Since hieroglyphs always "look" to the beginning of the sencence, can be read top down orwith a mirror, the first in Egypt society are the coloured original Egyptians. Then neighbouring
Libians and Nile upwards darker Africans.
The Hittities lived in Anatolia and Turkey up to Hebron also in Syria.
Memeorandum April 23, 2007, 8:00 AM UPDATE: Pa. Muslim center leader quits over remarks about Islam critic & Women tend to scare imams; The unreported American story is also about an imam, forced to resign from a Pennsylvania Islamic Centre for telling a newspaper, "(The) death sentence is warranted" for best-selling author and critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former Dutch Parliament member.
Blogrunner: A Conversation with Imam Fouad ElBayly
Robin Acton / PittsburghLIVE.com: Furor over author Ayaan Hirsi Ali's visit stirs debate on religious freedom Ali, a brave Somalian woman who has been waging a lonely battle against theocrats who do not believe in women's right to dignity and freedom and has pitilessly exposed the cruel, gruesome practice of female circumcision in Islamic countries, spoke at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, on April 17. Presumably she repeated her thesis on Islamism and fundamentalism being inimical to freedom and liberty. "She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," the Egyptian imam who has been preaching in the US since 1976, told a newspaper later. Obviously the imam was referring to Ali's "defaming the faith" by writing the script of Submission, a film on how Muslim women are subjugated and denied dignity by those who claim to be true adherents of the faith. Theo Van Gogh, the film's director, was murdered by an Islamist in an Amsterdam street on November 2, 2004. Since then Ali has been living in the shadow of death but has not given up her fight. "To feel otherwise," she says, "would be to deny everything I stand for."
To appease the Islamists and make peace with those hounding Ali, the Dutch Government moved to strip her of citizenship on the specious plea that she had "lied" about her date of birth, country of origin and name while seeking political asylum. Ali fought back the charges, but in the end resigned from Parliament and has now moved to the US where she is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Her book, The Caged Virgin - A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason, has sold millions of copies across the world. It is not surprising that imams who believe it is alright for men to beat their wives should feel threatened by gutsy women like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and, closer home, Taslima Nasreen - their thoughts would not fetch them a hapenny. And deep within they know paradise is not for those who peddle hate as faith.
5/10/2007, 3:07 a.m. EDT The Associated Press
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The leader of a Muslim center has resigned after telling a newspaper that, in the eyes of the Islamic community, a death sentence was warranted for the best-selling author and critic of radical Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who recently visited the area.
Fouad ElBayly said Wednesday he had stepped down as imam and president of the Islamic Center of Johnstown. He said the center's board members requested his resignation.
The request came in response to ElBayly's comments about Ali, who spoke April 17 at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown.
ElBayly, a native of Egypt who came to the United States in 1976, and Mahmood A. Qazi, the center's founder, had tried to get the university to cancel Hirsi Ali's appearance, saying her criticisms were unjustified and could create dissension in their community.
"She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," ElBayly was quoted saying in an April 22 story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
In a letter to newspapers in Pittsburgh and Johnstown, the center's attorney, Dennis J. Stofko said ElBayly's comments did not reflect the views held by board members.
"The Islamic Center of Johnstown was established to foster religious tolerance, education and the exercise of its religious beliefs," Stofko said. The center, he said, "sincerely respects the rights of individuals to speak their opinions openly and freely without the fear of reprisal."
"I've said enough already," ElBayly said about his resignation.
Hirsi Ali, a native of Somalia and former member of parliament in the Netherlands, wrote the script for the film, "Submission" — a fictional study of abused Muslim women, with scenes of near-naked women with Quranic verses written on their bodies. While some Muslims called it blasphemous, Hirsi Ali said it expressed her dream of an Islamic Age of Enlightenment.
The film's director, Theo van Gogh, was murdered on an Amsterdam street in 2004, and his killer thrust into his chest a letter threatening Hirsi Ali's life. She has moved to the United States, joined the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and written the best-selling autobiography, "Infidel," a graphic account of how she rejected her faith and the violence she said was inflicted on her in the name of Islam.
To appease the Islamists and make peace with those hounding Ali, the Dutch Government moved to strip her of citizenship on the specious plea that she had "lied" about her date of birth, country of origin and name while seeking political asylum. Ali fought back the charges, but in the end resigned from Parliament and has now moved to the US where she is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Her book, The Caged Virgin - A Muslim Woman's Cry for Reason, has sold millions of copies across the world. It is not surprising that imams who believe it is alright for men to beat their wives should feel threatened by gutsy women like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and, closer home, Taslima Nasreen - their thoughts would not fetch them a hapenny. And deep within they know paradise is not for those who peddle hate as faith.
5/10/2007, 3:07 a.m. EDT The Associated Press
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The leader of a Muslim center has resigned after telling a newspaper that, in the eyes of the Islamic community, a death sentence was warranted for the best-selling author and critic of radical Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who recently visited the area.
Fouad ElBayly said Wednesday he had stepped down as imam and president of the Islamic Center of Johnstown. He said the center's board members requested his resignation.
The request came in response to ElBayly's comments about Ali, who spoke April 17 at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown.
ElBayly, a native of Egypt who came to the United States in 1976, and Mahmood A. Qazi, the center's founder, had tried to get the university to cancel Hirsi Ali's appearance, saying her criticisms were unjustified and could create dissension in their community.
"She has been identified as one who has defamed the faith. If you come into the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it deliberately, the sentence is death," ElBayly was quoted saying in an April 22 story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
In a letter to newspapers in Pittsburgh and Johnstown, the center's attorney, Dennis J. Stofko said ElBayly's comments did not reflect the views held by board members.
"The Islamic Center of Johnstown was established to foster religious tolerance, education and the exercise of its religious beliefs," Stofko said. The center, he said, "sincerely respects the rights of individuals to speak their opinions openly and freely without the fear of reprisal."
"I've said enough already," ElBayly said about his resignation.
Hirsi Ali, a native of Somalia and former member of parliament in the Netherlands, wrote the script for the film, "Submission" — a fictional study of abused Muslim women, with scenes of near-naked women with Quranic verses written on their bodies. While some Muslims called it blasphemous, Hirsi Ali said it expressed her dream of an Islamic Age of Enlightenment.
The film's director, Theo van Gogh, was murdered on an Amsterdam street in 2004, and his killer thrust into his chest a letter threatening Hirsi Ali's life. She has moved to the United States, joined the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and written the best-selling autobiography, "Infidel," a graphic account of how she rejected her faith and the violence she said was inflicted on her in the name of Islam.
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