هل تحترمنا الأمم؟

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هل تحترمنا الأمم؟

2012-11-29

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هل تحترمنا الأمم؟

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسوله وآله وصحبه ومن والاه، وأسأل الله أن يتقبل منكم صيامكم وقيامكم وطاعتكم، وأن يبلغنا تمام رمضان كما بلغنا أوله، وأن يجعله شهر نصر وفتح وبركة على المسلمين جميعا.

(الناس لا يحترمون إلا الأمة القوية) تسود هذه المقولة بين الناس وفي أوساط المثقفين، لكن ربما يكون الواقع غير ذلك فالناس تهاب الأمة القوية لكن ليس بالضرورة أن تنال احترامهم وتقديرهم،، فقد تكون قويا وتفرض هيبتك على من حولك وتجبرهم على إتباعك والانصياع لأوامرك وعدم التدخل في شؤونك، لكنهم قد يكونون كارهين لك حاقدين عليك،، بل هذا هو الغالب في الإمبراطوريات التي قامت على مر التاريخ، والتي كانت تضطهد الناس وتذلهم وتجعل منهم عبيدا لمصالحها وشهوات حكامها.

أمة قوية تفرض احترامهاوحينما نطالب أمتنا وساستنا بأن يمتلكوا أسباب القوة ويسلكوا سبلها امتثالا لأمر الله عز وجل (وأعدوا لهم ما استطعتم من قوة) ويقينا منا بأن الحق الذي لا تحرسه القوة يضيع ولا يثبتوالحق أعزل لا يروع فإن بدا        شاكي السلاح لقى العداة فروّعا

وحينما نسترجع ذكريات الماضي وعزه ومجده أيام كنا أمة قوية قادرة على دحر أي عدو ومواجهة أي خطر قائم أو محتمل حينما نسترجع ذلك ونطلب العمل على العودة له فإننا أيضا نطالب بأمر آخر لا يقل أهمية عنه من الناحية السياسية وهو فرض احترامنا بالعلم والقيم والأخلاق،، أنا أحلم بأن نكون أمة متحضرة راقية تحترمنا الأمم الأخرى لا لأنهم يخافون أن نفجرهم ولا أن نخطفهم ولا أن نمنع عنهم النفط،، بل لأن لدينا مبادئ تستحق الاحترام، يعتبروننا مرجعا في العدل ومحل ثقة في أداء الحقوق والقيام بالواجبات،، ولعلنا في هذا العصر الذي عدمنا فيه أسباب القوة وحرمنا فيه من سلطان الحكم وعزة التفوق لانعدم على الأقل أن نتفوق بأخلاقنا وقيمنا ومبادئنا، فإن لم يحترمونا لقوتنا احترمونا لقيمنا وأخلاقنا،، أما أن نحرم الاثنين معا فهذه هي المصيبة الكبرىما أجمل الدين والدنيا إذا اجتمعا        وأقبح الكفر والإفلاس بالرجل
احترام الفرس لعمروالقصة المشهورة عن رسول كسرى حينما جاء يريد أمير المؤمنين عمر بن الخطاب فقيل له إن هذا وقت قيلولته وهو نائم تحت ظل تلك الشجرة!! فجاءه فوجده نائما لوحده لا يلتف حوله حرس ولا بين يديه خدم، رآه مفترشا بردته المرقعة تحت شجرة في الأرض العراء،، فتعجب من أن يكون خليفة يعيش بهذه الطريقة العفوية المتواضعة،، وزاد عجبه أن الخليفة قد أمن على نفسه فلم يتخذ حرسا ولا حجابا،، فحرك هذا الموقف في نفسه احترام هذه الأخلاق والقيم العظيمة وقال: عدلت بين الناس فأمنت شرهموراع صاحب كسرى أن رأى عمرا            بين الرعية عطلا وهو راعيها
وعهده بملوك الفرس أن لها                  سورا من الجند والأحراس يحميها
رآه مشتملا في بردة ورأى                    فيه الجلالة في أسمى معانيها
فوق الثرى تحت غصن الدوح مشتملا     في بردة كاد طول العهد يبليها
فقال قولة حق أصبحت مثلا                 وأصبح الجيل بعد الجيل يرويها
أمنت لما أقمت العدل                         بينهم فنمت نوم قرير العين هانيها

علي واليهوديومن مواقف المسلمين السابقة التي دعت الأعداء قبل الأصدقاء لاحترامهم ما ورد أن علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه افتقد درعا له كانت أثيرة عنده، غالية عليه.... ثم ما لبث أن وجدها في يد رجل يهودي يبيعها في سوق الكوفة... فلما رآها عرفها وقال:
هذه درعي سقطت عن جمل لي في ليلة كذا... وفي مكان كذا...
فقال اليهود: بل هي درعي وفي يدي يا أمير المؤمنين...
فقال علي رضي الله عنه: إنما هي درعي لم أبعها من أحد، ولم أهبها لأحد حتى تصير إليك....
فقال اليهودي: بيني وبينك قاضي المسلمين...
فقال رضي الله عنه: أنصفت، فهلم إليه...

ثم ذهبا إلى شريح القاضي، وهو مضرب المثل في الفطنة والذكاء بين القضاة، فلما صارا عنده في مجلس القضاء، قال شريح لعلي رضي الله عنه: ماذا تقول يا أمير المؤمنين؟
فقال: لقد وجدت درعي هذه مع هذا الرجل، وقد سقطت مني في ليلة كذا وفي مكان كذا، وهي لم تصل إليه ببيع ولاهبة.
فقال: الدرع درعي وهي في يدي. ولا أتهم أمير المؤمنين بالكذب!!..
فالتفت شريح إلى علي، وقال: لا ريب عندي في أنك صادق فيما تقوله يا أمير المؤمنين، وأن الدرع درعك، ولكن لابد لك من شاهدين يشهدان على صحة ما ادعيت.
فقال علي: نعم... مولاي قنبر، وولدي الحسن يشهدان لي...
فقال شريح: ولكن شهادة الابن لأبيه لا تجوز يا أمير المؤمنين...
فقال رضي الله عنه: يا سبحان الله!!! رجل من أهل الجنة لا تجوز شهادته!!!... أما سمعت أن رسول الله –صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال: "الحسن والحسين سيدا شباب أهل الجنة".
فقال شريح: بلى يا أمير المؤمنين... غير أني لا أجيز شهادة الولد لوالده!!!..

