Egypt Confirms 183 Death Sentences,Including Brotherhood Chief
New Age Islam News Bureau
21 Jun 2014
Iraqi Shia women hold their weapons as they gather to show their willingness to join Iraqi security forces in the fight against the ISIS jihadists
Arab World
• Egypt Confirms 183 Death Sentences, Including Brotherhood Chief
• Militants Seize Iraq Border Post, Kill 30 Troops
• ISIS Video Calls on British Muslims to Join In Jihad as ‘Cure for Depression’
• Iraqi exiles divided by sect, but united by anxiety over warring homeland
• Syrian Army Chases Terrorist Gunmen in Aleppo, Idlib
• ISIL Imposes Jizya on Christians in Iraq’s Mosul
• Article Proposing Idea of Killing Egyptian Street Children Stirs Fury
• Aussie Jihadi in Iraqi executions
• Iraqi Christians Cry for Prayer amid Deadly Jihad Rampage
• To ISIS, with love: Supporters get creative on Twitter
• Saudi Arabia mulls English language at elementary schools
• Shiite cleric issues threat to US military advisers as Iraq militants take border post
Pakistan
• PM wants ‘giant’ national flag hoisted in Islamabad
• No divide over Zarb-e-Azb: Minister
• 30 militants killed in Khyber Agency, N Waziristan air blitz
• 35 injured in blast at shrine near Islamabad
• Teachers urged to promote Islamic ideology
• Pakistan imposes temporary ban on two TV channels
• Zardari reiterates pledge to defeat militant mindset
• MQM will offer 'strong resistance' if Qadri arrested: Gabol
• Ethnicity was the cause of social and class contradictions: Justice Khawaja
Europe
• French Islamists with ISIS in the perfect terrain for jihad
• ‘Black flag of jihad will fly over London’: Alarm over UK-born Iraq fighters' threat
• Hollande asks Turkey to prevent French citizens from joining jihadist fighters
• UN chief opposes airstrikes on extremists in Iraq
• Ban: 10.9 Million Syrians Need Aid, ISIL Advance to Worsen Situation
• Putin speaks to Iraqi PM, expresses support
• Jihadists call for revenge after woman in Muslim dress stabbed to death
Mideast
• Palestinian TV Teaches Kids the Way to 'Jihad Street'
• Islamic Jihad Recruits Forces, Fear Retaliation in Gaza
• 11 Yemenis killed in Amran clashes
• Fundamentalists have taken over Yemeni revolution, activist
• Israel bans 460 Palestinians from leaving W. Bank
• ‘No democratic solution possible behind closed doors,’ CHP leader tells Kurds
• Iran rejects 'excessive demands' in nuclear talks with Western powers
South Asia
• Bangladesh: Tough action against educational institutes for supporting militancy
• 13 shot dead in Xinjiang bomb attack on police: govt
• Afghan public uprisings demoralise Taliban
• Fresh anti-Muslim violence erupts in Sri Lanka
• Suicide attack in Kabul leaves 1 civilian dead
• Explosion kills three NATO soldiers in southern Afghanistan
• Karzai accepts UN mediation to resolve election impasse
• UNHCR: Bangladesh 14th among 20 top refugee-hosting countries
• 1,500 Bangladeshis in Iraq vulnerable
North America
• U.S. spy agencies warned Maliki was ‘alienating’ Iraq’s Sunnis
• American jihadist wannabes flock to ISIS-like groups in Iraq and Syria
• Children as young as 9 are recruited for suicide bombing: US report
• 2 Texas men arrested on terrorism charges
• US Muslims Help Fight Hunger
• Attack on Iraq Would Violate US Law, Experts Warn
• ISIS Tweet Mocks Michelle Obama Over Stolen US Army Humvees
• Biden’s Iraq prediction comes true, but US isn’t considering his plan yet
Africa
• Africa 'Must Unite' To Stop Boko Haram Spread
• Christian Association Urges Islamic Clerics to Engage Boko Haram Members Ideologically
• Morocco’s Prime Minister Comes under Fire for Remarks on Women
• Nigeria avoids human trafficking status downgrade
India
• Hundreds of Indians trapped in Iraq’s Najaf province, claims Amnesty International
• ‘Allocate more time to learn Qur’an’: Study Center (QSC) in Kerala
• Protest at Jantar Mantar over violence in Iraq
Southeast Asia
• Indonesian Election: Jaafar Umar Thalib’s ‘Jihad against Pluralism
• Protect rights of non-Muslims, Moderates Movement head tells religious authorities
• All-party committee needed to solve unilateral conversion issue, says DAP leader
• 'Return of Bibles should follow law'
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/egypt-confirms-183-death-sentences,including/d/97664
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Arab World
Egypt Confirms 183 Death Sentences, Including Brotherhood Chief
June 21, 2014
MINYA: An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed death sentences for 183 Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie, a prosecutor said, after a speedy mass trial that sparked an international outcry.
The court in the central city of Minya had initially sentenced 683 people to death, but on Saturday it commuted death sentences of four to life in prison, including two women, and acquitted 496 other defendants.
Since the army ousted President Mohamed Morsi in July last year, hundreds of his supporters and Badie himself have been sentenced to death in trials criticised by Egyptian and global human rights bodies.
Those sentenced on Saturday, in a session that lasted about 15 minutes, were accused of involvement in the murder and attempted murder of policemen in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds of Morsi supporters during clashes in Cairo.
Saturday's sentencing came after the court's initial ruling was referred to Egypt's top Islamic scholar as required under the country's law.
In March, the same court presided by judge Said Youssef Sabry had reduced 492 of 529 death sentences to life in prison.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114241/egypt-confirms-183-death-sentences-including-brotherhood-chief
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Militants seize Iraq border post, kill 30 troops
AP | Jun 21, 2014
BAGHDAD: Sunni militants have seized an Iraqi crossing on the border with Syria after a daylong battle in which they killed some 30 Iraqi troops, security officials said on Saturday.
The capture of the Qaim border crossing deals a further blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, which has struggled to push back against Islamic extremists and allied militants who have seized large swaths of the country, including the second largest city Mosul, and who have vowed to march on Baghdad.
Police and army officials said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and allied militants seized the crossing near the border town of Qaim, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Baghdad, after battling Iraqi troops all day Friday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media, said people were now crossing back and forth freely.
Sunni militants have carved out a large fiefdom astride the Iraqi-Syrian border and have long traveled back and forth with ease, but the control of crossings allows them to more easily move weapons and heavy equipment to different battlefields.
The fall of the border crossing came as al-Maliki faces mounting pressure to form an inclusive government or step aside, with both a top Shiite cleric and the White House strongly hinting he is in part to blame for the worst crisis since US troops withdrew from the country at the end of 2011.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most respected voice for Iraq's Shia majority, on Friday joined calls for al-Maliki to reach out to the Kurdish and Sunni minorities a day after President Barack Obama challenged him to create a leadership representative of all Iraqis.
Al-Sistani normally stays above the political fray, and his comments, delivered through a representative, could ultimately seal al-Maliki's fate.
Calling for a dialogue between the political coalitions that won seats in the April 30 parliamentary election, al-Sistani said it was imperative that they form "an effective government that enjoys broad national support, avoids past mistakes and opens new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis."
Al-Sistani is deeply revered by Iraq's majority Shia, and his critical words could force al-Maliki, who emerged from relative obscurity in 2006 to lead the country, to step down.
On Thursday, Obama stopped short of calling for al-Maliki to resign, but his carefully worded comments did all but that. "Only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis," Obama said.
The Iranian-born al-Sistani, believed to be 86, lives in the Shia holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, where he rarely ventures out of his modest house and does not give media interviews. His call to arms last week prompted thousands of Shia to volunteer to fight against the Sunni militants.
His call to defend the country has given the fight against the Sunni insurgents the feel of a religious war, but his office in Najaf dismissed that charge, saying the top cleric was addressing all Iraqis.
But on Friday hundreds of black-clad Shia militants, members of the newly formed "Peace Brigades," marched in the Shia holy city of Najaf, heeding a call to defend holy sites by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who once led a powerful militia that battled US troops and was blamed for attacks on Sunni civilians during the height of the country's sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.
Al-Maliki's State of Law bloc won the most seats in the April vote, but his hopes to retain his job are in doubt, with rivals challenging him from within the broader Shia alliance. In order to govern, his bloc must first form a majority coalition in the new 328-seat legislature, which must meet by June 30.
If al-Maliki were to relinquish his post now, according to the constitution the president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, would assume the job until a new prime minister is elected. But the ailing Talabani has been in Germany for treatment since 2012, so his deputy, Khudeir al-Khuzaie, a Shia, would step in for him.
Shia politicians familiar with the secretive efforts to remove al-Maliki said two names mentioned as replacements are former vice president Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shia and French-educated economist, and Ayad Allawi, a secular Shia who served as Iraq's first prime minister after Saddam Hussein's ouster. Others include Ahmad Chalabi, a one-time Washington favorite to lead Iraq, and Bayan Jabr, another Shia who served as finance and interior minister under al-Maliki.
Nearly three years after he heralded the end of America's war in Iraq, Obama announced Thursday he was deploying up to 300 military advisers to help quell the insurgency. They join some 275 troops in and around Iraq to provide security and support for the US embassy and other American interests.
But Obama has been adamant that US troops would not be returning to combat.
He has also held off approving the airstrikes sought by the Iraqi government, though he says he could still approve "targeted and precise" strikes if the situation required it and if US intelligence gathering identified potential targets.
Manned and unmanned US aircraft are now flying over Iraq 24 hours a day on intelligence missions, US officials say.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Militants-seize-Iraq-border-post-kill-30-troops/articleshow/36945803.cms
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ISIS video calls on British Muslims to join in jihad as ‘cure for depression’
June 21, 2014
Militants behind the jihadist advance in Iraq launched a fresh attempt to attract foreign recruits yesterday with a video featuring apparently British fighters urging their compatriots to join them.
The film posted by Isis showed five men claiming to be British and Australian jihadists calling for Western Muslims to head for Syria and Iraq.
In a sign of the growing sophistication of its propaganda operation, Isis said it was aiming to get one billion Muslims to post messages of support for a hardline Islamist state on social media as part of an effort to advance its cause. The video followed a warning this week from Prime Minister David Cameron that Isis was planning attacks in Britain.
The 13-minute video, entitled “There is no life without jihad”, showed a group of foreign Isis recruits – including three claimed Britons – explaining their motivation for travelling to Iraq and Syria and seeking to persuade British Muslims to give up “the fat job … the big car”.
Set to a soundtrack of Koranic singing, the film eschews gory images of atrocities and presents instead a call to leave behind the West and join a “pure” Islamic state built on sharia. One apparently British fighter named as “Abu Muthanna al-Yemeni – from Britain”, named Bangladesh, Cambodia, Australia and the UK as sources for Isis recruits. He said: “We will go to Iraq in a few days, and we will fight there.”
Another alleged Briton, named as “Abu Bara al-Hindi”, made it clear the group had in its sights disillusioned or vulnerable Muslims who could be persuaded to swap the trappings of Western life for a religious war. The man said: “Are you willing to sacrifice the fat job you’ve got? The big car you’ve got?” He added: “The cure for depression is jihad… Feel the honour we are feeling, feel the happiness we are feeling.”
The Home Office said it wanted to restrict access to such videos, adding: “We do not tolerate the existence of online terrorist and extremist propaganda, which directly influences people who are vulnerable to radicalisation.
Ahmed Muthana, the father of Nasser Muthana, told ITV News that watching footage of his son had made him cry.
I wish I could hold him, hold his hand, ask him to come back," he said.
"As a father I give a message, not only to Nasser, to all the people that go from Britain to Syria to fight please stop. Come back home."
Mr Muthana told the Daily Telegraph that his son had been accepted at four universities to study medicine but did not go, and he had not heard from him since November.
In February, the younger brother also disappeared after it is thought he applied for a second passport.
"To be honest, I don't agree with him but I don't know what he has been taught in his mind," he said.
"Of course I fear he will be injured or die fighting but I can do nothing. They are conservative Muslim, they don't have girlfriends, they don't talk to girls."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-crisis-isis-video-calls-on-british-muslims-to-join-in-jihad-as-cure-for-depression-9552937.html
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Iraqi exiles divided by sect, but united by anxiety over warring homeland
June 21, 2014
Kareem Mohammed, the portly proprietor of Sinbad cafe in Alexandria, Va., lives a busy and successful life thousands of miles from Iraq. A Shiite married to a Sunni, he employs bakery workers from three faiths and loves debating Iraqi politics with customers as they smoke hookahs and watch Arabic-language newscasts over tiny glass cups of sweet Iraqi tea.
But as Mohammed’s embattled homeland teeters on the brink of a violent sectarian breakup, the 42-year-old refugee finds himself pulled in two directions — yearning to join the battle against the Sunni extremist militia known as ISIS back home, yet hoping to help prevent sectarian tensions from further dividing the Iraqi exile community here.
“If Obama gives me a plane and a gun, I will fly to Iraq and fight them myself,” the former sergeant in the Iraqi army said, clenching his fists. On the cafe wall, a giant screen showed yet another Iraqi city falling to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
But if part of Mohammed was itching to get involved, another part was lamenting the demise of a more peaceful and tolerant society that raised him to respect Sunni and Shiite, Christian and Kurd alike. On a recent trip home to Baghdad, he said, he was shocked by the religious walls that had risen everywhere.
“Everything has erupted. Nobody trusts their neighbor anymore,” he said, shaking his head. “Sectarianism is in the blood.” Among Iraqi emigres, he added, tensions are also building, but “things are more subtle. We don’t kill each other because we are in America. It is a modern form of sectarianism.”
Increasingly, Mohammed and other members of the Washington region’s large Iraqi exile community fear that the religious hostility being fanned by the violent ISIS offensive, and the attendant rumors of skulduggery by regional Sunni and Shiite powers, will shatter the polite but uneasy modus vivendi that Iraqis and other Muslim exile groups have maintained between their two dominant sects until now.
In conversations this week, a number of area Iraqis expressed the same concern, though mostly through hints and euphemisms. There was no talk of anger or betrayal, but a sense of distance and segregation, of seeing things through different prisms. Many Iraqi exiles from both sects are educated professionals, including engineers, teachers and business owners.
Sunnis and Shiites differ on certain core liturgical and historic aspects of Islam, with each group tilting respectively toward Saudi Arabia and Iran; they tend to worship at different mosques and socialize with families from the same group. Until now, however, no overt conflict or dispute between the sects has spilled over to the emigre community.
“A lot of us have been involved in meetings and peace pacts just to make sure our communities rise above sectarian issues in their countries,” said Ibrahim Hooper, an official at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group based in Washington. “Being here and enjoying so much freedom and diversity, we should leverage that instead of being dragged into conflicts.”
But things in Iraq are growing nastier by the day. People are worried for the safety of their relatives in areas overrun by ISIS. Sunnis fear being targeted by the extremists and accused of collaborating with them. Shiite fighters, called to arms by their leaders, are replacing trained state forces. The specter of regional chaos looms.
Some local Iraqis are seeking unorthodox ways to reinforce empathy and tolerance in the diaspora. Haitham Almayahi, a graduate student at Howard University, heads a group called Iraqi American Youth that focuses on sectarian bridge building. This weekend, they are putting on a play in the District about a bombing in a market, with volunteer actors playing Sunni, Shiite, Kurdish and Christian victims as well as the attacker.
“Our goal is to build right-thinking youth who would never be lured into joining a terror group,” said Almayahi, 38. “Unfortunately,” he added, young Iraqis in the United States are often “segregated” by the religious views and guidance of their parents, leading to mistrust and misinformation. “I tell everyone who joins our group that you are an Iraqi and an American, not a Sunni or a Shiite.”
