FLASHPOINT RUSHDIE: Cong bows to hotheads on eve of polls
New Age Islam News Bureau
18 Jan 2012
- An Islamic "Veil" - Exclusive Look At Louvre's First Addition Since Glass Pyramid
- Norway says Islamists still main threat, not the far right
- Iran sentences web designer to death, arrests other netizens
- Muslim Children in America are Being Taught to Hate
- Pakistan PM not guilty of contempt: Lawyer
- Muslims and Islam, and the Other Side of War
- Israel decision on Iran attack 'far away': Barak
- 'Smoke bomb' thrown at White House during Occupy rally
- Why Salman Rushdie should turn up at Jaipur festival
- Israel in air and ground attack on Gaza 'militants'
- On common path: Turkey and Tunisia
- For Aisha Al-Adawiya, Defending American Muslims Is King’s Work
- King’s interfaith initiative commended
- Muslim politicians, journalists under cyber surveillance in Kerala?
- As jihad plots multiply, DHS slumbers on
- A Muslim-American Perspective on the GOP and Ron Paul
- Pundits castdoubts over Bangkok terror claims
- Gingrich Would Support Muslim Presidential Candidates If They ‘Would Commit To Give Up Sharia’
- Turkish Jews celebrate country’s Eurovision pick, but singer would prefer quiet about his religion
- Najib: Make voice of moderation louder
- CAIR Reminds Gingrich That All Faiths are Equal in America
- Trentonian editorial: Loony proposals plus cheap shots
- Walking in MLK’s shoes
- International Freedom Organizations Unite to Create Stop Islamization of Nations
- Islamic preacher in British jail wins fight against deportation
- Shia group 'attacked by police' in Gaza
- Christians under attack in the Middle East
- Tunisia at crossroads
- West's romancing of the Taliban
- Approval of trial for Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, expected from the ICC
- Ghulam Rabbani Agro: A man larger than life
- Islamist threat in Azerbaijan
- Double Standard in Application of Egyptian Contempt of Religion Law
- The Case for a United Jerusalem
- Islamists and “Halal” Tourism
- Turkey reacts angrily after Republican candidate Perry says it is ruled by Islamic terrorists
- The Changing Face of Al Qaeda
- Sir Salman Rushdie's name dropped from Indian literature festival over safety fears
- 4 Arabs, 3 Americans named
- King Faisal Prize winners
- Intl. Congress on Persian language kicks off in Tehran
- European Court Rules Britain Cannot Deport Terrorism Suspect
- Davutoglu and the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood
- Guantanamo Legacy: Ten Years Of Criminality Go Beyond This One Base And One
- UK lawyer wants Shariah tribunals
- Candidates Reaching Out To Women Voters
- Human rights and faith roundtable at Lambeth Palace
- Power shifts in south Thailand
- 'Lowes Incident' Spawns Town Hall Meeting To Eradicate Corporate Hate
- Oman First Islamic Finance & Banking Conference
- Proposed ban on Sharia law is out of ignorance
- 'Prime Minister bats for Islamic Finance when away, ignores at home'
- Increasing use of sharia courts in UK
- Sharia Law Divorce Court in Great Britain
- Muslim Brotherhood Leader to be Speaker of Egypt’s New Parliament
- Ahlibank to launch Islamic banking services in Oman
- Morocco to promote Islamic finance
- Weinbaum Column: Who stands for 750 million Muslim women?
- LHC allows amending a plea for Islamic laws
- Event to shed light on latest trends in Islamic finance
- Boko Haram bomb suspect escapes from Nigeria police
- Journalist shot dead in Pakistan
- THE AGE OF MILITARY COUP IS OVER IN PAKISTAN: IMRAN KHAN
- Nigeria: Boko Haram violence has many causes
- Iranian threats: Audacity or weakness?
