Palestinian women reporters protest Islamist threats

by JohnHM Sun Jul 29, 2007 00:16

Saturday, July 28,
Pope's contentious Islam speech was 'prophetic'
Derek Scally in Berlin

Pope Benedict and his private secretary, Fr Georg Gänswein, on holiday in northern Italy earlier this week.
Photograph: Alessia Giuliani/APGERMANY: Pope Benedict's XVI's private secretary, Fr Georg Gänswein, has said that the pontiff's speech in Regensburg last year that prompted worldwide protests from Muslims was deliberately controversial and even "prophetic".

The speech sparked outraged reaction from Muslim leaders and several scholars suggested the pope had made a slip in using a quote describing Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman".

Now his closest aide has said the pope personally wrote his Regensburg speech with a definite political aim: to counter what Gänswein calls a "blue-eyed" approach to Islam in Europe.

He said the papal entourage only heard of the first "harsh reactions" to the speech after returning from Bavaria to Rome.

"It was a big surprise, including for the pope," he said. "The powerful whirlwind was initially caused by news reports which took a certain quote out of context and presented that as the pope's personal opinion."

In a dense theological lecture on faith and reason, the pontiff quoted a 14th-century emperor asking: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached. "

In the days after the lecture, delivered at the university where he once taught, increasingly violent Muslim protests spread around the world.

At the height of the events, the Vatican issued a statement indicating the speech was about the dangers of separating faith and reason and that it was not the pope's intention to offend Muslims.

"The attempts at Islamification in the west cannot be talked away . . . The Catholic Church sees this very clearly and says it too," says Gänswein "It's important to grasp that there is no one Islam . . . but many, often enemy currents right up to extremists who cite the Koran to explain their activities and use weapons to go to work."

© 2007 The Irish Times

by Gerri Fri Jul 27, 2007 20:43

Paddy, you may be interested to hear more about the so called "order" in Gaza as held in place by Hamas.

Three sisters murdered in possible 'honour' killings

Three sisters were found stabbed to death in central Gaza Strip yesterday, a human rights organisation said. The three, 16-year-old Nahed Hija, Suha, 19, and Lina, 22, were found dead from multiple stab wounds in a shallow grave early yesterday morning, said Hamdi Shakkour of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, who added that they suspected the women were victims of "honour" crimes. The Hamas force that polices the area said it was investigating the deaths. At least 12 women were killed in what were believed to be "honour" crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip last year.
Associated Press in Gaza City

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,213239....html

Great life to be had as a woman under Hamas then, but then again what do we know, we are simply westerners that think we know better than the Arabs what they need.

by Marie Stopes Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:50

"They simply refuse to accept talks with the murderous traitors that sought to instigate a coup and civil war in Gaza. "

You are not just a liar, you are an incompetent liar. Hamas launched the civil war in Gaza. They attacked the Palestinian Security Forces who come under the command of the President. Hamas murdered captured prisoners. You may be sure that Hamas will pay for this War Crime.

Why would the President trust Hamas when they have murdered captured members of his police force? Why would the president trust Hamas when they are trying to murder him?

I repeat: this story is about human rights. Womens rights to dress as they please and the freedom of the media.

Why are you trying to hijack this story to turn it into another hooray hooray for Hamas?

I reckon its because you are a misogynistic who is also deeply anti-democratic. You get upset at the idea of uppity women standing up to fundamentalists. You also fear a free media because it diseminates ideas which you feel threatened by.

I will not bother to respond further to your red herrings and attempts to derail this story.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 25, 2007 21:41

Derail your story......how amusing. You are indeed making a little story for yourself and I have no wish to interfere with your fun but for the record your silly mistakes in your little story should be corrected.

Without Hamas efforts there never would have been a Unity Government , not even for the fleeting moments that it did exist. They dragged Fateh to the table , bent over backwards in order to get a government up and running and absolutely supported Abbas's position as Persident. Even now they call for talks with Abbas, who they accept as President. They simply refuse to accept talks with the murderous traitors that sought to instigate a coup and civil war in Gaza. These are facts and you can contradict them all you like, you are simply wrong and perverse in your little Story.

