Islamic Punishment for Blasphemy Cannot Be Administered In a Democratic, Non-Islamic Country: Fatwa Islamic Seminary Jamia Nizamia
New Age Islam News Bureau
03 September 2022
Jamia Nizamia is one of
the oldest Islamic seminaries of higher learning of Sunnis in India. File photo
| Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf
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• Pakistani Court Sends ‘Abducted’ Sikh Girl to Muslim
Husband; She Was A Major, Educated, and Could Better Understand Her Thread and
Thrum, She Said
• Extremists Could Exploit Slavery Laws to Escape
Justice: UK Terror Expert
• Self-Described Ugandan Prophet, Kintu Dennis,
Imprisoned After Video Shows Him Caning Followers
• Pro-Taliban Cleric, Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman Ansari among 46
Killed In Suicide Bombing In Afghanistan
India
• Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha Claims UP's Budaun
Mosque Built On Razed Temple
• Ganesh Chaturthi at Hubli’s Idgah Ground Over,
Muslim Body to File Contempt of the Court Plea
• To Help Cadre Manage Finance, Muslim Youth League Conducts
Classes
• U.P. Government to Hold Job Fairs for Muslim Youths
to Give Employment Opportunities to Them
• Construction of SC-Mandated Mosque in Ayodhya Yet To
Begin In Absence of No Objection Certificates
• Muslim continues to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at
his house
• BJP’s Giriraj Singh demands survey of mosques,
madrasas in Bihar
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Pakistan
• Will begin March to Islamabad if victimisation of
PTI workers not stopped: Imran Khan warns government
• American Pakistani community calls for $13bn US aid
package to Pakistan amid flooding
• High food, petrol prices can trigger protests in
Pakistan: IMF
• Jemima Goldsmith comes to Pakistan’s aid again—to
raise funds via pvt screening of her film
• Probe reveals ‘dubious’ funds used for PTI media
drive
• Alvi seeks ‘political pause’ amid floods as Imran campaigns
• 50 trucks bring vegetables from Iran, Afghanistan
--------
Europe
• Anti-Terror Prosecutor Warns of Islamic State Attack
on French Soil
• UK: Muslim students threaten to disaffiliate from
NUS after Islamophobia claims
• Türkiye says Greece's negative statements cannot
harm ties with NATO
• Türkiye will continue to respond to Greece's
'impertinence': Defence chief
• UK using ‘delaying tactics’ in releasing files on
Saudi arms sales: Report
--------
Africa
• Tunisian Army Kills Three ISIS-Linked Extremists
• Gunmen kill at least 42 people in Ethiopia’s Oromiya
region: Report
• Presidents of Türkiye, Republic of Congo meet in
Istanbul
• Tunisian security forces kill 3 terrorists in
Kasserine
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South
Asia
• Islamic Emirate Rejects USIP Report Claiming
Terrorists in Afghanistan
• Khalilzad Urges US, Islamic Emirate to Pursue Doha
Agreement
• Seven Rohingya dead after boat seized, Myanmar
authorities say
--------
Arab
World
• Iraq Anti-Government Protesters Demand Political
Change after Unrest
• Israeli attacks squeeze Iranian aerial supplies to
Syria, sources say
• Turkish Volunteers Put Smiles on Orphans’ Faces in Syria
• Reforms in Saudi Arabia’s education sector producing
highly skilled youth: Minister
• Iraq destroys Daesh stronghold in Mosul
• Turkish military forces, allied militants shell
strategic town in northern Syria
--------
Mideast
• Iran Sends ‘Constructive’ Response on Nuclear Deal
but US Rejects It
• Hamas, Islamic Jihad Hail ‘Heroic’ Stabbing
Operation in Occupied West Bank
• Israelis, Palestinians Scuffle At Holy Site in West
Bank
• FM: Iran to Continue Helping Lebanon on Clarifying
Fate of Imam Musa Sadr
• President Rayeesi: Iran Ready to Broaden Ties with
Vietnam
• Palestinian killed in West Bank after stabbing
Israeli soldier
• Western powers can strike better Iran deal, Israeli
lawmaker says
--------
North
America
• US Still Hoping for Iran Nuclear Deal, ‘But We’re
Not Going to Stay at It Forever’
• UN Chief: Former Kyrgyzstan President to Head Afghan
Mission
• Pentagon plans aid mission to Pakistan
• US Navy says vessels seized by Iran were unarmed,
‘posed no risk to naval traffic’
• White House rejects linking Iran nuclear deal, IAEA
probes
--------
Southeast
Asia
• PAS Sets Eyes on Ignorant First-Time Muslim Voters
to Win GE15
• How is DAP able to influence non-Muslims in PAS-led
Kelantan? Guan Eng asks
• Agong: Don’t turn mosques into political arena
• Hadi says PAS a forgiving party, but cannot
compromise with sinners
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-punishment-blasphemy-nizamia-fatwa/d/127871
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Islamic Punishment for Blasphemy Cannot Be Administered In a Democratic, Non-Islamic Country: Fatwa Islamic Seminary Jamia Nizamia
Jamia Nizamia is one of
the oldest Islamic seminaries of higher learning of Sunnis in India. File photo
| Photo Credit: Mohammed Yousuf
----
Syed Mohammed
SEPTEMBER 02, 2022
Legal avenues must be explored and strongest
punishment demanded; no individual has right to enforce this punishment
The punishment for affronts to Prophet Muhammad cannot
be administered in a democratic, non-Islamic country, a fatwa states.
The fatwa, which is a jurisprudential opinion, was
issued by Hyderabad-based Islamic seminary Jamia Nizamia, in response to a set
of questions.
While upholding the death penalty for blasphemy, the
Jamia Nizamia clarified that this punishment cannot be awarded in a democratic,
non-Islamic country. The fatwa also states that in such countries and in light
of the Constitution, legal avenues must be explored and demands for the
strongest punishment should be made. The fatwa underscores that no individual
has the right to enforce this punishment.
The fatwa states that enforcing Sharia penalties is
the exclusive domain of Islamic countries. Only the head of an Islamic country,
or a person appointed by him can administer such penalties.
The fatwa comes days after parts of the city saw
youngsters protesting against Legislator from Goshamahal, now-suspended by the
Bharatiya Janata Party, T. Raja Singh’s offensive comments about Prophet
Muhammad. The Legislator was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act and is
lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison.
Soon after the Legislator’s objectionable remarks went
viral, some individuals created and shared content that called for violence
against Mr Singh. Police arrested Syed Abdahu Quadri alias Kashaf, who
describes himself as a “social and civil rights activist”, for allegedly
raising a slogan, calling for the Legislator’s beheading.
In the same vein, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner
C. V. Anand on Thursday told the media that as many as 13 cases were booked
against such persons.
Source: The Hindu
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original story:
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Pakistani Court Sends ‘Abducted’ Sikh Girl to Muslim
Husband; She Was A Major, Educated, and Could Better Understand Her Thread and
Thrum, She Said
Hizbullah
----
Sep 3, 2022
AMRITSAR: A Pakistani court has directed that Sikh
girl Deena Kaur alias Deena Bibi be sent to her Muslim husband, Hizbullah. Her
father, Gurcharan Lal, has accused the administration of keeping them in the
dark about the court hearing.
The Swat district court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
of Pakistan directed that Deena be allowed to go according to her own free
will. It also directed Hizbullah to submit a surety bond of Rs 15 lakh, failing
which, Deena would be sent back to Dar-ul Aman (a women’s shelter).
The court also observed that Deena was willing to go
with her husband while maintaining that it wouldn’t be appropriate to detain
her in Dar-ul Aman. Hizbullah also produced Nikahnama (marriage document) in
the court. Deena stated in the court that she was willing to go with her
husband since she was a major, educated, and could better understand her thread
and thrum. Gurcharan said, “First, we were misled by the administration that
the Buner court will hear the case, but the case’s hearing was in the Swat
court.”
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Extremists Could Exploit Slavery Laws To Escape
Justice: UK Terror Expert
From left: British
teenagers Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum at Gatwick Airport on
Feb. 17, 2015 on their way to Istanbul, and eventually Syria to join Daesh.
(Metropolitan Police/AFP)
-----
September 02, 2022
LONDON: A British counterterrorism legal expert has
warned that the UK’s anti-slavery laws could pose a threat to national
security.
Jonathan Hall QC, the UK’s independent reviewer of
terrorism legislation, said that what the law considered to be a victim of
trafficking or slavery was now so broad that it could lead to terror suspects,
especially those radicalized as minors, escaping justice, as they could argue
they were victims.
He feared authorities in the UK could prioritize the
idea of treating suspects as victims over the threat they posed to the UK, on
the grounds that they made decisions because they were underage or were
coerced.
Hall told The Times: “The definition and the way in
which the law is applied is over-broad. It is at odds with the fact that
children are not generally seen as victims when they commit other crimes, just
because someone suggests they should do so.”
His comments come in the wake of claims made in a new
book that former Daesh member Shamima Begum, who left the UK aged 15 for Syria
in 2015, was smuggled into the country by a people trafficker who also worked
for Canadian intelligence.
“The Secret History of the Five Eyes,” written by
former Sunday Times reporter Richard Kerbaj, alleged that Ottawa asked London
to help cover up the trafficker’s role in Begum, along with two other girls
from London, joining the group.
Begum was subsequently stripped of her UK citizenship
by the Home Office and is currently detained in a Kurdish prison camp for Daesh
members in northern Syria, where, she claims, she is a victim of human
trafficking and online grooming.
Supporters of Begum suggest she is a victim, while the
book’s allegations imply parts of the UK government were aware of the role of
Canadian intelligence in smuggling her to Syria, and Britain’s own role in covering
it up, when she was stripped of her citizenship. An appeal is due to be heard
in November.
A spokesman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said:
“Whilst the full facts are not clear, what is clear is that Shamima Begum was a
child when she traveled to Syria, and she may well have been trafficked there.
“If these reports are true, then the Home Office
should answer for why this was not taken into account when the revocation of
Shamima’s citizenship was decided.”
In January, a 16-year-old suspected of involvement in
far-right terror activity in the UK was freed after her barristers successfully
argued, using the Modern Slavery Act, that she was a victim of trafficking,
setting a possible precedent for future underage extremist cases.
Hall noted that the case would have “wider
ramifications.” He said: “Our UK law goes beyond international obligations by
allowing people the defense on the basis they are a victim of slavery or
trafficking.”
Begum’s case, Hall added, should take into account the
manner in which she ended up in Syria, but needed to rely more on the risk she
posed to UK security than the question of whether or not she had been a victim,
which he called a “distraction.”
The UK Home Office told The Times that it did not
comment on matters of state intelligence.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2155101/world
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Self-Described Ugandan Prophet, Kintu Dennis,
Imprisoned After Video Shows Him Caning Followers
Kintu Dennis charged with
18 counts of trafficking in persons, assault, promoting sectarianism, say
police. (Facebook/Prophetic Kintu)
-----
Hamza Kyeyune
03.09.2022
KAMPALA, Uganda
A self-described Ugandan prophet was remanded to
prison Friday after a widely shared online video showed him administering
lashes to members of his church.
Kintu Dennis, 42, of the Hoima Empowerment Church
International, is shown ordering his followers to the front of the church to be
whipped or they had to stop attending services and lose the privilege of
handling his microphone.
The video started circulating Thursday and shows
followers presenting themselves before they are beaten on their backs and
buttocks. Their alleged crime was incompetence and late-coming, according to
church members.
The congregation watched as followers received their
beatings as soft piano music played in the background.
The victims have also attracted intense criticism on
social media where users castigated them for blindly following the prophet and
being too lazy to read the Bible for themselves.
The incident sparked outrage from Ugandans who urged
authorities to intervene.
“Pastor Kintu Denis who recently appeared in a viral
media clip beating believers with a magic blessed stick’ in his church in
Hoima, has been arrested and charged with 18 counts of trafficking in Persons,
Assault, and Promoting Sectarianism,” police wrote in a tweet.
Police searched his church and recovered three pieces
of sticks suspected to have been used to beat the faithful.
The prophet told investigators that he was carrying
out a demonstration of how Jesus treated those he found selling goods in
church.
Uganda has several evangelical churches but they are
unregulated and many are run by self-appointed men and women of God.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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original story:
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Pro-Taliban Cleric, Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman Ansari among 46
Killed In Suicide Bombing In Afghanistan
Taliban fighters block a
road after the blast at Herat's Gazargah mosque
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Islamuddin Sajid
02.09.2022
At least 46 people were killed, including a prominent
pro-Taliban religious cleric, and 84 others were injured in a suicide bombing
during weekly Friday prayers in Afghanistan's northwestern Herat city.
According to local media, a suicide bomber blew
himself up, killing at least 46 people and injuring 84 more. However, in a list
published, the Wakht News Agency mentioned the identities of 18 people killed
in the attack and 30 more injured.
In a statement issued in Kabul, Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the killing of Mulawai Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Ansari,
saying he was killed in the attack.
"The Islamic Emirate is deeply saddened by his
martyrdom, and the perpetrators will be punished for their evil act," he
declared, according to Bakhtar News.
According to Tolo News, Ansari was the target of the
suicide bombing.
However, video recordings released on social media
reveal significant casualties, with people seen transporting victims of the
suicide bombing from the mosque to medical facilities.
However, Taliban officials have not released the
number of those killed and injured in the attack.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the
attack. However, ISIS/Daesh has been active in Afghanistan for a long time, and
the terrorist organization has recently claimed responsibility for multiple
attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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India
Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha Claims UP's Budaun Mosque Built On Razed Temple
Sep 3, 2022
BAREILLY: A civil court on Friday ordered the
registration of a case while hearing a petition by Akhil Bhartiya Hindu
Mahasabha (ABHB) which claimed that the Jama Masjid complex in UP's Budaun was
actually a fort of an erstwhile Hindu king and the existing structure was built
by demolishing an ancient temple of Neelkanth (Shiva).
The court has also sought reply from the Intzamiya
committee of Jama Masjid, UP Sunni Waqf Board, UP archaeology department, Union
of India, UP government via Budaun district magistrate and state chief
secretary. It fixed September 15 as the next date of hearing. The petition was
filed on August 8.
The Jama Masjid in Maulvi Tola area is one of the
oldest and largest mosques of the country with a capacity to accommodate over
23,000 devotees at a time.
ABHB district president Mukesh Singh Patel claimed,
"We are aware that articles related to the ancient temple are lying in a
room locked for a long time now. We had requested the court to register a case
and carry out a survey to bring out the truth."
Some in the petitioning group claimed that "the
mosque was built by Shamsud-din Iltutmish in 1222 AD, and that it is mentioned
in history books".
Petitioner's advocate Ved Prakash Gupta told TOI,
"We have put across all details of the fort and the temple in our petition
before civil judge (senior division) Vijay Kumar Gupta."
Road not wide enough, fire dept refuses NOC for
Ayodhya mosque project
The fate of Ayodhya mosque on the five-acre land
allotted to the Sunni waqf board by the apex court in its Ayodhya verdict on
November 9, 2019, still hangs in balance. In the latest, the fire department
has denied the trust a no-objection certificate in the absence of a 12-metre
wide approach road, reports Arshad Afzaal Khan.
Source: Times Of India
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Ganesh Chaturthi at Hubli’s Idgah Ground Over, Muslim
Body to File Contempt of the Court Plea
By Sanath Prasad
Hubbali
September 3, 2022
Saffron flags, portraits of V D Savarkar and
Chatrapati Shivaji, songs… The Ganesh Chaturthi procession in Karnataka’s Hubli
city on Friday was all about Hindutva posturing. The procession, organised by
the Rani Chennamma Maidana Gajanana Utsav Mahamandali, took nearly five hours
to cover just one kilometre from the Idgah Maidan in Deshpande Nagar to the
immersion point at Sadashiv Nagar.
The third day of the festival saw extra police
deployed along the procession route, which was marked by saffron flags, DJ
music and chants of Savarkar and Shivaji. The traffic movement was also
restricted to some extent.
At the forefront of the procession were Mahamandali
chief and Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Sanjay Bhadaskar, BJP leader Mahesh
Tenginkai, and members of the VHP, Sri Rama Sene, RSS, Somavamsha Sahasrarjun
Kshatriya Sama, Hindu Jagarana Vedike and the Hindustan Janata Party.
Ahead of the procession, the organisers conducted a
mahamangalarthi (puja) and auctioned the jewellery and garments used to
decorate the Ganesha idol. The idol immersion took place at an artificial pond
at Sadashiv Nagar.
The organisers violated the Hubli -Dharwad municipal
corporation’s ban on flex boards at the Idgah ground. However, a Savarkar
portrait installed right near the Ganesha idol in the Pandal was removed after
corporation officials intervened. But a hoarding featuring the Hindutva icon
was put up at the Idgah ground’s entry.
The organisers sought to justify the portraits saying
Savarkar, along with freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, was instrumental in
introducing Ganesha celebrations in Maharashtra. A hoarding featured Tilak.
Gopalkrishna B, commissioner of the municipal
corporation, told indianexpress.com that the corporation would consider
allowing sellers of pottery, vegetables and fruits at the Idgah ground. “The
decision to allow the Utsav was taken after consulting the stakeholders of the
corporation and law and order authorities. The three-day event went smoothly,
except for the violation on day one. Decisions on allowing any religious events
will be taken after consulting the corporation members and considering the law
and order situation,” he said.
Along the procession route, songs praising Hindutva and
Savarkar as well as some film numbers about Karnataka were played. The
procession also featured a traditional dance performance with manjira, or
cymbals. The organisers overshot the allotted time by an hour.
Sri Rama Sena chief Pramod Muthalik, who was present
on the last day of the celebration, said, “This time we celebrated only for
three days. From next year, the celebrations will last more days and be
grander. There were attempts by a certain group of people to stop our
celebration, but the Hindus emerged victorious at the end. This is an example
of how no force can stop Hindus from celebrating their culture and traditions.”
Altaf Nawaz, vice-president of Anjuman-e-Islam, said
the Muslim organisation would file a contempt case in the Karnataka High Court
against the Hubballi-Dharwad municipal corporation commissioner. “We will be
moving the high court seeking directions to disallow religious activities of
other communities at the Idgah ground. Our organisation has been given the
Idgah ground for a lease period of 999 years by the Supreme Court. Any other
community using the ground for religious purposes will be in contempt of the
court. Although we are not against the celebrations of other religious
communities, this three-day Ganesha utsav at the Idgah ground has really
disturbed us,” said Nawaz.
Source: Indian Express
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To help cadre manage finance, Muslim Youth League
conducts classes
03rd September 2022
KOZHIKODE: It is customary for political parties to
organise classes on party ideology and strategies, but the Muslim Youth League
(MYL) unit in Kottakkal thought that it is not enough for the cadre to be
politically aware. The organisation found that majority of party workers who
devote their time and energy for political activities have no financial
discipline or plans for their family life in future. So, MYL thought it is
necessary to have a series of sessions on the right kind of investment, first one
of which was held at Kottakkal on Friday.
“Cadre, especially the young, are utilised for
shouting slogans and pasting posters, but we don’t know what their financial
position is. Most of them jump into active politics without having any plan for
their future life,” said Sajid Thayil, Kottakkal municipal unit secretary of
the MYL. “Only in the later stages they realise that it is too late to think of
investment. So, we decided to have sessions on how to manage finances, various
investment opportunities and the dangers posed by fraudsters in the field. The
sessions are opened to cadre of all parties,” said Sajid.
The session on how to invest money for future held
under the aegis of CH Smaraka Kendram was led by Jaseel Abdul Wahid, an expert
in the field. “Covid has been an eye-opener for us in many respects. We
encourage the youth to save money from their earnings to meet any unexpected
expense,” he said.
Source: New Indian Express
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U.P. Government to Hold Job Fairs for Muslim Youths to
Give Employment Opportunities to Them
Sep 03, 2022
Lucknow: To give a thrust to the Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) Muslim outreach programme, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to
give employment opportunities to Muslim youths by organizing employment fairs.
Minister of state for minority welfare, Danish Azad
Ansari has shot off a letter to additional chief secretary, employment and
labour department to organize special employment fairs in Muslim-dominated
areas to ensure that unemployed youths belonging to the minority communities
get jobs in various sectors.
A meeting will be held on September 6 with the
officers to prepare a work plan for holding employment fairs in
Muslim-dominated areas.
Ansari said the Yogi government was working sincerely
for the development of the minority community. To ensure a better future for
minority community youths, the Yogi government would now organize job fairs and
big companies would be invited to connect directly with the youths for
recruitment, he said.
Good education and better employment opportunities to
youths of the minority community were the priorities of the Yogi government.
The BJP government was continuously working for the progress of the minority
community through various schemes, he said.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Construction of SC-mandated mosque in Ayodhya yet to
begin in absence of no objection certificates
02nd September 2022
AYODHYA: It has been nearly three years since the
Supreme Court mandated the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, but the work is
yet to begin in the absence of no objection certificates (NOCs) from fire
services, pollution board and civic authorities.
On the directions of the Supreme Court, the Uttar
Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board was allotted five acres of land in Dhannipur
village for the construction of the mosque.
The board set up a trust -- Indo-Islamic Cultural
Foundation (IICF) -- for the construction of the mosque, a hospital and a
museum on the plot.
IICF secretary Athar Husain Siddiqui said the Ayodhya
Development Authority had issued letters on July 15 to the authorities
concerned, including fire services, civil aviation, Municipal Corporation of
Ayodhya, irrigation, PWD, pollution control board and the district
administration, to issue "no objection certificates" for the construction
of the mosque.
Except fire services, no other department has carried
out on-site inspection.
"And, none of the departments concerned has
issued 'no objection certificate'," he told PTI on Friday.
According to him, the fire services department has refused
to issue the 'no objection certificate' citing narrow approach roads.
"It is necessary that the approach road should be
12-metre wide whereas both the existing roads are of not more than six metres.
The width of the main approach road is only about four metres," Husain
said.
He requested the Uttar Pradesh government and the
Ayodhya administration to build a wide road at the earliest so that the
construction can be started.
When contacted, Chief Fire Officer of Ayodhya R K Rai
said, "Due to the narrow width of the approach road, the fire department
has withheld the no objection certificate to the Ayodhya mosque project. We
have issued a letter to the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation informing them
that the clearance can only be issued if there are approach roads of 12-metre
width."
Source: New Indian Express
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Muslim continues to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at his
house
SEPTEMBER 02, 2022
Abdul Nabi of Doranahalli in Yadgir sets an example of
fostering communal harmony
At a time when attempts are being made to divide
people on the lines of religion and caste, a 30-year-old Abdul Nabi, who runs a
small hotel in Doranahalli village, Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district, has set
an example of fostering communal harmony by installing a Ganesh idol at his
house.
Mr. Nabi has been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at his
house for the last three years.
He and his family members offer special pujas daily to
the idol for five days as per Hindu rituals and finally immerse it in a well
after the completion of religious formalities.
While doing pujas, he offers special sweet dishes, especially
Modaka, and fruits believing that he is satisfying Lord Ganesh with dishes that
He likes.
“The concept of Hindu, Islam and other religions are
one and the same. We are like own brothers and should respect one’s religious
celebrations. I have been installing Ganesh idol at my house for the last three
years. I just want to convey a message to those who are trying create
differences between Hindus and Muslims,” Mr. Nabi said and added that humanity
is above all.
