Off Beat News | The Revival

Al-Azhar okays controversial book about Prophet Mohammed

Book, published in 1837 by Reverend George Bush, portrays Prophet Mohammed as 'imposter'.

The highest authority in Sunni Islam approved a book describing the Prophet as an "imposter" and Muslims as "locusts" that the Egyptian press continued Friday to attribute to the US president's great grandfather despite denials from Washington.

"The Al-Azhar Institute for Islamic Studies approved the book titled 'The Life of Mohammed, founder of the religion of Islam and of the Empire of the Saracens'," Egyptian newspapers announced on their front pages.

The book was published in 1837 by Reverend George Bush, whom Egyptian newspapers - including state-owned publications - have consistently presented as the current US president's great-grandfather.

But the government-run Al-Ahram daily said it had approved the book's publication "because it is a piece of documentation that paints a lively picture of the life of Prophet Mohammed."

Publication of Reverend Bush's work had initially been rejected by Al-Azhar and the turnaround puts an end to a year-long controversy.

An unnamed Al-Azhar official quoted in the official Al-Akhbar daily denied rumours that the publication was the result of US pressure.

"Al-Azhar does not bow to any pressure, whether foreign or local, when it comes to matters related to Islam," the cleric said.

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Pythons arent poisonous tho

Seraphim — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 - 13:23

Pythons arent poisonous tho are they? They usually feed by constricting their pray. And altho generally they'll leave humans alone they're not above eating pets or perhaps really small children.

Still snakes are ew.

No, they're not poisonous. A

Joie de Vivre — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 - 13:38

No, they're not poisonous. A footnote to that article says:

Fact file - scrub pythons

Scrub pythons [Morelia kinghorni] are Australia's largest snake, growing up to 24 ft long, although on average they are around 10ft.

Found in northern Queensland and New Guinea, they live in a variety of habitats, from rainforest to open savannah woodland, gorges, swamps and coral cays.

They are mainly nocturnal and good tree climbers They have an unpredictable temperament and because of their size can inflict a painful bite.

BBC News wrote: Iranian to

You — Mon, 3 Mar 2008 - 18:57

[quote=BBC News]

Iranian to pay 124,000-rose dowry

An Iranian court has ordered a man to give his wife the 124,000 roses that he promised in her dowry, after she filed a complaint to claim it, reports say.

The woman said she was claiming the dowry because her "very stingy husband" would not even pay for a cup of coffee, according to the E'temad newspaper.

The court has seized the man's flat until he produces all of the roses.

Under Iranian law, a woman can claim her dowry, or mahr, at any time during a marriage or when getting divorced.

The gift becomes the property of the wife to do whatever she likes with.

It is required in order for the marriage contract and the marriage itself to be valid.

'Billionaire friends'

According to E'temad, the woman, identified as Hengameh, decided to claim her entire dowry of 124,000 red roses after 10 years of marriage to "punish her very stingy husband".

"Shortly after marriage, I realised that Shahin was very cheap," she told the newspaper. "He even refused to pay for my coffee if we went to a cafe or restaurant."

Shahin told the court he could only afford to give her five roses a day and complained that it was his wife's "billionaire friends who had put such ideas in her head".

But the judge rejected Shahin's pleas and ordered his $64,000 (£33,000) flat to be confiscated until he has bought them all.

A long-stemmed rose costs about $2 (£1.09) in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

It is common in Iran to offer gold coins or property as mahr. An Iranian man can end up in jail for dowry debts.[/quote]

Re: BBC News wrote:

Naz — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 - 20:12

Missing girl Shannon found alive

Missing nine-year-old schoolgirl Shannon Matthews has been found alive, three weeks after she disappeared.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed she was found hidden in the base of a divan bed in a house in Lidgate Gardens in Batley Carr, about a mile from her home.

Neighbours said police smashed their way in and emerged carrying Shannon who was last seen leaving Westmoor Junior School in Dewsbury on 19 February.

A 39-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of abduction.

'Very happy'

West Yorkshire Police said medical checks had been carried out on the girl and the force would "now begin the process of interviewing Shannon".

A spokesman said: "This may be a long process but throughout this enquiry our main focus has been and continues to be Shannon's welfare."

He said Shannon had been made subject of an Emergency Police Protection Order, and would remain in police care until detectives had "had time to establish the full facts of what happened in the time since her disappearance".

Neighbours said the girl looked "quite calm" as she was taken from the house and officers confirmed that she was OK.

Shannon's father Leon Rose said he was "over the moon".

During a search of the house, officers located Shannon Matthews who was found concealed in the base of a divan bed
West Yorkshire Police

"They just told me she was alive and she was well, and that's all I know at the moment, but that's good enough for the moment for me because I'm just over the moon at the minute," he said.

"Believe it or not, where she's been found, I'd actually been in that area a number of times and probably just walked straight past the house that she was in."

Shannon's uncle, Neil Hyett, said Shannon and her mother, Karen Matthews, had been reunited at Dewsbury police station.

He thanked everyone who had passed information on to the police and said the family had "never given up hope".

He added: "I can't wait to just get her home and give her a cuddle."

Earlier, a West Yorkshire Police statement said: "As part of ongoing investigations, detectives and specialist search officers attended a house at Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, Dewsbury, at 1230 GMT this afternoon.

Map of where Shannon was found

"During a search of the house, officers located Shannon Matthews who was found concealed in the base of a divan bed.

"A 39-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction at the address and is currently in custody at a West Yorkshire police station. Shannon is currently in the care of West Yorkshire Police. Investigations are ongoing."

Charlotte Thornton, a friend of Amanda Hyett, said: "I've just got a text message from Amanda. She's saying they've found her alive.

"I was one of the ones who went out and looked for her on the first night. I'm very happy they've found her."

Neighbour Christopher Heaps witnessed Shannon being brought out of the house by police.

He said: "First thing I heard was police breaking the door down and I went out to see what was going off because of the noise and then when I went out I saw the policemen carrying the young girl in their arms. "I was stood by him and I said 'is that Shannon?' He said 'yes'.

"I saw the man being taken away and dragged down the steps and handcuffed and put into the van.

"Then the little girl was put into a car and taken away with a plain clothes policeman. She was very calm and didn't look upset."

Children returning from school to houses in Shannon's road were crying and hugging each other after hearing she had been found.

Party on estate

Callie Brown, aged eight, who is in Shannon's class, said: "We all had to go into the hall for assembly. I was crying my eyes out. I have missed her loads."

Mayor of Kirklees Jean Calvert said she was "delighted" Shannon had been found.

"It's an immense relief for the family, relatives and friends of Shannon and those who've supported the efforts to find her and have shown so much concern over what's been a very traumatic few weeks for them and the local community," she said. About 100 local residents have been holding a celebratory party on the estate.

Earlier this week mother-of-seven Mrs Matthews, 32, said she believed Shannon had been abducted.

More than 200 officers and 60 detectives have been involved in the search, which police said amounted to 10% of West Yorkshire Police's operational strength.

The force said the operation was the biggest missing person's case it had undertaken since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.

Officers have searched nearly 3,000 residential and commercial premises in the hunt for the schoolgirl.

The police hunt for Shannon had always focused on the local community.

source: BBC News

Re: BBC News wrote:

Joie de Vivre — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 - 20:58

She's probably been to hell and back. Anyway this is great news.

Re: BBC News wrote:

Joie de Vivre — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 - 21:17

[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/14/wmiracl… Telegraph[/url]Indian woman gives birth to 'miracle' child

An Indian woman has given birth to baby girl with four eyes and two faces, just two years after the world was captivated by the story of Lakshmi Tatma, the "twin" girl born with four arms and four legs.

The four-day old baby girl, born to Vinod Singh and his partner Sushma, is already being hailed as a reincarnation of the Indian God Ganesha.

Re: BBC News wrote:

Naz — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 - 19:26

GMP guilty of race bias

AN ASIAN police officer who was turned down for a job at Greater Manchester Police 12 times has been awarded almost £10,000 after the force was found guilty of race discrimination.

And GMP has been asked to improve the way it monitors the number of minority recruits.

An employment tribunal heard how Sangram Singh-Bhacker, 41, had 16 years service with a number of forces across the country.

But Pc Singh-Bhacker, from Fallowfield in Manchester, wanted to work for GMP so he could be near his family, especially his terminally ill mother who died last year.

He was awarded £5,000 for `injury to feelings' and £4,000 in `aggravated damages', plus £400 for money he spent commuting to West Yorkshire after being denied a job at GMP.

The aggravated damages - which had not originally been sought by Pc Singh-Bhacker - were awarded because the tribunal judge Val Cook ruled that the officer's `honesty and integrity' had been `attacked' by those representing the force without the documentation to prove what they were saying.

She also ruled the force was `deliberately evasive in responding to questions in the Race Relations Act questionnaire'.

And she said that despite the force accepting the tribunal's ruling, Pc Singh-Bhacker had not been offered an apology.

The tribunal judge said the damages had been granted in relation to the last rejection, which had been given to Mr Singh-Bhacker by letter in January 2007. The letter said he would not be considered for a transfer to Greater Manchester Police, `now or in the future'.

Ms Cook said the force had not been clear on why he had been rejected and said GMP's Assistant Chief Officer for human resources Andrew Marston had confirmed the application had not been judged on its merits.

GMP was told to formally withdraw the letter within two weeks and ensure that within the next eight weeks statistics on ethnic minority recruits should be collected alongside the numbers who applied.

Following the hearing, Mr Singh-Bhacker, who now works for the British Transport Police, said he had been grateful for the support of colleagues from his new force. He said: "I am pleased justice has been done and I hope this incident doesn't put anyone else off, especially Sikh people in the community.

"Greater Manchester Police have shown their arrogance by not giving me an apology or admitting their fault when the judgement was made. It is a shame it had to come to this."

A GMP spokesman said the force was disappointed at the decision over compensation, but accepted it. He said: "We regret any distress caused to Mr Singh-Bhacker. We actively encourage applications from minority ethnic communities as we recognise that a force with such a diverse population as Greater Manchester should represent the communities we serve. We regularly accept transfers of officers from other forces if they meet the rigorous standards we require. These officers, who are proud to serve the people of Greater Manchester, are drawn from many different communities, including the Asian community."

Russell Bernstein, deputy chief executive of Greater Manchester Police Authority, said: "We will want to ensure that lessons are learnt and all the judge's comments and recommendations will be taken on board."

Re: BBC News wrote:

Naz — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 - 22:12

'Pregnant' man stuns medical profession

Re: BBC News wrote:

You — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 - 22:18

That's kind of erm... disgusting.

I am guessing "his" "wife" is not the "father"?

Re: BBC News wrote:

Ya'qub — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 - 00:24

Naz
'Pregnant' man stuns medical profession

It's nothing very new, I saw it on the Cosby show once.

Re: BBC News wrote:

Naz — Tue, 1 Apr 2008 - 16:50

Shoaib vows to fight five-year ban and save his career

He was the only decent player they had. They might as well call it a day coz without him they dont stand a chance.

Re: BBC News wrote:

You — Tue, 1 Apr 2008 - 17:10

Good riddance. he was not as good as he was made out to be. Supporting him has probably cost the team a lot. Both in monetary terms, and people.

There may be a short term loss, but longer term they may get a better team.

Re: BBC News wrote:

Naz — Tue, 1 Apr 2008 - 17:29

He is the fastest bowler in the world (i think). He did manage to get alot of ppl out with his fast spins. The current team does have some good players. The captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is a really good batsman. Wasim Akram and Shahid Alfridi are also quite good. The one they want to get rid of is Abdur Razzaq, the guy cant bowl or bat.

Re: BBC News wrote:

Funzo — Wed, 2 Apr 2008 - 00:36

Erm i think you need an update pakistan dont have Inzi anymore or wasim akram both retired. Abdur razak was banned for playing in the renegade Indian cricket league and shoaib akhtar is rubbish. Pakistan reached the final of the twenty20 world cup without him, however they seemed to have hit a slump but the its sad that teams like australia are scared to come to pakistan because of bomb threats. The empty calendar means that pakistan fall lower in the icc rankings but coming back to the original point we dont need players like Shoaib akhtar who think they run the show when quite obviously dont.