To reiterate once again, your little story is defunct , due to the fact that Hamas has restored law and order to Gaza and the lawlessness that led to murderous thugs roaming the streets, threatening journalists , is now remedied. Thanks to Hamas your story is not a story anymore.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL22852826200...=true

HAMAS SEEKS UNITY WITH FATEH TO REFORM DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT

+++Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian government dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas, called for power-sharing talks on Saturday with Fatah rivals routed from the Gaza Strip......."The way out of the current situation is launching a Palestinian dialogue without pre-conditions,"+++

ABBAS REJECTS DIALOGUE

+++Abbas has ruled out any dialogue with Hamas, which he accused of trying to assassinate him. +++

by Gerri Wed Jul 25, 2007 18:45

Paddy, Hamas wish for Sharia law to be in force in Gaza, agreed?

Sharia law is detrimental to the well-being of women. Just to remind you, one manifestation of this is female journalists being told they will die because they don't want to wear the hijab. There are many other ways in which Sharia law is detrimental towards the well being of women, but perhaps you are in denial about this also.

You can't ignore the facts about Sharia law if you support Human Rights and freedoms which are for women as well as for men. Why interpret criticism of Hamas as support for Israel/US?

by Marie Stopes Wed Jul 25, 2007 15:17

"I am aware that Abbas is the democratic president as are Hamas who fully support him as president "

Paddy you have now exposed yourself as being totally dishonest. Hamas are doing everything they can to drive him from office.

Paddy I'm not the one who is telling Arab prople what they must do. I am supporting the female journalists who asked for support internationally. And they got that support.

You are the one who is telling Palestinian women that they are not entitled to human rights, that they are not entitled to equality. Human Rights are universal. They are not subject to the whim of any religion, be it Roman Catholicism or Islam. Women have the right not to wear the veil whether in Gorey or Gaza.

This story is about the Palestinian journalists. You are trying to hijack it like you do every story. This story is about womens rights and freedom of the press. The fact that you are shouting down the story and roaring your support for Islamic Fundamentalists suggests to me that you have little respect for either freedom of the press or the concept of equality.

Now please go away and troll elsewhere. You are just attempting to derail this story.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 25, 2007 14:57

Well by your logic probably no government represents their people as they all have to form coalitions and unity Governments in order that they can squeeze through their various bits of legislation with a margin of one or two votes. Which means , by your logic, that half the people are always being misrepresented by their government. I know, the concept is as idiotic as it sounds.

Hamas may indeed set about having their constiutution adopted if they ever get the opportunity to sit in government as they were elected to do. Then it will be up for debate and votes and the usual business of democratic government. Thats democracy, its what the Palestinians voted for when 78% of them turned out and gave a 76 Seat majority to Hamas.

But this is academic, you are convinced that you know better what the Arabs need that the Arabs themselves. You are not alone in this you have all the Imperialists and fascists and fundamentalists in the Israeli and US governments on your side. You aslo have a wide array of Islamophobes on your side who are more concerned about Hamas actions in Gaza than they are about Massive human rights abuses in Gaza. Even when Hamas have brought peace to the streets and vanquished the types of scum who threaten to cut off women's heads there are plenty of people who will try to say Hamas is the problem.

I am aware that Abbas is the democratic president as are Hamas who fully support him as president and continue to seek a sound unity government coalition with Fateh as the people wished. But Fateh is now dependant on US and Israel policy to receive its money and wont risk excercising democracy. To boot, a recent poll indicated that Your President Abbas would be overwhelmingly replaced by Marwan Barghouti if they both stood in new elections.

by Marie Stopes Wed Jul 25, 2007 13:51

Yawn all you want. Hamas do not even represent a majority of the Palestinian people. They seized control of Gaza in a military coup.

Its in the Hamas constitution: theyt want to impose sharia "law" in Palestine. So Paddy K would you be happy if the rules of the Catholic church were the law of the land in Ireland?

