Darul Uloom Deoband Refuses To Seek Recognition from Madrasa Board or Alter Its Teaching Methodology
New Age Islam News Bureau
01 November 2022
Darul Uloom Deoband does
not want to alter its teaching methodology. (FILE PHOTO)
------
• Fatwas Notwithstanding, Saudi Arabia Celebrated
Halloween with Fanfare
• US Democratic Senator, Chris Murphy, Urges
Investigation into Saudi Arabia's Ownership of Twitter Shares
• 50 Countries Express 'Grave' Concern at Human Rights
Violation in China, Urge To Free Detained Uyghurs
• Imran Promises Revolution, Through ‘Ballot’ or
‘Bloodshed’
India
• Move Of Uttarakhand and Gujarat Governments to Set
Up Committees on a Uniform Civil Code Unacceptable To Muslims, All Minorities
and Millions of Scheduled Tribes: AIMPLB
• Centre to Grant Citizenship To Minorities Of
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan Under Citizenship Act, 1955
• Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq
among 500 Most Influential Muslims Globally
• Mumbai: PIL Seeks Space for Sunni Cemetery in City’s
Govandi Area
• Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque dispute case
on November 10
• Mumbai: 5% of Islam Gymkhana booking to go in cancer
fund
--------
Arab
World
• Rights Org.: Saudi Courts Hand Down Death Sentences
to 15 Political Dissidents Based On Confessions under Torture
• Saudi passports directorate announces readiness to
serve travellers heading to Qatar World Cup
• Damascus will never give in to anyone’s diktats
despite bids to undermine its independent decisions: Top official
--------
North
America
• HuffPost omits Oz from report on surge of 'American
Muslims in the midterms'
• Iran letter urges states to skip US meeting on
protests at UN
• US envoy Malley apologizes for controversial tweet
on Iran’s anti-government protests
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Malaysia Is Not A Playground For The Israel-Hamas,
Or Any Other, Conflict
• Malaysia questions 18 people arrested at LGBT
Halloween party
• I switched for a better cause, says Muda man under
fire
• OSA preventing defence’s bid to impeach witness,
court told
• At historic R20 gathering in Bali, religious leaders
launch ‘Spiritual Ecology Movement’
• Philippines records over half of storm death toll in
autonomous Muslim region
--------
Pakistan
• Imran Khan to File Rs 10 bn Lawsuit against Election
Commission Chief for Disqualifying Him
• Establishment should stop backing political parties,
says JI chief Siraj
• Police directed to nab accused in Prophet’s Mosque
incident
• Amid turmoil at home, Pakistan PM Sharif to visit
China to felicitate Xi for his record win
• Two soldiers martyred as terrorists open fire on
security forces in Balochistan: ISPR
--------
Europe
• UK Prevent Programme 'Must Reach Big Mosques to Stop
Radicalisation of Youngsters'
• Spain to Preserve Carpet Weaving Technique Inherited
From Muslims
• Too Risky to Bring Home Islamic State Wives, Widows
Say Australian Opposition Lawmakers
• Pope Francis’ First Visit to Bahrain to Cement Ties
with Islam
• Germany condemns violence by Iranian security forces
against protesters
• Armenia, Azerbaijan agree not to use force to settle
their dispute over Karabakh region
--------
South
Asia
• International Criminal Court Allows Probe into
Afghan War Crimes, Sparing US Role
• Pak Manipulating Mainstream Media In Taliban-Ruled
Afghanistan: Report
• Taliban OKs Restoration of Historic Synagogue in
Afghanistan's Herat
• Russia recruiting Afghan special forces who fought
with US to fight in Ukraine
• Taliban Establish Committee to Control Coal Prices
as Winter Approaches
• Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation spikes as prices
soar: UN
--------
Mideast
• 'Germany, EU Considering Listing Iran's
Revolutionary Guards as Terrorist Group'
• Iran Warns Europe against Blacklisting IRGC
• Palestine calls for elimination of Israel’s nuclear
arsenal, end to its atomic program
• Israel to confiscate 616,000 square meters of
Palestinian land for settlement expansion in West Bank
• Turkey: Officials deny arrest of 34 Muslim
Brotherhood members
• Erdoğan condemns Daesh, FETÖ for using Islam for
dirty aims
• President: Shiraz Terror Attack Proves Enemy Seeking
to Incite Unrest in Iran
• Iran Lashes Out at Advocates of Human Rights for
Keeping Mum on Shah Cheragh Terror Attack
• Military option is on the table if needed to prevent
Iranian nuclear weapon: Malley
• Iran says 1,000 indicted over recent unrest, trials to
be held in public
• Iran arrests ‘accomplice’ of ISIS-claimed shrine
attack
• Palestinians strike in al-Quds village, slam Israeli
murder of fighter
--------
Africa
• Naira Redesign: Put Arabic on All Denominations – Islamic
Group Tells CBN
• Miyetti Allah demands establishment of nomadic
affairs ministry
• South Africa values relations with Türkiye: Deputy Minister
• Türkiye is a powerful partner for Uganda: President
• Türkiye, Guinea Bissau agree to enhance cooperation
• Libya to reopen border with Sudan
• Israel says it foiled attempt to smuggle in weapons
from Jordan
• Moroccan king to skip Arab summit in Algeria
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/darul-uloom-deoband-madrasa-methodology/d/128318
--------
Darul Uloom Deoband Refuses To Seek Recognition from
Madrasa Board or Alter Its Teaching Methodology
Darul Uloom Deoband does
not want to alter its teaching methodology. (FILE PHOTO)
------
Oct 31, 2022
By Manish Chandra Pandey and S Raju
The Uttar Pradesh government appeared to be treading
cautiously, a day after the Darul Uloom Deoband, a renowned over 100-year-old
Islamic seminary in Saharanpur, to which more than 4500 madrasas across the
country are associated, refused to either seek recognition from the state-run
madrasa board or alter its teaching methodology.
“The madrasa survey is merely aimed at collecting
data. It isn’t connected to issues of affiliation or any of the issues that are
being flagged. We want to better the quality of infrastructure, provide better
facilities to students and staff. All this can’t be done without collecting
details from all unrecognised madrasas,” U.P.’s junior minority welfare
minister Danish Azad Ansari said.
An ongoing madrasa survey, originally a 46-day
exercise that started on September 10 and subsequently extended by a week, has
now concluded with government officials gathering details on 12 points,
including source of funding of the unaided madrasas, infrastructure, staff and
facilities.
“We are yet to get the report from the districts. But,
basically, the survey is just to collect details from unrecognised madrasas
about the quality of teaching and infrastructure at these madrasas. The
government’s intent is pure and I fail to understand what the brouhaha is all
about,” the minister said.
Despite the junior minority minister’s clarification,
the government’s move, once the madrasa survey report is studied at the
government level, is still not clear.
Around 7189 unaffiliated madrasas (not affiliated to
the state madrasa board) have been found during the survey, government
officials said. However, what the government intended to do with such madrasas
is still unclear.
There are 16, 513 recognised madrasas with about 20
lakh students, according to the state’s madrasa education board. Of these, 560
are receiving grants from the state government.
“I think the issue to be asked is how many of those
affiliated to madrasa board have been getting aid, how many teachers in such
madrasas have got salaries and what has been the overall benefit of those
affiliated madrasas,” Samajwadi Party spokesman Azeez Khan asked.
AIMIM spokesman Aseem Waqar also flagged a similar
issue.
At its daylong conference of madrasa owners at
Deoband, the officials of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, set up in 1866, too,
made it clear that they aren’t seeking any grants from the government and won’t
be seeking recognition from the madrasa board or change its theology-based
teaching syllabus.
Ashraf Usmani, Darul Uloom spokesperson, said madrasas
provide ‘deeni taleem (religious education)’ and have been fulfilling the
objectives for which they have been established.
“We give affiliation ourselves and hence we aren’t
seeking any affiliation,” Usmani said while pointing at what he described as
the “poor performance” of madrasa boards in UP, Bihar, Delhi and Assam.
“The state government should first work on upgrading
affiliated madrasas, improve their infrastructure and quality of education
instead of bringing more under the ambit of affiliation,” he added.
“Why should madrasas take affiliation when teachers
appointed in board affiliated-madrasas have been deprived of honorarium for
past five years as well as their due financial aid,” he asked.
Countering Usmani’s view, UP BJP spokesman Manish
Shukla said: “What’s wrong if the government wants to ensure that along with
deeni taleem (religious education), duniyavi taleem (modern education)’ is also
provided to Muslim children?”
BSP’s Amroha MP Danish Ali said he had raised the
issue of pending honorarium of teachers in UP madrasas in Parliament.
“However, I did not receive any reply,” he said and
claimed funds allocated to state’s minority department have been slashed to 50
per cent in the past few years.
“Last year, only 9 per cent of the allocated funds
were utilized,” Ali said and alleged that many teachers even committed suicide
after being deprived of their honorarium for years. The BSP MP claimed that due
to these reasons, the madrasa owners now appear more interested in running
madrasas through community funding than rely on government aid.
Congress’ district chief in Saharanpur, Muzaffar Ali
Gurjar, felt that while there was no harm in seeking affiliation from
government if those madrasas affiliated to the government board were better
treated.
Former BJP lawmaker from Deoband Shashibala Pundeer
felt madrasa affiliation with the board will help its students widen their
knowledge base.
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Fatwas Notwithstanding, Saudi Arabia Celebrated Halloween
with Fanfare
Image: Twitter/@Cool_Ustaz
-----
By Monitor News Desk Oct. 31, 2022
Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority had
planned the first and largest public celebration of Halloween ever, as it
opened the spooky weekend with people wearing terrifying costumes, walking down
Riyadh Boulevard, two days before the Americans’ Halloween celebrations.
General Authority for Entertainment, Advisor to the
Saudi Royal Court, Turki Al-Sheikh, said through his Facebook account that “the
atmosphere in the weekend is terrifying.”
The manifestations of the Halloween celebration on the
streets of Riyadh indicate the change taking place in Saudi Arabia, which used
to arrest anyone who thought of reviving this “Western occasion”.
It is reported that in 2018, Saudi police raided a Halloween
party and arrested people, and ordered women who were dressed in strange
clothes to “cover themselves”.
Public Halloween celebrations began in the Saudi
capital for the first time in 2021.
Halloween celebrations in Saudi Arabia, caused
widespread controversy on social networking sites after pictures and videos of
people dressed in costumes for Halloween surfaced.
People opined that a country that doesn’t allow
Eid-e-Milad Un Nabi (Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) birthday) celebrates Halloween
on the roads, definitely requires a course correction. Similar criticism is
being issued by Muslims around the world.
“Beloved Prophet ﷺ had already said about Najd:`“There will appear earthquakes and Fitnah,
and from there will come out the side of the head of Shaytan’,” said one user.
“May Allah save us from the trap of Da*jjal Ameen!,”
said another
According to New York Times, the ‘frightening
manifestations of the transformation that have taken place in the kingdom since
the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, now heir to the throne and prime
minister, began to rise to power in 2015 and began to get rid of social
restrictions.
Source: The Kashmir Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
US Democratic Senator, Chris Murphy, Urges
Investigation into Saudi Arabia's Ownership of Twitter Shares
Sen. Chris Murphy,
D-Conn., at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on May
4.Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images file
-----
01 November 2022
A US Democratic American senator has called for a full
national security review of a Saudi Arabian company's successful acquisition of
a massive share in Twitter.
Tweeting on Monday, Chris Murphy said he wanted the
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) -- which reviews
acquisitions of US businesses by foreign buyers -- "to conduct an
investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia's
purchase of Twitter."
The call came after the Kingdom Holding Company, which
is owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said in a statement that they will
continue their ownership of Twitter shares valued at $1.89 billion even after
purchase of the social media platform by the American billionaire, Elon Musk.
"The deal is in line with the long-term
investment strategy which Kingdom Holding Company is known for," the
statement added.
The sheer size of its share has made the Saudi company
the second-largest owner of Twitter after Musk, who closed a $44-billion deal
in April to take over the popular social media platform.
Alwaleed's company is 16.9% owned by Saudi Arabia's
sovereign wealth fund, which is chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Ever since bin Salman became Saudi Arabia's de facto
ruler in 2017, the kingdom has been implicated in a litany of human rights
abuses. They include Riyadh arresting hundreds of activists, bloggers,
intellectuals, and other people for their political activism, showing almost
zero tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnation of
the crackdown.
The Saudi royal is also accused of ordering the 2018
brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US-Saudi citizen, who
used to be a vocal critic of the Saudi royalty. Khashoggi was dismembered
during a visit to the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
"We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have
a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting US politics, are
now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform," Murphy
wrote on Twitter, adding, "There is a clear national security issue at
stake and CFIUS should do a review."
Neither Saudi embassy in Washington, nor Twitter
responded to a request for comment. A spokesman for U.S. Treasury, which leads
CFIUS, also declined to comment.
Most foreigners seeking to take even non-controlling
stakes in US companies must seek approval from CFIUS, which reviews
transactions for national
security concerns and has the power to block them.
Musk's purchase of Twitter came under criticism over a
sizable funding that the Saudi prince allocated to the platform.
“The SpaceX founder relied on equity from other
investors to carry out the deal. Alwaleed, a Saudi prince, and CEO of the
Kingdom Holding Company committed $1.89 billion—equating to nearly 35 million
shares—in equity to help Musk purchase Twitter,” media reports underlined.
Musk's reliance on Saudi Arabia drew harsh criticism
over Riyadh's stifling of free expression and human rights violations at home
and aboard.
"There's not been enough scrutiny of the fact
that Elon Musk's Twitter takeover has been propped up with cash from Qatar
& Saudi Arabia," tweeted Business Insider's Ryan Gallagher.
He added, "Twitter was prev compromised by Saudi
spies who used internal data to out dissidents & have them jailed.
Surprising any new owner of Twitter - especially one professing to be a
free-speech absolutist - would want Saudi influence anywhere near the
platform."
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/11/01/691933/United-States-Saudi-Arabia-Twitter-Elon-Musk
--------
50 Countries Express 'Grave' Concern at Human Rights
Violation in China, Urge To Free Detained Uyghurs
Photo: Hindustan Times
-----
Nov 01, 2022
Fifty mainly Western countries urged China on Monday
to fully implement all recommendations in a U.N. report accusing the country of
possible “crimes against humanity" against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim
ethnic groups, including taking prompt steps to release all those “arbitrarily
deprived of their liberty” in the far western province of Xinjiang.
Canada’s U.N. Ambassador Bob Rae read the statement at
a meeting of the General Assembly’s human rights committee expressing grave
concern at the human rights situation in China, and Beijing's failure so far to
discuss the report's findings on the ongoing violations against the Uyghurs and
other Muslim groups.
Human rights groups have accused China of sweeping a
million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps where many
have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their
language and religion. The camps were just one part of what the rights organizations
have called a ruthless campaign against extremism in Xinjiang that also
included draconian birth control policies and all-encompassing restrictions on
people’s movement.
The assessment from the Geneva-based U.N. human rights
office was released in the final minutes of High Commissioner for Human Rights
Michelle Bachelet’s four-year term on Aug. 31. It largely corroborated earlier
reporting by researchers, advocacy groups and the news media.
Also Read | Why India abstained on UNHRC resolution on
rights situation in China’s Xinjiang
The report concluded that China has committed serious
human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-extremism policies
and called for “urgent attention” from the U.N., the world community and China
itself to address them.
The statement from the 50 countries calls the report
“an independent, authoritative assessment that relies extensively on China’s
own records” and “makes an important contribution to the existing evidence of
serious and systematic human rights violations in China.” In light of “the
gravity” of the report’s assessment, the countries expressed concern “that
China has so far refused to discuss its findings” and urged the government “to
fully implement the recommendations.”
In addition to calling for fulfillment of the
recommendation to release of all those arbitrarily detained the 50 countries
urged China to clarify “the fate and whereabouts of missing family members” and
arrange safe contacts and reunions. In response to the statement, the Uyghur Human
Rights Project tweeted that “A growing number of UN member states are pushing
back on China’s treatment of Uyghurs.”
Britain’s Foreign Minister James Cleverly tweeted that
the statement “supported by a record 50 countries across 6 continents,
demonstrates growing breadth of international concern.”
The 50 countries that signed on to the statement were:
Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech
Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Eswatini, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru,
Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.
Last week, the U.S., UK and others organized a meeting
following up on the former high commissioner’s report that included U.N.
ambassadors, Uyghur human rights advocates, the U.N. special investigator on
minority rights and Human Rights Watch. China’s U.N. Mission sent a letter to
all U.N. member states expressing its “resolute opposition” to the meeting and
strongly recommending that they boycott “this anti-China event.”
“It is a politically motivated event,” said the
letter, obtained by The Associated Press. “The co-sponsors use human rights
issues as a political tool to interfere in China’s internal affairs like
Xinjiang, to create division and turbulence and disrupt China’s development.”
Calling the event “disinformation propaganda,” the letter accused the sponsors
of violating “the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and norms of
international relations.”
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Imran Promises Revolution, Through ‘Ballot’ or
‘Bloodshed’
PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ long
march passing through Kamoki on Monday.—Arif Ali / White Star
-----
Mansoor Malik
November 1, 2022
LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran
Khan kicked off the fourth day of his ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ long march with an
aggressive message, tweeting early on Monday that the sea of people on the
roads with him indicated the dawn of a revolution, and asked “handlers and
facilitators” if they would allow a soft revolution through the ballot or a
destructive one through bloodshed.
Mr Khan posted: “The sea of people along our long
march on the GT Road. I am witnessing a revolution taking over the country for
six months. Only question is, will it be a soft one through the ballot box or a
destructive one through bloodshed?”
On the other hand, former premier and PML-N supreme
leader Nawaz Sharif taunted Mr Khan for ‘failing’ to gather even 2,000 people
after claiming a million would support his demonstration.
In Monday’s address at the start of the march from
Kamoke, the PTI chief warned the establishment to realise the pulse of the
masses and remarked that “no establishment can stand against its people since
their unity alone can guarantee a country’s stability and sovereignty”.
He further asked the establishment not to side with
the corrupt and looters, as they too would be considered birds of the same
feather. Reiterating that God didn’t allow anyone to be neutral, Mr Khan said
the establishment would disgrace itself.
He also took on the Sharif and Zardari families for
getting an “NRO” from former president Gen Pervez Musharraf. The “people of
Pakistan ousted them by giving us [PTI] the mandate to rule in 2018, but the
establishment again imposed those corrupt thieves on the masses — after
dry-cleaning”, he stated.
Mr Khan said he wanted to send a message to the
powerful quarters that held the real power that he would never hold talks with
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whom he called an establishment ‘tout’ who
“polished boots”.
“If the people and institutions look in the opposite
directions, no institution can work,” he commented, adding he was the only
leader who had public support, as he won 75 per cent of the by-elections during
the last six months and created a “world record” by winning seven out of eight
National Assembly seats in one go.
The former premier addressed the long march
participants at three points – Kamoke, Morr Aimenabad and the day’s culmination
point of Chan Da Qila, some 12 kilometres short of Gujranwala. He announced
that he would spend the entire Tuesday (today) in Gujranwala, claiming it would
take some eight to nine more days to reach Islamabad owing to the slow pace of
the march. He invited people from the lengths and breadths of the country to
reach the capital.
The PTI chief said the entire country was watching the
“revolution” heading towards Islamabad, even on their mobile phones, as the
“imported government and its handlers” were trying to close their eyes and
blacking out TV coverage.
Taking Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar
Sultan Raja to task after claiming that the Islamabad High Court had set aside
his disqualification by the election commission, the former premier called the
CEC dishonest and a servant of the Sharif family.
Since Mr Raja had questioned his integrity, he said he
would send the CEC a Rs10 billion defamation notice. He also explained that
people were giving Rs9bn donation to Shaukat Khanum Hospital as well as funding
his Namal and Al-Qadir universities because of his “honesty and integrity”. “If
I commit any illegality, I will not wait for a court decision, I’ll go home
myself,” he maintained.
At Morr Aimenabad, Imran Khan called the long march a
“jihad” to bring about ‘real independence’ where the powerful and weak were
rewarded and punished on merit.
“Shehbaz Sharif should have been in jail, but was made
the prime minister,” he said, adding the “mercenary” Rana Sanaullah was made
the interior minister. Similarly, he said, Nawaz Sharif was convicted after two
years of investigations by a JIT, adding the present, imposed rulers were
looting the country for 30 years.
Mr Khan also took an oath from the march participants
at the culmination of the day’s procession that they would continue struggling
for ‘real independence’ and be ready to render any sacrifice.
No talks, face-saving for Imran
Meanwhile, PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif on Monday
instructed his younger brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, against
accepting the demands of PTI Chairman Khan. “Don’t listen to any demand of this
fitna (rabble-rouser) nor give him any chance of face-saving,” he tweeted late
on Monday evening.
Taking a jibe at Mr Khan and his long march, the
former premier said the one who claimed to bring one million people out on the
streets could not even manage to gather 2,000 people. In a series of tweets, Mr
Sharif said he had asked the PM not to bow before Khan’s demands whether he
brought 2,000 protesters or 20,000. The PTI chairman should also not be given
any chance of face-saving. Instead, he said, Shehbaz should focus all his
energies on serving the public.
Nawaz went on to state that ever since Khan’s lies had
been exposed, the nation had become indifferent to his narrative. “He told one
lie after another so brutally and brazenly that the ISI DG was forced to break
his silence and tell the truth to the nation,” he said, adding Khan had failed
to come up with any clarification since then.
“That is why his entire focus is limited to swearing
as per routine,” he remarked.
Journalists harassed
Meanwhile, on the orders of the Punjab chief minister,
five policemen, including City Station House Officer (SHO) Manzar Saeed, were
suspended over alleged clashes with journalists covering the PTI’s long march.
Reportedly, policemen allegedly harassed reporters of
a private TV channel over parking of DSNG vans that ended up in a scuffle at
Kamoke City Chowk. City SHO Saeed and his team also reached the spot and
allegedly tortured the journalists.
Punjab CM Chaudhry Parvez Elahi took notice of the
police’s behaviour and suspended five officials, including the SHO.
`Countering disinformation'
In a separate development, the United States said that
it would continue to counter disinformation with information.
While commenting on Imran Khan's persistent claim of a
US conspiracy to topple his government, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price
said: "What we can do is counter disinformation, misinformation with
information."
Mr Price, who was addressing a daily news briefing in
Washington, said the State Department had rejected such claims "many
times" from this podium as there's no truth to these allegations.
"We won't let propaganda, we won't let
misinformation or disinformation get in the way of an important bilateral
relation, including our valued bilateral partnership with Pakistan," he
reiterated.
Responding to another question, Mr Price noted that
general elections in Pakistan had not yet been announced, but "we support
the peaceful holding of constitutional and democratic elections, not just in
Pakistan but around the world. These are issues that we discuss with all of our
partners around the world."
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1718106/imran-promises-revolution-through-ballot-or-bloodshed
--------
India
Move Of Uttarakhand and Gujarat Governments to Set Up
Committees on a Uniform Civil Code Unacceptable To Muslims, All Minorities and
Millions of Scheduled Tribes: AIMPLB
Ziya Us Salam
NOVEMBER 01, 2022
The personal laws of various religious groups enjoy legal
protection: Khalid Saifullah Rehmani, general secretary, AIMPLB
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has
criticised the move by the governments of Uttarakhand and Gujarat to set up
committees on a Uniform Civil Code, calling it “unacceptable”. “The move of
Uttarakhand and later Gujarat Government is unacceptable not just to Muslims
but all minorities besides millions of Scheduled Tribes,” Khalid Saifullah
Rehmani, general secretary, AIMPLB, said.
His response came following the government’s move to
invite all stakeholders to send in their suggestions for a Uniform Civil Code.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by BJP leader Sushil Modi is
examining the issue.
“The Constitution gives us the right to practice and
propagate any religion. The personal laws of various religious groups enjoy
legal protection. It doesn’t need reiteration that personal laws are the soul
of the Constitution. The framers of the Constitution, keeping in mind the
religious and cultural structure of the country, introduced this Article. It is
necessary for the unity and stability of the nation,” Mr. Rehmani said.
The move sought to deprive minorities of their
identity, he alleged. “Even before the British came here, various social
denominations lived according to their respective social and religious norms.
The British maintained that tradition. After Independence too, the law of the
country respected the personal laws of communities. Nobody faced any problem
due to this, “ Mr. Rehmani said, adding, “If the people had preferred a Uniform
Civil Code then the Special Marriage Act would have been the most popular law
of the country. But that is not the case.” The Special Marriage Act permits
people to marry across barriers of caste or religion through a civil pact, but most
marriages continue to be solemnised according to ones religion’s rituals and
customs, Mr. Rehmani pointed out.
“Even today, all Indians, including Muslims, enjoy the
freedom to marry under a secular law if they do not want to solemnise a nikaah
(marriage) according to the Quran. Under such circumstances, Muslim personal
law cannot be imposed on them,” he claimed.
“Many people refer to Article 44 when talking of a
Uniform Civil Code. But it is not binding. It is not justiciable,“ Mr. Rehmani
said.
Source: The Hindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Centre to grant citizenship to minorities of Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Afghanistan under Citizenship Act, 1955
Nov 1, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to grant Indian
citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and currently living in two districts
of Gujarat under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The move to grant citizenship under the Citizenship
Act, 1955 and not the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) bears
significance.
The CAA also provides for granting Indian citizenship
to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians coming from
Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but as the rules under the Act have not
been framed by the government yet, no one so far could be granted citizenship
under it.
According to a Union home ministry notification, those
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the
districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be allowed registration as a
citizen of India under section 5 or will be granted certificate of
naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and in accordance
with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.
Such people living in the two districts of Gujarat
have to submit their applications online which will then be verified by the
collector at the district level. The application and reports thereon shall be
simultaneously made accessible online to the central government, the
notification read.
The collector may make such inquiry as he considers
necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant and for that
purpose forwards the application online to such agencies for verification and
comments as may be required for completing such an inquiry, it said.
After completing the entire process, the collector,
being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, grants him or her the
citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and issues a certificate
of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, the notification said.
The Narendra Modi government wants to grant Indian
nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains,
Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians -- from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan
who had come to India till December 31, 2014.
There were massive protests in some parts of the
country after the CAA was passed by Parliament in December 2019 and the
subsequent presidential nod. Over a hundred people lost their lives during the
protests.
However, the CAA has not been implemented so far as
rules under it are yet to be framed.
According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the
rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of
presidential assent or seek extension from the Committees on Subordinate
Legislation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In January 2020, the home ministry notified that the
Act would come into force from January 10, 2020, but it later requested the
parliamentary committees in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to give it some
more time to implement rules as the country was going through its worst ever
health crisis due to the Covid pandemic.
Last fortnight, the Union home ministry had been
granted yet another extension by the Parliamentary Committees on Subordinate
Legislation in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to frame the rules of the CAA.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq among
500 Most Influential Muslims Globally
Oct 31, 2022
SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference chairperson and Islamic
scholar Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has figured in a list of 500 most influential
Muslims globally along with former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The annual list was brought out by the Jordan-based
Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC) in collaboration with Georgetown
University and was published on Monday, the Hurriyat said in a statement.
King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Ayatollah Khamenei of
Iran and King Abdullah of Jordan were also among those featured on the list, it
said.
"He (Farooq) has been advocating dialogue with
both India and Pakistan so that the aspirations of the Kashmiri people may be
realised," the RISSC-Jordan has said about him, according to the
statement.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mumbai: PIL seeks space for Sunni cemetery in city’s
Govandi area
November 1, 2022
A PIL has been recently moved by a lawyer and two
others in the Bombay High Court seeking additional Sunni Muslim cemetery in the
city’s Govandi area, citing shortage of space in existing cemeteries.
The petitioners informed that the HC in their earlier
PIL had directed the BMC commissioner to decide the issues regarding shortfall
of burial places in greater Mumbai including M-East ward comprising of
Deonar-Govandi area. Instead in January this year the BMC’s public health
department passed an order for closing down Deonar cemetery due to shortage of
space.
The PIL sought from court to set aside the order and
also to appoint a committee of experts to inspect the proposed Rafi Nagar
cemetery in Deonar and file conclusive feasibility report and to remove
encroachments among other reliefs. A division bench of Justice S V Gangapurwala
and Justice R N Laddha was hearing on October 21 the PIL by Shamsher Ahmed
Shaikh and two other residents of Govandi area.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi mosque dispute case on
November 10
Oct 31, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a
plea on a dispute involving the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on November 10.
A bench of justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli was
told by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain that the matter requires an urgent hearing
as the court's order to preserve the area of the mosque where a
"Shivling" is said to be found during a survey expires on November
12.
"Our difficulty is that the court's interim order
is coming to end on November 12," Jain submitted.
The bench then agreed to hear the matter on November
10.
On May 20, the top court had transferred a civil suit
filed by Hindu devotees on the Gyanvapi mosque from the civil judge (senior
division) to the district judge, Varanasi, saying looking at the
"complexities" and the "sensitivity" of the issue, it is
better if a senior judicial officer with more than 25-30 years of experience
handles the case.
In an important observation, the apex court had also
said a process to ascertain the religious character of a place of worship is
not barred under the Places of Worship Act of 1991.
It had said the matter involves complexities and
sensitivity and it would be better if a district judge handles the case and
made it clear that it is not casting any aspersion on the civil judge, who was
earlier dealing with the suit.
The top court had also directed the district judge to
decide on the priority of the application under Order 7 Rule 11 of the Code of
Civil Procedure (on maintainability) filed by the mosque committee, which had
said the civil suit is barred by a 1991 law of Parliament, upon the transfer of
the papers of the suit from the civil judge.
It had said its earlier interim order of May 17,
directing protection of the area where the "Shivling" is said to be
found and allowing Muslims to offer namaz on the mosque premises, shall remain
in operation till the maintainability of the suit is decided by the district
judge and thereafter, for eight weeks to allow the aggrieved parties to
approach a higher court.
"The interim order of this court dated May 17,
2022, shall continue to remain in operation pending the disposal of the
application under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC and thereafter, for a period of
eight weeks to enable the parties, which are aggrieved by the order of the
district judge, to pursue rights and remedies in accordance with law," the
apex court had said.
It had also directed the district magistrate to make
adequate arrangements for "wazu" (ablution) for those coming to the
mosque to offer namaz, in consultation with the parties involved in the
dispute.
On May 17, the top court had directed the Varanasi
district magistrate to ensure protection of the area inside the
Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex, where the "Shivling" is said to be
found, and allowed Muslims to offer namaz.
"Balancing the equity", the top court, while
hearing a plea moved by the management committee of the Anjuman Intezamia
Masjid, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque, passed the order and refused to stay
the ongoing proceedings before the lower court.
The top court had said it needed to balance the rights
of the contesting parties and clarified that the order of the civil judge would
not restrict and impede the rights of Muslims to offer namaz and perform
religious observances.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mumbai: 5% of Islam Gymkhana booking to go in cancer
fund
Oct 31, 2022
MUMBAI: The Islam Gymkhana at Marine Lines decided to
donate 5% of income the caterers and decorators make from their bookings for
the treatment of cancer patients, after city-based NGO Centre for Aid, Care
& Cure of Cancer (CACCC) approached the Gymkhana management to add 5%
voluntary donation for the Centre.
"The caterers and decorators will give 5% of the
income on each booking to a cancer fund we have created. This amount will go to
CACCC by cheque. This is to provide relief to the poor patients of the dreaded
disease," said Islam Gymkhana's president Yusuf Abrahni.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
Rights org.: Saudi courts hand down death sentences to
15 political dissidents based on confessions under torture
31 October 2022
An international human rights organization says Saudi
Arabia’s courts have convicted and sentenced more than a dozen anti-regime
activists to death following unfair trials and based on confessions coerced
through torture and ill-treatment.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights
(ESOHR) said in a report that Saudi authorities have passed capital punishments
against 15 more prisoners of conscience, bringing the number of people at the
risk of immediate execution to 53, including at least eight minors.
Earlier this month, the Committee for the Defense of
Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula (CDHRAP) warned about massive violations
of human rights in Saudi Arabia as officials employ brutal forms of physical
and mental torture against imprisoned political dissidents and activists, saying
another mass execution could happen in the kingdom anytime soon.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) said in a
statement that the so-called Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Riyadh
has sentenced several more Saudi nationals to death, simply for the sake of
expressing their opinions on social media platforms, participating in peaceful
pro-democracy rallies or denouncing social discrimination.
The Beirut-based human rights organization went on to
highlight that the issuance of such arbitrary rulings on numerous occasions
proves the hollow nature of the House of Saud’s claims about respect for human
rights.
CDHRAP said that Saudi Arabia is the kingdom of
terror, and called on the international community and human rights institutions
around the world to stop the looming mass execution, which could take place
under false accusations and not based on legal criteria.
Since Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de
facto leader in 2017, the kingdom has arrested hundreds of activists, bloggers,
intellectuals and others for their political activism, showing almost zero
tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnation of the
crackdown.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Saudi passports directorate announces readiness to
serve travellers heading to Qatar World Cup
October 31, 2022
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of
Passports said on Monday that it is ready to serve travelers wishing to attend
the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.
The directorate said that international ports have
been equipped with personnel and modern technical devices in order to serve
travelers from the moment they arrive until they depart, Saudi Press Agency
reported.
The authority added that between Nov. 1 and Dec. 23,
only Hayya Card holders will be able to travel from Saudi Arabia to Qatar by
land or air using the passport they registered with on the Hayya portal.
Qatari citizens and residents who hold a Qatari ID
card are exempt from the rule.
Citizens, residents, and tourists who have a Hayya
card and wish to travel to Qatar to attend the World Cup can contact the
Unified Security Operations Center (911) to find out more information.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2191441/saudi-arabia
--------
Damascus will never give in to anyone’s diktats
despite bids to undermine its independent decisions: Top official
31 October 2022
A high-ranking aide to Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad says the United States and its Western allies are waging a terrorist
war on Syria, looting its natural resources and imposing economic sanctions on
the Arab country, emphasizing that the Damascus government will never give in
to anyone’s diktats.
Bouthaina Shaaban, Assad’s political and media
adviser, made the remarks in an interview with the online Omani Arabic-language
newspaper 'Atheer.
“Despite the illegal economic sanctions that the West
has slapped against Syria to weaken the country and target its independent
decision-making, Damascus continues to tread the path of resistance and
steadfastness, scores back-to-back triumphs, and does not accept the diktats of
anyone,” Shaaban noted.
She added, “The steadfastness of President Bashar
al-Assad as well as Syrian army forces, and unity among various strata of the
Syrian society are the main reasons behind Damascus’ perseverance in the face
of Western conspiracies aimed at Syria's partition.”
Shaaban went on to hail the support provided by
friends and allies, above all Russia and Iran, and the moral and diplomatic
backing offered by the Sultanate of Oman to Syria.
She noted that the great victories achieved by Syrian
government forces and liberation of vast areas of land from the grip of
terrorism prompted the US and Turkey to directly intervene in the Syrian
conflict.
“While the US military has occupied al-Tanf area in
southeastern Syria as well as the northeastern parts of the country, Turkey has
seized control over oil resources and wheat crops in the northwestern regions
and is undermining coexistence among ethnic groups there,” the senior Syrian
official pointed out.
She added that Syria, despite relentless efforts to
undercut the country’s independent decision-making, will never accept what
Westerners would dictate.
“The world today is becoming more multipolar because
nations are interested in freedom as well as promotion of human values, and do
not accept Western hegemony,” Shaaban said.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
HuffPost omits Oz from report on surge of 'American
Muslims in the midterms'
October 31, 2022
HuffPost published a story on Saturday highlighting
the great strides Muslim Americans have made seeking elected office but with a
glaring omission.
The piece, tiled "American Muslims In The
Midterms Aren't Long-Shot Candidates Anymore," suggested that Muslims are
more motivated than ever to run in offices across the country in spite of the
"hateful rhetoric and policies" of former President Trump.
"A record 181 candidates who identify as Muslim
were on 2020 ballots across 28 states and Washington, D.C., according to a
report by Jetpac, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Mpower Change,
a social justice organization," HuffPost reporter Rowaida Abdelaziz wrote.
"The report, released Wednesday, analyzes the 2020 campaigns of Muslim
American candidates, 80 of whom were ultimately elected to office. By contrast,
49 Muslim candidates were elected to public office in 2019, and 57 were elected
in 2018."
Abdelaziz highlighted the political prospects of
Abdelnasser Rashid, a Democrat who is running for Illinois state representative
in this year's midterms after falling short in two previous bids for other
positions.
Also mentioned was progressive
activist-turned-Democratic candidate, Nabilah Islam, running in Georgia state
senate.
"We definitely need more Muslim candidates to run
for office up and down the ballot, especially when it comes to local
governments, because so many of these issues affect our everyday lives,"
Islam told HuffPost. "It’s also about building a bench. Building that
infrastructure is key."
However, not mentioned once in the piece is GOP
Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, who could make history next
Tuesday as the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Critics pointed out the glaring omission on social
media.
"This story about Muslim candidates in 2022
misses the candidate who could become the highest ranking Muslim elected in
American history: Mehmet Oz," journalist Zaid Jilani tweeted.
"SO STRANGE," conservative commentator Mary
Katharine Ham sarcastically reacted.
"Weird huh," Versus Media Podcast host
Stephen L. Miller similarly wrote.
A spokesperson for HuffPost declined to comment.
Oz has increasingly tightened polls against his
Democratic rival, PA Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. According to the
RealClearPolitics average of polls, Fetterman only has a 1.5-point edge over
Oz.
Source: Fox News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.foxnews.com/media/huffpost-omits-oz-report-surge-american-muslims-midterms
--------
Iran letter urges states to skip US meeting on
protests at UN
01 November, 2022
Iran on Monday urged countries not to attend a
US-organized meeting at the United Nations on protests in Iran sparked by the
death of a young woman in police custody, according to a letter seen by Reuters
that accused Washington of politicizing human rights.
The United States and Albania will hold an informal
Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that can be attended by all UN members.
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Iranian-born actress and
activist Nazanin Boniadi will brief.
“The US has no true and genuine concern about the
human rights situation in Iran or elsewhere,” Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid
Iravani wrote in the letter to UN member states.
He described the protests as an internal issue and
wrote that it would be “counterproductive to the promotion of human rights” if
the UN Security Council discussed the issue.
“The United States lacks the political, moral, and
legal qualifications to hold such a meeting, distorting the very basic
principles of human rights,” Iravani wrote.
Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of
22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody last month. The unrest
has turned into a popular revolt by Iranians from all layers of society, posing
one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979
revolution.
Iran has blamed its foreign enemies and their agents
for the unrest.
The meeting at the United Nations on Wednesday aims to
“highlight the ongoing repression of women and girls and members of religious
and ethnic minority groups in Iran” and identify ways to promote credible,
independent investigations into rights abuses in Iran, the US mission to the
United Nations said.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US envoy Malley apologizes for controversial tweet on
Iran’s anti-government protests
31 October, 2022
The top US diplomat for Iran apologized on Monday for
a recent tweet he posted on the anti-government protests, which have spread
across Iran for over a month now.
On Oct. 22, US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley said
the protesters in Iran had been demonstrating for “respect” from the Iranian
regime. He was quickly criticized for the tweet, seen as diminishing the
protesters’ demands.
“It was a mistake, and I owned up to the mistake. It’s
not something that I should do, particularly because it was viewed as
diminishing the demands of the protesters,” he said during a webinar with the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank.
Many calls were made for Malley to step down following
his tweet.
“It’s not up to us, it’s not up to me, to characterize
what the people on the streets of Iran… want. They’re doing a very good job
themselves expressing their demands and their aspirations,” Malley said on
Monday.
Malley’s original tweet sparked a backlash from
hundreds of Iranians who noted that Iranian protesters are calling for regime
change, not for the current regime to respect their rights.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Malaysia is not a playground for the Israel-Hamas, or
any other, conflict
October 31, 2022
Malaysia supports the Palestinian cause in the Middle
East and opposes Israel's occupation of Palestinian land in the post-1948 era.
The government in Putrajaya has never had diplomatic relations with Israel, but
agreed to a peace plan based on the occupation state returning to the 1949
Armistice ("Green") Line in place in 1967 to achieve a two-state
solution. This implies that the capital of the Palestinian state will be East
Jerusalem, which Malaysia also supports. Such support for the Palestinians extends
to international forums without regard to the political factions involved;
Fatah and Hamas are treated fairly by the Malaysian government, even though
Palestine's official diplomatic mission in Kuala Lumpur is under the Fatah-run
authority in Ramallah.
The influence of Hamas has increased in Malaysia since
the resistance movement was founded in the 1980s as an offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood. There are a lot of Brotherhood supporters in Malaysia among the
Muslim population, which makes the country a safe destination for Hamas and its
supporters, as are Turkey, Iran and Qatar. The number of Palestinian students
in Malaysia has increased, especially from Gaza.
The Malaysians will never forget the murder of a
Palestinian lecturer in Kuala Lumpur in 2018. Fadi Mohammed Al-Batsh, an
electrical engineer from Gaza, was shot dead by two motorcyclists. Has family
alleges that Israeli spy agency Mossad was involved in the killing. Hamas
acknowledged that Al-Batsh was a member of the movement, in whose military
branch he was called "commander". Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's defence
minister at the time, issued a routine denial of Israeli involvement in the
killing, but claimed that the professor was the designer of Hamas missile
systems.
On 28 September this year, a Palestinian from Gaza was
rescued by Malaysian police officers in Selangor. According to the New Straits
Times (NST), Mossad was behind the individual's abduction, which led the Royal
Malaysian Police to call the editor, Farrah Naz Karim, for investigation. In a
related, but unverified, report, it was stated that eleven Malaysians,
including a woman, were recruited by Mossad and given training in Europe before
kidnapping Omar ZM Albelbaisy Raeda. He is a computer programmer and believed
to be a member of Hamas. Another Palestinian was apparently able to escape from
the kidnappers and contact the police. Officers raided a chalet in Hulu Langat
and the Palestinian kidnap victim was freed. Once again, Mossad and its agents
in Malaysia were mentioned in the indictment.
The NST said that Raeda was interrogated about his
computer experience, Hamas computer expertise and knowledge of known members of
Al-Qassam Brigades, the movement's military wing. Haaretz in Israel reported
that he is an Android software developer and moved to Turkiye before going to
Malaysia.
The Malaysian Interior Ministry has launched an
investigation into alleged Mossad involvement in the kidnapping. Minister
Hamzah Zainuddin said that the government would act if the allegation that
Mossad operatives are working in the country is true. At the time of writing,
the Royal Malaysia Police Force has not been able to determine if Mossad was
involved in the abduction of Palestinians. Officers have pointed out that the
investigation is ongoing and asked the public to stop speculating and
disturbing public order. Social media is awash with "news" about
Mossad and its presence in Malaysia, and the agency's supposed connection with
the political opposition. There is a lot of fake news about. Moreover, the news
is politicised in Malaysia as the country moves towards its 15th General
Election and, so far, there has been no verification of the News Straits Times
reports about Mossad in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, the reports have been covered by media
elsewhere, including Israel, even as the investigations are ongoing. Malaysian
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri is waiting for a report from the police and
National Security Council on the Mossad allegations, but has in any case given
reassurances about the country's security.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera has claimed that a
"well-informed" Malaysian source has confirmed that a "Mossad
cell" has been uncovered in the country, apparently to spy on sensitive
sites, including airports, and seeking to penetrate government-run electronics
companies. Again, this has not been verified, although the Jerusalem Post has
noted that it is Mossad's policy to target Hamas activists anywhere.
The alleged Mossad operation in Malaysia suggests
strongly that intelligence agencies are operating around the world, which means
that the Israel-Palestine conflict — and especially Israel's conflict with
Hamas in the Gaza Strip — has the potential to spill over to other regions.
Although Malaysia supports the Palestinians in their legitimate struggle for a
viable, independent state, it does so in line with UN resolutions. This is
Malaysia's official foreign policy regardless of any support for Fatah and
Hamas. The government does not recognise the State of Israel in its foreign
policy and Malaysians are not allowed to visit the occupation state; nor are
Israeli citizens allowed into Malaysia. Nevertheless, Malaysia's foreign policy
does not perceive Israelis as enemies or engender any hatred towards their
country.
Our country views Israel's belligerent Zionism and
apartheid against the Palestinians as unacceptable and clearly against
international law. Malaysia's foreign policy may thus change direction when
Israel shows its readiness to embrace the two state solution, follow UN
resolutions and participate sincerely in the peace process to realise this
goal. With two states existing side by side in peace, Israel will be more
secure, and global Mossad operations can become a thing of the past.
Malaysia is a peace-loving nation and bids other
nations to respect its sovereignty. It has a strict policy against foreign
interference in its domestic affairs, or foreign involvement in illegal
activities within its borders. No states or their citizens should use Malaysia
as a playground for their own conflicts. It is the hope of the Malaysian people
and their government that the Israel-Palestine conflict will end with lasting
peace in the Middle East.
Source: Middle East Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Malaysia
questions 18 people arrested at LGBT Halloween party
31
October, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s Islamic religious authorities on Monday
questioned 18 people detained during a Halloween party attended by members of
the LGBT community at the weekend, activists said.
The
arrests come amid concern among human rights groups and activists over the
state’s growing intolerance towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community in Malaysia in recent years.
