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Dear Editor, Hope you are doing well and thanks for publishing my previous write ups. This is an article titled "High Court order shouldn't be in vain". I will be highly honoured if you publish this article. I apprecite your time to read this article. Thanks Have a nice time With Best Regards Ripan Kumar Biswas New York, U.S.A ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Court order shouldn't be in vain Ripan Kumar Biswas After pleading guilty in March, 2009, Bernard Madoff, who began stealing investors' money in the early 1990s and took as much as $50 billion from investors around the world, was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison for masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme in But a 14-year-old boy in Although in the case of Miru, the local law enforcement agencies and other government bodies later said the reports were not true as the boy only sustained injury to his right eye, but both the punishment imposed on them are all a reminder of medieval barbarism and a clear sign of common trend of extra judicial punishments in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Extra judicial punishments are more severe against women in Despite the outrage and protests focused in the leading media and forum, the women's groups, civil society, and enlightened citizenry, the examples of this kind barbarisms, extra judicial punishments, or fatwas are accelerating from one place to another, one village to another village. Though a division bench of the High Court ruled on January 1, 2001 (during the Bangladesh Awami League tenure) that all fatwas are unauthorized and illegal, but the government's inaction very often fuels extra judicial punishments and emboldens the obscurantist and self-seeking clerics to impose fatwas with their perverse interpretation of religious doctrines. The court went on to say that the very issue of fatwas should be made a punishable offence.
But we all are glad to know that the High Court (HC) On Tuesday, August 25, 2009 ordered the government, law enforcers, and local government bodies including all Union Parishads and Paurashavas to take immediate measures to investigate promptly any report received of the issuance and imposition of an extra-judicial penalty such as beating or lashing by any person or body, including a Member of Chairman of any Union Parishad or Paurashava, and to take appropriate measures against any person found responsible, also to provide security and protection to any victim.
The rule was issued by a Division Bench of HC comprising Justice Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam in a public interest writ petition filed by five human rights, women's rights and development organizations, in the context of a series of reports of women and men being subjected to extra-judicial punishments including whipping and caning during the course of rural "Shalish (sentence)," often in the presence of or with the active participation of members or chairman of Union Parishads.
A fatwa is a legal pronouncement in Islam made by a mufti, a scholar capable of issuing judgments on Sharia (Islamic law). Fatwas are asked for by judges or individuals, and are needed in cases where an issue of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) is undecided or uncertain. Lawsuits can be settled on the basis of a fatwa. According to the human rights activists, Fatwa' is the name (wrongly) given to informal arbitration decisions made by some Imams/Muslim clerics, based on usually extreme or misinterpretation of Islamic Principles. In
On the other hand, extrajudicial punishment is physical or mental punishment without the permission of a court or legal authority, and as such, constitutes a violation of basic human rights such as the right to due process and humane treatment.
In rural areas, religious leaders impose flogging and other punishments on women accused of violating strict moral codes. During 2008, religious leaders issued twenty fatwas in
The United Nations has adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as eight other charters, which are binding on all the member states, with a view to safeguarding the freedom, rights and status of the peoples of all nations. Besides, the Constitution of Bangladesh incorporates 23 articles pertaining to the fundamental rights of its citizens. The Constitution of newly independent
In January 2002, in response to the courts striking down a fatwa, the leader of the Jamat-e-Islami and the defenders of fatwas and extrajudicial punishments proclaimed, "Courts won't be allowed to control fatwas; instead fatwas would control the court." Human rights organizations and the enlightened citizenry including Bangladesh Mahila Parishad called on the government to enact a law under which issuing fatwa (religious edict) should be considered a criminal offence. While we expect everyone to understand that the fatwas or extrajudicial punishments are nothing but a misinterpretation of religious ethos and exploitations of religious sentiments of simple people, we do expect that the government body including civil administration and the law enforcement agencies shouldn't stay away from the atrocities committed in the name of dispensation of justice. Friday, August 28, 2009, Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in |
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Md. Kamal Uddin, PhDAssociate Professor
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Biological Sciences
University of DhakaDhaka 1000, Bangladesh.Tel:+88-02-9661920- 73 Ext. 7713 (Office).0171-345-6644 (Cell)
--
M.A.S. Kamal
Researcher,
Fukuoka Industry, Science and Technology Foundation
http://terra. ees.kyushu- u.ac.jp/~ kamal/
HP: 81-80-3993-6102; Office 81-92-802-3691
Res: 412 Najima Kopo, 2-8-21 Najima,
Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-0043
Japan
Tel+Fax: +8192-405-2024
Email: maskamal@ieee. org
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Thank you Mr Abu Sayeed Rahman You are most welcome to level me in a group, you see how small number we are compare to 1.2 Billion Muslims. Do you have any thing else to talk about, any question, any disagreement, Members of Khabor.com may anticipate our conversation. Thank you Anis R --- On Tue, 8/25/09, AbuSayeed Rahman <abusayeedr@yahoo.com> wrote:
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| The National Human Rights Commission of India has asked its government to explain the killing of a Bangladeshi national and rape of his wife by the Border Security Forces in April.
