Afghans Protest Burning of Qurans at U.S. Base
New Age Islam News Bureau
21 Feb 2012
• Taliban behead four alleged
spies: Afghan official
• Afghans say 41 child suicide
bombers rescued
• Afghans protest Qur'an
'desecration' at US base
• NATO orders probe of Quran
disposal in Afghanistan
• Balochistan resolution could
dent Pakistan-US ties: Hina Rabbani Khar
• Grand Mufti of Egypt calls
for internet dialogue
• 30 die as Boko Haram bombs
Borno market
• After the Burqa, French take
objection to halal meat
• Pakistani 'spy' arrested in
New Delhi
• Aligarh Muslim University's
library out of bounds for undergraduate girls
• Nasheed’s party rules out
joining new Govt; offers conditional talks
• For Woman in Sudan, No Escape
From Misery
• Mosque vandalism draws
sympathy for long-persecuted Muslim sect
• Islamist Lobbies' Washington
War on Arab and Muslim Liberals
• Pakistan Foreign Office
summons acting US Ambassador over Balochistan resolution
• Obama, Karzai discuss Afghan
reconciliation
• Iran boosts N-site defence,
warns of cutting EU oil exports
• National Accountability
Bureau may open cases against Sharifs
• Difa-i-Pakistan Council rally
condemns drone attacks, military operations
• Sudan’s opposition leader
seeking ‘popular revolution’ says his office bugged
• Iran says may cut oil to more
European countries
• Syrian opposition to attend
Tunis conference
• Syria bolsters troops as
Iranian warships dock
• Top U.N. inspectors in Iran
talks on atom bomb accusations
• Somalia: Scholars says 5th
grade curriculum contains fundamental Islamic error
• India’s failure to crush
26/11 kingpins will invite more attacks
• Saleh exit: Poll-eve violence
hits Yemen
• More than 30 years of
Iran-Israel hostility
• Saudi Arabia names first Iraq
envoy since Gulf War
• World's first halal baby food
means convenience for Muslim mums
• Jamia students, teachers
protest against police raids
• Delhi HC bombing: NIA detains
one person
Complied by New
Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: NATO apologises for
Afghan Koran 'disposal
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/afghans-protest-burning-qurans-u.s./d/6689
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Afghans Protest Burning of Qurans at U.S. Base
By Kevin Sieff,
February 22, 2012
BAGRAM, Afghanistan — As thousands of angry Afghans flung rocks at
NATO’s largest military base in Afghanistan on Tuesday, American officials
sought to quell a widening furor over what they said was the accidental
incineration by U.S. military personnel of copies of the Islamic holy book.
The protests erupted early Tuesday after Afghans working at Bagram air
base told local residents that a number of copies of the Koran had been burned.
When they carried out the charred pages, waving them in the air, the crowd grew
larger and more defiant.
Among those chanting “Long live Islam” and “Death to America” were some
of the 5,000 Afghans who have worked inside the base for years. Gen. John R.
Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was quick to express contrition
for the incident, which officials worried could incite violence across the
country.
U.S. officials said the books were mistakenly sent with a pile of trash
for disposal before several Afghans identified them. Although the initial
protests were concentrated largely around the Bagram base, some of the charred
Koran remains were sent promptly to Kabul, where President Hamid Karzai and
other top Afghan officials will decide how to respond to the incident.
“These people must be punished,” said Qari Ghulam Mustafa, a top
religious official from Parwan province, where Bagram is located. He carried a
stack of 10 blackened Korans on his lap as he and others traveled to the
capital in a white hatchback. He said nearly 100 more publications were
damaged.
“If the Americans ever deny that they did this, we will show them these
pages,” said Mullah Abdul Rahim Shah Agha, the head of the Parwan ulema
council, or Muslim clerical body.
The apologies from Allen and top Obama administration officials were
among the most profuse of the decade-long war. But there was no immediate
indication that they would calm the kind of unrest that has turned explosive in
the past, notably in April, when deadly protests broke out over a case of
Koran-burning in Florida.
“When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped
them,” Allen said in a statement. “We are taking steps to ensure this does not
ever happen again. I assure you . . . I promise you . . . this was NOT intentional
in any way.”
The United States faces an enormous challenge in withdrawing its troops
over the next two years while attempting to protect hard-won gains and
facilitate a delicate peace process between the Afghan government and Taliban
insurgents. With so little margin for error, the incident Tuesday could
threaten the relationship on which U.S. military and diplomatic strategies
depend.
