Chinese Muslims banned from fasting in Ramadan
UK soldier chops off fingers of dead Taliban as souvenir
Pak nationals helped Taliban to shoot down US helicopter'
Saudi Arabia Recalls Syria Envoy as Assad Defends Crackdown
'South Punjab' demand gains momentum in Pakistan
Why Karachi’s violence shouldn’t define city: Fatima Bhutto
British soldier killed by Afghan boy for $80
Osama killers dead in Afghan crash? ISAF says no
'Terrorist' killed in Poonch encounter not a Lashkar man: Army
Woman, children killed in NATO raid in Afghanistan
Two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Pluralism, Tolerance in Indonesia under Growing Threat
Disrupted dialogue: Purported Taliban negotiator ‘goes missing’
Pak aspiring to send astronaut aboard Chinese spacecraft
CIA behind Karachi violence: Hafiz Saeed
Article sparks protest at Swamy house
Has Vastanvi been wronged?
Kingdom seeks end to bloodshed in Syria, recalls ambassador
China unrest: Xinjiang's Zhang Chunxian vows crackdown
Second NATO Helicopter Crashes; Afghans Protest Over
Al-Qaeda targets children with new cartoon
Is global Islamophobia to blame for the Oslo massacres?
Taliban: Most Islamic Battles were Fought During Ramadan
Pakistan’s Super flood was not a natural disaster
Karzai calls Obama to condole death of marines
Ramadhan, a time to promote unity in Nigeria
Never mind the jihad, The protesters of the Arab Spring are both Muslim and radical
Sheikh with links to Irish Muslims is refused visa
Resentment growing over bail to saffron terror suspects
"Islamic humanities should be based on Islamic philosophy"
Fear of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant attacks now spreads to Greece
Pakistani official: 200 militants killed in a month
Moktada al-Sadr Warns U.S. Troops to Leave Iraq
AQIM launches indoctrination campaign along Mali-Mauritania border
Another fake encounter in J&K, slain Lashkar 'terrorist' a Hindu civilian
UK diplomats talk to Pakistan to rein in JuD chief Hafiz Saeed
'We're relieved Bangladesh isn't with Pakistan anymore': Bangladeshi writer
Muslim Law Pronounced in London
Muslim “Shariah” law comes to Britain
Withdrawal of Islamic Insurgents a ‘Golden Opportunity,’ says Somali Government Official
Agencies struggle to dismantle Hizb ut-Tahrir network
Solomon’s solution: Babies swapped at Karachi maternity home
Massive protests hit Netanyahu Govt in Israel
‘India can help nail ISI in US 26/ 11 trial’
Tough Ramzan for Pakistanis
Exorbitant rents leave many unable to spend Ramadan in Grand Mosque
India’s Picasso finally home after death: His works up for display
Arrest warrant issued for ex-Bangladesh PM's son
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/chinese-muslims-banned-fasting-ramadan/d/5204
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Chinese Muslims banned from fasting in Ramadan
Aug 8, 2011
Amid fresh arrests, restrictions on fasting and prayers at mosques, Uighur Muslims are suffering under the latest episode of Chinese government crackdown on their ethnic minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Amid fresh arrests, restrictions on fasting and prayers at mosques, Uighur Muslims are suffering under the latest episode of Chinese government crackdown on their ethnic minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
“If any religious figure discusses Ramadan during the course of religious activities, or encourages people to take part, then they will lose their license to practice,” Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, told on Friday, August 5.
“The more serious cases will result in arrests for incitement to engage in illegal religious activity,” he said.
A day before the start of the holy fasting month for China’s Muslims, at least 11 people were killed in a series of attacks in the north-western region of Xinjiang.
Chinese authorities blamed the attacks to the ethnic minority, after which the Chinese police shot dead two Muslims last Sunday.
The attacks came less than two weeks after 18 people were killed in an attack in the restive Xinjiang region.
Following the unrest, more than 100 uighurs were detained by Chinese authorities.
Most of those detained as suspects were committed Muslims who attended mosque and whose wives wore veils, residents say.
Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, was the scene of deadly violence in July 2009 when the mainly Muslim Uighur minority vented resentment over Chinese restrictions in the region.
In the following days, mobs of angry Han took to the streets looking for revenge in the worst ethnic violence that China had seen in decades.The unrest left nearly 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to government figures. But Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority, say the toll was much higher and mainly from their community.
China’s authorities have convicted about 200 people, mostly Uighurs, over the riots and sentenced 26 of them to death.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=258304
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UK soldier chops off fingers of dead Taliban as souvenir
August 8, 2011
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were one of several regiments deployed to Helmand
The Ministry of Defence is investigating claims that a soldier sliced fingers off dead Taliban fighters to keep as souvenirs.
It is understood the allegations relate to a soldier from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders who was serving in Afghanistan.
The claims centre on the battalion's last tour of duty in the country.
It was deployed in Helmand from September 2010 until April this year, tasked with training Afghan police.
Soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, are recruited in Scotland but based in Canterbury, in Kent.
Douglas Young, executive chairman of the British Armed Forces Federation, said he was "shocked" to learn of the investigation.
He added: "While the facts still need to be established, if there turns out to be anything in these claims, clearly the MoD are correct to treat the matter very seriously.
"The alleged behaviour is totally out of kilter with the ethos of the armed forces."
The MoD would not be drawn on whether the soldier in question had been suspended pending the investigation's findings.
A defence spokesman said: "This is a very serious allegation and it would be wrong for us to comment. An investigation is ongoing."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-14441627
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Pak nationals helped Taliban to shoot down US helicopter'
Aug 08 2011
London : Four Pakistani nationals had helped the Taliban shoot down a US military helicopter in Afghanistan, which killed 30 Navy Seals and other troops, an Afghan government official has claimed.
Citing intelligence “gathered from the area”, the official blamed Taliban commander Qari Tahir for masterminding the attack.
He said that Tahir lured US forces to the scene by telling them there was a Taliban meeting taking place there.
“Now it’s confirmed that the helicopter was shot down and it was a trap that was set by the Taliban commander,” the Telegraph quoted the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying.
“The Taliban knew which route the helicopter would take,” he added.
The official said that intelligence also showed that the Chinook helicopter was brought down by multiple shots including “modern weapons”.
He further said that the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan “thinks this was a retaliation attack for the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.”
According to reports, of the 30 Americans killed, there were 22 Navy Seals, three Air Force combat controllers and a dog handler, his dog and four crewmembers.
Most of the Seals belonged to the same elite unit that killed Bin Laden, although they were not the same people who participated in the May 2 raid in Pakistan.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-nationals-helped-taliban-to-shoot-down-us-helicopter/828802/
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Saudi Arabia Recalls Syria Envoy as Assad Defends Crackdown
August 8, 2011
Damascus. Saudi Arabia recalled its envoy to Syria in a major escalation of international pressure Monday after security forces killed more than 50 people and the regime defended its crackdown on 'outlaws.'
The surprise move by Riyadh, the Middle East's Sunni Muslim heavyweight, followed condemnation by Pope Benedict XVI and the Arab League over the continuing bloodshed.
"Saudi Arabia announces the recall of its ambassador for consultations," the king said in a statement and urged Damascus to "stop the killing machine and the bloodshed... before it is too late".
