Red Bull withdraws Jesus ad after Christian, Muslim outcry in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG — Energy-drink maker Red Bull said Wednesday it has dropped an advertisement in South Africa after an outcry from both Christians and Muslims for its portrayal of Jesus Christ walking on water.

South Africa’s Roman Catholic bishops urged Christians not to drink Red Bull in traditional fasting for Lent ahead of Easter celebrations next month, stopping short of calling for a full commercial boycott.

The television cartoon implies Jesus walked on water because he had been invigorated by a miraculous energy drink and knew where there were hidden rocks to tread on.

South Africa’s Muslim Judicial Council on Wednesday warned of consequences of “secular extremism” against any religious faith.

It said any “insult and satire” of Jesus targeted “the very foundation of Islamic theology.”

Christ is a revered prophet in Islam.

In a message to Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, head of the Southern Africa Roman Catholic Bishops Conference, the Muslim council said the ad was hurtful to Christianity, Islam and religion as a whole.

“We wish that our voices can be united to make clear to any secular extremist that any attack or defacement of religious symbols and sacred spaces is not acceptable,” the council said.

Cardinal Napier earlier called on Catholic worshippers to donate to charities any money they saved on Red Bull during Lent.

In a statement, the drinks maker said its humorous advertising always looks at “well-known themes.”

“It is never our intention to hurt anyone’s feelings,” it said.

It said the ad, aired on Tuesday, was scrapped Wednesday, and Red Bull regretted it had caused such strong feelings in religious communities.

Cartoons depicting Islam’s Prophet Mohamed triggered violent protests in Europe and across the Muslim world.

“There is a need for a new sensitivity toward people’s beliefs,” said Chris Townsend, an official of the Bishops Conference in South Africa.

“As on this occasion, people become very deeply offended,” Townsend said.

Source: The Washington Post

Bosnian Muslim Walking to Mecca for the Hajj
 

Each year millions of Muslims make the annual pilgrimage to the Saudi city of Mecca.

The Hajj, as it is known, is still far away, this year it is in the end of October, but 47-year-old Senad Hadzic (pictured left) has already set off in that direction.

That is because he is on foot.

He started from his hometown in northern Bosnia back in December 2011 and is walking all the way to Mecca.

The distance is about 3,600 miles from Bosnia to Mecca and he covers between 12 to 20 miles a day.

Just before hitting the road again, Senad Hadzic proudly shows the meager contents of his backback. He’s got a Koran wrapped in plastic for protection against the elements, a bible, maps and flags of the six countries he plans to cross.

“To be honest, before i started on this trip, everybody was frightened for me, asking how will I, as a Muslim, be able to travel though Christian countries like Serbia and Bulgaria,” says Hadzic.

But he was never scared, he says. Traveling with very little money, Hadzic says he’s depended on the kindness of strangers for much of the 600 miles or so he’s walked so far.

“In Serbia, people came out on the street and gave me a hat, or some socks,” Hadzic says. “In one case, a professor in Serbia invited me to stay in his house. This Serbian professor, who was a Christian, told me that I was the first Muslim who had stepped in his house in his life. It was a great honor for me.”

Istanbul has presented a bit of a snag. He’s spent 20 days here, he says, trying to get permission to walk across the Bosphorus bridge connecting Europe to Asia. It’s only open to vehicles. Hadzic doesn’t even want to mention the details of how he got it resolved.

“I’ll tell you, this trip has had millions of problems,”Hadzic says. I’ll explain it to you like this: God willing, I’m going to enter Asia today, and then Syria. And I’m not afraid of a tank or a bullet, only God. And then when I get to Mecca I will say a prayer for all of us.”

When he finally leaves the hotel, he’s excited to be on his way. Wearing a reflector safety vest and a shabby backpack, with Bosnian and Turkish flags sticking out, it’s easy to see how his eccentric character endears him with many that he meets on his way.

“An old Turkish wise man appeared and when he saw that I came from Bosnia to Istanbul on two feet, he offered me the money to sit on an airplane and go directly to Mecca for the Haj,” Hadzic says. “But I rejected this.”

Hadzic says he must travel by foot because God told him to in a dream. His act of faith is not just for his own benefit but for everyone he meets along the way as well.

“By this act, I am proving that everything I do is for the love of God,” Hadzic says. “For all the riches in the world, I would never stop what I am doing.”

Walking through this city of 13 million, in a fitting parallel with his bizarre quest, we run into a group of Bosnian tourists. Hadzic is clearly well-known in Bosnia and doesn’t need an introduction. After pictures are taken and greetings exchanged, Hadzic is back on his own.

He’s not even half way there yet but Hadzic has already learned a lot.

“The point, my friend, is learning the meaning of ‘thank you’. The poor people who live in the countryside love God and support me with generosity. The rich people in the cities love their ATMs,” Hadzic says.

After walking the more than 500 miles from Istanbul to the Syrian border, Hadzic says he plans to continue through Syria. It’s a bit risky he admits, but with God’s help he says he won’t feel fear. He plans to wave a Syrian flag with the word “victory” written on it, and pray for the victims of the conflict.
 

Source: The World
  

High-flying Muslim career women willing to 'share husbands' because of a lack of suitable men
 

Muslim career women in Britain are choosing to become involved in polygamous relationships because of a lack of suitable men.
 

Some of them even choosing to become second or third wives to married men, according to the Islamic Sharia Council.
 

The charity, based in Britain, gives legal guidance to Muslims and has said it is receiving a high number of queries from women struggling to find suitable partners.
 

