conservative Muslims who believe their faith should have a bigger role in public life, and secularists who say freedom of expression and women’s’ rights are now under attack.

The government says it has a duty to defend standards of public decency but its secularist opponents accuse it of using the justice system to crack down on anyone who does not fall into line with religious orthodoxy.

The head of a private television station, Nessma, is awaiting trial on blasphemy charges after his channel broadcast “Persepolis,” an award-winning animated film that includes a depiction of Allah.

In February, Nassredine Ben Saida, the publisher of a tabloid newspaper, was jailed for eight days and fined after he printed a picture of a German-Tunisian footballer and his naked girlfriend on the front page.

Pork Eating Knights Templar Crusader Patch Huge Hit With Troops In Afghanistan

businessinsider.com | Mar 16, 2012

by Robert Johnson

With tensions at an all time high in Afghanistan following the Koran burnings, the urination video, and the killing of 16 civilians, attention is now falling on a long line of “Infidel” apparel and gear.

Exhausted from how they feel they’re being perceived, troops have taken to wearing patches and carrying items that label themselves infidels, and offer translation in local dialect.

In the Muslim world an infidel means literally “one without faith” who rejects the central teachings of Islam.

Military.com tracked down Clayton Montgomery at Mil-Spec Monkey, a large online seller of infidel gear, who says his most popular item by far is the “Pork Eating Crusader Patch.”

The patch includes an image of a knight in a Crusade’s tunic, eating what appears to be a large ham hock, and lest there be any confusion — a translation in Arabic.

They haven’t gone unnoticed. The website Muslim Awakening, posts a picture of what appears to be a German soldier with the patch adhered to his combat uniform.

Other items are more subtle.

There is the Infidel Zippo advertised as: “This one is small enough to hold some personal meaning and not be in-your-face to everyone you meet. It’s perfect for pulling out at just the right moment to get the full effect.”

 

Islamic states, Africans walk out on UN gay panel

MSNBC | Mar 7, 2012

By Robert Evans

GENEVA — Brushing aside high-level U.N. appeals for cooperation to halt murder and violence against gays and lesbians around the globe, Muslim and Arab countries on Wednesday stalked out of a Human Rights Council panel to tackle the issue.

Speaking before the walkout for the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan described homosexuality as “licentious behavior” while African group leader Senegal said it was not covered by global human rights accords.

Nigeria – where gay rights groups say there have been many attacks on male and female homosexuals – declared none of its citizens was at risk of violence because of sexual orientation or gender identity before it too left the chamber.

And Mauritania, for the Arab group, all of whose members are also in the OIC, said attempts to impose “the controversial topic of sexual orientation” would undermine discussion in the council of all genuine human rights problems.

The walkout, which diplomats said not all countries in the Islamic and African groups joined, was the first by three major blocs in the 47-member council, which has been dominated until recently by a caucus of developing countries and their allies.

It came after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay told the session that gays and lesbians should be protected by all governments.

“We see a pattern of violence and discrimination directed at people just because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender,” Ban said in a video message to the panel, chaired by African group dissenter South Africa.

“This is a monumental tragedy for those affected — and a stain on our collective conscience. It is also a violation of international law. You, as members of the Human Rights Council, must respond,” the U.N. chief declared.

Islamic and most African countries have long kept discussion of what the U.N. dubs “sexual orientation and gender identity” out of the council but a strong drive by the United States and South Africa brought it onto the agenda last June.

With a developing country bloc in the body eroding, Latin American countries like Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay joined in to push through a narrow vote to mandate Wednesday’s panel and the High Commissioner’s report.

Pillay, once a South African high court judge, told the session her life under apartheid had taught her that “ignorance and bigotry” could only be overcome by education and frank discussion among people with different views.

In her report she detailed the often fatal abuse – she labeled it “homophobia” – homosexuals faced around the globe ranging from mob killing for males, multiple rape of lesbians “to cure them” and torture in public and private jails.

