Stop Mob Lynching: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Moves SC Against Increase In Cases Of Mob Lynching, Particularly By Cow Vigilante Groups
New Age Islam News Bureau
21 October 2023
Representational
Image (Credit: IT)
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India
·
Friday Prayers
Not Allowed At Srinagar Jamia Masjid Fearing Pro-Gaza Protests
·
Jammu And Kashmir
Government Extends Iron Fist To Shias Planning To Take Out Pro-Palestinian Protests
·
Gujarat
ATS Busts ISI Spy Ring, One Nabbed
·
Manipur
violence to tribute to nude models, Bengal's Durga Puja has it all
-----
Mideast
·
Hezbollah
Conducts Missile Strikes Against 3 Israeli Military Bases
·
Israeli
Occupation Commits 37 Massacres Over the Past 24 Hours in Gaza
·
Iran:
People’s Uprising in Zahedan Despite Repressive Measures and Deceptive
Manoeuvres of Mullahs
·
'Horrific
Crime': Iran condemns Israeli attack on Gaza church
·
Why Do
Islamic Jihad and Hamas Fire Rockets From “Safe Zones” for Palestinian
Families?
·
Hamas
Releases Two US Hostages With Hope For More
·
Cairo set
to host peace summit on Gaza
·
Worldwide
demonstrations express solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's war on Gaza
·
Israel
paying influencers to spread lies on Gaza onslaught
·
About 1.4
mn Gaza residents displaced due to Israeli invasion
·
Erdogan
urges Israel to stop genocide acts against civilians
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Arab World
·
Saudi's
MbS 'Rebukes' UK PM Rishi Sunak About Israel's 'Heinous' Attacks On Gaza
·
Saudi
crown prince discusses de-escalation in Israel-Hamas conflict with French
president, Canadian PM
·
Conference
of Environment Ministers in Islamic World Issues Jeddah Declaration on Green
Transformation
-------
North America
·
Shun
Hatred Of Muslims And Jews, Biden Urges Americans
·
Hamas
attacked Israel to derail its warming ties with Saudis, says Biden
·
CAIR-LA,
Partners Meet with Attorney General to Discuss Rise of Islamophobia and Hate
Incidents in California
·
CAIR-Ohio
Condemns Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Targeting Muslim Representative
·
CAIR-MN:
Minnesota Family Loses 30 Members in Israeli Attack
·
US and
Israel mulling interim government in Gaza – Bloomberg
·
US Justice
Dept recommends police hire former criminals
·
Canadian
PM says India’s actions making life hard for millions of people
---------
Europe
·
Russian
Security Forces Detain Muslims Outside Crimea Mosque
·
Majority
of Germans believe Muslim migration a ‘security risk’
·
France
evacuates airports over hoax bomb threats – media
·
Islamophobic
Hate Crimes Soar Amid Israel War On Gaza: London Police
------
Pakistan
·
Blocking Army
Chief’s Selection Imran’s Biggest Folly, Says Sheikh Rashid
·
‘Thousands’
Join MQM-P Rally Against Israeli Atrocities
·
Khattak
claims Imran Khan opposed BRT project
·
Afghan
held with forged Pakistani documents
·
Two former
ministers ‘arrested’ in fresh crackdown on PTI in KP
·
PM,
Palestinian President discuss current situation in Palestine
--------
South Asia
·
Govt Will
Not Endure Without People’s Support: Acting Afghan Interior Minister
·
Over 3,000
Afghan Refugees Expelled From Pakistan In One Day
·
Bangladesh
Climate Change Minister For Sharing Advanced Green Technologies Among Muslim
Nations
·
US calls
on Afghanistan’s neighbours to accept Afghan migrants
·
Protest
Held in Kabul in Support of Palestinians
·
US embassy
in Dhaka flies flag at half-staff
·
Bangladesh
observes Day of Mourning for Palestinians
--------
Southeast Asia
·
Report:
Malaysians Linked To 2002 Bali Bombings To Plead Guilty In Guantanamo Bay Next
Week, Paving Way For Possible Return Home
·
Nurul
Izzah stands in solidarity with MWCQP against injustice in Palestine
·
PM Anwar
discusses Palestine-Israel conflict with Muslim World League
·
Fahmi
criticises PAS president Hadi for not using opportunity as MP to question PM
Anwar
·
Israel-Hamas
war raises concerns of youth radicalisation in Singapore, as experts warn
against stereotyping any group
-------
Africa
·
Current
Challenges Temporary, Better Days Coming – Tinubu Tells South-West Islamic
Leaders
·
Alleged
Demolition: Disregard Campaign Of Calumny Against Wike, Nat Mosque Tells Ummah
·
Kenyans
demand compensation for British army blaze ahead of king's visit
·
Pro-Palestinian
demonstrations held in Algiers
·
Gunmen
Attack Kwara State Community, Abduct Residents, Sack Palace Of Traditional
Ruler
·
Civil
Society Demands Immediate Release Of Member Wrongfully Detained By Nigerian
Police Over Alleged Murder Case In Edo
Compiled by
New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/mob-lynching-jamiat-ulama-vigilante/d/130947
-----
Stop Mob Lynching: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
Moves SC Against Increase In Cases Of Mob Lynching, Particularly By Cow
Vigilante Groups
Representational
Image (Credit: IT)
-----
October 21, 2023
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has moved an
application before Supreme Court against alarming increase in the cases of mob
lynching, particularly by cow protection vigilante groups.
A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai, Aravind
Kumar, and Prashant Kumar Mishra on Friday said that it will consider the
impleadment application filed by the Islamic scholars organisation in the
pending proceedings.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who
appeared on petitioners’ behalf, urged that all state governments be added as
party in the PIL filed by the National Federation of Indian Women.
The application of impleadment filed
through advocate Sugandha Anand referred to a recent incident where an unruly
and frenzy mob of four Hindu men attacked a 23-year-old Muslim physiotherapist
from Madhya Pradesh after she was coming home from work.
“It is submitted that these are just
some incidents that have been highlighted here, but these incidents of mob
violence, cow vigilantism have been on the rise and it seems that they will
continue to haunt our secular, multireligious fabric of nation, unless strictly
dealt with by police, state and Central government,” the application stated.
In July, the top court had issued notice
to the Centre and the Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Odisha, and
Maharashtra governments against the alarming rise in cases of lynchings and mob
violence done against Muslims, particularly “done by cow vigilantes”.
The public interest litigation had said
that the lynching and mob violence should be seen as the result of the general
narrative of ostracisation of the minority communities through false propaganda
that is being spread by means of public events where hate speeches are made
targeting the minorities as well as through social media channels, news
channels, and films.
Further, it had stated that the state
has a “sacrosanct duty to protect its citizens from unruly elements and
perpetrators of orchestrated lynching and vigilantism with utmost sincerity and
true commitment”.
“The positive duty of the State to
protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all individuals and the primary
responsibility of the State to foster a secular, pluralistic and
multiculturalist social order, have been recognised by this Court in several
judgments,” the plea had stated.
The matter is likely to be taken up for
further hearing on December 8. –IANS
Source: muslimmirror.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://muslimmirror.com/eng/jamiat-ulama-i-hind-moves-sc-against-increase-in-cases-of-mob-lynching-particularly-by-cow-vigilante-groups/
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Hamas Official Says Group ‘Well Aware’
Of Consequences Of Attack On Israel, Palestinian Liberation Comes With
‘Sacrifices’
Khaled
Mashaal, member of Hamas's political bureau, speaks to Al Arabiya on October
19, 2023 (Video screenshot)
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October 20, 2023
LONDON: Senior Hamas official Khaled
Mashal has said the terrorist group was aware of the ramifications of its Oct.
7 attack on Israel, and added Palestinian lives would need to be sacrificed in
order to win “liberation.”
Speaking in a fractious interview with
Al-Arabiya host Rasha Nabil, Mashal praised the “ingenious” Hamas attack and
called it “legitimate resistance” to Israeli occupation.
Nabil challenged the former political
leader of Hamas and questioned whether the group could call its “transgressions
against Israeli civilians” in southern Israel true resistance, saying it was
“more like a declaration of war” decided upon without the backing of the
Palestinian people.
She also noted that in the Western media
Hamas was now being compared to Daesh, and pressed Mashal on how he had
expected to encourage sympathy for the Palestinian cause by carrying out the
attacks, which killed nearly 1,400 Israelis.
She also highlighted the fact Hamas
likely expected the response such an attack would prompt from the Israeli
military and must therefore hold responsibility for the “great human tragedy”
unfolding in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed or wounded
and more than 1 million internally displaced.
“We know very well the consequences of
our operation on Oct. 7,” Mashal said.
He added that sacrifices had to be made
for liberation and cited examples of the Soviet Union in the Second World War,
the Vietnamese during their war with the US, Afghan resistance to Soviet and American
occupation, and the Algerian battle for independence.
He said: “The Palestinian people are
just like any other nation: No nation is liberated without sacrifices. Israel
will kill us, whether we resist it or not.”
Mashal was asked if treating civilians
in such a way was part of Hamas’ ideology, and he responded by saying the group
only focused its resistance on “occupation forces, on the soldiers.”
He added: “In all wars, there are some
civilian victims. We are not responsible for them.”
Mashal was asked if he wanted to
apologize for civilian deaths in the attacks. He replied: “Apologies should be
demanded from Israel. Hamas does not kill civilians on purpose. It focuses on
the soldiers. Period.”
The Hamas official urged Egyptian
leaders to do more to assist Hamas, while thanking those he said were resisting
with Palestinians in Gaza, naming Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He said: “Outside of Palestine, we are
grateful to whoever is standing by us.”
Nabil asked Mashal why Arab nations who
“did not participate in making the decision” to attack Israel should be asked
do more. He said: “When people are under occupation, they have a natural right
to do so. Nobody has the right to ask us why we did this and whether we
consulted with anyone.”
He said he hoped to use hostages taken
in the Oct. 7 attack to “empty Israeli prisons” of “our sons and daughters from
all the factions.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2394966/middle-east
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Saudi Crown Prince Calls For Palestinian
State Within The 1967 Borders
Saudi
Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. (AFP photo)
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October 20, 2023
RIYADH — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman has called for creating conditions that lead to stability in Gaza and
lasting peace that ensures a just solution to the Middle East conflict by
establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Prince Mohammed affirmed the Kingdom's
categorical rejection of targeting civilians under any pretext and stressed the
importance of adhering to international humanitarian law and the need to stop
military operations against civilians and their infrastructure that directly
affects their lives.
The Crown Prince made the remarks during
his opening speech at the GCC-ASEAN summit in Riyadh on Friday.
"As we are holding this meeting, we
are pained by the escalation of the ongoing violence in Gaza, the price of
which is being paid by innocent civilians," he said.
Deputizing for Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Salman, Prince Mohammed chaired the Riyadh Summit of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
The Crown Prince received the leaders
and heads of delegations participating in the summit upon their arrival at the
summit's venue. The Crown Prince, and GCC and ASEAN leaders took a group photo
before the summit.
At the outset of the summit, verses of
the Holy Qur'an were recited, then the Crown Prince delivered the opening
speech.
He said: "On behalf of the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, I am delighted to
welcome you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are pleased to hold this summit
that is a testimony to the friendship and cooperation between the GCC states
and ASEAN.
"Our meeting today aims to further
develop cooperation and partnership in a way that fulfills the interests of
peoples, increases opportunities for development, and consolidates security and
stability."
He added: "The GCC-ASEAN countries
have achieved a milestone in economic development, with the collective GDP of
our countries exceeding $7.8 trillion. We have witnessed economic growth that
has increased our countries' contribution to the global GDP; the economies of the
GCC and ASEAN countries have grown by 7.3% and 5.7%, respectively in 2022,
motivating us to work together toward a more prosperous economy."
The growing GCC-ASEAN trade relations
are evident: the volume of trade with the ASEAN countries, amounting to $137
billion, has reached 8% of GCC's global trade; the GCC exports to the ASEAN
countries constitute 9% of its total exports; the GCC imports from ASEAN amount
to 6% of the total GCC imports.
Over the past 20 years, the GCC invested
4% of its total foreign investments in ASEAN countries, amounting to $75
billion. The ASEAN investment in the GCC accounts for 3.4% of the total foreign
direct investments in the GCC countries, amounting to $24.8 billion.
"We look forward to strengthening
our economic relations, taking advantage of the available opportunities, and
opening new scopes of cooperation in all fields, in light of the human
resources, commercial opportunities, and promising investment projects that our
countries possess."
Prince Mohammed commended "the level
of coordination and cooperation our countries enjoy when it comes to
international developments," while reaffirming the keenness to further
advance joint action "to realize our goals and meet the aspirations of our
peoples."
The Crown Prince appreciated ASEAN
countries' support for the Kingdom's bid to host the Expo 2030 in Riyadh.
"The joint GCC-ASEAN action plan
for 2024-2028 sets out a clear road map for increasing cooperation and
partnership, which we are all keen to do, in various fields in order to serve
our interests," he said.
He pledged that GCC countries will
continue to be safe and reliable sources of energy, and contribute to
maintaining the stability of global energy markets. "We are striving, at
an accelerated pace, to meet, in a sustainable way, the requirements for
developing clean, low-carbon energy technologies and petrochemical supply
chains," Prince Mohammed said.
"We also look forward to achieving
the maximum benefit from logistical resources and infrastructure, to expanding
cooperation in tourism and cultural activities, enhancing communication among
our peoples and establishing partnerships among the business sectors in our
countries, to contribute to achieving the goals of our ambitious visions for a
better future of prosperity, development and progress."
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/636899/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudi-Crown-Prince-calls-for-Palestinian-state-on-1967-borders
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Israel-Hamas War: Anti-Muslim Hate Worse
Now Than Post-9/11, Chicago’s Muslim Advocates Say
Israel-Hamas
War
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Oct 21, 2023
In the wake of the ongoing Israel-Hamas
war, Muslim leaders in Chicago say this is the worst period of anti-Muslim hate
they have ever seen.
“This is causing shockwaves in our
community. There is palpable fear,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the
Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
This period of anti-Muslim hate is worse
than post-9/11 because of the volume of threats and because children are being
targeted, he said.
Last weekend, a man fatally stabbed
6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume in Plainfield because of his Muslim faith. Rehab
called the murder “one of the worst hate crimes ever on American soil.”
This week, someone sent hate mail to a
Chicago-area Muslim school, praising Wadea’s killer, Rehab said. Aqsa School,
an Islamic day school in Bridgeview, moved to remote learning Friday after its
principal received the “threatening hate letter.”
On Tuesday, a Lombard man was charged
with threatening to shoot two Muslim men outside an apartment complex.
A root cause of the rising hate, Rehab
said, is the Israel-focused narrative in the media that he believes ignores the
suffering of Palestinians.
Elected officials could address the root
of the problem by recognizing the loss of life in Gaza, said Gregory Abdullah
Mitchell, executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater
Chicago.
“Start telling the story — all of the
story, not half of the story — so we don’t stir up this needless and senseless
violence that is inflicting the Muslim community,” he said.
Source: chicago.suntimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2023/10/20/23925791/anti-muslim-hate-chicago-israel-hamas-council-american-islamic-relations-ahmed-rehab
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France’s Grief For Hamas’s Victims Is
Right – Its Suspicion Of French Muslims Is Not
Karim
Benzema and Kylian Mbappé after a Uefa Nations League match between France and
Spain in Milan, Italy, October 2021. Photograph: Socrates Images/Getty Images
-----
21 October 2023
Rokhaya Diallo
France is home to Europe’s largest
Jewish and Muslim populations. Inevitably, what is happening in the Middle East
has a particular resonance here. The grotesque images that circulated after
Hamas’s horrific attack on Israeli civilians on 7 October, planned and carried
out in a chillingly meticulous way, sent shockwaves through France that are
still reverberating.
A big part of the country’s public
debate has been fixated, since the massacre, on avoiding the “importation” of
tensions connected with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After a spate of anti-Semitic
incidents, Emmanuel Macron is rightly concerned about the fear gripping “our
compatriots of the Jewish faith”. In a televised address to the nation, he
announced a range of measures to tighten protection at Jewish schools and
places of worship and culture.