Others are trying to organize public protests that convey a common message against violence and sectarian hate. This week, a group of exiles gathered in a hotel in Springfield, Va., discussing how to promote and prepare for a protest this weekend in front of the White House. They wanted to speak with one voice but were afraid of offending one group or another. They wanted to condemn ISIS but not tar all Sunnis. They wanted to criticize the elected Shiite-led government in Baghdad but support democracy.
“Look, we have to focus. When a patient is in the emergency room, you do what is needed to save him first,” said Hamida Hussein, 49, a doctor who was scribbling notes on a prescription pad. The ISIS offensive, she added, is “like a virus or parasite that has come to destroy our country, and everyone is in danger.”
Next to her, a man was scrolling on his iPhone, testing possible slogans for the rally. Finally he suggested several euphemistic phrases, such as “Preserve Iraqi Freedom” or “Stop Spilling Iraqi Blood.” The others nodded. It was bland and vague, but it was the best they could do.
There was also confusion and debate in the group about what message to send officials in Washington, a decade after the invasion and occupation that left a bitter taste and a growing sectarian power struggle. Some Shiites believe Washington is secretly supporting the Sunni insurgents, while some Sunnis fear the United States plans to draw Iran into negotiations over their future.
Yet while no one wants American troops to return, many exile leaders here see the Obama administration as their only hope to shore up the Iraqi government and military and prevent the country’s complete collapse.
“We do not want American boots, we want American intelligence and air support,” said Khassan Rafed, a former university professor in Iraq who now lives in Springfield and is leading efforts to organize the weekend White House rally. “This is something we never expected to happen. These criminals are doing atrocities under the banner of Allah. They are defaming all Muslims, and they have to be stopped.”
At Sinbad’s cafe Tuesday afternoon, a man named Walid Khodor was watching the TV news, then sighed and turned away. He said his wife had just had a baby boy, but that he could not find it in his heart to celebrate as long as Iraq is under siege.
“I love my country, and I want life there to be like it is for us here in America, happy and healthy, with good security and schools,” said Khodor, 33. “I am afraid for my parents and my sister back in Baghdad, but if I go there and get killed, there will be nobody to protect my wife and kids,” he said. “I am just too sad.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/iraqi-refugees-in-dc-region-want-to-help-warring-homeland-but-face-internal-differences/2014/06/19/7478ba7a-f6ed-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html
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Syrian Army Chases Terrorist Gunmen in Aleppo, Idlib
June 21, 2014
Syrian armySyrian army units eliminated Saturday armed terrorist groups across the country, killing and injuring a number of their members and destroying their hideouts, gatherings and weaponry, state-run SANA news agency reported.
In Aleppo countryside, a military source said an army unit foiled a terrorist group's attempt to infiltrate from Azizeh village to the safe areas, killing and injuring a number of its members.
In Aleppo, the source added that army units targeted armed terrorist groups in the old city and in Bani Zaid neighborhood in the city.
Full report at:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=157716&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=20&s1=1
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ISIL Imposes Jizya on Christians in Iraq’s Mosul
June 21, 2014
Iraq: terrorist militants in Anbarources in the Iraqi province of Nineveh stated that the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) terrorist organization imposed the Jizya on Christians in Mosul, so as not to be killed or their properties to be seized.
The semi-official channel Al-Iraqiya quoted sources as saying that "The terrorist gangs of ISIL imposed Jizya on Christians in Mosul, so as not to be killed."
"The Jizya amounts start from $250 and end up at large sums imposed on the traders."
ISIL launched a wide offensive in Northern Iraq in June, committing a massacre against more than 1000 Iraqis in Nineveh province.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=23&frid=23&eid=157617
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Article Proposing Idea of Killing Egyptian Street Children Stirs Fury
June 21, 2014
An op-ed in a major Egyptian newspaper which suggests police could kill street children to clean-up streets was pulled from the paper’s website on Friday after a public outcry.
The piece in Al-Masry Al-Youm, written by academic Nassar Abdullah, suggests that the “solution” to the problem of street children in Egypt is to follow what he describes as the "Brazilian solution," referring to the mass killing of homeless children by Brazilian security forces in the 1990s.
"In the 1990s, street children in Brazil's major towns turned from a source of annoyance to a source of terror, increasingly committing crimes including rape, prostitution and murder, while the economic situation of Brazil was similar to Egypt’s present condition," wrote the academic, adding that rehabilitation of street children was costly.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/104271/Egypt/Politics-/Updated-Article-proposing-idea-of-killing-Egyptian.aspx
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Aussie jihadi in Iraqi executions
June 21, 2014
AUSTRALIAN jihadists fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham are carrying out massacres of captured Iraqi prisoners and participating in some of the most gruesome war crimes committed during the two-week-old Iraq insurgency.
Convicted terrorist Khaled Sharrouf is among a handful of Australian jihadists believed to have carried out bloody, battlefield executions, in what amounts to a serious escalation of Australian involvement in the Iraq-Syria conflict. As Australian troops prepare to deploy once more to Iraq, this time to protect Australia’s embassy in Baghdad, The Weekend Australian can reveal that several Australian Islamists fighting with ISIS have become enthusiastic participants in some of the worst excesses of the conflict.
Highly graphic images of the executions have emerged on social media. The Weekend Australian has verified those images.
Full report at:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/aussie-jihadi-in-iraqi-executions/story-e6frg6nf-1226961932553#
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Iraqi Christians Cry for Prayer Amid Deadly Jihad Rampage
June 21, 2014
As the terror group identifying itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) sets its sights on Baghdad to the south, thousands of Iraqi families have fled to the Kurdish area of Iraq—just 65 miles from Mosul.
These families, fleeing the bloodbath left in the wake of the ISIS lightning strike across northern and central Iraq, have come here to Irbil.
It's unlikely that ISIS will venture further north because they face a formidable foe in the Kurdish military, which calls itself the "Peshmerga," literally, "those who face death."
Full report at:
http://www.charismanews.com/world/44328-iraqi-christians-cry-for-prayer-amid-deadly-jihad-rampage
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To ISIS, with love: Supporters get creative on Twitter
June 21, 2014
As members of militant group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), brandish an online charm offensive, supporters of the group are finding creative ways to throw their weight behind ISIS' operations in Iraq.
From Rome to Australia, Switzerland to America, Kenya to Nepal, Twitter users have been responding to a hashtag #AllEyesOnIsis used by the militants on Friday to drum up social media support.
The users posted pictures of notes declaring their backing of the group. One note is seen with Rome’s Colloseum in the background, while another shows a group of people holding a black jihadist flag underwater.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2014/06/21/To-ISIS-with-love-Militant-supporters-get-creative.html
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Saudi Arabia mulls English language at elementary schools
21 June 2014
Saudi Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said his ministry was seriously studying whether to introduce the teaching of English at elementary schools. At present the language is taught from the fourth grade onward.
Prince Khaled said that the ministry realized students were exhibiting deficiencies in the language.
Commenting on UNESCO estimates that global illiteracy would reach 50 percent by the end of 2015, Prince Khaled said the kingdom had overcome these estimates. The literacy rate in the kingdom stood at 60.61 percent in 2013.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/06/21/Saudi-Arabia-mulls-English-language-at-elementary-schools.html
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Shiite cleric issues threat to US military advisers as Iraq militants take border post
June 21, 2014
A high-level Shiite cleric in Iraq issued a warning to American military advisers bound for Iraq Friday, hours before Sunni militants captured a crossing on Iraq's border with Syria and Shiite militia members paraded in Baghdad and other cities.
Sky News reports that Nassir al-Saedi, a cleric loyal to the firebrand Muqtada al-Sadr, referred to America as "the occupier" in a sermon during Friday prayers and added "We will be ready for you if you are back."
On Thursday, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would send 300 military advisers to provide intelligence and training to the Iraqi army in its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), a group that has already taken wide swathes of territory in Iraq's north and west.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/06/21/shiite-cleric-issues-threat-to-us-military-advisers-as-iraq-militants-take/
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Pakistan
PM wants ‘giant’ national flag hoisted in Islamabad
June 21, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Seized with patriotic fervour, the federal government has ordered the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to install a 541-square-foot flag on a 200-foot pole in the federal capital.
The desire to have a giant flag at a central point in the city was conveyed to the CDA chairman in a recent meeting by the prime minister himself.
“The idea to have a massive flag erected in the city is possibly inspired by New Delhi’s monumental flagpole, measuring 207 feet, which the prime minister saw on his recent visit to India,” said an official of the CDA.
The CDA has earmarked three sites for the landmark; F-9 Park, Daman-i-Koh and the National Monument at Zero Point.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114119/pm-wants-giant-national-flag-hoisted-in-islamabad
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No divide over Zarb-e-Azb: Minister
June 21, 2014
Islamabad- Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid has said there is no divide among the national institutions and they are on the same page on ‘Zarb-e-Azb’ operation in North Waziristan, foreign policy and economic revival.
In an interview, he confirmed that the armed forces are fighting to secure Pakistan's future and bring peace to the country.
The Minister appealed to political forces to abandon their political agenda till completion of military operation.
He said Pakistan's foreign reserves have registered record increase, inflation rate has fallen to a single digit and GDP growth crossed four percent mark.
He advised the elements creating hurdles in efforts of the government to make Pakistan a peaceful and prosperous nation, to show patience and wait for the next general elections.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/21-Jun-2014/no-divide-over-zarb-e-azb-rashid
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30 militants killed in Khyber Agency, N Waziristan air blitz
June 21, 2014
PESHAWAR: About 30 suspected terrorists were killed in targeted strikes by jet aircraft in Khyber Agency and North Waziristan early Saturday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release.
At 2 AM, aircraft destroyed two hideouts close to the Pak- Afghan border in Khyber Agency killing 10 suspected terrorists. At 5 AM, three hideouts were destroyed in Hassu Khel in North Waziristan, killing 20 terrorists.
All strikes were made in areas where there is no civil population, the statement said.
Over 300 suspected militants have reportedly been killed in the Zarb-i-Azb operation launched a week ago.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114221/30-militants-killed-in-khyber-agency-n-waziristan-air-blitz
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35 injured in blast at shrine near Islamabad
June 21, 2014
ISLAMABAD: A low-intensity blast rocked the outskirts of Islamabad causing injuries to 35 people.
According to police, the blast took place at a shrine in the Pandorian area during commemoration of the death anniversary of local Sufi saint Baba Nangay Shah. Investigators say an improvised explosive device (IED) was planted near a wall opposite the entrance to the shrine, near the langar stall.
According to shrine authorities, almost 3,000 devotees were attending the rituals and around 250 people were present at the langar stall at the time of the explosion.
Senior Superintendent of Police Muhammad Ali Nekokara told Dawn the blast was caused by a low intensity IED.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114136/35-injured-in-blast-at-shrine-near-islamabad
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Teachers urged to promote Islamic ideology
June 19, 2014
HAFIZABAD: Teacher Association of Pakistan (TAP) Central Leader Muhammad Ziaullah Rizvi has appealed to the teaching community to play their vital role for the propagation of Islamic ideology and Islamic teachings to bring about progress, stability and solidarity in the country.
He was addressing a teachers meeting held in Government High School No-2 chaired by TAP District President Ch Iftikhar Ahmad Chadhar and Punjab President Khalid Masood Chishti here the other day. He deplored that some anti-Islamic and secular elements were making attempts to delete Islamic ideology and history from the syllabus. He declared that the teachers would futile all such attempts aimed at introduce secular education in the country. Ziaullah pointed out that Pakistan was achieved in the name of Islam and the teachers would not tolerate any attempt to make the syllabus secular.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/19-Jun-2014/teachers-urged-to-promote-islamic-ideology
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Pakistan imposes temporary ban on two TV channels
Press Trust of India | Islamabad | June 21, 2014
Pakistan has temporarily banned two private television channels, including one of the Geo TV network, and imposed a hefty fine of Rs 10 million on them for airing blasphemous content and ridiculing the judiciary.
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), the official media watchdog, suspended the licenses’ of Geo Entertainment for 30 days and ARY News for 15 days for overstepping the laws of the state regulator.
The entertainment channel of Geo, whose news channel was suspended for 15 days recently, was ordered on Friday to be taken off air for insulting the religious sentiments of viewers when it played a religious song at the mock wedding of controversial actress Veena Malik in one of its morning shows. The ARY News was banned for brining the higher courts to disrepute through its criticism by airing anti-judiciary programmes.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-others/pakistan-imposes-temporary-ban-on-2-tv-channels/
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Zardari reiterates pledge to defeat militant mindset
June 21, 2014
ISLAMABAD - Former President Asif Ali Zardari on the eve of birthday anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on Friday reiterated pledge to defeat the militant mindset and uphold the ideals of democracy.
“This birth anniversary of our leader is also an occasion to reiterate our pledge to defeat the militant mindset and uphold the ideals of democracy, pluralism and rule of law for which Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto stood for and struggled throughout her life,” said the PPP co-chairman in his message on the eve of the 61st birth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.
“I wish to extend heartfelt felicitations to the workers of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party indeed to all the democracy-loving people of Pakistan and especially the women and the marginalized sections of the society for whom Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had devoted her life,” he said, adding that the 61st birth anniversary of the great leader was being commemorated at a time when the nation had finally decided to root out militancy from its midst. “A battle that Shaheed BB had vowed to wage and lead from the front and during the course of which she also laid down her life,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/islamabad/21-Jun-2014/zardari-reiterates-pledge-to-defeat-militant-mindset
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MQM will offer 'strong resistance' if Qadri arrested: Gabol
June 21, 2014
KARACHI/LAHORE: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Nabil Gabol said Saturday that the party would put up strong resistance if Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri was arrested, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to media representatives, Gabol said Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz’s (PML-N) authoritative style of leadership was damaging for the democratic system in the country.
He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should withdraw the order for Qadri’s arrest.
The MQM leader said a commission, comprising Supreme Court judges, would be constituted to investigate the Model Town tragedy, adding that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should also appear before it.
He also claimed that Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had been made a scapegoat over the Lahore incident.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114238/mqm-will-offer-strong-resistance-if-qadri-arrested-gabol
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Ethnicity was the cause of social and class contradictions: Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja
June 21, 2014
LAHORE- Supreme Court’s Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja today said that ethnicity was the cause of social and class contradictions.
Addressing a conference on water and environmental justice at Punjab Judicial Academy, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja said that the constitution demands national language Urdu should be used in the routine life. Stressing on practicing the constitution in letter and spirit, he said that conversing in Urdu was imperative for eliminating the class contradiction.
Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja said that the people should be made aware of the use and conservation of water. He said that the future generation would suffer most if the water reserves were not valued, harnessed and used judiciously.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/21-Jun-2014/ethnicity-was-the-cause-of-social-and-class-contradictions-justice-jawwad-s-khawaja
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Europe
French Islamists with ISIS in the perfect terrain for jihad
June 21, 2014
The young man in a video posted on YouTube last July identified himself as Abu Abdel-Rahman and told his French “brothers” it was their religious duty to join him in Syria to fight the Assad regime.
In perfect French, he called on President Francois Hollande to convert to Islam and to distance himself from Jewish and American allies.
His real name was Nicolas Bons and he was from Toulouse. On Jan. 2, his mother Dominique Bons received an SMS saying her 30-year-old son was dead. She called the number and someone told her in French he’d died in a suicide attack near Homs. Her stepson and Nicolas’ half-brother Jean-Daniel, 22, had already died in combat in August near Aleppo.
