12-10-2005, 12:28 PM
Hindu Human Rights
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12-11-2005, 10:05 AM
Hindus condemn Russian Archbishop's comments against Krishna
December 10, 2005 17:04 IST Several Hindu organisations worldwide have protested the reported comments of the Archbishop of Russian Orthodox Church against Lord Krishna and his opposition to the consturction of a temple in Moscow. Archbishop Nixon in a letter to Moscow's Mayor Yuri Luzhkov made denigrating comments against Lord Krishna and further requested him to ban construction of a proposed Hindu temple in Moscow, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on November 30. "Construction of the temple to Krishna offends our religious feelings and insults the 1000-year religious culture of Russia," Interfax quoted Nikon as saying. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is understood to have discussed the issue with President Vladimir Putin during their talks on December 6. The repoted comments have raised the hackles of Hindu outfits. "We cannot believe that in this age of respect and multi-cultural co-existence, a leader of the Russian church chooses to make statements that are intolerant and disrespectful to 1 billion Hindus in the world," Kishore Ruparelia of the Defend Russian Hindus Campaign said. "The motives for spreading such hatred are clear -- it is an attempt to discriminate and harass the Hindu community in Russia and stop them from building a temple," Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of Hindu Forum of Britain said. Vishwa Hindu Parishad, UK, president Girdhari Bhan said, "In most countries of the world, the Hindu diaspora is law-abiding, integrated and productive. Archbishop Nixon should have considered the peaceful history of Hinduism before making such atrocious statements." The Hindu Council of Australia and president of Hindu American Foundation also condemned the remarks.
12-11-2005, 12:55 PM
Thanks. But I already have most of the links. What I'm really looking for is links on the Genocide in West Pakistan in '70-71.
12-11-2005, 02:25 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-Mitra+Dec 11 2005, 12:55 PM-->QUOTE(Mitra @ Dec 11 2005, 12:55 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->What I'm really looking for is links on the Genocide in West Pakistan in '70-71.
[right][snapback]42875[/snapback][/right] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> but they are potrayed in graphic detail in some of the sites. i'll supply more... give me some time. and since you are a strategic affairs student, you hardly need be told about the diplomatic offensive of indira gandhi.
12-11-2005, 09:35 PM
Thanks a lot. Carry on.
12-12-2005, 12:53 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Mitra+Dec 10 2005, 01:36 AM-->QUOTE(Mitra @ Dec 10 2005, 01:36 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->K.Ram
Can you give us a good link for this Hindu genocide of 1970-71 in Pakistan? [right][snapback]42756[/snapback][/right] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> Other than the links already provided, check this one http://www.geocities.com/hindoo_humanist/
12-12-2005, 01:56 AM
here are some more - i may have repeated a few.
http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/Con..._bangladesh.pdf (see the references) http://members.tripod.com/~INDIA_RESOURCE/pakistan.html http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971/ http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.CHAP8.HTM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Liberation_War (for a basic overview) http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide197...rounaq.htm (damn good) http://www.engr.uconn.edu/~faisal/Genocide.html http://www.asiabookroom.com/currentlists...bangla.htm http://www.globalwebpost.com/genocide1971/ http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/bd_hol11.html http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/G_0075.htm (pls. read the 2nd last paragraph.. what uno has to say) http://65.18.218.137/genocide/ and http://65.18.218.137/genocide/index2.html http://www.masterliness.com/a/Indo.Pakis...f.1971.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/indo-pakistani-war-of-1971 http://preventgenocide.org/edu/pastgenocid...ngal/resources/ http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method...iberation%20War
12-13-2005, 03:31 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Fate of Hindu girls remains unclear
Father knocks on many doors for justice By Aroosa Masroor Khan KARACHI: The fate of three sisters from a Hindu family who were kidnapped from their house in October remains unclear with their family insisting that they are being detained against their will at a city madrassah. The madrassah insists that the girls have converted to Islam by their own free will and are not interested in meeting their family. The parents were allowed to meet their daughters a few weeks back after orders from the court but the meeting was carefully orchestrated. All three girls were behind a veil and were assisted by a woman from the madrassah. The father of the three girls, Sanao Amra, said that he felt that his daughters were being pressurized because he could see tears in their eyes - the only body part that was exposed. He objected to the interference of the lady of the madrassah who did not let him and his wife talk to them in private. He also said that