I am also deeply distressed by the
anxiety that is sweeping through Jewish communities. It is heartbreaking to
imagine that my fellow citizens feel threatened in their own homes. And I find
it distressing that leaflets proclaiming “death to Arabs” in Hebrew were
distributed at a prestigious higher-education establishment in Lyon. (The
school has lodged a police complaint.)
Tensions have risen since the brutal
stabbing to death in Arras of a teacher, Dominique Bernard. His alleged
attacker had previously been reported for radicalisation. This came just as
France was preparing to commemorate the third anniversary of the gruesome
murder of Samuel Paty, another teacher, killed by another radicalised young man
who claimed to be a Muslim.
But it is in this context that suspicion
about all French Muslims risks being fuelled. A few days after the massacre in
Israel, the French TV star Arthur posted a photo of a family murdered by Hamas.
He called on those of his “artist friends, actors, singers, comedians and sportsmen”
whom he considered had remained too silent to show their “humanity and support”
and “stop being afraid”. A news channel hosted a debate about “those stars from
whom we don’t hear much support for Israel”. The actor Omar Sy and the
footballer KylianMbappé were named, both of them black and from Muslim
families.
I feel uneasy about such exhortations.
As a Muslim myself, I feel the weight of suspicion, the allusive comments
scrutinising my tweets and questioning my supposed silences. How can anyone imagine
for a moment that we are not horrified by the massacre of Israelis as they
gathered to mark a holy day in their homes, or enjoyed themselves at a music
festival? Is our humanity so open to question that we have to trumpet it after
every tragedy to reassure our fellow citizens that we are not bloodthirsty
savages?
And if we do choose to voice empathy for
the “wrong” victims, we risk having our words misinterpreted or worse. When the
French footballer Karim Benzema posted a message on X sending “prayers for the
people of Gaza, victims once again of unjust bombings which don’t spare women
or children”, the backlash was shocking. The interior minister, GéraldDarmanin,
accused the soccer star of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood, a hardline
Islamist group classified as a terrorist organisation in the US and in Saudi
Arabia, where Benzema lives.
This baseless allegation, which Benzema
has denied, led to calls, including from a conservative senator, for the
footballer to be stripped not just of his Ballon d’Or 2022 football award but
of his French citizenship. This episode leaves me again feeling that our
Frenchness is open to debate. The constant questioning of our loyalty shows how
fragile the perception of our belonging to France remains.
If the Macron government was genuinely
interested in preventing a spillover of tensions from events in Israel and the
Palestinian territories, it would adopt a more even-handed approach at home.
Instead Darmanin, even before the killing in Arras, sought a systematic ban on
all Palestinian solidarity demonstrations, on the grounds that they were
“likely to generate public disorder”.
According to France’s Human Rights
League, the government’s ban on demonstrations in support of the Palestinian
cause constitutes “a serious and disproportionate attack on the right to
demonstrate”. Our country, which constantly claims to be the home of the
“Enlightenment”, is blithely trampling on rights, in particular freedom of
expression.
But the ban was also politically
ill-conceived, as it came after a demonstration in Paris in support of Hamas’s
Israeli victims, attended by thousands of legitimately grief-stricken people.
Did Darmanin consider how such double standards would be perceived by millions
of French citizens? Those who defied Darmanin and demonstrated anyway were
subsequently vindicated by the country’s highest administrative court, the
council of state, which overturned his ban on 18 October. But many who
peacefully protested have been subjected to heavy-handed treatment by the police,
with water cannon, teargas and arrests.
Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower, that emblem
of the “country of human rights”, was illuminated with the colours of the
Israeli flag. This was a fitting tribute to the victims of Hamas, but it was
cruelly ironic that there was no mention of the other – Palestinian – civilian
victims. Legitimate empathy for the targets of Hamas should be no impediment to
the expression of similar compassion for Palestinians, whose basic rights have
been trampled on for decades.
Indeed, the sudden global focus on the
Israel-Palestine conflict since the extreme violence of 7 October exposes
another kind of violence: that of the silence about and invisibility of the
daily oppression faced by Palestinian civilians. For years, human rights
organisations have described the besieged Gaza Strip as “an open-air prison”;
its people the victims of “apartheid”. The world’s indifference has only
exacerbated the distress of a traumatised people living under occupation and a
16-year-long blockade. The prevailing view of Palestinians is by now so devoid
of empathy that they are commonly perceived as a dehumanised monolith, lumped
together with a caricatured and violent Islam. In fact, Palestinian people
subscribe to a variety of faiths, including Christianity.
In Europe we have not just a right but a
moral imperative to speak out both against this intolerable situation and the
vengeful response of the Israeli government, which is bombing a population half
of whom are children, and risking the lives of its own hostages. You cannot
make amends for a war crime, however bloody, by committing an even bloodier war
crime in return.
France has a long history of supporting
freedom for the Palestinian people. Standing for his first term as president,
Macron promised to work tirelessly for peace in the Middle East and for the
two-state solution, and to “condemn settlement policies” – and on that subject
to be “uncompromising towards Israel and the choices made by Mr Netanyahu”.
Today, the very idea of peace seems to
have disappeared from our politics, while the president of our national
assembly expresses “unconditional support” for the “friend” that is Israel. In
the name of our own most closely held values, we should, instead, make our
political support conditional. We should be holding our ally to account by
demanding a ceasefire when its actions cause the humanitarian tragedy that we
now see unfolding before our eyes.
All civilian lives are of equal worth.
We should be able to mourn their passing with equal compassion.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/france-grief-hamas-victims-suspicion-060040409.html
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India
Friday Prayers Not Allowed At Srinagar
Jamia Masjid Fearing Pro-Gaza Protests
October 20, 2023
Srinagar : Authorities proscribed
congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid here on Friday amid fear of
protests against the Israeli action in Gaza, officials said.
This was the second consecutive Friday
when prayers were disallowed at the historic mosque.
The grand mosque, located in the
Nowhatta area of the city, remained locked and security personnel were deployed
around the mosque to maintain law and order, they said.
The Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid — the
managing body of the mosque — in a statement said that for the second
consecutive Friday, police closed the gates of the mosque saying it will not be
opened for Friday prayers.
The Auqaf said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was
“once again stopped for the second consecutive Friday from going to the
mosque.”
“Since October 15, he continues to be
under house detention and is not allowed to move out. Mirwaz deeply regretted
the repeated targeting of Jamia Masjid Srinagar by closing it to Muslims on
Fridays and disallowing them from offering obligatory Friday prayers,” the
auqaf said.
Mirwaiz has said such measures belie the
claim of normalcy that the authorities make. ( with PTI inputs )
Source: muslimmirror.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://muslimmirror.com/eng/friday-prayers-not-allowed-at-srinagar-jamia-masjid-fearing-pro-gaza-protests/
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Jammu And Kashmir Government Extends
Iron Fist To Shias Planning To Take Out Pro-Palestinian Protests
21.10.23
Muzaffar Raina
The Jammu and Kashmir government on
Friday extended its iron fist to Shias planning to take out pro-Palestinian
protests, locking up a senior leader and an Imambada — a Shia place of worship
— and deploying security forces outside another as a warning.
The government also barred Friday
congregational prayers at Kashmir’s main Jamia Masjid in Srinagar for the
second consecutive week amidst fears of protests against Israel’s bombing of
Gaza.
Prominent Shia leader Aga Syed Mohammad
Hadi said he was put under house arrest while Imam BargahAyatullah Yousuf at
Srinagar’s Bemina, where he was scheduled to address people, was locked up.
He posted pictures of the deployment of
forces outside his home and the locking up of the Budgam Imambada.
Security forces were also deployed
outside another Imambada in Budgam to prevent protests, although people were
allowed to offer Friday prayers there.
Shia protesters have traditionally faced
little restrictions but the government action on Friday betrayed a firm
government resolve to prevent an anti-Israel protest in line with the Centre’s
markedly pro-Israel stance.
At Srinagar’s central Jamia Masjid,
Anjuman Auqaf, the mosque’s managing body, said the police closed its entry
gates and barred them from reopening them for Friday prayers.
The Anjuman said Kashmir’s chief cleric,
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who also heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat
Conference, remained under house arrest on Friday. He was put under house
arrest afresh on October 15, the Anjuman said.
The Mirwaiz was recently allowed to
attend prayers at the Jamia after four years of house detention.
“Such measures belie the claim of
normality that the authorities make,” the Anjuman statement, quoting the
Mirwaiz, said.
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please click the following URL to read
the full text of the original
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir-government-extends-iron-fist-to-shias-planning-to-take-out-pro-palestinian-protests/cid/1974698
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Gujarat ATS Busts ISI Spy Ring, One
Nabbed
21st October 2023
By Dilip Singh Kshatriya Express News
Service
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS)
broke an espionage ring organised by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI) under the pretext of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign after receiving a
tip-off from a military intelligence unit.
The accused has been identified as
Labhshankar Maheshwari (53). Military Intelligence officials had detected a
nefarious operation being run by a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO). The
ATS received information from military intelligence that a Pakistani operative
was using WhatsApp with an Indian SIM card and infected phones with Remote
Access Trojan (RAT).
The accused posing as Army Public School
(APS) official, sent messages to security forces via WhatsApp, requesting that
they download an ‘apk’ Android program called “Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan” in
their phones. Investigation revealed that the accused also sent a message
requesting army officials to upload their child’s photo with the national flag
on the application, to participate in the competition.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/oct/21/gujarat-ats-busts-isi-spy-ring-one-nabbed-2625974.html
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Manipur Violence To Tribute To Nude
Models, Bengal's Durga Puja Has It All
21st October 2023
KOLKATA: From highlighting the lives of
nude models to praying for peace in violence-hit Manipur, each Durga Puja
Pandal in Kolkata is unique in itself.
Puja organisers have left no stone
unturned to come up with some eye-catching themes to attract people.
Jagat Mukherjee Park Puja Committee in
north Kolkata is paying tribute to nude models through its theme this year.
It is also honouring 65-year-old
Phulkumari Das, who has been a live nude model for art college students for
over four decades.
Through its theme, the puja committee is
honouring her fraternity and trying to spread awareness among people that nude
models should not be looked down upon and nude modelling be treated as just
another profession.
Known as 'Phuldi' in the artist
community, Das has modelled for various stalwarts over the years.
According to the organisers, she started
modelling for artists at the Government College of Art and Craft from the age
of 16.
Later, she became an inspiration for
many who decided to follow her path.
Such models have an immense contribution
in the making of an artist and Phuldi is one of them, pandal artist Parimal Pal
said.
"As doctors need corpses to study
the internal organs of human beings, these models help students learn about
figures and portraits," Pal added.
"Many people might have seen her in
paintings, but not her in real life. Society looks down upon them. They come from
poor families. Our effort is to honour them and their work," Pal said.
Another puja committee in north Kolkata
is paying tribute to Sukumar Ray, one of the icons of Bengali children's
literature, known for his famous 'AbolTabol'.
The organisers of HatibaganNabinpally
Durga Puja are commemorating the writer's 100th death anniversary and the
centenary year of the publication of 'AbolTabol' as the theme.
Houses in the entire neighbourhood have
been painted to represent the theme.
Sukumar Ray is the father of film
maestro Satyajit Ray.
Dipto Ghosh, spokesperson of Nabin Pally
Durga Puja Committee said, "This is the centenary year of the publication
of 'AbolTabol' (a collection of nonsense rhymes in Bengali) and also the death
centenary of its creator. The reason behind choosing this theme is to honour
both the creation and the creator."
Ray had died just nine days before
'AbolTabol' was published for the first time in 1923.
While the book was published on
September 19, the writer died on September 10.
On the other hand, a Durga Puja
committee in Salt Lake has themed its pandal on Manipur violence.
Disturbed by the ethnic strife in the
northeastern state, the organisers of FC Block Sarbojanin Durga Puja have
selected 'Mother of Manipur' as its theme.
"We were moved by the ethnic
violence that broke out in the state on May 3 this year, followed by incidents
of atrocities on women.
We decided to spread the message of
peace through our theme," said Nilanjan Brahma, secretary of FC Block
Sarbojanin Durga Puja.
"The pandal represents one
community of Manipur, while the idol of Goddess Durga represents another.
Both the communities have been
represented in our puja pandal to spread the message of peace," he said.
Tucked away in a lane opposite to
Amherst Street Post Office in central Kolkata is Sitaram Ghosh Street where
members of PallirYubakBrinda Puja Committee are organising their Durga Puja.
Through their theme 'Uttar Sakkhi', the
organisers will capture the charm and touch of north Kolkata as it existed over
200 years ago.
Old buildings, several of which are
dilapidated, stand witness to the bygone era when a major part of the mode of
transport was 'palkis' (palanquins).
This locality was once known as 'palki
para' (palanquin neighbourhood) as palanquins carrying people used to stop at
the locality for a break.
PallirYubakBrinda Puja Committee's
artist Abhijit Nandy said, "The story of old north Kolkata is being told
through the marquee here.
This particular locality off Amherst
Street used to be known as 'Palki Para'. We are trying to capture the
nostalgia, love and emotions of old north Kolkata."
Another puja committee in central
Kolkata has chosen to highlight marine life.
MechuaBajarSarbajanin Durga Puja
Samity's theme is 'Gobhirata' (depth).
The marquee is a replica of an old ship.
One has to enter it to witness the depth of a seabed.
According to artist Sanjay Pal, the
underwater landscape is being showcased in the theme.
"If you visit the pandal, you will
have a feeling that you are standing several feet underwater in a sea," he
added.
Source: newindianexpress.com
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https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/oct/21/manipur-violence-to-tribute-to-nude-models-bengals-durga-puja-has-it-all-2626034.html
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Mideast
Hezbollah conducts missile strikes
against 3 Israeli military bases
21 October 2023
Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement
has announced striking three military bases belonging to the Israeli regime on
the country's border with the occupied territories.
In a statement on Friday, the resistance
announced striking the al-Assi and Hermon outposts with "guided
missiles" and other weapons earlier in the day.
Moments later, the movement said it had
hit a gathering of Israeli forces at the Hounin military base, saying the
missiles used for the strike had exactly hit their designated targets.
Israeli sources, meanwhile, reported
that Hezbollah's fighters had fired at least 30 mortar rounds against the
occupying regime's military positions near Lebanon's border.
A day earlier, Hezbollah had detailed
hitting the Israeli outposts of al-Ramtha, Zibdin, Ruwaisat al-Qarn, Ruwaisat
al-Alam, and al-Radar in the Tel Aviv-occupied Shebaa Farms and the Kfarshuba
Hills "with guided missiles and appropriate weapons."
The movement and the Israeli regime have
been exchanging sporadic fire since October 8, a day after the regime started
bringing the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip under a relentless and
indiscriminate war.
Hezbollah strikes two Israeli military
posts in response to the regime’s killing of three of its fighters.
Also on October 8, the Lebanese
resistance movement said the group’s "guns and rockets" were with
Palestinian fighters.
A high-ranking official with Lebanon’s
Hezbollah resistance movement says the group’s “guns and rockets” are with
Palestinian fighters who carried out a surprise offensive against the Israeli
regime.
Hezbollah has already fought off two
Israeli wars against Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, forcing a humiliating retreat
upon the Tel Aviv regime’s military in both cases.
The resistance movement has vowed to
resolutely defend Lebanon in case of any Israeli-imposed war.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/21/713115/Lebanon-Israel-Hezbollah-strikes-Israeli-military-bases
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Israeli Occupation Commits 37 Massacres
Over the Past 24 Hours in Gaza
October 20, 2023
The Israeli occupation forces committed
37 massacres over the past 24 hours in Gaza that claimed the lives of 352
Palestinians, the Health Ministry of Gaza said on Friday.
Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, the spokesman for
the ministry, affirmed that 352 Palestinians were killed, and 669 others
wounded during the past 24 hours, including 16 victims killed in the aerial
strike on the Greek Orthodox Church.
The church attack came only two days
after the bloody attack on Al-Ahli Hospital, which left more than 1,000
casualties, mostly children and women.
