Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa: Women Leading Friday Prayer Sermon Haram
New
Age Islam News Bureau
22
June 2023
On March 18,
2005 Dr. Amina Wadud will give the Friday sermon to a mixed gender audience at
Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York.
------
Southeast Asia
• Bangkok Aims To Become ‘Luxury Mecca’
With Shopping Mall Boom
• Malaysia Concludes Hajj Flights As
Last Batch Of Pilgrims Leaves For Saudi Arabia
• Court sets July 31 for case management
of Loh Siew Hong’s appeal over her kids’ conversion to Islam
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North America
• Anti-Muslim Record, Rights Abuses Dim
Modi's Charm Offensive On US Visit
• Ex-Army Soldier Gets 55-Year Sentence
for Murder After Anti-Muslim Insults
• CAIR: American Muslims to Mark End of
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) with Communal Prayers, Celebrations
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Mideast
• Muslim Mayor Who Apologised For
Raising Pride Flag Steps Down
• The Islamic Republic’s grand-strategic
dilemma following the deal with Saudi Arabia
• Liberation of Palestinian Territories
a Muslim Duty
• Islamist hate cleric's talk cancelled
after GB News investigation
--------
South Asia
• Forcefully Displacing, Relocating
Ethnic Groups Should be stopped in Afghanistan: CSTO
• “I Had Sleepless Nights Whenever A
Death of A Muslim Covid Patient Occurred” –Sri Lankan FM
• Afghan Officials Flog a Man Accused of
Having Extramarital Relationship
• Afghanistan Discussed in UNSC Meeting
• Open Competition Launched in 34
Provinces to Create Jobs for Youth
• Afghanistan Again Becomes Breeding
Ground For Terrorism: Vladimir Voronkov
• Afghan Migrants Are Welcome to Return
to their Country, Says Refugee Minister
• Drug Production in Afghanistan Poses
Threats to the World: Iran Envoy
• UNHCR Pakistan Calls on Police to Stop
Detaining Afghan Refugees
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India
• Pune police hold meeting with members
of Muslim community ahead of Bakrid
• BJP Minority Morcha to launch reach
out drive among Muslims on UCC soon
• "BJP Seeks To Reduce Muslim Votes
in Assam through Delimitation," Says AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal; Congress
Miffed As Well
• Attempts Made To Communalise Hindu-Muslim
Ties In Country: Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti
--------
Europe
• German Prosecutors Charge Iranian Man
with Plotting Islamist Attack Involving Ricin or Cyanide
• Irish Muslim Youth Associations raises
funds for local causes
• Palais 12 to be transformed into giant
prayer hall for Muslim festival
• Islamic Relief Worldwide’s income
grows by over £100m in three years
• Complaints of 'nuisance' protests near
Maida Vale mosque
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Pakistan
• Jamaat-i-Islami Chief Opposes Trial of
Civilians in Military Courts
• Prime suspect in Karachi workers’
lynching case arrested
• Al Qadir Trust case: NAB again summons
ex-accountability Czar on Friday
• Consequences of running country on
hybrid model can be dangerous: JI chief
• Shehryar Afridi remanded in custody
for five days in GHQ attack case
• May 9 violence: Over 4200 detained in
Punjab jails
• UAE ‘keen’ to invest in Karachi port
terminal operations
• Police ‘Recover’ Sub-Machine Gun from
Journalist’s House, Living in Self-Exile
--------
Africa
• El-Rufai’s wish for an ‘Islamic
Republic of Nigeria’
• Muslim Cleric, Other in Nigeria Bag
Life Imprisonment Defilement of Underage Girl
• Mosque worker jailed for consuming,
keeping drugs in ablution room, cubicle, locker
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Arab World
• KSrelief Participates In Arab League
Workshop on Protection of Women in Conflict Zones
• Qatar’s Ambassador Holds Talks On
Proposed Islamic Centre
• Saudi interior minister attends Hajj
security readiness parade
• Saudi minister attends G20 tourism
meeting in India
• Indian embassy celebrates
International Yoga Day with large turnout
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indonesian-ulema-fatwa-haram-friday/d/130054
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Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa: Women Leading Friday Prayer Sermon Haram
On March 18,
2005 Dr. Amina Wadud will give the Friday sermon to a mixed gender audience at
Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York.
------
22 June 2023
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ulema
Council (MUI) commission on fatwa [a ruling on a point of Islamic law given by
a recognized authority] has issued a haram fatwa against women assuming the
position of a preacher during a Friday prayer sermon.
The fatwa – filed under fatwa No.38/2023
– states that if a Friday prayer sermon is offered by a woman in the presence
of men, the sermon and Friday prayers are not valid.
This was issued in the wake of public
questioning the religious rule of the matter after a statement was made by
Panji Gumilang, leader of the Al Zaytun Islamic boarding school [pesantren],
who mentioned women are permitted to take the role of the preacher during a
Friday prayer.
This fatwa explained that Friday prayer
is an obligation for Muslim men and mubah (may) be performed for women, said
MUI chairman of fatwa Asrorun Niam Sholeh (Kiai Niam) in his official statement
on Thursday, June 22.
MUI called for the Muslim community to
stick to straight religious teachings and be vigilant of various forms of
irregularities.
"Muslims are expected to be careful
in choosing a place of education for their children and the state is obliged to
guarantee the protection of religious teachings from deviation, defamation, and
insult," said MUI's Kiai Niam.
Source: en.tempo.co
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://en.tempo.co/read/1740155/women-leading-friday-prayer-sermon-haram-says-mui-fatwa
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Islam’s Call to Prayer is ringing out in
More US Cities – Affirming a Long and Growing Presence of Muslims in America
Minneapolis
allows call to prayer to be publicly broadcast five times per day. Kerem
Yucel/AFP via Getty Images
------
June 21, 2023
Minneapolis recently became the first
major U.S. city to allow the “adhan,” or Muslim call to prayer, to be broadcast
from mosques five times a day.
In April 2023, the Minneapolis City
Council unanimously approved a change to the city’s sound ordinance,
effectively eliminating time constraints that previously prevented the pre-dawn
and evening prayer calls from being broadcast.
For the citizens of Minneapolis and for
many Muslims across the United States, this represents a historic moment.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, described this as a victory for religious freedom
and for the U.S. Constitution. The resolution demonstrates that Muslims are not
only “welcome here, but they’re also here – that they are part of the fabric of
the diversity of this city and our state,” he said in a statement.
As a scholar of Islam and Muslims in
America, I am particularly interested in how Muslim Americans express
themselves as a faith community at the local, national and global levels. The
practice of calling worshippers to prayer is an important aspect of daily
Muslim life, one that has a long history on American soil.
Adhan: Tradition and meanings
Adhan literally means “announcement” in
Arabic and refers to the Islamic call to prayer that takes place five times a
day. The five daily prayers signify one of the five pillars of Islam that are
traditionally considered obligatory for every Muslim. The prayers are performed
in the direction of Mecca throughout the day.
The practice of calling the adhan dates
to the time of Prophet Muhammad, when it became the standard way to mark the
beginning of each prayer’s time and to call Muslims to prayer. In his text
“Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations,” scholar Michael Sells notes
that “the call to prayer punctuates daily life five times, drawing people out
of their everyday preoccupation to matters of ultimate concern.”
Recited in Arabic, the adhan translates
as: God is most great, God is most great; I testify that there is no god but
God; I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God; Come (alive) to the
prayer; Come (alive) to flourishing; God is most great, God is most great;
There is no god but God.
In Muslim-majority countries, the
distinctive sound of the adhan loudly called from every mosque’s minaret is one
of the most memorable sounds for visitors.
The significance of the adhan is such
that Islamic tradition recommends that it be one of the first sounds that a
newborn baby hears. Often, the father will gently recite the adhan in the
baby’s right ear. The words mark the beginning of a person’s life on the “right
path,” with the remembrance of God.
In America, where the adhan is not commonly
heard in public settings, many Muslims make do with a prayer app, on their
cellphones or other devices, that lists the various prayer times and calls the
adhan at the appropriate time.
Influence on popular music and culture
The earliest practice of the adhan on
American soil dates back to the hundreds of thousands of enslaved African
Muslims who, to varying extents, brought their Islamic practices with them. In
the process, the adhan has left a deep influence on American music and culture.
Historian Sylviane A. Diouf attributes
the roots of blues music to West African Muslims who were enslaved and forcibly
taken to the Americas between the 1600s and mid-1800s.
Diouf specifically makes a comparison
between the adhan and “Levee Camp Holler,” a song that was written and sung by
former slaves. Holler songs were precursors to the blues. “It features the same
ornamented notes, elongated syllables sung with wavy intonations, melismas, and
pauses. When both pieces are juxtaposed, it is hard to distinguish when the
call to prayer ends and the holler starts,” Diouf writes.
More recently, Muslim rapper Lupe Fiasco
released an album called “Muhammad Walks” that clearly includes sound bites
from the adhan along with various references to Islamic traditions.
History of the Muslim prayer call in the
US
Generally speaking, mosques in the U.S.
make the call to prayer inside the prayer space, where it is audible only to
those present. The earliest documented public broadcasting of the Muslim call
to prayer took place during the World’s Columbian Exposition, a world’s fair
that was held in Chicago in 1893.
The fair featured “Cairo Street,” a
popular attraction that sought to recreate a small cross section of Cairene
life. Among the 26 different structures that were specifically built for this
project was a mosque where tourists could hear the muezzin – one who makes the
call to prayer – call the adhan from the minaret and then watch Muslim
worshippers perform their daily prayers.
Later the same year, the prayer call was
broadcast from a third-story window of the Union Square Bank building in New
York City. After John Lant, a convert to Islam and co-founder of First Society
for the Study of Islam in America, made the adhan, a congregational prayer was
held before the group proceeded with the society’s first meeting.
This moment was documented by The New
York Times: “For the first time in New-York’s history, cosmopolitan as the city
is, the melodious call of the Muezzin, celebrated by every traveler in
Mohammedan countries, was heard yesterday morning.”
Recent broadcasts
Since the 1970s the adhan has been
broadcast from mosques in the U.S., such as the American Moslem Society, which
was established in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1938 and is arguably the first U.S.
mosque to be granted the legal right to transmit all five prayer calls through
loudspeakers.
In nearby Hamtramck, considered to be
America’s first majority-Muslim city, the adhan was legalized by local
government in 2004, when a noise ordinance change was put to a citywide vote.
At the time, this stirred notable tensions between Hamtramck’s different faith
communities.
In 2020, the city council of Paterson,
New Jersey, also authorized the call to prayer between certain hours of the
day. In 2023, several mosques in Astoria, New York, received permits to
broadcast the five calls to prayer specifically for the duration of the holy
month of Ramadan.
Similarly, a small mosque in Occoquan,
Virginia, was invited by the local mayor to broadcast the adhan on two separate
occasions to mark the month of Ramadan.
Indeed, the public broadcasting of the
adhan is part of a larger narrative of American plurality. It is a natural
manifestation of Muslim American presence and communal expression.
The fact that the adhan can be heard in
the streets of Minneapolis, Hamtramck and Astoria – alongside church bells and
other sounds of worship – signifies that Muslim beliefs are not deemed less
worthy, nor must they be confined to a private space. It is a sign that Muslims
are at home and welcome here.
Source: theconversation.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://theconversation.com/islams-call-to-prayer-is-ringing-out-in-more-us-cities-affirming-a-long-and-growing-presence-of-muslims-in-america-205555
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Islamic Emirate Leader Forbids
Extra-Judicial Punishment: Spokesman Zabiullah
Islamic
Emirate spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid
-----
21-06-23
The Islamic Emirate leader has ordered
that no one should be punished without a court order, and that the authority to
punish is only with a Sharia court and no one has the right to arbitrarily
punish and detain someone, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate said.
Islamic Emirate spokesman Zabiullah
Mujahid told TOLOnews that the order also forbade filming videos at the scene
of a punishment.
“No one has the right to beat someone
without the court’s order, even if it is a small physical action, the court
should have ordered it. The court implements the orders based on Sharia. Others
do not have the right to beat someone with a stick or whip,” he said.
Over the past nearly two years since the
Islamic Emirate came to power, many countries and international organizations
have repeatedly voiced concerns about arbitrary detentions, harassment and the
violation of human rights in Afghanistan.
“The decree should improve the lives of
the people. A decree without being practically implemented is not helping the
people of Afghanistan. The positive result of the decree should be obvious
among the people of Afghanistan,” said Shakir Hayat, political analyst.
“The constitution should be enforced in
Afghanistan and there should be laws for punishment, so the people of
Afghanistan can live under its line,” said Nisar Ahmad Shirzai, a political
analyst.
The residents of Kabul meanwhile called
on the Islamic Emirate to pay serious attention to identify the criminals
before detaining them.
“If someone is mistakenly arrested, and
he/she is detained somewhere for 5 or 10 days and is being beaten and torture,
it is a crime,” said Mohammadullah, a resident of Kabul.
According to Mujahid, the violators of
the order of the Islamic Emirate’s leader will face punishment.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183871
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'I Live Freely In PM Modi's India': Ex Vice Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Reply To US Lawmaker Ilhan Omar
US Representative Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. FILE/AFP.
------
By Poulomi Ghosh
Jun 22, 2023
‘You are showing a wrong picture of
India under your hate agenda," ex vice chairman of the National Commission
for Minorities Atif Rasheed wrote to Ilhan Omar.
Ahad of PM Modi's address to a joint
session of the US Congress, two Muslim Congresswomen from the US Democratic
Party announced that they won't be attending PM Modi's speech as 'Modi's
government has repressed religious minorities'. You are showing a wrong picture
of India under your hate agenda, former vice chairman of the National
Commission for Minorities, Atif Rasheed said in a stern reply to Ilhan Omar's
tweet.
"I belong from religious Minority
Of India but I live freely with my religious freedom and religious identity in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's India, I have equal share in every resource
here, I have the freedom to speak whatever I want in India," Rasheed
wrote.
"I also have the freedom to write
what I want in India. I am sorry to say You are showing wrong picture of My
India under your hate agenda. Stop spitting poison out of your mouth,"
Atif Rasheed added.
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib announced
boycott of PM Modi's address ro the joint session of the US Congress as PM Modi
is on a three-day historic state visit to the US. "Prime Minister Modi’s
government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu
nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with
impunity. I will NOT be attending Modi’s speech. I WILL be holding a briefing
with human rights groups to discuss Modi’s record of repression and
violence," Ilhan Omar wrote.
"It’s shameful that Modi has been
given a platform at our nation’s capital—his long history of human rights
abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities,
and censoring journalists is unacceptable. I will be boycotting Modi’s joint
address to Congress," Rashida Tlaib wrote.
