September (Web-only) 2003

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Afghanistan's Taliban is back, vowing war against aid workers
The Taliban, the Muslim extremists who once controlled Afghanistan until ejected by U.S.-led military forces, is still killing people in the country.

Mullah Abdul Samad today said the Taliban was responsible for attacking a vehicle with aid workers from the Voluntary Association for Rehabilitation of Afghanistan. Aid worker Abdul Waheed and his driver, both Afghans, were killed in the attack. A third passenger was unhurt.

"We take responsibility for all the attacks on NGOs (non-governmental organizations) … who are spoiling the Islamic faith of the Afghan people. They are preaching Christianity and distributing books on Christianity among the people," Samad told Reuters. "All those working in Afghanistan for the interests of America and the Crusaders deserve to be killed."

Weblog doesn't know much about VARA, but it doesn't seem to be religious at all, and it proclaims itself "nonsectarian."

Last year, notes the Associated Press, " three of the agency's employees were abducted in Nimroz and have not been heard from since."

"We have temporarily stopped work on all our projects in the southern region and workers in the field have been asked to return to the offices," said VARA's Mohammed Ismail.

Amina Lawal, whose case rallied the world against Shari'ah law, is free
The Nigerian woman who was sentenced to death by stoning under Islamic law was acquitted by a Shari'ah Appeal Court yesterday, bringing cheers around the world.

"Amina Lawal's case should not have been brought to a court of law in the first instance," Amnesty International said in a press release. "Nobody should ever be made to go through a similar ordeal."

The case brought to the attention of the world the ...