The Bons brothers aren’t unique. The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), the group that burst into prominence last week by seizing much of northern Iraq, is the destination of choice for Europeans who have joined the radical Islamist cause in Syria. While European countries favor the ouster of Bashar Assad, and French warplanes were hours away from bombing his military assets last August, their security forces are preparing for the eventual return of battle-hardened veterans.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jun-18/260558-french-islamists-with-isis-in-the-perfect-terrain-for-jihad.ashx#ixzz359bQB59L
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‘Black flag of jihad will fly over London’: Alarm over UK-born Iraq fighters' threat
June 21, 2014
Terror alerts, 9/11-style bombings and murders of British citizens will soon come to London’s streets, according to chilling threats from UK citizens fighting alongside Islam’s most violent terrorist group operating in Syria and Iraq.
The threat comes from British nationals fighting for the Sunni militant group calling themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS) in Syria. According to the Sunday Times, they promise that after they’re done there, Britain is next. The message comes from three such fighters, all youngsters in their teens and twenties.
According to the Times, these aren’t regular disenchanted youths at all: one is a 20-year-old hacker from Birmingham, who once stole Tony Blair’s details and posted them online, later serving time for an unrelated violence charge.
Full report at:
http://rt.com/news/166128-isis-jihadists-threaten-britain/
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Hollande asks Turkey to prevent French citizens from joining jihadist fighters
June 21, 2014
French President François Hollande has demanded from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to tighten measures to prevent French youth from joining jihadist fighters, according to French sources.
Hollande told Erdoğan during a one-hour Paris meeting June 20 that France was looking into developing a close cooperation with Turkey on the issue, sources has said.
Erdoğan, for his part, said the fact that Turkey is a tourism destination was making such controls harder. "Give us a list so that we can do what is necessary," Erdoğan said reportedly.
Turkey has deported 22 young French citizens, who wanted to join jihadists, so far and there are some 200 more in the region, the Turkish prime minister said.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hollande-asks-turkey-to-prevent-french-citizensfrom-joining-jihadist-fighters-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=68090&NewsCatID=510
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UN chief opposes airstrikes on extremists in Iraq
June 21, 2014
NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that any possible airstrikes against Sunni extremists in Iraq could be ineffective and backfire. He is urging Iraq’s feuding communities to unite against the terrorists who have captured a vast swath of territory.
The UN chief urged the Iraqi government and its supporters not to retaliate against Sunni communities in revenge for “barbaric attacks” by the Al-Qaeda inspired extremists.
The Iraqi government has sought US airstrikes to stem the insurgency by Sunni extremists but President Barack Obama has held off for now.
Ban addressed the Iraq crisis Friday in a speech to the Asia Society on Syria, saying “suddenly, the cohesion and integrity of two major countries, not just one, is in question.” He called for a UN arms embargo on all Syrian parties.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/589546
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Ban: 10.9 Million Syrians Need Aid, ISIL Advance to Worsen Situation
June 21, 2014
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the number of Syrians in urgent need of humanitarian aid has jumped to 10.8 million, as he warned that the ISIL advance in Iraq would worsen the situation.
In his monthly report to the UN Security Council, Ban said that a total of 4.7 million Syrians are now in areas that are "difficult or impossible" for humanitarian workers to reach, including 241,000 in besieged areas.
That's an increase from the previous estimate of 3.5 million people. The report warned that advances made by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant militants in Iraq would only further worsen the situation in Syria.
Full report at:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=56&frid=56&eid=157694
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Putin speaks to Iraqi PM, expresses support
June 21, 2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken by phone to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, expressing Moscow's support for his action against the militant offensive.
The Kremlin said in a statement that al-Maliki informed Putin on Friday about his government's steps to combat the "terrorist groups in the north of the country." It added that the insurgency threatens security of the entire region.
Putin confirmed Russia's "full support for the Iraqi government's action to quickly free the territory of the republic from terrorists," the Kremlin said, adding that Putin and al-Maliki also discussed bilateral cooperation.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/104269/World/International/Putin-speaks-to-Iraqi-PM,-expresses-support.aspx
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Jihadists call for revenge after woman in Muslim dress stabbed to death
June 21, 2014
A woman who may have been stabbed to death because of her Muslim dress was named today as Saudi Arabian student Nahid Almanea, who arrived in Britain six months ago.
Ms Almanea, 31, who was attacked as she walked along a footpath in Colchester on Tuesday morning, was described as “hard-working” and was due to graduate from her English language course in August.
Detectives are investigating the possibility she was targeted because of her Muslim clothing, a dark navy blue full-length robe called an abaya, and a multi-coloured hijab headscarf.
Staff at the University of Essex, where Ms Almanea studied, said today they were “devastated” at the killing of the “conscientious student”.
It is the second fatal stabbing in the town in the last four months.
Officers are looking at possible links with the unsolved killing of James Attfield, 33, a vulnerable man with brain damage, who died after being stabbed more than 100 times in March.
Full report at:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/colchester-murder-jihadists-call-for-revenge-after-woman-in-muslim-dress-stabbed-to-death-9549460.html
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Mideast
Palestinian TV Teaches Kids The Way to 'Jihad Street'
June 21, 2014
Every day, hundreds of millions of children in more than 120 countries settle in to watch their local versions of "Sesame Street" or similar shows inspired by the Muppet model. They learn to read, to write, to count. They learn about things like "sharing," and "friendship," and how to be kind to others. They learn what it is to love.
Except in Palestine, where the lessons from Hamas children's television are aimed at something else: to kill.
Take, for instance, "Pioneers of Tomorrow," with its fluffy talking bee who encourages viewers to "throw stones" at Jews, and a pretty young host who, in one episode, praises a little girl for her desire to be a police officer and "shoot Jews." Or consider the show's transformation, some years ago, of Mickey Mouse, into an Islamic supremacist character named Farfour. When international protests erupted, producers gave Farfour an honorary farewell: in his final episode, he is "martyred" by Israelis.
Full report at:
http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7599:palestinian-tv-teaches-kids-the-way-to-jihad-street&catid=118:war-on-terror&Itemid=301
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Islamic Jihad Recruits Forces, Fear Retaliation in Gaza
June 21, 2014
Sources within the Palestinian Authority in Gaza claim that the Islamic Jihad organization has announced its intentions to draft additional armed forces, out of fear that the IDF will retaliate against recent violence directed at Israel and send forces into Gaza.
The same sources claim that a military operations room has been established for all military branches involved.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/295780#.U6PD_ZRdU4U
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11 Yemenis killed in Amran clashes
World Bulletin / News Desk
June 21, 2014
A Yemeni soldier and ten Shiite Houthi militants were killed late Friday in the northern Amran province, a military source said.
"Houthi militants attacked military sites in northern Amran," the source told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
One soldier and ten Houthi attackers were killed in ensuing clashes, the source said.
Houthi leaders could not be reached for comment.
Amran has been the scene of sporadic clashes in recent weeks between the army and Houthi rebels, the latter of whom also frequently clash with local tribesmen.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/139343/11-yemenis-killed-in-amran-clashes
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Fundamentalists have taken over Yemeni revolution, activist
June 21, 2014
(ANSAmed) - ROME - The Yemeni human rights activist Arwa Abdo Othman spoke to ANSAmed in an interview on Friday about the situation in her country, three years after an uprising against President Ali Abdallah Saleh.
''The demands of the revolution have unfortunately become those of others: terrorism, tribes, sheikhs, and all the armed groups and militias that took to the streets in the name of the revolution,'' she said. Othman participated in a seminar this week on cooperation between Italy and Yemen on women's rights in the country's new Constitution. ''I took part in the protests even prior to 2011,'' she said, ''when the youth took to the streets to demand and claim their rights to life, change, a civil state and citizenship without any discrimination, human right: a dream that is still alive.'' Nevertheless, she continued, ''in the streets prior to March 1,2011, fundamentalist groups entered the scene and - right in front of me - Abdul Majeed al-Zindani (considered a terrorist by the US, Ed.) from the Reform fundamentalist party came in with his armed militias.'' ''He spoke in front of thousands of protestors,'' she said, ''saying that there isn't a state, that there is an Islamic caliphate, and that every change must come from the Sharia. This basically meant Islamicizing the revolution and change.
Full report at:
http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/nations/italy/2014/06/20/fundamentalists-have-taken-over-yemeni-revolution-activist_11f67117-d5a8-42cf-a979-06b75656a4a5.html
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Israel bans 460 Palestinians from leaving W. Bank
World Bulletin / News Desk
June 21, 2014
Israeli police on Saturday banned 460 Palestinians from leaving the occupied West Bank through from Karameh crossing with Jordan for "security reasons".
All those banned hail from the West Bank city of Hebron, where three Israeli settlers went missing last week, the Palestinian police said in a statement.
According to the statement, most of those denied exit by Israel are under 50.
The ban comes amid a major Israeli search for the three settlers, which Israeli authorities accuse Palestinian group Hamas of abducting them.
No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the alleged kidnapping thus far, nor has Israel produced any evidence of Palestinian involvement.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/139351/israel-bans-460-palestinians-from-leaving-w-bank
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‘No democratic solution possible behind closed doors,’ CHP leader tells Kurds
June 21, 2014
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has denounced the “lack of transparency” in the Kurdish peace process launched by the government over a year ago, telling the Kurdish public during a visit to Diyarbakır on June 20 that “no democratic solution is possible behind closed doors.”
“The process should have a legal foundation. It has to be transparent. Of course, there will always be people opposed it. But if the matters are sincerely discussed, we can overcome it. Turkey has enough experience to solve this problem,” Kılıçdaroğlu said during a speech at a Diyarbakır-based think tank.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/no-democratic-solution-possible-behind-closed-doors-chp-leader-tells-kurds.aspx?pageID=238&nID=68083&NewsCatID=338
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Iran rejects 'excessive demands' in nuclear talks with Western powers
By REUTERS
Iran told six big powers on Friday it would not accept their "excessive demands" after the latest talks on lifting sanctions against Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear work yielded no breakthrough, with a deadline for a deal just a month away.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman said it was Iran that would need to shift its position: "What is still unclear is if Iran is really ready and willing to take all the necessary steps to assure the world that its nuclear program is and will remain exclusively peaceful."
The stakes are high in the Vienna talks, which will resume on July 2, as the powers seek a negotiated solution to a more-than-decade-long standoff with Iran that has raised fears of a new Middle East war and a regional nuclear arms race.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/US-still-not-convinced-Iran-ready-for-steps-to-ensure-nuclear-program-is-peaceful-360066
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South Asia
Bangladesh: Tough action against educational institutes for supporting militancy
June 21, 2014
State Minister for Jute and Textile Mirza Azam yesterday said the government would take stern actions against those educational institutions which were patronising militancy behind educational activities.
He said after failing to get government permission, these so called educational institutions had been set under the partonisation of those people, who have connection with militancy.
Later, the educational institutions register their students from approved schools from where they take part in public examinations.
These types of institutions provide militant training to its students, he said, adding it is high time to take measures against the institutions.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a teachers gathering as the chief guest in Jamalpur district town.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/jun/21/mirza-azam-tough-action-against-educational-institutes-supporting-militancy#sthash.GCMBINk2.dpuf
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13 shot dead in Xinjiang bomb attack on police: govt
June 21, 2014
BEIJING: As many as 13 “thugs” were shot dead in China's restive Xinjiang on Saturday after they drove into a police building and set off an explosion, a regional government website said.
“Today thugs crashed a car into the public security building of Kargilik county in Xinjiang's Kashgar prefecture and set off an explosion. Police took decisive action and shot dead 13 thugs,” the official Tianshan web portal reported, adding that three police were injured.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114226/13-shot-dead-in-xinjiang-bomb-attack-on-police-govt
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Afghan public uprisings demoralise Taliban
June 21, 2014
KUNAR – Afghans have once again stood against the Taliban, and some say that the uprisings are providing citizens with a way to improve their communities and are deflating the morale of the militants.
Four Taliban insurgents were killed after residents of Narai District of Kunar Province rose up early in June. Locals also captured 12 Taliban militants.
It was the latest public uprising against the Taliban. Previously, civilians revolted against the Taliban in Ghazni, Faryab, Laghman, Badakhshan, Nangarhar and Logar provinces.
These uprisings will undercut Taliban morale because they indicate the public won't idly stand by as militants inflict harm on society, analysts say.
Full report at:
http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/pakistan/main/2014/06/20/feature-01
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Suicide attack in Kabul leaves 1 civilian dead
Jun 21 2014
A suicide attack rocked capital Kabul early Saturday morning, targeting the vehicle of a high ranking high peace council official.
The blast took place in the 5th police district of Kabul city near Dawat university building.
Deputy interior minister for security, Gen. Ayub Salangi confirmed the target of the suicide bomber was the high-ranking high peace council official Masoom Stanekzai.
Gen. Salangi further added that one civilian was killed but Mr. Stanekzai escaped the attack unhurt.
In the meantime, interior ministry officials said at least three civilians were injured following the suicide attack and another civilian was killed.
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.
http://www.khaama.com/explosion-heard-in-capital-kabul-6218
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Fresh anti-Muslim violence erupts in Sri Lanka
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jun 21 2014
Muslim places of worship and shops in different parts of Sri Lanka have been attacked early Saturday morning, following week-long anti-Muslim violence that has killed three Muslims in the southwestern region of the country.
Buddhist mobs attacked a mosque in the village of Navanthurai in Jaffna district and a prayer room at the University of Jaffna, according to residents and students in the area.
A branch of No Limit fashion chain owned by Muslims was burnt down at 2.45 a.m. on Saturday in Panadura, 25 km south of Colombo.
"6 petrol bombs were hurled at the store in a pre-dawn attack in which nobody was hurt but the building and the goods were damaged," sources told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/139330/fresh-anti-muslim-violence-erupts-in-sri-lanka
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Explosion kills three NATO soldiers in southern Afghanistan
Jun 21 2014
At least three NATO soldiers were killed following an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Friday.
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), following a statement, confirmed that three ISAF service members died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan.
The statement did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident and nationalities of the deceased soldiers.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/explosion-kills-three-nato-soldiers-in-southern-afghanistan-6216
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Karzai accepts UN mediation to resolve election impasse
Jun 21 2014
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accepted the United Nations mediation to resolve the impasse due to the runoff presidential election.
The Presidential Palace media office following a statement said President Hamid Karzai has in contact with the two Presidential candidates.
The statement furhter added that the issue was shared during a meeting with the members of the Ulema council.
Karzai quoted in the statement said he welcomes the suggestion for UN mediation to resolve the impasse due to the runoff election.
Abdullah Abdullah, one of the contenders in runoff vote, on Wednesday called on United Nations to supervise the work of Independent Election Commission (IEC) and Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC).
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/karzai-accepts-un-mediation-to-resolve-election-impasse-6215
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UNHCR: Bangladesh 14th among 20 top refugee-hosting countries
June 21, 2014
Bangladesh ranked 14th among the top 20 refugee-hosting countries across the globe and the country comes ninth in relation to its national economy, hosting 111 refugees per 1 USD GDP per capita (PPP), said the UN refugee agency.
The report titled UNHCR Global Trends 2013 said Pakistan is the highest refugee-hosting countries across the world while Bangladesh is the 14th with 2,31,100 refugee people.
Pakistan had also the highest number of refugees in relation to its national economy, hosting 512 refugees per 1 USD GDP (PPP) per capita.
The number of people forced to flee their homes across the world has exceeded 50 million for the first time since the second world war, an exponential rise that is stretching host countries and aid organisations to breaking point, said the UNHCR report released on Friday.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2014/jun/21/unhcr-bangladesh-14th-among-20-top-refugee-hosting-countries#sthash.aQW24i1m.dpuf
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1,500 Bangladeshis in Iraq vulnerable
June 21, 2014
At least 1,500 Bangladeshi migrant workers living in the trouble-torn Iraqi city of Mosul are at risk, an official concerned said.
“There are around 25,000 migrant workers in Iraq and 1,500 of them living in Mosul are at vulnerable,” Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Khondaker Showkat Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune over phone yesterday.
A good number of Bangladeshis who took refuge in different places, including hospitals, are in need of food and drinking water, he said.
“It is true that Bangladeshis in Mosul face trouble. We have communicated with International Organisation for Migration. We are ready to evacuate them, if necessary.”
Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandker Mosharraf Hossain on Thursday announced that the government was ready to evacuate Bangladeshi workers from Iraq.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/foreign-affairs/2014/jun/21/1500-bangladeshis-iraq-vulnerable#sthash.OViQR4L7.dpuf
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North America
U.S. spy agencies warned Maliki was ‘alienating’ Iraq’s Sunnis
June 21, 2014
U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned top government officials that Iraq’s Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his policies were gravely antagonizing his country’s Sunni population, two U.S. security officials said on Friday.
The officials said the warnings were contained in secret intelligence reports and analyses presented in the last two years to policymaking officials, including President Barack Obama.
The reports concluded that Maliki and his government were creating so much animosity among Iraq’s Sunnis that this would empower and embolden violent militant groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Obama is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq to help stop the offensive by the Sunni militant ISIL and is demanding a more inclusive government be formed in Baghdad.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/06/21/U-S-spy-agencies-warned-Maliki-was-alienating-Iraq-s-Sunnis.html
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American jihadist wannabes flock to ISIS-like groups in Iraq and Syria
June 21, 2014
Muslim American extremists from coast to coast, including New York City, head overseas to train for jihad — and NYPD's terror chief is concerned about when they come back.
They're the potential killers next door learning to become jihadists in a factory of terrorists whose ultimate target is New York City.
More than 100 young home-grown Muslims, including some from Gotham, are being trained to become an enemy within by Al Qaeda-inspired groups like ISIS operating in disintegrating Syria and Iraq, the NYPD’s terror chief estimated.
“I would be hyper-concerned about the people over there from New York City on the presumption they’re going to return to New York City,” John Miller, said Thursday.
Miller said he is just as worried about American jihadists from “Chicago, Minnesota, Portland, you name it.”
Full report at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jihadist-wannabes-u-s-flock-isis-like-groups-overseas-article-1.1837013
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Children as young as 9 are recruited for suicide bombing: US report
June 21, 2014
WASHINGTON: An official US report on human trafficking places Pakistan, Afghanistan and India among the countries where men, women and children are subjected to forced labour and sex-trafficking.
The report, released on Friday, identifies all three as source, destination, and transit countries for human trafficking.
The report is considered the benchmark index for global anti-trafficking efforts, as it ranks 188 nations according to their willingness and efforts to combat trafficking and slavery.
The 2014 study relegates Thailand to the lowest rank because of the way it treats workers.
Qatar was demoted to one rung above, and will join Thailand if it doesn’t improve its record in the coming years.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1114192/children-as-young-as-9-are-recruited-for-suicide-bombing-us-report
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2 Texas men arrested on terrorism charges
June 21, 2014
DALLAS — Two Central Texas men have been separately accused of trying to plot their entry into conflicts in Syria and Somalia to support terrorists, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that one of the men, Michael Todd Wolfe, was arrested the day before at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as he was leaving for Turkey with his wife and two young children. From Turkey, Wolfe allegedly planned to go to Syria and possibly join an al-Qaida splinter group leading militants in Iraq.
They say the other man, Rahatul Khan, was a University of Texas student who said in an online chat room that he was recruiting fighters for “jihad” - an Arabic term sometimes used to mean a Muslim holy war.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/18/feds-arrest-2-texas-men-on-terrorism-cases/#ixzz359Ymiqau
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US Muslims Help Fight Hunger
June 21, 2014
CAIRO – Muslim volunteers have turned together to package thousands of meals for international relief effort, the event planned to inspire other communities to help end hunger around the world.
“Wow, what an event! Such dedication and energy,” General Hazem Bata, Secretary of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), said in a statement published on ISNA’s website and obtained by OnIslam.net.
“I was very impressed with the community. Everyone really stepped up. You had to be there appreciate to truly appreciate it.”
Bata was among the volunteers who participated in the project entitled, “The Joy of Caring & Sharing: Feed the Hungry.”
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/473889-us-muslims-help-fight-hunger.html
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Attack on Iraq Would Violate US Law, Experts Warn
June 21, 2014
Prominent legal scholars and the key author of the War Powers Resolution—which checks the president's power to launch military attacks—warned Thursday that an attack on Iraq would violate U.S. law.
Paul Findley, 22 year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives, who was a key author of the War Powers Resolution, warned in a statement, "Just as with threats to attack Syria last year, an attack on Iraq would violate the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. As with any president, he [President Obama] commits an impeachable offense if he does not follow the Constitution.”
Full report at:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/06/19-4
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ISIS Tweet Mocks Michelle Obama Over Stolen US Army Humvees
June 21, 2014
Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have mockingly altered a White House appeal by Michelle Obama on behalf of African kidnapped schoolgirls, after the militants captured a fleet of US military Humvee vehicles in Iraq last week.
The photoshopped picture of Michelle Obama holding a placard originally read #bringbackourgirls, in aid of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria who were seized in April by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
The Humvees will now be used against the democratic government of Iraq, which the United States installed as part of its invasion of the country to topple dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Full report at:
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-tweet-mocks-michelle-obama-over-stolen-us-army-humvees-1453524
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Biden’s Iraq prediction comes true, but US isn’t considering his plan yet
Washington | June 21, 2014
Joe Biden was a U.S. senator from Delaware in 2006 gearing up for a presidential campaign when he proposed that Iraq be sliced up into three semi-independent regions for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Follow his plan, he said, and U.S. troops could be out by early 2008. Ignore it, he warned, and Iraq would devolve into sectarian conflict that could destabilize the whole region.
The Bush administration chose to ignore it. Now, eight years later, the vice president’s doom-and-gloom prediction seems more than a little prescient. Old sectarian tensions have erupted with a vengeance as Sunni militants seize entire cities and the United States faults the Shiite prime minister for shunning Iraq’s minorities. While the White House isn’t actively considering Biden’s old plan, Mideast experts are openly questioning whether Iraq is marching violently toward an inevitable breakup along ethnic lines.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/middle-east-africa/bidens-iraq-prediction-comes-true-but-us-isnt-considering-his-plan-yet/99/
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Africa
Africa 'Must Unite' To Stop Boko Haram Spread
June 21, 2014
Boko Haram militancy is spreading across West African nations much like the ISIS fundamentalism terrorising Syria and Iraq, Cameroon has warned.
Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck, the country's defence ministry spokesman, told Sky News the militant Islamic sect could only be stopped by the combined efforts of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, as well as more international involvement.
Sky News was given exclusive access to Cameroon's elite military rapid response unit, the Battalion D'Intervention Rapide, or BIR, and travelled to the north of the country to see the soldiers' operations on the border with Nigeria.
A multi-national team is still hunting more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok in northeast Nigeria on April 14.
The schoolgirls are thought to have been split into several groups and some intelligence sources fear at least one of the groups may have been smuggled across the border into Cameroon.
Full report at:
http://news.sky.com/story/1285853/africa-must-unite-to-stop-boko-haram-spread
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Christian Association Urges Islamic Clerics to Engage Boko Haram Members Ideologically
June 21, 2014
The Christian Association of Nigeria has stressed the need for Muslim scholars and clerics to engage members of Boko Haram ideologically in addition to the military approach by the Federal Government.
Addressing a forum of Christian and Muslim leaders in Abuja on Tuesday, President of the Christian association, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, said the menace of Boko Haram was not an Islamic agenda but an ideological movement that needed to be countered with a better ideology.
