Jihadis luring Kerala college girls for love
Iran confirms 1st jail abuse death
Bomber struck as Saudi prince spoke by phone
Riyadh: A Muslim woman's right to inheritance
Muslims allowed at Black Eyed Peas gig
Head-to-toe Islamic veil rare in France
Top Baloch leader's killing sparks riots
Russia's dialogue with Islamic world in Moscow
Tweaking Harpoon serious, says US
Use of plutonium a major shift: Expert
Islamabad OK with Inspection
Afghan Deputy Intel Chief, 22 Others Die in Blast
NATO's strategy is not working in Afghanistan, warns American commander:
Are we approaching a tipping point in Afghanistan?
Iran unlikely to back down over IAEA's atom bomb probe
Syria-Iraq: Uneasy Ties
Ramadan gifts for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel
Muslim roots in Jerusalem as deep as Jews, Christians
70 yrs on, Germany accepts it started the war
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/building-churches-in-god-egypt/d/1714
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Building of Churches is 'Sin' Against God: Egypt Muslim Council
By Ethan Cole
Sep. 01 2009
Egyptian Muslim leaders are caught in a storm of controversy after a human rights group confronted them about a fatwa (Islamic edict) that stated the building of a church is "a sin against God."
Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the highest official of religious law in Egypt, and the justice minister have issued an investigation of the jurists who issued the fatwa, according to Assyrian International News Agency.
The controversy began when the president of the Egyptian Union Human Rights Organization, Dr. Naguib Gabraeel, asked the Fatwa Council about a statement found in a textbook at Cairo University on inheritance and execution of wills.
Students, both Muslims and Christians, were taught "it is forbidden for a person to donate money for what would lead to sin, such as donating in his will money towards build[ing] a church, a nightclub, a gambling casino, towards promoting the alcohol industry or for building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs."
Gabraeel asked the council what the sharia (Islamic law) position on the statement found in the textbook is. He asked if it is forbidden for a Muslim to donate money to build a church or a monk's quarters even if it is in the name of God and Christianity, which is recognized by the country's constitution. The Egyptian constitution claims to respect religious freedom. He also noted that wealthy Coptic Christian businessmen have donated towards the building of mosques.
The council replied by affirming the law found in the textbook and issuing a fatwa on it.
Included in the fatwa is an explanation on why it is a "sin" to build a church. According to the fatwa, Christians believe salvation is achieved through belief in Jesus as Lord while Muslims don't. Muslims believe that Issa [Jesus in Arabic] "is a slave of Allah and His Messenger, and that Allah is one."
The Islamic edict said God did not have a son and that Christianity deviated from absolute monotheism. Therefore, a Muslim is forbidden to donate funds towards a building that does not worship Allah alone.
The author of the textbook, Mohammed el-Maghrabbi, said it is sinful for even a Christian to devote money in his will towards building a church because it would be considered in Islam as separation from God.
In other words, it is illegal for even non-Muslims to offer money in their will towards building a church or synagogue.
The fatwa has upset many people, especially Coptic Christians, for categorizing churches with nightclubs, casinos, alcohol, and places to raise animals considered unclean by Islam.
After receiving the shocking response by the council, Gabraeel and a delegation from his human rights group visited the Grand Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi of the famous Al-Azhar University, a chief Sunni Islamic learning center in the world.
Tantawi contradicted the council and said "sharia does not prevent Muslims from donating to the building of a church, as it is his free money." He also went on to say sharia law does not interfere with other faiths "because religion, faith and what a person believes in is a relationship between him and his God."
Immediately after Tantawi's statements were publicized, there was a backlash from the Muslim community and he revoked his statements less than 24 hours after the visit by the human rights delegation. Tantawi claimed the delegation had misunderstood him, even though everything he said was recorded and sent to media outlets and uploaded on Coptic advocacy web sites.
Egyptian Christians see the controversy as explicitly revealing how religious authorities and the government truly feel about the building of churches. In Egypt, Christians are not allowed to construct or fix churches unless they receive a permit from governors. But usually authorities make excuses and circumvent giving a direct answer to requests for building permits. At the end, however, nearly all requests for permits in Egypt are denied.
