Associate Professor Doctor Simeon Evstatiev: Bulgaria will be a road for Muslim emigration to Europe

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=f1280
22 February 2007 | 21:14 | Focus News Agency

Arab scholar Associate Professor Doctor Simeon Evstatiev in an interview for Focus News Agency.

Focus: Associate Professor Evstatiev, in an operation the ChiefDirectorate ‘Combating Organized Crime’ busted two radical Islamistsites spreading holy jihad and an establishment of a new social systemin Bulgaria – caliphate. Do you think such ideas are dangerous and arethere conditions for them in Bulgaria?
Simeon Evstatiev: I have always thought there are not seriousconditions for radical Islam in Bulgaria. If these signals turn out tobe true, this will be a reason for intensifying caution and worry. Forme the incident is surprising because I have been engaged in Islam formany years and I know Bulgarian Muslims. I hear the Union of BulgarianMuslims has also been brought in. The Union’s initially announced goalswere legitimate. That is why I think experts should examine the contentof the sites because what we have to find out is whether these sitesencourage religious intolerance and violation of social order. If theydo, the people responsible should be punished according to the law.

Focus: Recently the Islamic sect ‘Ahmadiyya’ was denied aregistration in the Bulgarian town of Blagoevgrad. In Germany there isa large number of Ahmadis and their sect is not banned in the country.Why is there such a difference in the understanding of radical sects?
Simeon Evstatiev: I think denying a registration is just movingthe problem into the future. Ahmadis are a sect indeed because theydiverge greatly from orthodox Islam but at the same time they areneither an extremist sect, nor a sect that encourages radical actionsand violence. Their doctrine deviates from the mainstream Islam. Ipersonally do not see a reason for banning Ahmadis. They are not aproblem – in London, for example, Ahmadis are very much respected.There is a misunderstanding – it’s high time Ahmadis were separatedfrom radicalism. They are not dangerous.

Focus: So Bulgarians are a bit afraid of different religious ideology?
Simeon Evstatiev: Yes, they are. Bulgarians are conservative.Actually we can put Protestants in the above group as well, evenclassic Protestants. In the years of transition they were labeled asect. Bulgarians should learn to be more flexible and open whensticking a label but also careful when assessing new Christian andIslam movements.

Focus: It is claimed the sites are spreading Al-Qaeda ideology? What kind of ideology is this?
Simeon Evstatiev: I cannot say there is an ideology typical ofAl-Qaeda. What they have as an ideology is something every Muslim cansay to a certain degree because Al-Qaeda uses separate statements fromthe classic Islam. So it does not have a homogeneous ideology as MuslimBrothers do. They are already part of the political life in Egypt andthey have a clear and concrete ideology that depends not only on commonIslam principles but also on certain historical moments in therespective countries. Whereas Al-Qaeda is a global organization, whichselectively takes classic Islam statements that are consideredlegitimate by all Muslims. What makes Al-Qaeda different is that it isspreading radical violence towards the western world.

Focus: Do you think there is a security threat for Bulgaria?
Simeon Evstatiev: For the time being I do not think there issuch a threat. However in a time when Bulgaria is integrating into theEU and global processes affect the country, and Bulgarian Muslims inparticular, more deeply there could be a potential medium-term threatto Bulgaria’s security. We should not forget that when we become partof a greater community we are attractive to Muslims from othercountries and the road for Muslim emigration to the west will crossBulgaria. New emigrants will settle here, which was the case in Hungaryand the Czech Republic. What is more, in Bulgaria over 12 % aretraditional Muslims, which means the challenge for Bulgarianinstitutions is how not to make Muslims susceptible to dangerousinfluences. And of course another challenge is working out a nationalstrategy for integrating Muslims in Bulgaria.
Galina GIRGINOVA

asiantribune: US Congress wants the immediate release of Bangladesh journalist

http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/4569
US Congress wants the immediate release of Bangladesh journalist
Fri, 2007-02-16 03:53

Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune

Washington, D.C. 16 February (Asiantribune.com): The United States
House of Representatives took an unprecedented step in moving a
bi-partisan resolution in the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee to
force the Bangladesh regime to immediately release the jailed
journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

The Full Committee of the House Foreign Relations will take the
following resolution for debate on Thursday, 15 February.