عند ذلك التفت علي إلى اليهودي وقال: خذها فليس عندي شاهد غيرهما...
فقال اليهودي: ولكني أشهد بأن الدرع لك يا أمير المؤمنين.... ثم تابع قائلا: أمير المؤمنين يقاضيني أمام قاضيه!!... وقاضيه يقضي لي عليه.... أشهد أن الدين الذي يأمر بهذا لحق... وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمدا عبده ورسوله...

اعلم أيها القاضي أن الدرع درع أمير المؤمنين، وأنني اتبعت الجيش وهو منطلق إلى صفين، فسقطت الدرع عن جمله الأورق فأخذتها.
فقال رضي الله عنه: أما وإنك قد أسلمت فإني قد وهبتها لك.. ووهبت لك معها هذا الفرس أيضا...

ولم يمض على هذا الحادث زمن طويل حتى شوهد هذا الرجل -الذي أسلم بعد أن انبهر بأخلاقيات الإسلام وبأخلاق ولاة أمر المسلمين– يقاتل الخوارج تحت راية علي رضي الله عنه مستبسلا حتى كُتبت له الشهادة!!!.
عمر بن عبدالعزيز وأهل سمرقندكما جعل عمر بن عبدالعزيز أهل سمرقند مع مخالفتهم له في الدين والوجهة يحترمون عدله ويرضون بحكمه ويسلمون أمرهم له وذلك أن قتيبة بن مسلم لما تولى إمارة خراسان وما وراء النهر سنة 86هـ فتح سمرقند سنة 87هـ وولى عليها سليمان بن أبي السري, فلما قدم سليمان إلى سمرقند قال له أهلها: إن قتيبة ظلمنا وغدر بنا وأخذ بلادنا, وقد أظهر الله العدل والإنصاف, فأذن لنا ليقدم وفد منا على أمير المؤمنين فأذن لهم, فوجهوا وفدا منهم إلى عمر بن عبد العزيز وكان قد تولى الخلافة سنة 99هـ وشكوا إليه أمرهم, فكتب عمر إلى سليمان بن أبي السري يقول له: إن أهل سمرقند شكوا ظلما وتحاملا من قتيبة عليهم حتى أخرجهم من أرضهم, فإذا أتاك كتابي فأجلس لهم القاضي لينظر في أمرهم, فإن قضى لهم فأخرج العرب من معسكرهم كما كانوا قبل أن يظهر عليهم قتيبة, فأجلس لهم سليمان القاضي (جُمَيْع بن حاضر) فقضى أن يخرج العرب من سمرقند إلى معسكرهم وينابذوهم على سواء, فيكون صلحا جديدا أو ظفرا عنوة, فقال أهل سمرقند بلى نرضى بما كان ولا نُحدِث حربا, وتراضوا بذلك.

خاتمةولو أردت أن أعدد من القصص في تاريخنا لما اكتفيت بكتاب كامل عن ذلك لكنني أضرب أمثلة كيف أن دولة الإسلام والأمة الناجحة هي الأمة التي تفرض احترامها قبل أن تفرض قوتها وجبروتها، وأظن أننا اليوم بحاجة ماسة لهذا الاحترام، والذي لن نفرضه بدون التزامنا بالقيم والأخلاق والذكاء وبعد النظر وتطوير أنفسنا وقوانيننا وحفظ حقوقنا كبشر، فأنا لا ألوم الغرب حينما ينظر إلينا نظرة أقل من التي ينظرها لنفسه، لأن المرء حيث يضع نفسه، ونحن تخلفنا عنهم في أغلب نواحي الحياة وفسد كل شيء لدينا ولم نعد نحترم بعضنا و لا نحفظ حقوقنا وكرامتنا فكيف نطالبه هو بذلك؟

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Texas police arrest man planning attack on mosque

Texas police investigating a scene (file photo)

Thu Nov 29, 2012 12:39AM GMT

Texas police say they have stopped a man who was planning to attack a San Antonio mosque and shoot as many people as possible in the house of worship.

The man, identified as 44 year-old Christopher Bane, was arrested late Tuesday and charged with “making terroristic threats.”

According to an affidavit, Bane planned to go to the Islamic Center of San Antonio, where he was "going to shoot as many people as possible, and then kill himself."

A witness, who helped the police with the case, said Bane told him he had a .45 caliber handgun and ammunition.

It was “very bad news for us,” said Solomon Hamideh, president of the Islamic Academy of San Antonio.

In August, a mosque in the Midwestern US state of Missouri was completely destroyed in a suspected arson attack. The suspect was identified as Wade Michael Page, a former US Army trooper with reported links to the white supremacist movement.

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Economic woes spur religious fundamentalism in Tanzania

By Deodatus Balile in Dar es Salaam

November 06, 2012

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Poor economic growth and high unemployment in Tanzania have aggravated the recent rise of religious fundamentalism in the country, threatening the peaceful co-existence built over the last 50 years, analysts told Sabahi.

• Tanzania People's Defence Force soldiers patrol Dar es Salaam after people threatened to demonstrate on October 19th to demand the release of the Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda. [Deodatus Balile/Sabahi]
  

Dar es Salaam residents say religious rallies -- both Christian and Muslim -- are being held daily in areas where they had generally been a bi-monthly occurrence.
Salim Suleiman Hassan, 56, a resident of the Manzese ward in Dar es Salaam, said the language used at some of the Muslim rallies in his neighbourhood is offensive and could threaten the peace the two religious communities have enjoyed over the years.
"I am a Muslim but I am not happy with the trend," he told Sabahi. "Insults thrown around against other religions are intolerable."
Despite the religious underpinning of recent events, Issa Musoke, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, says the confrontations are more about the communities' discontent with the economy than about each other's religious beliefs.
"Religious fundamentalism always emerges when communities are facing economic crisis," he told Sabahi.
Musoke said Muslims and Christians in the country are increasingly under pressure due to financial hardship and use religion to cope. Under these circumstances, individuals are more likely to fall prey to fringe groups that advocate extreme ideologies to which they would otherwise not subscribe, he said.
To create a stopgap in the short term, Musoke said national leaders need to reconcile the conflicting parties and stop tensions between the communities.
In the long term, he said the government should focus on economic development. Failure to do so will provide terrorist and extremist groups fertile ground to advance their misguided ideologies, he said.

