Pakistan: Proposed law to improve women's rights causes "uproar"

"The proposal has prompted widespread opposition in the Islamic world."

And why is that? After all, isn't Islam and Islamic law supposed to "elevate" women? The problem is, that "elevation" is not established by standards outside of Islam, where there can be no higher "elevation" than to act in lockstep with Allah's will. Hence, anything beyond what is spelled out in the Qur'an and Sunnah is liable to be denounced as bida, or innovation. Thus, attempts to increase women's rights in society beyond that will not be seen as generous, but dangerous, and sharia will remain the chief obstacle to improving the condition of women wherever it is the basis for a society's laws.
There's an uproar over proposals by the council for Islamic ideology (CII), to reform Islamic law concerning the family, in order to provide greater rights for women in the case of divorce. Current law recognizes divorce declared "verbally" by the husband, in private, and grants few economic rights to the wife.
The CII (a significant constitutional group with a legal consulting role in parliament and the government, set up in 1962) is also proposing that the wife should be able to ask for a divorce, in writing, with an obligation for the husband to accept the request within 90 days. After this period of time, the marriage would be dissolved anyway, unless the woman withdrew the request. It is also advised that women should declare their property at the time of their marriage, because after divorce many husbands strip their wives of their own property.
Asma Jahangir, president of the Pakistani commission for human rights, explains to AsiaNews that, in any case, women have a legal right to divorce, but the real problem is that often the husband does not provide any economic support for her or her children. She recalls that many husbands throw their wives and children out of the house, without even divorcing or giving them anything.
Muslim lawyer Hifza Aziz adds that today, the man can remarry without even telling his new wife about his previous divorce.
The proposal has prompted widespread opposition in the Islamic world, and the mufti Munibor Rehman, a prominent religious leader, accuses the CII of "wanting to invent a new sharia" and "to create anarchy and chaos in the country."
Hanif Jalandhry, secretary general of the alliance of organizations of Islamic schools, accuses the CII of "exceeding its constitutional role, with the proposal to introduce non-Islamic reforms into the law." Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami, says that the council "is sowing confusion among the people, with mistaken interpretations of sharia."
These accusations are rejected by S.M. Zafar, president of the Pakistani society for human rights, who reiterates that "the right of the woman to ask for a divorce is already practiced under the principle of the Khula, and the CII only wants to formalize this practice."
The CII is not withdrawing the proposed law, which will be examined by parliament. On November 18, Hamid Saeed Kazmi told the national assembly that the government "does not support" these proposals, which are being advanced by the CII on its own initiative. The minister for law and justice, Farooq H. Naek, has specified that parliament will not approve a law that is in contrast with the holy Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Another controversial point is the CII's proposal to allow women to make the pilgrimage of the Hajj (which Muslims must make at least once in their lives) without a Mahram ("guardian"), in respect of the constitutional right to travel without restrictions.

Michael (Mikaeel) Jackson converts to Islam

He was feeling "a bit down." So he decided to convert to the "funnest" religion in the world -- you know, the one that bans -- and whips people for -- dancing. "Michael Jackson 'becomes a Muslim and changes name to Mikaeel,'"

Beleaguered pop star Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel, it has been claimed today.
The 50-year-old singer, who has previously been photographed wearing a traditional Arab women's veil, reportedly became a Muslim in a ceremony at a friend's house in Los Angeles.
The singer, who was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, is said to have sat on the floor and worn a small hat while an imam officiated at the home of Steve Porcaro, who composed music on his Thriller album.
He is said to have been encouraged by Canadian songwriter David Wharnsby and Phillip Bubal, a producer, who both approached him after he appeared 'a bit down'.
A source told The Sun: 'They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea.
'An imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief.'[...]
Meanwhile, Jackson is scheduled to give evidence in person at London's High Court to defend allegations that he owes an Arab sheikh £4.7 million.

Rocket Hits Israeli City, Gaza Still Sealed

JERUSALEM – Palestinians fired a rocket at an Israeli city near the Gaza Strip on Friday but caused no casualties, police said, as the Israeli military continued its closure of all crossings into the coastal territory because of ongoing rocket fire.
Early Friday's rocket landed in an industrial zone in Ashkelon, about 11 miles inside Israel, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Israel allowed a trickle of key supplies into Gaza during a five-month truce with Gaza's Hamas rulers, then shut the crossings after the truce began breaking down Nov. 4 in a flurry of Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes.

Israel maintains Gaza closure despite humanitarian concerns is how this is portrayed. It is the bad Israelis that are oppressing the good "palastinians."

Thousands of Jordanians protest Israeli Gaza blockade.
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Jordanian capital on Friday to protest Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
More than 3,000 demonstrators marched in the streets of the Al-Wihdat Palestinian refugee camp in Amman and torched US and Israeli flags, organisers said.
Chanting pro-Hamas slogans, the protesters carried banners reading, "Yes for resistance" and "End the Zionist occupation of Palestine."
"We can't be silent anymore about what happens in Gaza," Hamazah Mansur, head of the Islamic Action Front's six-member parliamentary bloc, told AFP.
"If the situation in Gaza develops, Arab rulers should expect an earthquake that would shake their countries and their regimes."
Israel has imposed sanctions on Gaza since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power last year in the impoverished territory of 1.5 million residents.
The one-hour protest was organised by the IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, which held a similar protest on Wednesday.
The IAF said earlier this month it was planning a trip to the Gaza Strip from the southern Red Sea port of Aqaba in a bid to break an Israeli blockade.
Jordan and Israel are bound by a 1994 peace treaty.