Mr. Nabi’ s decision to install Ganesh idol has been
well received by his friends who appreciate his efforts to strengthen unity and
brotherhood with people of other religions.
Source: The Hindu
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BJP’s Giriraj Singh demands survey of mosques,
madrasas in Bihar
3rd September 2022
Patna: Firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader
and Union Minister, Giriraj Singh has demanded a survey of madrasas and mosques
in Bihar similar to that in Uttar Pradesh.
“We demanded from the Nitish Kumar government to
conduct survey on the madrasas and mosques of Bihar, especially in
Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region. We must have data about who are running
madrasas and mosques in these regions and who are staying in them,” Singh said.
“The Yogi Adityanath government has taken the right
decision and is conducting the survey of madrasas and mosques in Uttar Pradesh.
We need the approach in Bihar as well to check at least those who are taking
shelters in madrasas and mosques,” the Union MInister added.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/bjps-giriraj-singh-demands-survey-of-mosques-madrasas-in-bihar-2403981/
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Pakistan
Will begin march to Islamabad if victimisation of PTI
workers not stopped: Imran Khan warns government
Sep 3, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan
has warned the government that he would begin a massive agitation march to
Islamabad if political victimisation against his party continues.
Addressing a public gathering in Gujrat in the
country's most populous Punjab province, Khan said that workers of his Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were unnecessarily being targeted ever since he was
ousted as the prime minister through a no-confidence motion in April this year,
The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Saturday.
"Freedom movement will march towards Islamabad if
the incumbent government did not stop targeting PTI supporters," he was
quoted as saying in the report.
"I am warning you [PML-N-led coalition
government] today, our justice movement will come to Islamabad if you continue
to do this [political victimisation] and you will have nowhere to hide,"
he added.
Khan has recently upped the ante after a few of his
party workers, including his close aide Shahbaz Gill, were arrested on charges
of sedition.
The 69-year-old PTI chairman lashed out at the
government for its alleged use of force on Gill, saying that he was stripped
naked and tortured.
"They also tortured [journalist] Jameel Farooqui.
Stripped him naked and humiliated him as well. Haleem Adil also has many cases
against him. He is also being tortured in prison," Khan said.
During Friday's address, Khan told the youth that
together they need to work to make the judicial system of the country better.
"You all have to come with me for that. When I
started my journey 26 years ago, we said the judiciary should be independent so
it will protect the rights of the people. I was the only political leader who
was put behind bars during the judicial movement. We boycotted 2008 elections
for the judiciary," he said.
Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi on Friday urged
political parties to pause their political activities owing to the devastating
floods, saying any narrative that created divisions within national
institutions was not in the national interest.
The Dawn newspaper reported that the president also
urged all stakeholders to launch a nationwide drive to mobilise the nation.
Alvi said although as the president he did not have a
constitutional obligation to play a role to defuse the current political
polarisation, he would volunteer in his personal capacity to mediate between
them over major issues like the next elections, a consensus-based economic
charter, and the way forward on making key appointments.
"Businesses, civil society and humanitarian
organisations should assist the civil and military administrations in their
rescue and relief efforts to rehabilitate the flood victims and for the
reconstruction of damaged infrastructure," the president said.
Pakistan is currently passing through a bitter
political divide as Khan had refused to halt anti-government and break bread
with the government despite devastating floods.
Khan has also recently been criticised for holding
public rallies when the majority of the country is reeling under devastating
floods that have destroyed farmlands and claimed the lives of over 1,200
people.
Source: Times Of India
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American Pakistani community calls for $13bn US aid
package to Pakistan amid flooding
Sep 2, 2022
BATHINDA: The American Pakistani Public Affairs
Committee (APPAC) is calling on Congress and the Biden administration to pass
$13 billion aid package to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance
to Pakistan amid historic flooding.
More than 33 million people have been displaced and at
least 1,000 have died from what the United Nations has characterized as a
“monsoon on steroids.” The heavy rainfall since June has deluged the country.
The Atlantic Council estimates flooding so far has
caused $5.2bn in damages to Pakistan and will require $7.9bn in reconstruction
costs. As flood waters move south, the situation is expected to deteriorate
even further, it said in a press release.
The Atlantic Council valued Pakistan’s final damages
from flooding in 2022 at around $17 billion, bringing the two-year total to a
minimum of $30 billion. As climate change progresses, flooding crises in
Pakistan are expected to grow. The country contributes less than 1% of the
world’s greenhouse gas emissions yet continues to bear the brunt of climate
related disasters year after year.
“Pakistan faces one of its darkest hours today with a
third of the country underwater. What is most tragic is that this year’s floods
are a harbinger of worse climate related disasters to come,” said Ijaz Ahmad,
Chairman APPAC. “The American Pakistani community urges the United States to
come to the aid of the people of Pakistan as a signal of its continued
leadership in providing humanitarian assistance in times of need.”
Source: Times Of India
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High food, petrol prices can trigger protests in
Pakistan: IMF
Sep 2, 2022
WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD: Rising inflation in Pakistan,
accelerating to 27.3 per cent in August -- a 47-year high -- can trigger
"social protest and instability" in the cash-strapped country, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.
Pakistan's inflation measured by the consumer price
index (CPI) accelerated to 27.3 per cent in August this year -- the level last
seen in May 1975 -- even as the full impact of unprecedented floods on the
prices of food items and other commodities is yet to come.
The adverse impacts of the floods and consequent
disruption in food supplies will be visible in the inflation reading for the
month of September, which may push the rate far higher than that of August.
"High food and fuel prices could prompt social
protest and instability," the IMF said in an executive summary of the
seventh and eighth reviews.
The IMF Executive Board earlier this week approved the
seventh and eighth review of the stalled USD 6 billion Pakistan programme, and
the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) two days later on Wednesday received the
much-needed USD 1.16 billion deposit to steer the cash-strapped country's
economy out of the crisis.
The IMF, which has also asked the country to ensure
several measures after receiving the loan, released the funds after Pakistan
caved to several demands of the global lender for fiscal tightening.
The deal required the government to increase the
petroleum levy to Rs 30 per litre on petrol by September 1 and Rs 15 per litre
on diesel in three phases.
The government on Wednesday increased the levy to Rs
37.50 per litre on petrol -- Rs 7.5 per litre more than needed under the IMF
deal -- to lower taxes on diesel.
The report released under the Extended Fund Facility
(EFF) said that risks to the outlook and programme implementation remained high
and tilted to the downside given the very complex domestic and external
environment.
The spillovers from the war in Ukraine through high
food and fuel prices, and tighter global financial conditions will continue to
weigh on Pakistan's economy, pressuring the exchange rate and external
stability, the report added.
The report further said that the policy of providing
subsidies remained a risk, amplified by weak capacity and powerful vested
interests, with the timing of elections uncertain given the complex political
setting.
According to the report, socio-political pressures,
apart from the protest risk, are expected to remain high and could also weigh
on policy and reform implementation, especially given the tenuous political
coalition and their slim majority in Parliament.
The political situation in Pakistan has been fragile
since mid-April when former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in a dramatic
no-confidence motion and Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif took charge leading a
coalition government.
The report said that political instability in the
country could "affect policy decisions and undermine the programme's
fiscal adjustment strategy, jeopardising macro-financial and external stability
and debt sustainability".
According to the lender, substantial risks stem from
higher interest rates, a larger-than-expected growth slowdown, pressures on the
exchange rate, renewed policy reversals, weaker medium-term growth, and
contingent liabilities related to state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
"Further delays on structural reforms, especially
those related to the financial sector (resolving undercapitalised banks and
winding down SBPs involvement in the refinancing schemes), could hamper
financial sector stability and reduce the effectiveness of the monetary policy.
Finally, climate change risks are mounting, including
a tendency for more frequent climate-related disasters," it added.
The report also mentioned that the former Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government granted a four-month “relief package” in late
February that reversed commitments to fiscal discipline made earlier in the
year.
The largely untargeted package reduced petrol and
diesel prices (through a generous subsidy and setting fuel taxes at zero
taxation); lowered electricity tariffs by Rs 5/kwh for almost all households
and commercial consumers; and provided tax exemptions and amnesty.
The report said that steadfast implementation of
"corrective policies" and "reforms" remained essential to
regain macroeconomic stability, address imbalances and lay the foundation for
inclusive and sustainable growth.
"Efforts to reduce poverty and protect the most
vulnerable by enhancing targeted transfers are important, especially in the
current high-inflation environment," it said.
Source: Times Of India
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Jemima Goldsmith comes to Pakistan’s aid again—to
raise funds via pvt screening of her film
REWATI KARAN
2 September, 2022
Adivorce has not come in the way of Jemima Goldsmith’s
love for Pakistan. The ex-wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan,
fondly called bhabi, will be auctioning a private screening of her upcoming
film to raise funds for flood victims in Pakistan.
Taking to Twitter, Goldsmith said, “We are auctioning
a private screening in London for up to 20 people of our film What’s Love Got
To Do With It? See you there.”
The auction will end at 12:15 pm on 8 September. The
winner and 20 of their friends will have a private screening of What’s Love Got
To Do With It, written by Goldsmith and directed by Shekar Kapur.
Her gesture has won her praise from Pakistanis, with
many calling her “a queen” and “sister” on Twitter while appealing to people to
participate in the auction.
The devastating deluge has inundated one-third of the
country, affecting more than 33 million people, which is one in every seven
Pakistanis, killing over 1,180 people and will cost more than $ 10 billion to
rebuild. And Goldsmith has been actively prodding organisations and private
citizens to come to Pakistan’s aid.
Goldsmith also crowdsourced the list of organisations
that are doing on-ground relief work to which she received an enthusiastic
number of responses. She recommended one Al-Khidmat Foundation which has
reportedly earned a lot of goodwill for helping flood victims in some of the most
difficult terrain.
As UNICEF UK ambassador, Jemima had visited Pakistan
to help raise emergency funds for the victims of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
Goldsmith’s soft corner for Pakistan
Jemima Goldsmith may have been Pakistan’s former Prime
Minister’s ex-wife but her love for Pakistan and its people hasn’t subsided at
all, reported Daily Pakistan. The report further said that Goldsmith has a soft
corner for Pakistan and she has always been in support of the benefit of the
country.
Goldsmith got married to Imran Khan in 1995 in a
traditional Islamic ceremony in Paris, after which they also had a civil
ceremony at the Richmond Register Office. Goldsmith had converted to Islam
shortly before marrying Khan and retained ‘Khan’ surname up until Imran Khan
married Reham Khan in December 2014, ten years after they were divorced.
Goldsmith had relocated to Lahore post her marriage
with Khan, where she learned to speak Urdu and wore traditional Pakistani
clothes. She established the Jemima Khan Afghan Refugee Appeal to provide
tents, clothing, food and healthcare for refugees in Peshawar.
Source: The Print
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Probe reveals ‘dubious’ funds used for PTI media drive
Iftikhar A. Khan
September 3, 2022
ISLAMABAD: A probe into the ‘dubious’ money
transferred to Pakistan by the former owner of Abraaj Group, Arif Naqvi, has
revealed that a large amount in foreign funds was used for the media campaign
of the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) during the 2013 general
elections.
Documents obtained by the Federal Investigation
Agency (FIA), seen by Dawn, revealed that $625,000 were routed through Wootton
Cricket Limited, a Cayman Islands registered offshore firm owned by Mr
Naqvi, who is currently facing trial in a US court for a $1 billion financial
fraud.
This is in addition to the $2.12m received in the
PTI’s accounts directly from Wootton, as documented in the election
commission’s Aug 2 verdict in the party’s prohibited funding case.
Documents show that the money was sent from Wootton
Cricket’s account to “The Insaf Trust” account opened by PTI Chairman Imran
Khan’s close friend, Tariq Shafi, in his capacity as the first chairman of the
trust. Mr Shafi also received $575,000 in one of his personal accounts and
transferred to a declared account of the PTI.