Youth hardest hit by unemployment

Deusdedith Mushi, a sociology lecturer at Mzumbe University, told Sabahi that unemployment among youth is a time bomb. He said most rioters are unemployed youth who have nothing else to do.
In Dar es Salaam, 57,000 youth aged between 15 and 24 years are unemployed, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 16%, according to the World Bank.
"The conflict can only be put off once economic problems are solved," Mushi said, adding that the increase in religious rallies and the bourgeoning number of churches and mosques are a direct result of failed government policies.
On October 19th, police and the Tanzania People's Defence Force used tear gas and water cannons to disperse planned protests calling for the unconditional release from jail of Secretary of the Council of Muslim Organisations Sheikh Ponda Issa Ponda, marking the first time the army was deployed to contain religious rioters in Dar es Salaam.
Mushi said the use of the army was alarming and indicates the failure of the police to contain public unrest. "We had witnessed dangerous religious in-fighting over the past 12 months, but the authorities did nothing to stop it," he said. "This is unacceptable."
The government banned religious rallies for 30 days after the riots and will monitor mosques and churches to ensure religious sermons and public speeches do not incite violence, according to Minister for Home Affairs Emmanuel Nchimbi.
"We cannot continue with the current situation. People should respect each other's faith," Nchimbi told Sabahi. "We have no superior or inferior religion … all Tanzanians should remain free to worship God the way that fits them, without offending others."
Nchimbi said the government is doing all it can to improve the living standards of all Tanzanians and urged civilians to not fall prey to groups with political agendas.

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In Somalia, BBC journalist held without charge

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 | Posted by warka

BBC correspondent Ibrahim Mohamed Adan has been held for nearly a week without charge. (Somalia Witness)

Somali authorities must immediately release Ibrahim Mohamed Adan, a correspondent for the Somali service of the BBC, who has been held for nearly a week in Mogadishu without charge, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Security forces arrested Ibrahim on November 21 and accused him of falsely reporting that a Somali military court had ordered a soldier’s execution, local journalists told CPJ. In his Somali-language report, which aired earlier in November, Ibrahim had interviewed a Somali who claimed his cousin, a soldier, had been executed.
Liban Ali Yarrow, chairman of the military court, ordered Ibrahim’s arrest, saying the journalist was unable to verify the report, local journalists said. The military court summoned Ibrahim on November 17 and demanded that he either present evidence verifying his article or be imprisoned, the journalists said. Ibrahim was summoned on November 21 and subsequently arrested, news reports said.
Authorities transferred Ibrahim’s case to a civilian court today, local journalists told CPJ. He is being held in the central prison in Mogadishu, the journalists said. No court date has been set nor any charges placed against him, local journalists said. A BBC editor told CPJ that the organization would be investigating the case.
“Authorities are free to deny the allegations in the report but they should not be imprisoning a journalist because they dispute his account,” CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes said. “Ibrahim Mohamed Adan should be released without delay.”
While 2012 has been the deadliest year recorded by CPJ for journalist murders in Somalia, there have been far fewer cases of arbitrary journalist detentions or imprisonments than in previous years, according to CPJ research. CPJ documented only three cases of journalist arrests in Somalia in 2012, whereas CPJ research shows there were at least 10 cases in 2011 and 11 cases in 2010.
http://www.dailysom.com/2012/11/28/in-somalia-bbc-journalist-held-without-charge/

Breaking the silence on sexual violence

Ambassador Matt Baugh
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Earlier this year, the British Foreign Secretary William Hague MP, announced a new initiative to prevent sexual violence against women. It aims to strengthen international efforts and coordination to prevent and respond to sexual violence, to erode the existing culture of impunity, to increase the number of perpetrators brought to justice and to support states to build their own capacity to deal with this appalling crime. It is, in effect, a call to action and it will form a key part of the UK’s Presidency of the G8 in 2013.
Tackling sexual violence in conflict is central to conflict prevention and peace-building. The Foreign Secretary himself has said that ‘where there is no justice, the seeds of future grievance and conflict are sown’; and, as a result, stability and development are held back. It is for this reason that the UK wants to rally international action on preventing sexual violence and drive this issue up the global agenda. Despite the significant strides made in the past few decades in tackling impunity for international crimes and human rights violations, the obstacles to addressing sexual violence remains significant. Put simply, more needs to be done.

Nowhere does such an initiative matter more than in Somalia. After decades of violence, and despite the recent political progress and the security gains that we are witnessing, Somalia is facing another – largely untold – challenge: the alarming increase in the rape and sexual abuse of women and girls.
There are many stories of Al Shabaab fighters seizing women and girls, forcing them into marriage, subjecting many to sexual slavery. Yet it is also worth noting that these claims are not solely confined to Al Shabaab – there are allegations of similar crimes being perpetrated by armed groups, militia, even national and foreign armed forces. Yet few of these allegations are ever brought to court; even fewer of the perpetrators ever brought to justice.  Consequently, the survivors continue to suffer in silence: sexual violence has been ‘de-prioritised’; and as a result, women’s security – and that of the households and communities they build, support and protect – seen as less important.  We must shatter this culture of impunity.
Thousands of Somali women have been subject to sexual violence; many of them in camps, and many of them children. It is clear more – much more – needs to be done. Access, however, remains one of the biggest  constraints; it is often difficult for aid agencies and NGOs to access those women who most need assistance. But as Al Shabaab is pushed back in more areas, we have an opportunity to support and build on interventions aimed at preventing sexual violence and assisting the survivors.
Other requirements are also clear – we need to support efforts to build stronger law enforcement and legal support systems so that those women and children that have suffered these appalling crimes can seek justice; we need better information and correct targeting of resources; and we need stronger and more outspoken leadership from Somalia’s leaders – political, civic and religious – and the international community.
I am often told that Somalia has been carried on the backs of women for the past twenty years. Every Somali woman I have met in the past two years is testament to this claim; and everything I have seen clearly shows the role that women must play in Somalia’s future recovery and stability. The continued assault and abuse of women and girls needs to end; without this, Somalia’s recovery – a recovery that every Somali I meet in the street passionately wants – cannot really begin, let alone endure.
As the Foreign & Commonwealth Office marks 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, it’s time to break the silence.

---

Matt Baugh is the British Ambassador to Somalia
http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/mattbaugh/

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Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz looks on during an summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Mecca on August 14, 2012.

Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:14PM GMT

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Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has slipped into a coma and is clinically dead nearly a week after a 14-hour-long back surgery in a hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, a report says.