Same-sex
acts are illegal in Malaysia, although convictions are rare. The country has a
dual-track legal system, with Islamic criminal and family laws applicable to
Muslims running alongside civil laws.
Twenty
people were arrested for offences under sharia, or Islamic law, during a raid
on an event in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, district police said in a statement.
Numan
Afifi, an LGBT rights activist who was among those arrested, said they were
accused of violating Islamic laws on cross-dressing, encouraging vice, and
indecent acts in public places.
“They
(authorities) isolated the Muslim participants, and identified anyone that did
not dress according to the gender that they thought them to be,” Numan told
Reuters.
“But
of course it’s Halloween, people were dressing in costumes, so not all of them
were cross-dressing.”
Eighteen
of those arrested were questioned by religious officers on Monday before being
asked to return for further enquiries at a later date, Numan said.
“It’s
outrageous state oppression,” he said.
The
Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
Opposition
lawmaker Charles Santiago condemned the arrests, describing the raid as
harassment of a marginalised community.
“These
targeted persecution against the LGBTQ+ community has the potential to trigger
hate crimes… I urge authorities to cease hunting them down as if they are
criminals,” he said in a Twitter post.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://theprint.in/world/malaysia-questions-18-people-arrested-at-lgbt-halloween-party/1188988/
--------
I
switched for a better cause, says Muda man under fire
Joel
Shasitiran
October
30, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Muda candidate Danial Abdul Majeed, who came under criticism over old
tweets in support of Barisan Nasional, said today he had switched his support
to Muda for “a better cause” and to fight for a better Malaysia.
He
said he was shocked that “as soon as my candidacy for Kepala Batas was
announced by Muda, people started to dig out my old tweets” which showed him
supporting BN.
He
came under the spotlight on social media after two of his tweets from nine
years ago resurfaced.
Danial
told FMT that he does not deny he was once a supporter of BN and he made those
tweets in 2013.
His
controversial tweets were posted on polling day in 2013 and the next day. One
said he was “forever a voter for BN” and the other criticised PAS for working
with DAP “which wants to destroy Islam and the Malays”.
He
told FMT: “The question people should be asking is what made me want to change?
The answer is, I changed for a better cause, and to fight for a better
Malaysia. People should look at what (agenda) I am carrying now.”
Danial
said he chose to support Muda after noticing that several leaders from BN were
being charged in court for various alleged crimes. He had joined Muda in June
2020, when the party was still new and had not been registered.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
OSA
preventing defence’s bid to impeach witness, court told
V
Anbalagan
October
31, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: The defence in Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi corruption trial
will not be able to take part in impeachment proceedings brought against a
witness unless the prosecution declassifies a contentious statement, a lawyer
told the High Court.
Lead
counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah the statement
given by contractor Jefri Jamil to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) in 2018 has been classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
“We
cannot have sight of the statement unless the prosecution declassifies it,” he
said.
Hisyam
said the defence was bound by the case of Lim Kit Siang v Public Prosecutor
(1980) which held that official documents which come into the possession of an
unauthorised party will violate the provisions of the OSA if the transmission
was without lawful authorisation.
“By
virtue of this case, we are unable to participate due to the prosecution’s
refusal to declassify the statement,” he said.
However,
citing the case of Muthusamy v Public Prosecutor (1948), deputy public
prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran argued that a judge and the affected witness
can still take part in the proceedings.
She
said the prosecution will tender the particular statement as an exhibit and a
copy will be given to the defence.
Raja
Rozela said Jefri would be given an opportunity to explain any contradictions
between his previous statement and his evidence in court.
“It
is then for the court to evaluate the statement,” she said.
In
the alternative, she said, the prosecution could lift the privilege attached to
the statement so that the defence can have sight of its contents.
In
response, Hisyam said the position taken by the prosecution was unfair.
Even
if the prosecution lifted the privilege, he said, the defence could still run
foul of the law for being in possession of or for sighting classified
information.
Sequerah
then advised Raja Rozela to consider declassifying the three-page statement so
that the defence could take part in the proceeding without reservations.
The
judge then suspended the impeachment proceedings.
However,
the trial could not proceed as the next defence witness is only scheduled to
take the stand tomorrow.
On
Sept 21, Sequerah allowed the prosecution’s bid to impeach Jefri, the third
defence witness in Zahid’s trial.
Jefri’s
evidence in court is said to have differed from that given to MACC.
Sequerah
said the application made by the prosecution under Section 155(c) of the
Evidence Act did not indicate whether the document containing the statement
recorded by MACC was classified under the OSA or otherwise.
After
examining a portion of the statement given by the prosecution, he went on to
rule that there were material contradictions.
Jefri
was listed as a prosecution witness but was not called by prosecutors to
testify at the trial.
He
was instead offered to Zahid as a potential defence witness after the former
deputy prime minister and home minister was ordered to enter his defence.
Zahid
is standing trial on charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust
involving millions from Yayasan Akalbudi and for accepting bribes for various
projects during his tenure as the home minister.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
At
historic R20 gathering in Bali, religious leaders launch ‘Spiritual Ecology
Movement’
1
November, 2022
By
Ayushi Agarwal
Bali
[Indonesia], November 1 (ANI): Ahead of the Group of 20’s first-ever Religious
Forum Summit (R20) in Indonesia, global religious leaders converged to launch a
‘Spiritual Ecology’ movement, aimed at fostering balance within nature and
society.
The
launch was held on Monday jointly by Lesbumi (the Institute of Indonesian
Muslim Cultural Artists), an autonomous branch of Nahdlatul Ulama which is
considered the world’s largest Muslim organization and which has spearheaded
the concept of R20.
The
launch ceremony began with a ritual purification ceremony and offerings made by
Balinese Hindu priests prior to planting of 20 trees considered sacred within
Hindu cosmology.
The
event was held at the Puja Mandala, a religious complex consisting of five
houses of worship built side-by-side, including a Hindu temple, a mosque,
Protestant and Catholic churches, and a Buddhist vihara. Swami Bhadreshdas, an
ordained Hindu monk of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha
(BAPS) also attended the ceremony.
Following
the Hindu ceremony, R20 co-chair Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdul Karim al-Issa,
Secretary General of the Mecca-based Muslim World League was given an
enthusiastic welcome by school children, local Muslim leaders, and traditional
musicians who had gathered at the Puja Mandala’s mosque.
Accompanied
by prominent Muslim leaders, Shaykh al-Issa led the gathering in an Arabic
language prayer prior to planting, with his own hands, one of the 20 sacred
trees upon the grounds of the mosque and then toured the Puja Mandala complex,
and entered Jagatnatha temple to greet Balinese Hindu priests.
The
G20 summit (Group of 20 leading economies, this year headed by Indonesia)
includes an official main event called R20 (Religion Forum) will be held from
November 2-3, this year for the “first time ever” in Bali, Indonesia. The R20
aims to mobilize global leaders to help ensure that religion functions as a
genuine and dynamic source of solutions, rather than problems, in the 21st
century.
The
R20 has been recognized as an official G20 engagement group, and the R20 Summit
in Bali is the main event in this year’s G20 program. Joko Widodo, President of
Indonesia, is scheduled to address the opening session of this year’s R20
Summit on November 2.
The
G20 consists of 19 countries plus the European Union, and India has been a
member since its inception in 1999.
India
will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1 to November
30, 2023.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Philippines
records over half of storm death toll in autonomous Muslim region
October
31, 2022
MANILA:
Over 100 people have died in one of the most destructive storms to hit the
Philippines this year, officials said on Monday, with more than half of the
deaths recorded in the country’s southern autonomous Muslim region.
Tropical
Storm Nalgae barreled across the Southeast Asian country over the weekend and
set off flash floods and landslides, leaving behind a trail of destruction and
flooding in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
The
worst storm impact was recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao, which had been swamped by unusually heavy rains. At least 53 people
were killed in its Maguindanao province, according to data from the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The
region’s chief minister, however, said authorities are recovering more bodies
from a huge mudslide in Maguindanao’s Datu Odin Sinsuat town.
“Retrieval
operations are ongoing. So far more than 60 cadavers have been dug up,” BARMM
Chief Minister Ahod “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim told Arab News.
The
mudslide laden with rocks, trees and debris reportedly buried dozens of houses
in Kusiong village where authorities fear more casualties as rescue operations
continued on Monday.
President
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who flew on Monday over the flood-submerged districts to
inspect the damage after Nalgae, said it was not necessary to declare a
one-year national state of calamity, a day after the recommendation was
proposed by the national disaster council.
“I
don’t think it’s necessary,” Marcos said during a press briefing.
“I
came to that conclusion in consultation with DENR,” he said, referring to the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. “They said (damage) wasn’t
extensive; it was very highly localized.”
The
president said Maguindanao, Quezon and Cavite were the country’s hardest hit
provinces and have declared their own state of calamity.
Nearly
2 million people across over 5,100 villages in the Philippines were affected by
Nalgae, according to official data, as floodwaters swamped many provinces and
cities and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Typhoon
Noru had damaged swaths of the country’s farmland only in September, causing
damages of nearly $51 million.
The
Philippines sees about 20 storms and typhoons every year. The archipelago
nation of more than 7,600 islands also lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of
Fire, an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where the majority of the
world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making it one of the most
disaster-prone countries.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2190946/world
--------
Pakistan
Imran
Khan to file Rs 10 bn lawsuit against election commission chief for
disqualifying him
Oct
31, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Imran Khan on Monday targeted the chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan
and announced that he will file a Rs 10 billion defamation suit against him for
destroying his reputation by disqualifying him, as the ousted premier addressed
his supporters at the start of the fourth day of his long march.
Khan
has announced that his objective was to gain Haqeeqi Azadi (real freedom)
through the march to Islamabad which in his words was possible if free and fair
elections are held immediately.
Khan,
70, was earlier this month disqualified from membership of the current National
Assembly by a five-member panel of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP),
which was headed by its chief Sikandar Sultan Raja.
“Sikandar
Sultan, I will take you to court … so that in the future, you do not destroy
anyone's reputation on someone else's instructions,” Khan said while addressing
PTI supporters at Kamonki at the start of the fourth day of his long march.
He
alleged that the ECP's decisions against him in Toshakhana and prohibited
funding cases were given on the instructions of the incumbent “imported
government”.
“You
(Sikandar) are friends of thieves and action will be taken,” he said.
According
to Pakistan's law, any gift received from dignitaries of a foreign state must
be put in the state depository or the Toshakhana.
The
former prime minister had earlier announced that he would file a defamation
case against Raja. The former premier made the announcement while speaking to a
private news channel.
“I
will file a defamation lawsuit against CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja in Toshakhana
reference and foreign funding case,” Khan said in an interview and reiterated
his demand for free and fair elections in the country under the new ECP chief.
The
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief also said he would back out himself if any
allegations against him in the cases were to be proven true.
"Whenever
courts against me prove that I have done an illegal thing, I will not wait for
the court's decision to be issued and will back out on my own," Khan said.
He
also targeted the powerful establishment, saying that a country's
“establishment never stands against the nation”.
“To
those who let this group of robbers (an obvious reference to the country's
rulers) impose on us, I am giving a message with due respect: For God's sake,
listen to the nation's voice,” he urged.
Talking
about his criticism of the Pakistan Army, Khan said he criticised them as “a
Pakistani who lives in and would die in Pakistan”.
Khan,
who also won a national assembly seat in a by-election held on Sunday in Kurram
district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, said: “See where the nation is standing”. He
said the country would be strengthened when its institutions were strengthened.
He
kept up his trademark vitriolic attack against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
and alleged that his opponent "polished the boots of those who were
powerful and oppressed those who were weak".
Earlier,
he took to social media to say that he had witnessed a “revolution” taking over
the country.
“The
sea of people along our March on the GT Road. For 6 months, I have been
witnessing a revolution taking over the country. The only question is will it
be a soft one through the ballot box or a destructive one through bloodshed?”
he tweeted.
Khan's
convoy of vehicles was slowly moving towards Islamabad. The organisers have
announced to stay at Gujranwala overnight to relaunch the march the next day.
Before
Gujranwala, Khan is expected to make a brief stopover at More Eminabad and
address his supporters.
Khan
has been demanding early elections and he is leading the long march towards
Islamabad to force his demands. The term of the National Assembly will end in
August 2023 and fresh elections should be held within 60 days.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Establishment
should stop backing political parties, says JI chief Siraj
November
1, 2022
LAHORE:
The military establishment must stop providing backing to political parties to
come to power and allow the masses to elect their representatives through free
election, says Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq.
Addressing
the Youth Leadership Convention at Greater Iqbal Park on Monday, he said the
PTI, PML-N and PPP were the beneficiaries of the system, which the
establishment controlled and both the sides (the ruling parties and the
establishment) had caused irreparable damage to the country.
Later
talking to Dawn, the JI chief said the youth, the real power and wealth of the
country, had always been on the party radar as it formed 64pc of Pakistan now.
“The Jamaat is a revolutionary party, which is striving for economic,
educational and agricultural revolution. Only the youth are open to
revolutionary ideas and the Jamaat has decided to attract it now.”
Mr
Siraj disagreed with the question that the Jamaat had woken up to youth
importance after Imran Khan attracted the young blood and created a committed following
to win by-elections and to pressurize the establishment and the government to
concede his demands.
“Most
of the JI members join it in their college years. The Jamaat has always been
active in schools and colleges where young minds agree to its agenda and become
a life-time supporter of the party,” he argued. A party insider, however,
thinks that the Jamaat has calculated that the PTI has disappointed youth in a
big way.
“The
JI is now trying to attract the disgruntled youth, which was disappointed by
the PTI and can neither join the PPP nor the PML-N. The JI is offering itself
as an alternative and this was the reason for it to arrange the first youth
convention of its kind and invite only young people rather than its old
members,” he said.
Addressing
the convention, Siraj said the youth should take a stand to get rid of the
status quo and launch a struggle for the rule of law, asking the participants
to spread the JI message among the masses.
“The
JI would fight against the ruling elite, ruling political parties and their
supporters.”
He
regretted that the establishment had a history of providing support to
political parties, making selections in the name of election.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Police
directed to nab accused in Prophet’s Mosque incident
November
01, 2022
RAWALPINDI
- Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench Justice Abdul Aziz has directed the
police to arrest within four days all the accused involved in violating the
sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabvi (PBUH) in Madinah during visit of Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia.
The
court also expressed its resentment over the release of the convicted accused
of violation of the sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabvi (SAW) from Saudi prisons by the
prime minister of Pakistan. “Who is the PM of Pakistan to do so and under which
capacity he is intervening into matters of a serious nature,” Justice Abdul
Aziz remarked while hearing a petition filed by former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
for cancellation of an FIR against them lodged by Attock police.
Police
Station New Airport Fateh Jang had registered a case against Awami Muslim
League president and former interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, his nephew
MNA Sheikh Rashid Shafique and others on charges of violating the sanctity of
Masjid-e-Nabvi (SAW), chanting blasphemous slogans and harassing the volunteers
and devotes in Masjid-e-Nabvi.
Source:
Nation Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.nation.com.pk/01-Nov-2022/police-directed-to-nab-accused-in-prophet-s-mosque-incident
--------
Amid
turmoil at home, Pakistan PM Sharif to visit China to felicitate Xi for his
record win
Oct
31, 2022
BEIJING:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will arrive here on Tuesday on his
maiden two-day visit to China to felicitate President Xi Jinping on his
re-election, amid turmoil at home and Beijing's increasing concerns over
recurring attacks against the Chinese workers in the country.
