Left Shoe News

Prophet Muhammad said, "When one of you puts on sandals, he should first put on the right foot " (Hadith Sahih Muslim 877)

He also said, "He who does not obey Muhammad disobeys God." (Hadith Mishkat 144)

February 28, 2002

27/2/02 Muslims attack Indian train

Today 57 people, including 25 women and 15 children were burnt to death when a furious Muslim mob set fire to a train carrying Hindu pilgrims at Godhra station, NW India. The Hindus had been visiting Ayodhya, the birthplace of the god king Ram. His temple had been pulled down in 1528 by Mughal emperor Babar and been replaced with the Babri Masjid mosque. Then in 1992 a Hindu mob razed the Babri Masjid to the ground and the World Hindu Council plans to build a new temple to Ram on the site.
28/2/02 Angry Hindus in Ahmedabad went on a rampage to avenge the train attack, setting fire to Muslim homes, businesses and vehicles. More than 40 people, including some shot by police, are known dead so far.

2/2/02 Christians flogged in Saudi Arabia

Three Ethiopian Christians, Tinsaie Gizachew, Bahru Mengistu and Gebeyehu Tefera, smuggled out a letter to their consulate saying they had been imprisoned for 6 months 'with no hearing, trial or process of law” solely because of their attendance at an illegal prayer meeting. As a result they were kicked, beaten, suspended by chains and each given 80 lashes with a flexible metal cable which left them bleeding and seriously injured. They were denied medical treatment until the Vice Consul intervened, although Mengitsu was passing blood in his urine.
Non-Muslim worship is prohibited under the Wahhabist Islamic regime. Jeddah's religious police suspected Saudi nationals had participated in the Christian gatherings, although apostasy from Islam is a capital offense.

21/2/02 Sudan government attacks Christian food queue

A Sudanese helicopter gunship fired 5 rockets killing 17 people as 76 tons of UN food were being distributed to around 10,000 people at Bieh, southern Sudan.
On February 10 a government Antonov dropped 6 bombs in a food airdrop zone near Akuem killing two children. A senior Sudanese official described it as a “mistake”.
A large area of Sudan has been liberated from the rule of Sharia, Islamic law after 19 years of fighting during which 2 million people have died. Famine is used as a weapon: in Islamic-held areas food may be withheld from non-Muslims unless they convert to Islam.
13/2/02 Eighteen year-old Aboh Alfa Akok of SW Sudan has been sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery under Islamic law. Her trial was most unfair: she had no legal representation, the trial was conducted in Arabic which the Dinka does not understand and her alleged partner was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
*What is most disturbing is that she is a Christian and Sharia is only supposed to apply to Muslims.

10/2/02 Church destroyed in Egypt

A newly built church at Banny Llamous, El Mina, Egypt was destroyed when armed Muslims set it on fire. Ten Christians were hurt, 35 homes were destroyed and two buses which had brought out-of-town visitors were destroyed. We do not know whether permission had been obtained to build the church: Muslims are not punished for destroying illegal churches. Under the Hamayoni decree, a construction permit can only be given by the president himself, and the average time taken for a permit to be granted is 20 years!
Egypt, the second largest aid recipient from the US should not be allowed to continue persecution of its 12 million Christians. The American values of religious freedom, democracy and respect for human rights should be required by the US from Egypt in exchange for the 2.3 billion a year.

16/2/02 Five die in Philippines blasts

At least 5 people, including two teen-age boys, have died in an explosion at the town market of Jolo, southern Philippines. These islands are home to the Muslim rebel group Abu Sayyaf, which has been holding an American couple hostage for over 8 months. Over 20 people died in clashes on Tuesday and Wednesday between Muslim police and soldiers over the imprisonment of the former governor of the island, Nur Misuari. He had been deported from Malaysia to the Philippines a week ago to face charges of inciting a rebellion last November in which more than 100 people died. The police had been members of Misuari's Muslim separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front, who had been integrated into the force after a 1996 peace accord.
16/2/02 Another explosion took place in a crowded cinema in Zamboanga, wounding three people.

13/2/02 Two die in Muslim riot in Tanzania

A civilian and a policeman died in riots today in Dar es Salaam when rival groups of Muslims held running battles around a mosque. The row was over a service to commemorate two Muslims who died in religious riots in 1998, which were sparked by the arrest of a popular Muslim leader for violating a law preaching to incite people against other religions.

21/2/02 British Muslim cleric charged with incitement to murder

Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, 38, was accused of selling tapes calling for Jews to be killed. The charge is “soliciting to murder” defined as encouraging, persuading, endeavouring to persuade or proposing to any person to murder any other person.” It carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
His supporters in the public gallery encouraged him with shouts such as: “Allah is the final judge”.

28/2/02 Aid workers targeted in Somalia

Last week, a 70 year-old Swiss woman, Verena Karer, who worked for a humanitarian agency, was killed at her home in the southern town of Merca.
A Somali man working for the UN Children's Fund (Unicef)has been kidnapped. Since Somalia descended into clan warfare following the overthrow of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, aid workers have been the targets of gunmen in Somalia who kidnap, rob or kill them.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Somalia remained one of the most dangerous environments in which the UN operates and that the security situation did not allow for a long-term presence.
More than a dozen people were killed in Mogadishu in fighting between rival factions on Monday and Tuesday.

22/2/02 Musharraf will “liquidate” Pearl killers

Daniel Pearl,38, of the “Wall Street Journal” was abducted in January as he tried to meet Islamic militants while researching links between extremists and Richard Reid, the alleged “shoe bomber”. Pearl's body is yet to be found but a videotape showing his throat being cut has been received by US and Pakistan officials. Pakistan is holding the prime suspect, British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (shown on right) but will not rest until they apprehend “each and every one of the gang of terrorists”.
Mr Pearl's widow has an unborn baby “who will know his father only through the memory of others”. (G.W.Bush)

16/2/02 “The Islamic world is presently living in darkness”. (Musharraf)

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made the above comment in an address to a conference on science and technology attended by ministers from Muslim countries. He said the time had come for Islamic nations to take part in collective self-criticism.
“Muslim nations are internally involved in fratricidal conflicts and perceived by the outside world as terrorists with little attention being given on their uplift”.
“Today we are the poorest, the most illiterate, the most backward, the most unhealthy, the most unenlightened, the most deprived, and the weakest of all the human race”.
President Musharraf then made a comparison of the economic growth in Islamic countries with some developed countries.
While the collective Gross National Product of all the Muslim countries stands at $1,200 billion, that of Germany alone is $2,500 billion and that of Japan $5,500 billion.
He said one of the main reasons for this disparity was that none of the Muslim countries had ever paid any attention to educational and scientific development.
Inter alia, he called for the creation of scholarships for young scientists to seek knowledge from universities in western countries.