In contrast, there are no such building permits necessary for the construction or fixing of mosques.
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090901/egypt-muslim-council-building-of-churches-is-sin-against-god/index.html
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Jihadis luring Kerala college girls for love
Ananthakrishnan G, TNN 1 Sep 2009
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala police has constituted a special team to probe charges that jihadis are running an organized racket in the state's colleges to lure gullible girls in the name of love and then convert them for subsequent use in anti-national activities.
"We are investigating if there is any such design,'' DGP Jacob Punnoose told TOI. What jolted the sleuths into action was a habeus corpus petition in the Kerala high court from the parents of two MBA students. The students were staying in the same hostel at St John's College in Pathanamthitta district when they met a senior and grew fond of him.
But the boy proved to be a nuisance to the authorities and was expelled from the college some years ago. "He still managed to retain contact with four junior students, including the two MBA students and feigned love for them. The boy wanted them to get converted to Islam. But one of them suspected his intentions and withdrew while another developed psychiatric problems. The other two fell for him and eloped,'' college principal Sreekumaran Nair said.
When there was no news of their wards, the parents approached the high court with habeus corpus petitions. The girls were subsequently produced in court which allowed the parents the custody of their children for a week. When they appeared in court next, the girls stated they had been trapped and did not want to go back with the boy. In the period they were with him, one of them had already married the boy and the other was "forced to marry'' his friend, a bus conductor. In their statements given to police, the students claimed that they were shown jihadi videos and literature by the boy. Expressing concern over the development, the high court asked the police to probe deeper.
"When we searched the hostel, we found provocative literature given by the boy from the rooms of the two girls,'' the principal said. This was seized by the police who have now extended the probe to other campuses as well they feel this was not an isolated incident. Similar reports have been emerging for quite some time now but were mostly ignored for political reasons, police sources added.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Jihadis-luring-Kerala-college-girls-for-love/articleshow/4956222.cms#
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Iran confirms 1st jail abuse death
2 September 2009
CAIRO: An Iranian medical examiner found that the son of a prominent conservative politician's adviser died from beatings and poor prison
Conditions, a news agency reported on Monday, in what would be the first official confirmation of a prisoner abuse death during Iran's post-election turmoil.
The report could be a sign that conservatives will seek to prosecute those responsible for prisoner abuse in an attempt to defuse anger over allegations that many opposition supporters detained after the disputed presidential election were tortured. Conservative anger has partly been driven by the death of Mohsen Rouhalamini, the son of an adviser to defeated presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei. Police initially suggested that Rouhalamini's death was caused by meningitis. But the semiofficial Mehr news agency said on Monday that a state forensic doctor ruled that out. Instead, it said Rouhalamini died of "physical stress, the effects of being held in bad conditions, multiple blows and severe injuries to the body".
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4961966.cms
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Bomber struck as Saudi prince spoke by phone
2 September 2009
AFTERMATH: The scene of attack at Prince Muhammad's palace in Jeddah, left, after Abdullah Hassan Tali Al-Asiri, above, blew himself up Thursday. (SPA)
JEDDAH: The wanted Saudi militant who attacked the Kingdom's anti-terror chief after pretending he wanted to surrender blew himself up while the official was on the phone reassuring another terrorist in Yemen it would be safe to return home, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.
The events that led up to Thursday's suicide bomb attack began when Yemen-based Saudi militant, Abdullah Hassan Tali Al-Asiri, got in touch with the authorities, saying he wanted to give himself up to Prince Muhammad bin Naif, assistant interior minister for security affairs.
Prince Muhammad agreed to see Al-Asiri and received him at his home in Jeddah late Thursday, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
Full Report at: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=125995&d=2&m=9&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
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A woman's right to inheritance
2 September 2009
Haya Al-Manie | Al-Riyadh
Nearly every day a woman comes to the court complaining that her money was taken by her husband, brother or father. These women often claim the husbands and brothers take their money to make them partners in a commercial project only to discover after some time that there is no such project. Another woman will have no paper to prove that she loaned her husband or brother money.
Some of our women are ignorant about their rights while others believe the money is a means of bondage and love, particularly with husbands. A third group of women will complain that their brothers have usurped their inheritance on the justification that their fathers' wealth cannot be bequeathed to strangers (including their sisters' husbands and siblings).
This is yet another problem that has nothing to do with Islam, but is rather tied to our social thinking and tradition that men are entitled to full control of the wealth of women who are related to them by marriage or blood.
I sympathize with the women whose inheritance is embezzled by their brothers. It is more of a predicament for them because they're more willing to lend money to family members. Does the father not write his will according to Shariah before his death, deciding what goes to whom?
Full Report at: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=13§ion=0&article=126006&d=2&m=9&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Local%20Press
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Muslims allowed at Black Eyed Peas gig
September 2, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has agreed to let Muslims attend a concert by US hip-hop stars Black Eyed Peas, reversing an earlier ban imposed because the show is sponsored by an alcoholic beverage company, officials said Wednesday.
Ticket sales opened to Muslims on Wednesday for the Sept 25 show, backed by Irish beer giant Guinness, said Bonor Seen, marketing manager for organiser Artiste World Entertainment.
An Information, Communications and Culture Ministry official, who declined to be named citing ministry policy, said the ban was lifted late last week and a letter was sent to the organiser.
She did not give further details or say why the Government lifted the ban, which had caused an outcry.
Government regulations forbid alcohol companies from organising public concerts. But this one -- part of worldwide celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Guinness' flagship brewery in Dublin -- was allowed in order to boost tourism, although with the initial condition that Muslims would be kept away.
Uncertainty over the Black Eyed Peas concert was not a first for Galaxy, the parent company of Artiste World Entertainment.
Full Report at: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/2/nation/20090902132209&sec=nation
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Head-to-toe Islamic veil rare in France
September 1, 2009
- Ben Piven
Multimedia producer Ben Piven lived in Paris in 2003. He explains the tension surrounding the French government's attempts to restrict Islamic dress.
A French Muslim woman wears a niqab in Paris.
Six years ago, I was looking for an apartment in the French capital. Searching for the 5-A buzzer, an American friend and I came across an old French man who thought we were trespassing.
"Vous allez faire un kamikaze?" he shouted, wondering whether we were about to blow up his building.
"Avez-vous un tapis de priere?" he asked in a southern French accent, assuming that we were Moroccans who carry prayer rugs.
We responded that we were just American students, despite our relatively swarthy complexions, and then he proceeded with an extremist anti-Arab rant.
This was my first exposure to virulent French racism and cultural insensitivity. His tirade echoed the xenophobia of the far-right Front National party, which had received 17 percent of the vote in France's 2002 presidential election.
Today, France is still wracked by intolerance and Islamophobia, despite a long tradition of democracy and dissent. As France struggles to integrate second-generation North Africans who are largely clustered in poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of cities, the Islamic dress controversy continues to rage.
In July, a report by French newspaper Le Monde revealed that just 367 women wear the full Islamic veil in France. The figure makes French President Nicholas Sarkozy seem heavy-handed in his recent declaration that the niqab was "not welcome." This piece of hard evidence, supplied by data from two domestic intelligence agencies, makes it unlikely that the center-right Sarkozy would pursue an absolute ban. The hyperactive leader is known for his pragmatism, and he doesn't want to appear too extremist.
The report comes amid a French legislative commission's investigation on the use of the full veil in public places. The panel seeks to address the style's popularity, and it will make a recommendation about the usefulness of a ban.
But there is linguistic confusion about the full veil. The Islamic article of clothing in question is actually the niqab (originally from Saudi Arabia), rather than the burka (popular in Afghanistan). An explanatory diagram in Le Point shows the differences between the three primary types of Muslim veil.
An Egyptian woman in Alexandria wearing a Burqini.
The evolution of conservative Islamic fashion does not stop there. In mid-August controversy erupted at a Paris pool surrounding the "burqini," a bathing suit designed by Australian company Ahiida to uphold the modesty of Muslim women.
An editorial accompanying the niqab statistic in left-leaning Le Monde criticized the need to "legislate for an exception" and further stigmatize French Islam. Declaring the niqab to be a phénomène ultraminoritaire (very rare phenomenon), the editorial recognizes that the several hundred women who wear the niqab are not sufficiently integrated into French culture.
The French are fierce defenders of their secular republic and will defend women's rights against fundamentalist religious customs such as the veil. But there are disagreements about whether it would be helpful to legislate religious expression in the public sphere.
"We cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," said the French president in June, frustrating many cultural commentators such as a blogger at "Moor Next Door":
The trouble the French may want to worry about is not the burqa as it is worn in France today, but that such a ban, as the headscarf ban has done, will make the garment a greater symbol of Muslim identity and sign of cultural defiance. France has done a good job at finding ways of alienating racial and religious minorities. Indeed, among Western nations it is a leader in this field. This is a quality that does little to further the assimilationist cause the French so actively pursue.
Source: http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/09/01/head-to-toe-islamic-veil-rare-in-france/6577/
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Top Baloch leader's killing sparks riots
PTI 2 September 2009
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: A leading Baloch nationalist leader was found dead more than a week after he was abducted by armed men, triggering violent protests in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province that claimed at least two lives.
The body of Balochistan National Movement leader Rasool Baksh Mengal, which was found hanging from a tree in Lasbela district of Balochistan on Monday, bore marks of torture, reports said.
Mengal, a well-known human rights activist, was abducted by unidentified men on August 23. Mengal's son had accused intelligence agencies of abducting him.
Full Report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/pakistan/Top-Baloch-leaders-killing-sparks-riots/articleshow/4961970.cms
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Intl conference on Russia's dialogue with Islamic world to be held in Moscow
01 September 2009
Moscow, September 1, Interfax - The international conference on Russia's dialogue with the Islamic world will be held in Moscow on September 24.
The purpose of the forum is to expand Russia's international cooperation with Muslim countries and Islamic organizations of Europe and U.S. in the sphere of science, culture, and economics, the Russian Council of Muftis has reported on its website.
Considerable attention will be given at the forum to the role of Islamic organizations in developing relations with Muslims outside Russia.
Full Report at: http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=6399
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Tweaking Harpoon serious, says US
Use of plutonium a major shift: Expert
Islamabad OK with Inspection
Washington: The US has taken "very seriously" the reports about illegal modifications made in the American-made Harpoon anti-ship missile by Pakistan, aimed to expand capabilities to strike land targets and a potential threat to India, even as Islamabad agreed for "mutual inspections".
Pakistani soldiers line up blindfolded militants, held during a raid in Khyber, in Peshawar on Tuesday. Troops destroyed four terror bases and killed 40 militants
"This is something that we take very seriously. We have raised the issue with the Pakistani government. The (Pakistani) government has responded with an agreement in principle for mutually agreed inspections," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P J Crowley said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan said it is ready to conduct a probe, marking a shift from its stand on Monday — when it had rejected the charge made with regard to the modification of Harpoon missiles.
Earlier, a New York Times report had said the US had lodged a diplomatic protest with Pakistan PM Yousaf Gilani over alleged alterations to anti-ship missiles Islamabad bought in the 1980s.
| Washington/New Delhi: Pakistan is shifting its nuclear arsenal base from uranium to plutonium, marking a major shift in its nuclear strategy, US experts told TOI.
''The fact that they are preparing nuclear-capable missiles suggests their scientists have been able to miniaturize nuclear warheads by using plutonium,'' Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists said. "They are shifting their nuclear base from uranium to plutonium... in a sense, they are turning a chapter.'' Plutonium-based warheads are lighter and easier to handle. India's nuclear arsenal is largely based on plutonium. Kristensen said Pakistan's weapons and deliver-systems can be assumed to be India-specific because Islamabad ''has not declared any other adversary.''
Former DRDO scientist K Santhanam said India had sufficient nuclear reserves to deal with Pakistan's augmented stockpile. Security experts, however, said this was a warning that India needs to get its act together. "Here is a sinking state which still has an advanced nuclear programme. On the other hand India, seen to be a rising power, is still struggling to meet its requirements. Pakistan, in fact, has stolen a march over India as far as missile development is concerned,'' said strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney. Kristensen and Robert Norris of the Natural Resources Defense Council say that the new facilities provide the Pakistani military with several options: fabricating weapons that use plutonium cores; mixing plutonium with HEU to make composite cores; and/or using tritium to "boost" warheads yield.