the veil was perhaps being used to hide their facial expressions, because hiding the face behind a hijab in front of the family was not a part of the Islamic practice. The family was earlier informed by one of the neighbours that the girls were found and brought to Frere police station after which they were shifted to the Darul Uloom. Amra was told that he could not meet his daughters until he had orders from the court. Even though the magistrate reassured that the girls had accepted Islam, the father insisted on acknowledging this fact only after he met them. Recognising the familyâs right to meet the girls, the court ordered a meeting under the supervision of five policemen including an senior official from teh Baloch Colony police station. On reaching the madrassah, where they have been kept for over two months now, the family was told that none of the girls were willing to meet their parents. "I couldnât believe my daughters saying such a thing and immediately understood there was something fishy," said the father while talking to The News. After much debate, the girls were then brought to a small cubicle room surrounded by people other than the family members. The daughters were unable to disclose anything in the uncomfortable surrounding so the woman accompanying the girls did the talking, which did not quite please the family. "We got up after 20 minutes instead of the decided one-hour meeting because we did not like the intrusion of others who were made our conversation an ordeal," disclosed Sanao. Not satisfied with this meeting, Sanao Amra filed an application with Magistrate Zulfiqar Ali for arranging another meeting either in the court, the Edhi Center or the Darul Uloom. However, this application was rejected after referance was made to a âletter of satisfactionâ from the daughters as proof to convince the parents that they were not willing to meet again. On 18th October when Sanao AmraÃs wife, Champa, returned home from work, her daughters were nowhere to be found. Unable to understand what had exactly happened behind her back, she inquired about their whereabouts from her neighbours. The neighbours initially said they had not seen the girls, but later told Champa that the elder daughters Reena, 21 and Usha, 19, were seen rushing out of home towards their younger sister ReemaÃs school from where perhaps all the sisters were kidnapped. Sanao Amra searched for his daughters for 2-3 days after which he went to the police. They turned down his pleas for help by saying that the government had not provided them with proper means of investigation and therefore there was not much they could do. The refusal by the police did not leave much for the family to hope. Then a few days later, one of the neighbours handed some documents to Sanao, which they said that they had received through courier. The documents stated that their daughters had embraced Islam and was signed by them too. A neighbour informed the girlsà family that the girls had embraced Islam a year ago, but the father did not believe him. "No sane person would ever fall for that. My daughters were kidnapped on the 18th and the documents state that they accepted Islam on that day itself, if at all." He said that he had been with his daughters for years and was very well aware of their thoughts and actions. Sanao added that kidnapping Hindus and making them embrace Islam is not a new practice for their minority. "This has been happening for years, itÃs just that we belong to a suppressed class and are scared of involving the police and the media which is why such cases werenÃt highlighted before. This is the first time anybody from my community has taken this step and I am not going to withdraw the case, but I can nothing by myself until I have the police or some government official to help me investigate." http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2005-dai...05/metro/k1.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> Where is Arundathi Roy now?, people forward this to as many people as you can, we need to highlight this and do as much as we can to make sure that the girls get back to their family and away from the hands of Muslims, also there is a protest at the Paki embassy in London this December 18th highlighting the kidnapping of Hindu girls by Muslims in Pakiland, for more info go here: http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/
12-13-2005, 04:20 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The following is the Summary info about the names of the various Hindu Girls that have been kidnapped in Pakistan in recent times, their parents names, their kidnappers names and their location in Pakistan:
1) Aishwarya, Reena and Reema - kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. (Fathers Name: Sanao Menghwar, Location: Karachiâs Punjab Colony) http://india.indymedia.org/en/2005/11/211085.shtml 2) 6 Hindu girls (names unknown) have been kidnapped in Jacobabad (a tribal area heavily inhabited by Hindus) and Larkana districts. http://india.indymedia.org/en/2005/11/211085.shtml 3) Sapna - Kidnapped by Shamsuddin Dasti and foricbly converted. (Fathers Name: Seth Giyanchand, Location: Amrote in Shikarpur district) http://india.indymedia.org/en/2005/11/211085.shtml 4) Sapna Kumari (Class 10 Student kidnapped and not returned) (Parents Names: Unknown, Location: Balochistan) http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/11-07d-04.asp 5) Kaiko Mai (14 year old housemaid, Haji Ramzan took her hostage and was threatening to kill her) (Location and Parents : Not known) http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/11-07d-04.asp If any of you find any more info about it, post it here.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
12-17-2005, 09:15 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Court tells Pakistani sisters who embraced Islam to meet parents
Posted on 17 Dec 2005 Muhammad Najeeb, Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court Friday directed three Hindu sisters who converted to Islam to meet their parents after their father filed a petition saying his daughters were forced to marry Muslim men and were not allowed to meet him. Sanu Umra, the father of the three women, had filed the application in the apex court alleging that his daughters had been abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. However, the women - Reema, 21, Usha, 19, and Reema, 17 - who appeared in the court clad in shawls - said they had changed their religion by choice and were not forced by anyone to convert to Islam. The three women have changed their names to Nida, Anum and Afshan. The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising judges Javed Buttar and Tassadaq Hussain Jillani ordered the Karachi police chief to keep the girls in the Edhi Home till further orders and said that their parents should be allowed to meet them. The women initially said they did not want to meet their parents but on the instance of the court, agreed to meet them at Edhi Home, a centre for homeless women run by the Abdul Sattar Edhi Welfare Trust. "We have left our home and religion by ourselves and no one forced us into this...we used to listen to Islamic programmes on television and decided to convert to Islam," Reema told the court. She said that since they feared opposition from their family, they kept their conversion a secret and sought the help of a man named Suleman who, with the help of his two colleagues, took them to Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia at Binori town near Karachi, where they are studying and living. The women told media they had converted to Islam at Jamiat-ul-Uloom Islamia before Ghulam Haider Chunarh, a justice of peace of the government of Sindh province. Asked if they were going to marry these men, none of the women responded. The chief justice directed that the parents and relatives of the women be allowed to meet them freely. He said a change of religion did not imply that parents could be ignored and asked the women to respect their family members. The court also directed police to submit weekly reports about the welfare and arrangements for protection of the women. However, Raja Hussain, lawyer for their father, said the women had already been forced to marry the three men. He alleged that the women were kidnapped and harassed by the men. Earlier, their father had lodged a complaint with Karachi police that the three men named Abid, Suleman and Jehanzaib kidnapped his daughters and forced them to convert to Islam. He also alleged his daughters were being kept by the men in a madrassa or seminary. The alleged kidnappers, who were presented in the court handcuffed, were freed on the court's orders after the women said the men had only helped them and had not kidnapped them. The Supreme Court also took notice of an application by the Supreme Court Bar Association chief that said some groups were forcing non-Muslims to embrace Islam. The chief justice said the court would take up this matter in the next hearing. http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action...s&id=68554<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> <!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->SC orders three sisters shifting to Edhi home after embracing Islam Friday December 16, 2005 ISLAMABAD: Supreme court has issued orders to shift to Edhi Home three Hindu sisters who have embraced Islam. The directives were issued by the full bench of apex court during the course of hearing of case. Bench comprised Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice M Javed Buttar and Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jillani. Malik Qayyum had filed writ against forced embracing of Islam and non meeting the girls with their parents. These girls were presented in the apex court on Friday. The girls started weeping in courtâ room over the decision for sending them to Edhi home. The chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the girls that they would be kept in Islamabad for some times and it is courtâs promise that they would be later sent again to Taleem ul Quran. The girls flatly refused to live in Islamabad saying they had embraced Islam in full senses and there was no pressure on them from any quarter. Chief Justice observed that becoming Muslim is a good thing. Justice Javed Buttar remarked that after embracing Islam, it was obligatory for them to pay respects to their parents like before. It is a Hadith, he added. The girls replied it was in their knowledge and they were following it. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry allowed one hour to the girls and their father to exchange views in the room of registrar. Sano Umrao, father of the girls told the court after one hour that he had no objection over entering of his daughters to the fold of Islam and only objection he had that the girls should not live in the madrissah as they faced difficulties to meet each other .there. If three girls quit a home all at once , then what will be the plight of mother there, he questioned. As to why these girls want to live in this particular madrissah when there are several other madrissahs located in Karachi. What is the secret behind it, he added. Zulfiqar advocate appeared on behalf of the girls. Justice Javed Buttar remarked had he owned a madrissah, he would have not kept these girls there for twenty hours. They should move freely so that the whole matter could look transparent. The girls should go and come back from madrissah daily. After hearing the arguments the court ordered for keeping the girls in an Edhi home which is nearest to Taleem ul Quran madrissah. The SC also directed DSP Muhammad Hashim Khan to provide security to the girls on their way to and back from madrissah. DCO and DPO Karachi will supervise the entire matter and the latter will submit weekly report to the court about all the matters. The court adjourned the hearing till February 24. These three girls who embraced Islam a few months earlier included Ms Sanam old name Oosha, Ms Afshan old name Reema and Ms Nida old name Eesha. http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=128585<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
12-17-2005, 09:19 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Conversions in Pakistan
Saturday, December 17, 2005 KR Phanda It is a matter of shame for India and particularly for those Hindu elites who migrated from Sindh in West Pakistan and East Bengal in the then East Pakistan that they continue to maintain complete silence over the persecution of Hindus taking place in these countries. Two recent articles by Irfan Hussain in the Dawn, a respected Pakistan newspaper, and later carried by the Indian press, have reported that a few weeks ago three girls aged 21, 19 and 17 years belonging to a Hindu family in a predominantly Muslim locality in Karachi suddenly went missing. It was a clear case of abduction by Muslims. The police initially refused to register the case but had to do it after pressure was put on the concerned DSP by political organisations. Shortly thereafter, the parents of the girls received three identical affidavits signed by the girls that they had voluntarily converted to Islam. When the court allowed the parents to meet their daughters, they were shocked to see their daughters fully clad in burqas. This is not the first incident of forced conversion of Hindu girls and women to Islam in Sindh Province of Pakistan. Earlier, in an article entitled, "It is not easy being a Pak minority" (The Dawn, July 2003), Hafizur Rahman wrote, "The abduction of Hindu girls in Sindh is going on all the time. When a hue and cry is raised <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>the girl is made to state in a court of law that she went away on own and married to a Muslim of her choice and embraced Islam of her own accord."</span> The tenets of Islam as contained in the Quran and Prophet's Sunnah preach the use of violence against non-Muslims. Intolerance of kafirs, their enslavement, abduction of their women and children and murder are part and parcel of Islamic theology. Few years ago, the Dawn reported some Muslim zealots fed on false rumours behaved like Huns and laid waste Shantinagar, a Christian village in Southern Punjab. It was also reported that till 1994 Coptic Christians living in Egypt had to take the permission of the Egyptian President to repair their churches. The Union and State Governments in India, however, are doling out crores of rupees to maintain masjids and dargahs in the country. Every year hundreds of Muslims come from Pakistan to pay their homage to Muslim saints buried in India. On the contrary, not a single Hindu mandir, which existed before 1947, now survives in Pakistan. True to their religion of Islam, Muslims are forcing Hindus still left in Pakistan to either convert to Islam or face death. The Cabinet Mission that visited India in 1946 had specifically asked Jinnah as to what would be the fate of minorities left behind in Pakistan and Hindustan after 1947. Jinnah's response was candid enough: "The minorities left behind after the migration of population between Hindustan and Pakistan would be the responsibility of the respective Governments." Going by our attitude in the last 50 years, it is too much to expect that India would ever take up their cause. The time is not far off when hardly any Hindu would be left in Pakistan. It is ironic that the Hindu leadership to remain in power have taken actions which are totally against the interests of the Hindus in the country. How else would one explain the setting up of four more committees and commissions by the UPA Government to look into the problems of Muslims, when there already exists a National Commission for Minorities. Does it not mean that the committees set up under Government resolution have superseded the functions of a body already constituted by an act of Parliament? http://www.dailypioneer.com/indexn12.asp?m...t&counter_img=4<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
12-18-2005, 07:28 AM
a brife documantry could be used to justify india's intervention in bangladesh during partition
its 14 mb http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RW7CFGQ1
12-19-2005, 04:42 AM
Jay Shastri
Thankyou for posting this link.
