https://news.vice.com/article/secret...slaughterhouse
Secret Video Shows Horrific Animal Abuse in UK Halal Slaughterhouse
Covertly filmed video has emerged that shows huge animal rights abuses in a British halal slaughterhouse. The footage was released by Animal Aid and filmed in the Bowood Lamb facility in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, over three days in December.
The clips include video of sheep being hurled around, and kicked in the face and head, being thrown head-first into a solid structure, a worker jumping up and down on the neck of a conscious animal, and staff laughing as a sheep bleeds to death with the painted outline of green spectacles drawn around its eyes.
Since the secret footage was released on Tuesday morning, one man has lost his job and three others have had their operating licenses removed.
The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) has begun an investigation and confirmed that they taken action against four workers so far.
“The Food Standards Agency takes animal welfare at abattoirs very seriously which is why we immediately suspended the licenses of the slaughtermen involved,” the organization said in a statement. “There is no excuse for treating animals in the way shown on the video and we are therefore investigating the footage with a view to prosecution. We are also continuing to investigate all the circumstances around the incident to ensure proper safeguards are introduced to stop this happening in the future.”
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Halal in Arabic means “permissible” or “lawful.” Meat is only halal in accordance with Islamic law if it has been slaughtered using a particular method that involves an animal being killed with a cut to the jugular vein, while still alive and healthy, and for a blessing to be recited while doing so.
Many animals killed in this way are stunned before being bled to death, something which is also common practice in non-Halal practice.
A 2012 FSA report found that in total about 88 percent of animals slaughtered by halal methods were stunned before being killed. The Bowood slaughterhouse is a non-stun facility, something that Animal Aid say they were not aware of before they planted the cameras inside.
While the release of this footage has incited debate about how humane Halal slaughter is, Andrew Tyler, director of Animal Aid, told VICE News that this is not a Halal-focused problem.
This is the tenth slaughterhouse filmed in this way, he said, and in all but one they found evidence of huge cruelty and law-breaking. The latest is the first that deals with Halal meat, the others were all “traditional humane” plants. One of these, he said, was organic, another was approved by animal welfare charity RSPCA.
“So this is not about halal being different from other slaughter,” Tyler said. “This is about cruelty in slaughterhouses which we found over and over.”
Tyler said that the footage was captured after an investigator working for Animal Aid snuck into the slaughterhouse in the dark of night and planted cameras in order to capture what was going on. This is a common trespass, Tyler said, and Bowood was welcome to take a civil case against his organization if they wished.
However, he said it was vital to make the public aware of the treatment that animals are subjected to before they are killed. Some of the things his group has filmed have included animals being burned by cigarettes and being punched in the head, he said.
Animal rights activists hound China’s infamous Yulin dog meat festival. Read more here.
“What we’re talking about is animals suffering, and it’s a bloody pitiless business.” Tyler said that the coverage of their footage so far had virtually ignored the fact that this investigation was one of ten and that the cruelty is widespread, rather than limited to halal meat.
“The last thing we want is an anti-Muslim backlash,” he told VICE News. “There’s enough hate directed at Muslims, and ignorance, and we’re mindful of that.”
When asked whether — minus any abuses — it is crueler to slaughter an animal with the halal method instead of using a non-halal method, Tyler said that he wouldn’t be willing to make a judgment on that. However, he did say that he believes that regulators are culpable, along with those responsible for the action.
“When you pay someone to kill non-stop, it’s going to do something very odd to their head,” Tyler said. “It’s not a healthy pursuit, and (the slaughterhouse workers) end up being contemptuous and hateful towards these animals.”
Tyler said that Animal Aid is campaigning for compulsory CCTV in slaughterhouses, which they hope will help with monitoring and halting any abuses. “Not every minute, every working day” needs to be watched, he said, but the footage should be readily available and used to deter workers from committing acts of cruelty.
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Timothy Pachirat is a political science professor who spent six months undercover in a slaughterhouse in Omaha in the US. He worked in the chutes as a cattle driver, in the cooler as a liver hanger, and on the kill floor as a food-safety quality-control worker
He told VICE News that — after viewing this footage — his starting point would be condemnation of the actions seen on screen, but added: “This kind of release of footage always causes a kind of momentary shock among the people who are viewing it but it generally does not cause people to question the larger system of violence against animals more generally.”
