This is an old issue but I feel that this audio lecture is still worth putting up as it not only refutes the Pope but also anyone who have the tendency to malign the Prophet (P). For a background of the attack by the Catholic Pope Benedict XVI on the Khatamul Nabiy, Muhammad al-Mustafa, see this article repudiating the Pope for it.

This audio lecture is a response by Imam Zaid Shakir in a Friday khutbah in response to the allegations made by the Pope.

Turkey’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that would ease the ban on women wearing Islamic headscarves in universities.

Headscarves were banned from campuses after pressure from the staunchly secularist military ousted a government seen as too Islamist in 1997.

Wednesday’s vote was carried by 397 in favour to 113 against. Final approval is expected in a vote on Saturday.

The Islamist-rooted AK Party has a safe majority in the Turkish parliament.

It is very good news indeed and alhamdulillah, I am very happy with this outcome. It will not be long before the scourge of Kemalism is wiped out from the annals of Turkish history. We hope that this vision will come sooner rather than later.

12.03pm: Abdul Aziz allows substantive appeal by wife and also allows injunction except confirmation of conversion. But injunction applies in re husband seeking ancillary relief.

11.59am: High Court could and should have granted injunction against Syariah court to stop abuse of process and undermining divorce petition under section 51 of the 1976 Act. While conversion of child is valid injunction should be granted to stop conversion until objection by wife is heard and it is granted.

11.52am: Aziz FCJ said his judgment 110 pages long and so he is going to summarise it. Question of date of husband’s conversion needs to be tried. High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over civil marriage even though husband has converted. It’s abuse of process to file custody proceedings in Syariah courts in re civil marriage as those courts have no jurisdiction.

11.45am: Conversion of eldest son valid. Not abuse of process. Wife’s appeal dismissed with costs. Datuk Abdul Aziz’s judgment being read now.

11.37am: Nik Hashim FCJ hold that (interpreting section5 Guardianship of Infants Act 1961) in converting a child to another religion, only 1 parent is necessary. On Erinford injunction, he holds that the High Court ’s decision to grant the injunction pending appeal to the Court of Appeal is correct. He felt, notwithstanding the argument of the husband’s counsel that the court’s very jurisdiction is being questioned, Erinford can still be granted to retain status quo of parties in this case.

11.32am: Non-Muslim marriage which is dissolved by Syariah court has no legal effect to the marriage in civil court unless it is dissolved by civil courts. Contention that wife may submit to Syariah court is wrong. As non-Muslim she has no locus in Syariah court. But Syariah courts are of equal standing with civil courts under Constitution and they are not inferior courts.

11.28am: Husband cannot shield behind freedom of religion under Article 11 and civil court still has jurisdiction under the 1976 Act. But not abuse of process if husband seeks remedies in Syariah court.

11.21am: Wife to file divorce petition afresh and to ask for ancillary relief. But assuming wife’s petition was filed correctly, the High Court has jurisdiction to hear matter even if husband had converted and filed in syariah. Tan Sung Mooi referred. Section 51(1) does not violate Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. Converting party is respondent. Status of marriage at time it was converted is relevant and material period.

11.18am: Nik Hashim FCJ: Lack of jurisdiction issue not a bar to granting of injunction in civil court. Divorce for petition must only be filed 3 months after date of conversion. It is mandatory provision. Wife filed divorce prematurely and in contravention of section 51 Law Reform Marriage Act 1976 provision. Divorce petition invalid. Judgment still being read.

11.10am: Haris Ibrahim, Shanmuga Kanesalingam and Richard Wee for wife. Nubashur, Zanul Rijal for husband. Meera for women’s groups. Joy for MCCBCHST. Mohd Aznil for Abim. Tajuddin for Persatuan Peguam Syariah. Edmund Bon for the Bar Council. Datuk Nik Hashim FCJ chairing. Reading his judgment now.

PUTRAJAYA, Thurs – 10.59am: The three judges who will deliver decision are Datuk Nik Hashim, Datuk Azmel and Datuk Abdul Aziz.

ABIM notes with deep concern that some of the actions and contents of various documents issued by HINDRAF, in substance and wordings constitute extreme, exagerated and sensationalised allegations implicating the Muslim community in one way or another. The use of terms and expressions such as “ethnic cleansing”, “permanent colonization” of Indian Malaysians by ” Islamic extremists” “Malay gangs” and the like is clearly racially and religiously unjustified, seditious and borders on the subversive.

However, we believe that this should not be the basis for any unwarranted reactions from the Muslim community. We believe that although there may be grievances amongst the Indian community, the majority of our peace-loving Indian friends and mainstream Hindu organizations do not harbor ill will or undue enmity against the Muslims and are also not agreeable to the manner, style and approach erstwhile adopted by HINDRAF. We would also like to reaffirm our solidarity with the poor and marginalized amongst the Indian community and other races in this country and urge the government and all parties to undertake continuous effort to improve their livelihood.

Let us all be reminded that issues involving racial and religious interests in our multi-communal society are very delicate, sensitive and potentially explosive. Those who are fighting for racial and religious interests should learn from our past history that such issues, if not carefully handled, may cause tensions to flare up. When emotions are left unchecked and the communal temperature is too high, there’s no guarantee that public order and safety can be maintained.

ABIM condemns all forms of racial and and religious extremism and urges peace-loving Malaysians not to take actions that may jeopardize peace, harmony, public order and safety in the country. Although the freedom of assembly and expression are recognised fundamental rights under our Constitution and should generally be exercisable by all citizens, the relevant authorities should be allowed to regulate the exercise of such rights taking into account the circumstances of each case. At the same time we urge the police to observe due restraint and be reasonable in exercising their discretion in handling the situation. We also believe that the current situation is such that it is very irresponsible and dangerous for anyone to manipulate this issue to fan racial sentiments for any political or ulterior agendas.

