Saudi Father Of Bride Kills Groom's Brother For Entering 'Women's Hall'

This is what happens when you mix gender segregation, ignorance, and religious fundamentalism: death.

Saudis are so intent on keeping the genders separated, even at weddings, that they apparently have two separate halls, one for males and one for females. In a tragic case, the brother of the groom made the mistake of trying to make his way into the women's hall (along with some other relatives), so when the father of the bride witnessed this, he didn't just tell them to step away:

“He pulled his gun and shot at them.

“The groom’s brother was killed while the killer’s son was injured in exchange of fire between the two sides,” Sabq daily said without making clear if the incident affected the couple’s marriage.

Source: Emirates 24/7

Only Gay Men Play Instruments and Sing, Claims Imam

Here's a good one. Not sure where this young Imam is from, though he looks somewhat familiar, but he explains that the only time music is allowed, per Islam, is during a wedding and EID celebrations. And only young girls (not professional singers) are allowed to play the daff (hand drum). Men are not allowed because the only kind of man that plays an instrument or sings is gay.

Iranians Still Hate Us Lots- Largest Protest Ever On Anniversary Of 1979 US Embassy Takeover

Today was the anniversary of the 1979 US Embassy takeover in Tehran (the highlight of the Iranian revolution) and as they have done every year since, Iranians took to the streets with anti-U.S. placards to show just how much they still hate the "Great Satan".  Protesting in front of the former U.S. Embassy, the largest crowd ever gathered at these annual US bashing demonstrations burned American and Israeli flags, carried effigies of Barack Obama and John Kerry, and shouted "Death To America."  All this in spite of the fact that current President Hassan Rohani is trying to reach out, sort of, to the U.S. and the West, with the blessing, sort of, of Supreme Leader Ali Khameini.

Some of the more moderate elements in Iran asked that the "Death To America" chants be dropped, but hard-liners refused,

...including commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), [who] have rejected those calls and said that the habitual refrain of "Death to America" will remain eternal.

Though Rohani did not attend the rallies taking place in other cities besides Tehran, Said Jalili was there.

Among the main speakers at the rally were former senior nuclear negotiator and defeated presidential candidate, hard-liner Said Jalili, who said the capture of the U.S. Embassy, called "the nest of spies" by some officials, showed that the revolution was on the right path.

Jalili defended the "Death to America" slogan as the slogan of the most "thoughtful and honest" Iranians and added the slogan was not directed against the American people but against its government officials.

He also said that Iranians monolithically support the clerical establishment, the government, and the team in charge of nuclear negotiations.

Video of the protests on Washington Times.
Photos and twitter comments on BuzzFeed.

Still so  many haters out there.

Anti-Snoring Billboard Of Soldier And Niqabi Muslim Wife Causes Stir

A company which makes products to help stop snoring has decided to embrace diversity in its ad campaigns. On the SnoreStop website, along with a middle-aged white couple, there's a gay couple, a lesbian couple, a bi-racial couple, and now it's added a Muslim couple to a billboard placed smack dab in the middle of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. But it's not just any Muslim couple, it's actually a real life United States soldier embracing his Muslim wife (although in a video on Huffpo it says she's his girlfriend). I don't think he's Muslim, at least not yet, but SnoreStop obviously wasn't satisfied in finding a Muslim couple with a hijab-clad wife, no, she had to be a niqabi, the second most drastic form of Islamic dress, and totally out of place in Western society.

Apparently reaction has been mixed, but not in the way you might think. Many applaud the diversity, some felt they were "misusing the image of servicemen", and still others believe it would be offensive to Muslims. For a change, the Council on American-Islamic Relations seems unfazed and actually rather pleased, for obvious reasons.

“I think that that is a worthy image which is designed to spark debate on the issues of races and religion and ethnicity,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the Council of American-Islamic Relations.

and:

Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic studies and professor at American University in Washington DC, said that because the billboard depicted the couple in “a very classic, matrimonial pose,” it was not intended to cause outrage.

Billboards like this are going to get responses,” Ahmed told Al Arabiya News.

One of these billboards will eventually be headed your way.

