Posted on 12/16/2006 7:12:19 AM PST by DogByte6RER
IRAQ
Christmas in Mosul under threat of sharia
- A campaign against “non-Muslim dress” is under way in the Iraqi city, targeting mainly women and Christians. Flyers dictate that women should wear a headscarf, that men and women cannot sit next to each other and that soap is forbidden, because “it did not exist in Muhammad’s time”. We report the misery of Christians and an appeal of Patriarch Delly for fasting and prayer. -
Mosul (AsiaNews) – A crusade is under way to impose Islamic law in Mosul in northern Iraq, a city where threats and violence against Christians have reached the level of real persecution for ideological and political ends. As Christmas draws near, Christians are confined to their homes that have become like “prison” which they dare not leave for fear of kidnappings and killings. It is difficult for them to emigrate because Arab and European countries have decided to close their doors.
Kidnappings and murders are the order of day for Christians in Baghdad too, but in Mosul the situation is different and more worrying. Testimonies that reached AsiaNews claimed that actions directly targeting Christians of Mosul are not motivated solely by lucre – ransom demands, property seizure – but rather there is a political plan behind them. Sunni extremists have this city as their stronghold and they seem to be aiming to set up a so-called Islamic Emirate incorporating the provinces of Salahaddin, Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad and part of Wasit. Mosul would be the capital.
Up to a year ago, members of the Christian community were confident things would change but now they have only words of despair to describe their situation. “We are living the period of Advent, the happiest of the whole year, as if we were in prison. The world is preparing to celebrate while we prepare to die. Who will listen to our cries, who can help us now that we feel like strangers in our own homeland?”
The Patriarch of Babylon for Chaldeans, Emmanuel III Delly, urged all Chaldeans of the world to observe the “Bautha” fast of Nineveh (a feature of the Assyrian liturgy to commemorate the fasting of residents of Nineveh during the time of the prophet Jonah) on 18 and 19 December “so that the Lord may concede the gift of peace to our Iraq, of security and stability and that a climate of brotherhood and charity among the sons of Iraq may come about.”
Campaign against “non-Islamic dress”
Violence against Christians in Mosul escalated after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Many churches and convents were immediately attacked or bombed. Bishops and priests started to be kidnapped. The most horrible event of all was the killing of the Syro-Orthodox priest Paulos Eskandar, whose beheaded body was found on 11 October in the eastern area of Mosul after two days of captivity.
Muslim fundamentalism is impinging more and more on daily life. On 12 December, a group of fundamentalists stopped a bus with Christian students on board; they boarded the bus to distribute flyers dictating that girls should wear the hijab (veil) and that boys should dress in a sombre manner, not in western-style clothes. The same technique was used to get the message across the university: unknown men pasted flyers and posters in areas where Christian students usually meet up. The warning is clear: “Whoever violates the principles of sharia will be punished according to Muslim law.”
In early December, the conductor of a route bus imposed his decision to divide men and women on the vehicle, forbidding them to sit next to each other. Other flyers recently ordered owners of clothes shops to cover mannequins on display with a veil. And tradesmen had to obey, using plastic bags instead of veils. Further, some public toilets have banned the use of soap because it “did not exist in Muhammad’s time”. Orders reach the point of absurdity: restaurants cannot prepare mixed salads with cucumbers and tomatoes because one represents the female and other the male gender.
An important fact to note is that it is not only poor and illiterate people who are swellings the ranks of extremists: university professors and educated people also believe it is right to impose such controls on the population.
Against non-Muslim art
According to Iraqi police, Sunni extremism is supported by foreign terrorists. A new campaign has been launched against “non-Muslim art”. In November, public statues held to be pagan were destroyed. A famous statue in the north of the city, in al Zihour, was destroyed because it portrayed a group of women carrying jars on their shoulders. Other targeted works dated back to the seventies and included statues of some important artists like an Arab poet, Ani Tamman, and a singer of religious music, Mullah Othman al-Mosulli.
The website of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting said that a militant arrested in October explained his group’s objectives during his interrogation: put an end to American occupation, bring down the Iraqi government and introduce sharia in the country.
Batcrap is at least useful. It makes an excellent fertilizer. It's been used since ancient times for just that purpose. Often referred to as Bat Guano.
NO, these people are not crazy, just purely evil barbarians, verging on the subhuman.
It's stuff like this that makes me scratch my head about the concept of choosing 'sides'. Neither Shia nor Sunni is the 'good guy'. I say, get the hell out of their way, and let them fight it out to the death. And let us keep supplying weapons to the currently losing side.
God bless you and Merry Christmas, Tinman!
I am begining to come to the same conclusion as you.
Read both of these columns by commentator Diana West; she writes about this exact scenario of pitting Sunnis vs. Shia .
http://jewishworldreview.com/1206/west120106.php3
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1206/west.php3
In a mad world of murderous jihadi kamikazee bombers and PC leftists who appease these suicidal nutcases, perhaps pitting these two factions of Islam against each other is the best hope for Western Civilization...
Thank you for holding the line and keeping this off our shores. A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BLESSED NEW YEAR.
Absolutely nuts.
Or ban the use of soap at public restrooms because it wasn't around in stinky Mohammad's day.
You can't reason with these people. They ARE insane.
and I sure as heck hope they are not working at Taco Bell or Olive Garden.
You do wudu before you do voo doo!
Like any cult it comes with an impossible (and insane) list of rules to keep. It keeps the followers distractely lost in legalisms so they won't realize they are being sold the Big Lie.
No Islam, know peace
....
(mosquewatch.com slogan.....I wish I had thought of it)
soap is forbidden, because “it did not exist in Muhammad’s time”
doesn't pass the smell test..
"...soap is forbidden, because “it did not exist in Muhammad’s time”."
No soap! I don't know whether to laugh or gasp at the thought of no soap. Guess there is no notion of cleanliness being next to godliness in Islam.
Regards
I worked with a Chaldean for a while - great guy and passionate about hating Muslims. Not that we should hate; however, beating people because they don't agree with you is excessive behavior and the reason why he left.
Look at the way Hamas and Fatah are beating up on each other in Gaza. Looks good to me. The only difference is that IDF soldiers are not caught in the crossfire in Gaza, whereas they are in Iraq.
Let the Muzzies destroy each other.
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