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Islamic World News ( 3 Jun 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Iran drops apostasy charges against women converts

Imam accused of launching 'jihad' against prostitutes in Spain

JEDDAH: Mother armed with assault rifle storms into Hail school

Muslim woman, panchayat face-off over 'hubby'

Canadian Muslims still have reason to be anxious

Bride’s age must in new Saudi marriage contracts

Bangladesh newspaper forced to close down

Israel asks South Asian Muslims to help bridge gap with Palestine

US drones are ‘licence to kill’: UN expert

Israel sorry for dragging India into flotilla row

Australian woman held in Yemen over Qaeda suspicion: lawyer

Iran's supreme leader pardons opposition prisoners

Turkish activists get hero's welcome in Istanbul

Indian role key to future success in Afghanistan: US

Army plans to use micro audio bugs to keep watch on terrorists

India violating treaty on sharing of river waters: Pak

About 60,000 people evacuated as Phet threatens Pakistan

Turkey says ties with Israel 'will never be the same'

Terrorists trying to obtain nuke, biological material: Russia

The Danger of Demonizing Adherents of Islam

JUI holds protest against killing of clerics

Taliban balkanize Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan

Palestine, grave contemporary human rights issue: Supreme Leader

Afghan parliamentarian calls for execution of Christians

Protesters slam Israeli brutality

Religious leaders join to condemn Cahill's comments on Muslim community

Turkey flies Gaza aid activists home after deadly Israeli raid

New York bomb suspect Shahzad's case postponed for three weeks

Pakistan's nuke arsenal bigger than India's

Iran's supreme leader pardons 81 jailed opposition prisoners

Turkey flies Gaza aid activists home after deadly Israeli raid

India got Samad from UAE after four IM men escaped net

Israel calls Gaza blockade critics 'hypocrites'

Israel Deports 700 Activists

Israel Wants US To Deflect Outcry

Top Al Qaeda leader killed in drone strike

PPP women slam ‘conspiracies against govt’

New sanctions could mean confrontation: Iran

UN investigator snubs US drone strike

‘Terrorists seeking nuclear materials’

Punjabi Taliban getting more dangerous: Malik

Facebook and the Muslim outrage

Berlin academy honors Prince Salman

OIC calls emergency meeting to discuss Israeli attack

Israel tension boosts Turkey popularity among Arabs

Flotilla provokes world conscience

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iran-drops-apostasy-charges-women/d/2943

 

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Iran drops apostasy charges against women converts

Jun 3, 2010

Two female converts in Iran were acquitted of all charges and arrived safely in another country.

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh were cleared of apostasy, anti-state activities, and participating in illegal gatherings, according to Elam Ministries, an Iran-focused ministry that has followed the case since the beginning.

Iranian authorities warned the women that they faced serious consequences if they continue their Christian activities in Iran.

The founders of Elam Ministries, Sam and Lin Yeghnazar, received the two young women at an airport in an undisclosed country on Saturday. The name of the country was withheld for security reasons.

“It was very emotional when we first saw them,” said Lin Yeghnazar. “Now, we want to see them rest and recover.”

Rostampour and Amirizadeh were arrested in March 2009 on charges of anti-state activity and for “taking part in illegal gatherings”, in other words, involvement with house churches. They were detained in the notorious Evin prison, a facility known for its human rights violations, while their trial took place in Tehran.

The young converts suffered psychological abuse during their detainment, including sleep deprivation and intense interrogation lasting hours. They also suffered from health problems but were denied medical attention.

In prison, they were pressured to renounce their new Christian faith and to return to Islam but they repeatedly refused.

During an August 9 court hearing, they reportedly told the judge, “We love Jesus,” “Yes, we are Christians,” and, “We will not deny our faith.” In October they learned that a third charge of apostasy had been added.

They were conditionally released on November 18, but updates on their condition in April revealed that the two women were still in frail physical condition.

“We are most grateful to everyone who prayed for us,” said Amirizadeh in a statement Saturday. “I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people.”

Rostampour also thanked Christians worldwide for their prayers, which she credits for sustaining them throughout the ordeal. She said eventually they would like to share what occurred during their detainment, but for now they wanted to pray and “seek the Lord for His will”.

In Iran it is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity, although Christians are allowed to convert to Islam.

Over the past year, authorities have shut down at least three churches and accused them of converting Muslims. None of the three churches have been given permission to re-open yet.

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/iran.drops.apostasy.charges.against.women.converts/25960.htm

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Imam accused of launching 'jihad' against prostitutes in Spain

By Fiona Govan

3 Jun 2010

An imam who has launched a "jihad" on prostitutes, encouraging women to harass the women in a city in southern Spain, is facing a restraining order to prevent him from harassing them.