75 lawmakers write to Biden: ‘All with
dubious credentials’
A total of 75 Democratic senators and
members of the House of Representatives signed a letter sent to US President
Joe Biden asking Biden to raise human rights issues with PM Modi. "We do
not endorse any particular Indian leader or political party — that is the decision
of the people of India — but we do stand in support of the important principles
that should be a core part of American foreign policy," said the letter,
led by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Pramila Jayapal.
BJP's Amit Malviya questioned 'Congress
toolkit' behind the letter of the 75 Democrats and said all of them have
'dubious credentials'. "After Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the US, where
he was hosted by organisations closely aligned to the Jamaat and ISI, held
closed door meetings with associates of George Soros and was reportedly in
clandestine confabulations with foreign agencies, now a letter written by a
bunch of US legislators, with dubious credentials, is the new arsenal in
Congress’s toolkit. How long will they lean on foreign media and money to
undermine the will of the people?" Malviya wrote.
Source: hindustantimes.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/i-live-freely-in-pm-modis-india-muslim-leaders-reply-to-us-lawmaker-ilhan-omar-101687393387655.html
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Southeast Asia
Bangkok aims to become ‘luxury mecca’
with shopping mall boom
June 21, 2023
Bangkok, Jun 21 (EFE).- Despite the
acceleration of digital commerce and the moment of decline shopping centers are
seeing in countries such as the United States, Bangkok is committed to their
massive expansion with which the Thai capital hopes to establish itself as a
Southeast Asian “mecca of luxury.”
Bangkok plans to inaugurate at least
five megaprojects in 2023 to reshape the urban landscape and become a point of
reference among expatriates, locals and tourists in the shopping sector,
especially luxury.
Private investment in the commercial
construction service is expected to grow in the capital between 3 percent and 4
percent in 2023 and 2024, encouraged by growing demand and in line with the
“rebound in the tourism sector and consumption” after Covid-19, according to a
June 2022 report from Krungsri bank.
Likewise, the retail sector, represented
to a large extent by shopping centers, corresponds to about 16.7 percent of
Thai GDP and, only in 2021, moved a commercial flow of about $77 billion.
This was enough to put the retail sector
in second place in terms of its importance to the Thai economy, only after
manufacturing, which accounts for 27 percent of GDP.
Thus, more and more, the metropolis with
11 million inhabitants is consolidating itself as an important commercial “hub”
in Asia, where shopping guides abound with titles such as “Inside the 7 most
luxurious shopping centers in Bangkok” or “Luxury in Bangkok: Glamor and
exclusivity in Thailand.”
Opulent buildings erected parallel to
the train tracks line its streets and display huge and luminous signs with the
names of the most exclusive brands, such as Gucci, Prada, Armani, Channel,
Tiffany & Co., among others.
In a movement contrary to that observed
in some parts of the world, hit by the expansion of electronic commerce,
generalized inflation and less citizen consumer power, the expansion of the
sector in Thailand contrasts with the mass closure of shopping centers in
countries such as the United States and some places in Europe.
But in the luxury capital, the sky is
the limit.
Among the megaprojects planned for 2023
are the opening of the Bangkok Mall, in the final phase of construction and
which aims to become the largest shopping center in Southeast Asia, and the
Emsphere, a “state-of-the-art” facility in the heart of the metropolis.
Considered one of the main operators of
luxury shopping centers in Thailand, The Mall group is behind the construction
of three of these giant shopping complexes, including Emsphere, which will open
its doors in December and already accumulates investments for $435 million.
The group also announced an investment
of another $580 million destined to the renovation of two important shopping
centers in the extreme east and west of the city, an initiative with which it
seeks to add to Bangkok’s urban scene. EFE.
Source: laprensalatina.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.laprensalatina.com/bangkok-aims-to-become-luxury-mecca-with-shopping-mall-boom/
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Malaysia concludes Hajj flights as last
batch of pilgrims leaves for Saudi Arabia
June 21, 2023
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia completed on
Wednesday its special Hajj flight operations under the Makkah Route initiative,
which offered many pilgrims the first direct experience of Saudi hospitality.
This year, 31,600 Malaysians are
participating in the annual pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of
Islam.
The last Hajj flight departed from Kuala
Lumpur International Airport on Wednesday afternoon with 284 pilgrims on
board.
“I am very happy. Today is the last day
of the last chartered flight. We have 98 flights for this Hajj season. We hope
everything goes well,” Anuar bin Ahmad, deputy director of field operations for
Tabung Haji, Malaysia’s Hajj pilgrims fund board, told Arab News.
“The Makkah Route initiative has been
very helpful. The pilgrims do not need to wait too long, and it helps to have
all of them arrive in Makkah and Madinah early. Besides that, they all have
their luggage (transferred) directly to their hotels. We thank the Saudi
government for this initiative.”
Malaysia is among seven Muslim-majority
countries — including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkiye and
Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia opened the program.
Launched in 2019, Makkah Route allows
Hajj pilgrims to fulfill all visa, customs and health requirements at the
airport of origin, saving long hours of waiting. Upon arrival, pilgrims can
enter the Kingdom having already gone through visa and customs processes back
home.
Among them was young Malaysian doctor
Aazhimah binti Othman, who will be performing the pilgrimage with her husband,
parents and siblings.
“It started a few years ago when my
younger brother asked my father to register the whole family for Hajj. It was
really unexpected that we got to do Hajj together this year,” she said.
“The process for Hajj has been very
smooth, especially with the Makkah Route initiative. We didn’t have to wait
long.”
For lecturer Zulhan bin Othman, it will
be the first time he sees Islam’s holiest sites. His wife, Wan Wahida Binti Wan
Mohd Zodhi, a medical practitioner, was worried that he might feel lost among
millions of people who will be in Makkah to fulfill their religious duty.
But Othman said he was already reassured
by how smoothly all immigration work went at the airport.
“The Makkah Route initiative is really
wonderful. We can just go directly to our hotel as if we were citizens of Saudi
Arabia,” he said. “I thank the Saudi government for the initiative. It
definitely reduced my anxiety.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2325631/world
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Court sets July 31 for case management
of Loh Siew Hong’s appeal over her kids’ conversion to Islam
PUTRAJAYA, June 22 —Single mother Loh
Siew Hong’s appeal to nullify her three children’s unilateral conversion to
Islam is fixed for further case management on July 31.
Court of Appeal deputy registrar Mariam
Hasanah Othman set the case management date to update the status of the records
of appeal.
When contacted by Bernama, Loh’s lawyer
A. Srimurugan, who attended the case management proceeding, said he had informed
the deputy registrar that he was still waiting for the High Court grounds of
judgment.
Loh’s appeal came up for case management
before Mariam today.
Also present for the case management
were lawyer Danial Farhan Zainul Rijal representing Perlis Islamic Religious
and Malay Customs Council and Perlis assistant legal adviser Ainul Wardah
Shahidan for Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the Perlis state
government and the Perlis State Registrar of Converts.
The 36-year-old mother is appealing against
the High Court’s decision on May 11 to dismiss her judicial review application
to challenge the conversion of her three children to Islam by her Muslim
convert ex-husband without her consent.
Loh filed the application on March 25
last year, naming the Perlis State Registrar of Converts, Perlis Islamic
Religious and Malay Customs Council, Mohd Asri and the Perlis state government
as respondents.
The single mother is seeking a
declaration that her three children are Hindus and that her ex-husband, M. Nagahswaran,
did not have the legal capacity to allow the Perlis State Registrar of Converts
to register their children as converts without her consent.
The woman also sought a declaration that
her children, as children, do not have the legal capacity to convert to Islam
without her consent and also seeking a certiorari order to revoke the
Declaration of Conversion to Islam, dated July 7, 2020, issued by the Registrar
of Converts of Perlis in the name of her three children. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/06/22/court-sets-july-31-for-case-management-of-loh-siew-hongs-appeal-over-her-kids-conversion-to-islam/75745
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North America
Anti-Muslim record, rights abuses dim
Modi's charm offensive on US visit
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
embarking on a visit to the US, kicking it off in New York City with a
made-for-TV yoga session to coincide with the international Yoga Day on Wednesday,
and culminating with a rare address before a joint session of the US Congress
and a state dinner at the White House hosted by US President Joe Biden on
Thursday.
Other events set for Friday, include a
lunch with US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken.
But as the leader of the world's largest
democracy makes what has been referred to as "the most important visit of
an Indian prime minister to Washington DC", he is being hounded by
accusations of supercharging Hindu nationalist supremacy, inciting anti-Muslim
violence, stifling media and suppressing political opposition.
Modi has been to the United States five
times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but this is his first state visit.
The trip comes as concerns have grown
over what is seen as a deteriorating human rights situation under the rule of
his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rights groups and some political
observers are critical of the man, who is now being celebrated in the West as a
champion of the "pursuit of inner tranquility" and an advocate of
anti-violence and peace. Mode was the chief minister of Gujarat state, when the
2002 riots broke out in which over a thousand people were killed, most of them
Muslims.
Now as India's prime minister, he is
accused of turning a blind eye towards the growing religious bigotry and
espousing discriminatory laws.
In 2019, Modi has faced criticism over
legislation amending the country’s citizenship law that fast-tracks
naturalisation for Chirstian and Hindu refugees but excludes Muslims.
As Muslim took out rallies against the
act, Modi infamously said that Indians who are "creating violence"
can be "identified by their clothes" - a reference to the loose
shirts and trousers that many Muslims in South Asia wear.
New Delhi also faced questions over the
rise in violence against Muslims and other religious minorities by Hindu
nationalists, and the recent conviction of India’s top opposition leader, Rahul
Gandhi, for mocking Modi's surname.
According to the latest estimates, there
are as many as 213 million Muslims in India, representing about 15 percent of
the country's total population of more than 1.4 billion people.
Hindus, meanwhile, constitute about 80
percent of the population. That's equivalent to about 1.1 billion people of the
total population. India has the largest population in the world surpassing
China earlier this year.
As US President Joe Biden prepares to
host Modi on Thursday, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the US leader in a
letter not to shy away from confronting Modi on India's “worsening human rights
situation.”
"It’s important for Prime Minister
Modi to see that US leaders are scrutinising his government’s actions and that
worsening abuses are affecting US-India relations," said John Sifton, Asia
advocacy director at HRW.
On Tuesday, just as Modi arrived in New
York, HRW hosted a screening in Washington DC of a documentary critical of
Modi's role of in the Gujarat riots that was banned by the Indian government.
In 2005, Washington DC had revoked
Modi's visa to the US, citing concerns that he did not act to stop the communal
violence. An investigation approved by the Indian Supreme Court later absolved
Modi, but the stain of the dark moment has lingered.
Violence against Indian Muslims
Since Modi came to power in 2014,
tensions between Muslim minority and the majority Hindus have increased in many
parts of the country.
In February 2020, dozens of people were
killed and more than 200 were wounded following an unrest in largely
Muslim-populated areas in northeast Delhi. It was described as the worst
religious violence in the country in decades.
During the three days of violence in the
Indian capital, a mosque was set on fire by Hindu mobs, and several
Muslim-populated areas in the city were attacked, after Muslim Indians
protested against the country new citizenship law. The law has been described
by critics as divisive and a violation of country’s secular constitution.
Across the country, there have been
numerous incidents of attacks against Muslims for butchering or even
transporting cow, which is considered by the Hindu majority as sacred. In
recent days a video also became viral on social media after a Hindu man telling
off a veiled woman, that Muslims were banned from visiting the Ganges River, a
sacred place for Hindus.
In India-administered Kashmir, violence
against the region's Muslim population has also escalated in recent years.
In August 2019, the Indian government
also revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution that guaranteed special rights
to the Muslim-majority India-administered Kashmir, including the right to its
own constitution and autonomy to make laws on all matters except defence,
communications and foreign affairs.
Deadly violence by state forces soon
followed as protests erupted over New Delhi's ontroversial decision.
Elaine Pearson, head of HRW in Asia,
pointed out, Modi’s government has demonstrated "blatant bias" in
protecting members and allies of his party, BJP, who are accused of various
crimes, including "murder, assault, corruption, and sexual violence."
In a statement on social media, Ilhan
Omar, Biden's fellow Democrat and a member of the House of Representatives,
wrote on Wednesday that she will not attend Modi's expected speech before
Congress.
"Prime Minister Modi’s government
has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist
groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity."
The Indian government has continually
defended its human rights record and insisted that India’s democratic
principles remain robust.
'Defining relationship'
With US relations with China at its
lowest, Biden sees Washington's ties to India — one of the fastest growing
economies — as a defining relationship, likely putting the human rights
concerns at the back burner.
Asked about the human rights situation
in India, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters
that Biden is expected to bring up US concerns about democratic backsliding in
India, but he will not lecture Modi on the subject.
"Ultimately, the question of where
politics and the question of democratic institutions go in India is going to be
determined within India by Indians. It's not going to be determined by the
United States," Sullivan said.
New Delhi, as Biden sees it, will be
essential to addressing some of the most difficult global challenges in coming
years, including climate change, disruptions related to artificial
intelligence, and China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific.
“Now, we know that India and the United
States are big, complicated countries,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told
the US-India Business Council in Washington ahead of Modi's visit.
"We certainly have work to do to
advance transparency, to promote market access, to strengthen our democracies,
to unleash the full potential of our people. But the trajectory of this
partnership is unmistakable, and it is filled with promise.”
Modi, for his part, is trying to usher
in a more prosperous era for his nation, delivering on a promise he made when
he swept into office more than nine years ago.
The Indian prime minister hopes to
strengthen US-India economic and military ties. He also has his own worries
about Chinese military activities, along the Himalayan border and in the Indian
Ocean.
Writing for the Observer Research
Foundation, senior Indian journalist and analyst Manoj Joshi said that Modi's
visit to the US "could transform India’s geoeconomic and geopolitical
fortunes."
India has been locked in a long-running
standoff with China in the rugged mountainous area of Ladakh, where each side
has stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery,
tanks and fighter jets.
“As China has risen, India and the US
both need one another and the US needs more partners in the Indo-Pacific,”
Jitendra Nath Misra, a professor of diplomatic practice at the OP Jindal Global
University and a former Indian ambassador, told the Associated Press news
agency.
“They can’t do it alone anymore because
China is catching up with the US, and the Chinese economy is significantly
larger than India’s. So, there is a congruence of geopolitical interests here.”
Russia factor
At the international level, Modi’s
government is seen to be reluctant to stand with other governments on key human
rights issues, abstaining or refraining from condemning grave human rights
violations elsewhere.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin
ordered the Russian operation in Ukraine in 2022, records show that India has
boosted its economy by purchasing increasing quantities of cheap Russian oil.
Russian oil now accounts for almost 20 percent of its annual crude imports
compared to only 2 percent before the war in Ukraine.