Sharif
will be the first head of the government to felicitate 69-year-old Xi in person
for securing an unprecedented third five-year term at the recently held
Communist Party Congress, becoming the first leader after party founder Mao
Zedong to continue in power after 10-year tenure.
All
of Xi's predecessors retired after 10 years in office and considering his
firming grip on the party and military, Xi like Mao is widely expected to
continue in power for life.
"I
would like to express my heartiest felicitations to my brother General
Secretary Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China for starting a New Era of
China's progress; and I say with complete confidence that it heralds the dawn
of a brighter era of China-Pakistan friendship," Sharif said in an article
published in the state-run Global Times here on Monday.
Sharif
along with some of the world leaders is visiting Beijing to greet Xi.
Vietnam's
Communist Party leader Phu Trong is the first guest honour invited by Xi.
On
Monday, Trong held talks with Xi who has announced plans to make China a modern
socialist state.
German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz will arrive in China on November 4 to meet Xi while
Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, will come ahead of him on November
2 to felicitate the Chinese President.
Besides
Xi, Sharif will meet Premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, the Chairman of China's
Parliament - the National People's Congress, to discuss the all-weather ties.
Both
Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu are set to retire after March next year as a new set
of leaders and officials will take over the party and government headed by Xi
in his third five-year term.
Ahead
of Sharif's visit, Pakistan's Foreign Office said that the trip is also
"expected to advance the wide-ranging bilateral cooperation agenda with
the conclusion of a number of MoUs/Agreements in diverse areas, and consolidate
the momentum of CPEC cooperation in the wake of the 11th meeting of the CPEC
Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on October 27, 2022."
On
Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian lauded Sharif's praise
for the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship
project of Xi's pet initiative of the multibillion-dollar Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI).
India
has objected to the CPEC as it is being laid through the Pakistan-Occupied
Kashmir (PoK).
"We
highly appreciate Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's remarks. We believe they show
the importance he attaches to the visit to China," Zhao said.
He
also referred to the Kashmir issue in his article.
"We
seek friendly relations with our neighbouring countries on the basis of mutual
respect and spirit of cooperation, and desire peaceful resolution of all outstanding
disputes including Kashmir issue through dialogue and diplomacy based on UN
charter and resolutions," he said.
This
will be Sharif's second meeting with Xi after he assumed office in April 2022.
He met Xi last month on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
summit in Uzbekistan.
Sharif's
visit is taking place amid political impasse in his country as former prime
minister Imran Khan queered the pitch to press for elections with Long March
and the deepening economic crisis.
His
trip to China comes at a time when cash-strapped Pakistan is making all efforts
to arrange billions of dollars for payment of debts and bridge trade deficit.
Pakistan owes Paris Club countries a combined sum of around USD 10.7 billion.
Sharif
is expected to make a case for Beijing to provide more help for his government
to shore up the balance of payments position to avert a crisis similar to Sri
Lanka.
According
to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan's total non-Paris Club
bilateral debt currently stands at about USD 27 billion, of which Chinese debt
is about USD 23 billion.
Besides
routine platitudes by Chinese officials like "all-weather friends"
and "iron brothers", recent reports spoke of Beijing's increasing
dissatisfaction over Pakistan's failure to deliver on a number of fronts
including its failure to stop the recurring attacks on Chinese personnel by the
militant groups.
In
his Samarkand meeting with Sharif, Xi had called for providing solid protection
for hundreds of Chinese working on the CPEC projects.
With
recurring attacks on its workers, China is reportedly pressing Pakistan to
permit the Chinese security agencies to provide security for their personnel
which, according to press reports, Islamabad is resisting as it meant boots on
the ground for Chinese armed forces.
The
issue is expected to figure again during Sharif's meeting here with Xi.
China
is also unhappy over the delays in the projects of the CPEC, which is the
flagship scheme of Xi's multibillion-dollar pet project BRI, resulting in cost
overruns and discontentment among Chinese investors.
Last
month, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa held talks with Chinese
Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe in a surprise visit to China ahead of his
retirement amid reports that China is also concerned over Pakistan warming up
to the US, the reported use of Pakistan air bases by American drones to conduct
attack in Afghanistan.
Chinese
observers say that China is also increasingly worried about the continued
political turmoil in Pakistan resulting in the weakening of its public
institutions, especially the erosion of the influence of its military, over
which Beijing banked on to sustain the close ties.
About
concerns over recurring attacks on Chinese in Pakistan, Sharif in the article
said their protection is his top priority.
"Safety
and security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan remains our top
priority. The loss of precious Chinese lives in Pakistan is our loss. We would
not let anyone damage our close friendship and strong economic partnership. My
government would spare no effort to bring to justice the perpetrators of these
reprehensible acts," he said.
He
also praised the CPEC, saying it is a "game changer."
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Two
soldiers martyred as terrorists open fire on security forces in Balochistan:
ISPR
Naveed
Siddiqui
October
31, 2022
Two
Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred on Monday when terrorists opened fire on
security forces near Balochistan's Shahrig area, according to a press release
issued by the military's media wing.
According
to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an
intelligence-based operation was underway in the general area near Kaman Pass
since Sunday to clear a terrorist hideout.
"Security
forces were heli-dropped near the suspected location of terrorists to cut the
escape routes and clear the hideout.
"However,
during the establishment of blocking positions, terrorists opened fire on the
security forces," the press release reads, adding that resultantly, Sepoy
Shafi Ullah and Sepoy Muhammad Qaiser were martyred.
The
ISPR said four terrorists were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire while a
cache of arms and ammunition, including improvised explosive devices, was
recovered.
"The
clearance operation, however, continues to apprehend other terrorists in the
area," the press release added.
Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed regret over the incident and lauded
the martyrs as "brave sons of the land".
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
UK
Prevent programme 'must reach big mosques to stop radicalisation of youngsters'
Laura
O'Callaghan
Nov
01, 2022
British
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been urged to bring mosques into greater
focus in her review of the government’s flagship counter-terrorism programme in
order to to reach more people who may be at risk of radicalisation.
Labour
MP Khalid Mahmood said a strategy of outreach to smaller faith groups over
larger ones means officials have a limited reach in their efforts to educate
parents whose teenagers have been groomed online by extremists.
In
an interview with The National, the opposition politician said a shake-up of
the Prevent programme is long overdue, particularly to address the scourge of
young Muslims across the UK who are being “alienated” from their families.
Officials
in the Home Office are in the process of reviewing the framework of
counter-extremism. The flagship Prevent programme aims to safeguard and support
people vulnerable to radicalisation. It forms one of four elements of Contest,
the government’s counter-terrorism strategy which has foiled more than 30
terror plots in the past five years.
An
official report by William Shawcross recently concluded that in its existing
form Prevent is protecting the malign activities of some potential terrorists
rather than shielding the British public from violence.
'Young
people are told to question their parents'
Mr
Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said that having spoken to Muslim
parents, he believes there is a huge demand for information from officials on
what signs to look out for in youngsters falling prey to the clutches of
extremist individuals or entities.
“There’s
a big issue with young people disconnecting from their parents,” he said.
“There’s an element of people who are doing it who have extremist views,
[although] most of it’s maybe non-violent extremism.
“[Prevent]
has got to be much more oriented towards the mainstream Muslim community. The
more we deal with smaller organisations the more difficult and isolated it
becomes. Smaller organisations may do some very good work but they don’t have
the spread.
“We
also need to get schools to engage with local mosques.”
Mr
Shawcross, who previously headed the Charity Commission, found that the
programme was focused on “protecting those referred into Prevent from harm”
instead of “protecting the public”.
In
her update of the strategy, Ms Braverman will take into account the second
volume of the Manchester Arena Inquiry, set to be published next week.
Twenty-three people were killed in the May 2017 attack carried out by an
Islamist extremist suicide bomber.
“The
government will now review the recommendations in their entirety and publish
the Independent Reviewer's report and the government’s response in due course,”
a Home Office spokesman told The National.
“Prevent
will remain a vital tool for safeguarding against radicalisation. It has
already changed and saved the lives of individuals from all walks of life, with
more than 3,000 people supported through the Channel programme, and will
continue to build on this success going forwards.
Alongside
the Home Office review, the government is also poised to shelve a plan to
establish an official definition of Islamophobia. Having announced the launch
of a process to establish a working definition of Islamophobia in May 2019,
campaigners have expressed dismay at the lack of action three years later.
Yet
many in government argue that previous attempts by different bodies to define
Muslim hatred have lacked a widespread consensus.
'Severe
lack of effort to eradicate Islamophobia'
The
All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims defines Islamophobia as being
“rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of
Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.”
But
the government has not recognised this, or any other, definition of hatred
towards Muslims.
“We
remain committed to stamping out anti-Muslim hatred and all forms of religious
prejudice and we will outline our next steps in due course,” a representative
of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.
Mr
Mahmood said a clear definition should be adopted that would strengthen efforts
to tackle hatred of Muslims.
He
cited Boris Johnson’s 2018 article in the Telegraph in which he compared Muslim
women wearing the niqab to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers” as an example of
how people are given free rein to express questionable views towards the
Islamic community with impunity.
In
the three weeks after his comments were published instances of Islamophobia
soared by 375 per cent, according to Tell Mama. The group which supports
victims of anti-Muslim hatred said 42 per cent of offline Islamophobic incident
reported in the three weeks after the article was published “directly
referenced Boris Johnson and/or the language used in his column”.
“I
think there should be a clear term of Muslim hatred and that term should be
based on purely if somebody who’s Muslim is disadvantaged in terms of services,
in terms of employment or directly experiences discrimination. That should be
dealt with by the law,” Mr Mahmood said.
Source:
The National News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Spain
to preserve carpet weaving technique inherited from Muslims
OCT
31, 2022
The
Spanish government has applied to UNESCO to preserve the Spanish knot, a
technique that was inherited from the Muslims during the Andalusian Islamic
period.
Carrying
the carpet weaving technique to the present day with the name "Spanish
knot," Spain aims to have the technique included in UNESCO's
"Intangible Cultural Heritage List."
The
Royal Carpet Weaving Factory, which was established in the Spanish capital
Madrid on the instruction of King Felipe V in 1721, stands out as the only
carpet production center that ensures the survival of the Spanish knot
technique inherited from the Muslims who ruled the lands for a while.
The
technique was first developed in Egypt and came to the Iberian Peninsula during
the Islamic period of Andalusia.
The
knot differs from the most well-known and applied Turkish knot technique in
carpet weaving. As this technique cannot be applied in curved drawings and is
symmetrical, it is only used on linen, silk and fine wool yarn. The zigzag
patterned technique includes more than 72,500 yarn knots per square meter,
while it is about twice as long and expensive to complete as a Turkish knot in
terms of time and cost.
Alejandro
Klecker de Elizade is the general director of the Royal Carpet Weaving Factory
in Madrid, one of the rare places that use both the Turkish knot and Spanish
knot techniques in carpet and rug weaving.
Klecker
de Elizade explained that the Spanish knot was barely used for a long time
after the Muslim domination of the Iberian Peninsula ended in 1492 and the
Catholic kings attempted to completely erase the Islamic cultural history from
the region, however, initiatives emerged in the 20th century that tried to keep
the weaving tradition alive.
"Although
there was a great deal of carpet production in Spain in the 15th and 16th
centuries, these were always made with Turkish knots. The Spanish knot is much
more complex and expensive. It was a technique that was almost in danger of
disappearing in the 17th century. In the 20th century, especially in some
Spanish cities in the south, such as Cadiz, some weaving workshops were
established yet, there was not much success in carpet production because there
was not much demand," Klecker de Elizade said in a statement to Anadolu
Agency (AA).
He
also stated that the commercial sales of carpets made with Spanish knots are
very limited due to their special and expensive nature, emphasizing that their
biggest advantage is the Middle East market at the moment.
Turkish
carpets adorn Spanish palaces
Explaining
that the Turkish knot and Turkish carpets are world-renowned and that they
combine the Spanish and Turkish weaving techniques, Klecker de Elizade said:
"Everyone recognizes Turkish carpets because the palaces in Spain, the
Parliament, the Senate, the Bank of Spain and many of the houses of noble
Spanish families are decorated with Turkish carpets. Only one out of every 30
carpets we make is with Spanish knots."
He
also noted that, as the Royal Carpet Weaving Factory, there were initiatives
for cooperation between Turkish and Spanish carpet weaving artists, such as
restoration techniques and drawing, through the Turkish Embassy in Madrid a few
years ago, but they have not been able to implement them yet.
The
director also highlighted that it would be very valuable to research the
historical changes in Turkish and Spanish carpet art, rediscovering the periods
and finding the common points in both cultural practices.
"In
the carpet weaving culture, Spain is the heir of the Middle East world in
Türkiye's Ottoman history," Klecker de Elizade said, mentioning that Spain
got its turquoise blue color from the Ottomans, and that silk and wool are
completely based on Spanish-Muslim roots.
Highlighting
that the Council of Ministers in Spain decided to apply for the Spanish knot to
be included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List, Klecker de Elizade
noted that there was a lot of demand from different parts of the world
regarding the presentation of handicrafts to UNESCO, but that this particular
technique will be included in this list after understanding its historical and
cultural characteristics.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Too
Risky to Bring Home Islamic State Wives, Widows Say Australian Opposition
Lawmakers
October
31, 2022
Phil
Mercer
SYDNEY
—
Opposition
lawmakers have condemned the repatriation to Australia of 17 women and children
from the al-Roj refugee camp in Northern Syria.
They
are the wives, sons and daughters of dead or jailed Islamic State militants.
They have spent several years in detention camps in northern Syria. Each of the
women has been assessed by Australian intelligence agencies and some could face
terrorism-related charges. The women are expected to agree to control orders,
which limit the movements and activities of individuals.
Opposition
lawmakers in Australia have argued the women could pose a national security
threat.
Shadow
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Monday that the repatriation was a mistake and that, "It was too risky to
send Australian personnel into the camps to bring these women and children
out."
Kamalle
Dabboussy, the father and grandfather of some of those who flew into Sydney at
the weekend, told reporters on Saturday that his daughter Mariam was tricked
into travelling to Syria by her husband and has no links to extremism.
"Men
went and took the women with them," Dabboussy said. "The men have
either died, are in jail and the women were then left behind. There is no
evidence to say that my daughter joined any such organization."
Another
40 Australian women and children could be brought home from Kurdish-controlled
camps in Syria within a few months.
It
follows similar moves by the United States, Britain and Canada, which have
repatriated citizens from Syria, along with other countries including France,
Germany and Russia.
Source:
VOA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pope
Francis’ first visit to Bahrain to cement ties with Islam
November
1, 2022
VATICAN
CITY: Pope Francis will become the first pontiff in history to visit Bahrain,
in a trip this week that is hoped to cement ties with Islam, but is also marked
by accusations of human rights abuses in the Gulf state.
The
Thursday-to-Sunday visit — the 39th international trip of Francis’ papacy —
comes three years after his historic trip to the UAE in 2019, where he signed a
Muslim-Christian manifesto for peace.
But
some human rights groups now hope Francis will press Bahrain’s Sunni leader,
King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, to halt repression against Shiite Muslims in the
country, even as the rights record of neighbour Qatar has drawn more attention
in recent months ahead of the World Cup.
The
Argentine pontiff, 85, has made outreach to Muslim communities a priority
during his papacy, visiting Middle Eastern countries including Egypt in 2017
and Iraq last year while pledging interfaith dialogue with leading Muslim
clerics.
On
Friday, Francis plans to meet with Sunni Islam’s highest authority, Sheikh
Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and
centre of Islamic learning, at Sakhir Palace in the centre of the country.
The
two religious leaders signed a joint document in Abu Dhabi in February 2019
pledging interfaith co-existence between Christians and Muslims. That visit
marked the first ever by a pope to the Gulf region, where Islam was born.
Francis
will also meet with the Abu Dhabi-based Muslim Council of Elders for an “East
and West” forum, with Muslim communities in the West, humanitarian crises,
climate issues and Muslim-Christian relations on the agenda.
Religious
tolerance?
Also
on Friday, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics — expected to be
confined to a wheelchair during his trip due to persistent knee pain — will
lead an ecumenical prayer in Awali’s cavernous Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral,
which opened its doors December.
The
cathedral that seats over 2,000 people was built to serve Bahrain’s
approximately 80,000 Catholics, mainly workers from southern Asia, including
India and the Philippines.
Bahrain,
like the UAE, is considered a relatively more tolerant Arab nation, in
comparison with ultra-conservative Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia — repeatedly
cited by human rights groups for abuses — whose absolute monarchy does not
recognise freedom of religion and which bans all non-Muslim places of worship.
Still,
NGOs continue to cite discrimination, repression and harassment in Bahrain by
the Sunni elite against Shiites, crackdowns on opposition figures and
activists, and other abuses.
The
non-profit Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain wrote this month
that the country’s religious freedom laws were “only an act of subterfuge,
printed on paper as a means for the Bahraini ruling family to access the
benefits of friendship with more powerful world leaders and obscure the misery
of their human rights abuses”.
The
group urged the pope — who has made standing up for marginalised people a
hallmark of his papacy — to draw attention to the “rampant discrimination”
against Bahrain’s Shiites.
Yesterday,
Human Rights Watch issued a report documenting Bahrain’s “targeted
marginalisation of opposition figures” in the decade since pro-democracy
protests erupted in 2011.
Bahrain’s
annual Formula One race has also frequently attracted criticism over the
country’s human rights record. In 2011, the Grand Prix was cancelled amid the
harsh crackdown in the wake of the protests.
Looming
over Francis’ visit is the World Cup later this month in nearby Qatar, which
has shone a spotlight on its human rights record, particularly treatment of its
low-income migrant workers, women and the LBGTQ community.
Flocking
to mass
On
Saturday, the pope will celebrate a mass in a stadium in Bahrain’s
second-largest city Riffa before an expected 28,000 faithful, according to
priest Charbel Fayad.
“We
are happy to see many Christians from the region,” he told AFP, saying he
expected worshippers from other Gulf countries.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Germany
condemns violence by Iranian security forces against protesters
31
October, 2022
Germany
condemns “in the strongest terms” a violent crackdown by Iranian security
forces against protesters and the state repression of journalists there, a
German government spokesperson said on Monday.
Germany
welcomed further sanctions by the European Union against Iran, and Berlin is
looking at further measures, the spokesperson added, without giving a timeline
for them.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Armenia,
Azerbaijan agree not to use force to settle their dispute over Karabakh region
31
October 2022
Armenia
and Azerbaijan have agreed not to use force to settle their dispute over the
Nagorno-Karabkh region, following a tripartite meeting hosted by Russia in the
coastal city of Sochi.
Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced
the agreement on Monday following talks, which was also attended by Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
"We
agreed to refrain from the use of force or threatening force, to discuss and
resolve all problematic questions solely on the basis of mutual recognition of
sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of borders,"
Russia's RIA news agency reported, citing a joint statement.
The
agreement came against the backdrop of a bubbling and periodically deadly
dispute between the two ex-Soviet republics over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally
recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been populated by ethnic Armenians.
Last
month, simmering tensions between the estranged neighbors caused a fresh
escalation over the region, leaving nearly 286 people dead on both sides.
The
clashes took place despite agreements in both 2020 and 2021 to find a peaceful
solution and ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, after earlier failed attempts
to negotiate a truce.
This
was the most recent conflict between the countries since more than 6,500 were killed
during a six-week war in autumn 2020. The war ended with a Russian-brokered
deal that saw Yerevan cede swathes of territory that it had been controlling
for several decades.
Earlier
this month the two sides agreed a civilian European Union mission should head
to the border to assess the situation.
Moscow,
which has a defense pact with Armenia and a military base there, deployed
thousands of peacekeepers to the region after the 2020 warfare.
The
two countries' foreign ministers held their first talks following the deadly
war in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi in mid-July.
Armenian
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun
Bayramov "discussed a wide range of issues related to normalizing
relations between the two countries," the Armenian Foreign Ministry said
in a statement.
The
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, for its part, said Bayramov demanded "the
withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan,"
referring to the parts of Karabakh still under Armenian separatists' control.
Putin:
Talks useful, but no deal struck yet
Following
the meeting, Putin said trilateral talks among the leaders of Russia, Armenia
and Azerbaijan were useful, but that no deal had been struck in their bid to
kick-start peace negotiations between the two neighbors.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/31/691929/Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia-ceasefire-Nagorno-Karabakh
--------
South
Asia
International
Criminal Court Allows Probe into Afghan War Crimes, Sparing US Role
November
1, 2022
THE
HAGUE: The International Criminal Court on Monday gave its chief prosecutor the
green light to continue a probe into atrocities committed in Afghanistan,
saying Kabul “showed no interest” in a domestic investigation.
The
now-deposed Afghan government in early 2020 asked the Hague-based ICC to pause
its investigation to give Kabul a chance to carry out its own inquiries.
But
the Taliban returned to power in August last year as the Afghan government,
backed by the United States and its allies for two decades, crumbled amid
chaotic scenes.
“Judges
considered that Afghanistan is not presently carrying out genuine
investigations in a manner that would justify a deferral of the Court’s
investigations,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Afghanistan
authorities are not showing an interest to pursue the deferral request it
submitted on 26 March 2020,” the world’s only permanent independent war crimes
court said.
Prosecutors
in September last year asked the court’s judges for permission to resume their
probe. The request was transmitted “to the authorities currently representing
Afghanistan” for its observations.
“When
no observations were received” prosecutors transferred previous materials sent
by the former Kabul government to the judges, the ICC said.
The
judges however on Monday decided that “the material transmitted by Afghanistan
does not show that Afghanistan has investigated, or was investigating, in any
manner... that would justify even a partial deferral of the court’s
investigations.” It therefore “authorised the prosecution to resume investigation.”
The ICC in 2006 launched an initial probe into war crimes in Afghanistan.
In
2020 it authorised a full-blown investigation with former ICC chief prosecutor
Fatou Bensouda saying there was rea-sonable suspicion of war crimes by the
Taliban, as well as by US forces in the country, and the CIA in secret
detention centres abroad.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1718100/icc-allows-probe-into-afghan-war-crimes-sparing-us-role
--------
Pak
Manipulating Mainstream Media In Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan: Report
November
01, 2022
Kabul:
The mainstream media in Afghanistan that had just started to get on its feet
was shaken by the disruptions of 2021 - the takeover of the war-ravaged country
by the Taliban.
A
survey conducted by Reporters Without Borders and the Afghan Independent
Journalist Association in December 2021 reported the closure of more than 200
media outlets; rendering about 6,400 journalists jobless after the regime
change, reported Afghan Diaspora Network.
The
transfer of power from a west-supported government to the Taliban saw many
changes in the way institutions were working for the past twenty years.
Not
accustomed to working within the framework of the Taliban regime, several media
personalities moved to neighbouring or western countries, reported Afghan
Diaspora Network.
Though
it remains to be seen what the future holds for popular media in the country,
the upheaval has surely distressed it in the short term.
While
most of the media is attempting to adapt to the new environment, the turbulent
times have come as an opportunity for Pakistan, reported Afghan Diaspora
Network.
Drawing
flak from all around for fomenting trouble and interfering in the governance of
Afghanistan, Islamabad has now resorted to manipulating Afghan media to improve
its public image, reported Afghan Diaspora Network.
According
to some Afghan journalists, the efforts are part of a well-coordinated strategy
focused on exploiting the media vacuum in the country to implant favourable
coverage of Pakistan.
Though
common Afghan journalists working on the ground are not aware of the full plan,
they suspect it to be backed by Pakistani agencies. Afghan journalists facing
distress are being roped in for positive coverage about Pakistan and its
possible role in rebuilding Afghanistan reported Afghan Diaspora Network.
Fully
funded training courses are being offered to Afghan media persons with a
special focus on female journalists. Some local media houses are said to have
been contacted with offers of monetary assistance.
A
few of them facing financial duress are vulnerable to this strategy. Pakistani
private media companies are also being encouraged to set up their outlets in
Kabul to counter any negative perception about the Pakistani government/Army.
Separately,
Islamabad is stepping up engagement with local Afghan NGOs/civil society and
efforts are being made to rope in some foreign media houses, and western
outlets focused on Afg-Pak region are being approached for establishing offices
in Islamabad for better coordination.
Source:
ND TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Taliban
OKs restoration of historic synagogue in Afghanistan's Herat
OCT
31, 2022
The
Taliban administration in Afghanistan approved the restoration of a historic
synagogue in the western Herat province, even though the last Jewish person
living in the country left a month after their takeover last year.
Restoration
of the Yu Aw Synagogue will start in two months and will take nearly 18 months,
Zalmay Safa, the director of Herat's department for the safeguarding of
historic monuments, told Anadolu Agency.
According
to Safa, there are currently four synagogues, a Turkish bath, and a cemetery in
Herat, but only the Yu Aw Synagogue has so far gotten protected status, while
one synagogue was converted into a mosque, another into a school, and a third
was heavily damaged due to conflicts.
Yu
Av has been closed to visitors for the last two years to avoid any damage.
The
restoration of the historic synagogue will be funded by a local nongovernmental
organization with foreign funding, Safa said.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Russia
recruiting Afghan special forces who fought with US to fight in Ukraine
31
Oct 2022
Afghan
special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to
Iran after the chaotic US withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the
Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals have told
the Associated Press.
They
said the Russians want to attract thousands of the former elite Afghan
commandos into a “foreign legion” with offers of steady, $1,500-a-month
payments and promises of safe havens for themselves and their families so they
can avoid deportation home to what many assume would be death at the hands of
the Taliban.
“They
don’t want to go fight – but they have no choice,” said one of the generals,
Abdul Raof Arghandiwal, adding that the dozen or so commandos in Iran with whom
he has texted fear deportation most. “They ask me, ‘Give me a solution? What
should we do? If we go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us.’”
Arghandiwal
said the recruiting was led by the Russian mercenary force Wagner Group.
Another general, Hibatullah Alizai, the last Afghan army chief before the
Taliban took over, said the effort was also being helped by a former Afghan
special forces commander who lived in Russia and speaks the language.
The
Russian recruitment follows months of warnings from US soldiers who fought with
Afghan special forces that the Taliban was intent on killing them and that they
might join with US enemies to stay alive or out of anger with their former
ally.
“We
didn’t get these individuals out as we promised, and now it’s coming home to
roost,” said Michael Mulroy, a retired CIA officer who served in Afghanistan,
adding that the Afghan commandos were highly skilled, fierce fighters. “I don’t
want to see them in any battlefield, frankly, but certainly not fighting the
Ukrainians.”
Details
of the effort were first reported by Foreign Policy magazine last week based on
unnamed Afghan military and security sources. The recruitment comes as Russian
forces reel from Ukrainian military advances and Russia’s president, Vladimir
Putin, pursues a sputtering mobilization effort, which has prompted nearly
200,000 Russian men to flee the country to escape service.
Russia’s
defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who recently acknowledged being the founder of the Wagner
Group, dismissed the idea of an ongoing effort to recruit former Afghan
soldiers as “crazy nonsense”.
The
US defense department also did not reply to a request for comment, but a senior
official suggested the recruiting was not surprising given that Wagner has been
trying to sign up soldiers in several other countries.
It
is unclear how many Afghan special forces members who fled to Iran have been
courted by the Russians, but one told the AP he was communicating through the
WhatsApp chat service with about 400 other commandos who are considering
offers.
The
commando said his offer included Russian visas for himself as well as his three
children and wife who are still in Afghanistan. Others have been offered
extensions of their visas in Iran. He said he was waiting to see what others in
the WhatsApp groups decide but thought many would take the deal.
US
veterans who fought with Afghan special forces have described to the AP nearly
a dozen cases, none confirmed independently, of the Taliban going house to
house looking for commandos still in the country, torturing or killing them, or
doing the same to family members.
Human
Rights Watch has said more than 100 former Afghan soldiers, intelligence
officers and police were killed or forcibly “disappeared” just three months
after the Taliban took over despite promises of amnesty.
The
brother of an Afghan commando in Iran who has accepted the Russian offer said
Taliban threats make it difficult to refuse. He said his brother had to hide
for three months after the fall of Kabul, shuttling between relatives’ houses
while the Taliban searched his home.
“My
brother had no other choice other than accepting the offer,” said the
commando’s brother, Murad, who would only give his first name because of fear
the Taliban might track him down. “This was not an easy decision for him.”
Source:
The Guardian
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/31/afghan-special-forces-russia-ukraine-recruitment
--------
Taliban
Establish Committee to Control Coal Prices as Winter Approaches
By
Arif Ahmadi
31
Oct 2022
Kabul,
Afghanistan – The Islamic Emirate officials have appointed a special committee
to monitor and manage the country’s coal prices, as winter approaches with
millions of people without proper shelter.
According
to reports, the committee is under the leadership of First Deputy Prime
Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The
Kabul Municipality, who also represents the committee, said that around 400,000
tons of coal will be pre-positioned in four zones of the capital to provide
residents with their winter needs.
“The
responsibility of monitoring and the control of prices was given to the Kabul
municipality,” said Niamatullah Barakzai, a spokesman for the Kabul
Municipality, as TOLOnews quoted. “We are having daily meetings and will work
on certain mechanisms.”
Meanwhile,
the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) said that currently, one ton of
coal “price in the market is over 16,000 Afs”, exclaiming such will be lowered
to 9,000 Afs per ton.
“To
facilitate our people’s access to heating materials, the Islamic Emirate capped
the price of each ton of coal around 9,000 Afs,” said Akhunzada Abdul Salam, a
spokesman for the MoCI
The
decision came at a time Kabul residents expressed concern over the high price
of heating materials, mainly coal, which is widely used to warm living spaces
during winter seasons.
Earlier
this month, Afghanistan witnessed a significant increase in coal exports to
neighboring Pakistan amidst a rise in fuel prices in the international market,
according to Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines (ACIM).
While
the increase on coal export seems promising as far as trade is concern,
majority predicts an unprecedent price hike within the local market that could
cost resident a lot more money than it did a few months ago.
Coal
in Afghanistan is one of its largest natural resources, where most of its mines
are located in northern provinces, including Badakhshan, Takhar, Kuduz,
Baghlan, Samangan, Balk, and Sar-e-Pul; as well as in central provinces,
including Bamyan, Daikundi, Jawzjan, Badghis and Herat.
Afghanistan
holds 73 million tons (MMst) of proven coal reserves as of 2016, ranking 62nd
in the world and accounting for about 0% of the world’s total coal reserves of
1,139,471 million tons (MMst), according to Worldometers statistics.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-establish-committee-to-control-coal-prices-as-winter-approaches/
--------
Afghanistan’s
poppy cultivation spikes as prices soar: UN
01
November, 2022
Afghanistan’s
opium poppy cultivation this year is up by a third, the UN’s drugs agency said
Tuesday, in its first report on the issue since the hardline Taliban took power
in 2021.
The
country is the world’s biggest producer of poppies, the source of sap that is
refined into heroin, and in recent years production and exports have boomed.
The
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said prices have soared after
the Taliban’s ban in April on poppy cultivation.
This
year’s harvest was largely exempted from the decree, UNODC said.
The
UN drugs agency said cultivation in Afghanistan rose by 32 percent to 233,000
hectares (580,000 acres) over the previous year, making the 2022 crop the third
largest area cultivated since monitoring began in 1994.
The
only years that had a higher cultivation area were 2018 and 2019.
The
2022 poppy crop was also “the most profitable in years”, according to the
Vienna-based UNODC.
The
income made by farmers from opium sales more than tripled from $425 million in
2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022, the report said.
Afghan
farmers will now decide around early November whether to plant opium poppy for
next year and how much to grow despite the ban, the agency said, adding they
are “trapped in the illicit opiate economy”.
“The
current high opium prices provide an additional incentive for farmers to risk
cultivating opium poppy, despite the ban by the de facto authorities,” the
report said.
The
harvest however declined to 6,200 tons, or 10 percent less than in 2021, after
a drought at the start of the year decreased opium yields.
Afghanistan
has a near monopoly on opium and heroin, accounting for 80 to 90 percent of
global output, according to the UN.
The
Taliban previously banned production in 2000, just before the group was
overthrown by US-led forces in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The
US and NATO forces tried to curb poppy cultivation during their two decades in
Afghanistan by paying farmers to grow alternative crops such as wheat or
saffron.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
'Germany,
EU considering listing Iran's Revolutionary Guards as terrorist group'
Oliver
Towfigh Nia
31.10.2022
BERLIN
Germany
and the EU are considering designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a
terrorist organization, according to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“As
I made clear last week, we will launch a further sanctions package. We are also
examining how we can list the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist
organization,” Baerbock told German public broadcaster ARD.
Andrea
Sasse, deputy spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry, told journalists in
Berlin that Germany is in talks with EU partners on the issue.
She
said Germany remains “open to all options” for further sanctions on Iran.
Steffen
Hebestreit, the chancellor’s spokesperson, separately said Germany was “very
much concerned” over the ongoing security crackdown in Iran.
Iran
has been rocked by protests since mid-September after the custodial death of
22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s morality police for
allegedly violating the Islamic dress code.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Warns Europe Against Blacklisting IRGC
2022-October-31
Kana'ani
said in his weekly news briefing on Monday that Berlin’s possible move over
classifing the IRGC as a “terrorist organization” and imposing sanctions on the
elite forces is a result of the “wrong” approach of the German government.
"The
IRGC is an official military organization of Iran and targeting it with
sanctions is unlawful," the spokesperson noted.
"If
such an action is taken, it will continue the non-constructive and irresponsible
moves of these countries in relation to Iran and due to the continuation of
their wrong approach in relation to the government and people of Iran,"
Kana'ani added.
The
Iranian diplomat expressed hope that the German and other governments are aware
of the result of their “unconstructive and irresponsible” measures and do not
sacrifice their mutual interests for “short-term political benefits".
His
comments came after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated on Sunday
that her country and the European Union were examining whether to classify the
IRGC as a “terrorist organization”.
Germany
last week announced it was tightening entry restrictions on Iran beyond an
already announced EU sanctions package.
Her
reamrks come after Commander of the IRGC Major General Hossein Salami advised
the rioting students to return to the nation and "don’t play into the
hands of enemies”.
"Do
not come to the streets! Today is the last day of the riots," he stated on
Saturday.
Protests
erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a
22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station in mid-September and
days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned
violent.
An
official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s
controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the
head or other vital body organs.
Iranian
officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize
the country.
Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei severely censured
the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States
and the Israeli regime.
“I
state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist
regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent
Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong
during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in
the future,” he added.
In
recent days, Iranian officials have blamed the United States, the European
Unions, and several Western states for meddling in Iran's internal affairs over
the death of Mahsa. They advised the US and its allies against
"opportunism and instrumentalization of the issue of human rights" by
misusing the incident.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010809000475/Iran-Warns-Erpe-Agains-Blacklising-IRGC
--------
Palestine
calls for elimination of Israel’s nuclear arsenal, end to its atomic program
01
November 2022
Palestinian
foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki says Israel must join the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and eliminate its stockpile of nuclear weapons
in order for a nuclear-weapon-free zone to be established in the Middle East.
Maliki
made the appeal on Monday following the adoption of a resolution, submitted by
Egypt, at the First Committee of the UN General Assembly that called on Israel
to get rid of its atomic armaments.
He
welcomed the adoption of the resolution, saying, “Israel is obliged to set its
programs to be monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as it
is the only party in the Middle East that possesses weapons of mass
destruction, especially nuclear weapons.”
It
is essential that Israel has to abide by the relevant rules of international
law, the Palestinian foreign minister said.
Earlier
in the day, the First Committee decided via a 152-5 vote that Israel should
destroy its nuclear weapons.
The
resolution, supported by Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Bahrain,
also urged the Tel Aviv regime to place its nuclear facilities under the
supervision of the IAEA.
The
committee also called on Israel to join the NPT without delay, not to develop,
manufacture, test, or otherwise obtain nuclear weapons, and to desist from
acquiring nuclear munitions.
Israel,
which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is
estimated to possess 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the
sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia.
The
illegitimate entity has, however, refused to either allow inspections of its
military nuclear facilities or sign the NPT.
What
has emboldened Tel Aviv to accelerate its nuclear activities, according to
observers, is the support from the United States and Europe, the two parties
most critical of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
Over
the years, the regime has assassinated at least seven Iranian nuclear
scientists and conducted a series of sabotage operations against the Islamic
Republic’s nuclear facilities.
Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani in July warned that the Israeli
regime’s advanced atomic military program poses a serious threat to
international security and the NPT, urging the UN nuclear agency to fulfill its
responsibility in this regard.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israel
to confiscate 616,000 square meters of Palestinian land for settlement
expansion in West Bank
31
October 2022
Israeli
authorities are going to confiscate thousands of square meters of private
Palestinian land in the northern West Bank to expand a settlement in violation
of international law and UN Security Council resolutions condemning the Tel
Aviv regime’s land expropriation and settlement expansion policies in the
occupied territories.
Ghassan
Daghlas, a Palestinian activist who monitors Israeli settlement activities in
the northern West Bank, said on Monday that Israeli officials had issued a
military order aimed at confiscation of some 616 dunams (616,000 square meters)
of Palestinian-owned land in the villages of Qaryout and al-Lubban
ash-Sharqiya, and as-Sawiya town to make room for the expansion of the nearby
illegal Eli settlement.
He
added that Eli settlement started as a cluster of mobile homes built on a hill
in the area back in 1984, and has ever since continued to expand at the expense
of expropriation of Palestinian lands to become one of the largest settlements
in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile,
the so-called al-Quds Planning and Building Committee has announced plans for
the construction of more than a hundred settler units in the occupied East
al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, as the Tel Aviv regime is pressing ahead
with its attempts to further Judaize the contested holy city and destroy its
Islamic and Christian identities.
The
committee on Monday gave the green light to Israeli officials to build 135
settler units in Ma'alot Dafna settlement.
Under
the new project, a 5-story building with 26 residential units will be
demolished and a 12-story building with 135 units will be built in its place.
Emboldened
by former US president Donald Trump’s all-out support, Israel has stepped up
its illegal settlement construction activities in defiance of United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2334, which pronounced settlements in the West Bank
and East al-Quds “a flagrant violation under international law.”
Much
of the international community regards the Israeli settler units in the
occupied lands as illegal.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.
All
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The UN Security
Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied
territories in several resolutions.
Palestinians
want the West Bank as part of a future independent state with East al-Quds as
its capital.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkey:
Officials deny arrest of 34 Muslim Brotherhood members
By
Ragip Soylu in Ankara
31
October 2022
Multiple
Turkish officials denied on Monday reports that Ankara had arrested 34 Muslim
Brotherhood members who called for protests in Egypt during the UN Climate
Change Conference, Cop27, set to start in Sharm El-Sheikh later this week.
Saudi-funded
newspaper Asharq Al-Aswat reported on Sunday that Ankara arrested dozens of
Muslim Brotherhood members after they prepared to launch a new Telegram channel
to "incite protests, acts of violence and chaos in Egypt" on 11
November.
Citing
pages and outlets linked with the Muslim Brotherhood, Asharq Al-Aswat added the
supposed detainees were also included on a deportation list.
Two
senior Turkish officials told Middle East Eye no such arrests were made.
A
separate Turkish source told MEE that Arab media regularly publish similar
allegations to stir up trouble and make Muslim Brotherhood leaders in Turkey
feel uncomfortable.
"We
only detained an Egyptian journalist who was later released," one senior
Turkish official told MEE.
Egyptian
journalist Hossam al-Ghamry revealed on Twitter on Sunday that he was detained
by Turkish police and later released following an outcry on social media.
"I
am back home, thanks to God. This experience helped me understand the feeling
of my son Yusef who has been forcibly disappeared, without a crime except being
my son," Ghamry said.
The
journalist's son Yusef al-Ghamry, 24, was taken from his home in Sharqia
Governorate by Egyptian security forces on 25 October to an unknown location,
and his whereabouts remain undisclosed, according to Egyptian human rights
organisation Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).
The
engineering student was detained after his Istanbul-based father joined other
exiled Egytian dissidents in calling for mass anti-government protests in Egypt
on 11 November, which have gained some traction online.
Media
shut down
Since
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ascended to power following a military coup in
2013, the Egyptian government has carried out a large-scale crackdown on
dissent. All political opposition and independent media have been banned in the
country, with many journalists fleeing and going into exile and launching
channels abroad, mainly in Turkey.
MEE
reported last year that Turkish authorities requested Egyptian opposition
channels based in the country to soften their criticism of the Sisi government
as the two regional powers began improving ties following years of diplomatic
hostility.
As
a result, several Egyptian opposition journalists who used to work from Turkey
relocated to London and launched their own social media platforms.
Earlier
this year, opposition TV channel Mekameleen announced that it had shut down its
Turkey offices and would be broadcasting from other locations.
However,
several Turkish officials previously told MEE that Ankara does not plan on
deporting Brotherhood members unless they are directly involved in violent
crimes.
Turkey
and Egypt have sought to mend relations that were fractured after Ankara
refused to recognise Sisi as the country's legitimate leader following the 2013
military coup that ousted his predecessor Mohamed Morsi, the country's first
democratically elected president.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also a vocal critic of Sisi's human rights
abuses against the leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood in a post-coup
crackdown.
In
an attempt to mend relations, the Turkish government lifted a veto against
Egypt's partnership activities with Nato last year ahead of two rounds of
preliminary talks held between officials.
Reconciliation
on hold
Another
issue in the Egyptian-Turkish rift was their support of opposite sides in the
Libyan conflict which has resurfaced recently.
On
Friday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al Arabiya that dialogue
with Ankara has stopped since Turkey didn’t change its policies in Libya.
"The
two exploratory meetings allowed the chance to express our concerns about the
regional situations. This path has not resumed, as there have been no changes
in terms of Turkey's practices in Libya," Shoukry said.
Turkey
signed a comprehensive energy deal with Libya’s UN-recognised Government of
National Unity (GNU) earlier this month for land and sea exploration. The move
was interpreted as Ankara throwing its weight behind Prime Minister Abdul Hamid
Dbeibah, whose legitimacy is questioned by the Libyan parliament, known as the
House of Representatives.
Egypt
claims that Dbeibah’s mandate has expired since the House of Representatives
elected Fathi Bashagha as the new prime minister in February. Dbeibah has
refused to give up his post until a new general election is held.
Source:
Middle East Eye
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-officials-deny-arrest-34-muslim-brotherhood-members
--------
Erdoğan
condemns Daesh, FETÖ for using Islam for dirty aims
OCT
31, 2022
President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday condemned terrorist groups that used Islam as a
pretext for their "dirty aims."
"Whether
they are called Daesh, Boko Haram or FETÖ (Gülenist Terror Group), all of these
organizations are deviant and perverted structures that use our religion for
their dirty purposes," Erdoğan said at a consultation meeting of district
Muftis in the capital Ankara.
Erdoğan
also wished condolences to Somalia for the devastating car bombings at the
weekend that claimed the lives of 100 people.
Saturday's
attack, which also wounded more than 300 people, was claimed by the al-Shabab
terrorist group and was the deadliest in the fragile Horn of Africa nation in
five years.
Türkiye
has frequently called for increased global cooperation against the threat of
terrorism.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
President:
Shiraz Terror Attack Proves Enemy Seeking to Incite Unrest in Iran
2022-October-31
Speaking
during the Sunday session of his cabinet, President Rayeesi condoled the
martyrdom of a number of Iranians in the terrorist attack committed in the holy
shrine of Shah Cheragh in Shiraz.
"The
bitter Shiraz event was the materialization of a part of the enemy's objectives
in fomenting unrest and disturbance in the lives of the people through strife,
sedition and terror, and referred to the increased hatred of the public against
both the terrorists and the violators of pubic unrest," he stressed.
"Security
is a red line for the government and nation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and
we will never allow the enemy’s scheme to undermine this national and valuable
asset to be realized,” Iran's president added.
He
noted that the main message of people’s presence on the streets in Shiraz and
other Iranian cities was not only to condemn the terrorist attack on the Shah
Cheragh holy shrine, but also to highlight the need to decisively confront the
terrorists in order to safeguard the country’s security.
A
Gunman killed 15 people and wounded 19 others in an attack on Shah Cheragh on
Wednesday, as pilgrims were visiting the holy site. The assailant opened fire
with Kalashnikov rifles after entering the courtyard of the shrine.
Daesh
(also known as ISIL or ISIS) terror group has claimed responsibility for the
fatal attack.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Lashes Out at Advocates of Human Rights for Keeping Mum on Shah Cheragh Terror
Attack
2022-October-31
"Those
who claim to be in the garden and consider others to be forest dwellers have
caught their tongues and have forgotten the protection of women's rights, human
rights and children's rights, and they state things with double standards and
simply pass them by, and they forget their role in fomenting violence and
disturbance and inciting and creating grounds for such terrorist and bitter
actions and ignore their responsibility in this regard," Kana'ani said in
his weekly press conference on Monday.
A
heavily-armed assailant killed 15 people and wounded 19 others in an attack on
Shah Cheragh on Wednesday, as pilgrims were visiting the holy site. Iranian
officials have stressed Tehran's resolve to punish the perpetrators and
masterminds of the bloody attack.
Asked
to comment on Western countries’ interference in Iran’s internal affairs,
including in the recent nationwide unrest, the spokesperson slammed their
“unconstructive, and irresponsible measures” and “meddlesome statements” which,
he noted, turned peaceful protests into riots.
"Due
to the current state of riots, the voice of those who wanted to peacefully
express their criticisms could not be heard," the diplomat added.
They
provided the ground for violence-seekers and rioters to wreak havoc and based
their meddlesome actions on standing up for women’s rights and the rights of
minorities, he continued.
"Why
didn't those who talk about women's rights pay attention to the unilateral
sanctions of the US administration and the support of Europe. Where did the
European authorities point out that Iranian women and children are also subject
to these sanctions without discrimination?" the top official asked.
"Their
claims are hypocritical and their statements about Iranian women and ethnic
groups are unrealistic and do not match the facts of Iran," he stressed.
Protests
erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a
22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station in mid-September and
days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned
violent.
An
official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s
controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the
head or other vital body organs.
Iranian
officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize
the country.
Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei severely censured
the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States
and the Israeli regime.
“I
state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist
regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent
Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong
during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in
the future,” he added.
In
recent days, Iranian officials have blamed the United States, the European
Unions, and several Western states for meddling in Iran's internal affairs over
the death of Mahsa. They advised the US and its allies against
"opportunism and instrumentalization of the issue of human rights" by
misusing the incident.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Military
option is on the table if needed to prevent Iranian nuclear weapon: Malley
31
October, 2022
US
Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley said Monday that the military option was
still on the table if diplomacy failed in trying to revive the 2015 nuclear
deal with Tehran.
“As
the President has said, if all other means fail, as a last resort, he would
keep the military option, very clearly on the table, if that’s what it would
take to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” Malley said.
But
Malley reiterated the Biden administration’s preference for diplomatic efforts
to succeed and defended the administration’s continued willingness to engage in
indirect talks with Iran.
“We
make no apology for having tried and still trying to do everything we can to
prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” he said during a webinar with
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington-based think tank.
Malley
added: “Again, preference for diplomacy if that can work with tools of
pressure, sanctions in particular, but also keeping very much all options on
the table in case diplomacy were to fail.”
As
for the status of the nuclear deal talks, Malley said there has been “no
movement” since early September.
Therefore,
he said, the deal is not a focus of the administration right now. “We’re not
going to focus on something that is inert, when other things are happening,”
Malley said, pointing to the anti-government protests in Iran and Tehran’s
decision to transfer drones to Russia.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
says 1,000 indicted over recent unrest, trials to be held in public
31
October, 2022
About
1,000 people have been indicted in Tehran over rioting and the trials will be
held in public this week, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted the head
of the judiciary in the Iranian capital as saying on Monday.
Iran
has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa
Amini in the custody of the morality police last month, posing one of the
boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
arrests ‘accomplice’ of ISIS-claimed shrine attack
31
October, 2022
Iran
announced Monday a suspected accomplice of the shooter who carried out a deadly
attack on a Shia Muslim shrine in Shiraz has been arrested, state news agency
IRNA reported.
At
least 13 people were killed last Wednesday in the Shah Cheragh mausoleum in the
southern city, according to a revised official toll, in an attack claimed by
ISIS.
State
media had initially given a death toll of 15.
“The
second person involved in the terrorist operation at the sacred sanctuary, who
provided support, has been arrested,” said local deputy governor Esmail
Mohebipour, quoted by IRNA.
The
suspect, arrested Sunday evening in Shiraz, had not entered the shrine, and his
alleged role was not clear.
The
perpetrator of the attack in Shiraz, identified by local media as Hamed
Badakhshan, died of wounds sustained while he was being arrested, a local
official said Saturday.
The
shooting at the shrine came on the same day that thousands of people across
Iran paid tribute to Mahsa Amini, 40 days after her death in police custody.
Amini,
22, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the morality police in
Tehran for allegedly breaching the country’s dress code for women.
Remarks
made Thursday by President Ebrahim Raisi appeared to link the Shiraz attack,
one of the country’s deadliest in years, with the protests and “riots”
following Amini’s death.
In
funeral processions for victims in Shiraz on Saturday, crowds chanted slogans
condemning the US, Israel, and Britain for allegedly being “behind the riots.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Palestinians
strike in al-Quds village, slam Israeli murder of fighter
31
October 2022
Palestinians
in a village east of the occupied al-Quds have held a strike in protest against
Israel’s killing of a man following a car-ramming operation.
Shops,
businesses, institutions and schools remained closed in the town of al-Ezariya
and much of nearby areas on Monday, the official Palestinian Wafa news agency
reported.
On
Sunday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian who allegedly left five settlers
injured near the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank. The regime’s forces
fatally shot the man who was driving the car south of Jericho. Later in the
day, the Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man as Barakat Moussa Odeh,
49, from the village of al-Ezariya.
Israeli
media said the driver first rammed some Israelis near Nabi Musa village and then
continued driving and plowed into a bus stop at Almog Junction.
Following
the incident, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issued a
statement, hailing “the heroic operation” in the West Bank. The front said the
episode “renewed the emphasis on the need to confront the occupation and its
continuing crimes.”
The
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas also welcomed the operation. It said six
Israeli soldiers and settlers had been wounded.
The
reported attack came amid increasingly intensified Israeli raids throughout the
West Bank in search of armed Palestinian resistance fighters responsible for a
spate of deadly attacks on Israeli forces, which began in March.
More
than 100 Palestinians have so far been killed during the Israeli regime’s brutal
crackdown on the West Bank’s native residents over the past few months.
Palestinians
say Israelis must be held accountable for their atrocities.
The
Israeli regime occupied and annexed the West Bank, including East al-Quds, in a
Western-backed war of aggression in 1967. Ever since, it has dotted the
territory with hundreds of settlements that have come to house hundreds of
thousands of Zionist settlers that immigrated to occupied Palestine – mostly
from Europe and the United States.
Palestinians
want the occupied West Bank as part of their future independent state with East
al-Quds as its capital.
Israel
guards storm Palestinian prisoners’ cells
Separately
on Monday, Israeli prison forces violently stormed the notorious Ofer jail and
attacked Palestinian prisoners while conducting ‘search operations’,
Palestinian media reported.
The
Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said Israeli forces assaulted several
prisoners in section 14 of the jail. Eighty-five newly-detained Palestinian
prisoners are held in the section, the PPS said.
Overall,
more than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in Israeli jails. The
prisoners are kept under deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic
standards. They have also been subjected to systematic torture, harassment, and
repression.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/31/691918/Palestinian-Barakat-Moussa-Odeh-strike
--------
Africa
Naira
redesign: Put Arabic on all denominations – Islamic group tells CBN
November
1, 2022
By
Don Silas
Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) has supported the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) to redesign the naira.
However,
the Islamic human rights organization gave the condition that Arabic Ajami must
be inscribed on all naira denominations.
MURIC
stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by the group’s director, Professor
Ishaq Akintola.
The
statement reads in part: “The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
Godwin Emefiele, announced on October 26 2022, the plan by the CBN to redesign
the naira.
“MURIC
hereby expresses its support for the project with the proviso that all the
denominations must contain Arabic inscriptions just as they had been before
Arabic Ajami was conspiratorially and unjustly removed from some
denominations.”
MURIC
insisted that the removal of Arabic Ajami from naira notes in the past provoked
Muslims and caused division within the country, adding that only its return to
all denominations can heal the wound.
According
to the Islamic group, in 2005, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo fired the first
salvo against the naira note during his eight-year rule as a civilian president
(1999–2007). Obasanjo removed the Arabic Ajami from 5, 10, 20 and 50 naira
denominations.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Miyetti
Allah demands establishment of nomadic affairs ministry
October
31, 2022
By
Yemi Balogun
Miyetti
Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Association has called for the establishment of the
Federal Ministry of Nomadic Affairs, with a mandate to broaden educational
opportunities and address pastoralist challenges.
The
group also called for the overhauling of Nigeria’s security and justice systems
to address cases of injustice and access to justice by pastoralists because
many of their youths are languishing in detention centres across the country.
Miyetti
Allah stated this in a communique issued Monday and jointly signed by its
National President, Abdullahi Bodejo, and its National Secretary, Mr. Saleh
Alhassan, at the end of the expanded National Executive Meeting with State
Chairmen of the association held in Abuja.
It
also demanded the immediate designation, gazetting and development of all the
415 grazing reserves across the country.
It
said: “The meeting called for the immediate Designation, gazetting and
Development of all the 415 grazing reserves across the states of the Federation
as the only first strategic step in addressing the challenges confronting
Fulani Herders in Nigeria.
“This
will include building of earth dams and solar boreholes. Building of veterinary
clinics. Development of Diary (milk) collection centres.”
The
group noted with dismay the recent massacre of Fulani pastoralists in Taraba
State and called on the Inspector General of Police to set up a high power
panel to unmasked those responsible for the dastardly acts and ensure justice
is done to the victims’ families to avoid people resorting to self help.
“The
meeting dismissed the consistent claims of farmers- herders conflicts as a
major setback of instability and insecurity in Nigeria. But rather the
conflicts are exacerbated by activities of states sponsored vigilantes and
tribal hordes who willfully continue to carry out extra-judicial killings of
Fulani pastoralists.”
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://dailypost.ng/2022/10/31/miyetti-allah-demands-establishment-of-nomadic-affairs-ministry/
--------
South
Africa values relations with Türkiye: Deputy minister
Hassan
Isilow
01.11.2022
PRETORIA,
South Africa
South
Africa attaches great importance to its relations with Türkiye and hopes to
strengthen ties even further, the country’s deputy minister for water and
sanitation said Monday.
“On
behalf of the South African government, it’s a pleasure to come and pay homage
in celebrations with the people of Türkiye,” Dikeledi Phillistus Magadzi told
guests at an event marking Türkiye’s 99th Republic Day celebrations held at the
ambassador’s residence in the capital Pretoria.
Magadzi
said her government is encouraged by recent visits by officials from both
countries, giving the example of the visit by South Africa’s Foreign Minister
Naledi Pandor to Türkiye early this year.
Pandor
visited Türkiye for the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, an annual conference on
international diplomacy. She held bilateral talks with her Turkish counterpart
Mevlut Cavusoglu during her visit.
Magadzi
also extended her condolences to Türkiye following the recent tragic coal mine
explosion in northern Türkiye which claimed over 40 lives.
She
said her country can benefit by tapping into Türkiye’s 99 years of experience
by working together to address the challenges they face.
The
South African government designated Magadzi as well as the Deputy Minister of
Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, to represent the country at the
Republic Day event.
Relations
blossoming
Addressing
guests, Türkiye’s ambassador to South Africa Aysegul Kandas said she was happy
that relations between the two countries are flourishing at all levels, from
politics to trade and investment and person-to-person relations.
Kandas
said that next year they expect Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to
visit South Africa, which will pave the way for the inaugural session of the
Bi-National Commission later in the year to enhance relations further.
They
also hope South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit Türkiye next
year.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited South Africa in 2018 to attend the BRICS
summit. The grouping comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa,
countries that share over 20% of the global economy.
This
year’s Republic Day celebrations were the largest since the end of the COVID-19
pandemic, which restricted gatherings for the past two years.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/south-africa-values-relations-with-turkiye-deputy-minister/2725999
--------
Türkiye
is a powerful partner for Uganda: President
Hamza
Kyeyune
31.10.2022
KAMPALA,
Uganda
Uganda’s
President Yoweri Museveni said on Monday that Türkiye has become one of the
most powerful partners for Uganda.
In
a message to Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Museveni said
Turkish-Ugandan relations have gained momentum in every field.
Museveni
also congratulated Erdogan and the Turkish people on the 99th anniversary of
the republic.
At
an event hosted by the Turkish Embassy in Uganda to mark the Oct. 29 Republic
Day, Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem said both
countries enjoy diplomatic relations established over 50 years ago, as well as
cooperation in military, education, economy, culture, and technology fields.
“I
wish to acknowledge the involvement of the government of Türkiye and its
private sector in Uganda's development process.
"The
two countries signed a bilateral trade agreement that has formalized the
business traffic between the two countries. Other cooperation frameworks signed
during President Erdogan’s visit to Uganda have facilitated implementation of
several joint projects in the field of education, agro-processing and value
addition, infrastructural development, and ICT, among others,” Oryem said.
“Uganda
is a peace-loving country and cherishes an environment of stability, peace, and
security, for the country, the region, and entire world as a peaceful
resolution of conflicts, and condemn all forms of terrorist attacks wherever
they occur.
"We
will never allow Uganda to be used as a base for terrorists nor to undermine
the democracy and sovereignty of any other country,” he stressed.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkiye-is-a-powerful-partner-for-uganda-president/2725919
--------
Türkiye,
Guinea Bissau agree to enhance cooperation
Diyar
Guldogan
31.10.2022
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Guinea Bissau Umaro Sissoco
Embalo on Monday agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the areas of
economy, trade, and defense.
Erdogan
and Embalo discussed steps to improve Türkiye-Guinea-Bissau relations and
regional issues in a phone call, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a
statement.
During
the phone call, Erdogan expressed his pleasure over Bissau's allocation of land
in Guinea-Bissau for Türkiye's Maarif Foundation to build a school.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/turkiye-guinea-bissau-agree-to-enhance-cooperation/2725918
--------
Libya
to reopen border with Sudan
Moataz
Wanees
31.10.2022
TRIPOLI,
Libya
Head
of Libya’s Tripoli-based unity government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, on Monday
announced the reopening of border with Sudan.
Addressing
an economic forum in the Libyan capital, Dbeibeh said the move will help resume
the movement of goods and people between the two countries.
"The
closure of the border between Libya and Sudan was something strange, and a move
that we don't accept,” Dbeibeh said.
Libya’s
border with Sudan was shut in January by orders from Libyan warlord Khalifa
Haftar, citing threats from Sudanese militias active in the border area between
the two countries.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/libya-to-reopen-border-with-sudan/2725881
--------
Israel
says it foiled attempt to smuggle in weapons from Jordan
Zain
Khalil
31.10.2022
Israel
said Monday it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapons into the country from
Jordan.
A
military statement said a suspect was arrested near the border fence with
Jordan with 25 handguns in his possession.
Another
person was arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt, the statement
said.
No
details were provided about the nationality of the two people.
There
was no comment from Jordanian authorities on the report.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Moroccan
king to skip Arab summit in Algeria
Ahmed
Asmar
31.10.2022
RABAT,
Morocco
Morocco
said Monday King Mohammed VI will not attend the annual Arab summit, due to
open on Tuesday in neighboring Algeria.
Foreign
Minister Nasser Bourita did not provide any reasons for the monarch’s absence
from the two-day summit.
“The
Moroccan king has given instructions to our delegation to continue their
constructive work in spite of his absence,” Bourita told the Saudi channel
Al-Arabiya.
Tension
reignited between the two North African countries on Saturday after a state
Algerian channel used a map seen as “wrong” by Morocco during an Arab
ministerial meeting to prepare for the summit. The Algerian channel called the
use of the map a “technical error” and apologized.
Bourita,
however, said the Algerian clarification “was not convincing" to Morocco.
Algeria
and Morocco are regional rivals, with their ties strained over the disputed
Western Sahara region.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/moroccan-king-to-skip-arab-summit-in-algeria/2725780
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/darul-uloom-deoband-madrasa-methodology/d/128318
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism