Pakistan - 150 Sunni Muslim Clerics issue death Fatwa for Christian Asia Bibi.

Pakistan - 150 Sunni Muslim Clerics issue death Fatwa for Christian Asia Bibi. (PCP).

As hearing date of appeal of Asia Bibi against death sentence on blasphemy charges in Supreme Court of Pakistan Lahore Bench is approaching the radical Muslim groups have also lined up for showdown to put pressure on Judges of SCP to uphold death sentence for her issued by District and Session Judge Sheikhupura, a lower court carrying jurisdiction of police station in which FIR was lodged under section 295 C PPP.

Today about 150 top Muslim Clerics (Muftis) issued a religious decree and demanded from Government to hang Asia bibi and all other prisoners of blasphemy laws and also demanded speedy trial of pending cases of blasphemy in Pakistani courts.

The religious decree warned government of Pakistan that if Asia Bibi was sent abroad with any conspiracy then administration will face consequences.
The Markaz Ahl-e-Sunnat Lahore which have issued signed Fatwa of 150 of Muslim Mullahas have warned Supreme Court of Pakistan to hearing appeal of Asia Bibi because Islamic teaching have judgment of hanging or beheading of blasphemers and Asia Bibi deserves death.

They also issued  a Death Fatwa of killing all of those who rescued blasphemy accused and assisted or trying to rescue blasphemers.

This week, the Shuhuada Foundation, a group connected to Islamabad’s infamous Red Mosque where Islamists fought battles with security forces in 2007, warned that its supporters would take to the streets and become “a centre for the anti-government movement” if Bibi was released.

Breaking : Asia Bibi blasphemy appeal adjourned in Pakistan as judge pulls out

PAKISTAN - Appeal court trial for Christian couple sentenced to death for blasphemy.

PAKISTAN - Appeal court trial for Christian couple sentenced to death for blasphemy. (Fides).

Lahore - An appeal has been filed to the Court of Appeal and the first hearing will take place in May regarding a Christian couple Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar.

This was reported to Fides by the team of lawyers of the "Farrukh Saif Foundation", Pakistani organization that has taken on the legal defense of the couple. The two were of accused of sending blasphemous text messages and were sentenced to death in 2014.

On July 20, 2013, the Christian couple, from Gojra, in Punjab, were accused of sending blasphemous text messages and were later arrested.

"The text messages were written in English but both of the accused were uneducated and incapable of writing proper Urdu let alone English", note the lawyers.

Shafqat is also confined to a wheelchair due to an accident in 2004 that resulted in him suffering a spinal injury.

The local police proceeded to torture him in front of his wife. He pleaded for mercy while the police continued in their attempts to extract a confession from him.

On 4 April 2014 the couple were given death "although the police failed to recover any mobile phone or SIM card allegedly registered in Shagufta’s name", refer the lawyers. The only evidence produced by the local police was the receipt from the phone company.

"Addition Sessions judge succumbed to Islamist pressure and handed down the death sentence", reaffirm the lawyers. The whole trial was concluded inside the boundary walls of the prison due to fears for the couple’s security. The couple have four children and activists of the "Farrukh Saif Foundation" are taking care of them.

"The blasphemy law, misused, has put hundreds of members of minority communities behind bars. The law is grossly abused to target minorities", say the lawyers of the "Farrukh Saif Foundation" to Fides. "In most cases, people are falsely and maliciously accused, just for personal revenge" they conclude. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/04/2016)

Pakistan - 700-strong 'Islamic' lawyers' alliance remains pro Trial & execution of 'blasphemers'.

Pakistan - 700-strong 'Islamic' lawyers' alliance remains pro Trial & execution of 'blasphemers'. (ET)

A little-known alliance of hundreds of lawyers in Pakistan is behind the rise in prosecutions for blasphemy, a crime punishable by death that goes to the heart of an ideological clash between reformers and religious conservatives.

