The Harm

Ali seeks control of films

Gov. Mamman Ali of Yobo has called on the state’s Sharia monitoring committee to support the control of local and foreign films with negative influence on youths.

Ali made the call in Damaturu while addressing the state’s and local government Sharia monitoring committees.

He said efforts were being made to control and prevent the show of films that could change the behaviour of youths negatively.

“I will ensure the state radio and television stations broadcast films and programmes that would exhibit virtues of our culture and morality in preference to immoral foreign films,” Ali said.

He urged the committees to support efforts of the state to develop education sector, stressing that his administration would construct boarding primary schools in all the Local Government Areas.

“With your support we hope to ensure that western and religious teachings were used to improve the morality and conduct of youths,” he added.

He lauded the committees for embarking on the campaign to reduce immorality and ensure peaceful co-existence among the people.

The Chairman of the committee, Malam Adamu Mohammed, attributed the reduction in the consumption of alcohol and prostitution to the implementation of Sharia legal system.

The harm? Censorship of movies in the name of religion.

Eight Orissa villagers tortured over sorcery

Bhubaneswar, April 24 (IANS) Suspecting them to be sorcerers and responsible for sickness in the village, residents of an Orissa village beat up eight fellow villagers, used hammers to extract their teeth and made them eat human excreta. The incident occurred at Gereda village in the southern district of Ganjam, some 185 km from here, Monday but came to light after police officials visited the spot Wednesday.

Some villagers had fallen ill recently. Believing this to be due to witchcraft, people of the village asked a tantric or black magician to identify those practicing sorcery.

The tantric identified eight villagers, sub divisional police officer Jyoti Prakash Mohapatra told IANS.

A group of around 30 people took the men to a temple where they beat them, used a hammer to extract two teeth from each before subjecting them to the final ignominy of forcing them to eat human excreta, he said.

One of the victims filed a complaint with the police. On his complaint, one of the villagers involved was nabbed while the others are absconding, said Mohapatra, who went to the village.

The village has a population of about 2,000 mostly tribal people, he said.

Sorcery and witchcraft related crimes are very common in Orissa. Many people, including tribals, believe that witchcraft is the reason behind their problems.

A belief in magic and witchcraft and people suffer.

‘Penis Thefts’ Cause Panic In The Congo

Congolese police have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of stealing men’s penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by reports of the witchcraft.

Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa.

Belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts are known to take place.

Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital of 8 million people.

They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold ring

Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear.

Some residents said the so-called witch doctors would then demand money in return for a cure.

“You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you,” said Kinshasa’s police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko.

“We’ve had a number of attempted lynchings. You see (the victims accused of being penis-snatchers) covered in marks after being beaten.”

Lynchings and arrests of innocent people cause people give in to panic and a belief in magic and witchcraft.

In Padang, Islamic law is now imposed on all

The controversial local laws inspired by sharia are now being applied to non-Muslim citizens. Female students who do not wear the headscarf are suspended, and few have the courage to rebel, because of fear of reprisals from fundamentalists.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - In Padang, capital of the province of West Sumatra, the atmosphere is increasingly that of an Islamic state. Female students who do not wear the headscarf (hijab) are frequently suspended from school. The requirement to observe Islamic customs, sanctioned by the controversial regional law of 2005, is also imposed on non-Muslim girls, and has generated an atmosphere of strong pressure on religious minorities. The proliferation of local laws inspired by sharia (perda syariat) is a growing phenomenon in Indonesia, but the central government has chosen not to intervene for now, in spite of protests from religious minorities and human rights NGO’s.

The situation is not limited to Padang alone, where the most active promoter of Islamic laws is the mayor himself, Fauzi Bahar. In this province, which has an overwhelming Muslim majority, since 2002 more than 19 districts have ratified the so-called “perda syariat”, norms that are, however, supposed to be applied only to Muslim citizens: some of them criminalise behaviours prohibited by Islamic law, like adultery, prostitution, games of chance, and consumption of alcohol, while others restrict the freedom of women. Men as well are required to wear Islamic dress: the traditional white robe called the “koko”.

Imposing religious laws on people not in that religion, why not just not impose religious law on anyone? Why not treat every one equal under a secular system? Wouldn’t that be better?

Muslim mob attacks Christians in Kano State, Nigeria.

A report from Compass Direct News says hundreds of Muslims went on a rampage burning Christian shops and vehicles on claims that a Christian had blasphemed the Islamic prophet Mohammed. Thousands of Christians were trapped in churches until police dispersed rioters.

Voice of the Martyrs’ Todd Nettleton explains, “There has been tension in Kano, and across Northern Nigeria between Muslims and Christians. So, just hearsay that Mohammed had been blasphemed against was enough to stir people to violence.”

The Compass report went on to say that the Muslim mob went to the police station, threatening to burn it down unless officers released the Christian to be stoned to death in accordance with Sharia law. Police were able to disperse the mob.