Pachirat said that by scapegoating a particular slaughterhouse or a particular religion, society is absolving itself of complicity, when “the real tragedy is the fact that we delegate this kind of labor to a small group of people who are kept out of sight, and so we respond with shock and horror when very routine footage is released from activist groups but the fact is it’s not just an indictment of that particular slaughterhouse, it’s an indictment of the whole system.
“If you look at the working conditions of slaughterhouse workers it is absolutely predictable that they will — in some proportion — take out their frustration on creatures that have even less power than they do, but these workers are not in any way well-treated by society as a whole.”
He said that — from his experience — slaughterhouse workers are often paid low wages, and sometimes those who turn to this kind of work are undocumented immigrants.
“We set that up structurally, to give the most disempowered workers the dirtiest and most morally questionable jobs and then it’s a little bit hypocritical to act with shock and horror when predictable outcomes occur.”
Dr. Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Educational Center of Oxford, told VICE News that it is important to use the most humane method to kill animals.
“Halal slaughter is not incompatible with humane killing,” he said. “We need to embrace modern methods while at the same time observing Islamic rule of letting the blood drain from the animal.”
Hargey also noted that this footage might encourage a backlash towards Muslims and added that this is a wider problem than an Islamic one. “Either we as a society should curb all meat eating to ensure that animals are not suffering, but most people in this society — in the UK — they eat meat,” Hargey said.
“At some point killing is involved. At that point we should make killing as humane as possible and there’s nothing in the Quran or in Islamic law that says that animals should not be killed humanely.”
The use of Halal meat is common across the UK. British food chain Pizza Express uses only halal chicken, as do some KFC stores, and 66 of Britain’s 330 Nando’s restaurants.
Follow Sally Hayden on Twitter: @sallyhayd
Terror attacks in Kuwait, France and Tunisia echo Isis methods
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...o-isis-methods
The targets - Shia Muslims, French workers and western tourists in Tunisia - as well as the alleged culprits all share similarities with past attacks
Three different attacks, one overall suspect. The wave of killing on Friday will undoubtedly be attributed to Islamic State, which has already reportedly claimed responsibility for one amongst them, with strong indications of a role in the others.
Each attack hit a different target in a different way, and underlines the varied nature of a constantly evolving threat.
One involved Muslims killing Muslims in the Middle East itself: a bomb in a Shia mosque in Kuwait, a conservative Gulf state with a Sunni Muslim majority. This is part of the horrendous sectarian violence which has increasingly convulsed the region over the last five years and shows no sign of abating.
Outright war against Shias – seen as apostates by Islamic State – is a core aim of the terrorist organisation which goes back to its origins in Iraq a decade or more ago. This is a reminder that the vast proportion of casualties of terrorism are Muslims killed by co-religionists.
The second targeted western tourists in Tunisia. Hotels and holidaymakers have been a frequent target in recent years. Western tourists are both an obvious and vulnerable presence in the Islamic world. An attack on a hotel will attract global attention, mark a group’s influence and badly damage the local tourist industry.
Historically such attacks have undermined local support but it seems unlikely Friday’s attackers would have been bothered by this. The prime suspects for the Sousse attack are militants belonging to fragmented local groups, possibly based in neighbouring Libya and loyal to Isis.
Third was the attack on a US-owned gas cylinder plant in south-east France. The culprit in this strike appears to have worked for the victim’s company, but the French have nevertheless launched a terror investigation. He also appears to fit a profile that has become well established in recent years: a French male aged between 22 and 35 who was either born overseas before coming to France or whose parents migrated from Algeria or Morocco.
Some of these attackers have had links to overseas groups; while others have been closer to the classic idea of “lone wolves”. But all have been steeped in a broader environment of violent activism, extreme conservatism, homophobia and anti-semitism for many years before they acted.
They are “lone actors” only in terms of the actual organisation and execution of a terrorist attack; their world view is shared by a significant number of people.
An increasing number have either been inspired by, or actually fought for, Islamic State. When propagandists of the group tell individuals their duty is to take up arms in European countries – especially against the “filthy French” – they know already how receptive some will be to their call to arms.