Most occasions, decisions of Foreign Relations Committees of both the
Senate and the House are tied up with Foreign Assistance Act of the
Congress that gives guidelines of dispatching economic assistance to
foreign countries.

Following is the full text of the resolution now before the House
Foreign Relations Committee:

"Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the
Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending charges
against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury.

Whereas Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is a Bangladeshi journalist who,
because of his beliefs in an interfaith dialogue between Jews and
Muslims and criticism of Islamic extremism, is on trial for sedition,
an offense punishable by death;

Whereas on November 29, 2003, Mr. Choudhury was arrested at Zia
International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on his way to board a
flight bound for Tel Aviv; Mr. Choudhury's passport was seized, along
with considerable sums of money and several personal items; on that
same day police raided Mr. Choudhury's home and newspaper offices,
seizing files, computers, and other valuables;

Whereas Mr. Choudhury was detained in Dhaka Central Jail for a
passport violation, then subsequently charged with sedition; Mr.
Choudhury suffered harsh interrogation techniques and received no
treatment for a debilitating case of glaucoma; Mr. Choudhury's
incarceration lasted 17 months without legal recourse;

Whereas on April 30, 2005, after intervention by the United States
Department of State and congressional offices, Mr. Choudhury was
released on bail;

Whereas in the subsequent months, senior members of the Bangladeshi
Government made continuous public promises that there was no substance
to Mr. Choudhury's pending charges and that all charges would be
dropped;

Whereas on September 29, 2005, Mr. Choudhury was awarded the `Freedom
to Write Award' by PEN USA;

Whereas on May 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was awarded the American Jewish
Committee's Moral Courage Award in absentia in Washington, D.C.; two
days prior to Mr. Choudhury receiving the award, after returning Mr.
Choudhury's passport and appearing to allow him to attend, senior
Bangladeshi Government officials issued threats to prevent him from
leaving the country;

Whereas on July 6, 2006, Mr. Choudhury's newspaper offices were bombed
by an Islamic extremist organization after Mr. Choudhury and his staff
published articles in support of the Ahmadiyya Muslim minority; Mr.
Choudhury received a tip about the bombing days before and reported it
to police, who refused to take action;

Whereas on September 18, 2006, a judge with alleged ties to an Islamic
extremist party ruled that Mr. Choudhury will stand trial for
sedition; the judge made this ruling despite the Public Prosecutor's
testimony in court days before that the government did not have
evidence and would not object to the charges being dropped;

Whereas on October 5, 2006, Mr. Choudhury was attacked at his
newspaper offices by a large group of individuals, including prominent
members of the ruling Bangladesh National Party; police protection for
Mr. Choudhury was withdrawn just days before the attack; Mr. Choudhury
was called an `agent of the Jews' and beaten badly; when Mr. Choudhury
reported the attack to the police, no action was taken;

Whereas members of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom visited with Mr. Choudhury on their trip to
Bangladesh in February and March 2006;

Whereas on October 6, 2006, the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom wrote a letter to U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard A.
Boucher calling on the United States Government to strengthen the
`voices of moderation' in countries like Bangladesh where the rule of
law, democratic institutions, and respect for human rights are under
assault by violent extremists; the Commission identified Mr. Choudhury
as one of those voices that should not be silenced;

Whereas, according to the Department of State's 2005 Country Report on
Human Rights Practices in Bangladesh, `Attacks on journalists and
newspapers, and government efforts to intimidate them,
political party activists, and others, occurred frequently'; and

Whereas moderate voices in the Muslim world must be supported and
protected to advance the security of the United States and its allies:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that—

(1) the Government of Bangladesh should immediately drop all pending
charges against Bangladeshi journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury;

(2) the Government of Bangladesh should immediately return all of Mr.
Choudhury's confiscated possessions; and

(3) the Government of Bangladesh should cease harassment and
intimidation of Mr. Choudhury, take steps to protect Mr. Choudhury,
and hold accountable those responsible for attacks against Mr.
Choudhury."

Daily Times : Ahmadis remained deprived of their rights in 2006

Ahmadis remained deprived of their rights in 2006
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C02%5C16%5Cstory_16-2-2007_pg7_11

By Ali Waqar

LAHORE: Ahmadis continued to be murdered and attacked for their faith
and discriminated against by the state and society in 2006, according
to the annual Ahamdiyya community report.

