Progressive Muslims United

AP MOBILE: NYPD built secret files on NJ, Long Island mosques

2012-02-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

A story from AP Mobile:

NYPD built secret files on NJ, Long Island mosques

Download the free AP Mobile app for your iPhone from the App Store today!

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Historic Gain for Women in Pakistan as Women’s Commission Gains Autonomous Status

2012-02-21T20:21:00.001-08:00

http://www.unwomen.org/2012/02/historic-gain-for-women-in-pakistan-as-womens-commission-gains-autonomous-status/

Historic Gain for Women in Pakistan as Women's Commission Gains Autonomous Status

Posted on February 7 2012 | News

On 2 February 2012, the Pakistan Senateunanimously approved the "National Commission on the Status of Women Bill 2012″ to protect women's rights against every kind of discrimination. The new bill replaces the National Commission on the Status of Women Ordinance from 2000 and strengthens the Commission by giving it financial and administrative autonomy through an independent Secretariat.

The Commission will investigate and gather information on issues regarding women's rights, as well as have increased responsibilities to oversee the international commitments made by the government on all women's issues. The newly adopted bill also changes the status of the Commission's Chairperson who will now have the seniority of a State Minister, making recommendations directly to the national cabinet. The Commission will also have enhanced membership with two members from each Province and one member each from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad and two members from minorities.

The preamble of the bill highlights "promotion of social, economic, political and legal rights of women" as provided in the Constitution and "in accordance with international Declarations, Conventions, Treaties and Agreements relating to women including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women."

Women's groups have lobbied for the strengthening of the Commission for years, and the bill underwent many revisions in the National Assembly, before amendments were introduced. While previous governments had consolidated temporary Commissions into one permanent body in 2000, the main drawback was that the Secretariat of the Commission was placed in the Ministry of Women's Development, leading to lengthy bureaucratic procedures and red-tape.

UN Women works with the Government at the national and provincial levels on legislative review and reform. It has been for the past years the main partner of the National Commission on the Status of Women providing both financial and technical support as well as joint planning and advocacy. Collaboration includes: three out of the five paid positions in the Commission are supported by UN Women; the ongoing work of the Commission around a national framework for gender equality post-devolution — a consequence of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution by which many of the functions of government bodies have been de-centralized and moved to the provinces — is supported and advised by UN Women; and many ongoing joint efforts around recently approved legislations, as well as others in the pipeline form strong areas of cooperation. The National Commission on the Status of Women was also a grantee of the UN Trust Fund on Violence Against Women from 2007-2009 to address honor killings.

With the autonomous status making the Women's Commission more agile and better positioned to undertake their investigations into women's rights violations, their monitoring and advisory functions, women's rights in Pakistan will be better protected, say activists.

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Article: Turkey Urged to Allow Greater Religious Freedom

2012-02-20T23:11:00.001-08:00

Turkey Urged to Allow Greater Religious Freedom
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkey-urged-greater-religious-freedom-15750104

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Article: Va. mosque vandalism draws sympathy for long-persecuted Muslim sect

2012-02-20T22:54:00.001-08:00

Va. mosque vandalism draws sympathy for long-persecuted Muslim sect
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-mosque-vandalism-draws-sympathy-for-long-persecuted-muslim-sect/2012/02/14/gIQACYB4PR_story.html

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Article: Ministry of Women Affairs Warns of Dangers Associated with Genital Mutilation : Tunisia Live

2012-02-20T07:52:00.001-08:00

Ministry of Women Affairs Warns of Dangers Associated with Genital Mutilation : Tunisia Live
http://www.tunisia-live.net/2012/02/17/ministry-of-women-affairs-warns-of-dangers-associated-with-genital-mutilation/

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Article: Those who threaten 'Twitter blasphemy' writer Hamza Kashgari should stop and remember what Islam is for

