'As Long As Modi Is Alive, Won't Let Dalit, Adivasi, OBC Reservations Go To Muslims': PM

New Age Islam News Bureau

01 May 2024

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, in Zaheerabad on Tuesday. (BJP)

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·         'As Long As Modi Is Alive, Won't Let Dalit, Adivasi, OBC Reservations Go To Muslims': PM

·         Islamic State Expands Da’wah Activities In Mozambique And Highlight Such Activity In Its Global Media

·         UN Chief Calls for Independent Probe into Gaza Mass Graves

·         Muslim World League Voices Support for ‘Riyadh Declaration’ That Calls For An Immediate Ceasefire In The Gaza Strip

·         US Sanctions On Iranian Hackers Highlight Growing Concern About The Islamic Republic’s Cyber Warriors

 

India

·         BJP Committed To Inclusive Growth Of All Minorities, Tandon Promises Muslim Community

·         In Sambhal, With A Large Muslim Presence, Kalki  Temple Skews Arithmetic

·         CongressCriticises PM For Blaming “Muslims For Having More Children”

·         Under 'Gujarat Model' Of Development, Muslim Ghettos Remain Neglected

·         Salman Khurshid, niece Maria Alam booked for ‘vote jihad’ remarks

·         With 30% tickets to Muslims, Maya’s bid for revival continues

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Africa

·         Mali Claims Death of Terrorist Who Helped Lead Deadly Ambush in Niger

·         Mali says it killed militant commander who took part in one of worst attacks on US forces in Africa

·         Terrorism: Court decides Miyetti Allah leader’s bail request May 30

·         CAR: Arrest warrant issued for ex-president François Bozizé

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Mideast

·         French Foreign Minister Makes Unscheduled Cairo Stop As Gaza Truce Talks Intensify

·         Israeli ground operation in Rafah would be ‘tragedy beyond words’: UN

·         Iranian MPs: Anti-Israeli Rallies Show Western Media's Failure to Distort Facts About Gaza

·         Amnesty International Calls for Biden to ‘Immediately Suspend’ Weapons Transfers to Israel

·         Iranian Students Rally in Support of Anti-Zionist Movement in West

·         Blinken urges Hamas to agree Gaza truce as he meets Israel leaders

·         Trucks bringing bodies and detainees into Gaza hold up aid says UNRWA

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Arab World

·         Saudi Heritage Commission, Japan’s Kanazawa University Join Forces On Archaeological Surveys

·         Saudi students explore intersection of science and art

·         Deal signed to advance Saudi agriculture

·         Saudi FM discusses developments in Gaza with Mexican counterpart during phone call

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North America

·         Trump Says Palestine Supporters At Universities Are ‘Paid… Professional Agitators'

·         WVU Muslim Student Association marches in support of Palestine in Morgantown

·         700+ California Muslims Attend CAIR-CA’s 13th Annual Muslim Day at the Capitol

·         IS commander wanted for deaths of US forces in Niger killed in operation

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Pakistan

·         ‘No evidence that cipher was in Imran’s custody’

·         TPL chief confident of record IPO of Pakistan's first Islamic REIT

·         US, Pakistan vow to boost cooperation on regional security

·         Dolphin official martyred in deadly Murree Road pursuit

·         Man in Karachi sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in rape case

·         Punjab govt questions police board’s move to impose fee on NGOs

·         Two cops injured in Khuzdar grenade attack

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South Asia

·         Imam Among 6 Killed As Gunman Attacks Mosque In Afghanistan's Herat

·         Islamic State claims responsibility for mosque shooting in western Afghanistan that killed six people

·         Kabir: Islamic Emirate Supports Stability in the Region and the World

·         Islamic charitable giving may offer Bangladesh a route to climate adaptation

·         French teen killed by Afghan citizen; far-right criticizes immigration policy

·         UN Emphasized Urgency Of Protective Measures For Shia Community In Afghanistan

·         104 Detained for Forgery and Fraud in Kabul

·         20 Jamaat-Shibir men held over Natore AL leader's murder

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Europe

·         Minnesota Man Who Regrets Joining Islamic State Group Faces Sentencing On Terrorism Charge

·         Wakeley Stabbing: ‘Sydney Teenager Part Of Group Wanting To Stab Non-Muslims, Court Told

·         Muslim Aid receives living wage accreditation

·         Lord David Cameron appears to rule out proscribing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

·         Qur'anic Studies and the Early History of Islam

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Southeast Asia

·         Islamist Figures And Their Limited Role In Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election – Analysis

·         CNA Correspondent Podcast: Shifting tides of political Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia

·         With PM Lee's last major speech before handover, election campaigning 'has started': Analysts

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL:     https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/modi-dalit-adivasi-obc-muslims-pm/d/132242

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'As Long As Modi Is Alive, Won't Let Dalit, Adivasi, OBC Reservations Go To Muslims': PM

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public meeting for the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections, in Zaheerabad on Tuesday. (BJP)

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01 May 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that he would oppose the allocation of reservations for Dalits, Adivasis, and OBCs to Muslims based on religion.

Addressing an election rally in Telangana's Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency, the Prime Minister emphasised, “As long as Modi is alive, I will not let reservations of Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs be given to Muslims based on religion."

PM Modi pointed out that when the Congress won a significant number of MPs and MLAs in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and 2009, it extended reservation benefits to Muslims under the Backward Classes (BC) category. He criticized the Congress for not approving OBC status for 26 castes in Telangana while categorizing Muslims as OBC "overnight."

In a veiled criticism of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Modi alleged that money collected in the state through the "double R (RR) tax" is being diverted to Delhi. He made these remarks while referring to the blockbuster Telugu film titled 'RRR', which received global acclaim.

Accusing the Congress of planning to impose a 55 per cent inheritance tax if voted to power, Modi stated that while the rest of the world was progressing economically, India suffered from policy paralysis under the previous UPA government. "If Congress comes to power, they will bring an inheritance tax. Congress is planning to collect more than half, 55 per cent, as tax on inheritance," he claimed.

Taking a jab at the Congress, Modi said that whenever the party is in power, it is associated with five political symbols: false promises, vote bank politics, support for mafia and criminals, dynastic politics, and corruption.

The Prime Minister further alleged that after BRS, the Congress is now looting Telangana.

Telangana Lok Sabha Election 2024

Telangana will vote in phase 4 of the seven-phased Lok Sabha Elections on May 13. This phase includes voting in 10 states/union territories across 96 constituencies.

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Source: livemint.com

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https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/as-long-as-modi-is-alive-wont-let-dalit-adivasi-obc-reservations-to-go-to-muslims-pm-in-telangana-11714536447529.html

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Islamic State Expands Da’wah Activities In Mozambique And Highlight Such Activity In Its Global Media

 

Islamic State Mozambique Province officials leading a da’wah event in Mocimboa da Praia District of Cabo Delgado.

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April 30, 2024

Earlier this month, FDD’s Long War Journal reported on the Islamic State’s concerted effort to both engage in more Da’wah [proselytizing] activities in Africa and highlight such activity in its global media. This effort has not only continued inside northern Mozambique, but has expanded greatly.

As noted in the previous aforementioned article, the Islamic State’s Mozambique Province (IS-M) focused much of its da’wah activities in the districts of Macomia and Chiure of Cabo Delgado Province. In photos released yesterday, it is clear such efforts have also taken place in the districts of Mocimboa da Praia and Quissanga.

Photos released by the Islamic State document large gatherings of civilians hosted by ostensible senior officials and commanders of IS-M in local communities within those districts. These officials can be seen lecturing locals, as seated in desks or with loudspeaker systems, as well as leading prayers and offering food to the locals. Children are featured in most of the photos.

Both districts were previously reported as witnessing some levels of da’wah activities from IS-M in January and March 2024, respectively, by Mozambique-focused X accounts and Zitamar, a publication focused on Mozambican issues. However, the Islamic State had previously not offered any photographic evidence of such events taking place in those districts.

It is unclear if the photos released by the Islamic State yesterday detail events that occurred in the previous months or if the events were more contemporary. Regardless, the photos nevertheless offer proof that IS-M has expanded both the physical size and geographical scope of its Da’wah campaign.

As additionally reported by Zitamar, these moves are part of IS-M’s wider strategic decision to adopt a more friendly relationship with locals. Its more hostile approach, including civilian massacres or forced displacement of locals, hurt its local support during IS-M’s height in 2020-2021. Security lapses amidst withdrawal efforts by southern African forces have allowed IS-M to recently capitalize and either recapture territory or consolidate power in areas it continued to contest.

Notwithstanding the local initiative, the photos also come as the Islamic State attempts to better highlight its civilian outreach programs across Africa. In the last month, these activities have also been highlighted across the Sahel.

To note, da’wah activities can typically range anywhere from religious lectures to community-based events or festivals geared around Islamic principles. This latter form is a popular device used by Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, as part of its da’wah activities in Somalia.

More importantly, such activities are an integral part of the jihadi state-building project and the release of such propaganda helps provide evidence of a form of governance over a specified area. Both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and their respective affiliates and branches, stress the importance of Da’wah for this exact reason.

With the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) drawing down by June, leaving Rwandan and Mozambican forces the remaining bulwarks against IS-M, it is likely IS-M will continue this expansion, leading to even more Da’wah events to solidify its control and more importantly, public relations with the local communities.

Source: longwarjournal.

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https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/04/islamic-state-expands-dawah-activities-in-mozambique.php

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UN Chief Calls for Independent Probe into Gaza Mass Graves

 

Photo: Nour News

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01-05-24

United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres demanded an independent investigation into reports by Palestinian authorities of mass graves discovered in Gaza after bodies with hands tied or medical tubes attached to them were found in multiple sites, including two hospitals.

“It is imperative that independent international investigators with forensic expertise are allowed the immediate access to the sites of these mass graves to establish the precise circumstances under which the Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied,” Guterres said on Tuesday, Al-Jazeera reported.

The UN secretary-general also urged Israel against invading Southern Gaza’s city of Rafah, the last refuge for more than 1.4 million Palestinians, after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an offensive would go forward regardless of the outcome of truce talks with Hamas.

A military assault on Rafah would “be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee,” he told reporters.

He added that while there has been “incremental progress” towards averting “an entirely preventable, human-made famine” in Northern Gaza, much more is urgently needed, including for Israel to follow through on its promise to open “two crossing points between Israel and Northern Gaza, so that aid can be brought into Gaza from Ashdod port and Jordan”.

He cited the lack of security for aid workers and civilians as the major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza.

“I again call on the Israeli authorities to allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid and humanitarian workers, including UNRWA, throughout Gaza,” he said.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told journalists on Tuesday that aid supplies into Gaza had improved in April, but listed a series of continuing difficulties including regular crossing closures “because they [Israel] are dumping released detainees or dumping sometimes bodies taken to Israel and back to the Gaza Strip.”

Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians, said that Israel had sent 225 bodies to Gaza in three containers since December that were then transported by the UN agency to local health authorities for burial, shutting the crossing temporarily.

She did not have details of the circumstances of their deaths and said it was not UNRWA’s mandate to investigate.

Palestinian authorities have previously said that Israel has returned bodies after confirming they were not hostages. They said they were trying to identify them and figure out where they were killed.

Tensions are high between Israel and UNRWA, with the former accusing 19 UNRWA staff of involvement in the October 7 Hamas-led attack against Israel that killed at least 1,139 people, according to an Al- Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics.

Israel’s allegations are being examined by UN investigators although a separate review found Israel has yet to provide evidence for accusations that hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of armed groups.

More than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian authorities.

Source: farsnews.ir

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Muslim World League Voices Support for ‘Riyadh Declaration’ That Calls For An Immediate Ceasefire In The Gaza Strip

 

Asharq Al Awsat

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1 May 2024

The Muslim World League (MWL) voiced support for the “Riyadh Declaration," which calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of prisoners and hostages.

The MWL underscored its support for the outcomes of the Ministerial Committee meeting assigned by the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit with foreign ministers of European states, which was headed by Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, SPA reported.

It calls for ending the war in Gaza, addressing the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, stopping all violations, and moving into a political path that can lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the two-state solution.

It also underscored its support to all efforts seeking international recognition of the Palestinian state and implementation of all relevant international resolutions to achieve lasting and just peace and realize the rights of the Palestinian people.

Source: aawsat.com

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US Sanctions On Iranian Hackers Highlight Growing Concern About The Islamic Republic’s Cyber Warriors

 

Photo: The Conversation

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30 April 2024

A feature of the simmering tensions between the US, Israel and Iran has been not just the tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes and assassinations, but accusations of cyberwarfare waged by Iran.

On April 23, the US Treasury announced it was sanctioning two Iranian companies and four Iranian individuals for conducting malicious cyberattacks against more than a dozen US companies and government organisations. The Treasury alleged that these organisations and individuals had conducted spear phishing, malware and ransomware attacks, which it said aimed to destabilise important national infrastructure in the US.

This followed an announcement in February that it was sanctioning a group of Iranian hackers linked to the country’s military for what it described as “unconscionable and dangerous” attacks on water and wastewater systems in the US.

Identifying the people behind these attacks can often be challenging. But the US is claiming the hacks are perpetrated by “front companies” and hackers operating for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber Electronic Command (IRG-CEC).

The main sanctioned company, MehrsamAndishehSaz Nik (MASN) is identified as regularly launching what is known in the cyber world as advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks.

APTs are long-term attacks on high-value targets such as large companies and government organisations.

MASN was linked in 2019 by cybersecurity giant Symantec (now Gen Digital Inc) with a group it called Tortoiseshell. Symantec said Tortoiseshell had been active in the Middle East since at least July 2018. It was linked with cyberattacks against Saudi Arabian IT providers and Israeli shipping, logistics and financial services companies.

Much less is known about the actions of the second sanctioned company, DadehAfzar Arman. But from information available online, it claims to be a software and web development company based in Tehran.

Alongside the sanctions, the US government is offering a reward of US$10 million (£8 million) and a “plane ticket to somewhere new” for anyone having more information about the hackers in question.

The recent announcement follows a wider pattern of the US naming and shaming cybercrime groups it has identified and linked to rogue activity.

By publicly naming these groups, in this instance, the US says it wants to inform the Iranian public that the IRG-CEC is using these companies for launching illegal cyber-attacks against international targets. But efforts by the US government to deter state-backed hackers working for governments including Iran, China and Russia have yet to bear fruit.

To date, no such suspects have ever been apprehended to stand trial in the US.

War in all but name

Washington and Tehran have been at loggerheads since the 1979 revolution. The US imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic when militant students overran the US embassy in the Iranian capital in November 1979 sparking the 400-day hostage crisis.

They have endured since with various levels of intensity. This, despite efforts by the Obama administration to move towards normalisation, with the signing in 2015 of an agreement under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme in return for an easing of sanctions.

Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018.

The first major act of cyberwar between the two countries was, in fact, the Stuxnet “worm”, a joint venture between the US and Israel. Stuxnet drove a wrecking ball through Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2010. The virus manipulated control systems and caused centrifuges to overheat. This caused serious damage and set Iran’s nuclear programme back by years.

This incident marked the beginning of an on-again, off-again conflict between the two countries. In 2016, the US Justice Department indicted seven Iranian computer specialists. It accused the group of hacking into dozens of American banks as well as trying to take over the controls of a small dam in a suburb of New York.

This was the first time the US had publicly accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of involvement in cyber-attacks. But it is thought Iran had been targeting the US financial systems with what the FBI called a “systematic campaign of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks” since 2011.

After the US assassinated top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, in 2020, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency published an official guidance, warning US companies to prepare for a possible wave of cyber-attacks from Iran.

At the time the threat was talked down. One expert wrote in the New York Times that: “Tehran is a capable and prolific actor in the realm of cyberwarfare, but it has no proven ability to create large-scale physical damage through cyberoperations.”

Growing threat

However, in recent years Iran seems to have further developed its cyber capabilities. In 2023, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s annual threat assessment declared that: “Iran’s growing expertise and willingness to conduct aggressive cyber operations make it a major threat to the security of US and allied networks and data.”

Meanwhile, the National Cyber Power Index ranked Iran as tenth among the 30 countries it investigated in 2022 (up from 23rd in 2020). Additionally, in a peer-reviewed article published recently that offers a new global metric for cybercriminality, Iran is ranked 11th in relation to the impact, professionalism and technical skills of cybercriminals operating in the country.

In the increasingly murky margins of a world where cybercriminals and governments can overlap, Iran’s increasing sophistication in this field cannot be ignored.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Iain Reid receives funding from the University of Portsmouth. He is affiliated with the British Psychological Society.

VasileiosKaragiannopoulos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Source: yahoo.com

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India

 

BJP Committed To Inclusive Growth Of All Minorities, Tandon Promises Muslim Community

May 01, 2024

BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Chandigarh Sanjay Tandon on Tuesday said the BJP-led central government was committed to the inclusive development of all sections of society, including minorities.

“The Modi government is dedicated to promoting diversity and ensuring every individual’s rights are protected, regardless of caste, creed or community affiliation,” he claimed.

 While addressing a gathering of Muslim community at Manimajra, Tandon underlined various policies and programs implemented by the BJP-led government at Centre to address socio-economic challenges faced by the community, while promoting inclusivity and diversity.

Tandon said, “The Opposition is in a desperate situation. They don’t have any issue to talk about, as their rule was full of scams, while ours is full of ‘beneficial schemes’ launched for the poor.”

Tandon also highlighted transformative initiatives undertaken by the Centre for the financially weak, such as Pradhan Mantri (PM) Jan-Dhan Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, PM Ujjwala Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana and Ayushman Bharat, among others.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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In Sambhal, With A Large Muslim Presence, Kalki  Temple Skews Arithmetic

May 1, 2024

Sambhal, a tranquil town in Moradabad about 180km from Delhi, shot into the limelight on Feb 19 when PM Modi laid the foundation stone of a Kalki temple here.

Kalki is believed to be a yet-to-beborn avatar of Vishnu who will complete the deity’s dashavatar (10 incarnations), and Sambhal is believed to be where Kalki will appear. Thus, a temple dedicated to the deity, constructed by expelled Congress functionary Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who has now aligned with BJP, is generating significant interest in religious and political circles.

Sambhal has traditionally been a Samajwadi Party (SP) bastion — its veteran, Shafiq Ur-Rehman Barq (who died at 93 a few months ago), had won the seat more than once. SP has now fielded his grandson, Zia Ur-Rehman Barq, the incumbent Kundarki MLA, from this constituency.

With a large Muslim population — comprising almost 35% of the electorate — the seat had been a difficult place for BJP in 2019, as it lost all six seats in the Moradabad division, which encompasses Sambhal. But now, with the Kalki card up its sleeve, the party is hoping for a favourable turn of events.

Krishnam, the peethadheeshwar (temple head) of Shri Kalki Dham, told TOI, “After Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura, Kalki Peeth will be developed into a major religious centre, particularly after the PM himself laid its foundation. The move will impact the political landscape of western UP. Until now, the Hindu vote was divided into various splinter groups affiliated with regional parties. Now, it will bring all of them together.”

Interestingly, Krishnam, who contested the 2014 polls from Sambhal on a Congress ticket and lost, is hoping to retain the liberal Muslims who attended various events at Kalki Dham in the past. “During the foundation ceremony, half of the attendees were not part of the BJP fold, and that included some Muslims too,” he said. “Barq had thrown a spanner into the temple proposal in 2016, but in Aug 2023, Allahabad high court gave a decision in our favour,” he claimed.

Parmeshwar Lal Saini is BJP’s choice for the seat. He had lost to Barq Sr five years ago. Sambhal has always been an opposition stronghold, except for 2014, when BJP’s Satyapal Singh Saini emerged victorious, securing 34% of the votes to win a tight triangular contest against SP and BSP. In 2019, the SP-BSP alliance defeated Parmeshwar, with the latter still managing 41% of votes.

Saini told TOI, “This time, we are confident that the lotus will bloom in Sambhal. The Kalki temple foundation by the PM will seal our victory. I have the support of voters, irrespective of gender, caste, or faith.”

Saulat Ali, a former MLA who won from Moradabad in 1996, has since contested six elections without success. Recently, he parted ways with Congress to join BSP, and is contesting from Sambhal. Ali said, “I played a pivotal role in Zia Ur-Rehman Barq’s victory as Kundarki MLA as an SP candidate in 2022. As far as I see, SP has no significant presence in Sambhal, and the contest is two-pronged between BJP and BSP.”

Ali holds considerable influence in the region considering his political experience. His father, Riyasat Hussain, was also a four-time MLA. His ability to sway supporters of Iqbal Mehmood, Barq’s rival, could impact the election outcome, especially considering Barq’s strained relations with Qureshi voters.

Political experts agree on a possible Kalki effect. “BJP has skilfully used religion to blunt the impact of caste politics in the area. The Kalki event will consolidate Hindu votes for the party irrespective of the caste of the candidate they put up,” said Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, head of political science department at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut.

Amroha-based analyst Shoib Chaudhary said, “Voters in Sambhal and surrounding districts have primarily been anti-BJP due to the large Muslim presence. These areas have remained SP strongholds for the last three decades, barring a few incidental wins for BJP on the back of an unconsolidated opposition. BJP had been eyeing these regions for long, and the development of a temple in Kalki Dham can work wonders for them.”

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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CongressCriticises PM For Blaming “Muslims For Having More Children”

May 01, 2024

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for blaming “Muslims for having more children”, saying that poverty leads to larger families. Mallikarjun Kharge said he even has five children.

 “We are heading for a majority; that is why he (Modi) now talks about 'Mangalsutra' and Muslims. He says we will steal your wealth and give it to those who have more children. Poor people always have more children,” Congress chief Kharge said, PTI reported.

PM Modi alleged Congress manifesto favours Muslims

Last month, PM Narendra Modi sparked controversy with his comments on Muslims as he alleged that the Congress manifesto aims to distribute property based on the number of children a family has. Modi alleged that the Congress had previously said Muslims should receive priority in accessing the country's assets.

"The Congress manifesto says they will calculate the gold with mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute that property. They will distribute it to whom - Manmohan Singh's government had said that Muslims have the first right on the country's assets," Modi said during a Lok Sabha elections rally in Rajasthan's Banswara.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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Under 'Gujarat Model' Of Development, Muslim Ghettos Remain Neglected

Sharmita Kar

1 May 2024

The vast stretches of the main road of Sarkhej, Ahmedabad, become narrower, the buildings smaller and more congested as you take a detour and enter into what is known as India’s largest urban Muslim ghetto. Surrounded by settlements of the riot-hit minority community, the lanes lead up to a towering brick wall with fencing on top, built with the sole purpose of separating the Muslim population from its neighbouring Hindu colony, Vejalpur. This is Juhapura, an area located just a few kilometres away from the heart of Gujarat’s largest city, Ahmedabad. While it was founded as a rehabilitation project for the flood-hit victims in 1973, the area took a whole new meaning with a series of communal tensions over the next few decades.

The contrast here is stark: tall buildings lining up the Hindu colony, and waterlogged lanes, crumbling small houses and the poor economic conditions in the Muslim settlement. The streets of Juhapura are brimming with autorickshaws and cycles, lined on either side by meat shops, barber shops, mechanics and offices of travel and estate agents. It is usually at its busiest when the sun is up and shining. The bylanes open into multi-storeyed concrete structures stacked up like Lego blocks. Inside, the rooms are small and functional, housing a family of four or more and bearing the weight of an urban life amidst neglect and decay.

Shagufta Anjum, 38, lives on one of these lanes of Juhapura area. Early in the morning, as she prepares to get ready for the day, she calls out to her brother looking up to the corridor outside a cramped nine-by-nine room, “Switch off the pump. There has been no water since yesterday.”

“Today is jumma,” she turns to us and says. “But look, we don’t even have water to bathe. See how much the government is doing for us.”

The summer months are particularly difficult for the poorer residents of the Juhapura area of Ahmedabad, where the government turns a blind eye when it comes to setting up facilities. “The water we get is anyway dirty, and we do not even get it regularly. There are hardly any street lights. The most they (government) have done for us is send the garbage truck once in four days,” she says, laughing as if she was accepting her fate, as if there is no chance their area could witness the ‘Gujarat model’ of development everyone else boasts of.

 Although not the only Muslim ghetto in the city, Juhapura is the epitome of the segregated city that Ahmedabad is—where the lines between the new and the old may get blurred, but when it comes to class, caste, religion and economic activity, the divide is more stark than anywhere else.

Juhapura’s emergence is marked by the city’s decades-old history of communal tensions as Muslim citizens moved out from the densely packed walled city on the eastern side of the Sabarmati River and rehabilitated themselves in the city’s ‘urban’, more affluent western periphery. Initially, it was a few thousand people trying to come out of the deep-rooted Hindu-Muslim divide. But the recurring riots in Ahmedabad in 1969, 1985, 1992 and 2002 further cemented the borders. In the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots, the population here grew manifold as more people were pushed out of Hindu-dominated areas like Khadia and Teen Darwaza. Juhapura became a safe zone for Muslims in Ahmedabad.

 But it remains untouched, unseen by the government. It was part of the erstwhile Sarkhej assembly constituency, which used to be Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s bastion, and now falls under the Vejalpur constituency. Shah, who was seen as an undefeatable contestant in the area, was also known for leveraging the communally-torn fabric to appease the Hindu majority. In the Lok Sabha elections, on the other hand, the area falls under the larger Ahmedabad West constituency currently held by the BJP’s Kiritbhai Solanki. The party has fielded Dinesh Makwana from the seat this time.

In the years following the 2002 riots, Gujarat witnessed a rapid infrastructural boom that came to be known as the ‘Gujarat model’. The model was driven by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s neoliberal policies, which were used in the electoral campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Modi was projected as a Vikas Purush even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised to replicate this development on a national level after coming to power. But even within the city, this model of development has not reached everyone yet. To a large extent, the residents of Juhapura rely on their elected corporators of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), but even then there is very little progress.

 Over the years, the people living in the ghettos of Ahmedabad have worked their way up to build a life on their own terms. “People say big things about the Gujarat model, but a few tall buildings or a riverfront will not help us fill our stomachs—employment will. And there is no employment here. The government has not done anything for us. There is clear discrimination,” says Fareed Qureshi, a resident of Juhapura.

On the face of it, even Juhapura can be mistaken for a ‘developed’ area with its sprawling high-rises, luxurious bungalows along a widened main road. But take a look behind these buildings and you will still find concentrated communal pockets. The scars of historical segregation, it appears, never went away. Areas within Juhapura are deprived of basic government infrastructure and public services on the basis of religion. Residents allege lack of education, transportation, water supply and sewerage. Even with the Lok Sabha elections coming up, there are no promises made for the people living in this area.

Shagufta’s aunt Fatima, who has lived in the area for the past eight years, says that even sending kids to school is a struggle. “There are no municipal schools in this area because the government does not build anything here. The nearest one is several kilometres away. Every day we have to book an auto or arrange private transport to send the kids to school. It costs Rs 600 a month per auto. The buses don’t enter this gali. Ultima­tely, we end up spending nearly as much as we would have if our kids were going to private schools,” she laments.

Shagufta, her sisters and her family moved to Juhapura from Dariyapur in old Ahmedabad during the last 10-15 years as they could not sustain a life within the dilapidated walls of the old city. “The houses were very small there and nearly falling apart. We had to move out,” she says.

***

The 600-year-old walled city, of which Dariyapur is a part, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. But more and more buildings are crumbling down because of the negligence of the authorities. The negligence, residents living in the area say, stems from a similar bias seen in other Muslim-dominated parts of the city. The AMC sends a few notices to mark buildings as “dangerous and dilapidated”. But here too, there is rarely any further action or aid from the authorities to prevent it from turning into an accident site.

Tasleem Malik, a beautician living in Sarkhej-Ojha area, visits her parents in Dariyapur every weekend. This is her family home where she grew up and where the family has lived through generations for over 100 years. “This house is very old, but my parents do not want to leave,” she says. Tasleem’s family has seen every phase of the riots in Ahmedabad. They faced curfews, saw people turn against each other, saw bloodshed, though in Dariyapur the atrocities were “not that grim”, according to police records.

“It is Allah’s grace that everyone in my family is safe. The things we saw happening in front of our eyes those few days are unspeakable,” she says, but quickly notes that everything has been fine since then.

When nudged a little more, she says that there are a few scattered Hindu-Muslim incidents, but maintains that these are only minor issues. “Aisa to chaltarehtahai (These things keep happening),” she says.

Mohammad Ikrama, a qari at a Dariyapur mosque, says, “We always welcome people of all religions to our area. But sadly, the same doesn’t happen when we go to a Hindu colony. A few days ago, four Muslim men went to Isanpur (an area on the outskirts of Ahmedabad) to have lassi and were attacked there. They are now hospitalised.”

Ikrama feels that these tensions are created by politicians to further divide the communities on the basis of religion. He recollects the recent “ghuspaithiyan” remark made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally, and says, “We keep seeing these kinds of remarks made by our leaders. But why must there be this hatred? All we ask for is to live in peace and harmony. Whoever is our representative should ensure brotherhood amongst all communities so that people can work freely, our businesses flourish and there should be no fear within our community.”

Despite decades of communal segregation, residents of Ahmedabad have oddly remained silent about their demands. The minority communities have now started taking matters into their own hands, supported by their local committees and religious trusts, because they feel they will never get any support from the government.

When asked about why there is such a silence about this pertinent issue, V Divakar, curator of Conflictorium, a museum in the heart of the walled city, says, “The idea that riots do not happen anymore in Gujarat is a false narrative. Although it may not be as violent or large-scale, there are smaller incidents happening everywhere. The right-wing has promoted the Gujarat model as something extraordinary, but such infrastructural growth happens everywhere. What is interesting here is how there have been no social movements, no opposition. The opposition has been completely terminated.”

He goes on to say that the ‘Gujarat model’ is “just an eyewash”. “You talk about development and business to take away social responsibility. There are no concerns for labour; people are being hired for as little as Rs 50 a day,” he says.

 Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the saffron-laced electoral landscape of Gujarat has once again become evident, where voting has, for years, been dominated by the aura of only one leader—Narendra Modi. But in the shadows, an opposition voice is simmering. Even among the Hindu communities, where people praise the roads, buildings and schools, they are unhappy about inflation and rising unemployment.

There is a disconnect in Gujarati society between social and economic growth. On the economic front, Gujarat has, for years, remained above the national average, powered by the dominant business fraternity. However, on social indicators, it has underperformed.

For a majority of the population, the vote may still favour the party that has ruled Gujarat for the past 25 years, but there is a strange hunch, a constant buzz that this may be the last democratic election in India. Perhaps, the quietness in Gujarat about election campaigns, just a week away from the polling date, signals a reality many still refuse to see.

Sharmita Kar in Ahmedabad

(This appeared in the print as 'Under The Model Town')

Source: outlookindia.com

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Salman Khurshid, niece Maria Alam booked for ‘vote jihad’ remarks

May 01, 2024

Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and his niece and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Maria Alam Khan have been booked in a police case for allegedly trying to polarise an election campaign in Farrukhabad.

Both Khurshid and Khan were found to have violated the poll code at an election meeting in Farrukhabad’sKaimganj where they were seeking votes for the INDIA bloc candidate from the Farrukhabad seat. Khan, in Khurshid’s presence, reportedly exhorted her audience to go for ‘vote jihad’ on Sunday night.

The FIR was filed at the Kaimganj police station on Tuesday on a complaint by the in-charge of a flying squad team, Dr Manoj Kumar, who alleged that Khan’s statement was made to consolidate votes and polarise the election in favour of SP candidate Naval Kishore Shakya.

Indian Penal Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 295A (act done with intent to outrage religious feelings), and section 125 of the Public Representation Act (promoting or attempting to promote on grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, feeling of enmity or hatred) have been invoked against the two.

Khan, who’s the district vice-president of SP’s women wing, had said, “If you (Muslims) don’t unite, your existence will be erased, so do ‘vote jihad’ to oust this government.” She urged voters to engage in strategic voting without getting emotional to save the Constitution.

Former external affairs minister Khurshid was present on dais.

Farrukhabad superintendent of police (SP) Vikash Kumar said Khan was seeking votes in the name of the religion, as per a video that was widely circulated online. “It is a clear case of violation of the model code of conduct. An FIR has been lodged against the incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khan was not available for her comments. People close to her she used the word ‘jihad’ metaphorically to imply struggle and not violence. She was urging the community to be aware of the conditions and exercise their voting rights in large numbers.

Asked to comment on the statement of his niece, Khurshid, as quoted by PTI, said he generally avoided using such words because its literal meaning was misinterpreted.

“Jihad means to fight against a situation. Her intention must have been to carry out vote jihad to protect the Constitution,” he said.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/lucknow-news/salman-khurshid-niece-maria-alam-booked-for-vote-jihad-remarks-101714504956896.html

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With 30% tickets to Muslims, Maya’s bid for revival continues

May 1, 2024

Lucknow: The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded nearly 30% Muslim candidates in the Lok Sabha election in UP, till now. The party has declared candidates for 72 LS seats and there are eight more seats for which the party will declare candidates soon. Out of 72, 20 candidates fielded by BSP come from the Muslim community.

With eight LS seats still left where the party has to declare candidates, the number of Muslim candidates may go further north.

This is in sharp contrast to BSP’s picks for the LS candidates in 2019 general elections when the party relied on just six Muslim candidates out of 38 it fielded, a meagre 15%. Three of them –Afzal Ansari from Ghazipur, Danish Ali from Amroha and Haji Fazlur Rehman from Saharanpur – had won the polls.

But the party’s overdependence on Muslim candidates is not sudden.

Maya did a similar experiment in the 2017 UP assembly elections by fielding 99 Muslim candidates. Her move divided the Muslim votes and led to massive victory for BJP which won 313 of 403 assembly seats. Her party itself could win just 19 seats, five of which went to Muslims.

Following a crushing defeat in the 2022 assembly elections where BSP won just one seat and less than 13% vote share, the BSP again relied on Muslims in the urban local body polls in May 2023. The party fielded 11 Muslims as mayoral candidates. UP has 17 mayoral seats and the party won none.

In her rallies in west UP, Mayawati said that the party has given tickets to most Muslims in the region in keeping with its foundational ideology, “Jiskijitnihissedari, uskiutnibhagidari”, a slogan coined by party founder Kanshi Ram in 1984. She also appealed to Muslims to vote for her party because BSP also has a Dalit vote bank in west UP, and Muslims and Dalits together are a formidable combination of voters, which can defeat BJP.

In the third phase, voting for which will be held on May 7 on ten seats, Muslim candidates on BSP tickets will contest in Sambhal, Firozabad, Aonla, Badaun and Etah. In the eight seats of west UP that went to polls in the first phase on April 19, BSP fielded Muslims in Saharanpur, Rampur, Moradabad and Pilibhit. In the second phase, for which voting was held on April 26 on eight seats in west UP, BSP fielded Muslim in Amroha.

Some of these seats have the highest concentration of Muslim votes in UP.

The top ten constituencies with highest Muslim population are in west UP. Rampur has 50.1% Muslims, while Moradabad has 45.5%, Bijnor 41.7%, Saharanpur has 39.1%, Muzaffarnagar has 38.1%, Amroha 38%, Bahraich 34.8%, Bareilly 33.9%, Meerut 32.6% and Kairana 30%.

In their rallies, Mayawati and her nephew, Akash Anand, also BSP’s national coordinator, have invariably reminded Muslims of how the Samajwadi Party, after winning the 2022 UP assembly elections never stood for their cause and how they (Muslims) now need to look elsewhere.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/bsp-fielding-30-muslim-candidates-in-up-elections/articleshow/109741675.cms

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Africa

 

Mali Claims Death of Terrorist Who Helped Lead Deadly Ambush in Niger

April 30, 2024

Mali said on Monday that it had killed a high-value Islamist commander who helped lead a 2017 attack in which four American and four Nigerien soldiers were killed alongside an interpreter.

The U.S. State Department had put a $5 million bounty on the head of the commander, Abu Huzeifa — a member of an affiliate of the Islamic State — after his participation in an attack in TongoTongo, Niger, on American Green Berets and their Nigerien comrades.

At that time, the attack was the largest loss of American troops during combat in Africa since the “Black Hawk Down” debacle in Somalia in 1993.

In a post on social media on Monday, Mali’s armed forces said that on Sunday they had “neutralized a major terrorist leader of foreign nationality during a large-scale operation in Liptako” — a tri-border region that contains parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

The three countries, all led by military juntas, have teamed up to fight extremist violence under a new partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States — something critics have said is an attempt to legitimize their grip on power.

Officials at the U.S. State and Defense Departments said on Tuesday that they were aware of the report of Abu Huzeifa’s death, but were seeking more information.

The U.S. declared eight men wanted for the TongoTongo attack. With Abu Huzeifa’s death, only one — Ibrahim Ousmane, better known as DoundounCheffou — is thought to be still alive. In 2021, France announced that it had killed the principal planner of the attack, the head of the Islamic State affiliate, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahraoui.

The affiliate, now called the Islamic State Sahel Province, has declared allegiance to the Islamic State. The core leadership was decimated after Al-Sahraoui was killed but they have regrouped and are “in the process of establishing a pseudo-state” in the border areas between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, according to ACLED, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Broadcasting the report of Abu Huzeifa’s death on Mali’s state television channel, an announcer described him only as a “foreigner.” Analysts said his origins were in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, controlled by Morocco, or in the Algerian camps where refugees from the territory have spent the past 40 years.

In photographs and video broadcast by the channel, Abu Huzeifa was shown with a flowing beard and mane of hair, a slight man in fatigues and goggles, holding an ISIS flag and a gun.

“The Malian army succeeded where the armies said to be the most powerful in the world failed,” said AbdoulayeSacko, the announcer.

Mali has been in crisis since 2012, when rebels and jihadists took control of swaths of its desert north. The intervention of foreign forces — led by France, which deployed thousands of troops — failed to stop the unrest.

In 2020, coup plotters overthrew Mali’s elected government, using the security crisis to justify their power grab. But since then the ruling junta has pursued the same military-first strategy that the foreign forces did, and nearly four years later, analysts say the situation is worse.

After a ten-year fight against the Islamists, French troops pulled out in 2022. The junta in Mali turned instead to Russian military advisers and mercenaries with the Wagner group, who were accused of committing atrocities in the course of pursuing the militants.

“The military approach by itself can’t bring lasting solutions,” said El HadjDjitteye, director of the Timbuktu Center for Strategic Studies on the Sahel, a think-tank based in Bamako.

What could make a difference, he said, is helping to find people alternative ways of making a living “to respond to the needs of the population and reduce recruitment of young people into the terrorist groups.”

Despite delaying elections, Mali’s junta has appeared to enjoy enduring public approval, particularly in Bamako, the Malian capital. Last November, it boosted its popularity by recapturing the northern city of Kidal, which had been in the hands of separatist rebels for a decade. When they heard that Kidal had fallen, dozens of people waved flags at Bamako’s Independence Square in celebration.

Residents of Bamako, welcomed the news of Abu Huzeifa’s death on Tuesday. But he has less name recognition than other jihadists fighting in Mali, and most citizens were too preoccupied with the difficulties of daily life to do much celebrating.

Debilitating electricity cuts — many areas get less than six hours of power per day — have forced many businesses to grind to a halt, with dire consequences for the economy. A severe heat wave, caused in part by climate change, has precipitated a surge in deaths and hospital admissions in Bamako.

On Tuesday, Bamako residents joked that the Malian junta should collect the $5 million bounty from the Americans — and use it to try to stop the outages.

Source: nytimes.com

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https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/world/africa/mali-isis-niger-attack.html

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Mali says it killed militant commander who took part in one of worst attacks on US forces in Africa

April 30, 2024

BAMAKO, Mali — A senior Islamic State group commander wanted in connection with one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces in Africa was killed in an operation by Mali’s security forces, the country’s army said. Abu Huzeifa, known by the alias Higgo, was a commander in the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The State Department had announced a reward of up to $5 million for information about him. Huzeifa is believed to have helped carry out the 2017 assault on U.S. and Nigerien forces in TongoTongo, Niger. Four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers were killed. Following the attack, the U.S. military scaled back operations with local partners in the vast Sahel region south of the Sahara desert. “The identification and clues gathered confirm the death of Abu Huzeifa or Higgo, a foreign terrorist of great renown,” the Malian army said in a statement late Monday. Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, the leader of a Tuareg armed group allied with the state, said his forces participated in the operation, and that it took place in Mali’s north. A photo of Huzeifa on state television showed him in army fatigues with a long black beard and a machine gun in his hands. Mali has battled a worsening insurgency by jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for over a decade. The country also has experienced two coups since 2020 during a wave of political instability in West and Central Africa. The killing of the commander over the weekend “could mean less violence against civilians in the area, but the threat remains high since for sure there are leaders with similar brutality ready to take over and prove themselves,” said Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank. Col. AssimiGoita, who took charge in Mali after the second coup in 2021, has vowed to end the insurgency. The junta has cut military ties with France amid growing frustration with a lack of progress after a decade of assistance, and turned to Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group for security support instead. Mali has also formed a security alliance with neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, which also battle worsening insurgencies and have experienced coups in recent years. Conflict analysts say the violence has worsened under their regimes. Their security forces are overstretched in fighting the jihadi violence.

Source: stripes.com

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https://www.stripes.com/theaters/africa/2024-04-30/mali-operation-militant-4-us-troops-13707940.html

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Terrorism: Court decides Miyetti Allah leader’s bail request May 30

01-05-24

Justice InyangEkwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed May 30 to rule on the bail application filed by the detained President of Miyetti Allah KautalHore, Bello Bodejo.

Bodejo through his team of lawyers, led by Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), had appealed to the court to grant him bail pending the determination of the terrorism charges filed against him by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government charged him with three counts of terrorism for his alleged involvement in the establishment of an ethnic militia group, Kungiya Zaman Lafiya, in Nasarawa State.

He has been in the custody of the Defence Intelligence Agency since January 23 when he was arrested at Miyetti Allah’s office in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

In his bail application, Bodejo urged the judge to note that by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, he was presumed innocent until proven guilty and, therefore, urged the court to release him on bail.

He contended that the proof of evidence brought before the court by the prosecution did not show any prima facie criminal case against him to warrant his trial.

He appealed to the court to grant his request, given his deteriorating health, promising not to jump bail if released from detention.

But in a counter-affidavit, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/141/2024 deposed to by a litigation clerk in the Department of Public Prosecutions, Federal Ministry of Justice, Noma Wando, the FG asked the court to dismiss the defendant’s bail application.

The prosecution argued that terrorism was not a bailable offence and urged the court to remand Bodejo in detention due to his management and participation in activities connected with acts that were prejudicial to national security and public safety.

According to the deponent, Bodejo provided material support, assistance, and transportation for activities connected with acts, contrary to Sections 29, 2(3)(g}(xii) and 12(a) and Section 2(3)(g)(xii), and 13(2)(b) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The prosecution counsel, AderonkeImana, argued that the court should not grant Bodejo bail.

She told the court that the continued detention of the defendant was in the interest of national security.

Imana argued that the life-threatening ailment that Bodejo claimed to have could be handled at the DIA Medical Centre in Abuja.

According to Imama, Bodejo was diagnosed with only high blood pressure, which, she said, had since been managed effectively by the DIA.

The prosecutor said the DIA Medical Centre, Abuja is situated close to the state House, which “boasts of the best of doctors, specialists, and consultants.”

“The Federal Government’s holding centres and custodial centres have always ensured that the medical needs of persons in custody are met, and they have always undertaken to ensure that whenever the occasion arises, special medical treatment is available to their inmates,” Imana said.

After listening to both parties, Justice Ekwo adjourned till May 30 for ruling.

Source: punchng.com

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CAR: Arrest warrant issued for ex-president François Bozizé

A UN-backed court in the Central African Republic issued an international arrest warrant Tuesday (Apr. 30) for the country’s exiled former President François Bozizé.

Bozizé is wanted for human rights abuses. The warrant covers crimes from 2009 to 2013 by the presidential guard and other security forces,a spokesperson for the Special Criminal Court said.

Bozizé currently lives in exile in Guinea Bissau. The country's President UmaroSissocoEmbaló told the Associated Press news agency that he had not received any request from Bangui about the arrest warrant, and that his country’s laws do not allow for extradition.

“It’s a great day for us victims to learn that François Bozizé is the target of an international arrest warrant,” said Audrey Yamalé, a member of the Association of Victims of the 2013 Crisis. “But let’s not stop there. We would like Guinea Bissau to cooperate in his extradition.”

Ibrahim Nour, whose father was tortured and killed in the infamous Bossembélé prison, welcomed the arrest warrant.

“Justice may be slow, but it will eventually catch up with the executioners. That’s why I welcome the arrest warrant for the men who killed my father, and for whom we are waiting for explanations so that we can begin to mourn,” Nour said.

According to a 2021 report by Amnesty International, dozens suspected of criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity remain at large despite warrants issued by the court.

One-fifth of the population displaced

The Special Criminal Court was set up in the capital, Bangui, to try war crimes and other human rights abuses committed during the coups and violence that the country has experienced since 2003.

Bozizé seized power in a coup in 2003, and was ousted by rebels a decade later. That led to a civil war marked by sectarian violence atrocities and the exploitation of children as soldiers.

About 10,000 children are still fighting alongside armed groups in Central African Republic more than a decade after civil war broke out, the government said earlier this year.

The U.N., which has a peacekeeping mission in the country, estimates the fighting killed thousands and displaced over a million people, or one-fifth of the population.

In 2019, a peace deal was reached between the government and 14 armed groups, but fighting continues.

Patryk Labuda, an expert in international criminal law at the Polish Academy of Sciences, told the AP that the warrant issued Tuesday sends a message about the court’s intention to prosecute wrongdoing by the state.

“This arrest warrant is certainly one of the most high profile developments in the 5 years the court has operated,” Labuda said.

Source: africanews.com

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https://www.africanews.com/2024/05/01/car-arrest-warrant-issued-for-ex-president-francois-bozize/

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Mideast

 

French foreign minister makes unscheduled Cairo stop as Gaza truce talks intensify

May 01, 2024

TEL AVIV: France’s foreign minister arrived in Cairo on Wednesday on an unscheduled stop during a Middle East tour as efforts to secure a truce between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages in Gaza reach a critical point.

Diplomatic efforts toward securing a ceasefire were intensifying following a renewed push led by Egypt to revive stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Gaza’s ruling Palestinian Islamist group.

“The surprise visit of the minister is in the context of Egypt’s efforts to free hostages and achieve a truce in Gaza,” the source said.

France has three dual-nationals still held hostage by Hamas after the group’s assault on Israel on Oct. 7 and has worked closely with Cairo on providing humanitarian aid and medical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s trip to Egypt follows stopovers in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

In talks with Egyptian officials, he will assess whether those three hostages, who are not part of the Israeli military, could be on the list of people released and how close a deal actually is, French diplomats said, expressing cautious optimism on a potential truce deal.

Paris also wants to put a French proposal to defuse tensions between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah high on the agenda in case a Gaza truce is agreed, diplomats said.

Sejourne, who met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, said in an interview on Tuesday that there was some momentum toward an accord, but that it would only be a first step toward a long-term ceasefire.

He warned that an offensive in southern Gaza City of Rafah would do nothing to help Israel in its war with Hamas.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502486/middle-east

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Israeli ground operation in Rafah would be ‘tragedy beyond words’: UN

May 01, 2024

UNITED NATIONS, United States: A ground operation by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be a “tragedy beyond words,” the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The simplest truth is that a ground operation in Rafah will be nothing short of a tragedy beyond words. No humanitarian plan can counter that,” Griffiths said, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch an offensive on Rafah, which has become a refuge to some 1.5 million Palestinians.

With Hamas weighing a truce plan proposed in Cairo talks with the US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Netanyahu vowed to launch the assault on Rafah “with or without a deal.”

Washington has joined calls on Israel from other countries and humanitarian organizations to spare the city for fear an army incursion would lead to massive civilian casualties.

“The world has been appealing to the Israeli authorities for weeks to spare Rafah, but a ground operation there is on the immediate horizon,” said Griffiths.

“For the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled to Gaza’s southernmost point to escape disease, famine, mass graves and direct fighting, a ground invasion would spell even more trauma and death.

“For agencies struggling to provide humanitarian aid despite the active hostilities, impassable roads, unexploded ordnance, fuel shortages, delays at checkpoints, and Israeli restrictions, a ground invasion would strike a disastrous blow.

“We are in a race to stave off hunger and death, and we are losing.”

The war in Gaza started after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Palestinian militants also took some 250 hostages on October 7. Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 believed to be dead.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502376/middle-east

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Iranian MPs: Anti-Israeli Rallies Show Western Media's Failure to Distort Facts About Gaza

01-05-24

Members of the Iranian Parliament strongly condemned the heavy-handed crackdown on pro-Palestinian rallies at the United States universities, and stressed that the anti-Zionist movement indicated that the Western media outlets have failed to distort the truth about the regime war on the Gaza Strip which has so far killed more than 34,500 people.

As many as 150 members of the legislative body threw their weight behind American and European university students supporting Palestinians in the months-long Israeli war on the besieged enclave.

“Today, Gaza is the scene of confrontation between an oppressed, afflicted and resistant nation and a ruthless and usurping entity. In this battle, sympathizing with the oppressed and protesting against the oppressors is the least of human duties,” the Iranian lawmakers announced in a statement.

They stressed that the regime’s record of aggression and usurpation amounts to seven decades, adding what is nowadays coming to pass in the form of bravery and resistance by Palestinians in Gaza is the “volcano of pent-up anger and pain” of a nation.

Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on college campuses have entered their second week, as law enforcement arrest hundreds and remaining protesters occupy campus buildings.

Demonstrators say the administration of President Joe Biden is complicit in the deaths of the many thousands of civilians in the blockaded enclave. Since the war began in Gaza in early October 2023, American and European officials have promised rock-solid and unwavering support to Tel Aviv.

The American students are demanding their universities call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and cut all ties with companies that enable Israel’s military operations against Palestine.

The US Police were out in full force on college campuses in recent days, some using chemical irritants and Tasers to disperse the students. At least 1,000 protesters have been detained since the launch of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses across the United States, with dozens suspended, placed on probation and expelled from universities.

“The expression of solidarity with Palestine by academics of the world, especially in Western countries, is a movement that stems from a justice-seeking, altruistic and humane nature,” the MPs' statement read.

"Playing victim and distorting the facts in the West’s mainstream media have not been able to completely cover up the * scenes in Gaza," the lawmakers stated.

Expressing their gratitude to the American and European university students for supporting Palestinians in Gaza, the statement said, “Irrational violence against this rights-seeking call will not cure the pain of oppressors.”

Source: farsnews.ir

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https://farsnews.ir/Qaysar/1714546105665082711/Iranian-MPs%3A-Anti-Israeli-Rallies-Show-Western-Media's-Failure-to-Distort-Facts-About-Gaza

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Amnesty International Calls for Biden to ‘Immediately Suspend’ Weapons Transfers to Israel

01-05-24

Human rights group Amnesty International called this week for President Joe Biden to immediately suspend the transfer of weapons to Israel, as the organization renewed allegations that the Israeli military is violating international law.

Amnesty said in a Monday post that new research provided to the Biden administration has detailed American-supplied weapons to Israel being “used in serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and in a manner that is inconsistent with US law and policy”, The Hill reported.

Amanda Klasing, national director for government relations with Amnesty International USA, said it was “shocking that the Biden administration continues to hold that the government of Israel is not violating international humanitarian law with US-provided weapons when our research shows otherwise and international law experts disagree.”

“President Biden must end US complicity with the government of Israel’s grave violations of international law and immediately suspend the transfer of weapons to the government of Israel,” Klasing said in a statement.

The organization’s calls come as the White House faces a May 8 deadline to certify to Congress that US-provided weapons to Israel are being used in compliance with international law, with some reports suggesting there is friction in the State Department on the issue.

Last week, Amnesty International — along with more than 20 human rights, refugee and religious advocacy groups — called for the US to block weapons transfers to Israel, saying it “further risks US complicity in grave international crimes committed by Israel”.

Amnesty said it found that on several occasions, Israel has used American-made weapons in ways that violated international law, including using Joint Direct Attack Munitions bombs in October in an attack that killed 43 civilians, mostly children and women, in Gaza.

The group has also documented the use of white phosphorus in Southern Lebanon, a flammable chemical that must be used with caution in warfare, and four Israeli strikes in Gaza throughout December and January that resulted in the deaths of 95 civilians, around half of whom were children.

Amnesty also said verifiable photos show Israel conducted an unlawful strike in October that killed seven journalists in Southern Lebanon, despite the reporters clearly being identified.

The human rights group said in the report to the Biden administration that Israel is also not taking necessary precautions to protect civilian lives, citing rushed evacuation notices and indiscriminate strikes, and that the Israeli military is conducting inhumane treatment of prisoners and restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel carries out a war against Palestinian group Hamas in retaliation for an October 7 attack that killed more than 1,100 people. In the attack, Hamas also kidnapped around 250 hostages from Southern Israel, with 130 still left in Gaza either dead or alive.

Israel has carried on with its war in Gaza despite international pressure calling for more restraint — including from Biden, who supports the US ally but wants to minimize deaths and alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis in the coastal strip.

Biden has grown frustrated with the toll in Gaza, but continues to send weapons to Israel, including signing into law a $26 billion package last week, which authorizes more military assistance Israel.

The crisis in Gaza grew more complicated after the International Criminal Court began reportedly considering filing arrest warrants for top officials in Israel and among leaders in Hamas related to the ongoing war.

Source: farsnews.ir

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https://farsnews.ir/Mousavi_82/1714543276600453401/Amnesty-International-Calls-for-Biden-to-%E2%80%98Immediately-Suspend%E2%80%99-Weapons-Transfers-to-Israel

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Iranian Students Rally in Support of Anti-Zionist Movement in West

Students and faculty members from universities in Shiraz, Fars province, Southern Iran gathered in front of the Shiraz University to express solidarity with the anti-Zionist movement among students in the United States and Europe. [PHOTOS]
Source: farsnews.ir

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https://farsnews.ir/Sayeh/1714479718630799955/Iranian-Students-Rally-in-Support-of-Anti-Zionist-Movement-in-West

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Blinken urges Hamas to agree Gaza truce as he meets Israel leaders

May 01, 2024

JERUSALEM: Top US diplomat Antony Blinken urged Hamas to accept a truce in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to send troops into its far southern city of Rafah.

Washington has heightened pressure on all sides to reach a ceasefire — a message pushed by Blinken, who was on his seventh regional tour since the Gaza war broke out in October.

An Israeli official told AFP the government “will wait for answers until Wednesday night,” and then “make a decision” whether to send a delegation to indirect talks being brokered by US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo.

The Palestinian militant group said it was considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas, whose envoys returned from Cairo talks to their base in Qatar, would “discuss the ideas and the proposal,” said a Hamas source, adding: “We are keen to respond as quickly as possible.”

Blinken put the ball squarely in Hamas’s court.

“There is a very strong proposal on the table right now. Hamas needs to say yes, and needs to get this done,” he said.

But analysts questioned whether Hamas would sign up to another temporary ceasefire like the week-long truce that saw more than 100 hostages released in November, knowing that Israeli troops could resume their onslaught as soon as it was over.

“I’m pessimistic about the option of Hamas agreeing to a deal that doesn’t have a permanent ceasefire baked into it,” said MairavZonszein, senior analyst on Israel-Palestine at the International Crisis Group.

Zonszein said the three countries brokering the truce talks had their own reasons for trying to bounce the warring parties into a deal.

“The US and Egypt and Qatar all have very strong interests of their own, for various reasons, why they’re trying very hard now to pressure both sides into agreeing to a deal.

“And I think they believe that if they’re able to get an initial deal and a pause, that they can try to build on that,” he said.

Potential Rafah incursion

Hours before Blinken landed in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu fired a shot across his bows, vowing to send Israeli ground troops into Rafah despite repeated US warnings of the potential for heavy casualties among the 1.5 million civilians sheltering in the city.

“We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal,” the right-wing premier told hostage families, his office said.

Ahead of what promised to be a difficult meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Blinken too met privately with hostage relatives in Tel Aviv.

In rare scenes for the top US diplomat, who has faced furor at home and abroad over the administration’s support for Israel in its campaign against Hamas, Blinken was greeted outside his Tel Aviv hotel by Israeli demonstrators waving US flags.

Blinken told them that freeing the hostages was “at the heart of everything we’re trying to do.”

The estimates that 129 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, 34 of whom are presumed dead.

Many of their families have expressed hope that US pressure may force Netanyahu to agree a deal for their release.

Mideast tour

On the previous leg of his regional tour in Jordan, Blinken said a Gaza truce and the redoubling of aid deliveries went hand in hand.

A truce is “the most effective way to relieve the suffering” of civilians in Gaza, he told reporters near Amman.

Blinken saw off a first Jordanian truck convoy of aid heading to Gaza through the Erez crossing reopened by Israel.

“It is real and important progress, but more still needs to be done,” he said.

UN agencies have warned that without urgent intervention, famine looms in Gaza, particularly in northern areas which are hardest to reach.

A US-built floating pier on Gaza’s coast is expected to be completed later this week, said Cyprus, the departure point for the planned “maritime corridor.”

Blinken said the pier would “significantly increase the assistance” but was not “a substitute” for greater overland access.

In northern Gaza’s Beit Lahia, across from Erez crossing, 24-year-old farmer Yussef Abu Rabih was replanting plots he said had been “completely destroyed” by the fighting.

“We decided to return to farming despite difficult conditions and scarce resources” after suffering “severe hunger,” he told AFP.

Gaza war

The war started after Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,568 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Washington has strongly backed its ally Israel but also pressured it to refrain from a ground invasion of Rafah, which is packed with displaced civilians.

Calev Ben-Dor, a former analyst for the Israeli foreign ministry and now deputy editor for specialized review Fathom, told AFP that Netanyahu’s “Rafah comments likely have more to do with trying to keep his coalition intact, rather than operational plans in the near term.”

The prime minister “is feeling the squeeze between the Biden administration” and far-right members of his government who have vehemently opposed the proposed truce, Ben-Dor said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said an Israeli assault on Rafah would “be an unbearable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.”

Source: arabnews.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502536/middle-east

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Trucks bringing bodies and detainees into Gaza hold up aid says UNRWA

May 01, 2024

GENEVA: Trucks bringing both bodies and detainees from Israel back to Gaza through the main crossing point of Kerem Shalom regularly hold up aid deliveries, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday.

A deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza has raised pressure on Israel to boost supplies into the enclave to curb disease among the 1.7 million people displaced by the Israeli-Hamas conflict and relieve hunger amid famine warnings from the United Nations.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told journalists on Tuesday that aid supplies into Gaza had improved in April but listed a series of ongoing difficulties including regular crossing closures “because they (Israel) are dumping released detainees or dumping sometimes bodies taken to Israel and back to the Gaza Strip.”

Asked for more details, UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said that Israel had sent 225 bodies to Gaza in three containers since December that were then transported by the UN agency to local health authorities for burial, shutting the crossing temporarily. She did not have details of the circumstances of their deaths and said it was not UNRWA’s mandate to investigate.

On the detainee transfers, some of which have been previously reported by Reuters, she said that they had been transferred from Israel back to Gaza “dozens of times.”

Israel’s COGAT, a military branch in charge of aid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva referred questions on the transfers to Jerusalem.

On aid deliveries, he said: “Mr. Lazzarini is deflecting from UNRWA’s own failures and responsibilities. Again today, there was a backlog of more than 150 trucks screened by Israel in Kerem Shalom not picked up by UN agencies.”

Tensions are high between Israel and UNRWA with the former accusing 19 UNRWA staff of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel that killed 1,200 people and prompted the latter’s military campaign in Gaza. Israel’s allegations are being examined by UN investigators although a separate review found Israel has yet to provide evidence for accusations that hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of terrorist groups.

Kerem Shalom is one of just two crossings the UN says is currently open between Gaza and its neighbors Egypt and Israel.

Palestinian authorities have previously said that Israel has returned bodies from the Israeli-Hamas conflict after confirming they were not hostages. They said they were trying to identify them and figure out where they were killed.
Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502381/middle-east

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Arab World

 

Saudi Heritage Commission, Japan’s Kanazawa University Join Forces On Archaeological Surveys

May 01, 2024

DUBAI: The Saudi Heritage Commission and Japan’s Kanazawa University are to collaborate on archaeological work at two prehistoric sites.

The scientific cooperation agreement, which was signed on Tuesday, relates to survey work at Jouf and Tabuk.

It highlights the commission’s commitment to expanding its field work and archaeological surveys across the Kingdom and enhances its scientific partnerships with specialist universities and centres around the world.

The strategic agreement will involve scientific field studies, expanding the dissemination of survey and excavation results, and attracting distinguished scientific expertise. It will also mean more scientific data and reports to help track pastoral patterns at both sites.

The signing, which took place in Riyadh, was attended by Saudi Heritage Commission CEO Jasser Al-Harbash and Iwai Fumio, the Japanese ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502511/saudi-arabia

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Saudi students explore intersection of science and art

April 30, 2024

JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts has launched an exhibition in Jeddah showcasing 25 artworks exploring the link between science and art.

The second annual exhibition organized by the arts society, in collaboration with the Biology Club at King Abdulaziz University, was opened in the presence of Mohammed Al-Subaih, director-general of the organization, Mona Al-Harbi, vice dean of the college of science, local artists, and parents.

The exhibition, which will run until May 2 at the organization’s Abdul Halim Radwi Auditorium, presents an artistic interpretation of scientific inquiry. It is being held to encourage students to showcase their creativity.

 Fifteen female students presented their paintings, sketches and other projects at the opening of the event.

The students chose as subject matter the body’s various systems, the solar system, human mind, natural world, animals, mathematics, computer programming, global warming and more.

Al-Subaih praised the students for their work. “This exhibition comes as part of our role in spreading culture and arts … we thought of creating a platform for students to exhibit their talents and showcase their innovative ideas and this exhibition is an exciting moment for us to share with our community.”

Al-Harbi added: “The sci-art exhibition allows participants to engage their creative and analytical minds to forge new connections between ideas and learn about the world through art.

“This exhibition is a way to provide a platform for students and others to express that side of themselves and bring art and science together. Our aim is to encourage students to show their artistic talents and create paintings that related to subjects that they have learned in science.”

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502296/saudi-arabia

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Deal signed to advance Saudi agriculture

April 30, 2024

RIYADH: Ahmed Al-Eyada, the undersecretary at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, witnessed the signing on Tuesday of a cooperation agreement between the National Agricultural Development Company, and Delphy, a global company specializing in agricultural services.

The agreement aims to build capabilities, boost skills, and transfer agricultural technologies, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

The deal is part of the ministry’s initiative to adopt modern systems, technologies, and innovations in the sector through local, regional, and international partnerships to achieve national objectives.

It is hoped the agreement will help in the training of agricultural advisers, while building capacities and adopting best practices and technologies. This will contribute to enhancing farmers’ efficiency and advancing the country’s agricultural sector.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502286/saudi-arabia

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Saudi FM discusses developments in Gaza with Mexican counterpart during phone call

April 30, 2024

RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called his Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena on Tuesday.

During the call, bilateral relations and aspects of joint cooperation were discussed. The two officials also discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings.

Source: arabnews.com

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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2502251/saudi-arabia

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North America

 

Trump Says Palestine Supporters At Universities Are ‘Paid… Professional Agitators'

By Ashima Grover

May 01, 2024

On Tuesday, Donald Trump pushed unsubstantiated claims about how Columbia University's ongoing protests found momentum with “paid” and “professional agitators," who've been “made by the same printer."

With the escalating nationwide campus upheaval at the centre of the conversation, student-led demonstrations have been joined by the community and faculty members alike. Hundreds of NYPD officers mobilised in full riot gear, resulting in massive student arrests and the clearing of university protest encampments Tuesday evening.

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The 45th President of the US weighed in on the alarming scenario in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, claiming that most of these activists had no idea what they were standing up for and had been bought by the higher authorities.

Proclaiming the protesters present on the scene at Columbia University as “paid agitators, professional agitators,” Trump spoke of the supposed “identical” signs. “You know, when you see signs and they're all identical. That means they're being paid by a source,” the former President alleged.

Trump weighs in on pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University

While no corroborated proof has addressed the artificial presence of demonstrators at the various nationwide pro-Palestine protests, Trump has painted a new picture altogether.

“These are hand-painted signs where people would go to their basement and paint something because they really believed it," continued Trump. “These are all signs that are identical… made by the same printers,” the ex-president projected. He eventually tied his perception of the anti-Israel protests to the presumption that “somebody at the top” was paying these agitators at Columbia, synonymously equating it to a “great disservice to (the) country.”

Additionally, Trump even took the chance to hit back at Biden administration: “Biden has to do something. Biden is supposed to be the voice of our country, and it's certainly not much of a voice.”

All rising pro-Palestine demonstrations have erupted as a response to Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In addition to demanding a ceasefire and relinquishing the military occupation in the Gaza Strip, the protesters have also pushed universities to divest from connections with Israel, which are, in turn, aiding the violent decimation of the Gaza Strip.

Despite the blown-out nationwide activism, Columbia has become the hub of political rhetoric, with the campus being the pioneering centre of these protests. The defiant acts of activism have disfavourably threatened Columbia University President MinoucheShafik's position, with bipartisan lawmakers jointly denouncing the handling of the situation.

The growing number of arrests has extended past a thousand. Disturbing videos of scenes from the University of Utah also emerged on Monday as riot police were spotted dragging protesters, with reports of them possibly even firing rubber bullets at the student agitators.

Source: hindustantimes.com

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https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/trump-says-palestine-supporters-at-universities-are-paid-professional-agitators-101714553992065.html

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WVU Muslim Student Association marches in support of Palestine in Morgantown

May 1, 2024

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia University Muslim Student Association is planning additional events in the coming weeks calling for lasting peace for Palestinian people.

MSA President Omar Ibraheem, who helped lead a protest and march Sunday from the WVU Mountainlair to the Monongalia County Courthouse, said Palestinian people have been suffering at the hands of the Israelis for decades and they are calling for an immediate stop. He asserts the oppression has killed many Palestinians and forced countless others from their homes as settlements expanded.

“The fact is that the Palestinian people have been harassed and oppressed for over 75 years,” Ibraheem said. “So, our main goal right now is to remove that oppression and that harassment the Palestinian people have been under.”

While generally in favor of protests on other college campuses across the country, Ibraheem isn’t currently aware of any WVU investments in Israeli-related areas. He said he has the right to know where the university spends money generated by tuition payments from students and families.

“The majority of the major colleges across American are invested in this foreign country, Israel which is actively killing Palestinian people and genociding the people in Gaza,” Ibraheem said. ” That’s what we’re standing against. We’re calling for that.”

The Morgantown event was largely peaceful and included chants of “Free, Free Palestine,” and “Ceasefire now,” while carrying signs that read “Free Gaza,” and “End the Occupation.”

“We had Jewish students protesting with us, we had Christian students protesting with us,” Ibraheem said. “We had people all around protesting with us.”

Ibrahim said they have experienced threats, vandalism to their office, and in one instance another with a bullhorn attempted to drown them out by calling them terrorists.

“Here at our own university we have been harassed by a few Zionist students at every event we’ve had,” Ibraheem said. ” We are actually in the process of an active investigation against that student.”

According to Ibraheem, the protest at Columbia University escalated because President NematShafik has violated the free speech rights of students. The support protesters are receiving from faculty members is further proof Shakik is choosing not to listen to the students.

“They are standing for something right, they are holding their university accountable for divesting in a foreign country,” Ibraheem said. ” Why does a university need to invest in Israel, that makes no sense to me.”

WVU Executive Director of Communications April Kaull said,” As a state agency, West Virginia University does not have any investments Israel-related or otherwise.”

Source: wvmetronews.com

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https://wvmetronews.com/2024/05/01/wvu-muslim-student-association-marches-in-support-of-palestine-in-morgantown/

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700+ California Muslims Attend CAIR-CA’s 13th Annual Muslim Day at the Capitol

April 30, 2024

The California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said over 700 Muslim community members, religious leaders, students, and activists took part in yesterday’s 13th Annual Muslim Day at the Capitol (MDAC) in Sacramento.

SEE: CAIR-CA Holds Muslim Day at the Capitol

“MDAC connects our community with lawmakers to champion social justice and advocacy,” said CAIR-CA CEO HussamAyloush. “The event has grown in popularity, which shows the increasing civic engagement of California Muslims who are working to shape a more inclusive, tolerant, and just state for everyone.”

MDAC participants attended 70 meetings with elected officials, where they advocated for the following legislation:

AB-2377: Grants students a religious exemption for fasting during physical education.  

AB-2763: Mandates the inclusion of a “Middle Eastern or North African” category in demographic data collected by state agencies, boards, and commissions.  

Resolution Condemning Islamophobia and Palestinian Hate: Denounces the surge in Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian discrimination in California, acknowledging the state’s commitment to religious freedom and cultural diversity.  

The community also expressed its firm opposition to SB-1287, which infringes on students’ rights to free speech and the free exchange of ideas, fundamental to the academic environment in colleges and universities.

CAIR-CA hosted a press conference featuring:

Assemblymember Luz Rivas, who authored AB-2377

Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who authored AB-2763

CAIR-CA CEO HussamAyloush

CAIR-CA Associate Manager of Justice Reinvestment Leena Sabagh

CAIR San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam

CAIR-CA is a chapter of CAIR, America’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.

END

CONTACTS:

CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, eelkadi@cair.com, 714.776.1847

CAIR Sacramento Valley/Central California Communications and Outreach Coordinator, AnesMokeddem, amokeddem@cair.com,916.441.6469

CAIR San Diego Executive Director Tazheen Nizam, tnizam@cair.com, 858-278-4547

CAIR San Francisco Bay Area Communications Manager, Lorrie Adam, ladam@cair.com, 408.498.5779

Source: cair.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.cair.com/press_releases/650-california-muslims-attend-cair-cas-13th-annual-muslim-day-at-the-capitol/

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IS commander wanted for deaths of US forces in Niger killed in operation

Tue 30 Apr 2024

A senior Islamic State group commander, wanted in connection with the deaths of US forces in Niger, has been killed in an operation by Malian state forces, the country’s army said.

Abu Huzeifa, known by the alias Higgo, was a commander in the group known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. The state department had announced a reward of up to $5m for information about him.

Huzeifa is believed to have helped carry out an attack in 2017 on US and Nigerien forces in TongoTongo, Niger, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans and four Nigerien soldiers. After the attack, the US military scaled back operations with local partners in the Sahel.

“The identification and clues gathered confirm the death of Abu HuzeifaditHiggo, a foreign terrorist of great renown,” the Malian army said in a statement late on Monday.

Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, the leader of a Tuareg armed group allied with the state, said his forces participated in the operation and that it took place in the northern region of Mali.

A photo of Huzeifa on state television showed him in army fatigues with a long black beard and a machine-gun in his hands.

Mali has experienced two coups since 2020 during a wave of political instability that has swept across west and central Africa. The country has battled a worsening insurgency by jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for more than a decade.

The killing of the Islamic State group commander over the weekend “could mean less violence against civilians in the area, but the threat remains high since for sure there are leaders with similar brutality ready to take over and prove themselves”, said Rida Lyammouri of the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based thinktank.

Col AssimiGoïta, who took charge after the second coup in 2021, has vowed to end the insurgency. His ruling junta has cut military ties with France amid growing frustration with a lack of progress after a decade of assistance and turned instead to Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group for security support.

Mali has also formed security alliances with Niger and Burkina Faso, both of which are also battling worsening insurgencies and have experienced coups in recent years. Although their militaries promised to end the insurgencies after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say the violence has instead worsened under their regimes.

All three nations share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region, and their security forces are overstretched in fighting the jihadi violence.

Source: theguardian.com

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/30/is-commander-wanted-for-deaths-of-us-forces-in-niger-killed-in-operation

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Pakistan

 

‘No evidence that cipher was in Imran’s custody’

May 1, 2024

ISLAMABAD: In a fresh twist in the cipher case, the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday observed that the Federal Investigation Age­ncy (FIA) has nothing on record to prove that former prime minister Imran Khan retained the confidential diplomatic cable, and that it went missing from his possession.

The observation was made by an IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurang­zeb, which had resumed hearing appeals filed by Mr Khan and his foreign minister at the time, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, against their conviction in the cipher case.

Earlier, defence counsel Barrister Salman Safdar had submitted a report of the foreign ministry to the IHC containing details of the cipher’s distribution.

 The report revealed that almost every recipient of the cipher, inc­l­u­ding the former army chief and the chief justice, returned the confidential document after a case was registered against Imran Khan.

While special prosecutor Hamid Ali Shah was explaining the movement of cipher from the foreign ministry to the PM Office, Justice Farooq asked if there is any record available with FIA, the prosecuting agency, that proves Mr Khan retained the cipher.

“Is there any record of cipher’s movement that it was handed over to the prime minister by the principal secretary?”, asked the chief justice.

Mr Shah replied that Azam Khan, the then-principal secretary, testified before the court that the cipher was handed over to ex-PM Khan and was never returned.

“We believe it’s hearsay,” remarked the chief justice, adding that there was a possibility that the former PM had asked the secretary to return the cipher.

Mr Shah, however, said the court had ample reason to believe that the ex-PM received and perused the cipher on the basis of which he made public speeches and even sent a demarche to the US.

“But how do we know it was not returned?” the chief justice questioned.

Mr Shah replied that witnesses in the case had stated on oath that Mr Khan never returned the confidential document. He said that during a public speech and an interview with a private television channel, Mr Khan admitted that the cipher was in his possession.

Justice Aurangzeb remarked that politicians make such statement to pander to the crowd.

He asked the state’s counsel to apprise the court what happened with the First Information Report (FIR) registered over Azam Khan’s alleged abduction.

Justice Farooq directed the cou­nsel to submit a challan or disch­arge report in the FIR by May 2.

Iddat case

Meanwhile, Khawar Farid Man­eka, the former spouse of Bushra Bibi, sought the transfer of the ap­­p­eal against conviction of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in Iddat case.

Mr Maneka requested sessions judge Shahrukh Arjumand to rec­use himself from hearing the ap­­p­eal for being biased. He also ac­­cu­sed the judge of being sympathetic to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830687

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TPL chief confident of record IPO of Pakistan's first Islamic REIT

30, 2024

KARACHI: Ali Jameel, the chief executive officer of tech-driven conglomerate TPL Corp Limited, is “confident” that the bidding of its IPO for the first Shariah-compliant hybrid Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in Pakistan will be oversubscribed.

TPL RMC is scheduled to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the first Shariah-compliant hybrid REIT — the TPL REIT Fund I — on May 2 and 3.

The TPL REIT is a part of the conglomerate's range of businesses scattered across various sectors and has demonstrated its expertise in the property sector via Centrepoint — its flagship project. It should be noted that the aforementioned project yielded TPL a Return on Investment (ROI) of 130 per cent.

The Fund is also known for its investment across a diversified pool of property assets including a premium-end luxurious residential tower, a sustainable master-planned community, and a first-of-its-kind technology park.

Talking to Geo.tv, Jameel — who was previously associated with Pakistan’s central bank, TRG Pakistan, and other entities as a board member — said that the introduction of the IPO shows that the Pakistani market is developing and becoming sophisticated. “It most importantly demonstrates that Pakistan is open for business,” said the TPL CEO.

The offer on the IPO by TPL RMC is being made through the fixed price method at an offer price of Rs17.59 per unit.

Commenting on the vision behind the REIT, the businessman explained that it is aimed at bringing the unregulated and undocumented delisted sector towards documentation. “This will also improve the government’s taxation, and investors’ money will also get detected, as REIT has advantages for investors — far more than when they purchase from the informal sector,” he added.

Talking about the scope of the REIT in Pakistan, Jameel said it would take over 50 per cent of the property sector in the next 10 years. “Let’s say REIT is only Re1 and other sectors are Rs99, but in the next 10 years, I expect that the Re1 will become Rs40-50.”

The TPL chief was of the opinion that the Shariah-compliant REIT would be a “great success” for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) because a significant portion of the investor base in Pakistan mostly looks at Shariah-compliant structures.

“Therefore, Pakistan will again be at the forefront of Shariah-compliance in terms of REITs and it will also encourage the inclusion of more such REITs in the market. Introducing the first one always requires more hard work and we want more such REITs to be introduced".

According to Jameel, TPL wants the market to develop further through the launch of their IPO and the conglomerate will support its development as well.

Ali Asgher — the CEO of TPL REIT Management Company — told Geo.tv that the company’s vision is to have a Shariah-compliant formalisation of real estate so that retail and mid-sized investors would have a regulated Islamic instrument and a way to invest.

“Real estate is a very capital-intensive investment in which everyone can’t go in and take the big chunk. Therefore, a regulated structured product is the solution which was not available for a retail investor earlier,” he said.

Asgher added that REIT, in Pakistan and around the world, is a safe and regulated investment product if one wants to invest in real estate. It caters for all kinds of investment bases — from big institutions to small retail investors.

Speaking about the expectations about the bidding, the TPL RMC CEO hoped to witness oversubscription. “Real estate is a promising sector in Pakistan, but it lacks regulated instruments and structures which we are insha’Allah introducing and which have also been introduced by a few people before us. I think there should be a huge demand for it,” he said.

Asgher also said that the IPO would be the largest one in the last few years with regard to market capitalisation and “not many such IPOs have taken place in Pakistan”, adding that a lot of efforts had been made to formalise the property sector and the SECP and PSX worked intensively with their listing regulation to smoothen their process.

Asgher hoped that through their company’s REIT, PSX's market capitalisation would increase by Rs32 billion, telling Geo.tv that "when a sector increases with more additions, it means that foreign investors, foreign funds and portfolio investors will also start looking at it. This will also pave the way for foreign investments because there will be sector eligibility".

Source: geo.tv

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https://www.geo.tv/latest/541767-tpl-corp-chief-ali-jameel-confident-for-high-ipo-bidding-for-pakistans-first-shariah-compliant-reit

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US, Pakistan vow to boost cooperation on regional security

May 1, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The US and Pakistan on Tuesday reaffirmed their close ties and pledged to enhance cooperation on regional security, according to the Foreign Office.

The FO, in a statement issued after a meeting between a visiting US delegation led by Acting Un­­der Secretary for Political Affairs John Bass, and Acting Foreign Secre­tary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi, said the “discussions covered a broad range of bilateral issues, with both sides emphasising the importance of enhancing trade and investment ties”.

The FO further noted that the talks were “productive” and resulted in reaffirmation of the commitment to enhance cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and regional security.

The visit marks the first by a US official to Islam­abad since the new government was formed after the February 8 elections.

In letters exchanged last month, President Joe Biden underscored the cri­tical nature of the “enduring (US-Pakistan) partne­rship” for “ensuring the se­­­curity of our people — and people around the world”.

PM Shehbaz Sharif, in response to Mr Biden’s outreach, expres­sed Pak­is­t­an’s eagerness to collaborate towards global peace and security and development of the region. Later, Sec­re­tary of Sta­te Antony Blin­ken, in a phone call with Foreign Mi­nister Ishaq Dar, emp­hasised the importance of continued cooperation on counterterrorism, expan­ding trade and investment partnership.

Mr Bass’s visit to Pakistan is part of a broader regional trip that included a stop in Qatar, where he engaged in discussions about Afghanis­tan and regional security interests.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830688/us-pakistan-vow-to-boost-cooperation-on-regional-security

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Dolphin official martyred in deadly Murree Road pursuit

May 1, 2024

RAWALPINDI: A police official embraced martyrdom whereas another was wounded in a shootout with apparently “highly trained” four suspects on Murree Road around midnight on Monday, with the suspects escaping the scene leaving their vehicle behind.

SSP Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar said the incident occurred when the dolphin force officials signalled a car in which four people were travelling to stop. The occupants, however, started firing at the police during the chase which resulted in the death of a dolphin force official and injuries to another constable. A pedestrian was also injured in the shootout.

The SSP said that one of the suspects was also injured during the shootout, however, police raids were underway to arrest the culprits. Police have also found “some photographs and a weapon licence from the car” driven by the culprits.

The police also claimed that the suspects belonged to Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as per the initial probe. The policemen were therefore directed to monitor all bus stands, the railway station, and all the exit points of the city to trace their whereabouts. The police suspected the involvement of a banned outfit in this incident but any link in this regard was yet to be established, said an official.

Terrorism case

In light of the incident, the police also registered a case under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, murder, and other charges of the Pakistan Penal Code at the complaint of Muhammad Asim, foot constable at the Waris Khan police station.

The FIR said the dolphin police were on duty when they flagged a car near MH Chowk and asked the driver to stop, but instead of complying with the order, the vehicle sped off prompting a chase by the police officials. As the car reached Mareer Chowk, the occupants started firing at the police, but the police team continued to follow the white vehicle despite gunshots.

Meanwhile, the police control room was alerted by the Dolphin Force officials, the FIR said, adding that when the car reached Waris Khan, it was forced to stop due to traffic. At this, the occupants started firing at the police, injuring Ismail Rauf and Mohammad Asim who fell on the ground.

The culprits managed to escape the scene leaving behind their vehicle. After the escape, the injured were shifted to the Benazir hospital by the police where Ismail Rauf was pronounced dead. Rauf left behind his mother, wife, and two sons.

The funeral of martyred constable Ismail Rauf was held at Police Lines Headquarters on Tuesday. Constable Mohammad Asim, who was shifted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital, was stated to be in stable condition. After the funeral, the body of the martyred constable was buried with official honours in his native area in the jurisdiction of the Chauntra police station.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830660/dolphin-official-martyred-in-deadly-murree-road-pursuit

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Man in Karachi sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in rape case

May 1, 2024

KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a man to 10-year rigorous imprisonment on charges of raping his daughter-in-law.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Central) Zabiha Khattak found Irshad Ali guilty of subjecting his 19-year-old daughter-in-law to a sexual assault in April 2023 within the jurisdiction of the Bilal Colony police station.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on him and ruled that in case of default, he would suffer an additional six months in prison.

The judge observed: “It is an alarming situation that the accused, who is father-like (figure) for the victim, has committed rape of her daughter-in-law, which is not only (an) offence but also a sin so these types of crimes should be dealt with iron hand.”

She added, “Women are not safe in their own house, which is a stigma for the whole society.”

According to state prosecutor Hina Naz, the rape survivor deposed in her statement before the court that she had married in 2021, however, last year in April when her husband and mother-in-law were not home, the accused entered her room, overpowered her and subjected her to a sexual assault.

The survivor testified that he threatened her of dire consequences if she told anyone about the incident. Later, the convict continued to harass her via text messages. When she confided it to her mother-in-law, she did not believe and asked her to maintain silence. A week later, she went to her parents’ home with her husband and disclosed the ordeal to her mother.

Later, a complaint was registered against the convict under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

In the FIR, the survivor stated to the police that her father-in-law had committed the said offence multiple times. However, she chose to remain silent for the sake of her dignity and the sanctity of her home.

During the trial, the defence counsel made an allegation against the complainant and stated that his client was falsely implicated in that case. However, the court rejected the defence pleadings as they failed to submit substantial evidence to support their claim.

The court also noted that the messages exchanged between the survivor and accused, which were presented as evidence, were retrieved from the accused’s mobile phone. These messages revealed that “the victim tried to save her matrimonial relation and her home, but at last, she became fed up with this shameful act of the accused and reported the matter”, the court observed.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830640/man-in-karachi-sentenced-to-10-year-imprisonment-in-rape-case

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Punjab govt questions police board’s move to impose fee on NGOs

May 1, 2024

LAHORE: The Punjab government has questioned the IG Police to explain Punjab Police Executive Board’s move to impose verification fee on NGOs by the Special Branch — following an outcry by the home, industries and social welfare departments.

The Punjab government says imposition of fee against services is not the mandate of the Police Executive Board but it comes within the the purview of the government, which comprises the chief minister and the cabinet.

The Punjab Police Executive Board, during the caretaker government last year, had approved Rs10,000 verification fee for Special Branch for verification of NGOs/ INGOs, societies, foundations, associations, organisations, churches, ministries, press clubs, trust deeds and office-bearers of NGOs/INGOs.

Following a huge number of complaints lodged by the private security companies and NGOs, the home department had written a letter to the IG Police in December last seeking clarification that under which law and rules the verification fee had been imposed because imposition of fee against services is not the mandate of the Police Executive Board but the government.

The Punjab home department had even moved a summary to the chief minister on Feb 1 this year on the request of the social welfare department routed through the Board of Revenue, industries and the social welfare departments. “All departments did not support the imposition of a verification fee of Rs10,000 charged by the Special Branch,” says the home department’s communication with the IG Police.

The home department told the IGP on April 23 that the chief minister had desired the administrative department to quote the relevant provisions of law under which the Police Executive Board had approved Rs10,000 verification fee for all categories of NGOs charged by the Special Branch.

In the summary to the chief minister, available with Dawn, the home department stated that it held a meeting with all stakeholders in January this year and it was highlighted that such a fee could not be imposed without obtaining prior approval of the government. “During the process of registration by the relevant authorities, fees are already being charged under relevant laws, which includes the verification process,” says the summary.

The Board of Revenue’s view quoted in the summary acknowledged that the fee could not be charged without obtaining approval of the government. Furthermore, the SMBR [senior member board of revenue] stated, “Philanthropy is a noble cause as mostly NGOs are dependent on public donations and they do not have ample resources and such imposition of fee will discourage the individuals working for the welfare of the poor and needy segment of society”.

The industries department secretary stated, “The home department, for grant of NOC, seeks verification of cases from CTD and Special Branch requiring checking of particulars of applicants in available CROs and lists of Fourth Schedulers by home department and involves no physical activity in the verification process.”

The industries department secretary also observed that imposition of fee on the organisations that did not have any donor base and primarily working for the promotion of social, cultural, and literary pursuits would be tantamount to discouraging citizens from making and running societies for the common good. Hence, the department did not support the imposition of a new verification fee.

Similarly, the social welfare and Baitul Maal department secretary stated that the new verification fee was not justified as the government was already charging them the registration fees and most of the NGOs were performing philanthropic activities at local level across the province and needed to be facilitated or promoted instead of charging heavy fees on one pretext or the other.

The home department had last week again sought the IG Police “to quote the relevant provisions of law immediately for resubmission of the summary to the chief minister.”

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830765/punjab-govt-questions-police-boards-move-to-impose-fee-on-ngos

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Two cops injured in Khuzdar grenade attack

May 1, 2024

KHUZDAR: Two policemen were injured in a grenade attack on their official vehicle in Khuzdar town on Tuesday night.

According to officials, unknown motorcyclists attacked the CIA vehicle with a grenade in the Jhalawan complex area, injuring two personnel, including a senior officer.

Police rushed to the site soon after the blast and shifted the injured to Teaching Hospital, Khuzdar.

“CIA Khuzdar in-charge Maqbool Ahmed Mosyani received injuries as he was sitting in the vehicle when the grenade exploded,” Ghulam Mustafa Rind, SHO of City Police Station, told Dawn.

Officials said the motorcyclists also hurled two grenades at a camp of Frontier Corps which exploded in an open area. However, no human loss was reported.

Source: dawn.com

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https://www.dawn.com/news/1830684/two-cops-injured-in-khuzdar-grenade-attack

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South Asia

 

Imam among 6 killed as gunman attacks mosque in Afghanistan's Herat

May 1, 2024

A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan, opening fire and killing six people as they were praying, a Taliban official said Tuesday.

Local media reports and a former president of Afghanistan said the mosque was targeted because it was a place of worship for the country’s Shiite Muslim minority.

The attack happened on Monday night in the district of Guzara in Herat province, said Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Taliban Interior Ministry. He said in a post on the social media platform X that an investigation was underway.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded another worshipper while the attacker fled. Local media reported that the mosque’s imam was among those killed.

“I strongly condemn the attack on the Imam Zaman Mosque,” former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on X. “I consider this terrorist act against all religious and human standards.”

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan also condemned the attack, which it said killed and wounded at least seven people, including a child. It called for urgent accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Shitte communities.

The Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan is a major Taliban rival and frequently targets schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, during the last weeks of the chaotic departure of US and NATO troops from the country after 20 years of war.

Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

Source: indiatoday.in

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https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/woman-child-including-5-dead-at-mosque-in-afghanistan-2533783-2024-05-01

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Islamic State claims responsibility for mosque shooting in western Afghanistan that killed six people

May 01, 2024

Herat: The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting this week targeting members of Afghanistan's minority Shiite community inside a mosque in western Herat that resulted in the deaths of six people. Gunmen attacked the mosque on Monday night during prayer time, killing at least five people, according to the provincial governor.

The dead included a woman and a child, and three people were also injured, MawlawiNesar Ahmad Alyes, spokesman for Herat province's governor, said on Tuesday. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, as per the group's Telegram channel on late Tuesday. The terror group said one of its own members attacked a “Shiite temple” in Herat province with machine-gun fire.

Local media reported that the mosque’s imam was among those killed. Afghanistan’s former President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, saying on the social media platform X that he considers “this terrorist act against all religious and human standards.” The Taliban Interior Ministry has said that an investigation is underway.

UN condemns attack

The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is a major Taliban rival and frequently targets schools, hospitals, mosques and Shiite areas throughout the country. The latest attack was condemned by the UN mission in Afghanistan, which called for urgent accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Shiite measures.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, during the last weeks of the chaotic departure of US and NATO troops from the country after 20 years of war. Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

The Taliban has said they are focused on restoring security since taking over in 2021, but attacks targeting mosques, religious seminaries and government buildings have continued despite an end to the 20-year war. Many attacks have been claimed by the militant Islamic State group.

The western Herat province, which borders Iran, is predominantly home to the Shiite religious minority, which has been on the receiving end of some of the most violent attacks against civilians in Afghanistan's bloody history.

People desperate for security measures

Meanwhile, people in the Herat province of Afghanistan have called for security after the deadly Mosque attack. Mohammad Zaman, a resident of Herat, called for securing the place of worship and said, "It is the nation's demand that the government should secure all mosques and should pay more attention to this matter."

This attack occurred five months after gunmen attacked residents, including two Shia clergy, in the Jabriyal neighbourhood west of Herat City. That attack killed six persons, two of whom were women. Residents of Herat have demanded the identification and conviction of those guilty of attacks on people in their province.

The most notorious attack linked to the Islamic State since the Taliban takeover was in 2022 when at least 53 people, including 46 girls and young women, were slain in the suicide bombing at an education centre in a Shia neighbourhood of Kabul. The Taliban officials blamed the group for the attack but later claimed that they had eliminated the Islamic State from Afghanistan and are highly sensitive to suggestions the group has found safe haven in the country since the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Source: indiatvnews.com

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https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/islamic-state-claims-responsibility-for-mosque-shooting-in-western-afghanistan-people-killed-updates-2024-05-01-928940

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Kabir: Islamic Emirate Supports Stability in the Region and the World

01-05-24

Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, during the graduation ceremony of students at Kabul Polytechnic University, said that the orders and pressures of world countries are not acceptable.

This senior official of the Islamic Emirate reiterated that no one will be allowed to use Afghan soil against other countries.

“The Islamic Emirate supports peace and stability in the region and the world, and we do not allow anyone to misuse our land. The Islamic Emirate does not succumb to anyone’s commands or pressures, instead, it values the enhancement of the capacities of academic and professional staff. Educational institutions and teachers must educate the country's youth within the framework of Islamic and national values,” said Mawlawi Abdul Kabir.

The acting Minister of Vice and Virtue, who was another speaker at the event, stated that the era of warlordism in the country has ended, and now all Afghans are united under the umbrella of an Islamic regime.

According to Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Islamic Emirate is not opposed to modern education, and they want students to learn religious sciences along with modern sciences.

“The country has now ended the era of warlordism, factionalism, ethnic divisiveness, and partisanship, and we are all one Afghan nation,” he said.

The acting Minister of Higher Education said that society needs well-qualified individuals in both modern and religious sciences, and the Islamic Emirate is attentive in this field.

“For the prosperity and progress of the country, this society needs scholars, Hafizes, Muftis, doctors, engineers, judges, and imams of congregational prayers, without whom we cannot be self-sufficient,” said Neda Mohammad Nadim.

LatifullahKhairkhwa, the deputy of the Ministry of Higher Education, said at the event: “I promise you that we will use all available resources to enhance academic capacities in universities.”

According to information from Kabul Polytechnic University, 550 engineers from 17 different fields have graduated.

These graduates request the caretaker government to provide them with job opportunities in the country so they can serve their nation and its people.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188573

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Islamic charitable giving may offer Bangladesh a route to climate adaptation

May 1, 2024

SATKHIRA, BANGLADESH – Religious scholars in Bangladesh say the country should harness the generosity of Muslims around the world and use their charitable giving to help the country adapt to climate change.

They said global faith-based finance could be a crucial way to support poor countries whose needs for funds to adapt to climate change are 10 to 18 times greater than the financing they currently receive.

"Being good to others as well as the environment is seen as integral to being a good person in Islam," said Md Riaz Uddin, an Islamic scholar and human rights activist from Bangladesh who is the head of Boroikandi Madrasa, a religious seminary.

Riaz Uddin said there were different forms of charity that were either obligatory or voluntary for Muslims, but all could be used to support people who were destitute, or were exposed to serious risks due to climate change and natural disasters.

Zakat — giving to the poor and needy mandated by Islam — in Bangladesh alone has the potential to raise close to $9.8 billion, according to a study last year.

Bangladesh needs about $9 billion a year for climate adaptation, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said last month.

Giving zakat is mandatory for all Muslims with wealth above a certain threshold in order to support the poor, the debt-ridden, or people migrating with limited resources.

In Bangladesh, people mostly give informally and as they see fit — often handing out clothes to poor relatives, or people in the neighborhood. Riaz Uddin said that had limited long-term impact on the lives of the beneficiaries.

Zakir H Khan, chief executive of the Dhaka-based research organization Change Initiative, has studied the potential of Islamic charity for financing climate action. He said that given the amount of money donated every year, better coordination would do more to help the most climate-vulnerable groups.

"Instead of using the charity money for one-off do-gooding, the money could be pooled together and used in a planned way to transform the lives of climate survivors," Khan said.

Clean water

Some organizations are already using zakat to adapt to climate change.

Wateraid, an international non-governmental organization, focused on water, sanitation and hygiene, is using Islamic charitable donations to build water solutions for salinity-affected communities in countries in the global south that have large Muslim populations such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Mali.

"We raise a lot of zakat money from countries like the U.K. to help communities at the front line of the climate crisis," said Hasin Jahan, Wateraid's Bangladesh country director.

On the southwest coast of Bangladesh for example, religious schools struggle to provide clean drinking water to students as there is little funding to address issues such as the growing salinity of the water, which is made worse by climate change.

Wateraid focuses on girls and young women in these areas whose needs are often neglected.

"Salt-free drinking water at school is a relief — and on top of that we get free sanitary pads to protect our health," said Suraiya Khatun, a 15-year-old student in the region.

Islamic schools teach about 2.8 million children in Bangladesh. They are now seeking international religious donations to tackle growing heat, salinity and other climate-related hazards that increasingly impact students' health.

Religious scholars agree

One country that has made progress in using Islamic charity for climate action is Indonesia — a nation that needs $323 billion to meet its climate targets by 2030.

Indonesia's council of religious scholars this year issued rulings on how zakat could be used to build water facilities, or endow trusts with land or money to plant more forests.

There have been debates about using Islamic charity for meeting climate needs, but religious scholars and finance experts are converging on the conclusion that it can be used.

"We hope that people will now have clarity that the religious scholars agree that climate change is real and our scriptures teach us to protect the people's future," said HayuPrabowo, chairman of the Environment and Natural Resources Body at the Indonesian Ulema Council, made up of Indonesia's top Islamic scholars.

World Bank estimates show zakat financing could range from 1% to more than 4% of the gross domestic product of Muslim countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia or Sudan — which could act as a social safety net for the poor and vulnerable.

Faith-based climate finance needs to choose the right mix of tools and technology to meet the needs of beneficiaries, said Prabowo who is also a trustee of Faithinvest, a network of impact investors from different religious groups.

For example, zakat can only be used to help poor Muslims, but other forms of giving such as sadaqah, which is purely voluntary, can support people of any faith. A third mode of funding called waqf can be provided to institutions for long-term investment.

A range of organizations, including Wateraid, are tapping into sadaqah funding, while Indonesia is using "green waqf" endowments to create forests on degraded land.

Technology is key at every stage of the faith-based financing process, from raising money to implementing projects and ensuring trust in the process, Prabowo said.

Organizations like Wateraid are raising zakat donations online, while Indonesian scholars are working towards using blockchain technology to allow people to see where their money is spent.

"Faith-based charity has enormous potential to drive climate action — and with more and more good examples on the ground, I hope faith-based climate finance will gain more momentum," said Prabowo.

Source: japantimes.co.jp

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/05/01/climate-change/islamic-bangladesh-climate-adaptation/

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French teen killed by Afghan citizen; far-right criticizes immigration policy

April 30, 2024

Following the killing of a French teenager by an Afghan migrant in the city of Châteauroux, some far-right figures in France expressed concerns about the increasing number of criminal migrants in the country.

These politicians attribute the rise in crime to lax immigration policies and harshly criticize them.

Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, stated in a video that uncontrolled immigration policy “brings predators into our homes and jeopardizes our security and freedoms.”

French media reported that a French teenager was killed on Saturday, April 27th, by a teenage Afghan of the same age.

The prosecutor of Châteauroux stated that the motive for the attack had no connection to Islam and was not religiously motivated.

According to the newspaper Parzin, witnesses said the altercation began after “racist” remarks were made by Matthis (the victim).

After a verbal argument and scuffle, the Afghan teenager attacked Matthis with a knife.

Police said the Afghan assailant had previously been pursued for theft and was released thereafter. Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the National Rally party, also said, “Will several of our children lose their lives because of this foolish immigration policy?”

Eric Ciotti, leader of the Republican party, also responded to the incident, saying, “There is no forgiveness for him; his punishment is a prison and a plane ticket, deportation”

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/french-teen-killed-by-afghan-citizen-far-right-criticizes-immigration-policy/

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UN emphasized urgency of protective measures for Shia community in Afghanistan

April 30, 2024

The Office of the Deputy Mission of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has responded to the deadly attack yesterday in Herat, which targeted worshippers as they were leaving the mosque, emphasizing the urgency of protective measures for the Shia community in Afghanistan.

In a statement posted on Tuesday, April 30th, on the social network, “The investigation and response to the perpetrators and protective actions for the Shia community in Afghanistan are urgently needed.”

 UNAMA has emphasized the protection of the Shia community in Afghanistan, stating that in the attack yesterday in Herat, western Afghanistan, worshippers were targeted by armed gunmen as they were leaving the “Imam Zamana Mosque” in the Guzara district of Herat province, resulting in the deaths of six people, including a child and a woman, and injuring two others.

This attack has prompted widespread reactions, with officials from the previous government, including former President Hamid Karzai and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, condemning it.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Kabul has also condemned this attack and expressed readiness to cooperate with the interim government in “combating terrorism.”

The perpetrators of this attack have not yet been identified, and no individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Shia worshippers in Herat.

Source: khaama.com

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https://www.khaama.com/un-emphasized-urgency-of-protective-measures-for-shia-community-in-afghanistan/

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104 Detained for Forgery and Fraud in Kabul

01-05-24

Khalid Zadran, the spokesperson for the Kabul Security Department, stated that these individuals were detained in connection with fraudulent activities related to passports and legal cases.

Zadran said, "In the past three months, we have arrested approximately 104 people on charges of forgery and handed them over to the law, who were engaged in forgery and commission dealings."

However, many citizens complain about the lack of transparency and the increase in commission activities across various government institutions.

They are calling for serious attention from the authorities on this matter.

Hussain Omid, a resident of Kabul, told TOLOnews, "There should be transparency in a government, and those who engage in forgery and commission dealings, and those who issue passports and IDs for money are engaging in illegal activities."

Amir Shams, another Kabul resident, mentioned, "Forgery has greatly increased, especially in the Passport Directorate and in the part dealing with identification documents."

Meanwhile, some experts believe that the arrested individuals should be legally punished according to the law.

They consider the enforcement of criminal law crucial for resolving citizens' challenges.

Salim Paigir, a political affairs expert, stated, "People who are caught in forgery or any crime must be punished according to criminal law."

Previously, the Kabul Security Department had reported 320 criminal incidents in the capital during the month of Jadi of the last solar year, of which at least 257 people were arrested in connection with these incidents.

Source: tolonews.com

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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-188584

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20 Jamaat-Shibir men held over Natore AL leader's murder

May 1, 2024

At least 20 activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its associate body Chhatra Shibir were detained in connection with the murder of Awami League leader Manjur Rahman Manju, who was shot dead in Lalpurupazila of Natore yesterday, police said.

Deceased Manjur Rahman Manju, 47, was the vice president of Awami League's Gopalpur Municipality unit.

The incident took place in Gopalpur municipality area under Azimpur Railway Station around 10:50pm yesterday, said Superintendent of Natore police Md Tariqul Islam.

No case was filed in this connection till 11:00am when the report was filed, he said.

Quoting locals, police said a gang of 4-5 masked criminals shot Manju in his head and stomach and left the spot on foot.

After locals took him to a nearby private clinic, doctors declared him dead.

Later, police sent the body to Natore Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

On receiving information, the SP along with his team rushed to the spot and started collecting CCTV footage to identify the accused, the police official said.

The police did not immediately know the motive behind the murder, the SP said.

On December 28, 2018, Joint General Secretary of Gopalpur Municipality unit's Jubo League Jaharul Islam was hacked to death by miscreants in front of North Bengal Sugar Mill Gate.

Manju was one of the main accused in the murder case, said Nasim Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Lalpur Police Station.

Police are looking into the murder of Manju seriously, keeping in mind the persons who had disputes with him, the OC said.

Source: thedailystar.net

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Europe

 

Minnesota Man Who Regrets Joining Islamic State Group Faces Sentencing On Terrorism Charge

May 1, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who once fought for the Islamic State group in Syria but now expresses remorse for joining a “death cult” and has been cooperating with federal authorities will learn Wednesday how much prison time he faces.

Federal prosecutors have recommended 12 years for Abelhamid Al-Madioum in recognition both of the seriousness of his crime and the help has he given the U.S. and other governments. His attorney says seven years is enough and that Al-Madioum, 27, stopped believing in the group's extremist ideology years ago.

Al-Madioum was 18 in 2014 when IS recruited him. The college student slipped away from his family on a visit to their native Morocco in 2015. Making his way to Syria, he became a soldier for IS, also known as ISIS, until he was maimed in an explosion in Iraq. Unable to fight, he used his computer skills to serve the group. He surrendered to U.S.-backed rebels in 2019 and was imprisoned under harsh conditions.

Al-Madioum returned to the U.S. in 2020 and pleaded guilty in 2021 to providing material support to a designated terrorist organization. According to court filings, he has been cooperating with U.S. authorities and allied governments. The defense says he hopes to work in future counterterrorism and deradicalization efforts.

“The person who left was young, ignorant, and misguided," Al-Madioum said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery, who will sentence him.

“I’ve been changed by life experience: by the treachery I endured as a member of ISIS, by becoming a father of four, a husband, an amputee, a prisoner of war, a malnourished supplicant, by seeing the pain and anguish and gnashing of teeth that terrorism causes, the humiliation, the tears, the shame,” he added. "I joined a death cult, and it was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Prosecutors acknowledge that Al-Madioum has provided useful assistance to U..S. authorities in several national security investigations and prosecutions, that he accepted responsibility for his crime and pleaded guilty promptly on his return to the U.S. But they say they factored his cooperation into their recommended sentence of 12 years instead of the statutory maximum of 20 years.

“The defendant did much more than harbor extremist beliefs,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo. “He chose violent action by taking up arms for ISIS.”

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Al-Madioum was among several Minnesotans suspected of leaving the U.S. to join the Islamic State group, along with thousands of fighters from other countries worldwide. Roughly three dozen people are known to have left Minnesota to join militant groups in Somalia or Syria. In 2016, nine Minnesota men were sentenced on federal charges of conspiring to join IS.

But Al-Madioum is one of the relatively few Americans who've been brought back to the U.S. who actually fought for the group. According to a defense sentencing memo, he's one of 11 adults as of 2023 to be formally repatriated to the U.S. from the conflict in Syria and Iraq to face charges for terrorist-related crimes and alleged affiliations with IS. Others received sentences ranging from four years to life plus 70 years.

Al-Madioum grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in a loving and nonreligious family, the defense memo said. He joined IS because he wanted to help Muslims who he believed were being slaughtered by Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in that country's civil war. IS recruiters persuaded him “to test his faith and become a real Muslim.”

But he was a fighter for less than two months before he lost his right arm below the elbow in the explosion that also left him with two badly broken legs and other severe injuries. He may still require amputation of one leg, the defense says.

While recuperating in 2016, he met his first wife Fatima, an IS widow who already had a son and bore him another in 2017. They lived in poverty and under constant airstrikes. He was unable to work, and his stipend from IS stopped in 2018. They lived in a makeshift tent, the defense says.

He married his second wife, Fozia, in 2018. She also was an IS widow and already had a 4-year-old daughter. They had separated by early 2019. He heard later she and their daughter together had died. The first wife also is dead, having been shot in front of Al-Madioum by either rebel forces or an IS fighter in 2019, the defense says.

The day after that shooting, he walked with his sons and surrendered to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which held him under conditions the defense described as “heinous” for 18 months until the FBI returned him to the U.S.

As for Al-Madioum’s children, the defense memo said they were eventually found in a Syrian orphanage and his parents will be their foster parents when they arrive in the U.S.

Source: yahoo.com

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/minnesota-man-regrets-joining-islamic-050825832.html

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Wakeley Stabbing: ‘Sydney Teenager Part Of Group Wanting To Stab Non-Muslims, Court Told

Mostafa Rachwani

Wed, 1 May 2024

A “quiet and respectful” 15-year-old being held on terror charges was allegedly part of a group-chat in which he professed to wanting to “stab” and “attack” non-Muslims, a court has heard.

The messages were revealed in Parramatta Children’s Court on Wednesday, as part of the teenagers application for bail, after he was arrested and charged after recent counter-terrorism raids.

Police alleged the teenager sent messages to a group chat on Signal called “Plans” that he allegedly wanted to target Jewish people.

“Don’t youse want to do an attack, … what about jews, I am so cut, I want to do it so bad,” he allegedly wrote in one message.

In another, the court heard, he allegedly said:

“I really want to do an attack too, I have so much hatred for kuffar (non-Muslims) its not funny, I want to do jihad now,” he allegedly wrote in another message.

Magistrate James Viney said the messages were “gravely concerning, deeply disturbing and very serious.”

He did not make a decision on bail, adjourning the court until Thursday morning to consider the seriousness of the issues surrounding the case.

The boy’s defence tendered documents in court, including report cards, a psychological report and an affidavit from his mother that painted a picture of a teenager with behavioural issues.

The teenager’s solicitor, Ahmed Dib, described the boy as “quiet” and “respectful” in opening remarks, adding that he had trouble with his confidence and with concentrating.

Police allege that some of the messages they tendered as part of their evidence came in the days after a 16-year-old allegedly stabbed bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a church in western Sydney in early April.

Those include allegedly telling the group chat he wanted to “stab a kuffar dog” and in a seperate message, telling an associate he knew the alleged attacker, saying he was a “mate.”

Police alleged in court that the groupchat featured co-conspirators who were planning an upcoming attack, however the defence refuted that any such plan was in motion.

They said that no “substantial plan” was mentioned by the Police fact sheet, and that if there was “significant planning”, Police would have outlined it.

The defence claimed the teenager was venting to his group, and that he had a history of struggling with confidence. They claimed he was “bragging in a macho way” in order to be “accepted by the group.”

They alleged that a “large portion” of the police fact sheet was relying on conversations between the accused co-conspirators.

The teenager was the youngest of the five juveniles arrested and charged with conspiracy to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. As part of the search warrants executed last week, a further two teenagers have been charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material.

Dib said the conversations and messages tendered to court by Police did not amount to “substantial planning.”

“In terms of taking proactive steps, this was a young person venting unethically, its deranged, but does not go to strength of prosecution case.”

Dib also pointed to a seperate incident in which the teenager, alongside another co-accused, allegedly attacked a liquor store in the days after the stabbing at the church.

In that incident, it is alleged a wooden plank was thrown at the liquor store staff member, and that the two teenagers were allegedly found to have “kitchen knives” on them by police when they were arrested.

But Dib said it was a “significant jump” to go from allegedly throwing a wooden plank at someone and planning a terrorist attack.

“He does not pull that knife out at any point,” Dib told the court. “He complies with police, its a very different type of person to the one described as having potential to carry out terror attack.”

As part of the search warrant executed on the teenager’s home, Police seized a tomahawk and a hunting knife, however the defence alleged they were found in the garage, and were “gardening tools.”

The prosecution sought an adjournment to assess new evidence tendered to court late on Wednesday that detailed how potential electronic monitoring could work if the boy is granted bail.

A decision is expected on Thursday morning.

Source: yahoo.com

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https://uk.news.yahoo.com/wakeley-stabbing-quiet-respectful-sydney-090808461.html

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Muslim Aid receives living wage accreditation

By Zoe Wickens

30th April 2024

UK charity Muslim Aid has been accredited as a living wage employer as part of its strategy to enhance employee satisfaction and retention, and demonstrate its commitment to social justice.

As the charity’s head office is based in London, and the majority of its UK staff are based there, it wanted to ensure that all of its employees receive at least a minimum hourly wage of £13.15, which is the living wage rate for the capital and is higher than the current £11.44 government minimum wage for those aged 21 and above. The London rate works out at £23,933 per annum based on a 35-hour week.

The real living wage is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation according to the cost of living. It is a voluntary benchmark for employers that wish to ensure their staff earn a wage that is sufficient for a decent standard of living, rather than just the government minimum. The London rate is £13.15 per hour,

Zakya Hussain, head of people and culture and services at Muslim Aid, said: “Paying the real living wage is a commitment to existing and future employees that working for us means that they’re part of an organisation that lives by its values and treats people well, ensuring they will earn a good living for themselves and their families, as well as doing good for others in society.”

Khalid Javid, chief executive officer of Muslim Aid, added: “At Muslim Aid, we believe that dignity and respect should be the foundation of our employment practices. Committing to the living wage is more than a policy, it’s a reflection of our values and our dedication to our team.”

Initiatives that Muslim Aid has in place to enhance work-life balance include extra paid days off on the two Muslim festivals of Eid every year, paid pilgrimage leave, hybrid working, flexible working hours, remote work options and mental health support training. It also offers professional development training and wellness workshops that focus on stress management and health.

Source: employeebenefits.co.uk

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https://employeebenefits.co.uk/muslim-aid-receives-living-wage-accreditation/

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Lord David Cameron appears to rule out proscribing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

30 April 2024

Lord Cameron has appeared to rule out the Iranian regime's military arm being proscribed as a terrorist group, as he wants to maintain diplomatic relations with Tehran.

The foreign secretary explained the government's stance in an appearance before the House of Lords International Relations and Defence Committee.

Lord Cameron was asked about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which carries out operations both inside and outside Iran.

This is reported to include capturing ships and launching missiles at Syria and Iraq, and the recent attacks against Israel.

There have been calls for the UK to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist group, but Lord Cameron said this was not necessary and the current status of the group being sanctioned as a whole is a strong enough stance.

He told the committee: "All of the things we need to do to put pressure on Iran, and to make sure that where they act illegally we can act against them, are in place through our sanctions regime that we have enhanced.

"We have sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety. When I ask law enforcement, police, intelligence services, others, is this extra step of proscription necessary in order to take further action against these people when they do the things that we disapprove of, the answer is no."

He added: "There is a disadvantage, to be frank about it, from proscription, which is it would effectively end diplomatic relations, and while our diplomatic relations are pretty terse, and I say that with meaning as someone who has had very many conversations with the Iranian foreign minister, we are actually able to have that conversation.

"When it comes to trying to stop the escalation of the conflict, when it comes to delivering a very direct message to the Iranians... I want to have that conversation myself, I don't want to ring up my French counterpart and say 'could you message the Iranians with this message?'

"I think that is not in Britain's interest, that wouldn't strengthen our approach, in many ways it would weaken it."

Rishi Sunak faced renewed calls to proscribe the IRGC following Iran's direct attack on Israel earlier in April.

In response, the UK promised diplomatic action alongside the G7, and later sanctioned Iran's ability to create and launch drones, as well as parts of the IRGC.

Among those calling for the IRGC to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation at the time were former home secretary Suella Braverman and former work and pensions secretary Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

Proscription would mean that being a member of or supporting the IRGC would be against the law.

Source: news.sky.com

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https://news.sky.com/story/lord-david-cameron-appears-to-rule-out-proscribing-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-13126375

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Qur'anic Studies and the Early History of Islam

Apr 27, 2024

How far can the traditional narratives about the emergence of a particular religion be considered to correspond to historical reality? This sort of question is especially relevant for religions in the more distant past such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

By now, there is a huge amount of research in the field of Biblical criticism, which explores Biblical texts from a variety of angles such as textual criticism (trying to determine the original text based on surviving manuscripts) and source criticism (trying to determine sources for those texts) and then the wider question of the historicity of the narratives contained in those texts. The corresponding research approaches in Western scholarship to Islamic texts- in particular, the Qur'an- have been seen as lagging behind Biblical studies, but I think there is a potential to mischaracterise the field. That is, it might be assumed by some that the study of the early history of Islam is marred by 'political correctness' and a fear of offending Muslims that prevents scholars from being too bold in questioning the origins of Islam. Such an impression, for example, was reinforced by the publication of 'The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran' under the pseudonym of 'Christoph Luxenberg' in a bid to protect against reprisals.

Source: aymennjawad.org

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https://aymennjawad.org/2024/04/quranic-studies-and-the-early-history-of-islam

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Southeast Asia

 

Islamist Figures And Their Limited Role In Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election – Analysis

May 1, 2024

This article discusses the role of Indonesian Islamists in the 2024 Presidential Election. Although Islamists are generally peripheral players in Indonesian politics, they have had significant influence on Indonesia’s social and political conditions, due to their religious legitimacy and their skills in mobilising the masses.

A case in point was their role in the anti-Ahok protests in the run-up to the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2017. Despite being small in numbers, the Islamists rallied as the 212 Aksi Bela Islam Movement (Defending Islam Movement) and managed to mobilise Muslims from various backgrounds to stage a series of protests against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), former governor of Jakarta whom they accused of committing blasphemy against Islam. The protests, one of which was the biggest in Indonesian history, successfully prevented Ahok, who held a double minority status, a Christian and a Chinese Indonesian, from winning the election. At the same time, the protests also brought Habib Rizieq, the leader of the Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI) and a long-time fringe player in Indonesian politics, to the apex of his social and political status. The Islamists also played a significant role in instigating anti-Ahmadiyah and anti-Shia protests nationwide; these were rampant during the presidency of SusiloBambangYudhoyono (2004-2014).

