Tale of Kerala Muslim woman who raised three Hindu kids as her own is now a film
New
Age Islam News Bureau
04
February 2023
A
STILL FROM THE FILM 'ENNU NINTE SREEDHARAN
-------
•
Egyptian Coptic Church holds first ever masses in Saudi Arabia to coincide with
Christmas
•
State tied our hands, threw us to beasts, say Pak cops on Peshawar mosque blast
•
Islamophobia should be criminal offense, says Malaysian official
•
Latin patriarch of Jerusalem condemns acts of hate against Christians
•
UK police urged to prosecute Iranian accused of backing Rushdie fatwa
•
UN ‘unable’ to resolve conflicts, Jordanian official
•
Ilhan Omar's removal from US foreign affairs panel over anti-Israel remarks
divides internet, tweets viral
•
Islamic Emirate Leader: Intl Pressure Creates Mistrust
India
•
Mumbai: Undeterred by Court Restrictions, Raja Singh Yet Again Calls for
Violence Against Muslims
•
Why’s RSS having meetings with Muslim intellectuals? ‘Civilisational solution,
not electoral gain’
•
Ramdev hurls barbs at Muslims, accuses them of abducting Hindu women
•
In Indore, ‘love jihad’ vigilantes from Bajrang Dal have a free run
•
SC seeks Centre, 6 states reply on transfer of religious conversion cases from
HC
•
Assam: Child marriage ‘war’ with faith disclaimer
•
French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain visits Aligarh Muslim University, stressed
for exchange programme
•
In a new outreach, RSS leader Indresh Kumar meets representatives of Muslim
countries
--------
Arab
World
•
Family of slain Lebanon activist urges UN probe into port blast
•
French envoy criticizes Lebanon over ‘slow’ reforms needed for IMF loan
•
Lebanese Christian bloc leader rallies nation against electing pro-Hezbollah
president
--------
Pakistan
•
'Don't blame others for...': Taliban to Pakistan on Peshawar mosque blast
•
Why are Ahmadiyya mosques in Pakistan under attack by vandals?
•
Citizens take to the streets in KP against rising terrorism
•
School in PoK raided by assailants while President was busy meeting senior UN
officials: Report
•
PTA bans Wikipedia in Pakistan over ‘sacrilegious content’: spokesperson
•
Pakistan-US anti-terror talks from next month, says Bilawal
•
Nation together will root out menace of terrorism: Gen Asim Munir
•
Pakistan to attend Moscow meeting on Afghan crises next week
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Johor Sultan says fatwa barring Muslims from other faiths’ rituals not against
‘Bangsa Johor’ concept
•
Daegu group stages second Islamophobic pork feast in protest of mosque
•
Are you suggesting that Malaysians who don’t vote for PAS promote Islamophobia?
Kit Siang asks Hadi
•
Report: Rainy weather causing vegetable supply shortage ahead of Ramadan
•
SPM workshop controversy won’t happen again, vows minister
•
Philippines tightens rules for Kuwait recruitment after maid murder
--------
Mideast
•
Iran rebukes Macron’s double standard, urges France to speak out against
Israeli nukes
•
Iran behind hack of French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Microsoft says
•
‘Parliamentary tyranny’: Iran blasts US House Committee vote to oust Ilhan Omar
•
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi released on bail
•
Palestinian mosque in Israel targeted with Molotov cocktails
•
Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders head for Egypt amid Israel tensions
•
Landmine kills 13-year-old boy in Yemen port city Hodeida
•
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom asks US for sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan
•
US imposes sanctions on board of directors of Iranian drone maker
•
Iran’s security forces targeting eyes of protesters: Rights group
•
Satellite photos show damage at Iran military site hit by drones
•
Death of Amini sparks irreversible Iran ‘revolutionary process’: Nobel laureate
Ebadi
•
Turkey says Western nations gave it no evidence to back up security threat
reports
•
Iranian protests are ‘beginning of the end for regime in Tehran’, says Nobel
laureate Ebadi
•
Yemeni minister condemns Iran’s escalated arms smuggling to Houthis
•
Images of emaciated Iranian prisoner on hunger strike prompt outrage
--------
Europe
•
Sweden says claims that its agencies kidnap Muslim children is part of a
systematized disinformation campaign
•
London synagogue sold to Muslim group tied to antisemitic figures
•
West has failed to deal with migration, says Turkish minister
•
MP calls on UK to proscribe Iran guards to end ‘nefarious activities’
•
Whistleblower sacked for speaking out on withdrawal from Afghanistan takes UK
government to court
•
Turkish president receives Kosovar premier for talks
--------
Africa
•
Ganduje: Kano Sharia Court dissolves daughter’s marriage
•
Sudan demands United Nations immediately lift arms embargo
--------
North
America
•
New York couple gets combined 20 years for supporting Islamic State
•
Biden backs legal ‘status quo’ of Al-Aqsa mosque
•
US giving cold feet to countries willing to normalize with Syria: Report
•
Iran, Venezuela vow closer cooperation to thwart foreign pressures
•
Ex-Clinton aide: Monica Lewinsky scandal caused Clinton admin to lose track of
bin Laden
•
Elghawaby controversy has reignited debate over Islamophobia: mosque official
•
US, allies, criticize Iran’s ‘inadequate response to UN nuclear watchdog report
•
American sniper, weapons trainer for ISIS on trial in US
--------
South
Asia
•
SIGAR: US Aid May 'Confer Legitimacy' Onto Islamic Emirate
•
Amb. Thomas-Greenfield: We Judge Islamic Emirate on Its Actions
•
Pakistani Police Detains Scores of Afghan Refugees in Islamabad
•
Pakistani Troops Kill Two Militants in Raid Near Afghanistan Border
•
No option on table to recognise Taliban regime: EU special envoy Niklasson
•
Why Bangladesh is seeking Saudi oil on credit after IMF success
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
Tale
of Kerala Muslim woman who raised three Hindu kids as her own is now a film
February
01, 2023
A
STILL FROM THE FILM 'ENNU NINTE SREEDHARAN
----------
Nearly
50 years have passed since Chakki died, but Shanavas remembers that day like it
was yesterday. His mother Subaida handed baby Jafer to his grandmother and left
the house in a hurry with tears in her eyes, hoping for one last glance of
Chakki, more of a friend to her than a house help. Subaida returned home as a
mother to three more children — Chakki’s youngest, baby Sreedharan, in her
arms, and two young girls Ramani and Leela. That day, at the age of seven,
Shanavas welcomed three new siblings into his life.
ThennadanSubaida
and Abdul Aziz Haji, a pious Muslim couple from Nilambur’s Kalikavu village in
Kerala’s Malappuram district, had gone on to foster the three children of their
former domestic worker as their own for all their lives, all the while refusing
to bring them into the fold of Islam. Subaida passed away due to a kidney
ailment in July 2019, and her husband Aziz Haji followed two years later. The
family’s heartwarming tale has now been adapted to screen by acclaimed filmmaker
Siddik Paravoor. The film, EnnuSwanthamSreedharan ('With Love, Sreedharan'),
titled after the youngest of Chakki’s children, premiered at the Vanitha
Theatre in Edappally on January 9.
A
memorial note and a revelation
It
was through a Facebook post by Sreedharan, sharing the tragic news of the
passing away of his umma (Islamic term for mother in Malayalam) in July 2019,
that the world beyond Kalikavu first came to know of Subaida. “How does
‘Sreedharan’ have an ‘umma’? Whom are you misleading? Is this a fake ID?” his
Facebook friends had prodded. For Sreedharan, his heartbreak amplified by his
inability to return home from Oman to see his mother, the doubts and aspersions
cast on his life’s experiences had seemed to border on harassment.
A
day later, he had decided that he would not allow society’s dogmas to deem him
as anything less than Subaida’s son — a Hindu child of a Muslim mother. “Umma
and uppa (father) had three biological children of their own, including
Joshina, who was born a few years after we came to the house. But we have never
felt like outsiders there. That is the only home I have known. I have heard
that umma used to breastfeed me and Jafer together,” Sreedharan tells TNM. And
hence he had taken to Facebook, relating his life’s story, letting the world in
on a gratifying lesson in love and coexistence.
“This
post is to clear your doubts about who I am,” he wrote. “When I shared the news
of my umma’s passing, some of you had doubts. Even when I posted a picture of
me wearing a taqiyah, there were doubts if a Muslim man could be named
Sreedharan. My mother died when I was about a year old. I have two sisters. I
had a father too. The very day my mother died, this umma and uppa brought us to
their house. They gave us an education, just like they did for their own
children. When my sisters reached a marriageable age, it was uppa and umma who
married them off. Having kids of their own did not stop them from taking us in.
They had three kids. Even though they adopted us at a young age, they did not
try to convert us into their religion. People say that an adoptive mother can
never match up to one’s biological mother. But she was never an ‘adoptive
mother’ to us, she was truly our mother,” the post said.
Everybody
who read his post was surprised, says Sreedharan. “Suddenly we were getting
calls from activists and media persons to ordinary people, all of them wanting
to know more about the story behind that post,” he says. “In today’s political
climate, where religions are constantly pitched against each other, the fact
that this family took us in and raised us to believe in god, believe in our own
faith, seemed almost unbelievable for some.”
In
fact, the siblings were surprised by the world’s reaction to the story. “We
grew up as brothers and sisters. We had never thought of our family as
different from the others,” says Shanavas, the eldest of Subaida’s biological
children. “Of course, when umma first brought Ramani, Leela, and Sreedharan
into our home, I had asked her what she was planning to do. She then told me
that these children will now grow up in our house, and that was it. We never
questioned it. Our father, who was in the Gulf at the time, was also equally
supportive of umma’s decision,” he says.
Beyond
religious barriers
Sreedharan
recalls the day he asked his adoptive parents why they didn’t bring him into
the fold of Islam. “Their first response was concern. They asked me if someone
had said something bad to me. After I reassured them, they explained to me that
we should not let religion define anyone. They said that all religions were
essentially preaching the same thing — to love and help people, and that it was
human beings who were interpreting these teachings wrongly.”
“They
also taught us to have faith, no matter what the religion. My sisters and I
used to go to the temple, walk around with sandal marks on our foreheads and
more. They actively encouraged us. All they expected from us was to ensure we
don’t lie, steal, or hurt others. And we also took care to never do something
that would hurt their reputation,” he says.
Sreedharan
is also cognisant of the fact that if he and his sisters had not been adopted
by Subaida, his life would have panned out very differently, especially
considering his biological family’s caste background. “We are of a lower caste.
When we were growing up, people would have expected us to be silent and
subservient, standing in the margins. That was the culture back then. But uppa
and umma taught us not to do that. They told us that we should never bow before
anyone unnecessarily,” he says.
It
was only after he had a son of his own that he realised the true depth of his
parents’ love, says Sreedharan. “Now I know the effort that goes into bringing
up a child. So I can only imagine how big of a task bringing up six children
would have been. As a matter of fact, after my biological father died, they had
also taken the daughter he had from a second marriage under their wings. That’s
not something many people know,” he adds.
Journey
to the silver screen
Director
Siddik Paravoor, whose previous film Thahira had featured in the Indian
Panorama Feature Film section of the 51st International Film Festival of India
(IFFI) in Goa, first heard of Subaida through Kondotty-based social worker and
orator AP Ahamed. “Presumably after Sreedharan’s Facebook post went viral, I
read a note Ahamed master had written about Subaida and her life, which deeply
affected me. I wanted to bring her story to more people’s attention. I wanted
to let them know that there are people who live like this. People who put love
and kindness over religion and prejudices,” he says.
Siddik
recalls hearing more heartwarming stories about Subaida after he arrived at her
village. “Everyone in Kalikavu knew her and loved her. For all her life, she
has spent her ancestral money not on herself, but to help the underprivileged.
She bought clothes and jewellery for them annually. She had some 12 acres of
land, all of which she donated to people in need over the years. In a later
stage of her life, she had even resorted to seeking loans to help other people.
By the time she died, she was in a debt of about Rs 28 lakh — and none of it
was for herself. Eventually, it was Shanavas who paid it all off with his own
money,” he says. While in Kalikavu, he had also heard that after Subaida passed
away, the vicar at a nearby church rang the church bell, usually reserved only
for the faithful, and even held a prayer meeting for her.
After
Ahamed put Siddik in touch with the family, it didn’t take much time for the
project to go on the floor. While dancer Nirmala Kannan donned the role of
Subaida, journalist and writer Suresh Nellikode – who has also produced the
movie – became Aziz Haji. Actor Nilambur Ayisha and writer
ShihabuddinPoythumkadavu also appeared in prominent roles, alongside Sachin
Roy, Vaibhav Amarnath, Harsha Arun, and Rajitha Santhosh.
“It
was Aziz Haji himself who turned on the camera for the first shot. They were
all glad that more people would now come to know about their Subaida and the
benevolent woman that she was. Unfortunately, Aziz Haji passed away a year
later during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the director says. “People are inherently
good. But sometimes we need stories like these to remind them of that goodness.
Subaida deserves to be remembered, and her story repeatedly told.”
Source:TheNewsMinute
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Egyptian
Coptic Church holds first ever masses in Saudi Arabia to coincide with
Christmas
01
February, 2023
Coptic
Orthodox Egyptians are the largest Christian community in the Middle East
[Getty]
----------
The
Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church has held a series of masses for the first time
ever in Saudi Arabia on the occasion of Coptic Christmas, the Copts United
website reported on Monday.
Bishop
Morcos (or Mark), the Metropolitan of Shubra al-Kheima, led masses in several
Saudi cities including Riyadh and Jeddah, ending with a Divine Liturgy on
Christmas Eve.
The
masses took place with the approval and sponsorship of Saudi authorities, the
Egypt Independent reported and were attended by Egyptian and Eritrean
Christians.
In
its latest edition, Al-Keraza, the official magazine of the Coptic Church in
Egypt, thanked the Saudi ambassador to Cairo for facilitating the visit.
Coptic
Orthodox Christians make up approximately 10% of Egypt’s population and are the
largest Christian community in the Middle East.
Approximately
3 million Egyptians work in Saudi Arabia, many from the Coptic community.
The
Gulf country, however, has strict rules on the practice of non-Islamic faiths
and does not permit the construction of churches or other non-Islamic religious
buildings, following a centuries old convention.
Under
the de facto leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia in
recent years has seen social liberalisation, with many restrictions on dress,
entertainment, and tourism relaxed.
But
this has not been accompanied by political reform and thousands of dissidents
and activists have been arrested and languish in jail.
Last
October, 10 Egyptians were sentenced to up to 18 years in prison for trying to
organise a commemoration of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.newarab.com/news/egyptian-copts-hold-first-ever-mass-saudi-arabia
--------
State
tied our hands, threw us to beasts, say Pak cops on Peshawar mosque blast
Feb
3, 2023
The
suicide bomber who killed more than 80 people at a mosque inside a sensitive
compound earlier this week entered wearing a uniform and helmet, a provincial
police chief said on February 2. (Photo: AFP)
------------
Pakistan
police officers said they were "thrown to the beasts" in their battle
against rising militancy days after an explosion in a mosque in Peshawar killed
84.
A
suicide bomber wearing a police uniform infiltrated the heavily guarded
compound in Peshawar on January 6 and blew himself up during afternoon prayers
at a mosque, in the deadliest attack Pakistan has seen for several years.
Pakistani
authorities revised the death toll to 84 on Friday. It was earlier estimated
that over 100 people were killed in the explosion. Nearly 400 worshippers were
present inside the mosque in Peshawar when a suicide bomber blew himself up. As
per latest estimates, 83 policemen were killed in the explosion.
The
explosion which blew up the wall of a prayer hall, crushing those inside the
mosque, was a security lapse, the police admitted on Thursday.
However,
officers, who are at the frontline of the war against militancy, are feeling
abandoned.
"We
are in a state of shock, every other day our colleagues are dying, how long
will we have to suffer?" one police officer told AFP on condition of
anonymity. "If the protectors are not safe, then who is safe in this
country?"
"We
are at the frontline of this war, we are protecting the schools, offices, and
public places, but today we feel abandoned. The state has tied our hands and
thrown us to the beasts," another officer told AFP.
"It's
incomprehensible to me," said Inayat Ullah, a 42-year-old policeman who
spent several hours under the rubble of a collapsed wall before being rescued,
losing a thumb.
"Every
time we leave our homes, we hug our loved ones and they hug us. We don't know
if we will come back alive or not," said another policeman, who lost six
friends in the blast.
Police
attributed the Peshawar blast to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a more radical group
occasionally affiliated to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has
denied any involvement. Peace negotiations between the TTP and Pakistan,
mediated by the Afghan Taliban, fell through in November, shattering a shaky
ceasefire.
The
Pakistani Taliban is separate from the Afghan Taliban but with a similar
ideology. Peshawar has been at the heart of daily attacks since the group
emerged in 2007, allied with Al-Qaeda.
Source:IndiaToday
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Islamophobia
should be criminal offense, says Malaysian official
Gulci·n
Kazan Doger and Rabia Ali
03.02.2023
Islamophobia
needs to be recognized as a crime, a senior Malaysian official said on Friday,
calling for "firmer" response by Muslim countries towards incidents
of burning of the Muslims' holy book, the Quran.
"Anything
that is Islamophobic can actually be regarded as something which is criminal in
nature. So, much like anti-Semitism is a criminal offense in many other
countries," Abdul Razak Ahmad, a special representative of Malaysia's
foreign minister, told Anadolu in an interview.
"We
should also make Islamophobia a criminal offense, especially in Muslim
countries," said Ahmad, who praised the role of Türkiye for its strong
reaction to a recent spate of Quran burnings in Europe that drew the anger of
Muslims worldwide.
Referring
to one such attempt in Norway in which authorities withdrew a permit previously
given for a Quran burning following a warning from Ankara, Ahmad said the
episode demonstrated the effectiveness of Turkish diplomacy.
"It
shows that, you know, Turkish soft power works. And I think this is what we
should do to actually be confronting these people and to engage with them and
to tell them that, 'look we are offended and this is not the right way to do
things and this is not a manifestation of an egalitarian society. And they
should stop'," said that special representative on peacebuilding and
countering Islamophobia.
Ahmad
said that Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and very few other countries had shown
leadership against Islamophobia.
"I
think our concern about Islamophobia is really about the globalization of
Islamophobia, how Islam has been misinterpreted, how Islam has been subject to
hatred by people who has minimum understanding of the religion. It's a very
narrow understanding of the religion itself."
He
stressed that it was important for Malaysia and Türkiye to work together in
addressing Islamophobia, which he described as a global issue affecting the
Muslim community.
The
West has to be realistic, he underlined. "Freedom of expression, freedom
of thought, freedom of speech can never be at the expense of undermining other
people's religion, undermining faith, and undermining coexistence."
He
also stressed that Islamic countries need to be more "responsive"
towards the issue.
"They
can burn another 1,000 or 1 million Qurans but you can never eliminate the
teaching of Islam from the hearts and mind of the Muslims."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Latin
patriarch of Jerusalem condemns acts of hate against Christians
Abdel
Ra'ouf D. A. R. Arnaout
04.02.2023
JERUSALEM
The
Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop PierbattistaPizzaballa, on Friday
condemned sabotage against Christian sites in occupied East Jerusalem.
Pizzaballa
said a Jewish American broke into the Church of the Flagellation on the Via
Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City and vandalized a statue of Jesus.
He
also said the incident was the fifth in just a few weeks and last week a group
of tourists was attacked by a Jewish group who turned the area into what looks
like a battlefield.
"Two
weeks ago, a Christian cemetery in Jerusalem was vandalized, and writings
calling for death to Christians were written on the walls of one of the
monasteries in the Armenian quarter," said Pizzaballa.
"We
are following with serious concern, and we strongly condemn this increasing
acts of hate and violence against the Christian community in Israel," he
added.
Israeli
authorities have yet to comment on Pizzaballa's statement.
Church
leaders have repeatedly urged Israeli authorities to put an end to the
"hate crimes" attacks.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
UK
police urged to prosecute Iranian accused of backing Rushdie fatwa
FEBRUARY
3, 2023
The
Metropolitan police is being urged to crack down on Iranian terrorism in the UK
by prosecuting a former senior Iranian government official accused of
advocating the fatwa against Sir Salman Rushdie.
The
Metropolitan police has been studying a legal dossier accusing Sayed Ataollah
Mohajerani, who lives in Britain, of encouraging terrorism contrary to the 2006
Terror Act. He denies the claims.
Four
months after being presented with the dossier, the police have told those
making the accusation that the complex issues raised require considerable
resources and more time to investigate.
The
fatwa was imposed on Rushdie by the previous Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah
Khomeini, in February 1989 and has never been revoked. Last August, Rushdie was
stabbed multiple times at a literary festival in Chautauqua, New York.
The
UK has promised a new harsher line against Iran in the wake of the execution
there of the former Iranian deputy defence minister Alireza Akbari, but has so
far only recalled its ambassador from Tehran and imposed sanctions on the
Iranian prosecutor general.
Source:
IranWire
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
UN
‘unable’ to resolve conflicts, Jordanian official
February
04, 2023
AMMAN:
Jordan’s Senate Speaker Faisal Fayez has said that the UN is still “unable” to
play its role in ending conflicts and crises, especially ending the Israeli
occupation of Palestine.
On
Friday, Jordan’s News Agency reported that Fayez’s statement came during a
student workshop on the role of the UN and the goals on which it was founded.
He
said the UN has been unable to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine and had
not been able to take any decision regarding the crimes and massacres committed
by the Israeli authorities daily against Palestinians.
“The
UN is unable to end the conflicts and political crises in Syria, Yemen and
Libya,” Fayez added.
The
organization needed to play a more “effective” role in ending regional
conflicts and enabling its people to live freely and safely, he said.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244546/middle-east
--------
Ilhan
Omar's removal from US foreign affairs panel over anti-Israel remarks divides
internet, tweets viral
VIKRAM
BHALLA
Feb
3, 2023
US
House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar
from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two
years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments.
Ilhan
Omar's past statements make it clear she is unfit to represent the U.S. on the
House Foreign Affairs Committe… https://t.co/5iQiITp6mn
—
Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) 1675363867000
Omar,
who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, is the only
African-born member of Congress and one of the only Muslim women in the House.