2012-02-20T05:04:00.001-08:00

Those who threaten 'Twitter blasphemy' writer Hamza Kashgari should stop and remember what Islam is for
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2012/feb/17/twitter-blasphemy-hamza-kashgari-islam?commentpage=5#start-of-comments

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Article: 70 years later, still blaming an ‘enemy within’

2012-02-20T05:02:00.001-08:00

70 years later, still blaming an 'enemy within'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/guest-voices/post/70-years-later-still-blaming-an-enemy-within/2012/02/19/gIQAZZKXNR_blog.html

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Article: Madrassas to fight for women’s talaq power - India - DNA

2012-02-20T05:00:00.001-08:00

Madrassas to fight for women's talaq power - India - DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_madrassas-to-fight-for-womens-talaq-power_1652384

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NYTimes: A Quiet Struggle Within the Gay Marriage Fight

2012-02-18T21:46:00.001-08:00

Before same-sex marriage grabbed the spotlight, pastors in Northern California were fighting rules barring ordination and marriage of homosexuals, an effort that has spread nationwide.

http://nyti.ms/wWefUo

BBC E-mail: Pain and redemption of WWII interned Japanese-Americans

2012-02-18T19:12:00.001-08:00

** Pain and redemption of WWII interned Japanese-Americans **

Seventy years ago, in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attacks, the US West Coast was cleared of Japanese-Americans. More than 110,000 people were put into internment camps, in the largest official forced relocation in US history, reports the BBC's Cordelia Hebblethwaite.

< http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17080392 >

** Disclaimer **
The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified.

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Photos: Iran's Female Ninjas Show Their Strength

2012-02-17T17:30:00.001-08:00

From The Atlantic Magazine - February 16, 2012

Reuters

A Ninjutsu stunder jumps over a sword as part of a demonstration for the media

About 3,500 Iranian women are currently training to be ninjas, a trend I wrote about earlier this month. Though the country's restrictions on women are some of the most severe in the world, Iranian women are far from the weak, helpless creatures the Islamic Republic seems to consider them. Sports, and martial arts in particular, apparently including ninjutsu, are a way for Iranian women to express the strength and self-empowerment that the state has tried and failed to deny them.

Ten days after the Atlantic story ran, Reuters sent Iranian photographer Caren Firouz to visit some of the country's female ninjutsu schools. The students, it seems, were eager to show off their skills, which look awfully real, and his photos are impressive. Perhaps they will serve as a reminder, both to medieval-minded rulers inside Iran and the many curious people outside of it, that even if gender laws there are from the eighth century, its women are not.

More pictures of the Iranian women ninjas can be found here.

American Muslim Women Lift The Veil On Love Lives

2012-02-17T17:15:00.001-08:00

From NPR

February 17, 2012

Love InshAllah features personal essays from 25 women of different backgrounds and circumstances. Fans of love stories are curious and fascinated, but critics say the collection is salacious and sensational. Host Michel Martin and the book's contributing editor Ayesha Mattu discuss these stories of faith, love and the will to open up.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, we'll find out more about some of the stories we covered this week, and we will get your comments. That's BackTalk. That's in just a few minutes.

But, first, it's time for Faith Matters. That's the part of the program where we talk about matters of faith and spirituality. Today, we want to talk about faith and love - more specifically, women of faith talking about love.

This might be an old story for some, but for American-Muslim women, talking about such deeply personal matters in public has been taboo until now. There's a new collection of deeply moving - and to some, provocative - essays called "Love, InshAllah," - or love, God willing - "The Secret Love Lives of American-Muslim Women."

Full transcript here.

Listen to the full story here.

Female Athletes in Saudi Arabia Challenges Traditional Muslim Norms

2012-02-17T17:10:00.002-08:00

From Sports Illustrated - February 17, 2012

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Behind concrete walls and out of sight of men, Saudi women wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts meet three times a week to play soccer in an all-female club in Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah.

Cheering them on is Jeddah King's United coach and striker Reema Abdullah, who also is leading a campaign in the ultra-conservative Muslim country to allow women to participate in sports and compete internationally.

Saudi Arabia has never sent a woman to compete in the Olympics. Human rights groups say the country is violating the International Olympic Committee charter's pledge of equality.

In a report Wednesday, Human Rights Watch called on the IOC to require that Saudi Arabia's participation in the London Olympics be contingent upon the Arab country allowing all girls and women to play competitive sports.

Article continued at Sports Illustrated.

Video: Young Muslim Woman Breaks Ground In Fencing, Olympics

2012-02-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Local NJ Hero: Muslim Women Fencer Could Compete in Olympics

2012-02-17T17:08:00.001-08:00

From NewsOne - February 17, 2012

Ibtihaj Muhammad

Age: 25

Place of Residence: Maplewood, N.J.

Why she is a local hero: Muhammad, a fencer and a Muslim, could become the first American woman to compete in the Olympics with a hijab, the head scarf worn by Muslim women.

Muhammad is the first to admit how badly she wants to make it to the Olympics in London later this year, and as one of the top-ranked female sabre fencers in the world, she has an excellent chance of making the team. Though no official records have been kept, U.S. officials believe Muhammad would be the first American woman to compete in the hijab.

First Muslim Model Agency Opens in New York

2012-02-17T16:58:00.005-08:00

First Muslim Model Agency Opens in New York

Published February 14th, 2012 - 07:32 GMT

From Albawaba

Fashion insiders believe that this agency can help remove the stigma heaped upon Muslim women
Shown for illustrative purposes.

The launch of the world's first Muslim model agency, in New York's fashionable Tribeca district, offered an interesting alternative to the options presented at New York Fashion Week a few blocks uptown. A coming-together of a particularly stylish segment of the Islamic community in this cosmopolitan city, the event on Saturday night played host to everyone from a fully veiled woman in black abaya to dramatically coiffed fashionistas (and fashionistos) curious about a groundbreaking project.

The founder of the Underwraps agency, Nailah Lymus, is a born-and-bred New York Muslim with a love of fashion and a mission to prove Islam's worth and tolerance to a city whose inhabitants remain, in many cases, emotionally fragile and somewhat suspicious of Islam more than a decade after the tragic September 11 terrorist attacks.

"It's just always been about contradicting a lot of the negative stereotypes and misunderstandings about Muslims and our religion, as well as about Muslim females; there's a whole lot of other negative stereotypes that go with that," says Lymas at the launch, in the Rare salon on Church Street. "We can walk on the runway, we can wear colours, we can do things independently of our husbands ... It breaks down so many misunderstandings, even regarding nationalities of Muslim women; it's a religion that's international."

In fact, arguably, much of the fashion that has been shown so far in New York for autumn/winter 2012 would be perfectly at home on a Muslim model, with hats, high necks and long sleeves all crucial trends. One guest at the event, Ismail Sayeed, a Harlem-born blogger and artist otherwise known as The Calligrafist, argues: "Those things are incorporated into western fashion. People who are not Muslim can cover and still be fashionable. If you look at the runway a lot of models are covered, and designers especially play with veils."

The owner of Rare, Fatima Sheikh, agrees. "When I met Nailah, I didn't even realise she was wearing hijab. It just looked so hot that I was like, I love what you've got going on!"

Sheikh runs a monthly "hijab night", during which she blocks off the windows on the premises, allowing local Muslim women to enjoy the benefits of a beauty salon in the privacy required by their beliefs. A practising Muslim herself, she was attracted to Lymus's project from the start, and was happy to offer her salon for the buzzy event.

"We met and everything she was talking about, the femininity and mysteriousness, that there's more to being feminine than being naked all the time, I agreed with. Anything I can do to help out each other [in Muslim fashion] I'm down to do."

Judging by the eclectic crowd that gathered on Saturday night, there are plenty of people with the same approach: some were there out of curiosity, some were bloggers looking for the next big story and many were Muslim fashionistas wanting to be part of a bigger movement.

Mohammed Shariff, a New York-based fashion and entertainment lawyer, was there to support his fellow New York Muslims, but he also saw a business opportunity. This was, he thought, just the tip of a future iceberg. "When I saw this I thought it was a perfect fit for Muslims and non-Muslims who don't want to be so revealing. I know we're going to start catering for this international market in America, whether it's at Neiman Marcus or JC Penney," he argues. "It's happening."

Shariff also points out the issue that has been troubling for so many of those who would like to be Muslim models - and those who would employ them. "I work with models and modelling agencies," he says. "I do see Muslims in modelling agencies who suffer from the assignments; they feel that they compromise who they are for it."

Sayeed has a similar experience. "I personally know many Muslims who want to model but they don't want to take anything off; they want to stay within their faith. People have their different views on it, but if you look around the world, Muslims dress differently. Culture plays a big part in how Muslims dress."

It's nevertheless a thorny issue for Lymus, who inevitably finds herself "representing" the Muslim world in fashion. How has she dealt with the doctrinal and religious issues?

"I've spoken to two imams, and they seemed to be supportive of it as long as I'm representing the religion properly, once I explained the direction I'm going in, which is really to bring awareness to a fashion forum. The models know that I'm devout in my religion." Still, if, as she suggests, the agency does start to cater for an international market ("I would love for my girls to walk Lincoln Centre during New York Fashion Week"), there are going to be some serious backstage issues, in a world in which it is completely normal for models to change in front of a whole room of men and women.

"Our contracts are really detailed, to make sure everything is understood," she says. "I'm even in the process of designing a portable fitting room for the individual model, because we can't have men dressing us, and I don't want it to be a burden or inconvenience to designers who might want to use our models."

Whether the madness that occurs backstage at a mainstream fashion show will support such measures remains to be seen.

Video: UAE Islamic Love Guru Urges Women to Enjoy Sex

2012-02-17T16:51:00.003-08:00

From AFP - February 13, 2012

Article: UAE Muslim Marriage Counselor Encourages Women & Men to Enjoy Sex

2012-02-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

UAE Islamic love guru urges women to enjoy sex

By Lara Sukhtian (AFP) – February 13, 2012 - From AFP


A grab from an AFP video interview shows Emirati "love guru" Widad Lootah (AFP, - DUBAI — Emirati love guru Widad Lootah is not your typical marriage counsellor. She is an ultra-conservative Muslim who wears the full veil and talks a lot about sex, often quoting the Muslim holy book the Koran.

On the eve of Valentine's day, Lootah is calling on Muslim and Arab women everywhere to "embrace love and love making."

"Don't shy away from it, don't feel ashamed by it. Enjoy it, you're supposed to," she said in an interview with AFP, adding that she is trying to break common misconceptions that sex in Islam is only about conceiving children.

"It's also about having fun," she said.

Dressed in a shroud of black revealing only her eyes -- a choice, she says, that allows her to emulate the Muslim prophet's wives -- Lootah was frank and explicit about the importance Islam places on a healthy sex life.

"It's at the core" of a happy marriage, she said.

Lootah noted that her 11 years as a marriage counsellor at the Dubai courthouse made her realise that "what happens (or doesn't happen) in bed" is the main source of marital problems in the United Arab Emirates.

Public, and in many cases private, discussions about sex are still taboo in much of the conservative Muslim world, a reality she says contradicts Islam's approach to the subject.

There are only two simple rules for sex in Islam: you must be married "and anal sex is strictly forbidden," Lootah said.

"Everything else, including all sexually intimate acts below the belly button, is allowed. Feel each other, touch each other, kiss each other all over... it's OK."

The problem is, "there is so much shame and disgrace" associated with the enjoyment of sex in the Arab world.

Lootah is an adamant believer in bringing the discussion of sex out into the open, although at times doing so has proven it can be a risky business.

In 2009, she published the much-debated Muslim sex guide "Top Secret: Sexual Guidance for Married Couples."

Her book, and her comments in interviews on the subject, initially triggered a slew of insults, condemnation and even threats against her life.

"They called me all sorts of things: crazy, vile, immoral, criminal," she said. "Some even called me a traitor and spy for Israel and America."

Today, Lootah is probably the UAE's most prominent marriage counsellor, known by her clients as "Mama Widad."

Lootah has also vigorously lobbied her home government to introduce sexual education in Emirati schools.

For older teens, "it's very important that we educate them, both males and females, about sex... we have to prepare them psychologically and emotionally for it, and we have to teach them about the act itself."

But first, we must "educate the teachers so they can educate the students," said Lootah, adding that such education would also help protect young children from sexual predators.

They have to be "taught what form of adult-child interaction is appropriate and what's not," she said. "We need to teach them so they know to recognise the danger when it's there."

She said the taboos surrounding sex have also contributed to high divorce rates in the Emirates and to generally unhappy marriages.

In about a month, Lootah plans to submit her second book, "Top Secret Volume Two," to the government censors, and in traditional Lootah style, its pages will contain a lot of sex talk.

But this time, the topic of discussion is forbidden sex under Islam.

"It's about homosexual and lesbian relations and their effect on the institution of marriage," said Lootah, adding that she had to tread carefully given the sensitivity of the subject and intense emotions it stirs in the Muslim world.

When asked why she has taken on the cause of love and sex in Islam, Lootah argued that it was an issue of "women's rights."

"I can't fix everything... but I can try and fix the role of women (in sex and marriage) in the Arab world."

As for her opinion of Valentine's day, she says Islam forbids the celebration of non-Muslim holidays.

"But if you consider Valentine's day as a mere reminder to show one's love to another, then why not? I don't object to it," she said. But "if that's the case, then every day should be Valentine's day."

Any last words of advice?

"Experience love... even before marriage, that's OK. But don't do anything forbidden by Islam."

Article: Not All Islam Is Radical Islam

2012-02-16T21:58:00.001-08:00

Not All Islam Is Radical Islam
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/noah-fitzgerel/post_2960_b_1276506.html

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Article: My Take: Top 5 myths about American Muslims’ love lives

2012-02-16T21:48:00.001-08:00

My Take: Top 5 myths about American Muslims' love lives

My Take: Top 5 myths about American Muslims' love lives
The Editors
Editor's note: Ayesha Mattu, an international development consultant, and Nura Maznavi, an attorney, are the co-editors of "Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women."
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/14/my-take-top-5-myths-about-american-muslims-love-lives/

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Article: After revolution in Egypt, women's taste of equality fades

2012-02-16T21:46:00.001-08:00

After revolution in Egypt, women's taste of equality fades
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-egypt-women-20120215,0,284102.story

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NYTimes: For Punishment of Elder’s Misdeeds, Afghan Girl Pays the Price

2012-02-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

The illegal and denounced practice of "baad," the giving of girls as payment for offenses committed by their relatives, is pervasive in parts of Afghanistan, according to human rights workers. http://nyti.ms/zLUAEq

Article: Human Rights Petition: King Abdullah: Immediately release journalist Hamza Kashgari

2012-02-15T19:32:00.001-08:00

Human Rights Petition: King Abdullah: Immediately release journalist Hamza Kashgari
https://www.change.org/petitions/king-abdullah-immediately-release-journalist-hamza-kashgari

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Article: New e-Book: Musawah's Strategic Direction

2012-02-15T19:27:00.001-08:00

New e-Book: Musawah's Strategic Direction
http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b7a54fdc92d9187ef7ffbfdf0&id=9d1c6ca263

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Article: An American take on the Quran

2012-02-15T19:24:00.001-08:00

An American take on the Quran
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120211/ENT/302110010

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