YUSRI MOHAMAD
President

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
I saw cc TV footage released by local police today

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
it was scary.. all the events were captured right from the beginning

MENJ says:
these people have no regard for human life

MENJ says:
they are no better than common criminals or thugs

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
true

MENJ says:
if they really want to help Islam

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
I dont like these actions carried on behalf of our religion

MENJ says:
they could do da’wah to the tourists

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
this pretty demaging our pictures

MENJ says:
instead of trying to kill them

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
people call ilsam bad for such acts carried by the name of Islamd

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
this is not very true

MENJ says:
these people do not represent islam, period

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
I am a strong muslim.. and have no other intention or will never ever convert to any other religion. But, I just dont have such strong views to kill people

MENJ says:
neither do i

MENJ says:
i do not see the point…non-Muslims are potential reverts

MENJ says:
we should be converting them to Islam, not killing them

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
you can of course try and spread the religion but there are more pieceful ways

MENJ says:
of course

MENJ says:
its silly if these people think they have something to gain by killing civillians

www.leadingdir.com – List your website today! says:
total madeness

MENJ says:
that sums it up

And most certainly, it does.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi expressed sadness and anger yesterday over the brutal murder of Nurin Jazlin Jazimin.

“Nurin Jazlin’s case is most touching. I’m sad and angry,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Police Commission at the Internal Security Ministry in Putrajaya.

Expressing his condolences to Nurin Jazlin’s family, the Prime Minister said police were tracking down the murderer.

Seems that is all what you are good at. “Sad and angry”, eh? It does not take a genius to figure out that this is the result of the lax attitude of the present government, particularly those in the secular-nationalist party, who defy Allah’s Laws and refuse to implement deterrents to would-be offenders. Now what is the punishment for hirabah?

The punishments of those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and strive to spread disorder in the land [hirabah] are to execute them in an exemplary way or to crucify them or to amputate their hands and feet from opposite sides or to banish them from the land. Such is their disgrace in this world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom save those who repent before you overpower them; you should know that Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Ever Merciful. (Qur’an, 5:33)

It is clear that there can be no alternative to solving hirabah crimes of this nature apart from implementing the hadd laws, the laws of Allah, from Perlis to Sabah. The secular “Common Law” has failed to do what it is supposed to do.

Enough of this defiance of God’s Law, let us implement it now! Without delay!

Clerics have been telling Muslims not to attend Christian or Hindu festivals, and some condemn Christians and Jews at Friday prayers. Most Malay women now wear head scarves, not part of their traditional attire. Some schools have started reciting Muslim prayers.

The trend worries many modern Malays.

“The question we are facing is, are we Malay first or Muslim first? Right now most people have become Muslim first,” said Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the chief executive of Tune Money, an investment and insurance company.

(Source)

The first statement about “clerics telling Muslims not to attend festivals” by non-Muslims is so insipid, it does not even warrant a comment.

But the comment by this “Tengku Zafrul Aziz” fella truly takes the cake. He is a person whom I would say “teramatlah bodoh dan teramatlah sesat”. “Modern” or no, this person is a retard who should be sent off to the moon on the next NASA space shuttle with a bunch of monkeys to accompany him. Because I am proud to call myself a Muslim first, above any skin colour or nationality.

Every Muslim are brothers, regardless of race, skin colour or nationality.

The motives of that Chinese chauvinist party (ever heard of the adage, “pigs of a feather flock together”?), I can understand very well, but PKR??

I refer to the letter “Apostates angry with Islam or government?”

I, for one, am aware of the website that Shairul Fazleena is referring to. Although she asserts that she is not endorsing the apostates’ cause, let us state here very clearly that her suggestion that the Malaysian government should ‘review’ their policy with regard to apostates is tantamount to mocking the Deen itself.

It is without a doubt that apostasy is a very serious offence in Islam, and there are no “ifs” and “buts” about it. However, individuals like Shairul are from the flock of ‘liberal Muslims’ who prefer to abandon the Qur’an and Sunnah injunction with regard to apostates in favour of their ‘values’ from the West concerning freedom of religion.

True, Islam does espouses the freedom of religion (Quran, 2:256). Freedom of religion, however, is not to be confused with freedom to simply leave the religion and putting the Muslim ummah in jeopardy.

Let’s put it this way. Singapore is not Malaysia. If Muslims in Singapore want to tolerate apostasy at their whim and fancy, it is their business. That they are so far apart from the practice of Islam speaks for itself.

Shairul’s whimsical fancies about Islamic laws not being ‘relevant’ anymore in this day and age is a sign of how the liberal Muslims think. And just because there is no implementation of these laws is not an excuse to do away with them in totality. They claim that they accept the Qur’an as a Divine Book and yet they attempt to insult its laws at every juncture. It certainly sounds very hypocritical to me.

As a Muslim living and residing in Malaysia and one who believe in the implementation of Islamic values as a way of life, legitimising apostasy would be detrimental to the Islamic values as practiced by Muslims in Malaysia.

There should be zero tolerance to apostates and apostasy from Islam, and this should remain the official policy of the government of Malaysia.

Mohd Elfie Nieshaem Juferi

Venue: Masjid Al Falah, USJ9, Subang Jaya, Selangor

Date: Sunday 12th August, 2007 / 28th Rejab, 1428 AH.

Time: 08.30 am to 1.00 pm

Do make yourself available at this time and be present at this forum. The family of Azlina Jailana (Lina Joy) is expected to attend this forum as special guests.