Tunisia Banned From 2014 Davis Cup After Boycott Of Israeli Player

Politics has no place in the arts or sports, but it happens all the time. Tunisia is finding out the hard way. As of now, Tunisian players have been banned from competing in the 2014 Davis Cup competition after the Tunisian Tennis Federation told its top player Malek Jaziri to not play Israel's Amir Weintraub during a tournament in Tashkent last month.

Although Jaziri was cleared by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the International Tennis Federation (ITF) was not so understanding, and rightfully so.

“The ITF Board of Directors found that the Tunisian Tennis Federation was in breach of the ITF Constitution by interfering with international sporting practice and ordering Tunisian player Malek Jaziri not to compete against Israeli player Amir Weintraub at the 2013 Tashkent Challenger in October."

“The Board was not satisfied with the case put forward by the Tunisian Tennis Federation and voted to suspend Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup competition.”

According to ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti:

“There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society. The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated by any of our members.”

Way to go ITF.

More on the story here.

Obama Argued Against Healthcare Mandate In 2008 In Debate With Clinton

In his own words- during a presidential debate in 2008 with Hillary Clinton in Ohio- then Senator Barack Obama argues against the healthcare mandate Clinton was pushing whereby individuals were to be fined for not purchasing insurance. This, as we know, is now part of Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Speaking of Clinton's mandate-which Obama claimed was the main difference between their healthcare plans:

"... she would force, in some fashion, individuals to purchase healthcare. If it was not affordable, she would still, presumably, force them to have it unless there is a hardship exemption as they have done in Massatusetts [sic]..."

Yes, he pronounced the "ch" in Massachusetts with a "t". And no, I'm not being petty, but the left skewered George W. Bush for mispronouncing nuclear, so fair is fair.



H/T BlackAndRight

Pakistani Cleric Rapes 4-Year-Old Girl In Madrassa

Not that pedophiles and rapists don't exist in other religions, but Muslim clerics have a tendency to hold themselves to a higher standard, which  makes their acts of sexual violence even more egregious. Take the head cleric at a Pakistani madrassa who allegedly raped a 4-year-old girl on her first day of school at the seminary, and then fled. He has since been arrested, but the little girl has been hospitalized in critical condition.

The girl’s father, a resident of Nawan Shehr in Mailsi, said in the FIR that he had dropped his daughter at the Shaheedanwala seminary in the neighbourhood.

He said more than 70 children from five nearby villages were enrolled at the seminary.

He said it was the girl’s first day and the chief cleric had asked him to drop her at his office. The father was told that he (cleric) would introduce her to other children.

He said when he went to pick her up at noon, he was told that his daughter was in the chief cleric’s office. The office was locked and the cleric missing. He said he broke into the room and found the child lying unconscious.

She was taken to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors treating her said that her condition was critical. Doctors later said she had undergone a surgery.

Dr Tahira Parveen at the DHQ hospital told The Express Tribune that the girl’s medico-legal examination confirmed rape.

Apparently two other clerics from the same seminary also went missing.

Locals have been protesting, calling for a boycott of all madrassas. They should shut them all down, considering they are also the breeding ground for terrorist and future suicide bombers.

Source: Pakistan Express Tribune

FSA Statue-Smashing Cleric Omar Gharba' s 2012 Interview- Lesson In Contradictions

Omar Gharba' is a Wahhabi cleric with the Free Syrian Army (FSA).  They're supposed to be moderates, and obviously some are- the secular ones who started off fighting for democracy at the beginning of the revolution, but many, like Gharba', are not.  In this 2012 interview Gharba'  talks about establishing an Islamic state. He's full of contradictions, including stating he does not support foreign fighters from a tactical standpoint, but from a Shariah standpoint- bring 'em on. This same man who in 2012 talks about Omar ib al-Khattab not destroying churches when he entered Jerusalem, is recently seen destroying a statute of the Virgin Mary in Idlib. The interviewer keeps questioning Gharba' about what the FSA will do if the majority of the Syrian people want a civil state (after claiming it is better to let people choose), and asks if they will use arms to establish an Islamic state. He never really answers her.