The three strikes came almost exactly on the first anniversary of Islamic State’s declaration of its caliphate, and it is possible they were coordinated. If so, it would indicate a new level of strategic thinking and capability for Isis. If not, they nevertheless send a potent message: terrorists hope to to give the impression that they can strike at will, everywhere, anywhere.
This is clearly not the case: the attack in Europe involved one man; the one in Tunis, a gunman or two. We are still far from the mass casualty attacks of 10 or 12 years ago in Europe. We are also far from the doomsday scenario of highly trained Isis militants making their way to the UK, US or wherever to execute major operations.
But the sense of ubiquitous menace inevitably induced by Friday’s killings will be difficult to dispel.
Malaysian Fashion police creating confusion
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...ting-confusion
Anith and Vanessa before their visit to the National Archives on June 10
KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — Recent incidents of security guards taking on the role of fashion police has created a furore among the public.
Two Malay Mail reporters share their run-in with the self-appointed fashion police when they went to the National Archives in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim to gather information for stories they were working on in two separate incidents.
All they wanted was information — instead they were asked to don a sarung songket first.
In the first visit on May 27, Anith Adilah went to get information for a special report. Prior to the visit, she contacted the department and was told to register as a researcher.
Since it was her first visit, the guard guided her to the car park and she made her way to the lobby where she was greeted coldly by a woman at the counter.
“I noticed she was sizing me up as she directed me to the research area upstairs,” she said.
Anith, wearing a knee-length dress and high-cut boots, went upstairs and was greeted by two other women who said she was not properly attired.
“They said they would lend me a sarung and handed me an expensive looking piece of clothing.
“I was taken aback but as I was a first timer there, I thought it was normal,” she said.
Since Anith did not know how to wear a sarung, the woman helped her put it on.
“Just when I thought I was ready to go in, they handed me a shawl and said it was to cover the top.”
After the whole dress-up session, she was allowed to conduct her research.
On Anith’s second visit on June 10, two weeks after the first encounter with the fashion police, she was accompanied by colleague Vanessa Ee-Lyn Gomes.
Anith registered at the guardhouse for both. While walking in, they felt they were being watched.
‘’Perhaps, it was the way we were dressed — I was in a grey dress and a white and red cardigan, while Anith was in a black dress with knee-high socks,” Vanessa said.
Walking into the research area, the receptionist asked them in Bahasa Malaysia, “How did you get in here with that dress? How come the guard at the main gate didn’t stop you? You’re not allowed to enter the building because your dress length is above your knees.”
A second receptionist suggested the two wear kain songket before entering the research area.
She then gave them two songkets to wear.
“When we asked why, she replied it was normal in government buildings and that the dress code was displayed in the guardhouse,” Vanessa said.
Anith, familiar with the earlier sarung episode, said: “I expected to be given another songket and shawl but they only requested me to cover my legs. I asked why I was made to wear a shawl on my previous visit.”
“The dress you wore must have been low-cut, so the shawl was to drape around your shoulders,” Anith was told. The girls asked her to take a picture of them.
Before snapping the photo, she said, “Don’t put this in the newspaper okay? If you want to post it on Instagram, it is okay but not for the paper.”
She then proceeded to direct them where to stand to get the best photos.
- See more at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma....nDKBxjSt.dpuf
Dress codes a form of discrimination and abuse of power — Sisters in Islam -
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/wh...sters-in-islam
JUNE 25 — Sisters in Islam (SIS) expresses growing concern at the recent events regarding unwarranted dress code enforcement. After the incident at the Road and Transport Department (JPJ), we are repulsed to see the repetition of discrimination in other public buildings. SIS is extremely concerned that this growing policing of women’s attire by government officials could make the state of Malaysia even more conservative than what it already is.
The various incidents of dress code enforcements on women is a source of concern as everyday government officials are now taking matters into their own hands and arbitrarily enforcing regulations and even denying service to some women. This type of selective enforcement is completely discriminatory and unnecessary. Especially after Sungai Buloh Hospital Director, Dr Khalid Ibrahim, said the incident was unwarranted as neither the Health Ministry nor the hospital management has any policy to discriminate based on attire. Moreover, Health director-general, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, also stated that the dress sign is only “advisory”.
