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TROUBLE IN THE HOLY LAND Palestinian women, girls killed for family 'honor' Report: Fathers, brothers, sons murder scores of innocent females each year to avert shame -- Posted: May 6, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Each year, dozens and probably hundreds of brutal "honor killings" of Palestinian women and girls – most of whom are virtually blameless – go unreported, according to an anthropologist's recent study. In a story for World and I magazine, James Emery says women in the communities of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Israel and Jordan are killed by male kinsmen in an attempt to protect the reputations of their families. Emery says the women "are murdered in their homes, in open fields, and occasionally in public, sometimes before crowds of cheering onlookers." Most occur among Muslims in poor, rural tribal areas or among uneducated urban dwellers, he says, although the practice is not explicitly condoned by the Islamic holy book, the Quran. In the feudal, patriarchal societies of the Middle East, writes Emery, "honor is based on what men feel is important, and reputation is everything." "Unfortunately," he says, "thousands of women have been killed in the name of honor because imagination and rumors are as important as actions and events." When a girl's chastity is in question, he says, her family feels the shame, even if she is raped or the rumors prove unsubstantiated. "A woman shamed is like rotting flesh," a Palestinian merchant told Emery. "If it is not cut away, it will consume the body. What I mean is the whole family will be tainted if she is not killed." Woman always blamed Emery says the reasons for honor killings include allegations of premarital or extramarital sex, for refusing an arranged marriage or attempting to obtain a divorce, or simply for talking with a man. The murders are carried out by fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles, cousins or sons. Among Palestinians, all sexual encounters, including rape and incest, are blamed on the woman. "The issue of consent is irrelevant when it comes to honor killings," says Marsha Freeman, director of the International Women's Rights Action Watch. "It has to do with the woman being defiled. It completely objectifies the woman as being about her sexuality and purity. It makes her not human." Women's groups and human-rights organizations campaigning to eliminate honor killings are hindered by the lack of reliable statistics. Under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, at least 25 "official" honor killings occur each year, says Emery, but the actual number of deaths is much higher. Many murders are ruled an accident, suicide, or family dispute, if they're reported at all, he says: "Police and government officials are often bribed to ignore crimes and hinder investigations. A woman beaten, burned, strangled, shot, or stabbed to death is often ruled a suicide, even when there are multiple wounds." Because honor killings are accorded special status, murderers serve little or no jail time, the anthropologist notes. Some men convicted of premeditated murder serve as little as three months and are treated as celebrities by family and friends upon release. Emery says in communities where the crime is prosecuted, teen-age brothers are encouraged to kill their sisters because the consequences will be less severe due to their age. Relatives of the victims, including mothers and sisters, often defend the killings and occasionally help set them up. "The brutality of the attacks is shocking," he says, recalling the story of an 18-year-old Palestinian man who stabbed his teen-age sister 40 times because of a rumor she was involved in an extramarital affair. "The family thanked God for her death," Emery says. "In an adjacent neighborhood, a 16-year-old boy killed his divorced mother, stabbing her repeatedly as he chased her into the street." According to Emery, some Palestinian women who face a loss of honor and certain death have been offered a chance "to die with dignity" by strapping on explosives and killing Israelis. Emery has done extensive research in Palestinian communities and has lived and traveled overseas for a number of years. He is an expert witness on Asian and Arab culture in civil and criminal cases and a lecturer on Middle Eastern terrorism. He says the murder of females in the Middle East is an ancient tradition that began prior to the arrival of Islam in A.D. 622. Arabs sometimes buried infant daughters to avoid the possibility they would later bring shame to the family, Emery notes.

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What is this source of this allegation?

Many of the readers of this board consider themselves Vaishnavas (or aspiring Vaishnavas). They should not forget the countless atrocities the Muslims committed against Hindus and specifically Vaishnavas in the history of Bharat. Many arca vigrahas were broken and many devotees were murdered. And as you all know, the deities established in Vrindaban by the Goswamis had to be moved to Jaipur because of the Muslims. But this is not just an item of history. The fanatic, fundamentalist Muslims of the present day have this same anti-Vaishnava (as well as anti-Christian and anti-Jew) fervor. If you are a devotee, know that the fundamentalsit Muslim wants you to either convert or die, and wants to defile everything you cherish as holy. Sadaam himself is not known to be a strict Muslim, but in his case he finds it expedient to finance and support fundamentalist Muslims for his own purposes. Finally, from a neutral, moral perspective, Sadaam is well known to be a mass murderer who has committed unspeakable atrocities: mass murder of Kurds in the thousands through poison gas, rape squads to torment the families of those who may have contemplated dissent, intimidation of fathers by blinding their children, and on and on. An enlightened Vaishnava may very well welcome reasonably minded Muslims with the understanding that we are all spirit souls and that Lord Krishna is the God of all. But the same neutrality should not be maintained towards the virulent, violent, very widespread, and very influential Muslim fanatics. They are, to put it simply, DEMONS.

Question about dinosaurs Q: Did dinosaurs really exist? In which yuga did they live? Is the Earth same after a yuga ends and a new one starts? Is there a destruction? A: Sure they did. Can you imagine a hoax of such a colossal dimension? Also the lore from all over the world knows about some kind of big animals like dragons. As far as I know they are found on all continents. Which yuga is hard to say but in the Bhagavatam there is at least one possible allusion to them (8.10.10-12). There is probably more in other Puranas. During my study of North American Native lore I found a hint in Ojibwa tribe legends that their predecessors lived together with huge animals which were destroyed by a comet. Destructions (pralaya) of various dimensions happen regularly, after every maha-yuga, manvantara, kalpa and dvi-parardha (Brahma's life span) and at some special occasions. See SB 8.24 (Matsya-lila). About how Earth changes after each particular pralaya there is not much said in sastra as far as I know. Q: Srila Prabhupada doubted that dinosaurs ever existed, whereas much evidence is available to at least support the view that dinosaurs did once exist on this planet. He also stated that there was no such thing as 'extinction' of species. Please elucidate. A: Below you'll find compilation of everything recorded what Srila Prabhupada said about the dinosaurs. I will now try to comment on it a little bit. First, he didn't deny their existence. He mentioned that the existence of big forms of animals is recorded in the Vedas (super-eagles - Srimad Bhagavatam 5.23.3, timingila super-whales - SB 8.7.18, 8.10.10-12, 10.1.5-7). SB 8.10.10-12 mentions "big lizards" (whatever they are). The Vedas also mention that with the progression of time the life forms become smaller. In general he didn't consider the matter of their existence or nonexistence very important. He repeatedly stressed that our sense perception is imperfect and that there are many life forms which we don't know about. This is very true. Humans actually know quite a small portion of the land on this Earth, what to speak of the sea. Every year there are many "new" organisms discovered and some of them are quite big (reptiles, fish, birds, mammals). Just in this century there have been discovered many big animals like a species of jungle hog from Vietnam, a species of cat from Ryu-kyu archipelago, a big species of shark from the Hawaii islands, the onza (an animal from Mexico resembling the puma), the giant octopus from the ocean abysses around Bahamas, giant species of calmars etc. Srila Prabhupada also said that no species of life becomes extinct. It is important to remember that the Vedic definition of species is different from the modern one. The Vedas mention 8,400,000 species of life and all of them are repeatedly created after every partial or total cosmic devastation. Regarding the survival of the "living fossils" there is an example of the Latimeria fish which exactly resembles the rock imprints of the fossil Devonian species etc. To study the possibility of existence of such animals a group of scientists (mostly biologists) formed a new scientific discipline called a cryptozoology. They have their regular meetings, they organize expeditions to the remote corners of the world and they publish the Journal of Cryptozoology in which they discuss the existence of unknown (mainly big) life forms from all over the world whose existence is supported by ancient writings, local lore and both native and non-native witnesses (soldiers, tourists, scientists etc.) There are also websites dedicated to this field of study. On their "wanted" list there are several species of hominids from all over the world (known locally as yetti, almas, sasquatch, big foot etc.), great dangerous cats of an above-lion size from the jungles of equatorial Africa (some of them with huge fangs), great species of reptiles or dinosaurs from the oceans and lakes (e.g. Loch Ness in Scotland, Lake Champlain in Canada, etc.) and the jungles (Africa, South America), flying dinosaurs resembling Pteranodon and other types (Zaire, Southwest USA), and many other. Because this type of research, if successful, can seriously damage the accepted paradigms of Darwinian evolution of species, the establishment science views it with incredulity and suspicion. Therefore the cryptozoology is a "marginal" science. Vaisnava scientists, on the other hand, use this type of evidence to show that the Vedic version is correct. The book Forbidden Archaeology by Richard Thompson (Sadaputa Das) and Michael Cremo (Drutakarma Das) from the Bhaktivedanta Institute was a breakthrough in this regard. If you have some questions for our scientists write to Bhaktivedanta Institute <bvi@afn.org>. Room Conversation, Hyderabad, April 14, 1975 750414RC.HYD Devotee: Srila Prabhupada, the other day we were talking about proving different assumptions through archeological findings. Prabhupada: That is also bogus. Archeological findings is bogus. Brahmananda: But it seems that big skeletons of all these big dinosaurs... Prabhupada: That we have already information. We have got timingila. Just like big house. They can swallow up, what is called? Devotee: Whale. Whale. Prabhupada: Whale (indistinct). Tamala Krsna: No but these dinosaurs move on the land. They're not fish. And they're very big and we have information... Prabhupada: So what is to you? You are also a created being. He's also created being. That's the (indistinct). You are not creator of the (indistinct) Tamala Krsna: But you say that there was more intelligent life previously, whereas we see these dinosaurs were previously. Prabhupada: But you do not see, you simply imagine. Tamala Krsna: No. We have the skeletons. Devotee: We have the bones, the bones of animals. Prabhupada: But that's all right. There was a big animal, that's all. Just like you are a foolish animal, so there was a big animal. What is the difference? They are animals. Tamala Krsna: But we have skeletons showing the men at that time also and their brains were very tiny. Prabhupada: That you say. But I don't believe it. I have not seen. Morning Walk, Los Angeles, June 8, 1976 760608MW.LA Ramesvara: Srila Prabhupada, I was once told by some devotees that you had said in some previous age of Kali, the dinosaurs, gigantic animals, were on the earth. Prabhupada: I said? Ramesvara: They say that you said. (laughs) Prabhupada: (laughs) I never said. I never bother with these nonsense things. Ramesvara: They have got so many bones in the museums showing these gigantic animals. Prabhupada: Not gigantic. There are bones. But that animal is still there, whalefish. Ramesvara: Whalefish. Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Very big body. Ramesvara: Some have become extinct. Prabhupada: Why they should be extinct? Hrdayananda: No longer on the earth. Ramesvara: No longer on this planet. Prabhupada: (too much noise) Not necessarily. They are within the ocean. Hari-sauri: No, other animals. Prabhupada: What other animals? Ramesvara: Those gigantic, they called them... Hrdayananda: Brontosaurus. Ramesvara: Tyrannosaurus. Gigantic animals, they say are meat-eaters. Hrdayananda: Dinosaurus. Hari-sauri: Tetrasaurus. Prabhupada: Another imagination. These are actual facts.(?) Hari-sauri: They just made up different compositions of bones and then drew some outlines on them. Prabhupada: Yes. They are imagination. Hari-sauri: But you said in Hawaii though that there are some animals that are as big as skyscrapers? Prabhupada: Yes, these are birds. It is far from this earth though. They travel from one planet to another. Ramesvara: So these bones that they have found of these gigantic animals, they were all living underneath the water. Prabhupada: Yes. Ramesvara: Not on the land. Prabhupada: Maybe. But the list is there: jalaja nava-laksani. There are 900,000 different forms, and how many we have seen? There is information in the sastra. Pasavas trimsal-laksani. Three million different types of animals. Hari-sauri: We've seen a few hundred at most. Prabhupada: That's all. (laughs) That is also doubtful. Slideshow Discussion, Washington D.C., July 3, 1976 760703SS.WDC Svarupa Damodara: Do we know that in detail, Srila Prabhupada? What type of species are extinct? Not all the species extinct. As it is during Brahma's day, that partial annihilation, devastation, now some species are extinct? Prabhupada: No species extinct. What you are reading? This is garbage.(?) Svarupa Damodara: The physical forms. Prabhupada: No, nothing is extinct. Everything is going on. Svarupa Damodara: At that point, they are going to come up with the point that "How about dinosaurs?" They are going to ask like that. Prabhupada: That is imagination, where is dinosaur finding. Svarupa Damodara: They say they have all the bones. Prabhupada: No, they are describing maybe another animal. That is existing. That is Timingila, they can swallow up big, big whale fishes. That big, bones, they are living still. Nothing is extinct. They are already there. Rupanuga: Did these dinosaurs exist, or is it just their imagination? Prabhupada: The big animal exists. I call it dinosaur or finosaur, that is your choice. Big animals existing. Timingila, I said the name, Timingila, still exist. Rupanuga: Still exist. Prabhupada: Oh, yes. They are always existing. Water elephants. There are elephants in water. Everything. Rupanuga: So there is no such thing as extinction. Prabhupada: No extinction, there is no question of extinction. Rupanuga: If these animals were on this planet some millions of years ago, they are still here, is that correct? Prabhupada: Yes. What do you know what are there within the water? You can take information from the sastras. It is not possible for you to see and go into the water, how big, big animals are there. Hari-sauri: But it's possible that an animal may disappear from one planet, but still be on another planet, though, like that. Prabhupada: No. Hari-sauri: Because they claim that even within recorded history... Prabhupada: They claim everything. That is... There is no question. Svarupa Damodara: (indistinct) fossil, they are called fossil record. Prabhupada: That is another thing. You can get a dead animal's body, but what is that? Svarupa Damodara: They claim that many species are extinct. Prabhupada: How they are extinct? Hari-sauri: Well, like, they say that within modern history, Prabhupada: First thing is they are all imperfect speculators. So what is the value of their sport? We don't take any value of it. Rupanuga: They don't know where these animals are, that's all. Prabhupada: They, simply like child, they are speculating. If he's imperfect, then what is the value of his speculation? There is no value. Svarupa Damodara: But then what happens at the time of partial devastation? At the end of Manu, the partial devastation, what happens to the species? Prabhupada: Happens means these different ways become destroyed, but again, during creation, they come in. Morning Walk New York, July 12, 1976 760712MW.NY Ramesvara: They are convinced that dinosaurs, these gigantic animals, were living on this planet millions of years ago. They found some bones, and they have created the form of the animal body. Tamala Krsna: Is it true that there were big dinosaur bodies? Prabhupada: If they were, it is still now. Tamala Krsna: Oh, wow. Prabhupada: We don't say it is extinct. Tamala Krsna: But you've explained that even if not here then it must be on another planet. Prabhupada: Yes, another. This planet, what you have seen? Ramesvara: That's the point, what we have seen about this planet? Devotee (1): Could still be here. They found one in, where is that? In Ireland? Prabhupada: Cannot be extinct, that is not possible. Devotee (1): In that lake? Tamala Krsna: But do you think they were on this planet? Prabhupada: No, no, may be on this planet, but it doesn't matter that it is extinct. You have not seen. Tamala Krsna: No, that's a fact. Ramesvara: Their idea is that at that time man was living in the form of half monkey, half man in a cave, and gradually he evolved to become more civilized. Prabhupada: That is still there. Kinnaras. Kinnaras means it is doubtful whether he is man or monkey. Tamala Krsna: Wow. Prabhupada: There is a Kinnara-loka. Kimpurusa. Kinnara. They are still existing. It is not that they are finished. Hari-sauri: I was reading a magazine when we were on the plane, and it was describing this type of monkey man, that they are being called, they existed in snow wastes. Prabhupada: Or what is called? The big...? Tamala Krsna: Orangutan, gorilla. Prabhupada: Gorilla, they are like men. Tamala Krsna: Yes, they are. Very much like men. We see them in the zoo. Prabhupada: They have got their senses like men. Hari-sauri: There's another species they call the Yetti. They say it exists in the Himalayan regions. But they've not been able to capture one because, uh... But there's been many citings and reportings of it. Q. Thanks for the mail, it was really interesting. But still I found it very confusing, it seems to me that Srila Prabhupada was contradicting himself (first saying that it's not possible that some species might be extinct here and exist on other planets and then saying that it's possible) and he didn't really answer those questions, but pushed them away and started putting down Western scientists. So my desire to know about it is not yet satisfied. A: This is a bit complex issue to deal with as there is really not much said in the sastras about the dinos. Sastras, our main reference, are not to be used as scientific encyclopedias. Their main point is the spiritual knowledge. I don't think Srila Prabhupada really contradicted himself - he never said any species become extinct. He stressed that the exploration of the Earth is far from being complete so no one can say that some species 'extinct' in one place can't survive in another place (or a planet for that matter). The nature of these conversation was pretty informal and depended a lot on the context (which disciples were present etc.). SP sometimes sounded harsh to reprimand his disciples to disentangle them from their conditioning. The point is that this is guru's business. The outsiders may consider it improper or dogmatic but they are in a different position as they didn't accepted the discipleship. With them therefore SP dealt in a different way. Srila Prabhupada was not a scientist and thus didn't feel like getting into these matters too much ('pushing them away' if you wish). He many times said that he knows nothing about the western science but that he can challenge it on the most important point: the origin of life (from life, not from matter). If the 'life from matter' theory is disproved the whole structure built on it will crumble. SP didn't like the arrogance of the modern scientists which is completely against the Vedic approach where knowledge leads to humility and wanted to expose them as ignorant according to the Vedic standard ('putting them down'). On the other hand he appreciated those few of modern scientists who actually took this humble stance (like Einstein). Ultimately he was not attacking science to becomes famous, to feel superior or for fun. He worried about the people who believe it unconditionally and are stuck in the materialistic way of life which aggravates their suffering. Thus he wanted them to be freed from their blind faith in science which leads them on the road to hell (as Chris Rhea sings). © 2001 - 2003 VEDA - Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, authors and Jan Mares

A Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim mother helps her son beat himself with a sword during a ceremony of Ashoura held in Nabatiyeh, March 13, 2003. Shiites in Lebanon commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, by his rival over 1,400 years ago. More than 150,000 Lebanese packed the streets of Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, chanting 'Death to America,death to Israel,' in a mass rally called by Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrilla group. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

Shiite Muslim men cut their heads with swords during the annual ritual to mark Ashoura Day in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh, on Thursday March 13, 2003. Hundreds of Shiites in south Lebanon marked the 7th century killing of their most revered saint Imam Hussein, by slashing their heads with blades on the occasion known as Ashoura. Al Hussein was a grandson of Islam's Prophet Mohammed and is a symbol of martydrom for Shiite Muslims. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

I don't know if there is such a being as Allah. If he/it exists, he/it may be a Jinn or some other sort of demon. But Allah is not Krishna. Allah is not Rama. Allah is not Yahweh. Allah is not God.

Vaisnavas (and many Hindus) reject the idea that there are multiple gods. When we speak loosely of "gods" and "goddesses" we really mean DEMIGODS who are simply non-terrestrial created entities many of whom have special powers or duties. But don't Muslims accept the existence of Jinn, who are supernatural created beings? They would appear to correspond to Vedic asuras.

Should Islam be considered religion in the mode of ignorance? I ask this because many of the edicts in the Koran and in the Hadith (the life of Muhammed) call for the killing of non-Muslims. Craig Winn has studied Islam extensively and says that in order for a Muslim to be a good person he has to be a "bad Muslim." In other words, peaceful, tolerant, or enlightened Muslims are those who deviate from the pure Islamic teachings. People like Osama bin Laden and other Islamic fanatics are the real followers of the Islamic path. http://www.teawithterrorists.com

Does this mean there is no offense in cremating the body of an advanced devotee?

To your knowledge are there any Vaisnavas who acknowledge the existence of chakras (such as the anja, or "third eye", chakra)? Also, what authentic sastras deal with this subject?

How about Balarama? I heard somewhere that he produced Sesa Naga from His mouth and flew with Him back to the spiritual world.

For a faithful follower of vedic spirituality, sastra is never to be considered wrong. It is regarded as apauruseya, of divine origin. What it means for the sadhu and guru to serve as a check on the sastra is that they can prevent misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the words of the sastra. Sometimes the meaning of the sastra may be difficult to understand or apply. Also, there may be apparent contradictions between different sastras. Guru and sadhu can resolve these seeming discrepancies.

There are diverse educational opportunities for devotee children here, ranging from traditional asrama (teenage girls only) to Vaishnava day schools to a government funded secularistic charter school staffed by devotees. There is also "organized" as well as traditional homeschooling. In addition to the above, we have a professionally staffed child protection agency. General New Raman Reti Info: http://www.afn.org/~iskcon/ Vaishnava Academy for Girls http://www.vaishnavagirls.com Child Protection Office www.APVC.org New Raman Reti Day School 386-462-2886 Alachua Learning Center (Charter School) 386-418-2080 Older Boys Day School Mrkanda108@aol.com The Children of Krishna foundation is also located here. It is specifically directed to assisting gurukula alumni: www.childrenofkrishna.com Hope this helps. Haribol.