The group, whose name translates as The Movement for the Finality of the Prophethood, offers free legal advice to complainants and has packed courtrooms with representatives, a tactic critics say is designed to help it gain convictions.

The stated mission of the Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Lawyers’ Forum and its leader Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry is uncompromising: to use its expertise and influence to ensure that anyone insulting Islam or  Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is charged, tried and executed.

“Whoever does this (blasphemy), the punishment is only death. There is no alternative,” Chaudhry told supporters crammed into his small office behind the towering red-brick High Court building in the eastern city of Lahore.

The campaign could complicate the government’s tentative efforts to reform blasphemy legislation, a tough task in a country where support for the law is widespread.


Chaudhry was the defence lawyer for Mumtaz Qadri, executed on Monday for gunning down the popular governor of Punjab province in 2011 over his criticism of the blasphemy law.

In death, Qadri was a hero for many. Tens of thousands of people gathered in a park in the city of Rawalpindi for his funeral on Tuesday, showering his casket with flowers. “He lives! Qadri lives!” supporters around the coffin cried. ”From your blood, the revolution will come!” Read the full story here.

Pakistan - Fears grow for Christian Aasia Bibi execution after Mumtaz Qadri's hanging.

Pakistan - Fears grow for Christian Aasia Bibi execution after Mumtaz Qadri's hanging. (ET).

Activists voiced new fears for a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, on death row for blasphemy, as religious groups launched fresh calls for her hanging after this week’s execution of Mumtaz Qadri.

Asia Bibi, a Christian mother-of-five, whose plight has prompted prayers from the Vatican, has been on death row since she was convicted in 2010 of committing blasphemy during an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water.

Bibi’s lawyer Saif ul Mulook said Thursday religious groups have launched a “fresh offensive” against his client in the wake of the execution of Mumtaz Qadri.

A former police bodyguard, Qadri killed liberal Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011, angered by his call to reform Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, as well as his promise to help Bibi.

Qadri’s actions saw him feted as a hero by extremists, and his funeral on Tuesday brought up to 100,000 people into the streets of Rawalpindi, many chanting for Bibi to be hanged.

On Thursday, a statement issued from Islamabad’s Lal Masjid called on the government to execute “the blasphemer Asia Bibi as soon as possible and not bow to international pressure”.

Christian activist Shamoon Gill, a long-time advocate for Bibi, said yesterday that extremist groups are “putting her life in danger”, citing police who warned him to be vigilant this week.

Even if authorities do not succumb to the pressure, religious groups could incite any of Qadri’s thousands of supporters to vigilante action, he warned.

Small protests in cities including Islamabad after Friday prayers also saw Qadri supporters calling for Bibi to be hanged. In Hyderabad, demonstrators broke into the press club and beat up a journalist there, police said yesterday. Read the full story here.

Reporters Without Borders Urges on Charlie anniversary Resist 'religious correctness,'

Reporters Without Borders Urges on Charlie anniversary Resist 'religious correctness,' (DS).

Press campaign group Reporters Without Borders marked Thursday's first anniversary of the attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo by warning against what it called "religious correctness."

The organisation cautioned against what it called "the insidious imposition of a 'religious correctness' that poses a major threat to the journalistic freedom to inform others (and make them laugh)," in a statement.

It noted the controversy sparked by the cover of Charlie Hebdo's Wednesday edition, which depicts a gun-toting God figure on the run.

The Vatican criticized the cover for failing to "acknowledge or to respect believers' faith in God, regardless of the religion." It added: "Using God to justify hatred is a genuine blasphemy."

"Some may feel offended or hurt by criticism of their beliefs, especially in the form of satire. But freedom of information and expression ... must not be constrained or limited by anyone's convictions or sensibilities, or else a form of totalitarianism will take hold before we know it," the Paris-based group, known by its French initials RSF, warned.

"RSF deplores the self-censorship and overcautiousness that has taken hold in the media in democratic countries," it said.