“Islamists” in this article loosely refers to Islamic activists who operate outside the formal political structure. In other words, they do not occupy positions as leaders of political parties, councillors, legislators or state actors. Instead, they promote their ideas and interests through street protests and religious events. A substantial number of Islamists are leaders and members of FPI, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), and the Salafi movement.[1] According to scholar Greg Fealy, they aspire “to make Islamic law and values a central part of public life and the structure of the state.”[2] Unlike moderate Muslims, Islamists tend to support the establishment of Sharia law and reject the appointment of non-Muslim leaders in strategic leadership positions such as governorship or presidency (and vice-presidency). However, Islamists do not support acts of terror and, therefore, are distinct from extremist Muslims.

It is important to note that Indonesian Muslims are diverse in orientation. For the purpose of this research, the definition of Islamist used in this article excludes moderate Muslims of the modernist and traditionalist type (people who follow religious beliefs and practices of Muhammadiyah and Nadhlatul Ulama, respectively) as well as religious figures and organisations that support terrorism such as Jamaah Ansharut Daulah or other supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS).

Recent academic literature discusses Islamists resorting to populism or riding on blasphemy issues to gain religious legitimacy. Some scholars have argued that populism among Islamists arose due to deepening religious conservatism,[3] while others contend that this is instead due to experiences of social injustice.[4] Islamists have also used blasphemy to attain their objectives.[5]

This article seeks to expand the existing scholarship on the role of Islamists in Indonesian politics. This article will also discuss the future of Islamists in the post-Joko Widodo era as his term ends in October 2024. It argues that the Islamists’ loss in significance in the 2024 Presidential Election was mainly due to their social and political influence being weakened by state repression under Joko Widodo, and to shifts in political alliances among nationalists and religious elites.

The protests against Ahok in 2017 sharply increased Islamists’ political influence. The effective framing of the blasphemy case saw the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) successfully mobilising thousands of Muslims to participate in the series of protests.

While the protests targeted Ahok, the ultimate aim of the Islamists was to undermine Joko Widodo’s popularity and power going into the 2019 Presidential Election.[6] Following the successful anti-Ahok protests, the Islamists formed the Persaudaraan Alumni 212 (the 212 Brotherhood Alumni) to sustain the momentum of the Aksi Bela Islam movement and uphold public support for them.

However, the political influence of the Islamists weakened when Joko Widodo began consolidating his power by controlling security apparatuses, building stronger ties with civil society, and expanding a coalition of parties to control seats in the parliament. Joko Widodo granted strategic security positions to at least two individuals with whom he had established relationships during his tenure as mayor of Solo between 2005 and 2012. Hadi Tjahjanto, the man Joko Widodo installed as the chief of the Indonesian military on 8 December 2017, was a military airport commander in Solo between 2010 and 2011, while ListyoSigitPrabowo, chief of the Solo police between 2010 and 2012, was appointed as national chief of police on 27 January 2021.

Joko Widodo also obtained support from civil society by building partnerships with Nadhlatul Ulama, for example, by appointing Ma’ruf Amin, a senior NU cleric, as his vice-presidential candidate. Nadhlatul Ulama is Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation whose moderate ideology stands in contrast to that of the Islamists. Good ties with NU is strategic as a vote-getter and the move proved hugely successful in the 2019 Presidential Election. Partnership with NU provided the government with an effective counterbalance to the power of the Islamists.

Joko Widodo also successfully expanded a coalition of political parties to have a firmer grip on the House of Representatives. At the beginning of his administration in 2014, he controlled 207 seats out of the total 560 seats in the parliament.[7] In 2022, he added more parties to the pro-government coalition, increasing the number of seats under his control to 471 seats – equivalent to 81.9 percent of the total seats.[8] He consolidated his power through a carrot-and-stick approach. On one hand, he offered governmental positions, including ministerial positions, to parties in exchange for their support.[9] On the other hand, he ensured that none of these positions were offered to opposition parties, including the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

As Joko Widodo’s power base grew, the Islamists faced contrasting fates including legal prosecution. Their frontman, Habib RizieqShihab, was jailed for spreading fake news while another prominent figure during the 212 protest, Mohammad Al Khaththath, was arrested on treason charges. In addition, seven FPI executives were arrested on various charges including terrorism. Islamist organisations also became a target of state repression. HTI was banned in 2018, followed by FPI two years later. The criminalisation and the banning of these organisations weakened the Islamists, and explains their limited influence during the 2024 presidential campaign.

SHIFTING POLITICAL ALLIANCES

Another factor that has weakened the Islamists is the shift in political alliances. In the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, Islamists had rendered their support to PrabowoSubianto. However, Jokowi successfully convinced pro-Prabowo Islamist supporters to switch allegiance to his camp. In 2014, only one Islamic party supported Jokowi, but the number increased to three in the 2019 election: the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB). Some politicians who had been known to support Islamist causes also left Prabowo in favour of Jokowi, including Ali MochtarNgabalin, KapitraAmpera, YusrilIhza Mahendra and Zainul Majdi.[10] Their departure not only weakened the Islamists, it also made them vulnerable.

A political bombshell was dropped when Prabowo accepted Jokowi’s offer to join his administration and cast aside his Islamist allies while seeking political support from moderate Muslim figures and organisations such as Nadhlatul Ulama.[11] Islamists felt that Prabowo abandoned them, and called him “a traitor.”[12]

Going into the 2024 Presidential Election, support for Islamic parties was fragmented. The Prabowo-Gibran pair obtained support from PBB and the National Mandate Party (PAN), whereas the Anies-Muhaimin and Ganjar-Mahfud pairs received support from PKS and PPP respectively. As a result of the three-way race and the fragmented support from Islamic parties, identity politics became a non-viable weapon. This resulted in little demand among candidates to engage with the Islamists to mobilise the masses.

Initially, none of the presidential and vice-presidential candidate pairs sought support from the 212 Brotherhood Alumni. Anies-Muhaimin ultimately did, and on 21 November 2023, they signed an integrity pact with 212 on 14 December 2023.

THE RISE AND DECLINE OF THE ISLAMIST POLITICAL BASE

The following paragraphs examine the loss in stature of some prominent Islamist personalities in the face of state repression and shifting political alliances.

Mohammad Al Khaththath,also known as GatotSaptono, the Secretary General of Forum Umat Islam (FUI),played a prominent role as GNPF MUI’s secretary general during the protests against Ahok. However, after his arrest on 31 March 2017 on treason charges, he remained inactive. He was released in July 2017 at the request of his wife and an influential ulema. Mohammad Al Khaththath only appeared once in public on 10 October 2023 when he normatively called for the public and government to promote a peaceful election.[13]

Islamists who played a more active role, albeit with limited influence, in the 2024 Presidential Election were Habib RizieqShihab, Novel Bamukmin, Bachtiar Nasir and Yusuf Muhammad Martak. All, except Bachtiar Nasir, remain active in the 212 Brotherhood Alumni movement.

The controversial firebrand cleric, Habib RizieqShihab, was rather muted throughout the election.This founder ofFPI in 1998, who then expanded it into a national-scale organisation,   was known for leading his men in street protests for a variety of causes. Rizieq, who is now the chairman of the 212 Brotherhood Alumni’s governing board, is known for his combative and divisive sermons publicised at various religious and community events nationwide. His social and political career has experienced several ups and downs. He was imprisoned for provoking violence in 2008 and for defamation in 2003, but he enjoyed the peak of his Islamic activism career after successfully inspiring and mobilising people for the anti-Ahok protests between 2016 and 2017. His role made him one of the nation’s prominent political players as well as influential ulema. In 2018, a survey found that he was among the five most influential ulema in Indonesia.[14] His political career suffered a setback in 2020 after he was found guilty of spreading fake news and lying about the results of his Covid-19 test. He was released on parole in July 2022 which is to end in June 2024. During the 2024 Presidential Election campaign, he often appeared at religious events both offline and online. He appeared most frequently on the Islamic Brotherhood Television, the official media of the Front Persaudaraan Islam (Islamic Brotherhood Front), the organisation that replaced FPI. Perhaps bound by parole regulations, Habib Rizieq appeared less critical of Joko Widodo’s regime and mostly addressed general topics relating to the presidential election. He eventually expressed his support for Anies-Muhaimin. Unlike in past elections, Habib Rizieq did not organise or participate in any movement to support his preferred candidates.

Novel Bamukmin is the 212 Brotherhood Alumni’s deputy secretary general. He was active at FPI’s Jakarta chapter, but was fired from his position and had his membership revoked in December 2017, for internal insubordination. He joined the 212 Brotherhood Alumni in 2018 where he has since served as one of the executives in the Islamist organisation. He remained outspoken and often created social controversies through comments in the mainstream media. In 2023, he opposed the organising of Coldplay concert in Jakarta, accusing the music group of promoting Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Trans-Sexual (LGBT) interests.[15] He also often participated in street protests that promote the interests of FPI, and later, PA 212. Recently, he made public comments regarding the 212 Brotherhood Alumni’s political position in the 2024 Presidential Election. The organisation eventually supported the candidacy of AniesBaswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar. However, as explained above, the organisation’s power had weakened to such an extent that the candidate pair took their support reluctantly.

Bachtiar Nasir, a Salafist, is a seasoned activist. He is an educator, ulema and the secretary general of the Council of Indonesian Intellectuals and Young Ulema (MIUMI). He became widely known after assuming the position of chairman and guarantor of GNPF MUI in 2016. He was mainly responsible for formulating the protest agenda, ensuring the protests received sufficient funding and making sure that the protests ran smoothly without major incidents. After stepping down in 2018, Bachtiar faced several charges including treason and money laundering. However, his cases have remained stagnant; the police has neither continued their investigation nor officially closed the matter. In the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Election, he attended some huge events such as Gontor Islamic boarding school alumni’s declaration of support for Anies and Muhaimin, and the biggest outdoor campaign for Anies-Muhaimin in Jakarta International Stadium in North Jakarta on 10 February 2024.[16] However, he did not partake in organising these events, in stark contrast to the central role he played in organising the anti-Ahok protests.

Unlike other Islamists, Yusuf Muhammad Martak, the chairman of the 212 Brotherhood Alumni’s advisory council, is quite new to Islamic activism. He comes from a family of businessmen who have an interest in politics. His uncle, FaradjMartak, donated his house to Soekarno, Indonesia’s independence fighter and the country’s first president.[17] He spent much of his career as a businessman. His social and political career began when he served as MUI’s treasurer in 2015. He later joined the 212 movement and remains active in it. Representing the movement, he demanded that the Indonesia Election Commission cancel Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin’s victory in the 2019 Presidential Election for electoral fraud. In the recent presidential election, he was one of the executives in the campaign team for Anies-Muhaimin.

The above cases show that a majority of the Islamists, except for Yusuf Martak, are  ulema who are also capable of mobilising the masses. The Islamists had been able to collaborate militant or conservative causes, as demonstrated in the anti-Ahok and anti-Ahmadiyah protests. Such collaborations had boosted their political power. However, they played a limited role during the 2024 Presidential Election following state repression by the Joko Widodo regime and the shifting political alliances among political actors.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, this article has explained that Islamists failed to play a significant role in the 2024 Presidential Election due to repression under President Joko Widodo and the shifting of political alliances. This was further proven by the limited role some Islamist key figures played, such as RizieqShihab, Novel Bamukmin, Yusuf Martak and Bachtiar Nasir.

However, under President PrabowoSubianto, the Islamists are anticipated to have more room to manoeuvre. It is expected that they will no longer face stiff social and political pressure from the state given Prabowo’s history of working together with Islamists. It is unlikely that Prabowo will resort to social and political repression. Prabowo is a secular nationalist, and hence, uninterested in Islamic activism. He is nevertheless pragmatic, and working together with the Islamists to further his agenda remains on the table. Despite setbacks under President Joko Widodo, the Islamists will continue to have influence in Indonesian social and political spheres.

Source: eurasiareview.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.eurasiareview.com/01052024-islamist-figures-and-their-limited-role-in-indonesias-2024-presidential-election-analysis/

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CNA Correspondent Podcast: Shifting tides of political Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia

01 May 2024

Corruption scandals and changing lifestyles see Muslims in Malaysia turning to Islamic party PAS and influential religious leaders for guidance, while the recent presidential election in Indonesia suggests political Islam is waning there.

Arnold Gay speaks to CNA's NivellRayda and Amir Yusof to find out what's shaping these religious trends.

Amir Yusof on why political Islam is gaining popularity in Malaysia:

NivellRayda on why things are different in Indonesia:

Source: channelnewsasia.com

Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/podcasts/cna-correspondent-podcast-shifting-tides-political-islam-malaysia-and-indonesia-4300271

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With PM Lee's last major speech before handover, election campaigning 'has started': Analysts

01 May 2024

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s final major speech as Singapore's leader on Wednesday (May 1) can be seen as an election campaign speech, according to political analysts.

The May Day address, delivered two weeks before he hands the reins to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on May 15, was Mr Lee’s final chance to address the nation in his current capacity before the next General Election, which experts predict will be called by year-end.

“Since the new Prime Minister is likely to deliver the National Day Rally (NDR) solely, this is the last platform for Prime Minister (Lee) to deliver his 'election' message,” said former Member of Parliament Inderjit Singh.

He described the annual May Day Rally, which takes place on Labour Day, as equally significant as the NDR, a key political speech delivered after National Day in August.

In his speech on Wednesday which lasted over an hour, Mr Lee touched on the government’s achievements during his 20-year tenure, as well as fundamentals which have helped Singapore overcome past challenges.

Associate Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University Eugene Tan said Mr Lee’s speech was about rallying the nation before the handover.

“It is also about reminding Singaporeans that the People's Action Party (PAP) government has kept to its word and to enthuse Singaporeans about the future,” said Assoc Prof Tan.

“The next election is a pivotal one and so we should not be surprised that the campaigning has started in earnest.”

EMPHASIS ON PAP’S TRACK RECORD

Analysts said that in sharing his achievements, as well as that of his predecessors Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, Mr Lee was driving home the ruling PAP's good track record - one that Singaporeans can be assured of Mr Wong maintaining as well.

For Mr Lee, a key factor here "is that the PAP system works and that Singaporeans should trust that the PAP government will also make things work in the future”, said Mr Singh, who was the Prime Minister's fellow MP in the Ang Mo Kio constituency.

He added that given the short runway for Mr Wong’s 4G or fourth-generation leadership team, Mr Lee was also laying out the PAP’s track record as a way to boost confidence in the next government.

Mr Wong was named 4G leader in April 2022, a year after Deputy Prime Minister HengSweeKeat took himself out of the running for the top job in April 2021.

FUNDAMENTALS AMID CHALLENGES

The Prime Minister also devoted much of his speech to outlining that the three imperatives of social cohesion, long-term planning, and political stability and trust would remain crucial to Singapore in a future riven with geopolitical rivalries and economic uncertainty.

His intention here was to assure the people that the fundamental principles that have served Singapore would continue to carry it forward, analysts said.

"The PAP's election strategy has from time to time (been) to appeal to voters that in difficult times, they should elect the tested party who have delivered in the past and that they should not rock the boat by voting for the opposition," said Mr Singh.

He added that Mr Lee wanted to deliver the message that voters "should trust the PAP to help us ride through the difficult time expected ahead".

Assoc Prof Tan said it was significant for Mr Lee to emphasise "the virtuous circle that has kept Singapore thriving".

The message was that "in a more precarious future, we must not fall for political fads and political entrepreneurs but instead stay grounded on what truly matters for a small state like Singapore".

Independent political observer Felix Tan said Mr Lee was also telling Singaporeans to not assume things would stay the same.

He was stressing that in the face of crises, people can depend on the PAP "to bring Singapore to the next level", said Dr Tan.

SETTING THE STAGE

Dr Tan added that beyond giving Mr Wong and the 4G team a vote of confidence, Mr Lee’s speech served as a reminder of the challenging task that confronts them.

“(It) is also to remind the new 4G leaders not to just rest on the achievements of the 3G leaders,” the observer said.

“Now that they have big shoes to fill; they need to strike out on their own, create their own history, make their own stories," said Dr Tan.

"Whatever becomes of that story, it is them that are answerable to Singaporeans at the end of the day."

Source: channelnewsasia.com

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