Source: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx
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Afghan Deputy Intel Chief, 22 Others Die in Blast
September 02, 2009
KABUL — A Taliban homicide bomber detonated his explosives as Afghanistan's deputy chief of intelligence visited a mosque east of Kabul on Wednesday, killing the Afghan official and 22 others.
The attack struck at the heart of Afghanistan's intelligence service and underscored the Taliban's increasing ability to carry off complex and targeted attacks.
The explosion ripped through a crowd in Laghman province just as officials were leaving the main mosque in Mehterlam, 60 miles east of Kabul. Two top provincial officials from Laghman were among the dead, and the blast destroyed several government vehicles.
A Taliban spokesman said a homicide bomber on foot targeted Abdullah Laghmani, the deputy chief of Afghanistan's National Directorate for Security. The spokesman for Laghman's governor, Sayed Ahmad Safi, confirmed Laghmani was killed.
Full Report at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,545543,00.html
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NATO's strategy is not working in Afghanistan, warns American commander
Are we approaching a tipping point in Afghanistan?
By David Hughes
September 1st, 2009
The American commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has warned that Nato's strategy is not working. In the coming weeks he is expected to press Barack Obama for even more troops - the President has already sent an additional 21,000, taking the US contingent to 68,000 - if the Taliban are to be nailed. McChrystal might find his request meeting an unenthusiastic response. For the growing evidence that Hamid Karzai has fiddled the Afghan election to give his rotten-to-the-core administration another four years to milk this benighted country has prompted more and more people to ask what on earth we are doing there. Polls show that opinion here and in the US is swinging against the war - YouGov found that two-thirds of voters in this country want us to pull out of a conflict that has so far cost more than 200 British lives for no discernible purpose. The Government's claim that if we abandon the fight against the Taliban, al-Qaeda will be emboldened and the streets of Britain will face greater terrorist dangers is beginning to look threadbare.
The Nato strategy has been brilliantly demolished in a Washington Post piece today by George Will who says that an effective counter-insurgency operation would require hundreds of thousands of coalition troops for a decade or more - "that is inconceivable", he argues. He says that America should only do what can be done offshore using drones, cruise missiles, Special Forces and the rest. Military types will argue that Will's game plan is fantasy fighting and there can be no substitute for boots on the ground. Yet I suspect that the Will thesis is going to start gaining a lot of traction in the coming months. He points out that the Afghan conflict has already lasted half as long again as the United States' combined involvement in both world wars. The time is surely fast approaching when American public opinion says "enough".
Source: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidhughes/100008127/are-we-approaching-a-tipping-point-in-afghanistan
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Iran unlikely to back down over IAEA's atom bomb probe
By Mark Heinrich
September 2, 2009
VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has raised the stakes in a Western standoff with Iran by lending credence to allegations it studied ways to make atom bombs, but Tehran looks unlikely to give ground.
Before big power talks on Wednesday on whether to sharpen sanctions against Iran, the agency released a summary of its probe into whether Tehran linked projects to process uranium, conduct high-altitude explosive tests relevant to detonating atom bombs, and tried to revamp a missile cone to house a nuclear payload.
No "smoking gun" proof of a bomb agenda emerged in the distillation of the five-year-old International Atomic Energy Agency investigation, reflected in an Aug. 28 IAEA report on Iran's contested uranium enrichment programme.
But in unusually forthright language, the IAEA said the intelligence was too consistent, comprehensive and detailed, coming from multiple sources at different times, for Iran to keep dodging scrutiny with blanket denials.
A senior diplomat close to the inquiry said serious "circumstantial suspicions" arose when myriad threads of information were pieced together, including procurement records and a military role in nuclear component production.
Iran denounced the intelligence, obtained from 10 countries, as forged or irrelevant and cut off dialogue about it with the IAEA a year ago. But it has also admitted to some research cited in the dossier, while denying this had any nuclear applications.
Asked what the summary's message was, a senior U.N. official said "there is a real basis" in the allegations and Iran must stop withholding documentation, access to sites and to nuclear officials for interviews needed to establish the truth.
Full Report at: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/2/worldupdates/2009-09-02T004812Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-421515-1&sec=Worldupdates
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Syria-Iraq: Uneasy Ties
2 September 2009
The tension between Iraq and Syria last month has now reached boiling point. First, we had both neighbouring states recalling their envoys over allegations of Syrian involvement in terrorist attacks in Baghdad that claimed more than a hundred lives in August. We now find both Iraq and Syria in an unabated exchange of harsh words, prompting Turkey to intervene in a bid to defuse the regional tensions.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad, as expected, has reacted strongly to Iraqi allegations. There are claims that the terrorists apprehended for suspected involvement in the attacks were trained in militant camps along the Iraq-Syria border. Iraq saying that these camps are operating with full knowledge of Syrian Intelligence is tantamount to alleging the complicity of Damascus in these attacks. Not only has Syria been blamed for sheltering masterminds of the recent attacks, it is also accused of hosting several terrorist training camps, specifically run for destabilising neighbouring Iraq.
Full Report at: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/editorial/2009/September/editorial_September4.xml§ion=editorial&col=
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Ramadan gifts for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel
by Maayana Miskin
01 Sep, 2009
(IsraelNN.com) The Palestinian Authority has voted to allocate one million shekels – more than $250,000 – for presents for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The money will be distributed in honour of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The gifts were announced at a time when PA leaders say they are facing a severe budget crisis, and have turned to international backers to provide funds. The PA gets billions of dollars a year in international aid, primarily from the United States and the European Union.
The Ramadan gifts will be an addition to the normal monthly PA aid to prisoners serving time in Israel. Support is given not only to PA Arabs serving time, but also to Israeli Arabs convicted of security-related offenses, or in PA terms, "fighting the Israeli occupation."
Full Report at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133219
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Muslim roots in Jerusalem as deep as Jews, Christians
Hussam Ayloush, director
Council on American-Islamic
Relations, Greater Los Angeles Area
Anaheim, Calif.
Kinetic Journal, Morning Sentinel
09/02/2009
In his letter to the editor ("Jerusalem belongs to Jews, not Muslims," Aug. 23), Andrew Busque denies Islam's historical connection to Jerusalem.
Muslim roots in Jerusalem go as deep in history as their faith in all the prophets, up to the Prophet Muhammad, who instructed Muslims initially to pray in the direction of Jerusalem.
The Islamic centrepiece of Jerusalem is Haram Al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the compound in the Old City that contains both the Dome of the Rock mosque and the even more significant Al-Aqsa mosque, one of the three holiest places in the world for Muslims.
The Quran states: "Glorified be He (God) who took his servant (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Haram mosque (in Mecca) to Al-Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem), whose precincts We have blessed." (17:1)
This verse refers to the Prophet Muhammad's miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from the rock now located in the Dome of the Rock mosque to heaven. Many other references in the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad focus on the significance of Jerusalem, repeatedly calling it the sacred land and the blessed land.
While maintaining a strong historical connection to Jerusalem, Muslims also recognize its importance to the Christian and Jewish faiths. Any lasting peace in the Middle East will depend on respecting the historical claims of Muslims, Christians and Jews, thereby symbolizing the religious tolerance and freedom for which this holy city stands.
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70 yrs on, Merkel says: We started WWII
Gdansk: Europe was on Tuesday paying solemn tribute to victims of World War II as German chancellor Angela Merkel lamented the "endless suffering" caused by Germany under the Nazis amid ceremonies marking 70 years since the conflict began.
A girl boards the Winton train at Prague on Tuesday. The train re-traced the original trip from Prague to London with several survivors and descendants of 669 'Winton's children' on board. The kids were rescued by Nicholas Winton in 1939 from being sent to Nazi concentration camps.
Veterans of the six-year conflict, which claimed an estimated 50 million lives, joined Poland's president and prime minister at a pre-dawn ceremony in the port of Gdansk — the venue of the first battle on September 1, 1939, when a German ship fired on a small Polish naval base.
Full Report at: http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/building-churches-in-god-egypt/d/1714