- Islamic extremism remains Norway's biggest threat
- "Wanted Women," by Deborah Scroggins
- Politics, religion, deaths and Boko Haram
- The end of the affair between Hamas and Iran
- UEA Introduces Women, Islam And Media Course, First In The UK
- Obama's Disastrous Islamist Outreach
- Obama Terrorism Advisor’s Book Confuses and Distorts
- 3 sitting MNAs of PPP apply for Senate ticket
- Pakistan attaches great importance to its ties with Afghanistan: Dr Firdous
- Government to install hawk-eye to click Pakistan and Bangla arrivals
- Family of dead al-Qaida operative promoted peace
- Pakistani PM's lawyer: No harm in graft case
- Ijaz gets Pakistani visa; to travel on Jan 24
- Pakistan delays US envoy Marc Grossman's visit
- Top Suspect in Nigerian Christmas Bombing Escapes Police
- ‘ Bangalore Indian Mujahideen terror accused never went out of Bihar’
- Zardari’s ‘ check- up’ sparks exit rumours
- Fai pleads guilty in ISI’s Kashmir plot in Washington
Complied by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Salman Rushdie was born in India
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/flashpoint-rushdie-cong-bows-hotheads/d/6408
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FLASHPOINT RUSHDIE: Cong bows to hotheads on eve of polls
By Aman Sharma in New Delhi,
Sudhanshu Mishra in Jaipur and
Piyush Srivastava in Rae Bareli
Cong bows to hotheads on eve of crucial Uttar Pradesh polls and nixes author’s visit to Jaipur literary festival
THE CONGRESS’S penchant for pandering to hotheads may not give it a political advantage among common Muslim voters in poll- bound Uttar Pradesh. And the party has certainly dented its liberal image by not welcoming noted author Salman Rushdie out of the fear of angering maulanas of the Deoband seminary.
On Tuesday, it became clear after fast- paced developments right since the morning that Rushdie would skip at least the opening day’s session of the Jaipur Literature Festival that begins on January 20. Furthermore, uncertainty loomed over whether he would undertake the visit at all.
The controversy had erupted a week ago when Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband slammed the Union government’s decision to allow the UK- based novelist of Indian origin to participate in the festival.
This whole controversy is unfortunate.
Rushdie has come here before and gone back... Why is the government so weak- kneed? This creates a tradition of harassment,” prominent artiste- playwright Girish Karnad said on the row that has left intellectuals apprehensive.
Earlier in the day, the Rajasthan unit of the Congress — which had hopped onto the anti- Rushdie bandwagon on Monday — ratcheted up the pressure on the Union government. The state’s chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, met Union home minister P. Chidambaram in Delhi and was believed to have appraised him about the “ law and order” problem that could ensue in the event of Rushdie’s visit.
In response to Gehlot’s argument, the Centre reportedly pointed out that while it would not possible to stop Rushdie from entering India as he held a person Indian origin ( PIO) card, it was up to the Rajasthan government to take a final call on the matter.
Sources said the state government had the option of stopping the controversial author from entering the boundaries of Rajasthan if it anticipated law and order trouble. However, what Gehlot failed to explain convincingly was why Rushdie could not given adequate security if he attended the five- day festival. All said was this: “ I don’t have any official information about whether Rushdie is coming or not.” Government sources, meanwhile, revealed that the state government had advised the festival organisers to remove mention of Rushdie’s programme from its website to avoid the unnecessary attention of potential troublemakers.
“ The organisers, too, wouldn’t want a law and order situation which will spoil the festival… It is a very renowned event,” Gehlot said.
Subsequently, the schedule on Jaipur Literature Festival website was altered with no references the novelist’s sessions. But the author was still listed among the of speakers. Rushdie was earlier scheduled to speak on January 21, and 22 in different sessions.
Teamwork Production, the festival organisers, came out with an ambiguous statement that left everyone guessing. “ Salman Rushdie will not be in India on January 20 due to a change in his schedule. The festival stands by its invitation to Mr Rushdie,” festival producer Sanjoy K. Roy said.