Whose standard of “decent dressing” is being enforced on all Malaysians? First, the incident at the Road Transport Department, Sungai Buloh Hospital, Selangor State Secretariat, and now the Islamic Religious Department in Pahang (Jaip) has issued a warning that Muslim women must dress decently in public to respect the holy month of Ramadan or face a year of jail time or a fine of up to RM2,000. Religious conservatism in Malaysia is crossing the line as now Malaysians face restrictions on their freedom of movement because of dress codes.
Furthermore, the Qur’an indicates that modesty is founded on the God-consciousness of an individual and others cannot impose that God-consciousness by enforcing the covering or removal of covering. Al-Baqarah, 2:256 states, “Let there be no compulsion in religion”. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, an Islamic scholar, has eloquently stated that religion depends upon faith and will, therefore these would be meaningless if induced by force.
SIS is concerned that the growing conservatism that is slowly taking over will only lead to more discrimination of Malaysian citizens. We should learn from the tragedy that occurred in Mecca in 2002, when 15 school girls were murdered because religious police did not allow them to leave a burning building simply because they were not wearing headscarves.
SIS firmly believes that the dress codes in question are based on an arbitrary interpretation of “decent dress”. It is evident that this new obsession with women’s bodies is not meant to encourage modesty. Instead, the concept of dress codes is clearly being used as a form of control by conservative individuals to deny services to Malaysian women. SIS calls on the government and all public institutions to reeducate their personnel in order to prevent cases in question being repeated. — Sisters in Islam
- See more at:
Muslims should only take part in archery, shooting, horse riding and
swimming
to prepare for jihad, says local hardline Islamists
.
I just want to point out that Malaysian Jihadists are encouraging their believers to learn swimming to prepare for Jihad… I wonder why?
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/ma...g-and-swimming
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 ― The local chapter of hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) scoffed at the country’s obsession with sports today, claiming Putrajaya is wasting its coffers on capitalist ventures that do nothing to uplift the Muslim community.
According to HTM, Muslims do not need to participate in organised sports, but should focus instead on activities such as archery, shooting, horse riding and swimming in order to get Muslims prepared to fight in a jihad, or the holy war.
“If scrutinised, we will realise the reality that the national sports agenda, no matter how grand it is, will never lead to the rise, what more the nobility, of Muslims,” the group said in its weekly newsletter distributed in mosques nationwide during Friday prayers.
“The reality is, this sports agenda will continue to distract the focus of Muslims from the main problems currently afflicting the community.”
The group gave the example of the recent SEA Games, which it accused Putrajaya of wasting millions of ringgit for Malaysia’s participation although the same money could have been used to help fellow Muslims like the Rohingyas.
“Winning a medal is more valuable to the government than saving the lives of their own religious kin!
“The demands of sports have become an agenda more important than religious obligations!” claimed the group, which wishes to establish an Islamic caliphate in Malaysia.
Calling sports the product of Western capitalists, HTM said such sporting events are where vice activities are encouraged, where men and women go to mingle, expose their intimate parts, and participate in corruption, gambling, drug abuse and brawls.
“Sports has really influenced Muslims of all ages and background, until they are not aware that sports have been made a way for their enemies to poison their thoughts and stopping them from their obligations as Muslims,” it said.
“The influence of sports, added with the hedonist lifestyle, has succeeded in luring Muslims away from their business to uphold the religion of Allah, and subsequently causing them to fall into the trap of their enemies who wish to see the community crumble.”
On Wednesday, HTM applauded the person who started the snowball of criticism against champion gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi for wearing a leotard that showed off her “vagina shape” during the SEA Games, adding that such “haram” sports would be barred under a caliphate.
Several Facebook users had earlier this month slammed the 21-year-old Farah Ann on Buletin TV3’s Facebook page after it uploaded a photograph of her in the gymnastics outfit, along with a caption that announced her winning gold in floor exercise in artistic gymnastics.
The woman athlete has since received an outpouring of support, however, from Malaysians who pointed out that the athlete should be celebrated for her performance at the games, which not only saw her take home gold, but three bronze medals and a silver in other individual events.