You might not know but there is also a democratically elected president in Palestine.

So freedom of the press and equality for women make you yawn. You are a very strange person Paddy K.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 25, 2007 13:30

+++They won 42% in the national list and 36% in the individual constituencies+++

YAWN.

Hamas are the democratic choice of the people to lead the government of the Palestinian people.

No credible observer disputes this. With what percentage of the vote and with what percentage of the Seats is Fianna Fail now leading this country again?
To deny that Hamas has the right to sit in government with the numbers that were elected and to refuse to accept what that entails is to deny Palestinian democratic choice.

Which is what the US and Israel are doing now. Do you support those policies?

I am just happy to see that the lawless chaos is under control regardless of who achieved that . Now the problems facing the people of Gaza are not Islamist fundamentalist in nature they are the manufactured problems of Fundamentalist factions in US and Israeli government.

by Marie Stopes Wed Jul 25, 2007 13:13

"The immediate threat now facing the people is starvation, thirst , poverty and the likelihood of an Israeli invasion."

Agreed.

" So you now know what to get concerned about in relation to Human rights in Gaza."

Paddy, I think even the IPSC would admit that a free press is also imporatant in Gaza. They would even say that women are entitled to equality.

You are not going to tell me what to get concerned about. You might be happy to see an Islamic organisation in conttrol. I am not. No more than I would like to see a Catholic Organisation in control in Ireland.

Dont bother suggesting that FF are a Catholic organisation, FF dont want to have the rules of the Catholic church adopted as the law of Land. Hamas want sharia "law" to be adopted as the sole law in Palestine.

And no, Hamas did not win a landslide victory in last years election. They won 42% in the national list and 36% in the individual constituencies.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 25, 2007 12:51

Its possible that we will never know how many rogue elements were at large on the streets of Gaza trying to foment civil unrest and social chaos as a prelude to bombing or reinvading the locality at the time that this occurrence allegedly took place.
What we do have evidence of is the fact that chaos reined on the streets and women, children and men were all in grave and immediate danger everytime they went outside. But contrary to your assertion that that was a sign that things are now getting worse for the people in Gaza, I am happy to inform you that things actually got better for the people. The Islamic Organisation Hamas took over and now these lawless and unidentifiable rogue elements can no longer roam the streets issuing threats in any bodys name. The people enjoy relative safety on the streets now . Hamas forces recently won the release of Alan Johnston and you would be glad to acknowledge this victory for freedom of the press if you werent too busy rummaging through two month old reports for stories of Islamic oppression.

The immediate threat now facing the people is starvation, thirst , poverty and the likelihood of an Israeli invasion. So you now know what to get concerned about in relation to Human rights in Gaza.

by Marie Stopes Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:23

"Its possible these rogue elements were politically directed Christian or Jewish fundamentalist military agents of the ISraeli or US regimes directed to foment civil unrest and sectarian hatred in the Gaza area by intimidating women and the Press."

What evidence do you have of this? An Islamic Fundamentalist group issued the threat. It wasnt an imaginary group. It exists. The journalists union took the threat seriously. International journalists unions including the Irish NUJ took the threat seriously.

No intelligent person would take your unsubstantiated comments above seriously.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 25, 2007 01:44

You pair and other similar minded characters will surely be glad to learn that the lawlessness referred to here was remedied by a Mid-June governmental crackdown by Hamas forces which ousted lawless gangs and infiltrators of unidentified origin from Sovereign Palestinian territory of Gaza. Its possible these rogue elements were politically directed Christian or Jewish fundamentalist military agents of the ISraeli or US regimes directed to foment civil unrest and sectarian hatred in the Gaza area by intimidating women and the Press. Happily, the rule of law has been restored to Gaza since this alleged occurrence and a major victory for Press Freedom of men and women secured when Hamas won the release of kidnapped Journalist Alan Johnston some weeks back.

by Gerri Wed Jul 25, 2007 01:00

Sharia law seems to be detrimental to womens' rights, freedoms, health and their very lives. We should oppose misogyny everwhere we see it.

Well done for bringing this up!