Who says Osama is a terrorist, ask Muslim religious leaders

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NEW DELHI: From incredulity to hostility towards the US -- reactions of Indian Muslim organisations changed rapidly as it became clear that the news of Osama bin Laden's death in a CIA operation in Abbottabad in Pakistan was not American propaganda.

Muslim religious leaders, cutting across sectarian divisions, questioned the "America-propounded" description of the al-Qaida leader as a terrorist, asking what judicial procedures had been followed to pronounce him as one. There was, however, obvious unease at the fact that he had been found to be living in Pakistan and had been killed in an US operation on Pakistani soil.

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Imam of Jama Masjid, objected to Osama being called a terrorist, "When did any court of law in the world convict Bin Laden of terrorist activities? It is only America's assertion and that of Nato that he was one. Why should we believe them. As for the government of India's reactions, I would want to know their views on what is happening in Palestine even now when thousands of Muslims are being killed byIsrael with US help. The killing (of Osama) in a continuation of US interference in Libya, Iraq and Palestine."

Maulana Arshad Madani, president of one faction of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, also disagreed that Osama was a terrorist. "I do not believe he indulged in terrorism. The question to be asked is why did US come into Afghanistan in the first place? Who created Osama? Americans did to exterminate the Russians. Now that their need has been fulfilled, they term Osama, who was at one point their best friend, a terrorist. It is symptomatic of the American way of functioning of their constant use and throw policy with countries and people."

The Indian Muslim establishment initially reacted with incredulity to the news of Osama's death, citing US operations in Tora Bora as a precedent where claims of his killing had later been proved false. It took statements from home minister P Chidambaram and Pakistani MP Sherry Rehman to convince them of the veracity of these reports, after which prominent Muslim leaders said Osama was a one-time American ally with whom relations had soured because he had lost his utility which was to tackle the Russians in Afghanistan.

There was, however, some resentment about the fact that he was in Pakistan. Imam Bukhari said it proved the contention that ISI gave shelter to terrorists. "I am not saying Osama was a terrorist but the fact that outfits like JeM and LeT have bank accounts in the US show that US and ISI jointly sponsor the acts of terrorism in India."

Cutting across the Muslim sectarian divide, the reactions remained similar. Asghar Ali Imam Mehdi Salafi, general secretary of the Markaze Jamiat Ahle Hadees Hind - one of the oldest Muslim organisations in the country and believed to have Wahabi roots -- said, "Osama was a puppet of a superpower, in fact the kind of power he wielded and the widespread consequences of his alleged acts could not have been possible if he did not have powerful backers. Now that he has outlived their necessity, they took him out. This is a conspiracy of the enemies of Asia and of Islam to paint Muslims in a bad light."

The overwhelming consensus seemed to be that the US would do well to steer clear of internal matters of sovereign states in which it has no business. "It is only America's contention that Osama was a terrorist. There is no reason for us to take their words at face value. As for his having been killed inside Pakistan by American forces, that is something Pakistan should get worried about," said Jamaat Islam-i-Hind president Jalaluddin Umri.

Who says Osama is a terrorist, ask Muslim religious leaders

What if Jesus Christ was a woman?

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TOKYO: As a child, Kristen Wolf set up a makeshift altar in the driveway of her home, decorating a desk with a white cloth and a crucifix before proceeding to conduct a Mass and causing a stir that resulted in a reprimand.

The move came, she now says, from a sense that she was left outside the center of Catholic tradition and spirituality by her gender, a feeling that led her decades later to write " The Way," a re-imagining of the story of Jesus with a woman in the central role.

"I had a very definite sense, even as a young child, of being somehow excluded from my spiritual experience," Wolf said in a recent telephone interview.

"As I looked on it, the church leaders could only be male and our God was male, the main player was the Father's only son. The women were mostly in ancillary roles ... I never felt there was a heroic female."

Decades later, after attending Georgetown University in Washington, DC and studying the Bible and mythology, as well as reading retellings of once-male stories from a female point of view, Wolf thought there was a need for a new take on the Biblical tale of the Messiah.

The result was the story of Anna, a tomboy in ancient Palestine whose androgynous appearance leads to her being disguised as a boy and sold to shepherds. Captured and taught by a group of women who live according to an ancient philosophy, she tries to spread their teachings to ordinary people.

Wolf said that she didn't want to be critical of any religion, but instead sought to tap into one of the major stories still told in modern society -- just from a slightly different angle.

"The stories need to be dusted off and re-invigorated. My intention was to create a new story that we tell differently, that brings out the timelessness of this story, this person Jesus," she said.

"It captures that timelessness but reshapes it so it becomes relevant in our lives again."

The book took some time to be sold to a publisher, but Wolf said she felt that was due at least as much to difficult times in the industry and her own status as a debut novelist. She noted that much of the response since it was launched has been positive.

While there were pleasures and perils involved in retelling such a famous story, she found the overall experience was "thrilling."

"You already have, intrinsically, a powerful, moving, evocative story and character that has already stood the test of time. It's as if you're working with a great masterpiece of human emotion," she said.

"Which probably also ties into why you're at peril, because you're taking something that is powerful and you are willing to alter it. Your intention is to refresh it but I suppose there's always the risk that you don't." 

What if Jesus Christ was a woman?

Strong 6.8 quake hits near East Timor

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JAKARTA: A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck deep beneath the seabed near East Timor on Tuesday but no tsunami warning was issued, a local geophysics agency said.

The quake hit at 13:57 pm (0657 GMT) at a depth of 469 kilometre (291 miles), about 271 kilometre northeast of the capital, Dili, according to Indonesia's geophysics agency.

"We did not issue a tsunami warning. There are no reports of damage so far," said Novita, an official at Indonesia's national quake centre.

"The quake was felt by the people in Timor island, but not strongly," she said.

East Timor sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic activity.

Strong 6.8 quake hits near East Timor