She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa
subcommittee.
Ilhan
Omar closes the debate and says, "this debate today is about who gets to
me an American ... I am Muslim. I am… https://t.co/2Mx6HcactH
—
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) 1675357206000
Republicans,
who won a narrow House majority in November's election after years in the
minority, said they wanted Omar, a third-term House member, off Foreign Affairs
for statements that included a 2019 tweet which read, "It's all about the
Benjamins baby," suggesting that Israel's supporters in US politics were
motivated by money rather than principle.
She
has also opposed US military aid to Israel and five years earlier, before
entering Congress, she said Israel had "hypnotized the world," and
urged people to open their eyes to the US ally's "evil doings."
Omar's
critics say she earlier downplayed the massive 9/11 tragedy by saying,
"Council on American-Islamic Relations was founded after 9/11 because they
recognized that some people did something, and that all of us were starting to
lose access to our civil liberties."
These
remarks coupled with her anti-semitic comments led to her ouster, triggering a
debate on social media, with many siding and opposing Omar’s removal.
Someone
who has questioned whether or not a plane actually hit the Pentagon on 9/11 and
said the Parkland shooting… https://t.co/BomMwSmXEX
—
Jo 🌻 (@JoJoFromJerz) 1675374681000
Honored
to have been the first Member of Congress to publicly oppose the placement of
raging antisemite and far-lef… https://t.co/zLjkF3mWK7
—
Lee Zeldin (@leezeldin) 1675374539000
Republicans
kick Ilhan Omar off US House foreign affairs panel.Muslim-American legislator
says her ‘voice will get… https://t.co/WxeWD0keOp
—
Babar khan Niazi (@Babarniazi777) 1675410330000
I
am American, but I will not be grateful to American people for accepting
Islamic bigot like me. I am refugee, but… https://t.co/G9lsOlzPy9
—
Anuj Singh (@caanujs) 1675372225000
Wrong!
This is about traitorous, anti American, Muslim Brotherhood operatives no
longer having direct access to se… https://t.co/spHjoW3MGe
—
Ron Hanforth (@ronhanforth) 1675358838000
Anti-Semitic
Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar KICKED OUT From Foreign-Affairs Committee.“Some people
did something”. I'… https://t.co/l9mkYaymhZ
—
Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) 1675376225000
‘US
govt is weaponizing hate against a beautiful black Muslim woman’
So
desperate to distract the American people from their total inability to govern,
the GOP is doing what it is best… https://t.co/nDcqeIgPQy
—
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) 1675365599000
‘She
panders to Islamic radicals and is anti-India’
Islamist
radical democrat Ilhan Omar has been removed from the US Foreign Affairs
Committee. Omar has been accused… https://t.co/kJBEv1DdiB
—
Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) 1675389844000
"Disgraceful
day at House," said Bernie Sanders.
It
is an outrage that every Republican voted to remove @IlhanMN – a third term
Muslim American woman – from the For… https://t.co/XRkpsqJpZ8
—
Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) 1675359882000
‘She’s
anti-America’
Just
for emphasis, @SenSanders. @IlhanMN wasn't removed because she's "a Muslim
American woman." It was because she… https://t.co/FBxQdA4XZT
—
Michael Podwill (@MichaelPodwill) 1675369527000
MTG
didn't mean "muslims" she means muslims like you that disrespect
9/11, spew hatred for this country, and antise… https://t.co/OkFbt9CUAb
—
Steve613 (@TheRealSteve613) 1675142868000
‘Omar
did not try to subvert democracy on January 6’
Kevin
McCarthy removing Ilhan Omar--a 3rd-term Muslim American woman--from the
Foreign Affairs Committee is shamefu… https://t.co/tDkQxdNeCc
—
Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) 1675381516000
‘She’s
national security threat’
Ilhan
Omar is a national security threat via our intelligence She was removed! We
certainly do not want terrorists… https://t.co/N9j6DkgbGa
—
MikelCromms (@MikelCromms) 1675368434000
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Islamic
Emirate Leader: Intl Pressure Creates Mistrust
By
Mohammad Farshad Daryosh
The
leader of the Islamic Emirate, MawlawiHebatullah Akhundzada, said at a meeting
with army corps commanders that pressure from the international community on
the current government will not be beneficial, but will instead create
mistrust.
MawlawiHebatullah
Akhundzada emphasized at this meeting that if they act against Sharia, the
people will rise against the Islamic Emirate, according to a statement from the
Islamic Emirate's spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid.
"In
this meeting, the security issues were discussed in order to be strengthened,
as well as the issues of the nation, so that Afghanistan does not harm anyone
and that we do not encounter harm from the outside,” Mujahid said.
In
the statement, the leader of the Islamic Emirate visited the commanders and
high-ranking officials of 207 Farooq, 203 Mansouri, 217 Omari and 201 Khaled
bin Waleed corps.
Some
political analysts do not consider the application of pressure to be beneficial
for either side, and say that the problems should be resolved through dialogue
and understanding.
"The
solution is to change stance and achieve understanding with the international
community,” said Shir Hassan Hassan, a political analyst.
"We
hope that the discussion and talks with the international community and
international organizations will continue on the basis of a shared definition
of national interests that will close gaps between the government and the
people,” said Mohammad ZalmaiAfghanyar, a political analyst.
On
Thursday, in response to the ban on women attending university and working for
NGOs in Afghanistan, the US State Department imposed new visa restrictions on a
number of current and former officials of the Islamic Emirate.
The
US State Department in a press statement said that the Islamic Emirate cannot
expect the respect and support of the international community until they
respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Afghans, including
women and girls.
Source:
ToloNews
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181884
--------
India
Mumbai:
Undeterred by Court Restrictions, Raja Singh Yet Again Calls for Violence
Against Muslims
Sukanya
Shantha
Mumbai:
In November last year, the Telangana high court laid down three strict
conditions while setting aside MLA Raja Singh’s preventive detention order.
Singh, who has over 100 criminal cases against him, had spent 76 days in jail
under preventive detention for stoking communal tensions in Hyderabad.
In
the November 9, 2022 order, Justices A. Abhishek Reddy and Juvvadi Sridevi laid
down clear restrictions. Singh “shall not participate in or hold any
celebratory rallies/meetings after his release”. Singh shall be prohibited from
giving “any interviews to any kind of media houses including the print media”
and, in the future, Singh “shall not make any provocative speeches against any
religion or post any derogatory or offensive posts on any social media
platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc.”
It
took Singh less than three months to violate all three conditions. He was in
Mumbai on January 29 to attend an event organised by a radical Hindu group
‘Sakal Hindu Samaj’. At the Hindu Janakrosh Morcha organised by the group,
Singh declared that if the Maharashtra state government didn’t come up with an
anti-conversion law, Hindus would soon be up in arms. The anti-conversion law,
one of the most contentious issues in the country, is ostensibly to restrict
‘forced conversion’, but experts have said that it infringes on the right to
practice religion.
Singh
had not simply promoted the idea of a new law. He was provoking the gathering
to pick up arms and attack Muslims. He used abusive, derogatory words and
called for direct violence against the Muslim community. His speech not just
violated the high court order but clearly promoted enmity between two religious
groups, as described under Sections 153 B and 295-A of the Indian Penal Code for
promoting enmity between two communities and for deliberately and maliciously
acting with an intent to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting
its religion or religious beliefs.
Following
Singh’s speech, another Hindutva leader Sakshi Gaikwad made an equally
provocative speech, making an open call for a genocidal attack and treating the
Muslim community like “sacrificial lambs”, waiting to be sacrificed.
The
Hindu Jan Akrosh Morcha began from Shivaji Park in Dadar and culminated at
Kamgar Maidan in Parel, covering a distance of more than four kilometres.
Leaders and workers of right-wing outfits such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) were part of this
rally.
The
speeches made by Singh and other speakers have since been actively shared on
social media. Despite communally charged content, the Mumbai police have failed
to initiate any action against the speakers. The Wire made repeated attempts to
contact the Dadar police and the Mumbai police spokesperson for their comment.
However, hasn’t managed to elicit a comment yet. The story will be updated
as/when they respond.
Meanwhile,
the Hyderabad police have been prompt in issuing notices to Singh. In the past
four days, the Mangalhat police in Hyderabad, citing the conditions applied on
his release by the high court, has issued two notices. The first notice was
issued soon after the speech was delivered. The notice, asking Singh to respond
in two days as to why a criminal action should not be initiated against him,
was sent to his residence.
“In
the video, your speech is very much provocative to a particular community
regarding demands of laws on love jihad, cow slaughter, conversion and a few
other words,” the notice issued to Raja Singh by the Mangalhat police stated
while reminding him of the content and conditions of his release orders. “Your
speech with the potential to provoke a particular religion is a violation of
conditions imposed by the HC,” the notice further stated.
Only
a week before his visit to Mumbai, Raja Singh was served with another notice
for making an equally provocative speech in Ajmer Dargah last year. The police,
in that notice, too had mentioned that if Singh doesn’t stop deliberately
stoking communal feelings and making provocative statements, he could be
arrested. The police have, however, only issued more notices and have not
initiated any concrete steps to stop him.
Singh
continues to be undeterred and has challenged the Telangana police. Singh
claims that the police’s decision to issue a notice was a political one and
that he was “not scared of going back to jail”. Singh was suspended from the
BJP in August for having posted a video with alleged derogatory remarks about
Prophet Muhammad.
The
Sakal Hindu Samaj has another similar public event scheduled in the city on
February 5. Following Singh and Gaikwad’s violent speeches, a lawyer moved the
Supreme Court seeking immediate action against the group. A bench of Supreme
Court judges Justices K.M. Joseph and J.B. Pardiwala have asked the Maharashtra
government to ensure that the event is allowed to be carried out only on the
condition that provocative speeches are not made and that the event is
videographed.
Source:TheWire
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://thewire.in/communalism/raja-singh-court-restrictions-violence-muslims
--------
Why’s
RSS having meetings with Muslim intellectuals? ‘Civilisational solution, not
electoral gain’
MADHUPARNA
DAS
4
February, 2023
New
Delhi: The Muslim outreach organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) —
under which senior functionaries are meeting Muslim leadership — is a
comprehensive effort by the organisation for a ‘civilisational and cultural’
solution to the Hindu-Muslim conflict, according to the Sangh.
This
effort, a senior RSS functionary told ThePrint, is unlike the outreach to
specific Muslim groups, which have been politically focused and based on
electoral benefit. Those, the functionary said, are short term solutions that
will not work in the interest of the country in the long term, while explaining
the significance of the two meetings that took place — once in Delhi earlier
this month, and one in August last year — between a four-member RSS team and a
nine-member team of Muslim intellectuals.
The
senior functionary, who wished to not be named, said the next meeting would be
held in April in Delhi as it is a process of discussing issues and ideas, and
finding ways to alleviate conflict between the two communities. “This is the
first such Muslim outreach that the Sangh has started. We are not looking for
any electoral gains or any political benefit. We are not choosing any specific
group of Muslims. We are reaching out to everyone who is interested in a
long-term solution. We all are working for a social civilisational solution to
this age-old communal conflict,” said the functionary.
RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat has designated four senior functionaries — Krishna Gopal,
Ram Lal, Manmohan Vaidya, and Indresh Kumar — to take the dialogue forward. The
Muslim intellectuals include former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi,
former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, and senior journalist Shahid
Siddiqui.
Speaking
to ThePrint, Quraishi said, “It is a beginning, a process has been initiated.
We need better understanding with each other. There are certain misconceptions
both sides have against each other and both sides are talking to their community
leaders and spiritual leaders to bring down the sense of conflict.”
Hindu
Rashtra
While
discussing various issues, the group of Muslim intellectuals brought up the
instances of clashes, the aggression against each other (Hindu and Muslim), the
mention of Hindu Rashtra and issues related to Kashi and Mathura .
“We
have mentioned the incidents, the instigation by some RSS affiliates or fringe
elements and (how) Muslims were targeted in places. We told them that these
incidents vitiate the atmosphere. They have similar issues to raise with us.
There has to be a command system, the spiritual leaders in temples and mosques
have crucial roles to play. But these will not happen overnight. It takes
time,” said Quraishi.
The
issue of Hindu Rashtra was mentioned in the meeting. “Bhagwat ji and all senior
functionaries explained that they don’t mean religion when they call all
Indians Hindu and they talk about the same DNA and the same ancestors. They
believe that all Muslim and Christians converts were Hindus and their ancestors
are the same. We agree with them on this and this is a fair enough point. They
said they cannot imagine a Hindu Rashtra without Muslims. They talk about more
Muslim participation in the political process too,” added Quaraishi.
Outreach
at multiple level
Another
senior Sangh functionary, who is privy to the discussion between the RSS team
and the group of Muslim intellectuals, said, “There is just one group of Muslim
intellectuals which is opening up about the meetings. But we have held many such
meetings with different groups, and they have not spoken yet. Sangh, on its
own, will never talk about it openly. But the process is on and we are getting
positive responses from all.”
Source:ThePrint
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Ramdev
hurls barbs at Muslims, accuses them of abducting Hindu women
03.02.23
In
provocative remarks at a meeting of seers, Yoga guru Ramdev accused Muslims of
resorting to terror and abducting Hindu women while comparing Hinduism to Islam
and Christianity.
He
alleged that the two faiths were obsessed with conversion while Hinduism taught
its followers to do good.
"Muslims
offer namaz five times a day and then do whatever they want. They kidnap Hindu
girls and commit all kinds of sins. Our Muslim brothers commit a lot of sins
but they definitely offer namaz as they are taught to do so. Hindu religion is
not like this," he said Thursday at the gathering in Barmer.
A
video of his speech has surfaced on social media.
"I
am not criticising anyone but people are obsessed only with this. Some people
talk about converting the entire world to Islam and others want to convert the
world to Christianity," Ramdev said.
He
claimed that these faiths had no other agenda.
Continuing
his attack on Muslims, he said they become terrorists or criminals and yet
offer namaz. He also referred to the attire of orthodox members of the
community.
He
said Hinduism teaches people not to engage in violence and dishonesty.
Source:TelegraphIndia
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
In
Indore, ‘love jihad’ vigilantes from Bajrang Dal have a free run
Zafar
Aafaq
On
the afternoon of January 21, Moin Khan was attending to a personal matter in a
court in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, when he got a panicked call from his friend
Mohammad Rizwan.
“‘Bajrang
Dal men have barged into my home, come fast,’ he told me,” said Khan. Unable to
leave his work and go all the way to Shree Nagar, a middle-class neighbourhood
where his friend lived, the 21-year-old sent his father instead.
When
his father Anwar Khan Qadri reached the building in which Rizwan lived, he
found a mob of 100 men from the Bajrang Dal swarming around the third-floor
flat and taking videos. “They had locked Rizwan and his friends inside the
apartment and were beating them,” Qadri told Scroll. “I couldn’t do anything.”
Six
months ago, Rizwan and his four friends, residents of Shajapur, a town 100 km
away, had moved to Indore to learn web design, Moin said.
That
day, Salman Akhtar, one of the flatmates, had invited his friend, a young woman
from the Hindu community, to the apartment to celebrate her birthday. Another
woman was also in the apartment.
In
the afternoon, Bajrang Dal workers forced their way into the flat to carry out
a “raid”, accusing Rizwan and his friends of “love jihad”.
“Love
jihad” is a conspiracy theory peddled by Hindutva organisations that claims
there is an organised plot by Muslim men to seduce Hindu women and convert them
to Islam. Since 2020, several states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party,
including Madhya Pradesh, have enacted laws against religious conversion that
effectively criminalise inter-faith relationships and marriage.
Qadri
recalls that the Bajrang Dal men continued to question and assault Rizwan and
his friends till the police arrived 30 minutes later. (The names of the five
men and their family members have been changed to protect their identity.)
The
personnel from the MIG police station dispersed the mob, but took the five men
into custody.
The
Bajrang Dal men followed the police van carrying Rizwan and his friends on
two-wheelers, raising slogans, as video clips that circulated on social media
after the incident show.
No
action was taken against the Bajrang Dal members – a pattern that is by now
familiar in Indore.
In
the past two months, the city has seen several such incidents where Bajrang Dal
men have accosted couples, beat up the men and then handed them over to the
police.
In
the majority of the incidents, Scroll found, Bajrang Dal leaders boasted on
social media about their role in the “raids” on couples. In most cases, the
police turned a blind eye to the violence.
‘The
matter has ended’
A
day after the “raid” on the birthday party, Tannu Sharma, the Indore head of
the Bajrang Dal, bragged on Facebook that his group had been tracking the five
men for two weeks before they “caught” them. He labelled them “love jihadis”.
A
video that he shared on his Facebook page shows Bajrang Dal men inside a small
flat decorated with balloons and streamers. A young woman in the video is seen
hiding her face, as the Bajrang Dal men question the flatmates.
Later,
Rizwan would recount his experience to Moin. “He told me he was on a video call
with his mother when the Bajrang Dal men entered and started shouting,” Moin
told Scroll.
The
Bajrang Dal members snatched Rizwan’s phone and asked him to open the photo
gallery. “They asked Salman how long he had been dating the girl. He told them
they were friends. But Rizwan said the men were not convinced,” said Moin.
“They lined them up and started beating them.”
At
the MIG police station, Rizwan and his four friends were taken into preventive
custody, under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code.
“We
used Section 151 because the two groups were fighting and it could have led to
law-and-order problems,” assistant sub-inspector Seema Sharma told Scroll. “We
detained the five men because the Bajrang Dal complained against them. We did
not take action against the Bajrang Dal because there was no complaint against
them,” she said.
The
five men were released three days later on January 24.
They
returned to Shajapur almost immediately. Neither their family members nor the
men agreed to speak to Scroll about the attack.
“The
matter has ended,” said Mohammad Salman, the father of one of the boys. “We do
not want to talk about this issue.”
Saleem
Abbasi, Salman’s cousin who also lives in Shajapur, said that the five men have
been confined to their homes since the attack. “Their families are so afraid
that they are not even letting them go out to the market,” he said.
The
new normal
By
forcing their way into a private home to target Muslim men on January 21, the
Bajrang Dal did cross a line.
But
this is hardly the first time that members of the Hindutva organisation have
beaten up Muslim men in Indore after finding them in the company of women from
the Hindu community.
As
is evident from Bajrang Dal Indore leader Tannu Sharma’s Facebook timeline,
since the first week of December, the organisation’s members have been involved
in more than a dozen incidents in which they accosted Hindu women and Muslim
men in public spaces – cafes, bus stands, parks, or parking lots.
Zaid
Pathan, the state coordinator of Association of Protection of Civil Rights,
said “love jihad” vigilantism has been growing unchecked in Madhya Pradesh. He
believes it was a statement on December 4 last year by Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, assuring that his government will bring in
“stronger laws against love jihad” that encouraged the Bajrang Dal.
“Since
then, groups like Bajrang Dal have been emboldened,” he said. “They harass
Muslim men and youth regularly. Many cases do not even surface in the media.”
In
most cases, the police locked up the men under preventive detention and
released them after three or four days in jail.
Take,
for instance, the case of 21-year-old Faizan Khan, a YouTuber who makes short
comedy sketches and has seven million subscribers to his channel.
On
a December evening, he was with his girlfriend at the Thakur da Café in Indore
when a group of Bajrang Dal men barged in demanding to know what he what he was
doing with the young woman.
Before
he could answer, Faizan Khan said, the men grabbed his collar and started
beating him. “They dragged me out while slapping me,” he said. They also filmed
the assault.
They
hauled him to the MIG police station where he was locked up for the night
before being detained for four days under Section 151 of the IPC.
“I
was alone and they were a group of 14-15 men,” Khan told Scroll. “But the
police took their side.”
He
said he had met his girlfriend around July last year through a mutual friend.
“We
started talking and liked one another,” Khan said. “The Bajrang Dal men
pressured her to give a statement against me but she refused. She took my
side.”
However,
after the incident, Khan and the girl broke up.
In
a video posted on December 13 on Tannu Sharma’s Facebook timeline, the Bajrang
Dal leader is seen speaking to reporters about the “raid” on Faizan Khan.
He
said that “Bajrangis” found Faizan Khan and a Hindu girl “doing obscene acts”
and handed him over to the police. “We will not let any girl in Indore be cut
into 35 pieces like Shraddha Walkar”, Sharma is heard saying in the video.
He
was referring to the murder of 27-year-old woman, Shraddha Walkar, by her
live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala, which has been spun as a case of “love
jihad” by several leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Khan,
like the men from Shajapur, did not take any legal action against the Bajrang
Dal men, saying that he wanted to focus on his career and not get sucked into
legal battles. “I do not want my career to be affected,” he said. “I know I
faced injustice but when I think of my mother and sister, I suppress my feelings.”
Staging
a spectacle
In
several cases, Bajrang Dal members haul the couples to the police station,
gather the media, hold demonstrations and demand that the police take action.
Social
media is key to the Bajrang Dal’s missions. The interrogation of young men and
women is filmed and shared on several platforms and instant messaging services.
In
almost all cases, they accused Muslim men of using Hindu names to dupe women
and later convert them to Islam. In some cases, they claimed that the men
forced the women to do drugs and sexually exploited them.
Bajrang
Dal’s Indore co-ordinator Manoj Yadav claimed incidents of “love jihad” have
increased but denied that the organisation targeted any community. “We only
protect our religion and our sanskriti (culture),” he said, adding that members
advise girls and boys to “stay within limits”. “Even if we find Hindu girls and
boys doing wrong things, we make them understand and tell their parents to
teach them good behaviour,” he said.
Yadav
said they keep a watch on young men and women through a network of informers.
“All these young people go to hotels and show their identity cards. We have
intimated all the staff at the hotels to inform us when such couples come,” he
said.
He
admitted that there have been instances of violence by the organisation’s
members in the past. “But we have orders from the top to not beat up anyone,
and straight away call the police or take the couples to the police station,”
he said. “We involve the police because we do not want our members to indulge
in violence. We have contacts in all the police stations,” he added.
‘Abuse
of power’
Several
lawyers have criticised the use of Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code – which
allows the police to take someone into preventive custody when they fear a
breakdown of law and order – in these cases.
“The
apprehension of disturbance in law and order should be real and reasonable. The
way police detain these boys even after they are beaten is abuse of power,”
said Rohit Sharma, advocate at Indore High Court.
