First Film on Indian Army to Release in Pakistan Today
New Age Islam News Bureau
5
Jun 2014
To make the dish Halal, San Diego students substituted fruit salad for gelatinous artificial syrup and skipped the bacon.
India
• First Film on Indian Army to Release in Pakistan Today
• 26/11 attacks: Trial in Pakistan adjourned as prosecution fails to turn up
Africa
• Boko Haram Militants Slaughter Hundreds in Nigeria
• Central African Republic: Let Muslims Seek Safety
• Libyan tribes planning ouster of jihadists that were backed by U.S., Qatar, Turkey
Arab World
• Syria Vote Mandated Assad to Crush Terrorist Groups, Consecrated His Victory
• Security raids kill seven Islamist militants in North Sinai
• Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider Jihadi base in Calgary
• Iraq: Militant Attacks Kill Six in Samarra
• Britain brands Bashar al-Assad re-election an ‘insult’
• Syrian President Assad re-elected in a landslide, West calls it a farce
• ISIS claims presence in another Iraqi city
Pakistan
• Muslim Scholars From Around the World Issue Fatwa Condemning Honour Killings
• Chinese PLA and Pakistan Army will take concrete steps to counter terrorism
• 7 Pakistani soldiers killed in Afghan border attacks
• Key TTP commander gunned down in Mir Ali
• TTP’s suicide hit kills two colonels
• People can't be forced to convert, says Religious Affairs Minister
• Altaf urges MQM workers not to take law into their hands
• UK gives Pakistan access to Altaf Hussain
• Pakistan court orders police to charge ex-CIA station chief
Mideast
• Al-Qaida’s media wing using Israeli company for secure email
• Qaeda Gunmen Kill 12 Yemen Soldiers, Civilian
• Palestinians to appeal to UN over Israel settlements
• Islamist reporting from secular Istanbul neighborhood goes viral
• Zionist Entity Retaliates for Palestinian Gov’t: to Build 1500 More Settlements
South Asia
• 4 Afghan soldiers embrace martyrdom in Badakhshan attack
• China calls for transitional govt in Syria
• Taliban’s huge cache of weapons confiscated
• NATO soldier die in militants attack in eastern Afghanistan
• Khaleda benefited from Zia’s death: Hanif
Europe
• British foreign secretary joins EU in praising Fatah-Hamas unity accord
• Officials: 700 French nationals fought in Syria, Al Qaida recruiting cell captured
• Mosque reopens in Cyprus after 51 year closure
• N. Ireland's first min. apologizes for backing anti-Islam pastor
• Jihad Makes Anti-Semitism Deadly Again In Europe
• Brussels gunman’s journey from rocky childhood to jihad
• Uzbek jihadist group releases footage from Syrian training camp
• Arms sales to Pakistan not against others: Moscow
• Austria arrests suspect for Syrian war recruitment
North America
• Muslim San Diego Residents Call for Halal School Lunches
• Islam 2nd Largest Religion in 20 US States
• US envoy pans Israeli approval of settlements in response to Palestinian unity gov't
• Kerry calls on Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah to end Syria war
• Quran-Burning Pastor, Plans 'Dearborn Freedom Rally' In Front Of Mosque, Mayor called his cause "un-American
Southeast Asia
• Isma backs Jais raid on Hindu wedding, says in line with Islamic moral code
• NRD: No changes to Muslim status on Mykad without Shariah Court’s nod
• Hudud rollout doesn’t need change to Constitution, Jakim paper claims
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/first-film-indian-army-release/d/87376
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India
First Film on Indian Army to Release in Pakistan Today
June 05, 2014
NEW DELHI- Holiday, the first film on Indian Army is set to release in Pakistan on June 6, reported Hindustan Times.
Directed by A.R. Murugadoss, the film stars Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha and is based on an Indian Army officer. “It is a great start to a relationship between the two countries. Traditionally, talent from Pakistan would come down to India, but this would be the first time that an Indian film based on an army officer would be releasing in Pakistan. It is not only good for relations, but also for the business between the countries. I congratulate both the countries on this step,” said the film’s producer, Vipul Shah.
“Akshay is a huge draw in Pakistan and there was a demand for Holiday, but fans across the border were not sure if it would see a release there. Now, they’re glad,” said a source from across the border. The source adds that some sensitive scenes had been edited to make it a suitable watch for cross-border audience. “The film has been censored by board members in the three major circuits in Pakistan — Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad,” said the source.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/05-Jun-2014/first-film-on-indian-army-to-release-in-pakistan-today
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26/11 attacks: Trial in Pakistan adjourned as prosecution fails to turn up
Press Trust of India | Lahore | June 5, 2014
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court trying the seven accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case has adjourned the hearing till June 11 after prosecution lawyers failed to turn up for the second time in a week.
The trial of seven Pakistani accused was adjourned on Wednesday by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi. This is the second consecutive hearing — May 28 and Jun 4 — for which the prosecution lawyers did not turn up.
The lawyers in the case on May 21 had asked the ATC to beef up their security saying Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD) activists had been threatening them and the witnesses.
Sources said that threats the prosecution lawyers had mentioned in their application they filed in the court on May 21 could have been the reason for not showing up in the court during the last two hearings.
“We and the witnesses have been receiving threats from the JuD activists who want us to stop representing and pursuing the case,” the prosecution lawyers had said.
They further alleged that even a JuD activist was present in the courtroom in every hearing and threatened the witnesses
outside the courtroom.
The prosecution chief also submitted a cell phone number to the court, from which the prosecution lawyers have been receiving threats from a JuD activist.
The ATC judge Attiquer Rehman had asked the government to provide him and the lawyers of the case a “foolproof” security but the request seems to fall on deaf ears as no adequate security measures have been taken yet.
Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Anjum have been charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks in India’s financial capital that killed 166 people in November, 2008.
All the accused are lodged in Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, some 300 kilometers from Lahore.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/2611-attacks-trial-in-pakistan-adjourned-as-prosecution-fails-to-turn-up/
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Africa
Boko Haram Militants Slaughter Hundreds in Nigeria
Associated Press | Maiduguri | June 5, 2014
Boko Haram militants dressed as soldiers slaughtered at least 200 civilians in three communities in north-eastern Nigeria and the military failed to intervene even though it was warned that an attack was imminent, witnesses said on Thursday.
A community leader who witnessed the killings on Monday said residents of the Gwoza local government district in Borno state had pleaded for the military to send soldiers to protect the area after they heard that militants were about to attack, but help didn’t arrive.
It took a few days for survivors to get word of the massacres to Maiduguri, the provincial capital; because travel on the roads is extremely dangerous and phone connections are poor or nonexistent.
The slaughter was confirmed by Mohammed Ali Ndume, a senator representing Borno and whose hometown is Gwoza, and by a top security official in Maiduguri who insisted on anonymity because he isn’t allowed to speak to the media.
Militants of Boko Haram, which wants to establish Islamic state in Nigeria, have been taking over villages in the northeast, killing and terrorizing civilians and political leaders as the Islamic fighters make a comeback from a year-long military offensive aimed at crushing them. The death toll from Monday’s attacks is among the highest. Thousands of people have been killed in the 5-year-old insurgency, more than 2,000 so far just this year, and an estimated 750,000 Nigerians have been driven from their homes.
Nigeria’s military has insisted that the big influx of troops and a year-old state of emergency in three states which gives them the power to detain suspects, take over buildings and lock down any area has the extremists on the run.
But while Boko Haram has in large part been pushed out of cities in the northeast, they have been seizing villages with thatched-roof huts in the semi-arid region where they once held sway, boldly staking their claim by hoisting their black flags with white Arabic lettering, and making large swaths of Nigeria no-go regions for the military.
The villages attacked on Monday are near Gwoza, a regional political center whose emir was killed in a Boko Haram ambush on his convoy last week. Emirs are religious and traditional rulers who have been targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram’s extremism.
Borno Gov. Kashim Shettima traveled on Saturday to Gwoza to pay his respects to the fallen emir and was quoted as saying it was a terrifying ride.
“If I say I was not petrified travelling through that … road to Gwoza I would be lying because that road had been designated a no-go area for about two months now due to the incessant attacks and killings that occur there,” the governor was quoted as saying by Information Nigeria, a web site. A local journalist who was in the convoy that was escorted by 150 soldiers counted at least 16 towns and villages that were deserted along the 135 kilometer (85 mile) route, according to the local media report.
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/middle-east-africa/witnesses-boko-haram-militants-slaughter-hundreds-in-nigeria/
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Central African Republic: Let Muslims Seek Safety
Authorities, Peacekeepers Should Provide Security
Jun 5, 2014
Government authorities in Central African Republic and international peacekeepers should allow Muslim residents to seek protection in neighbouring countries. Many Muslim residents living in a few heavily guarded areas endure unsustainable, life-threatening conditions and say they want to leave.
The majority of the Muslims remaining in the western part of the country are ethnic Peuhl nomads living in small enclaves – such as in Boda, Carnot, and Yaloké – that are heavily guarded by African Union (MISCA) peacekeepers and French (Sangaris) troops. Because of persistent threats against the Peuhl, peacekeepers drastically restrict the residents’ movements.
“Conceding that many threatened Muslims in the Central African Republic need to leave the country temporarily is an option of last resort, but there are no other immediate solutions,” said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch. “Many Muslims in western Central African Republic have clearly and unequivocally expressed a desire to flee to neighbouring countries, and they should be allowed to leave safely.”
Since September 2013, the predominantly Christian and animist anti-balaka militia has carried out widespread and systematic attacks against the Muslim minority in Central African Republic, resulting in thousands of deaths and the flight of hundreds of thousands of Muslims from their homes. The 2,000 French soldiers under Operation Sangaris and 6,000 African peacekeepers under the African Union’s MISCA mission have been unable to stop many of these attacks.
Anti-balaka fighters for six months have sought to avenge the brutal abuses by the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition that overthrew the government of Francois Bozizé in March 2013. Entire districts of the capital, Bangui, have been completely cleansed of their Muslim populations. In many major towns in the west, where thousands of Muslims once lived, none remain.
In Yaloké, 490 Peuhl who fled the south-western part of the country four months ago are being housed in three dilapidated government buildings on a hilltop in the centre of town, protected by MISCA peacekeepers and local gendarmes. The anti-balaka frequently attacked the Peuhl as they fled the southwest, raiding thousands of head of their cattle. Many of the Peuhl have machete wounds from anti-balaka attacks.
The men in the group are not allowed to leave the camp, while local people routinely threaten and insult Peuhl women who venture a few meters outside to search for firewood and water. Many of the children and adults are suffering from respiratory diseases and malnutrition, and are forced to sleep in the open. During the last week of May 2014, when researchers from Human Rights Watch visited the Peuhl on several occasions, at least four children, including twin newborns, died because of the dire conditions in the camp.
Despite the Peuhl’s vulnerability, the captain commanding the local peacekeeping contingent from the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) openly threatened them in front of Human Rights Watch researchers, vowing to shoot anyone who tried to board a nearby convoy of commercial trucks that could have transported them to Cameroon.
After Human Rights Watch researchers protested, the captain said he was “only trying to scare [the Peuhl].” But he insisted that he would not allow them to board the trucks, saying that the country’s interim authorities firmly opposed any further departure of Muslims from the country.
Members of the Peuhl community trapped in Yaloké told Human Rights Watch that they were united in their desire to seek safety in Cameroon. They said they were being held in Yaloké against their will after local authorities had told them they would be allowed to go to Cameroon.
Human Rights Watch spoke with humanitarian, diplomatic, and government sources who said that the country’s interim authorities began to oppose the departure of Muslims after the United Nations and MISCA troops supported the April 27 evacuation of 1,300 trapped Muslims from the PK12 area of Bangui, the capital. Anti-balaka fighters attacked the convoy and killed two fleeing Muslims. The interim authorities then said that they had not approved the evacuation and insisted that there should be no more evacuations without government consent.
Human Rights Watch researchers also found dire conditions in the southwestern diamond-trading town of Boda, where an estimated 11,000 Muslims are trapped. Attacks on the Muslims continue, despite the presence of African peacekeepers and French troops. In Carnot, 800 to 900 Muslims are trapped at the local Catholic Church in deplorable conditions. Some have been there for three months. Anti-balaka forces attacked them as recently as May 24.
Although some international humanitarian organizations are operating in the capital, few are working in more rural areas, compounding the plight of the trapped Peuhl. An unknown number of Peuhl nomads are still in rural areas with their remaining cattle herds, trying to avoid the anti-balaka violence.
International law grants everyone the right “to leave any country, including his own” and to seek asylum abroad. The Central African Republic’s Muslim population also has the right to freedom of movement in the country. The restrictions the interim authorities placed on the voluntary movement of threatened Muslim communities are inconsistent with these international legal obligations, and point to the need for a more durable approach to ensuring the security of Muslim residents.
The interim authorities should allow Muslim residents freedom of movement and respect their right to seek safety abroad, Human Rights Watch said. The interim authorities, the United Nations, MISCA peacekeepers, and French Sangaris troops should also work together to assist the trapped Muslims, including by providing security against anti-balaka attacks to those who intend to leave to seek protection in neighbouring countries. The interim authorities and the international community should make a firm commitment to create the conditions as soon as possible to allow Muslims to exert their right to return to their original locations.
“Muslim communities in the Central African Republic have faced persistent threats for six months, but the authorities haven’t yet developed a suitable response to their plight,” Bouckaert said. “Keeping desperate Muslims in tightly guarded enclaves in terrible conditions is no way to deal with their situation.”
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/05/central-african-republic-let-muslims-seek-safety
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Libyan tribes planning ouster of jihadists that were backed by U.S., Qatar, Turkey
Jun 5, 2014
An invitation is being sent by the leadership of the Senussiyyah movement — the largest Muslim sect in Libya — to the leaders of all 40 or so Libyan tribes to meet on June 19 and 20, according to primary sources in Benghazi, Libya.
The purpose of the meeting is to hold a “prayer for peace and unity”. The purpose specifically stated in the invitations is not a call to discuss how to achieve peace, but merely to gather to “pray for peace”. The concept was stated as an opportunity to get the tribes to a point where they could merely meet in civil circumstances.
The Senussi family inside Libya is working together on the meeting at the Zawia Baida, the “white monastery” in Bayda (fourth largest city in Libya), northern Cyrenaica, but the principal architect is Prince (Sayyed) Idris al-Senussi.
The process, as stated privately by the principals, was to begin harmonizing the tribes so that they could ultimately (but soon) effectively begin work to oppose, and remove, the radical jihadist/salafist/takfiri elements who were brought in to Libya by external powers (mainly the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey) to fight Gadhafi.
Even at the time, in early 2011, their introduction was opposed by the tribes of Cyrenaica. Now the jihadist groups in Libya have, to a large extent, rallied around the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) to create a “Free Egyptian Army” (FEA), modeled on the “Free Syrian Army”, which has been supported by the U.S., Qatar, and Turkey. The FEA, based in Cyrenaica, is reportedly poised for attacks on Egypt.
The Cyrenaicans began their “counter-coup” in February 2011 against the 1969 coup by Moammar Gadhafi against the Government of King (Sayyed) Idris I (al-Senussi) and against the 1952 Constitution. The Cyrenaican commencement of the conflict against Gadhafi used the old Libyan (royal) flag and specifically called for the revival of the 1952 Constitution, which had been approved by the United Nations and all 140 tribes.
Gadhafi at that time declared that anyone who discussed the Constitution would be executed. That Constitution agreed that the head of state of Libya would be a Senussi, given that the Senussi were not a Libyan tribe, but, as sharif (descendants of the Prophet), would provide a neutral, non-tribal leader who would represent the interests of all Libyans. In, and since, 2011, the U.S. has not discussed this issue because of the general State Dept. hostility toward all traditional forms of governance.
Several tribal leaders, involved in planning the prayer gathering at the traditional founding place of the Senussiyyah movement in Libya (the Zawia Baida), have already indicated that they would participate. An invitation would go to all tribes, the source confirmed, including the Qadhadfa, the tribe of Gadhafi, and the tribe of Qadhafi’s former partner, Maj. ‘Abd al-Salam Jallud, the Megarha.
The French Government, which is in close touch with Sayyed Idris al-Senussi, has indicated that it supported the gathering and the possible (and intended) outcome, which was the implied leadership it would return to the Senussi.
The government of Saudi Arabia, which is also in close contact with Idris, has also reportedly indicated it would support a Senussi-led revival of control in Libya, or would recognize a partition of Libya. This, despite the traditional hostility of the Wahhabi movement to the Senussi movement (but not surpassed by their common opposition to the Qatari-promoted salafists and Ikhwan in Libya, which now threaten Egypt, which is of profound strategic importance to Saudi Arabia in the absence of a close U.S.-Saudi relationship.
Many elements in the Senussi and pro-Senussi tribes of Cyrenaica and Fezzan have indicated that they were at the point where they would be ready to declare separation from Tripolitania if unity did not emerge soon. Cyrenaica and Fezzan have the bulk of the Libyan resources. Sayyed Idris has been in close contact with the Elysee Palace for some time, and French sources appear to confirm that they would support a separate state (of Cyrenaica, or Cyrenaica plus Fezzan) if it was to declare itself.
Sayyed Idris has committed to working to a) stop the illegal flow of weapons out of Libya from the former Gadhafi stockpiles, particularly to Syria, and southward to Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; b) stop the illegal flow of immigrants from Africa to Europe via Libya; and c) work with Egypt to stop the use of Libya has a safe haven for Ikhwan/salafist fighters (such as the “Free Egyptian Army”).
Sayyed Idris has indicated that he would attempt to meet before the “prayer gathering” with the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, to discuss the situation, and possibly with Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno.
Significantly, Sayyed Idris’ grandmother was reportedly of Chadian origin. It was understood also that Idris could also try to visit Nigeria before the gathering to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan and other officials. He reportedly had intermediaries working to set up the Nigerian meeting, but it is not known yet whether these contacts have initiated an attempted contact.
http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/06/04/libyan-tribes-planning-ouster-jihadists-backed-u-s-qatar-turkey/
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Arab World
Syria Vote Mandated Assad to Crush Terrorist Groups, Consecrated His Victory
4 June 2014
Since the Syrian Higher Judicial Committee for the presidential elections announced last night the closing of ballot boxes, numerous analyses tried to interpret the dimensions and the repercussions of the democratic event, highlighting its effects on the national and strategic position as well as the role of Syria.
Holding the presidential elections itself is a great Syrian achievement as the "foreign conspiracy" planned to control the key cities of Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Latakia and Hamah in order to prevent holding the elections, yet the military achievements of the Syrian army frustrated the plot.
Media reports noted that there was a plan to extend the term of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and that of the Lebanese president Michel Sleiman in the context of a compromise to ban a Syria vote.
The Americans and the West wanted to avoid the elections as they're sure that no opposition candidate would be able to defeat President Assad in any democratic elections.
The American intelligence reported that any opposition candidate can win, at best, 40 % of the votes.
Full report at:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=154834&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=20&s1=1
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Security raids kill seven Islamist militants in North Sinai
Jun 5, 2014
Security forces in Egypt's border Sinai Peninsula have killed seven Islamist militants, state news agency MENA reported, as part of an ongoing campaign against Islamist insurgents in the region.
Raids on Wednesday in the northern part of the region--in the town of Sheikh Zuweid and the Bear Al-Abd area--killed seven militant fighters as they were attempting to attack a security convoy, MENA said late on Wednesday
Ten shacks and buildings used as bases for terrorist attacks were destroyed in the offensive, security sources said.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/102935/Egypt/Politics-/Security-raids-kill-seven-Islamist-militants-in-No.aspx
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Suicide bomber killed in Iraq part of wider jihadi base in Calgary
Jun 5, 2014
Homegrown extremism abroad has a new face, and CBC News has learned it belongs to yet another Calgary man, a development that points to the West as a hotbed for exporting jihadis.
His name is Salman Ashrafi, and when the Al-Qaeda splinter group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) released images of him last month following a double suicide bombing in Iraq in November that killed 46 people, he was celebrated in a martryrdom notice.
