Child Rights Body Asks UP To Probe Islamic Seminary Darul Uloom Deoband For "Unlawful" Fatwas on Website
New
Age Islam News Bureau
17
January 2022
Image:
ANI/Twitter
-----
• Over
200 Sadhus Began An Indefinite Dharna In Haridwar To Protest The Cases
Registered Against Some Of The Speakers At Dharma Sansad
• Pakistan
Under Terror Scrutiny Again After Hostage Drama In US To Free Prisoner, Aafia
Siddiqui
• ‘I
Was Attacked During The 2016 Campaign Simply Because I Was Muslim,’ Says Former
Hillary Clinton Staffer Huma Abedin
• New
Chief of Indonesia’s Largest Islamic Group Seeks to Reform Orthodox Doctrines
India
• Karnataka
Colleges Creating Controversy Over Hijab, Violating Religious Freedom Of Muslims,
Alleges Popular Front Of India
• No
SP-RLD Ticket For Muslim, Hint Of Discontent In Muzaffarnagar
--------
Pakistan
• Jamat-e-Islami
Chief Sirajul-Haq Calls Imran Khan 'International Beggar' Amid Pak's Mounting
Financial Woes
• Faisalabad
Youtuber, Nasir Dhillon Reuniting Families Divided Between Pakistan, India
• Pak
NSA to visit Kabul this week: Report
• US
fails to understand Pakistan motive two decades since 9/11
--------
North America
• First
Shia Muslim Mayor Of Dearborn To Serves As Democratic Model For The World
• 'We
Muslims In America Undeniably Have An Increasing Anti-Semitism Problem': Duke
• US
Muslim groups condemn hostage-taking at Texas synagogue
• Texas
Muslims express support for hostages in synagogue assault
--------
Southeast Asia
• Apologise
For ‘Washing’ Teen Like Corpse, For Theft To Issue A Public Apology To The
Community Judge Advises Mosque Committee
• Removal
From PAS Committee Due To Differences On Umno Ties, Hints Khairuddin
• Malaysia
Hands Over 3 Rebel Suspects to Thailand
• PM
gives commitment to assist Rohana Abdullah with her citizenship woes
--------
Arab World
• Arab
Coalition Strikes Kill Over 300 Iran-Backed Houthi Militia In Yemen: Statement
• Iran
resumes Muslim Shia pilgrim tours to shrines of Sayyida Zainab, Ruqayya in
Syria
• Iraq
says almost 4,000 repatriated from Belarus borders
• Fears
grow over Iran influence in Lebanon after Hezbollah, Amal Cabinet decision
--------
Europe
• Fire
Breaks Out At Turkish Mosque In Germany In Suspected Arson Attack
• Brussels
imam who prayed to burn Zionists is kicked out of Belgium
• Putin
to host Iranian president next week for talks
--------
South Asia
• Lack
Of Access To Information May Lead To Closure Of Media In Afghanistan: Survey
• US
Revenging Afghans By Imposing Economic Sanctions: Chinese Envoy To Kabul
• Detained
Islamic Emirate Commander Brought to Kabul
• Two
children killed in blast near Afghanistan's Kabul
• Bangladesh
arrests brother of Rohingya insurgency leader
• 95%
Afghan journalists cannot cover stories independently: polling
• Nepal
sends humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan
--------
Mideast
• Radical
Israelis Raid East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound With Israeli Forces
Protection
• Iranian
FM Stresses Need For Ending US Presence In Syria
• Commander
Warns Enemies against Violation of Iran’s Airspace
• FM:
Iran, China to Benefit from 25-Year Deal
• Iran
Urges Removal of Sanctions against Syria, Repatriation of Refugees
• Iran
jails anew French academic for ‘violating’ house arrest: Judiciary
--------
Africa
• Price
of Sudanese pound slips on parallel market amid political uncertainty
• Jordan
GDP grows over 2 percent in 2021: Report
• Jordan
army officer killed in shooting along border with Syria: Statement
• Iran
needs to stop interfering in Arab affairs: Jordan’s FM
• US
and France discuss ways to promote Libya’s democratic process
• Burkina
attack kills around 10 civilians: security source
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Child
Rights Body Asks UP To Probe Islamic Seminary
Darul Uloom Deoband For "Unlawful" Fatwas on Website
Image:
ANI/Twitter
-----
January
16, 2022
New
Delhi: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked
the Uttar Pradesh government to probe Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband's
website for allegedly publishing “unlawful and misleading” fatwas.
The
apex child rights body on Saturday also asked the state's chief secretary to
block access to the website until such content is removed.
The
NCPCR said it is acting on a complaint which alleged that the website carries a
list of fatwas that are against the provisions provided under the country's
law.
“Taking
cognizance of the complaint u/s 13 (1) (j) of the Commissions for Protection of
Child Rights Act, after pursuing the complaint and examining the website, it
was observed that the explanation and answers provided in response to issues
raised by the individuals do not align with the Laws and Acts in the country,”
the NCPCR stated in the letter to the state's chief secretary.
It
said such statements were contrary to the rights of children and open access to
the website was harmful for them.
“Therefore,
it is requested that the website of this organization may be thoroughly
examined, investigated and any such content should be immediately removed,” the
letter stated.
“Further,
access to such website may be prevented until the removal of such content for
avoiding spread and recurrence of unlawful statements and consequently
preventing incidents of violence, abuse, neglect, harassment, discrimination
against children,” the letter read.
It
also asked the state government to take necessary action against the school for
allegedly violating provisions of the Constitution of India, Indian Penal Code,
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and Right to Education Act, 2009.
The
NCPCR has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to submit its report on the
action taken within 10 days.
Source:
ND TV
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Over
200 Sadhus Began An Indefinite Dharna In Haridwar To Protest The Cases
Registered Against Some Of The Speakers At Dharma Sansad
Sadhus
at the hate conclave/File Picture
----
Piyush
Srivastava
17.01.22
Over
200 sadhus began an indefinite dharna in Haridwar on Sunday to protest the
cases registered against some of the speakers at the December 17-19 Dharma
Sansad where calls were sounded for a genocide of Muslims.
The
protest started hours after Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati, chief organiser of
the Dharma Sansad, was arrested on Saturday evening for delivering a hate
speech at the conclave but in a separate case that invokes lesser charges.
Waseem
Rizvi aka Jitendra Narayan Tyagi was arrested on Thursday in the main
case
registered in the matter on December 24. This had prompted a hunger strike by
Narasinghanand from Thursday evening.
Narasinghanand
was himself arrested two days later in a case registered on a woman’s complaint
that he had insulted women of a particular community in a speech at the Dharma
Sansad. A court sent him to 14 days’ judicial custody on Sunday.
Five
people — Narasinghanand, Rizvi, Sadhvi Annapurna Bharati aka Pooja Shakun
Pandey, Sagar Sindhu Maharaj and Mahant Dharmdas — have been booked in the main
case, with Rizvi alone being arrested.
The
main case invokes penal code sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups on
the ground of religion) and 295 (defiling a place of worship with intent to
insult the religion of any class), with conviction entailing a maximum jail
term of five years.
The
case in which Narasinghanand has been arrested involves sections 295A
(outraging religious feelings) and 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any
woman), with a maximum sentence of three years.
“We
want the government to withdraw the cases against those who were at the Dharma
Sansad,” said Mahant Kripa Das, one of the sadhus on dharna at the Sarvanand
Ghat in Har Ki Paudi.
“Whatever
they said was the need of the times. The government should act on the sadhus’
suggestions. Else, we shall organise a bigger meeting in Prayagraj (Allahabad)
and urge people to defeat the BJP.”
Both
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, where Haridwar and Allahabad are located, are
BJP-ruled states and go to the polls in a few weeks.
A
third case was registered against Narasinghanand on Sunday, for an alleged
attack on Wednesday on a journalist who had come from Delhi to interview him in
Haridwar.
Narasinghanand
is mahant of the Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, but has been
camping in Haridwar for weeks.
Source:
Telegraph India
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/hate-cases-make-sadhus-squat/cid/1847895
--------
Pakistan
Under Terror Scrutiny Again After Hostage Drama In US To Free Prisoner, Aafia
Siddiqui
Mohammed
Siddiqui took four Jewish hostages in a synagogue in Colleyville in the
Dallas-Forth Worth area. All hostages were later rescued.
-----
Chidanand
Rajghatta
Jan
17, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan is again under scrutiny for its global terrorism footprint after an
FBI team shot dead a man who took hostages in a Texas synagogue on Saturday
demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani-American neuroscientist
serving a 86-year sentence on terrorism-related charges.
Islamabad
has repeatedly demanded Washington free Siddiqui, a cause celebre in Pakistan
and its extremist circles. The latest episode in US-Pakistan terrorism wrangles
began on Saturday morning when a man took four Jewish hostages in a synagogue
in Colleyville in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, demanding authorities free his
“sister” Aafia Siddiqui, who is incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center 22
miles away in Carswell.
During
a 12-hour stand-off, a lawyer for Aafia Siddiqui's family told the media that
the perpetrator was not Siddiqui’s brother and “she does not want any violence
perpetrated against any human being, especially in her name”.
The
hostage taker claimed to be armed with bombs. Late in the evening, an FBI
hostage rescue team that had flown in from the Bureau’s headquarters in
Quantico stormed the synagogue after two of the hostages broke free and fled.
Grainy
video footage on social media showed two hostages bolting from the synagogue
door, chased by the perpetrator, who quickly withdraws inside after spotting
armed SWAT teams outside. Local media said an explosion and gun shots were
heard, and shortly thereafter authorities announced all hostages were free and
safe and the hostage taker was dead.
Authorities
on Sunday identified the hostage taker as a 44-year-old British national named
Malik Faisal Akram. He was shot and killed after the last of the hostages got
out at around 9pm (local time) on Saturday.
In a
statement, the FBI said there was no indication that anyone else was involved,
but it didn’t provide a possible motive. President Joe Biden called the attack
“an act of terror”. He also said the suspect was able to purchase weapons on
the street and may have only been in the country a few weeks.
London’s
Metropolitan Police said in a statement that its counter-terrorism police were
liaising with US authorities about the incident. Akram’s brother Gulbar posted
on Facebook that the suspect, from the town of Blackburn in England, suffered
from mental illness and said the family had spent all night at the Blackburn
police station “liaising with Faisal, the negotiators, FBI etc.”
Islamabad
has long sought the release of Aafia Siddiqui, whose initiation into extremist
circles while she pursued a masters and PhD in Boston, her peregrinations to
and from Pakistan, her ties to al-Qaida, and her subsequent capture and
conviction, constitutes one of the more murky chapters in the US war on terror.
She is
regarded as a “daughter of the nation” by sections of the Pakistan
establishment who have campaigned for her release from jail. PakistanPM Imran
Khan was reported to have deputed his parliamentary affairs adviser Babar Awan
to oversee efforts to secure Siddiqui’s release, an effort that involved
petitioning US President Joe Biden after meeting with the convict’s family.
While
the effort has met with stony silence from Washington, the Pakistani
establishment in the past floated the idea of a prisoner-swap, including at one
time offering to exchange CIA contractor Raymond Davis for Siddiqui, a proposal
the Obama administration rejected.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
‘I
Was Attacked During The 2016 Campaign Simply Because I Was Muslim,’ Says Former
Hillary Clinton Staffer Huma Abedin
Human
Abedin is shown on screen being interviewed on Frankly Speaking.
-----
January
16, 2022
DUBAI:
Muslims were made the “bogeyman” by some politicians in the US at the time of
the 2016 election won by former President Donald Trump, a leading American
Muslim has told Arab News.
Huma
Abedin, chief of staff of the defeated Democratic Party candidate Hillary
Clinton, said she endured calls for her investigation by a Republican
congressman in 2012 on the flimsy evidence that she and her family were
practicing Muslims, with the prejudice intensifying during the 2016 campaign.
“I
just want to take a step back and remind people this was 2012 and I believe the
experience those of us had was really an appetizer for what was to come — this
idea that you could label somebody ‘the other’ and make them the bogeyman. I
believe my faith was made a bogeyman in that 2016 election,” she said.
Abedin,
who recently published a book about her experiences in US politics and her time
growing up in Saudi Arabia, shared her forthright views on “Frankly Speaking,”
the series of video interviews with leading global policymakers.
In a
wide-ranging conversation, she also spoke of the growing divisions within US
politics and society, the empowerment of women in the American system, and her
ill-starred marriage to former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, which ended
in scandal and divorce.