Interestingly, the declared objectives of the trust
were to promote a sense of participative democracy and rule of law, democratic
values and political awareness in the society, besides undertaking activities
in various forms to promote health education and social order.
A clause of the trust deed included: “The trust, its
funds or property or association of the trustees with the trust shall not be
used for personal gain of any particular person or a group of persons.”
Other signatories of the trust’s bank account were the
late Ashiq Hussain Qureshi and Hamid Zaman, both close friends of Imran Khan,
and it was opened in May 2012 at the Habib Bank Ltd, Lahore Cantt branch.
On May 8, 2013, three days before the general
elections, two media management firms — namely ‘Communication Spot’ and ‘Group
M’ — were paid Rs36m and Rs25m, respectively, from the trust account for the
PTI’s election campaign, the documents revealed. The account was used for just
one transaction and has been dormant ever since.
The funding for the media campaign through the account
of a charitable organisation is said to be a serious violation of the Political
Parties Order 2002, besides drawing charges of money laundering. This amount
remained concealed from the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Sources in the FIA disclosed that Tariq Shafi and
others who had opened the trust’s account were issued call-up notices thrice,
but none of them turned up. They said the notices had also been issued to the
two media management companies paid for the PTI’s election campaign.
“Group M”, in its response to the FIA’s call-up
notice, confirmed that it had received an advance payment of Rs412m to run the PTI’s
2013 general elections campaign, out of which Rs375m were utilised and the
balance was returned to the party via a cross cheque dated Sept 18, 2013. This
amount was spent on media advertisements on different TV channels.
It further said the company had also provided similar
services to other major political parties, including the PML-N.
The company, it said, was not aware of the sources of
the funds they had invested in the media. “In short, the company had a
professional relationship with PTI,” its response stated.
The FIA probe revealed the refund was made via a cross
cheque in favour of the PTI in its undeclared account, titled “PTI — National
Campaign Office”, maintained in then-KASB Bank — now Bank Islami Pakistan. A
major chunk of Rs383m — out of the Rs412m — had been paid to the company out of
this account in the now-defunct KASB bank. The PTI’s central office account
was used to contribute just Rs3.43m.
The other company, however, sought some more time to
submit its reply.
Tariq Shafi has already approached the Lahore High
Court that directed the FIA to continue its inquiry, but restrained it from
taking any adverse action against him. Mr Shafi in his petition claimed the
money was transferred through proper banking channels.
Source: Dawn
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Alvi seeks ‘political pause’ amid floods as Imran
campaigns
Syed Irfan Raza
September 3, 2022
ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Friday urged
political parties to pause their political activities owing to the devastating
floods, saying any narrative that created divisions within national
institutions was not in the national interest.
The president also urged all stakeholders to launch a
nationwide drive to mobilise the nation of the country.
Dr Alvi’s comments came on the same day his party
chief and former prime minister Imran Khan addressed a public meeting in
Gujrat. Mr Khan had also held a rally in Sargodha on Thursday.
President Alvi said although as the president he did
not have a constitutional obligation to play a role to defuse the current
political polarisation, he would volunteer in his personal capacity to mediate
between them over major issues like the next elections, a consensus-based
economic charter, and the way forward on making key appointments.
President approves bill suggesting death penalty for
drug trafficking
“Businesses, civil society and humanitarian
organizations should assist the civil and military administrations in their
rescue and relief efforts to rehabilitate the flood victims and for the
reconstruction of damaged infrastructure,” the president said during a meeting
with media persons.
In reply to a question, the president reiterated that
no institution, including the judiciary and the army, should be used
for political point-scoring as such comments were not
in the greater national interest.
“We need to understand that any comment, narrative or
analysis, having the potential to create divisions within institutions or
between institutions and people of Pakistan, could never be in our national
interest.”
Talking about the use of social media, Dr Alvi said
certain users following a political party or a leader trolled and initiated
derogatory trends against certain individuals and institutions without the
knowledge or consent of the party or leader they supported. Such unverified
attributions added to polarisation, he added.
President Alvi highlighted that the climate
catastrophe had affected more than 33 million people, while 1,100 people,
including over 350 children, had lost their lives. He emphasised the need for
launching a nationwide drive for increasing forest cover in the country,
shifting from fossil fuels to alternative means of energy and building
delay-action and large dams to minimise the effects of climate change.
Moreover, he said, Pakistan had always pursued
friendly and cordial relations with all countries. In reply to a question, he
endorsed the Foreign Ministry’s statement and expressed concern over the
allegations by Afghanistan’s acting defence minister regarding the use of
Pakistan’s air space by US drones for operations insdie Afghanistan.
In the absence of any evidence, as acknowledged by the
Afghan minister, such unfounded allegations were highly regrettable, the
president said, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s belief in the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of all states.
Anti-Narcotics Bill: President Alvi approved the
Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill 2022, making it into law, which
suggested death punishment as a maximum sentence for drug trafficking.
“The bill provides death or life imprisonment for
offences related to the illicit trafficking of narcotics and psychotropic drugs
of varying quantity, including heroin, morphine, cocaine and methamphetamine
(ice),” said a press release issued by the Presidency.
The law provides imprisonment, which could extend to
life imprisonment, but not less than 20 years with a fine not less than Rs1
million for offences involving heroin and morphine of four kilogrammes or more.
It also provides a punishment of death or imprisonment, which shall not be less
than life, along with a fine up to Rs2m but not less than Rs1.5m for offences
involving heroin or morphine of 6kg or more.
The law provides for punishment of death or
imprisonment for life not less than 20 years along with a fine of at least
Rs2.5m for offences involving 5kg cocaine or more, and similar punishments for
psychotropic substance methamphetamine (ice).
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1708122/alvi-seeks-political-pause-amid-floods-as-imran-campaigns
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50 trucks bring vegetables from Iran, Afghanistan
Saleem Shahid
September 3, 2022
QUETTA: Following a decision of the federal government
to allow the private sector to import tomatoes and onions from Iran and
Afghanistan, 50 trucks carrying the vegetables have crossed into the country
through the Taftan and Chaman borders.
“Over the last two days, 50 large-body trucks entered
Pakistan through the Friendship Gates of Taftan and Chaman,” a senior official
of the Quetta Customs Collectorate told Dawn on Friday.
He said more consignments of onions and tomatoes would
reach the country in the coming days.
“We received 27 trucks of fresh tomatoes and onions
from Iran on Friday which were carrying 660 tonnes of onions and tomatoes
while13 trucks reached yesterday,” Arshad Hussain, a senior Customs officer
told Dawn, adding these trucks were immediately dispatched to Quetta after
completing legal formalities.
Deputy Collector of Customs, Chaman, Malik Muhammad
Ahmed, said 10 trucks crossed into Pakistan through Chaman border from
Afghanistan.
“The trucks loaded with the consignment of fresh
tomatoes and onions were cleared after the routine checking,” he said, adding
that the federal government had already announced a zero Customs duty on import
of tomatoes and onions from Iran and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of
Balochistan welcomed the federal government decision to allow the private
sector to import onions and tomatoes from the two brotherly countries at a time
when unprecedented floods had destroyed the two crops in all flood-hit areas of
the country.
The prices of these two commodities and other
vegetables had massively gone up and the entire country was facing the
shortage of vegetables because of the flood devastation across the country.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1708138/50-trucks-bring-vegetables-from-iran-afghanistan
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Europe
Anti-Terror Prosecutor Warns of Islamic State Attack
on French Soil
By Jay Clemons
02 September 2022
A prominent French official fears that his country
will soon be the target of an Islamic extremist terror attack.
While speaking to French broadcaster BFM TV on Friday,
Jean-Francois Ricard, France's anti-terrorism prosecutor, warned that imminent
acts of terror could be carried out "by individuals coming from areas
where terrorists are operating, especially the Iraqi-Syrian area."
Ricard's comments likely coincide with the impending
trial of eight suspects in connection with the 2016 Bastille Day truck attack
in Nice, France, which resulted in 86 deaths.
Ricard's suspicions might also be tied to a January
attack in Syria, in which Islamic State militants raided a prison holding suspected
extremists in the northeastern city of Hassakeh.
"For two years, we've been able to see how the
Islamic State group was regaining some pieces of territory, was restructuring
itself" in Iraq and Syria, says Ricard, while adding that extremist
threats to France have greatly increased since 2020.
Ricard also acknowledged how some extremists — who
were formerly convicted on terror-related charges in France — garnered lenient
sentences before, but now pose a new threat to his country.
"Very often they have abandoned none of their
convictions," said Ricard, while adding that France's judicial and
intelligence services closely monitor released inmates.
Ricard says he feels that French authorities must do
"everything we can" to preclude terrorists from attacking any city or
province in France.
"It's a true problem that we must certainly not
deny," says Ricard.
On July 14, 2016, an Islamic State group claimed
responsibility for an attack in Nice. On that day, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel
reportedly plowed a 19-ton truck into an unsuspecting crowd waiting for a
fireworks display.
Soon thereafter, Bouhlel was shot dead by French
police.
According to The Associated Press, French authorities
assert that Bouhlel, a Tunisian with French residency, was inspired by the
extremist group's propaganda.
Three months ago, 20 men were convicted in connection
with the 2015 Paris terror attacks on the Bataclan theater, Paris cafes and the
national stadium.
This tragedy resulted in 130 deaths.
Source: News Max
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/france-terrorism-attack/2022/09/02/id/1085825/
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UK: Muslim students threaten to disaffiliate from NUS
after Islamophobia claims
By Areeb Ullah
2 September 2022
The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis),
the national body for Muslim students in Britain, has threatened to launch a
disaffiliation campaign against the National Union of Students (NUS) after the
NUS suspended its president-elect, Shaima Dallali.
Earlier this year, Jewish students accused Dallali of
antisemitism and homophobia over old tweets she posted.
Dallali denied the claims and welcomed the QC-led
investigation into her actions.
But following a leaked report that the NUS had
suspended an elected president for the first time in its one-hundred-year
history, Fosis said it would urge its members to launch disaffiliation campaigns
across the UK against the national body.
In a statement published on Friday evening, Fosis said
the NUS had a track record of failing to help Muslim students acting in elected
positions within the organisation and student unions across the country.
"For many years, Fosis has dealt with troubling
cases of Islamophobia experienced by Islamic Societies, Muslim sabbatical
officers and the wider Muslim student community in both Higher and Further
Education," Fosis said in a statement.
"This active targeting of Muslim students through
a systematic pattern of over-scrutiny, bad faith allegations and subjugation to
a disproportionate level of disciplinaries using Islamophobic tropes reflects
prejudice and endemic bigotry that spans the entire educational journey of
Muslim students.
"What Shaima is experiencing is a clear extension
of institutional Islamophobia within the education sector, and it is apparent
that NUS' attitude towards Shaima is a manifestation of this oppression."
Following her election, Dallali, a Black Muslim woman
of Tunisian descent, told the Guardian that she feared for her safety after
receiving a torrent of online abuse and threats.
Before she was elected NUS president, Dallali served
as president at City University in London.
Dallali was then duly elected to serve as NUS
president at the body's last national conference, which saw hundreds of
delegates from across the UK vote for her.
She was due to start her new role in July, and serve
in that position for a two-year term.
In May, following Dallali's election, the UK
government's education minister said it would sever ties to the NUS over
antisemitism claims and replace it with "alternative" student
representation.
Founded in 1963, Fosis serves as an umbrella body
serving Muslim students attending universities and further education
institutions across the UK and Ireland.
Dallali did not respond to requests for comment at the
time of writing.
An NUS spokesperson declined to comment on the claims
that Dallali had been suspended from the organisation.