“The bottom line problem of Boko Haram is that it’s an ideology which is very important. Now, if it is an ideology, yes, the military is very vital and they must play their part but you will not solve it completely just by bullets. You will have to create an avenue for a superior argument in the area of ideologies. In other words, you must bring up another ideology that is higher and better,” Pastor Oritsejafor said.
Full report at:
http://www.channelstv.com/2014/06/17/can-urges-islamic-clerics-engage-boko-haram-members-ideologically/
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Morocco’s Prime Minister Comes Under Fire for Remarks on Women
June 21, 2014
Fez – Prime Minister Benkirane is under fire for his statements to Parliament regarding the role of women earlier this week. The prime minister, and head of the Justice and Development Party, made an impassioned speech suggesting that a women’s place is in the household rather than in the workplace.
“Today many women cannot find time to get married, be a mother or bring up children,” Benkirane said in Arabic to the Moroccan parliament. “Why do we refuse to acknowledge this sacred role?” he continued.
Prime Minister Benkirane and his Islamist party have often been criticized for their conservative values and traditional view toward the role of women in society. “Benkirane is time and again seen trying to spread his Islamic views in Moroccan society with recourse to his traditional religious discourse. He thinks women should always behave the same socially, irrespective of the ages, primitive or modern,” Abdu Rabih, PhD candidate at Ibn Tofail University, said.
Full report at:
http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/06/133101/moroccos-prime-minister-comes-under-fire-for-remarks-on-women/
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Nigeria avoids human trafficking status downgrade
June 21, 2014
Nigeria avoided a status downgrade Friday in the annual US State Department's human trafficking report, despite concerns about kidnappings amid a growing terrorist threat, meaning it will avoid trade sanctions and economic pressure from the US for now.
The decision to keep Nigeria at Tier 2 status comes despite the headline-grabbing April kidnapping of more than 220 girls from their dormitory in the northern town of Chibok on April 14 by Boko Haram, an Islamist extremist terrorist group.
Many of the girls are still hostages, with the group allegedly planning to traffic them or put them into slavery. Fifty-seven of the abducted girls have since been reunited with their families, Nigeria says, but about 200 remain missing.
Full report at:
http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/2014/06/21/nigeria-avoids-human-trafficking-status-downgrade
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India
Hundreds of Indians trapped in Iraq’s Najaf province, claims Amnesty International
Press Trust of India | New Delhi | June 21, 2014
Amnesty International India on Saturday claimed that fresh evidence has emerged about hundreds of Indians stranded in Najaf province of crisis-hit Iraq.
The human rights watchdog claimed it had spoken over the phone with some Indian workers working for an infrastructure and construction company who said they were in danger as their employers had “refused to return their passports”, thus rendering them unable to leave the Gulf country.
“Evidence has emerged which suggests that several hundred Indian nationals may be stranded in Najaf province of Iraq, unable to return home because their employer refuses to return their passports,” Amnesty International India said in a press statement.
Amnesty International India claimed that some of the Indians stranded in Najaf province were “awaiting a response from the Indian Embassy in Baghdad” after they texted their passport details to them on June 19.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/middle-east-africa/hundreds-of-indians-trapped-in-iraqs-najaf-province-claims-amnesty-international/
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‘Allocate more time to learn Qur’an’: Study Center (QSC) in Kerala
June 21, 2014
Muslims must allocate more time to learn the Holy Qur’an in order to understand the teachings of God and lead their lives accordingly, said Acode Abdul Qader, coordinator of the Qur’an Study Center (QSC) in Kerala.
Addressing a ceremony organized by Thanima cultural society to honor rank holders of exams conducted by QSC in Jeddah, he said: “Learning the Qur’an is the greatest asset we can amass in this worldly life.”
He highlighted QSC’s achievements in Kerala, saying many educated people including doctors and engineers have shown their interest to learn the Qur’an systematically and spread its message among others.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/589906
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Protest at Jantar Mantar over violence in Iraq
Press Trust of India | New Delhi | June 21, 2014
Scores of people on Saturday took part in a protest here against the outbreak of violence in Iraq and urged the Narendra Modi government to ensure the safety of Indian nationals in the war-torn country.
Braving the scorching sun, about 200 people gathered for the protest at Jantar Mantar here under the aegis of a Delhi-based NGO. “We have gathered here to send out a clear message that we condemn the acts of terrorism in Iraq. We want the government to intervene and ensure the safe release of our brothers in Iraq,” said a speaker at the protest.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/protest-at-jantar-mantar-over-violence-in-iraq/
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian Election: Jaafar Umar Thalib’s ‘Jihad against Pluralism
June 21, 2014
As Indonesia’s presidential election campaign intensifies, religion has become an issue again. The recent re-emergence of a leader of the Laskar Jihad militia raises the question of how and why such conservative voices have made an appearance at this stage.
AS INDONESIA’S presidential election campaign heats up, various voices are complicating the contest between Prabowo/Hatta and Jokowi/Yusuf Kalla. The latest controversy was sparked by the re-emergence of Jaafar Umar Thalib, former leader of the now-defunct Laskar Jihad militia that was involved in the inter-religious conflict in Ambon and the Moluccas in the early 2000s.
On 8 June 2014, Jaafar made an appearance at the Kauman’s Gedhe Mosque in Yogyakarta where he declared a ‘jihad against pluralism’ in Indonesia. Jaafar’s appearance in public was unexpected as he had gone quiet since the group he once led, the Laskar Jihad, was disbanded years ago.
Full report at:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/17062014-indonesian-presidential-election-jaafar-umar-thalibs-jihad-pluralism-analysis/
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Protect rights of non-Muslims, Moderates Movement head tells religious authorities
June 21, 2014
State religious authorities must return to Islam's true teachings and ensure interfaith harmony is preserved in the country, the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) said, in light of the ongoing Bible tussle between Islamic bodies and Christians in Selangor.
GMMF chief executive officer Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said non-Muslims should feel safe living in a country governed by Muslims, as Islam was a religion of peace.
"We must return to the true teachings of Islam. For instance, there is no compulsion in religion. This means, among others, that we cannot force upon others how they should practise their religion.
"Muslims in power in a certain area should guarantee the safety and harmony of other faith adherents so they may practise their religion," the former Umno supreme council member told The Malaysian Insider.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/protect-the-rights-of-non-muslims-moderates-head-tells-religious-authoritie#sthash.PEfkxNxH.dpuf
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All-party committee needed to solve unilateral conversion issue, says DAP leader
June 21, 2014
The DAP today proposed that Putrajaya set up an all-party committee to address issues arising from unilateral conversions as a three-man Cabinet panel set up five years ago to address such problems is not functioning.
Its national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran (pic) said the 2009 Cabinet committee was more dead than alive and its continuous paralysis would hurt inter-faith relations in Malaysia.
Kulasegaran called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to set up an all-party committee to overcome this serious issue and a time frame be scheduled to resolve the thorny issue.
Kulasegaran, who is also Ipoh Barat MP, said unilateral conversion was only one of the many issues Putrajaya was dragging its feet on and any delay in finding a permanent solution would cause more misunderstanding and ill feelings among the different religions.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/all-party-committee-needed-to-solve-unilateral-conversion-issue-says-dap-le#sthash.CMIitA8W.dpuf
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'Return of Bibles should follow law'
June 21, 2014
KLANG: The Sultan of Selangor has ordered the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) to refer the matter of the seized Malay Bibles to the Public Prosecutor for the attention of the courts.
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah also advised politicians to stop confusing and distressing the public with solutions that do not follow the course of the law and proposals that are unreasonable.
The move was necessary to protect the sanctity of the law and the sensitivities of the sides involved in the issue, his private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani said.
He said following the Sultan’s discussions with Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the Ruler ordered that the issue be resolved through the processes and procedures of existing and valid laws.
Full report at:
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/20/Return-of-Bibles-should-follow-law-Sultan-orders-Jais-to-refer-to-the-courts/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/egypt-confirms-183-death-sentences,including/d/97664