"The kingdom does not accept the situation in Syria, because the developments cannot be justified," he said, urging "comprehensive and quick reforms".
"The future of Syria lies between two options: either Syria chooses willingly to resort to reason, or face being swept into deep chaos, God forbid," he said.
He branded the crackdown on protests immoral and in breach of Islamic teaching.
"Large numbers of martyrs have fallen, their blood has been shed, and many others have been wounded... This is not in accord with religion, values and morals," he said.
He reminded the Syrian government of Saudi support "in the past" but said that the Gulf kingdom had to take an "historic" decision.
The US envoy to Damascus, Robert Ford, who returned to Syria on Thursday, said in a US television interview on Sunday that Washington will "try to ratchet up the pressure" on President Bashar al--Assad's regime.
Ford, who infuriated the Syrian authorities with a visit to the flashpoint protest city of Hama last month, also told ABC news that the violence against protesters was "grotesque" and "abhorrent."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meanwhile has asked Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to press Syria to "return its military to the barracks," during his visit to Damascus on Tuesday, an official said.
Clinton spoke by telephone with Davutoglu on Sunday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in Washington.
"Secretary Clinton discussed the US position that Syria must immediately return its military to barracks and release all prisoners of concern," Toner said.
Activists said security forces backed by tanks killed 42 civilians in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor and at least 10 more in the central town of Hula on Sunday.
"Forty--two civilians have been killed and more than 100 wounded in Deir Ezzor by gunfire from the armed forces and security agents," Syrian League for the Defense of Human Rights head Abdel Karim Rihawi told AFP.
In Hula in Homs district, at least 10 people were killed in a military assault, Rihawi said.
"About 25 tanks and troop carriers entered Hula and carried out military operations," another activist, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain--based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said earlier.
The Observatory also reported two civilians shot dead in Idlib in the northwest by security forces firing on mourners at a funeral.
Abdel Rahman said hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Syria's second city Aleppo in the north late on Sunday, demanding the fall of the regime and proclaiming solidarity with Deir Ezzor and Hama.
Assad roundly defended his security forces, however.
"To deal with outlaws who cut off roads, seal towns and terrorise residents is a duty of the state which must defend security and protect the lives of civilians," state news agency SANA quoted him as saying.
SANA also quoted an official military source as dismissing claims that the army was shelling Deir Ezzor with tanks as "completely false and untrue."
The latest bloodshed came as the pope said he was "following with deep concern the dramatic and increasing episodes of violence in Syria that have led to numerous victims and grave suffering."
The Arab League made its first official statement on the unrest, calling on Damascus to "immediately" stop the violence that has raged since mid--March.
Secretary General Nabil al--Arabi also urged an "impartial probe" into the bloodshed, warning against "chaos" and "religious strife" in Syria, it said.
US and European leaders pledged to consider new steps to punish Syria after security forces killed more than 30 people on the first Friday of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting.
Syria's government has sought to crush the democracy movement with force, leaving at least 2,059 people dead, including 391 members of the security forces, according to the Syrian Observatory.
The Assad regime has pledged reform and accused "armed terrorist gangs" of fomenting the unrest.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/world/saudi-arabia-recalls-syria-envoy-as-assad-defends-crackdown/457910
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'South Punjab' demand gains momentum in Pakistan
August 8, 2011
Lahore : The proposal to carve out a new province of South Punjab from Pakistan's most populous and politically crucial state of Punjab has gained momentum, with all parties except the ruling PML-N agreeing to it.
Following a resolution moved by the PML-Q to create a new province comprising 11 districts in the Seraiki-speaking belt, the Punjab Assembly will debate the matter when it meets on August 11 for a session requisitioned by the Pakistan People's Party.
The creation of new provinces, especially South Punjab, is being vigorously debated on talk shows on TV news channels and in the media.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Punjab Governor Latif Khosa, all leaders of the PPP, have underlined the need for new provinces on administrative grounds.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif, whose PML-N party rules Punjab, has constituted a committee of party members to come up with recommendations on the issue.
Javed Hashmi, a senior vice-president of the PML-N who has been sidelined by the party, has not only backed the move to create South Punjab but called for dividing Punjab, a province of over 90 million people, into four provinces.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/south-punjab-demand-gains-momentum-in-pakistan/828427/
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Why Karachi’s violence shouldn’t define city: Fatima Bhutto
August 8, 2011
* Says it is a city now plagued by internecine violence, targeted killings and lawlessness
KARACHI: Karachi has long been the face Pakistan wished to show to the world. The port city, one of the largest cities in the world, placed sixth or seventh, depending on whom you ask, with a population of more than 18 million, once represented the ideal of what Pakistan ought to have been.
Karachi was and still is the nation’s most ethnically diverse, carrying a reputation for being generously accepting and accommodating, a city that opened its doors to refugees, to migrants, to traders, artists and business communities who sought a harbour from which to connect to the outside shores.
With communities as varied as Zoroastrians whose philanthropy built much of the city, Jews at one time, Baha’is and Hindus amongst many others, Karachi is undoubtedly the most religiously tolerant of its fellow cities. But this is no longer the face of Karachi that the world can see, writes Fatima Bhutto, the granddaughter of Pakistan’s first elected Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in a write-up for CNN and posted on its website.
It is a city now plagued by internecine violence, targeted killings and lawlessness. Karachi has become the battleground, as it always has been, for the country’s inept and corrupt political elements. Even though 70 percent of the total annual tax revenue collected by Pakistan’s government comes from Karachi, the country’s stock exchange is here, and it is the commercial pulse of Pakistan, the government has been content to let the carnage in Karachi fester.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\08\story_8-8-2011_pg7_6
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British soldier killed by Afghan boy for $80
August 8, 2011
LONDON: A British soldier was blown up by a boy in Afghanistan for just $80 he was promised for the act, a media report said.
Stephen Curley, 26, died instantly when the 14-year-old set off a roadside bomb, The Star newspaper reported Saturday.
When Aga Wali went to collect his cash, Taliban militants broke their promise and refused to pay up, telling him he should have been fighting for religious reasons, not money.
The boy was left feeling betrayed, and confessed to the crime days later after his dad turned him in to police.
The teenager had been jailed but it was not known for how long or whether he is still in custody.
Curley was leading a patrol in Helmand province in May last year when he was killed. An inquest in Exeter, Devon, heard he was targeted as patrol leader in a new Taliban tactic and was easily identified by the radio aerial in his backpack.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/British-soldier-killed-by-Afghan-boy-for-80/articleshow/9518691.cms
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Osama killers dead in Afghan crash? ISAF says no
August 8, 2011
Washington : As the US mourned the death of its 30 soldiers, including Navy SEALs from the broader unit that killed Osama bin Laden, in a chopper crash in Afghanistan, a probe has been launched to determine the exact cause of the incident that led to the biggest single loss for American troops in the decade-long war.
"No words describe the sorrow we feel in the wake of this tragic loss" of 38 lives -- 30 US troops, seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter, General John R Allen, International Security Assistant Force Commander (ISAF), said in a statement from Kabul.
Following the crash on Saturday, the Afghan Taliban claimed that its militants shot down the helicopter in Wardak province of Afghanistan, according to SITE intelligence.
Among those killed in the deadliest attack on the foreign troops were 25 US special operations forces troops, including 22 Navy SEALS from the same group which was involved in the covert US military operation to kill al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May this year. But none of the SEAL members, who died on Saturday, were personally involved in the Osama operation.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/osama-killers-dead-in-afghan-crash-isaf-says-no/828346/
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'Terrorist' killed in Poonch encounter not a Lashkar man: Army
Sanjay Khajuria
Aug 8, 2011
JAMMU: Army sources claim that the "terrorist" killed by the security forces in a Poonch encounter a couple of days ago was actually an innocent civilian and a victim of misinformation and "foul play."
The security forces had claimed that they eliminated Abu Usman alias Abu Adnan alias Doctor, a self styled foreign based area commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terror outfit, in a gun battle in Hari forest of Surankote of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, Army sources in Poonch said that the slain person has now been identified as Ashok Kumar, son of Chet Ram of Reasi.
"An autopsy revealed that that the person killed in the encounter on the intervening night of August 5th & 6th was not a 'militant' but a 'civilian'," the Army sources said.
The sources said that Noor Hussain of Special Operation Group (SOG) and Abdul Majid of Territorial Army (TA) had misinformed the security forces about the presence of an LeT Commander in the area.
An officer with 16 Corps of Northern Command confirming the incident said, "There seems to be some foul play as false inputs were provided to the security forces about the militants following which a trap was laid on Saturday night and one person was killed yesterday morning."
He said that two members of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and Territorial Army (TA) who provided the information to the security forces were being interrogated. He said that the slain man was a non-Muslim but his identity was yet to be ascertained.
"The police and the army have jointly initiated an enquiry into the conspiracy and the civilian's entrapment in the gun battle," he added. The spokesperson said that a strict action would be taken against the guilty.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lashkar-commander-killed-in-JK-a-civilian-two-securitymen-arrested/articleshow/9529009.cms
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Woman, children killed in NATO raid in Afghanistan
RAY RIVERA
Aug 8, 2011
A woman and seven young children were killed in southern Afghanistan when a coalition patrol called in an airstrike against insurgents firing on them from a mud compound, said Afghan officials on Saturday. NATO said it was investigating the attack.
Habibullah Shamlani, Governor of Nad-Ali, the district in Helmand province where the attack occurred, said the NATO foot patrol came under fire on Friday from the compound. One soldier was killed, and an Afghan interpreter was wounded. The home belonged to Mullah Abdul Hadi (50), a local imam who Afghan officials say was helping the Taliban.
He was killed along with one of his two wives and his seven children, all younger than 7 years old, Mr. Shamlani said.
“People from the area said the imam was involved in making IEDs,” or improvised explosive devices, said Mr. Shamlani. “We found three hand grenades in his house.”
NATO would not confirm whether any civilians were killed. But in a statement it said that “shortly following the engagement, coalition forces received reports that civilians were being held captive by the insurgents and may have been present during the airstrike.”
A coalition team was meeting with local leaders to investigate, the statement said.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/article2334663.ece
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Two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan
August 8, 2011
PARIS - Two French Foreign Legion soldiers were among four NATO troops killed Sunday in two separate insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, the French presidency said.
The French soldiers were killed in the Tagab valley in Kapisa province north of Kabul, it said. Their deaths brought to 72 the number of French soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since 2001.
The other attack on Sunday, in the south of the country, was reported by NATO but the alliance did not give details or state the nationality of the troops.
The new deaths follow a deadly helicopter crash Saturday that killed 30 US Special Operations soldiers and seven of their Afghan counterparts in Wardak, a troubled region near Kabul.
France has some 4,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The latest fatalities bring to 383 the number of foreign soldiers killed so far this year, against 711 for the whole of last year, according to the independent website icasualties.org.
Afghanistan is in the grip of a deadly insurgency launched in late 2001 by the remnants of the Taliban whose regime was toppled in a US-led invasion after the September 11 attacks.
There are tens of thousands of Western, mostly US troops deployed to Afghanistan to quell the insurgency.
The US has already started drawing down its troops in a process that will see Afghan security forces taking over all security responsibilities from foreign forces by 2014.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/August/international_August287.xml§ion=international&col=
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Pluralism, Tolerance in Indonesia Under Growing Threat
August 8, 2011
Indonesia's two largest Muslim groups count a third of the country's population as followers, but appear to be losing ground in shaping the national conversation about Islam.
Drowned out by the raucous voices of Islamic political parties and confrontational hardline groups, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah are being squeezed out of the picture, which analysts fear could ultimately damage Indonesia's brand of pluralism and tolerance.
The two groups boast a combined membership of 80 million and share a common goal of upholding Islamic teachings, but increasingly, it is the political parties and radical groups that are pushing the boundaries and setting the pace in trying to define what Islam stands for with their attacks on what they deem immoral behavior and deviant practices.
In 2008, for instance, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lobbied for an anti-pornography law which banned some traditional cultural dances that were considered too sexy. Meanwhile, radical groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Hizbut Tahrir have made the headlines for attacking religious minorities such as the Ahmadiyah sect.
'The order now has changed,' said Broto Wardoyo, an analyst in terrorism studies at the University of Indonesia.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/pluralism-tolerance-in-indonesia-under-growing-threat/457601
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Disrupted dialogue: Purported Taliban negotiator ‘goes missing’
By Tahir Khan
August 8, 2011
ISLAMABAD: It may have been just talk after all.
A purported Taliban official mediating with the Americans can no longer be traced, frustrating the US attempts to hold another round of talks as they seek a negotiated settlement to the decade-old conflict in Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.
Former US defence secretary Robert Gates had confirmed late June that the US was holding ‘outreach’ talks with members of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It was the first time the US had acknowledged such contact. A day prior to that statement, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had also disclosed that the US had been in contact with the Taliban.
While Gates and Karzai confirmed talks with the Taliban, they did not disclose the name of the Taliban leader involved in the reported talks.
The media, however, reported that US officials met Tayyab Agha, a close confidant of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar.
Agha, an ethnic Pashtun from Kandahar, also served as Mullah Omar’s spokesperson and the first secretary in the Taliban-led Afghan embassy in Pakistan during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/226557/disrupted-dialogue-purported-taliban-negotiator-goes-missing/
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Pak aspiring to send astronaut aboard Chinese spacecraft
August 8, 2011
Pakistan is keen to send an astronaut on board a Chinese spacecraft, a top diplomat has said as the two countries are set to launch a Pakistani satellite soon.
“It is our natural aspiration that a Pakistani astronaut aboard a Chinese spacecraft flies to the space,” Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Masood Khan said ahead of the launch of Paksat-1R. “This is possible because Pakistan and China enjoy relations of trust and confidence,” he said.
The Pakistan Communication Satellite, Paksat-1R is due to be launched from Chinese satellite launching site located at Xichang city in the second week of August, depending on weather conditions. Paksat-1R will replace Paksat-1 which is going to complete its useful life in 2011. “Launching of a communication satellite is going to be a new symbolic development in Pakistan-China relations, as this will broaden the horizons of our cooperation,” Khan was quoted as saying by the official APP news agency.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/359142/Pak-aspiring-to-send-astronaut-aboard-Chinese-spacecraft.html
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CIA behind Karachi violence: Hafiz Saeed
August 8, 2011
CIA agents are behind the recent violence in Karachi that has taken hundreds of lives, Hafiz Saeed, founder of banned militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), who now heads the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), told a gathering of religious scholars in the troubled Pakistani city on Sunday. Saeed said India had been greatly discomfited by the U.S plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, and asked religious scholars to unite for the security of Pakistan.
http://www.indianexpress.com/video/international/21/cia-behind-karachi-violence-hafiz-saeed/5728
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Article sparks protest at Swamy house
August 8, 2011
New Delhi: Activists of a national political party allegedly stormed the compound of Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy in southeast Delhi on Sunday.
They ransacked his garden and smashed flowerpots.The group was protesting against a controversial article written Swamy in a national newspaper,the police said.The incident took place at around 5.15pm,when the police received a call about protests at Swamy's house in East Nizamuddin.
Swamy posted a comment on Twitter stating: Rowdy Congress persons break open into my Nizamuddin compound (and) destruct my garden.Police have arrived.Please inform police (sic). In another tweet,Swamy said: A plainclothe police officer was witness and has given evidence for FIR.
A senior officer from the district said 15 slogan-shouting men entered the garden after enquiring from the guards about Swamys address.
The protesters ransacked the garden and left within 15 minutes.The police have lodged a case of trespassing and mischief.We are investigating into the political affiliation of these.No one has been arrested, said a senior officer.As a preventive step,we have deputed a team of around 15 policemen at Swamys house, said the officer.
Times of India
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Has Vastanvi been wronged?
By Aziz A. Mubaraki
August 8, 2011
It is unfortunate the way Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, the former vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband seminary, was summarily dismissed from his office. Significantly, his dismissal took place despite a panel formed to probe the allegations against Vastanvi had failed to prove the charges against him. This incident has proved to be a matter of shame for south Asia’s possibly most famous Islamic seminary, which is otherwise known for its moderate views.
There is absolutely no doubt that Gujarat riots is a blot on India’s modern history. It’s a fact that despite having their rights the Muslims in Gujarat are denied benefits or help from the states in most terms. In rural areas and urban slums poorer Muslims are in worst conditions. Few Muslims in Gujarat are possibly in better shape because of their own strength and endeavour. The state is no way responsible for those few Muslims’ prosperity.
Following the 2002 riots, Muslims in Gujarat have got the only consolation prize that some committees have been formed to investigate the cases of attacks against the Muslims. It is not that much heartening, (as mentioned by some) to note that Gujarat has not seen communal unrest for many years now because that’s what it should be- that’s the "Raj Dharma".
But whatever the situation the state’s pluralistic nature needs to be protected at any cost, and a more accommodating approach for all is required towards a better nation building. Vastanvi’s views should not have been misconstrued as prejudiced ones. He has been misunderstood and it certainly sends out faulty message in a democracy like ours
http://twocircles.net/2011aug07/has_vastanvi_been_wronged.html?utm_source=
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Kingdom seeks end to bloodshed in Syria, recalls ambassador
August 8, 2011
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria on Monday, and said he was withdrawing the Saudi ambassador from Damascus in protest.
“What is happening in Syria is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia,” he said in a speech aired on Al-Arabiya satellite television.
King Abdullah said he was recalling Ambassador Abdullah Al-Aifan for consultation on developments in the troubled Arab nation.
“Syria should think wisely before it’s too late and issue and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms,” he said. “Either it chooses wisdom on its own or it will be pulled down into the depths of turmoil and loss.
"The events are grave and cannot be justified, and this has resulted in the loss of large numbers of lives and left many injured. This cannot be contemplated by any sane Muslim, Arab or other human being," he said. He added that all should be aware that what's happening in Syria cannot be condoned by Islam.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article484965.ece
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China unrest: Xinjiang's Zhang Chunxian vows crackdown
Aug 8, 2011
The top Communist Party official in Xinjiang has promised a harsh crackdown on terrorism and religious extremism in the restive western region in China.
Zhang Chunxian was responding to unrest in two cities last month that left dozens of people dead and injured.
Beijing has blamed much of the violence on Uighur Islamic militants.
But exiled Uighur groups say resentment at decades of heavy-handed rule by Beijing - and the influx of majority Han Chinese - is the real cause.
"[We] must maintain a strike-hard policy in the crackdown against terrorists... to resolutely curb the continued occurrences of violent terrorist cases," Mr Zhang told party members at a meeting on Friday.
He also pledged to fight leaders of "religious extremist forces" and crack down on "the planning and implementation of terrorist violence that makes use of violence", AFP quoted a statement on the regional government website as saying.
The BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says officials often link religious extremism with terrorism when they talk about Xinjiang.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14443274
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Second NATO Helicopter Crashes; Afghans Protest Over
August 8, 2011
KABUL (Reuters) - A NATO helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's east on Monday but there were no apparent casualties, officials said, a reminder of the dangers of the war after 38 people were killed in an air incident two days ago, the largest single loss of foreign forces in 10 years.
A worrying surge of military deaths is being matched by record casualties among civilians, who continue to bear the brunt of a war that appears to have become bogged down despite claims of success from both sides.
On Monday, three hundred angry Afghans took to the streets in central Ghazni province carrying the bodies of two people they claimed had been killed during a raid by ISAF troops.
Civilian casualties caused by foreign troops hunting insurgents have long been a major source of friction between Kabul and its Western backers. U.N. figures show such casualties hit record levels in the first six months of 2011, although it blamed 80 percent of them on insurgents.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/08/07/world/asia/international-us-afghanistan-violence.html?ref=global-home&gwh=61DC845FA6DFDA81BB181AAD2C80B1BE
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Al-Qaeda targets children with new cartoon
August 8, 2011
Analysts say an animated film produced by al-Qaeda is another attempt to rehabilitate the group's tarnished image.
The announcement by alleged supporters of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula that they are creating an animated film designed to teach children about the group's ideology has stirred controversy in the Arab world.
The announcement was published on "al-Shumoukh", a website used by various branches of al-Qaeda. An alleged jihadist using the nickname Abu Laith al-Yemeni made the announcement. Al-Yemeni said he is producing a cartoon for children to draw them to al-Qaeda's ideology.
Al-Yemeni, who claims to be a supporter of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, presented four scenes from an animated film, which is "in the final stages" of production and addresses al-Qaeda's history. The Quilliam Foundation, a London think tank devoted to countering extremism, said the film aims to inspire children to commit acts of terrorism.
Al-Yemeni said the cartoon is "a very exciting story that presents the facts about who let down the Islamic religion and the Prophet, and who among Arab leaders are agents of the West, among other topics. The cartoon aims to encourage children to follow in the footsteps of Islamist jihadist figures and features real events and heroic acts by the mujahedeen in the Prophet's peninsula."
Full report at:
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/reportage/2011/08/05/reportage-01
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Is global Islamophobia to blame for the Oslo massacres?
By George Morgan
8 August 2011
Anders Behring Breivik, is in solitary confinement having admitted to the Oslo massacres of July 22 in which at least 77 people died. Most of the victims were members of the youth wing of the Norwegian Labour Party, a Party with a history of support for multiculturalism and religious tolerance.