The New Delhi-Moscow relationship dates
back decades, with Moscow offering key cooperation on defence, nuclear energy
and other issues.
The Biden White House has privately
pressed India to cut its reliance on Russian oil, but has largely avoided
publicly criticising Modi's government, seeks to solidify its relationship with
Delhi.
And there are plenty of signs that the relationship
already has taken a leap forward. Trade between the US and India in 2022
climbed to a record $191 billion. The Indian diaspora in the US stands at
nearly 5 million and has become an economic, cultural and political powerhouse.
Biden has also sought to reinvigorate
the Quad, an international partnership of the US, Australia, India and Japan.
And US defense sales to India have risen from near zero in 2008 to over $20
billion in 2020.
Still, the state visit comes with some
problematic aspects for Biden, who as a presidential candidate pledged that
human rights would be a driving force in his foreign policy.
But as the warm US welcome indicates, it
is likely that Modi will get away with only the slightest reprimand and the
maximum political reward.
Source: trtworld.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.trtworld.com/us-and-canada/anti-muslim-record-rights-abuses-dim-modis-charm-offensive-on-us-visit-13711420
--------
Ex-Army soldier gets 55-year sentence
for murder after anti-Muslim insults
21-06-23
An ex-Army soldier convicted of murder
for the 2019 road rage shooting of a man who came to the United States from
Afghanistan as a refugee was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years in prison.
Dustin Passarelli was convicted of
murder in May, nearly four years after the February 2019 killing of 32-year-old
Mustafa Ayoubi. His death grabbed the attention of the FBI and helped lay the
foundation for Indiana to pass its version of a bias crimes law.
Ayoubi's friends were waiting for him at
a townhome on the city's north-west side and planned to go play pool on Feb.
16, 2019, the night of the shooting. When he arrived, witnesses say they saw
him and Passarelli shouting inflammatory remarks at each other.
“Mohammad is a pedophile,” Passarelli
yelled multiple times from inside his car, a witness said. He also allegedly
shouted about Ayoubi, who arrived in the United States in 2001 as a refugee
from Afghanistan, and his friends about being foreigners.
Ayoubi walked to the driver’s side and
told Passarelli to get out of the car. Witnesses said Ayoubi made a fist around
the same time Passarelli shined the flashlight attached to his pistol at
Ayoubi, and fired rapidly. Ayoubi was hit twice by the shoulder and multiple
times in the back.
Passarelli was never charged with a hate
crime. His lawyers said it was self-defense. The Plainfield man told police
Ayoubi either threw something at his car or collided with it while they were
driving on the 465 freeway. He accused Ayoubi of breaking his window with a
punch, and reaching into the vehicle when he started shooting.
“Someone was entering in his vehicle
illegally, same as someone kicking at your (home) door or busting your window,”
Passarelli’s attorney, Benjamin Jaffe, said during Passarelli's jury trial in
May.
Jaffe pointed out during Wednesday's
sentencing hearing that Ayoubi was intoxicated. Passarelli said Ayoubi called
him a "dirty Jew," but the insult didn't bother him because he's not
Jewish, according to a police report.
Prosecutors argued Ayoubi’s car didn't
have collision marks, and his body didn’t have wounds from breaking glass. They
said Passarelli pursued Ayoubi from the interstate, then followed him through a
McDonald’s parking lot and into his friend's residential area because
Passarelli "was there to instigate and continue the confrontation."
Source: indystar.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2023/06/21/veteran-gets-55-year-sentence-for-veteran-gets-55-year-sentence-for-murder-after-anti-muslim-insults/70339208007/
--------
CAIR: American Muslims to Mark End of
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) with Communal Prayers, Celebrations
June 21, 2023
Muslim civil rights group offers
template for Muslim employees to request time off from work to celebrate the
holiday
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/21/23) – On
Wednesday, June 28, American Muslims plan to mark the beginning of the holiday
marking the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, called Hajj, with communal
prayers and celebrations at locations around the country. The prayers and the
holiday that follows Hajj are called Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), or “festival
of the sacrifice.”
The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today released an email template for Muslim employees to
request time off from work to celebrate the holiday and urged employers to
grant their requests.
SEE: When are Hajj and Eid al-Adha 2023?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/19/when-are-hajj-and-eid-al-adha-2023
Eid ul-Adha, commonly referred to as
just “Eid,” commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son
Ishmael at God’s command. The holiday is celebrated with prayers, small gifts
for children, distribution of meat to the needy, and social gatherings. During
this holiday, Muslims exchange the greeting “Eid Mubarak” or “blessed Eid.” In
pre-pandemic years, some two million Muslims, including thousands of American
Muslims, go on Hajj.
[NOTE: For actual pilgrims, the rites of
Hajj continue for some time after the Eid prayers. Eid al-Fitr, which comes at
the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan, is the other of the two “Eid”
holidays Muslims celebrate each year.]
WHEN: On Wednesday, June 28. The prayers
are held in the morning. Many communities also hold day-long Eid festivals for
families.
WHERE: The Eid prayers and festivals are
held either in local mosques or in public facilities designed to accommodate
large gatherings. Call local CAIR chapters or other Muslim organizations for
details about Eid celebrations.
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Each year at Eid
ul-Adha, American Muslim families attend prayers and celebrations. Many places
of prayer organize children’s activities. The prayers themselves are quite
visual, with worshipers arranged in neat rows and bowing in prayer in unison.
Participants exchange embraces at the conclusion of the prayers.
[NOTE: Because this is a religious
service, reporters and photographers of both sexes should dress modestly.
Photographers should arrive early to get into position for the best images.
Photographers are also advised not to step directly in front of worshipers and
to seek permission for close-ups.]
CAIR released the following template
language for Muslim employees to request time off from work to celebrate the
holiday.
Dear [Supervisor Name]
I hope you’re doing well. The Islamic
holiday Eid al-Adha (“feast of the sacrifice”) is approaching on Wednesday,
June 28. I am reaching out to request [insert dates] off.
Eid al-Adha is the Muslim festival
marking the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorating the
sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). It is an important religious observance
for Muslims and typical festivities include congregational prayer and
gatherings with family and friends. Ahead of celebrating this holiday, I will
be sure to work with you and the team on any tasks due that day. Please let me
know if you have any questions or concerns in making this reasonable
accommodation. I look forward to hearing back.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
HAJJ BACKGROUNDER:
In the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, God
says:
“Thus We settled Abraham at the site of
the House (the Ka’aba) (saying): ‘Do not associate anything with Me, and purify
My house for those who walk around it, and those who stand there (praying), and
those who bow down on their knees in worship. Proclaim the pilgrimage among
mankind: they will come to you on foot and on every lean (beast of burden); Let
them come from every deep ravine, to bear witness to the advantages they have,
and to mention God’s name on appointed days.” Chapter 22, Verses 26-28
Hajj is one of the “five pillars” of the
Islamic faith. (The other pillars include a declaration of faith, daily
prayers, offering regular charity, and fasting during the month of Ramadan.)
Pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical
and financial ability to undertake the journey.
When the main portion of the pilgrimage
is completed, Muslims worldwide gather for communal prayers on the first day of
Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), the second of the two major Muslim holidays.
The obligatory and optional activities
of Hajj include:
* Entrance into a state of self-control
called “ihram,” during which pilgrims are forbidden to harm living creatures,
even insects or plants, or raise the voice in anger. The state of ihram is
signified (for men) by the wearing of two pieces of unsewn white cloth. This
clothing signifies the equality of all before God. No specific clothing is
prescribed for female pilgrims.
* Circling (“Tawaf”) of the “Ka’aba,”
the stone building Muslims believe was originally built by Abraham and his son
Ishmael. The Ka’aba is viewed as the first sanctuary on earth dedicated to the
worship of the One God. It is a symbol of unity for Muslims because all
prayers, wherever they are performed, are oriented in the direction of the
Ka’aba.
* The “Sa’i,” or “hastening” between two
small hills near the Ka’aba, to commemorate Hagar’s search for water to offer
her son Ishmael.
* The “Day of Arafah.” Arafah is a
mountain and its surrounding empty plain near Mecca. On this day, the climax of
the Hajj season, pilgrims assemble for supplication to God.
* The stoning of three pillars
representing Satan’s temptation of Abraham. The stoning indicates the pilgrim’s
rejection of evil deeds.
* Cutting the hair to symbolize the
completion of Hajj.
* Sacrifice of an animal to help feed
the poor, and in remembrance of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son
Ishmael at God’s command. A portion of the meat is distributed to relatives and
to the needy.
CAIR urges community members to report
any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at
202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil
rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American
Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las
libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y
empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR’s Email List
https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters
Subscribe to CAIR’s Twitter Feed
http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR’s YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/cairtv
Follow CAIR on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cair_national/
Donate to CAIR
https://action.cair.com/a/donate
Do you like reading CAIR press releases
and taking part in our action alerts? You can help contribute to CAIR’s work of
defending civil rights and empowering American Muslims across the country by
making a one-time contribution or becoming a monthly donor. Supporters like you
make CAIR’s advocacy work possible and defeating Islamophobia an achievable
goal. Click here to donate to CAIR.
If you would like to join CAIR’s media
list, please sign up here: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters — For more
information, email: info@cair.com, CC ihooper@cair.com
END
Source: cair.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-american-muslims-to-mark-end-of-pilgrimage-to-mecca-hajj-with-communal-prayers-celebrations-3/
--------
Mideast
Muslim Mayor Who Apologised For Raising
Pride Flag Steps Down
By Patricia Devlin
June 21, 2023
A Muslim mayor who apologised for
attending a Pride event as it contradicted his religious beliefs, has stood
down.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Keighley
councillor Mohammed Nazam said he had also resigned from the Conservative party
with “immediate effect.”
Writing on Facebook, Nazam said: “A few
days ago I attended the flag raising for the LGBTQ community.
“This did not conform to my religious
beliefs and hence I offered an apology to my constituents. By my apology, I did
not mean any harm to any member of my constituency.
“My religion teaches respect and
tolerance for all and the law of the land.”
Nazam, who had been facing an internal
disciplinary investigation by the Tory party until his resignation, said Muslim
representatives “are in the same position” surrounding LGBTQ events.
He added: “Here in the UK we are proud
to have our freedom of expression. People should have the freedom to express
their beliefs and live their lives as they wish to.
“This should apply to all communities
and religious beliefs.”
Thanking those who offered support, the
councillor described the controversy as a “truly humbling experience” from
which he had learnt a “great deal”.
He said he will continue his role as an
independent representative on Keighley Town Council, which said it would meet
to elect a new mayor “in due course.”
‘Personally Repented’
Nazam faced a social media backlash
after describing his part in the Yorkshire town’s Pride flag-raising ceremony
as “a lapse of judgement”.
The Tory councillor was pictured holding
the emblem with other representatives including fellow Conservative and MP for
the area Robbie Moore last week.
In a statement posted to the Keighley
Pakistani’s Facebook group, Nazam said he had not carried out “due diligence”
for duties that he was expected to carry out as mayor—including the Pride
flag-raising ceremony—and “wholeheartedly” apologised for “any harm caused.”
He said he had since “personally
repented for this error,” adding: “Looking back, I realise that I should have
respectfully declined the request at the time.”
His comments were condemned by LGBT
activists, Keighley representatives and Tory party colleague Moore, who called
for the mayor to apologise and stand down.
In a statement released on Sunday, Moore
said: “I’ve seen comments made by Keighley’s Town Mayor, Cllr Mohammed Nazam,
stating that he feels the need to apologise for his part in the flag raising
ceremony and the need for him to ‘personally repent for his error’ because of
religious beliefs.
“I disagree and reject the mayor’s
comments.”
Moore added: “The mayor needs to
apologise and consider his position. An employment disciplinary process will
also now follow.”
Epoch Times Photo
Undated handout photo issued by UK
Parliament of MP Robbie Moore responding after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gives
a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London, following his attendance of
the G-20 Summit in Indonesia. (PA Media)
LGBT Rights
Keighley Town Council confirmed Tuesday
it had received Nazam’s resignation.
“The town council has a long record of
supporting and celebrating all sections of the amazingly diverse Keighley
community,” a spokesperson said.
“The Pride flag will continue to fly
proudly in the Town Hall Square for the remainder of Pride Month as planned.”
The council said it will continue “to do
whatever it can to support similar groups and the wider LGBTQ community.”
After announcing his resignation, fellow
Muslims rushed to congratulate Nazam on social media.
One wrote: “Respect for acknowledging
your mistake and now sticking to the teachings of our deen.”
Another said: “Well done to you brother
for doing the right thing. May Allah reward you and forgive the lapse of error.
This proves that one cannot be part of British politics unless one is willing
to compromise on beliefs.”
However, one Keighley constituent said:
“Problem is LGBTQ+ rights are human rights and what you did was offend many
people.
“Would you have done the same statement
I’d if was for a Jewish event or for an event for disabled people?’
Source: theepochtimes.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.theepochtimes.com/muslim-mayor-who-apologised-for-raising-pride-flag-steps-down_5346471.html
--------
The Islamic Republic’s grand-strategic
dilemma following the deal with Saudi Arabia
22 June 2023
Amin Naeni and Ali Fathollah-Nejad
explore the tensions inherent in Iran's relationships with Saudi Arabia and
China.
he March 2023 agreement between Iran and
Saudi Arabia, brokered by China, has been generally seen as a testament to
shifting regional and global dynamics. It is mainly seen as a major step toward
putting an end to regional instability as well as a demonstration of Beijing’s
rising international clout. On Iran’s part, the Islamic Republic took advantage
of this opportunity to deflect the international community’s attention from the
suppression of the Iranian revolutionary uprising starting in mid-September 2022
and the resulting threat of rising international isolation, pushing Tehran to
finally agree to détente with Saudi Arabia. Also, Iranian authorities sought to
embrace the deal as proof of the decline of U.S. power in the Middle East and
the definitive advent of a post-American world order. However, much neglected
in the debate, this agreement creates a key dilemma in the Islamic Republic’s
foreign policy, an unstable equilibrium between its two primary grand
strategies: the regional “axis of resistance” and its global "look to the
East" policies.
Both the Raisi administration and
state-owned media close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have expressed support
for the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the primary message
of Tehran’s propaganda is to portray the agreement as a blow to the Islamic
Republic’s opponents, be it Israel or the United States. In this vein, Iranian
dailies have pushed forward the narrative that normalization of ties with
Riyadh would bring about “a new order in West Asia” and “a new era in regional
developments”. Moreover, General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, former commander of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and advisor to Khamenei, has described
the agreement as “a political earthquake that signals the end of American
hegemony in the region”, saying that Tehran’s “look to the neighbours and the
East will increase Iran’s geopolitical weight”.
