The Arab Spring morphs into the Islamic Winter. This is supposed to be moderate muslims in control? Full article at link.
Officials in Tunisia say two bloggers have been jailed for seven years after posting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on the internet.
The Ministry of Justice said the men had put naked caricatures of the prophet on their Facebook accounts.
Activists have criticised the sentences and voiced fears that they could herald a clampdown on free speech.
A moderate Islamist government was elected following the fall of President Zine Abidine Ben Ali last year.
One of the men, Jabeur Mejri, is in jail while the second, Ghazi Beji, was sentenced in his absence and is being sought by the police.
"They were sentenced... for violation of morality, and disturbing public order," said Chokri Nefti, a justice ministry spokesman.
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2Big surprise there! Expect more of this in tunisia, egypt, libya, afghanistan, Iraq and eventually syria. Are we seeing a pattern here yet? US is working with radical muslims to trade sharia for oil / strategic co-operation across north africa and in the middle east. Its the new strategy. Nothing keeps the people in line better than a corrupt sharia government. We'll all be in the calliphate eventually. I hope I don't live long enough to experience this next religious nutjob filled dark age. Dog help us all
Compliments of Allah, the peaceful and merciful.
150 Afghan schoolgirls poisoned
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0417/....html
Tue, Apr 17, 2012
About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned today after drinking contaminated water at a school in the country's north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female education.
Since the 2001 toppling of the Taliban, which banned education for women and girls, females have returned to schools, especially in Kabul.
But periodic attacks still occur against girls, teachers and their school buildings, usually in the more conservative south and east of the country, from where the Taliban insurgency draws most support.
"We are 100 per cent sure that the water they drunk inside their classes was poisoned. This is either the work of those who are against girls' education or irresponsible armed individuals," said Jan Mohammad Nabizada, a spokesman for education department in northern Takhar province.
Some of the 150 girls, who suffered from headaches and vomiting, were in critical condition, while others were able to go home after treatment in hospital, the officials said. They said they knew the water had been poisoned because a larger tank used to fill the affected water jugs was not contaminated.
"This is not a natural illness. It's an intentional act to poison schoolgirls," said Haffizullah Safi, head of Takhar's public health department. None of the officials blamed any particular group for the attack, fearing retribution from anyone named.
The Afghan government said last year that the Taliban, which has been trying to adopt a more moderate face to advance exploratory peace talks, had dropped its opposition to female education.
But the insurgency has never stated that explicitly and in the past acid has been thrown in the faces of women and girls by hardline Islamists while walking to school. Education for women was outlawed by the Taliban government from 1996-2001 as un-Islamic.
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