Many of the women have also said they would prefer to hold down high-profile jobs rather than look after their husbands.
 

Taking more than one wife is illegal in the UK but men marry again in a nikah religious ceremony, allowing them to take up to four wives.
 

Mizan Raja, 35, who organises Muslim marriages around the world, told the Sunday Times, that he has had hundreds of calls in the past six months from women asking about becoming second wives.
 

Mr Raja said: 'The demand for these relationships is led by the women, not the men. In one generation women have become educated, entrepreneurial and professional.
 

'The Muslim community is struggling with this, how do you cope with women who wear trousers?'
 

He said that many Muslim men just wanted a 'homemaker' and to come home to a clean house and a plate of food on the table.
 

He added the men didn't want the 'headache' of being in a relationship with a professional woman.
 

It is thought the Muslim women are also actively seeking out married men because they do not want the hassle of having to cook for their husbands after a hard day at work and are quite happy to have part-time relationships.

One woman who spoke to the Sunday Times, and asked not to be named, had an affair with a married man after divorcing her first husband.
 

When he offered to leave his wife she preferred to become his second wife because she did not want him 'under her shoes 24/7'.
 

It is thought about 12,000 brides are brought to the UK by Muslim men.
 

The decline in available husbands has become such a problem it is now referred to as the 'Muslim spinster crisis'.
 

Source: Mail Online

Deadly Mosque Arson in Belgium Attributed to Sunni-Shiite Friction 
 

BELGIUM — An arsonist’s attack on a Shiite mosque in a Brussels suburb that left its 46-year-old imam dead provoked shock and grief among Belgium’s Muslim population on Tuesday, but the authorities there attributed the attack to tensions between the Shiite and Sunni communities — not a new case of the so-called Islamophobia hostility that has been rising in Europe.

The victim, identified by Belgian media as Abdallah Dadou, a father of four, died while attempting to extinguish the blaze, which was set late Monday night at the mosque in the Brussels suburb of Anderlect. Earlier a man who identified himself as a Muslim had approached the building carrying an axe, a knife and flammable liquid that he spread in the mosque, setting fire to it, officials said. The mosque was heavily damaged.

Joëlle Milquet, Belgium’s interior minister, condemned the attack but said that authorities had for the most part discounted the idea that it was motivated by anti-Islamic hate groups. Rather, she said, it appeared to be “a problem between Sunnis and Shiites,” according the Web site of Le Libre Belgique, the Belgian daily newspaper. “But I remain cautious because the judicial authorities still need to confirm a number of things,” she said.
 

The New York Times

Islam Information Centre launched in Luton

UK: Local paper, Luton on Sunday, covered the opening last week of the 'Discover Islam Public Information Centre'.

The Centre, based in Luton, is "a community project which aims to provide a neutral environment for people to ask questions about Islam or Muslims that they would feel too embarrassed or intimidated to talk about otherwise."


The Centre’s launch was marred by protests by the EDL spearheaded by leader and Luton resident, Stephen Lennon.

 

From the local paper:

"Discover Islam representative, Sufian Sadiq said: "Outside is an act of intimidation.

"I actually wanted to sit down and have a cup of tea with them [EDL], but they refused.

"I think the only problem is they haven't had the opportu

nity to mix in with people like ourselves.

“Speaking about the centre, he said: "We conducted a survey and asked over 500 people, who are predominately non-Muslim, about their views on co-existing.
 

"The responses included, 'I don't know enough about Islam . . . I don't know enough about religious practices . . . and I feel scared going into Bury Park and intimidated going into a Mosque'.
 

"We need to sit down as a community and combat this.

"We will come out and show that Islam is not intimidating."

"Luton council leader, Hazel Simmons attended the launch to show her support for the centre.

"She said: "A few weeks ago we had another challenge to Luton in the form of two television programmes.
 

"They gave an image that doesn't represent us or the town that we live in or work in.
 

"Unfortunately that is the message that has gone out nationally and we've got to fight back against it.

"This is a groundbreaking initiative and a great opportunity for the town.

"We know in Luton that we have many challenges.

"We never shy away from them and we know they are there."

"A spokesman for Luton in Harmony said: "From what I've heard today, this centre is something the town needs, and something the non-Muslim community have said that they wanted.

"This is a lovely example of the Muslim community engaging, because they recognise they need to come out and dispel the myths and propaganda coming from people who don't know anything about what Muslims are really about."

Source: Engage

 INTERNATIONAL FITNESS WEEK
 

This week 19 – 25th is International Fitness Week, a great opportunity to kick-start the new, fitter you.

So whether you’re a gym enthusiast or an exercise novice, it’s time to team up with a mate and motivate each other.

Check with your local gym if they offer any specials this week as you may find that some of the larger gyms may have free passes for the week - joining in the bid to make the world a fitter place!

N-JOY.
 

CCN Reader: Dear Flightstar Fozi, we are going off to Vietnam. We have obtained a visa through the consulate in Australia. I have been told I can get a visa at the airport when I arrive and it is cheaper. Could you advise me on this please?


 

Flightsar Fozi: It is possible to get a visa on arrival in Vietnam according to my search.

While it is cheaper, it is not quite as convenient as it may appear.

The visa must be pre-arranged with the immigration office in Vietnam and you cannot obtain one on arrival without a letter to say it has been pre-arranged.

We only use this service as an emergency for our clients if they have not left enough time to arrange a visa.

They are some companies offering this service online but they generally charge a fee, so it is unlikely to work out cheaper than giving it to the consulate.