The curious silence of major Iranian
decision-makers
However, neither of the major
decision-makers in Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself nor the IRGC, gave
special importance to the agreement, let alone hailing it as a historic
turning-point as many outside observers did. It was only in late May, upon the
new Sultan of Oman’s visit to Tehran and him hailing the Iranian–Saudi deal,
that Khamenei broke his silence by crediting it to the Ebrahim Raisi
administration’s “good policy to expand ties with neighbours and regional
countries”. Such a general comment that merely echoed the administration’s
stated objectives can be read as rather downplaying if not degrading the
significance of the agreement with Saudi Arabia. In contrast, around ten days
after the announcement of the deal with Riyadh, Khamenei in his Iranian New
Year address emphasized his country's determination to support the “axis of
resistance”, which in fact has been a major source of contention between Tehran
and Riyadh over the last two decades.
Indeed, the Islamic Republic’s identity
and survival are interwoven with the Tehran-led “axis”, making it unlikely that
the Iranian leadership will sacrifice its regional influence for the sake of
normalizing ties with Riyadh. A year earlier, in March 2022, Khamenei had
stressed that Iran’s presence in the Middle East “is our strategic depth; this
itself is a means of strengthening the Nezâm [i.e. the system of the Islamic
Republic], it is a means of the power of the Nezâm. How can we lose this when
we can have and should have something like this?” Moreover, while the IRGC has
frequently threatened Saudi Arabia in recent years, its silence over the
agreement has apparently raised concerns in Riyadh about Iran’s actual
commitment to the deal.
Also, the current nuclear impasse could
end up escalating. In such a scenario, according to a major architect of Iran’s
nuclear escalation policy in an April interview with Der Spiegel, a war would
not be limited to the U.S. and Iran but would also engulf many regional states
– in other words, potentially Saudi Arabia. Such a regional conflagration would
result from the failure to revive the JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Iran, or the Iran nuclear deal) and the snapback of UN sanctions triggered by
the EU state signatories to the JCPOA, followed by Tehran making good on its
threat to withdraw not only from the deal but also from the NPT (Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty). This scenario may then prompt U.S. and/or Israeli
military action to block Tehran from acquiring the nuclear bomb, with Iran
resorting to targeting the interests of those powers and their perceived
partners in West Asia. Differently put, the Iranian–Saudi deal would be de
facto sacrificed for an Iranian policy of threating regional escalation.
China seeking regional stability: An
uncertain gamble
The role of China has added an important
layer of complexity to the situation. The Iranian regime has attempted to build
a coalition with Moscow and Beijing, claiming that this triangle will shape the
next world order. Indeed, Tehran perceives its “look to the East” policy as key
not only for unlocking the political isolation of the Islamic Republic, but
also empowering it to play a global role in the future. In this vein, China has
helped Iran maintain its foreign revenue through oil purchases despite existing
extra-territorial U.S. sanctions, amid the two countries aim to boost their
relations with a 25-year partnership accord signed in March 2021. The Islamic
Republic, therefore, increasingly looks to China in both the political and
economic spheres.
On China’s part, China is interested in
elevating its international standing through its involvement in the Middle
East. The Communist Party has increasingly invested in Saudi Arabia (thereby
also helping the latter realize its Vision 2030), which highlights the
importance of peace and stability between Riyadh and Tehran for Beijing.
However, Beijing’s goal to expand its influence and economic ties in a
stabilized region could collide with Tehran's support for militia groups that
would sustain regional tensions. Therefore, Chinese leaders should monitor
Iran’s post-Saudi deal behaviour, while they expect to see commitment from both
sides
The rise of an unstable equilibrium in
Iran’s foreign policy
In this vein, Nour News, the news agency
associated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has stressed that the
agreement with Saudis “will not change principal strategies” of Iran. This
would mean that Riyadh will have to count on China’s influence in Tehran to
ensure the deal’s implementation on the ground.
On the one hand, if Iran expands its
support for armed non-state actors in the Middle East, it risks creating
tensions with China and potentially jeopardizing its political and economic
ties with Beijing. On the other hand, if the Islamic Republic weakens its “axis
of resistance” strategy, it may lose its influence and “strategic depth” in the
region and become more vulnerable to external pressures.
This unstable equilibrium now presents a
serious challenge for the Iranian leadership. Pursuing regional ambitions and
the resulting leverage (especially to be employed against the West) while
expanding ties to non-Western great-powers, particularly China, requires a
delicate balancing act that could have significant implications. In an
interview published just a week after the deal, Ali Bagheri, reiterated the
foreign policy of the Islamic Republic during the “transition period of the
global order”, emphasizing two key pillars: establishing long-term agreements
with countries such as China and Russia, as well as strengthening the “axis of
resistance” in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the recent agreement with Saudi
Arabia, brokered by China, poses challenges to these two pillars, highlighting
the emergence of an unstable equilibrium in Iran’s foreign policy. Now, it
remains to be seen how Iranian authorities can strike a balance when dealing
with this grand-strategic dilemma.
Source: globalpolicyjournal.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/22/06/2023/islamic-republics-grand-strategic-dilemma-following-deal-saudi-arabia
--------
Liberation of Palestinian Territories a
Muslim Duty
June 21, 2023
Leader of the Islamic Revolution
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Palestinian land belongs to all Muslims
so it is upon them to work for its liberation.
“The Islamic Republic’s support for
Palestine is based on Islamic teachings and is not a tactical or diplomatic
move,” he said in a meeting with the leader of the Hamas resistance movement,
Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday in Tehran, Leader.ir reported.
He also called for increased unity and
solidarity among resistance groups, stressing that their success is foiling
enemy plots to cause division among them.
Ayatollah Khamenei said Gaza is the
center of resistance, but the point which will eventually inflict a heavy defeat
on the enemy would be the West Bank.
Haniyeh appreciated Iran’s continual
support of the Palestinian cause and presented a report of the latest
developments in occupied lands, especially the West Bank.
The Palestinian resistance leader had
met President Ebrahim Raisi a day earlier.
During the meeting, he applauded
solidarity and unity among all Palestinians as a great achievement of the
resistance front.
“Palestinian resistance forces have
mobilized all their potential in their recent battle with the Israeli regime
and there are continued meetings and coordination between all resistance
groups,” Haniyeh said.
He added that the resistance front is
now becoming stronger not only in the besieged Gaza Strip, but also in the West
Bank and other lands occupied since 1948, and even among supporters of
Palestine outside Palestinian territories.
Haniyeh thanked Iran for its continued
support for the liberation of Beit-ul-Moqaddas.
Raisi hailed the recent victories made
by Palestinian resistance groups in the occupied territories, saying the front
has the upper hand in the fight against the Israeli regime today.
"The resistance front is changing
the balance of power not only in the occupied lands, but also across the entire
region and even in the world to its favor and against the domination front,” he
said.
He said the resistance front is now more
powerful than ever while its enemies are their weakest state, adding that the
victories of the Palestinian resistance challenge the Israel’s claim about its
deterrence power.
Today, even those who once supported
negotiations with the occupying regime have come to the conclusion that it is
useless and that resistance is the only way to deal with the regime, according
to Raisi.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran and
the Palestinian resistance front always believed that the Zionists and their
supporters never remain committed to any agreement, a fact that has been become
known to the entire world," he said.
The president later stressed that any
attempt to normalize relations with the Israeli regime is a "betrayal of
the Palestinian cause."
“Those who are seeking to normalize ties
between the Israelis and some regional countries should know that this will not
guarantee the security of the Israeli regime,” he said.
Raisi had earlier met the leader of the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad Ziyad al-Nakhalah on Monday in Tehran, where he
reassured that final victory is at hand and is for the people of Palestine.
He also said Israel’s normalization with
certain Arab and Muslim countries is will not produce a result since the first
and strongest opponents of this process are the very people of those states.
During the meeting, Nakhalah underlined
Israel’s decline evidenced by its compulsion to reach an agreement with
resistance forces in the latest round of conflicts.
Source: financialtribune.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://financialtribune.com/articles/national/118739/liberation-of-palestinian-territories-a-muslim-duty
-------
Islamist hate cleric's talk cancelled
after GB News investigation
21/06/2023
A Islamist hate cleric’s talk has been
cancelled after a GB News investigation.
Enayet Ullah Abbasi was due to speak at
a venue in London this evening.
But after the council were told about
his comments which included him saying those who critcised the Prophet Muhammad
should have their head “chopped off” and praising of 9/11 terrorists, the event
was scrapped.
GB News spoke to the venue in East London
who confirmed talks with organisers, police and Newham Council resulted in the
conference being pulled.
Yesterday he delivered a speech in
Birmingham after arriving in the UK last week.
And GB News understands Abbasi spoke in
Nottingham as part of a country-wide tour.
The Home Office was blasted for allowing
the Bangladeshi hate cleric into the country.
GB News revealed he had previously said:
“If anybody dares to criticise our Prophet (Mohammed) that person should be
declared as a disbeliever and hence his/her head should be chopped off.
The hate cleric also slammed the late
Queen Elizabeth II and called Charles Darwin the “father of weed addicts”
having discredited his evolution theory.
And in a sick rant Abassi praised Osama
Bin Laden, the orchestrator of the September 11 attacks in America, and founder
of the Taliban, Mullah Omar.
He said: “You will never have the merit
to carry Laden and Omar’s shoes even after 50 years of pursuit.”
Abbasi went on to call those who flew
planes into the World Trade Center in New York in 2001, “brave lions”.
GB News has seen correspondence from a
London Borough of Newham councillor who wrote to a concerned citizen: “The
event has now been cancelled, please could you let others know and thank you
bringing this to our attention once again.”
A British Bangladeshi who raised
concerns with GB News about the hate cleric said: “It is good to know that the
Newham council has cancelled tomorrow’s event as there is possible threats to
British society.”
On condition of anonymity due to fears
of attacks for speaking out, they added: “Abbassi is a dangerous figure who
should never have been allowed to come to Britain.
"No hate preachers should be
allowed to come to Britain who might use extremist religious views to
radicalise, encourage or influence any nation or communities.”
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“Extremism has no place in our society.
"We work closely with law
enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups
and individuals who sow division and hatred.”
Source: gbnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.gbnews.com/news/islamist-hate-cleric-cancelled-gb-news-enayet-ullah-abbasi
--------
South Asia
Forcefully Displacing, Relocating Ethnic
Groups Should be Stopped in Afghanistan: CSTO
June 21, 2023
The foreign ministers of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) demanded that the forced displacement and
relocation of ethnic and religious groups in Afghanistan should be stopped.
The foreign ministers of CSTO in a joint
statement on Tuesday emphasized they respect the fundamental rights of all
ethnic groups in Afghanistan.
The statement was released by the
foreign ministers of Russia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and
Armenia.
After the return of the Taliban to
power, reports emerged that forced displacement of Tajiks, Hazaras, Turkmen and
Uzbeks took place in different parts of Afghanistan.
In the recent past, several families
from Pakistan’s tribal areas were transferred to northern Takhar province
according to sources.
Some sources said that these migrants
are Pakistani nationals, while others believe they are displaced Afghans who
have been affected by prolonged years of war and conflict.
Nearly a week ago, Taliban’s spokesperson
Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that refugees from Pakistan’s North Waziristan
will be relocated to some parts of Afghanistan.
In the recent past, reports emerged that
the Pakistani government reached an agreement with the Afghan Taliban to transfer
Pakistani Taliban members to northern Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, anti-Taliban fronts have
warned that the relocating members of TTP in northern Afghanistan will lead the
country to deeper internal and external crises, even to the partition of the
country.
Afghanistan shares a border with certain
members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in its northern borders.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/forcefully-displacing-relocating-ethnic-groups-should-be-stopped-in-afghanistan-csto/
--------
“I Had Sleepless Nights Whenever A Death
of A Muslim Covid Patient Occurred” –Sri Lankan FM
22 June 2023
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, in an
interview with Daily Mirror, said that he had sleepless nights whenever a death
of a Muslim Covid patient occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
in Sri Lanka.
The Minister said the cremation of
bodies of Muslim COVID-19 victims had a huge impact on Sri Lanka’s relations
with the West Asian countries. He said, as a Muslim Minister who served at the
time, he felt the worst in his life.
He said the Cabinet also opined that the
burials should be allowed since it was in accordance with the guidelines set
out by the World Health Organizations, but the so-called experts’ group did not
allow the decision to be taken. (Kelum Bandara)
Source: dailymirror.lk
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/I-had-sleepless-nights-whenever-a-death-of-a-Muslim-Covid-patient-occurred-Ali-Sabry/108-261595
--------
Afghan Officials Flog a Man Accused of
Having Extramarital Relationship
June 22, 2023
Taliban’s supreme court on Thursday
announced that a man accused of having extramarital relationship was publicly
flogged in eastern Paktika province.
The whipping took place in Mata Khan
district of eastern Paktika province on June 22, according to official sources.
The accused criminal confused to his crime at the provincial court proceedings,
the statement said.
The statement further added that some
high-ranking Taliban officials including Chief Justice of Paktika province and
a considerable number of people participated the flogging.
Previously, the high court to Faryab
province had announced that four men and two women had been sentenced to public
lashing for having illicit relationship and drinking alcohol.
Meanwhile, Taliban’s Supreme Leader
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada on Tuesday in new decree asked the Islamic Emirate
members that no single individual should be punished without the courts’
order.
According to the new decree, only
official courts have the authority to determine the sentence of the criminals
and punish them accordingly.
Such public punishments were common
during the Taliban’s previous period in power from 1996 to 2001. Since the
militant group regained power in August 2021, they meted out such public
punishments including, stoning, flogging and public execution in different
parts of Afghanistan.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-officials-flog-a-man-accused-of-having-extramarital-relationship/
--------
Afghanistan Discussed in UNSC Meeting
21-06-23
The UN special envoy for Afghanistan,
Roza Otunbayeva, said that the “April 5 restrictions against the Afghan women
working for the United Nations place a question mark over our activities across
the country. We have been given no explanation by the de facto authorities for
this ban and assurances that it will be lifted.”
Speaking at UN Security Council’s
Meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, Otunbayeva said that the UN does not
want to put the lives of its female staff at risk and therefore asked them to
not report to the office and also asked the male staff to stay home to respect
nondiscrimination.
Otunbayeva said that according to the
initial media reports, cultivation of opium has significant decreased and at
the same time the opium economy has helped sustain parts of the rural economy
in Afghanistan, and she urged donors to consider “allocating funding to
alternative livelihood programs that address the specific needs of farmers”
affected by the ban on poppy cultivation.
Speaking at the same meeting, Lana
Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to the United
Nations, said:
“We must continue to insist on the
inclusion of Afghan women and girls in Afghan society and this starts with
education. We must see progress on the provision of education at all levels and
up to the internationally expected standards and benchmarks. This is
non-negotiable.”