Source: Middle East Eye
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Türkiye says Greece's negative statements cannot harm
ties with NATO
Diyar Güldoğan
02.09.2022
Greece's negative statements to NATO about Türkiye
cannot harm ties between Ankara and the alliance, the Turkish president said on
Friday.
"Greece's negative approach to NATO does not
weaken Türkiye-NATO relations," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the
reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Türkiye will continue to respond to Greece's
'impertinence': Defence chief
Merve Gül Aydoğan Ağlarcı
02.09.2022
Ankara will continue to respond to Athens’
“impertinence,” the Turkish defense chief said on Friday, emphasizing Greece’s
continued provocations, offensive actions and illegal acts against Türkiye.
"We have always responded to this impertinence of
Greece and we will continue to do so," National Defense Minister Hulusi
Akar said at a military ceremony in the central Eskisehir province.
Citing Greece's recent harassment of Turkish jets over
the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas, Akar said the Turkish jets were
engaged in a NATO mission.
"Since July 2, the mission notified about its
activity to all NATO allies, everyone knew about it," Akar said, adding
that it is "impossible" that Athens did not know about the mission.
"Yet, they intercepted our F-16s, which were
carrying out their NATO duty. Greece made a false statement in a denialist way
claiming 'We did not know that these were Turkish planes'," he added.
Stressing that Greece's actions are "extremely
hostile and wrong," Akar said: "NATO and third countries should also
see Greece's actions. We have warned all of our allies over Greece. We expect
them to be objective. They should know that Greece's actions and rhetoric (on
Türkiye) are not in line with friendship or alliance."
Noting that Ankara closely follows Athens' actions that
disregard international law, good neighborly relations and friendship, the
Turkish minister said: “As Türkiye, we continue our work not as a burden to
NATO and our allies, but as a country that bears their burden."
Calling on Greece to stop seeing Türkiye as a threat,
Akar said: "Türkiye is not a threat, it is an extremely powerful,
effective, trustworthy ally for its friends and the alliance (NATO)."
He called on Athens to “take note from history” and
said that Greece cannot achieve anything by arming the islands at the Aegean.
Akar urged Greece to "hold the hand of peace that
we have extended. Let's continue our work in line with international law within
the framework of good neighborly relations."
He said that Türkiye will not allow any fait accompli
at the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas, and affirmed that Ankara is
"determined and adamant to protect our rights and interests in the Aegean,
the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus."
Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has
complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region
in recent months, saying such moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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UK using ‘delaying tactics’ in releasing files on
Saudi arms sales: Report
02 September 2022
The UK Department of International Trade (DIT) has
been accused of using “delaying tactics” in releasing documents about the
country’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia on the pretext that it needs more time to
see if releasing the information is in the public’s interest.
Campaigners and activists argue that members of the
public have the right to know about government decisions on selling lethal arms
which are being used against civilians in Saudi Arabia’s neighboring country,
Yemen.
The department’s Information Rights Unit has confirmed
that it holds the due material but has rejected releasing them for the second
time in a row, saying that it needs another 30 days to make a decision.
The development came in the wake of an inquiry by the
Middle East Eye, which filed a freedom of information request in July, seeking
information about arms exports to Saudi Arabia between 1 and 15 October 2016,
when the Saudi-led coalition’s conduct of the war was under scrutiny over a
deadly airstrike in Yemen’s Sana’a that killed more than 140 people.
Sam Perlo-Freeman, a research coordinator with the
UK-based Campaign Against Arms Trade, which works towards the abolition of the
international arms trade and has challenged UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia in
the high court, said the department appears to be using “classic delaying
tactics.”
“The UK continued to approve arms export licenses to
Saudi Arabia in the wake of some of the most horrific Saudi coalition attacks
on Yemeni civilians,” Perlo-Freeman said.
“It is important for the public to know – what
concerns, if any, were raised by civil servants about these licenses? How did
ministers, including [then-Foreign Secretary] Boris Johnson, respond to these
concerns? Did these atrocities make any difference to their thinking?” he
added.
The DIT’s rejection for being responsive came after
the UK-based Open Democracy media platform revealed that DIT was “the second
most prolific” government department to use the “public interest loophole” in
2021.
Anna Stavrianakis, a professor in international
relations at the University of Sussex, who was the requester of information
from FOI and others, has said that obtaining the data is important in order to
hold the UK accountable for its potential complicity in war crimes in Yemen.
Former Foreign Secretary Liz Truss faced a grilling by
parliamentarians at a foreign affairs committee hearing in June, when she
dodged a volley of questions from parliamentarians on the UK government’s
ambiguous stance on Saudi Arabia, saying that the Arab kingdom is an “important
partner of the United Kingdom.”
Asked about the Saudis’ human rights record by Labour
MP Chris Bryant, Truss stressed that “it is important to build a close trading
relationship with the [Persian] Gulf states.”
“Eighty-one executions in one day in Saudi Arabia and
you don’t think that’s an authoritarian regime?” Bryant pressed at the time,
referring to the execution of 81 people in Saudi Arabia on a single day in
March.
“If a country is an authoritarian regime, it’s fine to
do business with it as long as the authoritarianism is only within its own
borders, is that right?” Bryant continued, to which Truss dodged again and
brought up unrelated issues about Russia and China.
According to the international charity organization
Oxfam, the UK government licensed the export of air-to-air refueling equipment
to Saudi Arabia last summer, when arms restrictions were lifted and London
approved an additional £1.4 billion sale of other weapons.
“As the US has called for an end to the conflict in
Yemen, the UK is heading in the opposite direction, ramping up its support for
the brutal Saudi-led war by increasing arms sales and refueling equipment that
facilitate airstrikes,” Sam Nadel, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam, said
last year.
Source: Press TV
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Africa
Tunisian army kills three ISIS-linked extremists
02 September, 2022
The Tunisian army said Friday it had killed three
extremists linked to ISIS during an operation in the country’s west.
The men, members of the “Soldiers of the Caliphate”
group, were killed during a morning operation in the Mount Salloum area near
Kasserine, a town close to the Algerian border, the defense ministry said.
The operation came three weeks after a gun battle with
suspected terrorists in the same area wounded two Tunisian soldiers, according
to authorities.
Tunisia saw a string of terrorist attacks that killed
dozens of tourists and security forces in the years following its 2011
revolution, but authorities say they have made major progress against such
groups.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Gunmen kill at least 42 people in Ethiopia’s Oromiya
region: Report
02 September, 2022
Gunmen killed at least 42 people in Ethiopia’s Oromiya
region, two residents who buried the bodies in mass graves said on Friday, the
latest wave of killings in the country’s most populous region where escalating
violence has left hundreds dead.
The attack by an armed group against local residents
occurred on Tuesday, the residents said, in the Amuru district, around 370 km
(230 miles) west of the capital Addis Ababa.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Presidents of Türkiye, Republic of Congo meet in
Istanbul
Diyar Guldogan
02.09.2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his
counterpart from the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou N'Guesso met in Istanbul on
Friday.
The leaders met at the Vahdettin Mansion, the Turkish
presidency said in a statement, without giving further details about the
closed-door meeting.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/presidents-of-turkiye-republic-of-congo-meet-in-istanbul/2675343
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Tunisian security forces kill 3 terrorists in
Kasserine
Alaa Hammoudi
02.09.2022
TUNIS, Tunisia
Tunisian security forces have killed three gunmen from
Jund al-Khilafa (Caliphate Soldiers) terrorist group in the Kasserine province,
the country's Defense Ministry said on Friday.
"Joint units of the army, the (gendarmerie) and
the national security were able to eliminate three terrorists affiliated with
the Jund al-Khilafa organization," the ministry said.
The statement added that the terrorists were killed
"in a field operation in the heights of Salloum, without recording
injuries among the intervening units."
"Operations are still underway to track down the
remaining terrorist elements of the aforementioned organization," the
ministry said.
Since May 2011, Tunisia has witnessed several
terrorist attacks that escalated in 2013, killing dozens of security and
military personnel and foreign tourists.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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South
Asia
Islamic Emirate Rejects USIP Report Claiming
Terrorists in Afghanistan
September 3, 2022
The Islamic Emirate denied the assessment of the US
Institute of Peace that says the “Taliban” has continued “to harbor a range of
terrorist groups that endanger their neighbors.”
According to USIP, the “Taliban” has given sanctuary
to “the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which threatens Pakistan; the East
Turkestan Islamic Movement, which threatens China; the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan, which threatens Uzbekistan; and ISIS-Khorasan Province, which
threatens everyone (including the Taliban).”
But a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate stressed that
the Afghan soil will not be used against any country.
“The Islamic
Emirate does not allow anyone to threaten other countries from Afghan
soil. Such allegations made in this regard are not true. Unfortunately, such
allegations are published without evidence or proof. It is based on inaccurate
information and propaganda,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the
Islamic Emirate.
According to USIP, one year after the Islamic Emirate
came to power, Afghanistan's neighbors in the region are coming to grips
"with the reality that they now own a greater share of Afghanistan’s
problems and the Taliban realize that neither recognition nor financial aid are
going to come from the region easily.”
The analysts give various opinions on the matter:
“The neighbors of Afghanistan are concerned and the
neighbors of Afghanistan want the recognition of Afghanistan because
Afghanistan then would be obliged to follow up with some international
conventions. This could not be solved only via some verbal assurances by
Kabul,” said Torek Farhadi, a political analyst.
“If the neighbors really have concerns regarding
Afghanistan, they should recognize Afghanistan,, so their concerns could be
addressed,” said Janat Fahim Chakari, an international relations analyst.
Source: Tolo News
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Khalilzad Urges US, Islamic Emirate to Pursue Doha
Agreement
September 3, 2022
The former US special envoy for Afghanistan’s
reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, urged Washington and the Islamic Emirate to pursue
the agreement which they reached on February 29, 2019.
In an interview with TOLOnews, the US former envoy for
Afghan peace called on the “Taliban” to mull over their policies regarding
several issues including the closure of girls’ schools beyond grade six in
order to engage with the international community.
“(If) the Taliban want to have a legal government and
be part of the international community and make a strong Afghanistan, they
should revise their views,” he said.
Khalilzad suggested the US and “Taliban” sit for talks
and discuss the points of the agreements which have not been implemented.
“The US and Taliban should sit for (talks) on issues
which were included in the Doha agreement but not implemented, like the
guarantee on terrorism, like the formation of a government based on dialogue,”
Khalilzad said.
The Afghan-born US veteran diplomat accused the
Islamic Emirate of breaching the Doha agreement, saying that he is sure about
the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman-al-Zawahiri in Kabul, which to date the
Islamic Emirate has still not confirmed. The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman
Zabiullah Mujahid earlier at a press conference called the killing of Zawahiri
in Kabul an "allegation."
“I am sure this happened and the Taliban must also be
aware of it and they know it. They have a problem with how to explain it
because this is in contrast with the Doha agreement,” Khalilzad said.
Source: Tolo News
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Seven Rohingya dead after boat seized, Myanmar
authorities say
Sep 2, 2022
YANGON: Seven Rohingya people from a group of 65
seized by Myanmar authorities from a boat off the southern coast died of
hunger, thirst and exposure, state media said Friday.
On Monday, authorities detained a vessel near Pyapon
township, around 120 kilometres south of commercial hub Yangon, said the Global
New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
"Four traffickers and 65 smuggled Bengalis were
temporarily detained," it said, using the term by which Rohingya are
pejoratively referred to by many in Myanmar.
Three men and four women later "died due to the
bad weather and lack of food and water", it said.
Six others were still receiving medical treatment,
while five men from the group "were detained so that they could be
investigated and prosecuted under the law", the newspaper added.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled a
military crackdown in Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2017, arriving in
neighbouring Bangladesh with harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.
The Rohingya still in Myanmar are widely seen as
interlopers from Bangladesh and are largely denied citizenship, many rights and
access to healthcare and education.
Each year, hundreds make perilous, months-long boat
journeys to other parts of Southeast Asia, often during the November-March
period when the sea is safest for the small trawlers used by traffickers.
Source: Times Of India
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Arab
World
Iraq anti-government protesters demand political
change after unrest
02 September, 2022
Hundreds of Iraqis angered by a months-long political
crisis protested in the capital Baghdad on Friday, days after deadly clashes
between rival Shia groups sparked fears of widespread unrest.
Brandishing banners and Iraqi flags, the non-partisan
protesters streamed into west Baghdad’s al-Nusoor square, demanding a complete
political overhaul, according to footage carried by state media.
The mobilization followed nearly 11 months of
paralysis that has left the country without a new government, prime minister or
president, with Shia groups disagreeing on forming a coalition since elections
last October.
Some demonstrators shouted the slogan: “The people
want the fall of the regime.”
Others carried banners and sang slogans deploring
interference by neighboring Iran, according to videos and images circulating on
social media networks.
“Iran will not rule anymore,” they said.
The peaceful demonstrators were supporters of an
anti-government protest movement that erupted in October 2019 but has since
died down.
Their rallies in Baghdad are not rare but Friday’s
relatively large turnout came after Iraq’s political crisis deepened.
Clashes between supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr and rival groups earlier this week turned the Green Zone -- home to
government buildings and embassies -- into a battlefield.
Thirty Sadr supporters were killed in nearly 24 hours
of clashes that erupted on Monday after his supporters stormed the government
headquarters.
The violence moved to the country’s south on Thursday
where overnight clashes between Sadr-affiliated groups and the Iran-backed
Asaib Ahl al-Haq force left four people dead.
Two members of Sadr’s Saraya al-Salam force were among
those killed.
The oil-rich country has been ravaged by decades of
conflict and endemic corruption.
It is blighted by ailing infrastructure, power cuts
and crumbling public services, and now faces water shortages as drought ravages
swathes of the country.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Israeli attacks squeeze Iranian aerial supplies to
Syria, sources say
02 September, 2022
Israel has intensified strikes on Syrian airports to
disrupt Tehran’s increasing use of aerial supply lines to deliver arms to
allies in Syria and Lebanon including Hezbollah, regional diplomatic and
intelligence sources told Reuters.
Tehran has adopted air transport as a more reliable
means of ferrying military equipment to its forces and allied fighters in
Syria, following disruptions to ground transfers.
Israel has long seen its foe Iran’s deepening
entrenchment in Syria as a national security threat and is widening the scope
of its strikes to hit at this new transport method, the diplomatic and
intelligence sources said.
The latest strikes on Wednesday night damaged Aleppo
airport just before the arrival of a plane from Iran, a commander in an
Iran-backed regional alliance who was familiar with the incident told Reuters.
Israel also carried out a strike on Damascus airport,
damaging equipment, the government said, the second such attack airport since
June when Israeli air strikes on the runway knocked it out of service for two
weeks.
A Western intelligence source said that strike had
also aimed to prevent the arrival of a cargo plane.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military declined to
comment on the reports. Israel has been mounting attacks in Syria for years
against what it has described as Iranian and Iran-backed forces that have
deployed there during the 11-year war.
Ram Ben-Barak, head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and
Defence Committee, said that Israel’s goal in Syria is to prevent Iran’s plan
“to establish another front against Israel in Syria and strengthen Hezbollah’s capabilities
in Lebanon.”
In an interview with Tel Aviv 102 FM, he added that
Israel has “managed to foil this plan in various ways.”
‘Playing with fire’
Syria’s foreign minister responded to Wednesday’s air
strikes by saying Israel was “playing with fire” and threatening regional
security.
A regional diplomatic source told Reuters the strikes
marked a shift in Israeli targeting. “They started to hit infrastructure used
by the Iranians for ammunition supplies to Lebanon,” the source said.
“In the past it was only the supplies but not the
airport. Now, they hit the runway,” the source added.
That shift has been prompted by Iran’s increasing use
of commercial airliners instead of ground transfers to shuttle weaponry into
Syria’s two major airports, according to a Western intelligence source based in
the region and a Syrian military defector familiar with the strikes’ targets.
The intelligence source said Israel’s
intelligence-gathering had indicated “more flights were being used” to
transport weapons and small military hardware that “can be smuggled in the
regular civilian flights from Tehran.”
In 2019, the United States sanctioned Mahan Air for
transporting weapons and personnel to Iranian forces in Syria.
The Syrian military defector said such hardware typically
included small UAV drone components, parts for precision-guided missiles and
night vision equipment that are easy to “put in a carton in a civilian plane.”
Ground transfers through Iraq, Syria and into Lebanon
have been less appealing since local rivalries and turf wars along the
Iraqi-Syrian border – where pro-Iran Iraqi militias are based – had been
disrupting stock flows, the defector said.
When the Damascus airport was hit in June, Iran and
allies began to increasingly use the Aleppo airport for transfers, he added –
prompting the strikes there about two months later.
The strikes also provide clues as to where Iran is now
deepening is entrenchment, said Nawar Shaaban, an analyst at the Omran Centre
for Strategic Studies, which focuses on Syria.
While the strikes years ago concentrated on areas
around Damascus and military zones in the northwest, their spread to Aleppo and
even coastal zones highlight locations from which Israel perceives a strategic
threat to emanate, he said.
“The dangerous thing is that when we look at these
areas that are being hit, it tells us that Iran has spread out more,” Shaban
said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish volunteers put smiles on orphans’ faces in
Syria
Seda Sevencan
03.09.2022
IDLIB, Syria
Combing, cutting, and braiding, Turkish volunteers
have been cheering up nearly 3,500 girls -- mostly orphans -- in war-torn
Syria, doing their hair under a humanitarian project for several years.
The Human Movie Team, a social media movement in
cooperation with humanitarian groups, has been carrying out the project named
"Braids for hair and brotherhood for hearts" in different parts of
Syria since 2018.
Thanks to the project, the children, many of whom have
never had anyone to comb their hair, are reminded of what it is to be a child
and cared for.
Almost 2,000 girls living in refugee camps in northern
Azaz were first included of the project in 2018-2019, with cooperation from the
Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and the For Children group.
In cooperation with two humanitarian, volunteers
brought smiles to the lips of nearly 300 more girls living in refugee camps in
the northern Jarabulus district in 2020 by braiding their hair
A total of 22 Turkish volunteers cleaned and braided
the hair of 1,000 orphan girls living in northern Idlib province this year,
too.
Volunteers from different parts of Türkiye
participated in a two-day event that ended on Friday with the support of the
Orphan Foundation.
After their hair was braided and adorned with colorful
pins, the girls were given gifts such as clothes, stationery, and toys.
'Love and care is humanitarian aid'
"By displaying their before and after photos,
we're trying to tell the world how good these children feel, how beautiful they
look, and how their hopes swell when they get cared for with this
project," said project coordinator Tulay Gokcimen.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the project, Gokcimen
said her organization got feedback that the self-confidence and academic
success of the children in the project had increased, with people encouraging
the group to continue their efforts.
"Since we've conducted this project mostly for
orphan children, the love and care they receive is really uplifting for
them," she said.
"People may ask why we go and do their hair
instead of providing food and clothing in a war zone -- that is, instead of
more basic needs. They may think that way, but love is the most basic need of a
child, care is the most basic need of a child. Children of war need this love,
care, and attention, too. We think love and care is humanitarian aid and
humanitarian support for them," said Gokcimen.
"We want to continue this project, especially for
refugee camps in different parts of the world," she said.
According to the Orphan Foundation's latest report,
the number of orphans in Syria continues to rise as the civil war drags on for
over a decade, with the latest data showing that of 9 million children in the
country, more than 1 million are parentless.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since
early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy
protests.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Reforms in Saudi Arabia’s education sector producing
highly skilled youth: Minister
September 03, 2022
Recent reforms in Saudi Arabia’s educational system
are helping the Kingdom produce highly skilled youth who are ready to meet the
demands of the future labor market, Minister of Education Hamad Al-Sheikh said
on Friday.
During a meeting of the G20 education ministers,
Al-Sheikh praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts to reform its education system to
ensure that students are prepared for future jobs, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
reported.
The reforms in the education system come as part of
the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan to build talented future generations that are
prepared for the labor market.
Recent reforms in the Kingdom’s education sector
included expanding equitable access to high-quality early childhood education,
the minister said.
The ministry has been constructing new classrooms,
partnering with the private sector, engaging all education stakeholders, and
hiring and training early childhood teachers to ensure students are provided
with the best education, he added.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2155436/saudi-arabia
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Iraq destroys Daesh stronghold in Mosul
September 03, 2022
DUBAI: Iraqi security forces destroyed a major
stronghold that belonged to Daesh in the west of Mosul, state news agency (INA)
reported.
In a statement, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)
said it had located the hideout in the Adaiya Mountains in the west of Mosul
through a security operation.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2155456/middle-east
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Turkish military forces, allied militants shell
strategic town in northern Syria
03 September 2022
Turkish military forces and their allied militants
have reportedly renewed shelling on a Kurdish-controlled town in Syria’s
northern province of Raqqah in a bid to advance in that strategic area, as
Ankara is purportedly preparing for a new cross-border offensive in the Arab
country.
Syria’s official news agency SANA, citing local
sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that the shelling targeted
the town of Ayn Issa and the M4 international highway, which are situated near
the border with Turkey.
The sources added that the strikes caused material
damage to a number of houses and properties in the targeted areas, and left
local people in a state of panic as a result of the attack.
The town of Ayn Issa has a strategic significance as
it serves as a hub connecting Aleppo and Hasakah provinces through the M4
highway. It's also connected with the Tal Abyad city on the Syrian-Turkish
border.
Last week, Turkish military forces and their allied
militants shelled the villages of Abu Surra, al-Dibs and the M4 international
highway in the same Syrian province.
Tal Tamr power substation out of service because of
Turkish shelling
Also on Friday, the electrical substation in Tal Tamr
town of Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah went out of service after
Turkish forces and their mercenaries targeted the 66 kV line feeding the
substation.
The attack led to a power outage in the center of Tal
Tamr and its countryside.
SANA reported that Turkish forces also struck the
villages of Tawila, Tal Tawil and al-Abush, causing material damage in those
areas.
Turkey has deployed forces in Syria in violation of
the Arab country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ankara-backed militants were deployed to northeastern
Syria in October 2019 after Turkish military forces launched a long-threatened
cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push members of the US-backed
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militant group away from border areas.
Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist organization tied
to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an
autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior
officials have said Damascus will respond through all legitimate means
available to Turkey's ongoing ground offensive.
On August 8, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
hinted at his country’s plan for a new cross-border operation in Syria to purge
the YPG fighters, who form the backbone of the so-called Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF).
“We will continue our fight against terrorism. Our
decision to establish a 30-kilometer-deep (18.6-mile) secure line along our
southern border is final,” Erdogan said in an address to Turkish diplomats
attending the 13th Ambassadors Conference in the capital Ankara.
Erdogan has already stated that a new Turkish
operation against the YPG militants will remain on the agenda until security
concerns are addressed.
Source: Press TV
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Mideast
Iran sends ‘constructive’ response on nuclear deal but
US rejects it
Syed Zafar Mehdi
02.09.2022
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran has submitted its response to US comments on a
European Union draft proposal aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal, calling
it "constructive," but Washington has not reacted positively.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani in a
statement early Friday said the response was sent to the EU coordinator, adding
it has a "constructive approach" to finalize the negotiations
“After receiving the US response, the Islamic
Republic’s expert team examined it carefully, and the response was compiled and
submitted to the coordinator tonight,” Kanaani said.
He asserted that the response was put together
“following evaluations at various levels.”