Later in the day, Darul Uloom Deoband made a partial climbdown from its earlier stance by declaring that the author would be “ allowed” to attend the literary event if he apologised for whatever he had written in The Satanic Verses.
“ We will stop our protest against Rushdie and consider him our brother if he apologises to the Muslims of the world for depicting Prophet Mohammed in a bad light in his novel published in 1988. We also expect him to start reciting the verses of Quran and promise that he would do tauba ( repent) for his past mistakes,” Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, vice chancellor of the famous Sunni seminary in UP’s Saharanpur district, told the media there.
Rushdie had made some remarks about Prophet Mohammed in the novel, which were considered blasphemous by the Islamic world.
It was banned in many countries, including India. Ayatollah Khomeini, the then supreme leader of Iran, had issued a fatwa for killing him on February 14, 1989, which forced Rushdie to stay underground for long.
Nomani added that it was a victory for Muslims that Rushdie had decided against visiting India.
“ Our protest seems to have borne fruit,” he said.
In the Capital, the central command of the Congress parried questions on the issue. “ Different states can have different views. The Centre has to take a view,” party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
But Gehlot was not plagued by any such doubts. “ The people of Rajasthan do not want Rushdie to come and had made representations to the state government about their feelings.
There is a reaction among locals… No state government will want a law and order situation... I have informed the Centre about the prevailing sentiments,” the chief minister said.
Though the importance of Deoband in shaping voting patterns among Muslims cannot be overstated, especially in the politically- crucial Uttar Pradesh which goes to the polls soon, the Congress’s abject surrender to the sentiment drew flak not just from the interested quarters — the literati in Jaipur — but across the liberal intelligentsia and political classes.
Among the authors, Chetan Bhagat was one of the first to lash out at the Congress. “ If you have to appease and pander, at least appease the modern- thinking Muslims. A government with a PhD PM is listening to fundamentalists.
Sad,” Bhagat tweeted.
Ashok Vajpeyi, former director of Lalit Kala Akademi, noted wistfully: “ It’s a sad day for democracy and literature.” The Congress getting cowed by hardliners was in line with how the party meekly went along with the Left government to hound another author, Taslima Nasreen, in 2007 when she evoked the ire of fundamentalists in West Bengal. The author was kept in a safe- house in Delhi with no word of support from the Union government.
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?
MAKING a reconciliatory move the wake of the raging controversy, the Darul Uloom Deoband has announced that the nation’s Muslims would allow the celebrated writer to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival if he apologised for penning The Satanic Verses.
Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, the vice- chancellor of the famous Sunni seminary, said in Deoband on Tuesday: “ We will stop our protest against Rushdie and consider him our own brother if he apologised to the Muslims of the world for depicting Prophet Mohammed in bad light in his 1988 novel.” Nomani said the seminary also expected him to start reciting the Quran and promise that he would do tauba ( repent) for his mistakes.
But he said in the same vein that Rushdie’s decision against visiting India was a victory for the Muslims. “ Our protest seems to have borne fruit. We have come to know that he will not attend the Jaipur festival,” he added. The four- day lit- fest begins on January 20.
Earlier in the day, the festival’s organisers stated: “ Salman Rushdie will not be in India on January 20 due to a change in his schedule. The festival stands by the invitation extended to him.” Piyush Srivastava/ Rae Bareli
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=1812012
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AN ISLAMIC "VEIL" - EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT LOUVRE'S FIRST ADDITION SINCE
GLASS PYRAMID
The "veil," a work from an Italian-French team, is the first new major architectural addition to the Louvre since the famed pyramid entrance of I.M. Pei opened. It will cover three floors and 4,600 square meters of new exhibition space devoted to Islamic Art.
A computer-generated rendering of what Bellini and Ricciotti's "veil" should look like.
By Alberto Mattioli
PARIS - “Finally, we lift the veil,” says Milanese architect Mario Bellini.
The eight-time winner of the Compasso d’Oro industrial design award, together with his French colleague Rudy Ricciotti, are the creators of the most important addition to the Louvre since I.M. Pei’s pyramid opened more than two decades ago.