- See more at:
http://www.nairaland.com/2409952/cov...s-burning-isis
Coverless Lebanese Girls Burning #ISIS Flags
Absolutely
LOVE
these women for standing up to those religious pigs…. HOORAH!
http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015...lim-community/
Minister warns of “absolutists” in Malay-Muslim community
In his latest remarks urging the Muslim community in Singapore to be alert to radicals within its fold, the Second Minister for Home Affairs, Masagos Zulkifli, warned of the growing presence of and threats posed by “absolutists” in the community.
The minister was speaking to the media in a special interview which included questions on how the government was dealing with extremist ideologies online.
Mr Masagos advised that Muslims should not easily “succumb” to the views and opinions of “absolutists”.
“They may look attractive, they may look correct,” he said, “but do not be gullible.”
Mr Masagos warned that these “absolutists” interpret the teachings of Islam in a rigid way, and that those who disagreed with their views were seen as “un-Islamic”, for example.
The emergence of these “absolutists” could be a result of religious teachers coming here from “all over” the world.
“The variations of Islam they embrace are ‘very cultural’, and some of the conflicts experienced in other countries are brought to Singapore”, Channel Newsasia reported the minister as having said.
“The differences among the Muslims are something the Muslims must address themselves,” Mr Masagos said. “We have to look at what is important for the community, what principles we should hold as an exemplary Muslim minority community that others can look up to.
“Therefore we must know what principles must rule us. Is tolerance important? Is acceptance of a plural society important? Is participating in a modern economy important? If these are all important to us, then we must set the norms for ourselves and therefore those who do not, we must try to bring them back to these norms.”
On what could then be done to address the presence of such thinking of ideology within the community, Mr Masagos said, “When we hear something that is really out of the norm, be alert to it. We have to accept them for their freedom to express their religious variations, too.”
But the fight against extremist beliefs, such as those espoused by the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS), is not limited to Singapore alone, especially online.
“It’s important for the Muslim community, not just in Singapore, in fact the whole world, to really think about how to present Islam in an attractive way to counter the attractiveness of the information that is put up by the proponents of ISIS doctrine,” he said.
“However, there is also the need to also counter the doctrine that is put forth by ISIS and also in an attractive way. There are some sites that do this but not enough and our youths have to be made aware that there are alternative views, counter-views to what ISIS is proposing.”
Mr Masagos, however, said that at the end of the day, “we cannot run away from the fact that parents need to be responsible to watch out for their children.”
Mr Masagos has been raising concerns about the emergence and presence of radical Islamic teachings in recent months.
In January, in an interview with the Straits Times, he explained how Singapore dealt with those who were influenced by such ideologies.
“It is crucial to build up community resilience in peacetime so that, should a terrorist attack occur in Singapore, it does not adversely impact on our communal relations, and suspicions and mistrust between the different communities do not arise,” he said then.
“We have laid the foundations for good social relations with the establishment of the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles and the Community Engagement Programme in the wake of the JI arrests in 2001/2002, and the continuing effort by our communities to strengthen community bonds. The real test will come in the event of a crisis.”
And in March, Mr Masagos again cautioned the community to be aware of the threat of ISIS and to take preventive measures, especially for parents to be aware of what their children are involved in.
“We have to play a preventive role – the society, the Government and especially parents – to watch out for tell-tale signs in our children, family, and friends…(and) we want them to report early to the authorities.
“The Government’s role is to ensure that our borders are secure, there is racial harmony and that we do not become a society that hates each other… But everyone has a part. We would like the community to be involved, be our eyes, our ears.”
This Ramadan, a reminder of Islamisation
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/op...f-islamisation
To paraphrase a friend, Islamisation is no longer creeping in this country. Instead, it is marching down the streets banging the drums, and at no time is it as obvious as Ramadan.
There is just something about the combo of a blessed holy month with millions of hangry adherents that brings out the self-righteous and judgmental ones.
It is undeniable that there is a shift of public sentiment this year, with more and more Muslims publicly saying that fasting is their burden of faith alone, and non-Muslims should not be subjected to the same restrictions in public.
But perhaps we are not there yet.
It was disheartening to hear reports of a senior teacher in Kedah who told non-Muslim primary school students to drink water in the school toilets, and if they do not have water, “they can drink from the tap or their own urine.”
Particularly disappointing was the response by Deputy Education Minister Mary Yap that non-Muslims should consume food and drink discreetly and outside the view of fasting Muslims.
Even more disappointing was her fellow Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan, who rebuked the teacher, but only for making the “urine joke.” The bigger problem was left untouched: that non-Muslims were urged to drink in the toilet instead.
Surely some Muslims would feel that they are entitled to “respect” during Ramadan. But that is just a by-product of the Islamisation of this country.
Elsewhere, especially in countries where Muslims are the minority, nobody would even care about them fasting, what more humouring their feelings of entitlement.
There seems to be a wave of awareness among non-Muslims that they should no longer be subjected to exclusive moral values, as illustrated by the many complaints in the past week of Malaysians forced to cover up when seeking service in government outlets.
This scene at the Ramadan bazaar at Kampung Baru is played out at the various bazaars all over the country. — Picture by Yusof Mat IsaThis scene at the Ramadan bazaar at Kampung Baru is played out at the various bazaars all over the country. — Picture by Yusof Mat IsaThe dress code “rebellion” was a perfect example of the clash of two different values in the society.
On one side is the set of more sensible values, one that is not even liberal. It is only common sense to expect government services to be made available to the public, without restricting it with dress codes that border on unnecessary.
Determining what values lies on the other side is more complex.
It surely cannot be conservative values? After all, we have had conservatives of all colours — Muslims or not — since time immemorial, and we have not experienced anybody being denied their rights.
It is perhaps inconclusive to blame Islamisation entirely for this obsession to heavily regulate the public’s behaviour, but again, it must share at least part of the blame.
We can expect some Muslims to cry so-called Islamophobia, that they are being unfairly targeted by such an allegation. So it is perhaps prudent to specify how Islamisation has less to do with Islam, but rather authoritarianism.
To be concerned with Islamisation does not necessarily mean feeling negatively against Islam.
Islam as a religion is fairly neutral. I think many can agree that they have no problems with Muslims.
But Islamisation is a process of political domination, by enforcing Islamic rules and codes on others who do not subscribe to the same belief system.
It is taking Islam’s message of being the blessing to the world with too much zealousness. It is when Muslims decide to take their mission as “caliphs of the world” a little too seriously, and can only rest when others submit to their faith and moral values.
Islamisation is when Muslims practise their “amal ma’ruf, nahi munkar” doctrine — “to do good and prevent wrongdoings”…. but only to mean that everyone must follow and leave out things strictly according to Islam, instead of what is universally considered “good” and “bad.”
Islamisation happens because some Muslims demand for religious bodies to be given the authority to govern their lives, because they have never been taught to do otherwise.
It happens when Muslims refuse to take responsibility for their own lives, outsourcing them instead to clerics and scholars.
Islamisation is a skewed interpretation that Islam is a way of life with no separation of state and religion. It is when the State is emboldened to codify every facet of a Muslim’s life: his worship, his attire, his food, his thoughts.
And among its abhorrent consequence, is the belief that Muslims have the right to judge and condemn others with impunity. And the worse victims as usual tend to be women — whose status is deemed lesser by the patriarchal nature of the ideology.
That is when champion gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi gets chastised by self-righteous men who could only see the grooves on her crotch instead of her worth as an individual, just days before going into Ramadan.
That is when the anonymous woman who took a selfie at a Ramadan bazaar with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and TV host Edleen Ismail was “cautioned” online for being “too sexy” that perverts cannot contain themselves during the holy month.
That is when Pahang Islamic enforcers used Ramadan as an excuse to decide that Muslim women — only women — who dress “indecently” during the month can be fined with a one year jail sentence or RM2,000 fine starting this year, as if it is a requirement for fasting.
Things will only get worse as the two sets of values continue their clashes.
And some Muslims would complain of persecution, when it is not their rights which are in contest, but their previously unabated harassment against others.
Those who have been comfortable with Islamisation for too long will be kicking and screaming, but we shall drag them out anyway.
- See more at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-...terror-attacks
Malaysia jails father and son for planning terror attacks
A father and his son were given long prison terms yesterday for planning attacks aimed at installing an Islamic regime in Malaysia.
Murad Halimmuddin, 49, and Abu Daud, 25, pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Murad was given 18 years’ jail and his son 12 years.
Murad is believed to be the leader of a group called “Fisabilillah”.
Both men “admitted in court that they planned to kidnap politicians, raid army camps for weapons and overthrow the government”, said prosecutor Shukor Abu Bakar.
