Bihar: Muslim Journalist Forced To Say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ To Stop Saffron-Clad Mob from Torching His Car
New Age Islam News Bureau
2
Jul 2017
Photo: The picture, shared widely on social media, shows a train, car, plane and a mosque, all with symbols depicting loud sound, next to a man grimacing and shutting his ears. Image tweeted by @zulqarnainrhs
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• Textbook Sparks Row over Mosque Depicted As Noise Pollutant
• Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Salahuddin Rejects US Ban, Vows to Fight On
• ISIL Arrests Senior Member on Charges of Disclosing News about Baghdadi's Death
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India
• Bihar: Muslim Journalist Forced To Say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ To Stop Saffron-Clad Mob from Torching His Car
• Textbook Sparks Row over Mosque Depicted As Noise Pollutant
• ‘5 from Kerala Fighting For IS Killed In Syria’
• Stop Sending Terrorists to Our Peaceful Land: PoK Leaders to Pakistan PM, Army
• Hindu-Muslim Riots, Caste-Based Conflicts Should Not Be Part of Curriculum: ICSSR Chief
• Pakistan denies India consular access to Jadhav again
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Pakistan
• Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Salahuddin Rejects US Ban, Vows to Fight On
• Parachinar Blast: Shia Community Protests against 'Targeted Killings' In Pakistan
• Ayatollah Khamenei ideas helpful for Muslim unity: Pak army chief
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Arab World
• ISIL Arrests Senior Member on Charges of Disclosing News about Baghdadi's Death
• Unesco Experts: Hebron Heritage Request Too Focused On Muslim History
• Islamic State Gunfires, Bombs Kill 28 Civilians in Mosul’s Old City
• Three car bombs hit Damascus, seven people killed
• Syrian Soldiers Inch Closer to ISIL-Held Deir Ezzur
• Iran's Top Security Official: Liberation of Mosul Indicates Uselessness of Petrodollars
• Syrian Army, Hezbollah, Russian Soldiers Resume Operation in Eastern Homs
• Israel Targets Syrian Army Positions Following Terrorists' Heavy Defeat in Al-Ba'ath
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Europe
• The High Street Being Transformed Into A Vegan Mecca
• Hate charges over 'pork mosque attack' in Sherwood
• Putin talks to Qatar, Bahrain leaders on Gulf row
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South Asia
• Taliban Storms Mosque in Afghanistan, Killing 13 People
• Major Taliban offensive repulsed in the strategic Kunduz province
• Ghazni Police Chief General Amarkhel resigns
• Ghani insists on ‘reconciliation first with Pakistan’ to bring peace in Afghanistan
• New coalition members should resign from govt: Senate chairman
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Mideast
• Qatar Says Arab Demands 'Made To Be Rejected'
• Iran Defending Its Security In Chaotic Region: Islamic Media Official
• Iranian city hosts Muslim media event
• Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre calls on Abu Dhabi community to participate in latest Hajj exhibition
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Southeast Asia
• Snipers, bombs, mortars: Philippine troops battle against Islamists
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Africa
• Al Qaeda releases hostage video as Macron attends Mali anti-jihad meeting
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Australia
• The hardline Muslim map of Sydney: How five radical Islamic preachers live within just 9km of each other - and two of them are neighbours
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North America
• Amnesty International: US Muslim ban dangerous, discriminatory
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bihar-muslim-journalist-forced-say/d/111743
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Bihar: Muslim journalist forced to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to stop saffron-clad mob from torching his car
In an account for the BBC, NDTV’s Munne Bharti said suspected Bajrang Dal members targeted his family as they were wearing attire indicative of their community.
Bihar: Muslim journalist forced to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to stop saffron-clad mob from torching his car
A Muslim man and his family were forced to say “Jai Shri Ram” by a group of members they believe belonged to the Bajrang Dal in Bihar after they threatened to set the family’s car on fire if they did not oblige, reported BBC. The incident took place on June 28.
Munne Bharti, a journalist with NDTV, was traveling with his parents, wife and two children from Karneji village in Vaishali district of Bihar to Raheemabad village in Samastipur. On reaching the Muzaffarpur National Highway 28, the man noticed a major jam near the toll booth. He noticed a truck, parked in the middle of the highway, blocking the path of the commuters. When he asked a passerby about the reason for the jam, the youth warned him to go back, saying their car would be set on fire by members of the Bajrang Dal.
Scared about the safety of his family, the man started to turn his car when he noticed four to five people dressed in saffron clothes, armed with bamboo sticks, walking towards his car. The men peeped inside the car, noticed his bearded father and veiled wife, and started chanting Jai Shri Ram and thumping their sticks on the ground. The men then shouted “Say Jai Shri Ram or we will burn you down”.
The man said he and his family, scared for their lives, chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and were allowed to leave the spot by the purported Bajrang Dal members. The man later took to Twitter to inform Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about the incident.
Vitriolic climate
On Saturday, President Pranab Mukherjee had raised the matter of the spate in violent lynchings across the country, which have largely targeted Muslims. “We should ponder about this country when we see someone being lynched,” Mukherjee had said during his address in a reference to the number of cow-related atrocities across the country. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has been criticised for doing very little to curb the increasing number of such incidents across the country.
On Thursday, Modi had, after remaining silent on the matter for months, condemned the killings in the name of cow worship. His comments were followed by that of Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said that some people are “spreading negative influence in the name of religion”.
On June 28, thousands of citizens across the country took to the streets to protest against the recent lynching of Muslims and other incidents of communal and caste-based violence. The latest in this string of incidents is the killing of a young Muslim boy aboard a local train to Ballabhgarh, Haryana, on June 22. Junaid was travelling home after Eid shopping in Delhi with some friends and relatives. A group of men made communal remarks about him and his companions after they refused to give up their seats for them. The men then assaulted them, and Junaid died as a result of the injuries he had sustained.
scroll.in/bulletins/63/ignoring-nutrition-can-undo-months-of-marathon-training
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Textbook Sparks Row over Mosque Depicted As Noise Pollutant
Press Trust of India, New Delhi, Jul 2 2017
An image in a class VI textbook taught in ICSE schools showing a "mosque" as a source of noise pollution has sparked outrage on social media, prompting an apology from the publisher and the promise that the picture would be removed in subsequent editions.
The science textbook, published by Selina Publishers, has a chapter on the causes of noise pollution.
The picture, shared widely on social media, shows a train, car, plane and a mosque, all with symbols depicting loud sound, next to a man grimacing and shutting his ears.
Netizens have now launched an online petition demanding the book be withdrawn. While ICSE board officials were not available for comment, the publisher has apologised for the image.
"This is to inform all concerned that we will be changing the picture in subsequent editions of the book," publisher Hemant Gupta said on social media sites.
Gupta said the diagram on page 202 of its publication, Integrated Science, consisted of "a structure resembling a portion of a fort and other noise producing objects in a noisy city". "We do apologise if it has hurt the sentiments of anyone," he said.
Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam had stoked a controversy in April this year when he said he was woken up by the sound of "azaan" -- early morning calls for prayers from mosques -- amplified by loudspeakers.
There have been several incidents of controversial content being found in school textbooks in recent months.
Excerpts from a class XII Physical Education textbook taught in some CBSE schools had kicked up a furore for defining a figure measurement of 36-24-36 as the "best body shape for females".
A class IV environmental science textbook that suggested killing a kitten as part of an experiment went viral on social media, forcing the publisher to withdraw it from the market earlier this year.
deccanherald.com/content/620452/textbook-sparks-row-over-mosque.html
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Hizbul Mujahideen chief Salahuddin rejects US ban, vows to fight on
Omer Farooq Khan | TNN | Jul 2, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Denouncing the 'global terrorist' tag slapped on him by the United States, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin on Saturday vowed to continue his fight in Kashmir until the "liberation" of the Himalyan region from Indian control.
"This fight will not end without liberating Kashmir from illegal Indian occupation," Salahuddin, 70, told a news conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, amid tight security.
The US State Department declared Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-backed alliance of anti-Indian Kashmiri militant groups, a specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington.
The militant leader, surrounded by gun-wielding bodyguards, said the declaration was a joint move by the US, Israel, and India to express their animosity towards Pakistan.
Rejecting the US declaration of his special terrorist status, Salahuddin called the decision stupid and idiotic. "Trump's decision will be thrown out if anyone challenges it in US courts. No other Western nation has endorsed what this crazy Donald Trump has done," he remarked.
"The US cannot provide a single example to prove that I or other Kashmiri fighters committed any act of terrorism," he said. "Kashmiri freedom fighters have a declared code of conduct to not harm minorities, the elderly, children and women, and if sometimes the enemy offers a peace deal, we accept it."
"There are examples when we avoided killing Indian soldiers who had surrendered before Kashmiri freedom fighters. Instead we sent them back home with travel allowances during the 1990s," he maintained.
He claimed that his fighters have the capability to strike inside the Indian territory. "We don't do it because that would provide New Delhi an opportunity to malign the freedom struggle of mujahideen," he said.
He alleged that the Islamic State (IS) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) responsible for terrorist attacks in Pakistan were backed by India, Israel and the US to weaken Pakistan. "We condemn all actions of the IS and TTP. They are both agents of Trump, Modi and Israel," he added.
Salahuddin called on the United Nations to implement its resolutions and give Kashmir's people the right to vote on independence or merging with Pakistan. He said Hizbul Mujahideen may consider peace talks with India if Russia or China can guarantee that such talks would produce results.
He later led a rally in the city and praised Pakistan for its continued support in Kashmir.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/us-terror-tag-on-me-idiotic-salahuddin/articleshow/59406970.cms
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ISIL Arrests Senior Member on Charges of Disclosing News about Baghdadi's Death
TEHRAN (FNA)- ISIL has arrested a senior aide for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group's ring leader, on charges of his implied reference to al-Baghdadi's death, a local source confirmed.
The source said that ISIL terrorists stormed the house of Friday Prayers leader in the town of Tal Afar Abu Qatibeh and arrested him over his remarks about the fate of al-Baghdadi on Friday.
"ISIL members laid siege on the house of Abu Qatibeh, who is a close friend to al-Baghdadi, and arrested him. Abu Qatibeh did not resist against arrest," the source said.
"Abu Qatibeh's arrest was done one day after he implied al-Baghdadi's death, causing vast arguments among ISIL members about their leader's fate," the source went on to say.
The source went on to say that the ISIL has kept mum on the fate of Baghdadi and it has not thus far rejected his death in an airstrike in Syria a few weeks ago, adding that ISIL's silence about the death of al-Baghdadi is perhaps related to the decision about his successor.
Local sources in Nineveh province in Northwestern Iraq reported on Saturday that a close friend of and an aide to ISIL Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi indirectly confirmed death of the terrorist group's ring leader.
The Arabic-language al-Sumeriyeh news quoted the local sources as saying that Abu Qatibeh, a very close aide and friend to al-Baghdadi, cried and made repeated mistakes while doing a Friday prayers sermon in the town of Tal Afar West of Mosul city.
The sources who requested anonymity said that Baghdadi's death was very likely, adding that Abu Qatibeh started suddenly crying while talking about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The sources said then Abu Qatibeh went silence for a while, and then he read several verses of the holy Quran and made several mistakes in his sermon.
Al-Sumeriyeh went on to say that the Friday Prayers leader did not directly point to the death of al-Baghdadi but the sermon of Abu Qatibeh that had special position in the ISIL terrorist organization could be considered as an early pointing to al-Baghdadi's death.
The sources told al-Sumeriyeh that news about Abu Qatibeh's sermon spread across Tal Afar.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000385
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India
Bihar: Muslim journalist forced to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to stop saffron-clad mob from torching his car
In an account for the BBC, NDTV’s Munne Bharti said suspected Bajrang Dal members targeted his family as they were wearing attire indicative of their community.
Bihar: Muslim journalist forced to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to stop saffron-clad mob from torching his car
A Muslim man and his family were forced to say “Jai Shri Ram” by a group of members they believe belonged to the Bajrang Dal in Bihar after they threatened to set the family’s car on fire if they did not oblige, reported BBC. The incident took place on June 28.
Munne Bharti, a journalist with NDTV, was traveling with his parents, wife and two children from Karneji village in Vaishali district of Bihar to Raheemabad village in Samastipur. On reaching the Muzaffarpur National Highway 28, the man noticed a major jam near the toll booth. He noticed a truck, parked in the middle of the highway, blocking the path of the commuters. When he asked a passerby about the reason for the jam, the youth warned him to go back, saying their car would be set on fire by members of the Bajrang Dal.
Scared about the safety of his family, the man started to turn his car when he noticed four to five people dressed in saffron clothes, armed with bamboo sticks, walking towards his car. The men peeped inside the car, noticed his bearded father and veiled wife, and started chanting Jai Shri Ram and thumping their sticks on the ground. The men then shouted “Say Jai Shri Ram or we will burn you down”.
The man said he and his family, scared for their lives, chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and were allowed to leave the spot by the purported Bajrang Dal members. The man later took to Twitter to inform Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar about the incident.
Vitriolic climate
On Saturday, President Pranab Mukherjee had raised the matter of the spate in violent lynchings across the country, which have largely targeted Muslims. “We should ponder about this country when we see someone being lynched,” Mukherjee had said during his address in a reference to the number of cow-related atrocities across the country. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has been criticised for doing very little to curb the increasing number of such incidents across the country.
On Thursday, Modi had, after remaining silent on the matter for months, condemned the killings in the name of cow worship. His comments were followed by that of Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who said that some people are “spreading negative influence in the name of religion”.
On June 28, thousands of citizens across the country took to the streets to protest against the recent lynching of Muslims and other incidents of communal and caste-based violence. The latest in this string of incidents is the killing of a young Muslim boy aboard a local train to Ballabhgarh, Haryana, on June 22. Junaid was travelling home after Eid shopping in Delhi with some friends and relatives. A group of men made communal remarks about him and his companions after they refused to give up their seats for them. The men then assaulted them, and Junaid died as a result of the injuries he had sustained.
scroll.in/bulletins/63/ignoring-nutrition-can-undo-months-of-marathon-training
-----------
Textbook Sparks Row over Mosque Depicted As Noise Pollutant
Press Trust of India, New Delhi, Jul 2 2017
An image in a class VI textbook taught in ICSE schools showing a "mosque" as a source of noise pollution has sparked outrage on social media, prompting an apology from the publisher and the promise that the picture would be removed in subsequent editions. The science textbook, published by Selina Publishers, has a chapter on the causes of noise pollution.
The picture, shared widely on social media, shows a train, car, plane and a mosque, all with symbols depicting loud sound, next to a man grimacing and shutting his ears.
Netizens have now launched an online petition demanding the book be withdrawn. While ICSE board officials were not available for comment, the publisher has apologised for the image.
"This is to inform all concerned that we will be changing the picture in subsequent editions of the book," publisher Hemant Gupta said on social media sites.
Gupta said the diagram on page 202 of its publication, Integrated Science, consisted of "a structure resembling a portion of a fort and other noise producing objects in a noisy city". "We do apologise if it has hurt the sentiments of anyone," he said.
Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam had stoked a controversy in April this year when he said he was woken up by the sound of "azaan" -- early morning calls for prayers from mosques -- amplified by loudspeakers.
There have been several incidents of controversial content being found in school textbooks in recent months.
Excerpts from a class XII Physical Education textbook taught in some CBSE schools had kicked up a furore for defining a figure measurement of 36-24-36 as the "best body shape for females".
A class IV environmental science textbook that suggested killing a kitten as part of an experiment went viral on social media, forcing the publisher to withdraw it from the market earlier this year.
deccanherald.com/content/620452/textbook-sparks-row-over-mosque.html
-----------
‘5 from Kerala fighting for IS killed in Syria’
Prashanth M P | TNN | Jul 2, 2017
KOZHIKODE: Intelligence agencies have found out that at least five Malayalis from Kerala's Malabar region have been killed while fighting for the Islamic State in Syria in the past four months. With this the number of Malayalis killed in the IS stronghold has risen to 10.
Information on the death of Sibi from Kanjikkode in Palakkad reached his relatives two days ago. Further details of Sibi, who was working in Bahrain, is not immediately available. It is suspected that he had links with Yahya alias Esa, who left to join the IS in July last year.
Another person killed in Aleppo in Syria is Muhadis, hailing from Vandoor in Malappuram district. His family was shifted to Vaniyambalam around five years ago. Sources told TOI that his brother Manaf, who was working in Bahrain, came to Malappuram one month ago to tell the family about the death of Muhadis. It is suspected that he was killed in the military operations in Aleppo in last February.
Local residents in Vaniyambalam do not know much about Muhadis and his family. "He appeared to be very silent and well-mannered. We didn't know about his terror links or any other organizational links," said a person from the locality.
A person hailing from Chalad in Kannur is also suspected to be killed in Syria. Two more people, one from Vadakara in Kozhikode district and another from Kondotty in Malappuram district, are also believed to have been killed in Syria. All these people are branded as 'Bahrain group' in the police circles.
Hafisudeen, Murshid and Yahya from Padne in Kasaragod district and Shajeer Mangalassery Abdulla have been killed in Nangarhar in Afghanistan in the last two months. Abu Thahir from Palakkad, who joined the Jabahat al-Nusra, an ally of the IS, was killed in Syria last month.
Sources said that the group which joined the IS in Syria, unlike the 21-member group in Afghanistan, were the frontline soldiers of the terror organization. "The Syrian group was engaged in actual fighting while the group in Afghanistan was helping the jihadis in various capacities. The members of the Afghan group got killed in the surprise attack by the US forces," they said.
The Afghan group is mainly engaged in propagating the IS ideology among the potential recruits among Malayalis through social media. Abdul Rasheed, a member of Afghan group, had released around 30 audio clips from the strongholds through 'Message to Kerala', a WhatsApp group created by him.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/5-from-kerala-fighting-for-is-killed-in-syria/articleshow/59406057.cms
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Stop sending terrorists to our peaceful land: PoK leaders to Pakistan PM, Army
Updated: Jul 02, 2017
Stop sending terrorists to our peaceful land: PoK leaders to Pakistan PM, Army
Hajira [PoK], July 2 (ANI): Locals in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have launched a massive agitation against political and military leadership of Pakistan, for trying to convert PoK into a terror factory by creating terror camps.
Residents of Hajira in PoK are demanding freedom from Pakistan and have accused the civilian leadership of Pakistan and Army of nurturing terrorism in their territory by giving safe havens to them.
Pressure on Pakistan has been building up but civilian leadership in Islamabad is indifferent and continues to support and oil terror machinery in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
The protests are likely to intensify in the coming days as according to reports there are estimated 50 terrorist training camps still operating in the region, most of these camps belong to banned outfits like Lashkar -e -Toiba , Lashkar -e- Jhangvi and even ISIS.
These camps are backed and aided by Pakistan military and Inter Service intelligence. Militants trained here are sent to Kashmir, Afghanistan and even Europe.
Meanwhile, the international community has accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists and most of the terror groups are located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"We urge Pakistan Army and Prime Minister with folded hands to not to send terrorists here. People of all religions co-exist here in this land of peace. Bomb blasts are taking place inside religious places, mosques, places where Hindus and Shias worship," said Liaqat Hayat Khan, senior leader JKNAP.
"Such is a scenario that whoever resists forces of terrorism becomes a victim himself, they are either abducted or killed. People from Mirpur to Hajira are being abducted, they are missing, they label and frame people as anti nationals. I must say this is a land of Kashmir, if there is any infidel here, they are Pakistanis. All acts of terrorism in Pakistan are perpetrated by B team of Pakistan army" says a local resident.
Recently on June 26 U.S. Department of State has designated Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as (AKA) Syed Salahuddin, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons who have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. (ANI)
aninews.in/newsdetail-NA/MzIyNjAx/stop-sending-terrorists-to-our-peaceful-land-pok-leaders-to-pakistan-pm-army.html
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Hindu-Muslim riots, caste-based conflicts should not be part of curriculum: ICSSR chief
Sun, 2 Jul 2017
Textbooks today are aimed at creating "activists" and not educating students, and subjects such as Hindu-Muslim riots and caste-based conflicts should not be part of school curriculum, according to newly appointed ICSSR Chief Braj Bihari Kumar.
Kumar, an anthropologist who took over as the head of the apex body promoting research in social sciences last month, also believes that universities like JNU are becoming a "nurturing ground" for activists.
The 76-year-old Kumar also believes that caste-based conflicts and intolerance in the country are "fringe" phenomena and should not be seen as a reflection of the Indian society.
"Textbooks are not meant for making students activists but for educating them. Unfortunately the books are driven by an agenda today and there is a need for a curriculum rehaul.
Subjects like Hindu-Muslim riots and caste-based conflicts should not form basis of students' mindset and their grooming," Kumar told
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
dnaindia.com/india/report-hindu-muslim-riots-caste-based-conflicts-should-not-be-part-2490029
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Pakistan denies India consular access to Jadhav again
Sun, 2 Jul 2017
Pakistan on Sunday denied India consular access to convicted spy Kulbhushan Jadhav who was sentenced to death by a military tribunal in Pakistan on charges of espionage and terrorism earlier this year.
A day earlier, as Pakistan and India exchanged lists of prisoners under the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, with India reiterating its commitment "to addressing on priority all humanitarian matters with Pakistan", the Indian Ministry of External Affairs renewed its demand for consular access to Jadhav.
India called on the Pakistani government for the "early release and repatriation of Indian prisoners, missing Indian defence personnel and fishermen along with their boats whose nationality has been confirmed by India".
The Foreign Office (FO), however, rejected New Delhi's demand for consular access to Jadhav, stating the equating the case of the Indian spy to civilian prisoners was a "travesty of logic".
Considering Jadhav an ordinary prisoner is an Indian attempt to deny facts, the FO said.
"Commander Jadhav is a serving Indian Naval officer and sent to Pakistan by its intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for espionage, terrorism and subversive activities which resulted in loss of many innocent lives and damage to property."
The FO added that five Indian nationals who had completed their sentences were repatriated on June 22, but 20 Pakistani civilian prisoners who had completed their sentences in India were still awaiting repatriation, whereas consular access to 107 Pakistani fishermen and 85 civilian Pakistani prisoners is also pending.
The FO also noted that two boys, Ali Raza and Babar Ali, who had crossed the border into Indian territory "inadvertently" had been repatriated after a year's delay.
"Pakistan has implemented the bilateral consular agreement in letter and spirit and is committed to ensuring that humanitarian cases are not held hostage to politics. We expect India to reciprocate through action rather then rhetoric," the FO said.
Progress on the release of prisoners has been impeded due to tense relations between the two countries, with the release of civilian prisoners and fishermen taking longer periods even after they have completed their sentences.
A joint judicial commission for addressing the issues of fishermen and other prisoners has been inactive since October 2013, when the Pakistani officials of the commission visited Indian jails.
India has petitioned the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for consular access to Jadhav, a RAW agent who was convicted and sentenced to death by a military tribunal on charges of espionage and terrorism.
The ICJ has stayed Jadhav’s execution pending its final verdict in the case.
dawn.com/news/1342764/pakistan-denies-india-consular-access-to-jadhav-again
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Pakistan
Hizbul Mujahideen chief Salahuddin rejects US ban, vows to fight on
Omer Farooq Khan | TNN | Jul 2, 2017
ISLAMABAD: Denouncing the 'global terrorist' tag slapped on him by the United States, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin on Saturday vowed to continue his fight in Kashmir until the "liberation" of the Himalyan region from Indian control.
"This fight will not end without liberating Kashmir from illegal Indian occupation," Salahuddin, 70, told a news conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, amid tight security.
The US State Department declared Salahuddin, who also heads the United Jihad Council, a Pakistan-backed alliance of anti-Indian Kashmiri militant groups, a specially designated global terrorist (SDGT) on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington.
The militant leader, surrounded by gun-wielding bodyguards, said the declaration was a joint move by the US, Israel, and India to express their animosity towards Pakistan.
Rejecting the US declaration of his special terrorist status, Salahuddin called the decision stupid and idiotic. "Trump's decision will be thrown out if anyone challenges it in US courts. No other Western nation has endorsed what this crazy Donald Trump has done," he remarked.
"The US cannot provide a single example to prove that I or other Kashmiri fighters committed any act of terrorism," he said. "Kashmiri freedom fighters have a declared code of conduct to not harm minorities, the elderly, children and women, and if sometimes the enemy offers a peace deal, we accept it."
"There are examples when we avoided killing Indian soldiers who had surrendered before Kashmiri freedom fighters. Instead we sent them back home with travel allowances during the 1990s," he maintained.
He claimed that his fighters have the capability to strike inside the Indian territory. "We don't do it because that would provide New Delhi an opportunity to malign the freedom struggle of mujahideen," he said.
He alleged that the Islamic State (IS) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) responsible for terrorist attacks in Pakistan were backed by India, Israel and the US to weaken Pakistan. "We condemn all actions of the IS and TTP. They are both agents of Trump, Modi and Israel," he added.
Salahuddin called on the United Nations to implement its resolutions and give Kashmir's people the right to vote on independence or merging with Pakistan. He said Hizbul Mujahideen may consider peace talks with India if Russia or China can guarantee that such talks would produce results.
He later led a rally in the city and praised Pakistan for its continued support in Kashmir.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/us-terror-tag-on-me-idiotic-salahuddin/articleshow/59406970.cms
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Parachinar blast: Shia community protests against 'targeted killings' in Pakistan
Updated: Jul 02, 2017
Gilgit [Pakistan], July. 2 (ANI): With the death toll in the deadly Parachinar blast crossing 70, the Shia community in Gilgit carried out protests against the Pakistan Government, saying that targeted killings of Shias are being carried out.
Parachinar, which holds a majority of the Shia community, witnessed carnage last week when twin bombs ripped through a crowded market ahead of the Eid celebrations.
At least 75 people were killed and more than 300 injured in two subsequent blasts that rocked a densely populated area of Parachinar. The blasts took place three minutes from each other.
The first blast took place at Turi Market while the second explosion occurred when rescuers and bystanders rushed to help the survivors of the first blast, reports the Express Tribune.
Kurram is the only Shia Muslim region in a predominantly Sunni country. Sunni hardliners, currently operating through different Taliban factions including the Islamic State group, consider them heretics and have often targeted them.
In a deadly bombing in March this year, a blast outside an imambargah located in a busy Parachinar market claimed the lives of 24 people and left 90 others injured.
Shias make up about one third of Pakistan's population of nearly 200 million. (ANI)
aninews.in/newsdetail-NA/MzIyNTg0/parachinar-blast-shia-community-protests-against-039-targeted-killings-039-in-pakistan.html
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Ayatollah Khamenei ideas helpful for Muslim unity: Pak army chief
Islamabad, July 2, IRNA –Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is looking for stronger unity in the Muslim World and his thoughts and ideas are helpful for unity of Muslim Ummah, Pakistan’s army chief has been quoted as saying in a local meeting recently.
Ayatollah Khamenei ideas helpful for Muslim unity: Pak army chief
According to an informed source present at the Friday meeting between General Qamar Javed Bajwa and local tribal elders representating people of Parachinar in north-western Pakistan, the army chief clarified that he respects thoughts and ideas of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Sistani because their thoughts are quite helpful for the unity of the Muslim world.
“The army chief said that Ayatollah Khamenei is seeking stronger unity in the Muslim world and his thoughts should be followed by all those who are looking for this unity,” the source told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
“General Bajwa reiterated that whatever Ayatollah Khamenei says, is helpful for the unity of Muslims and he has never been after dividing the Muslim world,” the source added.
According to the source, the army chief also called on Pakistani people not to listen to those “who are attempting to divide the Muslim Ummah.”
General Bajwa visited Parachinar last Friday after the recent deadly terrorist blasts in the region and assured better security for people of the city, the capital of Kurram district.
This year, at least 120 people have been killed in three separate improvised explosive device (IED) and suicide attacks on Parachinar, including last week's attack. Fifteen others were killed in a roadside bombing elsewhere in Kurram in April.
irna.ir/en/News/82583626/
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Arab World
ISIL Arrests Senior Member on Charges of Disclosing News about Baghdadi's Death
TEHRAN (FNA)- ISIL has arrested a senior aide for Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group's ring leader, on charges of his implied reference to al-Baghdadi's death, a local source confirmed.
The source said that ISIL terrorists stormed the house of Friday Prayers leader in the town of Tal Afar Abu Qatibeh and arrested him over his remarks about the fate of al-Baghdadi on Friday.
"ISIL members laid siege on the house of Abu Qatibeh, who is a close friend to al-Baghdadi, and arrested him. Abu Qatibeh did not resist against arrest," the source said.
"Abu Qatibeh's arrest was done one day after he implied al-Baghdadi's death, causing vast arguments among ISIL members about their leader's fate," the source went on to say.
The source went on to say that the ISIL has kept mum on the fate of Baghdadi and it has not thus far rejected his death in an airstrike in Syria a few weeks ago, adding that ISIL's silence about the death of al-Baghdadi is perhaps related to the decision about his successor.
Local sources in Nineveh province in Northwestern Iraq reported on Saturday that a close friend of and an aide to ISIL Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi indirectly confirmed death of the terrorist group's ring leader.
The Arabic-language al-Sumeriyeh news quoted the local sources as saying that Abu Qatibeh, a very close aide and friend to al-Baghdadi, cried and made repeated mistakes while doing a Friday prayers sermon in the town of Tal Afar West of Mosul city.
The sources who requested anonymity said that Baghdadi's death was very likely, adding that Abu Qatibeh started suddenly crying while talking about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The sources said then Abu Qatibeh went silence for a while, and then he read several verses of the holy Quran and made several mistakes in his sermon.
Al-Sumeriyeh went on to say that the Friday Prayers leader did not directly point to the death of al-Baghdadi but the sermon of Abu Qatibeh that had special position in the ISIL terrorist organization could be considered as an early pointing to al-Baghdadi's death.
The sources told al-Sumeriyeh that news about Abu Qatibeh's sermon spread across Tal Afar.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000385
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Unesco Experts: Hebron Heritage Request Too Focused On Muslim History
JULY 2, 2017
This is the third time in a row that ICOMOS has failed to recommend a Palestinian Authority proposal for inscription on the "World Heritage in Danger" list.
UNESCO experts warned the Palestinian Authority that it overly focused on Hebron’s Muslim history, at the exclusion of the Judeo-Christian heritage, when it requested that its “Old Town” be inscribed on the "World Heritage in Danger" list.
The PA not fully making its case for inscription as a heritage site and Israel’s decision to ban the experts from visiting the site make it difficult to conclude if an emergency situation exists, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) said in an 11-page report it submitted over the weekend.
Palestinians ask UNESCO to ‘protect’ Tomb of Patriarchs from Israel
Israel seeks secret ballot on Hebron inscription on World Heritage List
The 21-member World Heritage Committee is expected to vote on the inscription of Hebron’s Old City and the Tomb of the Patriarchs to the “State of Palestine” this Friday in Krakow, Poland during its annual meeting that began on Sunday.
The PA’s written proposal had focused on Hebron’s “Old Town” history from the Mamluk period of 1250 and onward. This includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, whose Herodian structure houses both Jewish sanctuaries of worship and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
“A further weakness is the definition of the property as a Mamluk town as this excludes the extremely important time depth of Hebron, a town whose history can be extended back at least a thousand years before the Mamluk period and possibly much longer,” ICOMOS said.
“Although it is stated that the nominated property is thought to be one of the oldest cities continuously inhabited in the world, the emphasis of the nomination is on a small period of that history in the form of the Mamluk town, apart from the earlier structures of the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque/TheTomb of Patriarchs.
“This means that the association of Hebron with Jewish and early Christian societies is given little recognition, and Tell Rumeida [an area of Biblical Hebron] and other sites are excluded from the boundaries,” the report continued.
ICOMOS said the PA would have done better with an expanded timeline and larger geographical area of the city, which could have spoken of its importance to the development of three monotheistic religions starting from 2200 BCE.
“On the basis of the current Mamluk focus of the nomination dossier, ICOMOS considers that insufficient detail has been provided to substantiate the outstanding nature of the survival of town planning and buildings relating to the Mamluk era.
“There appears to be the potential for a strong case to be made for considering Hebron as a pilgrimage centre but to support this Tell Rumeida would need to be included and a clearer focus on sites relating to Jewish heritage,” ICOMOS stated.
The group of experts also said it was clear that IDF activity in Hebron’s Old Town was “systemic” and interfered with the conversation of the historic properties there.
“The threats and violations reflect a long-standing and complex political situation,” ICOMOS said.
It added that, “a political response” was the best way to address the issue.
In making its formal recommendation at the end of the report, it called on Israel to allow its team of experts to visit the site.
The absence of a field visit plus the limited details of the Palestinian report meant that ICOMOS could “could not fully evaluate” the proposal or confirm that the site met the qualifications for inscription.
This is the third time in a row that ICOMOS has failed to recommend a Palestinian Authority proposal for inscription on the "World Heritage in Danger" list.
It rejected both the 2012 proposal to put Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity and 2014 request to place the ancient agricultural terraces of Battir on the list.
In regards to Hebron, ICOMOS failed to recommend it but did not unequivocally reject it.
The World Heritage Committee overlooked both ICOMOS recommendations and approved the requests. Israel fears that it will do the same this time around as well.
The actual text of the decision states that ICOMOS was not able to fully evaluate the site due to the absence of a field visit.
Still, Israel’s Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama HaCohen claimed the report as a victory in the campaign to thwart the initiative.
“This report is a stamp of approval that confirms the historical and current truth to our claim that the Palestinians are waging a religious and heritage war against the Jewish people,” Shama HaCohen said, speaking from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/UNESCO-experts-Hebron-heritage-request-too-focused-on-Muslim-history-498519
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Islamic State gunfires, bombs kill 28 civilians in Mosul’s Old City
Jul 2, 2017
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Gunfire and landmines planted by Islamic State militants killed 28 civilians in western Mosul’s Old City on Sunday as operations continue to clear the last few meters held by the group.
Maj. Maan Omar, from the Nineveh police department, told BasNews that 28 civilians, including 13 children and seven elders, died from gunshots and IED explosions while fleeing al-Midan area in the Old City late Saturday.
Omar said the dead bodies of those civilians remain in the streets and alleyways of that area since then.
The United Nations warned last month that an increasing number of civilians were being targeted by Islamic State militants during the escape towards security-held areas in Mosul.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said last Thursday its forces regained control of the Grand Nuri Mosque where Islamic State declared a self-styled “caliphate” in 2014, a symbolic victory which the Iraqi government and military generals deemed a declaration of the collapse of the Islamic State’s rule in the country.
According to a monthly death count released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Nineveh province topped the civilian death tally for the month of June with 289 deaths. A total of 411 deaths was counted during that month, besides 294 injuries.
iraqinews.com/iraq-war/islamic-state-gunfires-bombs-kill-28-civilians-mosuls-old-city/
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Three car bombs hit Damascus, seven people killed
Three car bombs exploded in Damascus on Sunday, state media reported, and seven people were killed in one of the blasts, a police officer said, the biggest such attack in the Syrian capital since a series of suicide attacks in March.
One of the suicide bombers blew himself up in Tahrir square in central Damascus after being encircled by the authorities. The police officer at the scene said seven people were killed and 13 wounded in that attack.
The other two car bombs were destroyed by the authorities, state media said.
State TV said the casualty toll had been minimised because the security forces had prevented “the terrorists from reaching their targets”, saying they had aimed to target busy areas on the first day back to work after the Eid ul-Fitr holiday.
Footage broadcast by state TV from Tahrir Square showed roads scattered with debris, several badly damaged cars, and another one that had been turned into a pile of twisted metal.
Footage of one of the blast sites showed what appeared to be the remains of a person and badly damaged vehicles outside a mosque in the Baytara traffic circle near the Old City.
In March, two suicide bomb attacks in Damascus killed several dozen people, most of them at the Palace of Justice courthouse near the Old City. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.
Also in March, a double suicide attack in the capital killed scores of people, most of them Iraqi Shi'ite pilgrims. That attack was claimed by the Tahrir al-Sham alliance of insurgents, which is spearheaded by a jihadist group formerly known as the Nusra Front.
Syrian government forces, which have defeated rebel fighters in several suburbs of Damascus over the last year, are currently battling insurgents in the Jobar and Ain Tarma areas on the capital's eastern outskirts.
dawn.com/news/1342767/three-car-bombs-hit-damascus-seven-people-killed
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Syrian Soldiers Inch Closer to ISIL-Held Deir Ezzur
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian Army troops continued their anti-ISIL operation in Eastern Homs and managed to take control of more positions en route to the terrorist-held city of Deir Ezzur.
The army units engaged in tough battle against ISIL in areas surrounding al-Zali'eeyat region Southeast of Palmyra city in Homs and managed to capture several heights and hills overlooking Hamimeh region at the administrative border between the two provinces of Homs and Deir Ezzur.
A field source said that ISIL suffered heavy casualties and its military hardware sustained major damage in the army advances.
A local source in Eastern Syria reported on Saturday that the ISIL terrorist group concentrated its military equipment in the town of Albu Kamal after the army troops' advances from Eastern Homs towards Deir Ezzur.
The source in al-Mayadeen region said that the army's ground and aerial operations against ISIL and pro-government forces' advances from Eastern Homs towards Deir Ezzur caused ISIL to transfer its heavy military equipment, tanks and artillery to the town of Albu Kamal from al-Hazam al-Akhzar that are on the outskirts of the same town.
The source further added that the ISIL transferred its tanks to Albu Kamal and started to build more bunkers and fortify basements across the town.
The ISIL, meantime, has started planting mines and explosives in the main street of Albu Kamal, the Baghdad street.
ISIL's measures came after the army troops and their popular allies expanded control to the third power plant near the town of al-Mayadeen.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000770
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Iran's Top Security Official: Liberation of Mosul Indicates Uselessness of Petrodollars
TEHRAN (FNA)- Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani felicitated the Iraqi government and nation over the liberation of Mosul, and said security cannot be purchased by petrodollars.
"The stunning success of the resistance stream in Iraq and Syria showed that security is not a good which can be bought by petrodollars and is only achieved by efforts, sacrifices and reliance on domestic potentials," Shamkhani said, addressing a forum in the Northeastern city of Mashhad on Sunday.
He also blasted the enemies' proxy war in Syria and Iraq, and said Iran's advisory military role in the two countries is aimed at defending the resistance pivot and confrontation against the terrorists.
In relevant remarks on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the Iraqi government and nation on the liberation of the country's city of Mosul from ISIL occupation after three years.
In a message to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Iranian president extended his congratulations to him and the Iraqi nation over the “liberation of the biggest ISIL-controlled city in Iraq and also breaking free from the “yoke of crime and violence” that had been unprecedented in the recent centuries.
President Rouhani said that the major victory “shows the significance of a genuine fight against those criminals who cruelly displayed violence and murder in the name of Islam.”
He voiced Iran’s readiness to continue with the all-out fight against the ISIL terrorists across the Middle East.
In a statement on Thursday, the Iraqi premier announced an end to ISIL's "state of falsehood" following the recapture of the historical Grand al-Nuri Mosque at the heart of Mosul.
"The return of al-Nuri Mosque and al-Hadba minaret to the fold of the nation marks the end of the Daesh state of falsehood," Abadi said.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000659
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Syrian Army, Hezbollah, Russian Soldiers Resume Operation in Eastern Homs
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian Army troops, the Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Russian soldiers launched a new wave of offensives in Southeastern Homs, targeting ISIL's positions near the provincial border with Deir Ezzur.
According to battlefield reports, pro-government forces, including the Syrian soldiers, Hezbollah fighters and the Russian army men, started a new phase of large-scale assault in the Humeimeh region, capturing most of the hilltops, while also killing and wounding several Takfiri terrorists along the road to Deir Ezzur province.
Also, two huge army convoys brushed aside ISIL resistance in Eastern Homs and pushed through several kilometers of desert to meet around the ISIL bastion of Humeimeh.
The units took two hills overlooking Humeimeh and forced ISIL to withdraw from the region during the clashes.
Amidst ongoing clashes between pro-government forces and the ISIL terrorist group in areas to the East of Palmyra, footage showed that Russian troops embedded with Syrian Army troops in the frontline in Eastern Homs.
According to a battlefield source, the Syrian Army hopes to establish control over the T2 Pumping Station to use it as a launchpad to direct two simultaneous offensives to relieve the besieged provincial capital of Deir Ezzur and to take the border town of Albu Kamal South of the Euphrates.
Relevant reports said on Wednesday that the army soldiers that drove ISIL out of al-Zali'eiyat region near Humeimeh region at the borders between Homs and Deir Ezzur province continued to advance in the region and took control over several positions 4km East of al-Zali'eiyat and over 70km away from the Eastern direction of the third power plan.
A military source said that the army troops inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists and destroyed a large number of their vehicles and military equipment.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000845
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Israel Targets Syrian Army Positions Following Terrorists' Heavy Defeat in Al-Ba'ath
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Arabic-language media sources reported that the Israeli missile units opened fire at the Syrian army positions in Quneitra province after the latter inflicted a heavy defeat on Al-Nusra Front (also known as Fatah al-Sham Front or the Levant Liberation Board) in the town of al-Ba'ath.
The al-Mayadeen reported that the Israeli missile units deployed in occupied Golan Heights in Tal (hill) Abu al-Nadi fired three missiles at army positions near Naba'a al-Fawar, damaging the army's equipment.
The Israeli attack was done after the army soldiers repelled an Al-Nusra attack in al-Ba'ath and then in a rapid counter-attack recaptured lost lands.
Relevant reports said on Saturday that an Israeli military helicopter targeted two positions of the Syrian Army in areas near the town of Eastern al-Samadaniyeh and another position around the town of al-Ba'ath.
No accurate information has been released on the possible damage to the Syrian army.
In the meantime, the Arabic-language Elam al-Harbi news reported that the terrorists of Al-Nusra Front have intentionally increased their mortar attacks on occupied lands in the Golan Heights to give another pretext to the Israeli forces to target the Syrian Army's strongholds in Quneitra.
en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960411000534
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Europe
The high street being transformed into a vegan Mecca
London's first: Green Bay supermarket in Fulham sells 100 per cent vegan groceries Green Bay
A London street is quietly becoming the capital’s vegan Mecca, according to local business owners.
North End Road in Fulham is now home to London’s only vegan supermarket, as well as a growing number of animal-free eateries.
Anderson Caicedo, who co-founded Green Bay supermarket last summer, said the area is expecting even more vegan businesses to arrive.
“It’s going to be a really well known area and London’s vegans might actually want to move to this area in future,” he told the Standard.
“The vegan movement is growing and this area is becoming London’s vegan centre.”
Owners: Paula Alcalde and Anderson Caicedo launched the supermarket in August 2016 (Green Bay)
Green Bay, run by Mr Caicedo with co-founder Paula Alcalde, sells animal and animal derivative-free alternatives to everything you would find in a normal supermarket.
The shop was inspired by vegan supermarket chain Veganz which operates five stores across Germany and Austria, but none in the UK.
Green Bay is located within minutes of one of London’s most popular vegan restaurants, Ben Asamani’s 222 Veggie Vegan, which has been open for more than a decade.
The Sanctuary on nearby Fulham Road offers vegan delights such as meat-free 'cheezeburgers' (Google)
Nearby pizzeria Picky Wops, which opened selling vegetarian pizzas last year, has now also gone 100 per cent vegan.
Another restaurant, the Sanctuary, located in Fulham Road, also offers a completely vegan menu including a vegan ‘full English’ and meat-free burgers.
Mr Caicedo, a 33-year-old former banker, said the short distances between the various institutions was “really convenient”.
He said: “The vegan movement is growing really really fast but it’s still not mainstream. It requires a lot of work to become profitable. We are trying to get the brand out to people.
“We are trying to unite with other vegan companies and get more vegan businesses to either launch here or set up a second branch here," he added.
standard.co.uk/news/london/the-high-street-being-transformed-into-a-vegan-mecca-a3576966.html
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Hate charges over 'pork mosque attack' in Sherwood
2 July 2017
A Muslim community group took over the former Fiveways pub in 2015
Two men have been charged with hate offences after meat, believed to be pork, was allegedly smeared on the front door of a mosque.
Nottinghamshire Police began investigating after the attack on the Al-Quba Masjid mosque in Sherwood, in the early hours of 18 June.
Two men, aged 27 and 30, have been charged with racially aggravated public order offences.
They are due before Nottingham Magistrates' Court on 1 August.
The 27-year-old man has also been charged with criminal damage.
bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-40473300
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Putin talks to Qatar, Bahrain leaders on Gulf row
July 2nd, 2017
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin had telephone discussions with the leaders of Qatar and Bahrain, stressing the need for diplomacy to end the dispute between Qatar and several other Arab states, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism and opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.
Moscow is trying to tread cautiously in the dispute, since it wants good relations with both Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Russia backs President Bashar al-Assad in the six-year-long Syria conflict and is close to Iran, which has fraught ties with the Saudis.
Moscow sold a stake in its state oil champion Rosneft to Qatar last year and has been coordinating oil output cuts with the Saudis as part of a global pact to lift oil prices.
The Kremlin, which announced the phone calls with the leaders of Qatar and Bahrain in two separate statements on its website on Saturday, did not say when they happened.
It clarified that they happened on the initiative of Qatar and Bahrain.
“Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of political-diplomatic efforts aimed at overcoming differences of opinion and the normalisation of the difficult situation that exists,” said the statement on the talks between Putin and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
dawn.com/news/1342658/putin-talks-to-qatar-bahrain-leaders-on-gulf-row
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South Asia
Taliban storms mosque in Afghanistan, killing 13 people
Updated: Jul 02, 2017
Kabul [Afghanistan], July 2 (ANI): Heavily armed Taliban insurgents stormed a mosque in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan, killing at least 13 people in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
The incident took place on Saturday in the vicinity of Chemtal district.
The provincial public health officials confirmed that the bodies of thirteen people, riddled with bullets, were shifted to Ibn-e-Sina hospital.
The Taliban group spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed that an attack was carried out on a gathering of the militia forces in Chemtal district, Khaama Press reported.
As soon as the Taliban entered the mosque intense clashes erupted which Zabiullah claimed that twelve people including three commanders of the local militia forces were killed and another one was wounded.
Mujahid also claimed that several weapons, ammunition, and grenades were also seized during the clashes.
Rejecting the claims by the Taliban insurgents, MP representing the northern Balkh province in the parliament Gulalai Noor Sapai said that all those killed in the attack are ordinary civilians and had no links with the government or security institutions.
The local residents are saying that the deceased individuals were having links with a former Jihadi leader.(ANI)
aninews.in/newsdetail-NA/MzIyNjEx/taliban-storms-mosque-in-afghanistan-killing-13-people.html
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Major Taliban offensive repulsed in the strategic Kunduz province
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Jul 02 2017
A major Taliban offensive on the strategic Kunduz province has been repulsed by the Afghan national defense and security forces, inflicting heavy loss on the Taliban insurgents.
According to the local government officials, the Taliban insurgents launched a coordinated attack on Dasht-e-Archi district earlier on Saturday, targeting the district from several angles.
The officials further added that the attack was repulsed by the Afghan security forces who were on alert regarding the possible attack.
The provincial government media office in a statement also confirmed the attack and said at least fourteen insurgents were killed after the Afghan forces responded to the Taliban fire.
The statement further added that several key commanders of the group were among those killed and at least nine others were wounded.
The key Taliban figures killed during the gun battle have been identified as Ismail Fidayi, Qari Jalat, Nazir Ahmad, Mawlavi Ghafar, and Sher Alam who originally hailed from Badakhshan province and were sent to Kunduz for the attack.
The other militants killed during the clashes have been identified as Janatullah, commander Mohammad Agha also famous as Mudasir, Qari Zia-ul-Haq, Qari Nader, Zakir, Ahmad, Mohammadullah, Sedaqat, and Ibrahim who originally hailed from the same district of Dasht-e-Archi, while Qari Imam who was killed during the clashes was hailing from Imam Sahib district, the statement said.
The provincial government also added that the security forces did not suffer any casualties during the clashes.
In the meantime, the Taliban group claim that several security personnel were killed or wounded during the offensive, a claim which has been rejected by the local officials.
khaama.com/major-taliban-offensive-repulsed-in-the-strategic-kunduz-province-03061
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Ghazni Police Chief General Amarkhel resigns
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Jul 02 2017
The police chief of the southeastern Ghazni province General Aminulllah Amarkhel has resigned from his position, the local security officials said Sunday.
A spokesman for the Ghazni police commandment Fahim Amarkhel confirmed the resignation of Gen. Amarkhel.
He said Gen. Amarkhel had submitted his resignation several days ago and was accepted by the government leadership on Saturday.
According to the officials, Gen. Amarkhel has resigned from his position due to the health issues.
The government officials have not commented regarding the report so far.
Gen. Amarkhel was appointed as the police chief of Ghazni province by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in mid-October of 2015.
The resignation of Gen. Amarkhel comes as Ghazni province has been witnessing growing violence and instability during the recent months.
Insurgents belonging to the Taliban group as well as the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group are actively operating in some of the restive districts of Ghazni and often carry out insurgency activities.
Ghazni is one of the key provinces in southeastern Afghanistan which connects the central provinces including capital Kabul with the southern and western provinces.
khaama.com/ghazni-police-chief-general-amarkhel-resigns-03057
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Ghani insists on ‘reconciliation first with Pakistan’ to bring peace in Afghanistan
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Jul 02 2017
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani says the Afghan government is not asking Pakistan to bring peace in Afghanistan as the Afghan government wants reconciliation with the country, apparently pointing towards his earlier remarks regarding an undeclared war being waged in Afghanistan.
Speaking a gathering for the introduction of the new high peace council chief, President Ghani said the Afghan government and nation wants peace with Pakistan, emphasizing that Afghanistan is not expecting Pakistan to bring peace.
The Afghan President has long been insisting that the country is facing an undeclared war as the Afghan officials accuse Pakistan for supporting and providing sanctuaries to the terrorist groups in its soil.
Earlier, President Ghani had said that for peace in Afghanistan it is important that the Afghan government should reach to a peace agreement with Pakistan first.
He said last year that the Taliban insurgents would not last even for a month in case they do not receive support from the outside, pointing towards Pakistan.
In his speech during the Munich security conference, President Ghani said it would be difficult to bring peace and end the conflict in Afghanistan as long as the distinction by certain regional elements exist regarding the good and bad terrorists.
The Afghan officials have long been insisting that the leadership councils of the Taliban group and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are based in Peshawar, Quetta, and other parts of Pakistan from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.
The Afghan officials earlier said that the deadly explosion near the embassy of Germany in Kabul was plotted by the Haqqani network in Pakistan, although the leaders of the network and the Taliban have rejected their role in the devastating attack that killed over one hundred and fifty people.
“Afghan oriented militant groups, including the Taliban and Haqqani Network, retain freedom of action inside Pakistani territory and benefit from support from elements of the Pakistani Government,” Pentagon said in a report last month.
The report further added “Although Pakistani military operations have disrupted some militant sanctuaries, certain extremist groups—such as the Taliban and the Haqqani Network—were able to relocate and continue to operate in and from Pakistan. The United States continues to convey to Pakistan at all levels the importance of taking action against all terrorist and extremist groups.”
khaama.com/ghani-insists-on-reconciliation-first-with-pakistan-to-bring-peace-in-afghanistan-03060
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New coalition members should resign from govt: Senate chairman
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Jul 02 2017
The chairman of the Upper House of the Parliament, Meshrano Jirga, Fazal Hadi Muslimyar has said the members of the new coalition having active role in the government should resign.
In his reaction after the announcement of the formation of the coalition ‘Save the Afghanistan’ led by Ata Mohammad Noor, Mohammad Mohaqiq and General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the Senate House chairman said it would be better that coalition members should resign first by forming a coalition with an aim to bring reforms in the government and serve as an opposition while being an official of the government.
He told RFE that the members of the coalition, specifically two of them, are serving in the leadership of the government, emphasizing that it would be unfair to remain both in the system and function as an opposition against it.
The new coalition between the three political parties announced their establishment on Friday, days after meetings were organized in the country and on the sidelines of the engagement ceremony of Gen. Dostum’s son in Turkey.
In their first statement after the formation of the coalition, its members called on President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to prevent from extrajudicial steps and respect the constitution of the country and the authorities of the ministers and directors of the government institutions.
khaama.com/new-coalition-members-should-resign-from-govt-senate-chairman-03056
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Mideast
Qatar says Arab demands 'made to be rejected'
2 Jul, 2017
Qatar said Saturday a series of demands made by several Arab states to lift a crippling blockade were designed to be spurned and clearly aimed at infringing its sovereignty.
“This list of demands is made to be rejected,” Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said, referring to 13 demands placed on Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies as the price for lifting an almost month-long “blockade” on Qatar.
Qatar said it had received the demands on June 22 with just 10 days to meet them, which would mean they would have until Sunday to comply. However, the deadline has not been confirmed.
“Everyone is aware that these demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of the state of Qatar,” Al-Thani said at a press conference in Rome after meeting his Italian counterpart.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced earlier this month the suspension of all ties to Qatar. They accused it of state support for extremist groups and denounced its political proximity to Shiite Iran.
Qatar denies the allegations.
Saudia Arabia closed the airspace to Qatari carriers and blocked the emirate's only land border, a vital route for its food imports.
Qatar has said the effects are more devastating than the Berlin Wall.
Riyadh's demands include ending Doha's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the closure of Al-Jazeera television, a downgrade of diplomatic ties with Iran and the shutdown of a Turkish military base in the emirate.
The United Arab Emirates has warned Qatar should take the demands seriously or face “divorce” from its Gulf neighbours.
Turkey and Iraq have backed Qatar in the crisis.
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said the government was ready “to contribute to any initiative aimed primarily at restoring dialogue and easing tensions between those involved.”
Rome also pleaded for the five countries “to refrain from any further action that could aggravate the situation”.
Kuwait is the official arbitrator for seeking a settlement, though the United States is also attempting to mediate.
Washington has cautioned that some of the demands would be difficult for Qatar to accept, asking the Saudis for a clear list of grievances that are “reasonable and actionable”.
dawn.com/news/1342768/qatar-says-arab-demands-made-to-be-rejected
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Iran defending its security in chaotic region: Islamic media official
2 Jul, 2017
Mashad, Khorasan Razavi Prov, July 2, IRNA – Under present circumstances and while some Islamic countries are involved in conflicts and are under oppression, Iran has powerfully managed to preserve its security and foil an array of anti-Muslim plots, an Islamic media official says.
Iran defending its security in chaotic region: Islamic media official
“Iran’s resistance against terrorists has irritated the United States and its mercenaries,” said Abdullah Qasir Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union, addressing the opening ceremony of the Seventh Islamic Film Market in Mashad, the provincial capital of the northeastern Iranian province on Saturday.
“They remain to be rhetorical to make threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they are not able to practically undermine country’s authority,” Qasir said.
He went on to say that the resistance by Muslims against the terrorists and enemies, initiated in Tehran, has now reached to Gaza then to Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.
“Today, we witness people’s resistance against the enemies in all the Islamic countries,” he noted.
Elaborating on the Islamic Film Market and the exhibition on the World of Islam’s media technologies, Qasir said the event is going to portray part of the media achievements made by the Islamic nations, despite all the restrictions, in their bid to stand against the enemies.
The Seventh Islamic Film Market kicked off in Mashad Saturday afternoon.
Representatives from 137 television networks and media institutions in the Islamic countries have attended the five-day event in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
irna.ir/en/News/82583112/
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Iranian city hosts Muslim media event
2 Jul, 2017
Mashad, Khorasan Razavi prov., Tehran, July 2, IRNA - The 9th General Assembly of the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union (IRTVU) convened in Mashad in this northeastern province on Sunday.
Iranian city hosts Muslim media event
In the opening ceremony, secretary-general of IRTVU Ali Karimian underscored that the event is held in an Islamic country every year.
He added the event aims at introducing Mashad capacities to the Islamic world.
Karimian said Mashad was selected as the host city of the event after being selected as the Capital of Islamic Culture in 2017.
The event, attended by 600 foreign guests and 230 international channels from 36 countries will wrap up on July 4, 2017.
Mashad was selected as the Cultural Capital of the Muslim World for 2017 during the 7th conference of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) member states in the Algerian capital city of Algiers in 2007.
Launched in 2007 and now having 230 networks from 36 countries as member-states, the Islamic Radios and Televisions Union aims at overcoming the dominant single–voice air on global media.
irna.ir/en/News/82583043/
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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre calls on Abu Dhabi community to participate in latest Hajj exhibition
ABU DHABI, 2nd July, 2017 (WAM) -- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, SZGMC, has called upon the Abu Dhabi community to participate in the upcoming exhibition, 'Hajj: Memories of a Journey'. Organised by SZGMC and in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, TCA Abu Dhabi, the exhibition will open to the public on 20th September, 2017.
Members of the public can partake in the historical exhibition by submitting souvenirs they have collected during their own personal Hajj journeys, or that they were gifted by family and friends upon their arrival from Mecca.
Many pilgrims bring home a souvenir from Hajj to commemorate their journey, and buy gifts for friends and family from Mecca and Medina’s many markets and shops, where these objects often take pride of place in the recipients’ homes and are among the most precious objects that a Muslim owns.
The Hajj exhibition seeks to capture this sentiment by displaying these souvenirs, and accentuate a gallery dedicated to the vital keepsakes and sentiments tied to the myriad of stories and trails of memories created by millions throughout the Muslim world. Submission of souvenirs to be exhibited as part of Hajj: Memories of a Journey are welcome until 13th July, 2017.
The exhibition will be held on the grounds of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the most prominent and leading landmarks of culture and intellectual exchange in the UAE.
Coinciding with SZGMC’s 10th anniversary, the exhibition will reflect on the first prayer congregation held at the Mosque in 2007, the Eid al-Adha prayer, which in turn highlights the association of the fifth pillar of Islam with the memory of its establishment, as a true testament of what this great edifice signifies.
Telling the story of Mecca, and the rituals of Hajj as one of the five fundamental pillars and practices in Islam, the exhibition will bring to life the history of the sacred city and will depict the profound significance of the practices performed within it, whilst underlining the evident attributes of tolerance, equality and the vast diversity to be found in Islam.
wam.ae/en/details/1395302621237
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Southeast Asia
Snipers, bombs, mortars: Philippine troops battle against Islamists
Reuters | Updated: Jul 1, 2017
MARAWI CITY, Philippines: Sprawled on the boarded-up balcony of a two-storey house, the barrel of his rifle poked into a hole cut in the wood, the Philippine army sniper calls for quiet before taking his shot.
"Firing," he says evenly, before the .50 calibre shot rings out, sending tremors through the house. He was firing at a home less than a kilometre (a half mile) away, believed to be a stronghold of Islamist militants who have been holed up in Marawi City for over five weeks.
A spotter sat next to him, with his scope set into another hole. The two spoke quietly to each other as the sniper took three more shots across the Agus river into the militant-held commercial district of Marawi, now a battleground strewn with debris from ruined buildings. Scores of bodies are rotting in the area, and the stench mixes with the smell of gunpowder.
Thousands of soldiers are battling to retake the southern Philippine city, where militants loyal to Islamic State launched a lightning strike on May 23.
The southern Philippines has been marred for decades by insurgency and banditry. But the intensity of the battle in Marawi and the presence of foreign fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen and Chechnya fighting alongside local militants has raised concerns that the region may be becoming a Southeast Asian hub for Islamic State as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria.
As troops poured in to contain the siege, few were expecting a slow, difficult and unfamiliar urban war.
"We are used to insurgencies...but a deployment of this magnitude, this kind of conflict is a challenge for our troops," said Lt Col Christopher Tampus, one of the officers commanding ground operations in Marawi.
He said progress in clearing the city has been hindered by militant fire and booby traps like gas tanks rigged with grenades.
Reduced to Rubble
After weeks of military airstrikes and shelling, Marawi, a lakeside city of around 200,000 is now a ghost town, the centre of which has been reduced to charred rubble and hollow structures. Buildings in the military-controlled areas of the city are still standing but deserted after residents fled.
Authorities estimate around 100 to 120 fighters, some of them as young as 16 years, remain holed up in the commercial district of the city, down from around 500 at the beginning of the siege.
The fighters are holding around 100 hostages, according to the military, who have been forced to act as human shields, take up arms or become sex slaves.
Military aircraft drop bombs on the militant zone almost every day. From the outskirts of the city, mortar teams take aim at what they call "ground zero", the heart of the conflict.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/snipers-bombs-mortars-philippine-troops-battle-against-islamists/articleshow/59403056.cms
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Africa
Al Qaeda releases hostage video as Macron attends Mali anti-jihad meeting
By RFI Issued on 02-07-2017 Modified 02-07-2017 to 13:35
media
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) with Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita at Modibo Keita airtport in Bamako
Al Qaeda's branch in Mali has released a video of six foreign hostages, including French naitonal Sophie Pétronin, just before a visit by France's President Emmanuel Macron to finalise the establishment of a Sahel anti-jihadi force with the leaders of five Afican countries.
The undated video by Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, also known as the Group to Support Islam and Muslims, was released on Telegram on Saturday, US-based monitoring group SITE said.
It featured Pétronin, the head of an NGO that works with children, who was abducted by armed men in Gao, northern Mali, in December 2016 and says she hopes Macron will help her return to her family.
The other hostages are:
Australian surgeon Arthur Kenneth Elliott, 82, who was kidnapped along with his wife, Jocelyn, in Burkina Faso in January 2015, Jocelyn being released in February 2016:
South African Stephen McGowan, kidnapped in northern Mali in November 2011;
Romanian mining engineer Iulian Ghergut kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2015;
Swiss missionary Béatrice Stockly, kidnapped in Mali in January 2016;
Colombian nun Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoti kidnapped in Malinin February 2017.
At the end of the video the narrator tells the hostages' families "no genuine negotiations have begun" for their release but then adds that discussions are "still active".
Macron addresses G5 meeting
Macron arrived in Bamako overnight for a meeting with the leaders of the G5 countries - Chad's Idriss Déby, Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, Burkina Faso's Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and Niger's Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger) - to discuss the military force they will set up to fight jihadism, smuggling and people trafficking in the Sahel region.
The force, which will supplement France's operation Barkhane and the UN's Minusma mission in Mali, will start with 5,000 troops and the G5 hope to double its numbers over time.
"It will be up to you and your armies to show that the G5 can be effective while respecting humanitarian conventions," Macron told the heads of state. "The results must be delivered to convince our partners."
France hopes to convince its European allies and the US to help finance the force, whose budget will be close to 500 million euros, according to sources.
So far the European Union has promised 50 million euros, while Washington forced Paris to amend a UN Security Council resolution to avoid commitment to funding from the world body.
Déby, whose country is already contributing to Minusma and the multinational force fighting Nigerian-based Boko Haram, has threatened to pull out of the G5 force for budgetary reason.
en.rfi.fr/africa/20170702-al-qaeda-releases-hostage-video-macron-attends-mali-anti-jihad-force-meeting
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Australia
The hardline Muslim map of Sydney: How five radical Islamic preachers live within just 9km of each other - and two of them are neighbours
The leaders of an Islamist extremist group in Australia that wants Sharia law, supports jihad and opposes democracy all live within a few suburbs of each other in Sydney's west.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has a constitution calling for ex-Muslims to be killed and is so extreme it is even banned in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia.
However, the five key leaders of this group campaigning for a global Islamic caliphate all live within western Sydney between the M4 and the M5 motorways, with two of them even living next door to each other.
The group's most prominent spokesman Uthman Badar, who was born in Pakistan, lives with his parents at a house in South Granville.
Daily Mail Australia caught him on camera in late March confirming he supports the idea of capital punishment for people who leave Islam.
'The ruling for apostates as such in Islam is clear, that apostates attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that,' Mr Badar said in the presence of children.
An apostate is someone who decides to leave Islam.
He also told that same forum at Bankstown Library that Muslims should not apologise for waging jihad.
But threatened to call police two days later when a reporter door knocked his house to ask him about his offensive remarks.
Awkward moment leader of an extremist Islamist group is confronted
Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman repeatedly refuses to condemn ISIS in 2014
Bankstown is also home to Wassim Doureihi, who has lived in the suburb since 2005.
He is the same man who repeatedly refused to condemn ISIS in an ABC television interview in 2014 despite being asked to do so more than a dozen times.
Bankstown is also home to fellow Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Ashraf Doureihi, an engineer and project manager at North Sydney Council.
He was previously a vocal frontman for the Islamic Liberation Party, another name for Hizb ut-Tahrir, and has also gone by the name of Abu Sumaiya.
His views are so extreme that his boss at North Sydney Council Genia McCaffery told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2002 she regarded his remarks at an Auburn town hall meeting to be 'discriminatory, racist and promoting disharmony and intolerance'.
Bankstown is also a neighbouring suburb to Lakemba, which is home to Australia's largest Muslim mosque.
Hizb ut-Tahrir's spiritual leader Ismail al-Wahwah lived next door to Ashraf Doureihi in the Bankstown street in 2012.
He moved to the neighbouring suburb of Condell Park in 2014.
Known in the Muslim community as Abu Anas al-Wahwah, he has been deported from Indonesia and travelled to Syria in 2013 in support of an Islamic caliphate, The Daily Telegraph reported in 2014.
Hizb ut-Tahrir's spiritual leader Ismail al-Wahwah lives in Condell Park and wants a Caliphate +8
Hizb ut-Tahrir's spiritual leader Ismail al-Wahwah lives in Condell Park and wants a Caliphate
Australia's Ismail Al-Wahwah preaches jihad in Europe
Last year, he called on a Turkish audience to lead 'the armies of jihad that will conquer Europe and America' where their enemies have 'black hearts'.
The Palestinian-born extremist had spokes at a 'caliphate conference' in Ankara, Turkey, a video translated and shared by MEMRI shows.
He also called on the rally to pledge 'before Allah to restore the Caliphate, to raise the banner, to restore the Sharia, to unite the Islamic nation and to lead the armies of jihad that will conquer Europe and America so that the word of Allah will reign supreme'.
However, he leaves much of the campaigning in Australia for a global Caliphate to his younger spokesmen.
His highest-profile lieutenant Uthman Badar attended the Malek Fahd Islamic School at Greenacre, along with fellow spokesman Hamzah Qureshi, who is Facebook friends with the Grand Mufti of Australia Ibrahim Abu Mohamed.
Uthman Badar compares the idea of concentration camps for Muslims
This school is funded by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, which receives a halal certification fee from Vegemite.
AFIC's former leader Keysar Trad is Facebook friends with Wassim Doureihi and made news earlier this year when he said the Koran allowed husbands to lightly beat their wives.
In May, Hizb ut-Tahrir held a conference at Campsie in Sydney's west asking if Muslims could be locked up in concentration camps as hatred rises against them in the West.
Uthman Badar declared that Muslims could not separate religion from politics.
'For us, the political, the activism is necessarily and inextricably grounded in the spiritual. If you separate the two, that's not Islam,' he said.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in Germany and The Netherlands and range of Muslim-majority nations including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and even Saudi Arabia.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4645960/Five-radical-Muslim-leaders-live-western-Sydney.html#ixzz4lexFftJN
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North America
Amnesty International: US Muslim ban dangerous, discriminatory
New York, June 30, IRNA – Amnesty International in a statement said US President Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban is dangerous and discriminatory.
“This guidance shows a cruel indifference to families, some already torn apart by war and horrifying levels of violence. It also defines close family relationships in a way that ignores the reality in many cultures, where grandparents, cousins, and in-laws are often extremely close. Separating families based on these definitions is simply heartless. It further proves the callous and discriminatory nature of Trump’s Muslim ban,” the statement reads.
“The president wanted a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering this country and, unfortunately, today he is able to take one step in that direction. It’s time for Congress to step in and end the effects of this bigoted ban once and for all.”
According to dispatches, President Trump’s travel ban took effect at 8 p.m. ET Thursday.
The new rules tighten visa policies affecting citizens from six majority Muslim nations: Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. People from those countries who need new visas will now have to prove a close family relationship or an existing relationship with an entity like a school or business in the United States.
Citizens of those countries who already have visas will be allowed into the US as usual.
In December 2015, after a deadly militant attack in Paris claimed by the ISIL group, then-candidate Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”.
When Trump signed a 27 January executive order banning the entry of citizens from Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya, including permanent US residents, it was seen as an implementation of his campaign promise.
But when challenged in courts on grounds of religious discrimination, the administration denied that the executive order is faith-based.
irna.ir/en/News/82581319/
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/bihar-muslim-journalist-forced-say/d/111743