TresSugar

Top Official: Burqa Not Part of France's "National Identity"

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Cheese. Wine. Baguettes. These are all seemingly welcomed signifiers of French identity. Burqas? Not so welcome.

France has been debating a ban on the head-to-toe garment for some time now. Most recently, the country's immigration minister Eric Besson said yesterday that burqas should not be worn on French streets because they are not part of the country's "national identity."

Besson wants the government to reaffirm national pride by having a "great debate" about what it means to be French. With more than five million Muslims living in France (the largest Muslim population in Western Europe), doesn't French identity include Muslim traditions? It sounds like Besson, who was born in Morocco, disagrees. Based on his previous statements, being French means speaking better French if you're an immigrant and having more opportunities to sing the national anthem if you're a kid in school.

Do you think the French government has a right to dictate dress codes under the guise of "maintaining tradition," or should it be more accepting of minority and immigrant group influences? Would you worry if US officials organized a meeting to decide what it means to be American?

Front Page: The White House Celebrates Ramadan

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:00:42 -0700

President Obama hosted a Ramadan dinner at the White House last night, where he stressed that "Islam is part of America." - AP
Donald Trump fixes the Miss Universe pageant to make sure the prettiest women make it through, according to the pageant's choreographer. - Huffington Post
Tribal leaders are alleging that Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai forged 23,900 votes in the recent election. - New York Times
A car bomb exploded outside the stock exchange in Athens, Greece, today, injuring a female passerby. - BBC News

Malaysian Woman Sentenced to Caning For Drinking a Beer

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Not every woman around the world can enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like sipping a cold beer on vacation, without fear of physical punishment. Recently, 32-year-old Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno was sentenced to be caned for drinking a beer in a hotel nightclub.

After being taken into custody and transported to a prison for her punishment today, Kartika was prepared to endure the caning. Unexpectedly the Islamic Sharia court granted her a reprieve until the holy month of Ramadan is over, throwing her case into confusion. Still, officials maintain that the delayed sentence stands.

So why was she sentenced to such a punishment in the first place? Malaysia operates under two legal systems, which includes Sharia courts that can try Muslims for moral or religious offenses. Although prosecution is rare, Muslims like Kartika can be jailed for up to three years or given six strokes of a cane for drinking alcohol.

While she was spared the caning this week, Kartika is not happy about being in legal limbo and her father says: "My daughter wants the sentence to be done. I'm afraid that people will make fun of the religion."

Fact or Fiction: Debunking Myths About the Muslim Headscarf

TresSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:30:00 -0700

The hijab - the scarf some Muslim women wear over their heads - is a controversial piece of clothing. Muslim women in America must weigh their desire to follow their faith, with the risk of standing out, against a sometimes-judgmental society. Perhaps society would be more understanding if people knew more about the religious garment. Take this quiz to find out if you can spot fact from the fiction.

Source: Flickr User ranoush

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Sudanese Woman Who Wore Pants Challenges Punishment

TresSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:00:07 -0700

Flogging women for wearing unacceptable clothes? What century are we in again?

Lubna Ahmed Hussein, a Sudanese journalist who also works in the media department of the UN Mission in Sudan, was arrested along with 13 other women at a popular cafe for wearing "indecent clothes."

Was she going commando in a miniskirt? Was her muffin top hanging over lowrise jeans? Nope. She was wearing "trousers" and now faces flogging - 40 lashes. She and two other women asked for a lawyer. The other women (some non-Muslim) weren't so lucky: they received 10 lashes and a fine.

Arrested July 3 and now standing trial (in the same trousers that got her arrested!), Lubna claims she did nothing wrong under the strict Sharia or Islamic religious law, which has been in place in Sudan since 1989. She has immunity due to her association with the UN, but Lubna has decided to waive this in order to challenge the law.

"I want to change this law," Lubna told the BBC, "because hitting is not human, and also it does not match with Sharia law." Court has been adjourned until August 4 so that she can quit her UN job.