The work is a “veil” indeed, sinuous, wavy and very light, covering the Cour Visconti of the world’s most famous museum. It will cover three floors and 4,600 square meters of new exhibition space.
All of this will hold the fabulous Islamic Art collection that until now has been confined to a few tight rooms. And for the occasion, the Islamic Art section became a department of the museum.
The project has been carried out with impressive haste. Ten years have passed since French President Jacques Chirac decided to expand the Louvre. The public competition was announced in 2004, and Bellini & Ricciotti were announced as the winners the following year.
The duo had the satisfaction of beating a star like Baghdad-born, British-based architect Zaha Hadid. “With all the affection that I have for her, because I am a friend of Zaha’s, it has been very satisfying,” says Bellini.
The first stone on the new wing was laid in the summer of 2008, and now construction is nearly complete. By next month, the showcases will be ready, and by later this spring some 3,000 (out of a total collection of 13,000) works of art will be permanently displayed. The inauguration is slated for this summer.
From an architectural point of view, the fundamental challenge was to find a way to have the new contemporary structure coexist with the 19th century facades of the Visconti court. Bellini’s solution is this light and transparent structure that seems to be floating in the air, and allows everyone to see and to be seen from the other parts of the museum.
When Bellini talks about “his” veil he becomes almost lyrical: “You can see as if you were looking through the wing of a dragonfly.” More simply put, everything has been studied at length to obtain enough light for a proper view of the artworks, but not too much to risk ruining them.
The rest of it, a second and a third floor for the facilities, is underground. And here the architects had an important technical challenge: having to lower the foundation with the banks of the Seine so close.
"Almost gastronomical..."
Still, the overall impression that you get while walking through the still very active construction site -- full of dust, noise and workers – is one of great lightness. This goes for the “foulard” that covers the garden (and weights 135 tons), and even for the glass walls.
The other half of the team, Ricciotti, has an exuberant personality, referring to the elaborate construction as “almost gastronomical”, claiming that it “strikes minimalism like an axe.”
For certain, the costs were not minimal: 98.5 million euros, with the French state pitching in 31 million (and the Louvre a half-million). The rest comes from 30 private patrons and from other states, 26 in total. And indeed, they are 10 million short, and Louvre director Henri Loyrette is busy searching for the remaining funds.
The list of donors is politically rather interesting. The most generous private donor (17 million euros) is the foundation of prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, from the Saudi royal family. The states that have contributed are Morocco, Kuwait, Oman and Azerbaijan, part of the moderate face of Islam.
Inevitably this artistic operation is going to be read also as a political act, especially in this moment when the Islamic world generates both hopeful springs and looming concerns. Loyrette explains that in the new space of his museum, “the luminous face of a civilization” will be on display.
As a matter of fact, one of the most beautiful and famous works that is going to shine under the veil is the “Baptistery of Saint Louis,” an Egyptian or Syrian basin from the 14th century, made of gold and silver-plated copper. Undoubtedly of Islamic origin, it was also the font that was used, since the Middle Ages, generation after generation, for the baptism of the French king’s sons.
http://www.worldcrunch.com/islamic-veil-exclusive-look-louvres-first-addition-glass-pyramid/4493
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Norway says Islamists still main threat, not the far right
By REUTERS
01/17/2012
OSLO - Radical Islam remains the most serious threat faced by Norway despite the attacks by an islamophobe extremist who killed 77 people last summer, the chief of the security police said on Tuesday.
Janne Kristiansen, head of Norway's Police Security Service, said her agency would focus on broad-based dangers from home-grown Islamic extremism even though threats against public officials have risen since the July attacks, which targeted Norway's left wing.
"In recent years we have seen a development in which (Muslim) people raised in Norway become radicalised, and for whom Norway and Norwegian society are the enemy," she told a news conference.
"These people have a lot of contact with extreme Islamists abroad. They travel to training camps in conflict areas and they travel to participate in armed combat before returning to Norway."
