Female prisoners have conjugal rights, says Makkah National Society for Human Rights
New Age Islam News Bureau
18 Feb 2012
• Jakarta Police to question
cleric over sex abuse
• Halt Syrian butcher: The
Imam and Khatib of Makkah’s Grand Mosque
• Bill moved in US Congress
for independent Balochistan
• Saudi female athletes
challenge Muslim norms
• Detroit Sikh temple
vandalized–but were Muslims the intended target?
• Pakistani Military agents
target killed another Baloch
• Iraqi-born cleric in
Norway terror trial
• Egyptian Presidential
hopeful says women must wear veil
• South African Muslimah
Speak about Headscarves at Airports
• OIC to hold media workshop
to address smear campaign against Islam
• Debate about Islamic
group's visits to Hillsborough schools flares up again
• Kashmiri youth shunning
violence, Pakistan: Survey
• 21 Bangladeshis on death
row abroad
• Toll from Kurram suicide
blast reaches 32
• India: '4 men planted 4
bombs on Samjhauta Express'’
• US 'in lockstep with
India' on Maldives
• Iran warships enter the
Mediterranean: commander
• Muslim Name Ruins Swedish
Dream Holiday
• Maldives Oppn, ruling
parties thank India for resolving political impasse
• India: Supreme Court
notice to Centre on Haj subsidy
• India, Pak, Russia, China
should 'wean' from Iranian crude: US
• US aid cut may force
Israel treaty review: Brotherhood
• Pakistan cautions Kabul on
Taliban peace hopes
• 26/11 probe: Pak judicial
commission to visit India on Mar 12
• Pakistan slams US
Congressman for having tabled resolution for Balochistan independence
• Divorce not an option with
Pakistan: US
• Angry Hamid Karzai
challenges Pakistanis
• Top US official heads to
Israel, will discuss Iran
• Political Instability in
the Maldives Could Have Regional Fallout
• British Muslims in state
to study communal harmony
• Britain fears new Cold War
over Iran
• Chinese envoy says all
sides in Syria must end violence
• Terrorism: US court jails
Abdulmutallab for life
• Israeli embassy car
attack: Victim's version puts probe on new track
• All options on table if
Iran goes nuclear: Panetta
• India's UN support for
Palestinians a 'mistake': Israeli minister
• Thai officials say Tuesday
blast 'not linked to terrorism, Hezbollah’
• Ukrainian girls may be
jailed for insulting Indian flag
• Mumbai 13/7 blasts:
custody of two accused extended
• Sean Stone hopes Islam
conversion aids understanding
• FBI Purges Anti-Islam
Materials
• Exhibition on Islam begins
tomorrow at Kattayam, India
Complied by New
Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: The Imam and Khatib of Makkah's Grand Mosque
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/female-prisoners-conjugal-rights,-says/d/6670
--------
Female prisoners
have conjugal rights, says Makkah
Feb 18, 2012
MAKKAH: The National
Society for Human Rights (NSHR) confirmed a fire that broke out at a women’s
prison in Makkah last week was limited and caused no human or material damage,
a local daily reported.
The society, which sent a
team to inspect the facility, said conditions in the prison were stable and
that the women inmates had no complaints.
It said the clinic inside
the prison was providing first-aid services and that the prisoners would be
allowed to entertain their husbands in khulwa (seclusion) as long as their
requests adhere to the formal procedures of the prison.
The society also said the
requests of some women prisoners for social security money would be immediately
referred to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Makkah.
The society sent a
delegation to the prison on Monday headed by Amal Muhammad Al-Sabri, a woman
legal researcher. The delegation met with the administrative and security
personnel of the prison and inspected the area where the fire broke out.
According to the
delegation, the fire was limited and only broke out at an air conditioner in
one of the rooms and was immediately quenched by the prison's security staff
and other employees.
The delegation said the
women prisoners were evacuated from the scene of the fire and kept in a safe
place. It added the burned air conditioner was replaced with a new one.
The NSHR said the women’s
prison was clean and added that women social workers meet every day with the
inmates for counseling and listen to their feedback.
Assistant prison director
Hossa Al-Luqmani said the management of the prison was executing a number of
programs and activities for women prisoners to help train them on sewing,
cosmetics and other professions. "We also provide them with books to
read," she said.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article576939.ece
--------
Jakarta Police to question
cleric over sex abuse
Dicky Christanto
Sat, 02/18/2012
The Jakarta Police will
summon Hasan bin Ja’afar Assegaf, a influential cleric who is accused of
sexually abusing some his boy students.
“We must watch our every
step carefully. Right now, we have questioned 11 victims and plan to examine
their psychological state and determine the validity of their reports,” Jakarta
Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He said that once the
police felt that they had solid evidence, they would summon Hasan for
questioning.
“If he is indeed the
perpetrator then he will face hard time. Thus, give us room to complete the
preliminary examinations first,” he said.
The victims filed reports
to the Jakarta Police last December. Besides filing a report to the police, the
victims also filed reports to the Indonesian Children Protection Commission.
Following the report, the
KPAI summoned Hasan Assegaf on Feb.13 but he didn’t show up.
The case began when Hasan
sent a letter to his fellow religious teacher because she had not allowed her
students to join in Hasan’s group. Instead of answering the letter, the other
teacher told the public that Hasan had sexually abused his students.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/18/police-question-cleric-over-sex-abuse.html
--------
Halt Syrian butcher: The
Imam and Khatib of Makkah’s Grand Mosque
Feb 17, 2012
JEDDAH/DAMASCUS/AMMAN/BEIRUT:
The Imam and Khatib of Makkah’s Grand Mosque appealed to the international
community in his Friday sermon to halt Syrian forces’ ruthless campaign against
protesting civilians.
“It is binding on decision
makers to take firm and definitive action to rescue the nation from the
arrogant butcher,” said Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais referring to Bashar
Assad.
Friday sermons in Riyadh
mosques also called for an end to the bloodbath of innocent civilians.
Meanwhile, thousands of
Syrians rallied Friday to demand Bashar Assad’s ouster, as the embattled
president’s forces unleashed their heaviest pounding yet of Homs in a brutal
bid to crush dissent, monitors said.The protesters emerged from mosques after
the main weekly Muslim prayers, in line with a call by Internet-based activists
for a rally for a “new phase of popular resistance.”
They turned out after the
UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backed an Arab League initiative calling on
Assad to step aside, and ahead of a visit by a Chinese envoy pushing for peace.
In the capital, one
civilian died and 12 were wounded, some critically, when they were fired on at
a demonstration in Mazze neighborhood, said the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights.
At least 10,000 people
demonstrated in the southern town of Dael, in the province of Daraa, cradle of
the revolt inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings, said the Britain-based
monitor.
Other rallies were staged
in the towns of Jasem, Inkhel and Nimr Al-Hara, where security forces wounded
some demonstrators when they opened fire on them.
In Homs, rockets crashed
into strongholds of resistance at the rate of four a minute, according to one
opposition activist who added the city was facing a humanitarian crisis.
“It’s the most violent in
14 days. It’s unbelievable — extreme violence the like of which we have never
seen before,” said Hadi Abdullah of the General Commission of the Syrian
Revolution.
"There are thousands
of people isolated in Homs... There are neighborhoods that we know nothing
about. I myself do not know if my parents are okay. I have had no news from
them for 14 days," he told AFP by phone.
A tank fired into a
residential part of Homs before bursts of machinegun fire clattered across the
neighborhood, according to a video activists uploaded to YouTube.
"The regime troops
are still shelling at the moment but are reluctant to enter Baba Amr. They are
on the periphery and are moving slowly. The army will lose if it begins urban
warfare," activist Omar Shakir said later on Skype.
International rights
groups have estimated that the assault on Homs has killed almost 400 people,
and a medic reached on Skype said 1,800 have been wounded.
"There are injuries
that cannot be treated because of a lack of medical equipment," Dr. Ali
Al-Hazzuri told AFP. "There are casualties who are close to dying."
Nine bodies of
unidentified people were found on Friday morning in Homs, said the Observatory,
which also reported the heaviest shelling in the city for two weeks. The
violence came after the UN General Assembly demanded on Thursday an immediate
halt to Syria's brutal crackdown on dissent, which human rights groups say has
cost more than 6,000 lives in the past 11 months.
In a strongly worded
resolution adopted by a 137-12 vote, member states demanded Assad's government
stop attacking civilian demonstrators and start pulling troops back to
barracks.
The resolution calls on
Damascus "to stop all violence or reprisals immediately, in accordance
with the League of Arab States initiative."
It was referring to a
peace plan put forward by the pan-Arab bloc calling on Assad to hand power over
to his deputy and for the formation of a unity government ahead of elections.
Russia, China and Iran
opposed the non-binding resolution put forward by Arab states with Western
support just days after Beijing and Moscow vetoed a similar resolution at the
UN Security Council.
Such a strong vote in
favor of the resolution adds to mounting pressure on Assad to curb a crackdown
that left at least 41 people dead on Thursday as security forces bore down on
focal points of dissent.
Egypt's deputy UN
ambassador, Osama Abdelkhalek, said the General Assembly had sent an
"unambiguous message" to Damascus: "It is high time to listen to
the voice of the people." But Syrian envoy Bashar Jaafari lashed out at
other Arab nations, saying Western powers had exploited the Arab League to
"internationalize" the crisis.
"The Arab Trojan
horse has been unmasked today," he said.
Iran's UN representative,
Mohammad Khazaee, warned that the resolution would only deepen the crisis,
"with all its ramifications to the region as a whole."
On the eve of his trip to
Damascus, Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said Beijing opposed armed
intervention and forced "regime change" in Syria.
Meanwhile, a human rights
lawyer said blogger Razan Ghazzawi, a figurehead of the uprising, had been
arrested, along with leading rights activist Mazen Darwish, his wife and 11
others.
Assad, who succeeded his
late father Hafez in 2000 after he had ruled for 30 years, still has crucial
support on the international stage from Russia and China.
China also believed the
threat of sanctions would not help resolve the issue, he said.
British Foreign Office
Minister Alistair Burt said the Russians should do more to stop the killing and
worry less about a change in government.
"The question of
which government Syria has is a matter for the Syrian people and not the
Russian foreign minister. Our position is clear: The killing has to end. The
regime has lost all its legitimacy," Burt told the Austrian paper Die
Presse.
Speaking in Vienna, UN
Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said crimes against humanity had almost
definitely been committed in Syria.
"We see neighborhoods
shelled indiscriminately, hospitals used as torture centers, children as young
as 10 years old jailed and abused. We see almost certain crimes against
humanity," he said.
Ban later had talks with
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe during which the UN leader said the
priorities were to stop the violence and establish humanitarian access. UN
agencies were coordinating efforts to provide relief to the Syrian people, he
said.
Juppe said agreement at
the Security Council was possible with Russia to halt the bloodshed.
"We can possibly
reach a compromise on a short-term objective which is to end the
massacres," he said. "We must do everything so that the violence ends
and that a lot of humanitarian aid is given to the Syrian people."
In Deraa, a city on the
Jordanian border where the revolt erupted nearly a year ago, the sound of
explosions and machinegun fire echoed through districts under attack by
government troops, residents said.
The Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said one person was shot dead at a checkpoint on Friday in an area
of Deir Al-Zor, in the northeast, where clashes between the rebels and state
forces have been going on since Thursday night.
There was no immediate
comment from Syrian authorities, who tightly restrict media access to the
country.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article576896.ece
--------
Bill moved in US Congress
for independent Balochistan
18 FEBRUARY 2012
WASHINGTON: A US
Congressman from California introduced a bill on Friday calling for the Baloch
nation’s historic right to self-determination and their own country.
The bill states that
Balochistan is currently divided between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan with
no sovereign rights of its own. In Pakistan especially, the Baloch people are
subjected to violence and extrajudicial killings.
Full Report At:
Mr Rohrabacher official
website: http://rohrabacher.house.gov/News/Doc ... le.aspx?DocumentID=281121
--------
Saudi female athletes
challenge Muslim norms
Feb 16, 2012
DUBAI: Behind concrete
walls and with no men in sight, Saudi women wearing shorts and short-sleeve
shirts meet three times a week to play football in an all-female club in Saudi
Arabia's port city of Jeddah.
Cheering them on is Jeddah
King's United coach and striker Reema Abdullah, who is also leading a campaign
in the ultra conservative Muslim country to allow women to participate in
sports and compete internationally.
Saudi Arabia has never
sent a woman to compete in the Olympics. Human rights groups say the country is
violating the International Olympic Committee charter's pledge of equality.
In a report Wednesday,
Human Rights Watch called on the IOC to require that Saudi Arabia's participation
in the London Olympics be contingent upon the Arab country allowing all girls
and women to play competitive sports.
Saudi Arabia's male
athletes have so far qualified in several track and field and equestrian events
for the London Games. There's a chance male athletes will also qualify in
archery and they are hoping for a wild card invitation in shooting.
However, plans to send
women to the Olympics remain wrapped in secrecy.
"We will watch the
London Olympics and we will cheer for our men competing there, hoping that some
day we can root for our women as well," Abdullah said in a telephone
interview from Jeddah.
"When Saudi women get
a chance to compete for their country, they will raise the flag so high,"
the 33-year-old Abdullah said. "Women can achieve a lot, because we are
very talented and we are crazy about sports."
Since Abdullah put
together Saudi Arabia's first female football club in Jeddah in 2006, teams
have popped up around the country, including in the capital, Riyadh, and in
Dammam, the biggest city in the oil-rich eastern province.
In 2008, seven female
teams played in the first ever national tournament as part a clandestine and
segregated women's league. Abdullah's Jeddah King's United finished first.
Members of the team play
not in a stadium but on what Abdullah describes as "a proper size football
field with grass that is surrounded by a wall."
The current roster
includes 35 women, as young as 13 and up to 35. Outside the segregated
premises, the players are wearing long trousers, long-sleeved shirts and
specially designed headscarfs to cover their hair, Abdullah said.
What they are doing is
illegal, even though there are no written laws in Saudi Arabia that ban and
restrict women from participating in sports. The stigma of female athletes is
rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom
of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins.
Saudi women bear the brunt
of their nation's deeply conservative values, often finding themselves the
target of the unwanted attention of the kingdom's intrusive religious police,
who enforce a rigid interpretation of Islamic Shariah law on the streets and
public places like shopping malls and university campuses.
"Nobody is saying
completely 'no' to us," Abdullah said, adding that only a fraction of
Saudia Arabia's female population - attending all-female private schools and
universities - is generally tolerated to participate in sports.
"As long as there are
no men around and our clothes are properly Islamic, there should be no
problem," she said.
But there is a problem and
a senior sports official, who said rulers in the kingdom are not opposed to
women's participation in sports, described efforts to include more girls and
women into sports as "a fight between old and new" attitudes.
"We are supporting
women here to be in sports but that means fighting deeply entrenched traditions
in Saudi Arabia," the official said in a phone interview Wednesday.
"We are trying to overcome them and we are seeking support from the IOC to
have a woman in our delegation at the London Games."
The official said on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The IOC has previously
criticized the Saudis for failing to send women athletes to the Olympics.
However, according to Human Rights Watch, the IOC hasn't attached any
conditions to the nation's participation in the games.
In Wednesday's report, the
New York-based group said that Saudi government restrictions put sports beyond
the reach of almost all women in the Gulf nation.
There is no physical
education for girls in public schools and no money allocated for women's sports
in the country's institutions, including the youth ministry, the Saudi national
Olympic committee and Saudi sports federations.
"It's not that Saudi
Arabia doesn't have the money to do this or women who want to," said
Christoph Wilcke, a senior researcher in Human Rights Watch's Middle East and
North Africa division who authored the 51-page report titled "Steps of the
Devil." ''We have listened to Saudi promises for decades. This is not good
enough."
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-16/middle-east/31066111_1_saudi-women-saudi-arabia-london-olympics
--------
Detroit Sikh temple vandalized–but were Muslims the
intended target?
18 FEBRUARY 2012
Vandals targeted a Sikh house
of worship in suburban Detroit this week. But there are signs they intended to
target Muslims.
According to the Sikh
Society of Michigan, the Sikh temple (known as a Gurdwara) in Sterling Heights
has been under construction for several years, without any incidents or
controversy.
That changed when someone
vandalized the building sometime on Sunday night.
The vandals spray painted
“don’t builed” [sic] on an outside wall. They also left images of a cross, a
gun, and a misspelled version of the name “Mohammed.”
Muslims revere Mohammed as
a prophet, but it has nothing to do with the Sikh religion. The word leads many
to believe to believe the vandals thought they were targeting Muslims.
Dawud Walid, executive
director for the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), calls the vandalism a hate crime.
“We joined the Sikh
community in calling for local and federal law enforcement to use their full
resources to investigate this recent hate crime,” Walid said.
The US Justice Department
in Detroit says the incident is on their radar. They’ve met with members of the
Sikh community about it.
But a DOJ spokeswoman says
it’s yet how they’ll be involved in the investigation, or any potential
prosecution. Anyone with information about the incident should contact Sterling
Heights Police.
Walid also suggests the
incident could stem from politicians’ “fanning the flames” of xenophobia and
anti-Muslim sentiment in an election year.
“We hope that they will be
a little more responsible,” Walid said. “They should understand that their
statements and ads may push people over the edge, and they do have
consequences.”
The US Sikh community has
fallen victim to anti-Muslim sentiment before. A Sikh man was murdered in
Arizona soon after the September 11th attacks. The killer thought he was Arab
or Muslim.
http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2012/02/08/sikh-temple-vandalized-but-were-muslims-the-intended-target/
--------
Pakistani Military agents
target killed another Baloch
18 FEBRUARY 2012
Balochistan: Pakistani
military agents target killed another well-known trader Hafiz Abdul Qadir in
Jilani Chowk, Khuzdar district of Balochistan on Thursday.
According to police, Hafiz
Abdul Qadir was buying vegetables on the Jinnah Road near Jilani Chowk when
unknown armed men open indiscriminate firing at him killing him instantly.
According to eye-witnesses
account two persons riding a motorcycle target killed Hafiz Abdul Qadir, and
the killers were seen straight going to an FC camp after committing the brutal
murder.
The body of the victim was
handed over to his relatives for burial after legal formalities were completed.
Hafiz Abdul Qadir was the
father of BSO-Azad’s slain activist Sami Mengal, who was whisked away by the
Pakistani intelligence agencies on 01/10/2010 and his bullet riddled body was
found on 17/10/2010 from Ferozabad, Khuzdar.
It is pertinent to
remember that on February 3, 2012 Pakistani forces target killed Muhammad
Ramzan Zehri, the father of BSO Azad's youngest martyred member Majeed Zehri.
Pakistani military/ISI
after applying all brutal methods by killing the Baloch youths under custody,
now target killing the family members of Baloch political and student
activists. Pakistani intelligence agencies continue to threat Baloch political
activists to withdraw from the struggle for Baloch national liberation
otherwise their family members will be abducted or killed.
--------
Iraqi-born cleric in
Norway terror trial
By BJOERN H. AMLAND
Feb 15, 2012
OSLO, Norway: An
Iraqi-born cleric pleaded not guilty in a Norwegian court Wednesday to charges
of making death threats against politicians and encouraging suicide bombings.
Prosecutors said Mullah
Krekar, a 55-year-old Islamist who came to Norway as a refugee in 1991, faces
several years in prison if found guilty.
Since his arrival, Krekar
has made frequent trips to Iraq where he founded the Kurdish Ansar Al-Islam,
listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and other nations. It
is suspected of organizing suicide bombings against coalition forces in Iraq.
In 2005, a Norwegian court
declared him a national security threat and ordered him deported, but later
postponed the move because of concerns he could face execution or torture in
Iraq.
Full Report At:
http://arabnews.com/world/article576076.ece
--------
Egyptian Presidential
hopeful says women must wear veil
By Katerina Nikolas
Feb 13, 2012
Cairo - Egyptian
Presidential hopeful Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail has angered women in Egypt by
saying he would force women to wear the hijab if he is elected as President.
The ultra conservative
Ismail, long affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood but no longer a member,
advocates the Salafi brand of extreme Islam that seeks to impose Sharia law.
According to Alarabiya Ismail
said he would enforce the veil on women opposed to wearing it, and "if
they do not want to wear, they have to change their 'creed.'" He went on
to state "this is Islam. Does she want to be a Muslim and not obey Allah's
rules?"
Ismail has adopted a harder
line than the one he used when he first announced his plan to stand as
President in May 2011. Islamopedia noted at that time Ismail was not speaking
of imposing his policies with force, but rather he said the “return to Islam
should be done softly...should happen gradually.”
Full Report At:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/319533
--------
South African Muslimahs
Speak about Headscarves at Airports
February 14th, 2012
safiyyah
Over the Christmas and New
Year season, Quraysha Ismail Sooliman, South African Muslimah scholar and
lecturer in Political Studies at the University of Pretoria, was on her way out
of the country with her family. At Oliver Tambo International Airport in
Johannesburg, she and her daughters were stopped at passport control, and one
of her daughters was asked to remove her headscarf in order to be properly
identified. The same happened upon their return, when her second daughter was
asked the same, both times in an abrupt and condescending tone.
Full Report At:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/02/south-african-muslimahs-speak-about-headscarves-at-airports/
--------
OIC TO HOLD MEDIA WORKSHOP
TO ADDRESS SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISLAM
By NAM NEWS NETWORK
Feb 13th, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13
(NNN-Bernama) — The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is to hold a
media workshop in Brussels on Feb 15 to 16 pertaining to the smear campaigns
against Islam in newspapers and media institutions in the West.
The objective of this
first-of–its-kind workshop is to develop media-related mechanisms to address
the smear campaigns, the OIC said in a statement.
It said the workshop will
discuss at length the reasons behind and the results of the Western media’s
offensive campaigns against the symbols and sanctities of Islam and Muslims,
which it added still occur from time to time.
Full Report At:
http://news.brunei.fm/2012/02/13/oic-to-hold-media-workshop-to-address-smear-campaign-against-islam/
--------
Debate about Islamic
group's visits to Hillsborough schools flares up again
18 February 2012
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) -
More than a dozen who oppose school appearances from the Council on
American-Islamic Relations attended Tuesday's board meeting, some asking the
board to call for a workshop and others displaying signs on the sidewalk
outside that said, "Welcome to Tampastan."
Full Report At:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=296948
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Kashmiri youth shunning
violence, Pakistan: Survey
Indo-Asian News Service
Srinagar, February 17,
2012
Kashmiri youths are
increasingly leaning towards non-violence and also moving away from Pakistan.
So says a survey by a New Delhi-based research body. The survey by the
Institute for Research on India and International Studies (IRIIS) also holds
the "historical baggage" of Jammu and
Kashmir and the
"presence of security forces" for the disconnect between the Kashmiri
youth and the Indian state.
Full Report At:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Srinagar/Kashmiri-youth-shunning-violence-Pakistan-Survey/Article1-812852.aspx
--------
21 Bangladeshis on death
row abroad
Saturday, February 18,
2012
Porimol Palma
At least 21 Bangladeshis
are facing death sentence and 31 undergoing trial for murder in six Middle
Eastern and Southeast Asian countries -- Bangladesh's major labour markets.
The cases involve 43
murders, including those of 28 Bangladeshis, over trading of visas and involvement
in “immoral” activities, according to reports sent by Bangladesh missions
abroad.
Under the Middle Eastern
nations' strict Islamic Sharia laws, death penalty is imposed for murder.
A convict, however, can
escape death only if the victim's family pardons him.
“Execution of Bangladeshis
abroad hurts the image of the country and can affect its overseas employment
sector,” said Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan, secretary of the expatriates' welfare and
overseas employment ministry.
Full Report At:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=222897
--------
Toll from Kurram suicide
blast reaches 32
18 FEBRUARY 2012
PESHAWAR: A local official
says the death toll from a suicide attack in a town of the Kurram region close
to the Afghan border has reached 32.
Wajid Ali, who is an
administrator in the town of Parachinar , said Saturday that nine people had
died in hospitals since the Friday blast, which was initially reported to have
killed 23.
Another 67 were injured
when on a motorcyclist detonated his explosives in the Parachinar’s market.
Full Report At:
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/18/toll-from-kurram-suicide-blast-reaches-32.html
--------
India: '4 men planted 4
bombs on Samjhauta Express'’
Muzamil Jaleel
Sat Feb 18 2012
Startling revelations by
Kamal Chouhan are helping investigators understand how the Samjhauta Express
bombs were brought to the capital, who all took it to the railway station and
the sequence of events leading to the tragedy that killed 68 passengers, most
of them Pak nationals. Tomorrow marks the fifth year since that attack.
Full Report At:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/913657/
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US 'in lockstep with
India' on Maldives
SATURDAY, 18 FEBRUARY 2012
Noting that India has
"traditionally played a strong role" in Maldives, the US has said it
was working closely with India in resolving the political impasse there after
the abrupt exit of its first democratically president last week.
Full Report At:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/home/online-channel/top-story/43623-us-in-lockstep-with-india-on-maldives.html
--------
Iran warships enter the
Mediterranean: commander
18 FEBRUARY 2012
TEHRAN: Iranian warships
entered the Mediterranean Sea on Saturday in a move that would show Iran's
"might" to regional countries, navy commander Admiral Habibollah
Sayari said.
Full Report At:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-35884-Iran-warships-enter-the-Mediterranean
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Muslim Name Ruins Swedish
Dream Holiday
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
STOCKHOLM – A Swedish
tourist became the latest victim of Islamophobia after being barred from a
flight to his dream holiday in Mexico for having a Muslim name, The Local
reported Tuesday, February 14.
“I was told that I
couldn’t board the flight,” Abdifateh Ahmed Mohamed told the local daily
Aftonbladet.
The dilemma began in Oslo
airport when the 30-year-old met problems at international border controls.
He recalled that he was
stopped at the airport by border police who delayed the procession of his
ticket.
Full Report At:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/455806-muslim-name-shatters-swedish-dream-holiday.html
--------
Maldives Oppn, ruling
parties thank India for resolving political impasse
Fri Feb 17 2012
Male : Maldives' ousted
President Mohammed Nasheed's MDP party has said that it was grateful to India
for its "timely intervention" to help resolve the political impasse
here, a view shared by the new regime as well.
"It has been a
positive movement, a forward movement. India's role was very much important in
ensuring that political and democratic process is on," Ibrahim Hussein
Zaki, a senior MDP leader and close aide of Nasheed, said here.
"We are grateful to
India for the timely intervention," Zaki, the then Special Envoy to
Nasheed, said.
Full Report At:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/913418/
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India: Supreme Court
notice to Centre on Haj subsidy
TNN | Feb 18, 2012
NEW DELHI: The Supreme
Court on Friday told the Centre that it was unhappy over the manner in which
the annual Haj pilgrimage for over 1.7 lakh Muslims was being handled and
sought answers to various questions ranging from selection of the government
delegation to the ethicality of Haj subsidy.
A bench of Justices Aftab
Alam and Ranjana P Desai hastily sought presence of attorney general G E
Vahanvati and asked him to get the response of the Centre on questions relating
to Haj by February 24. Though the appeal against a Kerala HC judgment on
private Haj operators was filed by the Union of India through advocate Harish
Beeran, the court converted it into a public interest litigation.
The bench wanted to know
who decided the composition of the Prime Minister's Goodwill Delegation, how
this came about and the purpose it served. It also asked the government to
specify the government quota in the total Haj pilgrims permitted from India by
Saudi Arabia government and explain the modalities of its distribution.
When the court said it
would consider the ethicality of government subsidy for Haj, Vahanvati said it
had already been upheld by the apex court. But the bench said it would have a
fresh look at the logic behind government off-setting the cost of the
pilgrimage.
The bench had last year
stayed a Kerala HC order putting last-minute spokes in the government's quota
but had said the manner in which the pilgrimage was being organized every year
left much to be desired. It wanted the Haj pilgrimage for the year 2012 to be
streamlined.
Of the 170,000 Haj
pilgrims quota fixed for India, 1.25 lakh were nominated by Haj Committee
through draw of lots, 11,000 by government of India including 1,500 for Jammu
and Kashmir and rest through private tour operators (PTOs).
The bench was critical of
the treatment meted out to pilgrims by PTOs and said Hajis were being fleeced.
"We have personally come across sufferings of Hajis at the hands of some
unscrupulous Haj tour operators. We must have a proper policy for 2012,"
the bench had said during the last hearing.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Supreme-Court-notice-to-Centre-on-Haj-subsidy/articleshow/11932204.cms
--------
India, Pak, Russia, China
should 'wean' from Iranian crude: US
Washington, February 18,
2012
As the US imposed new
sanctions against Iran, Washington said it was talking to India, Pakistan,
Russia, and China about what they can do, particularly to wean themselves from
Iranian crude.
"We are engaged in
conversations with all of these governments with regard to the
importance of implementing
existing international sanctions, national sanctions," State Department
spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters on Friday when asked about several
countries still doing business with Iran.
Full Report At:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Americas/India-Pak-Russia-China-should-wean-from-Iranian-crude-US/Article1-813199.aspx
--------
US aid cut may force
Israel treaty review: Brotherhood
Feb 17, 2012
CAIRO: The Muslim Brotherhood
has warned that Egypt may review its 1979 peace deal with Israel if the US cuts
aid to the country.
Washington has said the
aid is at risk due to an Egyptian probe into civil society groups that has
resulted in charges against at least 43 activists, including 19 Americans who
have been banned from leaving the country.
Full Report At:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article576966.ece
--------
Pakistan cautions Kabul on
Taliban peace hopes
18 February 2012
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has cautioned Afghanistan that it would be
”preposterous” to expect Islamabad to deliver Taliban leader Mullah Omar for
peace talks.
Khar spoke Friday after
talks between the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan about what Islamabad
could do to help the peace process.
Pakistan is seen as key because
many of the Taliban’s leaders, including Omar, are believed to be based on its
territory.
Full Report At:
http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/17/pakistan-cautions-kabul-on-taliban-peace-hopes.html
--------
26/11 probe: Pak judicial
commission to visit India on Mar 12
Sat Feb 18 2012
Islamabad : A Pakistani
judicial commission will visit India on March 12 as part of the probe into the
2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today.
Malik made the remarks
during a meeting here with Pakistan's High Commissioner to India, Shahid Malik.
The minister was briefed
by the envoy on the judicial commission's planned visit to India, officials
said.
The minister said the
judicial commission would visit India on March 12 and directed the High
Commissioner to inform Indian authorities about the visit, officials said.
The Indian government had
earlier asked Pakistan to send the commission between February 1 and 10.
Full Report At:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/913718/
--------
Pakistan slams US
Congressman for having tabled resolution for Balochistan independence
Washington, Sat, 18 Feb
2012
Washington, Feb 18 (ANI):
Pakistan has slammed US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher for having tabled a
resolution in the US Congress, calling for the independence of Balochistan.
The Pakistan Foreign
Office described the mover of the bill as being 'oblivious to the ground
situation' and expressed the hope that the move would never succeed, the Daily
Times reports.
It said that presentation
of the bill was in violation of the international laws and showed a 'highly
irresponsible attitude' on the part of Congressman Rohrabacher.
Full Report At:
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/02/18/268706-Pakistan-slams-US-Congressman-for-having-tabled-resolution-for-Balochistan-independence-.html
--------
Divorce not an option with
Pakistan: US
17 February, 2012
WASHINGTON: Citing the
importance of their relationship, the United States and Pakistan have rejected
the notion of estrangement in bilateral ties as they take steps to repair the
strains and build ties on a stable basis.
"From our
perspective, divorce is not an option with Pakistan. We have a strategic
interest in common. We have a lot of work to do together," State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told the daily press briefing.
Full Report At:
http://paktribune.com/news/Divorce-not-an-option-with-Pakistan-US-247588.html
--------
Angry Hamid Karzai
challenges Pakistanis
By SAEED SHAH
18 FEBRUARY 2012
ISLAMABAD An angry Afghan
president confronted the Pakistani leadership Thursday, demanding that it
produce Taliban officials for peace talks – and underscoring the distrust
between Kabul and Islamabad that stands in the way of a deal to end the
decade-long Afghan conflict.
Full Report At:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/taliban-158352-ocprint-karzai-pakistan.html
--------
Top US official heads to
Israel, will discuss Iran
Feb 18, 2012 | AFP |
Washington
US National Security
Advisor Tom Donilon will travel to Israel on Saturday for consultations with
senior Israeli officials on a range of issues, including Iran and Syria, the
White House said on Friday.
Full Report At:
http://www.asianage.com/international/top-us-official-heads-israel-will-discuss-iran-511
--------
Political Instability in
the Maldives Could Have Regional Fallout
BY VISHAL ARORA
16 FEB 2012
Deposed President Mohamed
Nasheed’s ouster was a defeat for democracy and a victory for conservative
Islamism in the Maldives. But the resulting political instability in the Indian
Ocean archipelago threatens to exacerbate regional rivalries in which the
strategically located island nation has increasingly figured.
Full Report At:
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/11497/political-instability-in-the-maldives-could-have-regional-fallout
--------
British Muslims in state
to study communal harmony
TNN Feb 14, 2012
Yusuf Ebrahim
Akudi|University of Calicut
KOZHIKODE: The
Islamophobia, which has gripped the western countries, stemmed from the lack of
knowledge on Islam, observed a four-member delegation of prominent British
Muslims, here on Monday.
Interacting with the
students of Farook College, Yusuf Ebrahim Akudi, a member of the delegation,
which kick-started the five-day visit on Monday, said, "Islam was not able
to reach out to the public to explain the faith."
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-14/kozhikode/31058521_1_communal-harmony-british-muslims-indian-muslims
--------
Britain fears new Cold War
over Iran
18 FEBRUARY 2012
LONDON: Iran's nuclear
ambitions could trigger "a new Cold War" more perilous than that
between the West and the Soviet Union, British Foreign Secretary warned on
Friday.
William Hague said Iran
obtaining a nuclear bomb would spark an atomic arms race between rival Middle
Eastern nations that could be more dangerous than the original Cold War because
the old "safety mechanisms" are missing.
"If (the Iranians)
obtain nuclear weapons capability, then I think other nations across the Middle
East will want to develop nuclear weapons," he told Britain's Daily
Telegraph newspaper.
Full Report At:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-35874-Britain-fears-new-Cold-War-over-Iran
--------
Chinese envoy says all
sides in Syria must end violence
18 FEBRUARY 2012
DAMASCUS: Chinese Vice
Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called on all sides in Syria to stop the violence and
elections to go ahead peacefully after Damascus talks with President Bashar
al-Assad Saturday, state media said.
Full Report At:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-35886-Syrian-sovereignty-must-be-respected
--------
Terrorism: US court jails
Abdulmutallab for life
Written by Seyi Gesinde,
with Agency Report
Friday, 17 February 2012
UMAR Farouk Abdulmutallab
was, on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in a federal
court in Detroit, United States. Abdulmutallab is the 25-year-old Nigerian who
was arrested in the United States on Christmas Day in 2009 for attempting to
blow up a Northwest Airlines flight.
He returned to federal
court in Detroit on Thursday to receive a "mandatory life sentence,"
months after pleading guilty to trying to blow up the aircraft, which he
claimed was a suicide mission for al-Qaeda.
Full Report At:
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/36176-terrorism-us-court-jails-abdulmutallab-for-life
--------
Israeli embassy car
attack: Victim's version puts probe on new track
Neeraj Chauhan
Feb 18, 2012
NEW DELHI: Theories about
Monday's bomb attack on an Israeli car had to be hastily reassessed after
disclosures by Tal Yehoshua Koren, the injured diplomat, put into doubt
presumptions about the bomb and the bomber.
Koren is believed to have
told the cops the bomb exploded 30 to 40 seconds after being stuck to the
vehicle and the bomber was wearing black clothes and riding a black bike.
Investigators went to the
hospital to record Koren's statement under section 161 of the Criminal
Procedure Code on Friday. Later in the day, she left for Israel in an air
ambulance.
Officials said this
information could well change the assumption that the bomb was a low-intensity
incendiary device, which explodes within three to five seconds. Also, cops have
been acting on inputs that the bomber was on a red bike wearing a brown jacket.
Officials said if the bomb
took that long to explode, its make would be different from what was being
presumed and it would have a timer or remote device as well. "We have to
take a relook at all our theories," an official said.
Full Report At:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Israeli-embassy-car-attack-Victims-version-puts-probe-on-new-track/articleshow/11932938.cms
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All options on table if
Iran goes nuclear: Panetta
Feb 18, 2012
WASHINGTON: In escalating
war of words, US defence secretary Leon Panetta has warned Iran that "all
options" are on the table if Tehran blocks the Straits of Hormuz or if it
goes nuclear.
"We've made very
clear that Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon. We will not tolerate an Iran
that has a nuclear weapon," Panetta said.
Full Report At:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/All-options-on-table-if-Iran-goes-nuclear-Panetta/articleshow/11936438.cms
--------
India's UN support for
Palestinians a 'mistake': Israeli minister
PTI Feb 17, 2012
Uzi Landau
JERUSALEM: India's support
for the Palestinians at the UN is a "mistake", a senior Israeli
minister has claimed, saying he intends to "persuade" New Delhi to
change its stand.
Touching upon a wide range
of fields of cooperation between India and Israel, minister for energy and
water resources Uzi Landau also acknowledged differences between the two
countries on the issue.
Full Report At:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-17/middle-east/31070865_1_settlement-activities-future-palestinian-state-israeli-minister
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Thai officials say Tuesday
blast 'not linked to terrorism, Hezbollah’
Sat, 02/18/2012
Thailand Deputy Prime
Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapha, who is in charge of security affairs,
told the House of Representatives yesterday that the explosions had been caused
by bombs that were intended to kill individuals, not a large group of people.
He said the men involved
in the explosions were not from Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based. However, he
said, he was still waiting for verification as to whether the men were indeed
Iranian nationals.
Full Report At:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/18/thai-officials-say-tuesday-blast-not-linked-terrorism-hezbollah.html
--------
Ukrainian girls may be
jailed for insulting Indian flag
Feb 18, 2012
Kiev Ukraine
A group of Ukrainian
topless protesters may face jail term up to four years for climbing onto the
balcony of the Indian ambassador in Kiev and tearing down India's national flag
last month, said police on Friday.
The protesters had brought
down the Indian flag, smashed the doors and windows with it and threw it on the
ground.
Full Report At:
http://www.asianage.com/international/ukrainian-girls-may-be-jailed-insulting-indian-flag-515
--------
Mumbai 13/7 blasts:
custody of two accused extended
18 FEBRUARY 2012
A local court on Friday
extended the police custody of Naquee Ahmed Wasi Ahmed Sheikh and Nadeem Ahmed
Ashfaq Sheikh, two accused arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad
(ATS) in the Mumbai triple blasts case last year.
“Their custody has been
extended till February 27. The ATS officials told the court that they needed
their custody for further interrogation as they wanted to take the accused out
of Mumbai. They did not disclose to the court where they want to take them,”
Sharif Sheikh, lawyer of the accused, told The Hindu.
Full Report At:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2904571.ece
--------
Sean Stone hopes Islam
conversion aids understanding
Dubai | Sat Feb 18, 2012
(Reuters) - Sean Stone,
son of the acclaimed film director Oliver Stone and adopted friend of Iran,
hopes his conversion to Islam will help Americans understand more about the
faith, the Iranian media has reported.
The 27-year-old
documentary maker became a Muslim on Tuesday during a ceremony in the Iranian
city of Isfahan, during which he adopted the Islamic name, Ali.
He travelled to Iran to
produce a film about Rumi, the 13th century mystic Persian poet, and has plans
to work with Iranian film producers.
Full Report At:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/02/17/film-us-seanstone-conversion-islam-idINTRE81G1O020120217
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FBI Purges Anti-Islam
Materials
Thursday, 16 February 2012
CAIRO – Amid an outcry
over using Islamophobic materials in training its officers, the FBI has purged
hundreds of documents offensive to Muslims and their faith.
"It's a bit hard to
avoid the conclusion there isn’t a problem of culture in the [FBI] training
division," Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab-American Institute,
told Danger Room magazine.
"It’s one that
appears to have some built-in biases when it comes to the Arab-American and
Muslim-American communities."
An internal investigation
has purged hundreds of Islamophbic materials used by the FBI in training its
officers.
The announcement came
during a meeting on Wednesday with several Arab and Muslim advocacy groups.
FBI spokesman Christopher
Allen said some of the documents were removed because they were
"offensive" while others were "inaccurate" and
"overbroad".
He, however, insisted that
the purged documents represent "less than 1 percent" of the 160,000
reviewed in the inquiry.
The bureau cited four
criteria for purging the documents; "factual errors", "poor
taste", employment of "stereotypes" about Arabs or Muslims or
presenting information that "lacked precision".
The FBI said it plans to
publish a "touchstone document" which sets criteria for not using
anti-Islam materials again in training officers.
The Justice Minister also
plans next month to release "Cultural Competency" guidelines for
dealing with Muslims and Arabs on anti-terror efforts.
Last September, Danger
Room cited an FBI training material which described Muslims as "terrorist
sympathizers", who turn into violent people once they become pious.
It also described Islam as
an indicator of terrorist activity and that the Muslim practice of giving
charity as no more than a “funding mechanism for combat.”
The White House ordered a
government-wide review of counterterrorism training late last year.
'Systematic'
Critics warn that the use
of anti-Islam materials in training FBI officers gives ammunition to extremist
and radical groups.
"People will report
criminal activity to the authorities, that’s been proven time and again,"
Salam al-Marayati, the executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council,
told Danger Room.
"But if we are giving
propaganda to al-Qaeda, resuscitating this dying ideology that al-Qaeda is
promoting, by continually exposing anti-Muslim propaganda published by the
government, that undermines our pluralism, which is the best defense against
any transnational ideological threat."
Berry, the executive
director of the Arab-American Institute, believes that the FBI has a
"systematic" problem in using Islamophobic training materials.
She said she could
"see the seriousness with which [the FBI] has approached this."
"They’ve never owned
this problem. It’s not a problem of outside contractors,” Berry said.
"They’re producing
these kind of documents that inhibit our counterterrorism efforts. We need our
communities engaged, and these have done nothing but alienate us."
This is not the first time
the FBI used anti-Muslim materials in training its counterterrorism agents.
In July, the FBI used
training materials that claim Islam “transforms [a] country’s culture into
7th-century Arabian ways”.
In May, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim advocacy group,
called on the Home Security to investigate the use of foreign trainers who
offer hostile, stereotypical and inaccurate information about Muslims and Islam
to the nation's security personnel.
Muslim relations with the
FBI have been strained in recent years over the bureau's history of targeting
members of their community.
In 2009, Muslim groups
threatened to suspend all contacts with the FBI over sending informants into
mosques.
The infamous post-9/11
technique of sending spies to mosques has been stirring uproar in the US over
entrapping young people, who posed no real threat to the US security.
--------
Exhibition on Islam begins
tomorrow at Kattayam, India
Feb 16,2012
Kottayam, Feb 16 (PTI):
The three-day exhibition to know more about Islam would commence at the Town
hall in Changanacherry here tomorrow. The Light Islamic Exibiton, organised by
Ithihadu Shubbanil Mujahideen, youth wing of Nadvathul Mujahineen as part of
the campaign that Islam is the religion of peace is opened to all sections of
people irrespective of relgion, caste or creed, ISM president N A Shameel told
reporters today. Lectures and discourse by scholars on various subjects would
be held in the evenings during the exhibition,concluding on February 19. Messge
pavilion, kids corner Islamic book fair, cyberworld, video gallery and
documentary hall were arranged in the hall.
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/exhibition-on-islam-begins-tomorrow/964276.htm
URL:https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/female-prisoners-conjugal-rights,-says/d/6670