Weird news:Girl student prevented from attending school because of long skirt

When a state gets into the business of defining a rule that is somewhat subjective in nature, there will be many cases which will act as a test of the law; there will be people having differing interpretations and hence there will be controversy. This is enhanced when this involves religions, such as is the case in France right now. For years, France struggled with how to reconcile religious practices with personal liberty. One of the biggest challenges was the restrictions imposed in Islamic society and culture balanced against the concept of personal liberty that France holds dear. So, the concept of veil or the full body cover worn by Muslim women was grating, and as a result, France mandated a law in 2004 due to which no obvious religious symbols could be worn - the yarmulke, the Christian cross, the Muslim veil, the Sikh Turban, all were banned under this law.
The law is clear in the most part, but there are cases when it comes upto the interpretation of the person who is in a position to decide, such as in this case. A muslim girl student wore a full length black skirt, which could be seen as a form of style, but it was seen as a religious symbol and she was sent home under this law. This has created a controversy, since the religious symbolism of a long black skirt is not so apparent (it could be argued that the girl was following fashion rather than a religious / cultural diktat) (link to article):

France is facing a fresh backlash against its strict secular policy after it emerged a 15-year-old Muslim girl was sent home from school because she was wearing a long black skirt. The student, named as Sarah, was twice blocked from classes because the principal said her skirt broke a ban on religious signs in schools. The girl removed her headscarf but said the skirt was not a religious symbol. Nicolas Cadene, an official advising the prime minister on secular issues, has said that wearing a long black skirt to school does not break the rules. A ban on Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious symbols at state schools was introduced in 2004, and widely welcomed in a country where the separation of state and religion is enshrined in law.

Weird news - Man sentenced to 500 lashes for blasphemy

When you pick up novels about medieval times, you see so many cases where people were sentenced to many sorts of different sentences for crimes against God, such as the extreme one of being burned at the stake for blasphemy. A number of people were convicted and killed in such a manner, which even encompassed acts such as proposing that the universe did not center around the earth, rather that the earth moved around the sun. But these were all stories of what used to happen many centuries earlier.
So, it seems very surprising that such cases happen even now, primarily in Islamic countries where uttering anything that could be construed to be against god can actually be punished by death. And this is not a hypothetical case, there have been numerous cases where people have been convicted of blasphemy on flimsy evidence, or in the more horrid cases, mobs have believed about these utterances of blasphemy and lynched people. Consider this case, where a person on the Haj was convicted of uttering something against the relatives of the Prophet Mohammed and sentenced to a prison term as well as 500 lashes (which could actually kill him) (link to article)

Mansor Almaribe, 45, was found guilty of blasphemy after he was arrested last month in Medina while on a pilgrimage, Australian officials said.
It's unclear what Almaribe, a Shia Muslim from Victoria state, said or did to get arrested.
"The ambassador has urgently contacted Saudi authorities and will make strong representations, including to key figures in the Saudi government, seeking leniency," said Kate Sieper, a foreign affairs spokeswoman.

Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide

Is Critique Secular?: Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech

Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (Liturgy, Worship and Society Series)

Weird news - Bananas and cucumbers prohibited for women as per Islamic preacher

Sometimes one comes across religious sanctions that seem utterly strange. There was a case where a husband divorced his wife when angry, but when he became normal, was unable to take her back since the divorce (of uttering the words talaq 3 times) was held valid; and if he wanted to marry her, she had to marry somebody else first, then get divorced and then only could they marry again. Such cases seem so weird; now consider this wisdom from a preacher about how to keep woman pure. Apparently if a lady sees something resembling the make sexual organ, then it will cause her to have impure thoughts, and hence the lady should keep away from such fruits and vegetables. No word on the many other items that seem similar in shape to the male organ such as pens, tubes, and so on (or looks like the preacher has been seeing too many X-rated movies) (link to article):

The Egyptian news website Bikya Masr on Wednesday quoted the cleric whose diktat featured in an article on el-Senousa, a religious publication. The cleric has said that women should not even get close to bananas or cucumbers. "If women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve," the cleric dictated.
According to the cleric, bananas and cucumbers "resemble the male penis" and therefore could arouse women or "make them think of sex." The cleric also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

Such ridiculous statements get a lot of attention (and ridicule) on the internet, and can make moderate Muslims embarrassed. But on a serious note, such a statement also shows what the opinion many of these clergy have of women.

The Truth About Islam and Women

In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom

Inside Islam (History Channel)

Weird - Man to be beheaded in Saudi Arabia for allegedly trying to forecast the future

In a strange situation, a Lebanese man who was a TV show star is now under threat of being beheaded in Saudi Arabia. And how did a Lebanese man end up in a Saudi jail ? Well, he was arrested by the religious police in Saudi Arabia when he was in the region for a religious pilgrimage. And why was he arrested ? He was the host of a program on a Beirut based channel called "Sheherazade." And what did he do that earned the ire of the Saudi religious police (called the Mutawa'een) ? He used to predict the future of people on his show and give out advice, and as a result, a religious court sentenced him to death for having committed sorcery (of course, if he could totally accurately predict the future, he would not have gone to Saudi Arabia) (link to article):

El Khansa told CNN her client was arrested by Saudi Arabia's religious police (known as the Mutawa'een) and charged with sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.
Sibat was then put on trial, and in November 2009, a court in the Saudi city of Medina found him guilty and sentenced him to death. According to El Khansa, Sibat appealed the verdict. The case was taken up by the Court of Appeal in the Saudi city of Mecca on the grounds that the initial verdict was "premature."

Denying citizenship to a man because his wife is veiled

In recent years, the tensions involving Muslims and their religious customs are sparking a huge amount of debate in Europe, especially France. Britain is much more accommodating of Islamic cultural norms, such as wearing the veil, preventing woman from meeting other men, getting jobs, and so on. France however, maybe because of its Algerian background, has a much more controversial stance regarding religion, especially because of the conflict between the openness of French society and the customs of hard-core Muslims.
Now, a man has been refused the right to join his French wife in France (his citizenship was refused) since the Government declared that the fact that his wife was wearing the veil, and was supposedly not able to have the same freedom as the man (link to article):

The decision, made Tuesday, came exactly a week after a French parliamentary commission recommended a partial ban on any veils that cover the face -- including the burqa, the full-body covering worn by some Muslim women.
The ban -- which has not yet come up for a vote -- would apply in public places like hospitals and schools, and on public transport, the commission announced.