She also expressed concerns about the
requiring of a hand-over of educational programs, saying that this will result
in subsequent donor funding withdrawal. This will be a "tragedy" not
only for women and girls but the entire country, she said.
“We must safeguard women and girls’
access to the internet across the country as it is the only space where they
currently move freely and today it is providing life-changing support to the
education of girls in the country,” Nusseibeh said.
Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of
the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, called for the removal of
travel bans on the Islamic Emirate’s members.
“To promote dialogue and engagement,
it's necessary for the Security Council Sanctions Committee to make a package
of exemption arrangements for the international travel of the relevant personal
of the Afghan interim government," he said.
The US deputy ambassador to the UN
meanwhile said that the US will also carefully “watch the Taliban’s action on
the commitments they have stated they will uphold.”
Ambassador Robert Wood said that despite
obstacles and competing global priorities, “we cannot turn our backs on the
Afghan people's growing humanitarian needs.”
“As the world’s largest humanitarian
donor,” Wood said, the “United States will continue to do its part to support
the people of Afghanistan.”
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183877
--------
Open Competition Launched in 34
Provinces to Create Jobs for Youth
21-06-23
An organization held a nationwide
competition initiative in a bid to create job opportunities for youth.
The initiative is named “Kar
Afrini." The youth from 34 provinces of Afghanistan will present their
economic proposals and only three of them will be confirmed.
“The Kar Afrini camp is launched to help
grow the economy and reduce poverty in Afghanistan,” said Abdul Qadir Beheshti.
The youths who participated in this
initiative said that such programs will increase their access to work.
“The youth are being encouraged and they
see that there are people who understand their ideas and plans. Some others see
a competition and become motived,” said Mohammad Mustafa, a participant.
The legal advisor for the Afghanistan
Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), Abdul Salam Kohi, urged the Islamic
Emirate to cooperate with the private sector.
“Governments are obliged to give time to
the plans and proposals of the private sector and educational organizations,”
he said.
The initiative includes three phases. 62
groups participated in the first phase of the competition. 26 groups have been
selected, which includes 16 women and 10 men.
Source: tolonews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-183872
--------
Afghanistan Again Becomes Breeding
Ground For Terrorism: Vladimir Voronkov
June 22, 2023
According to the UN under Secretary General
Vladimir Voronkov, Afghanistan has again become a haven for terrorists.
On Wednesday, Voronkov was addressing a
conference on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization counter-terrorism
convention organized by Russian and Chinese missions.
“This event is very timely, especially
in light of the conclusions made as part of the 14th report from the group on
analytical support and monitoring of sanctions regarding the Taliban,” Voronkov
said, Tass reported.
“The document is rather profound and
informative;’ effectively shows that Afghanistan is once again slowly becoming
one of the most important, or maybe even the most crucial epicentre of the
spread of terrorism. Despite all promises, all loud statements, the facts prove
otherwise,” he added.
He also emphasized that the current
regime of Kabul is “unable or unwilling to reduce the terrorist threat.”
A day before, the CSTO council of
foreign ministers convened in Belarus and discussed the Ukraine conflict and
Afghanistan situation.
The organization’s member states
reiterated their concerns over Afghanistan’s extremist groups.
Earlier, a Russian FM spokesperson
expressed concern over security threats emanating from Afghanistan with the
support of externals. While Russian Foreign minister also said that Washington
seeks to foment regional instability by utilizing “acting illegal armed groups”
in Afghanistan.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/afghanistan-again-becomes-breeding-ground-for-terrorism-vladimir-voronkov/
--------
Afghan Migrants Are Welcome to Return to
their Country, Says Refugee Minister
June 22, 2023
Taliban’s Acting Minister of Refugees
and Repatriation, Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani called on Afghan migrants to
voluntarily return to their home country since overall security has improved
throughout the country, according to reports.
On the occasion of the “World Refugee
Day” marked on June 20, Minister Haqqani said prolonged years of war, and
foreign invasions caused Afghan refugees to migrate to the neighboring
countries mainly to Iran and Pakistan seeking safety and work.
Additionally, Haqqai asked the host
countries to treat Afghan refugees with decency and avoid depriving them from
their basic natural rights, and comply with the international principles and
laws of the Geneva Convention.
According to the ministry, roughly two
million Afghan refugees have returned to the country, and more than two million
internally displaced people have been sent back to their regions.
This comes as Afghan refugees are
currently faced with major challenges in Pakistan and Iran. The host countries
continuously incarcerate and forcefully deport Afghan migrants for failing to
provide legal stay permits or visas.
Since the Taliban seized power in August
2021, millions of Afghans migrated to Iran and Pakistan fearing death threats
and persecution by the de fact authorities of Afghanistan. These migrants are
now plagued with serious issues including harassment, detention and deportation
by the host countries.
Following the recent arbitrary detention
and harassment of Afghan migrants by Pakistani police, the Afghan refugees’
crisis has turned to a hot discussion topic among human rights organizations,
UNHCR and advocacy groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively.
Source: khaama.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-migrants-are-welcome-to-return-to-their-country-says-refugee-minister/
--------
Drug Production in Afghanistan Poses Threats
to the World: Iran Envoy
June 22, 2023
Iran’s permanent representative to the
United Nations Saeed Iravani on Wednesday at the Security Council Meeting
expressed concerns over Daesh and Al Qaeda and the expansion of drug production
in Afghanistan.
Sayeed Iravani said the neighboring
states and regional countries feel seriously threatened from the growing
terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Iran’s envoy to the UN said that drug
trafficking has not been fully eradicated from Afghanistan, and the illegal business
still continues in this country. Mr. Iravani further expressed concerns over
the expansion of testing labs of processed drugs such as methamphetamine in
Afghanistan, according to Sharq daily.
Additionally, Iran’s envoy criticized
Taliban’s repressive police towards women and the group’s reluctance to form an
all-inclusive government in which different ethnic groups, political factions,
women and youth could see them represented.
“Afghan authorities deliberately are
trying to destroy linguistic, cultural and historical ties of Afghans with
Persian language and impose the dominant Pashtun culture on other ethnic
groups” quoting Iravani, Sharq daily reported.
Iravani also accused the Taliban group
for changing the demographic structure of the provinces with predominantly
Hazara and Tajik populations.
Therefore, Iravani asked the
international community to have “constructive interaction” with the Taliban –
adding further isolating the de facto regime of Taliban is not in the interest
of the people of Afghanistan.
Iran’s envoy at the United Nations
expressed optimism about Afghanistan’s economy and called that “freezing assets
and imposing unilateral sanctions” have led to poverty and humanitarian crisis
in the country.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following
URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/drug-production-in-afghanistan-poses-threats-to-the-world-iran-envoy/
--------
UNHCR Pakistan Calls on Police to Stop
Detaining Afghan Refugees
June 21, 2023
Qaisar Afridi, the spokesperson of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in conversation with
Radio Mashal confirmed that Pakistani officials will resolve the Afghan
immigrants’ issue in the near future.
Mr. Afridi further added that Pakistani authorities have shown
commitment to resolving the issue.
Additionally, on the occasion of World
Refugee Day, some human rights organizations demanded solutions to the
challenges of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
On June 20, Amnesty International asked
the Pakistani government to end the arbitrary detention and harassment of
Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan.
This comes as Afghan refugees have
recently complained about harassment by Pakistani police to Amnesty
International.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has announced that nearly
1.5 million Afghan refugees have returned to the country since the group seized
power in August 2021.
Hina Rabbani Khar, the Minister of State
for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said that besides economic challenges, the
Pakistani government has kept its borders open to Afghan migrants and other
refugees.
Rabbani said Pakistan wants a voluntary
return of Afghan refugees to their country where they could live in peace and
harmony.
Since the return of the Taliban to power
in 2021, the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan has unprecedentedly
increased mainly due to security and economic reasons.
Source: khaama.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.khaama.com/unhcr-pakistan-calls-on-police-to-stop-detaining-afghan-refugees/
--------
India
Pune police hold meeting with members of
Muslim community ahead of Bakrid
ByNadeem Inamdar
Jun 21, 2023
Cleric Maulana Shabih Ahasan Kazmi
demanded police action against private groups with vested interests in seizing
sacrificial animals
A joint meeting between members of the
Muslim community and police under the aegis of the National Conference For
Minorities was held at Alpabachat Bhavan on Wednesday where community members
voiced their grievances about Eid Ul Adha (Bakrid) scheduled to be held on June
28.
The meeting was attended by joint CP
(law and order) Sandeep Karnik, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Vikrant
Deshmukh, social activist Rahul Dambale, Ex-MLC Mohan Joshi, city president of
Congress Arvind Shinde, ex-Corporator Rafiq Shaikh, Siddharth Dhende Maulana
Nizamuddin of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Qari Idris of Jamiat Ulema E
Hind etc.
Cleric Maulana Shabih Ahasan Kazmi
demanded police action against private groups with vested interests in seizing
sacrificial animals.
“Police are the constitutional authority
to seize sacrificial animals and private groups must not be allowed to carry
out the seizing task. Also, the community will offer all its support to the
police for a peaceful conduct of the festival aimed at building strong communal
harmony,” he said.
Dambale said, “Self-styled groups must
not take the law into their hands and seize sacrificial animals in the name of
protection. It is the police who are the final authority to take any action
regarding illegality if any is found. We believe in holding small group
meetings till the festival so that the Eid is celebrated with traditional
fervour amidst peace without any untoward incident,” he said.
Karnik said, “Police would extend all
possible assistance to the community to peaceful conduct of the festival.”
Source: hindustantimes.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/pune-news/pune-police-hold-meeting-with-members-of-muslim-community-ahead-of-bakrid-101687365946176.html
--------
BJP Minority Morcha to launch reach out
drive among Muslims on UCC soon
Jun 21, 2023
BJP Minority Morcha had drawn up plans
to reach out to the opinion makers and intellectuals in the Muslim community to
discuss the benefits of the Uniform Civil Code, especially for the women in the
community. UCC has been a core agenda of the ruling party and some BJP ruled
states have promised to explore ways of implementing it.
Jamal Siddiqui, head of the BJP Minority
Morcha, is of the firm view that UCC will see the light of day soon. “Just as
Article 370 was abrogated without much opposition, UCC too will be implemented.
Article 370 had lost most of its relevance years before it was annulled,” he
said, adding that many Muslim personal law provisions which were archaic have
already been done away with.
Triple Talaq has been banned by law and
there is a raging debate on wearing a hijab in certain institutions.
Uniform Civil Code will specially
benefit women from the minority community as it removes the patriarchal biases
in personal laws regarding adoption, inheritance and marriage rights.
“We intend to inform the elite Muslims
and intellectuals that UCC will make adoption easy for childless couples. The
inheritance rights will also include women and will be on the basis of secular
laws. Thirdly, UCC will lead to women’s empowerment as it will stop the
provision where a man can have four wives. Even as per Sharia, a man is
required to treat all his wives equally and not discriminate. Women will get
property rights,” BJP Minority Morcha spokesperson and lawyer Yasser Jilani
told ET ..
On June 14, the 22nd Law Commission
invited religious groups and the public to share their views on the Uniform
Civil Code. Many believe that the BJP-led Modi government will try to implement
UCC throughout the country before the 2024 general elections to polarize the
electorate. Article 44 of the Indian Constitution states that the country
should have a UCC. Since it is a part of Directive Principles of State Policy
at present, UCC is not enforceable.
BJP had announced during the last
Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Karnataka that it will implement
UCC. Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind and All India Muslim Personal Law Board have opposed
UCC and said it cannot be implemented in a diverse country like India.
Regressive remarks against women by
Muslim clerics have fanned the demand for UCC. The hijab controversy where some
clerics were of the view that girls from the minority community should not be
sent to educational institutions that ban it may affect their education.
After triple talaq was made illegal, BJP
feels UCC will further help it to get support of women from the minority
community.
The BJP minority morcha is currently
engaged in a drive termed “Modi Mitra” to win over professionals like doctors,
engineers, lawyers as well as intellectuals and influential people within the
Muslim community. They are educated about the welfare schemes of the NDA
government and members insist that no discrimination in distribution of these
measures is an affirmation that the Modi government stands for “sabka saath,
sabka vikas, sabka vishwas”.
The reach out to the minority community
on UCC is next on its agenda.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-minority-morcha-to-launch-reach-out-drive-among-muslims-on-ucc-soon/articleshow/101170304.cms
--------
"BJP seeks to reduce Muslim votes
in Assam through delimitation," says AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal; Congress
miffed as well
JUN 21 2023
The Election Commission's draft proposal
for delimitation exercise in Assam drew strong reactions from Opposition
parties in the state with AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal on Wednesday stating that
the ruling BJP seeks to reduce share of Muslim votes in ...
"This is a conspiracy of the BJP to
remove AIUDF from Assam politics. This is being intentionally done. This is
being done with a target to reduce the share of Muslim votes as much as they
can. According to us, there was no need for such an exercise ...
"The intention is bad. This is
being done as per plan of the BJP and to fulfill BJP's intention," Ajmal,
who is AIUDF's only Lok Sabha member from Dhurbi, said.
The reaction comes a day after the
Election Commission of India (ECI) released a draft proposal in which it sought
to reserve three more Assembly seats for the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and one
more for the Scheduled Castes (SCs). The ECI said the same ...
Ajmal alleged that the draft proposal
was prepared on the instructions of Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam CM
Himanta Biswa Sarma in order to "remove AIUDF from Assam politics."
"This will do a lot of harm to us (AIUDF). This will help the Congress ...
The AIUDF, which entered electoral
politics in Assam in 2005 with Muslims as their primary votebank, at present
has 15 MLAs while Ajmal is the only Lok Sabha member from Dhubri.
During the Assembly elections, BJP has
targeted the AIUDF by trying to brand it as "a party of the illegal
migrant from Bangladeshis." The saffron party, on the other hand,
projected itself as a party championing the causes of the indigenous people
a...
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, a few months
ago, had said that the delimitation would do what NRC could not achieve,
without elaborating on the same.
The last delimitation exercise in Assam
was carried out in 1976. A new delimitation exercise was supposed to be carried
out in 2007, but was postponed due to law and order issues. The ECI, however,
resumed the process for the exercise in December las...
A team of the ECI headed by Chief
Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar visited Assam between March 26 and 28 and
held discussions with 11 political parties and 71 other organisations before
releasing the draft proposal. The Opposition Congress, however,...
On Wednesday, senior Congress MLA and
leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia said the draft
proposal was prepared at the dictation of BJP.