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Chatro League or Tender League By Mohiuddin Anwar, USA Since Sheikh Hasina's government took charge of the country, nation's tenders had been hundred percent controlled by pro Hasina Chatro League terrorist/scadres. Even Chatro League cadres preventing others to file tender in front of Awami Police and RAB. Those so called law enforcers(?) overlooking such incidents to save their Chamra(Skin). Even Chatro League terrorist's openly declaring that, this is their right and share and they will capture all tenders by force. Are we living in a civil society or Baksali rule , where cadres of the ruling party capturing all tenders and such stories published by most bangla dailies on a daily basis and Prime Minister herself cannot prevent such snatching of tenders to favor Chatro League terrorists/cadres. Bangladesh needs a Home Minister like Major Rafiq(who has been sidelined by Netri because of his courageous move to punish cadres of all parties during the first Hasina rule) who is capable of controlling cadre politics. Is Hasina li stening ? In the past some Hazari's ruined Awami politics now Chatro League terrorists/cadres will definitely damage her popular support make no doubt about it.My understanding is that, if Hasina wants to control Chatro league terrorist/ cadres she can do it in a week, but the question is can she survive politically without the support of Chatro League terrorist/cadres? Mohiuddin Anwar Washington,DC USA E Mail : mohiuddin@gmail.com Feedback [Ref. Article#281609] of http://www.bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidType=&hidRecord=0000000000000000281609 http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=281788 |
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| Dear friends, Please see the press report. James Swapan Peris London |
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UK IT Graduates Unemployment
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 A friend in the time of our need.Photo: AFP I had the privilege and honour of hearing Senator Ted Kennedy speak at the Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado on August 25, 2008. Exactly one year on from that date, he has said his final goodbye. America has lost one of the most remarkable and influential senators in its history, the world a political Leviathan and a model public representative, and Bangladesh one of its truest friends ever. For almost five eventful decades, not only was Sen. Kennedy at the centre of the most burning and sensitive issues facing America and the world, he did much in his own style to help shape them too by challenging the status quo and fighting injustice. He publicly supported our Liberation War and was sharply critical of the Nixon Administration's opposition to it. He personally visited refugee camps in India in August 1971, and alerted the world to the human tragedies and sufferings he witnessed there and the reign of terror that was unleashed on the Bengalees in the then East Pakistan. In his submissions to the Senate, he portrayed Nixon's support for West Pakistan as "nothing short of complicity in the human and political tragedy of East Bengal." Following the independence of Bangladesh, he visited Dhaka in early 1972 and, in a speech at Dhaka University, said: "Even though the United States government does not recognise you, the people of the world do recognise you." An internationalist and a world citizen, he was a champion, crusader and defender par excellence of the poor and politically disadvantaged and, as a prolific legislator much respected across the political spectrum, he set and defined the standard for the Democratic Party -- and America -- on health care, education, civil and human rights, campaign-finance reform and labour law. He characteristically opposed the war in Vietnam and, from the beginning, was an outspoken opponent and critic of war in Iraq. A year ago, as I made my way to the Convention Hall, monitors flashed the news that Sen. Kennedy had arrived in Denver and would indeed be addressing the delegates. Courtesy of National Democratic Institute (NDI), I was also in Boston for the 2004 Democratic National Convention and, at a reception for the foreign delegates, had the pleasure of meeting and speaking to the senator. That meeting, and the few minutes of focused conversation we had wherein he enquired about Bangladesh and expressed his deep affection for its people, was the thrill of a lifetime for me. I kept in regular touch with him thereafter through his office, and was deeply impressed by how up to date and current he was on events in Bangladesh and also, despite his pre-occupations, his willingness to engage and get others in Congress and the Senate to do so on matters such as assassination of S.A.M.S. Kibria, attempted assassination of Sheikh Hasina on August 21 and the fact that there was no real progress in the investigations. Given his medical condition, I knew I would not be able to meet him in person this time round in 2008, but hoped that somehow he could make an appearance at the Convention. As he walked to the podium, the lion of American politics was greeted with tears and cheers. The words he spoke that evening in Denver will forever be embedded in me. He started of by saying about how