Coptic Christian academic Dr. Nagy Naguib, member of the General Secretariat of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Egypt’s Sharqiya province, assured that Copts are an integral part of the Egyptian people and the fabric of society.

“Copts will not stray from the general discourse of the Egyptian people, who stand firmly with Brotherhood candidate Dr. Morsi against the remnants of the old corrupt regime. The voice of extremism from both sides will have no active role in the management of the country in post-revolution Egypt.”

Naguib explained that Morsi has allayed Coptic fears in more than one meeting, expressing his confidence that many Christians will vote for Dr. Morsi in the run-off.

“Islamic reference does not frighten, neither Copts nor Muslims. Indeed, Copts have no problem with Islamic values. The Egyptian Church is not inclined towards a particular candidate. In fact, Bishop Bakhomious announced that he will punish clerics who directed or instructed Christians to elect Shafiq or any other specific presidential candidate.   »»» Ikhwanweb

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When you think of the hijab, you probably don’t think “political”. Or “independent”. Or “empowered”. Feminist? Certainly not – feminism is far better known for burnt bras and slut-walks than headscarves.

There is much misunderstanding about how women relate to their hijab. Some, of course, choose the headcover for religious reasons, others for culture or even fashion.

But in a society where a woman’s value seems focused on her sexual charms, some wear it explicitly as a feminist statement asserting an alternative mode of female empowerment. Politics, not religion, is the motivator here. I am one of these women.

Sure the hijab was not the only way to express my feelings and frustrations; but knowing that our interpretation of liberal culture embraces, if not encourages, uncovering, I decided to reject what society expected me to do, and cover up.

I do not believe that the hair in itself is that important; this is not about protection from men’s lusts. It is me telling the world that my femininity is not available for public consumption. I am taking control of it, and I don’t want to be part of a system that reduces and demeans women. Behind this exterior I am a person – and it is this person for which I want to be known.   »»»  guardian.co.uk

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At the first ceremony of its kind, fencer and Olympic hopeful Ibtihaj Muhammad was recognised for her achievements as a Muslim sportswoman at the Ambassador Awards. The awards were hosted by the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation the first week of May to recognise Muslim women in this field. They are a reminder that Muslim sportswomen have broken new ground in the world of sports and helped change perceptions in society at large.

Although there are more Muslim women competing in sports today than there have been in the past, they have an overlooked legacy. For example, Halet Çambel was the first Muslim woman who competed in the Olympics – and did so in 1936, representing Turkey. Many athletes like her were honoured at the awards where Muhammad won the International Sportswoman of the Year. However, women’s sports participation in some countries is still limited.   »»» mideastposts.com

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IT’S OFFICIAL – George W Bush is a war criminal.

In what is the first ever conviction of its kind anywhere in the world, the former US President and seven key members of his administration were today (Friday) found guilty of war crimes.

Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia.

The trial held in Kuala Lumpur heard harrowing witness accounts from victims of torture who suffered at the hands of US soldiers and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the end of the week-long hearing, the five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered guilty verdicts against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their key legal advisors who were all convicted as war criminals for torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

Full transcripts of the charges, witness statements and other relevant material will now be sent to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, as well as the United Nations and the Security Council.

War crimes expert and lawyer Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law in America, was part of the prosecution team.

After the case he said: “This is the first conviction of these people anywhere in the world.”

“We tried three times to get Bush in Canada but were thwarted by the Canadian Government, then we scared Bush out of going to Switzerland. The Spanish attempt failed because of the government there and the same happened in Germany.”

Boyle then referenced the Nuremberg Charter which was used as the format for the tribunal when asked about the credibility of the initiative in Malaysia. He quoted: “Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit war crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any person in execution of such a plan.”

The US is subject to customary international law and to the Principles of the Nuremberg Charter said Boyle who also believes the week-long trial was “almost certainly” being monitored closely by both Pentagon and White House officials.

Professor Gurdial Singh Nijar, who headed the prosecution said: “The tribunal was very careful to adhere scrupulously to the regulations drawn up by the Nuremberg courts and the International Criminal Courts”.

In response to questions about the difference between the Bush and Obama Administrations, he added: “If President Bush was the President of extra-judicial torture then US President Barak Obama is the President of extra judicial killing through drone strikes. Our work has only just begun.”

   »»» Sailan Muslim (Sri Lanka)

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The Pentagon brass are condemning a course on Islam taught at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va., which mischaracterized mainstream Muslim persons and organizations as radical, violent extremists, and called for treating the Muslim civilian populations the way the Japanese at Hiroshima were treated. Those who took the class were encouraged to think of themselves as a ‘resistance movement to Islam.’ A review has been ordered of that class and of hundreds of others taught within the Department of Defense.   »»» Informed Comment

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According to a poll by OpinionWay and Fiducial for Le Figaro, 93% of French Muslims voted for François Hollande in the recent presidential election. 7% voted for outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy. The poll was conducted May 6th among 1000 voters.   »»» Islam in Europe

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A Kansas City woman who converted from Christianity to Islam has been awarded $5 million in punitive damages by a jury who found the telecommunications giant AT&T created a “hostile work environment” after her conversion, according to a judge’s order issued Friday.

