India's "cash-for-fatwas" scandal broke out last weekend when a TV channel broadcast a sting operation that showed several Indian Muslim clerics allegedly taking, or demanding, bribes in return for issuing fatwas, or religious edicts. The bribes, some of which were as low as $60, were offered by undercover reporters wearing hidden cameras over a period of six weeks. In return for the cash, the clerics appear to hand out fatwas written in Urdu, the language used by many Muslims in Pakistan and India, on subjects requested by the reporters. Among the decrees issued by the fatwas: that Muslims are not allowed to use credit cards, double beds, or camera-equipped cell phones, and should not act in films, donate their organs, or teach their children English. One cleric issued a fatwa against watching TV; another issued a fatwa in support of watching TV.
This is an old article, but a good one, it points out the blatant hypocrisy of some religious Muslim clerics and how the innocent Muslim gets so duped. Last week, many Muslims in India, like their counterparts around the world, gathered on the streets to burn effigies of the Pope and shout slogans denouncing him for his remarks on Islam and violence. Even before that fully died out, however, a new controversy erupted — one that has turned Muslim ire against some of their own local clerics.
India's "cash-for-fatwas" scandal broke out last weekend when a TV channel broadcast a sting operation that showed several Indian Muslim clerics allegedly taking, or demanding, bribes in return for issuing fatwas, or religious edicts. The bribes, some of which were as low as $60, were offered by undercover reporters wearing hidden cameras over a period of six weeks. In return for the cash, the clerics appear to hand out fatwas written in Urdu, the language used by many Muslims in Pakistan and India, on subjects requested by the reporters. Among the decrees issued by the fatwas: that Muslims are not allowed to use credit cards, double beds, or camera-equipped cell phones, and should not act in films, donate their organs, or teach their children English. One cleric issued a fatwa against watching TV; another issued a fatwa in support of watching TV.
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SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Exactly 11,541 red chairs have been lined up in rows along Sarajevo's main street — one for every man, woman and child killed in the siege that ended up being the longest in modern history. Sarajevo on Friday marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian war. Exhibitions, concerts and performances are being held, but nothing can match the impact of hundreds of rows of red in the same square where it all started on April 6, 1992. Red chairs are displayed along a main street in Sarajevo as the city marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian war on Friday, April,6, 2012. City officials have lined up 11,541 red chairs arranged in 825 rows along the main street that now looks like a red river representing the 11,541 Sarajevans who were killed during the siege.(AP Photo/Amel Emric)
Fatma Neslişah Osmanoğlu. Hürriyet archival photo. The granddaughter of the last Ottoman ruler, Vahdettin, died this morning, private broadcaster NTV has reported on its website. Fatma Neslişah Osmanoğlu, 91, was the last member of the Ottoman ruling family born during the empire. She took on the title of "the eldest Ottoman” after family member Ertuğrul Osman Osmanoğlu passed away in 2009. Neslişah Osmanoğlu was the grandchild of the last sultan, Vahdettin, and the last caliph, Abdülmecit, and was also the wife of Prince Muhammed Abdülmumim, a former regent for the king of Egypt. |
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