Islamic State Posts Morphed Picture of Lord Shiva Idol on Cover Page Of 'Voice of Hind', an Online Magazine
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 November 2021
Photo: republicworld.com/india-news
-----
• Indian Muslims Rejected Jinnah’s Call, Stayed Back
By Choice, Not Chance: Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind
• We Can Starve, but the Kids Cry For Food: Afghans
Struggle after a 100 Days of Taliban Rule
• Pakistan Can Act As a Bridge between the Afghan
Taliban and the International Community: Experts
• US Calls For Infusing Liquidity into Afghan Banking
System without Benefiting Taliban
India
• Islamic State Posts Morphed Pic of Lord Shiva Idol
on Cover Page Of 'Voice Of Hind', an Online Magazine
• Indian Muslims Rejected Jinnah’s Call, Stayed Back
By Choice, Not Chance: Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind
• Wasim Rizvi Accompanied By Yati Narsinghanand
Saraswati Again Makes Distasteful Comments on Prophet, Islam
• Northeast Delhi Riots Case: Court Asks Police To
Probe If Attempt Was Made To Shield Five Discharged For Lack Of Evidence
• 3 terrorists arrested for killing salesman in
Srinagar, case solved, claims police
• Delhi HC to hear plea seeking to ban Salman
Khurshid's controversial new book
--------
South Asia
• Muslim Mason Taher Ali Khan Has Crafted Thousands of
Shrines Sculpts for Bangladesh’s Hindu Dead
• Taliban inducts 2 dozen high-level officials for
interim Afghan government
• US-Taliban to resume talks with a focus on
counterterrorism operations
• Clearing Afghanistan's landmines one careful step a
time
• Taliban to purge 'people of bad character' from
ranks
• Afghan journalists decry Taliban TV 'guidelines'
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Can Act As a Bridge between the Afghan
Taliban and The International Community: Experts
• Indian Sikhs laud Pakistan for facilities on Guru
Nanak’s anniversary
• Imran Khan’s fate hangs in balance amid persisting
unease in civil military relations in Pakistan
• Pakistan govt, TTP deny release of prisoners
• Pakistan rejects as ‘baseless' Indian stand of
downing F-16 in February 2019
--------
North America
• US Calls For Infusing Liquidity into Afghan Banking
System without Benefiting Taliban
• Use ‘all available leverage’ to release detained US
employees by Houthis: Congressmen
• US envoy Feltman sounds the alarm over Ethiopia,
says no military solution to war
--------
Arab World
• Iraq Starts Campaign to Hunt down Daesh/ISIS
Terrorists
• Former foreign minister accuses Egypt, Israel of
supporting Sudan ‘coup’
• Two civilians killed, six soldiers injured in
Israeli rocket attack on central Syria
• Lebanon’s interior minister: Crisis with Gulf could
worsen
• Generation of children ‘at stake’ in Lebanon crisis:
UNICEF
• Arab coalition strikes sites in Yemen capital Sanaa
--------
Mideast
• Israel Defence Chief Jets to Morocco To Cement
Security Ties After Abraham Accords
• Iran Executes, Arman Abdolali, Teen Offender despite
Pleas from Rights Groups
• Turkey Seeks Saudi Court Order in Khashoggi Murder
Case
• Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s
Harran
• Israel police says Hezbollah smuggling weapons to
Arab Israelis
• Top Negotiator: Iran Wants US Commitment to All
Undertakings
• AEOI Head: Iran Determined to Develop N. Program
--------
Africa
• Political Deal Based On Sparing Of Sudanese Blood:
PM Hamdok Tells Al Arabiya
• Moroccan delegation visits Israel amid normalization
• Sudan's PM Hamdok: Investigation launched into
violations against protesters
• Sudan’s PM Hamdok says he expects new government to
be formed within two weeks
• UN envoy for Libya resigns weeks before key
presidential elections: Diplomats
• Economic recession spurs gender violence in South
Sudan
• US supports peace and stability in Sudan: Blinken
--------
Europe
• EU Commissioner Faces French Rebuke for Meeting Muslim
Brotherhood-Linked Group
• Manchester bomber witness rejects claims of
extremism at mosque
• Uzbek Authorities Detain Alleged Members of Banned
Islamic Group
• UN appeal for Afghanistan aid meets $600 mln target
• EU condemns Houthi breach into ex-US Embassy in
Yemen
• 'Racist, discriminatory': Turkish Cypriots call on
UK councillor to resign over flag hoisting issue
--------
Southeast Asia
• Teach Kedah MB, PAS leaders to respect non-Muslims,
women, DAP MP urges Unity Ministry
• After Kedah 4D ban, observers say rigidity in PAS
proving barrier to genuine policy ideas
• Give priority to single parents, not flexibility to
polygamous men, says NGO
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Islamic State Posts Morphed Picture of Lord Shiva Idol on
Cover Page Of 'Voice Of Hind', an Online Magazine
Photo: republicworld.com/india-news
-----
Nov 24, 2021
KARWAR/BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has
strengthened security in Murudeshwar, in Uttara Kannada district, after an
online magazine of the terrorist organisation IS published a morphed image of a
Lord Shiva idol located in the temple town, about 120 km from here.
The photo has been edited to replace the head of the
idol with an image of an IS flag and carried on cover page of 'Voice of Hind',
an India-centric online propaganda magazine for the outfit. A post attributed
to IS said "Muslims were being targeted in Tripura and the community has
to take revenge by breaking false Gods (sic)".
Karnataka home minister Araga Jnanendra told TOI:
"Since Monday evening, we've provided adequate police security for the
temple and asked the Uttara Kannada SP to coordinate with the cybercrime
section to identify the source of the photograph."
The 123-foot statue of Lord Shiva is said to be the
second-tallest in Asia.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Indian Muslims Rejected Jinnah’s Call, Stayed Back By
Choice, Not Chance: Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind
Mahmood A
Madani , Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind
-----
23rd November 2021
Mahmoud A Madani , Jamiat-Ulama-e- Hind, reiterating that the Founder of Pakistan,
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, committed a grave ‘crime’ and is responsible for the
irreparable damage done to the Indian subcontinent through his two-nation theory.
Madani was speaking as a special guest at the TV 9 pre-election conclave
organized at a hotel in Gomtinagar in Lucknow. The discussion was on the M
(Muslim )factor in the coming elections in the state in a few months’ time.
Madani said that the patriotism of the Indian Muslim
should never be doubted or challenged as the decision to stay back in India was
their own choice and it was not by chance or any external force. He said that
his ancestors chose not to pay heed to Jinnah’s call to divide India and not support
Pakistan and stayed put in their homeland- India. He condemned any Indian Muslim who chose to
glorify Jinnah, Madani said as for him, far from considering Jinnah a hero he
refuses to even acknowledge him as a good leader. Jinnah he said was an
opportunist who jeopardized the lives of the entire Muslim community for his
ambition and personal dream.
Madani was equally critical of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi and said religion should
never be equated with the nation.
But surprisingly Madani who has even just a month back
highly blasted the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and termed Yogi Aditynath as
the worst (ghatiya) and unsuccessful (nakaam) chief Minister Uttar Pradesh has
ever had tried to play soft on saffron and gave evasive replies when the
interviewer asked him what the Muslims
of Uttar Pardesh feel about Yogi rule and what all the Yogi government has done
for the minorities in the state..
Agreeing that there was a dire crisis of Muslim
leadership Madani said this is because the Indian Muslims never wanted to be
considered a separate identity and believed in Gandhian ideology of
nationalism. That is why no second line of leadership emerged.
When asked what he felt about the good works done by
Yogi’s government like his work towards modernizing madrasas, Madani said that
the government should leave madrasas to the community and work towards
providing better formal education to children of minorities. He did not like
other minority leaders saying that the government was trying to dilute Islamic
teaching through its modernization agenda.
Journalists who have seen the same person spew venom
on BJP rule, express concern and anger because the Indian Muslims feel
alienated, suppressed, and helpless in the saffron rule were taken aback at the
soft stand that the Maulana chose to take on the UP government’s treatment of
its minority. Google baba will also get confused if we are talking about the
same person.
Source: Daily Siasat
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
We Can Starve, but the Kids Cry For Food: Afghans
Struggle After A 100 Days Of Taliban Rule
Afghanistan has been braving a grave humanitarian
crisis since the US pulled out its troops ending a war that lasted two decades.
-----
November 24, 2021
"Me and my husband can go hungry but we are
worried about our children they cry because they are hungry and that is so
difficult,” a 35-year-old Zarghuna, mother of two, said while narrating her
struggle ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15.
"We just have dinner in the Evening. Sometimes we
don’t even have that and we go to sleep without eating anything. In the
morning, we just have tea," she told the Independent UK.
Afghanistan has been braving a grave humanitarian
crisis since the US pulled out its troops, ending a war that lasted two
decades.
Zarghuna's eight-year-old son has also started feeling
the impact of the crisis. He said, "We have bread and sometimes rice, but
never meat and fruit. We have so much less food than before and it makes me
worried. Sometimes, when we don’t have food, I go to sleep without eating
anything.”
The family has started eating raw flour now. Zarghuna
said, "Our situation is not good. A few days ago, we received a sack of
flour and we started to eat that. Everything has become expensive. We cannot
buy flour and oil anymore because the price is too high.”
With children aged between one and 15, Zarghuna said
the crisis is so grave that the family has been only been able to afford one
meal per day as food prices shot up.
Earlier, the United Nations had warned that millions
of Afghans, including children, could die of starvation unless urgent action is
taken to pull Afghanistan back from the brink of collapse.
World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David
Beasley said 22.8 million people - more than half of Afghanistan's 39 million
population - were facing acute food insecurity and "marching to
starvation" compared to 14 million just two months ago.
The food crisis, exacerbated by climate change, was
dire in Afghanistan even before the takeover by the Taliban, whose new
administration has been blocked from accessing assets held overseas as nations
grapple with how to deal with the hardline Islamists.
Many Afghans are selling possessions to buy food, with
the Taliban unable to pay wages to civil servants, and urban communities are
facing food insecurity at levels similar to rural areas for the first time.
Aid groups are urging countries, concerned about human
rights under the Taliban, to engage with the new rulers to prevent a collapse
they say could trigger a migration crisis similar to the 2015 exodus from Syria
that shook Europe.
Source: India Today
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Pakistan Can Act As A Bridge Between The Afghan
Taliban And The International Community: Experts
In this file photo, a delegation from Afghan Taliban’s
Qatar-based political office meets Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Aug
25. — Photo courtesy foreign ministry
-----
November 24, 2021
PESHAWAR: Speakers at a round table conference have
observed that Pakistan can act as a bridge between the Afghan Taliban and the
international community, especially the US, as the latter is reluctant to
recognise the former’s government in Kabul.
The panellists discussed Afghanistan’s foreign policy
under the Taliban, cross-border movement of militants and counter-terrorism,
Pakistan’s foreign policy interests and options for Afghanistan, regional
stability in Central Asia and Russia, China’s interest, China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor/Belt and Road Initiative, US foreign policy options in Afghanistan,
according to a statement issued here on Tuesday.
The Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar
organised two parallel round table conferences to discuss the Afghan Taliban’s
seizure of power and transformation of the region’s security landscape. The
university’s political science department organised the events.
The first discussion was based on the power retrieval
of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the challenges faced by them such as their
acceptance around world, the brain-drain from Afghanistan, food challenges, and
the Afghan foreign reserves frozen by the US government and assistance from the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which has led to many challenges,
including protection of human rights, winning of international support, and
resolution of economic and humanitarian crises.
Discuss Afghan foreign policy under Taliban, regional
issues
The second round table discussed the return of the
Afghan Taliban to power and transformation of the security landscape of the region.
Apparently, Pakistan, China and Russia will have far more influence than before
in the broader Central Asian and South Asian region, the panelists observed.
According to them, while the situation in Afghanistan
is still evolving, the Afghan Taliban’s ascendance to power has raised concerns
that a revival of militancy could put the region at risk by vitalising the
transnational militant groups and threatening foreign investments, those linked
to BRI and CPEC.
Pakistan has a unique relationship with Afghanistan
and remains the key player in the new scenario. The long history of turbulent
relations is defined by cultural and ethnic connections, sovereignty concerns,
security interests, and trade. Pakistan has a huge interest in the Afghan
Taliban acting firmly and not allowing Afghanistan to descend into an
ungoverned space.
The SBBWU and Centre for Global and Strategic Studies
(CGSS) Islamabad signed a MoU, which included joint research collaborations,
organisation of conferences, and seminars.
The panelists included SBBWUP Vice-Chancellor Prof
Razia Sultana, City University of Science and Technology Prof Minhajul Hassan,
CGSS chief executive retired Lt-Colonel Khalid Taimur Akram, former ambassador
Ayaz Wazir and experts Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Dr Sadia Suleman, Prof Shabir
Ahmad, Imtiaz Guland Dr Raza Rehman.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1659929/pakistan-can-bring-afghan-taliban-us-closer-experts
--------
US Calls For Infusing Liquidity Into Afghan Banking
System Without Benefiting Taliban
A photo of US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
— AFP/File
-----
Anwar Iqbal
November 24, 2021
WASHINGTON: Hours after the United Nations sought
international intervention to prevent a possible collapse of Afghanistan’s
banks, the United States promised on Tuesday to look for options to ‘infuse
liquidity’ into the system without enriching the Taliban.
On Monday, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) released a new situation report on Afghanistan, saying that the
country’s financial and bank payment systems were ‘in disarray.’
The report details the state of the banking and
financial system prior to the political transition on 15 August 2021, as well as
the current situation in the three months since.
“Prompt and decisive action is urgently needed, with
delays in decision-making expected to increase the cost of a banking system
collapse – a grim predicament,” the report warns.
“We are working very closely with the UN … to find
ways to offer liquidity to infuse,” said US State Department Spokesperson Ned
Price when asked at a news briefing if the US was willing to help prevent the
predicted collapse.
The United States, he said, was also working with other
countries, “and bilaterally and multilaterally as well, to see to it that the
people of Afghanistan can take advantage of international support in ways that
don’t flow into the coffers of the Taliban.”
Mr Price pointed out that the US has pledged $474 million
of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan this year alone,
adding: “We know that the Afghan economy, even before the fall of the previous
government, was in dire need of international support.”
Underlining the need to continue providing
humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mr. Price said: “We believe that we can
… support the humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan even as we
continue to make clear to the Taliban the expectations that we have of them
when it comes to the priority issues that we’ve laid out.”
The United States, he said, wanted Afghanistan’s
Taliban rulers to ensure free passage for all, fulfill their counterterrorism
commitments, protect human rights and form an inclusive government before
establishing any ties with them.
The UNDP report on Afghanistan describes a banking
system at a near-standstill, with humanitarian interventions thwarted by the
country’s liquidity crisis, deepened by a lack of confidence on the part of
depositors and international markets. IMF projections cited in the report
predict a contraction of up to 30 per cent in the Afghan economy for 2021-2022.
Total banking system deposits fell from 268 billion
AFN (US$2.9 billion) at the end of 2020 to 194 billion (US$2 billion) in
September of this year. Those may fall to 165 billion AFN (US$1.8 billion) by
the end of 2021, a loss of approximately 40 percent.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
India
Wasim Rizvi Accompanied By Yati Narsinghanand
Saraswati Again Makes Distasteful Comments On Prophet, Islam
23rd November 2021
Former chairman of Shia Waqf board in Uttar Pradesh,
Wasim Rizvi, who is well known for his controversial views on Islam and the
Prophet Muhammad, has once again made provocative and distasteful comments on
Muslims. To make matters worse, he was accompanied by the head priest of Dasna
Devi temple Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati as they discussed Rizvi’s new book
“Muhammad.”
Addressing a group of people at the meeting, the video
clip of which is now doing rounds on social media, Rizvi was surrounded by
several Hindu religious heads. “I was born in Ayodhya and there is a current
ongoing mission against Hindus to weaken their society,” he remarked.
He further claimed that women were forcefully
converted to Islam, and poor Hindus were given money to do the same. “All this
is a part of the conspiracy hatched by their Prophet Muhammad. It was he who
convinced the Muslims that if they converted non-Muslim to Islam, a place was
guaranteed for them in heaven,” Rizvi can be heard saying in the video.
Rizvi further argued that it was this conspiracy that
resulted in Islam becoming the second most practiced religion in the world.
Narsinghanand sides with Rizvi:
Supporting Rizvi, hate-spewing priest Yati
Narsinghanand, well known for his bigoted remarks on Islam, stated that, unlike
Salman Khurshid who hides behind his book to portray Islam in a good light,
“Rizvi-bhai” has shed the light on the true perils of Islam.
It’s pertinent to mention that veteran Congress leader
Salman Khurshid, in his new book titled “Sunrise over Ayodhya” has compared a
“robust version of Hindutva to ISIS and Boko Haram.
“Has any Hindu group killed the way ISIS has? I have
just witnessed Hindus being killed. Be it a Muslim or a cow, when a death
occurs only a Hindu prime minister cries,” Narsinghanand concluded.
Source: Daily Siasat
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/wasim-rizvi-again-makes-distasteful-comments-on-prophet-islam-2229622/
--------
Northeast Delhi Riots Case: Court Asks Police To Probe
If Attempt Was Made To Shield Five Discharged For Lack Of Evidence
By Anand Mohan J
November 24, 2021
A Delhi court has ordered the police to investigate
whether a deliberate attempt was made to shield five men who were discharged in
a northeast Delhi riots case.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat discharged the
five men who were accused of being part of a mob that looted a Muslim man’s
house and a medical store. Police stated that the rioters took away medicines
and cosmetics worth about Rs 22-23 lakh.
Delhi news |liveFollow live updates from your city
The court said that as the accused were let off due to
lack of evidence, it ordered the northeast DCP to conduct an enquiry into the
“manner in which the investigation was conducted by the Investigating Offcer
(IO) in this case to find out whether or not there had been any deliberate
attempt to shield the offenders”. The court said that the accused were not
discharged because the incident did not take place or that they were falsely
implicated.
The court had relied on Supreme court guidelines while
dealing with the evidence pertaining to the commission of an offence involving
a large number of offenders and a large number of victims. ASJ Bhat said that
in order to convict a person, at least two prosecution witnesses have to
support and identify the role and involvement of the accused persons.
The court observed that in this case, it was just the
complainant who was a prosecution witness and that he did not identify any
members of the mob at the time of the incident, but did so when he was shown
their photographs by the police.
The court discharged the accused for lack of
sufficient evidence. It, however, noted that material on record does clearly
indicate that riotous incident has taken place
“This court is not insensitive towards the mental
agony and the financial loss suffered by the complainant due to this incident.
However, the sensitivity or the emotions alone are not the factors to be taken
into consideration by the court while deciding the fate of any accused. These
cannot take place of evidence,” the court said.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/north-east-delhi-riots-court-to-probe-police-763815/
--------
3 terrorists arrested for killing salesman in
Srinagar, case solved, claims police
Nov 24, 2021
SRINAGAR: The J&K police claimed on Tuesday that
they had resolved the November 9 killing of salesman Ibrahim Ahmad at Bohri
Kadal, central Srinagar with the arrests of three terrorists.
According to the police spokesman, the three arrested
terrorists — Ajaz Ahmad Lone, Naseer Ahmad Shah and Showkat Ahmad Dar — belong
to the TRF terror outfit and are residents of Lelhar, in Pulwama, south
Kashmir.
These three men, the police claimed, killed Ibrahim
Ahmad, who worked at the wholesale dry fruits shop of a Kashmiri Pandit named
Sandeep Mawa. According to Mawa, he was the intended target but Ahmad was
killed as he was in his (Mawa’s) car instead of his own.
A case vide FIR No. 86/2021 has been filed under
relevant sections of the at police station Maharaj Gunj. The police had
constituted a special team to investigate the killing.
The three men were arrested and during questioning
"confessed" their involvement, the police spokesman said.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Delhi HC to hear plea seeking to ban Salman Khurshid's
controversial new book
Nov 24, 2021
The Delhi high court is set to hear today a plea
seeking to ban the sale, purchase, and all forms of circulation of ‘Sunrise
Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’ – the new book by Congress leader and
former Union minister Salman Khurshid which triggered extensive outbursts from
certain political quarters, particularly over the fact that the author had
compared a “robust version” of Hindutva to the jihadist Islam of terror groups
such as the Islamic State (IS) and the Boko Haram.
The plea in Delhi high court, filed by advocate Vineet
Jindal, calls out Khushid's book for violating “the fundamental right
guaranteed under articles 19 and 21” of the Indian Constitution. Other than
seeking a ban on the sale, purchase, and all forms of circulation, the petition
also strives to ensure that the book is not published henceforth in any form –
neither print nor digital.
Khurshid, although went on to say that Hinduism is a
“beautiful religion” that he is proud of, unwittingly sparked a nationwide row
with the views presented in his book. Even within the ranks of his own party,
leaders differ on the debate over religious views. Khurshid's party colleague,
Ghulam Nabi Azad, has publicly said that he did not agree with the former on
the matter. “The comparison is factually incorrect and an exaggeration,” the
PTI news agency quoted Azad as saying.
Khurshid's new book on the Ayodhya verdict was
released last week. It explored the Supreme Court's landmark judgment on the
Babri Masjid land dispute and made comments on the ideology of the Hindutva.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Muslim Mason Taher Ali Khan Has Crafted Thousands of
Shrines Sculpts for Bangladesh’s Hindu Dead
22/11/2021
BARISAL: Bangladesh’s minority Hindu community has
endured waves of violence and persecution, but one Muslim artisan has devoted
his talents to shepherding their dead along a peaceful journey to the next
life. Taher Ali Khan has crafted thousands of shrines to departed loved ones
around the tranquil grounds of Barisal Mahashashan, the country’s largest Hindu
crematorium. The devout mason prays five times a day and adheres to all the
precepts of the Islamic faith, but has often found himself fending off
criticism from hardliners who question his calling.
“My prophet said to find bread by honest work. And he
advised us to refrain from stealing, hurting others or committing any crimes,”
Khan, 60, tells AFP.
“I work here constructing tombs,” he added. “I don’t
see anything that would jeopardise my religion.” Hindus account for about 10
percent of the majority-Muslim nation’s 169 million people and are well
represented in politics, business and the civil service.
But their numbers have dwindled from around a quarter
of the population in 1947, when millions fled after the partition of
newly-independent India into two separate nations along religious lines.
Another mass exodus coincided with the brutal nine-month Bangladesh war of
independence in 1971, during which occupying Pakistani military commanders
sanctioned attacks that saw tens of thousands of Hindu civilians murdered.
Occasional flashes of deadly religious conflict
continue to this day, with at least six people killed last month in nationwide unrest
that also saw attacks on temples. News of the recent violence upset Khan, who
spent the following days calling on Hindu friends to ask about their safety. “I
consider Hindus to be my brothers and sisters,” he says. “They love me because
of my work. I pour my heart out into constructing tombs because everyone wants
to build something beautiful for their dead.”
‘All my love and care’
Khan spends most of his time at the crematorium,
labouring away at ornate samadhi shrines that crisscross the grounds around the
funeral pyre.
The more humble monuments are small and unassuming
concrete slabs, similar in style to Western tombstones, with ashes from the
dead buried underneath.
The largest are elaborate, multi-tiered edifices with
colourful spires that tower over the small man-made pond that greets visitors
at the graveyard’s entrance, which can sell for up to 250,000 taka ($3,000).
“If I build a beautiful Samadhi for the dead, it gives
me enormous satisfaction,” he says. “I feel like I have done something to help
them feel good and to mourn their dead well.” Khan learned his trade 35 years
ago and by his estimation has built more than 10,000 samadhis in the time since
— most of those around Barisal crematorium are his handiwork. “Look at this
beautiful one,” he says, gesturing at one of the shrines during a tour of the
graveyard.
“The family wanted something beautiful for their young
boy, who died suddenly. I did it with all my love and care.” His work is in
high demand from Hindus living in Barisal and from far-flung farming
communities around the southern river port. “It doesn’t matter whether he’s a
Muslim, he does a solid job,” said Gouranga Das, who came to the grounds to
cremate his mother and again seek Khan’s services. “He made my grandfather’s
tomb and it was very nice.”
Source: Kuwait Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/muslim-mason-sculpts-shrines-for-bangladeshs-hindu-dead/
--------
Taliban inducts 2 dozen high-level officials for
interim Afghan government
Nov 24, 2021
The Taliban on Tuesday announced more than two-dozen
high-level officials, including ministers and deputy ministers, for its interim
government in Afghanistan, the country's news agency Pajhwok Afghan News said.
The spokesperson for Afghanistan's interim government,
Zabihullah Mujahid, said the the officials and the ministers have been inducted
in compliance with orders from Taliban’s supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah
Akhundzada.
The Afghan news agency reported that Maulvi
Shahabuddin Delawar has been appointed as the acting minister of mines and
petroleum while Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund has been given the role of acting
minister of disaster management.
The list released by Zabihullah Mujahid, and accessed
by Pajhwok Afghan News, show names of 25 others who have been appointed as
deputy ministers, corps commanders and heads of independent departments,
including acting director of prisons, deputy minister of border and tribal
affairs and head of Kandahar airport.
The Taliban announced its caretaker government in
September, weeks after taking over the capital Kabul in an effortless siege
after ousting former President Ashraf Ghani.
While Mullah Hassan Akhund was named the prime
minister in the 33-member interim government, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of
the founder of the Haqqani network, was given the charge of the interior
minister. He is one of the FBI's most wanted men due to his involvement in
suicide attacks and ties with Al Qaeda.
Late last month, the Taliban urged the United States
and other countries to recognise their government in Afghanistan, and said that
the failure to do so and the continued freezing of Afghan funds abroad would
“lead to problems not only for the country but for the world.”
Zabihullah Mujahid recalled that the reason the
Taliban and the US went to war last time was also because the two did not have
formal diplomatic ties.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US-Taliban to resume talks with a focus on
counterterrorism operations
24 Nov 2021
The U.S and Taliban officials will resume talks in
Doha, Qatar next week to discuss counterterrorism operations against ISIS-K,
Al-Qaeda, humanitarian assistance and economic crisis in Afghanistan, the U.S
Department of State have revealed.
The U.S and Taliban talks refer back to February 2020,
when an agreement was signed between both parties on an Afghanistan peace
process to help with a political settlement, which eventually failed and the
Taliban took over power by force on August 15, 2021, following the flee of
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
The agreement was said to have some hidden articles,
which were never leaked.
The U.S Department of States announced on Tuesday that
its special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West will chair the U.S
delegation during the next session of a two-week talk with the Taliban in Doha,
Qatar.
The two sides will discuss “our vital national interests,”
which include counterterrorism operations against the ISIS group and Al-Qaeda,
humanitarian assistance, Afghanistan’s devastated economy, and safe passage out
of Afghanistan for US citizens and Afghans who worked for the United States
during the 20-year war, said Ned Price, State Department spokesperson.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Clearing Afghanistan's landmines one careful step a
time
Nov 24, 2021
NAD -E-ALI, AFGHANISTAN: Weeks after the Taliban took
over Afghanistan, families who fled the fighting in one southern village
returned home to find something strange: the cricket ground had been circled in
rocks painted red and white.
White, it turned out, meant it was safe for children
to play. But red signalled buried landmines and other ordnance -- the explosive
remnants of war that have killed or maimed tens of thousands of Afghans over
the past four decades.
The village of Nad-e-Ali in Helmand province became a
front line in the final days of the war between the Taliban and Western-backed
government forces in Kabul.
It was besieged for two months until the Islamists
took control of the country in mid-August.
When its residents returned in September they found
the village school riddled with gunfire, its roof blackened by smoke, and the
children's swings reduced to just a metal frame.
They also found that the area had been "totally
mined" in the fighting, according to Juma Khan, the local coordinator for
the HALO Trust, the main mine-clearing NGO operating in Afghanistan.
Newly laid mines and other booby traps were buried
beneath doors of buildings and beside windows.
"The rooms inside had mines and there were mines
on the main street," Khan told AFP during a visit to Nad-e-Ali this month.
About 41,000 Afghan civilians have been killed or
wounded by landmines and unexploded ordnance since 1988, according to the
United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
More than two-thirds of the victims were children,
many of whom spotted the deadly devices while playing and picked them up.
The HALO (Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization)
Trust was founded in 1988 specifically to tackle ordnance left behind during
the Soviet occupation of the country.
The country was so badly contaminated, however, that
the clearance work never stopped -- even after an international treaty banning
the use of landmines was signed in 1997, with Afghanistan ratifying the
convention in 2002.
More than 30 years later, in the battles leading up to
the Taliban's return to power, mines and improvised explosive devices were
again laid and left behind -- this time by both the Islamists and their
now-ousted adversaries.
HALO -- one of the favourite charities of Princess
Diana -- struck an agreement with the new Taliban authorities in September to
have its more than 2,500 Afghan employees return to work.
In Nad-e-Ali, Taliban fighters are now guiding HALO's
deminers to find the deadly traps they set up.
Because they live in the village and do not want to be
blamed for civilian deaths, Taliban fighters "used to take them out with
their own hands, but we stopped them to avoid any further detonations",
said Khan.
But even as demining efforts persist, explosions have
already caused casualties among villagers.
Two months ago the wife of a village teacher lost both
her legs when an explosive device detonated the moment she opened the door of
her house.
"This incident was very painful. I saw it happen
with my own eyes," said the teacher, Bismillah.
"I saw my children screaming and crying... I'm
alone and the stress is too much, too much."
Since then, the village and its school have been
classified as a "high priority" demining zone.
It was HALO that set up the red and white rocks to
mark out safe corridors for their 10 teams of eight deminers as they carefully
inspect the ground using metal detectors.
"When it detects metal, battery or anything it
rings an alarm. Then we mark the area, and start to dig very carefully,"
said supervisor Bahramudin Ahmadi.
"As soon as we have a visual of the mine we
inform the demining team and we inform the local security, as they have to give
the permission to clear the zone and after that we detonate it."
Over the past three months, 102 explosive devices have
been defused in the region, including 25 in the village itself -- but that is
believed to be just a fraction of what remains buried in the ground and hidden
inside some houses.
For HALO, it is a race against time in post-war
Afghanistan to "decontaminate" one of the most heavily mined
countries in the world.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Taliban to purge 'people of bad character' from ranks
Nov 24, 2021
KABUL/ PESHAWAR: The Taliban have formed a commission
to purge "people of bad character" from their ranks to protect
Afghanistan's reputation, the group said on Tuesday, in the latest sign it is
trying to change from an insurgency into a regular government. The Taliban
operated as insurgent fighters for two decades before toppling a Western-backed
government in August.
In an audio recording, Taliban deputy chief and Afghan
interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said: "We are learning that people of
bad character had entered (Taliban) ranks and had been causing a bad name to
the Islamic Emirate (Afghanistan) and serving their vested interests."
"It is our humble wish that there should be a small number of people but
they should be pure and sincere so that this movement should not get
damaged," he said in the audio, whose authenticity was confirmed by
Taliban officials.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Afghan journalists decry Taliban TV 'guidelines'
Nov 23, 2021
KABUL: Afghan journalists and activists on Tuesday
condemned new "religious guidelines" issued by the Taliban that
restrict the role of women in television, as the Islamists move to muzzle the
media.
The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and
Prevention of Vice on Sunday called on television channels to stop showing
dramas and soap operas featuring women actors.
It also told broadcasters not to screen films or
programmes that are "against Islamic or Afghan values" and asked
women television journalists to wear the Islamic hijab while presenting their
reports.
Zan TV, the first Afghan channel staffed exclusively
by female producers and reporters, said on Twitter that the "guidelines
threaten media freedom" and reduce "the presence of women
journalists".
The Taliban's interpretation of the hijab -- which can
range from a hair covering to a face veil or full body covering -- is unclear,
and the majority of Afghan women already wear headscarves.
The attempt to regulate the media comes three months
after the Taliban swept back into power.
Hujatullah Mujadidi, a founding member of the
Federation of Afghan Journalists, said if enforced the guidelines would force
"some media outlets, especially television, (to) stop working".
Many shows rolled out to fill TV schedules, notably
soap operas produced in India and Turkey, will be inappropriate under the new
guidelines, making it difficult for channels to generate enough output and retain
audiences.
A ministry spokesman said after the announcement that
the new measures amounted to a "religious guideline" rather than
rules.
But Qari Abdul Sattar Saeed, a media spokesman for the
Taliban prime minister, days earlier accused the Afghan media of conveying
propaganda for the "enemy" and said they should "be treated
harshly".
Aslia Ahmadzai, a journalist in exile, told AFP that
women journalists "will feel threatened".
Another exiled Afghan journalist, who wanted to remain
anonymous, described the guidelines as "the first step to banning the TV
altogether, just like in the 90s".
During the Taliban's 1996-2001 stint in power, there
was no Afghan media to speak of -- the Islamists banned television, movies and
most other forms of entertainment, deeming them immoral.
Despite insisting they would rule more moderately this
time around, the Taliban have already introduced rules on what women must wear
at university.
Taliban members have also beaten and harassed several
Afghan journalists covering protests despite promising to uphold press
freedoms.
Source: Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Indian
Sikhs laud Pakistan for facilities on Guru Nanak’s anniversary
November
24, 2021
LAHORE:
The Sikhs from across the border lauded the Pakistan government for issuing
them visas to participate in the 552nd birth anniversary celebrations of Baba
Guru Nanak.
They
were addressing Baba Guru Nanak International Conference at the Punjab
Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac) on Tuesday.
Sardar
Hazaara Singh thanked the government of Pakistan for opening the Kartarpur
Corridor and facilitating the Sikh community in performing their religious
rites in Pakistan. He added that the message of Baba Nanak was peace and love.
Mr
Singh applauded Pilac for promotion of Punjabi language and culture, saying
more efforts were needed to promote the mother tongue of Punjab.
Sardar
Anmol Singh termed the people of Pakistan loving and caring, saying Punjabi
language and culture had been greatly promoted by institutions in Punjab,
especially Pilac.
Dr
Sughra Sadaf, the director general of the institute, thanked the visiting Sikh
delegation and said that Pilac held the conference on Baba Nanak every year pay
rich tributes to him. She said Baba Nanak promoted humanity and both parts of
Punjab should carry forward his message of love.
Pilac
Director Asim Chaudhry said the centre had been promoting Punjabi culture and
language since 2004.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Imran
Khan’s fate hangs in balance amid persisting unease in civil military relations
in Pakistan
Rana
Banerji
November
24, 2021
The
takeover by Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as Director-General, Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), took place eventually on 20 November, bringing to a close
the unseemly spat that occurred between Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and
Prime Minister Imran Khan over the held-up 6 October chain of Lieutenant
Generals’ transfers. Farewell calls of Lt Gen Faiz Hameed on the president,
prime minister and foreign minister were unusually played up in the media
before his departure to the XI Corps assignment in Peshawar. In sharp contrast,
there was complete silence on Anjum’s advent.
All
manner of speculation surfaced in the interregnum, about the rupture in
civil-military relations and options for change being considered at either end.
The name of Lt Gen Muhd Abdul Aziz, IV Corps commander, Lahore, senior-most
among Lieutenant General, floated briefly for Army Chief, in case Imran took
the drastic step of sacking Bajwa prematurely. This rumour did not gather much
traction, no doubt because the collegiate group of senior Generals remained
steadfast in support of the incumbent chief.
The
accord with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), Pakistan, to call off its agitation
was worked out under the military establishment’s initiative, embarrassing the
prime minister, who had talked tough about enforcing the writ of the State.
TLP’s name has been taken off the terrorist parties’ list under schedules of
the Anti-Terrorism Act and its leader, Saad Rizvi was released by courts just
before the death anniversary of its founder, Khadim Rizvi.
The
higher judiciary too flexed muscle, urging the prime minister to appear in the
Supreme Court while petitions of aggrieved parents of the Army Public School,
Peshawar, the calamity of December, 2014 were being heard. Angry judges asked
why no FIRs were filed against those at the helm, including then army chief Gen
Raheel Sharif and DG, ISI, Lt Gen Zaheer ul Islam. The prime minister’s
appearance proved to be more of a distraction.
After
two bills could not be passed in the National Assembly and a planned joint
session of Parliament had to be deferred on 11 November, for lack of support
from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s allies, Opposition parties
appeared buoyant about the military establishment’s new-found impartiality in
domestic politics. The Chaudhrys of Gujrat, Pervez Elahi and Shujaat Hussain, criticised
the PTI for ill-treating their Pakistan Muslim League {Quaid-e- Azam} (PML-Q)
workers in Punjab. Governor Mohd Sarwar joined the chorus of criticism.
The
Opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) announced a revised schedule of
public rallies in Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore, culminating in a ‘Long
March’ to Islamabad, to protest against high inflation and continued
mismanagement of the economy by the Imran Khan administration. Before tabling a
possible vote of no confidence against the PTI government, they toyed with the
idea of a ‘get Sanjrani’ operation, to remove the Senate Chairman first.
However,
this optimism proved short-lived as the joint session was held on 17 November,
comfortably passing 33 bills including controversial ones introducing
electronic voting machines and empowering overseas Pakistanis to vote.
Legislators ruefully acknowledged having ‘been brought’ to the joint session,
familiarly receiving telephone calls from the ISI, urging them to attend. The
Opposition is now left with the option of challenging the ‘illegal and
unconstitutional bulldozing’ of these legislations in courts.
Predictably,
this led to questions about a new ‘patch up’ deal to restore the ‘same page’
between the Army and its ‘hybrid’ protégé, through another extension to Gen
Bajwa in November 2022. Under the amended Army Act, the Army Chief can continue
till he is 64 years old. Though Bajwa would get two more years, such an
extension would be very unpopular within the army, as 16 more Lieutenant Generals
would retire before a new Chief comes in. Lt Gen Faiz Hameed remains the
front-runner in this regard, after he completes one year at the Peshawar Corps
command, especially if Imran Khan continues as prime minister till then.
However, this closeness to the prime minister may rankle with senior Generals,
who dislike excessive military kowtowing to civilians. Meanwhile, it remains to
be seen if Lt Gen Anjum can emerge as his own man at ISI, distancing the
institution from promoting only the ruling party’s interests.
Former
Gilgit Baltistan judge Rana Shamim’s affidavit, signed curiously enough before
a public notary in London, alleged that former Chief Justice Saqib Nisar had
suggested harsher judgements against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his
daughter, Maryam. An audio clip to that effect was leaked, though its
authenticity has been denied. Much to media consternation, Justice Minallah at
the Islamabad High Court deemed this to be a contempt matter against
journalists who raked up the issue.
Fiery
speeches by lawyers at the Asma Jehangir conference in Lahore (20 November)
berated the Army’s repeated interruptions of democracy in Pakistan, leading
upset Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed to remonstrate that judicial independence
remained unfettered. A speech by exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was
delivered virtually at its concluding session, despite abortive internet
disruptions.
Pakistan’s
economy continues to cause serious concern. Inflation has hit the common man
badly as essential commodity prices remain high. The rupee continues to slide
downwards against the dollar. An increase in electricity tariffs is imminent.
Negotiations to release the IMF tranche have still not worked, with
international donors insisting on a curb on borrowings and fresh measures to
raise resources. A bill on the autonomy of the State Bank has been drafted
reluctantly after IMF’s insistence. Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s former
finance minister, Miftah Ismail, criticised the State Bank’s latest decision to
raise benchmark interest rates to 8.75 percent as ‘catastrophic’. None of the
government’s managers seem to have cogent remedies for a bailout.
Source:
Firstpost
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
govt, TTP deny release of prisoners
Omer
Farooq Khan
Nov
24, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani security officials and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
have rejected reports that more than 100 prisoners of the terrorist group were
freed amid peace talks between the two sides in Afghanistan.
Several
media outlets had earlier reported that TTP prisoners were released as a
goodwill gesture after the announcement of a ceasefire by the terrorist outfit.
“Media
reports about the release of 100 TTP prisoners are not true. The TTP, however,
fully honours the ceasefire agreement,” Muhammad Khorasani, the terrorist
group’s spokesman, has been quoted by dawn.com as saying.
“The
negotiation teams have not yet sat on the table so reports about conditions and
demands are premature,” Khorasani said, in response to earlier reports that the
TTP had made several demands from Pakistan, including the release of prisoners.
Pakistani
security officials also denied the release of any TTP prisoner. “I can confirm
that no one has been freed so far,” said one of the officials familiar with the
negotiation process.
Last
month, Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan had claimed that his country was in
talks with the terrorist organisation on the reconciliation process. Earlier
this month, his information minister Fawad Chaudhry had confirmed that a
ceasefire had been reached with the TTP, saying that talks were underway “in
line with the constitution” and the ceasefire could be extended keeping in view
the progress made in the talks. The same day, the TTP spokesman had also
confirmed the temporary truce, adding that it would remain in place from
November 9 till December 9.
Days
after the truce announcement, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf
had said that no decision had been taken to grant amnesty to the TTP members,
emphasising that the state was “very clear and sensitive” on the issue.
During
his visit to Islamabad earlier this month, acting Afghan foreign minister Amir
Khan Muttaqi had said that the Afghan Taliban were mediating between Pakistan
and the TTP.
He
added that the two sides had not yet reached an agreement, but the process had
seen a “good” start, leading to the announcement of a month-long ceasefire.
Source:
Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
rejects as ‘baseless' Indian stand of downing F-16 in February 2019
Nov
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Tuesday rejected as "baseless" the Indian stand that a
Pakistani F-16 aircraft was shot down by an Indian pilot during an aerial
combat in February 2019.
Wing
Commander Abhinandan Varthaman (now Group Captain) shot down the Pakistani F-16
jet during an aerial combat before his MiG 21 Bison aircraft was hit on
February 27, 2019. He was captured by the Pakistani Army and later released on
the night of March 1.
He
was conferred with the Vir Chakra award by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday
for displaying an "exceptional sense of duty" in the dogfight. Vir
Chakra is India's third-highest wartime gallantry award after Param Vir Chakra
and Maha Vir Chakra.
"Pakistan
categorically rejects the entirely baseless Indian claims that a Pakistani F-16
aircraft was shot down by an Indian pilot" in February 2019, the Foreign
Office said in a statement.
"The
international experts and US officials have already confirmed that no Pakistani
F-16 was shot down on the day, after taking stock of Pakistani F-16 aircraft,”
it claimed.
The
pilot's release "was a testimony of Pakistan's desire for peace despite
India's hostility and ill-conceived aggressive action," it added.
In
the early hours of February 26, 2019, the IAF jets bombed the Jaish-e-Mohammad
(JeM) terror camps in Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan and avenged the
Pulwama terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.
Source:
Times of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North America
Use
‘all available leverage’ to release detained US employees by Houthis:
Congressmen
23
November ,2021
Top
US lawmakers said Tuesday that they were “alarmed” by the Houthis’ continued
detention of US employees and the Iran-backed group’s storming of the US
Embassy in Yemen in recent weeks.
“Above
all, we call on the Houthis to immediately release all US and UN staff and end
their harassment of US Embassy LES and breach of our diplomatic compound,”
Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Michael McCaul said in a letter to Secretary of
State Antony Blinken.'
The
two Congressmen called on Blinken to exercise “all available leverage” to
secure the release of the detained.
A
response is needed to prevent such actions in the future, they said.
Last
month, 30 Yemenis employed by the US were detained by the Houthis. They were
released with the help of regional partners, the State Department has said.
But
in Tuesday’s letter, Meeks and McCaul said Oman had played a “helpful role” in
helping to release some US Embassy employees.
UN
employees were detained in a separate incident, the State Department said. And
more US employees continue to be held after also being detained.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US
envoy Feltman sounds the alarm over Ethiopia, says no military solution to war
23
November ,2021
US
Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday that there
was “massive” progress trying to get fighting sides in Ethiopia to a
negotiating process, but he warned that there was no military solution.
“What
concerns us is this fragile progress risks being outpaced by the alarming
developments on the ground that threaten Ethiopia’s overall stability and
unity,” Feltman told reporters in a phone call.
Feltman
returned to Washington from Ethiopia on Monday.
“Unfortunately,
each side is trying to achieve its goal by military force. And each side seems
to believe this and it's on the cusp of winning. After more than a year of
fighting and hundreds of thousands of casualties... it should be clear that
there is no military solution,” he said.
Feltman
echoed earlier calls from the State Department urging American citizens to
leave Ethiopia as soon as possible.
Feltman
also delivered a strongly worded warning to the Tigray fighters that they must
halt their advance on Addis Ababa. If they don’t stop, they could face
“unrelenting hostility,” he said.
But
Feltman said he was encouraged by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s priority of
pushing the Tigray fighters out of regions they were occupying. “We share that
objective,” he said.
On
the other hand, the Tigray fighters have been saying they want to break the “siege”
on their home region, which has only received “something like 12 percent” of
what is needed in humanitarian aid.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab World
Iraq
starts campaign to hunt down Daesh/ISIS terrorists
Ekip
23.11.2021
BAGHDAD
The
Iraqi army on Tuesday launched a nationwide military operation against the
Daesh/ISIS terrorist group across the country.
A
statement by the Defense Ministry's Joint Operations Command said the operation
aims to hunt down Daesh/ISIS militants and destroy their hideouts across the
country.
It
said the offensive is supported by the Iraqi Air Force and the US-led
international coalition against Daesh/ISIS.
In
2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh/ISIS by reclaiming all territories the
terrorist group controlled since the summer of 2014, which was estimated to be
about a third of the country’s territory.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iraq-starts-campaign-to-hunt-down-daesh-isis-terrorists/2428205
--------
Former
foreign minister accuses Egypt, Israel of supporting Sudan ‘coup’
23.11.2021
Former
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi has accused Egypt and Israel
of supporting what she described as a “military coup” in Sudan.
Speaking
at a virtual panel hosted by US think tank, the Atlantic Council, al-Mahdi said
most countries have rejected the “coup” in Sudan.
"Even
countries that wanted to support the coup, like Egypt for example, was not able
to do so. It remained silent," she said.
She
added that “Egypt, pushed by the strong US position during the US-Egypt
Strategic Dialogue, was forced to condemn the coup."
On
Oct.25, the head of Sudan’s ruling military council, Gen. Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan, declared a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional
government, amid accusations between the military and politicians.
Following
the military takeover, Egypt issued a statement calling on all Sudanese parties
to exercise self-restraint and seek to achieve national consensus.
Egyptian
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry also said that Egypt doesn't support any side in
Sudan “and does not meddle in the affairs of others”. There was no comment from
the Egyptian authorities on al-Mahdi’s accusation.
As
for Israel, al-Mahdi said "the Sudanese government knew about Israel’s
supporting position to the military coup although it was not at the
forefront."
She
cited that US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, had visited
Israel for that purpose.
Officially,
Israel didn't comment on the developments in Sudan, but the state-run Public
Broadcasting Corporation said an Israeli delegation had met with al-Burhan in
Khartoum and that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling
military council, had visited Israel ahead of the military takeover.
Commenting
on a recent political deal signed between al-Burhan and Prime Minister Abdalla
Hamdok, al-Mahdi said the deal was a "setback that we can't be
accepted".
She
added that Hamdok didn't consult with his ministers before signing the
agreement.
"Our
position as the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition is that we oppose
the deal and stick to the demands of the people," she said.
Al-Mahdi
and 11 other ministers announced their resignation on Monday in protest of the
political agreement signed between Hamdok and the military.
The
14-point agreement stipulates that a 2019 political declaration will be the
basis for Sudan's democratic transition, and that elections will be held in
2023 as scheduled. It also provides for the prime minister to form a government
of technocrats.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Two
civilians killed, six soldiers injured in Israeli rocket attack on central
Syria
24
November ,2021
Two
civilians killed, and one civilian and six soldiers were injured due to an
Israeli rocket attack on central Syria, state news agency SANA reported on
Wednesday.
SANA
cited a military source as saying: “Israel carried out an air attack with
bursts of missiles from the northeastern direction of Beirut, targeting some
areas in the central region.”
“Our
defenses intercepted the aerial attack and destroyed most of them. The attack
led to the death of two civilians, a civilian was severely injured and six soldiers
were injured, and there was material damage.”
Israel's
military did not immediately comment on the latest strike.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Lebanon’s
interior minister: Crisis with Gulf could worsen
23
November ,2021
Lebanon’s
interior minister said Tuesday that every delay in resolving the diplomatic
crisis with Gulf nations threatens to affect the lives of more Lebanese already
reeling from a massive economic crisis.
Bassam
Mawlawi said resolving the crisis begins with the resignation of the Cabinet
minister whose comments sparked the ire of Saudi Arabia, calling it long
overdue.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Saudi
Arabia, a traditional ally of Lebanon, withdrew its ambassador and asked the
Lebanese envoy to leave last month following televised comments by George
Kordahi, Lebanon’s information minister. Kordahi said the war in Yemen was
futile and called it an aggression by the Arab Coalition.
Yemen’s
war began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthi rebels, who control
much of the country’s north. The Arab Coalition entered the war the following
year determined to restore the internationally recognized government and oust
the rebels.
Kordahi
recorded the comments weeks before he was named minister and has refused to
apologize or step down despite appeals from many, including the prime minister.
Lebanese officials have said his remarks do not represent official government
views.
“This
is taking a long time. It should not take more than a month to be resolved,”
Mawlawi told The Associated Press. “He should have resigned before. He should
have resigned immediately. ... Every delay causes more grave damage to the
Lebanese, whether those in Lebanon or in the Gulf.”
Bahrain,
The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait followed Saudi Arabia and also recalled
their ambassadors.
The
Saudis have also banned Lebanese imports, affecting hundreds of businesses and
cutting off hundreds of millions in foreign currency to Lebanon, which is
already facing a major economic meltdown.
Mawlawi
warned the Saudi import ban could be expanded to curtail all trade with the
Gulf nations, which could also undermine the employment or residency of
Lebanese living in the oil-rich nations. The livelihoods of over 350,000
Lebanese living in the Gulf nations are at risk.
“We
should not wait until the noose is tightened around all the Lebanese people’s
necks so that we take measures that we could have taken earlier and that could
have been easier,” he said. “I think the delay makes the crisis more
complicated.”
Mawlawi
said Kordahi is not resigning because he needs the approval of his political
backers, including the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has criticized the
Saudi pressure.
The
standoff has paralyzed the government, which has been unable to convene for
weeks.
Prime
Minister Najib Mikati can’t dismiss Kordahi without the approval of two-thirds
of the Cabinet. Mawlawi called on Mikati to do so if he can secure the votes.
“The
government must take initiative. I don’t think the government should wait for
any initiative or steps from the Gulf countries,” he said.
Mawlawi
acknowledged the crisis with Gulf nations precedes Kordahi’s comments.
Saudi
Arabia took the first punitive measures against Lebanon last spring after it
announced it had seized over 5 million pills of the amphetamine drug Captagon
hidden in a shipment of pomegranates coming from Lebanon. Then, it banned the
import or transit of Lebanese produce through its territories. Two suspected
smugglers were arrested in May.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Generation
of children ‘at stake’ in Lebanon crisis: UNICEF
23
November ,2021
The
UN children’s agency Tuesday called on Lebanon to take urgent action to protect
children after it documented a spike in child labor rates and food insecurity
since April.
“Urgent
action is needed to ensure no child goes hungry, becomes sick, or has to work
rather than receive an education,” said Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF representative in
Lebanon.
“The
staggering magnitude of the crisis must be a wake-up call,” she said, quoted in
a statement.
Lebanon
is grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis, with nearly 80 percent of
the population estimated to be living below the poverty line.
UNICEF
in October followed up with the more than 800 families it had surveyed in April
and found that since then living conditions had deteriorated dramatically.
“The
future of an entire generation of children is at stake,” it said in its latest
report titled “Surviving without the basics.”
The
survey found 53 percent of families had at least one child who skipped a meal
in October 2021, compared with 37 percent in April.
“The
proportion of families... who sent children to work rose to 12 percent, from
nine percent,” UNICEF added.
It
said almost 34 percent of children who required primary health care in October
did not receive it, up from 28 percent in April.
“Life
is very hard; it is becoming harder every day,” Hanan, a 29-year-old mother,
was quoted as saying by UNICEF.
“Today
I sent my four children to school without food.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
coalition strikes sites in Yemen capital Sanaa
23
November ,2021
The
Arab military alliance in Yemen said on Tuesday it had destroyed a ballistic
missile launch site in overnight air strikes in the Iran-backed Houthi
militia-controlled capital Sanaa, where residents reported big explosions.
There
were no immediate reports of casualties.
In
a statement reported by the Saudi state news agency (SPA) on Twitter, the
coalition said air strikes had been conducted against “legitimate military
targets” in Sanaa.
It
described the ballistic missile sites as “secret”, and said one of “high-value”
had been destroyed.
The
coalition said it had taken measures to spare civilians any collateral damage,
adding that “the secret positions” had used hospitals, organizations and
civilians as human shields.
The
coalition asked civilians not to gather around or approach the positions that
had been attacked.
Residents
told Reuters the explosions had rocked the northern neighborhoods of the city,
and said two military sites had been attacked.
The
Houthis have repeatedly launched cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia using
drones and missiles since the Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015
after the movement ousted the internationally-recognized government from the
capital.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Israel
Defence Chief Jets to Morocco To Cement Security Ties After Abraham Accords
23
November ,2021
Israel’s
defense minister headed to Morocco on Tuesday for an official visit to cement
security ties just ahead of the first anniversary of their agreement to
establish full diplomatic relations.
Benny
Gantz will be making the first official visit by an Israeli defense minister to
one of the four Arab states that agreed to normalize ties with Israel last
year. Earlier this year, Israel's foreign minister inaugurated an Israeli
diplomatic office in Rabat.
Speaking
to reporters ahead of the flight, Gantz said he was departing for a “historic
meeting.”
“We
will sign cooperation agreements. We will continue to strengthen the
connections. It is very important that this be a successful trip,” he said.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
During
the visit, Gantz is slated to meet his Moroccan counterpart and sign an
agreement that would lay the foundations for “formalizing defense relations
between the countries,” an Israeli official said. The official was not
authorized to talk to the press ahead of the trip and spoke on condition of
anonymity.
Morocco,
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan signed agreements to normalize
relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the diplomatic pacts brokered by the
Trump administration known as the Abraham Accords.
The
UAE and Bahrain had long maintained clandestine security cooperation with
Israel, due to their shared enmity of regional rival Iran.
Those
countries will all be closely watching next week's resumption of talks between
Iran and global powers over renewing an international nuclear pact.
The
previous agreement, which eased painful economic sanctions on Iran in exchange
for curbs on the country's nuclear program, collapsed three years ago after the
Trump administration withdrew from the deal.
Since
then, Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium — a key step toward
producing a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful
purposes, while Israel says it will take whatever steps it deems necessary to
prevent Iran from gaining the ability to make a bomb.
Earlier
on Tuesday, Gantz said at a security conference that the world powers “must add
a ‘Plan B’ to the diplomatic option” concerning Iran’s nuclear program.
“There
is no doubt that a diplomatic solution is preferable, but alongside it, the use
of force should be on the table — since it is the continuation of diplomacy by
other means,” the defense minister said.
Israel
and Morocco enjoyed low-level diplomatic relations in the 1990s, but Morocco
severed them after a Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000. Despite that, the
two states have maintained informal relations. Nearly half a million Israelis
claim Moroccan heritage — more than 200,000 immigrated to Israel after the
founding of the state in 1948 — and thousands visit the country each year.
Morocco
is still home to a small Jewish community, and Rabat has one remaining
synagogue.
In
exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel, the Trump
administration promised in December 2020 to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over
Western Sahara, a disputed north African territory. The announcement upset
decades of US policy and international consensus that Western Sahara’s status
should be settled by a UN referendum.
Since
then, the Biden administration has cautiously walked back that recognition.
After a meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Moroccan Foreign
minister Nasser Bourita in Washington this week, State Department spokesman Ned
Price said Blinken views a Moroccan autonomy plan for the region as
"serious, credible, and realistic, and one potential approach to satisfy
the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Executes, Arman Abdolali, Teen Offender despite Pleas from Rights Groups
24
November, 2021
Iran
on Wednesday executed Arman Abdolali, a man who was convicted of murder at the
age of 17, despite appeals from rights groups to spare his life.
Abdolali,
25, was executed early Wednesday after the family of Ghazaleh Shakour, whom he
was found guilty of murdering when he was a minor, refused to forgive him, the
semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Shakour was reportedly Abdolali’s
girlfriend.
Abdolali
was tried and sentenced to death in 2016. He was 17 at the time.
Abdolali
had said that his confessions were obtained under torture, according to Amnesty
International.
Abdolali’s
trial “was marred by serious violations, including the use of torture-tainted
‘confessions,’” Amnesty said in a statement last month.
His
execution had previously been postponed due to international pressure,
according to the London-based rights group.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkey
seeks Saudi court order in Khashoggi murder case
Basak
Akbulut Yazar and Murat Kaya
23.11.2021
ISTANBUL
As
the case of the 2018 murder in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
continues, a Turkish court on Tuesday sought the Saudi verdict about the
fugitive defendants, if any.
During
the hearing at the High Criminal Court no: 11 in Istanbul, the panel of judges
decided to ask Saudi authorities if there is any investigation or trial about
the fugitives in the Khashoggi case and for a copy of the final verdict to
prevent multiple penalty.
The
process will be carried via the Foreign Relations Department of the Turkish
Justice Ministry.
The
court, in line with the prosecutor’s demand, ordered the execution of the
arrest warrants and red notices for the defendants to be put on hold, and the
replies to the rogatory letter regarding their extradition to be awaited.
It
also ruled that a response to the letter sent to the Interpol department of the
Turkish police regarding the supply of the defendants’ criminal records and
identity registrar copies to be waited for acquiring.
The
26 defendants of the case were not present at the hearing, while Khashoggi’s
fiancee Hatice Cengiz, her lawyer Ali Ceylan, and an officer from Germany’s
Consulate General in Istanbul attended it.
Both
Ceylan and the defendants’ lawyers asked the court to correct the deficiencies
in the case file.
Khashoggi
murder case
Khashoggi,
59, a columnist for The Washington Post, was killed and dismembered by a group
of Saudi operatives shortly after he entered the country's consulate in
Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018.
Riyadh
offered conflicting narratives to explain his disappearance before
acknowledging he was murdered in the diplomatic building in a "rogue
operation".
On
Sept. 27, 2020, Turkish prosecutors filed a second indictment against six Saudi
suspects over Khashoggi's killing in Turkey.
The
41-page indictment prepared against six fugitive suspects – including two
consulate staff members – was approved by the chief prosecutor's office in
Istanbul and referred to the High Criminal Court no: 11, where the main case of
the defendants was heard.
The
indictment against the two members of consular staff – Sultan Yahya A. and
Yasir Halit M. – demands separate aggravated life sentences over “deliberate
killing with a monstrous feeling”.
The
prosecutors seek between six months to five years in prison for four suspects –
Ahmet Abdulaziz M., Khalid Yahya M., Mohammed Ibrahim A., and Obaid Ghazi A.
According
to the indictment, the two consular staff members were in the team that carried
out the murder and left Turkey after the killing while the other four suspects
are accused of leaving Turkey after tampering with evidence by going to the
crime scene immediately after the murder.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/turkey-seeks-saudi-court-order-in-khashoggi-murder-case/2428484
--------
Remains
of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran
NOV
23, 2021
The
ruins of a madrassa (Islamic institution of higher education) belonging to the
12th century have been unearthed in the archaeological site of Harran, located
in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.
Excavation
work has been continuing for eight years in Harran, which is one of the world's
oldest settlements on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Mehmet Önal,
head of the Archeology Department at Harran University and leading the
excavations in the Harran settlement, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Harran is
frequently mentioned in history books as it is one of the oldest settlements in
the world.
Noting
that the mysteries of the settlement are revealed day by day with their
archaeological dig, Önal said that they found important remains such as a street,
a monumental gate and a madrassa during the excavations this year.
Stating
that they encountered a university structure in the settlement for the first
time in this year's studies, Önal said: “We have determined with archaeological
evidence that the madrassa belongs to the Zengid era. Previously, it was known
that Harran had five madrassas. This was the first time we came across one of
the known madrassas of this region.”
He
said they have determined the structure had 24 rooms above ground and have now
completely unearthed the monumental door of the madrassa along with its five
rooms, and the portico partially, adding that there is also a kitchen next to
those rooms with large stoves and a brick and clay oven.
“Another
feature of the kitchen is there are many bones of sheep and goats inside the
hearths and ovens. This shows us that food was prepared here and people here
left the city in a rush, leaving the food on the stove without being eaten,
after being thoroughly convinced that the Mongols would take over the city,” he
explained.
Önal
said that they determined the madrassa belongs to the 12th century and that
they will learn more after excavations in the region are completed.
World’s
first university
Cihat
Koç, a district governor in Harran, said the history of education in Harran
dates back to 3000 B.C., and that studies were carried out in the fields of
astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and theology.
Harran
is a place that pioneered science and scientific education, Koç said, adding
that, "With our work this year, we have unearthed the first of the five
big madrassas, five big university campuses.”
“The
world's first university is at Harran. We are working seriously to uncover all
the ruins of this university,” he underlined.
Harran,
a onetime Assyrian and Umayyad capital located 44 kilometers (27 miles)
southeast of the city of Şanlıurfa near the Syrian border, was an important
Mesopotamian trade center on a road running south to Nineveh in modern Iraq,
and has been continuously inhabited since 6000 B.C.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/remains-of-first-islamic-madrassa-found-in-turkeys-harran/news
--------
Israel
police says Hezbollah smuggling weapons to Arab Israelis
24
November ,2021
The
Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah is trying to smuggle weapons into
Israel to be used by Arab Israelis in future clashes, Israel’s police said on
Tuesday.
Israel’s
police noticed a “significant increase” in attempts to smuggle weapons into the
country by Hezbollah through the Lebanese and Jordanian borders since May, The
Times of Israel reported.
Israeli
police added that the quality of smuggled weapons has increased sharply, and
the number of attempts has risen, presenting what they describe as a “strategic
threat”.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
police said the weapons are meant to reach “crime organizations in the Arab
community” with the purpose of being used in “terror attacks” should there be a
“surge in violence between Jews and Arabs”.
Since
the beginning of 2021, Israel’s northern district police have seized 140
pistols and 20 assault rifles, but the officers estimate that many more weapons
were successfully smuggled into the country.
Israel
describes Hezbollah as the biggest threat on its borders.
Hezbollah
was founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli forces that
invaded Lebanon that year.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Top
Negotiator: Iran Wants US Commitment to All Undertakings
2021-November-23
“The
US and the EU must show that they have the political will to implement what
they agreed to do in 2015. They must overcome domestic considerations to
resolve this,” Baqeri Kani said in an interview with Al-Jazeera network on
Monday.
He
added that the onus is on the US to prove its compliance with the deal as it
was the only party who ditched the accord in a unilateral manner.
“It
is widely believed that the United States, by withdrawing from the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), breached the deal blatantly and violated
UNSC Resolution 2231 flagrantly,” Baqeri Kani said.
He
made it clear that Iran has overcome Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign
and will be sitting at the negotiating table on November 29 with “full
preparedness, capacity, and total commitment to the JCPOA.”
“That’s
why the Americans, while resorting to deception, try to exploit the political
and media environment in their own favor. But it is not to their advantage.
They should accept reality and abide by all their commitments,” the lead
Iranian diplomat noted.
According
to Baqeri Kani, Iran continues its nuclear activities legitimately within the
framework stipulated in paragraphs 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, which give Iran the
right to reciprocate the noncompliance of the other side through legally
reducing its own commitments under the accord.
Rejecting
calls on Tehran to reverse its nuclear advancements, Baqeri Kani said, “Until
the violating and noncompliant party to the deal does not demonstrate, in
practice, its commitment to the JCPOA, there is no reason for Iran to abandon
its rights and entitlements guaranteed by the deal.”
“Everything
is clear and there is nothing ambiguous about the nuclear deal to negotiate,”
he added.
In
another part of his remarks, Baqeri Kani called on the European parties to the
JCPOA – namely France, Britain, and Germany – to demonstrate their abidance by
the nuclear deal in action, instead of paying lip service to it, and to put an
end to the noncompliance of the United States and its bankrupt policy of
maximum pressure.
Asked
whether Iran would discuss its missile program or regional influence after
presumably successful conclusion of the Vienna talks, he stressed that only the
countries of the region are entitled to make decisions about the issues of the
region.
“Any
interference from outside the region will bring no benefit for any party,” said
the senior diplomat, pointing to the catastrophic ramifications of US-led
interventions in the region. “It’s their presence and interference that impedes
constructive dialogue.”
"The
experience of foreign intervention from outside the region in Iraq and
Afghanistan indicates that murder, genocide, the destruction of infrastructure,
the spread of terrorism as well as narcotics cultivation and trafficking have
been the main outcome of intervention and manipulation by foreign powers during
the past two decades," the Iranian diplomat noted.
Baqeri
Kani also signaled that the Islamic Republic is ready to keep weathering US
sanctions if the Vienna talks do not fulfill its expectations.
“Reliance
on domestic capabilities and capacity has been a key to success for Iran over
the past four decades,” he said.
“Experience
has shown that self-reliance would prove more productive and fruitful than
anything else in the sophisticated process of political, economic, and even
security and military developments. We have gone a long way and we are a
patient people,” Baqeri Kani added.
The
revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been on the agenda of high-profile
negotiations between Iran and the remaining signatories, known as the G4+1
group (Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), in the Austrian capital
since April.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000902000215/Tp-Negiar-Iran-Wans-US-Cmmimen-All-Underakings
--------
AEOI
Head: Iran Determined to Develop N. Program
2021-November-23
The
important point between us and the Agency is that issues between the two sides
are technical and (the assurance) that the Agency does not pay attention to the
political issues and the enemies' plots to influence the path of progress of
Iran’s nuclear program and is not influenced by them,” Eslami told reporters in
a joint press conference with Director-General of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi in Tehran on Tuesday.
“Mr.
Grossi said several times today that they have witnessed no deviation in Iran’s
nuclear programs and Iran continues its nuclear activities based on treaties
and regulations,” he added.
Asked
about the allegations raised by enemies against Iran’s nuclear program in the
IAEA, Eslami said that they have been answered by Iran in the nuclear deal and
that the case has been closed.
“We
agreed today to end these issues and with the procedure that we will adopt,
which is still being negotiated, talks on them will not continue,” he added.
“Iran
is resolved in (developing) its nuclear program,” Eslami said, adding that the
country wants to use different aspects of nuclear technology for a better
living of the Iranian people and the IAEA will help Iran in this regard.
Grossi
arrived in Tehran for meetings with top Iranian officials, days before the
resumption of high-profile talks in Vienna on the removal of the United States’
sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text of
the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000902000543/AEOI-Head-Iran-Deermined-Develp-N-Prgram
--------
Africa
Political
deal based on sparing of Sudanese blood: PM Hamdok tells Al Arabiya
23
November ,2021
The
sparing of Sudanese blood and the preservation of gains made in the recent past
are the bases of the political agreement reached with the military, Sudan’s
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told Al Arabiya during a sit-down interview.
“The
political agreement was made based on sparing the blood of the Sudanese and
preserving the gains made. There is no alternative to dialogue in Sudan and we
are working towards reaching the elections,” Hamdok told Al Arabiya on Tuesday.
“The
elections will open the way for the consolidation of democracy in Sudan,” he
added.
The
Sudanese military reached a deal with Hamdok on Sunday that reinstated him as
the head of a new technocratic Cabinet ahead of eventual elections. But the
agreement has angered Sudan’s pro-democracy movement, which accuses Hamdok of
allowing himself to serve as a fig leaf for continued military rule.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Moroccan
delegation visits Israel amid normalization
Ibrahim
Mukhtar
23.11.2021
A
delegation of Moroccan media professionals and civil society representatives is
visiting Israel upon an invitation from the Israeli Foreign Ministry, according
to Israeli media on Tuesday.
The
official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the Moroccan delegation
arrived in Israel on Sunday for a six-day visit.
On
Nov. 14, Israeli Ambassador to Morocco, David Govrin, said in a Twitter post
that he received an eight-member Moroccan delegation ahead of their visit to
Israel.
"At
the invitation of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a delegation of
Moroccan journalists and civil society representatives will visit Israel in the
coming days," Govrin said.
He
added that the aim of the visit was “to strengthen and consolidate cultural,
media and social cooperation between the two countries”.
Moroccan
authorities have not yet commented on the visit.
On
Dec. 10, 2020, Israel and Morocco announced the resumption of diplomatic
relations between them after they were suspended in 2002 following the second
Palestinian intifada, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to normalize
relations with Israel in 2020 after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain,
and Sudan.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/moroccan-delegation-visits-israel-amid-normalization/2428235
--------
Sudan's
PM Hamdok: Investigation launched into violations against protesters
24
November ,2021
An
investigation has been launched into violations committed against protesters
since the military power grab on Oct. 25, Sudan's newly reinstated Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok said, according to a statement from his office.
Hamdok's
comments came during a meeting on Tuesday evening with a group from the Forces
of Freedom and Change (FFC), the main civilian coalition opposing military
rule. FFC had previously said on Sunday that it does not recognize any
political agreement with the military leadership.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
group stressed during the meeting the importance of laying out a roadmap to
implementing the political agreement, reversing all political appointments that
took place after the military takeover and reinstating all those who were fired
during that period, according to the statement.
Last
week, protesters and a Reuters witness said they saw security forces chase
protesters into neighborhoods and homes to carry out arrests. At least 15
people were shot dead during the anti-coup protests, according to medics.
Hamdok
and the group called for political prisoners to be released as soon as possible
and for the right to peacefully protest to be respected.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Sudan’s
PM Hamdok says he expects new government to be formed within two weeks
23
November ,2021
Sudan's
newly reinstated Prime Minister Abadalla Hamdok told Al Arabiya on Tuesday that
he expects a new government to be formed within two weeks.
“I
will make every effort to accomplish [forming a new government] within a time
period of no more than two weeks,” he said in an interview with Al Arabiya.
Hamdok
signed on Sunday a deal with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan that saw the PM
reinstated and allowed him to form an independent cabinet of technocrats, until
an election can be held.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
This
comes almost a month after Burhan led a military coup in late October.
Hamdok
added that he asked the military to end the violence against protesters.
Sudanese medics reported that security forces killed at least 40 civilians in
violent crackdowns.
“One
of the first issues discussed… is a halt to using violence against protesters.
It is a demand I will not cede at all,” Hamdok said.
After
the deal that saw Hamdok reinstated was signed, at least five political
prisoners were released.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
UN
envoy for Libya resigns weeks before key presidential elections: Diplomats
23
November ,2021
The
UN special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis of Slovakia, has quit less than a year
after taking on the role, diplomatic sources at the United Nations said
Tuesday.
“Kubis
has resigned,” a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, with several
other diplomatic sources confirming the surprise development.
No
official reason was given for the resignation, which comes one month before key
presidential elections are to be held in Libya.
One
diplomatic source suggested he may “feel he doesn’t have enough support.”
The
UN Security Council recently split over whether to reconfigure the leadership
of the global body’s political mission in Libya, with several members calling
for the envoy’s post to be transferred from Geneva to Tripoli.
Diplomats
said Kubis had been reluctant to undertake such a move.
The
UN communications service had yet to issue a statement on the 69-year-old’s
departure.
A
former UN envoy for Lebanon, Kubis took up the Libya envoy post in January.
His
sudden exit comes a day after the close of presidential nominations for Libya’s
closely-watched elections slated for December 24.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Economic
recession spurs gender violence in South Sudan
Benjamin
Takpiny
24.11.2021
JUBA,
South Sudan
Even
as the civil war has ended in South Sudan, violence against women continues
unabated – now fueled by economic hardship, driven by a decline in oil and
non-oil revenues and COVID-19 shocks.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency on the eve of International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women on Thursday, Ayak Garang, 30, a mother of seven, said that
situation has worsened because men are frustrated due to lack of work and they
start beating women without any reason.
“The
economic crises have contributed a lot to violence against women in the
country, now you can find the issues related to early marriage or forced
marriage which affect young girls leading to school dropout is because the
parents are marrying off their daughters to get resources,” she said.
According
to UNICEF, the incidents of gender-based violence (GBV) are one of the most
critical threats to women and children in South Sudan.
“The
GBV was already rife before the conflict, and is now nearing epidemic
proportions,” said the UNICEF South Sudan GBV Briefing note released in 2019.
Mary
Deng, 36, has urged the government to frame laws to curb gender violence, which
has attained serious proportions in the country.
“I
am now staying alone due to the domestic violence. I decided to struggle on my
own because staying in a violent place is so bad. After isolating myself,
nobody seems to care about my whereabouts and that is the clear sign that the
problem is not considered as a serious matter,” she told Anadolu Agency.
A
35-year-old rape victim also urged the government to bring strong laws to
combat gender violence.
Joseph
Loro, a senior official in the Gender, Child and Social Welfare Ministry, said
illiteracy and lack of opportunities are some of the major causes leading to
violence against women.
“In
every situation, women are the ones on the frontline. If you go on the streets
of Juba, they are the ones selling bananas and other small things,” said Loro,
adding that if they are supported to improve their livelihoods, then household
violence against women will also stop.
Earlier,
in its initial report on South Sudan, the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women also pleaded for drafting progressive legislation
for women.
Aya
Benjamin Warille, minister of gender, child, and social welfare, said South
Sudan has taken measures to end sexual and gender-based violence by
establishing a specialized court within the judiciary to try crimes against
women and girls.
She
said that South Sudan faced numerous challenges related to the conflict and
continues to appeal to the international community for support in promoting and
protecting the rights of women and girls.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/economic-recession-spurs-gender-violence-in-south-sudan/2428941
--------
US
supports peace and stability in Sudan: Blinken
Ibrahim
Mukhtar
23.11.2021
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday reiterated his country's support
for Sudan to achieve peace and stability.
Blinken’s
remarks came during a phone call with the head of Sudan’s ruling military
council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, according to a statement by the council.
The
statement said Blinken congratulated al-Burhan on the signing of a political
agreement with Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, which ended weeks-long crisis
that threatened to undermine Sudan’s political transition.
It
quoted Blinken as reiterating "the United States' support for everything
that would achieve peace and stability in Sudan, and build advanced and
effective relations based on mutual and common interests between the two
countries."
Earlier
Tuesday, Blinken said on his Twitter account that he called both Hamdok and
al-Burhan to express his endorsement “for initial steps to restore Sudan’s
democratic transition,” while also noting that he “underscored the work that
remains to rebuild confidence with the Sudanese people.”
“I
made clear that the US is watching,” Blinken said.
Hamdok
was reinstated on Sunday after signing a political agreement with the military.
He was placed under house arrest in late October after the Sudanese military
dismissed his transitional government.
The
14-point political agreement stipulates that a 2019 political declaration will
be the basis for Sudan's democratic transition, and that elections will be held
in 2023 as scheduled. It also provides for the prime minister to form a
government of technocrats.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/us-supports-peace-and-stability-in-sudan-blinken/2428225
--------
Europe
EU
commissioner faces French rebuke for meeting Muslim Brotherhood-linked group
Nicky
Harley
Nov
23, 2021
French
minister Marlene Schiappa has criticised Malta’s EU commissioner for meeting a
youth group with Muslim Brotherhood links, which she claims is "attacking
France" and "infiltrating our very institutions".
Helena
Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, tweeted about a meeting with the Forum Of
European Muslim Youth And Student Organisations (Femyso) last Wednesday.
The
daughter of Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood leader Rachid Ghannouchi, Intissar
Kherigi, has held the presidency of Femyso, the youth arm of the Council of
European Muslims, formerly the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe,
and believed to be the Muslim Brotherhood's European branch.
A
Femyso campaign this month on hijabs was pulled by the European Commission
after a backlash from France, which was the first European country to ban the full-face
veil in public places.
Ms
Dalli said she met the group to discuss issues of discrimination.
"I
had a discussion with @FEMYSO on the situation of young Muslims in Europe and
the challenges experienced as a result of stereotyping, discrimination and
outright hatred," she tweeted.
"We
must challenge all forms of discrimination affecting Europeans."
Ms
Schiappa said she would be referring the meeting to the European Commission.
“We’re
referring [the matter] to the Commission … in order to fight against these
Islamist associations that are attacking France and are infiltrating our very
institutions,” she told Europe 1.
A
representative for Ms Dalli said the meeting took place after it was requested
by Femyso.
“The
commissioner spoke about the European Commission’s commitment to address racism
as indicated in the anti-racism strategy, including its impacts on Muslims,”
the representative told Politico.
French
Secretary of State for Europe, Clement Beaune, said the meeting was “absurd”
and retweeted a comment accusing Femyso of being a "puppet" of the
Muslim Brotherhood.
Femyso
denies any ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A
report last month written by analysts for Austria's Documentation Centre for
Political Islam concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood had established vast
influence in Europe and public bodies were unwittingly funding its activities.
"Leadership positions within FEMYSO are generally occupied by children of
some of the most senior leaders of the European Brotherhood milieu," it
said.
Source:
The National News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Manchester
bomber witness rejects claims of extremism at mosque
Nicky
Harley
Nov
23, 2021
The
chairman of trustees at the mosque attended by the Manchester Arena bomber
Salman Abedi has denied that the place of worship has ties to the Muslim
Brotherhood or issues with extremism.
The
Manchester Arena Inquiry heard that Abedi had aroused suspicion at Manchester
Islamic Centre, also known as Didsbury Mosque.
Abedi
killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 when he blew himself up at the end
of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
Mohammed
El-Saeiti, a former prayer leader at the centre, has said Abedi attended some
of his sermons and once gave him "hateful looks" after he gave an
anti-ISIS sermon in 2014.
But
Fawzi Haffar, chairman of the trustees at Manchester Islamic Centre, said he
was not aware of any extremism existing at the mosque before the bombing.
"We
never thought that there might be anyone who might have any radical
thoughts," he told the inquiry on Tuesday. "We knew for sure there
was nobody there who would be teaching any radicalism. As far as I am
concerned, there was no radicalisation."
Mr
Haffar denied the mosque had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and said he had
never seen Abedi at the building.
"We
are very clear, we are a mainstream mosque," he said. "We do not allow
groups to come and hijack the mosque."
Paul
Greaney QC, counsel for the inquiry, put to Mr Haffar that the day after the
bombing he was told Abedi had attended the mosque repeatedly until 2016.
"I
have never known the father, the mother or the Abedi children," he said.
Mr
Greaney then suggested that Abedi's father, Ramadan, and his older brother,
Ismail, had volunteered at the mosque between 2014 to 2017, his mother worked
there as a teacher, and asked Mr Haffar how, over his four decades at the
mosque, he had "never heard" of the family.
"I
have never known Ramadan or seen him or Ismail," he replied.
The
inquiry was told the Charity Commission visited the mosque almost a year after
the bombing, examined if it was safeguarding youngsters against radicalisation
and issued it with an action plan.
Mr
Haffar said the mosque took the recommendations "seriously" and
himself and the other trustees attended courses on how to identify extremism.
When
asked why they had not done so before the watchdog's intervention, Mr Haffar
told the inquiry there had been "no problems" previously.
"We
thought everything was under control," he said.
"There
were no incidents or problems. We did not sense anything wrong at the time.
"We
were doing our best, we vetted imams. We made sure radicalisation had no place
in our mosque."
He
denied that the mosque provided a meeting space for extremist groups between
2014 to 2017, despite another member claiming this had happened.
It
was put to him that Mustafa Graf, a Libyan who was previously locked up in his
homeland for fighting, had held group meetings at the mosque for his
compatriots.
The
inquiry heard three convicted terrorists, Mohammed Abdallah, Abdalraouf
Abdallah and ISIS poster boy and recruiter, Raphael Hostey, had attended the mosque.
Source:
The National News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Uzbek
Authorities Detain Alleged Members Of Banned Islamic Group
November
23, 2021
TASHKENT
-- Uzbekistan's State Security Service (DXX) and its Interior Ministry have
detained a group of alleged members of a banned Islamic group in the Tashkent
region.
In
a joint statement on November 23, the DXX and the ministry said those detained
are suspected of being members of Katiba al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, a group that was
labeled as terrorist and banned in the Central Asian nation in 2016. It did not
reveal the exact number of detainees or their identities.
According
to the statement, the individuals were allegedly involved in propagating the
teaching of the banned group by distributing video and audio materials. They
are also accused of raising money for the group and recruiting Uzbek nationals
for the group's illegal armed units in Syria.
Source:
RFERL
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-islamic-militants-detained/31575586.html
--------
UN
appeal for Afghanistan aid meets $600 mln target
23
November ,2021
The
United Nations said Tuesday that its flash appeal for more than $600 million to
support the humanitarian response in Afghanistan until the end of the year was
now fully funded.
According
to the UN, Afghanistan is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, with more
than half of its population at risk of not having enough to eat during the
coming winter.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Following
the Taliban takeover of the country in August, the UN held a ministerial
meeting in Geneva in September, asking international donors for urgent support.
“We
can now report that the flash appeal is 100 percent funded,” Jens Laerke, a
spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva.
The
main donors were the United States, European countries and Japan, who helped
reached the total funding goal of $606 million (539 million euros).
The
funds are directed towards helping the 11 million most deprived people in
Afghanistan.
Laerke
said that between September 1 and November 15, the UN and its non-governmental
organization partners provided food assistance to 7.2 million people. They also
provided healthcare to nearly 900,000 people.
Nearly
200,000 drought-affected people have been assisted with water trucking and
178,000 children under the age of five have been treated for acute
malnutrition, he added.
“However,
not all funding has been translated into action because of the crisis in
Afghanistan’s banking and financial system. And half of the population still
need emergency aid,” he said.
Laerke
added that access had recently improved and the humanitarian effort now had
access to all areas in Afghanistan.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
EU
condemns Houthi breach into ex-US Embassy in Yemen
Agnes
Szucs
23.11.2021
BRUSSELS
The
EU on Tuesday condemned a breach of the former US Embassy in the Yemeni capital
by Houthi rebels, calling on the militia to immediately release detained US and
UN staff.
In
a statement released by the office of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell,
the EU condemned the intrusion into the building complex previously used as the
US Embassy in Sanaa.
The
bloc also denounced the continued detention of Yemenis who worked for the US
and UN, as well as the "threats and harassment targeting current and
former staff of diplomatic and international missions in the country."
It
called on the militia "to leave the compound, stop arrests and detentions
and release all detained immediately."
Referring
to a similar declaration of the UN Security Council, the EU statement also
pointed out that international law prohibits intrusion into diplomatic
property.
The
US State Department announced on Nov. 14. that Iran-backed Houthi fighters
breached the walls of the former US Embassy compound and detained Yemeni
security staff of the US government.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/eu-condemns-houthi-breach-into-ex-us-embassy-in-yemen/2428560
--------
'Racist,
discriminatory': Turkish Cypriots call on UK councillor to resign over flag
hoisting issue
Hasan
Esen
23.11.2021
LONDON
Turkish
Cypriots in the UK have called for a councilor to resign for removing the
national flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) during an
anniversary event, and issuing a "racist statement" against the
community.
The
Turkish Cypriots living in London Borough of Waltham Forest, 17 miles northeast
of London, said they were granted permission to raise their flag outside the
town hall to commemorate the 38th anniversary of the establishment of the TRNC
on Nov. 15.
But
a few hours after the TRNC flag had been raised, council leader Grace Williams
decided to "single out Turkish Cypriots by banning the display of their
national flag.”
Munevver
Borova, a member of Turkish Cypriot community in the UK, told Anadolu Agency
that the flag was raised on the pole outside the town hall during the
commemoration ceremony.
She
said the event began at 10.30 a.m., but officials arrived at about 1 p.m.,
lowered the flag, dragged it to the ground and tossed it in trash. "I
requested for the flag, but it was not given to me. What they did, I said, was
disrespectful," she added.
Borova
said she did not leave the municipality until the evening since she is
wheelchair-bound, and asked for the flag to be handed over to her, but to no
avail. "This was racism and discrimination, and violation of international
law," she said.
Later,
Williams in a statement apologized to the Greek Cypriots, saying: “Waltham
Forest Council apologizes for the offense caused by the hoisting of the flag of
Northern Cyprus.” She justified the removal of the flag with Britain’s refusal
to recognize the TRNC.
Turkish
Cypriots, on the other hand, have started a campaign, calling for her
resignation.
According
to the petition on Change.org, "Cllr Williams had essentially caved into
complaints by a small group of anti-Turkish racists – virtually all from
outside of our borough."
It
said that due to her intervention, the council removed the TRNC flag "a
few hours after it was hoisted instead of allowing it to fly from ‘dawn to
dusk’."
The
petition, however, claimed that the Waltham Forest Council has for years
allowed a similar flag-raising ceremony for Tibet, which is also not recognized
by the UK. "It is unacceptable to discriminate in this way," it said.
It
argued that the apology to Greek Cypriots "places the feelings of Greek
Cypriots above those of Turkish Cypriots, while simultaneously vilifying an
entire ethnic community."
"Such
vulgar racist, Islamophobic sentiments are unbecoming of any person in public
office and Cllr Williams’ position is now untenable," it said. "We
call on Cllr Williams to resign immediately and if not, for her fellow
councillors to remove her from her post."
The
community also demanded the council to issue an apology "to the thousands
of residents in the borough of Turkish Cypriot origin."
-
Cyprus dispute
Cyprus
has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots,
despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive
settlement.
Ethnic
attacks starting in early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into
enclaves for their safety.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast Asia
Teach
Kedah MB, PAS leaders to respect non-Muslims, women, DAP MP urges Unity
Ministry
23
Nov 2021
BY
R. LOHESWAR
KUALA
LUMPUR, Nov 23 ― DAP MP RSN Rayer today exhorted the Unity Ministry to
“educate” PAS leaders, especially its Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad
Sanusi Md Nor, to the sensitivities of non-Muslims in the country.
Speaking
in the Dewan Rakyat, Rayer reminded Sanusi that Kedah is a multiracial state
just like the rest of the country and that his recent actions showed a lack of
empathy towards non-Muslims and non-Malays.
He
said this went against the “Keluarga Malaysia” concept that Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was touting.
“Today
in this House, we got a huge bag full of shirts and caps and items to promote
the prime minister from Bera’s ‘Keluarga Malaysia’ concept. Sadly this is not
enough to build unity.
“We
need to educate the leaders, especially the ones from PAS, to be more sensitive
towards other races. I also urge the Unity Ministry to educate the Kedah MB to
be more prudent with how he governs the state as Kedah has and always will be a
multiracial state,” the Jelutong MP said.
“Our
PM will have his vision destroyed if people like the Kedah MB are purposely
touching on the sensitivities of the people.”
Sanusi
has repeatedly drawn public ire since he became Kedah MB in May 2020. The most
recent controversial decision he made was the effective ban of all gaming
outlets in the northern state by ordering local councils not to renew the
business licences of those selling 4D lottery tickets.
He
added to the flames by saying those who wanted to gamble can go to Penang
instead, which drew censure from the Penang Malay Association earlier today.
Prior
to this, Sanusi was under fire for remarks about having enough freezers to
contain the dead bodies of the deceased from Covid-19. At the time, he said
there were sufficient freezer containers to store the bodies of Covid-19
victims, and those interested could submit their names.
The
video clip where he made those comments went viral.
Individuals
who had criticised Sanusi in public had reportedly been taken in for police
questioning.
In
January, he cancelled Thaipusam in Kedah, a festival held sacred by many ethnic
Indians, saying it did not warrant a public holiday due to the movement control
order (MCO).
In
July, he was caught on video test driving a car during the MCO in Penang and
subsequently fined, after an aide initially denied Sanusi did so.
Rayer
held up the late Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat as a role model of Islamic leadership,
saying the former Tok Guru did more for non-Muslims as he had respected them
and treated them with dignity.
He
suggested a programme be made to educate current PAS leaders on Nik Aziz’s
teachings.
“The
late Tok Guru who did so much for the non-Muslim community in Kelantan.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
After
Kedah 4D ban, observers say rigidity in PAS proving barrier to genuine policy
ideas
24
Nov 2021
BY
SYED JAYMAL ZAHIID
KUALA
LUMPUR, Nov 24 — The PAS-led Kedah government’s move to ban 4D gaming operators
in the state continues to highlight the party’s dearth of policy proposals
beyond those rooted in religious objections, said critics.
One
public policy expert and academics agreed that the controversial decision will
fuel doubt about the party’s administrative skills despite having been in power
federally for nearly two years and governing three states.
They
argued that it was time for the Islamist party to demonstrate that it could
contribute ideas towards the country’s progress and move beyond controversies
such as the gaming ban in Kedah.
“PAS
certainly has been in the limelight recently by demonstrating its position on
policy matters that are reflective of its religious values and what it believes
its constituents desire,” said Tricia Yeoh, chief executive of the Institute
for Democracy and Economic Affairs think tank.
“In
fact, PAS should also have strong beliefs on other matters such as preserving
the environment, which unfortunately has not necessarily emerged as its
priority. If it is, it has not been clearly communicated to the public,” she
told Malay Mail.
As
a part of the ruling Perikatan Nasional administration, several PAS leaders had
been part of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration, before continuing to
serve under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Among
the portfolios that have passed through the party’s hands include law and
parliamentary affairs, religious affairs, as well as energy, science,
technology, environment and climate change.
Despite
this, however, the party has yet to be credited with any significant policy or
legislative idea.
Rigid
theology
The
source of this policy dearth could be due to the party’s political culture that
tended to sideline novel ideas and give prominence to Islamic teachings under
the strict “guidance” of clerical rule, according to Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Hassan,
an academic who studies PAS.
Even
though there were members of the professional class among the party’s ranks,
the rigid theology espoused by the clerical leadership still often governed
their outlook, the former university professor added.
The
result is usually the suppression of debate and free flow of ideas that
circumvent intellectual growth from within.
Worse,
he went on to argue, is that secular-educated PAS members are often kept in the
fringes and, as a consequence, the party fails to cultivate leaders with the
ability to bridge Islamic teachings with the needs of modern governance.
“How
to project and the meaning of Islam that is interpreted in the right way in the
context of Malaysian bureaucracy, this is a skill [their leadership] do not
have,” Nik Abdul Aziz said.
“Their
skills, perhaps, is to speak about Islam. Even then, the teachings are only in
the generic sense because they lack experience in administrative matters or
that of democratic governance.”
Progressive
academics have long cited such dogmatism as emblematic of the problems plaguing
religious epistemology, of which PAS is just one of the manifestations.
Its
root cause, according to Nik Abdul Aziz, was in the conservatives’ hold on
Islam and its interpretations, which has also fueled centuries of rivalry
between them and their more reformist-minded counterparts.
This
tension had been visible in PAS throughout its seventy years history, which
peaked six years ago when the party’s clerical leadership moved to purge the
reformist-minded faction at a party poll that split the party. Leaders from the
latter group eventually left to form Parti Amanah Negara.
Nik
Abdul Aziz further argued that the conservatism was made worse by an incomplete
religious education system that did not encourage a complete grasp of Islam.
“From
a historical perspective, the system doesn’t produce students who can
understand and translate Islam in real space and time... because the Islamic
[knowledge] remains under the conservative umbrella, which has the tendency to
focus on rituals and petty matters,” he added.
“And
this problem is everywhere in the world, maybe just in different forms in Iran,
Iraq or other countries.”
Party
for all
Political
opponents have responded to the 4D ban by criticising the move as an
infringement on minority rights, but ultimately took it more as political
maneuvering aimed at wooing conservative voters for the Melaka election on
Saturday.
Yeoh
said the move again raises questions about PAS’ ability to govern a
multicultural and diverse nation, and whether it is capable of looking beyond
the interest of its core voter base.
“PAS
as a political party will need to truly examine how it balances its specific
party priorities and the need to represent all Malaysians alike, seeing as it
is part of a federal government that sets itself up to act in the interests of
all citizens,” the public policy expert said.
PAS
has made several attempts to rebrand itself as an Islamic outfit that is
inclusive in recent years, among them, by toning its push for an Islamic state
and “ratifying” its non-muslim wing with representation in the central
decision-making body.
But
observers said little has come since, especially under the leadership of Datuk
Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, whose political outlook has shifted further to the right
since his party left Pakatan Harapan.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Give
priority to single parents, not flexibility to polygamous men, says NGO
November
23, 2021
PETALING
JAYA: With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Terengganu government must pay
attention to vulnerable groups such as single mothers, said non-governmental
organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS).
SIS
criticised the state government’s decision to grant leniency to men with two
wives and a monthly income of not more than RM2,500 when applying for the Rumah
Mampu Milik (RMM) affordable housing programme.
In
a statement, it questioned the fairness of the programme, saying RM2,500 was
not enough for a man to support two wives and their children and pay for
monthly bills and expenses.
The
decision to grant leniency over the housing programme was worrying, it said,
because it might encourage polygamy in men when they are unable to afford it.
Shariah
law states that a husband should be able to support and provide for his wives
equally, including material aspects such as houses.
SIS
questioned the conditions of the housing scheme listed in the Terengganu
e-Perumahan website, including applicants must never have owned a house before
applying and may only apply once.
Through
these conditions, it said, a husband can only provide one house for one wife,
which was in conflict with the equal treatment of wives as stated by shariah
law.
It
called for amendments to Islamic family law provisions to require men to
declare their assets and liabilities when applying to marry a second wife.
Their
financial capabilities should be considered beforehand to ensure no woman or
children were left without sufficient financial support, it said.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism