Off Beat News

MuslimSister —

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.

Link

Forum
General

MuslimBro — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 - 17:26

M1 driver goes 12 miles wrong way

A driver is lucky to be alive after he drove the wrong way along the M1 for 12 miles, police said.

The man, who has not been named, joined the southbound carriageway in Leics and travelled north through Derbys and Notts before he was stopped.

The motorist apparently stuck to the 70mph speed limit during the trip.

Highways Agency officers set up a rolling road block to slow traffic down but the Ford Fiesta overtook the patrol despite its flashing amber lights.

Other motorists ignored electronic motorway signs which warned them about the oncoming vehicle and asked them to slow to 20mph.

The driver is believed to have joined the M1 at junction 23 just before 2300 BST on Sunday.

He was finally stopped by Nottinghamshire police near Trowell service station between junctions 25 and 26.

Highways Agency traffic officer supervisor Dixie Dean said: "This motorist was extremely lucky to have not been hit by another car, injured or even killed as a result of his actions."

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said the driver had not been arrested but an investigation into the incident was ongoing.

Some people :roll:

*DUST* — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 00:10

Sirusit was not axed because of poor ticket sales - thats a lie

alton towers were pressurized not to go ahead with the muslims only day, and ended up giving in to whoeever, and cancelled

how do you know that?

although i probably wouldn't have gone (or maybe i would've gone with some friends), i do feel sorry for the people who organised it, must be a bit of a blow... :?

Noor — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 00:13

talking about alton towers, has any1 heard that ther going to have naked day..?
apprently it was in the guardian newspaper....

Noor — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 00:15

*DUST*please tell me your kidding... :?

nope...

well thats what i heard...

Noor — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 00:22

No idea...

well if its privately booked,

actually i dont have a clue..

MuslimBro — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 22:41

*DUST*isn't there a law against that...?

Being naked in a public place is called indecent exposure and it's against the law, but if it's in a private place....well, that's another thing.

Dave — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 22:45

Muslim Bro

A 70-year old Bangladeshi woman bought the hand of her 22-year old groom with cash and costly gifts, creating a sensation in the local community.

The marriage was solemnised in a mosque in Jalla village, Jamalpur district in central Bangladesh, the Bengali language daily Ittefaq reported.
Hundreds of local residents gathered in the village on Tuesday to witness the wedding of Sundari Begum and Bakkar Fakir. The groom’s family accepted Begum as the bride after she had given them 30,000 Bangladeshi taka ($500), and some other valuable gifts, the newspaper said.

Begum, mother of seven adult children from her first marriage, said she had fallen in love with the young man fours ago and was prepared to pay any price to win his hand.

That guy is a cheap date!

MuslimBro — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 - 23:55

OdysseusThat guy is a cheap date!

Forget the money, I'm surprised that her hormones are still pumping!

Her children are older than her husband!

Dave — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 - 00:02

Muslim Bro

OdysseusThat guy is a cheap date!

Forget the money, I'm surprised that her hormones are still pumping!

Her children are older than her husband!

...thanks for that visual image

I'll file this under "Things I wish I didn't know about"

MuslimBro — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 - 00:20

Odysseus...thanks for that visual image

I'll file this under "Things I wish I didn't know about"

Oh sorry....hope you don't suffer from any physical or psychological harm.

You — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 - 00:51

Charity walker crosses the Mersey

A 6ft 9in tall charity fundraiser has become the first man to walk across the River Mersey - with his head sticking out above the water.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41429000/jpg/_41429537_mersey_pabody.jpg

Graham Boanas, 43, from Hull, took just over an hour to walk along mud and sandbanks and through a channel of water about 5ft deep at low tide.

He raised cash for Debra, a charity for those with the genetic skin blistering condition, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).

A helicopter and a hovercraft followed to ensure his safety on Sunday's walk.

Mr Boanas aimed to raise £100,000 and completed a similar charity walk across the Humber last year.

He walked two miles from Ince Banks near Ellesmere Port to Oglet Shore near Liverpool Airport.

At low tide on Sunday morning there was a narrow channel of water for Mr Boanas to cross.

Despite overcast weather he managed to cross the river in less time than he expected.

He set off just before 0800 BST and arrived on the opposite side of the river, near Liverpool's John Lennon Airport, just over an hour later.

The father-of-two said: "The hardest part is trudging through the sand and mud, it's exhausting.

"You just have to keep moving all the time and go for it. It's unbelievably difficult as the currents are quite strong in the Mersey.

"But I've been training hard in the gym to make sure I was in the best condition.

He added: "I saw a programme about children with EB and I just wanted to help.

"I came up with the idea of walking across rivers, I just wanted to do something different to raise lots of money for them."

BBC News

Exquisite — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 - 00:55

yeah i heard that on the radio, wicked man, i wouldnt be surpriesed river mersey,merseyside LIVERPOOL

You — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 - 00:08

Japan fisherman killed by Russia

A Japanese fisherman has been shot dead by a Russian patrol boat near a chain of disputed islands, the first fatality in 50 years, media reports said.

Japan's foreign ministry demanded the release of three other fishermen who were detained by the Russian boat.

Russia expressed regret but said the boat had entered its territory and said such breaches should not happen again.

Both sides claim the four islands, which Russia calls the southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories.

The dispute has stopped the two nations signing a peace treaty to end WWII.

The islands were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war in 1945. Russia has said it will hand over some of the islands to Japan, but Tokyo insists all four should be returned.

Rare shooting

The Russian patrol boat opened fire on the Japanese vessel after it was found in Russian waters and refused to stop, according to Russian media.