U.S. and Afghan officials expressed concern about the prospect of more
violent reaction in coming days.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned American citizens, “Past demonstrations
in Afghanistan have escalated into violent attacks on Western targets of
opportunity.”
The incident also could complicate relations between NATO forces and
those Afghans who perform a variety of nonmilitary functions on bases. The
hundreds of Bagram employees who were among the protesters will have to decide
whether to leave their jobs or continue working while disguising their
antipathy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghans-protest-improper-disposal-of-koran-at-us-base/2012/02/21/gIQAjhBqQR_story.html
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Taliban behead four alleged spies: Afghan official
AFP | Feb 21, 2012
KANDAHAR: Taliban militants
have beheaded four men for allegedly spying for the government in southern
Afghanistan, an official said on Tuesday.
The bodies of the men were
discovered in Washer district of volatile Helmand province late on Sunday.
"The four men were
civilians who were beheaded by Taliban for allegedly spying for
government," provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi said.
The Taliban had found
satellite phones in the men's possession and thought they were spies, he said,
adding that mobile phones do not work in that district and it is normal for
people to use satellite phones.
The militants, who have in
the past used beheading as a punishment on alleged spies and traitors, were not
immediately available for comment.
The Taliban have waged a
10-year insurgency since their hardline Islamist government was toppled by a
US-led invasion in the wake of the Al-Qaida attacks on New York and Washington
in 2001.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Taliban-behead-four-alleged-spies-Afghan-official/articleshow/11975794.cms
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Afghans say 41 child suicide
bombers rescued
21 February 2012
KABUL: The Afghan government
said Monday that police had rescued 41 children from becoming suicide bombers
as they were about to be smuggled across the mountains into Pakistan.
Interior ministry spokesman
Sediq Sediqqi told a news conference that the children aged six to 11 had been
released on February 15 from the clutches of four insurgents in eastern Kunar
province.
He told AFP their families
“were fooled by terrorists”, who promised to send them to seminaries in
Pakistan where they would be “brainwashed” and “prepared for suicide bombings
against Afghan and international troops in Afghanistan”.
Police arrested the four
suspects and the children were returned to their families, the spokesman said.
On February 12, Afghan
authorities announced the arrest of two 10-year-old would-be suicide bombers
allegedly planning to attack Afghan and international forces in the southern
province of Kandahar, the Taliban’s birthplace.
They had been reportedly
released last August, along with 18 other children, after receiving a pardon
from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/20/afghans-say-41-child-suicide-bombers-rescued.html
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Afghans protest Qur'an
'desecration' at US base
By DEB RIECHMANN
Feb 21, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan: The US
commander of international troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday ordered an
investigation into the improper disposal of a large number of Islamic religious
materials, including Qur’ans, at an American air base north of Kabul.
More than 60 Afghans staged a
morning demonstration outside the sprawling military installation to protest
what they said was the burning of the Muslim holy books.
“We are thoroughly
investigating the incident and are taking steps to ensure this does not ever
happen again,” US Gen. John Allen, the top commander of US and NATO troops in
Afghanistan, said in a statement. “I assure you, I promise you, this was not
intentional in any way.”
Allen said he received a
report during the night that people working for the military coalition
improperly disposed of the religious materials. He did not elaborate.
“When we learned of these
actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them,” Allen said. “The
materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious
authorities.”
Ahmad Kabir, the chief of
Bagram district of Parwan province where the base is located, said the demonstrators
were all people who work inside the base and that some claimed they had seen
pieces of a Qur’an that was burned inside the base.
“I haven’t seen it myself and
we are talking to them and are investigating to see if is true,” Kabir said.
“The protesters are nervous over these claims of the holy book being burned.”
Kabir called for calm.
“We will investigate and we
are asking everyone to calm down and relax,” he said, adding that the incident
was being probed by local Afghan and police officials and the local provincial
council.
Police said a similar protest
on Tuesday just east of Kabul ended peacefully.
http://arabnews.com/world/article578215.ece
--------
NATO orders probe of Quran
disposal in Afghanistan
AP | Feb 21, 2012
KABUL: The US commander of
international troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday ordered an investigation into
the improper disposal of a large number of Islamic religious materials,
including Qurans, at an American air base north of Kabul.