Concepts such as blasphemy – which is penalized in 94 countries, RSF said – are used to create an exception to freedom of expression "for which there is absolutely no provision under international law," it said. Hmmmm......Actually Charlie Hebdo managed to unify all three major religions to agree upon something. ----->

Video - By The Numbers - The Untold Story of Muslim Opinions & Demographics.

By the Numbers is an honest and open discussion about Muslim opinions and demographics. Narrated by Raheel Raza, president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, this short film is about the acceptance that radical Islam is a bigger problem than most politically correct governments and individuals are ready to admit. Is ISIS, the Islamic State, trying to penetrate the U.S. with the refugee influx? Are Muslims radicalized on U.S. soil? Are organizations such as CAIR, who purport to represent American Muslims accepting and liberal or radicalized with links to terror organizations?

Iran urges it's 'Staunchest ally' Pres. Hussein Obama to block Congress move against nuclear deal.

Iran urges it's 'Staunchest ally' Pres. Hussein Obama to block Congress move against nuclear deal. (Taz).

The US government has to do everything to prevent a Congress move against the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira.

“We stated from the very beginning that we consider the US government as responsible,” he said.

Zarif further stated that Iran will not forget the positive role that Brazil played in the Iranian nuclear case, IRNA news agency reported September 13.

Mauro for his part congratulated Iran on the conclusion of the nuclear negotiations and said his country welcomes the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

After Iran and the group P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the country’s nuclear program on July 14, the UN Security Council recognized the deal with Resolution 2231 and arranged for the removal of previous resolutions which had imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Zarif also said Iran and Brazil are going to boost bilateral relations in coming months.
In another part of his speech Zarif said Iran will pursue President Hassan Rouhani’s initiative in forming a unified front against regional terrorism. Hmmmm..........Blasphemy laws coming soon, See tweets Below.

Iran and Austria to set up joint task-force to fight "extremism" in ALL faith communities. Accord signed by Rouhani and President Fischer.

— Amir Taheri (@AmirTaheri4) September 12, 2015

@20committee Austria: Muslim Brotherhood's New European Headquarters. https://t.co/YErwCqqad8 yesterday: http://t.co/qNHZrIM1pT

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) September 12, 2015

‘Blasphemy law by the back door’: BHA and human rights campaigners condemn Jordan attempts to silence criticism of religion.

‘Blasphemy law by the back door’: BHA and human rights campaigners condemn Jordan attempts to silence criticism of religion. HT: ExMoslimForum.

Human rights campaigners have reacted with concern to the news that Jordan is seeking to restrict freedom of expression on matters of religion.

A new resolution tabled by Jordan at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) calls for ‘respect for religions and religious symbols’ and would legitimise attempts from states to criminalise speech deemed ‘defamation of religion’ or which offends religious sensibilities.

Campaigners, including the British Humanist Association (BHA), have warned that such a move would significantly compromise human rights for people around the world, particularly for the non-religious and those of minority religions. The BHA and others are urging the IPU to reject it.

Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights ensure the right to free expression, including on matters of religion or belief, but legal restrictions against this freedom remain widespread.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union found in its 2014 Freedom of Thought Report that 68 countries place legal restriction on blasphemy or religious insult, while 20 states outlaw atheism. 

As part of the International Coalition Against Blasphemy Laws, the BHA has highlighted their misuse at the UN Human Rights Council and called for their repeal. Earlier this month, for the 28th session of the Human Rights Council, the BHA delegation singled out for hypocrisy those Council members whose laws include the death penalty for being non-religious.

BHA Director of Public Affairs and Campaigns Pavan Dhaliwal commented that ‘The proposed resolution is nothing more than blasphemy law by the back door and must be strenuously rejected by all those who support the right to free expression.

Our every liberty depends upon our right to voice our opinions and disagreements without fear of reprisal or censorship. While blasphemy-related attacks continue to take lives around the world, and while many states continue to punish alleged blasphemers and apostates with the death penalty and other brutal sanctions, the international community should be coming together to repeal these inhumane laws, not to further undermine human rights.’ Hmmmm.......Democracy and Islam are incompatible. Come to think of it didn't Jordan just visit the U.S.?

Christian couple beaten, cremated alive in brick kiln for desecrating Koran in Pakistan.

Christian couple beaten, cremated alive in brick kiln for desecrating Koran in Pakistan. (RT).

The killings took place in the town of Kot Radha Kishan, 60 kilometers southwest of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, on Tuesday morning.

"A mob attacked a Christian couple after accusing them of desecration of the holy Koran and later burned their bodies at a brick kiln where they worked," Bin-Yameen, a local police station official, told AFP.

The police only identified the victims by their first names Shama and Shehzad, adding that they were husband and wife.

According to some Pakistani media reports, the two were still alive when they were dragged into the stove, with some reports even suggesting that the woman was pregnant.

Shama and Shehzad were allegedly held hostage since November 2 before being killed by the mob, who were armed with clubs.

"A mob of several dozen attacked the building where they were," Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a Christian rights activist, was cited by NBC News as saying. "They broke their legs so they couldn't run and then threw them in the fire. Only some bones and hair were found at the site."

The killing took place in the presence of police, who were unable to stop the raging crowd, Gill added.

The Punjabi authorities launched an investigation into the crime, ordering security beefed up in the province’s Christian communities.

On Wednesday, the police detained 44 people in connection with the attack, which they described as "a local issue incited by the mullah of a local mosque."

“No particular sectarian group or religious outfit was behind the attack,” Jawad Qamar, regional police chief, told Reuters.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said that those responsible for the Punjab murder “must be brought to justice,” urging Pakistani authorities to increase protection of religious minorities.

"This vicious mob killing is just the latest manifestation of the threat of vigilante violence which anyone can face in Pakistan after a blasphemy accusation – although religious minorities are disproportionately vulnerable," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's deputy Asia Pacific director. Read the full story here.

Afghan 'Blasphemy' Case An Early Test For New 'moderate' Government

Afghan 'Blasphemy' Case An Early Test For New 'moderate' Government.(Rfelr).

Afghan authorities have arrested a newspaper’s owner and editor on charges of blasphemy, a move that poses an early test for new President Ashraf Ghani as he seeks to balance international demands for free speech with calls in powerful religious circles for severe punishment.

Ghani, a Western-educated technocrat, has gone to great lengths to court religious leaders by downplaying his foreign pedigree. But he has also called free speech protections a priority, recently allowing a U.S. journalist expelled by his predecessor to return to Afghanistan.

The owner and the editor in chief of the “Afghanistan Press Daily,” an English-language newspaper based in Kabul, were arrested October 24, according to a government official close to the case who spoke to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity. Their names have not been made public.

The newspaper’s offices and publishing house have also been shut down, the official said.

The arrests came after the newspaper published an October 15 op-ed that questioned God’s existence and launched a scathing attack against the Islamic faith. The piece has been widely condemned in the deeply conservative and religious country, where Islam is the state religion.

That anger boiled over into the streets of Kabul on October 24, when dozens of residents staged a protest against the newspaper. Demonstrators demanded that the daily be closed and the author of the op-ed be sentenced to death, warning that the protests would continue if their demands are not met.

The author, who wrote the article under the byline “A.J. Ahwar,” has been identified as Ahmad Javeed Ahwar, a 27-year-old Afghan student believed to be in the Netherlands.

On a Facebook page believed to be his but which has since been deactivated, Ahwar describes himself as a “secular, anti-Taliban activist.” Ahwar also appears to maintain a blog titled “True Pen.”

Ahwar’s op-ed was titled “The Islam Of The Taliban And ISIS,” an acronym referring to the Islamic State militant group that has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate.

In the piece, Ahwar claims that Islamic teachings give militants groups like IS and the Taliban license to kill nonbelievers. “What type of God you are? Are you insane? Can you tolerate an innocent human being to be killed? Are you OK with it? You ‘God’ are not understandable,” he writes.

He goes on to compare the “level of intolerance” in Islam to that of the Nazis.

“The fact is that neither God cares about human, nor does it matter to him if you worship him or not. It is a very old and boring novel now. We are OK without God,” Ahwar concludes.

Sources close to Ahwar’s family say he and his wife are currently seeking asylum in the Netherlands. Social media users have suggested that he wrote the piece to boost his case.

The newspaper has issued an apology and tried to distance itself from Ahwar. In an October 18 apology posted on its website, the newspaper said the article was published due to “a technical mistake.”

“We strongly condemn ideas and comments that were published to use this mistake for their political and individual purposes, we are not related to any political, religious, or any other armed groups,” the statement read.

‘Insult To The Whole Islamic Nation’ Read the rest and full story here.

Pakistani Christian Couple Given Death Sentence For Blasphemy.

Pakistani Christian Couple Given Death Sentence For Blasphemy.(Rferl).

A Christian couple has reportedly been sentenced to death for blasphemy in in Pakistan's Punjab Province.

The couple was arrested in July 2013 after an imam alleged they had sent a text message that he regarded as insulting to the Prophet Muhammad.

A defense lawyer for the couple said they denied being responsible for the message.

Lawyer Nadeem Hassan told the AFP news agency that the text originated from a phone that the couple had lost some time before the incident.

Pakistan has extremely strict laws against defaming Islam, and the death penalty can be imposed for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Rights activists say the laws are sometimes abused as a weapon in personal disputes.

Chinese man held in Pakistani Kashmir over Quran abuse.

Chinese man held in Pakistani Kashmir over Quran abuse.(AA).A Chinese man working on an energy project in Pakistan-administered Kashmir was being held Saturday after hundreds of protesters attacked his company offices over the alleged desecration of a Quran, officials said.

Lee Ping, administration manager of a Chinese consortium building the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower project, was accused by co-Pakistani workers of throwing the Quran on the ground.

“We have taken Ping into protective custody after protests erupted in the company when Pakistani labourers saw him throwing the belongings of a Pakistani worker including the Quran,” Sardar Gulfraz, a senior police official, told AFP.

Lee Ping was moving the belongings of a Pakistani doctor after he had refused to vacate his room for relocation.“Doctor Sajid had a dispute with the company management about the relocation of his room. He refused to vacate the room and Ping threw out all his belongings in anger,” said local police official Raja Anser Shahzad.

“Local laborers saw Ping throwing out luggage including the Quran and they started protesting. Later, people from outside the company also joined the rally and around 1,000 protesters attacked the offices,” Shahzad told AFP.

Police said the incident happened at midday on Friday, when local Muslims were preparing to offer their main weekly prayers. “They broke vehicles and windows inside the company premises. We have called in extra police to protect installments and have also moved Ping to a secret location for protective reasons,” Gulfraz said.

Authorities said a commission had been formed to determine whether Ping was involved in a desecration or not. Blasphemy is a very sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the 180 million population are Muslims, and even unproven allegations can spark a violent public backlash.

“(Ping) will be charged under the blasphemy law only after this commission confirms that he was involved in a serious violation,” Gulfraz said. Hmmmm..... Confucius say :"Yu So Phukt".Read the full story here.

Video - Collision! Free Speech and Religion.

The new 18 minute documentary program, written and presented by Danish Human Rights Lawyer, Jacob Mchangama, focuses on one of the defining issues of our time; the global battle of values over the relationship between free speech and religious sensitivities.
Recent years have seen increasing demands that free speech should be limited to respect religious feelings. In a globalized world this conflict has become explosive as cartoons published in Denmark and videos uploaded in America have led to violent riots from Cairo to Karachi. The outcome of this battle, says Mchangama, will have profound consequences for the ability of people everywhere to freely express themselves and follow their beliefs.

Video - Robert Spencer and David Wood on Sharia Blasphemy Laws.

"Democracy and Islam are incompatible" Salafi-jihadi sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti said: "Sheikh Hazem [Abu Isma'il] will never be able to implement Allah's shari'a by means of these elections that perpetuate democracy, and I believe that many of the sheikhs who ruled [that people must] vote for him would agree with us that democracy and Islam are incompatible."

Video - Pat Condell: "I'm offended by Islam."

Eurabia it's Here and Now - Silent Conquest: A Tale of Sharia and Western Self-Censorship.

Eurabia it's Here and Now - Silent Conquest: A Tale of Sharia and Western Self-Censorship.(Heritage).HT: AstuteBlogger.

At yesterday’s debut showing of Silent Conquest: The End of Freedom of Expression in the West at The Heritage Foundation, one of the most shocking moments was a comment by Lars Hedegaard, a Danish historian and chairman of the Danish Free Press Society.

Hedegaard was asked: Could the screening of this movie and the free intellectual discussion of the advance of Islamic Sharia law in the West have taken place at a European—say British—think tank? 

“No, I don’t think so” was his chilling answer.

The subjects of Islam and Sharia have simply become taboo in many European countries. Free speech advocates, among them moderate Muslim voices, are deeply concerned.

As shown in Silent Conquest, throughout Europe, in Canada, and even in the United States, judicial systems in countries with large Muslim minorities are under pressure to adopt Sharia free speech restrictions. As a result, in many places, including Denmark, it is now a crime to say anything negative about Islam or the prophet Mohammed, regardless of whether such statements are factual or not. The concept that even offensive speech is protected—so fundamental to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment—is collapsing.

Even if those accused of insulting Islam are acquitted, as Hedegaard himself was after a grueling legal battle, outraged Muslims may take matters in their own hands. Hedegaard narrowly escaped assassination in February when a Muslim immigrant posing as a mailman attempted to shoot him. Another Dane, cartoonist Kurt Westergaard of Mohammed cartoon fame, survived two assaults by knife-wielding immigrants and is now under permanent police protection. (The fact that Denmark has stringent anti-gun laws protected neither from attack, one might add.)

The extent of the problem is startling. In 2010, Dutch filmmaker Geert Wilders was acquitted after being charged with the crime of “insulting Muslims” and “inciting hatred of Muslims.” That same year, Hedegaard was charged with hate speech and finally acquitted two years later by the Danish Supreme Court. In France, actress Brigitte Bardot was sentenced to a two-month suspended sentence and a fine of $15,000 for complaining about Muslims in her neighborhood. In Canada, author Mark Steyn was acquitted in 2008 after a prolonged legal battle over his article “Why the Future Belongs to Islam.”

Even though some are acquitted, all of this has a chilling effect. Europeans “are acting as though Sharia law has already been adopted in Europe,” Nasar Khader, a moderate Muslim member of the Danish parliament, stated in the movie.

Disturbingly, so does the U.S. government. While the 9/11 Commission report from 2007 contained hundreds of references to words such as Islam, Muslim, and Jihad, not a single instance of these words is found in the national security strategy documents of the Obama Administration, a deliberate government decision. Furthermore, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw U.S. support behind U.N. anti-blasphemy Resolution 16/18 in December 2011, which would effectively repress free speech if enacted in member countries.

At least in the United States, the First Amendment still stands as a bulwark, and lawmakers have taken up the cause of free speech and the free exercise of religion. On March 7, Senator Jim Inhofe (R–OK) introduced S. Res. 69, “Calling for the protection of religious rights and freedoms in the Arab world.” It specifically “urges in the strongest possible terms that the United States Government lead the international effort to repeal existing blasphemy laws.”