Only then, he was known as Abu Abdullah Al Khorasani.
CBC News has confirmed that Al Khorasani was Ashrafi's nom de guerre and that he was a Canadian citizen who grew up in the Stampede City, where he went to school and worked.
The Calgarian's story is one of as many as two dozen others, most of whom left to battle alongside rebel militants in Syria.
Full report at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/suicide-bomber-killed-in-iraq-part-of-wider-jihadi-base-in-calgary-1.2663890
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Iraq: Militant Attacks Kill Six in Samarra
4 June 2014
Militants in IraqMilitants launched a major attack on the Iraqi city of Samarra on Thursday, killing six people and occupying neighborhoods.
The militants, travelling in dozens of vehicles, some mounted with anti-aircraft guns, attacked a major checkpoint on the southeast side of Samarra, killing the security forces guarding it and burning their vehicles, witnesses said.
They then took control of several areas of the city, north of Baghdad, according to witnesses, who reported seeing the bodies of both security forces and gunmen in the streets.
A police major and a doctor said six police had been killed and 24 people wounded in the fighting.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=154988&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=24&s1=1
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Britain brands Bashar al-Assad re-election an ‘insult’
Press Trust of India | London | June 5, 2014
Britain branded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s election victory an “insult”, saying today the poll was merely a way of “sustaining his dictatorship”.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said Assad lacked legitimacy before the election and lacked it afterwards.
Assad, who succeeded his father in 2000, was re-elected with 88.7 per cent of the vote. Tuesday’s election was labelled a farce by rebels fighting to overthrow him, and its outcome was never in doubt.
“Assad lacked legitimacy before this election, and he lacks it afterwards. This election bore no relation to genuine democracy,” Hague said in a statement.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/middle-east-africa/britain-brands-bashar-al-assad-re-election-an-insult/
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Syrian President Assad re-elected in a landslide, West calls it a farce
Associated Press | Damascus | June 5, 2014
Syrian President Bashar Assad has been re-elected in a landslide, officials said, capturing another seven-year term in the middle of a bloody 3-year-old uprising against his rule that has devastated the country.
Syria’s parliament speaker, Jihad Lahan, announced the final results on Wednesday from Tuesday’s election, saying Assad garnered 10,319,723 votes, or 88.7 per cent. Assad’s two challengers, Hassan al-Nouri and Maher Hajjar, won 4.3 per cent and 3.2 percent respectively. The Supreme Constitutional Court put turnout at 73.42 percent.
Assad’s victory was always a foregone conclusion, despite the presence of other candidates on the ballot for the first time in decades. The opposition and its Western allies denounced the election as a farce, with US Secretary of State John Kerry calling it a “great big zero.”
Damascus erupted into a thunderous, rolling clap of celebratory gunfire that appeared to include heavy weaponry after the results were announced. Thousands of Assad supporters flocked the streets to celebrate, some waving large Syrian flags and others carrying photos of Assad as car horns blared. Some men broke into the familiar pro-Assad chant: “With our souls, with our blood, we sacrifice for you, Bashar!”
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/middle-east-africa/syrian-president-bashar-assad-re-elected-in-a-landslide-west-calls-it-a-farce/
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ISIS claims presence in another Iraqi city
5 June 2014
About 150 militants belonging to the radical Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have stormed another Iraqi city in an attempt to further consolidate their hold of parts of the country, Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported Thursday.
Using heavy machinery, ISIS militants stormed the eastern walls of Samarra city, which is located 125 kilometers north of Baghdad, and claimed control of five neighborhoods, Iraqi police told the correspondent.
The neighborhoods that fell under ISIS’s control include are al-Muthana, al-Jubairiya, Salah al-Din, al-Shuhda, and parts of the al-Khadhra. They fell after skirmishes with the security forces, which left at least 38 policemen dead.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/06/05/ISIS-claims-presence-in-another-Iraqi-city.html
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Pakistan
Muslim Scholars From Around the World Issue Fatwa Condemning Honour Killings
Jun 5, 2014
In response to an epidemic of honour killings, Muslim scholars from around the world have issued a series of Fatwas denouncing the practice as antithetical to Islam, and directly forbidden.
Recently, the All Pakistan Ulema Council issued a fatwa, declaring that “killing of girls in the name of honour or dignity is terrorism and viciousness — which has nothing to do with Islam.” It continues by saying “[A] daughter is a gift by Allah. And the feeling of being dishonoured by your daughter is forbidden in Islam … Killing one’s daughter and humiliating them is a sign of ignorance.”
Ignorance or “Jahiliya” is an old Islamic term referring to pre-Islamic eras in the Middle East, which are believed by many Muslims to be a uncivilized time period, characterized by violence and immorality. For Muslim scholars, referring to something as exhibiting ignorance, or Jahiliya, is a strong form of condemnation.
Similar Fatwas have emerged from around the world, including the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, saying “There is no justification for honour killings, domestic violence and misogyny in Islam. These are crimes in the court of law and in the sight of Allah.” The Canadian fatwa spans four pages, and a list of six obligations to combat honour killings, domestic violence, and other types of violence.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/2/husain-muslim-scholars-issue-fatwa-condemning-hono/#ixzz33nvSR2Th
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Chinese PLA and Pakistan Army will take concrete steps to counter terrorism
Jun 5, 2014
Calling Pakistan a "true friend" of China, Fan said the development of bilateral "all-weather friendship" is the common option of the two peoples. China appreciates Pakistan's strong support for China in combating terrorists of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Fan said, calling on the two sides to further counter-terrorism cooperation.
Fan said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is willing to enhance concrete and long-term exchanges and cooperation with the Pakistani army. Echoing Fan's remarks on bilateral ties, Sharif said Pakistan firmly
supports China on major issues regarding China's core interests. The ETIM is the common enemy of the two countries, Sharif said, adding Pakistan will spare no efforts to crack down on it.
BEIJING- Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong today met with visiting Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/04-Jun-2014/chinese-people-s-liberation-army-and-pakistan-army-will-take-concrete-steps-to-counter-terrorism
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7 Pakistani soldiers killed in Afghan border attacks
Press Trust of India | Peshawar | June 5, 2014
At least seven Pakistani soldiers have been killed and as many injured in two cross-border attacks by Taliban militants on military outposts on the border with Afghanistan.
The target of the attack was Pakistani border posts in northwestern Bajaur tribal district which borders the Kunar province of Afghanistan.
Heavily armed militants crossed over from northeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday morning and attacked a military post in the Mano Zangal area, Express Tribune reported.
In the afternoon, militants again intruded from Afghanistan and targeted Mokha Top post with heavy weapons, triggering skirmishes that continued intermittently the whole day.
