, February 22, 2006 by Sumayyah Hussein
Islam in the News
2005
Islam Strikes Against Iranian Convert
An Iranian convert to Christianity was kidnapped last week from his home in
northeastern Iran and stabbed to death, his bleeding body thrown in front of his
home a few hours later. Ghorban Tori, 50, was pastoring an independent house
church of convert Christians in Gonbad-e-Kavus, a town just east of the Caspian
Sea along the Turkmenistan border.
Within hours of the November 22 murder, local secret police arrived at the
martyred pastor's home, searching for Bibles and other banned Christian books in
the Farsi language. By the end of the following day, the secret police had also
raided the houses of all other known Christian believers in the city.
According to one informed Iranian source, during the past eight days
representatives of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) have arrested
and severely tortured 10 other Christians in several cities, including Tehran. All the
detainees have since been released.
....
In addition, MOIS officials have visited known Christian leaders since Tori's murder
and have instructed them to warn acquaintances in the unofficial, Protestant house
fellowships that "the government knows what you are doing, and we will come for
you soon."
....
....
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Tori's murder came just days after Iran's new hard-line President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad called an open meeting with the nation's 30 provincial governors.....
"I will stop Christianity in this country," Ahmadinejad reportedly vowed.
"This was apparently a green light from the president of Iran to go out and start
killing Christians," the source said.
Persian Journal, section: Iran News, November 29, 2005
Islam--Al-Turki Ready to Discuss With Istalian State
The secretary general of the World Muslim League - Abdallah bin Abel Mohsen al-Turki - has said he is willing to discuss with the Italian State "any accord" that will
contribute to the official recognition of the Muslim community in Italy. Islam is the
sencond religion in Italy with 1.5 million followers in the predominantly Roman
Catholic country. The Saudi religious leader has met with representatives of the
Italian State, including Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu, in addition to
representatives from the local Muslim community.Among topics discussed during
meetings, are the creation of a school for Imams, and the base for a future accord
between the Centre of Islamic Culture in Italy - the institution managing Rome's
main mosque - and the Italian State.
Speaking to the press, al-Turki said the main purpose of his visit to Italy was to
attend the meeting for the administrative council of the Centre of Islamic Culture in
Italy. He added that a new meeting of the administrative council of the Islamic
centre has been scheduled for September when new projects will be discussed.
Al-Turki said the World Muslim League is planning a new role for Italy's Islamic
Centre, which will go beyond the current activities. It believes in "a cultural centre
that involves Muslims and non-Muslims alike" to support inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogues, al Turki explained. He added that the September meeting will
also be looking at the possibility to include 30 - 40 new members from Italy's
Muslim community.
Adnkronos International (AKI), May 17, 2005
Newsweek's apology for retraction regarding Islam's holy book Quran "not
enough", Pakistan says
On Monday, the U.S. magazine withdrew its story in its May 9 edition that
interrogators at the U.S. prison placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms
and flushed one book in the toilet to get inmates to talk.
Pakistan on Tuesday spurned as "not enough" an apology and retraction by
Newsweek of a report alleging desecration of Islam's holy book, the Quran, at the
U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the
report "insulted the feelings of Muslims ... just an apology is not enough. They
should think a 101 times before publishing news that hurt hearts."
His comments came a day after the Foreign Ministry reiterated a demand for a
probe into the alleged desecration. The report triggered bloody riots in Afghanistan
and protests in other Muslim countries, including Pakistan, a key ally in the U.S.-led
war on terrorism.
On Monday, the U.S. magazine withdrew its story in its May 9 edition that
interrogators at the U.S. prison placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms
and flushed one book in the toilet to get inmates to talk. In retracting the story,
Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker said that "based on what we know now, we are
retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered
Quran abuse at Guantanamo Bay."
In New Zealand, visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuiri said
Newsweek's retraction of the story "will definitely help" defuse some of the anger
in the Muslim world, but "unfortunately some damage has been done."
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, a hardline Pakistani Islamist leader and opposition lawmaker,
on Monday rejected Newsweek's apology. "The objective of the change in their
statement is to cool the anger among Muslims of the world," Ahmed said. He said
Islamic groups in Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Britain, Turkey and other countries
would go ahead with planned rallies on May 27 to protest the alleged desecration.
EITB: Basque News and Information Channel, May 17, 2005
Do Riots Save Islam's Honor?
So Newsweek has retracted its report about the defiling of Islam's holy book, the
Koran, by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay. But it's too late. Muslims everywhere
are questioning America's respect for all religions. Journalists are wondering what
standards allowed the charge to be printed without proof. Foreign policy analysts
are asking how the riots incited by the charge will affect the war on terrorism. Still,
at least one more question needs to be asked: Even if the Koran wa