The US State Department confirmed receiving the
response but did not assess it positively.
“We are studying it and will respond through the EU,
but unfortunately it is not constructive,” said Deputy State Department
spokesman Vedant Patel.
An unnamed Biden administration official was quoted as
saying by Politico that based on Iran's response to the US comments, "we
appear to be moving backwards."
Negotiations between Iran and the world powers to
revive the 2015 nuclear accord have been underway in the Austrian capital
Vienna since April last year, marked by multiple interruptions.
Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief and
coordinator of indirect talks between Iran and the US, proposed a new draft
proposal after the latest round of talks in Vienna last month, which came after
a five-month hiatus.
Iran filed its response to the EU draft proposal on
Aug. 15, a week after the talks ended in Vienna. The Biden administration
responded to Iran's comments through the EU coordinator on Aug. 24.
The two long-time adversaries have reportedly agreed
to find a way around key sticking points, with Iran dropping its demand for the
US to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its Foreign
Terrorist Organizations list.
French President Emmanuel Macron exuded confidence
Thursday that a deal will be concluded "in the next few days.” France is
one of the signatories to the original 2015 accord.
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in a
phone call Thursday with his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al
Nahyan said Tehran has "shown goodwill and seriousness" about
reaching a "robust and lasting deal."
On Wednesday during a joint press conference with his
Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, the top Iranian diplomat stressed
the importance of "stronger guarantees" from the US.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Hamas, Islamic Jihad hail ‘heroic’ stabbing operation
in occupied West Bank
03 September 2022
The Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance
movements have lauded as heroic a stabbing operation carried out by a young
Palestinian, who was fatally shot by the Israeli forces in the occupied West
bank city of al-Khalil.
Fadi Muhammad Ghattas was shot dead on Friday evening
after the Israeli soldiers opened fire on the 19-year-old Palestinian over a
stabbing attack at the entrance to the village of Beit Einun, five kilometers
northeast of al-Khalil.
The attack, which took place near the Israeli
settlement of Kiryat Arba, left one of the occupying regime’s forces seriously
injured.
In a press statement, Hamas spokesman Abdul-Latif Qanu
offered condolences to the families of the Palestinian hero and his fans,
stressing that, “The operation is a natural result of the escalation of the
crimes of the occupation against our people, our cities, our prisoners and our
holy sites.”
The Hamas spokesman also called on Palestinian
fighters to “target more settlers and occupation soldiers, engage them in all
locations, and set the ground in flames under their feet.”
In a separate statement, the Islamic Jihad resistance
movement also expressed felicitations over the stabbing operation in al-Khalil.
“We in the Islamic Jihad Movement, as we mourn the
heroic martyr who carried out his duty of resistance, affirm that the operation
he carried out is a natural and legitimate response in light of the escalation
of killings and arrests against our people in al-Quds and the occupied West
Bank,” the statement said.
The Islamic Jihad underlined that the operation
represents a “blessed extension of the burning flame of resistance” in the
cities and villages of the occupied West Bank in the face of the occupation.
“This operation confirms the vitality and continuity
of our people's resistance against this occupation, and proves that armed
resistance is the option that can deter the occupation and deter it from its
terrorist practices,” the resistance movement said.
“We salute our people and our resistance fighters in
the cities and towns of the West Bank, and we congratulate their steadfastness
despite all attempts at displacement and exclusion.”
The fatal shooting on Friday came a day after Israeli
forces killed two Palestinian men during two separate raids in the West Bank.
The men were identified as Samer Khaled, 25, from al-Ain refugee camp in
Nablus, and Yazan Affaneh, 26, from Umm al-Sharayet neighborhood south of Ramallah.
The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights
(PCHR ) said in a recent report that Israeli military forces have killed more
than one hundred Palestinians, and wounded hundreds more during raids and
various acts of aggression in the West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip since
the beginning of this year.
The PCHR said in the report that 112 Palestinians,
including 81 civilians, have lost their lives as a result of repeated Israeli
assaults.
The Gaza-based rights group also reported that 1,277
civilians, including 195 children, 39 women and 22 journalists, were injured in
the West Bank and Gaza during the mentioned period.
In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up attacks on
Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result of
these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others
have been arrested.
Source: Press TV
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Israelis, Palestinians scuffle at holy site in West
Bank
02 September, 2022
Dozens of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank
village of Nebi Samuel on Friday to protest the visit by an extremist Israeli
lawmaker to a holy site that Jews consider to be the burial place of the
Biblical prophet Samuel.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, 46, often stages provocative visits
to Arab neighborhoods, rallying ultranationalist supporters to confront
Palestinians and assert “Jewish Power” — the name of his party.
On Friday he visited the holy site in the outskirts of
Jerusalem where a small synagogue serves Jewish faithful underneath a mosque
built over the holy site.
Ben-Gvir who was once relegated to the margins of
Israeli politics is surging in the polls ahead of the country’s November
elections.
The two sides traded insults and several participants,
both Palestinian and Israelis, were seen being led away by police for
questioning.
It was not immediately clear if any arrests were made.
Ben-Gvir has been a fixture of Israel’s extreme right
for more than two decades, gaining notoriety in his youth as a disciple of the
late radical rabbi, Meir Kahane.
He transitioned into politics last year after a career
as a lawyer defending radical Jewish West Bank settlers.
Ben-Gvir’s supporters are largely religious and
ultra-Orthodox Jews, who tend to have large families, and also come from the
influential West Bank settler movement.
Source: Al Arabiya
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FM: Iran to Continue Helping Lebanon on Clarifying
Fate of Imam Musa Sadr
2022-September-2
The Iranian foreign minister made the remarks on his
Instagram post on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the kidnapping of
Imam Musa Sadr and his two companions Sheikh Muhammad Yaqub and Abbas Badreddin
in Libya in 1978.
Amir Abdollahian lauded Imam Musa Sadr's measures in
unifying the Muslim and Christian communities of Lebanon.
"Imam Moussa Sadr has not been among us for 44
years, but his determination in the fight against the Zionist regime is still
the great goal of the Islamic Ummah," the Iranian foreign minister added.
Amir Abdollahian poined out that the case of Imam Musa
Sadr has always been one of the important issues on the agenda of the
diplomatic apparatus of Iran and Lebanon.
Imam Musa al-Sadr was a highly revered Shia cleric of
Iranian descent, who founded the Lebanese Amal (Hope) Movement in 1974. He came
to Lebanon in 1959 to work for the rights of Shia Muslims in the port city of
Tyre, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut.
The prominent Shia cleric disappeared on August 31,
1978, during an official visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli.
Source: Fars News Agency
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President Rayeesi: Iran Ready to Broaden Ties with
Vietnam
2022-September-2
In his congratulatory message to the Vietnamese
president on Friday on the occassion of that country's national day, President
Rayeesi said that Vietnam's success in the national and international arenas in
the recent decades is indebted to the unity, amity and solidarity of the great
nation of Vietnam and "leaders like you" to achieve the rapid
development and growth.
"At the threshold of arrival of the 50th
establishment anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries
of Iran and Vietnam, it is hoped that the two countries would witness further
deepening of friendly relations between the two nations and cooperation in
various economic, political and cultural fields," President Rayeesi added.
In a relevant development in July, President Rayeesi
said that the Iranian and Vietnamese people are nations who have stood against
colonialism and hegemony of the world powers, specially the US.
"We know Vietnamese as people who stood up to
colonialism and hegemony and share close stances in this regard with
Iran," President Rayeesi said in a meeting with the new ambassador of
Vietnam to Tehran to receive his copy of credentials.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Palestinian killed in West Bank after stabbing Israeli
soldier
02 September, 2022
A Palestinian was shot dead Friday after stabbing an
Israeli soldier at an army post near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the
Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.
“An assailant armed with a knife” approached a
military post and stabbed a soldier, the army said in a statement, adding that
another soldier opened fire and “neutralized” the assailant.
It said the “moderately” wounded soldier was
“evacuated to a hospital for medical attention, while fully conscious, and his
family has been informed.”
The Palestinian health ministry said it had been
informed of the death of a young man near Hebron, but did not immediately
identify him.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it
captured the territory from Jordan.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Western powers can strike better Iran deal, Israeli
lawmaker says
02 September, 2022
Israel believes Western powers can reach a better
nuclear deal with Iran, a senior Israeli lawmaker said on Friday, as attempts
to revive a 2015 pact seemed near finalizing.
“We must draft a much better deal with a much longer
stick.
And this is what we’re not seeing,” Ram Ben-Barak,
head of parliament’s foreign affairs and defense committee, said in a radio
interview on Israel’s 102 FM.
The nuclear agreement had appeared near revival in
March. But indirect talks between Tehran and Washington then broke down over
several issues, including Tehran’s insistence that the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) close its probes into uranium traces found at three
undeclared sites before the nuclear pact is revived.
After 16 months of indirect talks between Tehran and
Washington, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Aug. 8
the bloc had laid down a final offer to overcome an impasse for the revival of
the agreement.
The open probes and future inspection were Israel’s
main concerns with the current deal, Ben-Barak said.
“We must get honest and real answers about what they
did there,” he said.
Iran has said the probes were politically motivated.
Ben-Barak, who once served as deputy director of
Israel’s Mossad spy agency, said Iran is not as strong as some people may think
and has been struggling under sanctions. This could lead Tehran to give up on
its nuclear ambitions entirely, whether by diplomacy or military power, he
added.
Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East’s only
nuclear power, has pledged never to allow Iran to obtain atomic weapons, saying
Tehran advocates its destruction. Iran denies ever seeking nuclear arms and
says its atomic program is peaceful.
Source: Al Arabiya
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North
America
US still hoping for Iran nuclear deal, ‘but we’re not
going to stay at it forever’
02 September, 2022
The Biden administration is still hoping to reach an
agreement with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal but there is a deadline,
according to National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby.
The president has said we want to get a deal, and we
want to do this diplomatically. But we’re not going to stay at it forever, so
we hope that they’ll act swiftly and we’ll be able to move this thing forward,”
Kirby told Al Arabiya in an interview.
Washington and Tehran have been conducting indirect
talks for well over 500 days. Iran has used stalling mechanisms throughout months
of the negotiations and both sides have cast the blame on the other.
Asked about a specific timeframe, Kirby said it would
not suit anybody “to be too specific right now.”
The US believes they are closer today to a deal than
they were two weeks ago, Kirby said, citing Iran’s willingness to drop “some
unrelated demands.”
Iran relayed its response to Washington’s comments on
what the European Union previously said was the “final text” of an agreement.
And US officials quickly sounded pessimistic, calling Tehran’s “not
constructive.”
Shortly after, NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson
released a statement saying, “This is a negotiation, with regular back and
forth.”
Watson added: “We will not negotiate in public. Some
gaps have closed in recent weeks, but others remain.”
Defending the deal
During his interview with Al Arabiya, Kirby defended
the sanctions relief that Iran would get under a potential new deal.
Reports indicate that Iran would be on the receiving
end of around $100 billion, which critics say will not be invested in the
Iranian people or infrastructure.
Source: Al Arabiya
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UN chief: former Kyrgyzstan president to head Afghan
mission
Sep 3, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: Former Kyrgyzstan president Roza
Otunbayeva has been appointed as the new UN special envoy for crisis-stricken
Afghanistan, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced late Friday.
Otunbayeva succeeds Deborah Lyons of Canada as head of the UN political mission
in Afghanistan known as UNAMA. She will be in charge of the UN's humanitarian
operations and dealings with the country's Taliban rulers.
Guterres said Otunbayeva brings to the position over
35 years of professional experience in leadership, diplomacy, civic engagement,
and international cooperation.
She served as president in 2010-2011, as foreign
minister on three occasions, in parliament and as deputy prime minister. She
was also Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to the United States and Britain.