Since
in several cases, the young women refused to file a complaint against the
Muslim men, preventive custody was used to placate the mob, said the lawyers.
“The police should take action against the Bajrang Dal instead of filing cases
against the victims,” said Ehtisham Hashmi, a lawyer in Indore.
Indore
police commissioner Hari Narayan Chari Mishra denied accusations of bias,
saying they take action whenever they get a complaint. “If there is no
complaint, what can the police do?”
On
being asked about Bajrang Dal men beating up Muslim men in public spaces or at
people’s homes, he said, “It is wrong but police will act when there is a
complaint.”
But,
as civil rights activist Zaid Pathan and Hashmi point out, the reluctance of
Muslim men and their families to file a complaint shows a lack of faith in the
system.
“The
police and administration are under pressure from the top to go easy on
organisations like Bajrang Dal and its supporters,” said Pathan.
The
families do not pursue legal action as they find solace and relief in the fact
that their son has been granted bail and they want to move on,” said Hashmi.
“There is not much faith in the system and most people from the minority
community do not have much hope of justice.”
No
space for friendship
For
young Muslim men in Indore, the threat of vigilantism has only shrunk the space
for friendship between communities. “Pehle jaisamahaulnahinraha ab,” said
Zubair Ahmad, a student at a private law college in Indore.
He
said that members of groups like the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the
youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad ask Hindu
students to stay away from Muslim students. “They spread hatred against Muslims
and pressure Hindu girls to not talk with Muslims.”
He
admitted that the targeting of Muslim men had made them wary about engaging
with non-Muslim students. “We don’t want to give them a chance to target us,”
he said. “We go to college, sit in the class and come back.”
The
Bajrang Dal, Ahmad said, “has people everywhere”. “In colleges, in localities,
shops, cafes, autowallahs, everywhere,” he said. “They can gather a mob in 15
minutes at any place if they have a suspicion about a Muslim boy and a Hindu
girl.”
Ahmad’s
friend Basit Raza, a student who asked Scroll not to use his real name, said he
was in a relationship with a Hindu woman for two years. They broke up in March
last year.
Source:Scroll
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://scroll.in/article/1043195/in-indore-love-jihad-vigilantes-from-bajrang-dal-have-a-free-run
--------
SC
seeks Centre, 6 states reply on transfer of religious conversion cases from HC
3rd
February 2023
New
Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from Centre and six state
governments on a plea by Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind seeking transfer of over 20 cases,
challenging laws regulating religious conversion, to the top court.
A
bench, headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, issued a notice on the Muslim
body’s plea moved through advocate M.R. Shamshad.
The
bench, also comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha, said: “Issue notice in
petitions, in which no notices have been issued till now, including the
transfer petition.” The bench also asked Attorney General R. Venkataramani to
file a reply.
Five
petitions are pending in Allahabad High Court, one petition in the Karnataka
High Court, three in the Gujarat High Court, three in the Himachal Pradesh High
Court, three in the Jharkhand High Court, and six in the Madhya Pradesh High
Court. These petitions have challenged the respective state laws. The Muslim
body has sought transfer of all these petitions from the high courts to the
apex court.
Also,
two separate petitions have been filed by Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat
governments challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts, which
put on hold certain provisions of the state laws on conversion.
The
top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing after three weeks.
On
January 30, the top court had agreed to examine a clutch of pleas challenging
the controversial state laws regulating religious conversions.
NGO
“Citizens for Justice and Peace” of activist Teesta Setalvad, had also moved
the apex court in the matter but Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had challenged
the locus standi.
The
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a written response to a petition filed by
NGO ‘Citizens for Justice and Peace’, said: “The petitioner is guilty of
collecting huge funds exploiting the agonies of riot affected people for which
criminal proceedings are going on against Teesta Setalvad and other office
bearers of the petitioner.”
It
further added, “under the guise of serving public interest, the petitioner
deliberately undertakes, and consciously and surreptitiously espouses, divisive
politics in an attempt to divide the society on religious and communal lines.
Similar activities/endeavors of the petitioner organization are also found in
other states. Presently this activity is going on in the state of Assam”.
The
NGO has challenged the laws passed by the Uttar Pradesh government and
Chhattisgarh government.
Source:Siasat
Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Assam:
Child marriage ‘war’ with faith disclaimer
Umanand
Jaiswal | Guwahati
04.02.23
Assam
police have launched a statewide crackdown against child marriage and had
arrested 2,044 people by Friday afternoon, with the state government insisting
that the drive was not directed at any specific community.
Chief
minister and BJP leader HimantaBiswaSarma had on Thursday evening asserted that
his government would “unleash a complete war” against child marriage from
Friday and sought popular support.
The
legal age for marriage in India is 18 for women and 21 for men.
Assam
director-general of police G.P. Singh told reporters that 4,074 FIRs relating
to child marriage had been registered in the past two days and 2,044 people
arrested till 3pm on Friday. Among those
arrested were 52 priests or qazis who had solemnised the marriages of underage
girls.
“We
started taking action from last night,” Singh, who took over as state police
chief on Tuesday, said. “Most of the arrests have been made in Biswanath,
Baksa, Barpeta, Dhubri, Hojai and Kokrajhar districts.”
Dhubri,
Hojai and Barpeta have majority Muslim populations while Baksa is a tribal
district with a significant minority population. Biswanath has significant
Muslim and Adivasi populations.
Muslims
account for about 34 per cent of the 3.2 crore people in Assam, which has a
BJPled coalition government.
Sarma
had on Thursday evening emphasised that the police drive was not aimed at any
community and said the campaign was drawing public support, including that from
minority communities.
“We
have been able to foil at least 9 or 10 child marriages in Barpeta district.
People from the minority community are helping us,” Sarma said.
Singh
said on Friday that chief minister Sarma had two months ago directed the police
to look into allegations of rampant child marriage in the state.
The
police then began collecting data from gaonburahs (traditional village headmen)
and village defence groups, among others. Data was collected for the years
2020, 2021 and 2022 and FIRs were registered where cases of cognisable offence
were made out.
Most
of the cases were registered suo motu, based on information provided by local
people. Arrests have been made in all the 36 police districts in the state.
“They
(accused) have been arrested under various provisions of the Pocso (Protection
of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and relevant sections of the IPC (Indian
Penal Code),” Singh said.
Singh
said: “Going by the FIRs, there are around 8,000 accused but most moved out
after the crackdown started. It will take some time to arrest all the accused.”
Sarma
had at a media interaction on January 23 directed the police to launch a
crackdown within 15 days against those who marry underage girls as part of his
government’s efforts to end child marriage within five years.
The
crackdown comes after a thorough discussion within the state government on the
National Family Health Survey 5.
The
survey, conducted between 2019 and 2020 by the Centre, revealed that the
proportion of underage mothers and pregnant girls in Assam was an “alarming”
11.7 per cent. This was far higher than the national average of 6.8 per cent
and reflected “rampant” child marriage, one of the causes of the high maternal
and infant mortality rates in the state.
Sarma
had said that men who married girls under 14 would be booked under the Pocso
Act and those marrying girls between 14 and 18 would be booked under the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Conviction entails varying jail terms
under either act.
According
to the list of arrests furnished by the police, Biswanath is at the top with
137 arrests, followed by Dhubri (126), Baksa (120), Barpeta (114), Nagaon (97),
Hojai (96) and Kokrajhar (94).
Districts
with single-digit arrests include Dibrugarh (6), Jorhat (8) and Hamren (9). Dhubri
accounts for the most FIRs (374), followed by Hojai (255), Morigaon (224),
Udalguri (213) and Kokrajhar (204). Udalguri and Kokrajhar have majority tribal
populations.
Opposition
parties said they were against child marriage but argued that mass arrests
could lead to a societal problem by breaking up families and affecting young
children.
All
India United Democratic Front MLA Rafiqul Islam told The Telegraph that his
party was against child marriage. He, however, blamed both the arrested people
and the government for the situation reaching such a pass.
“The
Child Marriage Act was enacted in 1929 and amended several times, including
once in 2006. Had the government discharged its duty, the need to arrest
thousands would not have arisen,” he said.
“We
are all for lawful action to check child marriage but we also foresee a social
problem when husbands and family members (of married underage girls) land up in
jail. The government should look into this aspect of the matter.”
Congress
media department chairman M. Mahanta told this newspaper that his party was
against child marriage. He too warned of a social problem if married couples
were separated after several years of living together.
“Who
will take care of the affected families and their children? The Child Marriage
Act has been there since 2006 — what was the government doing all these years?
Is the BJP-led government trying to divert attention from the serious and
fundamental issues facing the state and the country?” Mahanta said.
Assam
had a Congress government from 2001 till 2016 before the BJP came to power.
Sarma became chief minister in 2021.
Sarma
had on Thursday evening said: “I think Assam will become one of the first
states to launch a complete war against child marriage, from tomorrow…. We want
to try and break the modus operandi.… Our target will be the qazis and pujaris
who solemnise and encourage such marriages.”
Source:TelegraphIndia
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/assam-child-marriage-war-with-faith-disclaimer/cid/1914208
--------
French
Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain visits Aligarh Muslim University, stressed for
exchange programme
Feb
3, 2023
Agra:
Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain and his delegates visited Aligarh
Muslim University on Friday. AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor and
administrative officers welcomed Ambassador and his team members.
The
Vice-Chancellor and Ambassador discussed the scope to promote future
cooperation between French Universities and AMU. VC said AMU with its
interdisciplinary nature would like to join hands with eminent universities
across the globe to encourage research through exchange programs and to promote
educational cooperation for the benefit of students.
The
University will explore all the possibilities of inter- universities
collaboration and cooperation with French Universities. “Our university plays a
vital role in strengthening ties of India with other countries”, he added. AMU
spokesperson Omar Peerzada said, "The French delegation discussed the
promotion of French among students in AMU and stressed the need for mooting a
development and exchange programme with the Government of France for
educational purposes and emphasized that a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
should be drawn and signed in this regard".
Emmanuel
Lenain at AMU
The
AMU officials, who attended the meeting, included Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof
Mohammad Gulrez, Registrar, Mr Mohammad Imran (IPS), DSW, Prof Abdul Alim,
Proctor, Prof Waseem Ali, Dean, Faculty of International Studies, Prof Jawaid
Iqbal and MrSawan Kumar Singh, Assistant Professor, French Language Section,
Department of Foreign Languages, AMU.
The
Ambassador and his team comprising Ms Amal Benhagoug, Political counselor,
Fabien Chareix, Science and Higher Education Attaché, Ms Leah Paul, project
manager and Mr Jatinder Singh, Deputy Attaché for Cooperation in Education visited
the Department of Foreign Languages. He interacted with students. He delivered
a talk on the topic entitled opportunities of studying in France. He shared his
opinion to strengthen the social, cultural, and educational exchanges. He
emphasised future cooperation between France and AMU.
Emmanuel
Lenain at AMU
The
programme was attended by Murad Ahmad Khan, Udai Singh Kunwar, Suhail, Yasir,
Abdur Rahman Ansari and other faculty members of the Department of Foreign
Languages. Sawan Kumar Singh conducted the proceedings.
Prof
Jawaid Iqbal Dean of FIS in his welcome address talked about the progress of
the Department of Foreign Languages.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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In
a new outreach, RSS leader Indresh Kumar meets representatives of Muslim
countries
3rd
February 2023
New
Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, senior Sangh leaders Indresh Kumar, Krishna
Gopal and Ram Lal have been regularly holding interactions with Muslim
intellectuals for some time now.
Recently,
a new episode of these interactions was witnessed in the national capital in
which India, and along with over 10 Muslim countries, began a fresh campaign in
the biggest ever non-governmental exercise. In this, unity in diversity,
harmony, cooperation, education, culture, literature, coordination, religious
restraint and respect and trade have been emphasised.
Under
the joint aegis of the Himalaya Hind Rashtra Group, Forum for Awareness of
National Security (FANS) and School of Language Literature and Culture Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a two-day international seminar was held at
the Convention Centre of JNU on the topic of historical, cultural and economic
links between India and Central Asia.
A
large number of Muslim intellectuals participated in the meeting.
Diplomats,
high commissioners, scholars and intellectuals from at least 12 Muslim countries
participated in the international seminar at the JNU under the leadership of
senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar.
Those
who attended included Iraj Elahi from Iran, FiratSonal from Turkey, Lukmon Baba
Kolajdeh from Tajikistan, NurlanZalgaisbaev and HabibulloMirzozoda from
Kazakhstan, Asin Isaev from Kyrgyzstan, DilsodAkhmatov and Aziz Bartoun from
Uzbekistan, ShalarGeldinjarov from Turkmenistan, Ganbold from Mongolia.
Dambajav, Armen Martirosyan from Armenia, Farid Mamundzai from Afghanistan and
Ashraf Shikhaliyev from Azerbaija.
The
foreign participants during their speech underlined that “India, as our elder
brother should play the role of Vishwaguru”.
On
this, Indresh Kumar said: “Our concept of VasudhaivaKutumbakam is to treat
everyone as a family. India is a country full of diversity.”
Ambassadors,
High Commissioners and representatives of more than 50 participants of 12
countries demanded that a mission document, which can also be called a vision
document, be prepared on the entire programme under the leadership of leader
Indresh Kumar.
In
the seminar, Subhas Sarkar, Union Minister of State for Education; Iqbal Singh
Lalpura, Chairman, National Commission for Minorities; Indira Gandhi Kala
Kendra Secretary, Sachidanand Joshi; General Secretary of Rashtriya Suraksha
Jagran Manch, Golok Behari and Convener of International Seminar, Prof. from
Jamia Millia Islamia M MahtabAlam Rizvi also participated.
During
an exclusive interview with IANS on the sidelines of the event, Indresh Kumar
also spoke about some current issues.
IANS:
How can we end terrorism?
Kumar:
Terrorism is the enemy of peace, development, harmony and humanity. Bombs,
ammo, shells, bullets or stones are not the solution to any problem. There is
no place for anti-social things like terrorism and Maoism in any civilised
society, so everyone should unite and strongly oppose it. The delegates said
that they will not allow it to flourish in their countries and also appealed to
the world that all countries should unite against terrorism.
IANS:
Is religion becoming an issue in harmony?
Kumar:
Criticising religion, religious scriptures, religious places, gods, goddesses,
deities, prophets etc., creates violence and anarchy, which is condemnable.
That’s why everyone should follow their own religion and not disrespect other
religions, thus walking on the path of peace, unity, brotherhood and harmony.
IANS:
Religious conversion is becoming an issue in society…
Kumar:
The Chief Patron of the Forum for Awareness of National Security (FANS) said
that it is necessary to stop religious conversions for world peace and
development.
IANS:
There was a buzz in the seminar that peace and harmony cannot be established
with India. Would you elaborate on this?
Kumar:
It was discussed in the seminar that the path of world peace and progress
passes through Asia and peace and harmony cannot be established in the world
without India. It was also agreed that in addition to the air route, mutual
unity and integrity should be promoted through road and sea routes.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
Family
of slain Lebanon activist urges UN probe into port blast
03
February ,2023
The
widow of Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim called Friday for a UN fact-finding
mission to determine whether his assassination and two other murders are linked
to the Beirut port explosion.
A
secular activist from a Shia Muslim family, 58-year-old Slim was found shot
dead in his car on February 4, 2021, a day after his family reported him
missing.
Beirut’s
catastrophic August 4, 2020 port blast killed more than 200 people, injured
thousands and ravaged swathes of the capital.
Nobody
has been held responsible in either case.
Slim’s
widow Monika Borgmann urged the UN Human Rights Council “to commit itself” to a
“fact-finding mission to support Lebanon and its people in its calls for
justice and accountability.”
Lebanon’s
own investigation into the blast “is not advancing and is hampered,” Borgmann
said at a ceremony marking the second anniversary of Slim’s killing at his home
in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
In
one of Slim’s last TV appearances, he accused the Syrian regime of having links
to an ammonium nitrate shipment that caused the blast.
Borgmann
urged any UN fact-finding mission to investigate Slim’s killing and two other
deaths that she said “could be linked to the port explosion.”
She
was referring to Munir Abu Rjeili, a retired colonel from the customs
administration, and amateur military photographer Joe Bejjany, the circumstances
of whose December 2020 deaths have also not been clarified.
“The
culture of impunity and lack of accountability has gripped Lebanon for far too
long,” Borgmann said.
Slim’s
body was found in southern Lebanon -- a stronghold of the Iran-backed Shia
group Hezbollah, which is also an ally of Syria’s regime.
Last
month, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on the UN Human
Rights Council to “urgently pass a resolution to create an impartial
fact-finding mission” into the port explosion.
Amnesty’s
Middle East deputy director, Aya Majzoub, said on Friday that Slim was “the
victim of a decades-long pattern of impunity in Lebanon.”
“The
perfunctory efforts by the Lebanese authorities to find his killers are yet
more evidence of this,” Majzoub continued in a statement.
The
UK-based group called on the Lebanese authorities to launch an “effective,
transparent, impartial and independent” investigation into his death.
Lebanese
authorities have rejected calls for an international inquiry into the 2020
blast, while the domestic investigation has been repeatedly stalled as
high-level officials have mounted a slew of political and legal challenges.
An
outspoken activist and researcher passionate about documenting the civil war
that raged from 1975-1990, Slim was a divisive figure.
His
sway over foreign diplomats in Lebanon often sparked the anger of Hezbollah and
its loyalists.
On
Thursday, UN rights experts voiced deep concern at the slow pace of the
investigation into Slim’s death, demanding that Beirut ensure accountability.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
French
envoy criticizes Lebanon over ‘slow’ reforms needed for IMF loan
03
February ,2023
The
French diplomat charged with coordinating international support for Lebanon, so
it can receive International Monetary Fund aid, on Friday criticized the slow
pace of reforms in the crisis-hit country.
The
IMF last April announced an agreement in principle with Beirut for $3 billion in
aid spread over four years, but conditional on implementing crucial reforms.
“It’s
really slow,” Pierre Duquesne told journalists in the Lebanese capital, at the
same time highlighting “a few minor adjustments that go in the right
direction.”
Among
the reforms demanded by the IMF is parliament’s approval of the 2022 budget,
which Duquesne said came “late.”
Lebanon
has been effectively leaderless for months, without a president and ruled by a
caretaker cabinet.
The
IMF is also demanding reform of banking secrecy laws and a restructuring of the
banking sector as a whole, as well as a law on capital controls.
“There
is no other solution than the IMF to provide capital, credibility and
confidence... and to reduce inequality,” Duquesne said.
Paris
will host an international meeting on Monday on how to end months of political
deadlock in Lebanon, with representatives from France, the United States, Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.
Duquesne
is in Beirut to provide French support for the recovery of Lebanon’s energy sector,
a mission that has already taken him to Egypt and Jordan.
“The
two countries have expressed extreme goodwill and said they are technically
ready to supply gas and electricity to Lebanon,” which is almost completely
without power, the diplomat said.
However,
energy supplies would have to pass through Syria, which is subject to stringent
US sanctions.
Duquesne
said he would visit Washington over the next 10 days to discuss “exemptions”
for Egyptian gas and Jordanian electricity supplied to Lebanon via Syria.
There,
he will also meet officials from the World Bank, which is expected to finance
energy deliveries.
Lebanon’s
political impasse has hampered efforts to resolve its worst-ever financial
crisis.
The
Lebanese pound has lost more than 95 percent of its market value to the dollar
since 2019, and more than 80 percent of the population lives in poverty,
according to the United Nations.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Lebanese
Christian bloc leader rallies nation against electing pro-Hezbollah president
NAJIA
HOUSSARI
February
04, 2023
BEIRUT:
The head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Sami Gemayel, has threatened to disrupt
presidential elections if the other parties try to elect a president who would
provide cover for Hezbollah’s weapons.
Speaking
at the party’s general conference on Friday, Gemayel — a fierce opponent of
Hezbollah — said that what was happening was an attempt to change the face of
Lebanon.
The
opening session of the general conference was attended by anti-Hezbollah
political figures, who also expressed opposition to the party’s recent actions.
Gemayel’s
parliamentary bloc is the third largest Christian bloc following the Free
Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces Party.
“They
are trying to kill our country by killing freedom, cooperation, democracy, a
strong and free economy, and Lebanon’s openness to the world,” he said.
Gemayel
added that the battle today was not against a certain category of Lebanese
people, but rather over Christian and Muslim coexistence.
“However,
there is a huge group of Christian and Muslim Lebanese, and of all
denominations, who believe that Lebanon is a message of civilization and
development.
“They
also believe in freedom and were born clinging to this freedom.
“Whoever
is trying to eliminate the Lebanese spirit is not a group of Lebanese, but
rather an armed party that is taking its sect hostage and trying to turn the
conflict in Lebanon into a sectarian one,” he said.
Gemayel
talked about suspicious land purchases, demographic change, institutional
crippling and a systematic attack on free media.
He
said: “We could not force the Syrian army to withdraw until we stood
hand-in-hand in Martyrs’ Square. Today, we will not be able to preserve Lebanon
unless we all unite again.”
Gemayel
said that the ruling class handed over the country to Hezbollah under the
pretext of defending Christians.
“We
had warned against handing over the country to Hezbollah,” he added.
“We
warned against economic collapse and international isolation. Some are clearly
trying to kick us out of the economic, diplomatic, and political equations, but
the true will of the Lebanese people was expressed in the Cedar Revolution and
the Oct. 17 Revolution.”
Gemayel
added: “Today, there are two states in Lebanon, the Lebanese Republic, and
another state, which is the Islamic Republic of Hezbollah, and each state has
its own funding, army, and foreign policy.
“The
Islamic Republic is trying to put its hand on the pluralistic Lebanese
Republic, and we need to fight such attempts. We cannot continue to deal with
the dictatorial practices in a traditional manner; compromising with the
Islamic Republic has dragged us into this catastrophic situation. We kept
making one concession after the other, one settlement after the other.
“From
this moment on, we refuse to submit to Hezbollah’s will."
Gemayel
continued: “We call on all the Lebanese to assume their responsibilities, and
we want Hezbollah to know that we will no longer accept this status quo.