Iran Marks 30th Anniversary of Islamic Revolution

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:30:54 -0800

Yesterday Iranians celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. In February 1979, Iran transformed from a constitutional monarch under the Shah, to an Islamic republic under the Ayatollah. Celebrating the realization of Islam's political potential, thousands of Iranians gathered in Freedom Square yesterday. Most of them were working class citizens, who strongly support President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Many middle-class people feel they were better off before the revolution. Ahmadinejad used the anniversary of the event, which ended warm relations between Iran and the US, to make an overture to President Obama. He said Iran was ready for "talks based on mutual respect and in a fair atmosphere." Not surprisingly, Ahmadinejad used the moment to attack Bush calling for him to be "tried and punished" for his actions in the Middle East. Check out these pictures from the mass rally. Source

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Something New? Saudi Cleric Condones Child Brides

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:00:38 -0800

A ceremonial wedding between a girl and a frog sounds like child's play compared to a real wedding between a girl and a middle-aged man. Yet the practice continues to cross our screens and affect real lives around the world. And it's not stopping anytime soon - at least not in Saudi Arabia.

Top Saudi cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, said it is not fair to tell a 10- or 12-year-old girl that she can't marry. This comes after a Saudi judge refused to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 58-year-old man.

The girl's mother petitioned for the annulment, saying the marriage was arranged by the girl's father to settle a debt. The judge's only consolation? He required the newlywed husband to sign a pledge promising to abstain from sex until the girl reached puberty, bringing new meaning to abstinence pledge.

Though Saudi law may intend to protect children, it's difficult to separate the secular from the sacred in a country so steeped in Islam - a religion that imposes no age limits on marriage. A Saudi Arabia researcher for Human Rights Watch said, "It is still the religious establishment that holds sway in the courts, and in many realms beyond."

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Soldiers' Graves Graffitied on Islamic Festival of Sacrifice

LibertySugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:30:53 -0800

Anti-Islamic insults desecrated at least 500 tombstones of Muslim soldiers in France's largest military cemetery. The racist graffiti attack took place on the eve of today's Islamic Eid al-Adha festival (the festival of sacrifice), a day when Muslims visit the graves of loved ones. Each grave was marked with either a swastika, or a letter that helped spell out derogatory messages.

Many of the soldiers whose memories were affronted died fighting for France during the battles of World War I, but their resting place has battled racist attacks during recent times. This is the third attack directed toward Muslims on this site in the last two years.

Considering France has Europe's largest Muslim population, do you think these types of hostile actions will increase or decrease?

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Bush Touts Religious Freedom and US Record at UN

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:35 -0800

Speaking at the UN Culture of Peace gathering, President Bush emphasized how religious freedom is crucial to a flourishing society. Bush maintained that freedom to worship as you want is "God's gift to every man, woman, and child."

Bush cited the US as an example of how to promote religious freedom:

Our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others, from liberating the concentration camps of Europe to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We're not afraid to stand with religious dissidents and believers who practice their faith even where it is unwelcome.

At the meeting billed as an "interfaith" dialogue, the president of Pakistan also spoke out against hate speech, saying: "The imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West who accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists."

As this was most likely Bush's last appearance at the UN, do you think he went out with the right message?

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Somalia: Is the Chaos There a US Problem?

LibertySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0700

An exaggerated fear of "Islamofascism" ignores a complex reality, causing the US to overreact and damage its own interests. So says columnist Nicholas D. Krsitof, who argues that the situation in Somalia is one of the least-known Bush administration failures. Kristof explains that in 2006, a movement made up of moderate and extremist Islamic groups was close to uniting the country. Fearful of an uncooperative government in Somalia, the US supported Ethiopia's invasion of its rival, crushing the best hope for peace.

Events this week bolster the argument that paranoia of Islamic extremists has led to disaster. Today in Somalia, five suicide bombs hit government security posts, UN offices, and an Ethiopian consular unit, killing dozens.

On Monday, the human rights chaos came to a head as well. A rape victim was stoned to death for adultery in an Islamist-controlled region. Buried up to her neck, thousands gathered at a soccer field to help execute her.

Perhaps extremists win when international powers stubbornly refuse to reach out to moderates. Would you rather see the US abandon a strictly ideological viewpoint, instead opening its eyes to nuanced reality, or does security require zero tolerance?

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