Bangladesh Militant Group Publishes Global Hit List of Bloggers, Activists and Writers
New Age Islam News Bureau
23
Sept 2015
Muslim pilgrims pray on the plains of
Arafat during the annual Haj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah on
Friday. Muslim pilgrims pray on the plains of Arafat during the annual Haj
pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Makkah on Friday. Reuters
------------
South Asia
•
Bangladesh Militant Group Publishes Global Hit List of
Bloggers, Activists and Writers
•
MoI Rejects Reports of Afghan Police Involvement in
‘Bacha Baazi’
•
38 Militants Killed In Security Operations in
Afghanistan
•
Mullah Omar’s Son Was Forced to Accept Mullah Mansoor
as New •
Taliban Leader
•
NATO soldier killed in militants attack in the
vicinity of Bagram Airfield
•
Bangladesh's PM rejects claims of repression: 'I do
politics for the people'
•
Bangladesh court indicts 13 in beating death of
teenager shown in online video
----------
Pakistan
•
Senior Politician: ISIL Seeking to Spread to Pakistan
Using Religious Schools
•
Pakistani Forces Detain 40 Afghan Refugees In Quetta
•
Pak arrests Afghan national for air base attack
•
Kashmir issue main cause of India-Pakistan tension:
Sharif
---------
Arab World
•
Millions of Muslims Throng Mount Arafat As Haj Reaches
Climax
•
Yemeni Missiles Destroy Several Saudi Military Bases
in Jizan
•
ISIS in Syria: Kobani stood up to the jihadists and won
- but it's still a city under siege
•
Army Kills Tens of Terrorists in Aleppo Countryside
•
Yemeni Forces Kill Six Saudi Troops in Jizan
•
Two Saudi soldiers under Houthi captivity
•
Pakistani pilgrim delivers baby boy in Mina
•
Saudi families send domestic workers to Haj as reward
---------
North America
•
Pakistan Is A Serious Problem, Us Presidential
Candidate Donald Trump Says
•
Immigrants Make a Good Fit in US, Study Finds"
•
"Guarding a Pope who enjoys slipping the
leash"
•
Muslim Americans welcome first NY Eid school holiday
•
U.S. envoy for anti-Islamic State coalition Allen to
step down
•
Meet Ahmed, the world's most high-visibility schoolboy
----------
Mideast
•
One More Palestinian Falls to Israeli Bullet
•
Iranian Leader Blames US, Allies for Pains of Nations
in Middle-East, Africa
•
13 Turkish soldiers hurt in bomb attack
-------
India
•
Muslim Man Launches Petition Demanding Ban on
Vegetables
•
Beef Ban Means Eid Worries For Indian Muslims
•
Three Pakistan boys held in Jaisalmer, to be sent back
home
•
Pakistan wants India to send back teenager languishing
in Gujarat jail
---------
Europe
•
Hoping For Unity In Crisis European Union Instead Lays
Bare its Divisions
•
European Union Approves Plan to Distribute Migrants
•
Hungarian Muslims open doors for refugees
•
Assad receives new warplanes from Russia
•
Refugee crisis: EU ministers agree quotas - as UN says
even its best offer is not enough
-----
Southeast Asia
•
Liars, Graft Make Hudud Impossible Here, Says Muslim
•
Muslimarket.com aims to provide the complete Islamic
package
•
Weak rupiah hits pilgrimage plans of thousands of
Indonesians
----------
Africa
•
Million fewer tourists visit Tunisia after terror
attacks
•
UN envoy presents final peace deal to Libyan rivals
---------
Compiled by New Age Islam News
Bureau
------
South Asia
Bangladesh Militant group publishes global
hitlist of bloggers, activists and writers
Wednesday 23 September 2015 05
An Islamic militant group in Bangladesh
has issued a hitlist of secular bloggers, writers and activists around the
world, saying they will be killed if its demands are not met.
The list will raise fears that Islamic
militant violence within the unstable south Asian country could take on an
international dimension.
The targets in the list include nine
bloggers based in the UK, seven in Germany, two in the US, one in Canada and
one in Sweden. Some are Bangladeshi citizens living overseas. Others are dual
nationals or citizens of the western nations.
The list was issued in a statement on the
internet by the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a group that has been blamed for
a series of murders of bloggers and activists in Bangladesh over the last 18
months. All those killed have been prominent critics of extremist religious
doctrines, especially in Islam.
The acting leader of the ABT and two close
associates were arrested earlier this month in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh,
for their involvement in the murder of a secular blogger earlier this year.
Individuals on the new list have told the
Guardian they intend to keep writing and blogging.
“Our weapon is [the] pen, and we can use
it without hurting anybody. We just want to make people conscious about their
rights. So that nobody can use them to fulfill bad intentions,” said Ananya
Azad, a Bangladeshi blogger who has been forced into exile in Europe and is on
the list.
There has been no previous indication that
the ABT was targeting bloggers overseas and the list will worry security
authorities in Europe and the US.
Bangladesh police escort ABT head Abul
Bashar (left), Zafran Hassan (centre) and Julhas Bishas (second right).
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
British-based bloggers of Bangladeshi
origin named on the list have approached police in London and elsewhere
following its publication. They say authorities have have advised them to take
precautions to minimise the risk of attack.
It is unclear if the ABT has the
capability to carry out their threats, but its call for action may prompt
individuals to mount “lone wolf” attacks.
Police have charged an ABT organiser and
four supporters with the murder of a 27-year-old blogger, Washiqur Rahman, in
Dhaka in March.
Rahman’s death came just weeks after a
Bangladesh-born American atheist blogger was murdered in Dhaka by
machete-wielding attackers.
The murder in February of Bangladeshi-born
US citizen Avijit Roy, a science writer and blog moderator, prompted outrage
around the world. His US-based widow is among those named on the new list the
group appear to have issued.
Officials believe the ABT is close to the
Ansar ul-Islam organisation, which is part of al-Qaida in south Asiaand
launched by the extremist organisation about a year ago.
The statement featured a logo comprising a
black flag carrying the seal of the prophet Muhammad, often favoured by
extremist groups, and the phrase: “We do not forget, we do not forgive” in
English.
The new list is accompanied by an
incoherent demand to strip bloggers of their citizenship. It appears to be
addressed to the government of Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina,
though many of those on the hitlist have dual nationality or are citizens of
Britain, the US or European nations.
“Cancel the Bangladeshi citizenship of
enemies of Islam and [Muslim religious] education, atheists, apostates,
unbelievers, anti-Islamic ... bloggers, agents of India ... otherwise they will
be killed wherever they can be found in the Almighty’s world,” said the
statement.
The origin of the list is unclear, and
some have doubted it is an official statement from the ABT in Bangladesh, but
instead compiled or published from the UK or elsewhere in the west.
More than 150 writers, including Margaret
Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Yann Martel and Colm Tóibín, signed a letter condemning
the series of fatal attacks and calling on the government of Bangladesh “to
ensure that the tragic events … are not repeated”.
Authorities in Dhaka have been previously
criticised for requesting local bloggers and activists to avoid provocative
statements on sensitive religious issues.
Bangladeshi social activists in protest at
the killing of Avijit Roy in Dhaka on 27 February. Photograph: Anadolu
Agency/Getty Images
A spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, the
international campaigning group, last month called for the government “to recall
that its duty is to uphold the constitution and protect people’s lives, as well
as their religious freedom”.
“It’s shocking that Bangladesh authorities
not only failed to protect the bloggers despite complaints to the police about
threats against them, but instead are proposing self-censorship,” said the
spokesperson.
Repeated efforts to contact senior
Bangladeshi officials for comment this week were unsuccessful.
Bangladesh is an officially secular
country, but more than 90% of its 160 million people are Muslim. It gained its
independence from Pakistan after a brutal civil war in 1971, which left deep
scars. In recent years a new surge of extremism has exacerbated long standing
tensions between conservatives and secular liberals.
Those on the list say they are aware of
the dangers of their activism. “I can’t give you assurance that I can’t be hurt
here also. Fundamentalists have threatened that they will come and kill me,”
said blogger Azad.
“I can’t say that I am fully safe, as the
fundamentalists know where I am residing. I can’t say what will happen in
future, but I can give you this assurance that I will write until the end of my
life.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/23/militant-group-publishes-hit-list-of-bloggers-activists-and-writers
------------
MoI rejects reports of Afghan police
involvement in ‘Bacha Baazi’
Sep 23 2015
Afghan police bacha baaziThe Ministry of
Interior (MoI) rejected reports suggesting the involvement of Afghan police
forces in sexual abuse of children ‘Bacha Baazi’.
A statement by MoI said the report has no
basis comparing the current situation since the interview is based on the
memories of an American soldier while he was serving in the country in 2011 and
includes old information provided to media and the interview being informal.
The statement further added that MoI
strongly rejects the report that sexual abuse of children ‘Bacha Baazi’ is a
tradition in Afghanistan and the security officials ignored the abuse of
children.
MoI said sexual abuse of children is an obscene
and indecent act with the Afghan laws recognizing it as a criminal offense and
the perpetrators will face severe punishment as per the applicable laws.
Reports regarding the alleged sexual abuse
of children by Afghan police emerged yesterday where the former American
service members were quoted describing their experience while serving in
Afghanistan with boys screaming in the night as Afghan police officers attacked
them.
Three or four Afghan men found lying on
the floor of a room at a military base with children between them, presumably
for sex play.
According to an account in the New York
Times by Joseph Goldstein, the American service members were ordered by their
superiors to ignore abusive behavior by their Afghan allies and “to look the
other way because it’s their culture.”
In the meantime, the commander of the
NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission in Afghanistan also rejected the reports
saying “I personally have served multiple tours of duty in Afghanistan and am
absolutely confident that no such theater policy has ever existed here, and
certainly, no such policy has existed throughout my tenure as commander.”
Gen. Campbell further added “Consistent
with clear U.S. Department of Defense policy on the issue of sexual assault,
trafficking of persons, and similar matters, I expect all personnel to treat
others with respect and dignity. I further expect that any suspicions of sexual
abuse will be immediately reported to the chain of command, regardless of who
the alleged perpetrators or victims are.”
“The chain of command will take
appropriate action under applicable law, as well as DoD and service
regulations,” he said, adding that “If the abuse involves Afghans, a report
shall be forwarded to me through operations channels, copied to the Staff Judge
Advocate, so that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can be
advised and requested to take action.”
Gen. Campbell also added that he has
personally spoken with President Ghani on this issue and he made it clear that
the Afghan government will not tolerate the abuse of its children, or any of
its people, and will thoroughly investigate all allegations and administer
justice appropriately.
He also insisted that any sexual abuse or
similar mistreatment of others, no matter the alleged perpetrator or victim, is
completely unacceptable, and reprehensible.
http://www.khaama.com/moi-rejects-reports-of-afghan-police-involvement-in-bacha-baazi-1550
---------
38 militants killed in newest security
operations
Sep 23 2015,
38 militants have been killed in newest
security operations in eight provinces, the Ministry of Interior announced on
Wednesday.
A statement issued by the ministry states
that the operations were jointly conducted by Afghan National Police
(ANP), Afghan National Army (ANA) and National Directorate of Security (NDS)
in, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Sar-e-Pul, Kandahar, Ghazni, Herat and Helmand
provinces in past 24 hours.
The statement adds that 38 militants were
killed and eight others wounded in these operations.
Ministry of Interior urges all citizens to
report any suspicious activities they experience to security forces by dialing
119 from their cell phones.
http://www.khaama.com/38-militants-killed-in-news-security-operations-3941
---------
Mullah Omar’s son was forced to accept
Mullah Mansoor as new Taliban leader
Sep 22 2015
Mullah-Omar11The family members of Mullah
Mohammad Omar particularly his son Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob were forced to accept
Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the new leader of the Taliban group, it has been
claimed.
The Afghanistan Islamic Movement Fidai
Mahaz, a splinter group of the Taliban group, has claimed that there has been
no breakthrough to resolve issues among the Taliban leadership despite forcing
Mullah Yaqoob to accept Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as new Taliban group leader.
The Taliban group claimed a week ago that
the family members of Mullah Mohammad Omar – the group’s founder and former
supreme leader, have pledged allegiance to the newly appointed Taliban group
chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.
Full Report at:
http://www.khaama.com/mullah-omars-son-was-forced-to-accept-mullah-mansoor-as-new-taliban-leader-1548
---------
NATO soldier killed in militants attack in
the vicinity of Bagram Airfield
Sep 23 2015
A service member of the NATO-led Resolute
Support (RS) mission was killed in an attack in the vicinity of Bagram Airfield
in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan.
A statement by the alliance said “We can
confirm a Resolute Support service member died as a result of an enemy attack
in the vicinity of Bagram Airfield, September 22.”
No further details were given regarding
the nationality of the deceased service member.
Full Report at:
http://www.khaama.com/nato-soldier-killed-in-militants-attack-in-the-vicinity-of-bagram-airfield-1549
---------
Bangladesh's PM rejects claims of
repression: 'I do politics for the people'
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
Bangladesh’s prime minister has dismissed
accusations that democracy and rule of law are being undermined by her
increasingly authoritarian behaviour and by extensive human rights abuses by
the police and security forces.
In a wide-ranging interview in Dhaka,
Sheikh Hasina Wazed, Bangladesh’s formidable, long-serving head of government
rejected claims that extra-judicial killings, numerous so-called “enforced
disappearances”, mass arrests of opposition activists and Islamists, and new
restrictions on media and internet freedoms were turning the world’s third most
populous Muslim nation into a repressive, de facto one-party state.
“My job is to assist the common people,”
Hasina said. “I do politics for the people, not for me ... People are enjoying
democracy now. What people want is their basic needs. So I’m trying to help
people ensure their basic need, that means food security, healthcare,
education, and job opportunity and a better life.
“By 2021 Bangladesh will be a
middle-income country and by 2041 Bangladesh will be a developed country ...
All the democratic institutions are working and people are satisfied and people
are enjoying it. So the way you say I am dominating, I am not dominating. I am
serving people.”
Full Report at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/21/bangladesh-prime-minister-rejects-accusations-of-authoritarian-rule
---------
Bangladesh court indicts 13 in beating
death of teenager shown in online video
September 22, 2015
DHAKA, Bangladesh – A court in
northeastern Bangladesh indicted 13 people on Tuesday in the beating death of a
13-year-old boy that shocked a nation used to violent crime because a video of
him being tortured was posted online.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Akbar Hossain
Mridha said the trial of the 13, including the main suspect who fled to Saudi
Arabia, will begin Oct. 1.
Full Report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/22/bangladesh-court-indicts-13-in-beating-death-teenager-shown-in-online-video/
---------
Pakistan
Senior Politician: ISIL Seeking to Spread
to Pakistan Using Religious Schools
Wed Sep 23, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Pakistani
politician warned of the danger posed by the ISIL against his country's future,
and said the terrorist group is misusing extremist religious schools to
infiltrate its thoughts and ideology in Pakistan.
"The ISIL is a major danger
threatening Pakistan's future and it can create many problems for the country
in the future," Amir Fida Paracha, a senior member of Pakistan People
Party, told FNA on Wednesday.
Full Report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940701000667
---------
Pakistani forces detain 40 Afghan refugees
in Quetta
Sep 23 2015
forces have detained Afghan refugees in
Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.
Police have detained these Afghans from
the surrounding areas of a Pakistan Air Force base called ‘Khalid Air Base’.
Full Report at:
http://www.khaama.com/pakistani-forces-detain-40-afghans-in-quetta-3940
---------
Pak arrests Afghan national for air base
attack
September 22,
2015
An Afghan national has been arrested by
police in Pakistan for his alleged involvement in the attack on an air force
base last week that left 42 people dead, as authorities said the mastermind of
the deadly assult was from Afghanistan.
Police raided a house in Pladherai village
of Charsadda district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and arrested the man from a rented
house, a police official said.
"He has been shifted to a secret
location for questioning," he said.
Full Report at:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/pak-arrests-afghan-national-for-air-base-attack-115092201074_1.html
---------
Kashmir issue main cause of India-Pakistan
tension: Sharif
Sep 23, 2015
SLAMABAD: Terming the Kashmir dispute as
the main reason of tension with India, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has
urged New Delhi to hold talks on all issues, including Kashmir.
The issue should also be raised at other
platforms besides bilateral talks between the two neighbouring countries; Geo
TV quoted Sharif as saying on Tuesday.
"Sooner the issue is resolved, the
better it will be for both the countries," he said, adding Pakistan will
continue playing its due role for peace and stability in the region.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Kashmir-issue-main-cause-of-India-Pakistan-tension-Sharif/articleshow/49069889.cms
---------
Arab World
Millions of Muslims throng Mount Arafat as
Haj reaches climax
Sep 23, 2015
MOUNT ARAFAT: Over two million pilgrims,
including more than 1.5 lakh Indians, today started moving from the tent-city
of Mina to Mount Arafat and its surrounding ground for prayers, marking the
climax of the annual Haj.
Pilgrims of all age groups clad in white
seamless cloth began moving to Arafat, where Prophet Mohammad delivered the
last Haj sermon nearly 1400 years ago, early this morning from Mina where they
spent the night in prayer and supplication.
During Haj, men pilgrims wear a seamless
two-piece white garment, symbolising a state of purity. Women also generally
wear white, covering full body except their faces and hands.
Emotional scenes were witnessed in Arafat
as on arrival many pilgrims could not control tears and many continued to thank
Allah for making it possible for them to perform Haj.
Hundreds of pilgrims crowded onto the hill
and the massive plain surrounding it to pray until sunset.
Full Report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Millions-of-Muslims-throng-Mount-Arafat-as-Haj-reaches-climax/articleshow/49071598.cms
---------
Yemeni Missiles Destroy Several Saudi
Military Bases in Jizan
Wed Sep 23, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Yemeni army and the
popular forces destroyed several strategic military bases in the province of
Jizan in Southwestern Saudi Arabia with missiles and mortar shells.
The army and Ansarullah forces in
retaliatory attacks fired over 70 missiles and mortar shells at al-Qarn, Mohata
al-Bayza, al-Mashih and al-Radif military bases in Jizan province, destroying
them to a large degree.
The Yemeni sources announced that all of
the four Saudi military bases caught fire after they were pounded.
Full Report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940701000777
---------
ISIS in Syria: Kobani stood up to the
jihadists and won - but it's still a city under siege
Sep 23, 2015
KOBANI: Syrian Kurdish fighters won the
greatest victory in Kurdish history in January when they defeated Isis -
"Islamic State" - in the battle for the city of Kobani on the
Syrian-Turkish border. One thousand YPG (People's Protection Unit) militiamen
and several times that number of Isis militants were killed in the
four-and-a-half month siege. Some 70 per cent of Kobani city was destroyed,
mostly by US air strikes that turned buildings held by Isis into fragments of
pulverised concrete.
Full Report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/ISIS-in-Syria-Kobani-stood-up-to-the-jihadists-and-won-but-its-still-a-city-under-siege/articleshow/49072154.cms
---------
Army Kills Tens of Terrorists in Aleppo
Countryside
Sep 23, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army pounded the
positions of the Takfiri terrorists in the countryside of Aleppo, killing tens
of militants and injuring dozens more over the past 24 hours.
At least 50 ISIL terrorists were killed in
the army's counter-attacks in different parts of Aleppo countryside.
The vehicles and military equipment of the
ISIL terrorists were also destroyed during the Syrian troops' raids on the
militants' hideouts in Aleppo.
Full Report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940701000696
-----------
Yemeni Forces Kill Six Saudi Troops in
Jizan
Wed Sep 23, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- Yemen's army and Ansarullah
fighters killed at least six Saudi troops in a mortar attack in the Persian
Gulf kingdom's Southwestern border region of Jizan.
Six military vehicles were also destroyed
in the retaliatory attack on Tuesday, according to the Yemeni Defense Ministry.
On Monday, a United Arab Emirates officer
died of injuries sustained in the Yemeni Province of Ma'rib.
The UAE officer died along with several
Saudi troops during clashes with Yemeni forces, al-Masirah reported on Monday.
Full Report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940701000286
---------
Two Saudi soldiers under Houthi captivity
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
RIYADH — Two Saudi soldiers who lost their
way inside Yemen are presumed to be in the hands of Houthi militia, according
to Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al-Asiri, spokesman of the coalition forces and adviser at
the office of the minister of defense.
“Two soldiers from the Saudi forces are
missing after they lost their way inside Yemeni territory and the evidence
points to them being alive and detained by the Houthi militias,” Asiri said in
a statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257497
---------
Pakistani pilgrim delivers baby boy in
Mina
September 23, 2015
MINA – A Pakistani pilgrim gave birth to a
baby boy in Mina on Tuesday, the first day of the annual pilgrimage of Haj. Dr.
Muhammad Malaibari, director of Mina Al-Wadi Hospital, said that the delivery
was normal and the mother and infant are in good health. This is the first
birth at the holy sites after pilgrims moved to the tent city. The baby was
named Muhammad Ali. The nursing director at the hospital said that the mother
is a diabetic and hence she has been given special medical care. Meanwhile,
father of the baby said that his wife experienced labor pain when they arrived
in Mina, and immediately they reached Mina Al-Wadi where she delivered the
baby. Expressing delight over the delivery of his wife at the holy site, he
thanked the hospital staff for their support.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257529
---------
Saudi families send domestic workers to
Haj as reward
September 23, 2015
RIYADH — A lot of Muslim migrant workers,
especially domestic labor, are keen on being employed in the Kingdom, to live
near the holy cities and get a chance to perform Haj. Female domestic workers
especially seize the opportunity of being in close proximity to Makkah and
Madinah as well as having the financial means to support their journey.
Good doers in our society treat
their domestic workers with compassion and generosity. Perhaps the
best reward any employer can give to a domestic worker is to financially
sponsor her Haj or at least cover a large portion of the expenses.
When employers facilitate this obligatory
deed Muslims have to fulfill, plenty of humanitarian stories mark this major
holy event, Al-Riyadh daily said.
Financial circumstances
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257494
----------
North America
Pakistan is a serious problem, US
Presidential Candidate Donald Trump says
By GHANIZADA - Wed Sep 23 2015
The Republican presidential candidate
Donald Trump has said Pakistan is a serious problem while pointing towards the
nuclear weapons of the country amid concerns it could become unstable in the
future.
Trump made the remarks during his
appearance on the radio talk show hosted by Hugh Hewitt on Monday.
In response to Pakistan’s huge stockpile
of nuclear warheads amid fragile security situation due to the presence of
militant groups that could led to instability, Trump said India should be
involved if Pakistan goes unstable.
Full Report at:
http://www.khaama.com/pakistan-is-a-serious-problem-us-presidential-candidate-donald-trump-says-1552
----------
U.S. Immigrants Get Supersized
May 12, 2011
Immigrants to the United States may be
packing on the pounds, in part, because of a desire to fit in with the citizens
of their new country, a new study suggests.
Immigrants and their children are known to
put on weight after moving to the United States, with some approaching levels
of obesity within 15 years.
While the abundance of junk food in the
American diet no doubt plays a role in their weight gain, immigrants and their
families may choose typical American dishes as a way to show that
they belong and to prove themselves as Americans, the new study finds.
"People who feel like they need to
prove they belong in a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit
in,” says researcher Sapna Cheryan, a psychologist at the University of
Washington.
Full Report at:
http://www.livescience.com/14143-supersized-immigrants.html
----------
Muslim Americans welcome first NY Eid
school holiday
September 23, 2015
NEW YORK: New York marks a milestone in
the fight for equality Thursday when 1.1 million children in America’s largest
school district will take the day off to mark Eid al-Adha.
It is a small but hard-won victory at a
time when American Muslims complain of growing Islamophobia and worsening
anti-Muslim rhetoric following the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
For the first time, more than 1,800 public
schools in New York will close for the Muslim feast of sacrifice, a day after
also closing for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the new
policy in March, announcing that New York public schools would get two days off
for Eid al-Fitr, which falls during the summer, and Eid al-Adha, in addition to
major Christian and Jewish holidays.
Since then, city hall has added a further
day off — February 8, 2016 — for Lunar New Year, celebrated by Asian-Americans.
Full Report at:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2015/09/23/muslim-americans-welcome-first-ny-eid-school-holiday/
----------
U.S. envoy for anti-Islamic State
coalition Allen to step down
23/09 00:54
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. special
envoy for countering the Islamic State militant group, retired General John
Allen, plans to step down for personal reasons, a U.S. official said on
Tuesday.
Allen, a retired U.S. Marine four star
general and a former commander of NATO and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, had
originally agreed to serve in the job for six months and has done it for a
year, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Full Report at:
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3072822-us-envoy-for-anti-islamic-state-coalition-allen-to-step-down/
----------
Meet Ahmed, the world's most
high-visibility schoolboy
Sep 23, 2015
When American teen Ahmed Mohamed woke up
to go to school last Monday, little did the tech-savvy 14-year-old know that he
would go from being arrested to becoming a social media hero within the span of
one week. Police officials detained and handcuffed Ahmed, after his school
teachers mistook the clock he made for a bomb and called him a terrorist. His
arrest raised pertinent questions on America's views on Islam, race and
ethnicity.
Full Report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Meet-Ahmed-the-worlds-most-high-visibility-schoolboy/articleshow/49073337.cms
----------
Mideast
One more Palestinian falls to Israeli
bullet
September 23, 2015
Relatives mourn over the body of
21-year-old Palestinian Dia Al-Talahmeh, at a hospital in the West Ban city of
Hebron on Tuesday. — AFP
Hebron, Palestine — A Palestinian died
during an Israeli army operation in the southern West Bank before dawn on
Tuesday, while troops shot a woman.
Both incidents occurred in the Hebron area
with tensions running high ahead of the Yom Kippur and Eid Al-Adha holidays and
after three days of clashes rocked occupied Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound
last week.
Palestinian security officials said Dia
Al-Talahmeh, 21, was shot dead by Israeli troops in the village of Dura near
Hebron.
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257439
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Iranian Leader Blames US, Allies for Pains
of Nations in Middle-East, Africa
Wed Sep 23, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a message to this year's
hajj pilgrims called on them to understand the real plights of the Muslims, and
took the US and its allies responsible for the ongoing painful events in the
Middle-East, Africa and Asia.
"Today, the evil policies of the US
in this region which have resulted in war, bloodshed, destruction and
displacement as well as poverty, backwardness and sectarian and religious
rifts, on one hand, and the Zionist regime's crimes whose usurper attitude has
reached the utmost degree of cruelty and filth and its repeated insult to the
sanctuary of al-Aqsa mosque and trampling the lives and properties of the
oppressed Palestinians, on the other hand, are the first problems of all of you
the Muslims about which you should think and understand your divine
responsibility," Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message on Wednesday.
Full Report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940701000561
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13 Turkish soldiers hurt in bomb attack
Wed Sep 23, 2015
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s state-run news agency
says 13 soldiers have been wounded by a bomb attack in the eastern province of
Van. The Anadolu Agency reported Tuesday that the improvised bomb was remotely
detonated by rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as a military
convoy was driving down the highway late Monday. The attack follows airstrikes
which the Turkish military says killed five Kurdish rebels in the neighboring
province of Hakkari. Violence between the PKK and Turkey’s military reignited
this summer after the collapse of peace talks between the two sides.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257444
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India
Muslim man launches petition demanding ban
on vegetables
Sep 23, 2015
Faisal said that vegetarians can easily
‘starve’ for a day as Muslims observe fast during the month of Ramzan. .
(Source:Express photo by Pavan Khengre)
A Muslim standup comedian from Bangalore
launched a petition on Change.org demanding a ban on vegetables this Bakr-Eid.
Falah Faisal, the man behind the petition,
wrote that with the meat ban being imposed by various state governments on the
occasion of the Jain fesvtival ‘Paryushana Parva’, vegetables should be banned
as they have “feelings” too.
“The Prophet was willing to sacrifice his
own son. I hope we all can give up eating vegetables for a day,” said Faisal.
Faisal said that vegetarians can easily
‘starve’ for a day as Muslims observe fast during the month of Ramzan. In this
sarcasm-laced petition, Faisal offers an alternative if his demand for
vegetable ban is not met.
“My alternative demand is that everyone in
the country, irrespective of their religious belief, partakes in the
consumption of mutton (biryani) on that day (Bakr-Eid),” said Faisal.
The petition has so far received just over
500 backers and is still 490 supporters away from achieving its goal.
http://indianexpress.com/article/trending/muslim-man-launches-petition-demanding-ban-on-vegetables/#sthash.7k4mYLvI.dpuf
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Beef ban means Eid worries for Indian
Muslims
Sep 23, 2015
Khalil Ansari, a 40-year-old small textile
trader in the dusty Indian town of Malegaon, says the approach of the Muslim
festival Eid-ul-Adha has filled him with worry.
The festival, which marks the climax of
the Hajj pilgrimage performed by millions, sees Muslims perform a sacrificial
slaughter -- which in India, is usually of cows -- but new laws have changed
the ritual for Ansari and other Muslims.
“For the first time in my life, I can’t
sacrifice bulls,” he tells Anadolu Agency before the Muslim festival, being
celebrated in India on Friday.
The western state of Maharashtra banned
the slaughter of bulls earlier this year when the right-wing nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in October 2014.
A ban on killing cows already existed but
had exempted bulls; the BJP expanded the ban and decided to enforce it more
strictly, making this coming Eid festival the first time in Maharashtra's
history that Muslims will not sacrifice cows.
Still exempted are water buffalo and
Ansari says he will have to reluctuantly turn to that option because of the
beef ban, which affects the 11.5 percent of Maharashtra's population that are
Muslim.
“The prices of goats are all-time high
because of the beef ban in the state,” Ansari says, complaining that the
government should not dictate what people eat. “India is a secular democracy
and the constitution guarantees personal liberty, which includes freedom to
choose diet.”
The beef ban has not just angered Muslims
but also Dalits, who suffer from a lower status in the old caste system, other
minorities and poor Hindu farmers who breed cattle.
Muslim politicians have called for a
relaxation of the law but without success and the Bombay High Court, the
state's top court, rejected petitions this week to ease the law for Eid.
“No such temporary relief is possible
under the beef ban legislation,” Afroze Siddiqui, a lawyer involved in
petitioning the high court, tells Anadolu Agency. “There is no provision of
temporary relaxation of the ban in the legislation.”
“Some politicians are trying to mislead
Muslims,” Siddiqui says, adding that bulls can only be sacrificed if the high
court or India's Supreme Court declare the legislation unconstitutional.
He notes that it will take time for the
courts to settle on the sensitive issue.
“Some petitioners are merely challenging
the legislation on the basis of what they call the ‘right to eat by choice’,”
Siddiqui says, adding that others contest the constitutionality of the entire
legislation.
There is no federal law forbidding
cow-slaughter in India, but most Indian states have state laws prohibiting the
practice. Some religious Hindus, for whom cows are sacred, are opposed to the
slaughter of the animals.
Neighbouring Goa state has refused to impose
the ban and some other parts of India have eased the restriction for Eid. The
most controversial imposition has been in Jammu & Kashmir, the disputed
region that is the only Muslim-majority state in India, which was this month
given a high court order to strictly enforce an existing ban.
Malegaon, 100 miles north of Mumbai, has a
population of about 700,000, of which at least 70 percent are Muslim.
The textile town, where 100 bulls used to
be slaughtered every day before the ban, is coming to terms with the new
reality. The most obvious alternative is water buffalo, which make a quarter of
meat sold as beef in the state, but its meat is not popular.
“We don’t have any other choice except to
sell the buffaloes,” Saleem Shaikh, a seasonal cattle trader in Malegaon, told
Anadolu Agency.
“Not many would be willing to opt for
goats because of the price,” he said. “I used to sell 400 bulls every year on
Eid. This time, I am expecting to sell only 50 buffaloes.”
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/164535/beef-ban-means-eid-worries-for-indian-muslims
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Three Pakistan boys held in Jaisalmer, to
be sent back home
23 Sep, 2015
JAISALMER: Three Pakistani boys, who were
held by BSF near the border here in Rajasthan after they crossed into the
Indian Territory, will be sent back to their country by tomorrow, an official
said today.
"Pakistan rangers have been informed
about the matter and they (boys) would be sent back today or tomorrow depending
upon the meeting with them," BSF IG B R Meghwal told PTI today.
The boys identified themselves as Salim,
Sajan and Saaval and said they trespassed the border.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49074408.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
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Pakistan wants India to send back teenager
languishing in Gujarat jail
Sep 23, 2015,
NEW DELHI: While it is still not clear if
there will be any formal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at the United Nations general assembly next
week, Islamabad is awaiting a "positive signal" from India with
regards to repatriation of a 13-year-old son of a Pakistani fisherman
languishing in a Gujarat jail.
Pakistan has officially confirmed the nationality of Ghulam
Hussain Cheero, described by Islamabad as a teenager fisherman whose father was
released from an Indian jail a few months ago.
Pakistan has sought from MEA immediate
repatriation of Ghulam Hussain.
"PM Modi in response to the release
of 163 Indian fishermen had promised that India will release Pakistani
fishermen before Eid-ul-Fitr. Now it's Eid-ul-Adha. Our fishermen are rotting
in the Indian jails despite assurances from the highest office of India," said a Pakistani official.
Reports from New York said on Tuesday that
the two prime ministers could have a "handshake meeting", staying as
they are in the same hotel. MEA sources said it wasn't possible to confirm or
rule out anything at this stage.
Sharif will address the general debate of
the general assembly on September 30. "He will articulate the government's
vision of a peaceful neighbourhood and economic development, and share with the
world community, Pakistan's position and priorities on key international and
regional issues," said Pakistan in a statement.
Sharif will also participate in a high-level
roundtable on South-South Cooperation, and the global leaders' meeting on
Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, being hosted by President Xi Jinping
of China.
While Pakistan said Sharif will also hold
bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the session,
sources said there was still no proposal for a meeting with PM Modi.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pakistan-wants-India-to-send-back-teenager-languishing-in-Gujarat-jail/articleshow/49064839.cms
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Europe
EU ministers approve plan to redistribute
migrants
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
By James Kanter NEW YORK TIMES
BRUSSELS — European Union ministers
approved a plan Tuesday that would compel member countries to take in 120,000
migrants seeking refuge on the Continent — but only after overruling four
countries in Central Europe.
The plan to apportion the migrants, still
only a small fraction of those flowing into Europe, was approved by home
affairs and interior ministers of the member countries after a vigorous debate.
In a departure from normal procedures that
emphasize consensus, particularly on questions of national sovereignty, the
ministers took a formal vote. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and
Slovakia voted no. Finland abstained.
The plan will be discussed further
Wednesday by leaders from across the 28-member bloc, who will gather here for
an emergency summit meeting. It is not clear whether the dissenting countries,
which have vigorously opposed mandatory quotas, will comply.
Full Report at:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2015/09/22/ministers-approve-plan-distribute-refugees/vLmNpxVc26pqebYy2YGpwL/story.html
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Hungarian Muslims open doors for refugees
23 September 2015
Reflecting less than 1 percent of the
population of Hungary being Muslim, the hostility towards minorities has flared
in the wake of recent refugee arrivals, streaming in escaping war from the
Middle East and Africa, according to a report in the The Washington Post.