The Saudi king, who was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a Riyadh hospital following his surgery, has gone into a coma and has been living with the help of a ventilator over the past two days, a Saudi journalist at the London-based Asharq Alawsat said.

According to medics of the hospital, the king’s basic organs, particularly his heart, lungs and kidneys do not function and the doctors have been forced to use electric shocks to stimulate his cardiac muscles several times.

The Saudi king’s surgery aimed at correcting “a ligamentary slackening in the upper back” began on Saturday November 18 and ended at dawn on Sunday November 19.

The 89-year-old king’s health has declined over the past few years, and he has been hospitalized several times.

In October 2011, Abdullah underwent a similar operation to tighten ligaments around his third vertebra.

In 2010, he had two rounds of back surgery in the United States after suffering a herniated disc.

Failing health, old age as well as the deaths of the king’s half-brothers have raised concerns about the future of the oil-rich country in the face of anti-government demonstrations.

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Egypt: Who holds the power?

Middle East

23 November 2012 Last updated at 18:44 GMT

Opposition leaders in Egypt have expressed outrage at President Mohammed Mursi's decision to grant himself sweeping new powers. A new emergency decree says the president's decisions cannot be revoked by any authority, including the judiciary.

The president insists the powers he has taken are meant to be temporary, but their breadth has raised fears that he might become a new strongman. The dispute has raised questions about where power lies in the country.

President

When Mr Mursi took office on 30 June 2012 as Egypt's first democratically elected head of state, he appeared to have relatively little power.
Two weeks earlier, the then ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) had issued an interim constitutional declaration amending the 30 March 2011 declaration promulgated following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak the previous month.

 

 President Mohammed Mursi (centre) sidelined the ruling generals after taking office

The interim declaration restored all legislative powers to the Scaf until fresh elections were held for the lower house of parliament, the People's Assembly. The generals had decided two days earlier to dissolve the chamber in line with a Supreme Constitutional Court ruling that the law governing the recent elections was unconstitutional. The Scaf also gave itself control of the military budget and also the national budget until parliament reconvened.
The declaration also gave the Scaf responsibility for "all issues related to the armed forces" and stated that its head was to serve as defence minister until a new constitution was drafted. A third major amendment gave the generals - as well as the president and the Supreme Council for the Judiciary - the power to appoint a new constituent assembly if it was unable to complete its job and also to demand the revision of any articles of the draft charter.
The president was left with authority over administrative and domestic affairs, but with the Scaf's generals lurking in the background.
Following his inauguration, Mr Mursi moved swiftly to challenge the generals' power. Within days he issued two decrees creating a committee to investigate the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising and recalling the dissolved People's Assembly. The latter was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Constitutional Court.
A month later, in the wake of the killing of 16 border guards in Sinai by suspected Islamist militants, Mr Mursi issued a series of edicts that reconfigured the political landscape of Egypt.
On 12 August, he amended the 2011 constitutional declaration, revoking the interim declaration issued by the Scaf in June and transferring the authorities the generals had assumed over the previous year and a half to the presidency, including absolute legislative authority.
Mr Mursi also made a series of personnel changes in top military positions, including forcing the retirement of the head of the armed forces and defence minister, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, and his chief-of-staff, Gen Sami Annan, and legally reinserting himself as chairman of the Scaf - a position previously held by Mr Mubarak.
It was not clear that the president had authority over the military changes, but they appeared to be made with the generals' acquiescence.
The response to Mr Mursi's August decrees was by and large favourable, with only truly negative comments coming from groups opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group to which the president belongs.
However, there was widespread anger on 21 November when, with the constitutional assembly on the brink of collapse and protests over the slow pace of change 20 months after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Mr Mursi issued an emergency decree granting himself broad powers above any court as the guardian of Egypt's revolution.
Article 1 of the declaration ordered retrials for Mubarak - who was sentenced to life in prison in June 2012 - and other former regime and security officials accused of responsibility for killing protesters during last year's uprising.
Article 2 stated that all constitutional declarations, laws and decrees issued by Mr Mursi since he took office were "final and unchallengeable by any individual or body until a new constitution has been ratified and a new parliament has been elected".

 

 Mr Mursi portrayed his latest declaration as an attempt to protect the transition to a democracy

All pending lawsuits challenging his decisions were void, it added, pre-empting an expected ruling by the Supreme Constitution Court on the legitimacy of the constituent assembly, requested by liberal and secular groups who believe it is dominated by Islamists. Most secular members and representatives of the Coptic Church have walked out.
Mr Mursi's declaration also gave the constituent assembly a further two months to finalise the draft constitution and stated that both it and the upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, could not be dissolved by the judiciary.
The president also replaced the public prosecutor, Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, a Mubarak appointee widely criticised for failing to win stronger prison sentences against the former leader and his associates, and against abusive police officers. Mr Mursi had been forced to back down in October when he attempted to force Mr Mahmoud to resign. Only the Supreme Council for the Judiciary currently has the power to dismiss the public prosecutor.
Article 6 of the declaration granted the president the "power to take all necessary measures and procedures" against any potential threat to the revolution, national unity or national security.
Mr Mursi portrayed his declaration as an attempt to fulfil popular demands for justice and protect the transition to a constitutional democracy.

Parliament

The lower house of parliament, the People's Assembly, was tasked under the 30 March 2011 constitution declaration with determining the "public policy of the state, the general plan for economic and social development, and the public budget of the state". It was also supposed to oversee the work of the executive branch.

 

 The dissolution of the Islamist-dominated People's Assembly triggered mass protests

However, on 15 June 2012 the Scaf issued a decree dissolving the People's Assembly, a day after the Supreme Constitutional Court found the law that governed Egypt's first democratic elections in more than six decades unconstitutional. The court ruled that party members should not have been allowed to contest the one third of the seats designated for independents. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won several 235 seats in the People's Assembly by running candidates for individual seats, as did the ultraconservative Salafist Nour party.
On 17 June, the Scaf issued an interim constitutional declaration that gave it all legislative powers until a new parliament is elected. The decree also gave the generals power to form a new constituent assembly to draft the new constitution, replacing the 100-member panel which had previously been selected by parliament. The make-up of the constituent assembly had proved controversial, with liberals, youth activists, secularists and Christians complaining that it was dominated by Islamists and did not reflect the diversity of Egyptian society. A compromise was eventually reached but then parliament was dissolved. The generals, president, prime minister and judges can now also demand the revision of articles in the draft constitution.
Nine days after taking office, President Mursi unexpectedly issued his own decree ordering the People's Assembly to reconvene, challenging the Scaf's decision to dissolve it. Mr Mursi called on the generals to respect a popular will that was expressed through free elections. He said he was not ignoring the Supreme Constitutional Court because fresh elections would be held a month after the new constitution was approved, but its judges responded by insisting their decisions were "final and not subject to appeals". In the end Mr Mursi backed down.
The upper house, the Shura Council, was not affected by the Supreme Constitutional Court's ruling or the Scaf decree, as its elections were separate to those of the People's Assembly. The Shura Council is a consultative body that only gives its opinion on issues and draft laws suggested by the president and the government.