Street walkers in Cartagena, on Spain's southern Mediterranean coast, have complained that the imam of a local mosque has launched a campaign of intimidation to get them off the streets.

Yazid Koudri, president of the Islamic community of Cartagena and the imam of the Ennour mosque, has been accused of sending a team of "Muslim guards" onto the streets to prevent the women from working.

Police confirm that they have received several complaints from prostitutes working in the streets around the mosque, including one woman who claimed the imam had tried to run her over in his car.

Others said the imam sent a team of his faithful onto the streets encouraging them to "insult the sex workers" and "threaten violence".

Mr Koudri has openly lobbied authorities to crack down on the red light district, which has emerged on several streets around the mosque in what local newspapers have termed a "jihad against prostitution".

Last month, he presented a petition to the city hall, calling for more policing of the area. The letter had more than 200 signatures, believed to be collected from among the 300 people who regularly worship at the mosque.

"We are not against what these women do," Mr Koudri stated. "But ask that they don't do it in the streets where our children walk."

Members of the mosque have reportedly been placed at the entrance to streets favoured by prostitutes to prevent any Muslim passing through, an act which the women complain has led to a drop in clients.

The local prosecutor has applied for a restraining order to prevent the Imam going within 200 yards of the sex workers.

Prostitution is legal in Spain, although living off earnings derived from prostituting other people is not.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/7798375/Imam-accused-of-launching-jihad-against-prostitutes-in-Spain.html

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Jeddah: Mother armed with assault rifle storms into Hail school

By MUHAMAD AL-SULAMI

Jun 3, 2010

JEDDAH: A 40-year-old Saudi woman armed with an assault rifle walked into a village school close to Hail and demanded teachers hand over her son.

The woman entered the school in the village of Al-Thekra armed with an AK-47. She was, however, overpowered by teachers and then, along with the nephew, arrested by police.

The school’s principal said he was surprised to see the mother walk into the school with the gun, adding that the woman threatened to shoot her to scare him into handing over the boy.

The school principal, however, refused to hand over the boy. Other teachers then came and tried calming her down. The woman then became aggressive and was physically restrained and disarmed.

According to police sources, the woman’s husband beat her up the day before and that she had vowed to leave him along with their son to live at her father’s home.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article60529.ece

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Muslim woman, panchayat face-off over 'hubby'

Jun 03 2010

Muzaffarnagar : A community panchayat has asked a Muslim woman to go back to her first husband but she has rejected the diktat and instead lodged a complaint against it with the police.

Mehrana got married with Ansar Tyagi ten years ago but had a divorce and on October 8, 2008, she remarried Shakil, according to the complaint filed in Ambavihar locality here yesterday.

It said a community panchayat asked the woman to go back to her first husband and pronounced her second marriage as "illegal" because she had not got talaq from her first husband.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/muslim-woman-panchayat-faceoff-over-hubby/628889/

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Canadian Muslims still have reason to be anxious

BY DOUGLAS TODD, VANCOUVER SUNJUNE

Jun 3, 2010

A young Port Moody Muslim is travelling to Europe for the first time and is worried about being racially profiled.

Raised in the relative tolerance of Metro Vancouver, Shaheed Devji has won a European Union-Canada Young Journalist Award that has him flying alone to Belgium, where Muslims are sometimes treated suspiciously in airports and elsewhere.

Devji, a B.C. Institute of Technology broadcast student and SFU soccer play-by-play announcer, wondered if he was just being "paranoid" about whether his laptop was going to be searched.

Unfortunately, he has a right to be anxious.

Racial profiling may be just one of the problems Devji experiences away from Metro Vancouver, which has roughly 70,000 Muslims. Some Muslims in Europe, and especially in the U.S., are being subjected to shocking discrimination, harassment and violence.

Full report at:

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Canadian+Muslims+still+have+reason+anxious/3105863/story.html

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Bride’s age must in new Saudi marriage contracts

3 June 2010

 JEDDAH — The new marriage contracts represent a serious step to prevent the marriage of young girls, according to sources at the Ministry of Justice.

“There is a serious drive by the ministry to determine an age for girls to marry following the recent reporting of older men marrying young girls,” the sources said.

The ministry has began distributing new marriage contracts to marriage officials that contain a section that includes a question about the bride’s age, a move that has been described by human rights organisations and officials at the ministry as part of a new drive to stop underage marriages.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/June/middleeast_June98.xml&section=middleeast&col=

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Bangladesh newspaper closed down

03 Jun, 2010

The Bangladeshi government has ordered the closure of the country's third largest national daily newspaper Amar Desh, which supports the opposition Bangladeshi National Party.