And with the Hungarian Prime
Minister, Viktor Orban, openingly declaring that he refused to accept newcomers
by ordering the army to construct a fence because “we do not want a large
number of Muslims in our country.” has made a difficult situation even more so
impossible.
Full Report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/164531/hungarian-muslims-open-doors-for-refugees
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Assad receives new warplanes from Russia
Wed Sep 23, 2015
Damascus — Damascus has received new
warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft from Moscow, a Syrian military source
said on Tuesday.
“Our air force has taken delivery of at
least five fighter planes from Moscow as well as reconnaissance aircraft which
allow us to identify targets with great accuracy,” the senior official said on
condition of anonymity.
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257443
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Refugee crisis: EU ministers agree quotas
- as UN says even its best offer is not enough
Sep 23, 2015,
EU ministers have forced through a
resolution setting out where refugees will be rehomed across the bloc, amid UN
criticism that even its best offer is not enough.
Europe has committed in principle to
redistributing 120,000 people across the 28-nation bloc - but fallen down when
it comes to working out the practical details.
Interior ministers from each country met
in Brussels to try and reach a consensus on a quota system.
But those efforts appear to have failed,
leaving EU member states to force through a majority vote against the wishes of
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, while Finland abstained.
Full Report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Refugee-crisis-EU-ministers-agree-quotas-as-UN-says-even-its-best-offer-is-not-enough/articleshow/49070101.cms
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Southeast Asia
Liars, graft make Hudud impossible here,
says Muslim
BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH
23 September 2015
Malaysia is not ready for the
implementation of hudud law, an international activist said, as the country has
not achieved the level of “righteousness” needed to practise it.
International Human Rights Committee (HRC)
chairman Sir Dr Iftikhar Ahmad Ayaz said after a forum last night that
Malaysia’s common practice of “rampant corruption” and “practice of falsehood”
showed that Hudud, or the Islamic penal code, would not be implemented properly
if it was made law in the country.
“Malaysia is not ready as the society does
not comply with the conditions set in the Quran. Malaysia is rampant on
corruption and falsehood is a common practice.
Iftikhar, who is an Ahmadiyya Muslim, said
Shariah-based hudud law could only be implemented in Malaysia if the Muslims
built up their society.
Full Report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/liars-graft-make-hudud-impossible-here-says-muslim-activist#sthash.zSQmD6yy.dpuf
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Muslimarket.com aims to provide the
complete Islamic package
SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
THE online retail space in Indonesia has
certainly seen its share of new players in the past few years, and
Muslimarket.com is no exception – except, perhaps, in a lot of the details,
including its intention to comply with Sharia or Islamic law.
The online marketplace was founded by
former finance professional Riel Tasmaya in June this year, ahead of the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadhan and the festive season of Eid Mubarak (or Hari Raya
Puasa in Malaysia).
Full Report at:
https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/startups/muslimarketcom-aims-to-provide-the-complete-islamic-package
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Weak rupiah hits pilgrimage plans of
thousands of Indonesians
23 Sep 2015
JAKARTA: It's the time of year when
Jakarta's international airport is packed with Muslim pilgrims waiting for
flights to the holy city of Mecca.
The bustle belies something different
about the Haj pilgrimage this year from Indonesia, which has more than 200
million Muslims, the world's biggest community.
Indonesia gets the largest annual Haj quota
from Saudi Arabia - 168,000 places - and stiff competition guarantees all will
be filled. But this year, about 3,500 Indonesians relinquished places and
postponed their trip, chiefly because of the rupiah's dive to 17-year lows
against the dollar.
Full Report at:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/weak-rupiah-hits-pilgrima/2145146.html
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Africa
Million fewer tourists visit Tunisia after
terror attacks
Wed Sep 23, 2015
TUNIS — The number of foreign tourists
visiting Tunisia dropped by about a million in the first eight months of the
year to four million after two Islamist militant attacks, the tourism minister
said on Monday.
Thirty-eight people were killed by a
gunman at a hotel in Sousse on the Mediterranean coast in June; three months
after 21 tourists were killed by gunmen attacking the Bardo National Museum in
the capital Tunis.
The Daesh militant group claimed the two
worst attacks in the North African country’s history.
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257442
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UN envoy presents final peace deal to
Libyan rivals
Wed Sep 23, 2015
SKHIRAT, Morocco — The UN envoy to Libya
has presented the country’s warring factions a final draft of a peace deal and
urged all parties to accept it.
After emerging from talks late Monday in
Morocco, Bernardino Leon told reporters that “we finished our work. ... Now it
is up to the parties, up to the participants in this dialogue to react to this
text.”
The participants are expected to resume
talks after Eid Al-Adha to discuss who could be prime minister for a unity
government, and decide whether to sign on to the accord.
Libya is divided between an
Islamist-backed government in Tripoli and an internationally recognized
leadership based in the east. Leon has led several rounds of peace talks aimed
at ending the country’s chaos.
Full Report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150923257440
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