During the day-long intermittent firing from across the border seven soldiers were killed while seven were injured, a security official said.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/neighbours/7-pakistani-soldiers-killed-in-afghan-border-attacks/
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Key TTP commander gunned down in Mir Ali
Jun 5, 2014
PESHAWAR: Ashiqullah Mehsud, a key commander of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a so-called expert of suicide bombings, was killed in a firing incident in North Waziristan tribal region, DawnNews reported.
Ashiqullah, affiliated with the central TTP, was killed in the tribal region's town of Mir Ali.
Both official and tribal sources confirmed that Ashiqullah Mehsud was the main commander of the TTP and was considered the master trainer of suicide bombers after the death of Qari Hussain Mehsud.
Sources added that Ashiqullah was sitting with some members of the TTP when he was attacked by gunmen who subsequently escaped in a car.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1110733/key-ttp-commander-gunned-down-in-mir-ali
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TTP’s suicide hit kills two colonels
Jun 5, 2014
RAWALPINDI - Five people, including two lieutenant colonels, were killed in a suicide attack on a vehicle of the Pakistan Army at a railway crossing on Pindi Road in Feteh Jang, some 25km from the federal capital.
The martyred army personnel were identified as Lt-Col Zahir Shah and Lt-Col Arshad Hussain.
Their double-cabin vehicle and a rickshaw moving very close to it were destroyed badly in the suicide hit. Rickshaw driver Muhammad Saleem also died in the attack.
However, the authorities did not release the names of other two deceased. A source disclosed to The Nation that two others were the driver and guard of army officers.
Those who sustained injuries were Noor Saleem, Gull Saleem, Muhammad Khan, Ghulam Shabbir, Akbar Ali, Najib and Shabbir. All were rushed to Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital Fateh Jang for treatment.
Nonetheless, a staff officer of Regional Police Officer (RPO) Akhtar Umar Hayyat Lalyka told The Nation that three people including two army officers died in the blast while four others sustained injuries.
Full report at:
http://www.nation.com.pk/editors-picks/05-Jun-2014/ttp-s-suicide-hit-kills-two-colonels
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People can't be forced to convert, says Religious Affairs Minister
Jun 5, 2014
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousuf said Thursday that no one could be forced to convert their religion, DawnNews reported.
Addressing a conference on interfaith harmony in the federal capital, the minister said the Constitution protected the rights of minorities and that in Islam a woman’s agreement for marriage was necessary.
Yousuf said talks had been resumed with outlawed organisation Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to ensure peace in the country.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1110746/people-cant-be-forced-to-convert-says-religious-affairs-minister
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Altaf urges MQM workers not to take law into their hands
Jun 5, 2014
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder leader Altaf Hussain on Wednesday made his first contact with MQM International Secretariat in London after his detention by the London Metropolitan Police through telephone and asked the party workers not to take law into their hands,
He talked with Rabita Committee (RC) members. MQM senior leader Haider Abbas Rizvi at Numaish Chowrangi Karachi reading out Altaf’s talks with RC members in London. He announced this before the party workers who were staging a sit-in since Tuesday evening after the reports of arrest of Altaf Hussain by Metropolitan Police London. Talking to RC members Hussain informed about his health and inquired about welfare of party workers, Haider Abbas informed the MQM gathering.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/05-Jun-2014/altaf-urges-mqm-workers-not-to-take-law-into-their-hands
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UK gives Pakistan access to Altaf Hussain
Jun 5, 2014
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/LONDON: The British government has allowed the Pakistani High Commission in London access to Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, DawnNews reported.
Imran Mirza, the Pakistani high commissioner to the UK, is on his way to meet Hussain at the hospital where the latter was admitted for treatment.
Earlier, Hussain was issued the National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (Nicop) as well as a Pakistani passport, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid told reporters in Islamabad.
Also previously, DawnNews had quoted British officials as saying that Pakistani government representatives would not be given access to Hussain as he was a British citizen.
Meanwhile, the procedure for Hussain's angiography was underway at a hospital in London.
The Scotland Yard had also said that Hussain was being treated at a hospital under police custody.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1110731/uk-gives-pakistan-access-to-altaf-hussain
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Pakistan court orders police to charge ex-CIA station chief
5 June 2014
Islamabad's High Court on Thursday ordered police to press charges against the CIA's former station chief for murder, conspiracy and waging war against Pakistan.
Judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued the orders following a 2010 court petition by drone activist Kareem Khan, whose brother and teenage son were killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan tribal district.
The former top spy left Pakistan in December 2010 after his identity was disclosed through the court case, and there is little expectation Islamabad will seek his return to face charges.
"Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of Islamabad High Court ordered today registration of a criminal case for offenses of murder, conspiracy, waging war against Pakistan and offenses under the provisions of Terrorism Act 1997," against the ex-chief, a statement by Khan's lawyers said.
Khan is being provided legal assistance by the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, a charity associated with Britain's Reprieve.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2014/06/05/Pakistan-court-orders-police-to-charge-ex-CIA-station-chief.html
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Mideast
Al-Qaida’s media wing using Israeli company for secure email
Jun 5, 2014
Al-Qaida’s media wing, Al-Sahab, has begun using an Israeli company in order to secure its communications.
The Middle East Media Research Institute discovered that the group was using Safemail, which according to its website “is owned and operated by Secure Information Technologies Ltd., which is a privately owned company registered in Israel and with offices in Israel, the UK and Japan.”
The company describes itself as: “The most secure, easy to use communication system. It includes encrypted mail system with collaboration features and document storage functions. Always accessible at any time from anywhere!” According to the MEMRI report, released on April 25, “Al-Qaida’s Embrace Of Encryption Technology – Part II: 2011-2014, And The Impact Of Edward Snowden,” the al-Qaida media wing announced on April 9 that an open interview of Maulana Asim Umar, the head of al-Qaida’s Shari’a Committee in Pakistan, would take place.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Al-Qaidas-media-wing-using-Israeli-company-for-secure-email-355368
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Qaeda Gunmen Kill 12 Yemen Soldiers, Civilian
4 June 2014
Suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed 12 Yemeni soldiers and a civilian on Thursday in a southern province where troops have been battling the extremists since late April, a security official said.
The militants attacked a checkpoint near the Shabwa province village of Bayhan with automatic rifles, also wounding a number of soldiers, the official said.
The army has been engaged in a major ground offensive against Al-Qaeda in Shabwa and neighboring Abyan province in a bid to expel it from smaller towns and villages that escaped a previous sweep in 2012.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=23&frid=23&eid=154933
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Palestinians to appeal to UN over Israel settlements
Jun 5, 2014
The Palestine Liberation Organisation is to appeal to the UN Security Council over Israel's settlement construction, after it invited tenders for another 1,500 settler homes, a senior official said Thursday.
"The executive committee of the PLO views this latest escalation with the utmost of seriousness," Hanan Ashrawi said in an English-language statement.
The executive committee "will counter it by addressing both the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly as the proper way of curbing this grave violation and ensuring accountability," she added.
Overnight, Israel's housing ministry unveiled plans for the new homes, 400 of them in annexed east Jerusalem, in what it said was a "fitting Zionist response" to the formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by the Islamist Hamas movement.
The Palestinians threatened an "unprecedented" response to the move, with one senior official telling AFP the leadership was considering an appeal to the international justice system.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/palestinians-to-appeal-to-un-over-israel-settlements.aspx?pageID=238&nID=67433&NewsCatID=352
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Islamist reporting from secular Istanbul neighborhood goes viral
Jun 5, 2014
A video of a hardcore Islamist reporter broadcasting in the middle of Nişantaşı, one of Istanbul’s most secular and upmarket neighborhoods, went viral on June 4 after it was put online by ultra-conservative news website Ehlisünnet TV.
As if he were traveling to an exotic destination, the reporter is seen the video attempting to give evidence of the “frivolous” life in the small pedestrian Atiye Street, surrounded by restaurants and bars.
“I am sure when you see this place, you will become as sad as we are,” the reporter says disapprovingly, in his short introduction to his adventure in Nişantaşı.
“If [Ottoman Sultan] Mehmet the Conqueror would raise his head from the grave, he would organize new expeditions to take back Istanbul. While their grandmothers are even ashamed to show their noses outside home, these [women] show their belly-buttons,” he continues, insisting on the women's array before criticizing the men's faith.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/video-islamist-reporting-from-secular-istanbul-neighborhood-goes-viral.aspx?pageID=238&nID=67414&NewsCatID=341
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Zionist Entity Retaliates for Palestinian Gov’t: to Build 1500 More Settlements
4 June 2014
Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel has invited bids for 1,500 new settlements in retaliation for a new Palestinian government backed by Hamas, reports said on Thursday.
Of the new settlements, 400 will be in Israeli-annexed east al-Quds (Jerusalem) with the rest elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, the online edition of Haaretz newspaper reported.
"I congratulate the decision to give a proper Zionist response to the establishment of the Palestinian terror cabinet," the paper quoted Ariel as saying.
"The right and duty of the state of Israel to build across the country to lower the housing prices is unquestionable, and I believe these tenders are just the beginning," said the minister, who is a member of the far-right Jewish Home party which opposes a Palestinian state.
Full report at:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=154944&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=18&s1=1
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South Asia
4 Afghan soldiers embrace martyrdom in Badakhshan attack
Jun 05 2014
At least four Afghan national army (ANA) soldiers were martyred following an attack in northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.
According to local government officials, the incident took place late Wednesday in Jurm district.
Noor Aqa Naderi, district chief for Jurm, said a group of militants ambushed the Afghan national army soldiers.
Mr. Naderi further added that four soldiers were martyred and two others were injured following the attack, while a civilian was also killed.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/4-afghan-soldiers-embrace-martyrdom-in-badakhshan-attack-8218
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China calls for transitional govt in Syria
5 June 2014
Chinese President Xi Jinping repeated on Thursday a call for a political resolution to the Syrian crisis and his country’s support for an inclusive political transition and offered to boost aid for Syrian refugees, Reuters reported.
“China respects the reasonable demands of the Syrian people, and supports the early adoption of the Geneva communique and the opening of an inclusive political process to bring about a political resolution to the Syrian issue,” Reuters quoted Xi as telling a China-Arab forum in Beijing, in a speech broadcast live on state television.
The first round of Syria peace talks in Geneva in 2012 stipulated the establishment of a transition government, though subsequent peace talks have floundered.
China and its ally, Russia, have both vetoed Western efforts to set U.N. penalties on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, though China has been keen to show it is not taking sides and has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/06/05/China-calls-for-transitional-govt-in-Syria.html
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Taliban’s huge cache of weapons confiscated
Jun 05 2014
Huge caches of weapons and explosives belonging to Taliban militants were seized by Afghan security forces in eastern Khost and northern Baghlan provinces off Afghanistan.
The Afghan Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Thursday that the caches were discovered and seized in close cooperation with the local residents.
The statement further added that the caches included:
1. 350 rounds of artillery shells.
2. 220 rounds of mortar shells.
3. 50 Rocket Prpelled Grenade (RPG) rockets.
4. 50 boxes of Dshk machine gun ammunition.
5. 15 hand grenades.
6. 33 remote controls.
7. 85 magnets used for magnetic bombs.
8. 15 boxes of anti- aircraft gun ammunition.
9. 1improvised explosive device (IED).
10. Set of communication device and various other types of explosives.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/talibans-huge-cache-of-weapons-confiscated-2903
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NATO soldier die in militants attack in eastern Afghanistan
Jun 05 2014
A NATO service member died following militants attack in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), following a statement said, “An ISAF service member died as a result of an enemy forces attack in eastern Afghanistan today.”
The statement did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident and nationality of the deceased soldier.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) generally do not disclose identities of the NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan, saying, “It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.”
At least 34 NATO service members including 23 US troops, 6 British troops and 5 soldiers from the other countries contributing troops to ISAF mission have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year, according to icasualties.org, which tracks NATO forces casualties in Afghanistan.
http://www.khaama.com/nato-soldier-die-in-militants-attack-in-eastern-afghanistan-6184
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Khaleda benefited from Zia’s death: Hanif
Jun 5, 2014
Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif claimed that Begum Khaleda Zia had benefited from Ziaur Rahman’s murder.
“Many people in the country believe that Begum Khaleda Zia may have been involved in the killing of the founder of BNP and former president Ziaur Rahman. She was in power twice, but did not arrange a trial for Zia’s killing, only because it could reveal her involvement,” Hanif said at a press conference in the political office of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina in the capital’s Dhanmondi area.
He also alleged that Ziaur Rahman was involved in the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members.
“Following the brutal killing of Bangabandhu, why did Mustaque trust Zia so much that he made him the chief of army? Why and how many times did Rashid, Faruque and the gang of other killers meet Zia before and after Bangabandhu’s murder?” he posed the questions at the conference.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/politics/2014/jun/05/khaleda-benefited-zia%E2%80%99s-death-hanif#sthash.fnjJyD90.dpuf
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Europe
British foreign secretary joins EU in praising Fatah-Hamas unity accord
Jun 5, 2014
LONDON – British Foreign Secretary William Hague was the first EU foreign minister to welcome the agreement signed on Monday between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. In a statement issued on Tuesday, he said reuniting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under a government committed to peace was “a necessary condition for resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict.”
However that view – echoing an initial reaction from the US State Department – was clearly not shared by the Israeli government which, after a two-and-a-half hour emergency security cabinet meeting, strongly condemned the tie-up and said that it would “not negotiate with a Palestinian government with backing from Hamas – a terrorist organization – which calls for the destruction of Israel.”
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/British-foreign-secretary-joins-European-Union-in-praising-Fatah-Hamas-unity-accord-355362
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Officials: 700 French nationals fought in Syria, Al Qaida recruiting cell captured
Special to WorldTribune.com
Jun 5, 2014
LONDON — France has become the latest European Union member to capture an Al Qaida-aligned recruitment cell.
Officials said authorities arrested four suspects in an Al Qaida-aligned recruitment effort for the war in Syria.
The officials said the network was trying to send hundreds of French nationals to fight the regime of President Bashar Assad, some of whom returned to stage attacks in EU states.
“The whole government is mobilized to follow the jihadists, and prevent them from being able to cause harm,” French President Francois Hollande said.
The latest arrests were reported to have taken place on June 2 around Paris as well as the south of France. This marked the second capture of a suspected jihad cell in as many months.
“We will not give terrorists a chance,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
Full report at:
http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/06/03/france-dismantles-al-qaida-linked-cell-recruting-syrian-war/
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Mosque reopens in Cyprus after 51 year closure
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jun 5, 2014
A mosque in the Greek side of Cyprus opened its doors to Muslims after having remained closed for the last 51 years.
Following the inauguration ceremony, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' religious affairs head Talip Atalay led the first prayer since 1963 in Tahtakale Mosque that is situated in the southern part of Lefkosa (Nicosia), controlled by the Greek Cypriot administration.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Atalay decribed Tahtakale region as one of the first areas Turkish Cypriots had to leave amid the inter-communal clashes in December 1963, just three years after a republic was declared comprising the whole island.
"It is so valuable to be present here as a sign of the hope that the pains will be healed one day and all will change for the better," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/138142/mosque-reopens-in-cyprus-after-51-year-closure
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N.Ireland's first min. apologizes for backing anti-Islam pastor
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jun 5, 2014
Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson has made a public apology to the Muslim community at the Islamic Center in Belfastfor originally backing a priest who criticized Islam.
"I have had a very welcoming visit to the Belfast Islamic Centre. I have been received in friendship, and respect," Robison said, the Belfast Telegraph reported.
"I came here to make it very clear that the members of the Islamic community are a very important and valued part of our society in Northern Ireland,” he said.
"I know many of you centre on an issue of an issue of an apology - I apologize to these gentlemen, if anything I said had caused them hurt,” he added.
Robinson had ten days ago backed pastor James McConnell, who during a church service told a congregation that Islam was an 'evil' religion.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/138208/nirelands-first-min-apologizes-for-backing-anti-islam-pastor
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Jihad Makes Anti-Semitism Deadly Again In Europe
Jun 5, 2014
PARIS — In early 21st century Europe, men, women and children are being killed for the sole reason that they are Jewish. These are not random attacks. They are targeted with precision and perpetrated against victims chosen for who they are, not for what they do or might have done.
The truth about the May 24 shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels is brutal and tragically simple. On the eve of the European Parliamentary elections, in the European Union's "capital" and just two weeks before the 70th anniversary of D-Day — a crucial step in the defeat of Nazism — anti-Semitism killed, again.
It will be up to a court to decide whether the Frenchman arrested yesterday in Marseille is responsible for last Saturday's killings. In mid-afternoon on that day, a man entered the Jewish Museum in Brussels' city center. He was carrying a bag from which he withdrew a gun before opening fire. He shot a dozen times before leaving, less than two minutes later. Four people were killed.
Full report at:
http://www.worldcrunch.com/opinion-analysis/jihad-makes-anti-semitism-deadly-again-in-europe/extremism-al-qaeda-syria-toulouse-merah/c7s16121/#.U5DDzXJdU4U
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Brussels gunman’s journey from rocky childhood to jihad
Jun 5, 2014
AFP — Born in one of the poorest towns in France, Brussels shooting suspect Mehdi Nemmouche was abandoned by his mother, shunted from one foster home to another and slowly evolved from a petty criminal to a hardened jihadist
The 29-year-old repeat offender was described by one of his aunts as a quiet, harmless person who managed to attend university for a year but snapped ties with the family after his latest stint in prison.
Caught during a random check by customs officials on Friday in Marseille in a bus coming from Amsterdam via Brussels, Nemmouche apparently claimed responsibility for the May 24 attack in Brussels’ Jewish museum which killed three people outright and left another man in a critical state.
Full report at:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/brussels-gunmans-journey-from-rocky-childhood-to-jihad/#ixzz33nLDL8Pp
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Uzbek jihadist group releases footage from Syrian training camp
Jun 5, 2014
An Uzbek jihadist group known as the Imam Bukhari Jamaat released a video of its training camp in Syria. It is the latest video by jihadist groups that shows fighters going through training at camps inside Syria.
The video, which was produced by Al Fath Studios and released in late May, was obtained by From Chechnya to Syria, a website that tracks fighters from the Russian Caucasus and Central Asia who are fighting in Syria.
The Imam Bukhari Jamaat group is named after an Uzbek cleric who authored a collection of hadith, or traditions of the Prophet Mohammad, that are considered to be among the most authentic. The group is allied with the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, and Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar, a jihadist group led by fighters from the Islamic Caucasus Emirate.
Full report at:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/06/uzbek_jihadist_group.php##ixzz33nLm22EA
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Arms sales to Pakistan not against others: Moscow
June 05, 2014
MOSCOW : Russian arms supplies to Pakistan are not aimed against third countries, said Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement on Wednesday. "We are indeed in talks with our Pakistani partners about Russian assistance in strengthening counterterrorist and anti-drug potential of Islamabad, including through the delivery of a batch of Mi-35 helicopters. Helicopters have previously been delivered to Pakistan, while the overall military-technical cooperation with the country dates back to 1960s," said in the statement.
"Russian-Pakistani collaboration in this area does not designate a change in the current military strategic balance in the region and is not directed against third countries," it said.
Head of Russian Rostec Corporation, a high-tech industrial producer and exporter, Sergei Chemezov, said earlier that Russia had decided to lift the embargo on arms and machinery deliveries to Pakistan.
A source at Pakistan's foreign ministry told RIA Novosti that Russia never officially adhered to the embargo. Later, Rostec said no embargo had ever been in place.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/05-Jun-2014/arms-sales-to-pakistan-not-against-others-moscow
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Austria arrests suspect for Syrian war recruitment
5 June 2014
Austrian authorities have arrested a man suspected of radicalising Muslims and recruiting them to fight in Syria, a provincial state prosecutor said on Thursday.
A spokesman for the prosecutors’ office in Graz, Austria’s second city, said the suspect was detained two days ago following raids on buildings belonging to the city’s Taqwa Islamic community.
“He is suspected of radicalising people and recruiting them to fight in Syria,” he said.
Four of them had already been killed in Syria, he said.
He declined to give details about the suspect but Profil magazine said was a 41-year-old Imam of Chechen origin whose recruits had joined the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front in Syria.
The arrest was made as European Union member states, fearful that hundreds of Europeans could carry out attacks at home after being trained in Syria, move towards closer coordination of efforts to prevent Muslims becoming radicalised.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/06/05/Austria-arrests-suspect-for-Syrian-war-recruitment.html
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North America
Muslim San Diego Residents Call For Halal School Lunches
Jun 5, 2014
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has ruled the debate over school lunches since his 2010 campaign to overhaul American diets — starting with those on-camera confrontations with lunch ladies in his show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution."
He sent a team of healthy food advocates on tour in a big rig equipped with a teaching kitchen. But the team got an unexpected lesson Saturday when it ended the tour with a cooking demonstration in San Diego.
The lesson came from a group of Muslim students and parents at Hoover High School in City Heights.
"I didn't even know what halal was or what their guidelines particularly pertain to," said chef Matt Harrison, who's traveled with the rig to eight cities since September. "When we got here we actually had a couple of ladies who came on board and they informed us what halal was and the guidelines they needed to follow."
Full report at:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/jun/03/muslim-residents-call-halal-lunches-san-diego-scho/
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Islam 2nd Largest Religion in 20 US States
Jun 5, 2014
CAIRO – New data released from the US census authority has found that Islam is the second largest religion in twenty American states after Christianity that appeared as the dominant faith across the country.
The new data was released by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, which conducts a US Religion Census every 10 years.
According to the Washington Post, Islam came as the largest non-Christian faith in 20 states, mostly in the Midwest and South.
On the other hand, Judaism had the most followers in other 15 states, mostly in the Northeast while Hindus came in the second place only in Arizona and Delaware.
The census also found that Christianity is by far the largest religion in the United States with more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians.
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/473379-islam-2nd-largest-religion-in-20-us-states.html
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US envoy pans Israeli approval of settlements in response to Palestinian unity gov't
Jun 5, 2014
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Thursday voiced Washington's opposition to Israel's plans to approve construction of thousands of new units beyond the Green Line.
The units, Israel's first demonstrative step in reaction to the Hamas-Fatah unity government, will include 400 units in Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem, and another 1,100 to be divided between the settlements of Efrat, Beitar Ilit, Adam and Givat Ze’ev. In addition, another 1,500 will be approved for construction in other settlements throughout the West Bank. The approval of the construction was originally scheduled to coincide with the release of a fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners at the end of March that was never carried out.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/US-envoy-pans-Israeli-plans-to-approve-settlements-in-response-to-Palestinian-unity-govt-355388
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Kerry calls on Russia, Iran, Hezbollah to end Syria war
Jun 5, 2014
US Secretary of State John Kerry called on key backers of President Bashar al-Assad to end the three-year war in Syria, during an unannounced visit to neighbouring Lebanon on Wednesday.
"I call on... Iran, Russia, and I call on Hezbollah, based right here in Lebanon, to engage in a legitimate effort to bring this war to an end," Kerry told reporters in Beirut.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/102916/World/Region/Kerry-calls-on-Russia,-Iran,-Hezbollah-to-end-Syri.aspx
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Quran-Burning Pastor, Plans 'Dearborn Freedom Rally' In Front Of Mosque, Mayor called his cause "un-American
Jun 5, 2014
Terry Jones, the Florida pastor known for burning Qurans, is planning a rally in Dearborn, Michigan, outside one of America's largest mosques. The event is schedule to take place on Flag Day, June 14, outside of the Islamic Centre of America (ICA).
Jones, author of Islam Is of the Devil, explained on his website, Stand Up America Now, that "the purpose of the event is to rally against Islamic Sharia Law which threatens freedom of speech in the United States." It's being billed as the Dearborn Freedom Rally and it will be hosted by the American Patriotic Bikers.
Full report at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/03/terry-jones-dearborn-freedom-rally_n_5433994.html
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Southeast Asia
Isma backs Jais raid on Hindu wedding, says in line with Islamic moral code
Jun 5, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) defended today the action by Selangor’s Islamic religious enforcers who interrupted a Hindu wedding in Petaling Jaya Sunday, saying it was an act in line with “syarak”, the Islamic moral code.
In a report on its website, the chairman of the Malay-Muslim group’s ulama council, Dr Aznan Hasan said the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (Jais) act in escorting Zarinah Abdul Majid out during her Hindu wedding was not a “raid”, but an act that fulfilled the Islamic moral code in marriage matters.
“In fact, it is the responsibility of parties like religious institutions to ensure that the syarak is not violated, like the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim spouse,” Aznan was quoted saying.
“In this case, Jais’ actions were ‘saddu al-zarai’ (the prevention of a violation),” he added.
He stressed that it would have been better if Jais had investigated before the wedding ceremony, but said that if the authorities received information at the last minute, then its actions were necessary.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/isma-backs-jais-raid-on-hindu-wedding-says-in-line-with-islamic-moral-code#sthash.HzhDssQm.dpuf
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NRD: No changes to Muslim status on Mykad without Shariah Court’s nod
Jun 5, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — The National Registration Department (NRD) said that it has no powers to change the religious status in the identity card of Malaysian citizens registered as Muslims without a Shariah Court ruling.
If a Malaysian citizen claims to be non-Muslim but NRD’s records show that the individual was registered as a Muslim, only the Shariah Court can decide on the changing of religious status, the department said.
“The National Registration Department is not an agency that determines whether an individual has renounced Islam,” it was quoted saying in a letter to Astro Awani yesterday.
NRD had written the letter in response to Astro Awani’s May 19 news report on Johann Lim Noordin bin Billy Noordin’s futile attempts to change the religious status on his identity card.
Johann, who claims to be a practising Buddhist since young and had never converted into Islam, said he applied to the NRD in 2011 to change his identity card details which said he is a Muslim.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/nrd-no-changes-to-muslim-status-on-mykad-without-shariah-courts-nod#sthash.JnvHbKjD.dpuf
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Hudud rollout doesn’t need change to Constitution, Jakim paper claims
Jun 5, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Hudud can be introduced with a simple majority in Parliament, Malaysian Islamic authorities asserted in a working paper on the Islamic penal code.
In the report sighted by The Malay Mail Online yesterday, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) said this was since the Penal Code already contained elements of Islamic law by virtue of being drawn from the Indian version that was purportedly inspired by the Islamic Moghul Sultanate.
“For offences already contained in the Penal Code, hudud punishments can only be introduced only if the Parliament pass such punishments, needing only a simple majority,” said the proposal.
The working paper also claimed that Shariah courts already have jurisdiction over criminal offences, as demonstrated by several rulings by the country’s Federal Court, including cases against deviant teachings of Ayah Pin and the Malay Rasul.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/hudud-rollout-doesnt-need-change-to-constitution-jakim-paper-claims#sthash.OZXYu71R.dpuf
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/first-film-indian-army-release/d/87376