Four others, including two airforce personnel and an Indonesian, pleaded not guilty to similar charges and will appear in court again on Aug 28.
All were part of a group of 17 men nabbed in April when the authorities said they had foiled terror attacks in Kuala Lumpur and the administrative capital in Putrajaya.
“We are lucky we have good intelligence. If not, bombs would have exploded in Kuala Lumpur,” Datuk Ayub Khan, Special Branch counter-terrorism principal assistant director, told The Straits Times.
Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up security, fearing calls by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) for “calamity” during Ramadan could lead to further bloodshed after last week’s killings in France, Kuwait and Tunisia.
“We are very aware of ISIS’ (Ramadan) message. We have tightened security as Ramadan is when ISIS followers believe it’s the best time to die as a martyr, as it is a holy month,” said Indonesian national police spokesman, Inspector-General Anton Charliyan.
Last week, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani told followers to turn Ramadan into a time of “calamity for the infidels… Shi’ites and apostate Muslims”.
“We have tightened security since April, not just since Ramadan,” said Datuk Ayub. “We have given clear instructions to all states in the country to increase security.”
Tunisia saw the most bloodshed last week when a lone gunman shot and killed 39 people, most of them foreign tourists, at a beach resort.
Insp-Gen Anton said Bali, which was bombed twice, in 2002 and 2005, has been deemed a “high-risk area”. “Terror attacks are nothing new to us. We are closely monitoring various groups,” he said.
ISIS has set up a unit called Katibah Nusantara (Malay Archipelago Combat Unit), noted counter-terrorism analyst Jasminder Singh.
“Symbolically, it represents the Muslims of South-east Asia. Substantively, the Malaysians and Indonesia have been active supporters of ISIS through manpower, social media,” says the research analyst with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Mid...r-sorcery.ashx
ISIS beheads two Syria women for ‘sorcery’
BEIRUT: ISIS militants have beheaded two women in eastern Syria accused of “witchcraft and sorcery,” activists said Tuesday, in the Islamist group’s first decapitations of female civilians.
ISIS has become infamous for gruesome executions and mass killings, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the two women were the first female civilians to be beheaded by the group.
“ISIS executed two women by beheading them in Deir al-Zor province, and this is the first time the Observatory has documented women being killed by the group in this manner,” Observatory chief Rami Abdel-Rahman said.
The Britain-based activist group said the executions took place on Monday and Sunday and involved two couples. In both cases, the women were executed with their husbands, with each pair accused of “witchcraft and sorcery.”
ISIS has captured around 50 percent of Syria’s territory since it emerged in the country in 2013.
According to the Observatory, ISIS has previously decapitated the corpses of Kurdish female fighters during battles.
The group is also reported to have stoned civilian women to death on allegations of adultery.
Abdel-Rahman said the two female civilians and their husbands, killed in the city of Mayadin, appear to have been accused after the group found them in possession of charms.
The use of amulets, charms and other folk religious practices is common in parts of Syria, particularly in the countryside.
The charms are often written on a piece of paper sewn into fabric, and are intended to protect the recipient against bad luck or jealousy, or solve and prevent other problems.
But the practice is considered heretical and a form of “witchcraft” by ISIS, which imposes its harsh interpretation of Islam on the areas under its control.
The group is known for its brutality, often filming acts including beheading and throwing people from buildings.
It punishes people for “crimes” including homosexuality, adultery, smoking cigarettes and spying.
The Observatory said earlier this week that ISIS has executed more than 3,000 people in Syria in the year since it declared its “caliphate” in Syria and Iraq.
Nearly 1,800 of them were civilians, including 74 children.
It has executed more than 100 of its own members, mostly on allegations of spying, and often as they were seeking to escape the group, according to the Observatory.
The Observatory also said Tuesday that ISIS has hung at least eight people from makeshift crosses in recent days as punishment for allegedly failing to fast during the month of Ramadan.
The eight were all strung up alive on crucifixes with placards attached to them accusing them of breaking the Ramadan fast “with no religious justification.”
Among the eight were two minors, the Observatory said, adding that while it had documented eight cases, there might be others that have not been reported.
The Observatory said the eight were hung from the crucifixes for a day and taken down afterward still alive.
