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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraqi students say arrested for wearing jeans |
| 2005-06-26 |
| Students in the Shi'ite Muslim religious Iraqi city of Najaf said that police recently arrested and beat several of them for wearing jeans and having long hair. "They arrested us because of our hair and because we were wearing jeans," said student Mohammed Jasim, adding that the arrests took place two weeks ago in the city, the spiritual heart of Iraq's newly dominant Shi'ite majority. "They beat us in front of the people. Then they took us to their headquarters, beat us again, shaved our heads and tore our clothes. "When we asked what we had done, they said that we had no honor," he told Reuters this week. Police in Najaf, a conservative city that some residents say has grown more so since Saddam Hussein was overthrown two years ago and religious Shi'ites gained greater power in Iraq, disputed the students' version of events. "We didn't oppress any freedoms. We detained them for a while and after we knew that they were students, we released them after they pledged they wouldn't do it again," Colonel Najah Yasir told Reuters. Yasir commands the Tho Alfakar Brigade, a unit whose name refers to Imam Ali, son-in-law of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, whose shrine is the centerpiece of Najaf. Yasir said the brigade had received complaints from locals in the old part of Najaf that young men were gathering in the streets and acting "improperly." He declined to elaborate on their "improper acts." Earlier this week, Najaf's Youth Association delivered a statement to political parties denouncing the arrests and calling them a violation of rights. Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, is holy to Shi'ites and home to many religious scholars, some of whom have a growing political role as spiritual leaders of the community that was oppressed under Saddam. Throughout the Shi'ite south of Iraq over the past two years, alcohol salesmen and others deemed to trade in goods that violate Islam have been harassed by militants... |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #5 wearing those jew pants--levis--very unislamic ya know |
| Posted by: SON OF TOLUI 2005-06-26 15:44 |
| #4 Let that Freak Flag fly, baby! |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-06-26 15:19 |
| #3 only Sansabelts™ |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-06-26 14:20 |
| #2 Is there anything in the Koran against men wearing slacks or having long hair? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-06-26 12:56 |
| #1 How about that? Religious nuts doing what religious nuts do. I bet it has kind of an Iranian Pakiwaki or Talabian flavor to it too. If I were those kids I would bail out of trhe "bible belt" and travel to a climate that has a bit less restrictive vibe. One of the reasons that I personally think uber religious asstards bite. Stories like this are only the tip of the iceburg and they happen all over the world. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom 2005-06-26 11:50 |