One of the major incidents of the year was a riot at Jhando Sahi,
Daska tehsil, Sialkot district, during which local Ahmadis were made
to flee their homes by sectarian zealots in the presence of the
police, who refused to restore calm on the excuse that the riot might
spread to other villages, says the annual report.

Press freedom, a flagship human rights policy of the government, was
selectively denied to the Ahmadiyya press, says the report. The
printer and publisher of the Daily Alfazal were booked under the
Anti-Terrorism Act. Sultan Ahmad Dogar, the printer, has been
incarcerated since September 9, 2006.

"Religious extremists remained free to congregate in numbers at Rabwah
and indulge in gross abusive rhetoric, but Ahmadis were not allowed to
hold a single open-air community event in their own town," says the
report.

All kinds of meetings of Ahmadis in Rabwah have been banned since
April 1984. They are not even allowed to organise sports events.

Three Ahmadis were murdered for their faith in 2006: Sheikh Rafiq
Ahmad in Karachi on March 11, 2006; Dr Majibur Rehman Pasha, at his
clinic in Sanghar on May7, 2006; and Munawar Ahmad, at his home
Gujrat, on August 22, 2006.

Several Ahmadis were imprisoned in "fabricated cases", says the
report. Muhammad Iqbal was awarded life imprisonment in a "fabricated
case" of blasphemy. Three Ahmadis from Chak Sikandar were arrested in
September 2003 on the charge of murdering a mullah. Their appeal to
the Lahore High Court has been pending for three years, and they have
been kept in prison during that time. Mansoor Hussain was sentenced to
life imprisonment last year for allegedly burning pages of a timeworn
copy of the Holy Quran. His appeal is pending before the LHC. Three
Ahmadis are imprisoned in Bahawalpur on a "fabricated charge" of
blasphemy. Muhammad Tariq of Nawab Shah is in prison on a blasphemy
charge for wearing a ring with a Quranic inscription.

The report says 10 Ahmadis were booked on allegations of blasphemy; 29
Ahmadis under Ahmadi-specific laws; nine under religious laws; and two
"under religious considerations" in 2006.

It says Ahmadis remained deprived of participation in democratic
institutions. They are excluded from the joint electorate system. They
have no representation, not even in the local union council of their
own town, Rabwah.

"Freedom of faith was blatantly restricted. Disinterment was enforced
by the authorities to placate Islamic clerics. Attacks were carried
out at Ahmadi businesses and at a graveyard. The police took no action
against the perpetrators. Ahmadis also received threats to their
person and families," says the report.

"The government maintained its active support to tyranny, in that
state prosecutors vigorously and successfully opposed bail
applications of Ahmadis in courts. Encouraged by the government's
attitude, sitting judges like Nazir Akhtar of the Lahore High Court
publicly urged the common man to kill Ahmadis on the pretext of
blasphemy," the report reads.

According to the report, 11 Ahmadis were killed for their faith in
2005, the highest total during the preceding five years of the regime.
Also in 2005, the Punjab government advertised an auction of
residential land in Chenab Nagar (Rabwah) to only those who were not
"an Ahmadi/Qadiani/Mirzai/Lahori".

According to an updated summary of cases from 1984 to December Dec
2005; 756 Ahmadis were booked for displaying the Kalima Tayyaba; 37
were booked for calling Azan; 404 were booked for posing as Muslims;
161 were booked for using Islamic epithets; 93 were booked for
offering prayers; 602 were booked for preaching; 27 Ahmadis were
booked for celebrating the Ahmadiyya centenary in 1989; 50 Ahmadis
were booked for celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the eclipses
of sun and moon that occurred in 1894; 22 Ahmadis were booked for
allegedly burning the Quran; 909 various other cases against Ahmadis
were registered on religious grounds; 229 Ahmadis were charged under
blasphemy laws; and once, the entire 45,000-strong population of
Rabwah was charged under Section 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code on
December 15, 1989.

According to other figures available with Daily Times, 79 Ahmadis have
been killed from 1984 to December 2005; 104 were targets of attempted
murder; 18 Ahmadiyya mosques were demolished; 25 mosques were sealed
by the authorities; 10 mosques were set on fire; 13 mosques were
forcibly occupied; the construction of 34 mosques was stopped by the
authorities; 25 Ahmadis were exhumed after burial in the cemetery; and
35 burials of Ahmadis were denied in the cemetery.