Presently, Otunbayeva is a member of Guterres'
High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation and head of the Roza Otunbayeva
Initiative Foundation in Kyrgyzstan.
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths warned the
Security Council Monday that Afghanistan faces deepening poverty, with 6
million people suffering severe food shortages stemming from humanitarian,
economic, climate and financial crises.
Conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity
"have long been a sad reality" in Afghanistan, Griffiths said. What
makes the current situation "so critical" is the halt to large-scale
development aid since the Taliban takeover a year ago, he said.
More than half the Afghan population, some 24 million
people, need assistance and close to 19 million are facing acute levels of food
insecurity, Griffiths said.
"We worry" those figures will soon worsen as
winter weather sends already high fuel and food prices skyrocketing, he said.
Afghanistan's economy has cratered since the pullout
of US and allied forces in August 2021 and the withdrawal of foreign aid
agencies over the Taliban's refusal to allow girls to attend school and other
human rights violations.
Source: Times Of India
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Pentagon plans aid mission to Pakistan
September 3, 2022
WASHINGTON: The United States is conducting a military
aid mission to flood-devastated Pakistan, the US armed forces’ Central Command
said Friday.
“CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to
determine what potential support DoD (the US Department of Defense) can
provide... as part of the United States’ assistance to the flooding crisis in
Pakistan,” spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.
The decision followed a phone conversation on Thursday
between CENTCOM commander General Erik Kurilla and Chief of the Army Staff Gen
Qamar Javed Bajwa, the spokesman said.
Source: Dawn
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US Navy says vessels seized by Iran were unarmed,
‘posed no risk to naval traffic’
03 September, 2022
The US Navy publicly confirmed on Friday that an
Iranian warship seized and detained two US unmanned surface vessels in the Red
Sea earlier in the week.
This came two days after Iran tried and failed to
seize a similar vessel in the Gulf. “Jamaran (FFLG 76), an Islamic Republic of
Iran Navy ship, seized two Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessels
operating near one another in international waters before returning the vessels
to the US Navy the next day,” the US Navy said.
On Friday, Iranian state-run media said that the
country’s navy seized and released two unmanned vessels, claiming they
jeopardized maritime safety.
But the US Navy pushed back on the claim, suggesting
that they were unarmed and taking unclassified photos of the surrounding areas
while on an assigned patrol.
“The vessels posed no risk to naval traffic and had
been operating in the general vicinity of the Southern Red Sea for more than
200 consecutive days without incident,” according to the Navy.
After the US 5th Fleet detected an Iranian ship
approaching the unmanned vessels, two US guided-missile destroyers and another
two MH-60R Sea Hawk responded.
Source: Al Arabiya
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White House rejects linking Iran nuclear deal, IAEA
probes
02 September, 2022
There should be no conditionality between the
re-implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and verifying whether Tehran has
upheld its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the White
House said on Friday.
“There should not be any conditionality between
re-implementation of the JCPOA and investigations related to Iran’s legal
obligations under the non-proliferation treaty,” White House Press Secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, referring to International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) probes into uranium traces found at three undeclared Iranian
sites.
Iran’s foreign minister earlier this week said the UN
atomic watchdog should drop its “politically motivated probes” of Tehran’s
nuclear work.
Those investigations, which Washington has
consistently said are a separate matter, are a stumbling block to reviving the
2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) under which
Iran had curbed its atomic program in return for US, UN and European Union (EU)
sanctions relief.
Iran on Thursday sent its latest response to an EU
proposal on how to revive the agreement, which then-US President Donald Trump
abandoned in 2018, arguing that it was too generous to Iran.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Southeast
Asia
PAS sets eyes on ignorant first-time Muslim voters to
win GE15
By Radzi Razak
Saturday, 03 Sep 2022
ALOR SETAR, Sept 3 ― First-time voters ignorant of
religion and politics will be the key to winning the 15th general election,
according to PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.
He said his Islamist party is laying the groundwork to
win the vote of young Muslims voting voting for the first time, and is training
its eyes on those deemed ignorant of religion and politics.
“The critical factor in PAS's victory in GE15 is the
extent to which the election machinery is able to control the attitude of young
voters who are mostly first-time voters who are said not to be interested in
political issues.
“Decisive votes from among young men and women need to
be the focus and target, especially among Muslims themselves who are ignorant
of religion and even more ignorant in politics, which determines the future of
the people,” he said in his policy speech at the 68th PAS annual congress here.
The Marang MP attributed their ignorance to the
onslaught of information from social media, and said the party must counter it
through education.
He said that the party’s election campaigners must be
able to manage information and maximise new media platforms to appeal to their
target voters.
“PAS Youth and Muslimat need to move creatively and
inclusively to attract the support of young people and women who will be the
deciding vote in GE15,” he said, referring to the party’s two wings.
Source: Malay Mail
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How is DAP able to influence non-Muslims in PAS-led
Kelantan? Guan Eng asks
By Ben Tan
Saturday, 03 Sep 2022
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 ― DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng today
challenged political foe PAS to explain how his party is able to influence the
non-Muslim minorities in Kelantan, which has been ruled by the Islamist party
for decades.
He also expressed disbelief that there is 10 per cent
of non-Muslims left in the north-eastern peninsular state that still backs PAS
if the DAP were said to have such strong clout.
“How can DAP influence non-Muslim voters in Kelantan,
unless they can see for themselves how racist and extremist PAS is?
“What is surprising is that there are still 10 per
cent of non-Muslims in Kelantan who still support PAS,” he said in a statement.
The Bagan MP noted that the figures were given by PAS
vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah at the party’s 68th annual congress
underway in Kedah.
Mohd Amar is also deputy Kelantan mentri besar and was
reported to have alleged that nearly 90 per cent of Chinese in Kelantan had
rejected PAS candidates because they were swayed by the DAP.
Lim said the current PAS leadership has changed much
from when Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was its spiritual adviser and Kelantan
MB, adding that the latter was able to gain the support of 90 per cent of the
non-Muslims.
He also chided the current PAS leaders for defending
their president Tan Sri Hadi Awang’s assertion that non-Muslims and
non-Bumiputera made up the most of the corrupt people in the country.
“Mohd Amar should therefore not be surprised that
non-Muslims have such a negative view of PAS that they will not vote the
Islamist party in Kelantan,” Lim said.
He claimed that this was why Kelantan is the poorest
state in peninsular Malaysia.
“After more than 30 years of PAS rule, many
Kelantanese who were deprived of economic opportunities migrate to other states
and even Singapore to seek job opportunities,” he said.
Lim said PAS has become its own “worst enemy” by
refusing to back down from its political narrative blaming the minorities for
corruption in the country.
“Led by its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS is
not ashamed to prove themselves to be extremists and racists, but also failed
to offer solutions for the country’s economic problems and corruption
challenges,” he said.
Lim also pointed out that PAS practices poor crisis
management in floods, bad governance and cannot even provide clean piped water.
Source: Malay Mail
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Agong: Don’t turn mosques into political arena
02 Sep 2022
MARAN, Sept 2 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan
Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today decreed that mosques should
never be used as a place to insult fellow Muslims, fight, or as a political
arena.
His Majesty said that the mosque should be used as an
institution that leads the way of goodness, a centre of Muslim activities, and
even serves as a candle that illuminates the local community.
“I would like to send a message to the management of
mosques throughout the beloved state of Pahang; the management of mosques is
the trustee of Allah’s house. Therefore, carry out the responsibility in
managing this house of Allah with full sincerity, honesty, and trust.
“I do not allow any political party in the house of
Allah; let this be a reminder to all of us and I hope no one disputes this
order, it is for the well-being and common good of we Muslims and Malays.
“If you want to be political, do it outside the
mosque, not inside the mosque; let this be a reminder to all of us and
especially the mosque management, I hope the mosque management is responsible
in this matter. Do not politicise what I said. It does not reflect the sanctity
of Islam and the house of Allah. Don’t say I don’t issue a reminder...we all
remind each other,” said His Majesty.
His Majesty said this when officiating the new mosque
of Bandar Tun Abdul Razak Jengka, Maran, in conjunction with the 63rd Birthday
of the Sultan of Pahang, here.
The event was also attended by the Regent of Pahang
Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah and Pahang royal family, as well as the state
government leadership led by Pahang Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan
Ismail.
At the ceremony, His Majesty, who is also the Sultan
of Pahang, officiated and proclaimed the mosque as Al-Sultan Abdullah
Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah Mosque.
Al-Sultan Abdullah also expressed his appreciation for
the federal government’s RM9.5 million allocation for the construction of the
mosque.
“Here, I wish to thank former prime minister, Datuk
Seri Najib Tun Razak, who approved the construction of this mosque. Thank you
also to the Pahang government and all those involved from the initial planning
until this magnificent mosque stands today as an iconic landmark,” he said.
In addition, His Majesty is also of the view that the
mosque is not only a centre for religious worship, but can be developed with
various other functions including economic activities, sports, associations,
learning and community.
“The mosque is a one-stop centre which can provide
benefits to the local community. Based on that, the mosque management must be
more far-sighted and proactive to step out of the mosque by visiting
parishioners.
“The mosque should be strengthened according to the
reality of the times because it is the last bastion for the unity of Muslims,”
said His Majesty.
Meanwhile, Al-Sultan Abdullah also ordered that the
management of the mosque involves those from non-Muslim communities, so that
they are closer to the Muslims and also understand the religion of Islam
better, in addition to actively attracting youths and teenagers to be involved
in improving the mosque.
His Majesty also called on young people to return to
their villages and work the land with the Federal Land Development Authority
(Felda).
Source: Malay Mail
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Hadi says PAS a forgiving party, but cannot compromise
with sinners
By Radzi Razak
03 Sep 2022
ALOR SETAR, Sept 3 — PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi
Awang today proclaimed his party as highly tolerant and willing to forgive
those who “admit their mistakes”.
But he was quick to add that the Islamist party is
unbending and will not compromise nor co-operate with those who abandon certain
principles.
“PAS also does not turn a blind eye to evils such as
corruption, money politics, office-seeking politics, misbehaviour and
mismanagement.
“Because celebrating evils to merely maintain a
relationship and wrongful interest until abandoning their principles is a wrong
and sinful concept of ta’awun,” he said in his policy speech before some 2,000
delegates at the 68th PAS annual congress here.
Ta’awun is an Arabic term meaning co-operation.
PAS has said that it is open to political co-operation
with any party in the next general election, despite being a component member
of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
However, it has steadfastly rejected co-operation with
the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition; having severed ties with two of its
component parties PKR and DAP due to past disagreements when all three were
members of the defunct Pakatan Rakyat.
The PAS wings have recently been upset that its PN
partner, Bersatu, had declared an interest in teaming up with Opposition
parties so they could take out the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Despite their disparate views and ideologies, both PN
and BN are governing Malaysia jointly at the moment.
At the same time, PAS leaders have shown they are keen
to continue their political co-operation with Umno under their old Muafakat
Nasional banner to avoid clashing in 27 parliamentary seats in GE15.
In his policy speech, Hadi in his speech said that PAS
rejects any racial unity agenda that is narrow and has limited vision.
“At the same time, PAS is ready to discuss with all
parties who show signs of sincerity to find a solution to return to Islam.
“This is very important to overcome the great problems
of the people, not just a narrow political agenda, short term and not in
harmony with Islam,” he said.
He added that PAS’ future direction and strategy for
the upcoming 15th general election will be decided together by the Islamist
party’s central leadership committee as well as its top council of religious
scholars.
“The mandate was handed over to the syura ulama
council and the PAS central committee to research and make decisions in matters
related to law, policy and strategy for facing the election, and all
possibilities after the election, in order to ensure that Islam continues to
lead, including matters of determining seats and candidates in the face of
GE15,” he said.
Source: Malay Mail
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