More than 60 Afghans staged a
morning demonstration outside the sprawling military installation to protest
what they said was the burning of the Muslim holy books.
"We are thoroughly
investigating the incident and are taking steps to ensure this does not ever
happen again," US general John Allen, the top commander of US and NATO
troops in Afghanistan, said in a statement. "I assure you, I promise you,
this was not intentional in any way."
Allen said he received a
report during the night that people working for the military coalition
improperly disposed of the religious materials. He did not elaborate.
"When we learned of
these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them," Allen said.
"The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious
authorities."
Ahmad Kabir, the chief of
Bagram district of Parwan province where the base is located, said the
demonstrators were all people who work inside the base and that some claimed
they had seen pieces of a Quran that was burned inside the base.
"I haven't seen it
myself and we are talking to them and are investigating to see if is
true," Kabir said. "The protesters are nervous over these claims of
the holy book being burned."
Kabir called for calm.
"We will investigate and
we are asking everyone to calm down and relax," he said, adding that the
incident was being probed by local Afghan and police officials and the local
provincial council.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/NATO-orders-probe-of-Quran-disposal-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/11975381.cms
--------
Balochistan resolution could
dent Pakistan-US ties: Hina Rabbani Khar
21 February 2012
LONDON: Foreign Minister Hina
Rabbani Khar Monday said Balochistan was Pakistan’s internal matter and the
province’s elected representatives would act to resolve its issues and not US
congressmen, Geo News reported.
The Foreign Minister was
talking to scholars and senior analysts at the International Institute of
Strategic Studies (IISS) here.
The IISS is a prestigious
think tank.
For Full Report :
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-36250-B%E2%80%99stan-bill-could-dent-Pak-US-ties:-Khar
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Grand Mufti of Egypt calls
for internet dialogue
BY IINA – FEBRUARY 20, 2012
CAIRO, 27 Rabi al-Awwal/20
Feb.(IINA)-Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt and one of the world’s
most respected Islamic jurists, has called for greater dialogue and tolerance
over the growing challenges created by the explosive growth of
social-networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
In a wide-ranging interview
about how the Muslim world should help young people to confront both the
dangers and benefits of the internet, the Grand Mufti called for caution and
understanding, but rejected calls for a ban on social networking.
The Grand Mufti said the
Prophet Mohammed was perceived as the ultimate subject of emulation by 1.5
billion Muslims all over the globe.
“Muslims throughout the world
are required to venerate the Prophet by expressing their love and devotion to
him. Insulting the Prophet is something that should not be taken lightly,” he
said.
For Full Report :
http://iina.me/wp_en/?p=1006886
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30 die as Boko Haram bombs
Borno market
Written by James Bwala, Dele
Ayeleso, Olalekan Olabulo and Kunle Awosiyan, with Agency Reports
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
THERE was pandemonium at Baga
Market in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Monday, when Islamic fundamentalists known
as Boko Haram went berserk and shot 30 persons who were trading at the market.
The incident, which happened
at about 1.30 p.m, saw many traders in the market, who managed to escape,
weeping and mourning those killed.
An eyewitness told Nigerian
Tribune that the development led to the closure of the market as many traders
ran for dear life while some were seen discussing the matter in twos and threes
when the perpetrators of the act had left.
For Full Report :
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/36322-bloody-monday-30-die-as-boko-haram-bombs-borno-market-jtf-kills-8-sect-members-10-die-several-injured-in-lagos-ibadan-expressway-autocrash-another-4-killed-25-vehicles-burnt-in-nurtw-factional-clash-in-lagos
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After the burqa, French take
objection to halal meat
Feb 21, 2012
Paris : A TV documentary’s
revelation that slaughterhouses around Paris have switched meat production
entirely to halal methods has stirred a political storm in France, where
attitudes to Europe’s largest Muslim minority are a subtext in a presidential
election campaign.
The France 2 documentary last
week said all of the abattoirs in the greater Paris region were producing only
halal-style meat, selling some without labelling it as such to avoid the cost
of running separate lines for halal and non-halal customers.
Far-right candidate Marine Le
Pen – who is hoping to win voters away from centre-right President Nicolas
Sarkozy ahead of the two-round election in April and May – has seized on the
issue.
“All the abattoirs of the
Paris region have succumbed to the rules of a minority. We have reason to be
disgusted,” Le Pen told a rally in Lille on Saturday, pledging to file a legal
complaint.
For Full Report :
http://www.firstpost.com/world/after-the-burqa-french-take-objection-to-halal-meat-219642.html
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Pakistani 'spy' arrested in
New Delhi
PTI
NEW VDELHI:Feb 21, 2012, A
39-year-old suspected Pakistani spy, staying in India for the past 20 years,
was arrested here with Delhi Police today claiming that he was tasked to
collect defence related documents and sent it across the border.
Kamran Akbar, who was staying
in Kolkata since 1992 and got married to a local girl three years ago, was
apprehended by a Crime Branch team from near New Delhi Railway Station on
February 13 on a tip-off, DCP (Crime) Ashok Chand said.
"He was recently tasked
to come to Delhi to collect defence related documents which were to be sent to
his handlers in Pakistan. The man was apprehended while he was on way to board
a train for Kolkata after collecting the documents," he said.
"Sensitive"
documents relating to Defence have been recovered from Akbar, who hails from
Karachi, Chand claimed.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Pakistani-spy-arrested-in-New-Delhi/articleshow/11978875.cms
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Aligarh Muslim University's
library out of bounds for undergraduate girls
Manash Pratim Gohain
Feb 21, 2012
NEW DELHI: Students of the
Women's College in Aligarh Muslim University are waging a bitter struggle for a
facility their counterparts in other institutions would take for granted-access
to the university's central library.
Now, in a concession to these
undergraduate women students, AMU has decided provided them online access to
the catalogue of books. The varsity says the girls can choose the books which
would then be issued and delivered to them.
The 100-year-old Women's
College, a constituent of AMU-a central university which had built a reputation
for an enlightened social outlook-is housed in the fortress-like enclosure of
Abdullah Hall. Except for professional courses, this is the only college
providing undergraduate education to women in the university.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Aligarh-Muslim-Universitys-library-out-of-bounds-for-undergraduate-girls/articleshow/11968548.cms
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Nasheed’s party rules out
joining new Govt; offers conditional talks
TUESDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2012
Ousted President Mohamed
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party on Monday ruled out any participation in
the new unity Government but offered to join conditional talks with the new
President to end the political crisis.
In a statement, the MDP has
made it clear that the party will not participate in the National Unification
Government, which was formed under new President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.
The MDP, however, said that
it can join the reconciliation talks to end the political crisis in the country
if six members of the new Government, who allegedly participated in ousting
Nasheed on February 7, were dropped.
For Full Report :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/44315-nasheeds-party-rules-out-joining-new-govt-offers-conditional-talks.html
--------
For Woman in Sudan, No Escape
From Misery
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
February 19, 2012
OMDURMAN, Sudan — Mary
Nyekueh Ley has a quick way of summing up her life.
“My life’s a curse,” she said
Her first husband was wounded
in battle and died in her arms. Her second husband beat her.
Two of her children perished
from one of the most curable diseases — diarrhea.
And now she is a southerner
in a northern land, a conspicuous dark-skinned outsider, with traditional
swirling scars all over her face, trying to raise two sons and two daughters.
Worse still, the only marketable skill she has is cooking up homebrewed
alcohol, a serious crime in Islamist Sudan that has landed her in jail more
than 10 times and earned her dozens of lashes.
For Full Report :
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/world/africa/for-south-sudan-woman-misery-on-both-sides-of-the-border.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22
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Mosque vandalism draws
sympathy for long-persecuted Muslim sect
By Pamela Constable
February 21 2012
In late January, workmen in
Chantilly erected a minaret on the roof of a new building, the first highly
visible sign that it was to be a mosque. That night, vandals hurled rocks at
its arched windows, shattering many. Empty beer cans and liquor bottles were
scattered on the mosque’s grounds and roof.
The attackers left no written
message, and police have not found them. But if their intent was to ostracize
or frighten the worshippers, mostly of Pakistani origin, it didn’t work.
Religious and political leaders across the region quickly issued statements of
condemnation. A week later, at a regional interfaith meeting in Sterling,
officials from a variety of congregations expressed their outrage and sympathy.
“We were a little surprised,
because this is a conservative area. But the attack seems to have brought the
community together in a positive way,” said Shahid Malik, an engineer and
official of the mosque. “I think civic leaders here have gotten to know us.
They see that we are helpful and hard-working and that we condemn terrorism.
What happened was unfortunate, but it had a silver lining.”
To members of the mosque, the
incident was an alarming echo of the persecution their sect, known as the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community, has faced for years in Pakistan. It also came at a time when
some political and religious figures in the United States warn that the
proliferation of Muslim immigrants and mosques represents a danger to American
society.
In contrast, local groups
took pains to reassure the Chantilly mosque members that they are a welcome
part of the region’s rapid diversification. Once mostly white, the Dulles
region is now a mosaic of international cultures and faiths, from Indian Sikhs
to Vietnamese Buddhists.
For Full Report :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-mosque-vandalism-draws-sympathy-for-long-persecuted-muslim-sect/2012/02/14/gIQACYB4PR_story.html
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Islamist Lobbies' Washington
War on Arab and Muslim Liberals
MONDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2012
ESSAM ABDALLAH
A note from Investigative
Project on Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson:
Please take the time to read
this very important story written by a courageous Egyptian liberal intellectual
about the Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood lobbies in Washington and the Obama
Administration's secret collaboration with these pro-terrorist, anti-Western,
anti-women, anti-American and anti-Semitic organizations. This is one of the
most important articles I have read in years.
It was just revealed two days
ago that FBI Director Mueller secretly met on February 8 at FBI headquarters
with a coalition of groups including various Islamist and militant Arabic
groups who in the past have defended Hamas and Hizballah and have also issued
blatantly anti-Semitic statements. At this meeting, the FBI revealed that it
had removed more than 1000 presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI
offices around the country that was deemed "offensive." The FBI did
not reveal what criteria was used to determine why material was considered
"offensive" but knowledgeable law enforcement sources have told the
IPT that it was these radical groups who made that determination. Moreover,
numerous FBI agents have confirmed that from now on, FBI headquarters has
banned all FBI offices from inviting any counter-terrorist specialists who are
considered "anti-Islam" by Muslim Brotherhood front groups.
For Full Report :
http://www.rightsidenews.com/2012022015646/us/islam-in-america/islamist-lobbies-washington-war-on-arab-and-muslim-liberals.html
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Pakistan Foreign Office
summons acting US Ambassador over Balochistan resolution
21 February 2012
ISLAMABAD: US charge
d`affaires Richard Hoagland was summoned by the Foreign Office on Monday.
Hoagland was summoned to
register a protest regarding the resolution presented in the US Congress about
Balochistan.
According to the Foreign
Office spokesperson, the resolution is a violation of the UN charter and it
would have a negative impact on Pak-US relations.
On Sunday, Hoagland while
speaking to Geo News said Balochistan was an important issue but not part of US
foreign policy.
He added that supporting
Balochistan's independence was not the policy of the Obama administration.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-36157-FO-summons-acting-US-Ambassador-
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Obama, Karzai discuss Afghan
reconciliation
21 February 2012
WASHINGTON: President Barack
Obama has spoken to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss efforts to
reconcile with elements of the Taliban, including his meeting last week with
Pakistani and Iranian leaders.
The White House says Obama
and Karzai on Monday discussed regional support for reconciliation in
Afghanistan.
The conversation came in the
wake of a three-day summit in Islamabad with Karzai, Pakistani President Asif
Ali Zardari and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The call also followed
Karzai’s assertion last week that the US, the Afghan government and the Taliban
had held three-way talks aimed at moving toward a political settlement of the
war.
Karzai on Saturday met with a
Taliban-linked Pakistani cleric, Maulana Samiul Haq, in an effort to secure his
help in bringing the militant movement’s leadership into peace negotiations.
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/21/obama-karzai-discuss-afghan-reconciliation.html
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Iran boosts N-site defence,
warns of cutting EU oil exports
21 February 2012
TEHRAN: Iran deployed
warplanes and missiles on Monday in an ‘exercise’ to protect nuclear sites
threatened by possible Israeli attacks and warned it could cut oil exports to
more EU nations unless sanctions were lifted.
The stance marked a hardening
of the Islamic republic’s defiance in an international standoff over its
nuclear programme – and suggested it was readying for any eventual
confrontation.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/21/iran-boosts-n-site-defence-warns-of-cutting-eu-oil-exports.html
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National Accountability
Bureau may open cases against Sharifs
Syed Irfan Raza
21 February 2012
ISLAMABAD: The National
Accountability Bureau (NAB) is preparing to take up cases against PML-N chief
Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
According to sources, the
cases relate to default of Rs4.9 billion loans obtained from nine banks in
1994-95.
“Cases against Sharif
brothers were to be approved in a recent NAB board meeting but were deferred on
the directives of the Chairman, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari,” an official of
the bureau said on Monday.
The chairman is reported to
have said that all pending cases about politicians would be taken up soon.
The NAB spokesman was not
available for comment.
The bureau had earlier frozen
some assets of the Sharif family against which the loans had been taken.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/21/nab-may-open-cases-against-sharifs.html
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Difa-i-Pakistan Council rally
condemns drone attacks, military operations
21 February 2012
ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a
Difa-i-Pakistan Council (DPC) rally here on Monday condemned US drone attacks,
military operations in tribal areas, tabling of a resolution on Balochistan in
the US House of Representatives and the ban on some religious parties. The
rally expressed concern over the fate of missing persons.
The speakers warned the
government against restoring Nato supply routes and granting the MFN (most
favoured nation) status to India till resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
In a rare show of anger,
Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hassan criticised the armed forces and said
they had failed to contain the US aggression inside Pakistan, but continued to
launch operations against their own people.
He blamed the United States
for all ills in the country, terming it an enemy of the Islamic world. The
present rulers had failed the nation by compromising on national integrity and
promoting corruption and mismanagement, the Jamaat chief said, adding that the
military establishment and its agencies were equally responsible for
compromising on integrity and sovereignty of the country.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/21/dpc-rally-condemns-drone-attacks-military-operations.html
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Sudan’s opposition leader
seeking ‘popular revolution’ says his office bugged
21 February 2012
Sudan’s Islamist opposition
leader Hassan al-Turabi, who is seeking a “popular revolution” in the country,
on Sunday accused government intelligence agents of bugging his offices.
At a news conference the
veteran politician produced three short sets of wire, each connected to a tiny
metal or plastic box. He said they were bugging devices found in the electrical
sockets of two meeting rooms at his Popular Congress Party headquarters on
Wednesday.
“I accuse the security
service directly,” said Turabi, a former mentor who became a critic of
President Omar al-Bashir.
“We went to the police but we
know that they are not authorized to do anything against the security service,”
he said.
Turabi said the party
searched and found the bugs after they became suspicious of how intelligence
agents claimed to have obtained an internal party analysis about Sudanese
politics.
They falsely accused the
party of planning a coup, in combination with a popular uprising, he said.
“We don’t have many secrets,”
and have already announced the goal of removing the regime, Turabi added.
For Full Report :
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/20/195788.html
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Iran says may cut oil to more
European countries
21 February 2012
TEHRAN: Tehran is considering
extending an oil embargo on France and Britain to other European countries, a
semiofficial Iranian news agency reported Monday.
The head of Iran’s state oil
company Ahmad Qalehbani was quoted by Mehr as saying that the country would
stop selling crude to nations who take action against Tehran.
”If the hostile acts of some
other European countries continue, oil exports to these countries will be cut,”
he said.
Iran announced the cut-offs
to France and Britain on Sunday, a pre-emptive retaliation for an EU embargo
over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program that is scheduled to go into effect
in July.
Since the embargo was
announced last month, Iranian officials have said that Tehran should enact its
own sanctions immediately, before European countries lined up alternative
suppliers.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/20/iran-says-may-cut-oil-to-more-european-countries.html
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Syrian opposition to attend
Tunis conference
21 February 2012
ROME: Syria’s opposition is
expected to take part in an international conference in Tunis on Friday to
which European Union and Arab League members as well as China, Russia and
United States have been invited.
Speaking after a meeting of
Mediterranean region foreign ministers in Rome on Monday, Tunisian Foreign
Minister Rafik Abdessalem also said the talks had agreed on the need to avoid
“an Iraqi scenario” and preserve Syria’s integrity.
“The Syrian National Council
and other opposition groups will be represented at the Tunis meeting,”
Abdessalem told reporters, reversing an earlier position expressed on Friday
when he said the SNC would not be invited.
Tunisia, which hosted a first
international conference on Syria in December and broke off ties with Damascus
earlier this month, does not recognise the SNC — the largest Syrian opposition
group — as an official entity.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/20/syrian-opposition-to-attend-tunis-conference.html
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Syria bolsters troops as
Iranian warships dock
21 February 2012
DAMASCUS: Syrian troops
massed around Homs, sparking calls Monday for women and children to flee the
besieged flashpoint city, as Iranian warships docked at the port of Tartus in a
show of force.
The reported buildup came as
Mediterranean states meeting in Rome agreed to preserve Syria’s territorial
integrity and avoid an “Iraqi scenario,” according to Tunisian Foreign Minister
Rafik Abdessalem.
US General Martin Dempsey,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said any intervention in Syria would be
“very difficult” and that it was “premature” to arm the opposition.
China’s influential People’s
Daily warned that any Western support for the rebels would trigger a
“large-scale civil war.”
But, despite a weekend appeal
by a visiting Chinese envoy for all sides to stop the violence, monitors said
forces of embattled President Bashar al-Assad targeted the central city of Homs
for a 17th straight day.
For Full Report :
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/20/syria-bolsters-troops-as-iranian-warships-dock.html
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Top U.N. inspectors in Iran
talks on atom bomb accusations
21 February 2012
TEHRAN: Senior U.N.
inspectors arrived in Iran on Monday to push for transparency about its
disputed nuclear program and several European states halted purchases of
Iranian oil as part of Western moves to pile pressure on a defiant Tehran.
Iran denies Western
accusations that it is covertly seeking the means to build nuclear weapons and
has again vowed no nuclear retreat in recent weeks, but also voiced willingness
to resume negotiations with world powers without preconditions.
The five-member International
Atomic Energy Agency team, led by chief IAEA inspector Herman Nackaerts,
planned two days of meetings in another attempt to get answers from Iran
regarding intelligence suggesting its declared civilian nuclear energy program
is a facade for researching ways to make atom bombs.
For Full Report :
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-36240-Top-UN-nuke-inspectors-in-Iran-for-talks
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Somalia: Scholars says 5th
grade curriculum contains fundamental Islamic error
20 Feb 20, 2012
GALKAYO, Somalia Feb 20 2012
(Garowe Online) – Islamic scholars in the region of Mudug have met to discuss
the new 5th grade curriculum which they say contains errors on a fundamental
concept in Islam, Garowe Online reports.
The scholars who met in
Galkayo on Saturday held a press conference in which they spoke of the 5th
grade Islamic studies textbook which states that there are three forms of
Tawhid. Tawheed in Islam is the oneness of God or monotheism which is the
religion’s most fundamental concept.
The scholars adamantly
informed the reporters that this kind of teaching was against the principles of
Islam and could lead to religious quarrel amongst the people if they are
mistakenly taught a fundamental concept in Islam. The scholars stressed to the
public there are not three forms of Tawhid in Islam, but only one.
For Full Report :
http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Somalia_Scholars_says_5th_grade_curriculum_contains_fundamental_Islamic_error.shtml
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India’s failure to crush
26/11 kingpins will invite more attacks
Uttara Choudhury
Feb 21, 2012
despite the spectacular
nature of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and considerable loss of life, most US
officials saw this crisis as less dangerous than the 1999 Kargil and 2001-2002
“Twin Peaks” crisis. AFP
New York: India hasn’t been
able to touch the kingpins who plotted the brazen three-day-long Mumbai terrorist
attacks and the depressing truth is that the government’s failure and
sang-froid in prosecuting them will invite more attacks from Pakistani
terrorists.
Washington’s Stimson Center
released a new study on US crisis management during the 2008 attacks and noted
Pakistan’s military, political and judicial authorities have demonstrated that
they just won’t take punitive action against the perpetrators.
For Full Report :
http://www.firstpost.com/india/indias-failure-to-crush-2611-kingpins-will-invite-more-attacks-219533.html
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Saleh exit: Poll-eve violence
hits Yemen
Reuters | Feb 21, 2012
SANAA: A blast tore through a
polling station and gunfire nearby killed a soldier in south Yemen on Monday,
the eve of a presidential election to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh and launch
reforms after a year of mass protests and spreading anarchy.
The violence in the port of
Aden underlined the challenges Saleh's successor will face in seeking to
prevent Yemen from becoming a failed state and draft a new constitution that
would underpin multi-party elections in two years' time. After the explosion ,
which caused no casualties , unidentified gunmen opened fire on an army patrol
in the vicinity, killing a soldier and wounding another , a security official
said. It was unclear if the two incidents were related.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saleh-exit-Poll-eve-violence-hits-Yemen/articleshow/11971252.cms
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More than 30 years of
Iran-Israel hostility
A breakdown of
Iranian-Israeli relations which faltered severely after Iran's 1979 Islamic
revolution
AFP , Monday 20 Feb 2012
The hostility between Iran
and Israel, and between Iran and most Western nations generally, dates from the
revolution that brought in the present Islamic republic more than three decades
ago.
Key dates:
- 1948: Creation of the state
of Israel. Iran emerged from World War II under the rule of the Western-backed
Shah Reza Pahlavi.
- 1953-1979: During the
heyday of the shah, who runs Iran as a police state, Israel enjoys close
diplomatic and trade relations with Tehran. The latter provides some 40 percent
of Israel's crude oil and imports Israeli weapons, technology and farm produce.
- 1979: The Islamic
revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sends the Shah into exile and
leads to the creation of an Islamic republic. Diplomatic relations with Israel
and the United States are severed.
For Full Report :
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/35012/World/Region/More-than--years-of-IranIsrael-hostility.aspx
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Saudi Arabia names first Iraq
envoy since Gulf War
Feb 21, 2012
BAGHDAD: Saudi Arabia has named
an ambassador to Baghdad for the first time since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait
in 1990, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Tuesday.
Iraq is preparing to host an
Arab League summit at the end of March that has been twice delayed by regional
turmoil and acrimony between Baghdad and some Sunni Arab Gulf.
“For the first time since
1990, the Saudis have named an ambassador to Iraq. This is a very positive
development,” Zebari told Reuters, without elaborating.
Saudi Foreign Ministry
spokesman Osama Nugali said: “We nominated our ambassador in Jordan as
ambassador for Iraq as well, but he will not be residing in Iraq.”
A successful summit in
Baghdad would help restore Iraq’s place in the Arab world and perhaps
contribute to allaying Gulf states’ concerns about Iran’s influence in post-war
Iraq.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article578192.ece
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World's first halal baby food
means convenience for Muslim mums
21 February 2012
The world's first range of
halal baby food is about to go on sale across the UAE, offering mothers
convenience and a guarantee that all the ingredients have been prepared in
accordance with Islamic law.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) -
The world's first range of halal baby food is about to go on sale across the
UAE, offering mothers convenience and a guarantee that all the ingredients have
been prepared in accordance with Islamic law.
The VitaMeal Baby range was
the first of its kind when it was launched four years ago by Moroccan company
Agro-Food Industrie, though competitors have now entered the market. The pots
of fruit, vegetables, meats and fish have since gone on sale across North
Africa as well as in France, Holland and other European countries.
For Full Report :
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=297668
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Jamia students, teachers
protest against police raids
New Delhi, Feb 20: A group of teachers and students of Jamia
Millia University today staged a protest outside Delhi Police Headquarters here
alleging that regular raids in the locality
have created a reign of terror among residents.
"There are regular police raids in the
area which have created an environment of threat among the residents,"
said Manisha Sethi President of Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association.
Raising questions on the recent raid in Jamia
Nagar conducted by Bangladeshi Cell of South District police, Sethi alleged,
"Jamia Nagar has been turned into a hunting ground. In the Wednesday raid,
police took away people even after they produced their voter ID cards.
"Whether its auto-theft or illegal
migrants, police turns to Jamia Nagar", Sethi alleged.
The association said that the threat
perception created by such regular raids have affected the students and
residents.
For Full Report :
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2012/Feb/21/jamia-students-teachers-protest-against-police-raids-24.asp
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Delhi HC bombing: NIA detains
one person
PTI | Feb 21, 2012
JAMMU/NEW DELHI: One person
has been detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with
the Delhi High Court bombing last year.
The person identified as
Mohammed Ayub had figured during the interrogation of Wasim Akram, a medical
student who is being touted as the main accused in the case by the probe
agency, official sources said.
Ayub is alleged to have
purchased a SIM card for a known Hizbul Mujahideen commander - Jehangir -- one
of the terrorists whom the NIA was looking for in connection with the conspiracy.
It is not clear whether Ayub
would be placed under arrest and brought to the national capital or would be
questioned in Kishtwar itself and handed over to local police, the sources
said.
For Full Report :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Delhi-HC-bombing-NIA-detains-one-person/articleshow/11974239.cms
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/afghans-protest-burning-qurans-u.s./d/6689