Source: Gulf News

June 3, 2010

Dubai/Cairo: According to a report in The Guardian, an Algerian activist, who gave her name as Sabrina, revealed that Israeli troops pointed their gun at a one-year-old Turkish child in front of his parents to force the captain of the Mavi Marmara to stop sailing.

Many reports have emerged from among the 124 activists who crossed over into Amman, Jordan, yesterday.

In an interview with Sky News, IT professional Hasan Nowarah, from Glasgow, described the moments as the Israeli troops descended on the ship.

"All you could see was screaming and bullets. Out of the blue as I looked around our ship, all I could see were hundreds of Zodiacs. Hundreds of Zodiacs full of soldiers, and big ships, lots of ships, and I believe as well submarines in the sea."

Kuwaiti MP Walid Al Tabtabai said the Israelis were "brutal and arrogant".

"Israelis roughed up and humiliated all of us, women, men and children," he said.

Algerian Izzeddine Zahrour said Israeli authorities "deprived us of food, water and sleep and we weren't allowed to use the toilet".

"It was an ugly kidnapping and subsequently bad treatment in Israeli jail," he said.

"They handcuffed us, pushed us around and humiliated us," Egyptian MP Hazem Farouq, who was also on the boat, said and added what he witnessed on the ship "defied his imagination".

"It was hell on the sea. I saw Israeli soldiers killing activists in cold blood and then walking on their bodies," Farouq, who was one of more than 700 activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos, said on Tuesday in Cairo.

"The Israeli soldiers sprayed bullets as if they were a mafia in an American film."

Today represents a terrible blot on the justice system of South Africa. The publishing of an offensive cartoon of Muhammad (saw) by the reckless and irresponsible Mail and Guardian on behalf of its cartoonist, Zapiro and the comments made by them since display a well thought out action that was meant to hit Muslims where it hurts most. Additionally, this was part of an international collective of sick people who ran the Facebook page, "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day", a collective that the M&G and Zapiro actively chose to be a part of and have since been completely unapologetic of. In fact they are proud of the "upholding of freedom of speech"

Muslims are reminded by none other than Allah about these type of people: "Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what their breasts conceal is far worse. Indeed We have made plain to you the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses) if you understand." (Aal Imraan: 118)

Please see below the article for what YOU as a Muslim should do insha allah:

21 May 2010

Source: EWN & Iafrica 

The South Gauteng High Court on Thursday ruled in favour of the Mail & Guardian, following a late-night application to prevent the paper from being distributed on Friday.

A group of Muslim jurists and scholars asked the court for an interdict against the paper because of a Zapiro cartoon which depicts the prophet Muhammad.

In the cartoon, the prophet is shown lying on a psychologist’s couch and speaking about how other prophets’ followers have a sense of humour.

The cartoon relates to a Facebook page called "everybody draw Muhammad day", which has made international headlines for encouraging people to draw the prophet, even though it is forbidden by Islamic law.

However, the South Gauteng High Court found that the cartoon was already in the public domain as it had been published on the newspaper’s website.

“We are pleased that once again our courts and constitution has stood up for free speech and our right to publish,” said Mail & Guardian’s Editor-in-Chief Nic Dawes.

Tweet updates

Dawes announced the news on Twitter at 2am on Friday morning, "For those of you still awake, we won, distribution of M&G with Zapiro cartoon continues."

Dawes made the point that Judge Mayat, who made the ruling, is a muslim.

Dawes wrote, "Music to my ears from Judge Mayat: as a judge and as a muslim I am bound by our constitution and the rules of our courts."