Susann Bashir, a 41-year-old married mother, sued AT&T unit Southwestern Bell for what she said was a pattern of offensive and discriminatory conduct by her supervisors that began when she converted to Islam in 2005, six years after she started working for the company as a network technician.

After Bashir started wearing a religious head scarf known as a hijab, and attending Friday mosque services, her managers and co-workers called her names including “terrorist,” and told her she was going to hell, said her attorney Amy Coopman.

A manager repeatedly told her to remove her hijab, insulted her for wearing it, and once physically grabbed Bashir and tried to rip the hijab off her head, according to the suit.

   »»» Reuters

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With the collapse of the Dutch centre-right government, the Netherlands may now drop some of its most eye-popping proposals aimed at Muslims and other immigrants and could soften its strong anti-immigration rhetoric.

A ban on Muslim face veils, such as the Arabic-style niqabs that leave the eyes uncovered and Afghan-style burqas that cover the face with a cloth grid, is less likely to go ahead after the government collapsed at the weekend.

The minority Liberal-Christian Democrat coalition’s alliance with Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) fell apart when they could not reach agreement on crucial budget cuts. An election has been called for September 12.   »»» Islamophobia Watch

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On Thursday in a Boston court, a 29-year-old Muslim student faces being sentenced to life behind bars in a case that civil liberties groups raises profound questions for freedom of speech in America.

Tarek Mehanna, a bearded Islamist with fundamentalist beliefs, was convicted last year for conspiring to provide support to terrorists by downloading jihadi videos from the internet and translating Islamist documents that he found online.

Prosecutors portrayed Mehanna as a dedicated radical who tried, and failed, to get terrorist training in Yemen in 2004 and then devoted himself to promoting and spreading the violent views of radical Islam in America. Defence lawyers had insisted that Mehanna’s trip to Yemen was to find a religious school and that his radicalism has been greatly overstated. They say he was a family man, angry at American foreign policy, who considered himself an outspoken Islamic intellectual and saw the west’s treatment of Muslims as wrong.

However, regardless of which version of Mehanna’s beliefs was the truth, civil liberties groups say the Mehanna case is a huge setback to America’s freedom of speech and that he was essentially prosecuted for “thought crimes” that should be constitutionally protected by the First Amendment. “It is thought crime. We should be very concerned about this,” said Steve Downs, a New York state lawyer who works with various groups examining legal cases brought against Muslims in the decade since September 11.

Some observers believe that radical Muslims get different treatment to other extremist groups. Mehanna was convicted of supporting terrorism despite there being no proven active link between him and any terrorist or terrorist organisation, and his activities appeared to consist of spreading easily available material he found on the internet. There is no evidence he actively plotted to take any terrorist action in the US, but he now faces a possible life sentence in jail.

There is also another twist in the case. Mehanna has said that he was only prosecuted after he refused to become an FBI informant. He said he was approached by FBI agents in 2008 as he was about to take up a job in Saudi Arabia and told he would be prosecuted for his activities unless he agreed to become an informant.

His lawyers pointed out: “There was no evidence that Mehanna’s actions actually threatened United States security interests. There was no evidence that Mehanna provided any tangible material support such as funds or weapons to terrorist activity or to al-Qaida,” they said in a statement.   »»» guardian.co.uk

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A secondary school student near Paris was accused of wearing provocative clothing and sent back home. The school thought her skirt was too long, and conveyed religious values.

“Other students come dressed up as hippies or goths and nobody says anything,” the girl, Khadija, told the French daily Le Parisien, “but I’m not even allowed to wear a gypsy skirt.”

“If I had come to school wearing a veil I would have understood their reaction,” says Khadija, who is a student at the Edmond-Rostand secondary school at Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône near Paris.

On Monday, Khadija was sent home from school for wearing a long skirt that according to the school conveyed religious values.

“It was a beautiful day, I wore a long skirt,” says Khadija, “the headmistress told me I was being provocative and sent me home.”

An official belonging to the local academic authority however denies Khadija was expelled from the school and says the skirt had only been “commented on”.

“She takes her veil off before entering the school, but it’s our role to make comments to pupils who wear provocative clothes. We do the same with a girl who comes to school with a bare belly,” said the unnamed official in an interview with Le Parisien.

In 2004, a ban on religious symbols in schools came into effect, meaning Muslims girls were no longer allowed to wear a veil in class.

Khadija however believes the school is not allowed to comment on her clothes and insists she will not shorten her skirts.   »»» The Local (France)

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