12-19-2005, 05:49 AM
Please Sign and Forward...
The Release for the Three Abducted Hindu Girls Petition http://new.petitiononline.com/rft3ahg/petition.html Thanks HHR..
12-19-2005, 07:43 AM
12-22-2005, 12:44 AM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anne Johnson, Communications, December 20, 2005 Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27 <b>U.S. should act to prevent return of Hindu refugees to Afghanistan from Germany</b> WASHINGTON ? The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) wrote to the U.S. Department of State asking that it urgently communicate with the German government to prevent the imminent involuntary deportation of thousands of particularly vulnerable asylum seekers from Germany to Afghanistan, including Hindu refugees who face the threat of violence upon return to Afghanistan. The imminent deportation of Afghan asylum seekers was announced earlier this month by authorities within the Federal Republic of Germany. The Afghan Hindu population was one of the most severely persecuted groups under the Taliban, and nearly all members of the community fled the country. Because the government in Kabul does not exercise full control over the country, and religious freedom and human rights abuses continue in regions outside of the central government's control, the Commission is concerned that these individuals will be subject to persecution if forced to return to Afghanistan. A Hindu aid worker from India, Maniyappan Raman Kutty, was recently brutally beheaded. "In the event that the German government moves ahead with involuntary deportation, the Commission is urging the U.S. Refugee Program to prepare for the resettlement of Afghan Hindus and members of other particularly vulnerable groups in the United States, as was done with Bosnian refugees in the late 1990's when Germany launched their involuntary return at a time when other members of the international community considered it too unsafe to conduct involuntary repatriations to Bosnia," said USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie. The text of the letter to the State Department follows: Dear Acting Assistant Secretary Greene: I am writing on behalf of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to urge that the United States communicate and act urgently to prevent the imminent involuntary deportation from Germany to Afghanistan of particularly vulnerable asylum seekers, including Hindu refugees who face the threat of violence upon return to Afghanistan. The imminent deportation of Afghan asylum seekers was announced earlier this month by authorities within the Federal Republic of Germany. We ask that the United States urgently communicate with the Federal Republic of Germany to halt these deportations of vulnerable populations and, in addition, that the United States take steps similar to those it took in the late 1990s to allow applications for resettlement to the United States of Bosnian refugees who had been faced with the similar threat of forcible return and deportation from Germany. As the Commission noted in its 2005 Annual Report, the government in Kabul does not yet exercise full control over the country. Religious freedom and human rights abuses persist in regions that are effectively outside of central government control, as was evidenced recently by the brutal beheading of Hindu aid worker Maniyappan Raman Kutty from India. These substantial security threats present a persistent danger to the establishment of democracy and the rule of law throughout Afghanistan. Religious minorities ? such as Hindus and Sikhs ? were severely persecuted under the Taliban, and nearly all 50,000 of them fled the country. In official remarks made in Brussels earlier this year at the Strategic Consultations Convening on Refugee and Population Movements to and from Afghanistan, then-Assistant Secretary Dewey said "that there are likely to be a significant number of Afghans for whom voluntary repatriation will not be suitable." Assistant Secretary Dewey expressed that the United States would not like to see Afghan refugees being "put under pressure" to leave the major host countries of Iran and Pakistan. We are now faced, however, with a situation where one of the most persecuted groups under the Taliban ? the Afghan Hindu population ? is facing forcible return by a third country: Germany. In Hamburg alone there are 12,000 Afghans, hundreds of them Hindus, who are now being threatened with deportation if they do not accept financial assistance to "voluntarily" return to Afghanistan. While the German lander (states) move ahead with plans for imminent deportations, even the German Foreign Ministry reports that the situation for Afghans "continues unimproved countrywide" and that, in some provinces, "a return there is not possible without risk to life and limb." This situation is not unprecedented. In the late 1990's, the German lander launched involuntary returns of Bosnian refugees at a time when other members of the international community considered it too unsafe to conduct involuntary repatriations. At that time, the United States government, after being unsuccessful in its efforts to discourage the Germans from conducting such deportations, established a processing priority for Bosnians in Germany, and saved many of them from deportation by allowing them to apply to the United States for resettlement. We would urge that the United States prevail upon the German government to stop returns of members of religious minorities persecuted under the Taliban. To prepare for the possibility that this suggestion from the United States could go unheeded, we would also urge that the U.S. Refugee Program make preparations for the establishment of a resettlement processing priority for Afghan Hindus and members of other particularly vulnerable groups. This program could be based on the highly successful one established nearly a decade ago to protect Bosnian asylum seekers from premature deportations out of Germany. We look forward to your timely attention to this imminent situation and to your response. Sincerely, Michael Cromartie Chair cc: Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov Michael Cromartie, Chair Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair Nina Shea, Vice Chair Khaled Abou El Fadl Preeta D. Bansal Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Richard D. Land Elizabeth H. Prodromou Bishop Ricardo Ramirez Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio Joseph R. Crapa, Executive Director 800 NORTH CAPITOL STREET, NW SUITE 790 WASHINGTON, DC 20002 202-523-3240 202-523-5020 (FAX)
12-23-2005, 12:27 AM
Please visit this site if you like.
[URL=http://www.afghanhindu.info/]
12-23-2005, 09:15 AM
http://www.indiacause.com/columns/OL_051223.htm
Does Article 30 violate Universal Declaration of Human rights? By: Moorthy Muthuswamy, PhD December 23, 2005
12-24-2005, 07:28 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Mitra+Dec 23 2005, 12:27 AM-->QUOTE(Mitra @ Dec 23 2005, 12:27 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Please visit this site if you like.
[URL=http://www.afghanhindu.info/] [right][snapback]43636[/snapback][/right] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> Thanks for the link. <!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
12-29-2005, 08:02 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Dec 28 2005, 07:20 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Dec 28 2005, 07:20 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Muslim burial for Malaysian hero </b>
Mr Moorthy's widow was in tears after Wednesday's ruling A Malaysian mountaineering hero will be buried as a Muslim, against the wishes of his Hindu wife, who denied he had converted to Islam before his death. The decision follows a High Court ruling that it cannot override the country's Islamic courts in matters of religious conversion. Â An Islamic court had said the man, M Moorthy, had become a Muslim last year. Â Lawyers say the case highlights problems faced by non-Muslims dealing with Malaysia's Islamic justice system. "So much for good interracial relations," Haris Mohamad Ibrahim, a lawyer representing Malaysia's Bar Council, told The Associated Press. Â "The judge has just told the widow and her family to go back and leave the body of their beloved to be buried by strangers." Â <b>Coma </b> Â M Moorthy, 36, was a Hindu when he became a national hero in 1997 as a member of the first Malaysian expedition to conquer Mount Everest. Â But when he died a week ago family supporters and state Islamic officials jostled one another at the mortuary as each tried to claim his body. Â An Islamic Sharia court subsequently upheld a claim by his former colleagues in the army that he had become a Muslim last year. However his family, who want him to have a Hindu funeral, were not allowed to appear before the court to dispute his conversion because they are not Muslims. Â The family went to the civil court and argued that Mr Moorthy was a practising Hindu right up to a recent accident when he fell from his wheelchair and lapsed into a coma. Â <b>They say he was even interviewed for local television two months ago about his preparations for the Hindu festival of Diwali</b>. Â But the High Court agreed with government lawyers who argued the civil court had no jurisdiction. [right][snapback]43913[/snapback][/right] <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd--> |
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