150 Maldive Women to Be Flogged for Affairs

Minister: 'It was carried out perfectly'

(NEWSER) - For the first time in Malaysia's history, three women have been caned under Islamic law for having extramarital sex. "It was carried out perfectly," the country's home minister tells Reuters . "Even though the caning did not injure them, they said it caused pain within them." Amnesty International denounced the punishment, calling it "cruel, inhumane, degrading" and tantamount to torture. The women were beaten with rattan canes at a women's prison after they were found guilty of adultery by a religious court. More»

(NEWSER) - A former UN worker who faces possible lashing in Sudan for wearing pants blasted flogging as an "insult" to humans that has nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with "men mistreating women," she tells the Guardian. Lubna Ahmed Hussein and 12 other women were busted recently as they listened to a singer in a Khartoum club. Those who pleaded guilty to "indecent" dress for wearing slacks were flogged. But Hussein is determined to fight the charges. More»

But Shahin Najafi denies 'O Naqi' is insulting to Islam

(NEWSER) - Most rappers hope their songs will be a hit—not make them the target of one. That's the situation facing Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rapper living in Germany who's accused of having "grossly insulted" an important Shi'ite Muslim religious figure in one of his songs. He now has a $100,000 bounty hanging over his head, compliments of an Islamist website that says the rapper spoke of Ali al-Hadi al-Naqi, one of the 12 imams, irreverently in the song, Reuters reports, citing Iranian media. More»

New census also finds mosque leaders feel comfortable in US

(NEWSER) - Even as protests against new mosques got quite a bit of attention, their numbers in the US grew from 1,209 in 2000 to 2,106 in 2010, USA Today reports. And most of the leaders of those Islamic places of worship believe America is not hostile to Islam, according to a census of US mosques and poll of mosque leaders released today. "This is a very healthy community," says the lead researcher and study author. "Mosque leaders feel very positive, more positive than they did in 2000," when a similar survey was taken. More»

'Allah' tattoo offends Muslim officials

(NEWSER) - Erykah Badu's Malaysia concert has been canceled, and it's all thanks to the singer's tattoo. A newspaper photo revealed that Badu has the Arabic word for "Allah" inked on her upper body; officials called it "an insult to Islam" and canceled tomorrow's planned performance in Kuala Lumpur. The newspaper that ran the photo has since apologized, and the BBC notes that the tattoo may not be permanent. Concert organizers are hoping officials will change their minds. (Badu also angered Dallas once, by running around naked at JFK's assassination site .) More»