The report said 76 countries among the U.N.’s 192 members had laws  homosexual behavior. At least five – in particular Iran – provide for the death penalty while efforts are under way in Uganda to introduce the same punishment.

“I know some will resist what we are saying,” said Pillay, who earlier this week was accused by Egypt in the council of promoting homosexuality by pressing on with the report despite the objections of Islamic countries.

In a clear reference to Islamic and African countries, she said some states would argue that homosexuality or bisexuality “conflict with local cultural or traditional values, or with religious teachings, or run counter to public opinion”.

But while they were free to hold their opinions, she declared, “That is as far as it goes. The balance between tradition and culture, on the one hand, and universal human rights on the other, must be struck in favor of rights.”

US burning of Koran was intentional, Afghan investigator says

Supporters of Pakistan Islamic party Islami Jamiat-e-Tulba burn a mock of US flag as they shout slogans during a protest against the alleged ‘Koran burning’ by the US troops, in Multan, Pakistan, 02 March 2012. . EPA/MK CHAUDHARY

monstersandcritics.com | Mar 5, 2012

Kabul – The burning of the Koran at a US military base in Afghanistan was intentional, a member of the Afghan investigating team told dpa Monday.

‘We believe it is intentional,’ said Maulavi Khaliqdad, a member of the panel established by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

‘If they burnt one or two copies, then we could have said it could have been a mistake. But they took hundreds of such books to burn. Everyone knew those were religious books.’

News that US soldiers in Bagram airbase north of Kabul had burnt copies of religious books including the Muslim scriptures, the Koran, last month caused violent protests nationwide.

International military officials apologized and said it was ‘unintentional.’ US President Barack Obama also sent a written apology to Karzai.

But despite apologies and calls for calm by Karzai, more than 30 protesters were killed in the ensuing violence.

Six US soldiers were also killed in apparent revenge attacks by their Afghan allies, including two US military advisers who were murdered inside the fortified Interior Ministry building.

Khaliqdad said the team’s finding that the burning was intentional has been presented to Karzai and parliament.

‘It is impossible if you collect that many books from a library … Someone is responsible for this,’ he said. ‘We cannot accept that they say it was a mistake.’

‘A mistake is when someone does something without any knowledge or when someone is unaware,’ said Khaliqdad, who is also a member of religious Ulema Council of Islamic scholars and mullahs.

Khaliqdad said a senior Afghan army officer had asked the US military staff where the books were being taken before they were burnt.

‘And they told him that the books were being taken to storage,’ he said. ‘But instead they were burnt.’

It is not exactly known if any or how many books were burnt but the construction workers rescued 216 copies of religious books, of which 48 were Korans, his investigation team found.

After the labourers objected, the US soldiers returned with the rest of books without throwing them in the fire, according to the investigation.

Khaliqdad said the team looked at the books in the storage that were set aside for burning and found nothing with extremist messages written on them, as suggested by some NATO officials.

‘We saw different types of religious books including the Koran. Many were new and did not have anything written in them. We saw some where the prisoners had written the dates they were arrested on and the topic of holy passage from the Koran and the page number,’ he said.

‘There were no secret messages, no political messages … There were no books related to the Taliban or al Qaeda. These were books that are taught by the Ulema everywhere,’ Khaliqdad said.

Khaliqdad also said similar books that were set aside for burning were found in the prison library.

‘The Afghan national army has a religious department there. The US military did not discuss this with anyone (before burning them),’ Khaliqdad said.

He said the team had recommended punishment for those who were involved in the Koran burning.

‘This is a crime and you can not convince people with an apology when a crime is done,’ he said.

‘We want the punishment for those who were involved in this. They should be punished according to law.’

The head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan last week also asked that the United States should take disciplinary action against the perpetrators.

Earlier, Karzai had also called on the US to put the perpetrators on trial and punish them.

Separate investigations on the Koran burning incident are ongoing, led by NATO and Afghan authorities. Many officials fear a new round of violent protests could erupt following the findings of the investigation teams.

Afghan woman to be freed from jail after agreeing to marry rapist

Half the women in Afghan jails have been imprisoned for ‘moral crimes’. Photograph: Emilio Morenatti/AP

President intervenes in case of 19-year-old woman who has spent two years in jail after reporting rape by a relative

guardian.co.uk | Dec 1, 2011

by Jeremy Kelly in Kabul

An Afghan woman jailed for adultery after she was raped by a relative is set to be freed – but only after agreeing to marry the man who attacked her.

The case, which has highlighted the plight of Afghan women jailed for so-called moral crimes, was to be the subject of a documentary film funded by the European Union – until diplomats censored it out of fear for the woman’s welfare, and for their relations with the Afghan government.

But the decision not to broadcast the film, unintentionally led to a storm of publicity that has resulted in the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, intervening in the case of the 19-year-old woman, named Gulnaz.

Karzai, who will soon head to an international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn to seek financial support from foreign donors, ordered Gulnaz to be released on condition that she and her attacker agree to mediation.

In a statement released on Thursday night, the presidential palace said Gulnaz would be released after she agreed to become the second wife of her rapist – a prospect that supporters say she had dreaded.

In Afghan culture, marrying the father of a child born out of wedlock is seen as a way of “legitimising” the child, even in cases involving rape.

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The documentary’s British director, Clementine Malpas, said Gulnaz’s decision would have been made under duress. “She has told me that the rapist had destroyed her life because no one else would marry her after what happened to her,” Malpas said. “She feels like she has no other option than to marry him and it’s the only way to bring peace between her and his family.

“I know she wants honour but I also know she doesn’t want to marry this man. And of course I am worried about what the future holds for her because of this decision.”

In Malpas’s film Gulnaz says she would never forgive her attacker but adds that she would consider marrying him. “I don’t want people to call her (her daughter) a bastard and abuse my brothers. My brothers won’t have honour in our society until he marries me,” she says.

Gulnaz was jailed for 12 years for adultery after she reported being raped by a cousin by marriage in an attack that left her pregnant. As the case became publicised, the sentence was reduced to three years. She has spent the past two and a half years in jail, during which time she gave birth to a daughter. Malpas, 30, had spent months following Gulnaz’s case after being commissioned by the EU to make a documentary on women’s rights in Afghanistan.

News of Gulnaz’s ordeal prompted an American lawyer to launch a petition, which attracted more than 6,000 signatures demanding her release. This helped prompt the meeting between Karzai and senior figures in the Afghan justice system, including the head of the supreme court, the justice minister and the attorney general.

The attorney general and justice minister visited both Gulnaz and her attacker in their jails to seek their approval for the union.

Gulnaz’s lawyer, Kimberley Motley, said: “My concern is that an illiterate woman, in the face of high-level government officials, all men I believe, would be a very intimidating situation for her.”

Motley and Malpas and other supporters had arranged for Gulnaz to be taken to a safehouse if she was released unconditionally.

The case is far from unique. Roughly half of the country’s 600 adult female prison inmates have been imprisoned for similar “offences”.

Heather Barr, Human Rights Watch’s Afghanistan researcher, who has spent the past month visiting female prisoners for an upcoming report on “moral crimes”, welcomed the release of Gulnaz and said she hoped there was a review of all the cases of female prisoners.

“There are hundreds of women in this situation and it is well overdue to look at the injustices done to them,” she said.

“I have interviewed 58 of them in the past month and have heard the same types of stories of forced marriages, beatings, sexual assaults, and when they flee these abuses and report them, they are locked up.”Barr agreed it was possible that the Karzai administration had been encouraged to look at some of the serious human rights problems that remain in Afghanistan in the runup to Monday’s Bonn conference, and hoped it would remain on the agenda once that concludes. The European Union, which has remained largely silent in the face of mounting publicity about the case said it was delighted about news of Gulnaz’s release.

The European Union’s ambassador and special representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said: “Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who, 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime, often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights.

“Highlighting and improving the lives of Afghan women is one of the most important tasks of the EU’s mission in Afghanistan.”

