Shaitan Made Me Do It!

Saudi beheaded for murder while drunk

Google News

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia beheaded a man in the kingdom's southwest on Tuesday after he was convicted of killing a drinking partner while they were consuming alcohol, the interior ministry announced.

Sultan al-Asiri, a Saudi, was beheaded by the sword after he was found to have shot dead another citizen, Mufreh Asiri, "as they met for drinking intoxicants," said the statement carried by state news agency SPA.

The beheading, which raises to 72 the number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year, took place in the southwestern city of Abha.

In September, Amnesty International called on the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom where 140 people were on death row to establish an "immediate moratorium on executions."

The rights group said Saudi Arabia was one of a minority of states which voted against a UN General Assembly resolution last December calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Amnesty says Saudi Arabia executed 27 convicts in 2010, compared to 67 executions announced the year before.

I Hate Living With You Norwegians ... I Always Feel Pressured To Drink!

Norway: Muslim colleagues pressured to drink

From: Islam In Europe

Norway: Muslim colleagues pressured to drink

Via Vårt Land (Norwegian):

The experience of Muslim employees is that Norwegians don't accept abstaining from alcohol for religious reasons.

Counselors at the Advisory Center for issues related to alcohol, drugs and addictive gambling in the workplace (AKAN) spoke with employees who said that there are basically only two acceptable reasons for abstaining from alcohol when meeting with colleagues: being pregnant or driving.

"We Norwegians don't accept temperance for religious convictions. In theory yes, maybe, but in practice, when we sit in the pub after a tiring workweek, it's quite incomprehensible that people can't just grab a beer," according to a new book on alcohol culture in the workplace.

Religiously motivated temperance often raises eyebrows and questions. A Pakistani-Norwegian: "I often have to explain myself when I cant' drink alcohol. Norwegians are very engaged by it."

Based on surveys and interviews with Muslim employees, the researchers say that they stay away from situations where it's common to drink alcohol. Or they drink a bit in order to meet with colleagues.

A Palestinian-Norwegian women says why she takes a few sips of wine at the Christmas party or conferences, though she never drinks in other contexts: "Everybody wants integrated minority employees - and alcohol can be a measure of how integrated other perceive you to be."

Others are afraid of being perceived as 'extreme Islamists' if they don't drink.

"I'm more Muslim when people understand that I don't drink alcohol," comments one Iranian-Norwegian employee.

AKAN researchers asked if there was anything special in the role of the colleague that made it more difficult to refuse alcohol. "

A Pakistani-Norwegian in his 50s answered: "Even if I feel guilty afterwards for violating my religion, I have better contact with my Norwegian colleagues."

Health Warning: Alcohol is a Gateway Drug to ... Booze!

Alcohol: moderate use a gateway to alcoholism

Muslim Times  Posted by Zia H. Shah

Muslims realize that all the detrimental consequences related to alcoholism are a proof that alcohol is the reason for numerous problems. The non-Muslims especially the Westerners have a convenient rationalization. They fracture the reality into two parts, moderate use and excessive use and keep trying to blame all problems on excessive use, while applauding the recreational value of moderate use and its other benefits. This also requires denying any possible relationship between moderate and excessive use. “Thus unto every people have We (Allah) caused their doing to seem fair.” (Al Quran 6:109)

The simple fact is that every alcoholic starts as a moderate consumer of alcohol. He or she may or may not have a genetic predisposition, but, the reality is that if he or she had never tasted alcohol his or her vulnerability would not have been exposed.

There are at least 75 verses in the Bible against wine or drunkenness. However, unfortunately, Christianity’s message on the issue becomes ambiguous as wine is a part of its sacraments also. In the majority of Western Christianity, the generally accepted definition of a sacrament is that it is an outward sign that conveys spiritual grace through Christ. Christian churches, denominations, and sects are divided regarding the number and operation of the sacraments. The outward component of sacraments entails the use of such things as water, oil, bread and wine.

Unlike the Bible, the Holy Quran has a very precise and unambiguous message about alcohol:

“They ask thee (Muhammad) concerning wine and the game of hazard. Say: ‘In both there is great sin and also some advantages for men; but their sin is greater than their advantage.’ And they ask thee what they should spend. Say: ‘What you can spare.’ Thus does Allah make His commandments clear to you that you may reflect.” (Al Quran 2:220)

And:

“O ye who believe! wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may prosper. Satan desires only to create enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and the game of hazard, and to keep you back from the remembrance of Allah and from Prayer. But will you keep back?”
(Al Quran 5:91-92)

In these verses the Quran not only prohibits alcohol but also gives reasons behind the prohibition and enlightens us with criteria to judge useful from harmful!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, my commentary and highlights are in red:

Alcoholism has multiple and conflicting definitions. In common and historic usage, alcoholism is any condition that results in the continued consumption ofalcoholic beverages, despite health problems and negative social consequences. Modern medical definitions^[1] describe alcoholism as a diseaseand addiction which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, alcoholism, also referred to as dipsomania^[2] described a preoccupation with, or compulsion toward the consumption of, alcohol and/or an impaired ability to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption.

Although not all of these definitions specify current and on-going use of alcohol as a qualifier for alcoholism, some do, as well as remarking on the long-term effects of consistent, heavy alcohol use, including dependence and symptoms of withdrawal.

While the ingestion of alcohol is, by definition, necessary to develop alcoholism, the use of alcohol does not predict the development of alcoholism. The quantity, frequency and regularity of alcohol consumption required to develop alcoholism varies greatly from person to person. In addition, although the biological mechanisms underpinning alcoholism are uncertain, some risk factors, including social environment, stress,^[3] mental health, genetic predisposition, age, ethnicity and gender have been identified.^[4] Also, studies indicate that the proportion of men with alcohol dependence is higher than the proportion of women, 7% and 2.5% respectively, although women are more vulnerable to long-term consequences of alcoholism. Around 90% of adults in United States consume alcohol, and more than 700,000 of them are treated daily for alcoholism.^[5] Professor David Zaridze, who led the international research team, calculated that alcohol had killed three million Russians since 1987.^[6]

"Bashir" ... or "Walid" or "Place Name Here" ... The Wife Basher

Muslim that bashed his wife fears he will now be bashed

A DEVOUT Muslim fears violent retribution for getting drunk and bashing his wife, a court heard yesterday.

Herald Sun
Waleed Almazyad, who is sponsored by the Saudi Arabian Government to study accountancy in Melbourne, is supposed to adhere to strict sharia law, which bans alcohol.

But Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard that, after sharing five bottles of beer with university mates one night, he returned home and bashed his wife.

Defence lawyer Carolene Gwynn said Almazyad had to deal not only with shame. There had been two known incidents of severe bashings being meted out to conservative Muslims who drank alcohol in breach of religious laws, she said.

Almazyad, 35, pleaded guilty to assault after hitting his wife several times in late 2009.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Brooke Sheers said at one point Almazyad, who the court heard had never drunk alcohol before, dragged his wife by the hair.

She smashed a vase over his head, inflicting a scar beneath his eye.

"She did quite well for herself ... he does have a permanent reminder," Ms Gwynn said.

Almazyad faced being sent back to Saudi Arabia if convicted.

Magistrate Ian von Einem noted that a conviction would also see Almazyad's wife and children sent back to Saudi Arabia early.

He placed him a good behaviour bond, but warned him against committing further violence

... but The Bomb Blasts "Are Not Terror Attacks"!

Blasts in south Lebanon "not terror attacks"

M&C.com

Beirut - Bomb blasts that targeted a liquor store and a hotel in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Wednesday were not terror attacks but likely the work of Muslim groups opposed to the sale and consumption of alcohol, a senior Lebanese official said.

'The two blasts are not linked to terrorist attacks. They are the result of opposition to liquor trade,' Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio.

Blasts went off at a liquor store and the Elissa Hotel in the southern port city of Tyre, causing damage but no injuries.

Alcohol is widely available in Lebanon but it is banned in areas under the control of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and extremist Sunni groups.

The three-storey hotel, which lies on the coast and includes a nightclub, is frequently visited by United Nations peacekeepers, a Lebanese security source said.

A UN source told dpa that peacekeeping forces went on alert following the attacks. The Lebanese army later assured UN commanders that the blasts were not terrorist attacks.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) maintains several bases in Tyre and its main headquarters are in Naqoura, which is only 20 kilometers south of the city.

There have been several attacks against UN peacekeepers in South Lebanon in the past. The most recent attack was in July, when a bomb targeted a UN convoy on a road near the southern port city of Sidon, wounding five French peacekeepers.

Imam Urges Muslims To Stop Boozing ... (It's Haram)

Modern Ghana

Imam Abass Harare, Zenu-Ashaiman Community Imam, has called on Muslims, especially the youth to desist from consuming alcohol and allow the lessons of Ramadan to reflect in their daily lives. 

He noted that some Muslims in Ashaiman and across the country are alarmingly engaged in the drinking of alcohol beverages and hooliganism, noting that activities such as Sallas dance, pool and street parties, booze-up, riding competition, which are un-Islamic, should be avoided. 

Imam Abass urged Muslims to unite and preach peace for the progress of the country, adding that it is the responsibility of every Muslim to lead exemplary life in order to convert more people to Islam. 

The Imam made this known during this year's Eid Al-Adha prayers at Chief Bello's International school premise at New York, an Ashaiman suburb where over 400 Muslims observed the Eid prayers. 

He admonished the youth to contribute their quota to the development of the country. 

Imam Harare mentioned that the Eid al- Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice,' which is one of the biggest event on the Islamic calendar that depicts Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own son for God, should be used to unite the people. 

According to him, the Eid al-Aha coincides with the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, the birth place of Islam. 

The Imam prayed for the President and his ministers, as well as those involved in sustaining and ensuring peace in the country. 

Chief Mohammed Bello, Zenu-Ashaiman Community Chief called on youth of the area and Northern Ghana to stop fighting among themselves, since according to him, Islam is peace. 

He appealed to Muslim youth to desist from discriminating against their fellow Christians and ensure peace. 

Bottoms Up for Halal Scotch!

Non-alcoholic whisky is now whisky 

at all, according to the Scots.

Non alcoholic whisky has the Scots reeling

NZHerald

The whisky distillers of Scotland are in revolt over an alcohol free creation.

ArKay is being promoted as delivering the "exceptional taste of whisky without the alcohol content" and ideal for teetotallers or those worried about drinking and driving.

Significantly, it has been declared as Halal certified, which opens up the possibility of huge sales around the globe in Muslim countries and the Middle East.

However, a spokesman for the Scotch Whisky Association said: "It is not possible to make alcohol-free whisky. This company is trying to exploit whisky's reputation with highly irresponsible marketing."

Real Scotch whisky is a simple creation of water and barley, which grows well in the cool climate and summer rains that are common north of the border. Each distillery's unique taste is delivered by the way the barley is dried, often in peat kilns, together with the way the whisky is carefully aged over many years, often in oak casks.