Russia says Mohammed cartoon publication illegal
- Thread starter Neo
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i agree with russia
sorcerer
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Pakistani Firm Slams Czech Rugby For 'Desecrating Allah'
Although it's a country with a small and dedicated playing community, rugby is not a sport that regularly makes the headlines in the Czech Republic.
Now, however, the rough-and-tumble game has suddenly found itself in the local media spotlight despite the national team's fairly lackluster exploits on the field of play.
The source of this unexpected press attention is a religious controversy in faraway Pakistan and the perceived misuse of the word "Allah."
As part of a sponsorship deal with Adidas, a sports clothing and accessories firm, the cost-conscious Czech rugby association (CSRU) was looking forward to getting a free set of custom-made rugby balls for its international team and national leagues.
Unfortunately, the Pakistani textile firm that handles these kinds of orders for Adidas unexpectedly refused to produce the goods because of the use of the Czech state symbol in the rugby association's logo, which was meant to be sewn onto the balls.
Apparently, the rugby version of the two-tailed lion emblazoned on most of the national team's merchandise contains the word "Allah" written in Arabic, something many Muslims consider to be a desecration of their deity.
Although -- as this photo shows -- there is an evident similarity between how Allah is written in Arabic and the two tails of the Czech lion, these allegations of blasphemy have completely blindsided the rugby logo's authors, whose creation has won several international design awards.
"I'd say that [this logo] has been seen by tens of thousands of experts all over the world and all of them saw it in a positive light," Martin Charvat from the Konektor PR agency told Czech TV. "None of them found anything untoward about it."
Intentional or not, this probably isn't the sort of controversy that anyone really wants right now, at a time of heightened religious sensitivities following the recent deadly attack by Islamist extremists on the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris for publishing images depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Czech religious expert Ivan Odilo Stampach suggests that the Pakistani objections should be respected.
"The tail of the lion is accidentally similar to how God, or Allah, is written in Arabic," he said. 'I don't believe it is meant as some kind of insult. ... I personally think they're being oversensitive, but in this case I would respect their feelings, because it's a business matter."
Some in the Czech Muslim community also believe the complaint should be taken seriously.
"You can see the name Allah in anything," said Muneeb Hassan Alrawi, the chairman of the Union of Muslim Organizations. "Nonetheless, [this Pakistani firm] definitely has the right to say, 'Please let someone else do this job.'"
Happily, it seems the Czech rugby association agrees that discretion is the better part of valor and has kicked the matter into touch for now.
CSRU General Secretary Pavel Mysak says the association has decided to drop the logo from the order specifications and the balls will now simply have the words "Czech Rugby"
He described the new design as the "most practicable" solution to the controversy and the least likely to cause offense.
Pakistani Firm Slams Czech Rugby For 'Desecrating Allah'
@Ray, @Red Hawk
Although it's a country with a small and dedicated playing community, rugby is not a sport that regularly makes the headlines in the Czech Republic.
Now, however, the rough-and-tumble game has suddenly found itself in the local media spotlight despite the national team's fairly lackluster exploits on the field of play.
The source of this unexpected press attention is a religious controversy in faraway Pakistan and the perceived misuse of the word "Allah."
As part of a sponsorship deal with Adidas, a sports clothing and accessories firm, the cost-conscious Czech rugby association (CSRU) was looking forward to getting a free set of custom-made rugby balls for its international team and national leagues.
Unfortunately, the Pakistani textile firm that handles these kinds of orders for Adidas unexpectedly refused to produce the goods because of the use of the Czech state symbol in the rugby association's logo, which was meant to be sewn onto the balls.
Apparently, the rugby version of the two-tailed lion emblazoned on most of the national team's merchandise contains the word "Allah" written in Arabic, something many Muslims consider to be a desecration of their deity.
Although -- as this photo shows -- there is an evident similarity between how Allah is written in Arabic and the two tails of the Czech lion, these allegations of blasphemy have completely blindsided the rugby logo's authors, whose creation has won several international design awards.
"I'd say that [this logo] has been seen by tens of thousands of experts all over the world and all of them saw it in a positive light," Martin Charvat from the Konektor PR agency told Czech TV. "None of them found anything untoward about it."
Intentional or not, this probably isn't the sort of controversy that anyone really wants right now, at a time of heightened religious sensitivities following the recent deadly attack by Islamist extremists on the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris for publishing images depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Czech religious expert Ivan Odilo Stampach suggests that the Pakistani objections should be respected.
"The tail of the lion is accidentally similar to how God, or Allah, is written in Arabic," he said. 'I don't believe it is meant as some kind of insult. ... I personally think they're being oversensitive, but in this case I would respect their feelings, because it's a business matter."
Some in the Czech Muslim community also believe the complaint should be taken seriously.
"You can see the name Allah in anything," said Muneeb Hassan Alrawi, the chairman of the Union of Muslim Organizations. "Nonetheless, [this Pakistani firm] definitely has the right to say, 'Please let someone else do this job.'"
Happily, it seems the Czech rugby association agrees that discretion is the better part of valor and has kicked the matter into touch for now.