The Russian coast guard insisted that the vessel defied several orders to stop and made dangerous manoeuvres, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

The boat and its three remaining crew have now been taken to one of the disputed islands.

The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, says fishing disputes are common in the area, and Russian border patrols often try to capture Japanese fishermen.

But the last time a Japanese citizen was shot dead by a Soviet vessel was nearly 50 years ago.

BBC News

Sad story I know, however there was one interesting tidbit which I will repeat:

The dispute has stopped the two nations signing a peace treaty to end WWII.

:shock: They still at war? :shock: WWII? :shock:

Bliss — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 - 00:14

Muslim Bro

The groom’s family accepted Begum as the bride after she had given them 30,000 Bangladeshi taka ($500), and some other valuable gifts, the newspaper said.

Begum, mother of seven adult children from her first marriage, said she had fallen in love with the young man fours ago and was prepared to pay any price to win his hand.

erh i thought it was the man that had to pay teh woman money teh dowery or is taht a seperate case in this scenario?

MuslimBro — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 - 18:45

genieerh i thought it was the man that had to pay teh woman money teh dowery or is taht a seperate case in this scenario?

The man is supposed to pay the dowry to the bride but in this case it's obvious that the man wouldn't marry her so she had to buy 'to win his hand'.

MuslimBro — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 - 20:07

Live bombs in court create chaos

A court in Bangladesh trying suspected Islamic militants was thrown into panic when five live bombs were produced as exhibits during the hearing of a case.

The discovery prompted the presiding judge to order a hasty adjournment as the court was evacuated.

A security force officer said that he got the "shock of his life" when he realised that the bombs were live.

Officials blame police for not defusing the devices before coming to court. [b]The police say they were not asked to.[/b]

The incident happened during the trial of five suspected members of the banned Islamist organisation, Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

The JMB is accused of carrying out a string of bomb attacks across Bangladesh at the end of last year.

They were alleged to have been caught in possession of the explosives in December 2005, and the devices were brought to the court as evidence.

The BBC's Qadir Kallol in Dhaka says that the only trouble was that police forgot to defuse them.

When Captain Tareq Rahman Khan of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) saw the Public Prosecutor, Shahidul Islam, uncovering the explosives in front of the judge, he admitted suffering temporary heart failure.

"I got the shock of my life," he was quoted as saying in the New Age newspaper.

Captain Khan warned the prosecutor that the bombs could go off at any moment and cause carnage in the crowded courtroom.

RAB officials say that they asked the police to defuse the bombs after they were seized.

But the police said they had not received any such communication.

Later on Wednesday, police did eventually take the bombs away, but with the utmost caution.

"It was fortunate we were not all blown to smithereens," one officer was reported as saying.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5241342.stm

Exquisite — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 - 11:36

lolz trust the bengalis to do somethng like that, my cousin was stupid enuf to blow one up in his face,

MuslimBro — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 - 16:42

Exquisitemy cousin was stupid enuf to blow one up in his face,

Is he a police officer in Bangladesh?

Exquisite — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 - 21:39

no he was those student activist who r so into the politics but on of his friends mixed two unknwn substances n next thng u knw BANG,his face wne tpitch black

Exquisite — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 - 21:52

i fink so, but he left the two powder substances seperate but his friend was clever enuf to mix the two

MuslimBro — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 - 22:00

They deserved it for trying to make a bomb. :roll:

How is he now?

Whenever you watch bangla news, their always either rioting or protesting.....when will it all stop.

You — Sun, 8 Oct 2006 - 16:47

Sometimes it hurts to be too popular.

Elect opponent, US candidate says

A candidate in local elections in the US state of Minnesota is having trouble persuading voters not to elect him.

Paul Herold does not want to hold public office, but voters in the town of Blaine have catapulted him into the final stage of the municipal election.

Mr Herold originally signed up to run for City Council but landed a new job that he said would not allow him enough time to devote to his constituents.

The father-of-two is now campaigning for his opponent - and hoping to lose.

The ambivalent candidate was told by City Hall officials that he had missed the deadline to remove his name from the primary ballot list. They suggested that he simply not campaign for next month's poll.

Mr Herold did more than that - he phoned friends and neighbours asking them to vote for anyone but him.

He also took his plight to local media pleading for non-support.

"I tried my best not to get any votes," he told Associated Press news agency.

Unfortunately for Mr Herold, he still got enough votes to advance to the next stage against incumbent Katherine Kolb.

City clerk Jane Cross says there is very little Mr Herold can do to get his name off the ballot.

"One, he would either have to die or he would have to move out of his district and those were not really two viable options. "You know, it's too bad that it had to happen, it's too bad when he found out he could not hold a position that the voters still gave him that many votes," Ms Cross told the BBC.

If he does win, Mr Herold could choose not to show up for his swearing in, forcing Blaine City Council to hold a special election to replace him at a cost of $30,000 (£16,000).

He has described this as a burden he would find difficult to impose on the residents of the small town.

BBC News

You — Mon, 9 Oct 2006 - 02:06

If you thought that was bad, check this out!

Brazil city proposes ban on death

Municipal regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones.

But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that.

They plan to prohibit residents from dying because the local cemetery has reached full capacity...

BBC News

Noor — Mon, 9 Oct 2006 - 06:32

Thats just plain stupid. How can any1 stop someone from dying?
If there going to die they will die!
They need to stop being tite and build another cemetry!!

zara — Mon, 9 Oct 2006 - 17:43

AdminIf you thought that was bad, check this out!

Brazil city proposes ban on death

Municipal regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones.

But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that.

They plan to prohibit residents from dying because the local cemetery has reached full capacity...

BBC News

that's funny.