Saudi Mufti Fatwa- Celebrating Mohammed's Birthday Is "Heresy"

No more celebrating Mohammed's birthday, it's heresy according to Saudi Arabia's top Mufti.

In a surprise fatwa (religious edict), Saudi Arabia’s top Islamic scholar has urged Muslims to stop staging ceremonies to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), saying such celebrations amount to heresy.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al Shaikh, the Gulf kingdom’s Grand Mufti and head of the seven-man Islamic Scholars Authority, said Muslims had acquired the habit of organizing ceremonies on the eve of the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) over the past three centuries and that it had spread to most Arab and Islamic nations.

This habit is a heresy and superstition, which must stop,” the Mufti said in a sermon during Friday’s open air prayers in the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to the official Saudi press agency (SPA).

Then again, it makes sense, considering Islam forbids idol worship.

Video- Syrian UN Rep Talks About Rape of Women and Jordanian Cleric's Fatwa Encouraging It

The following video has two separate clips, the first is a speech by a Syrian envoy, Bashar al-Jaafri, at the United Nation  accusing the Islamist rebel forces in Syria of killing, raping, sexually assaulting and using these women and girls as sex slaves because of fatwas issued by Gulf state clerics. He also condemns the U.N. for standing by and doing nothing.

The second clip is of Jordanian Salafi cleric Yasir al-Ajlouni (who lived in Syria for 17 years) explaining one of those "sexual jihad" or "intercourse marriage" fatwas encouraging the Free Syrian Army rebels and Jihadist co-fighters to capture and enslave non-Sunni women in what he terms "Right Hand Property." He would like us to think that the goal of the "Right Hand Property" is to protect the honor of the woman who is forced into sexual slavery.  No matter how they sugarcoat it, it's still Islam-sanctioned rape.

He goes on to ask: "How do we deal with the woman that was made captive by the "Free Syrian Army" or by the Mujahideen?"  Islam has the answer with the "Right Hand Property" ruling that allows for sexual slavery during wars with the enemies of Islam. And the Syrian Alawites are considered just that- enemies.

How civilized. Capture and rape the women of your enemy, but their honor will remain intact because Islam says it's permitted through "Right Hand Property."

Fatwa Against Female Farting In Indonesia- from The Wadiyan satire site

And for a little humor- from the satire site The Wadiyan - we have the latest Indonesian fatwa banning female flatulence. Not that this would be in any way far-fetched.

An Islamic city council in the Indonesian province of Aceh, which follows Sharia, has banned female citizens from passing gas.

Sayyid Yahia, mayor of the city, told media that a ban was needed, as farting does not go well with the Islamic values of modesty. “Muslim women are not allowed to fart with sound, it’s against Islamic teachings,” he said. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Feminists Association told local media they will attempt to block the smelly law as they deem it discriminatory.

Talking to The Wadiyan, mayor Sayyid Yahia said the law aims to save people’s morals and behaviors. “When you see woman fart loud, she appears like a man. But if she sit sideways and pass it quietly, she looks like a woman,” Sayyid said.

Although the proposed law does not ban “quiet fart,” passing gas with sound is actually not uncommon in Southeast Asia, particularly for women consuming potatoes and peas. Obviously, women maintain that they feel healthier, farting loud. Fathima Khan, a medical doctor at the Al Banni Islamic Hospital in Aceh’s capital is critical of the proposed law: “There is no need to question this practice, let alone regulate it, because people do it for their health and safety,” she said.

The mayor declined to give The Wadiyan details of what the punishment would be for violators. While another member at the City council, who wished not to be named, said if convicted by the sharia court, the offender could receive 20 lashes for small farts and up to 3 months prison time for larger ones.

On another note, the local Islamic scholars were mostly divided over the law. Well-known Muslim activists like Bshar Abdulla voiced his objection, “How to pass gas is not regulated in Sharia. There is no mention of it in the Koran,” he said on his Twitter account. However, “the Islamic tradition and the values of modesty does not support women farting loud,” said Mehmood Hussain, a scholar and stenchy supporter of the law.

Under the new regulation, the mayor says that only women in the public space are going to be monitored. “It will be the responsibility of the husband to make sure that his wife upholds Islamic values at home”. He also argued that there is no scientific evidence supporting health benefits of passing gas, in Koran.

The City council will be evaluating the regulation in a week, after which it could turn into a by-law.

But with the slew of bizarre fatwas that have been issued in the past, this one - if true - wouldn't have been so hard to believe. After all, women have been banned from eating bananas- or any other phallic shaped fruit or veggie, and Indonesia has come up with some of the most notable ones.. Thankfully, it's just something the folks at The Wadiyan made up.

Saudi Cleric Fatwa- Women Can Unveil, Travel Alone and Eat With Men

Saudi Cleric Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi has always been a progressive voice of reason in the Muslim world.  In 2010, after some comments he made regarding antiquated, outdated Saudi Islamic thought, al-Ghamdi was fired and then, thankfully, rehired. A senior officer, at the time, in the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) or better known as the Saudi religious police, he had caused a major commotion in the ultra religious Kingdom when he suggested that nowhere in Islamic scriptures does it mention that the mingling of sexes was forbidden. Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive countries in the world, has overly strict gender segregation laws which apparently have no basis in Islam. Not only did al-Ghamdi have the guts to challenge the religious status quo with regards to segregation of the sexes, but he then had the audacity to state that Muslims don't need to pray in packs at a Mosque, which is presumably the reason why he was sacked, before he was reinstated as general manager for the Mecca branch of the religious police.

Ghamdi was reportedly dressed down three days ago by the country's highest cleric for saying that Muslims are not necessarily required to pray inside a mosque with a group of other Muslims in daily prayers.

Apparently, one of the duties of the PVPV is to make sure that shops and offices close for the daily prayers so that men can pray together. Finding the closing of shops to be inconvenient, al-Mahdi made his statement that it was unnecessary for men to pray as a group.  But  these comments angered many.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh told Ghamdi he was getting involved in matters of Islamic sharia law that were outside his authority, the Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Friday.

Al-Sheikh also said in his sermon during Friday prayers that anyone suggesting that congregation prayer is not necessary is "leading people to hell," according to reports.

Although Saudi officials claimed his initial firing had nothing to do with his liberal statements, I think we all know it was. However, why they re-hired him remains a mystery, although he is no longer involved with the PVPV.

Then early last year he piped in about how there was nothing wrong with listening to music.

This year al-Ghamdi is back issuing fatwas that might just make the ultra conservative Muslim world explode. He has said that women can uncover their arms and faces, travel alone, and eat with men.

In statements posted on Twitter, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Qassim al-Ghamdi, the former head of Mecca's Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice committee, said: “It is permissible for people to look at what is not forbidden in women like their faces and their arms.”

In other statements, the cleric said women can travel without a male guardian provided that there is safety.

Al-Ghamdi backed his statements with references to sayings by prominent Muslim scholars in history.

This is pretty major, if anyone bothers to pay attention.

Maybe with people like al-Ghamdi Saudi Arabia will eventually reach the 19th century, since I think it will take at least another century before the Saudis reach the 21st.

Hate Preacher Anjem Choudary To Issue Fatwa Against Girl Shot By Taliban

What is Anjem Choudary still doing in England?  Yes, I know he was born there, but why is he allowed to freely roam the streets of London preaching hate and promulgating Shariah for England?  His Islam4UK website was eventually banned (although he does have his own website now), and there have been various Shariah4 sites that popped up thereafter, including Shariah4Holland.com, Shariah4Pakistan.com, Shariah4Belgium.com and Shariah4America.com, though it seems the only two still alive and running are the Pakistan and Holland ones.

Now Choudary and Shariah4Pakistan have targeted  Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani education activist teen who was shot in the head by the Taliban who then vowed to finish the job if she survived. Which she has.  Choudary is about to issue a fatwa against Malala for apostasy. It's scheduled to be announced at the Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, at an event on November 30. As we all know, the sentence for apostasy in Islam is death. Though Choudary claims he is not calling for her death, he might as well have, since the Taliban have already promised as much.

He told The Daily Star: "If someone apostatises like this woman did by allying with the Americans and saying her favourite person is (Barack) Obama and that she does not want the Sharia or hijab and wants to live under a secular state, she has put herself in a very precarious situation.

“It is no surprise what happened to her in Pakistan. Malala is mature Islamically, she is not immature, she has reached that period we say is adulthood.”


Featuring a video address from al-Muhajiroun's co-founder Omar Bakri, it is titled: "Declaration of Fatwa on Malala Yousafzai."

Bakri told the paper: "The only solution is the implementation of the Sharia. She (Malala) should face justice in an Islamic court.

“We are going to renew the Fatwa against the man-made law and systems in Pakistan – this is why women like this young girl are rejecting Islam. The system is not being implemented properly.”

Of course, Choudary is saying that it wasn't simply her fight for education rights for girls that caused her to be a Taliban target, it was the fact that she was a spy for the U.S. Yes, they actually believe that. According to Shariah4Pakistan:

It has also been reported that the Taliban had evidence of espionage by Malala and so targeted her as a tactical military operation,

“For this espionage, infidels gave her awards and rewards. And Islam orders killing of those who are spying for enemies,” the Taliban said in a statement.

“She used to propagate against mujahideen (holy warriors) to defame (the) Taliban. The Quran says that people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces would be killed.

“We targeted her because she would speak against the Taliban while sitting with shameless strangers and idealised the biggest enemy of Islam, Barack Obama.”

They also said,

“We did not attack her for raising voice for education. We targeted her for opposing mujahideen and their war,” said the Taliban.

So, it's totally cool to kill someone because they don't agree with your extremist violent ways. And, of course, she must be a spy since she loves Obama.  Idiots that they are, they fail to realize that Obama is one of the most Muslim-friendly presidents they could ever get.  Oh, and it's not just Malala they're condemning for apostasy, Choudary wants to make it perfectly clear that it's the whole darn Pakistani leadership. That's why they've created Shariah4Pakistan, because they want the glory days of Islamic repression under Shariah to return to the fatherland.

Recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, Malala has many trying to get her nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: HuffpoUK