Source: deccanherald.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/bjp-seeks-to-reduce-muslim-votes-in-assam-through-delimitation-says-aiudfs-badruddin-ajmal-congress-miffed-as-well-1229989.html
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Attempts Made To Communalise
Hindu-Muslim Ties In Country: Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti
21 JUN 2023
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Wednesday
urged party workers to support the upcoming annual Amaranth Yatra and serve the
yatris
She termed the pilgrimage a "golden
chance" to remind the country of Kashmiriyat.
"We had invited office bearers of
the party from Anantnag district in south Kashmir and Ganderbal to direct our
workers and activists to support the upcoming Amarnath Yatra,” news agency PTI
quoted her as having said.
"The yatris are our guests, there
should not be any lack in taking care of them as it is our tradition,"
Mufti said, as per the report.
She said when attempts are being made
across the country to "communalise" the Hindu-Muslim ties, the valley
has remained the place that has constantly sent a message of brotherhood to the
country, it mentioned.
"Today, this yatra is a golden
chance for us to remind the whole country once again of the Kashmiriyat. I
appeal to all my party workers to make this yatra successful, welcome the
yatris and help them in every way," she said, the report mentioned.
In her interaction, the politician
stressed the importance of her decision, coming at a time, when "shops of
Muslims are being demolished and they are being evicted from their homes like
in Uttarakhand, and lynched in the name of religion,” she said, the report
mentioned.
The former chief minister also appealed
to the government not to cause any inconvenience to the local population as
they help the yatris, it said.
"While facilitating the yatra, or
while providing them facilities during their movement, there should not be any
inconvenience to the locals who are the real hosts of this yatra,” Mufti was
quoted as having said.
"Last year, we saw that many
patients could not reach hospitals, some pregnant women delivered babies on
roads. So I appeal to the government that there should not be any inconvenience
to the locals," she was quoted as having said.
Source: outlookindia.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.outlookindia.com/national/attempts-made-to-communalise-hindu-muslim-ties-in-country-former-j-k-cm-mehbooba-mufti-news-296731
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Europe
German prosecutors charge Iranian man
with plotting Islamist attack involving ricin or cyanide
June 21, 2023
An Iranian man arrested in western
Germany earlier this year after a tip from U.S. officials has been charged with
plotting an Islamist attack using ricin or cyanide, German prosecutors said
Wednesday.
The 26-year-old, identified only as J.J.
in line with Germany's privacy rules, was arrested in January along with his
brother in Castrop-Rauxel, a city in the industrial Ruhr region.
Prosecutors in Duesseldorf said he was
charged with preparing a serious act of violence and terror financing. An
indictment was filed in the state court in Dortmund.
A case against the suspect's 32-year-old
brother, who initially was suspected of involvement in the plot, was dropped
for lack of sufficient evidence, prosecutors said.
They said the younger man had decided by
the end of October to carry out an attack in line with the ideology of the
Islamic State group by spreading ricin or a cyanide compound, and intended to
kill as many people as possible by spreading the chemicals.
Even small amounts of ricin, which is
produced from the seeds of castor oil plants, can kill an adult if eaten,
injected or inhaled.
The Duesseldorf prosecutors didn't say
if there was an intended target.
The suspect is alleged to have been in
contact via messaging services with extremists who gave him instructions on how
to make the toxins. He is also accused of acquiring substances needed to make
them.
Authorities said at the time of his
arrest that information from authorities in the United States led to the operation,
but they didn’t elaborate.
It will be up to the court in Dortmund
to decide whether and when to send the case to trial.
Source: foxnews.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.foxnews.com/world/german-prosecutors-charge-iranian-man-plotting-islamist-attack-involving-ricin-cyanide
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Irish Muslim Youth Associations raises
funds for local causes
un 22, 2023
The Irish Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth
Association held its eighth Annual 5K Charity Walk on Saturday, June 18, in aid
of three local charities; COPE Galway, Croí Heart and Stroke Foundation and The
Galway Simon Community, raising over €8,000 with donations still coming in.
The charity walk was inaugurated by the
new Mayor for Galway City, Cllr Eddie Hoare, and participants braved thunder
and sporadic weather during the 5K route along the Salthill prom. Imam Ibrahim
Ahmad Noonan, the Imam of Galway Mosque, extended his heartfelt appreciation to
the dignitaries and all participants for their active involvement. He commended
the generous contributions made during the fundraising campaign and
acknowledged the charitable nature of the donors.
Despite the amount of organising and
fundraising that went into the charity walk, it is just one aspect of the
tireless work of the youth who have raised more than €80,000 for various
charities over the years, and is synonymous with the Ahdmadiyya Muslim
Community’s commitment to engaging with charitable activities. On July 23,
cyclists from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will embark on a 630 kilometre
cycle from Dublin to London for charity.
Source: advertiser.ie
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/136218/irish-muslim-youth-associations-raises-funds-for-local-causes
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Palais 12 to be transformed into giant
prayer hall for Muslim festival
21/06/2023
Brussels' Palais 12 at Heysel will be
transformed into a giant prayer hall for the Muslim festival of Eid al Adha
(Feast of Sacrifice) on 28 June.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 Muslim
worshippers are expected at the famous concert and entertainment venue on the
day.
The gathering, announced by the
Muslims.be website, will take place at 7.30 next Wednesday morning and last
only around 20 minutes.
It is being organised by four mosques in
the Laeken and Neder-over-Heembeek neighbourhoods, in collaboration with the
teams from Brussels Expo, the manager of Palais 12 and the Brussels-City
authorities.
Given the Belgian capital’s large Muslim
population, the mosques were worried that they would not be able to accommodate
the expected crowds for the major Islamic holiday and that people would be
forced to stand on the streets as they had for previous important holidays.
“The initial request came from the Al
Mouahidine cultural and Islamic centre in Laeken,” explained Hassan, a member
of the organisation and management of the Al Mouahidine mosque.
“We then asked other mosques in Laeken
and Neder-over-Heembeek to join so that we could work together on this joint
and collective project, which is a first, so that it is well organised and
concentrated.”
Invitations to the Palais 12 prayer are
being sent first to the faithful of the four organising mosques, which will
close their own doors on 28 June.
“After being overwhelmed during Eid al
Fitr, we thought we had to do something for Eid al Adha,” said Hassan.
“Given that it falls just before the
summer holidays, and that families won't have left yet as their children will
still be sitting their exams, we anticipate that we're likely to receive a lot
of people. Hence our request to the authorities to obtain authorisation.”
While members of the mosques are being
given invitations, there are no plans to turn away worshippers without one,
until the venue’s maximum capacity has been reached.
Emin Luka, chief executive and
operational director of Brussels Expo and Palais 12, said there had been no
difficulty making the arrangements.
"It's much easier to organise this
prayer than a concert," Luka said.
"When the request was presented to
us, we were talking about accommodating 5,000 people and a Brussels Expo hall
was available. Then the applicants came back to us and said that they would
like a larger capacity.
"The only hall with the security
arrangements to hold that many people is Palais 12. As the date was available,
we agreed."
Luka said the request was not unusual,
as the venue has organised religious fairs and exhibitions in the past.
Palais 12 will open its doors and
welcome the first worshippers at 5.30 in the morning.
"At 8.00 or 8.15, after the prayer
and the Imam's sermon, everything will be over," Luka added.
The car park at the front of Palais 12
will be inaccessible for the event to reduce the risk of traffic jams, but
Parking C with its 10,000 spaces on the edge of the Brussels ring will be
available for use at a cost of €10.
From there, people can use the
footbridge on the Chaussée Romaine to get to Palais 12 and its side entrance,
though organisers strongly recommend that worshippers come to Heysel by public
transport.
Security will also be provided, with
police present in the area.
In Europe, and particularly in the UK,
several towns have already organised large-scale events to celebrate a Muslim
festival.
Last year, Blackburn Rovers football
stadium opened its doors for the Eid al Fitr prayer. Chelsea's Stamford Bridge
stadium hosted an iftar, or breaking of the fast, last March and so did the
Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City.
Source: thebulletin.be
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.thebulletin.be/palais-12-be-transformed-giant-prayer-hall-muslim-festival
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Islamic Relief Worldwide’s Income Grows
By Over £100m In Three Years
21 Jun 2023
Islamic Relief Worldwide’s income rose
by 28% to £234m last year due to an increase in donations from member
organisations and funding from the United Nations.
This is the third consecutive year that
the charity’s income has risen by over 10%, growing by more than £100m in three
years.
Accounts for the year to December 2022
show the charity received £19.1m from the United Nations Development Programme
(up from £1m the year before) for its programme to support people in
Afghanistan facing extreme hunger and poverty.
The charity’s biggest source of income
was £145m from its global member organisations (up from £123m the year before)
as it appealed for donations in response to severe droughts in East Africa and
Afghanistan, flooding in Pakistan and conflicts in Yemen and Ukraine.
Islamic Relief USA and Canada increased
their donations to the parent charity by the greatest amounts, £12.4m and £7.3m
respectively.
‘A year of once-in a-lifetime
humanitarian crises’
Waseem Ahmad, Islamic Relief Worldwide’s
chief executive, said it had been “a year of once-in a-lifetime humanitarian
crises”.
“Afghanistan has suffered its worst
drought for 30 years, and East Africa its most severe this century. Pakistan is
still reeling from the worst floods in living memory, while Europe has seen the
worst refugee crisis since World War II.
“It is testimony to the unfailing
generosity of Islamic Relief’s donors, the hard work of our staff and
volunteers, bilateral and multilateral donors and other strategic partners that
we have been able to rise to these challenges.
“What matters is not just the number of people
we are assisting, but also the long-term impact of our work and what the
communities we serve think of what we are doing.”
Costs rise by £20m
Islamic Relief Worldwide’s expenditure
rose by £19.7m to £193m last year, due to an increase in costs related to its
humanitarian activity.
The charity’s staff costs were £16.7m in
2022, up from £14.7m the year before. Its average number of employees increased
by 21 to 469 in the year.
Ahmad’s remuneration was £96,261 in
2022, down from £97,982 the previous year.
Meanwhile, Islamic Relief received 44
complaints about its fundraising activity, down from 141 the year before.
The charity received 46 safeguarding
cases in 2022, the same as the year before, 21 of which related to staff. It
said this led to some investigations and disciplinary action.
Source: civilsociety.co.uk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/islamic-relief-worldwide-s-income-grows-by-over-100m-in-three-years.html
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Complaints of 'nuisance' protests near
Maida Vale mosque
21st June
A neighbourhood near a former Islamic
Centre and mosque has been described as a “nightmare” as residents face
round-the-clock construction work and endless street demonstrations.
Households living near the Islamic
Centre of England (ICE) in Maida Vale said they simply can’t get a moment of
respite since protests erupted outside the cultural centre late last year.
The centre, which doubles as a mosque,
was shut down in May by the UK’s charity watchdog over concerns about its
operations.
Crowds have since gathered outside every
Thursday, Friday and Sunday to rally against the centre’s alleged links to the
Iranian regime in Tehran.
Videos online show pro- and anti-ICE
protesters clashing with police during violent protests in November. Both sides
can be heard hurling abuse at each others with some protesters scuffling with
police.
Other clips circulating online show
scores of protesters waving flags and chanting on both sides of Kilburn High
Road as far back as September last year.
In neighbouring Kilburn Gate Estate, one
mum, who doesn’t want to be named, claimed her two-year-old daughter is being
kept awake at night by the protests.
The 35-year-old accused staff at the
centre of making matters worse by holding prayers outside between 8pm and
11.30pm on Friday, June 9, as an alleged act of defiance against its closure.
The woman, who is also a practising
Shi’ite Muslim, said: “They were shouting. They wanted to show that they want
to be open again… I don’t like it because it’s very loud”.
Another said the demonstrations had
become a “nuisance”.
She said: “It’s a nightmare. Every
Sunday evening you’ll see a protest. Everyone has a right to have a voice but
I’ve never seen a protest go on for so long.”
She claims demonstrators have hurled
glass bottles at the centre and called staff “murderers”.
The woman said she’s even heard her
young daughter repeat some of the chants and is calling on Camden Council,
which runs the estate, to do more to shut them down.
She said: “You hear things at night. We
can’t have loud music playing here after a certain time so why should they be
able to?”
George P, 32, said demonstrations get so
loud some days it feels like they’re taking place in his flat.
He said: “It’s very annoying because
they make so much noise. On a Sunday, about 20 of them gather and they bring
microphones and speakers and the noise they produce comes inside the house.
“I have a two-year-old and he can’t
relax in the house… It’s like someone has a loudspeaker in there."
Samira Jandoubi, 45, lives across the
street in Dibdin House and said she can’t get any peace between the
construction work beside her flat and the protests at the weekend.
Lisa McKinney, 70, said the impact
hasn’t been “too bad” but admitted Sundays can get “noisy”.
But residents aren’t the only ones
suffering - The Queen’s Arms pub, which sits directly across from the centre,
had to shut its door early on Thursday (June 8) because of the noise.
Sasha, a bartender, said the protests
were “quite disturbing” and have been costing the business some much-needed
footfall.
She claimed people are too afraid to
come in and that demonstrators are known to take up seating but refuse to buy
drinks or food. When they’re asked to leave, they get aggressive, Sasha
claimed.
In May, the centre was closed following
weeks of efforts by the charity watchdog to take control. It said the centre
was shut because of trustees’ “failure to comply with legal duties and
responsibilities”.
The Charity Commission launched an
inquiry in November, issuing an official warning over “serious governance
concerns”
The centre, which is alleged to have
links with the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader, has been shuttered “until
further notice”.
According to the Telegraph, which cited
unnamed sources, the Iranian regime decided to “pull the plug” on the centre
rather than lose control to an interim manager appointed by the Charity
Commission.
Maida Vale councillor Geoff Barraclough
said: “The centre is widely believed to be an outpost of the awful regime in
Tehran. It’s a scandal that the Government has allowed it to remain open for so
long and it’s no wonder that the protestors are so angry.
“I fully support their right to
demonstrate but the action has been going on for a very long time and I would
urge the protesters to have some consideration for local residents too. If they
won’t, then the police need to take action.”
A spokesperson for Camden Council said:
“We are liaising with the police and the Islamic Centre for England to discuss
the concerns that have been raised by residents and to agree how gathering and
activities around the centre can be managed to prevent disturbances in the
local community.”
The centre has been contacted for
comment but did not reply by the time of publication.
Source: hamhigh.co.uk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/23602597.complaints-nuisance-protests-near-maida-vale-mosque/
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Pakistan
Jamaat-i-Islami Chief Opposes Trial of Civilians
in Military Courts
June 22, 2023
LOWER DIR: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul
Haq on Wednesday said civilians should be tried by anti-terrorism and civil
courts and not military courts.
He, however, said the people found
involved in the May 9-10 riots and attacks on government and military
installations should be punished.
“There is no need for military courts to
try civilians as the anti-terrorism and civil courts are already there.
