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ALERT - PAKISTAN
18 June 2007
Militant cleric issues fatwa against fashion magazine staff, police file
obscenity charges
SOURCE: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), Karachi
(PPF/IFEX) - A leading militant mosque in Pakistan's capital city of
Islamabad issued a death decree against the staff of the monthly magazine
"Octane" for publishing a fashion-shoot entitled "Adam and Eve" that showed
two models in revealing costumes.
The religious decree, or fatwa, was issued on 16 June 2007 by Maulana Abdul
Aziz, head cleric of Lal Masjid mosque. The decree said that those
responsible for the magazine had committed blasphemy against Adam and Eve
and therefore deserved a death sentence.
The fatwa is the latest challenge to the government by the clerics of Lal
Masjid mosque. In months prior, the mosque was involved in a number of
militant acts that have challenged the government's authority, including
the kidnapping of police officers and of women accused of prostitution.
The management of "Octane" published an advertisement in newspapers
apologising for "inadvertently" publishing the photographs depicting Adam
and Eve.
Police filed charges against the magazine for publishing "obscene"
photographs. However, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the administrator of the
Lal Masjid mosque, demanded that the charge of blasphemy also be brought
against the magazine's editor and the publisher.
For further information, contact Owais Aslam Ali at PPF, Press Centre,
Shahrah Kamal Ataturk, Karachi 74200, Pakistan, tel: +92 21 263 3215, fax:
+92 21 263 1275, e-mail: foe@pakistanpressfoundation.org, Internet:
http://www.pakistanpressfoundation.org
The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of PPF.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit PPF.
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