Breivik allegedly believed he was part of a violent crusade against Islam; a shock troop in what Samuel Huntington has called the ‘clash of civilisations’. His lawyer has stated that he is probably insane a conjecture supported by some columnists and accredited experts on the psychology of mass murder. Such a characterisation is glib and strangely reassuring. How can anyone capable of such atrocities be anything but insane?
Whether or not this diagnosis is confirmed through legal process, it is important to recognise that it allows us to evade some complicated questions. If Breivik is a deranged monster, one who has lost all sense of moral proportion or attachment to reality, then there is less need to understand his acts in the context of the rise of new racial politics in the contemporary West.
Full report at:
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12431
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Taliban: Most Islamic Battles were Fought During Ramadan
August 8, 2011
This report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM.)
A statement issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government) has stressed that most Islamic battles were waged during the holy month of Ramadan, and that the Taliban "are accelerating their jihadi activities."
The Taliban statement added, "The mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate that are holding their position on the frontline of jihad against infidels have made a strong commitment that they will celebrate this month of affection and devotion with their tireless jihadi efforts." The month of Ramadan began yesterday.
Following is the text of the Taliban statement:[1]
"By the grace and elegance of Almighty Allah we are attaining another month of Ramadan, and have reached another season of Allah's compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. According to the Koranic verses and sayings of the holy Prophet (PBUH), Ramadan is the sacred month in which the Holy Koran was bestowed upon him (PBUH) and rewarded to the Muslim ummah.
Full report at:
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5536.htm
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Pakistan’s Super flood was not a natural disaster
By Ali Usman
August 8, 2011
DERA GHAZI KHAN: Last year’s floods, which affected around 20 million people across the country, weren’t a natural disaster – they were a mistake on the part of our government.
The government, in its effort to produce water, melted glaciers in the north using lasers. The experiment went awry and things got out of control, bringing forth the worst floods in the history of Pakistan.
You might dismiss the aforementioned as absurd, but this is precisely what most people ardently believe in flood-hit areas from Muzaffargarh to Rajanpur.
Though a year has passed since the floods hit and rehabilitation work is under way, locals in stricken areas still believe in conspiracy theories.
“Not just the common people but elected representatives of our areas have time and again said that lasers were used to melt glaciers and the water went out of control,” a local in Muzaffargarh, Malik Mureed, told The Express Tribune.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/226558/super-flood-blamed-on-lasers-a-cruel-pathan/
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Karzai calls Obama to condole death of marines
Aug 8, 2011
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai made a telephone call to his American counterpart, Barack Obama to express his condolence on death of more than 30 U.S. soldiers in a helicopter crash.
“President Obama received a call from President Karzai of Afghanistan, who reiterated his condolences for the tragic loss of 30 American service-members yesterday in Afghanistan,” the White House said in a statement on Sunday.
Mr. Obama noted the extraordinary service of the Americans who gave their lives, and expressed his condolences for the Afghans who died serving by their side.
“The two Presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the mission in Afghanistan, which is critical to the security of both our countries, and agreed to stay in close contact,” the White House said.
According to an Afghan diplomat, during their telephone conference, Mr. Karzai expressed his deep sympathies and condolences to Obama and the families and relatives of the victims of the tragic loss of 31 U.S. soldiers in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan.
“Obama thanked President Karzai for sympathising and stressed on the fight against the terrorist who are the threat to regional and world security and said that the people of Afghanistan and the U.S. stand against terrorists and their sacrifice in this way will never be forgotten,” the diplomat said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2335261.ece
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Ramadhan, a time to promote unity in Nigeria
Aug 8, 2011
The Ramadhan lecture to promote peaceful coexistence and national unity was organized by the Al-habibiyya Islamic Society of Nigeria.
The guest lecturer Mr. Ridhwan Mustapha explained that the month of ramadhan was chosen for this lecture because it is the month of divine mercy, forgiveness and the month of freedom from hellfire.
Absence of peace at national and global levels he says is the result of prejudices that cut across religion, politics, and race.
Mr. Mustapha said injustice, denial of human rights, domination, greed and hypocrisy are the instruments used to advance prejudices in society.
The lecture therefore asked Muslims to take good advantage of Allah's guidance through complete submission.
Mr. Mustapha said Muslims should be kind to fellow human beings, work honestly for peace because Islam is a religion of peace.
Many people in this lecture believe that there are many negative impressions about Islam that are not part of the religion.
One of these negative attributes is violence and scholars arranged this lecture to assist in correcting these negative perceptions.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/192856.html
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Never mind the jihad, The protesters of the Arab Spring are both Muslim and radical
Sanjiv Bhattacharya
August 8, 2011
THERE was a time when the words ''Muslim radical'' painted a clear picture - a young man strapped with explosives, perhaps, or a bearded cleric calling for sharia.
But things have changed. The protesters of the Arab Spring are both Muslim and radical, as are the bungling jihadis of Chris Morris's movie Four Lions. And now a new film, The Taqwacores, attempts to further stretch the definition.
The film's set-up sounds familiar enough - a meek Muslim student named Yusef joins a hardcore Islamic commune and becomes radicalised. But this time, ''hardcore'' refers to punk rock. This is a commune where one Muslim, Jehangir, sports a red mohawk and announces morning prayers with an electric guitar. Another is gay and wears a skirt and make-up. The bands that congregate there have names such as Osama's Tunnel Diggers and Boxcutter Surprise. They drink beer and smoke pot, and among them is a spitfire feminist in a burqa.
Full report at:
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/never-mind-the-jihad-heres-islams-new-radicals-20110807-1ihi8.html#ixzz1UREio9vy
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Sheikh with links to Irish Muslims is refused visa
By Shane Phelan
August 08 2011
A CONTROVERSIAL religious leader with close links to Ireland's largest Muslim organisation has been banned from entering the country, the Irish Independent has learned.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service refused to approve an entry visa for Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian cleric who has defended suicide bombing and advocated the death penalty for homosexuals.
Sheikh al-Qaradawi (84) is head of the European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR), a private Islamic foundation whose headquarters is in the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) in Clonskeagh, Dublin.
Immigration officials are understood to have blocked his entry to the country after Mr Al-Qaradawi described suicide-bombing attacks on Israelis as "martyrdom in the name of God".
The Irish Independent has learnt the elderly religious leader was denied a visa when he last tried to enter the country on ECFR business.
The Irish ban follows similar ones in the US and UK.
Mr Al-Qaradawi had his US visa revoked in 1999 and was also refused entry to the UK three years ago.
Full report at:
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/fatwa-sheikh-with-links-to-irish-muslims-is-refused-visa-2842247.html
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Resentment growing over bail to saffron terror suspects
By Rehan Ansari
8 August 2011
Mumbai: Resentment is growing among Muslim and secular NGOs and activists after the bail of Sahu and Kalsangara, alleged right wing terrorists involved in Malegaon blast 2008. After Urdu newspapers, now Ulema and NGOs on Sunday came down heavily on the current legal system and Congress led government’s apathy to provide justice to its citizens.
