Archive for the ‘South East Asia’ Category

Muslim terrorism has killed thousands over the last few years, in a brutal and bloody Jihad being waged in the south of Thailand

Muslim insurgents disguised as paramilitary rangers attacked troops guarding a school in southern Thailand on Wednesday, killing four soldiers and wounding two others, police said. A 6-year-old boy was shot in the stomach during the assault.

Police Lt. Gen. Satanfah Wamasing said 15 assailants walked up to the school and began talking with soldiers assigned to guard teachers there. They opened fire at close range and fled with four of the soldiers’ M-16 automatic rifles.

The bloodshed in Narathiwat province’s Rue So district is the latest in a wave of violence in Thailand’s Muslim-dominated southernmost provinces since an Islamist insurgency flared in 2004. Read the rest of this entry »

.. and possibly some of the congregation too, by the sound of it. More Interfaith Dialogue™ from the religion that does it best:

At least one person has been killed and several injured by a suicide bombing at a church in Indonesia’s Java province.

A police spokesman told reporters that only the suspected bomber had died but that a number of other people were injured in the blast in Solo.

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country but is officially a secular state.

Radical Islamist groups have carried out a number of deadly attacks in the past few years.

Witnesses said the bomber struck as people were leaving the Bethel church after a Sunday service.

“What I can confirm now, the only person killed was the bomber. We’re still investigating if there are other people killed,” Lt Col Djihartono told the AFP news agency.

He said an anti-terror unit was on the scene collecting evidence.

Another police officer told the Antara news agency the identity of the bomber and the motive behind the attack were unknown.

The El Shinta radio station said casualties were taken to two hospitals.

[Source: BBC - we'll update as more is known]

No prizes for guessing what (and who) dominates life in the Malaysian port city of Tawau

Two teenage Muslim girls were arrested by state Islamic officials for hugging and kissing each other publicly in Tawau.

The girls aged 16 and 17 were detained along Jalan Pesisiran during an integrated operation by the Sabah Islamic Religious Affairs Department together with the Tawau Municipal Council on Tuesday.

The department’s officer Abdul Imam Basiron said the two girls faced charges under Section 83 of the Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1995 that carries a maximum fine of RM1,000 (S$408.6) or jail of up to six months or both upon conviction. Read the rest of this entry »

Mosque in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

NGOs with direct ties to terrorist organisations in the Middle East had been using “massive donations” to encourage radicalisation in Cham Muslim communities, though with limited success, a United States embassy cable from last year alleges.

A cable released by WikiLeaks this week raised concerns that “very real” efforts had been made to perpetuate a terrorist safe haven in Cambodia following a 2002 to 2003 visit by “Bali bombing mastermind” Hambali to a Cham Muslim school in the Kingdom. It named the World Assembly for Muslim Youth and the Revival for Islamic Heritage as suspected terrorist organisations active in Cambodia.

“This at-risk segment of the population is accepting help with essential services, educational aid and mosque construction from NGOs who have direct ties to tier 1 and tier 2 Terrorist Support Entities from the Middle East,” the cable, dated May 5, 2010, stated. Read the rest of this entry »

Next stop Britain? Members of Malaysia's 'Obedient Wives Club' open new branch in Singapore

A Singaporean daily yesterday reported that three of the Obedient Wives Club’s representatives in the country would soon open a branch there.

The newspaper reported that three Singaporeans – Dr Darlan Zaini, who holds a doctorate in literature, Hamidah Ari and her brother, Azman Ari – would be the collective face of the club in the Lion City.

Darlan told the daily that he felt that the Obedient Wives Club would enable husbands to feel more responsible to their families and be less likely to stray.

“Some people agree, while others don’t. More importantly, we believe that obedient wives can help prevent various detrimental social problems such as prostitution, divorce, gambling, domestic violence and others.”

The launch of the Malaysian branch of the Obedient Wives Club in Rawang on June 4 created a stir when its international vice-president, Dr Rohaya Mohamed, was quoted as saying women should treat their husbands better than a first-class prostitute in bed in order to combat social ills.

The Singapore daily also quoted former registrar of Muslim marriages Tarsuni Maulan, who said he doubted the group’s intentions.

“Did the OWC base its findings on research or hearsay? I’m just concerned that by making such statements (on how wives should treat their husbands), it would make men big-headed and give them a free rein to mistreat women,” he was quoted as saying.

Why the need for the Obedient Wives Club, then? Doesn’t Islam give them free rein to do that anyway?

[Source: AsiaOne]