Accusations
of anti-Muslim prejudice in the US political system are a striking part of her
memoir, “Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds,” published last year.
“One
of the reasons I wrote this book is because I wanted to share with Americans
and with people what it is to be a Muslim American in this country, and it is
why I wrote in detail about the accusations that my family faced in 2012, when
I was working at the State Department,” Abedin said.
“I
was attacked simply because I was Muslim and had two Muslim parents.”
The
accusations were quickly discredited by a State Department review, but Abedin
believes they were symptomatic of a wider deterioration in the standards of
political life in the US.
“Do I
see a divide in this country? Absolutely, we all do. And unless we are willing
to step forward to continue to engage in public service, we have a choice in
the kind of country we’re going to live in,” she said.
“It
is very scary to see some of the language that’s out there in the world. Very
scary.”
Abedin,
who began her political career as a White House intern in 1996, said that while
there were always differences between Republican and Democratic politicians,
before 2016 these could be debated and resolved.
“The
way I was raised in politics and public service was forcing differing opinions
to the table, being able to leave the office and go down the street and have
dinner together and hash out your differences. That has changed,” she said.
“It’s
not the same Washington. It’s not. The parties have become so much more divided
in terms of basic human common decency. That seems to have been really allowed
to just disappear, and I’m very sad about that.”
Abedin
was vice chair of the campaign to elect Clinton in 2016, when the candidate
endured baseless calls from Trump for her prosecution and imprisonment on
unspecified charges. A late-breaking investigation into Clinton’s emails by the
FBI — subsequently discredited — hit her campaign hard, by some accounts
costing her the election.
“I
would argue that my boss actually did quite well (considering) the external
forces. I write about this in detail in my book, everything from the misogyny
(to) the attacks — when you have somebody every single day suggesting that you
might go to jail without explaining why, as had been the case for her,” she
said.
“The
attacks (Clinton) had to endure multiple times a day, those things had an
effect. (Plus) the FBI investigation — which had a late-breaking role in
changing, altering the course of the election, in an election so tight that
every little thing mattered — that was a big thing,” Abedin said.
“The
forces against our party and our candidate really were quite overwhelming at
that moment. So, I still get up every single day and I think about how our
country would have been different today if (Clinton) had been elected in 2016.”
Another
reason for Clinton’s defeat, she said, was “because she is a powerful, smart,
ambitious woman and we are, in this country in my opinion, still afraid of
powerful women.”
Born
in the US, Abedin’s family moved to Saudi Arabia when she was a child, and she
grew up in the Kingdom before she left for higher education in America. She
returns frequently to Saudi Arabia with her son Jordan, and is impressed by the
changes that have taken place since she lived there.
“First
of all, you didn’t see women in stores (in the 1980s), you didn’t see the
cultural events on the beach. When I was there a couple of years ago with my
son, we went for face painting and on the beach and Ferris wheels. A lot of
young Saudi men and women are working in small businesses, entrepreneurships.”
She
added: “I will always have a very tender place in my heart for the place that
was home for me for so long, that I associated with my father. My father is
buried there, in Makkah. So, for me to see the progress is amazing, it’s really
amazing.”
Before
she embarked on her career in Washington political circles, Abedin was briefly
a journalist for Arab News.
“I
had applied for a White House internship and then left to go home for the
summer, and it was Khaled Al-Maeena, who was then the editor-in-chief, who
offered me a position with a summer job.”
She
said: “Arab News is what we read in our home every single day. It was our New
York Times. So, if you had asked me in 1995 would I be doing an interview like
this in 25 years, I would say absolutely no way, no how. But it’s a thrill.”
In
her memoir Abedin talks candidly about her marriage, and the misgivings she had
when she first met Weiner, a New York congressman of Jewish background and then
a rising star in Democrat circles in the city.
“I
think any Muslim who’s watching will understand our faith, our belief. Men,
Muslim men, are allowed to marry outside the religion, (but) it’s much more
difficult for Muslim women to marry outside the faith. That really in the end
has to do with paternity: If there are children born of that marriage,
generally the child takes the father’s religion and so it was a huge crisis of
conscience for me,” she said.
The
marriage ended when Weiner was jailed for sexual crimes propagated via social
media, but in the process affected the 2016 election campaign. “I felt an
entire responsibility for that defeat,” Abedin said.
She
was a victim of intense media scrutiny during the Weiner scandal, but eventually
accepted that the press was just doing its job in covering a major news story.
“I understood. It wasn’t easy, but I understood,” she said.
Abedin
said that the Democrats under President Joe Biden face an uphill struggle in
the upcoming mid-term elections, which traditionally go badly for the
incumbent’s party.
“I
think the COVID-19 pandemic has presented all kinds of unanticipated
challenges, and I think our party has its work cut out for it in November. We
have a lot of work to do and we’ve got to keep the enthusiasm, get people out
(to vote). It’s going to be hard,” she said.
Abedin,
who combines insider knowledge of the US political system with an understanding
of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, does not rule out an ambassadorial role in
the future.
“I am
open to all kinds of opportunities and exploring different things. What that is
I don’t know yet, but ambassador sounds really good. I just have to figure out
— ambassador to what and for what and how? But I like that actually,” she said.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005566/world
--------
New
Chief of Indonesia’s Largest Islamic Group Seeks to Reform Orthodox Doctrines
Indonesian
Muslim women perform prayers during the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of
Ramadan, in Malang, East Java, July 6, 2016.
-----
2022-01-14
The
new leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization is calling for the reform
of orthodox Islamic doctrines which, he says, are incompatible with modern
realities in the 21st century.
A
tradition of tolerance that Muslims across the Indonesian archipelago have
practiced for centuries could be an antidote for religious extremism and contribute
to global peace, according to Yahya Cholil Staquf, the chairman of Nahdlatul
Ulama.
“We
will continue our efforts to strengthen Islamic civilization, which has grown
and developed in Indonesia for a long time and has been proven up to now to be
able to maintain a harmonious socio-cultural order, despite diversity,” Yahya
told BenarNews during an interview after being elected as the new chief of NU
in late December.
“This
is a model that will certainly be very valuable to be offered to the world as the
contribution of Indonesian Islam, to seek a way out of various kinds of turmoil
that are currently raging in the Islamic world.”
He
refers to this unique brand of Indonesian Islam that has evolved over many
generations as Islam Nusantara (Archipelagic Islam).
The
influential group that Yahya heads claims to have 90 million members scattered
across Indonesia, a religiously and culturally diverse archipelago, and the
world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
NU is
seeking to help create a just and harmonious world order based on respect for
human rights and dignity by addressing the problem of religious radicalism, he
said.
As an
example of problematic doctrines, Yahya cited the “kafir” (infidel) label that
Muslims use when speaking about non-Muslims, and the belief that the caliphate
is a God-ordained form of government.
“It
is clear that in classical Islamic discourse, there are those who are viewed
that way. This doctrine is vulnerable [to abuse], and is something that we
can’t follow any more today because the world has become one village and we
have to live side by side with each other,” he said during the 45-minute phone
interview.
“The
caliphate was part of the dominant discourse of orthodoxy, and became a
practice that shaped the past civilization. Now, we can no longer impose a
universal caliphate in the context of the current reality.”
A
2019 national conference of NU scholars proposed the elimination of the term
kafir to refer to non-Muslims, and replace it with “muwatinun,” an Arabic word
for “fellow citizens.”
The
scholars argues that kafir had negative connotations and was divisive.
But
conservative Muslims who opposed the proposal argued that the term was neutral,
and not meant to be hateful.
Another
concept in orthodox Islam that Yahya identified as vulnerable to
misinterpretation in the modern context has do to with conflict.
“When
there is a conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims, what are the obligations
of Muslims? According to orthodox teachings, we should help fellow Muslims to
fight non-Muslims,” Yahya, 55, said.
“This
has to be straightened out. We can’t just involve ourselves in a conflict
between Muslims and non-Muslims because it will only worsen the conflict and
[lead to] no way out.”
Since
the turn of the century, Indonesia has been grappling with Islamic militancy
and violent extremism.
Several
major terror attacks carried out by Islamic militants rocked the country in the
2000s, notably the 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people were killed.
Indonesian authorities blamed that and other attacks during the first decade of
the new century on Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian affiliate of al-Qaeda.
In
recent years, hardline Sunni Muslims in the country have persecuted members of
the tiny Shi’ite and Ahmadiyya minorities, accusing them of trying to spread
heretical interpretation of Islam.
Yahya
said the Islam Nusantara concept is not a new ideology, but a unique brand of
Islam practiced here since the 1300s.
Indonesian
Muslims believe that Wali Songo (Nine Saints) helped propagate Islam in the
archipelago between the 14th and 16th centuries. They blended Islamic practices
with pre-existing traditions from Hinduism, Buddhism and other faiths, and
thereby created a more tolerant brand of the faith.
Consolidation
Under
his leadership for the next five years, NU will undergo a consolidation, Yahya
said.
This
week, he appointed several women to NU’s leadership board, the first such
appointments since the organization’s founding in 1926.
Robi
Sugara, executive director of the Indonesian Muslim Crisis Center, a local NGO,
described Yahya’s ascension as NU’s leader as a breath of fresh air.
“NU
will not be interested in establishing an Islamic state, a caliphate or
formalization of Islamic law, things that radical groups aspire to,” Robi told
BenarNews.
The
promotion of moderate Nusantara Islam is timely.
“Puritan
Islamic groups consider polytheism something that is not permissible and when
they see it they should not remain silent. However, Nusantara Islam, although
it doesn’t allow it, tries to see it from a different perspective,” Robi said.
Source:
Benar News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
India
Karnataka colleges creating controversy over hijab, violating religious freedom of Muslims, alleges Popular Front of India
17
January 2022
Karnataka
state general secretary of Popular Front of India, Nasir Pasha on Sunday
alleged that colleges here were creating unnecessary controversy over the hijab
(headscarf) issue, violating the religious freedom of Muslims.
The
Karnataka state general secretary of Popular Front of India, Nasir Pasha issued
statements regarding the Hijab controversies prevalent in various colleges in
the state and said, "Some colleges are creating unwarranted controversies
around the topic of headscarves and violating the fundamental, religious
freedom of Muslims."
In
Udupi's Government PU College, the leader alleged, 6 students from the Muslim
community have been denied entry into classrooms and made to sit outside
because they were wearing headscarves.
"Following
this, a few students of Pompei College at Aikala, Mangaluru, came to college
donning saffron shawls and demanded the prohibition of headscarves," he
alleged.
The
leader said, "A similar controversy was concocted at the Government First
Class College at Koppa, Chikmagalur. Factually, dress codes are mandatorily
implemented only up to SSLC.
When
there is no such mandatory dress code enforced in PU or Degree colleges, to say
that headscarf is not allowed is an unrefined argument."
Pasha
said, "It is also an extremely unreasonable move for the Principal of the
college to deny the students wearing headscarves entry into the classrooms.
Notably, college students from the Muslim community have been attending classes
adhering to the existing policy on clothing on a college level."
Source:
Catch News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
No
SP-RLD ticket for Muslim, hint of discontent in Muzaffarnagar
Mohd
Dilshad
Jan
17, 2022
MUZAFFARNAGAR:
There are murmurs of discontent regarding the SP-RLD's ticket distribution
within sections of the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar. While
the region has about 38% Muslim voters spread across six constituencies in the
district, surprisingly the alliance has not fielded a single Muslim so far.
It
has declared candidates on five seats - all Hindus. Now all eyes are fixed on
the lone city seat, and sources claim that this too might see a Hindu candidate
"to avoid polarization". This does not seem to have gone down well
with some members of the community, who said "this is happening despite
the fact that, in the last two years, RLD leaders have been promoting
'bhaichara ' committees, and speeches during anti-farm law agitation appealed
for Jat-Muslim unity".
Prominent
Muslim leaders - Qadir Rana, Mursaleen Rana, Liyakat Ali, among others - who
wanted to contest the elections now feel "neglected and disowned". A
former SP leader Amir Alam, said: "It is not about whether Muslim
politicians will get to fight the election in Muzaffarnagar or not, what
matters most is how to defeat communal forces."
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Jamat-e-Islami
Chief Sirajul-Haq Calls Imran Khan 'International Beggar' Amid Pak's Mounting
Financial Woes
Jan
17, 2022
LAHORE:
Dubbing Imran Khan as an "international beggar", Jamat-e-Islami (JI)
chief Sirajul-Haq on Sunday stated that Pakistan Prime Minister's departure is
'the only solution' to all the problems of the country marred with financial
woes.
Speaking
at a gathering ahead of local body polls in Lahore, Haq called for a fresh
election in the country. Slamming Khan's government for increasing petroleum
prices, JI chief said, "Imran Khan and Pakistan cannot function
together."
"There
is no space left for pluses or minuses from politics in this country, as Imran
Khan's departure is the only solution to all the problems," Haq was quoted
as saying by Geo News.
Over
Pakistan's contentious deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sirajul
Haq said that the Pak PM has become "an international beggar". He
also said that the incumbent government, led by PTI is unable to rule the
country.
This
stinging criticism comes amid massive financial problems that the country is
facing.
Meanwhile,
the opposition has rejected the passing of the Finance (Supplementary) Bill
2021 and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021, to meet conditions
set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The
approval of the supplementary finance bill was necessary to ensure Pakistan's
sixth review of the USD 6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The
JI chief went on to say that the ruling government used to claim that it was
the "champion of the economy" but nothing has changed as "it is
merely using old parts in new machinery."
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Faisalabad
Youtuber, Nasir Dhillon Reuniting Families Divided Between Pakistan, India
January
16, 2022
LAHORE:
At a time when relations between Pakistan and India are marred due to
hostilities, a Pakistan-based YouTube channel is reuniting families separated
during the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
In
the latest such reunion, Nasir Dhillon, 37, who runs a YouTube channel named
Punjabi Lehar, has successfully reunited two brothers living in Pakistan and
India after a 75-year gap.
A
video of the reunion of two brothers, Muhammad Siddique, who lives in
Faisalabad, and Sikka Khan, a resident of the northern state of Punjab in
India, has gone viral on social media.
The
video shows an emotional union after they met for the first time earlier this
week at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Narowal.
Dhillon,
who is based in Faisalabad and runs the channel along with his Sikh friend,
told Anadolu Agency that he has already reunited more than 200 families.
“We
run this web channel as a hobby. Our main focus is on the stories related to
the partition,” he said.
Dhillon
said that in November, he reunited two childhood friends who got separated
during the partition.
“Sardar
Singh is now settled in America and his friend Raju’s family is living in
Pakistan. We also facilitated the visit of Indian Punjabi singer Gippy Grewal
to his native village Chak 47 Mansooran in Faisalabad,” he said.
Dhillon
said they came across many cases in the past where parents were left in
Pakistan and children migrated to India or vice versa, and the Kartarpur
corridor has facilitated the meeting of divided families.
Despite
a chill in bilateral ties over disputed Kashmir, Islamabad and New Delhi signed
a landmark agreement in November 2019 to open the Kartarpur corridor to allow
Indian pilgrims to visit the holy Sikh shrine in Pakistan.
STORY
OF TWO BROTHERS
The
emotional story of the two brothers, Siddique and Khan, has become the talk of
the town across the borders.
A few
days after the first brief meeting at Kartarpur, they are now waiting for visas
and want to spend some time together.
In
Faisalabad, Siddique, now in his late 80s, says he remembers the incident
vividly when he got separated from Habib, who later on got the name of Sikka
Khan.
During
the partition, Siddique was staying at his home in the village of Jugaraun in
India with his younger sister and father, while his mother, along with Habib,
left to meet her family in the Phulewal village.
When
Siddique’s village came under attack at the time of the partition, his father
fled towards Faisalabad, taking along him and his younger sister. On their way,
the father was killed and the sister also later died due to severe illness.
On
the other hand, the mother was not able to bear the trauma and took her life
and left behind child Habib.
“I
knew that my brother was alive,” Siddique told Anadolu Agency. “I am thankful
to the family who took care of him. The moment I saw him, I ran towards him and
hugged him. We cried for almost half an hour and inquired about each other’s
journey.”
Still
emotional, Siddique said he is now waiting for both countries to give visas, so
they can frequently meet.
“I
want to request the prime ministers of both countries to grant us special visas
so we can meet each other for the rest of our lives,” he said.
PROMPT
RESPONSE
Dhillon
said when he uploaded the video about Siddique looking for his brother in 2019,
he was contacted by Dr. Jasgir Singh, a medical practitioner from the Phulewal
village in Indian Punjab, where Khan lives.
Singh
told Anadolu Agency that when he saw the video on social media, he contacted
Dhillon, and subsequently a video call was arranged.
“This
story has touched everyone’s heart. Everyone is happy that they have finally
met,” he said, adding their reunion was delayed since 2019 due to the Covid-19
pandemic.
In
Phulewal, the villagers are jubilant, and for many, the reunion is no less than
a movie story.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pak
NSA to visit Kabul this week: Report
Jan
17, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan's National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yufuf will lead a high-level
inter-ministerial delegation to Kabul on Tuesday for a two-day trip for talks
on bilateral matters and a focus on Islamabad efforts to avert a humanitarian
crisis in the war-torn nation, a media report said citing officials as saying.
"Yusuf
is steering the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC) to
channel Pakistan's humanitarian and economic assistance to Afghanistan in a
manner that helps the Afghan interim authorities in combatting their key
challenges while adhering to the requirements of the UN and international
sanctions," the Dawn news report said late Sunday.
The
informed officials said that the purpose of the visit is to ascertain
Afghanistan's "humanitarian, economic and development needs".
The
Dawn news report said the "main sectors of Pakistan's cooperation with
Afghanistan include health, higher education, provision of humanitarian
assistance, and enhancement of trade/business contacts".
Meanwhile,
the Taliban-led government in Kabul is yet to confirm the visit which comes as
tensions are simmering between the two countries over the Durand Line, the
de-facto border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pakistan
maintains that the fencing of the 2,670 km long international border is pivotal
to the country's border security and national interest as it would help curb
the gateway of terrorists, who enter into the country from Afghanistan and
carry out attacks in the country.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
fails to understand Pakistan motive two decades since 9/11
January
17, 2022
Pakistan’s
real motive in sponsoring terrorism and revival of Taliban dominated (Udaipur
based Foreign & Defence policy related think tan) Usanas Foundation
organized international conference, "Maharana Pratap Annual Security
Dialogue," from Jan 10-13. The conference's theme was "Transnational
Terrorism in the 21st century and Global Counterterrorism Response."
The
dialogue was organized in partnership with the Indian Council of World Affairs,
MEA. This global conference hosted 25 prominent international experts from over
nine countries, including the US, Israel, Australia, Sri Lanka, UAE,Egypt,
Afghanistan, Singapore and Europe.
The
Day 1 of the conference was inaugurated by Amb. Naor Gilon, the Israeli
Ambassador to India, highlighting how counterterrorism plays a huge role in
India-Israel cooperation on strategic and security issues. Both countries
celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel this year,
however, the civilizational ties are 2000 years old. Praising India’s rich
cultural legacy of secularism and tolerance, he said that the Jewish community
never faced any persecution and oppression in India. The two nations share
similar ideas and plan to cooperate in the future as well regarding terrorism.
The
first session of the day was dedicated to "Assessing 20 Years of Global
War on Terror: Successes and Failures." Some of the speakers included Amb.
Anil Trigunayat, former Indian ambassador to Libya and Malta, Dr. Michael
Ruben, a former Pentagon official, also gave his remarks on American
counterterrorism operations.
In
the second session, experts such as Lt. Gen. Ata Hasnain and Dr. Yoram
Schweitzer, an Israeli intelligence official, former advisor to the Israeli PM,
deliberated on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the future of
terrorism. Dr. Javid Ahmad, former Afghan ambassador to UAE, also contributed
to this session by critiquing Pakistan's support of the Taliban and the latter
group's religious fundamentalism.
During
the evening session on the issue of terror financing, Dr. Dalbir Ahlawat of
Macquarie University in Australia, and Dr. Tal Pavel, of the Israeli firm
CyBureau, elucidated different terror financing channels such as proxy
charities andcryptocurrencies. Dr. Abhinav Pandya, the founder and CEO of
Usanas Foundation, talked about the terror financing scenario in Kashmir. He
detailed how Pakistan-supported terror organizations siphon funds from
development projects and use traveling students to transfer funds.
Renowned
terrorism expert, Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, gave the keynote address on the second
day. He said that it is important to look at developments in Afghanistan to
understand the threat landscape globally. About developments in Afghanistan, he
said “it is not just the revival of Taliban, rather it is the revival of
Taliban and Al Qaeda.” He also stressed the need to address Muslim exclusivism
promoted by Salafi Wahabism. According to Gunaratna, the key is to promote
"local and tolerant Islam" that will not support extremist ideologies
at the root of Islamic extremist terrorism.
The
first session on Day 2 focused on radicalization in South Asia. Dr. Tara Kartha
and Michael Kugelman presented talks on the spread of divisive ideologies in
the region and the need to ensure such ideologies do not hijack religions.
Other speakers, such as Pratap Heblikar, Marian Duris and Dr. Arabinda Acharya,
spoke on different aspects of radicalization.
The
second session of the day focused on counter-radicalization and
de-radicalization. Dr. Malkanthi Hettiarachchi spoke on her work on
de-radicalizing terrorists. Dr. Malkanthi stresses the return of radicals to
values of moderation and inclusivity. Dr. Jolene Jerard similarly talked about
her work in community engagement that aims to nip terrorism in the bud by
addressing its underlying drivers and attitudes.
The
third day began with a session on "The Role of Think Tanks and Research in
Counterterrorism." Dr. Tricia Bacon, a researcher from Washington D.C, and
Dr. Ely Karmon, from ICT-Herzliya in Israel, spoke about their experiences
working in think tanks in the U.S. and Israel, respectively. They also commented
on the contributions of researchers to policy-making and the challenges
involved.
The
following session was dedicated to India's counterterrorism cooperation with
the U.S. and Israel. Dr. Ely Karmon spoke about India-Israel cooperation in
counterterrorism and what India can gain from Israel's advances in defense
technology and its knowledge of counterterrorism techniques. Dr. L.
Venkatswaran also spoke on the Indo-US convergences in counterterrorism.
The
final session focused on "Challenges and The Way Forward." VIF
chairman & former Deputy NSA Arvind Gupta stressed the need to focus on the
strategic aspects of terrorism. This includes an international legal consensus
on what defines a terrorist and a U.N. Convention on combatting terrorism. Moreover,
he called for more attention to be given to state-sponsored terrorism.
The
Valedictory ceremony for the dialogue took place in Udaipur on January 13,
which was attended by Tejendra Khanna, the former L.G. of Delhi, as the Chief
Guest. Khanna said that the proponents of terrorism spread wrong notions about
religion and there should be efforts to harmonize religions, especially by
religious leaders and young people. He urged the UN to build a legal charter
against radicalization, which eventually all countries should sign and India
must take lead in this.
Source:
Economic Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North America
First
Shia Muslim mayor of Dearborn to serves as democratic model for the world
January
17, 2022
Placing
his left hand on a Quran, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud was sworn in Saturday
in a historic moment for the city.
Addressing
the audience afterward, Hammoud spoke of Dearborn's diversity, saying it serves
as a democratic model for the world. And he called for a dynamic government
that is accessible to all while solving the city's challenges, such as
infrastructure.
"All
four corners of our city bring something special that makes Dearborn the rich
and vibrant place we all love and call home," Hammoud said onstage at the
Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. "Together, we’re on a mission
to prove that we can solve the biggest problems we face while being transparent,
responsive and accessible to all. Our new team brings not only vast experience,
but historic diversity that includes several broken barriers. ... By including
more of us, we widen our perspectives, we improve our decision-making, and
multiply our impact. No matter your background,
ZIP code, or native tongue, the city of Dearborn will always treat you
equitably and strive to earn your trust each and every day."
Hammoud
is Dearborn's first Arab American mayor of a city of 110,000 residents that was
once led for decades by one of the region's most notorious racists, Orville
Hubbard, a former mayor who used disparaging language against minorities,
including Black and Arab American people.
Hammoud
is also the city's first Muslim mayor, using some Arabic words to thank God
during his speech. Dearborn, the headquarters for Ford Motor Co. and whose logo
is "Home Town of Henry Ford," is now 47% Arab American and whites of
European descent are now a minority, according to 2019 census data.
"Over
the decades, we have served as the birthplace of innovation, and the gateway to
opportunity for tens of thousands of families," Hammoud said, referring to
Dearborn and how Ford plants drew workers from around the nation and world.
"We’ve modeled for the world what a multiethnic democracy can look like
when we approach our differences with kind curiosity rather than suspicion. But
in assuming this office, we won’t just inherit a shared past. We also inherit
responsibility for the future. Dearborn is bigger than all of us, and as we prepare
to tackle hundred-year challenges such as catastrophic flooding, we will think
not just about our residents today, but also the residents of tomorrow."
Three
religious leaders - a Shia Muslim, Sunni Muslim and Christian - gave
invocations, appearing on stage together in a show of unity.
One
of the leaders who spoke was Shaikh Ahmad Hammoud, an imam at the Islamic
Center of America in Dearborn who is an uncle to Hammoud. The other Muslim
leader was Imam Suleiman Hani of the AlMaghrib Institute. The Rev. Terri Pilarski of Christ Episcopal
Church in Dearborn prayed for the city to be a light for others to follow.
The
seven members of Dearborn's City Council, nine members of the Dearborn Charter
Commission, and Dearborn City Clerk George Darany were also sworn in. The seven
council members and Darany all spoke after being sworn in by Wayne County
Circuit Judge Helal Farhat. All of the elected officials, including Hammoud,
officially took office on Jan. 1.
City
Council President Michael Sareini said he will work to be "an active
leader ... seeking solutions."
Sareini
said residents have been frustrated with inefficient city services.
The
"quality of life must improve" in Dearborn, he said.
Councilman
Ken Paris called upon residents to get involved with the city.
"We
need a lot more citizen involvement," Paris said. "Get
involved."
Darany
also urged residents to get active: "If you want to see a change in your
world, you might have to be the one to make that change yourself."
Several
of the council candidates spoke about the problem of flooding, which has been
an ongoing problem, especially last summer.
The
crowd of about 100 people inside the auditorium was small because the city
closed the event to the general public due to spike in COVID-19 cases this
month, but the event was livestreamed online. Most of the guests were family or
friends of the elected officials.
Abed
Hammoud, a Dearborn attorney and former federal and county prosecutor who ran
for mayor 21 years ago, attended the event along with his family. His son,
Mustapha Hammoud, was elected to City Council and was sworn in.
Abed
Hammoud said he had tears as he watched the inauguration. When Hammoud ran for
Dearborn mayor in 2001, primary day fell on Sept. 11, the day of the terrorist
attacks; he advanced to the general election in November, losing to Mayor
Michael Guido.
"This
is the moment we've been looking forward to for so long," Abed Hammoud
said after the inauguration.
While
Dearborn has been diverse for decades, "we didn't feel that its government
represented its diversity," Hammoud said. "And today, you felt it.
... It feels like all the work we've done for many years has come to fruition.
The city is going to be very happy to see how much talent this community
has."
The
city now has 11 elected officials,
including in its school district, who are Arab American.
Councilman
Hammoud said after being sworn in "I'm excited to work .. as a voice for
accountability, ethics, and equal treatment for all residents. For the next
four years, I want you, the citizens of this city, to watch my work and tell me
how to best serve you.
"I
feel incredibly honored to give back to this city who has given me so
much," Hammoud said.
Abdullah
Hammoud took the stage Saturday along with his wife, Dr. Fatima Beydoun. In his
opening remarks, Hammoud thanked his family, including their newborn daughter
and his late brother, Ali Hammoud, who died in 2015 from a seizure.
Hammoud
said after the ceremony that the red tie he wore was his brother's tie and the
Quran he took his oath on was gifted to his family after Ali's death.
"My
brother is the greatest person I've ever ... known and will every know,"
he said. "I carry him wherever I go."
Hammoud
started his address by referring to the late U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the
longtime ccongressman representing Dearborn.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
'We
Muslims In America Undeniably Have An Increasing Anti-Semitism Problem': Duke
17
January 2022
A
Duke University professor has called on his fellow Muslims to confront the
'increasing anti-Semitism problem' within their community in wake of the Texas
synagogue terror attack.
Abdullah
T. Antepli, a professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at the Duke
Divinity School, took to Twitter Sunday saying members of his faith have a
'moral call for action for the soul of Islam and Muslim' to address the hatred
towards Jews.
He
also took aim at Rep. Ilhan Omar for over past anti-Semitic commentary,
including a comment she made in 2019 suggesting that Israel’s allies in
American politics were 'all about the Benjamins'. That was a reference to cash
which was widely interpreted as an anti-Semitic trope, and which Omar later
apologized for.
'We
North American Muslims need to have the morally required tough conversations
about those“…polite Zionists are our enemies…”“…The Benjamins!!!...” voices and
realities within our communities,' Antepli wrote.
'We
MUST! Without ands and buts, without any further denial, dismissal and or trivializing
of the issues… we need to honestly discuss the increasing anti-Semitism within
various Muslim communities.'
Antepli's
comments come just hours after an FBI Hostage Rescue Team on Saturday night
stormed Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas - near Fort Worth -
ending a 10-hour standoff with police by accused gunman Malik Faisal Akram, who
disrupted a Sabbath service and took the rabbi and three other people hostage.
Akram,
44, of Blackburn, England - who was reportedly armed with 'backpacks of
explosives' - had demanded the release of convicted Pakistani terrorist Aafia
Siddiqu - known as Lady Al Qaeda - who police say was referred to as his
sister.
The
four hostages were all released unharmed. After the incident, the Jewish
community and President Joe Biden renewed calls to fight anti-Semitism.
The
FBI has sparked fury after claiming that they had yet to find evidence that the
attack was anti-Semitic.
'Houston!
We have a problem,' Antepli tweeted. 'Not going anywhere….quite the contrary
getting worse.'
He
argued that North American Muslims need to hold honest discussion about
anti-Semitism without any 'further denial, dismissal and or trivializing of the
issues'.
The
professor alleged the community has failed to address Jew-hatred 'honestly,
morally and accurately'.
'I am
really sick and tired of the over all defensiveness and tribal nature of our
reaction to this alarming internal problem,' he wrote.
'We
are better than this! We can no longer pretend the problems of anti-Semitism
within us does not exist. There are more urgent moral calls than “Let’s not
bring shame to our already vulnerable communities..”'
The
professor also called out American leaders - specifically Omar - who he
suggests further the anti-Semitism problem.
'The
Benjamins,' he wrote, quoting a February 2019 tweet from Omar, a Minnesota
Democrat, that caused outrage among her party and other leaders.
'Anti-Semitism
must be called out, confronted and condemned whenever it is encountered,
without exception,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her team wrote at the time.
'We
are and will always be strong supporters of Israel in Congress because we
understand that our support is based on shared values and strategic interests.
Legitimate criticism of Israel's policies is protected by the values of free
speech and democratic debate that the United States and Israel share. But
Congresswoman Omar's use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations
about Israel's supporters is deeply offensive. We condemn these remarks and we call
upon Congresswoman Omar to immediately apologize for these hurtful comments.'
Omar
apologized for for using old anti-Semitic tropes about Jews and money in her
tweets but stuck to her guns in blasting the problems of lobbyists and their
financial influence in politics.
'Anti-Semitism
is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me
on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes,' Omar said in a statement in
2019.
'My
intention is never to offend my constituents or Jewish Americans as a whole,'
she added. 'We have to always be willing to step back and think through
criticism, just as I expect people to hear me when others attack me for my
identity. This is why I unequivocally apologize.'
'At
the same time, I reaffirm the problematic role lobbyists in our politics,
whether it be AIPAC, the NRA or the fossil fuel industry. It's gone on too long
and we must be willing to address it,' Omar added. She tweeted out her
statement with the words: 'Listening and learning, but standing strong.'
Sunday,
responding to the Texas hostage situation, Omar tweeted: 'Thank God for the
freeing of the hostages. Blessings to the members of Beth-Israel synagogue and
the entire community.'
She
was just one of several lawmakers issuing their support for the synagogue and
members of the Jewish faith.
'Yesterday,
an act of terrorism horrified the nation, as worshippers at Congregation Beth
Israel in Texas were taken hostage during a Shabbat service. In the wake of
this antisemitic attack, we stand with the Jewish communities in Colleyville,
across our nation and around the world,' Pelosi echoed.
'Antisemitism
and other forms of hateful violence have been on the rise in recent years. This
extremism has injected fear into communities and stolen too many lives. Hatred
and violence have no place in America — and we must never fail to confront and
combat these dark forces.'
She
continued: 'Congress remains ironclad in our commitment to fighting the scourge
of antisemitism here at home and around the world. We cannot and will not rest
until all of our children, regardless of their faith, can reach for their
dreams in a world at peace.'
During
a visit to a Philadelphia food bank, President Joe Biden Sunday described
Akram's actions as an 'act of terror,' adding that there was not yet sufficient
information as to why the gunman had specifically targeted a synagogue.
'Allegedly
- I don't have all the facts, nor does the attorney general - but allegedly the
assertion was he got the weapons on the street,' the president explained.
'He
purchased them when he landed and it turns out there apparently were no bombs
that we know of. ... Apparently he spent the first night in a homeless shelter.
I don't have all the details yet so I'm reluctant to go into much more detail.'
'I
don't think there is sufficient information to know about why he targeted that
synagogue, why he insisted on the release of someone who's been in prison for
over 10 years, why he was engaged, why he was using anti-Semitic and
anti-Israel comments,' Biden told reporters.
Akram
was shot dead by the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team after holding four
hostages for more than 10 hours at Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in
Colleyville, Texas on Saturday.
Lead
FBI special agent Matthew DeSarno confirmed Akram was a British citizen and
that 'at this time there is no indication that other individuals are involved'
in a statement released to the media on Sunday afternoon.
DeSarno
also claimed Akram was focused on an issue not directly connected to the Jewish
community and there was no immediate indication that the man had was part of
any broader plan, but noted the agency’s investigation 'will have global
reach.'
'It
is very disturbing to hear from the FBI they do not believe the hostage taker’s
demands had anything to do with the Jewish faith,' wrote South Carolina Sen.
Lindsey Graham.
The
FBI Shooting Incident Review Team plans to conduct a 'thorough, factual and
objective investigation' of the shooting.
Counter
Terror police also confirmed to MailOnline they would continue to work with 'US
authorities and colleagues in the FBI' over the coming days as the
investigation into Akram's actions continues.
The
alleged gunman's 'devastated' brother Gulbar Akram shared a message on social
media in which he revealed he had been working with the FBI and 'liaising' with
his sibling throughout the stand-off. He also apologized and blamed 'mental
health issues' for Malik's actions.
Gulbar
wrote online: 'It is with great great sadness I will confirm my brother Faisal
passed away in Texas, USA this morning. We are absolutely devastated as a
family. We can't say much now as their is an ongoing FBI investigation.
'We
would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and
would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in
the unfortunate incident.
Source:
Daily Mail UK
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
Muslim groups condemn hostage-taking at Texas synagogue
Servet
Gunerigok
16.01.2022
WASHINGTON
US
Muslim groups have condemned Saturday's hostage-taking incident at a synagogue
in the US state of Texas.
Four
people including a rabbi were held by a gunman who entered the Congregation
Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville during a religious service. After hours of
standoff with law enforcement, all hostages were freed and the captor was dead,
police said.
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy organization, denounced the incident.
"This
latest antisemitic attack at a house of worship is an unacceptable act of evil.
We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community," CAIR National Deputy
Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said in a statement on Sunday.
Meanwhile,
the US Council of Muslim Organizations said it stands in complete solidarity
against antisemitism with the Jewish community and "condemns the evil,
unjust, and unjustifiable hostage-taking of members of the Congregation Beth
Israel synagogue."
"This
heinous attack on a synagogue, a sacred and inviolable place of worship – and
its congregants in the act of prayer – is utterly unacceptable," said
Council Secretary-General Oussama Jammal.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-muslim-groups-condemn-hostage-taking-at-texas-synagogue/2475610
--------
Texas
Muslims express support for hostages in synagogue assault
January
16, 2022
CHICAGO:
Leaders of the Muslim community in Texas and activists around the US expressed
support for members of a synagogue in Colleyville which came under attack on
Saturday, sparking a 10-hour hostage crisis.
A
SWAT team breached the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue at around 9:30 p.m.
in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, freeing all the hostages.
No
members of the synagogue’s congregation were injured, but the gunman was
killed, police said without releasing details. The rabbi, Charlie
Cytron-Walker, was reported to be among the four held hostage.
The
FBI on Sunday identified the gunman who was killed as 44-year-old British
national Malik Faisal Akram.
Imams
at nearby mosques quickly responded with statements of support and prayers for
the safety of the synagogue's congregation and condemnations of the violence.
“We
are shocked and horrified at what is transpiring in the Colleyville synagogue,”
said Imam Jawaid Alam, from the Islamic Center of Southlake, as word spread of
the hostage crisis. “They are going through an appalling ordeal and we stand
with our Jewish brothers and sisters. Our thoughts and prayers are with them,
and we condemn these atrocious actions. We will provide our support and hope
that this situation comes to a safe resolution as soon as possible. Ameen.”
The
Secretary-General of the US Council of Muslim Organizations Oussama Jammal said
that Muslims across the US stand in solidarity with “the Colleyville and
broader American Jewish community,” and are “relieved” at their safe release.
“This
heinous attack on a synagogue, a sacred and inviolable place of worship – and
its congregants in the act of prayer – is utterly unacceptable. Whoever the
attacker is and whatever his claimed motivations, there can be no excuse for
this horrific crime. We praise God for their return to their loved ones,”
Jammal said.
Police
issued updates on Twitter as the hostage situation continued throughout
Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Colleyville Police Spokesperson Sgt. Dara
Nelson said a 911 call came in just before 11 a.m.
“Officers
arrived on scene and observed an emergency situation that warranted evacuation
of the surrounding areas and an external perimeter was established,” Nelson
said. “The Colleyville Police Department is on scene along with the FBI's
Dallas Field Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the North Tarrant
Regional SWAT Team and other neighboring agencies.”
Nelson
said a gunman was holding several hostages inside the synagogue and reported
that at 5 p.m. the suspect released one male hostage uninjured. FBI crisis
negotiators were in communication with the suspect, Nelson added.
The
SWAT team entered the synagogue and freed all of the hostages and the suspect
was killed.
US
President Joe Biden issued a statement immediately after the hostages were
released late Saturday night.
“Thanks
to the courageous work of state, local and federal law enforcement, four
Americans who were held hostage at a Texas synagogue will soon be home with
their families. I am grateful to the tireless work of law enforcement at all
levels who acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages. We are
sending love and strength to the members of Congregation Beth Israel,
Colleyville, and the Jewish community,” he said.
“There
is more we will learn in the days ahead about the motivations of the hostage
taker. But let me be clear to anyone who intends to spread hate—we will stand
against antisemitism and against the rise of extremism in this country. That is
who we are, and tonight, the men and women of law enforcement made us all
proud.”
On
Sunday, Biden said that the hostage taker had got his weapons off the street.
The
hostage incident in Colleyville, Texas, “was an act of terror; it was an act of
terror,” said Biden, who was in Philadelphia with first lady Jill Biden.
Pro-Palestinian
activists also issued statements against the violence, including Jewish Voices
for Peace. It said: “We are grateful to G-d that Rabbi Cytron-Walker and the
congregants at Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas are free and safe. We send
love to our fellow Jews everywhere who are breathing slightly easier, and
recommit to the fight against antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
Britain's
foreign office confirmed the death of a British man in Texas, when asked to
respond to a Sky News report that the gunman was a British national. The
foreign office did not explicitly say the dead Briton was the gunman.
British
foreign minister Liz Truss on Sunday condemned the actions of the gunman,
calling it an act of terrorism and anti-Semitism.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005536/world
--------
Southeast Asia
Apologise
For ‘Washing’ Teen Like Corpse, For Theft To Issue A Public Apology To The
Community Judge Advises Mosque Committee
Mohamad
Fadli
January
17, 2022
SHAH
ALAM: High Court judge Abd Halim Aman has advised members of a mosque committee
involved in washing a teenager like a “corpse” for theft to issue a public
apology to the community.
He
said this was one of two recommendations made by him so that the case would be
a lesson to all parties, adding that it would also clear the air among those
involved.
Halim
also suggested that those who recorded the video, which went viral, should
apologise, too.
“This
is not an order but just a recommendation,” he said.
Earlier,
the court set aside the 10-day jail sentence and RM4,000 fine on Daniel
Iskandar, 19, who stole money from the Al Islahiah Kuang Mosque, near Rawang,
at about midnight on Jan 8 and hid it in the mortuary.
Halim
said the sentence would be replaced with compulsory community service at the
mosque for 120 hours over six months.
A
video showing Daniel being washed like a “corpse” had gone viral on social
media.
The
prosecution was represented by deputy public prosecutor Norhana Sahat, while
Daniel was represented by lawyers Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, Fahmi Abdul
Moin, Azman Abdullah and Ilyani Khszairy.
Also
present were lawyers Muhammad Hariz Yusoff, Haniff Khatri Abdulla, Nur Fatin
Syakinah Kamarudin, Ahmad Khalil Md Rofiee and Muhammad Mustaqim Ahmad Huzaini
from the Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PPMM).
Megat
Abdul Munir Megat Abdullah Rafaie held a watching brief for the Al Islahiah
Kuang Mosque.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Removal
from PAS committee due to differences on Umno ties, hints Khairuddin
Faiz
Zainudin
January
15, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali has hinted that he was dropped as a
PAS committee member due to his push for the party to continue working with
Umno through Muafakat Nasional (MN).
The former
plantation industries and commodities minister, however, told FMT to “baca apa
yang tersirat” (read between the lines) when asked over the actual reason for
his removal.
He
also did not elaborate on his recent Facebook post after he was dropped from
the committee which reminded leaders of their compulsory duty according to
Islamic law to work towards strengthening the unity between PAS and Umno.
“It
is the responsibility of leaders to strengthen and nurture this unity (within
the MN framework).
“This
is because the unity between Muslims from two of the biggest groups, with over
four million members, must be prioritised according to syarak (Islamic law).
“Those
who are trying to destroy the unity between these two Muslim parties are those
with self-serving interests.”
PAS
president Abdul Hadi Awang, who yesterday announced that Khairuddin had been
dropped as a PAS Central Committee member, is against maintaining MN should
Umno continue to reject Bersatu as part of the alliance.
Hadi
had previously accused some Umno leaders of acting against the spirit of the MN
charter because of their opposition to the Muhyiddin Yassin-led party.
In
November last year, Khairuddin was among three high-level leaders reappointed
as PAS committee members for the 2021-2023 term after losing in the party
polls. He was appointed together with Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki and Nik Abduh Nik
Abdul Aziz.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Malaysia
Hands Over 3 Rebel Suspects to Thailand
2022-01-13
Malaysia
handed three suspected insurgents to Thailand this week, as Thai and rebel
negotiators wrapped up their first in-person peace talks in nearly two years,
officials in Thailand’s troubled Deep South said Thursday.
The
handover was the first official transfer in about 25 years of prisoners
associated with the separatist insurgency in Thailand’s southern border region,
a military source indicated. The Malay-speaking insurgents have long been known
to seek haven across the border.
“Authorities
took custody of three suspected insurgents handed over from Malaysia on
Wednesday,” Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) said
Thursday.
“The
insurgents escaped after committing crimes in the Deep South and went into
hiding in Malaysia, but were captured by Malaysia’s 6th Infantry Division at
illicit routes near Durian Burung, Kedah State, on Dec. 25, 2021,” ISOC said in
a statement.
The
transfer at the Sadao border crossing in southern Songkhla province, on the
Thai-Malaysia frontier, took place on day two of Malaysia-brokered talks
between representatives of the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi
Nasional (BRN) rebel group at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur.
The
three suspects had criminal records, Thai authorities said, describing them as
members of RKK (Runda Kumpulan Kecil), a combat unit of BRN. They have been
taken to a regional police office for further investigation, officials said.
On
Thursday, people on both sides of the border insisted that the handover was not
related to the peace talks.
“This
issue is not linked to last night's peace talks,” said a Malaysian security
source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We
don’t have any indication if the handover of the three was linked to the peace
talks, or that the trio was opposed to the talks,” said Artef Sohko, president
of The Patani, a civil society group based in Southern Thailand.
It is
rare for Malaysia to extradite Deep South insurgents, said a Thai military
source who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
reporters.
The
last time Malaysia handed over suspected insurgents – three key leaders of the
PULO rebel group – was in 1997, according to the source.
Outcome
of talks
During
their talks the two negotiating teams agreed to form a “joint working group” to
discuss a peaceful and inclusive political solution to the decades-old
insurgency, according to the BRN.
“Patani
has always supported the peace negotiation process with the hope that peace will
return to the land of Patani,” Anas Abdulrahman, also known as Hipni Mareh, who
led the BRN delegation, told a news conference near Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
The
BRN, a highly secretive organization, is the largest of armed groups waging a
decades-old insurgency in the mainly Muslim and Malay-speaking Thai Deep South,
and many BRN members and sympathizers are believed to be living on the
Malaysian side of the border.
The
two parties “agreed to form a Joint Working Group between BRN and the Thai
government,” Abdulrahman told reporters.
“We
have yet to decide on when it will be the set up… Hopefully, we have a working
group before our next meeting this year,” he said, adding that both parties had
agreed to send representatives.
The
Thai government’s Peace Dialogue Panel said the two sides proposed the
establishment of a Joint Working Group, without explicitly saying they agreed
to it.
“The
two sides proposed the establishment of … joint working groups which would
support the peace dialogue process and allow the two sides to have a meaningful
and flexible discussion with a tangible outcome,” the Thai panel said in a
statement Thursday.
Both
Abdulrahman and the Thai panel said the two sides discussed reducing violence,
public consultations, and political solutions.
‘If
we are attacked, we will defend ourselves’
The
armed separatist movement against Buddhist-majority Thailand began in the
1960s. The movement’s primary demand has been independence for the people of
Patani, the name given to the southern border region by BRN and other
separatist groups.
Since
the insurgency reignited in January 2004, more than 7,000 people have been
killed and 13,500 injured in violence across the region, according to Deep
South Watch, a local think-tank.
Abdulrahman
claimed the violence had decreased since the BRN announced a unilateral
ceasefire due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. The global outbreak of
the coronavirus disease forced peace talks that began in person in Kuala Lumpur
to go online.
Despite
Abdulrahman’s assertion, Thai security services in the Deep South have blamed
BRN for carrying on with attacks in the region, including violent incidents in
the weeks leading up to the resumption of in-person peace talks.
“[I]f
we are attacked, we will defend ourselves,” Abdulrahman said Thursday.
“BRN
hopes that this peace talk will continue and will bring eternal and dignified
peace to all people of Malay Patani,” he said.
The
two sides also agreed to discuss governance, education, recognition of the
Malay Patani identity, and the economic system in the south, the BRN chief
negotiator said.
He
added that two international experts monitored this week’s meetings, which were
facilitated by former police chief Abdul Rahim Noor on behalf of Malaysia’s
government.
Political
experts hailed the Kuala Lumpur meetings as a move in the right direction.
This
“is a significant milestone as it sets the stage for the discussion on three
main issues: reduction of violence, public consultation, and political
solutions,” said Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, a Deep South researcher and
lecturer at the Prince of Songkla University.
Source:
Benar News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/talks-update-01132022151828.html
--------
PM
gives commitment to assist Rohana Abdullah with her citizenship woes
16
Jan 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has given his
commitment to assist Rohana Abdullah, who was abandoned as a two-month-old baby
at a kindergarten 22 years ago after her Indonesian mother returned to her
country.
The
matter was stated by Ismail Sabri through a video shared on the social media
account of his press secretary, Asyraf Afnan Ahmad Murtadza.
In
the posting, the prime minister, who was seen in his vehicle, contacted Rohana
to get a true picture of the difficulties faced by the young woman.
Ismail
Sabri said he found out about the difficulties experienced by Rohana after
reading it in the newspaper.
The
Prime Minister said that his officer would contact the National Registration
Department to assist with Rohana’s documentation.
“If
there is any (development) later, my officer will contact you,” he said in a
video lasting 1 minute and 5 seconds.
Rohana
was also heard thanking the prime minister and hoping that he could help her.
Media
previously reported that Rohana, 22, was abandoned by her Indonesian mother and
has been raised by Chee Hoi Lan, 83, who was a kindergarten teacher where
Rohana’s mother worked as a cleaner, ever since.
Rohana
was reportedly forced to drop out of school because she did not have
identification documents, and had experienced anxiety due to the problems.
In
the meantime, Ismail Sabri, through a posting on his Facebook page, also
thanked Chee for taking care of Rohana with love.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Arab World
Arab
Coalition strikes kill over 300 Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen: Statement
15
January ,2022
The
Arab Coalition conducted 33 military operations in 24 hours targeting
Iran-backed Houthi’s in the Yemeni province of Marib, killing more than 190
militia members and 21 military vehicles, according to the Saudi Press Agency
(SPA).
The
Coalition also conducted 27 targeted operations in Yemen’s al-Bayda,
eliminating 150 Iran-backed Houthi members and 16 military vehicles, according
to the same SPA report.
Following
the announcement, an official statement warned against the Iran-backed Houthi’s
continued attempts to attack civilian objects.
They
also added that these strikes “thwarted the systemic attempts to target
civilians.”
The
targeted strike comes a little more than an hour after the Arab Coalition
released a statement requesting travelers not to use the roads coming from
Marib and al-Bayda towards the governorates of Harib, Ain, Bayhan, and Usaylan
until further notice.
All
“movements on these roads will be targeted,” said the original statement.
Yemen’s
Iran-backed Houthis launched dozens of cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia
throughout 2021.
In
September 2021, the Houthis intensified their efforts to take Marib, a
provincial capital which is the government’s last northern stronghold.
As
hostilities escalated, the Houthis on January 3 seized a United Arab
Emirates-flagged ship that the coalition said was carrying medical supplies.
On
January 15, an Iran-backed Houthi spokesperson rejected the UN request to
release the vessel.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
resumes Muslim Shia pilgrim tours to shrines of Sayyida Zainab, Ruqayya in
Syria
January
17, 2022
Iran
resumed religious pilgrim trips to Syria on Sunday, enabling its nationals to
visit Muslim Shia shrines in Damascus, according to state-run Fars news agency.
Two
weekly flights from Tehran International Airport to Damascus resumed, allowing
Iranians to visit the shrines of Sayyida Zainab and Sayyida Ruqayya - the head
of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organisation Ali-Reza Rashidian said.
"The
Hajj and Pilgramage Organisation has allocated two weekly flights to Damascus
from Tehran International Airport to visit the shrines of Sayyida Zainab and
Sayyida Ruqayya," reported.
The
first batch of 25 tourists headed from Shia-majority Iran to Syria's historic
capital on Sunday as part of an "implementation of agreements previously
concluded" with the Syrian government, according to the agency.
Iran
and Syria agreed to resume religious pilgrim tours last November when it was
agreed that Tehran would send 100,000 Iranian tourists in the first phase of
the deal.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iraq
says almost 4,000 repatriated from Belarus borders
16
January ,2022
Baghdad
has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with
European Union members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq's
foreign minister said Sunday.
Since
November 18, the Iraqi government has organised “10 flights from Baghdad to
Belarus” to repatriate its citizens, Fuad Hussein told a press conference in
Baghdad with his Lithuanian counterpart.
“We
have been able to repatriate around 4,000 Iraqis who were stuck on the Belarus
borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia,” he said.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Foreign
ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Sahaf later told AFP that “3,817 Iraqi migrants
have been repatriated from Belarus and 112 from Lithuania”.
The
flights have generally arrived in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, where
many of the would-be migrants are from, before continuing to Baghdad.
Sahaf
said some Iraqis were still stuck in Belarus, but that “the difficult weather
and complex environment do not allow rescuers to determine their numbers”.
Lithuanian
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who also met with Prime Minister
Mustafa al-Kadhemi, said he wanted “to bring in new cooperation ideas” with
Iraq.
Since
last summer, thousands of migrants, many from the Middle East and Iraq in
particular, had been camped on the Belarus-EU border, often in bitter
conditions, trying to enter the bloc.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Fears
grow over Iran influence in Lebanon after Hezbollah, Amal Cabinet decision
January
16, 2022
BEIRUT:
A decision by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement to end a boycott of Lebanon’s
Cabinet has led to speculation that Iran is making moves to control Lebanon’s
political system.
Lebanese
Forces MP Ziad Hawat said: “The order came from Tehran, so the ‘disruption duo’
decided to set the Cabinet meetings free. These are the repercussions of
external negotiations.”
He
added: “The ‘disruption duo’ pawned the country to the outside will. But the
parliamentary elections are coming and the hour of reckoning is upon us.”
The
two parties said on Saturday that they would take part in Cabinet meetings
after a three-month boycott.
The
decision came as a surprise to many, and positively impacted the currency rate
on Sunday.
Reacting
to the announcement, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that he would convene a
Cabinet meeting as soon as the Finance Ministry had sent through a draft
budget.
He
added that the decision “aligns with his personal repeated calls for everyone
to participate in assuming the national responsibility in a way that preserves
the national pact, especially during these critical times the country is going
through.”
Mikati’s
office noted the need “to set a recovery plan to launch the negotiation process
with the International Monetary Fund.”
Some
political observers said that the two parties are facing a political stalemate
and popular pressure accusing them of escalating crises.
Parliamentary
elections are around the corner and the two parties “want to absorb people’s
resentment before the date of the said elections next May.”
Other
observers linked the decision by the two parties to “regional developments
regarding the Vienna talks.”
They
believe that “the decision to disrupt the Cabinet meetings served an external
agenda, specifically an Iranian one, and that perhaps they ended their boycott
to demonstrate flexibility in the complicated negotiations.”
The
two parties said in their joint statement on Saturday: “We announce our
agreement to participate in Cabinet meetings to approve the national budget and
discuss the economic rescue plan, and all that concerns improving the living
conditions of the Lebanese.”
They
claimed that the decision came “following the acceleration of events and the
escalation of the internal political and economic crisis to an unprecedented
level, with the collapse of the Lebanese pound’s exchange rate, the decline of
the public sector and the collapse of citizen income and purchasing power.”
Hezbollah
and Amal also mentioned in their mutual statement that their boycott was due to
“the unconstitutional steps undertaken by Judge Tarek Bitar in the Beirut Port
blast case — the gross legal infringements, flagrant politicization, lack of
justice and lack of respect for standardization.”
Instead
of Bitar presiding over the case, the two parties have requested that a
parliamentary panel should look into the matter.
This
requirement, however, has not been executed yet, as the prime minister has
refused to “interfere with judicial operations,” with his party firmly backing
Bitar.
Phalanges
Party MP Samy Gemayel said that Hezbollah and Amal “think they owe us a favor
by ending the boycott.”
He
added: “They paralyzed the country for a year to form the government they
wanted and they boycotted it to prevent justice from prevailing in the ‘crime
of the century.’
“The
Lebanese people are the ones paying the price. There’s no work, no electricity,
no heating, no bread and no medicine,” said Gemayel.
He
added: “Accountability for humiliating people will be achieved through the
elections.”
In
his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi commented on the latest
development regarding Cabinet sessions.
“In
the democratic system, the procedural authority shall operate according to the
powers conferred upon it by the constitution, without being subject to any
illegal pressure or condition,” he said.
He
warned against “resorting to the disruption of parliamentary and presidential
elections — scheduled for next October — for suspicious personal objectives.
“The
Cabinet disruption, the political escalation, the continued provocation, the
use of justice to undermine the opponents and the inversion of priorities
reassure neither the Lebanese people nor Lebanon’s brothers and friends.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005591/middle-east
--------
Europe
Fire
breaks out at Turkish mosque in Germany in suspected arson attack
Jan
17 2022
A
fire broke out at a Turkish-owned mosque in the city of Chemnitz in Germany’s
Saxony region on Sunday and the police are investigating it as a possible
arson, the pro-govt Daily Sabah reported.
The
fire started on Saturday evening at a time when no one was believed to be
present at the Fatih Mosque. According to a statement by Chemnitz’s police
department, a bypasser alerted emergency services that there was a fire and
investigators found it appeared to have started in a bulky waste container
nearby. The fire would spread to a nearby residential building before it was
extinguished.
Police
investigators surveyed the scene on Sunday, looking for evidence to determine
whether or not the fire was intentionally set. They will also be looking for
any connection to previous fires in the area or whether or not the act had any
political motivations behind it.
Enis
Sezgi, the mosque's director, said he learned of the fire from the police after
it was set. The Turkish Consul-General Olgun Yücekök has also said that he is
in contact with authorities and will be closely following their investigation.
Source:
Ahval News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://ahvalnews.com/germany/fire-breaks-out-turkish-mosque-germany-suspected-arson-attack
--------
Brussels
imam who prayed to burn Zionists is kicked out of Belgium
January
16, 2022
A
Brussels-based imam who in 2009 prayed to Allah to burn Zionists has left
Belgium on the order of authorities who flagged him as a security threat.
Imam
Mohamed Toujgani, who was born in Morocco and had lived for decades in
Brussels, was expelled in October, the VRT broadcaster reported Thursday,
according to The Times of Israel.
It
was not immediately clear whether the expulsion was directly over his remarks
about Zionists, which happened in 2009 and surfaced in 2019.
Belgium’s
Secretary of State, Sammy Mahdi, said during a parliament session this week
that Toujgani had called to “burn Jews.” Georges-Henri Beauthier, a lawyer
representing Toujgani, called that statement “a falsehood that incites hatred,”
the RTBF broadcaster reported.
In a
YouTube video that the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, or LBCA, flagged
in 2019, Toujgani is seen saying the following during a sermon at his mosque in
Brussels: “Lord, master of worlds, fill with fear the hearts of the Zionist
oppressors. Lord, fill their hearts with fear. Lord, make the earth tremble
beneath their feet. Lord, make the blood of the martyrs a weapon under the feet
of the Zionists oppressors, and may this blood ignite a fire that burns them
and start a wind that eviscerates them. […] O Lord, tear them down.”
Source:
Jewish News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/brussels-imam-who-prayed-to-burn-zionists-is-kicked-out-of-belgium/
--------
Putin
to host Iranian president next week for talks
16
January ,2022
President
Vladimir Putin will host his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi for talks in
Moscow next week as Russia tries to help salvage a nuclear deal between world
powers and Tehran, state television channel Rossiya-1 reported on Sunday.
Rossiya-1
did not disclose when precisely the meeting between the two leaders would take
place, nor the issues they would discuss.
Russia
is taking part in talks to revive a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and
world powers - the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European
Union - that lifted some sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions
on its nuclear program.
Donald
Trump pulled Washington out of the deal in 2018, a year after he became US
president. Iran later breached many of the deal's nuclear restrictions and kept
pushing beyond them.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Lack
of access to information may lead to closure of media in Afghanistan: survey
17
Jan 2022
National
Union of Afghanistan’s Journalists said that they do not have a legal document
and guideline for media coverage by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that has
put media and Afghan journalists in great trouble.
The
union said that during the past twenty years there was a legal document for the
activities of media in Afghanistan that had facilitated media coverage and
access to information.
Members
of the union said that lack of the document and guidelines has led to a lack of
access to information that will definitely lead to the collapse of the Afghan
media outlets.
They
said that after the Taliban takeover, the life of Afghan journalists is getting
worse day by day and more restrictions are being imposed on access to
information.
Head
of the union Msroor Lutfi said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has
promised not to cause troubles for male and female journalists and the
situation is also getting better in Kabul but provinces still have the problem
of access to information.
“Absence
of a legal document and guideline is a serious problem that has made people
cover stories by themselves and based on their interests. We cannot address
incidents happen to journalists until we have a guideline by IEA.” Said Masroor.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
revenging Afghans by imposing economic sanctions: Chinese envoy to Kabul
16
Jan 2022
Chinese
ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu in a meeting with acting Minister of Interior
Sarajudin Haqqani said that the US has been defeated in Afghanistan and now the
country revenges the Afghan people by imposing economic sanctions on them.
The
meeting was conducted in the Ministry of Interior Affairs on Saturday, January
15, 2022.1.16
The
Chinese ambassador said that the US is using freedom of speech, human and
women’s rights, inclusive government as a pretext to harshly hit the Afghan
people.
Deputy
spokesman of the Interior Ministry Engineer Izam in a video clip said that the
Chinese ambassador pledged to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan
people, not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, and support
Afghanistan’s future government that will be established based on the
traditional and Islamic principles of Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Detained
Islamic Emirate Commander Brought to Kabul
January
17, 2022
Makhdoom
Alam, a local commander of the Islamic Emirate who was detained by the government,
has been brought to Kabul, officials said.
Commander
Makhdoom Alam, who was based in Faryab province, was arrested last Thursday in
Balkh.
The
arrest of the commander sparked widespread demonstrations by residents in
Maimana, Faryab's provincial capital.
“The
person who was arrested ... is still detained by the security forces. The
investigation is underway to find out the status of the case,” said Bilal
Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
A
spokesman for the Islamic Emirate told the BBC that the commander was involved
in kidnapping.
“Remove
this issue from your mind—to do something by way of demonstrations. The
demonstrations are not going to change anything. The demonstration was set up
by Westerners. This is what you call democracy,” said the acting Minister of
Agriculture Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Rashid.
Officials
in Faryab said that the situation has returned to normal in the province.
“We
will not allow anyone to cause such unrest in the city,” Faryab Governor Qari
Hafizullah said.
Source:
Tolo News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-176332
--------
Two
children killed in blast near Afghanistan's Kabul
Jan
16, 2022
KABUL:
Two children were killed and several others were injured in a bomb blast near
Afghanistan's capital of Kabul, Sputnik News Agency reported quoting an
eyewitness on Sunday.
Citing
a source, Sputnik reported that a bomb exploded in a car belonging to the
Taliban in the Bagram district in the central part of Kabul Province.
"The
bomb exploded ... around 12:00 local time (07:30 GMT), killed two children and
injured several civilians," the eyewitness said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Bangladesh
arrests brother of Rohingya insurgency leader
JANUARY
16, 2022
The
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group has been accused of assassinating
political opponents, running narcotics and instilling a climate of fear in the
camps.
Bangladesh
police said Sunday they had arrested the brother of a notorious insurgent
leader whose organisation has been blamed for murders and drug trafficking in
sprawling Rohingya refugee camps.
The
country is home to around 8,50,000 members of the stateless Muslim minority,
who live in patchwork and overcrowded settlements after fleeing systemic
discrimination and violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
The
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group has been accused of assassinating
political opponents, running narcotics and instilling a climate of fear in the
camps.
Mohammad
Shah Ali, arrested late on Saturday by the elite Armed Police Battalion, is the
half-brother of ARSA’s infamous leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi.
He
was caught in a camp near the coastal city of Cox’s Bazar with “arms and
drugs,” the battalion said in a statement.
Commanding
officer Naimul Haque said that Ali had admitted his links with ARSA and that
“Ataullah was in regular contact with him”.
He
also said police had rescued one person kidnapped by Ali, without giving
further details.
A
Rohingya refugee living in Nouakar Mat camp confirmed the arrest.
“Everyone
here is terrified by him,” said Mohammad Salim. “(He) used to oppress us.”
Nearly
all of the Rohingya refugees living in the border camp arrived in the wake of a
brutal Myanmar military crackdown — now subject to a genocide investigation at
The Hague — that began after ARSA attacks on Myanmar police posts in 2017.
Ali’s
capture was the most high-profile arrest of an ARSA member since the group was
accused of murdering influential Rohingya community leader Mohib Ullah in
September, and killing seven others at an Islamic seminary soon after.
Bangladesh
authorities launched a dragnet in the camps after the murders, arresting
hundreds of people.
Source:
The Hindu
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
95%
Afghan journalists cannot cover stories independently: polling
16
Jan 2022
National
Union of Afghanistan’s Journalists said that 95 percent of Afghan journalists
have the problem of access to information and they cannot cover stories
independently.
The
union has cited its polling that was conducted in all 34 provinces of
Afghanistan during which 500 Afghan journalists were questioned.
Statistics
of the polling were released in Kabul on Sunday, January 16, 2022, in a press
conference.
As
per the numbers, 90% of the attendants are facing serious problems in collecting
information as there is no specific law of access to the information after the
Taliban regained power.
“We
asked attendants if the media are censored, 90% said yes and only 10% said no,
90% attendants said yes to the question of access to information while the same
percentage said they they have been censored by de facto authorities.” Said
Masroor Lutfi head of the Union.
The
polling has also found that 30% of Afghan journalists found it difficult to
interview Taliban authorities while 50% said that they have problems in
interviewing common people.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/95-afghan-journalists-cannot-cover-stories-independently-polling-8768566/
--------
Nepal
sends humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan
16
Jan 2022
The
government of Nepal said that they have sent 14 tonnes of humanitarian assistance
to Afghanistan on Sunday, January 16, 2022, comprised of medicine, clothes, and
utensils among others.
The
foodstuff is not part of the 14 tonnes weight.
A
Nepalese delegation led by the joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs Sewa Lamsal is also supposed to come to the Afghan capital Kabul.
This
is the first time in modern history that Nepal is delivering humanitarian
assistance to another country independently.
It is
worth mentioning that the United Nations had asked the country to deliver aids
to Afghanistan.
Speaking
at the press conference on the occasion of sending aids to Afghanistan, the
Nepalese Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka said that the move shows that Nepal
can provide assistance to other countries in times of need.
The
aids are delivered to Afghanistan in a chartered flight of Himalayan Airlines
for free.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/nepal-sends-humanitarian-assistance-to-afghanistan-87665/
--------
Mideast
Radical
Israelis raid East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound with Israeli forces
protection
16
January, 2022
Radical
Israelis raided occupied East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque complex en masse on
Sunday, the Islamic Waqf Department said.
The
Israelis encroached on Islam's third-most-sacred site with Israeli security
looking after their safety, Anadolu Agency reported.
They
came in via Al-Mugharbah Gate, the Jordanian-administered religious endowment
organisation said.
Starting
in 2003, Tel Aviv began permitting its citizens to encroach on the Al-Aqsa
complex on a near-daily basis.
The
mosque is known as the Temple Mount in Judaism, and is the faith's holiest
place.
The
complex was raided by over 34,500 Israelis last year, Palestine's Waqf ministry
said.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/radical-israelis-raid-al-aqsa-mosque-compound
--------
Iranian
FM Stresses Need for Ending US Presence in Syria
2022-January-16
During
the meeting, Amir Abdollahian stressed the importance of the issues of
sanctions and the displaced and refugees in Syria, and said the crisis in that
country will not be resolved without paying attention to these questions.
He
also appreciated UN special envoy's help to the national dialogue for peace and
stability in Syria.
Amir
Abdollahian referred to illegitimate presence of the US forces in Syria and
Zionist regime of Israel's attack on the country as interruption to the process
of political solution to the crisis in Syria.
The
foreign minister further called on the international community and the UN to
pay attention to these issues.
Pedersen,
for his part, described the Syrian situation as stable, adding that in the
current conditions, no sides talk about regime's change in Syria.
Pederson
also underlined the need to preserve national sovereignty, political settlement
and territorial integrity in Syria.
Syria
has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011, with the US and its
western and regional allies fixated on overthrowing the government of Bashar
al-Assad.
Meanwhile,
Iran has been offering military advisory support to Syria at the request of the
Damascus government, enabling its army to speed up its gains on various fronts
against terrorist groups. The assistance helped reverse anti-Syria terrorists’
advances and enabled the country to defeat the ISIL terrorist group in late
2017.
Senior
Assistant to the Iranian Foreign Minister for Special Political Affairs Ali
Asqar Khaji in a meeting Pedersen underlined the need for lifting cruel
sanctions against the war-stricken Arab state and repatriation of the Syrian
refugees.
The
Islamic Republic has always supported and will continue to back all efforts by
the UN to strengthen Syria's national sovereignty and territorial integrity,
encourage intra-Syrian talks and promote peace and stability in the war-ravaged
Arab country, Khaji said during the meeting in Tehran on Saturday.
"The
Syrian government and nation have stood up to the ISIL and other terrorist
groups for more than 10 years and have now achieved relative stability, and the
country's relations with regional states are increasing," he added.
The
Iranian diplomat called on the UN and other regional and international bodies
to "pay attention to the current situation of the Syrian government and
people and to step up their efforts to remove sanctions, provide aid to the
(Syrian) people, (help) repatriation of the refugees and begin rebuilding the
country".
In
the meeting, the two sides exchanged views about the latest developments pertaining
to the ongoing crisis in the Arab state, discussions about the Constitutional
Committee and ways to counter sanctions and dispatch humanitarian aid to the
Syrian people.
Khaji
and Pedersen also stressed the importance of holding more consultations in the
future.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Commander
Warns Enemies against Violation of Iran’s Airspace
2022-January-16
The
Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran never seek conflict and clash with
any country, General Elhami said, meantime, adding that the security of the
country is the red line of Armed Forces and they don't make any appeasement
with any country violating the country's airspace.
“Today,
enemies and international organizations are well aware of this issue that
slightest invasion of the enemy on the airspace of the country will be harshly
and decisively responded,” he added.
Today,
enemies of the country do not dare to violate the airspace of Iran thanks to
the unity, amity and empathy of the Army and IRGC staff, General Elhami added.
The
security of the country's sky is indebted to the vigilance and curiosity of Air
Defense Forces personnel, and zealous forces of the Armed Forces have been
prepared to provide security and tranquility for all dear fellow countrymen
throughout the country round-the-clock, he stressed.
In
relevant remarks in August, General Elhami assured the nation of security at
the country's borders, saying that areas even far from the bordering regions
are monitored to confront any possible threats.
“I
tell my compatriots that there is no ground for concerns about security of the
country’s borders, because the powerful Armed Forces of the Islamic Iran,
specially the Air Defense Force ... are monitoring areas many kilometers beyond
our territorial borders,” he added.
The
commander emphasized that the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force is focusing its
efforts on protecting security of the country's airspace and has used its full
scientific deterrent power in this regard.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
FM:
Iran, China to Benefit from 25-Year Deal
2022-January-16
Ties
between Tehran and Beijing are expanding in all areas, Amir Abdollahian said,
adding that the 25-year strategic partnership between the two countries will be
implemented with a win-win approach.
He
made the remarks in an interview with the Chinese CGTN TV channel.
Amir
Abdollahian arrived in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Friday to meet and
hold talks with his counterpart Wang Yi and other senior officials.
He
said that various issues, including implementing the comprehensive strategic
partnership deal, regional and international developments, as well as Vienna
talks, were discussed in meeting with Chinese foreign minister.
The
25-year strategic partnership and cooperation between the two countries will be
implemented with a "win-win" approach, the top diplomat added.
He
pointed to the start of the implementation of the Iran-China 25-year
cooperation deal during his visit to Beijing, and said that Iran and China will
benefit from the interests of the agreement.
Amir
Abdollahian also considered China as one of the active parties in the Vienna
talks which has played a constructive and supportive role in backing Iran's
peaceful nuclear rights and always stressed the need to remove oppressive
sanctions against Iran.
On
Friday, Amir Abdollahian announced that Tehran and Beijing have started
implementation of the 25-year strategic agreement signed in March.
"We
agreed to announce today as the date to begin implementing the comprehensive
agreement on strategic partnership" between Iran and China, Amir
Abdollahian said, after concluding detailed discussions on Sino-Iranian
cooperation with the Chinese foreign minister in China on Friday.
During
the meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Friday, the diplomat pointed to the
significance of the 25-year partnership agreement signed between Tehran and
Beijing, and emphasized that the implementation of the document would be an
important event and a fundamental change in relations.
He
submitted an "important" written message by Iranian President Seyed
Ebrahim Rayeesi to President Xi Jinping.
Referring
to the plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of political
relations between the two countries, the Iranian foreign minister voiced
Tehran's readiness to expand all-out relations with Beijing.
He
hailed China's constructive cooperation with Iran in providing more than 110
million doses of coronavirus vaccines.
Iran’s
foreign minister expressed the hope that the opening of China's consulate
general in the Southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas would facilitate
bilateral trade cooperation.
The
top Iranian diplomat outlined the latest state of bilateral cooperation in
various fields and said Tehran is resolved to implement all infrastructure
agreements with Beijing.
He
said extensive cooperation with neighbors and friendly countries in the region
is among the priorities of Iran's foreign policy, and added that the Islamic
Republic would continue to play a constructive role in regional developments,
including maintaining and increasing the security of energy transfer.
Amir
Abdollahian also pointed to the importance of cultural relations and the common
capacities of the ancient civilizations of Iran and China, and said the Iranian
artists' keenness to develop bilateral cooperation would be a valuable
opportunity to take advantage of such a capacity.
The
Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers also discussed a wide range of political,
economic, trade, consular and cultural issues as well as regional and
international developments. During the second round of talks, they exchanged
views about the latest developments pertaining to the sanctions removal talks
in Vienna and issues in West Asia and the Persian Gulf region.
AmirAbdollahian
arrived in Beijing on Friday at the head of a high-ranking political and
economic delegation at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart.
Iran
and China signed the landmark 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership
agreement in March last year in defiance of the US unilateral sanctions to
strengthen the long-standing economic and political alliance.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001026000477/FM-Iran-China-Benefi-frm-25-Year-Deal
--------
Iran
Urges Removal of Sanctions against Syria, Repatriation of Refugees
2022-January-16
The
Islamic Republic has always supported and will continue to back all efforts by
the UN to strengthen Syria's national sovereignty and territorial integrity,
encourage intra-Syrian talks and promote peace and stability in the war-ravaged
Arab country, Khaji said during the meeting in Tehran on Saturday.
"The
Syrian government and nation have stood up to the ISIL and other terrorist
groups for more than 10 years and have now achieved relative stability, and the
country's relations with regional states are increasing," he added.
The
Iranian diplomat called on the UN and other regional and international bodies
to "pay attention to the current situation of the Syrian government and
people and to step up their efforts to remove sanctions, provide aid to the
(Syrian) people, (help) repatriation of the refugees and begin rebuilding the
country".
In
the meeting, the two sides exchanged views about the latest developments
pertaining to the ongoing crisis in the Arab state, discussions about the
Constitutional Committee and ways to counter sanctions and dispatch
humanitarian aid to the Syrian people.
Khaji
and Pedersen also stressed the importance of holding more consultations in the
future.
The
UN envoy, who is in Tehran at the head of a delegation, hailed Iran's efforts
to promote cooperation with the UN in the Astana format negotiations to resolve
the crisis in Syria through diplomatic channels and called for the continuation
of such interaction.
Syria
has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011, with the US and its
western and regional allies fixated on overthrowing the government of Bashar
al-Assad.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
Price
of Sudanese pound slips on parallel market amid political uncertainty
16
January ,2022
The
value of Sudan's currency fell by more than three percent to 465 pounds to the
dollar on the black market on Sunday, traders said, as demand for dollars
surged amid continuing political uncertainty following a coup in October.
The
Sudanese pound had mostly stabilised in recent months after being sharply
devalued in February 2021 as part of economic reforms carried out by a
transitional government and monitored by the International Monetary Fund.
Military
leaders dissolved the government in the coup before bringing back Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok in an attempt to protect the reforms, but he resigned
earlier this month.
“People
are buying dollars to protect their assets, fearing a deterioration of the
situation in the country and there's big demand,” said one trader in the
capital Khartoum.
Dollars
had been selling for about 450 pounds last week. The gap between the parallel
market and official exchange rates had mostly been negligible in the past few
months.
Last
week the United Nations began consultations to try to break a deadlock between
military leaders and pro-democracy civilian groups and avert the risk of
further instability.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Jordan
GDP grows over 2 percent in 2021: Report
16
January ,2022
Jordan’s
gross domestic product achieved growth of more than 2 percent in 2021, Jordan
Television channel reported on Sunday, citing the planning minister.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Jordan
army officer killed in shooting along border with Syria: Statement
16
January ,2022
A
Jordanian army officer was killed and three army personnel injured on Sunday
when drug smugglers trying to enter the country from Syria fired at an army
outpost along the border, a Jordanian army statement said.
The
smugglers fled back to Syria, leaving behind a large cache of drugs, the army
statement said. “The army will respond with all strength and resolve (against)
any infiltration attempt to protect our borders and prevent anyone who dares to
violate our national security.”
Jordanian
officials have voiced increasing alarm at a spike in attempted drug smuggling
from Syria over the past year, including large quantities found hidden in
Syrian trucks passing through its main border crossing to the Gulf region.
Last
year the Jordanian army said it shot down a drone flying a large quantity of
drugs across the border.
Jordanian
officials say Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group and militias who hold sway
in southern Syria are behind smuggling of one of the most popular banned drugs,
a stimulant known as Captagon, which has a thriving market in the Arab Gulf.
Hezbollah denies the accusations, calling them fabricated.
UN
drug experts say Syria, shattered by a decade-long civil war, has become the
region’s main production site for drugs destined for Jordan, Iraq, the Gulf and
Europe.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
needs to stop interfering in Arab affairs: Jordan’s FM
15
January ,2022
Jordan’s
top diplomat touched down in Washington last week, where he held meetings with
nearly all the top US officials in the Biden administration, making him the
first Arab foreign minister to do so this year.
It
was also his boss, King Abdullah II, who was the first Arab head of state to
visit Washington and meet US President Joe Biden after he was elected.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Ties
between Washington and Amman were reportedly strained under the Trump
administration, but they have been noticeably bolstered over the last 12
months.
Foreign
Minister Ayman Safadi met with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, on Thursday
and described the meeting as “excellent.”
Safadi
also held sit-downs with various members of Congress and Pentagon officials.
“As
you know, we have strong bilateral ties. The US is the number one supporter of
Jordan, and this aid helps us face challenges, including economic issues we
face as a result of the various crises that surround us in the region,” Safadi
told Al Arabiya during an interview from the Jordanian Embassy in Washington.
“We
work towards serving our national interests as well as working towards solving
regional issues, which we need to work on collectively, and the Palestinian
issue is at the forefront of these issues,” he stated shortly before departing
Washington.
Apart
from discussing ways to work together to find peaceful solutions to the various
crises in the Middle East, the main focus of Safadi’s meeting with the top US
diplomat was on a new bilateral agreement.
The
current agreement, which is set to expire later this year, saw the US assist
Jordan with some $1.2 billion last year alone.
An
agreement is being worked on for a new memorandum of understanding and for US
assistance to continue to Jordan.
“Talks
were good, and there is mutual interest from both countries to bolster
coordination and ties, as well as to increase coordination to solve regional
issues and face mutual obstacles,” Safadi added.
Iran
must stop interfering in Arab affairs
Asked
about previous comments made by Jordan’s king about a Shia crescent being
formed in the Middle East, Safadi said: “The king was speaking from a political
point of view, not a sectarian or religious manner, about Iran’s role in the
region and any policies that harm Arab interests.”
But
Safadi insisted that all Arab partners want good ties with Iran.
“However,
to reach… amicable ties, we must discuss the reasons for the [unstable]
Arab-Iranian ties. One of the reasons is Iran’s interference in the Arab
region, and this interference must stop in order to build Arab-Iranian ties,”
he said.
Palestine
Being
one of the first two Arab countries to normalize ties with Israel, Jordan has
been called upon by the White House to help ease tensions that boiled over last
year between Palestine and Israel.
According
to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, there are more than 2 million registered
Palestinian refugees living in Jordan.
The
Palestinian-Israeli conflict was one of the main topics discussed during
Safadi’s meetings with various US officials and lawmakers.
Asked
about efforts for peace, which seemingly stalled over the last few years,
Safadi clarified that there was no alternative to a two-state solution.
The
only other option would be a one-state solution, which is not viable because
“it will institutionalize apartheid,” he said.
Safadi
noted that there were revived diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, referencing resumed US aid to Palestine and the
UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
The
Biden administration has repeatedly stated the need for a two-state solution
and insisted it would reopen the Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem, declared
by Israel as its capital.
“We
must build on this momentum,” Safadi said. “It’s an effort that we’re trying to
all work on.”
Safadi
also referenced the renewed communication with Israel’s new government after
former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu essentially closed all doors for
diplomatic efforts on the matter.
In an
interview with CNN on Friday, he admitted the previous Israeli government “did
a lot to make sure that nothing really worked…”
Ties
with the Gulf
Ties
between Jordan and Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, are strong, and all
sides are working to strengthen cooperation and coordination, Safadi said.
“The
[Jordanian] King has repeatedly said that the security of the Gulf, and Saudi
Arabia, is part of the security of Jordan,” the foreign minister said. “And we
stand with our Gulf brothers in every step they take to protect their security
and stability.”
Referencing
the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen, Safadi said that Amman continues to
condemn the terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia.
“We
stand with [Saudi Arabia] to confront this challenge. And we stand by their
efforts to reach a solution to the disastrous Yemen crisis… The Houthis must
abide by the agreements they signed, including the Riyadh Agreement and
others.”
Safadi
added: “Our security is one, our stability is one, and we work together to
build a better future for our peoples.”
Lebanon
energy deal and Caesar Act sanctions
Jordan’s
struggling economy has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued
presence of refugees from Syria and Palestine.
During
King Abdullah’s visit to Washington last summer, providing Lebanon with natural
gas and electricity was discussed.
This
US-backed plan would see Egypt sell natural gas to Lebanon via the Arab Gas
Pipeline and Jordan sell electricity to Lebanon via Syria.
This
would require transit fees to be paid to Syria, which is under crippling US
sanctions to choke off the Assad regime from foreign money.
Since
last summer, Beirut, Amman, Cairo and Damascus have reached individual
agreements for these plans.
“Agreements
have been completed, and there is coordination with the US administration to
provide requested guarantees to ensure that there will not be any violation of
Caesar Act sanctions,” he stated.
Safadi
continued by revealing that it was evident during his talks with US officials
over the last week that they want to help Lebanon with this project. “The issue
now is a technical one, and we hope that Lebanon will be quickly supplied with
electricity and gas,” he said.
Syria
and the Assad regime
Jordan
is among several Arab countries that have reached out to Syria’s President
Bashar al-Assad in recent months.
King
Abdullah held his first public phone call with Assad in a decade last year.
Other
Arab moves towards Assad included the UAE foreign minister flying to Damascus
and meeting the Syrian president. Last month, Bahrain named its first
ambassador to Syria in 10 years.
Although
the Biden administration has not openly welcomed any of these moves and advised
against recognizing the Assad regime, Safadi said there needed to be a
realistic approach to ending the years long war.
“We
want a solution that ensures the unity, independence and stability of Syria.
How we reach a solution, we must be realistic,” he said.
As
for Syria being readmitted to the Arab League, the Jordanian diplomat admitted
it was not his decision.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
and France discuss ways to promote Libya’s democratic process
January
16, 2022
LONDON:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with his French counterpart
Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss efforts to promote the democratic process in
Libya, the State Department said on Sunday.
Efforts
to lead Libya into elections at the end of December were thrown into disarray
when the country’s electoral commission said a vote could not take place,
citing what it called inadequacies in the electoral legislation and the
judicial appeals process.
Blinken
also spoke about the recent informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting, that was
held in the western French city of Brest on Friday as part of the French
presidency of the Council of the EU.
French
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had reiterated following the meeting on
Friday his view that talks to revive a 2015 Iran nuclear deal are progressing
“much too slowly to be able to reach a result.”
“We
now have to conclude and come to a decision: Either the Iranians want to
complete this, in which case we have the impression that there will be
flexibility in the Americans’ stance.
“Or
they don’t want to complete this, and in that case we will be faced with a
major proliferation crisis,” Le Drian said.
“There
will be nothing more to negotiate if nothing happens,” he warned.
Negotiations
to salvage the nuclear deal resumed in late November after they were suspended
in June as Iran elected a new, ultraconservative government.
“Secretary
Blinken reiterated the United States’ firm commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity in the face of continued Russian aggression and
discussed US resolve to respond swiftly and strongly to any further Russian
invasion into Ukraine,” the State Department also said in a statement.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Algerian counterpart
Ramdane Lamamra in Cairo to discuss developments in Libya, Sudan, Mali, and the
Sahel and Sahara regions.
The
two ministers stressed the need to intensify coordination within the framework
of joint African action in a way that enhances efforts to achieve peace and
security on the African continent, especially in light of the various security
challenges imposed by the successive developments in the region, the Egyptian
foreign ministry spokesman said on Facebook.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005521/middle-east
--------
Burkina
attack kills around 10 civilians: security source
January
17, 2022
OUAGADOUGOU:
At least 10 civilians have been killed in an attack blamed on jihadists in
northern Burkina Faso, an area in the grip of a six-year insurgency, security
sources said Sunday.
“Unidentified
armed individuals carried out an attack on the village of Namssiguian in Bam
province” on Saturday, a security source told AFP, adding that the provisional
death toll was around 10 dead civilians.
A
local resident put the provisional death toll at nine and said that significant
damage had been caused to shops and businesses in the village, which had been
torched.
“The
terrorists stayed in the village for several hours, where they looted and
destroyed,” he said, adding that the assaillants had “sabotaged the telephone
antennas beforehand, making all communication impossible.”
The
security source warned that the toll could still rise as “families are still
awaiting news about family members.”
Burkina
Faso has been struggling with jihadist attacks since 2015, when militants
linked to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group began mounting cross-border raids from
Mali.
More
than 2,000 people have died, according to a toll compiled by AFP.
The
national emergency aid agency says that 1.5 million people, nearly two-thirds
of them children, were internally displaced as of November 30.
The
country’s security forces are poorly equipped to face a ruthless and highly
mobile foe, adept at carrying out hit-and-run raids aboard motorbikes and
pickup trucks.
On
November 14, a force described as numbering several hundred men attacked a
police base at Inata near the Malian border, killing 57 people, including 53
gendarmes.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2005746/world
--------