Al-Qudra confirmed that seven main
hospitals and 21 health centers are now out of service, calling for
international protection of hospitals and health facilities in Gaza in light of
the growing Israeli escalation.
The coming hours would be very critical
for medical personnel, as fuel supplies could expire at any time, he added.
He further pointed out that the death
toll climbed to over 4,137 victims, while over 1,000 people are still missing
under the rubble, mostly children.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
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https://daysofpalestine.ps/israeli-occupation-commits-37-massacres-over-the-past-24-hours-in-gaza/
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Iran: People’s Uprising in Zahedan
Despite Repressive Measures and Deceptive Maneuvers of Mullahs
20th October 2023
Today, on October 20, the brave people
of Zahedan, in defiance of the repressive measures taken by the mullahs, once
again staged protests after Friday prayers against the tyranny and crimes of
the regime in Baluchistan. They chanted slogans such as: “We swear by the blood
of our comrades, we stand until the end,” “Political prisoners must be freed,”
“My brother, I will avenge your blood,” “Death to the Basiji,” “Basijis are
IRGC you are our ISIS.”
Protesters carried banners that read:
“Target the snake’s head of the regime in Tehran,” “Baluchistan! No surrender
to the Shah and the Sheikh,” “Zahedan will not remain silent in the face of the
Shah and the Sheikh.”
The repressive forces, who had besieged
the areas around the Makki Mosque and the prayer location in Zahedan since
Friday morning, violently attacked the demonstrators with gunfire and tear gas.
They blocked the streets of Khayyam, Modarres, Tohid, Modarres, and Khormashahr
and surrounded numerous people inside the Makki Mosque, subjecting them to
beatings and arrests. Dozens of protesters, including children, were injured.
IRGC and the SSF agents, after identifying the protesters through yellow paint
markings, arrested them and transported them to prison using the vehicles
stationed on the surrounding streets. People clashed with the mercenaries,
chanting slogans like “Do not be afraid, we are all together” and “Shameless,
shameless.”
Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of
the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), extends her greetings to the
brave people of Zahedan and the brave Baluch youth who, despite repressive
measures, once again engaged in protests and confronted the brutal forces. She
emphasized that today’s uprising in Zahedan demonstrates that the people of
Iran are determined to overthrow the regime of the mullahs.
Source: ncr-iran.org
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https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/statement-iran-protest/iran-peoples-uprising-in-zahedan-despite-repressive-measures-and-deceptive-maneuvers-of-mullahs/
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'Horrific Crime': Iran condemns Israeli
attack on Gaza church
20 October 2023
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has
strongly condemned Israel’s attack on a church in the besieged Gaza Strip where
displaced Palestinian people were sheltering.
In a post on social media platform X,
formerly known as Twitter, Nasser Kan’ani said on Friday the attack is another
“disgraceful” crime committed by the Israeli forces in Gaza, referring to the
previous Israeli fatal strikes on al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital and many mosques,
where people displaced by the Israeli aggression have sought sanctuary.
“It’s another black and disgraceful
episode in a series of crimes, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed
by the Zionist regime and its criminal political and military leaders,” Kan’ani
said.
On Thursday, Israel bombed the Greek
Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church where many Christians and Muslims had taken
refuge amid intensified Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
According to reports, at least 16 people
have been killed in the airstrike which the Israeli regime claims was meant to
target a neighboring building.
Kan’ani noted that such attacks prove
that “the usurping Zionist regime doesn’t abide by any humanitarian, moral and
religious values and principles as well as the international norms and
regulations.”
The spokesman also held Tel Aviv’s
staunch supporters, the United States and some European countries, responsible
for the crimes committed by the Israeli regime.
The human conscience and all religions
slam the "horrific crime," he said, stressing the "international
responsibility" to document the crimes and bring the "Zionist
criminals and their known supporters" to justice.
A crime like those committed by Daesh
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian slammed the attack as the "latest crime of the occupying
apartheid regime."
"The savage act of the hated regime
in aggression, desecration of divine religions, and attacks against historic
and cultural heritage is like that of terrorist groups such as Daesh," he
wrote on X in a Friday.
A “large number” of displaced people
sheltering at a church compound in Gaza have been killed in an Israeli air
attack, the Palestinian interior ministry says.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on
October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise
Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli
regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against
Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli
aggression, more than 4,100 Palestinians have been killed.
Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food,
and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.
The regime has further ordered 1.1
million people in the north of Gaza to evacuate and move south of the coastal
sliver.
However, it has continued to rain down
bombs on the south, killing large numbers of Palestinians.
The United Nations says about half of
the Palestinians in Gaza have been made homeless, still trapped inside the
besieged strip.
The world body’s human rights office
says Israel’s complete siege of Gaza, combined with the evacuation order, could
amount to a forcible transfer of civilians, breaching international law.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/20/713092/Iran-condemns-Israel-attack-Gaza-church
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Why Do Islamic Jihad and Hamas Fire
Rockets From “Safe Zones” for Palestinian Families?
BY ALAN DERSHOWITZ
OCT 21, 2023
It’s because every time a Palestinian or
Israeli civilian is killed, Hamas wins.
There are three possible explanations
for the explosion at the Gaza hospital. The most likely is that Islamic jihad
was firing rockets from a cemetery near the hospital, using the hospital as a
shield to prevent Israel from attacking the launching site, or inducing Israel
to respond and endanger the hospital.
One of the rockets fired by Islamic
Jihad misfired and hit the hospital parking lot, killing civilians. Israel’s
evidence would seem to support this explanation, as does the long history of
primitive rockets used by terrorists misfiring and landing in Gaza. That is why
intelligence and the Pentagon supports Israel’s evidence.
The second but far less likely
explanation is that an Israeli rocket that was aimed at a military target
accidentally landed at the hospital. Israel, however, tracks its rockets with
great care and has said that none were fired in the area at the time.
The least likely explanation is that the
Israeli military deliberately targeted a hospital in order to cause civilian
deaths. There is absolutely no reason Israel would have done this, not at any
time but doubly so when President Biden was en route to Israel. Nor is it likely
that Israel targeted the hospital because Hamas fighters were hiding inside.
Israel’s rules of engagement preclude such targeting.
The Muslim Street and leaders
immediately — immediacy being an important point — claimed or pretended to
believe the least likely explanation, blaming Israel. The street was
immediately filled with protesters demanding revenge. The Arab leaders also
blamed Israel and canceled meetings.
To take an even more extreme
hypothetical situation that no reasonable person could believe: Assume for
argument’s sake the worst possible scenario, that Israel deliberately targeted
the hospital, which it clearly did not. Even if it had, though, it would be no
worse than what Hamas deliberately did on October 7. Both would be inexcusable
and despicable.
If the evidence had proved that Israel
bore some responsibility for the hospital tragedy — the opposite of what it
actually shows — many Israelis would have protested their own nation, as they
have in the past when Israel was to some degree responsible for bad actions,
such as its failure to stop the Lebanese massacres of the Shatila and Sabra
refugee camps.
There were, though, no protests — none —
by the so-called Muslim Street or leaders following the Hamas barbarism. They
protest only when Muslim lives are taken, not when Jewish lives are taken.
The lessons of the selective protests
are that it doesn’t matter much what Israel does. It matters more what Israel
is: The nation state of the Jewish people. To those who don’t want Israel to
exist, it can do no right, or it can be totally innocent of accusations that it
did wrong. Its enemies can do no wrong, regardless of the brutality of their
proved actions.
This doesn’t mean that Israel should not
try to do right, as it generally does. It means that it should not be
influenced by the false morality and double standards of its enemies, whether
they be Hamas, the Muslim Street, its leaders, the United Nations or Harvard
students. Israel’s own high standards of morality should govern the actions it
takes to protect its citizens.
Every time a Palestinian or Israeli
civilian is killed, Hamas wins. That’s why they use children and women as human
shields. That’s why they boast that their civilians love death in the way
Israelis love life. That is why Islamic jihad fires rockets from areas near
hospitals.
That is why Hamas fires rockets from
areas declared to be safe zones for Palestinian families, putting Israel to the
choice of allowing rocket attacks on its civilians or firing back into areas
where civilians may be serving as shields.
Even if Israel had no morality, it would
not benefit from the death of Palestinian civilians. Yet it has a high level of
morality that exceeds the established rules of war. Military experts have said
that no nation faced with comparable threats operates with a higher concern for
civilian lives. One can only wish Israel’s enemies had similar concern.
Source: capitalismmagazine.com
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https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2023/10/why-do-islamic-jihad-and-hamas-fire-rockets-from-safe-zones-for-palestinian-families/
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Hamas releases two US hostages with hope
for more
October 20, 2023
GAZA, Palestine: Gaza’s Hamas rulers
released two Americans on Friday among some 200 hostages they abducted in
brutal October 7 attacks in Israel and indicated that more could follow.
Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter
Natalie Shoshana Raanan were back in Israel late Friday, the Israeli government
said.
No details were given on their condition
but US President Joe Biden quickly said he was “overjoyed” at the news.
And Hamas said it was working with Qatar
and Egypt to free its “civilian” hostages, in a sign that more releases could
follow.
The pair were met at the Gaza border by
an Israeli envoy and the two women were taken to a military base in central
Israel “where their families are waiting to meet them.”
The American mother and daughter were
seized from the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the Israel-Gaza border on October 7. They
were reportedly on holiday in Israel at the time.
The Ranaan family, like those of many of
the hostages, had launched an international campaign to press for efforts to
bring them out of Gaza.
Hamas said that following approaches by
Qatar and Egypt “(Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens
for humanitarian reasons.”
Gaza’s rulers said they were “working
with all mediators to implement the movement’s decision to close the civilian
(hostage) file if appropriate security conditions allow.” It gave no details of
its demands.
Israel says 203 people — Israelis, dual
nationals and foreigners — were abducted by Hamas gunmen when they launched the
deadliest attacks in Israel’s 75-year history. At least 1,400 people were
killed, mostly civilians, according to the government.
Israel has responded with a relentless
bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip that has left at least 4,137 people
dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas administration.
The hostages have become a major issue
in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government
would use “any means available to locate all those missing and bring home all
the kidnapped.”
The International Committee of the Red
Cross said it helped transport the freed Americans to Israel.
Its president Mirjana Spoljaric said
their release provided a “sliver of hope” for the families of other hostages
and called on all sides in the conflict to show “a minimum of humanity.”
The release came two days after Biden
made a solidarity visit to Israel to offer support over the attack.
“Our fellow citizens have endured a
terrible ordeal these past 14 days, and I am overjoyed that they will soon be
reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,” he said in a
statement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
called for more releases “immediately and unconditionally.”
Qatar is a major donor of aid to Gaza
and two Hamas leaders are based in the Gulf state. A Qatari foreign ministry
spokesman said the country had mediated between Hamas and the United States and
that the release followed “many days of continuous communication between all
the parties involved.
“We will continue our dialogue with both
the Israelis and Hamas, and we hope these efforts will lead to the release of
all civilian hostages from every nationality, with the ultimate aim of
de-escalating the current crisis and restoring peace,” said the spokesman,
Majid Al-Ansari.
The Israeli military said earlier Friday
that most of those abducted to Gaza were still alive even though some dead
bodies have been found on incursions into Gaza.
The military said more than 20 hostages
were minors, while between 10 and 20 were over the age of 60.
There are also between 100 and 200
people considered missing since the Hamas attacks, the army added.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2395016/middle-east
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Cairo set to host peace summit on Gaza
October 21, 2023
CAIRO: Egypt is set to host an
international summit to discuss the escalating fighting between Israel and the
Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
In an earlier statement, Egyptian
authorities said the summit aims to push for an immediate ceasefire on Gaza
after Israel’s relentless bombing killed around 4,000 Palestinians and injured
more than 13,000.
The hastily-convened, which will bring
together international and regional leaders, will explore ways to protect
civilians from the ongoing violence and arrive at a just solution for the
Palestinian issue.
Egyptian President Abdelfattah El-Sisi
called on the summit as convoys of aid remained stuck at the Rafah border
crossing. An agreement was reached with Israel to allow 20 trucks of aid a day
as medical and food supplies run out of Gaza, causing a more staggering
humanitarian crisis.
Regional leaders expected to attend
include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah, Bahraini
King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and
Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
A list of international attendees
include Italian Prime Minister GiorgiaMeloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro
Sanchez, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos
Christodoulides, German Foreign Minister AnnalenaBaerbock, French Foreign
Minister Catherine Colonna, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and British
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs James Cleverly.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2395162/middle-east
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Worldwide demonstrations express
solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel's war on Gaza
20 October 2023
People in Muslim-majority countries held
protests to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza, demanding freedom for
Palestine and an urgent end to brutal Israeli air raids.
People in various states such as Iran,
Egypt, Malaysia, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Yemen, and Qatar held
demonstrations on Friday to slam Israeli crimes in Gaza, where the occupation
air raids have already claimed the lives of more than 4,000 Palestinians.
'Gaza is not alone'
People in the Iranian capital of Tehran
convened at Palestine Square in thousands to voice their support for Palestine.
Demonstrators held banners in
condemnation of the Israeli crimes and the regime's supporters in the West.
They also called for the liberation of the Palestinian lands and displayed the
photos of General Qassem Soleimani, a top anti-terror commander who was
asssassinated by the United States in January 2020.
"I'm here to send this message to
Israel that Gaza is not alone and we are standing beside the innocent
Palestinian people," one of the participants told Mehr News Agency.
Multiple cities across Iran also
witnessed pro-Palestinian demonstrations following Friday prayer.
Huge protests in Egypt
Tens of thousands of people have taken
to the streets in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and other main cities across the
country, demanding the opening of the Rafah crossing to allow aid for
Palestinians who have been under Israel’s total siege and bombardment for
fourteen days.
Several thousand people gathered in
Cairo’s Tahrir Square, despite a heavy deployment of security forces, calling
for Israel to stop its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, one of the most densely
populated areas in the world.
Demonstrators were demanding the opening
of the Rafah crossing, on the Egypt-Gaza border, to allow aid into Gaza. The
crossing is currently the only gateway to Gaza, which has been under siege by
the Israeli regime.
Israel bombed the crossing at least five
times since it launched its war on Gaza on October 7, on both the Egyptian and
the Palestinian sides. The latest attack was on Friday on the Gaza side.
"We want the border to be opened
immediately so aid can reach people in Gaza," said one protester.
"God is alive, the voice of the people is still alive, the voice of the
resistance is still alive."
People were also chanting slogans
against the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, demanding the closure
of the Israeli embassy and the expulsion of the regime's ambassador.
"Resistance is the solution,"
people chanted. "The people want the fall of Israel." Demonstrators
also chanted slogans invoking "Arab armies" to act.
Several countries and aid organizations
have been sending cargo planes and trucks to the Rafah border crossing for days
but none has been allowed to enter so far. The border crossing was due to open
on Friday.
Jordan demonstrations
In Jordan, thousands of people marched in
the capital Amman and elsewhere around the country, chanting slogans in support
of Palestinians and Hamas.
Some 2,500 people gathered on a highway
in Amman, on their way to the borders with the occupied West Bank.
Police blocked the roads leading to the
border to prevent people from heading toward the occupied territory. Protesters
were calling on the authorities to allow them to join the fight alongside
Hamas.
Several thousand people also gathered
near the Israeli embassy In Amman, chanting slogans against the occupying
entity.
“No Jewish embassy on Arab land!”
protesters chanted,” protesters chanted.
Jordan’s riot police blocked roads
leading to the fortified embassy complex to keep back demonstrators who
gathered around the nearby Kaloti mosque in the city.
Thousands-strong demonstration in Yemen
Huge protests took place in the capital,
Sana'a, and other governorates to express their anger and condemnation of the
Israeli massacre in Gaza.
The protesters waved Palestinian flags
and signs that supported the Palestinians' right to defend their land, dignity,
Islamic holy places, and free them from Israeli occupation.
The protesters also chanted slogans that
showed their strong support for the Palestinian people, their brave resistance,
and their readiness to sacrifice everything to liberate Palestine and the
occupied city of al-Quds.
West Bank rally
Hundreds of people also demonstrated
against Israel in the occupied West Bank's Ramallah on Friday.