Although the violence and the riots haven’t seen many headlines as of late, that doesn’t mean the sectarian troubles have disappeared. In fact, Nettleton says, the the push to implement Sharia law in the region may be inflaming the attacks.

With jittery nerves, Christians, particularly those involved in outreach, are laying low. Nettleton says, “It is dangerous to be a Christian in northern Nigeria, particularly if you’re involved in outreach. Hundreds of Christians have now gone to the police station, they’ve gone to the military bases saying, ‘we believe this attack is not over, we believe there will be more violence. Protect us from that!’”

Attacks against minority a religion cause of religious law. That what you get when people take religion seriously.

Is alternative medicine just a load of hocus pocus?

The recent death of a student using Chinese herbal medicine has reignited controversy over alternative therapies. With little regulation and scant evidence of effectiveness, are users risking their health?

Ling Wang, a 25-year-old PhD student, died after taking Chinese herbal medicine to treat a stomach upset and skin rash.

An inquest last month heard that Ling, from Newcastle, fell into a coma and died shortly after taking the medicine in tea or pill form last August.

One in five Britons uses some kind of complementary therapy, according to an ICM poll, but the industry is largely unregulated and there’s little or no evidence that many of the therapies work.

In fact, only osteopathy and chiropractic therapy are covered by regulations insisting that practitioners be qualified with a relevant body.

A woman dies cause of the unregulated alternative and complementary (CAM or quackery or bull shit).

I haven’t been posting in a while due to relatives and life and so on.
The blogs not dead, I’ll start posting soon.

Dozens hurt as Bangladesh Islamists battle police

DHAKA (AFP) — Dozens were injured in the Bangladeshi capital Friday as police fired tear gas at thousands of Islamic activists protesting against the emergency government’s bid to ensure equal rights for women, police said.

The roads in front of Dhaka’s main mosque became a battleground as about 5,000 men armed with bamboo sticks and bricks clashed with police, who responded with tear gas and batons, deputy police commissioner Mazharul Islam said.

“They attacked the policemen with bricks and sticks immediately after the weekly Friday prayers. We shot tear gas shells and baton-charged the unruly activists,” Islam said, adding that dozens were injured in the clashes.

Witnesses said at least 100-150 were injured including three photo-journalists as police let off scores of tear gas canisters, some inside the country’s biggest mosque complex called Baitul Mukarram.

The activists belonging to the Committee to Resist Anti-Koran Laws, a coalition of Islamic parties, chased police with bamboo sticks and bricks, Islam said. Several policemen were among the casualties.

The protests were against a women’s development policy adopted in March by the government advocating equal property rights for women.

Muslim clerics and parties have warned of nationwide demonstrations saying they will not tolerate any laws that contradict sharia, or the Islamic legal code.

Soon after the new policy was announced, the government backed down, explaining it had not been passed into law. No legislation would be passed “that goes against the Koran and the traditions of Prophet Mohammed,” the government said.

Cause there religious laws oppress woman when some there government wants to implement equal rights between men and woman, they protest violently?

Nigerian Sharia court punishes lesbian couple

Two women in Kaduna, Nigeria have been sentenced to six months in prison and 20 lashes each for having a lesbian relationship.

The Sharia court said that Malama Hauwa and Hajiya Ai’sha were violating the tenets of Islam and the teachings of Sharia law.

The women claimed in court to have been married for five years. Ai’sha said she had paid a dowry of 5,000 Nigerian naira (£21) to her ‘wife’ at the start of their relationship.

And the Christan right here in the US wants to institute similar laws.

Thanks to David at No God Blog I bring you this

TALLAHASSEE - Florida teachers could mention religious theories about human origins, such as creationism and intelligent design, without fearing retribution under a measure that passed a key Senate committee Tuesday.

The “Evolution Academic Freedom Act” was approved 7-3 by the Senate Judiciary Committee and now goes to the full chamber for consideration, although no date has been set.

The measure awaits its first hearing in the House.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, said she filed the bill after hearing cases of students and teachers who felt “muzzled” and unable to discuss alternate theories on the origin of life. She said teachers have suffered retribution from school authorities and students have been the target of “denigrating comments” from other teachers.

While the measure does not allow any teacher to promote a specific religious doctrine, “you can hold to your own religious views without being attacked for it,” Storms said. “This promotes the free flow of ideas.”

While the committee’s six Republicans voted for the measure, the “no” votes came from Democratic Sens. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, Steve Geller of Cooper City and Jeremy Ring of Parkland.

“I believe the purpose of this bill is to let people bring their religious beliefs into school,” said Geller, the Senate’s Democratic Leader, voicing concerns about keeping the separation between church and state. “We need to keep the wall.”

The harm here?

1. Florida educational standers would drop leading to even more ignorants about science and evolution harming both Florida and the whole country
2. This law is begging for a law suite. How long until a fundie teacher decides to teach a literal interpretation of Geneses? It will happen and it will lead to some one suing the school and costing Florida and it schools money
Lets get real here. The intention of this law is to get religion into the schools, specifically Christianity. Such tactics are the tactics of the religious right. Its called the wedge strategy.