Emerging vote winner Muslim Brotherhood says it won’t impose Islamic values on Egyptians

Associated Press | Dec 3, 2011

CAIRO — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, emerging as the biggest winner in the first round of parliamentary elections, sought Saturday to reassure Egyptians that it would not sacrifice personal freedoms in promoting Islamic law.

The deputy head of the Brotherhood’s new political party, Essam el-Erian, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the group is not interested in imposing Islamic values on Egypt, home to a sizable Christian minority and others who object to being subject to strict Islamic codes.

“We represent a moderate and fair party,” el-Erian said of his Freedom and Justice Party. “We want to apply the basics of Shariah law in a fair way that respects human rights and personal rights,” he said, referring to Islamic law.

The comments were the clearest indication that the Brotherhood was distancing itself from the ultraconservative Islamist Nour Party, which appears to have won the second-largest share of votes in the election’s first phase.

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The Nour Party espouses a strict interpretation of Islam similar to that of Saudi Arabia, where the sexes are segregated and women must be veiled and are barred from driving.

Egypt’s election commission has released few official results from the voting on Monday and Tuesday. But preliminary counts have been leaked by judges and individual political groups showing both parties could together control a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament if they did form an alliance.

The Brotherhood recently denied in a statement that it seeks to form an alliance with the Nour Party in parliament, calling it “premature and mere media speculation.”

On Saturday, el-Erian made it clear that the Brotherhood does not share Nour’s more hard-line aspirations to strictly enforce Islamic codes in Egyptians’ daily lives.

“We respect all people in their choice of religion and life,” he said.

Another major check on such an agenda is the council of generals who have run the country since President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February. The military council, accused by Egypt’s protest movement of stalling a transition to civilian and democratic rule, is seeking to limit the powers of the next parliament and maintain close oversight over the drafting of a new constitution.

Egypt already uses Shariah law as the basis for legislation, however Egyptian laws remain largely secular as Shariah does not cover all aspects of modern life.

On its English-language Twitter account, the Brotherhood said that its priorities were to fix Egypt’s economy and improve the lives of ordinary Egyptians, “not to change (the) face of Egypt into (an) Islamic state.”

El-Erian urged the Brotherhood’s political rivals to accept the election results.

“We all believe that our success as Egyptians toward democracy is a real success and we want everyone to accept this democratic system. This is the guarantee for stability,” he said.

For decades, Mubarak’s regime suppressed the Brotherhood, which was politically banned but managed to establish a vast network of activists and charities offering free food and medical services throughout the country’s impoverished neighborhoods and villages.

It is the best organized of Egypt’s post-Mubarak political forces.

The vote for parliament’s lower house is taking place over three stages, with 18 provinces in Egypt yet to vote.

Meanwhile, the swearing-in of a new temporary Cabinet was delayed on Saturday due to disagreements over key posts, including over who will lead the ministry in charge of internal security.

An official in the Interior Ministry said several high-ranking security officials have been named as possible replacements but that some have turned down the offer.

Protesters have also strongly objected to the nominations put forward by newly appointed Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, who served in the same position under ousted President Hosni Mubarak from 1996 to 1999.

The country’s ruling military general, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, appointed el-Ganzouri as a new interim prime minister last month after the previous premier’s government resigned in the wake of a police crackdown on protesters that killed over 40 people.

The interim Cabinet will serve until after the parliamentary elections finish in March. A new government is to be formed after the legislature is seated.

Activist Hussein Hammouda, a retired police brigadier, is among those opposed to the names being considered for the Interior Minister post and says someone from outside the police force should be chosen instead.

Protesters in Tahrir Square, the epicenter of Egypt’s protests, released a statement saying they would continue their sit-in while allowing traffic to resume normally in the area.

There were tens of thousands of protesters in the square in the days leading up to the elections, but numbers have dwindled to several hundred since then. Protesters demanding el-Ganzouri be replaced as prime minister said they will keep up another sit-in outside the Cabinet headquarters.