CSRU General Secretary Pavel Mysak says the association has decided to drop the logo from the order specifications and the balls will now simply have the words "Czech Rugby"
He described the new design as the "most practicable" solution to the controversy and the least likely to cause offense.
Pakistani Firm Slams Czech Rugby For 'Desecrating Allah'
@Ray, @Red Hawk
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Neo
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Quite rich coming from you. Ask a few Kashmiri students to cheer for a Pakistani team in India and see how tolerant your society is.
if anyone gets hurt cuz of the fanatism anywhere in the world..your country gets double the hurt, thats the irony.
Pakistan must be having lots of tolerance without any respect!
Gujarat 2002 massacre, a jewl in the crown of tolerant Indian society. Jai Hind!
Neo
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They dropped the sign after considering the sentiments and got their ball. They could easily have shifted the order to China, Vietnam or Thailand as the Pakistani company suggested, but they didn't.
That's called mutual respect in a tolerant environment.
prohumanity
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NEO, On this ,I agree with you. There is difference between Muslims and Muslim terrorists. 180 Million Indian Muslims are peace loving, nice people....because they are truely Muslims...they are not terrorists. Insulting and mocking any one's cherished beliefs , specially, religious beliefs is wrong and uncivilized behavior. The same people who mocked Prophet get very angry and disturbed if you say anything against them...they immediately paint you as "anti-semitic" and want to demonize you. Mocking other peoples' Gods/Prophets/Gurus is called "freedom of Speech"...But, anything against jews is called "Hate speech" That is hypocritical. In my opinion, all this comes under "hate speech" as its spreads hate and anger and divides Human family.
sorcerer
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Lookie whose talking about tolerance!!!
Oh!!! I get it..this is your religious tolerance...even in sports..
Even Kashmiris dont want to be with Pakistan contrary to what Pakistan establishment and people like you believe.
Just 2% of people in J&K want to join Pak: Survey
NEW DELHI: For those who still think a plebiscite will tilt the status of Kashmir and that most Kashmiris yearn to wave the Pakistani green, there are now numbers for the first time to contradict these claims.
A survey carried out across both Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, that its author claims is the first ever of its kind, shows that only 2% of the respondents on the Indian side favour joining Pakistan and most such views were confined to Srinagar and Budgam districts. In six of the districts surveyed late last year by researchers from the London-based thinktank Chatham House, not a single person favoured annexation with Pakistan, a notion that remains the bedrock for the hardline separate campaign in Kashmir.
Gujarat incident happened because, of communal reaction. But unlike your Pakistan...this doesnt happen 24/7 in India..
Everytime you say about the same Gujrat incident which happened in 2002 more than a decade back (this is 2015), i post recent news from Pakistan which is like 30 mins back or in this decade..
My intention is... unlike Pakistan...conflicats dont happen in india every minute or second.
btw...if you are comparing violence with jewels...Pakistan is awesomely adorned with jewels of all kinds from bottom to top.
thethinker
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Life must be really really good for all faiths and sects in Pakistan for @Neo to bring up Gujarat 2002 riots topic and compare sporadic religious intolerance in India with the regular intolerance in his backyard .
Must be even better if you are a Sunni Paki in Pakland with family ties to Pak Army.
Must be even better if you are a Sunni Paki in Pakland with family ties to Pak Army.
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If the tail looks like Allah, then maybe one should not expect Pakistanis to produce.
However, @Neo's contention that that is because of 'mutual respect', I would say that is a whole lot of hog swill.
Where is the 'respect', 'mutual'?
It is one sided, tolerance is being shown by the Czech alone. Pakistan is showing no respect or even tolerance.
In so far as 2002, who burnt the train? Pakistan ISI agents.
Pakistan is so tolerant that they wipe out the minorities with laws like Sharia and trumped up blasphemy, and not satisfied they kill Muslims too, all because they believe in the same Prophet and the scripture, but are of a different sect.
Therefore, Pakistanis are hardly equipped to hector or lecture anyone about tolerance.
However, @Neo's contention that that is because of 'mutual respect', I would say that is a whole lot of hog swill.
Where is the 'respect', 'mutual'?
It is one sided, tolerance is being shown by the Czech alone. Pakistan is showing no respect or even tolerance.
In so far as 2002, who burnt the train? Pakistan ISI agents.
Pakistan is so tolerant that they wipe out the minorities with laws like Sharia and trumped up blasphemy, and not satisfied they kill Muslims too, all because they believe in the same Prophet and the scripture, but are of a different sect.
Therefore, Pakistanis are hardly equipped to hector or lecture anyone about tolerance.
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thethinker
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That is Western hypocrisy.
It isn't that the radical Islam is new. It has been for centuries but you see a lot of media hue and cry now because West is being directly affected by it.
Also, in relatively civilized nations, you don't simply burn down or kill people because they offend your religious beliefs. Nor do you issue a blasphemy charge for this.
What you are seeing in West is the blowback in form of media war for such fundamental actions because this along with non-assimilation/making Sharia zones is regarded as a very high threat perception.