Supreme Constitutional Court

The Supreme Constitutional Court decides cases in which the constitutionality of a law or regulation is challenged. The judges on the court have been accused of being Mubarak appointees, though the current president, Maher al-Beheiry, was selected by the court from among the three most senior members, in line with a law amended by the Scaf last year.

 

The Supreme Constitutional Court's judges were accused of a "judicial coup" in June 2012

Nathan Brown of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says the court's autonomy varied considerably under Mr Mubarak, and that its reputation and record for independent action has declined over the past decade. "What justices on the SCC tend to share, despite diverse orientations, is a strong sense of mission to the law and abstract constitutional principles," he adds. "In a sense, their attitude is analogous to that of the Scaf, though the comparison might offend some of them: senior judges, like senior generals, see themselves as guardians of the public interest and the interests of the state, and therefore as above politics, democratic mechanisms, and accountability."
President Mursi's constitutional declaration of November 2012 challenged the authority of the SCC, removing its power to rule on the legitimacy of any laws and decrees issued by him until a new constitution has been ratified and parliamentary elections held, and also stopping it dissolving the constituent assembly and Shura Council.

Military

Although President Mursi regained the executive and legislative powers claimed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) in August 2012, the military is still the most powerful government entity. Many say it operates like a state within a state.

 

Twenty months since President Hosni Mubarak was toppled, the military still holds great power

The three presidents who ruled Egypt before the revolution, along with their defence ministers, all had military backgrounds and bestowed unrivalled powers and benefits on the armed forces, particularly Hosni Mubarak.
The military has about 460,000 personnel and possesses vast land holdings and businesses. It plays a social role, providing employment and a sense of national identity to many Egyptians. But its pervasive influence has long been the subject of fierce criticism.
Estimates vary as to the size of military-owned industries - they account for around 8%-40% of Egypt's gross national product - but since their revenues are a state secret, along with the military's budget, it cannot be known for certain. The companies not only produce military hardware, but also products and services for the domestic consumer economy.
The military's influence extends far beyond its own institutions and businesses. The majority of provincial governors are retired army officers and many of the big civilian institutions and public sector corporations are run by former generals, including the three main land-developing authorities. The military is also involved in major infrastructure projects.

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Court blow to Uhuru, Ruto

Saturday
November 24,  2012

Politics

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Mr Ambrose Weda representing activists Patrick Njuguna and Charles Omanga in a Nairobi court on November 23, 2012 before an application to delay the integrity case facing Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto was rejected. Photo/PAUL WAWERU  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By PAUL OGEMBA pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Friday, November 23  2012 at  22:30

In Summary

• The three-judge bench also blocked a fresh attempt to rope Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi into the case
• The judges dismissed the application, saying the matter was of great public importance and that there was no time for creating side shows intended to derail the petition.
• However, the bench ruled that was not enough basis to halt the determination of the case

An attempt to delay the case challenging Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto’s presidential bids failed on Friday.

The High Court dismissed an application to stop the hearing, paving the way for full trial.

The three-judge bench also blocked a fresh attempt to rope Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi into the case. Read (Activists want Kalonzo and Raila to face integrity case)

The ruling means that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto are likely to know the fate of their presidential bids before the January 17 deadline set by the electoral commission for parties to have nominated their candidates.

Justices Isaac Lenaola, Mohammed Warsame and Philomena Mwilu had tough words for the two activists who filed the case.

“It is not lost to anyone that this is a matter of great public interest which overrides all other interests. Without reasons given for stay of the proceedings, we are unable to grant the orders sought and consequently dismiss the application,” ruled the judges.

Mr Patrick Njuguna and Mr Charles Omanga, through lawyer Ambrose Weda, wanted the case challenging the suitability of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto are suitable to run for presidency stopped until an appeal they filed against the striking out of the names of the other presidential candidates is heard.

No time for sideshows

The petitioners had also asked the bench to disqualify itself from handling the case, citing the recent promotions of Justices Warsame and Mwilu to the Court of Appeal.

But the judges dismissed the application, saying the matter was of great public importance and that there was no time for creating side shows intended to derail the petition.

“The petitioners now want to file another application for the bench to recuse itself and yet time is of the essence. We are clear in our minds the matter is of great public importance and we must proceed to hear the main application,” the judges ruled.

The judges said that the petitioners had not provided sufficient proof of any prejudice they are likely to suffer if the proceedings were not stopped.

“This matter was last in court on October 26 and we ordered that it be heard on priority basis. Since then, rather than prepare for the hearing, the petitioners have engaged in evasive actions by filing applications that do not move the main petition towards finalisation.”

Mr Weda argued that striking out the names of the other candidates would make the petition bare and not adequately deal with the issue of leadership and integrity.

The judges, he said, relied unduly on technical issues in discharging the other presidential candidates.

However, the bench ruled that was not enough basis to halt the determination of the case.

“The petitioners are asking for a stay yet they have not even filed the appeal. They have not done the basics even after being directed to serve Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto who are mentioned and directly affected by the application,” said the judges.

Access denied

They concurred with the Attorney-General who submitted through state counsel Stella Munyi that the application was suspect and intended to derail the hearing of the main application.

“The reasons for disqualification are not convincing since the matter has been pending since it was filed in January. It is time to move forward and make a decision and all parties should file their submissions before the main hearing on November 29,” ruled the judges.

The petition against Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto was filed in January by a group of civil society activists and internally displaced persons seeking a declaration that their candidature is a threat to the Constitution soon after ICC judges ruled they will face trial over crimes against humanity charges.

The petitioners sought an interpretation of Chapter 6 of the Constitution on leadership and integrity claiming that the candidature of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto would be a recipe for chaos and perpetuate the culture of impunity in the country.

They sought an order to restrain the electoral commission from accepting the nomination of any candidate who had been committed to trial for serious criminal charges under the Kenyan and international law.

However, Mr Njuguna and Mr Omanga made an amendment to include integrity questions about Mr Odinga, Mr Musyoka and Mr Mudavadi, citing allegations of fraud, corruption, abuse of office, nepotism and land grabbing.

They accused the PM of fraudulently acquiring his post-graduate degree in Germany, the VP of inappropriately using his office to acquire radio frequencies for a company owned by his wife and Mr Mudavadi of allegedly misleading the Goldenberg Commission of Inquiry over his role in the scandal.

Meanwhile, Mr Ruto yesterday said he will not quit the race for presidency over Hague cases

Speaking at Kosachei primary school when he registered as a voter, Mr Ruto said that his competitors were engaged in propaganda whose purpose is to ensure that he does not lead the country.

“It is Kenyans who will decide their leaders and not foreigners and they will do so without being manipulated by any foreign powers,” said the Eldoret North MP.

So, who gave orders for the Garissa operation?

Saturday
November 24,  2012

Opinion

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By AHMEDNASSIR ABDULLAHI
Posted  Saturday, November 24  2012 at  17:38

In Summary

• Revenge: The government’s reaction to the killing of three soldiers was swift and brutal

Two incidents that portray Kenya’s security forces in a very unflattering and revolting light occurred in the past two weeks.

Although the incidents took place in Samburu and Garissa counties, the cause, the consequences and the official reaction by the government couldn’t have been more starkly different.

In Samburu, assailants believed to be from Turkana County killed more than 40 police officers in cold blood.

Apart from trying to prosecute politicians from the Turkana community, there were no reprisals or even an attempt to pursue perpetrators of the heinous crime. The government meekly kept mum.

In the Garissa incident, unknown assailants believed to be members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group killed three soldiers. The government’s reaction was swift and brutal. Soldiers from the local army garrison went on the rampage.

Live bullets were fired indiscriminately on an unarmed civilian population.

Members of security forces set on fire residential houses, a factory, shops, hotels, and a market.

Whereas there was killing, looting and burning of property in Garissa, in Turkana, the government showed commendable restraint.

So why did the government act so swiftly and violently in Garissa and so timidly in Samburu? The answer lies in the history of the Northern Frontier District (NFD).

It must be appreciated that Kenya’s security forces have a long history of committing gross human rights violations against civilian populations in northern Kenya.

Some of these atrocities are well documented. In 1982, Garissa town was torched after bandits killed a police officer in the town.

In 1984, security forces killed scores of people in the infamous Wagalla massacre in Wajir.

Another smaller massacre -- the Malkamerey in Mandera -- also occurred in northern Kenya.

It is well known that northern Kenya was under emergency law between 1963 and 1992, when the Constitution deleted the emergency powers of the government over northern Kenya.

So when the government let loose security forces on an unarmed civilian population to seek revenge for the killing of three soldiers, the security men were acting in the context of their historical transgression against civilians in northern Kenya.

The Garissa incident also provided an opportune moment for the government to send a strong signal and remind the people of Garissa of their place in the country.

The message being that after almost 50 years of independence, northern Kenya and its inhabitants are not truly part of Kenya.

The Army is seen by a majority of inhabitants of northern Kenya as an occupying Army. It is not seen as an indigenous force that is part of the local people.

The Kenyan Army also sees as its primary duty to protect the rest of the country from inhabitants of northern Kenya.

That has been the Army’s strategic understanding of its role in the defence of the country.

A number of troubling issues arise in the Garissa incident. Who ordered the security forces to undertake the Garissa operation?

The Minister for Defence, Mr Yusuf Haji, a native of Garissa, is rightly embarrassed by this incident. He stated that he did not authorise the operation and was unaware of what was happening.

This raises a fundamental issue. First it rules out the possibility that the operation was a riotous action by the local commander and his soldiers.

It is more probable that the President gave the order. The buck stops with the President whenever members of the Army achieve success or commit acts of infamy.

He is their Commander-in-Chief. In the military command chain, he is the ultimate authority. So did President Kibaki order the operation? An urgent answer to this question is needed.

Ahmednasir Abdullahi is the publisher, Nairobi Law Monthly ahmednasir@yahoo.com

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India girl 'shot by urinating man' in Delhi

India

23 November 2012 Last updated at 06:51 GMT

 

The incident took place in the bustling Nizamuddin area

A teenage girl in the Indian capital Delhi has been shot dead by a man after she objected to him urinating near the gate of her family home, police said.

The man, who lived in the same building, also shot at and injured the girl's mother in the incident in the bustling Nizamuddin area, police said.
The police said they were looking for the man, who apparently fled the scene.
Seventeen-year-old Binoo and her mother Sadmani, 40, had come across the man on Thursday, police said.
"The two families live in the same building. The girl and her mother objected to the man urinating near the gate of the house. This led to an argument between the two sides," senior Delhi police official Ajay Chaudhary told BBC Hindi.
"The man went back into the house saying 'I'll see you' and came back to the girl's apartment with a pistol and shot them. The girl is dead and her mother is injured.''
Mr Chaudhary said the police has not yet found any evidence of "any other dispute" between the man and the girl's family.

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KDF goes on rampage in Garissa town

Reactions in Garissa

Police Kills 2 in Garissa

MPs protest as ministers differ over Garissa KDF operation-Daily nation

Published On: Wed, Nov 21st, 2012

Daily News / Garissa News / Somali News | By admin

Tags

By BONIFACE ONGERI
Confusion reigned Tuesday over who allowed a section of the military to mount an operation in Garissa town on Monday after three of their colleagues were gunned down.

Associated Press/Daud Yusuf - The Garissa Halgan Quran House Resort Hotel (al waqaf)is engulfed in flames,

With allegations of high handedness against the soldiers mounting, Minister of State for Defence Yusuf Haji quickly distanced himself from the chaos, saying he did not know who sanctioned the operation by KDF in the town.

Residents of Garissa who accused the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) of brutality engaged in violent clashes with police Tuesday, leading to the death of at least one person.
National Assembly Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim and nine other legislators — including Dujis MP Aden Duale and colleague Adan Keynan (Wajir West) — condemned the soldiers and threatened to seek the intervention of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged human rights violations by the security forces.
“The women have been raped, schoolchildren shot and even Duale was held hostage in the town yet this is happening because of the failure of the Government to track down suspected Al Shabaab members suspected to have committed the killings (of the three soldiers),” said Maalim.



He demanded a ministerial statement from Haji over what he termed illegal actions by the military.
“Right now the entire Garissa is in tatters, millions have been lost after the military officers went burning businesses in the town. Many now have no meals yet they were wealthy people Tuesday,” said Maalim.
The National Security Council and Parliament, according to Sections 240 (8) and 241 (2) sub-section (c) of the Constitution, are the only organs that can approve military operations inside Kenya’s borders.
The Defence Council that includes Haji, Chief of Kenya Defence Forces Gen Julius Karangi, the commanders of the Army, Airforce and Navy and the Defence Permanent Secretary Nancy Kirui control and supervise KDF.
Residents of Garissa had claimed three people died in Tuesday’s skirmishes with police, but it emerged that only one succumbed to gunshot injuries.
Baton wielding police officers used tear gas canisters trying to repulse the charged mob in vain as more people charged at the law enforcers.
The overwhelmed policemen then began using live bullets to push the crowd back resulting in injuries to 17 civilians, five of them seriously.
A total of 57 people have been injured in Garissa since Monday, 48 of them allegedly beaten by soldiers on Monday, and 17 in Tuesday’s clashes.
Charged mobs ran across town from 9am battling anti-riot police and demanding justice following wanton destruction allegedly caused by soldiers on Monday.
A large group gathered at Garissa Primary School grounds and began chanting slogans, but the peaceful demonstration soon turned ugly as the mob hurled stones at the police.

One of the victims who received life-threatening gunshot wounds was airlifted to Nairobi for emergency treatment.
Ambulances and taxis rushed the injured to Garissa District Hospital as the fighting continued into the afternoon.
A contingent of regular and Administration police led by area police boss George Losku resorted to live bullets after tear gas failed to deter the demonstrators.
There was no comment from police over the shooting, but the Minister for Internal Security, Mr Katoo Ole Metito told a Committee of Parliament the residents could have been incited to violence.
The streets of Garissa remained deserted for the whole day as police patrolled the town.
KDF soldiers who caused mayhem on Monday remained in their barracks. No one has been arrested over the killing of the three soldiers.
Among the 17 admitted in hospital were two high school students who were among hundreds of demonstrators protesting the destruction of millions of shillings worth of properties by the soldiers.
The soldiers allegedly went on the rampage following the killing of their three colleagues on Monday by unknown gunmen in Garissa town.
During the military siege of the town, residents were allegedly beaten and properties set ablaze.
Destroyed businesses
Uneasy calm was restored in the afternoon but businesses remained closed and streets deserted.
Residents claimed they saw the security officers setting alight some of the properties that were destroyed.
Still smouldering

Residents accused the soldiers of setting ablaze their businesses, including the famous Muqti market, Alwaqaf building, Maua Posho Millers and tens of structures lining the main streets in the town.
For the second day running, tension engulfed Garissa as sporadic gunfire could be heard in the town. Businesses were closed as owners counted their losses.
On Monday soldiers locked down the town and barred anyone from entering or exiting it.

They also ordered all businesses to be closed.
By the time they left the streets at 6pm, plumes of smoke were rising from various premises.
Residents claimed the military entered homes and dragged people outside while beating them up.
“I was asked to swim in a puddle that had formed during the previous night’s rains”, Ahmed Abdullahi said.
“They kicked and hit me with gun bats all along accusing me of harbouring the Al Shabaab killers,” he said, adding that the soldiers were shooting in the air and aiming guns at residents.
Garissa Provincial General Hospital Medical Superintendent Musa Mohamed said that more than 40 people were admitted at the hospital five of them with bullet wounds.
Defence Minister Haji told reporters the incident would be investigated.
Hajji said he did not order the security operation that led to the destruction of properties.
“I have ordered investigations that will lead to disciplinary action against the perpetrators of the heinous acts,” Haji said.
He appealed to residents to help identify the al-Shabaab militants behind terror attacks in the district.

The properties that have been burning since Monday afternoon were still smouldering Tuesday evening.
Garissa County Commissioner Mohammed Maalim called for calm and asked residents not to lose focus against the Al Shabaab militants out to cause chaos in the country.
He said criminals wanted to create animosity and the residents should not fall into their schemes.
“The residents should not allow the terror attacks to cause a rift between them and security personnel,” said Maalim.
He added that security officials felt threatened after losing six colleagues and needed the cooperation of the public to end the problem of Al Shabaab in the town.

http://www.garissaonline.com/?p=1422

KDF rubbishes Garissa harassment claims

Standard Digital

Kenya

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Updated Thursday, November 22 2012 at 09:31 GMT+3

By Cyrus Ombati
GARISSA, KENYA, Nov. 22 -
The Kenya Defence Forces have denied claims they harassed residents of Garissa and burnt property while hunting down assailants who had killed three soldiers.
Spokesman Col Cyrus Oguna said soldiers were not involved in the operation to hunt down the gang that had killed the three soldiers on November 19.

Col Oguna gave the chronology of events that led to the incident saying a communication gadget was recovered during the operation.
“We wish to point out that these accusations are malicious in nature and are lies crafted to taint the credibility of KDF,” said Oguna.
He said at about 12.30 pm five KDF soldiers were attacked by a group of unknown gunmen at a tyre repair point.
The five were part of a KDF contingent at the Garissa military camp on transit to Sector Two in Somalia for AMISOM duties.
The gunmen attacked the soldiers while they were in the process of unbolting the punctured tyre, shooting dead three KDF personnel. The other two could not fight back to avoid collateral damage since people had started scampering for safety following the gunshots, he said.
Oguna said upon the incident being reported at the camp, a platoon was dispatched to go and secure the vehicle and bodies of the fallen soldiers.
During this period information was received from the locals that the assailants had fled into a village called Bula Mzuri, necessitating a joint operation between Kenya police and KDF in hot pursuit of the fleeing criminals.
“A second platoon was dispatched to assist in that search; however it’s important to note that KDF surrounded the village while the police carried out the actual search,” said Oguna in a statement.
The search recovered a communication device and at 4.30 pm the exercise was called off and by 5.00 pm all KDF soldiers were back in camp.
“Following the killing of the soldiers and subsequently the hot pursuit of the gunmen mayhem broke out with locals engaging security agencies through violence, prompting the police to fire teargas to control the irate crowd.”
He added later in the evening information was received that a hotel, which is located far from the tyre repair point and the village where KDF had surrounded had been set ablaze and the fire had extended to other buildings.
The following day, Garissa military camp was fired at by unknown gunmen at about 9.30 am and military personnel did not return fire but moved to secure the camp and the airstrip.
On the same day a convoy heading to Wajir encountered a makeshift stones roadblock.
“Soldiers dismounted from the vehicles to clear stones off the road and it is at this point that unruly youth pelted them with stones forcing them to shoot in the air to disperse them and continue on their journey,” he said.
Oguna said the military has been deployed in Garissa and other locations in the country since independence.

“KDF was therefore not deployed in Garissa for they were already there. In the meantime the KDF is preparing a detailed report on the subject.”

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Somalia: How Al Shabaab Is Losing the Battle, but Maybe Winning the War

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By Abdi Aynte, 21 November 2012

analysis

The Somali militant group al-Shabaab is currently losing ferocious battles against Kenyan troops in Southern Somalia - part of an African Union peacekeeping mission. However, they are winning a strategic war back in Kenya; this is the battle for hearts and minds.
On Sunday, a blast likely carried out by al-Shabaab sleeper cells in Nairobi killed seven Kenyans on a minibus. Soon after, a machete-wielding mob of angry Kenyans descended on the capital's Eastleigh or "Little Mogadishu" neighborhood. They pillaged shops, burned cars and left dozens of people injured.
In Garissa, near the boarder with Somalia, the scenes were much uglier. After unknown assailants killed three Kenyan soldiers, the Kenyan Defense Force (KDF), using brute force, went on the rampage, setting the local market on fire. In doing so, they deprived the local community of their main source of living.
Members of the Kenyan parliament, who represent Garrisa constituencies, even allege that the KDF forces have raped some women and tortured many innocent people in the area following the pandemonium. Livid, and feeling profoundly insulted, they're now calling for an urgent investigation, and even suggesting that international help is needed for their protection.
Ethnic Somalis, irrespective of which passport they carry, have become a target for armed thugs across Kenya. Fear, guilt by association and a sense of 'otherness' have now enveloped the millions of Somalis living in the country, all of which is good news for al-Shabaab.
This hysteria is playing right into the militant's playbook. As the Kenyan columnist Macharia Gaitho has aptly observed, "lashing out indiscriminately at Somalis is as foolish as it is self-defeating. The mad bombers must be laughing themselves silly having succeeded in turning Kenyan against Kenyan."
Having lost the conventional war, the al-Qaeda-linked fighters are now on a mission to engage in a different kind of battle - one that requires no guns but plenty of highly manipulative techniques.
The Kenyan government appears woefully unprepared and frighteningly fragile. Just four months away from a national election that could see the country finally shed the memory its 2007/2008 post election violence, it can't afford to marginalize one of its largest minorities. Come March next year, the Somali vote could prove decisive. Unlike their war-weary cousins in Somalia, Somali-Kenyans are highly educated and invariably sophisticated. They won't accept being treated as second-class citizens.
As a frequent visitor to Kenya, I often notice how the country is institutionally pre-occupied with an intense competition over who succeeds President Mwai Kibaki. Rival tribes are jostling for power, which would've been fine if the security apparatus had the capacity to untangle itself from politics.
The events of the last few days could prove to be a turning point for Kenya. While the country has been able to decimate al-Shabaab fighters in southern Somalia, its shocking failure to protect its own ethnic Somalis (and Somali refugees) constitutes a defeat in the strategic war on hearts and minds. Al-Shabaab has in the past exploited the Somali people when they have felt most victimized. Already, the Shabaab's effective propaganda machine is hard at work, trying to turn a largely unsuspecting community into a hostile unit.
If Kenya fails to turn the tables against the Shabaab by fiercely protecting the Somali community from the mob justice that befell it, then it's hard to see how Kenya can ultimately win this developing war within.
Abdi Aynte is a journalist researcher.

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India woman arrested over Facebook post in 'shock'

India

20 November 2012 Last updated at 11:42 GMT

 

 Shaheen Dhada and Renu Srinivasan were arrested on Monday

An Indian woman who was arrested on Monday over a comment on Facebook has said she was "shocked" by the incident.

Shaheen Dhada was arrested for criticising the shutdown of Mumbai after the death on Saturday of controversial politician Bal Thackeray.
Her friend, Renu Srinivasan, who had "liked" the comment was also arrested. The two were later freed on bail.
Recently, police have arrested a number of people in cases which campaigners call a breach of freedom of speech.
Apology On Tuesday, Ms Dhada spoke to the BBC Hindi service by telephone from the town of Palghar, near Mumbai.
"I'm not angry, I'm not sad, but I'm just shocked. It was just my point of view, I'm shocked that it was my post because of which all this happened," she said.
Ms Dhada also apologised for the post because, she said, she did not want to "hurt anyone's sentiments".
Her friend, Renu Srinivasan, apologised too.
"We are apologising just to keep everything in place. We don't want any violence. We want ourselves and our families to be safe," she told the CNN-IBN television channel.
The women were charged with "creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes". They were also charged under the Information Technology Act.
After Ms Dhada's comment appeared on Facebook, a mob attacked and vandalised her uncle Abdul Dhada's clinic in Palghar on Sunday.
Police said on Tuesday that they had arrested nine people in connection with the attack and were "looking for some more people".
The death of Bal Thackeray, the Hindu nationalist politician who founded the Shiv Sena party, brought Mumbai to a halt for most of the weekend.
In her Facebook comment on Sunday, 21-year-old Shaheen Dhada wrote: "People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a 'bandh' [shutdown] for that."
The arrests led to outrage in India, with many accusing the government of "abuse of authority".
Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju has written a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan criticising the arrests.
"We are living in a democracy, not a fascist dictatorship. In fact, this arrest itself appears to be a criminal act, since... it is a crime to wrongfully arrest or wrongfully confine someone who has committed no crime," Mr Katju, a former Supreme Court judge, said.
Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal said that he was "deeply saddened" by the arrests.
In recent months, India has been criticised for being "over-sensitive" to comment on social media.
In October, Ravi Srinivasan, a 46-year-old businessman in the southern Indian city of Pondicherry, was arrested for a tweet criticising Karti Chidambaram, son of Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram. He was later released on bail.
Other cases have also raised concern about freedom of expression. In September, there was outrage when a cartoonist was jailed in Mumbai on charges of sedition for his anti-corruption drawings. The charges were later dropped.
In April, the West Bengal government arrested a teacher who had emailed to friends a cartoon that was critical of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He too was later released on bail.

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