The rally came one day after Israeli
forces raided and carried out an air strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in
the territory, killing at least 12 people.
Turkey: 'Murderer Israel, get out of
Palestine'
Turkey, which has declared three days of
mourning for Gaza, saw thousands of people protesting against Israel's
atrocities in Gaza outside mosques in Istanbul and Ankara after Friday prayers.
The protesters in Istanbul showed their
solidarity with the Palestinians by waving Turkish and Palestinian flags,
holding signs and shouting slogans.
Some of the signs read: "Stop the
genocide!" and "Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine". To
protest the hospital blast, a group of men wore doctors' coats stained with red
and carried dolls that looked like dead babies. Some of the protesters also
burned an effigy of the Israeli prime minister and an Israeli flag.
Angry protests have been held across the
Muslim world since Israel killed hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza hospital on
Tuesday.
The regime's forces launched its deadly
bombing campaign on Gaza after Hamas waged Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the
occupying regime.
Well over 4,100 Palestinians have so far
been killed across the Strip, according to figures from the health ministry.
Nearly 13,500 individuals have also been injured.
The regime has also turned off water supplies
to the Gaza Strip more than a week ago. The United Nations has warned that
approximately 2 million people in Gaza will soon run out of water because
Israel has shut off supplies.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/20/713095/Tens-of-thousands-rally-for-Gaza-in-Cairo-s-Tahrir,-across-Egypt
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Israel paying influencers to spread lies
on Gaza onslaught
20 October 2023
Israel has apparently been pressing social
media influencers and content creators to engage in a disinformation campaign
for the occupying regime’s interests amid the deadly bombardment of the
besieged Gaza Strip.
Sara Watson, a British social media
influencer, for instance, has said she has been approached by the Israeli
regime, bribed and even coerced to retract her support for Palestine.
Social media activist Sulaiman Ahmed
posted a video of an American influencer who said in the video that Israel is
paying $1,000 per video to influencers to post content on social media that is
against the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and in support of Israel.
The mechanism Israel has employed in
this regard apparently has to do with giving instructions to the content
creator to support the regime as well as directing the influencer to a website
of explainer videos, asking the influencer to use the links there in their
posts by attaching them to hashtags falsely linking Hamas to Daesh terrorists.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/20/713100/Israel-paying-influencers-lies-Gaza
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About 1.4 mn Gaza residents displaced
due to Israeli invasion
Oct 21, 2023
TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) – The number of
internally displaced persons in the Gaza Strip increased to 1.4 mln people, the
United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
"About 1.4 million internally
displaced persons (IDPs) are estimated in Gaza," the Office said.
More than 544,000 individuals are now in
emergency shelters "in increasingly dire conditions," it added, TASS
reported.
The Israeli regime launched the war on
Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the
surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to
the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation
against Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli
aggression, thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured.
Source: mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/207354/About-1-4-mn-Gaza-residents-displaced-due-to-Israeli-invasion
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Erdogan urges Israel to stop genocide
acts against civilians
Oct 21, 2023
TEHRAN, Oct. 21 (MNA) – The Turkish
President has called on the international community to support initiatives for
an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing that the Israeli regime needs to
immediately stop genocidal actions against civilians.
"I call on all countries and
international organizations to sincerely support the initiatives for an
immediate ceasefire in Gaza. I reiterate our call on Israel not to scale up the
attacks targeting civilians and to immediately halt the actions reaching the
scale of genocide," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement released by
his office.
According to Erdogan, the West Asian
region should be saved as soon as possible from "the insanity encouraged
by Western countries, with the Western media vying to legitimize it."
"We believe that stability will be
ensured in our region through newly established mechanisms that guarantee
security for Muslims, Jews and Christians - all those who live on these lands.
Turkey will contribute to preventing further bloodshed and more humanitarian
tragedies, as well as to finding a solution for Palestine before the clashes
reach the point of no return," the Turkish leader’s statement said, TASS
reported.
The Israeli regime launched the war on
Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the
surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to
the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation
against Palestinians.
Since the start of the Israeli
aggression, thousands of Palestinians have been killed and injured.
Source: mehrnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/207348/Erdogan-urges-Israel-to-stop-genocide-acts-against-civilians
----------
Arab World
Saudi's MbS 'Rebukes' UK PM Rishi Sunak
About Israel's 'Heinous' Attacks On Gaza
20 October, 2023
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman said on Thursday that attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza were
"heinous" and warned of "dangerous repercussions" should
the war between Israel and Hamas expand, state media reported.
Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia's de facto
ruler, made his comments during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,
who before visiting Riyadh met with Israeli leaders reiterating his support for
Israel, but urging humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza following a full Israeli
siege on the enclave.
He also “affirmed that the kingdom
considers targeting civilians in Gaza a heinous crime and a brutal attack,
stressing the necessity of working to provide protection for them", the
official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
"[He] stressed the need to make all
possible efforts to reduce the pace of escalation and ensure that the violence
does not expand in order to avoid its dangerous repercussions on security and
peace in the region and the world."
Israel has relentlessly and
indiscriminately bombarded Gaza for the 14th consecutive day, killing over
3,700 Palestinians and wounding 12,000 more since 7 October.
Among the devastating incidents was the
Baptist Hospital strike - blamed on
Israel - which killed close to 500 people, drawing condemnation from rights
groups and many world leaders. Israel's attacks have been carried out in
retaliation for a unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel, which has killed
at least 1,4000 Israelis.
Sunak and bin Salman, often referred to
by his initials MbS, "agreed that the loss of innocent lives in Israel and
Gaza over the last two weeks has been horrific," according to a readout
from Sunak's office.
They also "agreed on the pressing
need for humanitarian access into Gaza to provide vital water, food and
medicine," it said.
Sunak "encouraged the crown prince
to use Saudi's leadership in the region to support stability, both now and in
the long term," it added.
Prince Mohammed also spoke by telephone
on Thursday with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, SPA reported.
In that conversation he advocated for
"strengthening international and regional efforts to stop military
operations" and urged the UN to provide "safe humanitarian
corridors" to get food and medical care into Gaza.
Since the war broke out, Saudi Arabia
has issued a series of statements denouncing the displacement of Palestinians
from their homes and attacks on "defenceless civilians" while
affirming its support for the Palestinian cause.
The violence has dealt a blow to efforts
by US President Joe Biden's administration to broker a deal that would see
Saudi Arabia, guardian of Islam's holiest sites, normalise ties with Israel.
Last week, Riyadh had decided to
"pause discussion on possible normalisation", a source familiar with
that process told AFP.
Source: newarab.com
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https://www.newarab.com/news/saudis-mbs-rebukes-uk-pm-sunak-about-heinous-gaza-attacks
--------
Saudi crown prince discusses
deescalation in Israel-Hamas conflict with French president, Canadian PM
October 21, 2023
RIYADH: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
received calls from the French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
In separate calls, the crown prince
stressed the need to make all possible efforts to reduce the escalation and
ensure that the violence does not expand in the conflict between Israel and
Hamas.
The crown prince also said the Kingdom
rejects targeting civilians in any way.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2395041/saudi-arabia
---------
Conference of Environment Ministers in
Islamic World Issues Jeddah Declaration on Green Transformation
20 Oct, 2023
The Conference of Environment Ministers
in the Islamic World issued the Jeddah Declaration on Towards Green
Transformation in the Islamic World.
The ministers and delegates expressed
their sincere appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the
conference. The Declaration also included many recommendations for protecting
the environment, mitigating the impacts of climate change, reducing land
degradation and loss of biodiversity, and achieving sustainable urban
development.
The declaration stressed the importance
of collaborating with stakeholders to execute the conference's resolutions as
well as the commitment to support the Saudi Green Initiative & Middle East
Green Initiative. It reaffirmed the obligation to carry out environmental
agreements and protocols, according to the capacities and situations of each
country while boosting their capability to adapt to the significant impacts of
major environmental challenges
The Jeddah Declaration strongly
denounced the tragic events that unfolded against the Palestinian people,
particularly in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings. It condemned the military
escalation, civilian casualties, and the destruction of the environment and the
essentials of life. The Declaration called on the international community to
assume its responsibilities and move quickly to prevent environmental, health,
and humanitarian catastrophes, as well as the further loss of innocent lives in
the Strip.
The declaration reaffirmed the pledge to
undertake actions to address environmental issues in the Islamic world,
including green transformation and intelligent urban development. Additionally,
the declaration urged member states, and regional, and international
organizations to participate in the 28th meeting of the Conference of the
Parties (COP 28), which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates this year.
It also calls for participation in the sixteenth session of the Conference of
the Parties (COP 16), as well as the events aligned with World Environment Day,
which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host in 2024.
The Declaration also supported the
Climate/Refugee Nexus Initiative launched by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
and Welcomed the outcomes of COP27 which was held in Egypt.
The statement encompasses the promotion
of a sustainable green economy and fostering partnerships with stakeholders to
carry out the conference's resolutions. Additionally, it entails the
preparation of a report on the execution of these resolutions, which will be
submitted to the Tenth Session of the conference.
The conference participants expressed
their gratitude and appreciation by sending two messages of gratitude to King
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and His
Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince.
The Director-General of ISESCO, Dr.
Salem Al-Malik commended the sense of responsibility and cooperation throughout
the conference discussions. He emphasized ISESCO's commitment to implementing
the approved programs and projects and underscored that all the recommendations
from the Jeddah Declaration have been taken into consideration.
Source: alriyadhdaily.com
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http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/09a11856cca8404b917d21357dc78787
----------
North America
Shun hatred of Muslims and Jews, Biden
urges Americans
October 21, 2023
WASHINGTON: Addressing the nation from
the Oval Office on Thursday evening, US President Joe Biden urged Americans to
fight both Islamophobia and antisemitism, without equivocation.
His 15-minute speech focused on Israel’s
war against Palestinians and the war in Ukraine, as he asked Congress to give
him tens of billions of dollars to fund the two wars.
Mr Biden did not specify how much money
he was seeking, but the US media reported on Friday that he would seek $60bn
for Ukraine and $14bn for Israel as well as funding for border and Indo-Pacific
security. In all, the package is expected to exceed $100bn.
Although much of his speech focused on
justifying the need to continue supporting Israel, Mr Biden asserted that the
United States “remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity
and self-determination”. He called on Israel to uphold “the laws of war” and
restated the goal of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians —
though such a goal seems bleakly distant right now.
US president seeks $100bn for Ukraine
and Israel
“As I said in Israel, as hard as it is,
we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution,” he
said. “Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity and
peace.”
But as The Hill, a newspaper that
focuses on Congressional matters, pointed out “those remarks were brief and had
a perfunctory feel — especially alongside a promise to seek billions of dollars
‘to sharpen Israel’s qualitative military edge’”.
As he vowed to defeat Russia in Ukraine
and Hamas in the Middle East, Mr Biden also warned Iran not to get involved in
the Israel-Hamas conflict. This followed a statement from the Pentagon on
Thursday, saying that a US warship deployed to the Red Sea had shot down three
cruise missiles and several drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen
that may have been aimed at Israel.
The president, however, appeared genuinely
concerned when he spoke about the impact of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on
various ethnic and religious groups living in the United States.
“Here at home, we have to be honest with
ourselves. In recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling
racism, a rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, right here in America,” he said.
“I know many of you in the Muslim
American community, the Arab American community, the Palestinian American
community and so many others are outraged and hardened saying to yourselves,
‘Here we go again with Islamophobia and the distrust we saw after 9/11’,” he
said.“We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must without
equivocation denounce antisemitism. We must also without equivocation denounce
Islamophobia,” he declared.
Source: dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1782454/shun-hatred-of-muslims-and-jews-biden-urges-americans
--------
Hamas attacked Israel to derail its
warming ties with Saudis, says Biden
21 Oct 2023
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 — President Joe Biden
said yesterday that he believed Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel two weeks ago
was aimed at disrupting warming ties between the country and Saudi Arabia.
“One of the reasons why they acted like
they did... why Hamas moved on Israel... (was) because they knew I was about to
sit down with the Saudis,” Biden told guests at a campaign fundraiser.
“The Saudis wanted to recognise
Israel... unite the Middle East,” he said.
Momentum toward a landmark US-brokered
deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — guardian of
Islam’s two holiest sites — was shattered by the October 7 attack by Hamas
militants on Israel.
The Islamist group stormed into Israel
from the Gaza Strip, taking more than 200 hostages and killing at least 1,400
people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death on the
first day of the raid, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has since vowed to destroy Hamas,
and says around 1,500 of the group’s fighters were killed in clashes before its
army regained control of the area initially under attack.
A bombing campaign launched in response
has levelled entire city blocks in Gaza, so far killing 4,137 Palestinians,
mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Saudi officials announced on October 14
during a visit to Riyadh by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the
country had suspended talks with Israel on normalization of relations.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had spoken of progress with Israel but also
insisted on movement on the Palestinian cause.
The Gulf kingdom has never recognised
Israel and has not joined the 2020 Abraham Accords, brokered by the United
States, which led neighbouring Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as
Morocco, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
The Biden administration had pressed
Saudi Arabia to follow suit, with Riyadh demanding in exchange security
guarantees from Washington and assistance in developing a civil nuclear
programme.
In an interview with Fox News last
month, Saudi’s crown prince said he was “getting closer every day” to a
normalization agreement with Israel, while emphasizing the importance of the
Palestinian question for his country.
Hamas, the Palestinian movement in power
in the Gaza Strip, opposes normalization agreements with Israel. — AFP
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2023/10/21/hamas-attacked-israel-to-derail-its-warming-ties-with-saudis-says-biden/97544
--------
CAIR-LA, Partners Meet with Attorney
General to Discuss Rise of Islamophobia and Hate Incidents in California
Ibrahim Hooper
October 20, 20
(LOS ANGELES, CA – 10/20/2023) – The
Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-LA) met with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and representatives
from the newly formed San Diego for Palestine Coalition, the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Muslim American Society-PACE
(MAS-PACE), the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) and
several other Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian organizations on Wednesday, Oct.
18, at the Islamic Center of San Diego. The meeting was held to discuss
incidents of hate that Muslims, Palestinians, and Arabs throughout California
have experienced since the recent tragic events in Gaza.
Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian
rhetoric has been on the rise across the country, as have hate incidents
targeting Muslim and Arab communities—including the six-year-old Palestinian
American boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was murdered in an Islamophobic attack by
his family’s landlord last weekend in Chicago.
CAIR-LA has received numerous direct
reports of hate incidents largely targeting students and employees. In Los
Angeles, students were verbally and physically threatened by masked men for
attending a meeting on the situation in Palestine, and a 10-year-old was shown
a flag of Israel and called a “terrorist” by classmates.
CAIR California—which has additional
offices in the San Francisco/Bay Area, Sacramento Valley/Central California,
and San Diego—has also received reports of hate and bias, including an employee
who was fired after his boss overheard him stating he was going to send money
to relief organizations to support his family in Palestine. Others have
reported being verbally threatened and physically assaulted.
In a statement, CAIR-CA CEO
HussamAyloush said:
“We welcome Attorney General Bonta’s
proactive reaching out to the California Muslim community to learn about its
concerns.
“California Muslims are increasingly
anxious as we observe dangerous rhetoric that continues to dehumanize
Palestinians and Muslims, leading to a rise in anti-Muslim incidents targeting
students, employees, and everyday Muslims in their homes or on the street.
Everyone deserves to be safe.”
In a statement, CAIR-LA Legal &
Policy Director Amr Shabaik, Esq. said:
“Our offices across the state, as well
as partner organizations across the country, have been inundated with calls
from community members who have been victimized by hate crimes, hate incidents,
school bullying, and workplace retaliation.
“We thank the Attorney General for
reaching out to our community and look forward to working with his office to
ensure that Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, and other marginalized communities
are protected across the state.”
At the meeting, Attorney General Bonta
committed to having the California Department of Justice work with state law
enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of Muslims and all
communities in California.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest
Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower
American Muslims.
Source: cair.com
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--------
CAIR-Ohio Condemns Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
Targeting Muslim Representative
Ibrahim Hooper
October 20, 2023
(COLUMBUS, OH – 10/20/23) — The Ohio
Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio), the nation’s
largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the
derogatory and offensive comments directed at State Representative
MuniraAbdullahi, Ohio’s first and only female Muslim legislator. Representative
Abdullahi, a respected member of the Ohio House, was subject to harmful
comments following her lone dissent on a recent symbolic resolution expressing
support for Israel.
SEE: Columbus Muslim lawmaker accused by
GOP rep of ‘standing up for Hamas’
https://abc6onyourside.com/amp/news/local/columbus-muslim-lawmaker-accused-by-gop-rep-of-standing-up-for-hamas
Last week, the Ohio House passed a
resolution expressing support for Israel, without any recognition of the
ongoing occupation and oppression of Palestinians. Representative Abdullahi,
exercising her democratic right to dissent, voted against the resolution, and
while she was not allowed to voice her reasoning on the House floor, she cited
her concerns regarding the lack of mention of Palestinian victims of violence
and the need for balanced representation. This principled stance led to an
onslaught of derogatory and inappropriate comments, including name-calling and
offensive statements from some of her fellow legislators.
“The anti-Muslim hate rhetoric directed
at Representative Abdullahi is deeply troubling,” said CAIR-Ohio Outreach
Director Victoria Hickcox. “This type of vitriol is what has led to a sharp
increase in anti-Muslim violence against our community and anyone who speak for
the human rights of Palestinians. This vitriol from elected officials from all
levels of government is what led to the brutal murder of 6-year-old Wade
Al-Fayoume in Chicago. Such offensive language causes harm to individuals,
especially when their identity is being targeted, and contributes to the rise
in hate crimes targeting both the Muslim and Jewish communities.”
CAIR-Ohio stands in solidarity with
Representative MuniraAbdullahi and her right to express her views and concerns
for the lopsided narrative being pushed by the recent resolution and other
one-sided messaging from elected officials. The comments made against
Representative Abdullahi not only go against the principles of civility and
respect that should guide political discourse but also contribute to the rise
of hate crimes, both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic, as she aptly pointed out.
We condemn any attempt to vilify or marginalize her for standing up for her
principles.
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil
liberties and advocacy organization. CAIR-Ohio has three offices in Ohio –
Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. Its mission is to enhance understanding of
Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Source: cair.com
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--------
CAIR-MN: Minnesota Family Loses 30 Members
in Israeli Attack
Ibrahim Hooper
October 20, 2023
(MINNEAPOLIS, MN, 10/20/23) – The
Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN)
announced today that it has received a report of a devastating impact on the
Minnesota Palestinian community.
An Israeli airstrike reportedly took the
lives of 30 family members of Tariq and Manal Hamouda from Woodbury. They own a
family-operated an eye clinic in Gaza, which is the region’s largest and
oldest. Among the 30 family members killed were four doctors. They lost their
lives when rockets hit their homes. All of Manal’s siblings, spouses, and
children were killed; only the mother of Manal and one nephew survived.
For further information or to schedule
interviews with the Hamouda Family or CAIR-Minnesota representatives, please
CONTACT: CAIR-MN Advocacy Director Osman Ahmed at (612) 459-0334 or
o-ahmed@cair.com, and Executive Director Jaylani Hussein at 612-406-0070 or jhussein@cair.com.
Source: cair.com
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-mn-minnesota-family-loses-30-members-in-israeli-attack/
--------
US and Israel mulling interim government
in Gaza – Bloomberg
21 Oct, 2023
The US and Israel are mulling the
creation of an interim administration in Gaza that would be backed by the UN
and Arab governments, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing sources.
According to people familiar with US
government discussions, the plans are still at an early stage and depend on
future developments, including on whether Israel’s ground operation against
Hamas is a success. The idea, which would effectively see the Palestinian armed
group removed from power, would also require the participation of regional Arab
states, which could be tricky to secure, the report says.
Commenting on the potential of getting
Arab nations on board, William Usher, a former senior Middle East analyst at
the CIA, told Bloomberg that it “would require a major shift in how Arab states
accept risk and work with one another” as well as a “leap of trust” by Israel
at a time when this “commodity [is] in short supply.”
After Hamas launched a surprise attack
on Israel on October 7, leaving thousands of dead and injured, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” the Palestinian group.
On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav
Gallant outlined three phases of war with Hamas. The first would involve aerial
bombardment and ground operations, followed by lower-intensity fighting to
eliminate “pockets of resistance” in Gaza. The final stage would require
“removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip and the
establishment of a new security reality,” he said.
At the same time, Israeli opposition
leader YairLapid suggested on Thursday that the best solution for Gaza after
the conflict is over would be to return it to the control of the West
Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which was ousted by Hamas from the enclave in
2007.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Friday
that the US and some of its European allies are pushing Israel to postpone its
ground operation to win more time to secure the release of hostages held by
Hamas, which has captured some 200 people since the violence began. The same
day, US officials confirmed that the group had set free two American hostages.
Washington has also reportedly exerted
an unprecedented influence over the plan for the ground operation, fearing that
an all-out attack on Gaza may trigger a broader conflict, drawing in Hezbollah,
a Lebanon-based Islamist military group with close ties to Iran.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/585464-us-israel-mulling-interim-government-gaza/
--------
US Justice Dept recommends police hire
former criminals
20 Oct, 2023
The US Department of Justice has urged
police forces to consider hiring people with criminal records, histories of
drug use, and other previously disqualifying factors in a set of recruitment
recommendations released on Tuesday.
The document was compiled by the DOJ’s
Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
with input from dozens of community and policing leaders earlier this
year.
Explaining that law enforcement is
having trouble finding and keeping new recruits who measure up to existing
professional standards, the document suggests police departments reconsider
categorically rejecting candidates with “minor, isolated criminal offenses,
especially where offenses occurred a long time ago.”
Lesser convictions are likely the result
of “minor unwise decisions” made before a candidate’s brain was wholly mature
and capable of fully understanding the consequences of those decisions, the
policing experts argued, insisting that recruiters should always allow
candidates “room for redemption.”
Additionally, visible tattoos and other
“grooming” issues should not keep an individual from joining the force, so long
as they don’t indicate bigotry, the panel reasoned. Nor should a lack of
educational achievement be a stumbling block – recruiters might consider
scrapping written examinations altogether, and a candidate’s financial or
credit history should also be deemphasized, they argued. Even physical fitness
standards should be relaxed, as candidates can get in shape on the job, they
added.
Indeed, the only factors that should
disqualify a candidate from becoming a police officer are extremism, prejudice
or bigotry (expressed or apparent in tattoos, jewelry or dress), a history of
violent or “serious” crime, or “serious” misuse of alcohol or drugs, the
panelists agreed, leaving it up to individual recruiters to define ‘serious’.
The panel stressed that their
suggestions did not entail lowering hiring standards so much as “allowing for
evolution of standards to align with the realities of policing in the 21st
century.”
While the panelists blamed a “tight
labor market” for recruiting difficulties, they also acknowledged that
“frustrations” with police officers and “concerns about officer safety” were
preventing people from applying. Black Lives Matter and the Defund the Police
movement it spawned have not only increased public resentment of the profession
but have helped fuel a spike in resignations among existing officers.
The Police Executive Research Forum
revealed in January that 50% more officers resigned in 2022 than in 2019, while
the total number of sworn officers employed in the US has declined by 5% since
2019.
Some states, including California,
Illinois, and Colorado, have become so desperate to repopulate their police
forces that they have invited illegal immigrants to join, a move many have
condemned for allowing un-vetted individuals who broke the law to enter the US
to wield power – and weapons – against law-abiding citizens.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/585449-justice-department-police-hire-criminals/
--------
Canadian PM says India’s actions making
life hard for millions of people
October 21, 2023
OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
said on Friday the Indian government’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was
making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.
Trudeau spoke a day after Canada said it
had withdrawn 41 diplomats following an Indian threat to unilaterally revoke
their status.
New Delhi is angry that Trudeau last
month suggested Indian agents might have been involved in the June murder of a
Sikh separatist leader in Canada. India denies the allegation.
“The Indian government is making it
unbelievably difficult for life as usual to continue for millions of people in
India and in Canada. And they’re doing it by contravening a very basic
principle of diplomacy,” Trudeau said.
“It’s something that has me very
concerned for the wellbeing and happiness of millions of Canadians who trace
their origins to the Indian subcontinent,” he told reporters at a televised
press conference in Brampton, Ontario.
Trudeau said the expulsion of some of
Canada’s diplomats will hamper travel and trade and pose difficulties for
Indians studying in Canada.
Around two million Canadians, 5 percent
of the overall population, have Indian heritage. India is by far Canada’s
largest source of global students, making up for roughly 40 percent of study
permit holders.
The Indian foreign ministry earlier
rejected the idea it had violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic
relations.
“The state of our bilateral relations,
the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued
interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic
presence in New Delhi and Ottawa,” it said in a statement. Canada now has 21
diplomats remaining in India.
The US State Department on Friday backed
Canada in the dispute over diplomats.
“We have urged the Indian government not
to insist upon a reduction in Canada’s diplomatic presence and to cooperate in
the ongoing Canadian investigation,” said spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2395066/world
-------
Europe
Russian security forces detain Muslims
outside Crimea mosque
21 October 2023
In the temporarily occupied Crimea’s
Simferopol, Russian law enforcers conducted a raid outside a local mosque,
demanding that worshipers produce their IDs and detaining some of them.
This is reported by a rights initiative
“Tribunal. The Crimean episode” via Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
"Russian Guardsmen and operatives
with the Center for Countering Extremism are IDing people coming out of the
mosque on the outskirts of Simferopol after a Friday prayer. Some are detained
but their legal status remains unclear," the report reads.
Read also: Ukrainian weapons for HAMAS,
“Jewish threat” to Ukraine: Russian propaganda exploiting conflict in Middle
East
It is noted that unprovoked mass checks
and even more so detentions violate the rights and freedoms of local citizens,
while any detentions after a religious ceremony points to persecution on
religious grounds. According to the Rome Statute, which governs the
International Tribunal in its judgments, such actions are seen as crimes
against humanity.
It was previously reported that in the
temporarily occupied Crimea, over the nine months of 2023, the Russian
occupation authorities arrested 182 citizens, of which 122 were Crimean Tatars.
Source: ukrinform.net
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https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3776746-russian-security-forces-detain-muslims-outside-crimea-mosque.html
---------
Majority of Germans believe Muslim
migration a ‘security risk’
October 21, 2023
JOHN CODY
Almost three-quarters of Germans
consider immigration from Islamic countries to be a high security risk,
according to an Insa poll commissioned by Bild newspaper.
The poll found that 71.1 percent of
respondents believe immigrants from countries with a strong Islamic influence
pose a “security risk for Germany.” On the contrary, only 9.1 percent answered
in the negative. Another 19.8 percent gave no answer.
The poll also shows that 57.7 percent of
Germans say they are convinced there are “many” Muslims in Germany who support
terror against Israel, while 18.1 percent reject this assertion. Another 24.2
percent did not provide an answer.
Pro-Palestinian marches, which have
dissolved into violence in some German cities, have made headlines across the
country in recent days.
The poll also found that 62.5 percent of
Germans believe those who have cheered Hamas should be “punished,” although it
is unclear what kind of punishment this would entail. Another 20.2 percent
reject any punishment, while 17.3 percent have no opinion.
Only German supporters of the Green
Party saw a majority of voters reject the assertion that immigrants from Muslim
countries present a security risk.
Over the last year, polling shows that
Germans are increasingly opposed to mass immigration. A poll released earlier
this month showed that 64 percent of Germans want fewer immigrants ,while the
same number say immigrants bring more disadvantages than advantages. In turn,
Germany’s anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has surged in
the polls, rising to a record of 23 percent.
Source: rmx.news
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https://rmx.news/germany/majority-of-germans-believe-muslim-migration-a-security-risk/
---------
France evacuates airports over hoax bomb
threats – media
20 Oct, 2023
Fourteen airports in France received
bomb threats on Thursday, triggering evacuations from at least eight, an inside
source told AFP. It was the second such incident in two days.
The French Civil Aviation Authority
confirmed that “several national airports, including Nantes, received threats
of attack [Thursday] morning,” but did not specify how many or which airports
were affected.
Brest (Finistere), Bordeaux-Merignac
(Gironde), Montpellier (Herault), and Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) were among
those evacuated. Lille Airport was also evacuated due to a bomb threat on
Thursday, it revealed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
It was the second time in as many days
that Nantes, Rennes, and Lille airports were forced to evacuate due to hoax
threats. A total of 17 “threats of attack” were called in to airports on
Wednesday, leading to 15 evacuations. The authorities closed the facilities to
“clear up any doubts” about the veracity of the threats, police sources told
AFP.
Strasbourg Airport confirmed it had
evacuated on Wednesday in response to “a malicious email,” while Beauvais
revealed an “anonymous threat” had been received by several airports, and Nice
reported an “abandoned baggage item” had triggered the panic. Other airports
affected on Wednesday included Toulouse, Biarritz, Pau, and Lyon.
Wednesday’s evacuations led to 130
canceled flights, as well as numerous delays.
Transport Minister Clement Beaune
pledged to crack down on phony bomb threats in a post on X on Thursday. “These
false alerts are not bad jokes. They are crimes,” he wrote, warning
perpetrators that penalties for “organized false alarms” include up to two
years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti
warned false bomb threats could incur even steeper penalties – up to three
years in prison and a €45,000 fine.
Paris’ Louvre Museum and its attached
underground shopping center were both evacuated and closed for the day on
Saturday after staff received a written message warning of a “risk to the
museum and its visitors.”
The palace at Versailles was also
evacuated on Saturday after receiving a bomb threat via anonymous online
message. It has since been evacuated three more times due to security threats,
with the most recent incident taking place on Thursday.
France has been under its highest
possible terror threat level since last Friday after a Chechen Muslim immigrant
suspected of Islamic radicalization stabbed a teacher to death and wounded two
others in an attack on his former school in Arras, an incident that Interior
Minister Gerald Darmanin connected to Israel’s war with Hamas. Some 7,000
troops have been deployed as part of the joint military-police initiative
Operation Sentinelle in order to beef up security nationwide.
Source: rt.com
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https://www.rt.com/news/585440-france-evacuates-airports-bomb-hoaxes/
--------
Islamophobic hate crimes soar amid
Israel war on Gaza: London police
20 October 2023
There has been a 140 percent increase in
lslamophobic hate crimes in the British capital amid the brutal Israeli
bombardment of the Gaza Strip, London’s Metropolitan police said.
Between October 1 and 18, the
Metropolitan Police recorded 103 Islamophobic incidents in London, up from 42 across the same period
last year.
Police said a man was arrested for 10
alleged incidents of Islamophobic graffiti at bus stops in New Malden and
Raynes Park, south London.
“Regrettably, despite the increased
presence of officers we have seen a significant increase in hate crime across
London," police said in a statement on Friday.
"This includes abuse directed at
individuals or groups in person or online, racially or religiously motivated
criminal damage and other offences."
TellMama, which monitors anti-Muslim
incidents, said it had received 200 cases up to October 16.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also confirmed
that the war on Gaza "is having a direct impact on London and Londoners,
with increasing cases of abhorrent Islamophobia and anti-semitism seen in the
capital."
Police said there had been 218 anti-semitic
offences between October 1 and 18, compared to 15 in the same period in 2022.
The Israeli regime launched its deadly
bombing campaign over the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian resistance group
Hamas waged Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying regime.
Well over 4,100 Palestinians have so far
been killed across the Strip, according to figures from the health ministry.
Nearly 13,500 individuals have also been injured.
Ever since reports of Islamophobic acts
and attacks on pro-Palestine activists have been growing across the world.
Observers say Muslims — especially women
wearing a hijab — have been insulted and attacked on the streets.
Earlier this week, a six-year-old
Palestinian boy was murdered in cold blood by his landlord in the United States.
Police in southwestern Chicago charged
71-year-old Joseph M. Czuba with murder and hate crime on Monday for fatally
stabbing Wadea al-Fayoume, and seriously wounding his 32-year-old mother on
Sunday.
Czuba, the landlord, entered the
apartment and stabbed the little boy 26 times.
The gruesome murder of the child came
days after President Joe Biden of the United States claimed that he saw
pictures of beheaded children following a Hamas operation in Israel.
The White House walked back the
president’s claim, with the Washington Post citing from the White House that
Biden based his comments on the claims from Israel's Prime minister's spokesman
and media reports.
However, Biden's remarks were featured
on the front pages of Western newspapers.
Source: presstv.ir
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/10/20/713104/Islamophobic-hate-crimes-up-in-London-Israel-war-on-Gaza-
---------
Pakistan
Blocking army chief’s selection Imran’s
biggest folly, says Sheikh Rashid
October 21, 2023
Aamir Yasin
RAWALPINDI: The mysterious re-emergence
of “missing” political leaders in TV interviews continued on Friday when the
face of Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed flashed on TV
screens after a disappearance of 34 days.
In the interview, Mr Rashid kept
professing his proximity to the army and said that attempting to block the
appointment of Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir was PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s
biggest mistake.
As with previous interviews of former
PTI leaders Usman Dar and Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Mr Ahmed also denounced the May 9
attacks and called for a general amnesty for all those currently facing trial
over the violent protests following Mr Khan’s arrest.
Mr Ahmed appeared in the interview a day
after the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court ordered police to recover
him by Oct 26. He was allegedly picked up from his residence in Rawalpindi on
Sept 17, according to his lawyer.
AML leader appears in TV interview after
disappearance; says May 9 attacks result of PTI leaders’ narrative
Sitting across from Muneeb Farooq on
Samaa TV, the AML chief, who is usually flamboyant and candid in interviews,
appeared shaken.
When the host asked about his
whereabouts, Mr Rashid said: “Just assume I was on a chilla [with] a
tableeghijamaat (proselytisers). I kept reading the [Holy] Quran during these
40 days.”
When asked why he wanted to give an
interview, Mr Ahmed said, “This has become a tradition”.
‘Black Day’
When asked about the May 9 attack, Mr
Ahmed said, “It was a black day in the country’s history.”
“I immediately condemned that,” he said,
while referring to the attacks on army installations, which he called a
“turning point in the country’s political history and the main reason for the PTI
chief’s downfall”.
He alleged the attacks resulted from a
narrative built and propagated by certain party leaders. “This didn’t happen in
one day. Gathering such a huge crowd and inflicting so much damage; it can’t
happen in a single day.”
According to Mr Rashid, the military
would take action against “non-political actors” involved in the attacks in
line with their rules, but for the political workers who were dragged into the
game, a general pardon should be granted.
“During my time in solitude, I decided
to start a struggle to secure a general amnesty for poor political workers who
were dragged into a political game,” he said, adding that he would request
Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir to pardon all those involved in May 9
attacks.
Going back to 2022, when Mr Khan was
ousted through a no-confidence motion, the AML chief said he was of the view
that PTI shouldn’t initiate a confrontation with the army.
He disclosed that he wanted to play the
role of a mediator, but Mr Khan did not allow him to do so.
Mr Rashid said “three people” were
mediating between Mr Khan and the establishment, but all of them had now formed
their party. He, however, only named former defence minister Pervaiz Khattak as
one of the negotiators.
Imran’s biggest mistake
Commenting on PTI’s long march in 2022 ,
the AML chief claimed the march’s objectives were much more than just
mobilising people. “It’s not right to share those things now.”
When Mr Ahmed was asked why the PTI
chief “attempted to stop Gen Munir’s appointment as COAS, he said, “This was
the biggest mistake”.
“We, the politicians, should come out of
this issue. This should be left up to the army,” he said with regard to the
appointment of the army chief.
“Those around Mr Khan thought they had a
lot of say within [the army ranks],” he said, adding that those PTI leaders
thought if they reached Rawalpindi, they’d be supported by those officers.
Source: dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1782508/blocking-army-chiefs-selection-imrans-biggest-folly-says-sheikh-rashid
---------
‘Thousands’ join MQM-P rally against
Israeli atrocities
October 21, 2023
Imran Ayub
KARACHI: A large number of people from
diverse backgrounds took to streets on Friday on the call of the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to express their solidarity with the people of
Palestine and condemn the Israeli atrocities against civilians in Gaza.
The rally, staged on Sharea Faisal by
the MQM-P and attended by what the party claimed “thousands” of workers and
supporters of many political and religious parties, demanded Muslim countries
in particular and the world in general to play their role to stop the genocide
of Palestinian population.
The rally participants criticised
western governments for their disappointing response to continuous Israeli air
raids on Gaza over the last several days, which caused thousands of casualties
of civilian men, women and children.
A large number of people, including
women and children, took part in the MQM-P’s rally held along Sharea Faisal
near the Nursery bus stop. Apart from the MQM leadership and Iranian consul
general, leaders of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party,
Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP), members of
various civil society organisations also participated and addressed the rally.
Speaking on the occasion, MQM-P convener
Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui described the fresh assault as ‘genocide’ of
Palestinian people in Gaza and called the attacks from the Israeli forces
“barbaric and inhuman”.
He called on Israel to vacate the
illegally occupied territory and urged the Islamic countries to use their
influence to prevent the killing of innocent Palestinians, seeking a lasting
resolution to the issue.
He praised the bravery of Palestinians
in the face of Israeli airstrikes and missile attacks on hospitals, schools and
residences, expressing hope that their sacrifices would eventually lead to the
liberation of Palestine from the Israeli occupation.
Former Karachi mayor and senior MQM-P
leader Mustafa Kamal expressed his concerns at the situation in Gaza and
condemned indiscriminate bombing that targeted innocent refugees, volunteers,
and paramedical staff at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, describing the attacks as
clear violations of human rights requiring immediate international
intervention.
“Every form of resistance against
Israeli apartheid is a legitimate response to the oppression and violence faced
by Palestinians. A lasting peace in Gaza and Palestine cannot be achieved
without Israel putting an end to its settler colonial expansion and reverting
to the borders as they stood before 1967,” he said.
Source: dawn.com
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--------
Khattak claims Imran Khan opposed BRT
project
October 21, 2023
PESHAWAR: Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf-Parliamentarians chairman Pervez Khattak on Friday claimed that
his former leader and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan had opposed the
construction of Bus Rapid Transit project in the provincial capital.
“A large number of people are now using
the mass transit, which he had established despite strong opposition from Imran
Khan,” he claimed while speaking at a workers’ convention of PTI-P here.
Former chief minister Mahmood Khan,
former lawmakers IsthiaqUrmar, Shaukat Ali and ZiaullahBangash also attended
the convention.
Mr Khattak said that being chief
minister during the first tenure of PTI, he had constructed a network of roads
in the province, which had eased the lives of people in KP.
“Politicians made promises with the
people during their election campaigns but never bothered to fulfill them after
coming into power,” he said.
“Those who pushed the country into
economic mess should be held accountable by the people in elections,” he said,
claiming that he had set up the new party to counter the ‘thieves’.
On the occasion, former provincial
minister Ishtiaq Urmer said that Pervez Khattak had put KP on the track of
development when he was the chief executive of the province. He said that a lot
of facilities were provided to the masses in the education and health sectors.
Former chief minister Mahmood Khan said
that the rulers of the Muslim world should break their ‘silence’ on the Israeli
atrocities against the innocent and unarmed people of Palestine.
He also urged the human rights
organisations to play their vital role in stopping the bombardment of
Palestinians.
Source: dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1782423/khattak-claims-imran-khan-opposed-brt-project
----------
Afghan held with forged Pakistani
documents
October 21, 2023
PESHAWAR: The Federal Investigation
Agency’s Anti-Corruption Circle arrested an Afghan national for carrying forged
Pakistani documents, officials said.
They said on an intelligence report, a
raid was conducted on the University Road, where Habibullah, an Afghan, was
taken into custody.
“The accused had arrived from
Afghanistan. The raiding team recovered a Pakistani national identity card, a
passport and a border crossing token from the accused,” an FIA official said.
He said the Afghan planned to travel to
Saudi Arabia using Pakistani credentials.
Meanwhile, FIA’s Commercial Banking
Circle arrested two persons for allegedly running illegal currency exchange and
hundi-hawala.
Officials said a raid was conducted at
the Chowk Yadgar and two accused – Wahdat Khan and Mazhar Ali – were arrested.
The officials said the raiding team also
recovered Rs0.9 million, 400 Saudi Riyal and 7,200 Afghani from the accused.
“We also recovered hundi-hawala receipts
from the accused persons,” an FIA official said, adding a case had registered
against them under Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1947.
Source: dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1782411/afghan-held-with-forged-pakistani-documents
---------
Two former ministers ‘arrested’ in fresh
crackdown on PTI in KP
October 21, 2023
PESHAWAR: Two former provincial
ministers were reportedly arrested and several others managed to escape as
police launched a fresh crackdown on the leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.
PTI workers and family members claimed
that police arrested former minister for higher education Kamran Bangash while
raids were conducted on the houses of former ministers and lawmakers in
Peshawar.
In Bajaur tribal district, police
arrested former provincial minister and PTI provincial vice president Anwarzeb
Khan in Civil Colony for arranging a public gathering on Thursday in connection
with the release of party’s former MNA Gul Zafar Khan in Mamond tehsil in
violation of Section 144.
Police had registered FIR against 15 PTI
leaders and workers including Anwarzeb Khan for arranging the public gathering.
Police keep mum over its new campaign
In a statement posted on X formerly
Twitter, former provincial finance minister and PTI leader TaimurJhagra said
that police arrested former minister Kamran Bangash. He said that police also
raided the houses of former MNA Arbab Sher Ali, former MPA Fazl Elahi and PTI
Peshawar chapter leader Irfan Saleem.
The raids were apparently conducted
after Supreme Court on Thursday suspended an order of Peshawar High Court (PHC)
that had granted ‘blanket bail’ to some of the PTI leaders in different cases.
Drawing attention of Chief Minister
Mohammad Azam Khan, TaimurJhagra said: “Today, your force, on video, arrested
Kamran Bangash at 2pm and have not produced him in Chamkani police station.
Similar raids were also made on his house.”
Mr Jhagra said that just days ago, the
provincial government had given an undertaking that it would not take any
illegal action. “The government has also surpassed the new line of entering
houses in KP. “Well done for starting this new tradition,” he added.
He said that Kamran must be produced in
a police station immediately. He said that they urged the chief justice of
Peshawar High Court to take notice as to how those people working on a state
salary were using state power to break the law.
“We trusted, and trust the Peshawar High
Court in giving us justice. We kept on saying, we have nothing to hide, and
want to prove our innocence. It is the law that is hiding,” he said.
“To the PHC chief justice, if we are in
the wrong, feel free to hang us. But if the government is violating the law
with impunity, then sir, please ensure that justice is done. Those ruling this
province cannot escape accountability for their actions,” he said.
Earlier in the day, police arrested Mr
Bangash in a raid carried out in Chamkani area on outskirts of the provincial
capital.
Former PTI lawmaker Kamran Bangash can
be seen being arrested by a police team, led by DSP Zahid Alam, in a video.
Police, however, did not share their version about the incident.
“Signals are week and I think the signal
jammers are active,” DSP Alam told Dawn by telephone when asked about the
arrest of the former minister. Later, he could not be reached for an official
version despite repeated attempts.
Police sources, however, said that Mr
Bangash was arrested in a fresh case registered against him since he had
obtained bail in the previous cases for his alleged involvement in May 9 riots.
In a video message, Mr Bangash’s brother
AfnanBangash alleged that a team, with mostly police from Chamkani police
station, picked up his brother. “Any statement, which comes from Kamran
Bangash, would be illegal and would be recorded at gunpoint,” he said in the
video.
PTI youth wing central president Mina
Khan Afridi also claimed that police arrested Kamran Bangash.
Source: dawn.com
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1782425/two-former-ministers-arrested-in-fresh-crackdown-on-pti-in-kp
---------
PM, Palestinian President discuss
current situation in Palestine
October 20, 2023
Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar
telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, to discuss the latest
situation resulting from the ongoing brutalities of Israeli occupation forces
against innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Prime Minister expressed Pakistan's
strong condemnation of the incessant and lethal bombardment by Israeli
occupation forces, particularly the bombing of Al-Ahli hospital.
He termed these as deplorable and wilful
acts of Israeli aggression against innocent Palestinians that resulted in loss
of more than 3000 precious lives and left over 12000 injured.
Both leaders emphasized the need for the
international community to urge Israel to immediately halt the bloodshed.
They also agreed on the necessity of
lifting the blockade on Gaza to facilitate delivery of vital humanitarian aid
and medical assistance to the affected people.
Pakistan has also dispatched its first
batch of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian people that landed in Egypt
yesterday.
The Prime Minister stressed that the
international community, particularly the United Nations, needed to take
resolute measures to resolve this crisis and uphold established principles of
justice, humanity and international law.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed
Pakistan's unwavering commitment to a just and lasting resolution of the
Palestinian conflict, based on the “two-state” solution, leading to the
establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem
as its capital, and the borders that existed prior to 1967.
The Palestinian President thanked
Pakistan for longstanding and sustained support to the Palestinian people in
their struggle for freedom from Israeli occupation.
Meanwhile in a post on his social media
platform X, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said in his address to the
students of Xinjiang University in Urumqi, he raised voice to speak for the
voiceless people of Gaza under Israel’s ruthless aggression.
He also shared a video clip of his
address where he said, the situation in Middle East particularly with reference
to Gaza has saddened millions of peace-loving people across the globe coming
from diversified ethnic and religious groups.
He said this act of barbarism has
appalled everyone including Pakistani and Chinese nations.
The Prime Minister vowed to play his
role to stop this barbaric act against the innocent Palestine civilians.
Source: radio.gov.pk
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https://www.radio.gov.pk/20-10-2023/pm-palestinian-president-discuss-current-situation-in-palestine
---------
South Asia
Govt Will Not Endure Without People’s
Support: Acting Afghan Interior Minister
October 20, 2023
NaweedSamadi,
In a meeting with Kabul province
authorities, the acting Interior Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, said that
bringing Afghanistan into "obedience" does not demonstrate the
improvement of physical strength but rather the improvement of
"spiritual" strength.
He also said that the interim government
will not continue without the support of the people.
During the meeting, Haqqani said that
silencing the revolutionary people in the 34 provinces of Afghanistan and
making them obey is not something that can be done by force.
“If we really surrender to God, the
people will obey the government, if we are bad inside but good outside, God
will make us scandalous and we will not endure. If we don’t obey God, we will
be beaten,” he said.
“There was fighting against the
invasion. It was struggles of the Islamic Emirate’s forces and it was Jihad.
Now we are in another level of Jihad, which is stability and steadiness of the
Islamic government,” said Mohammad Qassim Khalid, governor of Kabul.
Meanwhile, the head of the Kabul
department of intelligence, Mohammad Arif, emphasized the need for
implementation of the edicts of the Islamic Emirate leaders’ decrees in a bid
to pave the ground for a “sharia government.”
“Every decree which is issued by the
leaders, including the decree of Amirul Momineen [Islamic Emirate’s leader], we
should consider it with respect and bring it into effect,” he said.
On the other hand, the deputy Interior
Ministry, Mohammad Nabi Omari, called on the Islamic Emirate’s forces to treat
the people with proper behavior.
“Some of the people have complained that
when we go to the governor or commander, we were ignored… my brothers we should
pay attention to these points,” he said.
This comes as the citizens across the
country have repeatedly complained about the mistreatment of the Islamic
Emirate’s forces.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-185638
---------
Over 3,000 Afghan refugees expelled from
Pakistan in one day
Fidel Rahmati
October 20, 2023
The state-run radio of Pakistan reported
that 3,248 Afghan refugees have been returned to Afghanistan from this country.
According to Pakistani authorities,
since the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented migrants was set, more
than 51,000 Afghans have been deported.
Jan Achakzai, Balochistan Province’s
Minister of Information, highlighted Pakistan’s intensified efforts to combat
illegal immigration. He emphasized that these actions go beyond Afghan
refugees, with measures like the November 1st expulsion deadline applying to
all undocumented immigrants in the province, showcasing the government’s
dedication to upholding order and security.