“Even after 5 years we are still waiting for justice in Malegaon blast case of 2006 where 9 local Muslims youths are charged for the acts of others” said Abdul Hamid Azhari, President of Kul Jamaati Tanzeem, Malegaon. He referred to the statement of eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan about the corruption in the top judiciary and said, “We respect courts but it can also go wrong.” He also advocated for Maharashtra level strong legal cell to fight injustice legally.
http://twocircles.net/2011aug08/resentment_growing_over_bail_saffron_terror_suspects.ht
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"Islamic humanities should be based on Islamic philosophy"
8 Aug 2011
During his introduction ceremony as the new director of Iranian Institute of Philosophy, held Sunday (August 7), Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Abdulhussein Khosropanah said:" Islamic philosophy should be the basis of Islamic humanities and physics."
IBNA: The valediction ceremony of Dr. Gholamreza A'vani and the introduction ceremony of Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Abdulhussein Khosropanah, as the new director of Iranian Institute of Philosophy, was held Sunday evening.
The ceremony was attended by the director of Islamic Thoughts and Culture Research Center Hujjat al-Islam Ali Akbar Rashad, research deputy of Ministry of Science, Research and Technology Mehdi Nejhad-nouri as well as the ministry's manager of cultural and social studies Ali Akbar Alikhani.
During the ceremony Hujjat al-Islam Ali Akbar Rashad said: "Iranian Institute of Philosophy should be a center impressing the process of humanities' evolution."
During his introduction ceremony Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Abdulhussein Khosropanah said:" Islamic philosophy should be the basis of physics and humanities. The origins of humanities basics and physics can not be separated in a scientific society. All natural and humanities issues are based on philosophy. The center should be a hub for philosophy fields in the world of Islam."
http://www.ibna.ir/vdcci1qse2bqsx8.-ya2.html
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Fear of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant attacks now spreads to Greece
Aug 8, 2011
They descended by the hundreds – black-shirted, bat-wielding youths chasing down dark-skinned immigrants through the streets of Athens and beating them senseless in an unprecedented show of force by Greece’s far-right extremists.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - In Greece, alarm is rising that the twin crises of financial meltdown and soaring illegal immigration are creating the conditions for a right-wing rise – and the recent massacre in Norway drove authorities to beef up security.
The move comes amid spiraling social unrest that has unleashed waves of rioting and vigilante thuggery on the streets of Athens.
The UN’s refugee agency warns that some Athens neighbourhoods have become zones where “fascist groups have established an odd lawless regime.”
Greek police said they have increased security checks at Muslim prayer houses and other immigrant sites in response to the Norway shooting rampage that claimed 77 lives. “There has been an increase in monitoring at these sites since the events occurred in Norway,” said police spokesman Thanassis Kokkalakis.
The xenophobic rage exploded in May, when youths rampaged through a heavily immigrant neighborhood in broad daylight, knifing and beating foreigners. The attacks left at least 25 people hospitalized with stab wounds or severe beatings. Athens has since suffered a spate of hate attacks by far-rightists.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=258281
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Pakistani official: 200 militants killed in a month
8 August 2011
Pakistan — A Pakistani official says security forces have killed more than 200 militants over the past month in a tribal area near Afghanistan where the military is waging an anti-Taleban offensive.
Javed Ullah says four of the militants were killed Monday in the Kurram tribal region.
The United Nations says tens of thousands of civilians have fled the area to avoid the summer conflict.
Ullah says one soldier has been killed and 10 wounded over the past month in Kurram. He says the fighting has slowed since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Access to Kurram is restricted and the reports are difficult to independetly verify.
Pakistan’s army has been fighting militants in the tribal belt for years, with limited success.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/August/international_August320.xml§ion=international
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Moktada al-Sadr Warns U.S. Troops to Leave Iraq
August 8, 2011
BAGHDAD (AP) — A powerful anti-American Shiite cleric on Sunday reiterated his threat to have his thousands of followers attack any United States troops that stay past the current Dec. 31 deadline to leave Iraq.
The threat, by Moktada al-Sadr and posted on his Web site, followed the Iraqi government’s decision last week to open talks with Washington about keeping some troops here beyond year’s end. But worried about a potential backlash, Iraqi officials have tried to portray any American soldiers who remained as trainers of the growing Iraqi military rather than as combat troops.
Part of what American troops do in Iraq now is training. But they also assist in Iraqi counterterrorism operations and, if under attack, defend themselves.
While security in Iraq has improved in recent years, attacks are still common. In June, 15 American soldiers were killed, making it the bloodiest month for the United States military here in two years. Nearly all of the deaths were in attacks by Shiite militias bent on forcing out American troops on schedule.
“They will be treated as anyone who stays in Iraq, as a tyrannical occupier that must be resisted by military means,” Mr. Sadr said in his statement, partly aimed at Iraqi political leaders. “The government which agrees to them staying, even if it is for training, is a weak government.”
A version of this article appeared in print on August 8, 2011, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Cleric Warns U.S. Troops To Leave Iraq.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/world/middleeast/08iraq.html?ref=world&gwh=4CB930F5C7F548E88EB7E2D2017B4F4E
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AQIM launches indoctrination campaign along Mali-Mauritania border
By Jemal Oumar
August 8, 2011
In the midst of Ramadan, al-Qaeda is attempting to spread its destructive dogma among the people living near the Mauritania-Mali border.
Members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) launched a new push to spread their violent ideology among residents of the Sahel in recent days, as the terror group seeks to recover from successive defeats by Mauritanian and Malian security forces.
Young Mauritanian Sidi Mohamed, a resident of Bassiknou, trades with the villages of northern Mali and has social ties to residents of the region. He told Magharebia that many of his relatives have run into al-Qaeda lectures while trading in Mali, particularly at weekly markets.
"Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has been organising exhortatory and religious lectures that end with inviting people to engage in holy war, especially the young people," Mohamed said.
Mohamed added, "The lectures started being organised just before the latest attack of the Mauritanian army. But after the attack of the army on al-Qaeda in the Wagadou Forest, it carried on organising lectures, and what was surprising, is that the lectures were taking place close to the Malian military barracks, and even in front of the Malian gendarmerie at a few meters away sometimes".
During a telephone conversation with Magharebia, Oumar Ould Brahim said he too witnessed some of the terrorist lectures while working as a trader at the weekly markets along the Malian border.
Full report at:
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/05/
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Another fake encounter in J&K, slain Lashkar 'terrorist' a Hindu civilian
August 8, 2011
A man gunned down by the army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police, who claimed he was a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, has been identified as a mentally unstable civilian, army sources said on Monday.
Security personnel on Sunday carried out a joint operation in a forested area of Poonch district, some 220km north of Jammu, and identified the victim as Abu Usman, a divisional commander of the LeT.
However, a post-mortem identification revealed that the victim was a mentally-challenged Hindu civilian, army sources said.
“A soldier of the Territorial Army and Special Operation Group of the police had supplied wrong information to us, on the basis of which it was claimed that a terrorist has been killed in the encounter,” a spokesperson of 16 corps of the Indian Army told IANS.
He said that the two security personnel have been detained. “A court of inquiry has been instituted,” the spokesperson added.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_another-fake-encounter-in-j-and-k-slain-lashkar-terrorist-a-hindu-civilian_1573747
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UK diplomats talk to Pakistan to rein in JuD chief Hafiz Saeed
August 8, 2011
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed may face fresh detention after British diplomats met senior Pakistani officials to convince them to crack down on the organisation, a front for the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, according to a media report on Monday.