“If
a divorce between the two states is inevitable, then so be it. Hezbollah ought
to announce it, but we will not accept living like second-class citizens. We
will not submit; we will resist.
“The
Kataeb Party is not a fan of war. We support the state and the army, but if
anyone dares approach our homes, we will defend ourselves,” he added.
On
the second anniversary of the assassination of researcher Lokman Slim, who was
known for his outspoken opposition to Hezbollah, Gemayel noted: “We know that
no trial will ever be held to shed light on Slim’s assassination.”
He
added: “We thus know the extent of intimidation to which the Lebanese who
oppose Hezbollah are subjected.”
Slim’s
family and friends commemorated the second anniversary of his assassination on
Friday in the absence of an indictment from the Lebanese judiciary.
Slim
had told the public that he was receiving death threats from Hezbollah prior to
his assassination in southern Lebanon.
MP
Ashraf Rifi said: “They are trying once again to impose a president and
government by taking advantage of the vacuum and making threats.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244456/middle-east
--------
Pakistan
'Don't
blame others for...': Taliban to Pakistan on Peshawar mosque blast
Feb
03, 2023
The
Taliban on Wednesday slammed the Pakistan Government for blaming Afghanistan
for the Peshawar mosque blast.
The
Taliban's Acting Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi called on Pakistan to
investigate the Peshawar attack rather than blame neighbouring Afghanistan for
terror carnage. "Don't blame others for your own failures," said the
Taliban.
On
January 30, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines area
claimed the lives of at least 101 people, mostly police officials.
Muttaqi
called on Pakistan to investigate the Peshawar attack instead of blaming Kabul
and said that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for terrorists.
"If
Afghanistan was the centre of terrorism, it would have gone into China, Central
Asia & Iran," he said.
Muttaqi
told a gathering in the capital, Kabul, that Pakistani officials should find a
solution to their security challenges locally and desist from "sowing the
seeds of enmity" between the two countries.
Pakistani
authorities were quick to blame the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also called
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for what they said was a suicide bomb attack
and suggested the violence emanated from Afghanistan, reported Voice of
America.
Muttaqi
echoed suspicions and questions being raised by critics in Pakistan in the wake
of the large-scale destruction caused by the blast and said, "Our region
is used to wars and bomb blasts. But we have not seen in the past 20 years a
lone suicide bomber blowing up roofs of mosques and killing hundreds of
people."
The
TTP, designated a global terrorist group by the United States, has long been
conducting deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan and its leadership allegedly
directs the violence from Afghan sanctuaries. But the Pakistani Taliban has
formally denied involvement in the Peshawar mosque bombing, reported VOA.
Moazzam
Jah Ansari, the provincial police chief, told reporters Tuesday that a suicide
bomber had entered the mosque as a guest, using up to 12 kilograms of explosive
material earlier brought to the site in bits and pieces.
A
spate of recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, mostly claimed by the TTP, has
strained relations between the two countries.
Pakistan
is weighing its options to deal with the resurgence of terrorism with a focus
on how to ensure that the Afghan interim government fulfills its promises,
people familiar with the development have said.
It
is evident from background discussions with the relevant quarters that Pakistan
is increasingly frustrated over the lack of cooperation from the Afghan Taliban
in tackling the growing threat posed by the banned TTP.
Meanwhile,
the desperate police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been brought to the point where
they are protesting for their rights.
"This
is an example of a complete loss of trust in the State. They have been dying
needlessly in the Establishment's double games, and there is no one to put an
end to this," tweeted Mohsin Dawar, Member National Assembly, NA-48, North
Waziristan.
In
an unusual protest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police in front of Peshawar Press Club
chanted slogans, "We know all the unknown persons."
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Why
are Ahmadiyya mosques in Pakistan under attack by vandals?
February
4, 2023
Unknown
attackers broke the domes and minarets of a mosque of Pakistan’s minority
Ahmadiyya community in Karachi, Pakistan, recently. In videos shared on social
media, people were seen climbing atop an Ahmadi Masjid in Saddar, Karachi and
raining hammer blows on the structure.
This
attack is another in a string of attacks that have taken place on Ahmadiyya
places of worship in Pakistan. Most recently, minarets of Ahmadi Jamaat Khata
on Jamshed Road in Karachi were demolished, ANI reported. In December last
year, police removed the minarets from a mosque in Gujranwala, Punjab.
Who
are the Ahmadiyyas?
The
origins of the religious sect are in Qadian near Amritsar in Punjab, India.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the movement in 1889. In opposition to some aspects
of Islam, he preached that he was the promised messiah who had the task of
bringing God’s teaching into harmony with the present-day world. He said his
coming was awaited not only by Muslims but by Christians and Jews as well.
There
are around 2-5 million Ahmadis in Pakistan. The community is also present in
India, and some estimate their numbers at around 1 lakh.
The
sect has long been opposed by hardline Muslim clerics, some of whom consider
Ahmadiyyas to be heretics. However, Ahmadiyyas do not dispute the centrality of
the Prophet in their religion.
What’s
happening with the Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan?
The
Ahmadiya community faces frequent attacks and persecution in Pakistan. The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has previously strongly condemned
the desecration of an Ahmadiyya worship site in Punjab province’s Wazirabad
district and called for the protection of such spaces of the religious
minorities in the country.
Issues
of desecration often relate to the removal of minarets from Ahmadiyya mosques.
The presence of a minaret is considered to be giving the religious place the
position of a mosque – which is opposed by many in Pakistan, and is also
penalised in law.
In
1974, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto enacted an amendment to the
constitution, declaring Ahmadiyyas to be non-Muslims. Flowing from this, they
were barred from going to mosques.
According
to a document of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq’s 1984 ordinance introduced explicit
discriminatory references to Ahmadiyyas in Sections 298-B and 298-C of the
Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
There
are significant restrictions on Ahmadiyyas’ freedom of religion and expression,
and violations could lead to fines and jail terms. In 2002, a supplementary
list of voters was created in which Ahmadiyyas were categorised as non-Muslims.
Even following amendments in the Constitution, Ahmadiyyas are the only
religious group in Pakistan to continue being on a separate electoral list.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Citizens
take to the streets in KP against rising terrorism
February
3, 2023
Citizens
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took to the streets on Friday against the recent wave of
terrorism in the province.
The
rallies come as Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly in KP, but
also in Balochistan and the Punjab town of Mianwali, which borders KP. A terror
attack also reached as far as the peripheries of Islamabad.
On
Jan 30, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area
where between 300 and 400 people — mostly police officers — had gathered for
prayers. The suicide blast blew away the wall of the prayer hall and an inner
roof, claiming the lives of 101 people.
January
was the deadliest month since 2018, in which 134 people lost their lives — a
139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks
across the country.
On
Friday, several rallies organised by local rights organisations were held in
KP’s Shangla district. The leadership of different political parties, including
the PTI, PPP, Awami National Party (ANP) and others, also addressed the
rallies.
The
participants, carrying white flags, demanded justice for the victims of the
ghastly blast in Peshawar on January 30 as well as sustainable peace in the
region.
The
main rally began from Karora area and upon reaching the district headquarters
of Alpuri, turned into a huge gathering as others joined.
The
speakers said protecting citizens was the responsibility of the authorities
concerned, lamenting that they did not seem interested and only engaged in
political matters.
ANP
leader Muhammad Yar Khan said the Peshawar tragedy was the “biggest security
lapse” and questioned how a suicide bomber was able to enter such a sensitive
area.
He
said that the sole purpose for taking to the streets was to “fight against
terrorism and restore complete peace in the region”.
“We
will not let anyone sabotage KP’s peace,” he said. He also questioned what the
establishment was doing regarding the matter and why the people were not being
provided security.
Ghulamullah,
a local PPP leader, said that the blood of the KP police was “not so cheap”
that officials were being killed in the streets or in mosques. He highlighted
that hundreds of police officers had lost their lives due to terrorism.
“If
police in the province are not safe, then who is supposed to safeguard the
people?”
Ghulamullah
said the protesters wanted peace and protection for the people in the province
and the end to “further Pakhtun genocide”.
Shangla
Coal Mine Workers Rights Association’s President Abid Yar said the people were
facing hardship on two fronts: increasing inflation and rising terrorism.
He
also questioned why only KP was being targeted by the terrorist wave while
there was relative peace in other areas.
Rallies
were also held in Puran tehsil’s Aloch bazaar and Kana tehsil’s Olandar bazaar
where people recorded their protest against the Peshawar blast and demanded the
government maintain peace in the region.
They
demanded KP Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari resign from his position if he
had failed to protect the police and had put the citizens at greater risk.
The
protesters said they would initiate a mass peace movement in the region if
terrorism was not eliminated.
Meanwhile,
the PTI — the former ruling party in the province — also staged an ‘Aman March’
in Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Bannu, Lower Dir and Timergara.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
School
in PoK raided by assailants while President was busy meeting senior UN
officials: Report
4
February, 2023
Gilgit-Baltistan
[PoK], February 3 (ANI): A high school in Pakistan’s illegally occupied Jhang
area was raided by assailants, when the President of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,
Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, was busy meeting senior United Nations
officials, Islam Khabar reported.
It
said that the assailants attacked the school staff and then molested school
girls in the incident that shook the entire community already reeling under a
severe food crisis and power breakdown.
A
gang of thugs ransacked the school and held the entire school hostage.
Policemen were stoned and teachers were assaulted with knives. One of the
assailants even whipped out a gun to threaten them. It was mayhem in the school.
Children and their parents have since been petrified, Islam Khabar reported.
Crime
graph has been rising rapidly in Gilgit-Baltistan in the wake of widespread
food shortages and power breakdowns, according to Islam Khabar.
The
crime index is being pushed higher by the day due to the increasing population,
shrinking resources, rising joblessness and poverty, it said.
The
root cause of the problems of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is the territory’s
occupation by Pakistan and therefore the demand should be simple and focused –
freedom from Pakistan – writes Amjad Ayub Mirza, a human rights activist from
Mirpur in PoK who currently lives in exile in the UK.
According
to Mirza, the mode of relations between Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir
is not of equality but of subjugation.
Several
waves of protests have surfaced in the past only because Pakistan cannot and
will not deliver.
Several
political and social organisations in Nakyal in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on
January 30, held an All Parties Conference.
It
was held against the backdrop of massive cuts in subsidies that
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has enjoyed for the past 75 years.
At
the end of the one-day conference, a joint declaration was issued. Demands were
made to add the Gojri and Pahari languages and tribal identity to any future
census that may be carried out in the region. The declaration rejected
irregularities in the state-subject rule of Maharaja Hari Singh of 1927,
according to Mirza.
The
Nakyal declaration made a demand for the empowerment of Pakistan-occupied
Kashmir’s legislative assembly. A demand to reverse the perks and privileges of
the assembly members and government employees above 18 grade and spend the
money on the welfare of the public was also added.
The
problem is that the declaration issued at the Nakyal conference is making the
above-mentioned demands from a government that itself is bogged down in
negotiation with the International Monetary Fund in Islamabad, Mirza wrote.
Source:ThePrint
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
PTA
bans Wikipedia in Pakistan over ‘sacrilegious content’: spokesperson
Irfan
Sadozai
February
4, 2023
The
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has banned popular online
encyclopedia Wikipedia in the country for not “blocking/removing sacrilegious
content” within the 48-hour deadline given to the website, a spokesperson
confirmed on Saturday.
Wikipedia
is a free, crowdsourced, editable online encyclopedia often used as a starting
point by millions across the world for basic information.
The
PTA had on Wednesday degraded Wikipedia services countrywide for not complying
with the directives for the removal of controversial content from the website.
The
regulator said the website had neither responded to its requests, nor taken
down the content in question.
Speaking
to Dawn.com, PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid said the ban had primarily been
imposed for non-compliance with the orders.
“The
decision can be reviewed once Wikipedia removes sacrilegious content that has
been identified by the regulatory authority,” the spokesperson added.
Users
are met with “this site cannot be reached” when trying to access the website.
The
message one sees when going to Wikipedia.
Yesterday,
the Wikimedia Foundation, the charity that runs Wikipedia, said it “does not
make decisions around what content is included on Wikipedia or how that content
is maintained”.
It
added that this is “by design to ensure that articles are the result of many
people coming together to determine what information should be presented on the
site, resulting in richer, more neutral articles”.
It
goes on to say: “We hope that the Pakistan government joins with the Wikimedia
Foundation in a commitment to knowledge as a human right and restores access to
Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects promptly, so that the people of Pakistan can
continue to receive and share knowledge with the world.”
In
a statement earlier this week, the telecom regulator said it had approached
Wikipedia to block or remove the content in question by issuing a notice under
“applicable law and court order(s)”.
“An
opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither
complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the
authority,” the statement had said.
“Given
the intentional failure on part of the platform to comply with the directions
of PTA, the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours with the
direction to block/remove the reported content,” the statement added.
The
regulator warned that in case of non-compliance, Wikipedia would be blocked in
the country and its restoration would be “reconsidered subjecting to
blocking/removal of the reported unlawful content”.
Move
criticised
When
service to the site was “degraded” by the PTA, analysts and activists
criticised the move.
This
is not the first time the authority has taken notice of objectionable content
on the platform. In December 2020, the PTA had issued notices to Wikipedia and
Google Inc for “disseminating sacrilegious content”.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Pakistan-US
anti-terror talks from next month, says Bilawal
Anwar
Iqbal
February
4, 2023
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan and the United States will hold talks next month to explore
possibilities of coordinating their efforts to combat terrorism, Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told Dawn on Friday.
During
his one-day stay in Washington to attend the annual prayer breakfast, the
foreign minister had a separate meeting with US State Department’s counselor
Derek Chollet as well who assured him that “the US stands with Pakistan in
combating terrorism for the safety of all”.
Mr
Chollet said in a tweet after the meeting that he conveyed his deep condolences
to the Pakistani foreign minister on the recent bombing in Peshawar and
“discussed progress towards Pakistan’s economic stability and flood recovery”.
Mr
Bhutto-Zardari also told Dawn that the talks focused on “terrorism and on
Pakistan’s efforts” to recover from last summer’s devastating floods.
“We
are grateful for the support we received from the US,” he said. “Not just for
bilateral assistance but also for supporting the Geneva conference.”
Last
month, Pakistan and the United Nations co-hosted a one-day conference in Geneva
where Pakistan sought international support for its rehabilitation, and
reconstruction efforts. Pakistan raised about $9 billion at the conference, at
least a billion more than it had asked for and the United States is believed to
have helped Pakistan in achieving this target.
Mr
Bhutto-Zardari said that when he visited Washington late last year, he was
worried about raising funds for Pakistan’s flood recovery programs but the
Americans “really helped, not just bilaterally” but also reached out to other
nations and donors, encouraging them to help.
Talking
about next month’s counterterrorism conference, the foreign minister said:
“Terrorism is really becoming an issue, not just for Pakistan but for others
too.” He said he discussed the issue with Russian officials as well, during his
trip to Moscow last week.
“We,
once again, need international coordination to combat terrorism,” he said. “The
terrorists coordinate their actions with each other, why shouldn’t the forces
combating terrorism do the same?”
“We,
in Pakistan, have to deal with the TTP. China worries about ETIM. The United
States is concerned about Al Qaeda while Russians too are focused on some
groups. And they all need to coordinate their efforts,” he said. “The CT
dialogue will be a good thing for engagement.”
Pakistan
and the United States, he said, would also hold talks on poverty reduction,
narcotics control and on some other issues next month.
Replying
to a question about his visit to Russia, the foreign minister said: “We had a
detailed conversation on many sectors, including energy.” The two sides, he
said, discussed both “old and new proposals for purchasing oil and gas from
Russia”. Asked if Pakistan was close to clenching an oil deal with Russia, he
said, “the energy conversation is ongoing, it has not matured yet”.
The
talks on energy cooperation with Russia, he said, were probing both short-term
and long-term possibilities of buying oil from Moscow.
“Our
desire is that we get oil from Russia at the same rate that India does but
there are technical things that need to be sorted first,” he said. “That’s why
it’s premature to talk about a deal.”
Jordan’s
King Abdullah and the Pakistani foreign minister spoke at the luncheon,
attended by a large number of delegates. “King Abdullah spoke very well,” Mr
Bhutto-Zardari said. “They played a clip of my mother as well.”
The
foreign minister said he would return to the United States on March 8 to attend
an international conference on Muslim women at the UN headquarters in New York.
Given
the events in Afghanistan, the conference also “serves as a strong message to
them that the Muslim world is not where they are,” he said.
Prayer
breakfast speech
In
his prayer breakfast speech, he emphasised the role of faith and prayer in
one’s life, both individually and collectively as a global community, says a
press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Friday.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1735198/pakistan-us-anti-terror-talks-from-next-month-says-bilawal
--------
Nation
together will root out menace of terrorism: Gen Asim Munir
February
4, 2023
RAWALPINDI:
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Friday appreciated the
high morale of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police personnel and Law Enforcement Agencies
(LEAs) and paid rich tribute to the martyrs of police who have laid down their
lives for defence of the motherland.
“We
as a nation together will root out this menace of terrorism till enduring peace
and Insha Allah we shall achieve this,” said a press release of ISPR quoting
Gen Asim Munir as saying.
According
to ISPR, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Syed Asim Munir visited site of the
blast at the Peshawar Police Lines, where at least 100 people—mostly
policemen—lost their lives when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a
packed mosque earlier this week.
The
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the army chief met with officers
and men of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police during his visit.
The
COAS appreciated the bravery and contribution of K-P police and law enforcement
agencies (LEAs) in the war against terrorism, the ISPR said.
The
army chief said that the K-P police was one of the bravest forces and has
fought as a frontline force against terrorism.
Separately,
an apex committee meeting held earlier today expressed determination to protect
the lives and property of the people at every cost, and to make an example of
the terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis.
Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the important meeting of the apex committee
held at the Governor House in Peshawar.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
to attend Moscow meeting on Afghan crises next week
February
3, 2023
MOSCOW:
A meeting on Afghanistan between the secretaries of the security councils of
Central Asian countries — including Pakistan, India and China — will be held in
Moscow next week, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan, Director
of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told TASS on
Friday.
“Yes,
that’s true,” he said replying to a question on the matter.
“There
will be regional participants, the secretaries of the security councils of
countries in the region are invited — our Central Asian partners, as well as
Pakistan, India and China,” the diplomat explained.
On
May 27, 2022, a fourth round of multilateral consultations on Afghanistan
between top security officials was held in Dushanbe.
It
should be noted that under the US withdrawal deal signed by the Trump
administration in the year 2020, the US army withdrew from Afghanistan in
August 2021 and the Taliban took control of Kabul.
After
the US departure, all the regional countries became active to stabilise
Afghanistan and prevent its land to to be used for terrorism — which haunted
the neighbouring countries for decades.
The
regional countries believe that the power vacuum left by the US may be a
lucrative opportunity for the other non-state actors and terror organisations
to launch their activities and globalise their operations — which also
threatens regional peace and security.
It
may also be noted that the prevalent economic and social crises in Afghanistan
have caused their people to flee to the neighbouring countries.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Johor
Sultan says fatwa barring Muslims from other faiths’ rituals not against ‘Bangsa
Johor’ concept
By
Ben Tan
03
Feb 2023
JOHOR
BARU, Feb 3 ― Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar today said the new fatwa against
Muslim participation in the other faiths’ rituals would not alter the racial
and religious diversity espoused in the “Bangsa Johor” concept.
He
explained that the fatwa the Johor Islamic Religious Council issued yesterday
did not conflict with the state’s inter-faith values of tolerance, unity and
understanding, adding that Johor would always respect multiracialism and
religious diversity.
“The
fatwa only prohibits Muslims from taking part in other religious rituals. It is
a guideline for them. They can still attend the festive events of other faiths.
“Other
religions must also respect Muslims’ sensitivities. It is a two-way street. We
must be sensitive to each other’s religious obligations in order to get along,”
he said on Facebook today.
He
was commenting on to the fatwa that some saw as restricting Johor’s progressive
values as it did not differentiate between religious acts, cultural events and
folklore.
In
light of the fatwa and its guidelines, Sultan Ibrahim pointed out that as all
religions emphasise good values like compassion, respect, tolerance, moderation
and kindness.
“Malaysians
should focus on these common values rather than on our racial or religious
differences.
“I
hope with this explanation, we can put a stop to any confusion on the new fatwa
as it only clarifies what is permissible to Muslims and forbidden in Islam,” he
said.
Sultan
Ibrahim then advised Muslims who were still confused to consult with the state
mufti for further clarification.
Yesterday,
the fatwa detailed guidelines for Muslims in Johor on celebrations held by
people of other faiths.
Johor
Islamic religious affairs committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid was
reported as saying that Muslims should not take part in religious rituals of
other faiths.
He
said this is based on Sultan Ibrahim’s consent to the fatwa.
Source:MalayMail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Daegu
group stages second Islamophobic pork feast in protest of mosque
Feb.3,2023
Daegu
residents opposing the construction of a mosque held their second “pork party,”
having first staged a pork barbeque in December 2022.
At
12:30 pm on Thursday, a group calling itself the “Daehyeon Neighborhood
Anti-Mosque Emergency Action Committee” held a “village feast” in front of the
mosque’s construction site in Daegu’s northern Buk District, near the west
entrance of Kyungpook National University. The party was nothing more than a
meat-feasting performance, in which boiled pork and beef gukbap stew was served
to 100 people.
Muslim
international students visited the temporary prayer center in front of the
construction site for their lunch prayers, but no conflict ensued.
Kim
Jung-ae, vice chairperson of the action committee stated that the group
“received a lot of support from all over the country” after the news covered
the group’s barbeque in December.
“This
feast was prepared for all of those who cheered us on. I don’t understand since
when South Koreans had to provide reasoning for eating pork. We residents will
stand very close together to prevent the construction of the mosque.”
This
group of people has rejected the Buk District Office’s conciliatory offer to
purchase land near the mosque to build a public facility such as a senior
citizen center. Before the pork party, the committee held a press conference in
front of the Buk District Office and stated “the solution that Buk District
Mayor Bae Kwang-sik took two years to come up with is nothing but a one-sided
notice saying that he will kick out residents who he thinks are obstacles to
the mosque’s construction. He says he will build public facilities near the
mosque, but they will only be used by Muslims.”