Additionally, as reported by the Express
Tribune, a specialised branch has been tasked with identifying and addressing
illegal immigrant presence across Balochistan.
Earlier, Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister of
Interior of the interim government of Pakistan, had warned that with the end of
the deadline for the expulsion of undocumented Afghan migrants, the country
would not compromise on this decision.
Pakistani authorities report
successfully repatriating over a thousand Afghan families to Afghanistan
through the Chaman border crossing.
Despite international appeals, including
those from the United Nations and the current Taliban administration, urging
Pakistani authorities to cease the expulsion of Afghan migrants, the Pakistani
government remains steadfast in its warning to refugees.
They have been given a deadline of
November 1st to leave the country voluntarily, with the looming threat of
forced expulsion if they fail to comply.
Source: khaama.com
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---------
Bangladesh Climate Change MinisterFor
Sharing Advanced Green Technologies Among Muslim Nations
20 Oct 2023
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Oct 20, 2023 (BSS)
- Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin has underscored
the need for mutual exchange of the benefit of advanced green technologies
among all the developing Muslim countries aiming to drive a wider structural
shift and foster sustainable transition in particularly climate vulnerable
countries like Bangladesh.
"Public funds from multilateral
sources have to be prioritized...the benefit of clean, green, and advanced
green technologies needs to be shared with all the developing Muslim countries
for the greater benefit of climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh,"
Shahab Uddin said.
The minister made this appeal while
attending the 9th conference of Environment Ministers in Saudi Arabia's port
city Jeddah on Thursday.
"We look forward to enhance our
collaboration in the areas of environment, climate change and energy", he
told the first scientific session of the conference titled 'Green
Transformation in the Islamic World: Challenges and Opportunities'.
"We urge Islamic World Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization or ICESCO, a specialized organization, to
consolidate our partnership to ensure environment-friendly green growth and
make the world a safer and better place for our future generation," Shahab
Uddin added.
The minister said Bangladesh government
strongly condemns atrocities by occupying Israel forces in Palestine,
Indiscriminate Killing of civilian people, Large Scale destruction causing
unprecedented sufferings of millions of Philistines in front of the Whole
world.
The government of Bangladesh, under the
dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is trying its best to make
the country climate resilient, the minister noted.
Abdulrahman Al-Fadley, Minister of
Environment, Water and Agriculture, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dr. Salim M.
Almalik, Director General of ICESCO were present on the occasion.
Iqbal Abdullah Harun, additional
secretary (admin), Mohammad Abdul Wadud Chowdhury, (joint secretary-environment),
and Md. Akhteruzzaman, Private Secretary to the minister were present at the
function.
Source: bssnews.net
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https://www.bssnews.net/news/153798
--------
US calls on Afghanistan’s neighbours to
accept Afghan migrants
Fidel Rahmati
October 20, 2023
The U.S. State Department on Thursday
“strongly” urged neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, including Pakistan, to
allow Afghan migrants to enter their territory.
The department encouraged these
countries to handle migrants in accordance with international laws.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State
Department regarding the expulsion of Afghan migrants stated:
“We strongly urge Afghanistan’s
neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, to open their borders and provide a
safe haven for Afghan migrants in search of refuge, refraining from turning
them away.”
The State Department spokesperson
requested these countries to provide humanitarian services to these migrants in
cooperation with international organizations.
Pakistan has given over a million
undocumented Afghan migrants a deadline of the first of November to leave the
country. Meanwhile, the Interior Minister of Iran stated that “illegal” Afghan
migrants should exit Iran.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that
Pakistani police have been arresting, harassing, and detaining Afghan migrants
to force them to leave the country.
Amid Iranian authorities’ claims of
issues caused by Afghan migrants, a surge in anti-Afghan sentiment has emerged,
with reports of violence against Afghan migrants in the Qazvin province.
Source: khaama.com
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Protest Held in Kabul in Support of
Palestinians
October 20, 2023
NaweedSamadi
A number of Kabul residents marched in
support of the Palestinians after Friday prayers.
They say that only distributing
statements and sending messages of sympathy cannot help the Palestinian people,
and that practical steps must be taken in this regard.
“There is no one to support them. They
have been surrounded within a circle and are being bombarded from above,” said
Sher Mohammad Haqmal, a protestor.
Some of the residents meanwhile expressed
criticism of the Islamic countries, saying that only financial support cannot
help alleviate the problems of the people of Palestine.
“The Muslims of all countries should
come together and help as they did with the people affected in the Herat earthquake.
The people in Palestine also need assistance,” said Ahmadullah, a protestor.
The protest comes amid a horrific war
between Israel and Hamas that also caused death and injuries to hundreds of
civilians including women and children.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-185637
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US embassy in Dhaka flies flag at
half-staff
Oct 21, 2023
US Embassy in Bangladesh today hoisted
its flag at half-mast to "mourn every innocent life lost" in the
ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Hass
has ordered the US Embassy flag to be flown at half-staff today, according to
an embassy press release issued yesterday.
"We mourn civilians of every faith
and every nationality who have been killed in the conflict," said
Secretary of US State Anthony Blinken, the press release reads.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is observing a
one-day state mourning today for the Palestinians killed in recent Israeli
attacks.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/patuakhali-1-mp-shahjahan-mia-passes-away-3448891
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Bangladesh observes Day of Mourning for Palestinians
Oct 21, 2023
Bangladesh is observing a Day of
Mourning today for the Palestinians killed in recent Israeli attacks.
All government, semi-government,
autonomous and private institutions and Bangladesh missions abroad are keeping
the national flag at half-mast in observance of the mourning day.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the
announcement on Thursday while addressing a programme arranged in SarakBhaban
in Dhaka's Tejgaon.
Israel launched a ruthless bombing
campaign in Gaza on October 7 killing at least 4,185 people so far.
More than one million people have been
displaced in the Palestinian enclave, said UN.
Source: thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/pm-inaugurates-15-storey-bar-council-building-3448906
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Southeast Asia
Report: Malaysians linked to 2002 Bali
bombings to plead guilty in Guantanamo Bay next week, paving way for possible
return home
By Ben Tan
21 Oct 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — The two Malaysian
terror suspects, currently incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp in
Cuba since 2006, are reportedly expected to plead guilty to terrorism charges,
according to court documents.
Washington-based Benar News reported
that court documents identified the first suspect as Mohammed Farik Amin who is
prepared to plead guilty during a court hearing on Monday at the Guantanamo Bay
naval base in Cuba.
The report, published yesterday, pointed
towards the possibility that Mohammed Farik’s guilty plea would enable his
return to Malaysia and could be discussed during hearings next week.
Mohammed Farik and another Malaysian
Mohammed Nazir Lep have been imprisoned by the United States military in the
Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp after being charged with their role in the 2002
and 2003 deadly bombings in Indonesia.
“The commission will call for the
accused to enter pleas consistent with the terms of the offer for pretrial
agreement. The Commission will conduct an inquiry into the providence of the
accused’s plea.
“The Commission will also inquire into
the terms and conditions of the PTA (pretrial agreement) to ensure there is an
agreement between the convening authority and the accused and a shared
understanding of the meaning and effect of the terms of the PTA,” said the
court documents that were sighted by Benar News in the report.
Mohammed Farik and Mohammed Nazir have
been charged alongside Indonesian terror suspect EncepNurjaman, who is better
known by his nom de guerre Hambali, with conspiracy, murder, attempted murder,
intentionally causing serious bodily injury, terrorism, attacking civilians,
attacking civilian objects, and destruction of property linked to the deadly
bombings in Bali and Jakarta in 2002 and 2003 — Indonesia’s worst-ever
terrorist attack.
The three are said to be linked with the
notorious Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which had ties to
al-Qaeda.
The report stated that a subsequent
document added Mohammed Nazir as the second defendant, with the US Office of
Military Commissions spokesman Ron Flesvig confirming the matter.
“It has since been amended to include
Mohammed Nazir Lep,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Flesvig could not confirm if
any plea deal would occur during the court hearings on Monday.
Malay Mail is seeking further comments
and confirmation from the Home Ministry and its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin
Nasution Ismail.
Both Malaysian terror suspects were reported
to have been recruited by Encep to serve as intermediaries in the transfer of
money used to fund JI.
JI has been held responsible for the
suicide bombings in Bali which killed 202 people in 2002, and Jakarta’s JW
Marriot Hotel in August 2003 which killed 11 and wounded more than 80.
All three were captured in Thailand in
2003 and transferred to CIA “black sites,” where they were brutalised and
subjected to torture, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report
released in 2014.
They have been detained in a military
prison in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp for the past 17 years.
Source: malaymail.com
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Nurul Izzah stands in solidarity with
MWCQP against injustice in Palestine
21 Oct 2023
KUALA LUMPUR - The Malaysian Women's
Coalition for Al-Quds and Palestine (MWCQP) demonstrated unwavering courage and
determination in their stand against the ongoing genocide against Palestinians,
by handing over protest notes to the US Embassy.
PKR vice-president, Nurul Izzah Anwar,
who was among the notable figures present, stressed the need for the
international community to recognise and respond to the injustices faced by the
Palestinian people.
"The World Health Organisation and
United Nations have spoken out against the atrocities, as even they become
victims - with 57 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since October 7.
“It's imperative that the international
community, especially America, acknowledge their complicity in this. The
official position of America stands clear. It is shameful.
“Islamic countries must come together at
this crucial juncture and condemn the US veto against the Security Council
resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver
lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza,” she stressed.
She called upon countries like the
United Kingdom to hear the pleas of Malaysians and the voices of global
citizens demanding an end to this genocide.
“Justice is the cornerstone of humanity
and without it, there can never be an end to this strife.
“I also implore international media
outlets to provide balanced, truthful reporting. Every Palestinian child is
valuable and we all are responsible for ending this cycle of violence and
working towards a just resolution for the Palestinian people,” added the prime
minister’s daughter.
MWCQP said it would continue to rally
for justice, human rights, and the preservation of humanity in Palestine. - The
Vibes, October 21, 2023
Source: thevibes.com
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PM Anwar discusses Palestine-Israel
conflict with Muslim World League
21 Oct 2023
RIYADH, Oct 21 — The Palestinian-Israeli
conflict was among matters discussed by Malaysia with the Muslim World League
here last night.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
discussed the matter with the Secretary General of the Muslim World League
Muhammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa during a visit to the league’s office here.
Anwar was accompanied by Foreign
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zamry Abdul Kadir.
During the closed-door meeting, they
discussed, among others, the issue of the attacks against Palestine and the
consensus that should be taken by leaders of Muslim countries and the world’s
network of scholars regarding the conflict.
They also discussed the issue of dakwah
and Islamic education in conjunction with the International Ulama Muzakarah
that will be organised in Malaysia.
Anwar is here to attend the Asean-Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) Summit which ended yesterday.
In his speech at the summit yesterday,
Anwar urged the international community to end the brutal treatment and
hypocrisy towards the Palestinian people.
He said the international community can
no longer turn a blind eye to the atrocities and must take action to address
the root causes of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Apart from that, Anwar, who is also the
Finance Minister, proposed an Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to maximise the economic
potential of both regions.
According to him, the Asean-GCC
relations have grown by leaps and bounds since they first formalised relations
in 1990. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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Fahmi criticises PAS president Hadi for
not using opportunity as MP to question PM Anwar
21 Oct 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 ― Communications
and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who is the spokesman for the unity
government, today criticised the action of PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi
Awang who described Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as not taking a
strong enough stand on the Palestinian issue.
He said Abdul Hadi, who is Marang Member
of Parliament for Marang, could ask the prime minister in Parliament if there
was any issue, but did not do so nor did he attend Parliament sitting.
“From October 9 to October 19, Abdul
Hadi only attended parliament sitting once, on October 16, the same day the
Prime Minister made a statement on the Palestinian issue. So, he (Abdul Hadi)
had the opportunity to ask.
“But did Abdul Hadi criticise or oppose
the Prime Minister's statement? Not at all,” said Fahmi through a post on his X
account.
Fahmi was commenting on Abdul Hadi's
statement at a press conference in conjunction with the PAS Mukatamar in Shah
Alam, Selangor, yesterday when asked about Anwar’s stand on the Israeli
regime's oppression of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Through the post, Fahmi also shared the
Parliament Hansard dated October 16 when Anwar made the statement on the
Palestinian issue at 11.37am.
“Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah
Zainudin spoke afterwards and even congratulated the prime minister over the
government's stance on the Palestine issue.
“Suddenly Abdul Hadi interrupted. But
out of the 136 words he spoke, not a single word was to respond, refute,
protest or criticise the Prime Minister's statement which is said to be not
strong enough...Is this how a 'pious' man or a preacher behaves? Abdul Hadi is
clearly a person with vengeance,” he said.
Last October 16, the prime minister said
that the deployment of Malaysian military forces to Palestine, including for
peacekeeping or humanitarian missions, can only be done after achieving a
consensus from the neighbouring countries.
In a briefing on the latest development
on the Palestinian-Israeli crisis at the Dewan Rakyat, Anwar said without the
consensus, aircraft carrying Malaysian peacekeepers or humanitarian assistance
will not be allowed to land.
When tabling Budget 2024 on October 13,
Anwar, who is also the minister of finance, announced that Malaysia would launch
a humanitarian fund to help the Palestinians with an initial fund of RM10
million. ― Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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Israel-Hamas war raises concerns of
youth radicalisation in Singapore, as experts warn against stereotyping any
group
21 Oct 2023
SINGAPORE, Oct 21 — The Israel-Hamas war
raises concerns that it could potentially trigger the radicalisation of some
youths in Singapore, said experts, but they warned against stereotyping any one
group as being potential extremists.
They were speaking to TODAY as the
conflict entered its third week, with more than 5,000 people killed in Israel
and Palestine, and as images and headlines of the destruction flood social
media feeds.
The terrorism and inter-faith experts
noted that terrorist groups have previously “hijacked” sentiments arising from
past armed conflicts to radicalise individuals.
The lack of understanding of the
long-drawn Israel-Palestine conflict, along with oversimplified and skewed
narratives portraying the war as a religious one, may add to the risk of
radicalisation, the experts added.
However, not only Muslims are
susceptible to the risk of radicalisation, said the experts, noting incidents
of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia being reported globally. Stereotyping only
one particular group may only hinder efforts to build trust between
communities, they said.
Oversimplification and skewed narratives
Michael Genkin from the Singapore
Management University (SMU) said that past episodes of violent events such as
the Iraq War and the war in Syria have led to the radicalisation of a few who
“sympathise with one of the sides for co-ethnic or co-religious reasons”.
While it is only a minority who become
radicalised, it can be “sufficient to cause harm”.
“We should therefore be vigilant but not
fall prey to stereotypes,” said the assistant professor of sociology whose
research interest includes terrorism and political violence.
TODAY has previously interviewed youths
who were once detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after their
sympathy for victims in such armed conflicts led them down a long and gradual
path of radicalisation.
ohamed Feisal Mohamed Hassan, research
fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang
Technological University, said that the Palestinian-Israel conflict remains
“among the common factors” exploited by extremists groups to leverage support.
This was seen in the Jemaah Islamiyah
arrests in 2001, when 13 people were detained under the ISA for making plans to
bomb several targets in Singapore.
“Such radical groups have hijacked the
conflict and painted it simply as a religious conflict between Muslims and
Jews,” said Mohamed Feisal, who is also the secretary and a counselor at the
Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG).
“With the extended use of social media
today and such simplification, there will always be a possibility that
vulnerable youths can be pulled towards the conflict without understanding the
real political context of the conflict,” he said.
Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib, founder of
non-governmental organisation Centre for Interfaith Understanding Singapore,
believes that youths may not be able to ”make sense of the complexity of the
situation and the nuances for each cycle of violence. The risk therefore is
about the narratives surrounding the conflict”.
Genkin added: “The advent of social
media presents an amplifying factor because emotionally charged and highly
graphic images and videos are easily spread on social networks.”
While some of these may be fake or taken
from different conflicts, even real images need to be put in the proper context
as they can be rhetorically framed to manipulate and radicalise, he said.
Not a religious conflict
Like Mohamed Feisal, Mohamed Imran said
the “grand narrative” positioning the Israel-Hamas conflict as one between Jews
and Muslims was most concerning to him.
“This has the potential of
radicalisation because the religious identity runs deep,” he said, adding that
there has been an active circulation and reproduction of anti-Semitic ideas
online as well as in print.
“As part of my research, I have observed
many negative stereotypes about Jews in Malay public discourse, both online or
in books that are easily accessible in our neighbouring countries,” he added.
“Without an active countering of such
narratives and without a real understanding of the complexities of the
Israel-Palestine conflict, youths may be susceptible to extremist narratives.”
Mohamed Feisal stressed that the ongoing
conflict is not one between Islam and Judaism.
“Rather, it is a conflict in the
occupied state of Palestine. Within Palestine itself, Muslim Arabs, Christian
Arabs and even Jews are living together, while Israel itself has different
political factions that are in contention to govern it,” he said, illustrating
the complexity of the situation.
“Within RRG, in such cases among those
who we have counselled, the conflict is discussed in its real political
context, and such discussion leads to providing a larger understanding of the
reality of the different players who are involved in this geo-political conflict.”
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia both on
the rise
RaffaelloPantucci, senior fellow at
RSIS, said that one worry following the conflict is the rise of anti-Semitism.
“While clearly there’s a lot of sympathy
among the Muslim world for the Palestinian cause, this enrages a lot of people
towards Jews and that can cause a problem of anti-Semitism — which has always
been a consistent issue with radicalisation across the ideological spectrum,
but clearly after current events it will be enhanced,” he said.
Mohamed Imran noted that there is a rise
of anti-Semitism among Muslims who do not realise that “not all Jews are
Israeli and not all Jews identify with the State of Israel”.
Other experts including Genkin added
that it was important to note that radicalisation is not specific to Muslims.
“In fact, Muslims themselves have been
victims of Islamophobic violence, and vigilance against radicalisation should
be a broad concern for all communities,” he said.
Mohamed Imran added: “We had seen the
example of a hate crime towards a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy who was
stabbed to death recently after his mother told the attacker that they should
pray for peace.”
He stressed that people must be careful
not to convey panic and fear of Muslims or paint a negative stereotype towards
them, as it would not be helpful in building trust and solidarity between
communities.
“An alarmist approach can end up feeding
into the extremist narrative: That ‘Muslims are under threat and are oppressed
everywhere’ and that the lines are drawn between ‘us and them’,” he said.
Critically handling deluge of online
information
Several youths TODAY spoke to said they
are cognisant of the biases present in both news and social media, and are wary
of taking content related to the conflict at face value.
Manfred Tham, a sociology student, found
that a fair amount of content is about “rage-baiting people into reading or
clicking”.
“These are corporations that are
beholden to their investors, with bias at every segment,” said the 27-year-old.
“As for individual posters, they also
have cultural biases — and that’s fine. People need to be more comfortable with
cognitive dissonance in holding multiple seemingly contrary viewpoints.”
Another youth, who wanted to be known
only as Manuel, said that people “can be very emotional” when they see content
and that it might cloud their judgements, but he prefers to “see the whole
picture before making any conclusions”.
For Sarah Al-Attas, she has long kept
herself informed about the conflict in the Middle East by watching
documentaries and following international news from multiple sources.
Besides news sites, she also reads both
pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel social media accounts, she added.
“I trust some sources but not all. For
context, I will try my best to fact-check by checking the journalists’
credibility, what news outlet they’re with, and so on,” said the 22-year-old
university student.
The experts who spoke to TODAY said
identifying the source of a content and corroborating them with others to
compare how the narratives are being framed are ways that youths can be
vigilant in consuming media amid the heightened conflict.
“I think the extremist content that you
need to worry about is the stuff that is presenting it in a very binary way —
and is only presenting one side of the coin,” said Pantucci.
On diffusing the sentiments surrounding
the current conflict, some experts said it is useful to provide the public with
constructive platforms to channel their sympathy, such as donation drives to
fund humanitarian aid for the civillian victims.
“Give people routes to actually get to
aid and support if they want to. And the Government can facilitate that and I
think that’s the critical thing to do,” said Pantucci.
The experts also stressed the importance
of tackling misinformation online and continuously building bridges between
communities offline.
“When a Muslim has a Jewish close
friend, he will not be taken in by extremist ideas about Jews. When a Jew has a
Muslim as a close friend, he will not feel fearful of Muslims in general,” said
Mohamed Imran.
“Such trust between people is what
builds resilience in a time when communities can be pulled apart in an ‘us
versus them’ mentality.” — TODAY
Source: malaymail.com
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Africa
Current Challenges Temporary, Better
Days Coming – Tinubu Tells South-West Islamic Leaders
October 21, 2023
October 21, (THEWILL) – President Bola
Tinubu has said the current challenges facing the nation are only temporary,
assuring Nigerians that better days are in the offing.
Tinubu spoke on Friday, in Abuja, during
an audience with a delegation of South-West Muslim faithful, led by
AlhajiRasakiOladejo.
“We have to believe in one country; we
have to believe in Nigeria. We will do our best, and our economy will get
better for the benefit of Nigerians. I am very sure of that, and we are putting
in the work to ensure that”, he said.
The President noted that the policies
and programmes of his administration are aimed at achieving a fairer, better
and honest society, where hard work is rewarded and where laziness reaps
little.
“It is about our future. We must
guarantee our future. Almighty Allah will not give us a burden that we cannot
bear. He has put us here for a purpose. It may look difficult; even rough, but
it will get better. We avoided it (removing petroleum subsidy) for 40 years. We
are all going through the pain now, but for Nigeria not to collapse, we had to
remove the subsidy.
“In the history of successful nations,
there is nothing more vital than the leadership of a nation taking difficult
decisions at the right time and for the right reasons. There would have been no
money for the sub-nationals”, the President declared.
President Tinubu commended the leaders
for their prayers and support, assuring them that his administration is
determined to empower the youth with skills and create an enabling environment
for them to prosper.
The President of the Ummah,
AlhajiRasakiOladejo, in company of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy,
H.E. AdegboyegaOyetola, commended President Tinubu for his courage in removing
the petroleum subsidy and for initiating necessary, even if difficult reforms.
“There had been no leader, military, or
civilian that could break this hard nut of removing petroleum subsidy for us to
grow as a country. You have done it. God will see you through”, Oladejo said.
Source: thewillnews.com
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Alleged demolition: Disregard campaign
of calumny against Wike, Nat Mosque tells Ummah
October 21, 2023
OmeizaAjayi
The Abuja National Mosque Management
Board has described as fake, social media reports alleging that the Federal
Capital Territory FCT Minister, NyesomWike had approved a partial demolition of
the monument, urging the Muslim faithful to disregard same.
Describing the report as the handiwork
of conflict merchants bent on creating religious tension in the nation and
casting the minister in bad light, the board said its Wednesday’s visit to the
minister was fruitful as he received them warmly and granted approval of their
requests.
The Board, led by its Chairman, the
EtsuNupe, AlhajiYahayaAbubakar, had visited the minister on Wednesday to seek
clarification on the status of its plots, 63 and 99, in the wake of the
administration’s drive to recover all ground rents debts.
At the meeting, Wike extended the
three-month ultimatum to religious groups since they largely depend on freewill
donations from members.
“We know the finances of religious
groups, they are handicap as they are not business people, and it is only when
people come to support them.
“In such areas, we can say on religious
grounds, instead of three months, we can give additional time but it is not targeted
at anybody or group.
Now you have come and explained, which
reasonable man would not accept it. So our people should stop saying he is
targeting so so group or religion or ethnic group, no, it is for the interest
of all of us.
“We will extend it, so we will not
restrict it to three months for you, as a religious group. And it is only when
they support that you can carry out whatever you are doing”, the minister had
stated.
Source: vanguardngr.com
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Kenyans demand compensation for British
army blaze ahead of king's visit
21 Oct 2023
A Kenyan court has ordered the British
Army to pay compensation for the blaze, which ravaged more than 4,800 hectares
(12,000 acres) of land during a military exercise conducted by the British Army
Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK).
Residents in central Kenya on Friday
denounced a lack of compensation over a devastating 2021 fire which broke out
during a British military exercise, 10 days before a visit by King Charles III.
A Kenyan court has ordered the British
Army to pay compensation for the blaze, which ravaged more than 4,800 hectares
(12,000 acres) of land during a military exercise conducted by the British Army
Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK).
The unit is based near the town of
Nanyuki, some 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.
"Two and a half years later, zero
compensation has been given to the people affected," said lawyer Kelvin
Kubai as he read out an "open letter to the British government" on
behalf of the victims at a press conference.
The letter, signed by 7,000 plaintiffs,
said "the British Army is actually using every trick from the colonial
rule book to try and not pay the Kenyan people compensation".
Those affected are seeking compensation
for environmental damage, as well as payment for medical problems such as
"serious breathing difficulties" and "permanent issues with
eyesight" which they say resulted from the fire.
"Many, many farmers have not been
able to grow back the crops and regain the livestock that was lost in this
terrible fire," the letter said.
Compensation for the fire is being
managed by an intergovernmental liaison committee (IGLC), made up of
representatives from both countries.
The authors of the open letter
criticised the IGLC for asking for more proof of the damage caused by the
blaze.
"They wish to insult us further by
telling us we have to prove –- again –- the damage that their careless and
arrogant soldiers caused," the letter said.
"The facts remain that the British
Army destroyed the environment in Kenya where they are guests and they don’t
want to pay us for it," it added.
- 'The British must go' -
"Justice delayed is justice
denied," the letter said, calling on the British government and King
Charles to "stop treating Kenya like a colonial outpost".
At the end of the press conference, a
few hundred people chanted "we want our money" and "the British
must go," briefly blocking traffic before dispersing.
King Charles III and his wife Queen
Camilla will visit the East African nation from October 31 to November 3, his
first trip to a Commonwealth country since becoming king last year, and his
fourth official visit to Kenya.
The British monarch will visit Nairobi
and the port city Mombasa, but not the town of Nanyuki where the BATUK is
based.
While the army base fuels the local
economy, it has also been implicated in several controversies in the area.
The most high-profile case is the 2012
death of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, who was found dumped in a septic tank after she
reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at a hotel in Nanyuki.
London has always assured its
cooperation with the Kenyan investigation, which has so far produced no known
public results.
Source: africanews.com
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrations held in
Algiers
20 Oct 2023
Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in
Algiers on Thursday to condemn US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for "complicity" in the violence in Gaza.
The protests come days after the
country's foreign minister Ahmed Attaf expressed Algeria's "full
solidarity" with the Palestinians.
Protesters marching by the country's
parliament also criticised other Arab countries, including neighbouring
Morocco, that have recently deepened economic and security ties with Israel.
A wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations
have swept across North Africa in recent days in response to the conflict
between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"The entire Algerian people are in
solidarity with the Palestinian people and stand by their side. The Palestinian
people are in distress and need the support of the Arab and Muslim
communities," said Khaled Sofiane, a pro-Palestinian protester in Algeria.
Source: africanews.com
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Gunmen Attack Kwara State Community,
Abduct Residents, Sack Palace Of Traditional Ruler
October 21, 2023
It was gathered that the incident
happened on Monday when about nine gunmen, four of them wearing masks, stormed
the area wielding AK-47 rifles.
Some gunmen have invaded Ora, Ayetoro
community in Ekiti local government area of Kwara State and abducted some
residents.
It was gathered that the incident
happened on Monday when about nine gunmen, four of them wearing masks, stormed
the area wielding AK-47 rifles.
The abductors were said to have also
invaded the palace of the traditional ruler in the community, Oba C.O Odeyemi,
destroyed his residence and also burgled the shop of his wife, OloriOdeyemi,
carting away some items and cash.
The Chairman of the local government, Mr
KayodeBayode, confirmed the incident to DailyTrust.
According to him, the local vigilantes
have been empowered and working with the police and other security agencies to
rescue the victims.
“They only destroyed the palace of our
traditional rulers and looted indomie, spaghetti and other items and cash from
his wife’s shop because they were not around
“As we speak this night, our men are on
the trail of the kidnapper in the rain falling right now.
“On my part I have provided three pump
action rifles to the vigilantes and ensure a steady supply of bullets for them
to be able to confront the kidnappers. I am very optimistic that they will be
rescued before the end of tomorrow (Friday)”, he added.
Contacted, the Police Public Relations
Officer, SP AjayiOkasanmi, also confirmed the incident, saying, “Security
operatives working with vigilantes and local hunters have been deployed to the
bush for a possible rescue of the victims.”
Source: saharareporters.com
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Civil Society Demands Immediate Release
Of Member Wrongfully Detained By Nigerian Police Over Alleged Murder Case In
Edo
October 21, 2023
The president added that two days after
Aigbogun was arrested, he was charged to court and consequently Jailed at a
correctional centre in the state.
Members of the Edo State Civil Society
Organisation, Talakawa Parliament, have demanded the immediate release of one
of their members, Emmanuel Aigbogun who was allegedly held in detention
wrongfully in connection with the murder of one Edwin Ogiamen.
In a press conference held by the CSO,
it was revealed that Aigbogun was arrested by the police on 14th September 2023
when he honoured the police’s invitation concerning Ogiamen’s death.
While addressing the newsmen during the
conference, the president of the organisation said Aigbogun had written a
petition against a police officer in the zone who they alleged was supporting a
party in the crisis between two cousins, Edwin Ogiamen and Lucky Ogiamen over
hardship of the community.
The president added that two days after
Aigbogun was arrested, he was charged to court and consequently Jailed at a
correctional centre in the state.
On getting to Zone 5 Office of the
Assistant Inspector General of Police, one of the policemen specifically, the
OC stated that Comrade Emmanuel Aigbogun was a suspect sequel to the murder of
the former chairman of the same Ubeiza Community.
Another human rights activist, Kelly
Osunbor while speaking on the matter said, “How can you accuse, detain and
possibly remand somebody for orchestrating the murder case and peg it at the
shoulder of such person. When the particular incident happened, the person was
far away in Port Harcourt.
“We are not supporting murder. The case
should be thoroughly investigated and the culprit brought to book,” another
member of the organisation, Tony Irikefe, added.
The Zone 5, Headquarters of the Nigerian
Police Force, has meanwhile warned the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) in Edo
against misleading narrative concerning the murder of one Edwin Ogiamen.
Ogiamen was the Okaighele and youth
leader of Ubiaza community in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government of Edo, who was
murdered on March 29, 2023.
A statement by DSP Tijani Momoh, Zonal
Police Public Relations Officer (ZPPRO), and made available to the News Agency
of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, said that the case was no longer with the
police but in court.
According to Momoh, the CSO, Talakawa
Parliament, had at a press conference attempted to mislead the public over what
transpired with regards to the case.
He noted that the claim by the CSO that
one of the suspects, Emmanuel Aigbogun, was unlawfully arrested over the murder
case, was a calculated effort to divert the focus of the case.
He added that the allegations were
unfounded, baseless, false and a calculated attempt to manipulate the public
for Aigbogun to evade prosecution.
“For the avoidance of doubt and for
members of the public not to be misled by the false narrative, the zonal command
wish to state the following facts: On March 1, a petition dated 27/02/2023
written by Legal Minds law firm on behalf of one Edwin Ogiemwense, the
Okaighele/youth leader of Ubiaza community along Benin/Sapele Road, Ikpoba-Okha
LGA was received and referred to the Anti-vice section for discreet
investigation.
“On March 29, two operatives of the
Anti-vice section while at Ubiaza community to serve letter of invitation to
the suspect, one Lucky Ogiamen ‘m’ a fight ensued between the said Lucky
OsifoOgiamen and the petitioner, late Edwin Ogiemwense.
“Which was followed by sporadic gunshots
from the armed thugs stationed around the community bush by the said Lucky
Ogiamen.”
The ZPPRO added that the Police
operatives who were not armed tactically escaped unhurt, while the armed thugs
held the petitioner hostage and later shot him dead.
Source: saharareporters.com
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URL:
https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/mob-lynching-jamiat-ulama-vigilante/d/130947