Muslims condemn the disgusting acts of intolerance.

If we want a better society, we have to work for it, the least we can do is to speak up!

It is tempting to “show them their place” and with that attitude we may cause the other side to dig in their heels, we have to be at peace to bring peace to others. If we even remotely call ourselves peace makers, we have to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill to find peaceful solutions for co-existence.

The Malaysian Government has handled the six extremists who disturbed the peace and demonstrated a revolting act of belligerence towards their countrymen: Hindus.

Now Bangladesh has a similar situation on their hands - some one can take the initiative or I will do it sometime next week, I am tied up with my exams, work and pluralism events.

MY APPEAL

On August 31, I appealed to the majority of Muslims in Malaysia to speak up, and wrote to the editors and the government of Malaysia, and thousands of others have written as well - it is nice to see the results. We have got to get the majorities to speak up... http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/festivities-soured-by-race.html

It is pleasing to see the comments from Muslims in Malaysia -http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/36272-protesters-threaten-bloodshed-over-hindu-temple

The Malaysian Government has taken the action: One of my Jewish friends writes to me: "Mike, fyi. This is the kind of leadership and response that we need to see from the rest of the Muslim world when barbaric actions takes place. Bernie " about this http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_427414.html

Muslims condemn the disgusting acts of intolerance.

Two reports appended belowEvil persists not necessarily because of evil men, but because good men don't do anything about it. I hope the Muslims in Malaysia condemn these extremists who displayed the most disgusting, revolting act of belligerence towards their fellow countrymen; Hindus.

I hope they did not have any connivance or permission from the majority of Malaysian Muslims. The act of carrying a head of a bull is un-acceptable and we urge the Malaysian Government to punish these loonies as criminals bent on disturbing peace of the state. They should not be cited as Muslims and their religion does not permit them to do that, they are criminals and must be cited as such. This act should not be a reflection on the Nation of Malaysia or her Muslims.

The idea is if I commit a crime, I should be the one to be thrown in the Jail, no one but me should be resonsible for my acts, not my family, not my parents, kids, nationality, race or religion.This is how nations can check extremism by singling out bad guys and taking them out one at a time, in this case, we hope every Muslim in Malaysia will support the government for knocking these hoodlums out as criminals and nothing but criminals.

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/festivities-soured-by-race.html

Bangladesh Now

Attackers attacked Two Hindu Temple –demolished Durga Deity and Kali Murthi on last Sunday night at Kumar Khali –Kushtia district of Bangladesh. (The daily Bhorer Kagoj dated 9th September, 09)

From our Kushtia Correspondent:

Some unidentified perpetrators entered into two Temples, broken Hindu deities’ desecrated temple on Sunday last on 7th September, 09 at night. As a result Hindus of those areas felt insecure at the eve of Yearly “Durga Festival”. Police trying to find out the perpetrators responsible for such heinous act.

It is learnt that there are two temples namely: “Halder Matri Sarbajanin Durga Mandir” and “ Raj Kumar Kali Mandir” which are know as oldest temples of those locality at village-Khayer chara of Kumar Khali Upazila.

On 7th September, 09 at about at 2 A.M. some unidentified criminals broke open the doors of the temples and desecrated them demolished the newly constructed deities of Durga Devi and oldest Kali Devi. The organisers of the temples saw in the morning that hands, heads, legs of deities departed from their bodies.

Naba Kumar Dutta – President of Bangladesh Puja Ujjapan Parishad of Kumar Khali Upazila expressed great concern on the heinous act of violence on the deities and demanded exemplary punishment of the perpetrators. He also told that no civilized society can perpetrate this crime against religion.

Netai Kumar Kunda – President of another Hindu organisation told that the heads of Durga Devi, Laksmi Devi, Sarwassati Devi, Kartick and Ganesh were cut down from original body of the deities and demolished. He also suspects that some youths located at village -Tebaria, Kharchara and Agrakunda are habituated with drugs and associated with anti-social elements and they could have involved with this crime.

Another source claimed that some perpetrators are also very much active to grab the lands and building of the Hindu community since long. It might be their intention that if those deities are demolished and desecrated before festival Hindus of those localities might be frightened and the Hindus would sell out their properties with minimum rate to avoid further attack or assault.
The Executives of the Mandir Committee are very much shy disclosing the names of perpetrators because of further retaliation.

As soon as the incident came to focus Nurul Islam Ansar – Mayor of Kumar Khali Municipality, Md. Manikhar Rahman- Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Abdul Hakim- Assistant Superintendent of Police, (Sadar Circle) and some Hindu leaders visited the spot and expressed sorrows on this incident and demanded immediate arrest for punishment of the perpetrators for assault on Hindu deities.

Through:
Adv.Rabindra Ghosh
President-Bangladesh Minority Watch (BDMW)
12, K.M. Das Lane, Tikatully -Bholagiri Trust, Sutrapur PS, Dhaka, Bangladesh
http://www.bdmw.org/

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Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer speaker and an activist of pluralism, interfaith, co-existence, peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His websites and Blogs are listed on http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Uniform Civil Code in not the Panacea

UCC IS NOT THE PANACEA
Uniform Civil Code for all Indians
Mike Ghouse

Our Laws punish one for murdering, stealing, raping and robbing. Has that stopped the violators? Bribery is a crime, has that stopped any politicians and a government servant from taking bribes? Don’t most people contribute to that behavior?

How many shameless men have an illegal second woman on their side? Certainly, more in numbers than the ones who have a second wife? The spousal abuse continues, the shameless men say that a woman is like a man’s footwear, that a woman must be kept in place. Dowry continues to be a demoralizing aspect of our society leaving several young girls remains single and some times victims of bad guys.

It takes time to bring about a social change. Many have suggested that UCC is the panacea; the real question is, is it?

The reasons Muslims were allowed to marry more than one wife are gradually disappearing; historically during wars many a women became widow and bad guys took advantage of them, they do that in every place in the world, instead of leaving them on street to beg and sell their flesh, the Muslim society wanted to give them dignity and respect; Women who cannot get married due to financial difficulties, it was a respect shown to them; Marriages that did not bear children and several social reasons. The condition was that the first wife must approve the other marriages to prevent a guy from marrying for sex, as marriage is a social institution.

Our motivation to change the laws should be driven by goodness to every one and not depriving some one from their right. Both sides dig in their heels and it becomes a power struggle, one wants to strip the rights and the other wants to challenge. Those that are small in their minds make it their business t to hassle Muslims, without verifying the facts on the ground. They need to clean their hearts from ill-will.

If there is goodwill, things will change. Less than a fraction of Muslims marry more than one woman, it is rarity and we should not base our laws on rarities. There are a higher percentage of men in India having more than one woman in their life, illegally of course.

All of us need to come together as Indians, not as Hindus, Muslims and others to have a generational plan, a 20 year plan to create societies with fewer problems. These values must be incorporated into our education system without derailing the existing one.

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer, Moderator and a Blogger on Pluralism, Interfaith, civil societies, Terrorism, Peace, Islam, and India. He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television networks offering a pluralistic perspective on issues of the day. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net Mike is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer. The theme is consistent in his speeches, writings and workshops he conducts.

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Convert to Islam, bypass bigamy laws?

21 Jun 2009, 0446 hrs IST, Insiya Amir, TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Convert-to-Islam-bypass-bigamy-laws/articleshow/4681888.cms
Most people famously proclaim that love is their religion, but there are some who use religion for love. Perhaps one such is Haryana's former deputy chief minister Chander Mohan, who became Chand Mohammed to marry his new love Anuradha Bali.

Mohan was with Seema Bishnoi, his wife of 13 years, when he met and fell in love with Bali. The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 does not allow a man to take a second wife so Mohan converted to Islam. So did Bali. Both dropped their Hindu names and assumed Muslim ones.

She became Fiza Parveen. And thus began a salacious soap opera played out before the media - Mohan abandons Fiza, who attempts suicide. She accuses him of playing with her sentiments and using religion to make a mockery of her love. He returns to Bishnoi, then dramatically goes back to Fiza. Was religion used and abused to commit adultery?

It is not the first time a high-profile Hindu couple has converted to Islam to 'marry' even though the first wife is alive. More than two decades ago, film stars Dharmendra and Hema Malini married secretly. Women activists protested against the "illegal" marriage. Dharmendra, they pointed out, was already married and had teenaged children. But in order to give legitimacy to his union with Hema Malini, the couple had converted to Islam.

Advocate and activist Neelofar Akhtar says that such conversions and marriages are made worse because they both are a "sham". She points out that "there are no strict laws to register a conversion (so) people are misusing the religion to have more than one wife. In all Muslim countries, there are very stringent rules if a man wants to take a second wife". But in India "it is done this easily. There is need for a regulatory body to monitor such misuse."

Akhtar makes a good point. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled in the Sarla Mudgal case that under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, a Hindu husband cannot marry a second time simply by embracing Islam without lawfully dissolving the first marriage. He would be guilty of bigamy, the Court ruled.

V Mohini Giri, chairperson of the social service organization Guild of Service and former head of the National Commission for Women, says, "Dharmendra's wife Prakash Kaur could have fought her case in court. But, like most Indian women who have been conditioned to ultimately accept their husbands' mistakes, she didn't complain and the controversy died down". Giri has been trying to close a loophole that allows a Hindu man to have more than one wife by simply converting.

"There is a law now that all marriages should be registered, regardless of religion. However, that is not being properly implemented. While we know of only high-profile cases like that of a married Raj Babbar tying the knot with Smita Patil, there are scores of ordinary women who have been abandoned by their husbands who have misused Islam," she says.

Akhtar says the only change is that "women are becoming more financially independent and aware of their rights".

She says forgotten first wives now "gather the courage to divorce their husbands or at least ask for maintenance if they remarry".

Change of a sort then. But not enough.

Qn: What is the greatest punishment for bigamy?

PR on Second Annual “Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides"

II Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides
Sunday, January 25, 2009 5:00 PM - 7:15 PMDallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance211 N. Record St. Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75202-3361Website: www.HolocaustandGenocides.org

Admission is free - Your are invitedLimited Seating -
Please RSVP to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com

You may become a part of the history as this event is a stepping stone towards Peace in the Middle east.

Continued: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/Holocaust-and-Genocides-Press-Release-011709.asp