Zarqawi backers lay down Shariah rules

[ECH1969]

Imams loyal to terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi have issued threats in mosques in a western Baghdad neighborhood against anyone who does not follow Islamic law, terrified residents are saying. "They announced their loyalty to Zarqawi and put their rules on the street," said Sabah, 31, adding that supporters of the Jordanian-born leader of al Qaeda in Iraq had killed six men for wearing knee-length shorts in another Baghdad neighborhood on Tuesday.

"Everyone is talking about it," he said, adding that a friend of his had forbidden his brothers to go outside in shorts, despite the 106-degree weather. "Women must stay at home, and girls cannot go to school past primary school. People selling Iranian products will either have to throw them out or get killed," said Sabah, who asked that his last name not be used. He lives in the violent Sunni neighborhood of Amariya, where he said the threats were made.

News of the imams' words has spread fast in this city of 6 million people, where many are traumatized after three years of war and sectarian killings. By yesterday, one of Sabah's friends was making plans to repaint his "swamp cooler" -- a fan that blows water-cooled air. The popular devices typically are painted green and white and widely known to be made in Iran.

Other rules laid down by the Zarqawi supporters forbid men from wearing orange or red clothes or using gel in their hair. Women no longer are allowed to work, and girls cannot study. "They are destroying their lives," said Amer Amoori, a 66-year-old former school headmaster who was fuming at the news. "They will destroy a whole generation."

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060524-104300-8042r.htm

[seriousstan]

1. So someone explain to me again how I misunderstand Islam?

This "religion of peace" is soooo confusing. It seems the imans and the followers are the ones confused the most about it. How is that possible? How is it that the leaders of the religion are the most confused by it?

[uppityperson]

3. Fundamentalists of all creeds and sects are nuts.

That is basically it.

[mark11727]

4. From Woody Allen's "Bananas"...

Esposito: From this day on, the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish. Silence! In addition to that, all citizens will be required to change their underwear every half-hour. Underwear will be worn on the outside so we can check. Furthermore, all children under 16 years old are now... 16 years old!

Fielding Mellish: What's the Spanish word for straitjacket?

[seriousstan]

5. But the vast majority of the Islamics in the mid east are fundamentalists.

Any country ruled under Islamic law is ruled by fundamentalists. Anywhere it has political power it immediately turns into fundamentalist. How is this not it's true nature?

Don't get me wrong, I believe any religion does the same, but we learned ot to let this happen with Catholicism several hundred years ago. That is why the only place the
Catholic Church controls is 1 square mile in size.

[uppityperson]

6. Catholic church only controls 1 square mile?

What do you call people who use the rhythm method? Catholics or parents.

The Catholic church controls a lot of stuff, actions, all over the world.

[PsychoDad]

9. Any country ruled under Islamic law is ruled by fundamentalists

Wrong.

It's Important to remember that there is NO monolithic "Islamic Law" nor a single governing body of Islamic Jurists who create this law.

Most all Islamic countries operate under some form of the Sharia, Islamic law, and the form it takes is decided upon by the country.

Countries like:
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
Brunei
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chad
Comoros
Djibouti
Egypt
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Indonesia
Iran
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Libya
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Mauritania
Morocco
Mozambique
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Sudan
Suriname
Syria
Tajikistan
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Western Sahara
Yemen

With a few notible exceptions, many of these countries are recognized to be democratic or have democratic elements in their governments.

Islam is not just the middle east.

There is more info in the Islamic Forum on Sharia if you are interested.

Peace.

[Sufi Marmot]

27. Azerbaijan does not operate under Shariah law...

...and of the governments on your list, I see very few that could even charitably be described as democratic.

[PsychoDad]

32. Source....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_democracy

The following list indicates those countries which are members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and are either generally considered to be democratic or have substantial democratic elements in their system of government. For example, Iran has popular elections, but the candidates are selected by the Council of Guardians and the Assembly of Experts. Furthermore, the political climate in some of these countries has varied greatly in recent years, while in some of the countries there have been accusations of vote-rigging.

The percentage of Muslims in each country is sourced from CIA FactBook

Albania (Europe) (70% Muslim)
Algeria (North Africa) (99%)
Bangladesh (South Asia) (83%)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Europe) (40%)
Burkina Faso (West Africa) (50%)
Comoros (South eastern Africa) (98%)
Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) (45%)
Indonesia (South-East Asia) (88%)
Lebanon (Middle-East) (59.7%)
Malaysia (South-East Asia)
Mali (West Africa) (90%)
Morocco (North Africa) (98.7%)
Niger (West Africa) (80%)
Nigeria (West Africa) (50%)
Senegal (West Africa) (94%)
Sierra Leone (West Africa) (60%)
Turkey (Europe / Asia) (99.8%)
Yemen (Arabian peninsula - Asia) (+90%)
Until the recent coups d'état, Pakistan and The Gambia were also considered democracies, and there are significant indigenous Muslim minorities in many other democratic countries such as Israel and India.

You may take issue with the source or not. A little research should be able to determine the accuracy of the list.

Peace

[Sufi Marmot]

33. Ok, this list is somewhat more reasonable...

...although I would argue that the endemic corruption in places like Nigeria and Indonesia largely negate whatever democratic structures exist. Sierra Leone was, until recently, anarchic. And Morocco is officially a monarchy (albeit one where the effects of Shariah law, such as they are, are minimal compared to many other Muslim countries.

-SM

[acmavm]

18. What is it with you people and Catholics? Think Catholics are whacked?

Try your everyday run-of-the-mill Southern Baptist. There's some crazy religion for you.

My daughter married one. Until that happened I thought that the craziest person religion wise was my ex-boss. He showed me that it wasn't an urban myth that people, lots of them, believe that the earth is only 6000 years old. But this kid and his mysoginistic attitudes, he's a whole bundle of neurosis and psychosis in himself.

Every damn religion has it's own particular brand of nut cases.

[seriousstan]

23. But most of then don't KILL people for wearing SHORTS!

This is a far cry from being a creationist. It is a matter of religious beliefs and religion sponsored death squads. I can see the difference.

[uppityperson]

29. Many cause deaths by other means

limiting contraception, abortion, womens right. Fundamentalists are all nuts.

[PsychoDad]

7. the imans and the followers are the ones confused

You hit the nail right on the head.

Our Imams are not political leaders, they are our prayer leaders and scholars, but not in anyway should they be considered "Priests", "Bishops" or "Popes" by Muslims. The confusion comes when a person uses Religion for greed and political reasons... Doctrines are created by men for their own agenda, this is called Bid'a, innovation in religion, and is against Islamic Law.

You see the same in Christianity and every other religion, and the Quran warns against it.

Truth is, we Muslims are instructed to be followers of no man. La Illaha Il Allah. There is no God but God. Our loyalty should not be to any sect or man, but only to the One, and our example should be Muhammad.

And not all Muslims are confused on this point.

In fact, some of the rules mentioned above, such as no hair gel, men not being able to wear red or orange have nothing to do with Sharia. Indeed the rule against women being able to work directly violates Sharia, which states that a woman can work, and must recieve an equal wage to a man in the same job. Girls not being able to study also violates Sharia, which states it is the duty and right of EVERY muslim to recieve an education.

Peace.

[seriousstan]

25. So the prayer leaders and "scholars" are confused about Islam?

Explain how the "scholars" of the religion are confused about the religion. Who instructs the followers about the true form of the religion if it is not the "prayer leaders and scholars"? Who do "EVERY muslim to receive an education" except from the prayer leaders and scholars?

You see the confusion?

[Sufi Marmot]

28. Well, that's the entire problem with Islam...

Unlike the west, religious strictures and codes of societal conduct are inexorably linked. Religion isn't a personal spiritual endeavor, it's the law. Except that since there's no one fixed set of rules outside of the Quran, all sorts of schools of Islamic legal theory have evolved to address interpretation of the Quran as a set of laws. What it seems to boil down to is that Islamic scholars interpret the Quran in whatever way suits their own notions of how society should function. Or in other words, they make it up as the go along to mold society in accordance with their biases, and in extreme cases, inflict those biases on ordinary Muslims who have no recourse to challenge their decisions (cf. the headscarf issue...)

-SM

[uppityperson]

31. Billy Graham tells me I will go to hell for having premarital sex

so I might as well just do whatever I want as long as I am already doomed.

Fundamentalist prayer leaders and scholars are usually confused about the true meaning of their religion. The problem is the fundamentalists, NOT any particular religion in itself since they most all say the same thing. How to live decently, how to live in the world and society. It is the fundamentalists interpretations that cause problems, whether it be Islam, Methodist or Pastafarians.

[PsychoDad]

34. The confusion comes from the fact...

That aside from the Quran there is no single source of Islamic law or Jurisprudence. Anyone can claim to be a scholar knowledgeable in Islamic Theology and jurisprudence. It is for the "followers" to examine the credentials of their scholars and to decide their value.

Fact is, you can find a "fatwah" from a "scholar" to justify any position you wish.

The same happens here with Christian "leaders" who seem confused about what Jesus taught.

Knowledgeable Muslims need to educate other muslims as to what the Quran and Islam really teach. It's the only way to fight extremism.

Peace

[annabanana]

19. these guys are the Fallwells and Robertsons of Islam. . . .n/t

[demosincebirth]

2. Well I'll be damned! Who could have guessed?

[magellan]

8. I'm not sure I believe this

According to Riverbend, Iraqis aren't convinced of the existence of Zarqawi.