Though it is not likely the Obama Administration will heed this plea, it is imperative for the future of this country, this civilization, that the defenders of freedom remain vigilant.Hmmmm......Yeah whatevah.....Obama: "The Future Must Not Belong to Those Who Slander the Prophet of Islam".Read the full story here.

Iranian cleric says Ahmadinejad Chavez remarks that he would be resurrected with Jesus Christ 'heresy'

Iranian cleric says Ahmadinejad Chavez remarks that he would be resurrected with Jesus Christ 'heresy'.(HD).A senior Iranian cleric accused President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of "heresy" on Friday by saying in his tribute to late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez that he would be resurrected with Jesus Christ.

"Those comments on Chavez's return with Christ were heresy," Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, the hardline chief of the influential Guardians Council, told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran.

Janati was referring to comments by Ahmadinejad on March 6 in which he called Chavez a "martyr" who would "return, along with the righteous Jesus and the perfect human." The last was an allusion to Shiite Islam's 12th imam that Iran's majority faith believes will return with Christ to bring peace and justice to the world.

Janati said Iran's clergy had been "upset" by the remarks."Should people say whatever comes to mind? I wish (Ahmadinejad) had spent a few days in a seminary before discussing such issues," he said.

"Chavez was a populist and anti-American. His political agenda was completely acceptable. But he was not a Muslim," Janati added.

Janati's Guardians Council is charged with overseeing elections and interpreting the constitution. Iran has scheduled a presidential election for June 14 to find a replacement for Ahmadinejad, whose disputed re-election in 2009 sparked street protests and a deadly crackdown by the regime in response.Hmmmm......I never thought i would say but i hope iran enforces their 'blasphemy' laws in this case.Read the full story here.

Video - Pat Condell : "Pigs Will Fly."

Video - At Least Four killed in 'blasphemous bloggers' riot with Bangladesh Islamists.

At Least Four killed in 'blasphemous bloggers' riot with Bangladesh Islamists.(News).Two people were shot dead by police in the northwestern town of Palashbari, and two others died elsewhere, police said.
Parts of the capital Dhaka were turned into a battlefield as thousands of protesters attacked police with bricks and sticks in front of the national mosque. Officers there retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas.
The country's 12 Islamic parties called the protests after Friday prayers in nearly half a million mosques nationwide, demanding the execution of bloggers whom they say blasphemed Islam and the Prophet Mohammed.
Tensions have risen in the Muslim-majority nation over allegedly anti-Islamic blog posts by Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death last week near his home in Dhaka.
In recent weeks Haider and fellow bloggers had launched huge protests demanding a ban on the largest Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami, and the execution of its leaders for alleged war crimes in the 1971 independence conflict with Pakistan.
At Palashbari at least 4000 Islamists attacked police with home-made bombs and sticks, prompting officers to respond with live fire, district police chief Nahidul Islam told AFP.
At least four people were killed and about 200 injured.
In the northeastern city of Sylhet a young man died as police shot rubber bullets and tear gas after protesters went on a rampage, attacking and torching vehicles, Sylhet metropolitan police commissioner Nibas Chandra Majhi said AFP.
Uzzal Dutta, an emergency doctor at the city Hospital, said 31 people were admitted and most had injuries from rubber bullets. One person was killed in the western district of Jhenidah.
Police said clashes also broke out in the port city of Chittagong, the northern city of Bogra where 15,000 protesters.
In Dhaka violence broke out outside the Baitul Mukarram national mosque, where protesters also attacked around a dozen journalists.
Police tried to thwart the protest by locking the gates of the mosque where tens of thousands of people were performing their weekly Jumma prayers.
Sayeed Khan, an emergency doctor at Dhaka medical college hospital, said that up to 50 people had been admitted, most with injuries from rubber bullets.Read the full story here.

Video - Answering the critics of freedom.