Source:Hani
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1078218.html
--------
Are
you suggesting that Malaysians who don’t vote for PAS promote Islamophobia? Kit
Siang asks Hadi
By
John Bunyan
04
Feb 2023
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Counting 10 weeks of silence, Lim Kit Siang today continued to
call out PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to clarify his past remarks
accusing the DAP of Islamophobia.
The
DAP veteran noted that Hadi has continued to glibly portray his party as
anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-monarchy without showing any proof to
substantiate his claims.
“Is
Hadi suggesting that Malaysians who do not vote for PAS candidates in elections
were promoting Islamophobia?” Lim asked in a statement.
Hadi
had accused the DAP of spreading Islamophobia in a lengthy Facebook rant last
November 28, after the contentious 15th general election that resulted in a
hung Parliament before the Yang di-PertuanAgong appointed Pakatan Harapan’s
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister to lead a “unity government”.
In
August 2022, the Marang MP accused non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera of making up
the bulk of what he called “roots of corruption” — those who chase illicit
gains — to the detriment of the country’s economy and politics.
Hadi
was questioned by the police over his remarks last December but the outcome of
the investigations have not been made known so far.
Lim
noted that Hadi has yet to apologise or face any action for his remarks to
date.
He
pointed out that it was not the first time Hadi “got away” with making
unsubstantiated allegations against the DAP, which it had allied with
politically in the past.
Among
the incidents were in 2018 when Hadi accused the DAP of being the mastermind to
Mahathir administration’s decision to ratify the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and when the PAS leader
failed to report to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Islamophobia
Observatory about the so-called anti-Islam part’s purported movement in
Malaysia.
“Hadi
must be made an example of how irresponsible a political/religious leader can
be in making wild, preposterous and completely baseless allegations of
political opponents, a practice which must be stopped in an era where the toxic
and divisive politics of lies, falsehoods, and fake news could polarise race
and religious relations in a plural society like Malaysia,” Lim said.
He
promised to pursue this subject every week until Hadi breaks his silence.
Source:MalayMail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Report:
Rainy weather causing vegetable supply shortage ahead of Ramadan
By
John Bunyan
Saturday,
04 Feb 2023
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 4 — The unusual wet weather this Chinese New Year is expected to
cause a shortage of produce that could continue till the Muslim fasting month
next month, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
The
newspaper cited Yong Peng Vegetable Gardeners Association president Cheng Tai
Hoe saying that farmers in the country are having a tough time meeting the
demand for vegetables if the rainy spell continues till the end of this month.
According
to Cheng, vegetables like eggplants, tomatoes, beans and chillies are often in
high demand during Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri, and need up to two months
to be fully mature.
“Due
to this, it is expected that the supply of vegetables will not be sufficient
ahead of the fasting month and the price is likely to rise due to the high
demand during the festive season.
“However,
there is no problem for leafy vegetables such as spinach and mustard because
there is still time for them to mature,” he was quoted as saying.
Cheng
said produce from neighbouring Thailand is likely to be similarly affected by
the weather, adding that this will likely drive up the prices of imported
vegetables.
As
an example, he said prices of cucumbers have gone up to between RM9 and RM10
per kilogramme compared to the previous maximum high of RM6; likewise long
beans imported from Thailand are up RM16 per kilogramme.
Source:MalayMail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
SPM
workshop controversy won’t happen again, vows minister
Elill
Easwaran
February
3, 2023
KUALA
LUMPUR: Last month’s controversy involving an SPM workshop which was allegedly
organised by a government school exclusively for its Muslim students will not
happen again, says education minister FadhlinaSidek.
“Discrimination
is not allowed in the education system and we will ensure that this will not
take place again,” she told reporters after attending a National Union of the
Teaching Profession’s (NUTP) grand seminar.
Fadhlina
warned of stern action against any school that allows such an incident to
occur.
The
issue first came to light on Jan 23 after parents of SPM students at SMK Infant
Jesus Convent alleged that the school had discriminated against non-Muslim
students by holding the SPM workshop only for Muslim students.
The
education ministry denied the claim, explaining that the workshop was meant for
all students but had been broken up into different sessions to avoid disrupting
the festivities for students celebrating Chinese New Year.
The
ministry also acknowledged that the school should have communicated details
about the workshop better.
The
school’s parent-teacher association (PTA) has since said that the matter has
been resolved amicably.
When
asked whether action will be taken against the school in Johor, Fadhlina said
the case has been handed over to the state education department, “and the issue
has been resolved”.
Separately,
on the suggestion that classes at all schools in Peninsular Malaysia start at
8am, instead of the current 7.30am, Fadhlina said the ministry has not decided
on the matter and it was not their main focus.
“We
have heard the suggestions from the experts, but we need to listen to the views
of the parents as well.”
Recently,
UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia senior lecturer Anuar Ahmad urged the government
to start classes at 8am in the peninsula to ease the burden on teachers,
parents and students.
Source:Free
Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Philippines
tightens rules for Kuwait recruitment after maid murder
ELLIE
ABEN
February
03, 2023
MANILA:
The Philippines is tightening rules for the deployment of workers to Kuwait
after the brutal murder of a migrant Filipino worker last month sent shockwaves
across the Southeast Asian nation.
The
charred body of the 35-year-old maid, JullebeeRanara, was found abandoned in a
desert in late January and repatriated to the Philippines last week. Kuwaiti
police have since arrested and charged the 17-year-old son of her employer over
the killing.
Ranara
was one of more than 268,000 overseas Filipino workers living in Kuwait. Most
are women employed as domestic helpers.
After
Ranara’s murder, the Philippine Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait suspended the
accreditation of new recruitment agencies in the Gulf country, while President
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday that the Philippine government is
scheduling meetings with Kuwaiti authorities to review the bilateral labor
agreement to “see if there are any weaknesses in the agreement that allowed
this (murder) to happen” and provide more protection to overseas Filipino
workers.
“The
Philippine government’s priority is to seek justice for our deceased
compatriot,” Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Eduardo Jose De Vega
told Arab News on Thursday.
“The
Department of Migrant Workers is reviewing the records of the currently
accredited agencies and is imposing stricter rules for deployment in the
meantime.”
Ranara’s
murder is not the first such incident in Kuwait to shock the Philippines, which
in 2018 imposed a worker deployment ban to the Gulf country after the killing
of Filipino domestic helper Joanna Daniela Demafelis, whose body was found in a
freezer in an abandoned apartment.
The
ban was partially lifted the same year, after the two countries signed a
protection agreement for workers. In May 2019, Filipino maid Constancia Lago
Dayag was killed in Kuwait, and a few months later, another employee,
JeanelynVillavende, was tortured to death by her employer. The Philippines
again imposed a worker deployment ban in January 2020, which was lifted when
Kuwaiti authorities charged Villavende’s employer with murder and sentenced her
to death.
The
Philippine government is not considering another ban, despite calls from
Filipinos outraged by the recent gruesome killing.
According
to migrant work expert Emmanuel Geslani, a ban “may result in more harm than
good” by leading to human trafficking.
“Any
deployment ban always leads workers to illegal recruitment syndicates enticing
overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) eager to find work in the oil-rich country of
Kuwait,” he told Arab News.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244236/world
--------
Mideast
Iran
rebukes Macron’s double standard, urges France to speak out against Israeli
nukes
03
February 2023
Iran
has censured the latest “unconstructive” remarks by French President Emmanuel
Macron after his talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu against
Tehran’s peaceful nuclear activities.
Macron
warned in a statement on Thursday that Iran’s nuclear activities “would
inevitably have consequences.”
Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said on Friday the French president
spoke against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program while it seems he has forgotten
the Israeli regime, which possesses tens of nuclear warheads in its nuclear
arsenal, refuses to accept any international supervision.
“Instead
of expressing fake concerns about Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, which are
completely under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
French side should inform the world about the ways that the Zionist state
terrorism has obtained nuclear weapons,” Kan’ani said.
He
said that meeting with Israel’s prime minister is in itself worthy of
condemnation as the world considers the Israeli regime to be the manifestation
of the sinister phenomenon of organized terrorism, violence, massacre and
displacement of oppressed women and children in West Asia, including in
Palestine.
With
a dark record of occupation and military aggression, the Israeli regime is “the
prime source of threat against regional and international peace and security,”
he said.
The
Iranian spokesperson called on French officials to correct their wrong
approaches and engage in mutual respect to stop inflicting further damage on
Tehran-Paris relations.
Israel,
which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is
estimated to possess 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the
sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia. The illegitimate entity
has, however, refused to either allow inspections of its military nuclear
facilities or sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran,
on the other hand, is a member of the NPT and has officially declared that its
nuclear activities are peaceful in nature. Iran also signed a nuclear deal with
six world powers in 2015 to reassure the world about the peaceful nature of its
nuclear program.
Despite
Iran’s strict compliance with the deal, the US, under former US president
Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and pursued a
confrontational policy against Iran.
Source:
Press TV
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
behind hack of French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Microsoft says
03
February ,2023
An
Iranian government-backed hacking team allegedly stole and leaked private
customer data belonging to French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, security
researchers at Microsoft said on Friday.
The
magazine was hacked in early January after it published a series of cartoons
that negatively depicted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The caricatures were
part of a media campaign that Charlie Hebdo said was intended to support
anti-government protests in the Islamic nation.
Representatives
for the Iranian and French governments did not immediately respond to requests
for comment. A press officer for Charlie Hebdo said the magazine had no comment
on the matter “for the moment.”
Iran
publicly vowed an “effective response” to the “insulting” cartoons, and
summoned the French envoy in Tehran, while also ending activities of the French
Institute of Research in Iran and saying it was re-evaluating France’s cultural
activities in the country.
The
hack-and-leak targeting Charlie Hebdo was part of a wider digital influence
operation with techniques matching previously identified activity linked to
Iranian state-backed hacking teams, Microsoft researchers said in a report.
The
group responsible is the same one that US Department of Justice officials
earlier identified as having conducted a “multi-faceted campaign” to interfere
in the 2020 US presidential election, Microsoft said. Iran denied the claims at
the time.
Amid
Iran’s criticism of the Khamenei cartoons, a group of hackers calling itself
“Holy Souls” posted on an online forum that they had access to the names and
contact details of more than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo subscribers. In their post,
they said they would sell the information for 20 bitcoins ($470,000).
A
sample of the leaked data was later released and verified as authentic by the
French newspaper Le Monde.
“This
information, obtained by the Iranian actor, could put the magazine’s
subscribers at risk for online or physical targeting by extremist
organizations,” the Microsoft researchers said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
‘Parliamentary
tyranny’: Iran blasts US House Committee vote to oust Ilhan Omar
03
February 2023
The
spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has censured a decision by the
Republicans in the US House of Representatives to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from
a high-profile House committee.
The
Republican-led chamber on Thursday voted to oust Somali-born Omar from her seat
on the influential Foreign Affairs Committee over the Muslim lawmaker’s mocking
of American politicians for their unwarranted support of the Israeli regime in
exchange for financial rewards.
In
reaction to the highly politicized move, Nasser Kan’ani said boycotting a
critic of the Israeli apartheid regime depicts the United States’
“parliamentary tyranny.”
“Ousting
IlhanOmar black Muslim& critic of Israeli #Apartheid from a House Committee
indicates practical commitment of US to motto of #women, life, freedom,”
Kan’ani tweeted, referring to the key slogan behind the recent Western-backed
riots across Iran.
The
spokesman added that the US resorted to the slogan as a means to interfere in
Iran’s internal affairs.
The
US House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted on January 25 in favor of a
resolution that expressed solidarity with Iranian people following what was
claimed to be a “brutal crackdown” on protesters after the death of a
22-year-old woman of Kurdish descent in the capital Tehran.
The
bipartisan resolution, which called for more sanctions against Iranian
officials and entities over “human right violations,” was approved days after
the European Union announced sanctions on more than 30 Iranian officials and
organizations over the deadly riots triggered by the death of MahsaAmini in
September 2022.
In
a post on his Twitter account, Kan’ani censured the US Congress’ resolution,
saying Americans “never want to accept the realities” of the country and wish
them to be as they like.
“While
the US intelligence and security services say Iran left behind the unrest and
their support for Iran riots was futile, US congressmen voted for a resolution
supporting riots in Iran!,” the spokesman wrote. “They never want to accept the
realities on Iran, but like the realities to be as they wish.”
Amini
fainted at a police station and was pronounced dead three days later in
hospital. An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization concluded
that the death was caused by illness rather than alleged blows to the head or
other vital body organs.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Acclaimed
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi released on bail
3
Feb 2023
Acclaimed
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been released on bail from Tehran’s Evin
prison after going on hunger strike to protest his detention.
Yusef
Moulai, Panahi’s lawyer, confirmed he had been released on bail and returned
home. He said Panahi was in good health after two days without food, the
Associated Press news agency reported.
Panahi’s
wife TaherehSaidi posted an image on Instagram of Panahi being driven from
prison in a vehicle.
There
was no immediate comment from the judiciary on the release.
News
on Thursday that Panahi, 62, had gone on a hunger strike in which he was
refusing food and water caused a wave of concern across the world about the
director, who has won prizes at all of Europe’s top three film festivals.
Considered one of Iranian cinema’s greatest
living masters, Panahi is known for prizewinning films such as The Circle,
which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000. He also won the
Cannes Film Festival’s Camera d’Or prize for his 1995 movie White Balloon and
the Golden Bear in Berlin for Taxi Tehran in 2015.
“It
is extraordinary, a relief, a total joy,” Panahi’s French distributor, producer
Michele Halberstadt, told the AFP news agency on Friday about the director’s
release. “We express our gratitude to all those who mobilised yesterday.”
“His
next fight is to have the cancellation of his sentence officially recognised,”
Halberstadt said. “He’s outside, he’s free, and this is already great.”
Panahi
was imprisoned despite a ruling by Iran’s Supreme Court in October that quashed
a six-year sentence in 2010 for “propaganda against the system”.
“I
will remain in this state until perhaps my lifeless body is freed from prison,”
Panahi had warned in a statement announcing his hunger strike, which was
published by his wife.
The
director was detained in July in the wake of the government crackdown on
dissent. He was arrested after he inquired about another director, Mohammad
Rasoulof, who was imprisoned a few days earlier after signing an appeal against
police violence.
Rasoulof
was released from prison on January 7 after being granted a two-week furlough
for health reasons and is believed to still be free.
Cinema
figures have been among the thousands of people arrested in Iran in the
government’s crackdown on protests sparked by the September 16 death of
MahsaAmini. The 22-year-old died in police custody after her arrest for
allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Actor
TaranehAlidoosti, who had published images of herself without the Islamic
headscarf, was among those detained although she was released in early January
after being held for almost three weeks.
Source:
AlJazeera
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/3/acclaimed-iranian-filmmaker-jafar-panahi-released-on-bail
--------
Palestinian
mosque in Israel targeted with Molotov cocktails
03
February, 2023
Molotov
cocktails were thrown at a mosque on Thursday, in an Israeli city that was
built on the land of a former Palestinian village.
The
Sayyidna Ali Mosque is in Herzliya near Tel Aviv, where the village of Al-Haram
was once located before its population was displaced during the 1948 Nakba
(Arabic for "catastrophe").
The
Nakba saw hundreds of thousands of Palestinians ethnically cleansed from their
towns and villages by Zionist militias in the run-up to the creation of Israel.
It
follows a previous attack on the mosque in January 2019, The New Arab's Arabic
sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.
"My
son and I live in the Sayyidna Ali Mosque and I have been working to guard it
for years," said Mohammed Tayeh, who has guarded the site for 38 years and
who delivers the call to prayer there.
"This
morning, we woke up and saw two Molotov cocktails on the roof of the mosque,
with minor damage and burns recorded," he said.
"We
did not hear exactly when the Molotov cocktails were thrown because of the
rainy weather and the loud sound of the wind."
Tayeh
said they called the police as soon as they found the two bottles, adding that
officers examined the site and opened a file to investigate what happened.
Christian
and Muslim places of worship in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem are often
attacked by Israeli extremists.
Radical
Israelis also routinely storm Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with many of
them wanting to see a Jewish temple built in its place.
Such
raids often see extremist Jews pray at the site, despite worship being reserved
for Muslims under the longstanding status-quo agreement.
Many
Palestinians worry about Israeli attempts to split Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest
site in Islam, between Jews and Muslims in terms of time and space available
for use.
On
Thursday, a Jewish American tourist allegedly knocked a statue of Jesus over in
East Jerusalem's Old City, according to churchgoers.
"Exodus
Chapter 20 says you can't have idols in Jerusalem. This is the holy city,"
the suspect reportedly said while a guard kept him on the floor.
The
suspect was detained by Israeli police after a wooden statue of Jesus was
pulled down and damaged in the Church of the Condemnation, where Christians
believe Jesus was flogged and sentenced to death.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-mosque-israel-targeted-molotov-cocktails
--------
Palestinian
Islamic Jihad leaders head for Egypt amid Israel tensions
03
February, 2023
A
delegation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders left the Gaza Strip for Egypt
on Thursday.
The
representatives of the besieged Palestinian enclave's second-most-powerful
faction made their way through the Rafah land crossing for Cairo following an
invitation by Egypt to discuss issues of common concern.
The
visit of a delegation of leaders from Gaza rulers Hamas is expected to take
place at a later date, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby
Al-Jadeed reported.
Islamic
Jihad's Secretary-General Ziyad Al-Nakhalah, who lives in Lebanon, is at the
helm of the visiting party, joined by members of the group's political bureau.
It
comes amid a dramatic escalation in Israeli violence against Palestinians in
the occupied West Bank - with 35 killed so far this year - and continued
violations against Palestinian detainees.
Six
Israelis and a Ukrainian were shot dead in the occupied East Jerusalem
settlement of Neve Yaakov on Friday, the day after a raid by Israeli forces
that killed 10 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp.
Egypt,
which has a long history of mediating between Israel and Palestinian factions,
seeks to prevent an explosion of unrest in the West Bank and particularly in
Gaza, with which it shares a border.
A
leading source in the Islamic Jihad group had previously told Al-Araby
Al-Jadeed that the movement had accepted an invitation to visit Cairo.
The
source said the delegation would – in a surprising development – include
prominent leaders from its Al-Quds Brigades military wing.
This
was with the aim of consulting on the high state of alert of armed factions in
the Gaza Strip. Palestinian armed groups
have said that they are preparing to respond to violations against female
Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Egyptian
intelligence officials have invited Hamas's leadership to Cairo to discuss
maintaining calm in Gaza and how to prevent inflaming the situation in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has learned.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.newarab.com/news/islamic-jihad-leaders-head-egypt-amid-israel-tensions
--------
Landmine
kills 13-year-old boy in Yemen port city Hodeida
04
February ,2023
A
landmine killed a 13-year-old boy in the contested Yemeni city of Hodeida,
medical and security officials said Friday, the latest in a string of similar
incidents in the war-torn country.
It
came a day after three children and one woman were critically injured in a
landmine explosion, according to an aid group.
The
explosion Friday happened on a city street and also seriously injured a
teenager, said officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they
were not authorized to speak to media.
Thursday's
blast happened when a child began playing with a landmine. The explosion
injured that child and the three others nearby, Doctors Without Borders said.
It said the four casualties arrived at a hospital in the besieged city of Taiz
and were transferred to other health facilities.
Landmines
have been laid in Yemen since the 1960s. However, since the outbreak of war in
2014, both sides have planted more. According to Yemeni Landmine Records, a
group that documents landmine casualties, 32 people in Yemen were killed by
landmines and other unexploded ordinance last month.
Yemen's
ruinous civil war began after Iranian backed-Houthis swept down from the
northern mountains and seized the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the north
of the country, ousting the internationally recognized government.
The
Houthis have widely used landmines. The US-based Armed Conflict Location &
Event Data Project said Houthi landmines killed at least 122 people between
2016 and 2018.
“Due
to the difficulty of obtaining accurate estimates, these figures are likely to
make up a fraction of all mine detonations involving civilians in Yemen,” ACLED
said in a 2018 report.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Former
NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom asks US for sanctions on Turkey, Erdogan
03
February ,2023
A
former NBA center is calling on the Biden administration to impose sanctions
against Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Turkish government placed a
bounty on his head.
Enes
Kanter Freedom, a US citizen and an outspoken critic of the Turkish president,
has met with over 125 members of Congress in the two weeks.
In
an interview with Al Arabiya English on Capitol Hill, Kanter Freedom said he
was on the Hill to further educate US lawmakers on what he says are human
rights violations around the world.
“It
is unacceptable that a foreign government can put a bounty on an American
citizen’s head on US soil,” he said.
Kanter
Freedom has had to bounce around and move several times out of fear for his
safety. “This is a real threat to his life,” one congressional aide who met
with Kanter Freedom said.
The
former NBA player was placed on Turkey’s wanted list this week for allegedly
being a member of a terrorist organization. Up to 10 million Turkish liras,
close to $500,000, are being offered as a reward to anyone who provides helpful
information that leads to his capture.
Ankara
is accusing Kanter Freedom of being a member of a group founded by Fethullah
Gulen, who currently lives in exile in the US.
Washington
has rejected Turkey’s request to extradite Gulen.
He
described his conversations with Republican and Democratic lawmakers as “really
good” and said members of Congress agreed that the actions of Erdogan’s
government were unacceptable.
More
than 40 House Republicans signed a letter to US President Joe Biden earlier
this week asking for him to look at potential sanctions under the Magnitsky
Act, which is meant to crack down on human rights violations and violators.
But
Kanter Freedom said he has bipartisan support, and there is agreement from both
sides of the aisle on his human rights campaign.
“It
doesn’t matter whether you’re from the right or the left; you have to care
about human rights issues going on anywhere in the world,” he said.
Asked
what could be done from a US point of view, Kanter Freedom was explicit in
expressing his support for sanctions. “You know, condemning dictators is not
going to work. So, we have to take some concrete actions,” he said.
Kanter
Freedom pointed to the upcoming Turkish elections slated for May. “We literally
have around three months, so that’s why we are coming here and trying to do our
best to just bring awareness and see what we can do.”
He
is also trying to land a meeting with Biden to explain to him the situation
inside Turkey as well as other global human rights issues.
“I’m
not the only one on the [wanted] list. There are so many innocent people,
journalists, academics, athletes, and celebrities… And now their life is in
danger,” Kanter Freedom said.
As
Kanter Freedom continues to speak out on these issues, including against China
and its detention of over one million Uyghur Muslims, his chances of returning
to the NBA weaken.
“They
do care about a lot of issues that are happening, but not China,” he said when
asked if he was getting support from the NBA or his former colleagues.
He
cited the lucrative shoe, jersey and TV contracts inside China. “They are
scared to say anything against the Chinese government, but they [NBA players]
are learning for sure,” Kanter Freedom said.
At
30 years old, he says he is healthy and can still play for at least another six
years in the NBA. But basketball experts he has discussions with say his stance
on China is “very unacceptable,” making it nearly impossible to return to the
league.
With
his parents having their passports taken away by the Turkish government and not
having a team to play professional basketball with, Kanter Freedom says he will
continue to advocate against “brutal regimes” in China and Turkey.
“We
have to do whatever we can to save Turkey because if Erdogan wins the
elections, that’s another six years of this whole craziness,” he said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
imposes sanctions on board of directors of Iranian drone maker
03
February ,2023
The
United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the board of directors of Iranian
drone maker Paravar Pars, the US Treasury Department said, adding Iranian
drones were being used by Russia to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
The
Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight
senior executives of Paravar Pars, the department said in a statement.
The
drone maker was previously sanctioned by the United States and the European
Union for making drones for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace
Force.
“Iranian
entities continue to produce UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for Iran’s IRGC
and military. More broadly, Iran is supplying UAVs for Russia’s combat
operations to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” said Brian Nelson,
the US Treasury’s top sanctions official.
As
a result of Friday’s action, all property and interests in property of those
individuals that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US
persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC, the Treasury Department said.
People that engage in transactions with the individuals designated on Friday
may themselves be exposed to sanctions, the department added.
The
United States on Tuesday had put new trade restrictions on seven Iranian
entities for producing drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine. The firms
and other organizations were added to a US export control list for those
engaged in activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy
interests.
Since
Russia launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and
over 30 other countries have sought to degrade its military and defense
industrial base by restricting its access to defense needs.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran’s
security forces targeting eyes of protesters: Rights group
03
February ,2023
Iran’s
security forces have been systematically targeting the eyes of demonstrators in
their crackdown on the protests that have swept the country since September, a
human rights group said Friday.
Norway-based
Iran Human Rights said initial data indicated young women were
disproportionately represented among people who had sustained such wounds.
A
Tehran newspaper earlier this week asked a top police commander if security
forces had been targeting the eyes and other sensitive areas. He insisted on
their good conduct.
IHR
said protesters had been shot in the head and the face, leading “to many,
including a significant number of young women, being blinded.”
It
said this “inhumane and unlawful act” had been “carried out systematically to
crush protests.”
IHR
said it had documented 22 cases of people being blinded in one eye as a result
of fire from the security forces, nine of them women.
The
youngest person wounded -- Bonita KianiFalavarjani, aged just six, from the
city of Isfahan -- was shot and blinded in one eye while standing on her
grandfather’s balcony, it said.
In
a high-profile case, KosarKhoshnoudikia, a member of Iran’s national archery
team, was blinded in one eye after a protest in December in the city of
Kermanshah.
“We
don’t have enough data yet, but I have the impression that young girls are
over-represented among those whose eyes are targeted,” said IHR director
Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam.
Asked
if security forces were targeting eyes, the commander of the special police,
Hassan Karami, told the Hamshahri newspaper that “not harming the protesting
population” was a priority for the police forces.
“I
have so much faith in the ability of the special police units that I have said
many times that I will offer a reward to anyone who can prove that someone was
killed as a result of a mistake by our staff,” he said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Satellite
photos show damage at Iran military site hit by drones
03
February ,2023
Satellite
photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Friday showed damage done to what
Iran describes as a military workshop targeted by Israeli drones, the latest
such assault amid a shadow war between the two countries.
While
Iran has offered no explanation yet of what the workshop manufactured, the drone
attack threatened to again raise tensions in the region. Already, worries have
grown over Tehran enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels,
with a top United Nations nuclear official warning the Islamic Republic had
enough fuel to build “several” atomic bombs if it chooses.
Meanwhile,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose earlier tenure as premier saw
escalating attacks targeting Iran, has returned to office and reiterated that
he views Tehran as his country’s top security threat.
With
State Department spokesperson Ned Price now declaring Iran has “killed” the
opportunity to return to its nuclear deal with world powers, it remains unclear
what diplomacy immediately could ease tensions between Tehran and the West.
Cloudy
weather had prevented satellite pictures of the site of the workshop since it
came under attack by what Iran described as bomb-carrying quadcopters on the
night of January 28.
Quadcopters,
which get their name from having four rotors, typically operate from short
ranges by remote control.
Video
taken of the attack showed an explosion at the site after anti-aircraft fire
targeted the drones, likely from one of the drones reaching the building’s
roof. Iran’s military has claimed shooting down two other drones before they
reached the site.
Images
taken Thursday by Planet Labs PBC showed the workshop in Isfahan, a central
Iranian city some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran. An AP analysis of
the image, compared to earlier images of the workshop, showed damage to the
structure’s roof.
That
damage corresponded to footage aired by Iranian state television immediately
after the attack that showed at least two holes in the building’s roof.
The
Iranian state TV footage, as well as satellite photos, suggest the building’s
roof also may have been built with so-called “slat armor.” The structure
resembles a cage built around roofs or armored vehicles to stop direct
detonation from rockets, missiles or bomb-carrying drones against a target.
Installation
of such protection at the workshop suggests Iran believed it could be a drone
target.
Iran’s
Intelligence Ministry in July claimed to have broken up a plot to target
sensitive sites around Isfahan. A segment aired on Iranian state TV in October
included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish
opposition party that is exiled from Iran and now lives in Iraq, that they
planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after being trained
by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service.
It
remains unclear whether the military workshop targeted in the drone attack was
that aerospace facility. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not
immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the satellite images and
other questions about the workshop.
The
attack comes as Iran’s theocratic government faces challenges both at home and
abroad.
Nationwide
protests have shaken the country since the September death of MahsaAmini, a
Kurdish-Iranian woman detained by the country’s morality police. Its rial
currency has plummeted to new lows against the US dollar. Meanwhile, Iran
continues to arm Russia with the bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses in
attacks in Ukraine on power plants and civilian targets.
Israel
is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an April 2021
assault on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its
centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed
its top military nuclear scientist.
Israel
has not commented on this drone attack. However, Israeli officials rarely
acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or
the Mossad.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Death
of Amini sparks irreversible Iran ‘revolutionary process’: Nobel laureate Ebadi
03
February ,2023
Iranian
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said the death in custody of a young
Iranian Kurdish woman last year has sparked an irreversible “revolutionary
process” that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s
clerical rulers have faced widespread unrest since MahsaAmini died in the
custody of the morality police on September 16 after she was arrested for
wearing “inappropriate attire.”
Iran
has blamed Amini’s death on preexisting medical problems and has accused the
United States and other foes fomenting the unrest to destabilize the clerical
establishment.
As
they have done in the past in the face of protests in the past four decades,
Iran’s hardline rulers have cracked down hard. Authorities have handed down
dozens of death sentences to people involved in protests and have carried out
at least four hangings, in what rights activists say is aimed at intimidating
people and keep them off the streets.
A
staunch critic of the clerical establishment that has ruled in Iran since the
Iranian Revolution in 1979, Ebadi has been one of the most outspoken supporters
of the anti-government demonstrations.
Like
many critics of Iran’s clerical rulers, Ebadi believes the current wave of
protests has been the boldest challenge to the establishment’s legitimacy yet.
“This
revolutionary process is like a train that will not stop until it reaches its
final destination,” said Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her
work defending human rights and who has been in exile in London since 2009.
The
1979 revolution toppled Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a secular monarch
allied with the West, and led to the formation of an Islamic Republic.
With
the latest protests ushering Iran into an era of deepening crisis between the
rulers and society at large, Amini’s death has unbottled years of anger among
many Iranians over issues ranging from economic misery and discrimination
against ethnic minorities to tightening social and political restrictions.
For
months, Iranians from all walks of life have called for the fall of the
clerical establishment, chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
However,
protests have slowed considerably since the hangings began. They have been at
their most intense in the Sunni-populated areas of Iran and are currently
mostly limited to those regions.
Videos
shared on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed people chanting “Death
to Khamenei” from rooftops in some cities, but nothing on the scale of past
months.
The
rights group HRANA said that as of Wednesday, 527 protesters had been killed
during unrest, including 71 minors. It said 70 members of the security forces
had also been killed. As many as 19,262 protesters are believed to have been
arrested, it said.
Growing
anger
Ebadi,
speaking in a phone interview from London, said the state’s use of deadly
violence will deepen anger felt by ordinary Iranians about the clerical
establishment because their grievances remain unaddressed.
“The
protests have taken a different shape, but they have not ended,” Ebadi told
Reuters in a phone interview from London.
With
deepening economic misery, chiefly because of US sanctions over Tehran’s
disputed nuclear work, many Iranians are feeling the pain of galloping
inflation and rising joblessness.
Inflation
has soared to over 50 percent, the highest level in decades. Youth unemployment
remains high with over 50 percent of Iranians being pushed below the poverty
line, according to reports by Iran’s Statistics Centre.
The
crackdown has stoked diplomatic tensions at a time when talks to revive
Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are at a standstill. The United
States and its Western allies have slapped sanctions on Iranian authorities and
entities for their involvement in the crackdown and other human rights abuses.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Turkey
says Western nations gave it no evidence to back up security threat reports
03
February ,2023
Turkey
said on Friday that Western nations, including the United States and Germany,
had not given it any information to back up their assertions that security
threats had prompted them to close their missions in the country.
Foreign
minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested the powers may have been trying to portray
Turkey as a volatile state when they temporarily shut embassies and consulates
and issued travel warnings following Quran-burning incidents in Europe.
“We
see the closures of consulates without sharing the details of the information
with us as intentional,” Cavusoglu told reporters.
“If
they want to give the impression that Turkey is an unstable country which faces
a terrorism threat, this act is not in line with our friendly and allied
relationships.”
Last
week, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and others issued warnings to
their citizens of an increased risk of attacks in Turkey, particularly against
diplomatic missions and non-Muslim places of worship, in the wake of
Quran-burning protests in Europe.
This
week, countries including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and
Switzerland temporarily closed diplomatic missions in Turkey, saying it was for
security reasons.
On
Wednesday Turkey summoned the ambassadors of nine Western countries to
criticize the decision, as interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said on Twitter
the embassies were waging “a new psychological war” on his country.
“They
say there is a terror threat... But when we ask what the source of information
was and who the perpetrators of such attacks might be, they did not share any
information with our intelligence and security authorities,” Cavusoglu said on
Friday.
Over
the last month, far-right activists burned copies of the Muslim holy book, the
Quran, in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, acts that prompted Turkey to
suspend negotiations meant to lift its objections to Sweden and Finland joining
NATO.
Turkey
had already increased security measures around foreign embassies and consulates
after Quran-burning incidents, Cavusoglu said.
“But
we see that some countries that have nothing to do with these incidents also
shut their consulates. We have the information that some countries asked others
to shut their consulates,” he said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iranian
protests are ‘beginning of the end for regime in Tehran’, says Nobel laureate
Ebadi
February
04, 2023
JEDDAH:
Protests in Iran over the death in custody of a young Iranian Kurdish woman are
the start of an irreversible “revolutionary process” that will eventually lead
to the collapse of the regime, one of Tehran’s most eloquent critics said on
Friday.
Shirin
Ebadi, the distinguished Iranian lawyer and former judge who lives in exile in
London, said the protests were the boldest challenge yet to the legitimacy of
Iran’s clerical establishment.
“This
revolutionary process is like a train that will not stop until it reaches its
final destination,” said Ebadi, 75, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for
her work defending human rights.
“The
protests have taken a different shape, but they have not ended,” she told
Reuters in a phone interview from London.
Iran’s
clerical rulers have faced widespread unrest since MahsaAmini died in the
custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 last year after she was arrested for
wearing “inappropriate attire.”
Iran
has blamed Amini's death on existing medical problems and has accused its
enemies of fomenting the unrest to destabilise the regime.
For
months, Iranians from all walks of life have called for the fall of the
clerical establishment, chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
Amini’s
death has unbottled years of anger among many Iranians over issues ranging from
economic misery and discrimination against ethnic minorities to tightening
social and political restrictions.
As
they have done in the past in the face of protests in the past four decades,
Iran’s hard-line rulers have cracked down hard. Authorities have handed down
dozens of death sentences to people involved in protests and have carried out
at least four hangings, in what rights activists say is a crackdown aimed at
intimidating people and keep them off the streets.
The
rights group HRANA said 527 protesters had been killed during unrest, of whom
71 were children, and nearly 20,000 protesters had been arrested.
However,
protests have slowed considerably since the hangings began. Videos posted on
social mediashowed people chanting “Death to Khamenei” from rooftops in some
cities, but nothing on the scale of past months.
Ebadi
said the state’s use of deadly violence would deepen anger felt by ordinary
Iranians about the clerical establishment because the their grievances remain
unaddressed. “The protests have taken a different shape, but they have not
ended,” she said.
The
crackdown has stoked diplomatic tensions at a time when talks to revive
Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are at a standstill.
To
force the regime from power, Ebadi said the West should take “practical steps”
such as recalling their ambassadors from Tehran, and should avoid reaching any
agreement with Iran, including the nuclear deal.
With
deepening economic misery, chiefly because of US sanctions over Tehran’s
disputed nuclear work, many Iranians are feeling the pain of galloping
inflation and rising joblessness.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244481/middle-east
--------
Yemeni
minister condemns Iran’s escalated arms smuggling to Houthis
February
04, 2023
DUBAI:
Iran has escalated its arms smuggling operations to the Houthi militia since
the United Nations-backed truce ended last October, said Muammar Al-Eryani,
Yemen’s minister of information, culture, and tourism.
The
minister pointed to a recent operation, jointly carried out by US and French
forces, that intercepted an Iranian shipment of weapons heading to Yemen
through the Gulf of Oman.
Reports
earlier said the vessel carried 3,000 assault rifles, 20 anti-tank missiles,
and around 500,000 rounds of ammunition en route to the Houthi militia.
In
a statement, the US said the operation was one of four major interdictions over
the last two months that prevented over 5,000 weapons and 1.6 million rounds of
ammunition from reaching Yemen.
Al-Eryani
said the Yemeni security forces’ seizure of 100 drone engines, headed to the
Houthis via Shahn land port in the 5th such violation in two months, has
demonstrated Iran’s role in undermining the international community’s efforts
to end the war and bring peace to Yemen.
He
added that it confirms Iran’s full empowerment of a militia that “doesn’t have
power to decide on war and peace.”
Al-Eryani
accused Iran’s regime of committing such violations to “export its internal
crises” and “cover up atrocities against the Iranian people.”
The
regime, he said, wanted to “mobilize its sectarian militias to create chaos,
terrorism, destabilize security and stability, and threaten energy security and
international shipping lanes.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244581/middle-east
--------
Images
of emaciated Iranian prisoner on hunger strike prompt outrage
February
04, 2023
TEHRAN:
Social media images purported to be of an emaciated jailed Iranian dissident on
hunger strike have caused outrage online as supporters warned on Friday he
risks death for protesting the compulsory wearing of the hijab.
FarhadMeysami,
53, who has been in jail since 2018 for supporting women activists protesting
against Iran’s headscarf policy, began his hunger strike on Oct. 7 to protest
recent government killings of demonstrators, the dissident’s lawyer said.
The
images of Meysami went viral on social media on the same day Iran released
award-winning director Jafar Panahi on bail after seven months in jail. Panahi
said the images of Meysami reminded him of survivors of the Auschwitz
concentration camp.
Iran’s
judiciary denied the hunger strike claim and said the photos were from four
years ago when Meysami, a physician, did go on hunger strike.
As
evidence, the semi-official YJC news agency posted what it said was Meysami’s
latest photo, in which he does not look emaciated and is sitting on the floor
of his prison cell with a bag of what looks like chips next to him.
Reuters
was unable to confirm when the pictures were taken.
Iranian
authorities released Panahi on bail after he started a hunger strike this week
to demand to be freed pending a retrial, the semi-official ISNA news agency
reported, citing the Directors Guild of Iran.
There
was no official word from Iran’s judiciary on the release, but videos on social
media purportedly showed Panahi speaking to well-wishers outside Evin prison.
“The
images of FarhadMeysami... remind one of the people in Auschwitz or of
(Mahatma) Gandhi, since Meysami has written about non violence,” Panahi said.
“Many are left behind bars... so how can I say I feel happy?“
Iranian
authorities detained Panahi in July to serve a six-year sentence which a court
originally ordered in 2010 for “propaganda against the system.” In October, the
ruling was quashed by Iran’s supreme court which ordered a retrial.
Iran
has been rocked by nationwide unrest following the death of Iranian Kurdish
woman MahsaAmini on Sept. 16 in police custody, one of the strongest challenges
to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Morality
police arrested Amini for flouting the hijab policy, which requires women to
dress modestly and wear headscarves. Women have played a prominent role in the
protests, with many waving or burning their headscarves.
Rights
groups say more than 500 protesters have been killed and nearly 20,000
arrested. At least four people have been hanged, according to the Iranian
judiciary.
“My
client FarhadMeysami’s life is in danger,” tweeted lawyer Mohammad Moghimi. “He
went on hunger strike to protest the recent government killings in the
streets.” He said Meysami had lost 52 kg (115 lb).
Images
show Meysami curled up on what looks like a hospital bed, and another standing,
his ribs protruding.
“Shocking
images of Dr. FarhadMeysami, a brave advocate for women’s rights who has been
on hunger strike in prison,” tweeted Robert Malley, Washington’s special envoy
for Iran.
“Iran’s
regime has unjustly denied him and thousands of other political prisoners their
rights and their freedom. Now it unjustly threatens his life,” he said.
Amnesty
International said: “These images (of Meysami) are a shocking reminder of the
Iranian authorities’ contempt for human rights.”
In
a letter published by BBC’s Persian Service on Thursday, Meysami made three
demands: an end to executions, the release of political-civil prisoners and an
end to “forced-hijab harassment”.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244496/middle-east
--------
Europe
Sweden
says claims that its agencies kidnap Muslim children is part of a systematized
disinformation campaign
February
3, 2023
The
Swedish government again sought Friday to discredit claims that Swedish social
service agencies kidnap Muslim children, saying Sweden was again seeing a
"systematized" and "extensive" disinformation campaign.
"This
campaign has now gained momentum again," said Prime Minister Ulf
Kristersson.
"This
is false. This is not true. Sweden does not kidnap children. The social
services do not kidnap children," Kristersson told a press conference.
"Neither Muslim nor other children."
He
said that social workers and other employees are being "exposed on social
media and are being threatened."
He
said the government will post guards inside social services offices and will
earmark more funds to the Swedish Psychological Defense Agency, which was
established to counter misinformation, to help it tackle the
"systematized" campaign against Sweden." He didn't say how much
money would be given to the agency.
The
statement came at time of tensions with mostly Muslim Turkey over the applications
of Sweden and Finland to become NATO members.
Turkey
is angry that Sweden has allowed anti-Turkish protests to take place, and
particularly that it has not prevented an anti-Muslim activist from repeatedly
burning the Quran, the Muslim holy book. It also thinks that Sweden is not
doing enough to counter Kurdish activists that it considers terrorists. Unless
its demands are met, it says it won't approve Sweden's NATO application, which
must be accepted by all of the miliary alliance's 30 members.
Kristersson
said the disinformation campaign over child kidnappings started in 2021. The
Psychological Defense Agency said last year that the allegations could be
traced to an Arabic-language site whose creator expressed support for the
Islamic State group.
Source:
FoxNews
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
London
synagogue sold to Muslim group tied to antisemitic figures
A
Muslim group buying a historic London synagogue has apologized after a leaflet
seeking donations called the location “a former place of worship for
non-believers.”
The
Pakistan-based charity Dawat-e-Islami has said the brochure was poorly worded,
and only meant to say that the previous worshipers were not of the Muslim
faith.
But
the sale of the Wembley Synagogue building has invited further scrutiny, with
The Jewish Chronicle reporting that the organization has problematic ties to
antisemitic figures.
A
founder of the group, Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadri, has called Jews “Islam’s
enemies,” favors boycotting Jewish products and has called not to “imitate the
Jews” by shaving.
In
2021, it hosted Shaykh Asrar Rashid, a UK preacher who last year said Adolf
Hitler “did a favor for the Jews” by boosting European sympathies, which
enabled them to establish the Jewish state. He added that the Jews at the time
“of course held all the politicians in their pockets.”
A
former rabbi for United Synagogue, which had owned the Wembley shul since the
1930s and recently sold it to Dawat-e-Islami, told JC it was “the height of
insult for the synagogue to be sold to a group which openly describes Jews as
‘non-believers.'”
“This
goes against the principle of having respect for members of other faiths… all
avenues should be explored to stop this sale,” Martin van den Bergh said.
The
Campaign Against Antisemitism said it would be seeking an investigation into
“the disturbing allegations that [the organization’s] Midlands branch hosted a
preacher accused of claiming Hitler did Jews ‘a favor’and that its founder called
on Muslims to boycott Jewish goods.”
United
Synagogue, meanwhile, has insisted it carried out “robust due diligence
processes” before deciding on the sale, and noted the group’s apology over the
flyer.
Source:TimesOfIsrael
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/london-synagogue-sold-to-muslim-group-tied-to-antisemitic-figures/
--------
West
has failed to deal with migration, says Turkish minister
Diyar
Guldogan
03.02.2023
The
West has been unsuccessful in dealing with the migration wave, Turkish Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu said Friday
"The
West has been a disgrace to the world on the issue of migration. It has lost
face with its lack of vision, cruelty and incompetence," Soylu said at a
migration meeting in Türkiye's southern Antalya province.
However,
Türkiye has implemented a straightforward immigration policy from the start, he
said.
"We
were fighting against terrorism, while the US and Europe were making great
efforts to establish a terrorist state at our border. We managed this process
without making people suffer," he added.
In
the fight against illegal migration, Türkiye has blocked the entrance of 2.7
million people at the border since 2016, the minister said.
"By
year-end of 2022, the number of illegal migrants we held was 285,000, and a
total of 130,195 illegal migrants were deported in the last 12 months,"
Soylu added.
Also
since 2011, Türkiye has banned a total of 111,000 people from 150 countries
from entering the country, he said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/west-has-failed-to-deal-with-migration-says-turkish-minister/2805649
--------
MP
calls on UK to proscribe Iran guards to end ‘nefarious activities’
SARAH
GLUBB
February
04, 2023
LONDON:
Iran poses a “clear and present danger” and immediate action must be taken to
proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization in the
UK, according to a parliamentarian.
“Every
day we delay, we give them the opportunity to expand their operations, to carry
out other nefarious activities,” Bob Blackman, MP for Harrow East, told Arab
News. “We’ve seen evidence of some of the organizations in the United Kingdom
that are operating under direct control of the IRGC.”
He
said that this was “a serious threat to our homeland security, so it’s key that
we have to address it and prompt action is required.”
Blackman
said that the British government has already proscribed Hezbollah in Lebanon
and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as terrorist organizations and they “are funded and
supported by the IRGC.” The things the regime has done and is doing have been
listed, and these are sufficient for it to be proscribed.
The
US has done it, other European countries are working on it and “we need to
encourage our allies to work jointly with us so they cannot operate anywhere
else in the world, but that’s the key challenge,” he added.
Although
it has received cross-party support as a matter of national interest and
security, the UK has failed to proscribe them so far, and “the only reason why
the government, I think, are hesitating over that is that ends negotiations,
and if it ends negotiations, well, fine. I don’t mind that,” Blackman said.
Talks
to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which was scrapped by then-president,
Donald Trump, in 2018, have been deadlocked since September.
“There
are no negotiations going on because obviously the IRGC activities and the
activities of the regime in Iran is suppressing their people with a position
whereby thousands have been arrested, hundreds have been killed, and many face
potential execution for the mere crime of protesting against the regime.
There’s no time to negotiate on that basis,” he said.
Blackman
believes negotiations are a mistake in the first place as there has been
evidence that Iran was in violation of its obligations under the current
treaty, and talks cannot be held under those circumstances.
“What
we do have to do is prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon at all costs.
That of course, does mean at all costs. We cannot get them to a point where
they’ve got a nuclear weapon and can threaten the region with potential nuclear
war. That would just be a complete disaster for everyone in the region and
possibly beyond.”
He
called for imposing stronger sanctions against individuals to “bring this
regime to its knees” because it did not respond to negotiations.
Blackman
said that the UK government’s rationale must also be that there are dual
nationals and British citizens in Iran, and urged them to leave because they
could be captured and used as hostages, which has happened already.
“We’re
seeing all sorts of nefarious activities, interference in elections in other
countries, terrorist plots which have been foiled not only across the Middle
East but also in Europe and in the UK itself, as well as now cyberattacks which
are proven to be going on, attacking the House of Commons and the Houses of
Parliament generally, for the sole purpose, obviously, of disrupting our data
and causing us damage overall.
“That
just demonstrates that these people are not to be trusted one iota and
therefore need to be proscribed,” he said.
Blackman
was speaking on the sidelines of a press conference organized by the National
Council of Resistance of Iran’s UK office on Thursday to reveal new information
about the terrorist activities of the IRGC and the need to proscribe them. He
said they have held numerous negotiations with the UK Foreign Office and will
now speak with the Home Office, as it was up to them to make the decision.
Hossein
Abedini, deputy director of the NCRI’s UK representative office, said they are
in touch with many MPs in different parties and there is a strong British
committee supporting Iranian freedom in parliament, which has been very active
in different debates.
He
highlighted to reporters the ways in which the IRGC was an army of terror and
oppression, and suppressing the Iranian people, along with their training and
military bases and major garrisons around the country and in the capital,
Tehran
Abedini
shared a classified document in Farsi obtained by the NCRI of minutes of a
meeting at the International Directorate of the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei on May 31, 2022, where representatives of eight terrorist and extremist
organizations of the regime participated.
Among
the minutes, one representative from the Quds Force — one of five branches of
the IRGC — reported bringing a 55-member military delegation from Venezuela to
Iran in 2022, “which shows the dimensions of the IRGC’s intervention in a Latin
American country,” an English explanation of the document provided by the NCRI
said.
Abedini
called for the London-based Islamic Center of England, which is under the
supervision of the International Directorate Khamenei’s Office and headed by
Mullah Seyed Hashem Mousavi, to be closed down as it had agents around the UK
that aimed to spread the regime’s propaganda.
On
the recent execution of Alireza Akbari, an Iranian-British national who was a
former Iranian deputy defense minister, Abedini said that this could add weight
to the UK’s decision to proscribe the IRGC.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244511/world
--------
Whistleblower
sacked for speaking out on withdrawal from Afghanistan takes UK government to
court
February
04, 2023
DUBAI:
A former senior official at Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office is taking the UK government to court test the legal protections for
whistleblowers, amid concerns they are not sufficient to protect civil
servants.
Josie
Stewart, who worked at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and was
sacked after turning whistleblower to reveal details of the chaotic UK response
to the fall of Kabul, said the British civil service has become so dangerously
politicized that officials who dare to speak out risk being sidelined or losing
their jobs.
She
told The Guardian newspaper that former colleagues felt their role was to
protect ministers, some of whom were only interested in “looking good,” rather
than working in the public interest.
Stewart,
who was head of the illicit finance team at the FCDO, was fired over an
anonymous interview she gave to the BBC about the government’s handling of the
chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. She is challenging her dismissal,
based on the provisions the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
In
her first interview since her dismissal, she said the government’s strategy for
the withdrawal of its forces had been shaped by political concerns at home.
Ministers were more focused on media coverage and “the political fallout” than
saving lives, she added.
Her
legal action adds to the pressure on Dominic Raab, who was foreign secretary at
the time and who is currently fighting for his political career following
allegations of bullying, which he denies. Raab was heavily criticized for
failing to return home early from holiday in August 2021 when Afghanistan fell
to the Taliban.
Stewart,
who worked for two years at the British embassy in Kabul during her seven years
with the FCDO, volunteered to work in the Whitehall crisis center when the
Taliban took control of Afghanistan. One of her allegations was that ministers
had not expected the British public to care about the evacuation of locals who
had helped British troops amnd officials.
Her
case, for which a final hearing is scheduled for September, could set a
precedent for how the courts handle similar cases in future, including
clarification of whether whistleblowers can avoid dismissal if they disclosed
information in “exceptionally serious circumstances” and it should therefore be
considered “reasonable” to have done so.
In
her interview with The Guardian, 42-year-old Stewart said: “If the law is not
tested and used then I don’t know how much it actually means, as potential
whistleblowers don’t know which side of the line it is going to fall. Is what
they’re going to do likely to be legally protected or not? If they don’t know,
then I’m not sure how meaningful the fact the law exists is.”
Stewart,
who now works for nonprofit organization Transparency International, alleged
that the civil service has been dangerously politicized since the era of former
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and she accused the cabinet secretary, Simon
Case, of failing to stand up for officials.
“I
increasingly saw senior officials interpreting their role as doing what
ministers say and providing protections to ministers,” she said. “It was almost
as if their first loyalty (was) to their political leaders rather than to the
public.
“Essentially
people who said ‘yes’ and went along with it and bought into this shift in
culture and approach were those whose careers went well. Those who resisted
either found themselves buried somewhere or looking for jobs elsewhere.
“It
threatens the impartiality of the civil service. The civil service is supposed
to bring expertise in how to get things done. It risks that expertise being
neutered by a slant towards focusing on things that look good rather than
achieving impact.”
Stewart
also suggested the politicization of the civil service had a dramatic effect on
the government’s handling of the evacuation from Afghanistan. Moreover, she
highlighted the government’s failure to draw up a plan to help Afghan nationals
who had assisted the British, such as translators or contractors, but were not
eligible for the existing Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy because they
did not work directly for the UK, to leave the country.
“There
was no policy because we didn’t intend to do it at all,” Stewart said. “The
only reason it came into life during the crisis was because the government was
surprised to learn that the British people did actually care and did feel that
we owed something to those people.
“Then
they thought: ‘Well, people do care and we had better do something about it.’
So it was a misjudgment, politically. Hence the chaos.”
The
crisis center received thousands of emails from desperate Afghans asking for
help, which remained unopened until pressure from MPs led Raab to promise in
the House of Commons that they would all be read by a certain date.
In
January 2022 Stewart gave her anonymous interview and leaked emails to the
BBC’s Newsnight program that revealed a decision to allow the animal charity
Nowzad’s Afghan staff to be evacuated had been taken as a result of
instructions from Johnson himself that overruled officials, who had said the
workers were not eligible and others were at higher risk. Johnson had denied
being involved in the decision.
The
unredacted emails were accidentally published on social media by the BBC,
revealing Stewart’s identity. She was stripped of her FCDO security clearance
and subsequently sacked because, without it, she was unable to do her job.
Stewart’s
lawyers expect the government to argue that the protections under the Public
Interest Disclosure Act do not apply in this case because she was not,
ultimately, dismissed for the act of whistleblowing, and they plan to challenge
this.
An
FCDO spokesperson said: “We are rightly proud of our staff who worked
tirelessly to evacuate more than 15,000 people from Afghanistan within a
fortnight.”
A
Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The cabinet secretary is proud to lead a civil
service that works day in, day out to deliver the government’s priorities for
the people of this country.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244506/world
--------
Turkish
president receives Kosovar premier for talks
Diyar
Guldogan
03.02.2023
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday received Kosovar Prime Minister Albin
Kurti in Istanbul for talks on various issues.
Meeting
at the Vahdettin Mansion, Erdogan and Kurti will review various aspects of
Türkiye-Kosovo relations and the potential steps that would further enhance the
bilateral cooperation.
Views
on regional and international matters, regarding the Balkans in particular,
will also be on the agenda.
Later,
Erdogan and Kurti will hold a joint news conference.
Türkiye
recognized Kosovo on Feb. 18, 2008, the very first day following the
declaration of independence.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkish-president-receives-kosovar-premier-for-talks/2805633
--------
Africa
Ganduje:
Kano Sharia Court dissolves daughter’s marriage
03
February 2023
A
Kano Upper Shariah Court sitting at Filing Hockey, yesterday, granted appeal of
AsiyaGanduje, daughter of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, for
dissolution of her 16-year-old marriage.
Asiya
had approached the Islamic court seeking to divorce her husband Inuwa Uba on
the ground that she’s no longer interested in the marital affairs that produced
four children.
Delivering
the judgment, the Sharia Judge, (Khadi) Halliru Aliyu declared that Asiya
reserved the right and decision to relinquish her marriage on the condition
that she would be ready to return her dowry.
Khadi
Aliyu insisted that since the plaintiff has agreed to return the considered amount
of N50, 000 as dowry to her husband, the court cannot compel the marriage to
hold.
The
court also dismissed Uba’s claim and demand for documents of properties he
insisted belong to him and upheld the submission of Asiya not to relinquish the
ownership to her ex-husband.
Counsel
to the plaintiff, Ibrahim Nassarawa, expressed satisfaction with the
declaration of the court, assuring of Asiya’s readiness to fulfill all orders
of court, including returning of N50, 000 dowry to her ex-husband.
Source:
Guardian Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://guardian.ng/news/ganduje-kano-sharia-court-dissolves-daughters-marriage/
--------
Sudan
demands United Nations immediately lift arms embargo
04
February ,2023
Sudan
is demanding the UN Security Council immediately lift an arms embargo and other
sanctions imposed during violence in the western Darfur region in 2005, saying
the punishment did not include conditions or require the military government to
meet UN benchmarks.
Sudan’s
UN ambassador, al-Harith Idriss Mohamed, said in a letter to the council
circulated Friday that the sanctions “are no longer relevant to the magnificent
reality on the ground in Darfur today compared to the situation in 2005.”
“Darfur
has, for the most part, overcome the state of war, as well as previous security
and political challenges,” he said.
Mohamed
said Sudan’s transitional government is committed to addressing the remaining
social and security issues in Darfur, including sporadic tribal clashes. He
added that efforts are being made to form and deploy a Joint Security-Keeping
Force to protect civilians.
The
Sudanese government has repeatedly urged the Security Council to lift sanctions
but this letter was much stronger. It said that “Sudan will accept nothing less
than the immediate lifting of these sanctions without conditions or
benchmarks.”
The
Darfur conflict began in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the
authoritarian government in Khartoum then led by former Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir, accusing it of discrimination and neglect. The UN previously
estimated 100,000 people died in the conflict and 2.7 million fled their homes.
Al-Bashir
is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged atrocities in Darfur.
The court issued an arrest warrant for him in 2009 for crimes against humanity
and war crimes and added genocide to the charges in 2010.
In
April 2019, al-Bashir was ousted after three decades in power. He is
incarcerated in Khartoum, where he is facing corruption charges and charges
related to the overthrow of the former elected government.
In
October 2021, Sudan was plunged into turmoil following a coup led by the country’s
leading military figure, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, that derailed the short-run
democratic transition following al-Bashir’s ouster.
Sudan’s
ambassador told the Security Council that the continued sanctions have had “a
detrimental impact and negative consequences that extend beyond the arms
embargo in Darfur and the targeted sanctions on some individuals,” including
asset freezes and travel bans.
Sanctions
discourage investors and “encourage the rogue armed transboundary bands to
disrupt peace and order in Darfur, owing to the imbalance of hard power,”
Mohamed said. Lifting sanctions would enable Sudan “to further play an active
regional role,” he said.
In
July 2021, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended four benchmarks to
guide the Security Council in reviewing sanctions: progress on political and
economic governance issues; transitional security arrangements in Darfur; the
National Plan for Civilian Protection; and transitional justice and
accountability.
Mohamed
said some of the benchmarks and targets “are completely unrealistic and cannot
be met, neither in the Sudan nor elsewhere in the majority of developing
nations.” He did not single out any of the benchmarks.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North
America
New
York couple gets combined 20 years for supporting Islamic State
February
3, 2023
A
husband-wife militant duo will spend about a decade in prison after each of
them pleaded guilty to trying to provide material support to a terrorist
organization.
Prosecutors
say the man told a law enforcement officer posing as a terrorism sympathizer
that he wanted to carry out a terror attack in the United States. Potential
targets included the U.S. Military Academy at West Point or against a
university in New York State where he frequently saw Reserve Officer Training
Corps or ROTC cadets training.
James
Bradley, 21, of the Bronx was sentenced to 11 years in prison Thursday in a
federal court in Manhattan. His wife, Arwa Muthana, 30, of Hoover, Alabama, was
sentenced Friday to nine years in prison during proceedings before Judge Paul
A. Engelmayer.
The
sentencings came after they pleaded guilty in September, admitting that they
were Islamic State group supporters who tried to go to the Middle East to fight
for the organization. They were married in an Islamic marriage ceremony in
January 2021, authorities said.
The
couple was arrested on March 31, 2021, on the gangplank at Port
Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey and held without bail. At the
time, authorities said they were planning to board a cargo ship that an
undercover law enforcement officer told them would go to Yemen.
Bradley
sought transit to the Middle East by cargo ship because he feared he might have
been on a terrorist watch list, prosecutors said.
Authorities
said that prior to their arrest, the couple distributed extremist online
content, including images of IS fighters, Osama bin Laden and terrorist
attacks.
After
Muthana was arrested, she told investigators that she was willing to fight and
kill Americans if it was for God, prosecutors said.
Her
lawyers had asked Engelmayer to sentence her to time served, saying she was a
woman with "no passport, little money and no real plan." They said
her actions were the result of an "abused and traumatized young woman who
was trying to get as far away from home as possible."
Bradley's
lawyers also sought a sentence of time served.
Prosecutors
had asked the judge to sentence each of them to at least 15 years in prison,
saying it was necessary "to deter and prevent the defendants from resuming
their activities in support of radical Islamic terrorist ideology, and to deter
others who, like the defendants, seek to join and serve brutal terrorist
organizations."
Source:
FoxNews
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-couple-gets-combined-20-years-supporting-islamic-state
--------
Biden
backs legal ‘status quo’ of Al-Aqsa mosque
February
4, 2023
WASHINGTON:
President Joe Biden has underlined his support for the legal “status quo” of
Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound in a meeting at the White House with Jordanian
King Abdullah II.
Biden,
the king and Crown Prince Hussein had a private lunch on Thursday in which the
US president “reaffirmed the close, enduring nature of the friendship between
the United States and Jordan,” the White House said. They also both spoke with
Iraq’s prime minister by phone.
Referring
to growing tensions around the Al-Aqsa mosque — located on a site venerated
both by Muslims and Jews inside Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem — Biden
reaffirmed “the critical need to preserve the historic status quo”. He also
recognised Jordan’s “crucial role as the custodian of Muslim holy places in
Jerusalem,” the White House said in a statement.
On
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Biden reiterated the US position of “strong
support for a two-state solution,” also thanking King Abdullah “for his close
partnership and the role he and Jordan play as a force for stability in the
Middle East”.
Reiterates
American position of ‘strong support for a two-state solution’
While
with the king, Biden spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia
al-Sudani “to reaffirm US commitment to Iraq,” the White House said.
Biden
hailed Sudani’s “efforts to strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty and independence,”
the statement said, adding that Biden expressed support for the country’s
“economic agenda and plans to ensure that Iraq’s economy is delivering for the
Iraqi people”.
Biden
and Sudani stressed their commitment to keeping the Islamic State militant
group from being able to “threaten the Iraqi people or regional and international
security.”
King
Abdullah was invited to join the call, the White House said, and he “stressed
Jordan’s support for Iraq, including through joint strategic infrastructure
projects”.
Al-Aqsa
mosque is the third-holiest place in Islam and the most sacred site to Jews,
who refer to the compound as the Temple Mount.
Under
a longstanding status quo, non-Muslims can visit the site at specific times but
are not allowed to pray there.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1735192/biden-backs-legal-status-quo-of-al-aqsa-mosque
--------
US
giving cold feet to countries willing to normalize with Syria: Report
03
February 2023
The
United States is actively working to discourage countries willing to normalize
relations with Syria, according to a report.
The
report, based on the summary of a recent UN Security Council meeting on Syria
seen by al-Akhbar, shows that Washington has tried to draw “red lines” for
countries seeking to normalize with Syria, return the Syrian refugees to their
homeland, or help find a permanent solution to the crisis in the Arab country.
Regarding
the return of refugees, the report said instead of encouraging a repatriation
process, the United States is urging the host countries to “double their
support” for refugee programs, despite the heavy social and economic burden the
refugee crisis puts on some of these countries, most notably Lebanon.
Al-Akhbar
said the European representatives present in the meeting conditioned their
support for the reconstruction of Syria and the repatriation of refugees on
Damascus accepting a “credible and comprehensive political process” – which is
considered by many to mean a political process dictated by Washington.
The
report said that the summary of the meeting, which was held on January 25,
shows the US-led camp continues to block a rapprochement – facilitated by
Russia and Iran – between Syria and Turkey.
Ankara
resumed diplomatic contacts with Damascus late December, following a decade of
severed ties in the wake of the crisis in Syria.
Turkey
has now announced its willingness for a meeting between President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/03/697522/Syria-US-normalization-report
--------
Iran,
Venezuela vow closer cooperation to thwart foreign pressures
04
February 2023
Venezuela
and Iran are weighing plans to strengthen cooperation in various fields, and
rapidly implement joint projects, calling for heightened vigilance in the face
of US-led foreign pressures.
The
plans were discussed during a meeting between Venezuela's President Nicolas
Maduro and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Caracas on
Friday.
The
meeting revolved around ways to implement memoranda of understanding and joint
projects between Tehran and Caracas.
Maduro
and Amir-Abdollahian also underlined the need to boost exchange of viewpoints
between officials from the two countries.
Amir-Abdollhian
described the Venezuelan president’s trip to Iran in mid-June last year as a
turning point in mutual ties between the two countries, and called for closer
cooperation.
Maduro,
for his part, pointed to the extensive experience of Venezuela and Iran in the
face of common challenges, and stressed the need for improvement of bilateral
ties.
Earlier,
the Iranian foreign minister met with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil Pinto
and underlined the importance of enhancing mutual cooperation in all fields.
He
stated that senior Iranian and Venezuelan authorities are determined to enhance
cooperation and thwart cruel sanctions against their respective countries.
Amir-Abdollahian
also highlighted the importance of accelerating the implementation of joint
economic projects within the framework of the agreements reached between the
two countries’ officials.
The
chief Iranian diplomat also touched down on the Ukraine conflict, and
criticized Western governments for the prolongation of the crisis and using
human rights as an instrument to fulfill their political interests.
Describing
Venezuela and Iran as two important partners in the international arena, Gil
Pinto called for closer cooperation and expansion of relations between Tehran
and Caracas in various fields.
Moreover,
Amir-Abdollahian had separate meetings with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy
Rodríguez, Minister of Petroleum Tareck El Aissami, President of the National
Assembly of Venezuela Jorge Rodríguez, where he called for closer political,
parliamentary and energy cooperation between the two nations.
Both
Iran and Venezuela, two petroleum-rich OPEC members, have found solidarity
against shared common enemy the United States, which has subjected them to a
regimen of economic sanctions for years.
While
Venezuela is believed to have the world’s largest petroleum deposits, years of
maintenance issues in the face of US sanctions have hampered its production.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Ex-Clinton
aide: Monica Lewinsky scandal caused Clinton admin to lose track of bin Laden
Feb
3, 2023
A
former aide to President Bill Clinton revealed in a new book that the Monica
Lewinsky scandal was such a distraction during the Clinton presidency that it
caused the White House to lose track of the whereabouts of terrorist mastermind
Osama bin Laden in the years leading up to the 9/11 attacks.
Political
pollster Doug Schoen’s memoir details the years in which he worked as a White
House adviser and senior campaign aide to then-President Clinton during his
1996 re-election campaign.
The
book, “POWER: THE 50 TRUTHS, The Definitive Insider’s Guide,” claims that the
administration allowed bin Laden to slip out of their grasp because the
Lewinsky scandal was so all-encompassing, according to the New York Post.