May 15, 2004: "Zarqawi is so much better than WMD. He's small, compact and mobile. He can travel from Falloojeh to Baghdad to Najaf to Mosul… whichever province or city really needs to be oppressed. Also, conveniently, he looks like the typical Iraqi male- dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin, medium build. I wonder how long it will take the average American to figure out that he's about as substantial as our previously alleged WMD."

April 1, 2006: "10. "Guess what?! They caught Zarqawi!!!" (This will only work on Iraqis who actually think he exists.)"

I'd take the allegiance to Zarqawi stuff with a grain of salt. Iraqi imams have got plenty of their own whackjobs to declare allegiance to.

[annabanana]

20. Riverbend is a good touchstone on this.

I will believe her take on the situation, although I worry when there's a long time between updates.

[magellan]

26. She sure is, I wish everyone would read Baghdad Burning regularly

River's insight helps to bring some clarity to the situation there, it's stuff we never hear from our corporate news.

And I too worry when she doesn't update for a while. I feel I know her and her family.

[rpannier]

Freedoms on the March

We're helping create Democracy in the Middle East
When they stand up, we'll stand down -- although it looks like the only people standing up are the Islamo-fascists.
We're making progress everyday.

[saigon68]

11. Let freedom Reign

A quote from the Chimp to Kindasleezy



THE HORRID EVIL ONE

[rpannier]

10. self delete dupe

[mortlefaucheur]

12. Huh. Sharon Behn @ the moonie rag

also writes for rabid neocon David Horowitz over at Frontpagemag: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15937
She writes many articles with a 'hopeful' bent, re Iraqnam. www.questia.com/SM.qst
No insinuations being offered and none should be inferred, ECH.

[Oversea Visitor]

13. HeeeHaaaww HeeeHaaaw

Gee Americans being feed garbage about Islamic religion.

Wait. I mean there are people of Islamic faith in US right.
Do they do all this :rofl:

[PsychoDad]

15. Salaam Alaikum

We do this most of the time....

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

So many americans buy totally into it.

Fe amen Allah.

[Oversea Visitor]

17. Same to you

But I am a Christian :)
Living in a moderate Muslim country :)

Anyway all this garbage is self destructive
Such coloured perspective only serve to isolate American from the real world.

They end up tip toeing around the world when muslim concern
What a way of life.

[Eugene]

14. Al Zarqawi's supporters control western Baghdad?

Interestingly, The Washington Times seems to be all alone on this story.
That alone should be enough to dismiss it.

Assuming that al Zarqawi is real and that he is a significant player in the "insurgency,"
has anyone shown any evidence of popular support for him in Iraq before this? He is at war
with the Shiites. The Sunnis don't much like him or his indiscriminate killing either.

Iraq is descending into civil war. Al Zarqawi sounds like a convenient excuse to blame
this debacle on someone other than BushCo. Now keeping al Zarqawi from establishing
a Taliban style regime in Iraq becomes a vital goal in the "War on Terror."

Suuuuure.

[pezdespencer]

16. Civil War

This is a perfect excuse for Da W Ta say there is a Civil War that has just has began in Iraq. We need to let them fight it out so were gonna start pulling out our troops before november so we can get some brownie points with are base the rich, "The haves". We care not about the have nots sorry poor folks, black folks and brown folks. Da W has Spoken and I am "The Decider".

[annabanana]

21. You may just have it there!

Welcome to DU.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. Juan Cole translates from an Arabic newspaper

probably more reliable than the Washington Times, but we'd really need to know the reputation of the paper:

Al-Hayat reports that the Salafi Jihadis have established a Taliban-like mini-state in West Baghdad, paralleled by a Shiite militia-ruled region of East Baghdad. The Sunni Arab extremists assassinate young men who walk around clean-shaven, and they pass around leaflets declaring that they will enforce Islamic canon law (sharia) in that neighborhood. They have established the Emirate of Baghdad in Dora and Amiriyah districts, and it is alleged that Zarqawi is there and has appointed viceroys over each. Radical Sunnis fleeing other areas of the Sunni Arab heartland have come to those districts of Baghdad in large numbers. An eyewitness told al-Hayat that in one of these Salafi-Jihadi neighborhoods, an unveiled girl was kidnapped on the street, then later returned to her home with her head shaven. A broadsheet then circulating saying that it was necessary to deal with unveiled girls in this way on the first offense, but later on they should be killed. Men have also been shot down for being clean-shaven or wearing the wrong clothing.

http://www.juancole.com/2006/05/shiite-mosque-bombed-weapons-from.html

[Roland99]

24. Beat up Afghanistan to take out the Taliban and let it rise up in Iraq.

Wonders will never cease.

[Beacho]

30. This is reminding me of the bogus Iranian Law story

wanna bet this gets blown down like that can o crap?