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=253970
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Iran sentences web designer to death, arrests other netizens
Joseph Mayton
17 January 2012
Saeed Malekpour with his wife.
CAIRO: Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for website designer Saeed Malekpour. His family said the court confirmed the sentencing after the Revolutionary Guard pressured for him to be executed.
Malekpour, a Canadian resident, was arrested on October 4, 2008, while visiting his family and was sentenced to death last January for “anti-government agitation and insulting Islam,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This is horrible and we are going to pressure the Canadian government to do more to intercede on his behalf,” a friend close to Malekpour, also a Canadian resident and Iranian, told Bikyamasr.com via telephone.
“Arrests of netizens are meanwhile continuing. Simien Nematollahi, a contributer to the pro-Sufi website Majzooban (www.majzooban.org), was arrested at her Tehran home by intelligence ministry officials on January 11 on a charge of anti-government propaganda. Several members of the website’s staff were arrested on September 7 and 8 and were freed on bail on October 4 pending trial,” RSF said.
Reporters Without Borders also said it was concerned about Mohammad Reza Pourshajari, a blogger who has been held since September 12, 2010. He was tried by a revolutionary court in Karaj on December 21, 2011 on charges of “insulting the Prophet” in articles posted on his blog and in letters sent to government officials while he was in prison.
His daughter said the trial lasted a quarter of an hour and took place without his lawyer being present. The charge of insulting the Prophet is very vaguely defined but it carries a possible death sentence and is often used by the authorities to silence critics who try to defy the government.
International rights groups, including RSF, have called on Iran to end its arrests, imprisonment and executions of netizens.
“Reporters Without Borders wrote to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on January 10 voicing concern about the situation in Iran and requesting her urgent intercession,” the RSF statement added.
http://bikyamasr.com/53990/iran-sentences-web-designer-to-death-arrests-other-netizens/
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Muslim Children in America are Being Taught to Hate
Dave Gaubatz
January 18, 2012
In the last five years I have personally visited over 250 Islamic Centers, Mosques, and Islamic Schools throughout America. The goal of my research has been to determine what Islamic leaders are teaching the young and innocent Muslim children. The findings are abhorrent, sad, unbelievable, frightening, and most disturbing is the fact our government is keeping this dangerous fact from the American people. Muslim children attending mosques and Islamic schools are being taught to hate America, our government, our military personnel, and its non Muslim population. In this article I will identify three significant mosques in America that are leading the way in teaching Muslim children to hate and to influence them to commit violent acts inside our country.
In America we have been programmed by the media and political leaders to believe violent teachings of Islam are only being taught to children in Palestine. We have watched the Muslim Palestinian children spew their taught hatred of the Israelis. What Americans are not being shown (due to political correctness) are that Muslim children throughout the world and specifically inside America are being taught violence and hatred in mosques, Islamic schools and Islamic Centers.
Children as young as 7 years old are being taught that to assimilate with America is to disrespect and dishonor Islam. They are being taught our military personnel are the enemies of Islam and it is justifiable to kill anyone who dishonors or oppresses the Islamic ideology.
Full Report At:
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.11242/pub_detail.asp
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Pakistan PM not guilty of contempt: Lawyer
ISLAMABAD: Jan 18, 2012, Pakistan's embattled prime minister is not guilty of contempt of court but should bow to pressure and ask Switzerland to reopen graft cases against the president, his lawyer said Wednesday.
The comments from Aitzaz Ahsan are the clearest indication yet that Yousuf Raza Gilani may step back from the brink of further confrontation with the judiciary when he is summoned before Pakistan's top court on Thursday.
Full Report At:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-PM-not-guilty-of-contempt-Lawyer/articleshow/11535653.cms
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Muslims and Islam, and the Other Side of War
By M. I. Bhat
12/22/2011
Any one in his/her normal senses would laugh away at the very thought of it given the tragedy – in terms of millions upon millions dead, maimed, orphans, households and businesses destroyed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and (if you include indirectly) Pakistan over the past three decades – that recent wars inflicted upon Muslims. Add to this the stigma of terrorism that Muslims have been burdened with today individually and collectively in the eyes of non-Muslims world over. So there is actually everything for a Muslim to cry over than to look for even a faint streak of silver lining in such a large scale and down-to-earth destruction and loss of personality.
Full Report At:
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17332
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Israel decision on Iran attack 'far away': Barak
Jan 18, 2012
JERUSALEM: Any decision by Israel on whether to attack Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear programme remains "very far away," Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak told military radio on Wednesday.
"We don't have a decision to go forward with these things. We don't have a decision or a date for taking such a decision. This whole thing is very far away," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-decision-on-Iran-attack-far-away-Barak/articleshow/11536318.cms
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'Smoke bomb' thrown at White House during Occupy rally
18 January 2012
The US Secret Service is investigating after a suspected smoke bomb was thrown over the fence of the White House during a mass Occupy protest.
No arrests were immediately reported after Tuesday night's incident and demonstrators dispersed from the area.
Full Report At:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16606470
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Why Salman Rushdie should turn up at Jaipur festival
Muslim groups have protested against Mr Rushdie
The uncertainty over Salman Rushdie's participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival following protests by an Islamic seminary has a sense of déjà vu about it.
To be sure, the 64-year-old author hasn't officially called off his trip at the time of writing. The organisers say that he's not turning up on the first day of the five-day festival, but have removed his name from the list of speakers. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has made it abundantly clear he would prefer Mr Rushdie to stay away.
Full Report At:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16591525
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Israel in air and ground attack on Gaza 'militants'
18 January 2012
The Israeli military says it has carried out a ground and air attack near the border fence in northern Gaza.
Full Report At:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16607400
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On common path: Turkey and Tunisia
SOUSSE -- No doubt Tunisia faces significant challenges in its political, economic and social policies. How it deals with the post-revolution era will have important ramifications not only for the country itself but for others in the entire southern rim of the Mediterranean, in the Middle East and even in the Gulf region as well. The stakes are very high, and Tunisia should not be left alone to carry this heavy burden. It urgently needs all the help it can get.
Full Report At:
http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-268718-on-common-path-turkey-and-tunisia.html
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For Aisha Al-Adawiya, Defending American Muslims Is King’s Work
Written by Terrell Jermaine Starr on January 16, 2012 12:31 pm Click for More Next Post
The MLK Day Brotherhood Awards are NewsOne’s annual celebration of five important Americans who are continuing the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. — especially in the realm of interpersonal, cross-racial, and cross-ethnic understanding.
Our honorees are the bridge builders and the nation healers.
CHECK FOR MORE HONOREES AS THEY ARE REVEALED BEFORE MLK DAY HERE.
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King’s interfaith initiative commended
By ALI BLUWI & ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
RIYADH:Jan 17, 2012, King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue center is a good example of Saudi Arabia sharing global responsibility and demonstrates the Kingdom is playing a major role in promoting understanding among different faiths, according to noted American interfaith advocate Bob Robert in an exclusive interview with Arab News.
Full Report At:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article564177.ece
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Muslim politicians, journalists under cyber surveillance in Kerala?
17 January 2012
India News India Politics Indian Muslim
By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,
Thiruvananthapuram: Over 250 eminent Muslim politicians and journalists are under cyber surveillance in Kerala, The Madhyamam Weekly has claimed in its latest edition of 16th Jan. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy of present UDF led Kerala government, is handling the home affairs.
Full Report At:
http://twocircles.net/2012jan17/muslim_politicians_journalists_under_cyber_surveillance_kerala.html
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As jihad plots multiply, DHS slumbers on
01/17/2012
Last week, a Muslim in Alabama shot out shop windows in an attempt to provoke a shootout with police, in order, he said, to “draw attention to Islam.” Another Muslim in Florida was arrested for plotting to bomb nightclubs and other locations for Islam; he explained: “We all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?” A third Muslim, a convert to Islam who had served in the U.S. military, was arrested for attempting to make his way to Somalia to join the jihad terror group al-Shabaab. He said that he was “looking for dying with a gun in my hand” and wanted to die defending Islam. And in North Carolina, three Muslims were given prison sentences ranging from fifteen to forty-five years for plotting attacks on targets they deemed “un-Islamic.” One of them cried out in court: “You’re prosecuting Islam.”
The fact that all this unfolded within one week’s span illustrates yet again the obvious fact that Islamic jihadists are waging war against the United States. A sensible response to this undeniable fact would be for law enforcement agents to study Islam and jihad, in an attempt to discover what it is about Islam that leads some Muslims, including American converts to the faith, to regard their native land as the enemy and decide that they have a responsibility before God to take up arms against it.
Full Report At:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=48832
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A Muslim-American Perspective On the GOP And Ron Paul
Like most Americans, I began thinking about presidential candidates by determining their views on the issues that I cared about the most. Due to my immigrant Muslim-American identity, I was chiefly concerned with social values and foreign policy. But I found it increasingly difficult to choose between the Republicans and the Democrats.
Full Report At:
http://www.policymic.com/articles/3370/a-muslim-american-perspective-on-the-gop-and-why-ron-paul-will-win-the-muslim-vote/category_list
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Pundits castdoubts over Bangkok terror claims
Published: 18/01/2012 at 12:00 AMNewspaper section: News
Activists and academics have raised doubts over the credibility of terrorism threats in Thailand.
Full Report At:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/275600/pundits-castdoubts-over-bangkok-terror-claims
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Turkish Jews celebrate country’s Eurovision pick, but singer would prefer quiet about his religion
about his religion
By Ron Kampeas
January 17, 2012
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Turkey’s Jews are pleased as can be that for the first time, a Jew will be representing their country at the Eurovision song contest.
But the singer, Can Bonomo, isn’t exactly trumpeting his accomplishment -- at least not the Jewish part.
“We would like to inform that Mr. Can Bonomo is bound to refuse answering all the questions about his religious beliefs, anti-Semitism and political subjects,” Bonomo’s spokesman, Ece Kahraman, wrote in a statement to JTA.
Bonomo has taken pains to tell fans that he will be participating in Eurovision as a Turk, not as a Jew.
Full Report At:
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/01/17/3091233/turkish-jews-celebrate-countrys-eurovision-pick-but-singer-would-prefer
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Najib: Make voice of moderation louder
By MINDERJEET KAUR AND ALIF ZULKEFLE KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
THE ONLY WAY: PM says people cannot rid world of extreme views by force, but through persuasion and negotiation
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak giving the keynote address at the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Pic by Effendy Rashid
1 / 1
THE world has to accept moderation in all aspects of life to fight extremism and the challenges it faces, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. He said the world was caught up in various extremes — terrorism, wars, natural disasters and financial crises — and everyone
had to choose the best way to deal with these problems.
“The real divide is not between Muslims and non-Muslims, or between the developed and developing worlds. It is between moderates and extremists,” he said in his keynote address when opening the inaugural International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates yesterday. Organised by the alumni of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM), the conference, with the theme “In Pursuit of an Enduring and Just Peace”, seeks to remind of “the cardinal responsibility of respecting the differences, where extremism has used its
vociferousness to drown out the dissent of the moderates”. Najib first mooted the idea in his maiden speech at the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2010 where he urged world leaders to embark on building a “Global Movement
of Moderates” from all faiths to reclaim the agenda for peace and pragmatism, and to marginalise the extremists.
Full Report At:
http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/najib-make-voice-of-moderation-louder-1.33723
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CAIR Reminds Gingrich That All Faiths are Equal in America
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Republican presidential hopeful conditions support for Muslim candidate on rejection of Islamic principles
A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization tonight called on Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and other GOP representatives to reaffirm their support of an American republic that treats citizens of all faiths as equals.