nothing, nothing could have kept him away from the Convention and the fact that he was there to stand in solidarity with the delegates to change America, to restore its future and rise to America's best ideals. In victory and defeat, he went on to say, we have never lost our belief that we are called to a better country and a newer world. He spoke about hope, new hope -- which he referred to as the cause of his life -- for justice and prosperity for the many, not just for the few. His closing words ran thus: "There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination -- not merely victory for our Party but renewal for our nation. This November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on." The torch has now passed to a new generation and the work has indeed begun anew. In a brief statement announcing his death, his family said: "We've lost the irreplaceable centre of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever." These are words not just of a grieving family but the sentiments of many in grief across the world. He was the best president America never had, and proved through his life and triumphs that to be towering personality and an iconic world figure one need not be president of the United States. The dream indeed lives on, not just in America but more importantly, all over the world, as does Sen. Kennedy in our hearts and souls. Saber Hossain Chowdhury is a Member of Parliament. |
ON MUSLIM 'FAILED STATES' BY SYED AKBAR ALI Since the 1960s, we have become familiar with a string of labels describing the various countries of the world. "The Third World", "Developing Countries", "Least Developed Countries" or LDCs, "Newly Industrialising" Countries or NICS, the "First World", the West, the countries of the South, the "Islamic Countries" (why are there no such terms as 'Christian Countries' or 'Buddhist Countries'?) are names or phrases that have been coined to capture in a snapshot of just a few words the entirety of a nation. There have been many definitions and redefinitions of most of the terms quoted above. The term 'Third World' is attributed to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India to describe nations that were aligned neither to the West nor the Communists during the Cold War (Wikipedia). Here is one redefinition of 'Third World': "the technologically less advanced, or developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, generally characterized as poor, having economies distorted by their dependence on the export of primary products to the developed countries in return for finished products. These nations also tend to have high rates of illiteracy, disease, and population growth and unstable governments. The term Third World was originally intended to distinguish the nonaligned nations that gained independence from colonial rule beginning after World War II" ( Columbia Encyclopedia).
An 'Islamic Country' usually suffers all the above, plus a little more. Often, an Islamic Country may also suffer violence either within its own borders against its own people or violence imposed from outside. Another feature of Islamic countries is that the people are always walking around in fear of suffering embarrassment from breaching some religious rule or another. They always seem to suffer a guilty conscience. They are an unhappy people. And, on top of it all, the 'Islamic Country' suffers the fit that it is somehow still blessed by God and that its inhabitants, especially its religious leaders, will all go to heaven. A failed state is one where the clock has been turned back. Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran (all three being Islamic countries) are the clearest examples of this definition of a Failed State in the modern era. In the past, whole civilizations and empires have failed and had their clocks turned back. A very good example was the Islamic civilization. From being innovators and leaders in science, literature and almost all forms of knowledge the Muslims became superstitious, childish, unhygienic, violent and poor. Today the vast majority of the Arab countries - which most definitely form the remnant of the 'Islamic Civilisation' - are Failed States. The Arab Human Development Report 2004 produced by the United Nations Development Programe summarises all the Arab states as : · lacking freedom and good governance · suffering acute corruption · marginalizing segments of their population like women and minorities · and also that Arab governments suffer crisis of legitimacy. This means their governments do not represent the will of the people. Documenting the 'Economic Collapse of the Arab World' Stephen Glain in his book 'Mullahs. Merchants and Militants' laments that during the Islamic empire, Arab currency was held from Scandinavia to China and a draft order signed against a Damascus account would be honored in Canton. The draft orders were known in Arabic as sek, which inspired the English 'cheque' (pg. 77). Yet all the 22 members of the Arab League today are basket cases. Glain's notes that from 1990 to 1999 the per capita income growth in the 22 Arab countries averaged less than 1 % growth whereas their population averaged 4% growth over the same period. Saudi Arabia suffered an economic contraction of 1.1% in the ten years from 1989 to 1999. The Syrian Government