However, there shouldn’t be any clemency for the people involved in the May
9-10 vandalism,” Mr Siraj told reporters at a hotel in the Timergara area here.
Former MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, JI
leaders Izazul Mulk Afkari and Shad Nawaz Khan, Dir Chamber of Commerce and
Industries president Mian Noor Alam Bacha, and trader leaders Haji Anwaruddin,
Hameedur Rehman and Dr Noor Mohammad were also present on the occasion.
The JI chief demanded of the government
to immediately bifurcate Malakand division saying the division is the largest
in the country with a population of over nine million.
He also called for the restoration of
the economic and industrial zone in Malakand under the China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor project.
Mr Siraj said Malakand should be
declared a tax-free zone until 2030.
“We [Jamaat] have planned a massive drive
to claim rights for Malakand division,” he said.
The JI leader said Malakand division had
great potential for tourism development but the successive governments did
nothing for it.
He also complained that the region’s
residents lacked basic facilities.
Mr Siraj criticised the PDM government
over “poor” socioeconomic policies and said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s
administration had failed to deliver.
“It seems there is no government in the
centre as well as provinces,” he said.
The JI chief said the people were badly
hit by record inflation, especially the escalating prices of essential goods.
He said both PDM and PTI were equally
responsible for the current economic and political mess in the country as
they’re more interested in accumulating money than serving the people.
Mr Siraj demanded of the government to
announce general elections and said free, fair and transparent polls were the
only solution to the current crises facing the country.
He alleged that the PPP leadership and
Sindh government violated the Constitution and democratic norms during the
Karachi mayor’s election to get the party’s nominee elected.
The JI chief said his party would stage
a rally outside the Election Commission of Pakistan’s offices in Islamabad on
June 23 against the Karachi mayor election.
Source: dawn.com
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1760995/siraj-opposes-trial-of-civilians-in-military-courts
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Prime suspect in Karachi workers’
lynching case arrested
June 22, 2023
KARACHI: Karachi police made a
significant breakthrough on Thursday by apprehending the prime suspect in the
case of the lynching of telecom workers in the Machar Colony neighbourhood.
The incident, which occurred last year,
involved a mob attacking and ultimately killing two individuals who were later
identified as employees of a telecom company.
The Keamari police officials
successfully captured Moulvi Khalil, the prime suspect believed to be directly
involved in the brutal killings of the telecom employees. The police confirmed
that over 40 individuals have already been arrested in connection with the same
case.
According to law enforcement
authorities, the identification of eight suspects was made possible through
available video footage of the lynching incident. The police have gathered
names, addresses, and other pertinent information regarding these eight
suspects, all of whom were involved in hurling stones at the victims.
Earlier, the Senior Superintendent of
Police (SSP) of Kemari had stated that Machar Colony, a disadvantaged area of
the city, witnessed the tragic event. The mob, fueled by rumours of dacoits
intending to kidnap children, targeted the telecom company employees. The
situation escalated when the enraged mob also turned on the policemen who
intervened in an attempt to protect lives.
Eyewitnesses have reported that panic
gripped the area while security was being provided to anti-polio teams. As
tensions escalated, the mob unleashed their aggression on the telecom company
employees and the police officers who had intervened.
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
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https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/22/prime-suspect-in-karachi-workers-lynching-case-arrested/
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Al Qadir Trust case: NAB again summons
ex-accountability Czar on Friday
June 21, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi chapter again issued summons for former Accountability
Advisor Mirza Shahzad Akbar, asking him to appear before the bureau on June 23
in an alleged illegal transfer of 190 million pounds in the Al-Qadir Trust
case.
Previous, the NAB summoned the former
accountability Czar on May 22 but Mirza failed to show up. Furthermore, calling
notices have also been issued to Zulfi Bukhari and Barrister Ziaudin.
The anti-graft watchdog believed that
Shahzad Akbar concealed vital information from the federal cabinet while
seeking approval for the previously signed deed.
The anti-graft agency has accused
Shahzad Akbar of being involved in various activities alongside Imran Khan. NAB
claims that on November 25, 2019, an amount exceeding PKR 23.33 billion was
transferred to Pakistan. Additionally, on November 26, 2019, an amount
exceeding PKR 3.99 billion was received. Moreover, on May 11, 2018, an amount
exceeding PKR 8.02 billion was deposited.
Later instead of being deposited in the
national treasury, the funds were settled against Bahria Town’s dues.
Shahzad Akbar has been directed to bring
all relevant documents related to the Al-Qadir Trust case for further
investigation.
What is Al Qadir Trust case?
Real estate tycoon Malik Riaz recorded
his statement with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) along with former
ministers of Imran Khan’s cabinet in the Al Qadir University land allotment
case.
The development surfaced on Wednesday as
NAB pursues a graft case against Imran Khan.
Others included in the case are former
federal overseas minister Zulifiqar Bukhari, and former advisor on
accountability Shehzad Akbar are also involved in the case were land was
allotted for Al Qadir Trust University in exchange for ensuring that the £190
million (Rs70 billion) seized in the UK are returned to Riaz in Pakistan.
Sources claimed NAB has recorded an
initial statement of Malik Riaz in the case.
It is pertinent to note that Riaz
appeared before the bureau at its Rawalpindi office two weeks ago.
Sources further said that Malik Riaz was
questioned about his connection with the case and whether he had allotted land
for the varsity, details of the allotment agreement and any conditions imposed
and records of the same.
Last year in November, NAB had sent a
call-up notices to property tycoon Malik Riaz and asked him to come up with
complete record regarding purchase of 458 kanals in Sohawa Tehsil, the
agreement through which Bahria Town donated land to Al Qadir Trust along with
revenue documents, and details of other property transferred by him, or by any
of his relatives, in favor of Al Qadir Trust or any of its trustees.
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/21/al-qadir-trust-case-nab-again-summons-ex-accountability-czar-on-friday/
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Consequences of running country on
hybrid model can be dangerous: JI chief
June 21, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul
Haq has said the consequences of running the country on hybrid model and any
artificial or ad-hoc system could be dangerous, demanding free and fair
elections immediately.
Addressing a press conference here on
Wednesday, he said the government of 14 political parties was worst in
country’s history following the bad experience of the PTI.
The people experienced such horrible
happenings in last one year which they had never seen in 75 years, he added.
“Now when the PDM, the PPP and the PTI
failed to deliver, it is need of the hour that people should be allowed to
elect their representatives through transparent elections,” he stressed and
added it was the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take all
political stakeholders into confidence and devise a transparent mechanism for
the national vote.
He called for the creation of a separate
Dir Division, arguing that Malakand division being the largest in KP with nine
districts and nine million population was presenting a plethora of problems.
The governments, he said, promised CPEC route and identified nine points in the
area for the border trade with Afghanistan and central Asia but failed to honor
their commitments.
Similarly, he said, the claims to build
economic and industrial zones in Malakand also remained limited to the papers.
He said the majority of the overseas Pakistanis belonged to Malakand division
but the governments had desperately failed to protect their properties and
families back in the country. Rather, he regretted, the defense minister
insulted the community, attracting backlash from all over the world. He
demanded the government issueMohsin Pakistan Golden Cards to overseas and
address their concerns. He said overseas sent 31 billion-dollar remittances but
they were treated like third degree citizens at airports.
Haq said the PPP made fun of democratic
values and mandate of the people of Karachi in mayor election, demanding the
ECP declare the selection process as illegal and hold fresh election for the
slot by ensuring presence of 31 elected representatives who were kidnapped on
June 15. He said the JI would hold protest demonstrations in front of the ECP
head-office Islamabad on June 23 against rigging in Karachi local body polls
and mayor election.
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/21/consequences-of-running-country-on-hybrid-model-can-be-dangerous-ji-chief/
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Shehryar Afridi remanded in custody for
five days in GHQ attack case
June 21, 2023
RAWALPINDI: The Anti-Terrorism Court
(ATC) Rawalpindi on Wednesday remanded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader
and former minister Shehryar Afridi in custody for five-day in GHQ attack case.
The PTI leader was produced in the ATC
Rawalpindi in GHQ attack case.
Earlier on Monday, a District and
Sessions Court sent Afridi to Adiala jail Rawalpindi in a case related to
violent events of May 9.
Earlier, Mr Afridi was produced before
the court of Judicial Magistrate Naveed Khan on completion of his physical
remand.
The former federal minister was taken
into custody from his residence in Sector F-8 Islamabad under Section 3 of
Maintenance of Public order (3MPO).
May 9 events
Violent clashes broke out across
Pakistan after the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief was
arrested from the premises of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on May 9.
The protests were held in remote and
major cities as the party workers are agitated due to their chairman’s arrest,
with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed
forces to ensure law and order.
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/21/afridi-remanded-in-custody-for-five-day-in-ghq-attack-case/
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May 9 violence: Over 4200 detained in Punjab
jails
June 21, 2023
LAHORE: More than 4200 suspects who were
involved in the May 9 violence were detained in Punjab jails, ARY News
reported.
As per details, a total of 37 women and
432 men involved in the May 9 violence are currently in two jails in Lahore.
The total number of suspects who are in
jails across Punjab has reached 4200 whereas a huge number of accused have been
released when they were not identified in an identification parade.
Moreover, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
leaders Yasmin Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhary were also discharged in one case.
Earlier, Punjab police completed the
identification of ‘2,290 miscreants’ who were involved in the May 9 violence.
According to Punjab Police officials,
out of the total 4120 miscreants, 2290 were identified and 1180 arrested.
They further said that 1125 miscreants
out of 1800 were identified and 513 are arrested. these miscreants were
involved in the attack on Jinnah House in Lahore. May 9 violence: Police
complete identification of ‘2,290 miscreants‘
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/21/may-9-violence-over-4200-detained-in-punjab-jails/
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UAE ‘keen’ to invest in Karachi port
terminal operations
June 21, 2023
KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE)
is ‘keen’ to invest in Karachi port terminal operations, sources said on
Wednesday.
Sources further said UAE wants to equip
Karachi port terminals with the latest technology for the smooth handling of
shipments. The sources claimed that the agreement regarding terminal handling
with the UAE will be inked before June 30.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Maritime
Affairs Minister Faisal Sabzwari are finalizing the conditions of the agreement
with the UAE.
Sources said, the panel has been
permitted to finalise a draft operation, maintenance, investment, and
development agreement under the government-to-government arrangements with a
nominated agency of the UAE for handing over the Karachi port terminals.
Earlier this year, the federal
government formed an eight-member committee to begin outsourcing three major
airports in Pakistan – Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
The committee wrote a letter to managers
of all three major airports and directed them to provide data of the airports’
aviation ministry.
Pakistan is in a financial crisis amid
uncertainty over the revival of the $6.5 billion deal with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
Source: pakistantoday.com.pk
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2023/06/21/uae-keen-to-invest-in-karachi-port-terminal-operations/
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Police ‘Recover’ Sub-Machine Gun from
Journalist’s House, Living in Self-Exile
June 22, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Police on Wednesday claimed
to have recovered an SMG (sub-machine gun) from the house of a journalist who
is living in self-exile, police said Wednesday.
Over the recovery of the weapon, another
case has been registered against the journalist, Mohammad Sabir Shakir, under
Arms Ordinance 13/20/65.
The weapon was recovered during a raid
conducted in connection with a case registered with Aabpara police station on
June 13 against Sabir Shakir, Moeed Hassan Pirzada and Syed Akbar Hussain at
Aabpara police station under charges of conspiracy, waging war, mutiny and
seducing solders in response of a complaint lodged by ‘patriotic citizen’ Majid
Mehmood.
Mr Shakir posted a tweet in which he
said at 12 midnight, some people came in a Vigo, broke the locks and entered
his house.
“Thanks God my family and I were not at
home,” he added.
He, however, did not mention any weapon
in his tweet.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.dawn.com/news/1761043
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Africa
El-Rufai’s wish for an ‘Islamic Republic
of Nigeria’
June 22, 2023
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai is an unrepentant
religious bigot; a militant Islamic supremacist, who believes Islam is superior
to Christianity and should be privileged in national leadership. He doesn’t
just hold these views, he actively pursues them. As governor of Kaduna State
for eight years, until May this year, El-Rufai ran an Islamic government, with
a Muslim-controlled administration, despite the state’s large Christian
population.
Now, out of office, he prides himself on
installing a successor on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and entrenching Muslim
dominance of Kaduna State governance. More significantly, El-Rufai boasts of
foisting his Kaduna State Muslim-Muslim leadership model on Nigeria, and warns
Nigerians to brace themselves for a prolonged Muslim leadership of this
country.
I cringed at El-Rufai’s recent comments
on how Islam was used to secure “victory” for Bola Tinubu in this year’s
presidential election, and his call for entrenched Muslim presidency in
Nigeria. Why would anyone behave with such recklessness and stoke
inter-religious tensions in a country so ethnically and religiously polarised,
and so unstable and fragile?
However much some hate to hear it, the
truth is that Nigeria began as an artificial construct and remains today, 109
years after the British cobbled it together in 1914, a state without
nationhood. Thus, any responsible leader interested in nation-building should
seek to bind this country together and not deepen its ethnic, religious and
other schisms. Apparently, however, El-Rufai is not such a leader: he wants a
Nigeriawhose leadership is controlled by Muslims. He wants, more or less, an
Islamic Republic of Nigeria! If you think that’s hyperbolic, hear it from his
mouth!
In a recent viral video, El-Rufai told
Muslim clerics in Kaduna that religion was used to give Tinubu “victory” in
February’s presidential election. He said Tinubu knew he “had no option” but to
pick a Muslim running mate, otherwise “he would lose the election”. Then, he
gloated: “What we are able to achieve in Kaduna, has now been achieved in
Nigeria.” He went on to ridicule the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,
saying it had “kept quiet” and “remained mute” since Tinubu’s “victory”.
The presidential poll, El-Rufai said,
showed that Christians lacked electoral value in Nigeria. “There’s no liar that
can say he will do politics of Christianity and win the election,” he said,
adding: “So, if we keep bringing Muslim-Muslim tickets, everything will go
smoothly for us Muslims.”Put simply, a Muslim-Muslim ticket would trump a
Christian-Muslim ticket in any presidential election in Nigeria.
First, it’s worth pointing out that even
the disputed INEC-declared results of the presidential election do not justify
El-Rufai’s triumphalism. It’s not clear to me how securing 8.79 millions out of
24 millions votes, as Tinubu did, can amount to acceptance and legitimisation
of the Muslim-Muslim ticket when the overwhelming majority of voters, 14.6
millions, rejected that ticket. How can someone with 36.6 per cent of the total
votes claim a strong mandate for a Muslim-Muslim ticket when a whopping 63.39
per cent of the voters rejected that ticket? Surely, El-Rufai must concede
that, even with the INEC-declared results, Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket did
not receive the majority, let alone overwhelming, support of Nigerians, and
thus lacks true legitimacy.
But that aside, the truth is that, with
El-Rufai,we are dealing with a dangerous and perverse influence on Nigeria’s
politics and polity. I once wrote that El-Rufai is a very smart technocrat and
administrator. Of course, he is! But so, in some ways, were Adolf Hitler and
Joseph Stalin. And so are many autocrats and demagogues around the world today.
Truth is, the world is full of evil geniuses!
I mean, when a smart person warned
foreign election observers not to interfere in Nigeria’s presidential election
or “you will go home in body bags”, as El-Rufai did in 2019, you must wonder
about that kind of smartness. When, in a country split nearly 50-50 between
Christians and Muslims, a smart person called for a Muslim-Muslim presidency,
saying “if we do it again and again, everything will be normal”, you must
wonder if that “smart” person is, indeed, “normal”. Sadly, that’s how one must
view El-Rufai: smart but dangerous, a toxic influence on Nigerian politics!
But what about Mallam Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
as the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, SCSN, calls him? He told Nigerians
that he picked Mallam Kashim Shettima as his running mate, not because he was a
fellow Muslim but because he was a genius! Tinubu’s denial was deceptive, and
El-Rufai has put the lie to that denial. Truth is: the Muslim-Muslim ticket was
about using religion to secure power. For Tinubu’s Northern backers, like
El-Rufai, it was about ensuring Islamic dominance in the governance of Nigeria.
Ironically, the same Tinubu who said his
Muslim-Muslim ticket was based on competence, not religion, then, once in
power, used religion to push for Godswin Akpabio’s election as Senate
President. Shettima put it starkly: “The worst and most incompetent Southern
Christian is better than the most puritanical Northern Muslim for the
presidency of the Senate.” Of course, given that Nigeria’s legislature is
typically a rubber stamp, the quality of a Senate president is irrelevant. Yet,
the fact that Tinubu and Shettima used religion so opportunistically to grab
power reveals the dishonestyat the heart of their politics and, potentially,
their government.
Source: vanguardngr.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/06/el-rufais-wish-for-an-islamic-republic-of-nigeria-by-olu-fasan/
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Muslim Cleric, Other in Nigeria Bag Life
Imprisonment Defilement of Underage Girl
Jun 22, 2023
LAGOS – A Lagos Sexual Offences Court
sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a cobbler, Alex Michael and a self-acclaimed
Alfa, Yakubu Isiaka to life imprisonment.
Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced the
defendants after they were found guilty of the charge in the suit delineated
No: ID/12196C/2020 brought against them by the state government.
The defendants were alleged to have had
sexual intercourse with a thirteen-year-old girl and were arraigned on a
two-count charge.
They were first arraigned before Justice
Sybil Nwaka before she was elevated to the Appeal Court. And the duo pleaded
not guilty to the two counts.
The defendants were re-arraigned before
Justice Oshodi on August 3, 2021, on the allegation to have had sexual
intercourse with the underage girl (13 years old) three times between the
months of October and November 2019 at Fatai Olukoga Street, Igbo Olowu Estate
in Ikorodu.
Michael was alleged to have had canal
knowledge of the girl three times while Alfa, Isiaka was said to have had
unlawful sexual intercourse with her two times.
The offence, of defilement, is contrary
to the provision of Section 137 of the Criminal Law Cap C. 17, Vol. 3 Laws of
Lagos State, 2015.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the
charge preferred against them.
The prosecution team, Babajide Boye, O.
Aluko, and I. D. Solarin, commenced trial and called witnesses to testify
against the defendants among which is Investigation Police Office IPO, the
survivor, and others. The prosecution also tendered documents as exhibits.
The police officer who investigated the
case told the court how she came to know the defendants when they were brought
to the Human Rights Section of Owutu Police Division.
Michael had in his statement stated that
the young girl normally comes to their house and a woman called mummy Ada
always sends her away. He stated that on the day of the incident, “She came to
my house again, when she entered, she sat on the floor and took my phone and
started watching some videos on it.
“When I looked at her, she laughed and I
asked her the reason she was laughing. I realised she was watching an adult
movie on it. I collected the phone from her. She went out and later came back
and took the phone again while I was laying down on my bed in our parlour and
she said I want you to see what I’m watching, that was when she started kissing
me and we had sexual intercourse together. A day later she came again and we
had sex again.”
In their defence, the first defendants
while giving evidence and led by their counsel, O. Fatoye on October 11, 2022,
admitted before the court that the girl was his neighbour but said that he did
not have any relationship with her and did not know why he was in court.
He later said that the allegation of
defilement was trumped up because he slapped his sister which led to a struggle
between him and the girl’s father. He said that at the police station, he was
beaten and threatened before he wrote Exhibit P2. (His statement).
Source: independent.ng
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://independent.ng/muslim-cleric-other-bag-life-imprisonment-defilement-of-underage-girl/
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Mosque worker jailed for consuming,
keeping drugs in ablution room, cubicle, locker
June 22, 2023
CNA – A facilities maintenance worker at
a mosque kept drug utensils and cannabis mixtures at the place of worship and
took methamphetamine for more “energy” to work, but was nabbed by Central
Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers.
Mohammad Asyrafuddin Jupri, 31, was
sentenced to a year’s jail yesterday for one count each of drug possession and
consumption, with another three charges taken into consideration.
The court heard that Asyrafuddin worked
at the Yushof Ishak Mosque at 10 Woodlands Drive, and was also a part-time
freelance confined-area rescuer.
He was arrested near the mosque by CNB
officers on October 28, 2022.
A search was conducted on level 5 of the
mosque where Asyrafuddin was staying. Officers recovered several items from his
resting space in the ablution room, his cubicle and his personal metal locker.
These included vegetable matter wrapped
in foil, packets of crystalline substances, glass and metal drug utensils and a
metal can containing vegetable matter.
The exhibits were sent to the Health
Sciences Authority (HSA) for analysis and two of them were found to contain
15.53g of cannabis mixture and 14.99g of cannabis mixture respectively.
Asyrafuddin admitted possessing the
items, which he knew contained ‘ganja’, a street name for the Class A
controlled drug.
He was taken to the Central Police
Divisional Headquarters for further investigations, where his urine samples
tested positive for methamphetamine.
Asyrafuddin later admitted that he had
been smoking about 5g of Ice, a street name for meth, per month.
He said he did so because he felt that
it would give him the energy he needed for his work.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En
asked for eight months’ jail for the drug possession charge and a year’s jail
for the drug consumption charge, with no objection to it running concurrently.
Asyrafuddin has no prior convictions, he
said.
Defence lawyer Riko Isaac concurred. He
said his client had consumed the drugs as he “wished to work overtime and give
himself more energy so he can earn more income for himself”.
Source: channelnewsasia.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mosque-worker-drugs-meth-ice-cannabis-ablution-room-cnb-3577036#:~:text=Mohammad%20Asyrafuddin%20Jupri%2C%2031%2C%20was,three%20charges%20taken%20into%20consideration.
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Arab World
KSrelief participates in Arab League
workshop on protection of women in conflict zones
June 21, 2023
RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid
and Relief Center, also known as KSrelief, this week took part in a two-day
regional workshop organized by the Arab League’s Emergency Committee for the
Protection of Women in Armed Conflicts in the Arab Region.
The event, which took place at the
League’s headquarters in Cairo on June 20 and 21, brought together
representatives of regional and international organizations, civil society, and
other important stakeholders, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
KSrelief was represented by Hana Omar
Salem Omar, the director of its community support department. She said that the
center has, in collaboration with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, established a strategy covering the period from 2022 to 2027 that
emphasizes the importance of girls having access to quality education.
KSrelief has also developed initiatives
designed to improve the social cohesion between refugees and their host
communities by increasing awareness of women’s rights and combating the exploitation
and abuse that they might face, she explained. The center also provides
psychological and social support for women, as well as legal referrals,
training programs, and family counseling.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan has had a
significant effect on women and girls, who have been displaced in large
numbers, Omar said. Saudi Arabia is hosting refugees from the country and will
provide them with all the care they require until they can return to their home
country, she added.
The Kingdom will continue to support all
efforts that contribute to safeguarding women’s rights and dignity in
communities affected by conflict, Omar said, and she called for the
coordination of regional and international efforts to establish more
comprehensive solutions.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2325761/saudi-arabia
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Qatar’s Ambassador Holds Talks On
Proposed Islamic Centre
JUN 20, 2023
Qatar’s non-resident Ambassador, Rashid
bin Mohsen Fetais, recently paid a courtesy call on Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Office, with Responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal
Munro-Knight, and they discussed avenues for cultural cooperation, including
the proposed construction of an Islamic Cultural Centre here.
During the meeting, at the Ministry’s
new location in the Civil Aviation Authority Building, Charnocks, Christ
Church, Ambassador Fetais told Senator Munro-Knight that decisions on its
location, and how the mosque would be used to serve the community, would be
determined by Government.
He also spoke about the accommodation
and amenities to be included, along with an area for hosting receptions and
other income generating activities when completed.
In turn, Minister Munro-Knight informed
the Ambassador that there were several mosques on the island, and disclosed
that based on recent discussions with members of the Muslim community, they
were on board and ready to assist.
“They are engaged and ready to have an
input into the process because we wouldn’t want necessarily to have any
agreement without making sure that we have some conversations with the Muslim
community as well,” she noted.
In addition, she mentioned the
Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny (ROAD) Programme and how it fits into the wider
framework of building a national identity and consciousness, and the importance
of tracing one’s ancestry.
She further explained that the building
of a Spiritual University, as part of the ROAD Programme, fits into the
construction of the Islamic Centre.
Manager of the ROAD Programme, at the
Barbados Tourism Investment Inc., Chereda Grannum, agreed with Minister
Munro-Knight, and gave an overview of the project.
She described it as one of the “largest
cultural heritage undertakings in the Anglophone Caribbean”, which involves the
digitisation of our historical archives, the creation of the Ancestral Memorial
at Newton Slave Burial Ground, and a museum dedicated to Transatlantic Slavery
and Forced Migration.
Ambassador Fetais expressed his commitment
to the project, and requested further information so that possible funding from
his Government could be obtained.
The officials also discussed the
feasibility of an oral history project about the Muslim community, among other
areas of collaboration.
Ambassador Fetais expressed the hope
that the cultural centre would be opened in two years’ time.
Barbados and Qatar established
diplomatic relations on December 4, 2007.
Source: gisbarbados.gov.bb
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following URL to read the full text of the original
https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/qatars-ambassador-holds-talks-on-proposed-islamic-centre/
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Saudi interior minister attends Hajj
security readiness parade
June 22, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of
Interior and head of Supreme Hajj Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud attended
the Hajj security forces readiness parade, the Saudi Press Agency said on
Wednesday.
Director of Public Security Gen.
Mohammed Al-Bassami said that the Hajj security forces began carrying out their
duties in Makkah, the holy sites, and Madinah, and in all roads leading to the
Hajj areas according to a comprehensive security, traffic and organizational
plan amid cooperation from military, public, and private sectors.
He added that the government harnessed
all capabilities to serve and care for the pilgrims, ensure their safety, and
use modern technology, artificial intelligence, and smart applications for
their convenience.
The Hajj security forces displayed their
readiness through a number of security scenarios that showed their level of
proficiency and high skills.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2325971/saudi-arabia
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Saudi minister attends G20 tourism
meeting in India
June 21, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister
has taken part in the G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Goa, India.
Ahmed Al-Khateeb told the meeting that
the Kingdom supported India’s “Goa Tourism Plan” to sustainably grow tourism
industries. He said the plan was consistent with the Kingdom’s tourism
strategy, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He said that Saudi Arabia was a pioneer
in tourism, with 7.8 million people visiting the country in the first quarter
of 2023, up 64 percent on the same period in 2019.
The meeting was held under the slogan
“One Earth, One Family, One Future.”
The ministers discussed progress made at
the 4th G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting, which coincided with the ministerial
meeting. They also reviewed the five key priorities for strengthening
international cooperation in tourism.
Al-Khateeb invited his G20 counterparts
to the World Tourism Day celebrations hosted by Saudi Arabia on Sept. 28.
The minister also had a number of
meetings with the heads of the attending delegations to discuss further
cooperation and exchange experiences.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2325816/saudi-arabia
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Indian embassy celebrates International Yoga
Day with large turnout
June 21, 2023
RIYADH: The embassy of India in Riyadh
hosted a yoga session celebrating the International Day of Yoga on Wednesday in
Al-Mahdi Park.
“This year, International Day of Yoga is
being celebrated under the theme ‘Yoga for Vasudaiva Kutumbakam,’ which is in
unison with the theme of India’s G20 presidency ‘One Earth, One Family, One
Future,’” Indian Ambassador Suhel Ajaz Khan said.
The yoga event kicked off at 6 a.m. and
welcomed enthusiasts from across the city including students and teachers from
various schools in the Kingdom, Saudi citizens and other nationals, Indian
Embassy officials, and Indian residents living in the Kingdom.
The event was led by trained instructors
from the International Yoga Club based in Riyadh and hosted by Ritu Yadav.
“Approximately 600 people participated
in today’s celebrations held at Al-Madi Park,” the ambassador said.
As a part of the celebrations, dance
academies performed yoga-themed dances alongside the yoga sessions.
Padma Shri awardee Guruji H R Nagendra,
chancellor of Svyasa University, was the chief guest for the event. Manjunath
Sharma, vice-chancellor and director of research at the same university, also
attended the event.
On Dec. 11, 2014, the UN declared June
21 as the International Day of Yoga, and it has been celebrated worldwide ever
since.
“Yoga is an ancient physical, mental,
and spiritual practice that originated in India. Today, it is practiced in
various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity,” Khan said.
The embassy session aimed to promote
yoga and celebrate it as a holistic exercise valuable to a person’s health and
well-being.
“The philosophy behind the ancient
Indian practice of yoga has influenced various aspects of how society in India
functions, whether it be in relation to areas such as health and medicine or
education and the arts,” Khan told Arab News.
The ambassador explained that yoga is
based on unifying the mind with the body and soul to allow for greater mental,
spiritual, and physical well-being.
He said: “Yoga is already popular in the
Gulf region, especially in Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia has adopted yoga as a
sport as part of a holistic health initiative under Vision 2023. India and
Saudi Arabia also signed a memorandum of understanding on yoga cooperation in
June 2021.
“We would like to thank all the Saudi
authorities for the excellent support extended toward us in organizing this
event, especially to the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, the Saudi Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Al-Madi Park authorities, and the Saudi Yoga Committee.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the
following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2325781/saudi-arabia
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URL:
https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indonesian-ulema-fatwa-haram-friday/d/130054