Police raided the paper's Dhaka headquarters and arrested the acting editor Mahmudur Rahman. He has written editorials and articles critical of the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, documenting human rights abuses and corruption.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/jun/03/press-freedom-bangladesh

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Israel asks South Asian Muslims to help bridge gap with Palestine

By Iftikhar Gilani

Jun 3, 2010

NEW DELHI: Facing international backlash over its raid on the Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla, Israel on Wednesday sought help from South Asian Muslims to build bridges between Israel and the moderate Palestinian leadership. At a specially convened press interaction for selected Delhi-based Muslim journalists, Israeli Ambassador to India Mark Sofer said top Pakistani journalist and TV anchor Talat Hussain was safe and would return to Pakistan soon. He asked Muslims to look at the wider picture in Middle East, denying it was a battle between Jews and Muslims. “We respect Islam and the conflict in West Asia is not a religious one. Islam is a religion of peace and beauty. Whoever indulges in violence in the name of Islam, abuses and misuses the religion,” Sofer said.

Full report at:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\03\story_3-6-2010_pg7_33

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US drones are ‘licence to kill’: UN expert

3 June 2010

 GENEVA - A UN human rights expert on Wednesday condemned the United States’ targeted killings using drones, warning that the practice amounted to a “licence to kill without accountability”.

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council, Philip Alston, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said the “prolific” US use of targeted killings, mainly by unmanned aircraft, was setting a damaging example that other countries would follow.

“I’m particularly concerned that the United States seems oblivious to this fact when it asserts an ever-expanding entitlement for itself to target individuals across the globe,” he told the 47-member council.

“But this strongly asserted but ill-defined licence to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without doing grave damage to the rules designed to protect the right to life and prevent extrajudicial executions.”

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/June/international_June107.xml&section=international&col=

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Israel sorry for dragging India into flotilla row

Jun 3, 2010

NEW DELHI: Fearing a major outrage in India over remarks made by its foreign ministry in the context of the attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, Israel on Wednesday attributed the statement bracketing India with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq to a "human error" and said it was "regrettable". Israel's envoy to India Mark Sofer said the issue had been taken up to ensure that no misunderstanding was caused by it.

India had earlier strongly condemned the Israeli strikes saying there could not be any justification for such indiscriminate use of force. The Israeli foreign ministry then issued a statement saying that foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman had reminded the UN Secretary General that "in the past month alone, 500 people were killed in various incidents in Thailand, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and India, while the international community remained silent and passive, and generally ignored the occurrences, while Israel is condemned for unmistakably defensive actions".

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Israel-sorry-for-dragging-India-into-flotilla-row/articleshow/6004434.cms

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Australian woman held in Yemen over Qaeda suspicion: lawyer

Jun 3, 2010

Sanaa : An Australian mother has been taken into custody by Yemeni authorities over suspected links to Al-Qaeda, while her two children were placed under house arrest, her lawyer said on Wednesday.

Shyloh Jayne Giddens, who had converted to Islam, was arrested on May 15 by the intelligence services along with other Muslim women, Abdul Rahman Barman told AFP.

The authorities did not provide any reasons for the arrests, Barman said, adding that two Bangladeshi women were arrested with Giddens and that one of them has been deported.

"In light of wrong US intelligence information, people get arrested without any legal justification. Dozens of innocent people are being arrested and accused of working for, or belonging to, Al-Qaeda," he said.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/australian-woman-held-in-yemen-over-qaeda-suspicion-lawyer/628481/

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Iran's supreme leader pardons opposition prisoners

Jun 3, 2010

TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader pardoned 81 jailed opposition supporters who had been found guilty of having a role in the unrest triggered by last June's disputed presidential election.

Wednesday's pardons were seen as a gesture of goodwill by Iran's leaders just days before the anniversary of the June 12 election, when the opposition says it will attempt to mount the first street protests in months. Authorities have warned they will confront any unauthorized gatherings.

Opposition activists took to the streets after last year's vote, claiming President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election through fraud. Over the weeks, activists broadened their protests to challenge Iran's clerical establishment and were met with a heavy crackdown.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article60517.ece

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Turkish activists get hero's welcome in Istanbul

By SELCAN HACAOGLU & MARK LAVIE

Jun 3, 2010

ISTANBUL: Hundreds of activists deported from Israel following a bloody raid by Israeli commandos on a pro-Palestinian flotilla returned to a hero's welcome in Turkey early Thursday. Nine bodies were on the first plane.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc and several Turkish lawmakers welcomed them at the airport after Turkey pressured Israel to release the detainees, most of whom are Turkish. Others were from Arab countries, Europe and the United States.

"They faced barbarism and oppression but returned with pride," Arinc said.

A few thousand jubilant relatives and supporters, waving Palestinian and Turkish flags, burst into applause outside the airport, chanting "God is Great!" They later walked to the perimeters near the tarmac to see their loved ones.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article60648.ece

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Indian role key to future success in Afghanistan: US

By Anwar Iqbal

03 Jun, 2010

WASHINGTON: “We refuse to accept the notion that somehow we can have strong relations with only one country in South Asia at a time,” says a senior US official while defining the Obama administration’s policy towards India and Pakistan.

Speaking at a seminar on the start of US-India Strategic Dialogue this week, Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs William J. Burns also hinted that the US was not against India’s inclusion in the UN Security Council as a permanent member.

“India’s expanding global role will naturally make it an important part of any future consideration of reform of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/indian-role-key-to-future-success-in-afghanistan-us-360

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Army plans to use micro audio bugs to keep watch on terrorists

Jun 3, 2010

NEW DELHI: Army plans to induct new-age gadgets such as micro audio bugs and video devices to keep a watch on terrorist hideouts and their meeting places and activities, apparently taking a leaf out of James Bond flicks.

"Possible nanotechnology applications are micro-audio bugs and video recording devices with high capacity data storage to plant at likely meeting places of terrorists, over ground agents and sympathisers," army said on the possible uses of nanotechnology products in the 'Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap' for the defence ministry.

Nanotechnology is an expected future manufacturing technology that will make most products lighter, stronger, cleaner, less expensive and smaller in size.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Army-plans-to-use-nanotech-to-monitor-terrorists/articleshow/6006757.cms

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India violating treaty on sharing of river waters: Pak

Jun 03 2010

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday said India had been violating a treaty on the sharing of river waters and that it had "strong reservations" over two hydropower projects being built in Jammu and Kashmir.

"There have been violations by India of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. For instance, we still have strong reservations vis-a-vis the Kishanganga and Nimmo-Bazgo projects," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a weekly news briefing.

Pakistan wants to settle all differences and disputes with India over the sharing of river waters in accordance with the dispute settlement mechanism of the Indus Waters Treaty, Basit said while replying to a question.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-violating-treaty-on-sharing-of-river-waters-pak/629065/

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About 60,000 people evacuated as Phet threatens Pakistan

Jun 3, 2010

KARACHI: More than 60,000 people living on Pakistan's Arabian sea coastline were evacuated and emergency declared in Sindh and Balochistan provinces, as tropical cyclone Phet closed in on the country.

Thousands of people were moved out from vulnerable villages along the coast in the Sindh province and another half a a million could be affected in neighbouring Balochistan, if the cyclone smashes into Pakistan, officials said.

President Asif Ali Zardari directed the armed forces and all government departments to be on full alert to tackle the possible fallout of the cyclone Phet, which has weakened over Oman and is now moving towards Pakistan's coastline.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/About-60000-people-evacuated-as-Phet-threatens-Pakistan/articleshow/6007888.cms

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Turkey says ties with Israel 'will never be the same'

Jun 3, 2010

ANKARA: Turkey's ties with Israel suffered "irreparable" damage and "will never be the same" after the deadly raid on aid ships bound for Gaza, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said today.

"From now on, Turkish-Israeli ties will never be the same. This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar" on relations, he said in televised remarks.

Gul added that Monday's attack by Israeli forces, in which eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin were killed, "is not an issue that can be forgotten... or be covered up."

"Israel has made the biggest mistake in its history. It will realise this better in the future. Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Middle-East/Turkey-says-ties-with-Israel-will-never-be-the-same/articleshow/6008001.cms

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Terrorists trying to obtain nuke, biological material: Russia

Jun 3, 2010

MOSCOW: Russia's top security official has said the terrorists active in the post-Soviet nations are trying to obtain nuclear, biological and chemical material for terror strikes.

"We posses information indicating that the terrorists are trying to gain access to nuclear, biological and chemical components," FSB security chief Gen Alexander Bortnikov said in his televised remarks.

Speaking after the CIS security agencies' conference in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg Gen Bortnikov said: "We are constantly paying attention to this problem."

He said that as a result of joint inter-agency operations several terror attempts were foiled in the former Soviet republics, now members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Rest-of-World/Terrorists-trying-to-obtain-nuke-biological-material-Russia/articleshow/6007266.cms

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The Danger of Demonizing Adherents of Islam

By RICHARD BERNSTEIN

Jun 3, 2010

NEW YORK — They are not exactly ubiquitous, but according to The Daily News, 40 New York City buses are rolling these days with an unusual and, to be frank, dubious advertisement emblazoned on their sides.

“Fatwa on your head?” the ad reads, in a message apparently aimed at Muslims who want to convert to another religion or simply not to be Muslims anymore. “Is your family or community threatening you?”

The ad is promoting a Web site, RefugeFromIslam.com, where, presumably, New York Muslims whose lives have been threatened because they want to convert can turn for help, and the site contains links to other sites with various anti-Islamic purposes. “Muslims Against Sharia,” for example, aims “to educate Muslims about dangers presented by Islamic religious texts and why Islam must be reformed.”

Full report at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/us/03iht-letter.html

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JUI holds protest against killing of clerics

Jun 3, 2010

QUETTA: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) staged a rally at the Meezan Chowk on Wednesday to protest against the killing of religious scholars Qari Abdul Mateen and Hafiz Muhammad Usman. The rally, after marching through different parts of the city, concluded at the Meezan Chowk. Addressing the rally, former senator Fazal Barech, Maulana Abdul Qadir and Maulana Muhammad Hanif criticised the government for failing to protect the life and property of the citizens. “The government is responsible for protecting the life and property of the common man but it seems to be powerless before the criminals,” Fazal Barech said adding that if the government could not protect the citizens then weapons be provided to every person for protecting his life and property. He said that some elements wanted to create sectarian differences amongst the masses but they would not succeed in their evil designs. The former senator alleged that the US was encouraging terrorist attacks in the country and was also behind the target killings of religious scholars. The protesters demanded the government to arrest the killers of Maulana Mateen and Usman and bring them to justice.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\03\story_3-6-2010_pg7_22

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Taliban balkanize Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan

Jun 3, 2010

Noted Pakistani humorist Ibn-e-Insha once wrote about his encounter with a Pakistani troubled by his countrymen’s overwhelming ethnic and sub-nationalist sensitivities.“Aajkal Pakistan mein koyi apney aap ko Sindhi kehta hai to koyi Baluchi, Punjabi ya Pathan. Agar yahi sab karna tha tou Pakistan bananey ki kya zaroorat thi?” he asked.

“Maaf kijiyega, galti ho gayi, agey sey nahin banayenge,” responded Insha in a telling acceptance of contradictions that bedevil Pakistan as a nation State. That happened some years ago as the Leftist thinker died way back in 1978.

In the years thereafter, sharpened ethnic, regional, linguistic and sub-nationalist identities have put under greater strain the State’s cohesiveness. The Punjabi imperialism, Pakhtoon and Baloch alienation, Shia-Sunni divide and the Mohajir versus Sindhi sentiments have only lent greater meaning to Insha’s apology.

Full report at:

http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/separated-at-birth/2010/05/31/taliban-balkanize-jinnah%E2%80%99s-vision-of-pakistan/

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Palestine, grave contemporary human rights issue: Supreme Leader

Jun 3, 2010

TEHRAN(ISNA)-Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei issued a statement in condemnation of the Monday bloody Israeli attack against Fleet of Freedom humanitarian aid ships, saying that the atrocity was an aggression against world public opinion.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Palestinian issue was no longer merely an Arabic or even Islamic issue rather it was a grave contemporary human rights issue to which the supporters of the Zionist regime especially America, Britain and France must be held accountable.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the savage and barbaric attack against the humanitarian fleet was another leaf in the log of massive criminal acts committed by the regime.

Full report at:

http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1550223&Lang=E

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Afghan parliamentarian calls for execution of Christians

June 3, 2010

An Afghan parliamentary secretary has called for the public execution of Christian converts from the parliament floor, according to International Christian Concern.

On Tuesday, the Associated Free Press reported that Abdul Sattar Khawasi, deputy secretary of the Afghan lower house in parliament, called for the execution of Christian converts from Islam.

Speaking in regards to a video broadcast by the Afghan television network Noorin TV showing footage of Christian men being baptized and praying in Farsi, Khawasi said, "Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public. The house should order the attorney general and the NDS (intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them."

Full report at:

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/afghan.parliamentarian.calls.for.execution.of.christians/26025.htm

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Protesters slam Israeli brutality

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI

Jun 3, 2010

HUNDREDS of people demonstrated yesterday in front of the UN House, in Hoora, demanding action from the international community following Israel's attack on a Gaza aid flotilla.

Members of political, vocational and social organisations took part in the demonstration, which was spearheaded by members of Al Menbar National Islamic Society.

People from all faiths gathered with flags and placards, condemning the latest actions taken by Israel.

Al Menbar parliamentary bloc president MP Dr Shaikh Abdullatif Al Shaikh read out the statement at the end of the demonstration, saying that they were not surprised with Israel's behaviour.

Full report at:

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=279330

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Religious leaders join to condemn Cahill's comments on Muslim community

By Martin Finucane and Michael Levenson

Jun 3, 2010

Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders, adorned in the vestments of their respective faiths, stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of a Roxbury mosque today and strongly condemned Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill’s remarks blasting Governor Deval Patrick’s attendance last weekend at a forum at the mosque.

The gathering included leaders from the Archdiocese of Boston, the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, the Massachusetts Council of Churches, some of Boston’s most prominent black churches, and several Jewish temples.

Full report at:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/05/cahills_comment.html

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Turkey flies Gaza aid activists home after deadly Israeli raid

Jun 3, 2010

ANKARA: Hundreds of activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla seized by Israeli commandos arrived in Turkey on Thursday, as Israel's prime minister denounced some of them as "violent supporters of terrorism."

A crowd of about a thousand people, some chanting anti-Israeli slogans, welcomed the three planes carrying 488 activists at Istanbul airport as they arrived in the small hours of the morning.

The planes were also carrying the bodies of nine activists killed when Israeli commandos took control of the six aid vessels in Monday's pre-dawn operation, deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc told journalists at the airport.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Turkey-flies-Gaza-aid-activists-home-after-deadly-Israeli-raid/articleshow/6005805.cms

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New York bomb suspect Shahzad's case postponed for three weeks

Jun 3, 2010

NEW YORK: Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad has agreed to let the government delay seeking an indictment against him while it continues discussions with his lawyer.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday released paperwork saying they can delay until June 21 deciding how to proceed with charges in the May 1 attempted bombing, in which a sport utility vehicle laden with gasoline and propane tanks was parked near a Broadway theater but didn't blow up.

Shahzad was arrested on May 3. The ex-budget analyst from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was on a Dubai-bound plane at a New York City airport.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/New-York-bomb-suspect-Shahzads-case-postponed-for-three-weeks/articleshow/6006609.cms

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Pakistan's nuke arsenal bigger than India's

Rajat Pandit

Jun 3, 2010

NEW DELHI: After racing ahead of India in ballistic and cruise missiles, with covert help from China and North Korea, Pakistan seems to be surging ahead on the nuclear front too.

A series of recent estimates by international nuclear watchdogs and reputed thinktanks hold that Pakistan has a total of 70 to 90 warheads compared to India's 60 to 80. China, in comparison, has around 240 warheads.

Even as global fears about the possibility of jihadis gaining access to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, enriched uranium or technical know-how continue, its deadly inventory is only going to expand in the coming years.

Pakistan, after all, is supplementing its ongoing enriched uranium-based nuke programme with a weapons-grade plutonium one. Its two new heavy-water reactors being built at Khushab nuclear facility, with China's help, are clearly geared towards producing weapons-grade plutonium, as reported by TOI earlier.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistans-nuke-arsenal-bigger-than-Indias/articleshow/6005178.cms

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Iran's supreme leader pardons 81 jailed opposition prisoners

Jun 3, 2010

TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader pardoned 81 jailed opposition supporters who had been found guilty of having a role in the unrest triggered by last June's disputed presidential election.

Wednesday's pardons were seen as a gesture of goodwill by Iran's leaders just days before the anniversary of the June 12 election, when the opposition says it will attempt to mount the first street protests in months. Authorities have warned they will confront any unauthorised gatherings.

Opposition activists took to the streets after last year's vote, claiming President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won re-election through fraud.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Irans-supreme-leader-pardons-81-jailed-opposition-prisoners/articleshow/6005579.cms

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Turkey flies Gaza aid activists home after deadly Israeli raid

Jun 3, 2010

ANKARA: Hundreds of activists from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla seized by Israeli commandos arrived in Turkey on Thursday, as Israel's prime minister denounced some of them as "violent supporters of terrorism."

A crowd of about a thousand people, some chanting anti-Israeli slogans, welcomed the three planes carrying 488 activists at Istanbul airport as they arrived in the small hours of the morning.

The planes were also carrying the bodies of nine activists killed when Israeli commandos took control of the six aid vessels in Monday's pre-dawn operation, deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc told journalists at the airport.

Israel has identified four of the dead as Turkish nationals, but there has been no word yet as to the identity or nationality of the others.

Full report at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Turkey-flies-Gaza-aid-activists-home-after-deadly-Israeli-raid/articleshow/6005805.cms

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India got Samad from UAE after four IM men escaped net

Jun 3, 2010

New Delhi : India was able to get back Abdul Samad, the brother of alleged Pune blast accused Yasin Bhatkal, from Dubai after New Delhi conveyed to the UAE its serious concern over four key Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives being allowed to escape from Sharjah two months ago.

Top government sources told The Indian Express that at a security coordination meeting two months ago, New Delhi had asked UAE for help in nabbing four IM operatives suspected to be involved in the Pune attack, who were then in Sharjah. Their addresses were handed over; however, the four men escaped. India was later told that the men could not be found at the given addresses. Indian agencies believe the IM men escaped to Pakistan.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-got-samad-from-uae-after-four-im-men-escaped-net/628744/

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Israel calls Gaza blockade critics 'hypocrites'

Jun 3, 2010

Jerusalem: Defending Israel's enforcement of its blockade of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was vital for security and would stay in place.

In a televised speech after world outrage erupted over nine deaths in Monday's seizure of a Turkish ship bound for Gaza, a defiant Netanyahu said easing controls would put Iranian missiles in the hands of the Palestinian enclave's Hamas rulers.

This threatened not just Israel but Europe too, he said.

Turkey, a Muslim country that had been Israel's strategic ally, accused it of "state terrorism" and has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv and demanded it lift its blockade.

Those calls have been echoed by European leaders and the United Nations whose Human Rights Council voted to set up an independent fact-finding mission into the incident.

Full report at:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/israel-calls-gaza-blockade-critics-hypocrites/628819/

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Israel Deports 700 Activists

Jun 3, 2010

Israel on Wednesday was deporting the last of the nearly 700 foreign activists detained in a deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for Palestinians in the blockaded, Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel’s attorney-general Yehuda Weinstein ordered everyone be deported after deciding not to prosecute any of the activists taken into custody during Monday’s raid.

Officials had earlier said they were considering prosecuting about 50 people believed to be involved in violence, but Mr Weinstein wrote in his order Wednesday that “keeping them here would do more damage to the country’s vital interests than good.”

Full report at:

http://www.asianage.com/international/israel-deports-700-activists-060

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Israel Wants US To Deflect Outcry

Jun 3, 2010

Israel can probably live with the diplomatic cost of its bloody storming of Turkish-backed aid ships bound for Gaza — unless its US ally fails to shield it.

Israel’s high-seas interception of the flotilla, in which nine people were killed, has provoked a firestorm of criticism around the world and shredded the Jewish state’s already tattered relationship with Turkey, once its only Muslim ally.

Demands will intensify for Israel to end its siege of Gaza’s 1.5 million Palestinians, decried as “inhumane” by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. The European Union and Russia urged Israel to open crossings for aid, goods and people.

Full report at:

http://www.asianage.com/international/israel-wants-us-deflect-outcry-980

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Top Al Qaeda leader killed in drone strike

Jun 3, 2010

PESHAWAR, June 2: A jihadi group announced on Wednesday that top Al Qaeda operative Osama bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Damjan Al-Dawsari had been killed in a drone attack in Nezai Narray near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan.

Al-Fajr Media Centre, run by a jihadi group, had earlier reported the death of Al Qaeda’s third-ranking leader Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid in a drone attack in Laand Mohammadkhel area of North Waziristan on May 18.

Dawsari was reportedly killed when he was attending a meeting in the house of one Omar Khaitab, a close associate of militant commander Maulvi Nazir.

Local people said that Khaitab, two other tribesmen and an Afghan national were killed in the attack.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/top-al-qaeda-leader-killed-in-drone-strike-360

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PPP women slam ‘conspiracies against govt’

Jun 3, 2010

HYDERABAD, June 2: Sindh chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party (women wing) has adopted many resolutions condemning conspiracies against the government.

At its convention here on Tuesday, the provincial chapter also launched party membership drive and expressed full confidence in the leadership of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and president of the party (women wing) Ms Faryal Talpur.

It termed passage of the 18th amendment a big achievement and vowed to complete the mission of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for the welfare the common man.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/ppp-women-slam-conspiracies-against-govt-360

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New sanctions could mean confrontation: Iran

Jun 3, 2010

BRUSSELS—Fresh international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme could lead to confrontation, foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned during a visit to Brussels on Wednesday.

"There are two options," to resolve the problem, he told an audience at the European Policy Centre think-tank. "The first is based on cooperation, the other is based on confrontation," he said on the second and last day of his visit to the Belgian capital.

"The resolution" at the United Nations Security Council on imposing new sanctions against Iran "is a basis for confrontation," he warned. "That is not our preferred option but that's up to other parties who would like to move in that direction," Mottaki added.

Full report at:

http://dailymailnews.com/0610/03/FrontPage/FrontPage9.php

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UN investigator snubs US drone strike

Jun 3, 2010

WASHINGTON—A senior United Nations official said Wednesday that the United States should halt the CIA’s drone campaign against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in Pakistan, charging that the official secrecy surrounding the strikes violates the legal principal of international accountability.

But a report by Philip Alston, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, stopped short of declaring the CIA program illegal, reported The Washington Post. Alston presented a 29-page report to the U.N.’s Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday that focused on so-called targeted killings by countries such as Russia and Israel as well as the United States.

Full report at:

http://dailymailnews.com/0610/03/FrontPage/FrontPage5.php

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‘Terrorists seeking nuclear materials’

Jun 3, 2010

MOSCOW: Militants in the post-Soviet region are attempting to obtain nuclear materials for use in attacks, Russia’s security services chief said on Wednesday.      

“We have information showing that terrorists are continuing attempts to gain access to nuclear materials (and) biological and chemical components,” Alexander Bortnikov said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

“We are constantly paying attention to this problem,” he said.   Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has worked with security forces of other countries in the post-Soviet CIS region to prevent a number of attacks, Bortnikov said.        