does not even publicly announce its economic growth rates. The US Embassy in Damascus believes that the Syrian economy is actually contracting by as much as 4 % a year. But Syria has an expanding clique of 'noveau riche' or the new rich. Some of them are almost billionaires who enjoy ties to the ruling elite and can corner vast monopolies. I think in Malaysia we call them cronies. Let us look at some more definitions of a 'Failed State'. These have been derived from various sites on the Internet. But I believe the message gets across about what is a Failed State. "A state is failing when its government is losing physical control of its territory or lacks a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Other symptoms ... include the erosion of authority to make collective decisions, an inability to provide reasonable public services, and the loss of the capacity to interact ... with the international community". Another definition says a State is failing when there is "extensive corruption and criminal behavior, inability to collect taxes or otherwise draw on citizen support, large-scale involuntary dislocation of the population, sharp economic decline, group-based inequality, and institutionalized persecution or discrimination are other hallmarks of state failure. States can fail at varying rates of decline through explosion, implosion, or erosion". I would like to stress that these are not fixed and fast 'rules' and neither are any of these definitions of a Failed State written in stone. They are just a simple and organized way to arrange our thoughts about this thing called a Failed State which I hope will make for easier discussion. I am sure the reader may have other definitions or more structured thinking on the matter. What is important to realize is that there are such things now as Failed States. 50 years ago when many countries in the world were still colonies or had just been released from the grips of colonialism - the problem of the 'Failed State' was not such an issue especially to their own peoples because at that time they did not have freedom to determine their future. But a 'Failed State' is becoming an increasing reality now after 50 years or more of independence for the Malaysias, Bangladeshs and Egypts of the world. We are now operating under our own steam. After 50 years of post World War II independence, many of these countries or people are just falling down. The point I would like to make here is that a country can regress and become a Failed State. The other thing that I would like the reader to bear in mind is that all the Islamic countries are well qualified to become Failed States. I would especially like the Muslim readers to realize this and then hopefully they will start panicking immediately. Perhaps they will then be motivated to urgently do something useful and positive to rectify the predicament they are in. They really do not have the luxury of time. Of course there will also be those who will bury their heads deeper in the sand and say 'We are fine. Leave us alone.' Sometimes the failure is not in the whole state but among certain population groups only. In some countries that are multi cultural, multi ethnic or multi religious (especially like Malaysia) we may observe some of the characteristics of the Failed State in one group of people - for example within the Muslims only. Lets coin a phrase for them. These would then be the Failed Population Groups. However whether a State or a Population Group the characteristics of their failure are the same. The following definition of 'Failed State' does narrow it down to a population group and not necessarily the whole State. "Characteristics of Failed Countries : Whether analyzing military capabilities, cultural viability, or economic potential, these seven factors offer a quick study of the likely performance of a state, region, or population group in the coming century. These key "failure factors" are: 1 Restrictions on the free flow of information. 2 The subjugation of women. 3 Inability to accept responsibility for individual or collective failure. 4 The extended family or clan as the basic unit of social organization. 5 Domination by a restrictive religion. 6 A low valuation of education. 7 Low prestige assigned to work. It is unnerving yet many of the above seven characteristics are also descriptive of the situation of the Muslims in Malaysia vis a vis the non Muslims in the country. In Malaysia the non Muslims can discuss their religion at will. The Muslims can go to jail or have fatwas issued against them if they raise issues that are deemed as insulting to the religious authorities. The non Muslim women can dress in just about any way they want but the Muslim women are frowned upon if they don't wear a head cover or tudung. Marina Mahathir, a newspaper columnist and a commonsensical person, has said that Malaysian Muslim women suffer "apartheid". Here is an excerpt from the AFP news service : AFP KUALA LUMPUR, March 9, 2006 - The daughter of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has likened the status of Muslim women in Malaysia to that of South African blacks under apartheid. Marina Mahathir, a prominent social activist, made the claim in her regular Wednesday column for the Star daily to mark International Women's Day. The column did not appear Wednesday but will be published Thursday, she said. Marina Mahathir said that apartheid was still being practised in other forms even though it had disappeared from South Africa. "In our country, there is an insidious growing form of apartheid among Malaysian women, that between Muslim and non-Muslim women," she wrote in a copy of the text obtained by AFP. Malaysia's population of 25 million is dominated by some 60 percent Muslim Malays. Chinese and Indians make up 26 percent and 8.0 percent respectively. "We are unique in that we actively legally discriminate against women who are arguably the majority in this country, Muslim women. Non-Muslim Malaysian women have benefited from more progressive laws over the years while the opposite has happened for Muslim women," said Marina Mahathir. Marina's views were eloquently restated by Zainah Anwar – another spokesperson for the Sister's in Islam - in her column in the New Straits Times where she wrote : "For Muslim women it is all the more painful that it is Islam that is used to deny change. Is it any wonder then that many are beginning to describe Malaysia as a country that practices religious apartheid as it formally establishes one set of rights for non-Muslims granting equality and justice between men and women, and a separate set of rights for Muslims, moving toward more inequality and injustice for Muslim women. As it was under apartheid rule in South Africa, separate can never be equal". (NST 7/4/06). Other than Marina's and Zainah's observations about the social welfare of Muslim women under the religious enactments and in the religious courts, the New Economic Policy and after that the Outline Perspective Plan or OPP are acknowledgements of the dire economic straits of the Muslims in Malaysia. Malaysia has indeed become an economic success story but the Muslims do not yet feel comfortable enough to lay claim to much of the success. As the ruling majority they have maintained the peace and been good administrators of the land which has provided opportunity for the non Muslims to go about their business largely unhindered. Everyone has benefited from this relationship but there is much that simmers under the surface. There is now the real threat that with the increasing creep of religion, the Muslims may outwardly start to manifest the bad characteristics of a Failed Population Group within the larger Malaysian economy and society. The fact is this failure is already becoming visibly apparent. Another definition of a Failed State has narrowed it down to the 'Twelve Indicators of a Failed state' which are : 1 - Mounting Demographic Pressures The world cannot ignore the Failed States or the Failed Population Groups anymore. If we ignore them it is at our own peril. Since self interest is the best interest, it is high time the world started paying real attention to these people or states and see what makes them fail. Then we must take steps to remove those cancers, viruses, toxins and whatever else there is that makes these people fail. Among all the Islamic countries, religion seems to have a larger than life role in ultimately causing State failure. This is the subject of this book. And when Islamic countries also suffer other problems – like limited arable land in Egypt – then they suffer a double whammy. Experts have for years discussed an "arc of instability"—an expression that came into use in the 1970s to refer to an "Islamic Crescent" extending from Afghanistan and the "Stans" in the southern part of the former Soviet Union and on to the Horn of Africa and beyond. Although the definition of Failed States is not restricted to the Muslim countries, a large proportion (almost all) of the Muslim countries fall within this unfortunate classification. Those Islamic countries that gained independence from the British and other European powers in the 20th century would have collapsed much earlier if it had not been for physical infrastructures and certain institutions of government and administration that were put in place by the colonials which sustained them for a time. Transportation networks, railway signaling systems, traffic codes, education systems, penal codes, government administrative departments and so on that were put in place by the colonials to serve rudimentary needs of a colonial economy were not sufficiently expanded to nourish development and growth. The Developed World constantly adapts quickly to the changing environment to continuously make life easier for its people. The Third World believes that most things, especially its religions, are written in stone. Hence their people suffer. But in some Islamic countries, something even more nefarious crept into the system. The luckier ones only suffered weak implementation of a workable system. If a system is good and workable, weaknesses in implementation can be overcome by cleaning up the implementors. Corrupt judges, lazy bureaucrats or scheming lawyers can all be disciplined and the system will revert to good working order. But many of the Islamic countries started creating their own way of doing things, usually according to some religious model, which could not work from day one. Like square shaped tyres, they were inherently flawed. Then after that they still suffered weak implementation of these already unworkable ideas. This was the double whammy again. In an inherently flawed system, no amount of cleaning up corruption or reducing laziness is going to help. They are doomed. This is one horror movie that does not end even when the lights are turned on. Remember that in this chapter we are talking about the Failed States and some of the factors that make them fail. In Malaysia after independence, all men and women had recourse to the Civil Courts which were based on British Common Law principles in dealing with all matters. Then it was said that Muslims should only have legal recourse limited to the religious courts to handle their domestic and family matters. The British Common Law was an 'undang undang kristian' or Christian inspired western law and therefore in certain matters the Muslims should have their own laws. Now after decades of suffering, many Muslim women are loudly complaining of poor treatment and prejudice at the hands of the religious courts in matters of divorce and matrimony. Non Muslim women in Malaysia do not have as many complaints about the workings of the Civil Courts. Hence Marina Mahathir's and Zainah Anwar's comments about apartheid for Malaysia's Muslim women. The perceived prejudice is not only by the implementors like the judges and the administrators of the Islamic courts but also by the laws themselves. The Sisters in Islam, a womens' rights group submitted a Memorandum to the Government of Malaysia in March 1997 which had the following complaints about the Syariah System :
In spite of speeches and public support for the plight of women under the syariah system from the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, in spite of the continual newspaper coverage of the problems women face in getting access to justice, no comprehensive action has been taken to end. The widespread suffering of women and children when marriages break down. The seeming arbitrariness with which judgments are made had left many women with the impression that the Syariah Courts are unable to give women a fair hearing and have failed to play the role of the impartial arbiter in cases of dispute between two parties. The widespread report of the injustice women have suffered in the syariah system has undermined women's confidence that the system can indeed dispense justice." (www.muslimtents.com/sistersinislam/memo) The views expressed by the Sisters in Islam in 1997 echoes the suffering felt by thousands of Muslim women in Malaysia until today. The system does not work. To make matters even murkier, the Government of the religiously educated Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi sponsored and passed a new law called the Islamic Family Law Bill for Muslims in December 2005 which has been strongly criticized even by Ministers. The womens' groups feel that this law will be even more prejudiced against women especially in its implementation. Some commentators in Malaysia have even questioned if indeed the Islamic Family Law Bill is part of the Syariah laws. This is not a surprising query. Often different Islamic countries have different flavours of Syariah law. While one party may claim that it is part of the Syariah, others may not agree. In Afghanistan, they once implemented a law whereby as punishment, a brick wall was dropped on convicted homosexuals. Other Islamic countries may not agree to the Afghan type looney tunes. In Malaysia the ruling party UMNO does not agree with all the Hudud Laws proposed by the PAS religious party. In advocating a just system, the Quran does take the route of 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'. The Quran does not make new rules out of thin air but it affirms rules which observe what is fair to humans. For example murder is wrong not because the Quran prohibits it but the Quran prohibits murder because it is indeed wrong. The proof against murder is that human society cannot accept it. Conversely when so many intelligent women are complaining of injustice in the Islamic Family Law Bill we cannot say that they do not understand. What we do need to understand is that the Islamic Family Law Bill is not written anywhere in the Quran. This is typical of the fate of many Islamic countries. They have inherited a workable system from their colonial masters. Then they start to fall down in the implementation of these old but proven systems. Corruption, laziness and inefficiency sets in. Then to overcome these weaknesses in implementation they may start creating newer religion based systems that are flawed from the beginning. This Islamic Family Law Bill is a clear example. And when it is implemented, it will be implemented by the same inefficient implementers from before. The double whammy again. Very frequently what we are told is Islam or part of Islam is not only NOT stated in the Quran but it is often very different to the Quran. I believe the Muslim countries are falling down simply because they do not read and understand the Quran well. As just one example, this Islamic Family Law Bill has kicked up so much unhappiness in the country. They do not fully implement the grand teachings of the Quran. Here we are referring to their intelligentsia and their lawmakers. As for the vast numbers of the masses, we can almost completely forget about their understanding much from the Quran. |