Schoen
spent five decades in politics working for both parties, including most
recently for Donald Trump before he was elected, and also served three Israeli
prime ministers and New York City mayors Mike Bloomberg and Ed Koch.
In
the memoir, he describes Clinton as the “Elvis Presley of American Politics,”
saying he was the “the most accomplished political operative I have ever met”
who was a natural at winning over crowds while campaigning.
However,
he notes that he was shocked by Clinton’s personal life and was disturbed by
how he let it interfere with his professional responsibilities as president,
including that he would have an affair with White House intern Lewinsky. The
scandal bogged down his second term in office, leading to a House impeachment
trial and a permanent black cloud over his legacy.
“I
watched this unraveling happen close up, in painful slow motion, from inside
the White House," Schoen writes in the book. “I watched the White House
surreptitiously mount a whispering campaign to discredit Lewinsky.”
He
goes on to recall that “there was also, I believe, a serious impact on national
security. On Aug. 20, 1998, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes against al
Qaeda in Sudan and Afghanistan in retaliation for the bombing of the US
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The strikes, named Operation Infinite Reach,
missed Osama bin Laden… Beset by the Lewinsky affair, the Clinton
Administration lost focus and leverage to pursue him aggressively and bin Laden
struck again on 9/11.”
He
also explains that the Lewinsky affair and other sex scandals Clinton was
embroiled in played a part in Hillary Clinton losing the election to Donald
Trump in 2016.
“By
the time of her presidential bid, after several sexual scandals, he hung like a
millstone around her neck. When she lost, I’m told by people close to them,
Hillary and Bill were for a time not even on speaking terms. She seemed to
blame him for her narrow loss,” Schoen writes. “What Bill considered innocent
dalliances ended up hurting not just himself but also Hillary. Harming your
wife also counts as self-harm.”
Source:
Israel NationalNews
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/366924
--------
Elghawaby
controversy has reignited debate over Islamophobia: mosque official
Jesse
Feith
Feb
03, 2023
A
group of 30 Quebecers including activists, lawyers and community leaders have
signed an open letter in support of Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s new
representative on combatting Islamophobia.
Elghawaby,
a journalist and human rights activist, has faced calls to resign over previous
comments she wrote about Quebecers’ support for the province’s secularism law,
Bill 21.
In
a letter emailed to media Friday, the group, which includes philosopher Charles
Taylor, said Elghawaby has apologized and expressed her desire to engage in
further dialogue.
“We
are sensitive to the concerns that have been raised since her appointment,” the
letter states, “but the challenge before her is a considerable one and we
believe that Ms. Elghawaby should be given the opportunity to assume and pursue
the mandate for which she was appointed.”
Elghawaby
was appointed to the position on Jan. 26.
The
backlash she has faced largely stems from a 2019 column in which she referenced
a poll that found 88 per cent of Quebecers who held negative views of Islam
supported Bill 21’s ban on religious symbols.
“Unfortunately,”
she wrote at the time, “the majority of Quebecers appear to be swayed not by
the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment.”
Other
remarks have also resurfaced, including a social media post in which Elghawaby
said she was “going to puke” over an opinion piece that stated French Canadians
are the largest group in Canada to be “victimized by British colonialism.”
Elghawaby
has clarified her remarks and apologized this week, but the Quebec government
still believes she needs to resign. After meeting with her, Bloc Québécois
Leader Yves-François Blanchet has also called on her to step down and for the
position to be abolished.
In
an interview Friday, BoufeldjaBenabdallah, a spokesperson for the Quebec City
mosque who signed the open letter, said he did so in hopes the province can
move past the controversy.
Benabdallah
said the mosque was among those who asked Elghawaby to apologize for her
comments, though he thinks she had already decided to do so.
“She
made an indefensible mistake but has apologized. Now we need to give her a
chance and she can be evaluated on her results,” Benabdallah said, adding how
important he considers the position to be.
More
frustrating to Benabdallah, he said, is how the conversation around Elghawaby’s
appointment has reignited the debate over Islamophobia in Quebec.
“It’s
what we wanted to avoid and yet we’ve plunged back into it. It has swelled to
the point that now intellectuals in different media are again speaking about
needing to redefine Islamaphobia,” he said.
Benabdallah
recalled that the 2017 attack on the Quebec City mosque, which was fuelled by
hatred toward Muslims, left six men dead, one man in a wheelchair and 17
children fatherless.
“We’re
diving back into definitions and semantics. No,” Benabdallah added. “Let’s work
on living together and finding mutual recognition to make a just and equal
society.”
Prominent
human-rights lawyer Julius Grey said he signed the letter because he believes
Elghawaby’s previous comments shouldn’t disqualify her from the job and she
deserves the chance to prove herself.
“I
feel very strongly about Quebec’s tendency to take offence when it’s
criticized,” Grey said on Friday.
“It’s
not either an approval or disapproval of what (Elghawaby) said in her
articles,” he added, “but a statement that nothing she said justified removing
her from her position because people claim to be offended.”
For
SamaaElibyari, who has known Elghawaby for 20 years, the backlash she has faced
this week is unreasonable. Elibyari signed the letter on behalf of the Canadian
Council of Muslim Women’s Montreal chapter.
“I
think what’s been attributed to her is much harsher than what she actually
intended,” Elibyari said, noting Elghawaby was commenting on the poll’s
findings in her column.
But
it’s the timing of the backlash that bothers Elibyari the most, she said,
coming on the heels of Muslim Awareness Week. The yearly campaign aims to help
Quebecers learn more about the Muslim community.
“We
really were delighted (with the appointment) and suddenly this relentless
attack happens,” Elibyari said.
Source:
Ottawa Citizen
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US,
allies, criticize Iran’s ‘inadequate response to UN nuclear watchdog report
04
February ,2023
The
United States issued a joint statement with France, the United Kingdom and
Germany on Friday criticizing Iran’s “inadequate” response to an International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on its nuclear program.
The
UN nuclear watchdog issued a warning to Tehran on Wednesday after it found that
changes had been made without prior notification at the Fordo Fuel Enrichment
Plant to equipment that can enrich uranium to up to 60 percent.
Iran
claimed that an IAEA inspector had accidentally flagged the changes as being
undeclared, and that the matter was later resolved.
“Iranian
claims that this action was carried out in error are inadequate,” the joint
statement said.
“We
judge Iran’s actions based on the impartial and objective reports of the IAEA,
not Iran’s purported intent.”
According
to the IAEA report, seen by AFP, during an unannounced Fordo inspection on
January 21, inspectors found that “two IR-6 centrifuge cascades... were
interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of
operation declared by Iran to the agency.”
The
IAEA did not specify the kind of changes made to the interconnection between
the cascades.
The
four countries said that the change was “inconsistent with Iran’s obligations” under
treaties and that “such lack of required notifications undermines the Agency’s
ability to maintain timely detection at Iran’s nuclear facilities.”
“We
recall that the production of high-enriched uranium by Iran at the Fordow
Enrichment Plant carries significant proliferation-related risks and is without
any credible civilian justification,” their statement said.
The
Fordo site has been under increased scrutiny since Iran began producing uranium
enriched to 60 percent there since November 2022, as well as at its Natanz
site.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
American
sniper, weapons trainer for ISIS on trial in US
03
February ,2023
He
had been brought from the battlefields of Syria to a New York lockup, a US
citizen charged with serving as a sniper and weapons trainer for ISIS.
And
even in jail, Ruslan MaratovichAsainov kept a makeshift version of the
militants’ black flag right above the desk in his cell, according to trial
testimony this week.
“What’s
the big deal? It’s mine. It’s religious,” then-jail lieutenant Judith Woods
recalled him saying when she went to confiscate the hand-drawn image in 2020.
Years
after the fall of the extremist group’s self-proclaimed governance, the trial
is a reminder of the enduring and far-reaching fallout of a war that drew tens
of thousands of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq. Their home countries are
still contending with what should become of them.
Jurors,
who are expected to start deliberating as soon as Monday, have gotten a
refresher course on ISIS’ gruesome rule and its sophisticated,
social-media-savvy recruitment of distant supporters to come and take up arms.
Prosecutors say Asainov did so and rose through the group’s ranks, eventually
becoming an “emir” who taught other members to use weapons.
In
post-arrest videos shown at his trial, he gives his occupation as “a sniper” to
FBI agents and readily tells them that he provided instruction in everything
from rifle maintenance to ballistics to adjusting for weather effects — and, of
course, “how to actually pull the trigger.”
“Oh,
it’s a long lesson,” he explains, sitting on a bed in a room where he was being
held. “I would give, like, a three-hour lesson, just on that, just to pull the
trigger.”
Jurors
have seen photos alleged to be of Asainov in camouflage, aiming a rifle, and
the handmade flag that Woods said she took from his cell. Witnesses have
included his flabbergasted ex-wife, who testified that he morphed from a
Brooklyn family man into a zealot.
She
said he weighed in from Syria to complain about their daughter donning a
Halloween costume and sent a photo of the bodies of what he said were comrades
killed in a battle, according to the Daily News of New York.
Asainov
chose not to testify. One of his lawyers, Susan Kellman, has said he went to
Syria because he wanted to live under Islamic law. He has pleaded not guilty —
a plea that Kellman entered on his behalf because, she said, he didn’t abide by
the American legal system.
Nonetheless,
the 46-year-old Asainov listened politely to government witnesses on a day this
week, alternately stroking his beard and folding his arms across his chest.
ISIS
fighters seized portions of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared the
establishment of a so-called governance there, at a time when Syria was already
convulsed by civil war. Fighting laid waste to multiple cities before Iraq’s
prime minister declared the rule vanquished in 2017; the extremists lost the
last of their territory two years later, though sporadic attacks persist even
now.
During
the height of the fighting, as many as 40,000 people from 120 countries showed
up to join in, according to the United Nations. There is no comprehensive US
statistic on Americans among those foreign fighters; a 2018 report by George
Washington University’s Program on Extremism found at least 64 who had joined
extremist fighting in Iraq and Syria since 2011.
Since
ISIS’ defeat, some foreign members and their families have lingered in detention
facilities in Syria because their countries refused to take them back. Other
accused foreign fighters have returned to their countries, including some who
were prosecuted. Recent US cases include a Kansas mother who led an all-female
ISIS battalion, a Minnesota man who served in a battalion that prepared foreign
fighters for suicide attacks in Europe, and a Detroit-area individual convicted
this week of training with and then spending more than two years with the
group.
Born
in Kazakhstan, Asainov is a naturalized US citizen. He lived in Brooklyn
starting in 1998, married and had a child.
Then
he flew to Istanbul on a one-way ticket in December 2013 and made his way to
Syria to join what he later described in a message as “the worst terrorist
organization in the world that has ever existed,” authorities say.
“You
heard of ISIS,” he said in another text message in January 2015, according to
prosecutors’ court filings. “We will get you.”
By
that April, Asainov told an acquaintance — in fact, a government informant —
that he’d been fighting in Syria for about a year, according to court papers.
They say that in various exchanges, he urged the informant to come to Syria and
help with ISIS’ media operations, asked for $2,800 to buy a rifle scope, and
sent photos of himself with fatigues and rifle, saying he “didn’t mean to show
off” but was showing what was “just normal” in his new life.
Authorities
announced in July 2019 that US-backed forces in Syria had captured Asainov and
turned him over to the FBI.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
SIGAR:
US Aid May 'Confer Legitimacy' Onto Islamic Emirate
By
Bibi Amina Hakimi
The
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its
newly released report said that the “Taliban” derives revenue from this aid in
the form of “licenses,” “taxes,” and “administrative fees” imposed on NGOs and
their employees as a condition for operating in Afghanistan.
SIGAR
also said that since the fall of the former government, the US has appropriated
or otherwise made available over $8 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and
Afghan refugees.
“This
includes more than $2 billion, primarily for humanitarian and development aid
in Afghanistan, and $3.5 billion transferred to a newly created Afghan Fund to
recapitalize the Afghan central bank and for related purposes. In addition, the
United States obligated $2.7 billion in FY 2022 for the Department of Defense
(DOD) to transport, house, and feed Afghan evacuees,” the report said.
According
to SIGAR, the US is also the largest donor to the United Nations humanitarian
aid effort for Afghanistan.
SIGAR
said that most gains made by Afghan women and girls over the past 20 years have
now been wholly lost.
“By
Taliban edict, women are being systematically erased from public life,” the
report said. “They face severe restrictions on their movements outside their
homes, requirements to be fully covered in public, limited opportunities for
employment, and a ban on attending school past the sixth grade.”
SIGAR
said that its judgment shows that the “Taliban regime’s institutionalized abuse
of women” raises the important question for policymakers of whether the United
States can continue providing aid to Afghanistan without benefiting or
“propping up the Taliban.”
Several
realities have to be taken into consideration, according to SIGAR:
“First,
the Taliban regime derives revenue from this aid in the form of “licenses,”
“taxes,” and “administrative fees” imposed on NGOs and their employees as a
condition for operating in Afghanistan. Second, U.S. aid to Afghanistan,
whether humanitarian in nature or of some other kind, may inadvertently confer
legitimacy onto the Taliban, both internationally and domestically. Third, the
Taliban’s erasure of women from public life has substantially hindered or
prevented the provision of humanitarian aid. Fourth, a record twothirds of the
country, or some 28.3 million Afghans, are depending on international food
assistance this winter, according to the UN.”
SIGAR
said that there is no certainty how much of this aid will reach its intended
recipients and that there is also no guarantee that either providing or
stopping that aid will succeed in changing the Taliban’s behavior.
Source:
ToloNews
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-181880
--------
Amb.
Thomas-Greenfield: We Judge Islamic Emirate on Its Actions
By
Fatima Adib
Linda
Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations, said that the Islamic
Emirate has not been recognized due to its policies imposed on women and girls
in Afghanistan.
She
further said that the US and United Nations are going to judge the Islamic
Emirate on its actions.
"We
are going to judge them on their actions and so for that reason, they are not
recognized in the UN and we have not recognized them here ...," she said.
The
Islamic Emirate has always reiterated that it has completed all the conditions
required for official recognition.
The
Islamic Emirate believes that it has made noticeable achievements during the
past one and half years.
"We
want UN officials to come to Afghanistan
and continue their interaction. They shared their concerns, we are working on
them, the Islamic Emirate will endeavor to consider all concerns and problems
until our islamic principles and country's values allow us," said
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
Meanwhile,
political experts believe that Islamic Emirate` government has not met the
expectations of the international community, therefore the current goverment
has not been recognized.
"Receiving
legitimation would be an easy task for the Islamic Emirate when they respect
the participation of people fairly in a political structure, the Islamic
Emirate should respect the right of education and work for women, said Naseer
Ahmad Taraki, political expert.
Source:
ToloNews
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-181868
--------
Pakistani
Police Detains Scores of Afghan Refugees in Islamabad
By
Nizamuddin Rezahi
February
4, 2023
Pakistan
police detained scores of Afghan nationals on Friday night in the ‘Barakaw’
locality in the capital Islamabad, according to official sources.
According
to local sources, police has detained more than 20 Afghan refugees from the
Barakaw neighborhood in Islamabad and taken them to an unknown location.
It
is also stated that refugees’ mobile phones and laptops have been confiscated.
However, neither the government of Pakistan nor the Embassy of Afghanistan in
Islamabad has commented on the detentions.
Following
the brutal terror attack at a mosque in Peshawar which claimed the lives of
hundreds of people, the Pakistan government decided to take serious actions
against growing militancy and the resurgence of terrorism in the country.
As
part of the wide range of initiatives to combat growing militancy, the
Pakistani police has commenced a unique “search operation” across the country.
They incarcerate undocumented foreign nationals including Afghans who are
illegally residing in Pakistan.
Police
conducted a similar search operation in Rawalpindi on Thursday night. They
randomly entered into the houses of Afghan nationals, and asked for legal
documents including visas, and stay permits.
“A
few police officers entered my flat Thursday night, checked our official
documents, and left our place without even bothering us, or conducting any
major investigation,” said an Afghan citizen in Rawalpindi.
The
incarceration of Afghan nationals by Pakistani police continues across the
country. Over the past months, they have put undocumented Afghan citizens
including women and children behind bars in Sindh province and deported hundred
more to Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/pakistani-police-detains-scores-of-afghan-refugees-in-islamabad/
--------
Pakistani
Troops Kill Two Militants in Raid Near Afghanistan Border
By
Fidel Rahmati
February
3, 2023
According
to the Pakistani military, two rebels were killed during a raid on a terrorist
hideout in a former Taliban stronghold on Pakistan’s border near Afghanistan.
On
Friday, Pakistan officials released a statement that troops had found a weapons
cache at a militant hideout in North Waziristan, located in the province of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest of Pakistan.
Pakistani
military routinely carries out such raids to find and arrest Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan, also known as Taliban Pakistan.
Today’s
military raid comes after Friday’s shootout in North Waziristan, a district of
the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and days after a suicide bomber
attacked a mosque, killing 101 and injuring at least 225 in the provincial
capital of Peshawar.
On
the same day, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that he would
meet with Imran Khan, his predecessor and the current opposition leader, next
week to discuss a response to the recent violence.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/pakistani-troops-kill-two-militants-in-raid-near-afghanistan-border/
--------
No
option on table to recognise Taliban regime: EU special envoy Niklasson
3
February, 2023
Kabul
[Afghanistan], February 3 (ANI): As Afghanistan continues to face a
humanitarian crisis and grapples with the worst political turmoil, the European
Union (EU) special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said that they are not
in favour of isolating Afghanistan but recognising the Taliban regime is also
not an option, pointing at the discrimination against women and atrocities
being undertaken by the organization, Khaama Press reported.
Taliban
prohibited co-education in universities, separating morning classes for girls
and afternoon classes for boys. Recently, the group also banned secondary
education for female students. Although this decision has been withdrawn, the
schools are yet to be reopened.
He
also emphasised the importance of forming an inclusive administration and
defending the rights of the Afghan people, including the rights of women and
girls, as well as religious minorities.
The
special envoy made his remarks during his recent visit to Pakistan where he
raised the issue of how Afghanistan should be provided with humanitarian aid in
difficult times, Khaama Press reported.
The
latest prohibition enforced by Afghanistan’s de facto authorities barring women
from working with NGOs coincides with the country’s worst economic situation,
in which children and women suffer the most.
Recently,
a United Nations (UN) delegation warned the Taliban that Afghanistan would be
further isolated if it isolates its women, Afghanistan-based news agency Khaama
Press reported.
The
Taliban was called by UN legal experts to prioritize protecting the rights of
women and girls under any circumstance. The international community was also
urged to support Afghan women during these critical times.
UN
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the Executive Director of UN Women
SimaBahous, and the Assistant Secretary-General for UN political,
peacebuilding, and peace operations Khaled Khiari, were part of the UN
delegation visiting Kabul.
The
aim of the four-day visit was to observe the situation, engage with de facto
authorities and highlight the UN solidarity with the Afghan people, the
delegation said in a statement.
Amid
the ongoing violation of the rights of Afghan women under the Taliban regime,
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid recently said in a statement that
overturning restrictions against women is not a priority for the group,
reported Khaama Press.
The
Taliban said that it would not permit any acts that violate Islamic law, and
the concerns regarding restrictions on women’s rights will be dealt with
according to the established rule of the group in the country.
Source:
ThePrint
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Why
Bangladesh is seeking Saudi oil on credit after IMF success
SHEHAB
SUMON
February
03, 2023
DHAKA:
After securing a stabilization package from the International Monetary Fund
this week, Bangladesh has asked Saudi Arabia for extended credit on oil
supplies, in a move that experts say would further help its economy get back on
track.
Bangladesh
Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen met Riyadh’s Ambassador to Dhaka, Essa
Al-Duhailan, earlier this week. The foreign ministry said after the meeting
that Momen had asked the Kingdom to consider supplying crude and refined oil
“on a deferred payment basis” to help Bangladesh meet its energy needs.
The
request came shortly after the IMF approved a $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh
is now passing through a period of constrained foreign exchange reserves and is
having difficulty in terms of opening LCs (letters of credit) and also in terms
of paying for our imports,” Prof. Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at
the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told Arab News on Friday.
“If
we can get Saudi oil on a deferred payment basis, it will ease up Bangladesh’s
foreign exchange reserves and help Bangladesh in terms of purchasing other
necessary imports which require instantaneous payment.”
The
IMF’s Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility package approved for
Bangladesh on Jan. 30 are likely to boost the country’s outlook among its
creditors, including Saudi Arabia, and demonstrate its capacity to pay back.
Unlike
other regional countries, such as crisis-hit Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Bangladesh
did not ask the fund for a bailout loan. The approved arrangements are a
stabilization package to fund structural reform, ensure balance-of-payment
stability, and a stable and sustainable economic position.
“The
IMF granting of $4.7 billion will be helpful in providing positive signals to
our development partners that the fundamentals of the Bangladeshi economy
remain strong, and that Bangladesh is also ready to take up reforms,” Rahman
said.
“From
that perspective, it will also be helpful in projecting to Saudi Arabia that
while we are asking for deferred payment, the Bangladeshi economy will be able
to sustain good foreign reserves and when the negotiated time comes, we will be
able to pay.”
Besides
taking the pressure off its dollar reserves, the extended credit on oil
supplies would also help Bangladesh with energy security. The South Asian
nation, which is dependent on imported liquefied natural gas, has been
struggling with an energy crisis in recent months.
Since
mid-July, the government has been resorting to daily power cuts amid high
global prices driven up by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Industries that do not
receive sufficient power to run their operations have been forced to remain
idle for several hours a day. In early October, about 80 percent of
Bangladesh’s 168 million people were left without electricity after a grid
failure caused by fuel shortages to over a third of the country’s gas-powered
units.
Saudi
Arabia supplies more than half of Bangladesh’s crude imports.
“We
are bringing in oil, which is our regular, normal import, because our transport
sector is fully dependent on this oil, and also partially our production,” said
Prof. Mohammad Tamim, dean of chemical and material engineering at Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology.
Importing
energy and ensuring its uninterrupted supply are crucial to keeping the
Bangladeshi economy afloat and helping it stabilize while other reforms
requested by the IMF are implemented to fix structural problems.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2244321/world
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