Diplomats from the British missions in Islamabad and New Delhi had a "successful rounds of talks with Pakistani leaders in the last week of July", The Express Tribune newspaper quoted unnamed diplomats as saying.
These talks "might lead to the detention of JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and a possible crackdown on his group", the report said without giving details."
The report contended the developments were an outcome of a "covert diplomatic campaign" by India to pressure Pakistan to rein in the JuD, which New Delhi has blamed for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The report quoted the diplomats saying the British government hopes to convince Pakistan to address India's concern about Saeed and restrict the activities of the JuD in Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistani authorities had launched a limited crackdown on the JuD and its leaders in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks after the UN Security Council classified the group as a front for the LeT.
However, no official notification was issued to ban the JuD and most of its detained leaders, including Saeed, were freed within months.
http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_uk-diplomats-talk-to-pakistan-to-rein-in-jud-chief-hafiz-saeed_1573751
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'We're relieved Bangladesh isn't with Pakistan anymore': Bangladeshi writer
Shobhan Saxena
August 8, 2011
In 2008, Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam , 36, talks about Islam, Bangladesh and its love-hate relationship with both India and Pakistan.
In 2008, Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam , 36, won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for her first novel A Golden Age, a stunning book that laid bare the gulf between East and West Pakistan during the 1971 war. In her second book, The Good Muslim, the London-based author returns to the period 40 years after Bangladesh won its independence to say that debates on Islamic fundamentalism are not just held in the western and Muslim worlds, but exist within Islam as well. In an interview with Shobhan Saxena , the Harvard-trained anthropologist talks about Islam, Bangladesh and its love-hate relationship with both India and Pakistan. Excerpts:
The title of the book suggests that there is something called a good Muslim. Who is a good Muslim?
The book is not supposed to answer this question; it's supposed to ask this question. The novel is meant to raise some questions in the reader's mind: who is a good Muslim? Is it the religious character? Is it the secular character? Or is it the mother who is caught between the two? I suppose that my aim was to show that these debates are happening between Muslim communities as well as between Muslim communities and the outside world. There are contestations of meaning and moralities - what it means to be a person of faith and to be a good person.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/all-that-matters/Were-relieved-Bangladesh-isnt-with-Pakistan-anymore/articleshow/9511000.cms
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Muslim Law Pronounced in London
August 8, 2011
A fundamentalist group is trying to enforce Muslim Shariah law in eastern parts of London and expand the enforcement to other areas, according to recent reports in British media. The Telegraph reported, on Sunday, that the group put up signs last month in the boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham that people were entering a “Sharia-controlled zone” where Islamic rules were enforced and gambling, alcohol and music was banned. The newspaper said police removed the posters.
The group's website said the signs were part of a fight against "the crusaders", and residents of Waltham Forest were sent veiled threats about stoning and the cutting off of hands for violation of Shariah law. The website has a place of honor for a Muslim who was charged in 2008 with helping terror after he told his followers to fight the United States in Iraq. Some Muslims have been quoted as saying, "These Muslims must seek an Islamic state. There's no place for them in Britain.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/217067
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Muslim “sharia” law comes to Britain
Rob Kerby
August 8, 2011
Should America welcome Islamic law? Voters in Oklahoma banned it last year. Other states have considered it. Diversity proponents say we should not fear — that we should embrace what other cultures bring to us.
Across Britain, Muslims now can apply to weekly Islamic “sharia” courts for rulings on family and financial issues.
“While these courts may be the cornerstone of many of Britain’s Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, there are growing concerns that they are creating a parallel legal system – and one that is developing completely unchecked,” writes Jonathan Wynne-Jones in the British daily the Telegraph:
After being beaten repeatedly by her husband – who had also threatened to kill her – Jameela turned to her local Sharia council in a desperate bid for a way out of her marriage. Today she discovers the verdict. Playing nervously with her hands, the young mother-of-three listens as the panel of judges discuss whether they should grant her a divorce.
The council meets once a month at the Birmingham Central Mosque. Many of the cases relate to divorce and involve the husbands and wives entering the room separately to make their appeals.
Full report at:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/08/muslim-shariah-law-comes-to-britain.php#ixzz1UQ2d6Mpq
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Withdrawal of Islamic Insurgents a ‘Golden Opportunity,’ says Somali Government Official
Peter Clottey
August 8, 2011
Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) says it is launching a program to stabilize the capital, Mogadishu, following the withdrawal of hard-line Islamic insurgent group, al-Shabab.
A spokesman for the group said its decision was a “tactical move” that would allow it to redeploy its troops to other parts of the country.
Somalia's Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, has called the pullout “a tremendous step forward” toward establishing a more stable country.
Government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman said the administration’s ability to control the entire capital is a ‘golden opportunity’ for international humanitarian groups to provide aid to more people affected by the ongoing drought and famine.
Described by Washington as a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda, al-Shabab has vowed to overthrow the western-backed government and implement the strictest form of Sharia law.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Withdrawal-of-Islamic-Insurgents-a-Golden-Opportunity-says-Somali-Government-Official--127111438.html
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Agencies struggle to dismantle Hizb ut-Tahrir network
By Zia Khan
August 8, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Security agencies are trying to dismantle a ‘multi-faceted’ communication network of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) but there has been little headway so far, a senior military official said months after some mid-ranked army officers were detained for alleged links with the banned organisation.
“Yes, we are at it… making efforts to dismantle whatever means they [HuT activists] are using to communicate with society and within the outfit,” the official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. “There has not been any major breakthrough yet.”
The official said that the organisation’s presence outside Pakistan was a key factor hindering the country’s spy agencies’ attempts to break links of HuT activists among themselves and with other people.
“It seems that the communication network is being operated from countries like the United Kingdom or some other European states where the outfit is not banned… that makes all the difference,” said the official in an apparent attempt to justify the so called ‘failure’.
The revelation came three months after Brigadier Ali Khan, a serving army officer, and some other unnamed personnel were detained for their alleged links with the HuT — an organisation that seeks to establish a caliphate in Pakistan by overthrowing the democratic government.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/226503/agencies-struggle-to-dismantle-hizb-ut-tahrir-network/
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Solomon’s solution: Babies swapped at a Karachi maternity home
By Tufail Ahmed
August 8, 2011
KARACHI: Two newborn babies were allegedly swapped shortly after they were born in the government-run Sobhraj Maternity Hospital on Saturday.
According to reports, two women, Kulsoom and Hamida, separately gave birth to two babies in normal delivery cases early Saturday.
One woman gave birth to a baby boy and the other to a girl but the confrontation began when both women claimed the baby boy.
Kulsoom said that she was discharged on Saturday night and went home with a baby. She returned to the hospital, on Sunday, claiming, however, that she had given birth to a boy but the staff had given her a girl.
Medical Superintendent Dr Anwar Ali Khoja reached the hospital and tried to find out about Hamida but she had left with the baby boy without informing anyone. Her address turned out to be incorrect as well in the records she had supplied.