Full report at:

http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=242885

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Punjabi Taliban getting more dangerous: Malik

Jun 3, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik believed that the Punjabi Taliban holed up in southern Punjab had become more dangerous and were geared up for large-scale sabotage in the country, Geo TV reported on Wednesday.

Briefing the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Interior here, he revealed that the Laskhar-e-Jhangvi had been involved in the Marriott Hotel bombing, the GHQ attack and Lahore terror incidents.

He said that no military operation was planned against banned outfits in Punjab, rather effective action would jointly be taken to eliminate them. Malik maintained that the assistance of the Punjab government had been sought to launch an action against the suspectedoutfits.

Full report at:

http://thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=29246

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Facebook and the Muslim outrage

Jun 3, 2010

News agencies wrote: “Any depictions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are considered blasphemous by Muslims.”

The above statement is meant to fully summarize the reason behind the outrage that arises in Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world whenever a provocative “artist” decides to express his freedom of expression and “expose” Muslims as anti-democratic.

Such a simplistic interpretation of such an intricate issue.

There is no denial — and no shame — in the fact that most Muslims hold their Prophet (peace be upon him) in the highest regard. Despite the continued decrease in the number of faithful in increasingly secularized Western societies, Muslims are clinging even tighter to their faith. However, while the outrage over the latest transgression by some Facebook users may appear as a straightforward news story — that of Western values versus Muslim narrow-mindedness — the true underpinnings of the outrage are suspiciously missing.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article60444.ece

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Berlin academy honors Prince Salman

Jun 3, 2010

BERLIN: Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman was awarded on Wednesday the Kant Medal by Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in appreciation of his contributions to the field of science.

Prince Salman received the medal during a ceremony organized by the academy in Berlin. A number of German scientists and academics attended the event.

In a speech on the occasion, Prince Salman thanked the academy officials for awarding him the medal.

“I am proud to receive this medal,” he said. “The fact is that we carry out the directives of our wise leaders for the country’s progress. We in the Kingdom cooperate on virtue and piety as Islam orders its followers. I am happy to be here. I hope that there would be continuing relations between the Kingdom and Germany especially in the area of sciences,” the prince said.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article60504.ece

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OIC calls emergency meeting to discuss Israeli attack

Jun 3, 2010

JEDDAH: The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has called an extraordinary meeting of the member states of its executive committee in Jeddah on Sunday.

The call follows a request from a number of OIC member states to hold an urgent meeting at the level of foreign ministers to review the tragic developments following the heinous Israeli attack on Gaza aid flotilla.

The executive committee is comprised of representatives of Tajikistan, Syria, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Senegal, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Palestine.

Meanwhile, the International Forum for Muslim Scholars and Thinkers, an affiliate of the Muslim World League (MWL), on Wednesday condemned the Israeli aggression against the aid flotilla. “The Muslim scholars and thinkers in all parts of the world condemn and deplore this heinous aggression aimed at preventing peace-loving nations from demonstrating solidarity with the people of Gaza who are under the yoke of siege,” said a statement issued by the forum.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article60512.ece

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Israel tension boosts Turkey popularity among Arabs

Jun 3, 2010

RAMALLAH, West Bank: Ankara's diplomatic confrontation with Israel over the bloody seizure of an aid ship bound for Gaza has boosted Turkey's popularity among Arabs who long to see their own governments show similar resolve.

From Cairo to Kuwait, Turkey's red flag has flown across the Arab world in a show of support for its response to the Israeli raid in which nine activists, at least three of them Turks, were killed as they tried to break the sea blockade of the Palestinian enclave.

Ankara's reaction, including the withdrawal of its Tel Aviv ambassador, has shown up the few Arab governments that also have diplomatic ties with Israel. These include Egypt, which was already under fire for helping Israel enforce the Gaza blockade.

Full report at:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article60569.ece

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Flotilla provokes world conscience

3 June 2010

 The unprovoked and murderous Israeli commando attack on the peace flotilla is the Selma of the Arab/Jewish struggle for the land of Palestine. Selma, a small town in Alabama, was where Martin Luther King based his campaign to win the voting rights for disenfranchised blacks.

Attempting to march to the state capital, Montgomery, the marchers were set upon by baton-wielding police as they tried to cross Pettus Bridge. It provoked a nationwide outpouring of disgust and anger. The march continued, joined by tens of thousands of people from all over the United States, until it reached Montgomery. When King spoke it resonated around the world. Shortly after, President Lyndon Johnson rammed through Congress legislation ensuring there would be no longer impediments to blacks voting. The election of Barack Obama as president can be directly traced to ?that legislation.

Full report at:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/June/middleeast_June119.xml&section=middleeast

URL:https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iran-drops-apostasy-charges-women/d/2943


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