Pakistan's Senate Condemns Honor Killings of Five Women in Baluchistan

Salam/Peace:

Pakistan's Senate has called for action to be taken against men alleged to have buried alive five women in the western province of Balochistan in July.

Reports from the district of Nasirabad said the women were killed because three of them wanted to get married without the approval of their families.

[...]

Now the Senate has passed a formal resolution on the deaths.

"This house condemns the brutal murder of five women in Balochistan's Nasirabad district and calls for strong action to be taken against the culprits," the statement said.

It called on the Senate's human rights committee "to produce a comprehensive report on the incident in one month".

Read the whole article at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7592404.stm

Muslims, Catholics break bread together

Salam/Peace:

(Blogger's note: This is actually the caption of a photo that was published in today's Chicago Tribune)

Cardinal Francis George (right) of the Chicago Catholic Archdiocese, seated beside Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, samples hummus on Wednesday at an annual interfaith banquet held to celebrate the breaking of the Islamic fast of Ramadan. The interfaith event was held in the American Islamic Association mosque in Frankfort.

Muslims celebrate holy month with charity, service projects

Salam/Peace:

Muslims across the country are marking Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic year, with charity and outreach programs.

The Council for American-Islamic Relations, the Washington-based advocacy and civil rights group, is urging Muslims to invite their non-Muslim neighbors to join them at an iftar— the evening meal when Muslims break their dawn-to-sunset fast during the 30-day holiday, which began Monday evening.

[...]

Many Muslims make charitable gifts during the month of Ramadan, and service projects are also popular. This year, hundreds of Muslims around the nation will serve the hungry and homeless at Day of Dignity events in 18 U.S. cities. The events are coordinated by Islamic Relief USA, based in Buena Park, Calif.

[...]

In Seattle, organizer Aziz Junejo says organizers expect to serve meals and distribute supplies such as ponchos, blankets, socks and hygiene kits to 1,000 people at a downtown day-labor center. The event is underwritten by personal donations and 20 area mosques.

"We want to show people respect, not just give them handouts. We take time to talk with them and hear their stories," Junejo says.

Read the whole article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-09-02-ramadan-service_N.htm#uslPageReturn

Number of educated Muslims in Uganda increases

Salam/Peace:

THE number of educated Muslims has increased, according to the third deputy prime minister and minister of information and national guidance.

Hajji Ali Kirunda Kivejinja said Muslims “have spent sleepless nights to make sure we arrive where we are today.”

The deputy premier added that many Muslim elites were employed in various institutions, while others had private ventures.

He was on Sunday speaking during a re-union of former students of the Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) at the female campus in Kabojja, near Kampala.

The Muslims, said Kivejinja, were moving very fast to fill the holes of illiteracy among their communities and shed off the tag of the “uneducated religion.”

Read the whole article at:
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/647751