The hospital’s management has suspended four staff members and has formed a five-member team, including Dr Anjum Afshan, Dr Fauzia Rehman, Dr Saleem and Azra Perveen, to investigate the matter and Professor Shabnam Shamim would head the inquiry team.
Rubina Yousuf, Shamim, Naheed Tahir and Naeem were suspended in the initial investigation. Kulsoom and her husband Ziaur Rehman have registered a case at the Arambagh police station.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2011.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/226350/solomons-solution-babies-swapped-at-sobhraj-maternity-home/
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Massive protests hit Netanyahu Govt in Israel
Harinder Mishra
August 8, 2011
Israel’s streets witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of public anger, capped by nearly 300,000 citizens joining protests to demand ‘social justice’, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scramble for a solution to calm discontent over rising cost of living.
The unexpectedly large turnout on Saturday in support of the demand that the Government address socio-economic issues easily eclipsed any previous such demonstrations in the Jewish State’s history.
Initially, Netanyahu’s aides reportedly dismissed the protesters, saying they had come out to witness performances by leading musicians, but the unexpectedly huge numbers across the country has pushed the Government on the back foot.
Though the Government does not face any immediate threat of being dislodged, the wave of protests during the last three weeks has underscored the potential electoral impact of a burdened middle class rallying under the banner of “social justice”.
Bowing to the protesters, Netanyahu, a champion of free market economy, announced this morning at the weekly cabinet meeting the appointment of a committee of experts to propose social-economic reform.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/359161/Massive-protests-hit-Netanyahu-Govt-in-Israel.html
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‘India can help nail ISI in US 26/ 11 trial’
August 8, 2011
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi
INDIA can file amicus curiae brief in a New York court in connection with the lawsuit filed by relatives of 26/ 11 victims Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, alleging that the Pakistan spy agency ISI provided support to the terror outfit Lashkar- e- Tayyeba to carry out the 26/ 11 Mumbai attack.
The lawsuit filed by Holtzberg and Rivka’s relatives had also sought damages. Holtzberg, originally from Brooklyn in New York, and his pregnant wife, Rivka, were killed at Mumbai’s Chabad Lubavitch. The slain couple’s two- year- old son Moshe survived after being rescued by his nanny and now stays with his grandfather in Israel.
But Kevin Walsh, the lawyer for ISI, in a letter filed with a US federal judge had asked for the case to be dismissed, warning of negative consequences. Walsh had claimed that US courts do not have jurisdiction over Pakistani government agencies. and the case would create anti- US feeling in Pakistan and could affect their counter- terror cooperation.
However, the attorney representing the relatives said LeT operative David Headley’s testimony during the trial and that of co- accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana in Chicago have strengthened the case against the ISI. James P. Kriendler of the New York- based law firm Kriendler & Kriendler LLP said, “ India could file amicus curiae brief explaining that it has an interest in seeing the ISI not considered immune to legal process in New York and in seeing the ISI’s culpability established in connection with the 26/ 11 attacks.” An amicus curiae is someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information to assist a court in deciding a matter before it. The information provided may be a legal opinion in the form of a brief, a testimony that has not been solicited by any of the parties, or a learned treatise on a matter that bears on the case.
There were, however, no comments from the Indian government whether it was interested in filing the amicus curiae brief.
Mail Today
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Tough Ramzan for Pakistanis
August 8, 2011
The holy month of Ramzan, which started this week, is an opportunity for Muslims to test their faith, but for Pakistani Muslims this year's test will be the hardest in recent memory.
During Ramzan Muslims are required to abstain from drinking and eating from dawn to sunset. The Muslim year follows a lunar calendar and is shorter than the calendar year. The result is that Ramzan migrates backward by 10 days or so each year, and this year it falls squarely on the punishing Pakistani summer.
“If I stay at home it's ok, but if I go outside it's too hot,“ said Habib Allahdad, 42, a resident. Pakistani faithful also have to contend with two chronic problems that are particularly acute at this time of year: soaring food prices that make the traditional Ramzan evening meal costly and long power outages prevent many from finding relief from the heat.
Hot and dry weather only exacerbates the gap as the water level of dams falls and the usage of electric appliances such as fans and air conditioners shoots up. The consequence is that the whole country is subject to blackouts of various durations. While Islamabad experiences only two to three hours of power cuts a day, rural owns may face up to 18 hours a day without power.
Zulfiqar Ali Ghouri said his Rawalpindi neighborhood suffers eight to 10 hours of power cuts daily. “Many people can't sleep properly at night, so they can't work properly,“ he said.
Hindustan Times
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Exorbitant rents leave many unable to spend Ramadan in Grand Mosque
August 8, 2011
MAKKAH: “High rents have wrecked my plans to spend Ramadan in a spiritual atmosphere in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque,” declared Muhammad Husain, a domestic pilgrim.
There are not many vacant hotel rooms in Makkah since the beginning of Ramadan this year, despite the astronomically high rent rates for hotel rooms. Middle-class families cannot afford to stay in hotels close to the Grand Mosque because of high rents that can reach up to SR7,000 per day. Pilgrims, if not immensely rich, complete their Umrah as quickly as possible and leave for Taif or Jeddah, where the rents are affordable, Al-Riyadh daily reported on Saturday. Many have demanded that the government take steps to rein in greedy hotel owners.
The rents of hotel rooms in Ramadan have more than doubled with the average room rent per night in a star hotel reaching SR4,000 in the first week of Ramadan and this is expected to increase as the holy month advances. However, 90 percent of the hotel rooms have been booked for the last part of the month.
A hotel suite is rented for SR10,000 per day in the first 10 days of the month. The rent varies, depending on the category and the closeness of the hotel to the Grand Mosque, the report added.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article484865.ece
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Indias Picasso finally home after death: His works up for display
Esha Mahajan
August 8, 2011
New Delhi: Critics and fanatics may have denounced his work as sacrilege,but five years after he was exiled from his own country,and about two months after his death in London,Maqbool Fida Husain has got his redemption.
Forty-eight works by Indias Picasso spanning six decades will now hang splendidly at the Atrium in DLF Emporio,Vasant Kunj,till August 15 in his first solo exhibition in India since his 2005 show in Mumbai.
This is a very comprehensive selection and comprises works from each medium,and all his different themes including Mother Teresa,horses,and mythology, said Ashish Anand,director of Delhi Art Gallery (DAG),which organized and curated the exhibition in collaboration with DLF Emporio.
Full report at: Times of India
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Arrest warrant issued for ex-Bangladesh PM's son
Aug 8, 2011
DHAKA, BANGLADESH: A Bangladesh court has issued an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's son for allegedly transferring millions of dollars in bribes overseas.
The court indicted Zia's oldest son Tarique Rahman in absentia on Monday.
Rahman traveled to London for medical treatment in 2008 and refused to return home to attend the court hearing.
Prosecutors say Rahman and a friend smuggled $2.73 million to Singapore after receiving it in bribes from a company while his mother was prime minister.
In June, Zia's younger son was sentenced to six years in jail on charges of laundering money from bribes.
Zia's opposition party has denied all charges against the sons, saying they are aimed at destroying her family's reputation.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Arrest-warrant-issued-for-ex-Bangladesh-PMs-son/articleshow/9528434.cms
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/chinese-muslims-banned-fasting-ramadan/d/5204