Full Report At:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cair-reminds-gingrich-that-all-faiths-are-equal-in-america-2012-01-17
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Shia group 'attacked by police' in Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A group of Shiite worshipers say masked police violently raided a religious service in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, prompting furious denials by the Hamas-dominated government in the territory.
Around 20 followers of the Shia branch of Islam were performing a ceremony for Ashura, the commemoration of the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein, when masked police stormed the private home in Beit Lahiya, they told Palestinian human rights groups.
Full Report At:
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=453204
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Christians under attack in the Middle East
Rhoda Kadalie
17 January 2012
Rhoda Kadalie asks why Ronnie Kasrils & Co. are so mute on the matter
Christians are under attack in the Middle East. Now Nigeria has also entered the fray with Islamic militants, Boko Haram, fanning the flames of ethno-religious conflict. Detonating bombs at church sites in Abuja, over the past Christmas holidays, killing and injuring hundreds of Christians, they are doing their damndest to create an Islamic state. In their mission, they continued with bomb and gun attacks at Christians in the North Eastern Yobe and Borno states recently.
In Egypt, 21 Coptic Christians died in a bomb blast as worshippers emerged from the New Year's Mass in Alexandria, Saturday Dec 31st. Although the Minister of the Interior blamed the blast on Al Qaeda, local citizens blamed Militant Muslim groups for inciting religious violence. With the Muslim Brotherhood firmly in control, Egypt's Arab Spring is set to become the Winter of Discontent for Christians and those yearning for a truly democratic state.
Full Report At:
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71619?oid=275507&sn=Detail&pid=71619
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Tunisia at crossroads
New Islamist-led government faces the challenge of not letting ideology get in the way of efforts to tackle chronic unemployment
January 18, 2012
Tunisian President Munsif Al Marzouqi has taken to donning a traditional cape as a reminder that his roots are in the poorer south, not among the professionals of cosmopolitan Tunis.
Ammar Garsalla is unlikely to achieve the fame of Mohammad Bu Azizi, the Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation sparked the protests that led to the Arab Spring.
Full Report At:
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/tunisia-at-crossroads-1.967371
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West's romancing of the Taliban
PRAVEEN SWAMI
AP An Afghan soldier stands guard near arrested Taliban suspects and confiscated arms and ammunition at a police compound in Herat, west of Kabul. File photo
People of Afghanistan will pay the price for the West's looming deal with the Islamic Emirate it destroyed after 9/11.
Full Report At:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2809068.ece?homepage=true
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Approval of trial for Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, expected from the ICC
Jan 12, 2012
TRIPOLI — Libya expects the International Criminal Court to agree that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the most prominent son of Libya’s late leader, can be tried in Libya, where he could face the death penalty, the justice minister said on Thursday.
The Hague-based ICC issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam after prosecutors accused him and others of involvement in the killing of protesters during the revolt that eventually toppled Muammar Gaddafi in August.
Minister of Justice Ali Humaida Ashour told Reuters the ICC had accepted in principle a request by Libyan authorities to try Saif al-Islam and would make a final decision within weeks.
Full Report At:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/12/approval-for-trial-for-muammar-gaddafis-son-saif-al-islam-expected-from-the-icc/
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Ghulam Rabbani Agro: A man larger than life
By Dr David Cheesman
The death early last year of Ghulam Rabbani Agro, was a sad loss to the cultural and intellectual life of Pakistan and of his native province of Sindh. He was a respected author and scholar. Writing in Sindhi, Urdu and English, he published collections of stories about Sindhi life, biographical sketches of Sindh’s Pirs (saints) and authors and numerous articles on topics including the history of Islam, the origins of Pakistan and Sindh’s antiquities. He was Director General of Pakistan Academy of Letters in Islamabad, and was a board member of several learned bodies, such as the Qaid-e-Azam Academy in Karachi, the Iqbal Academy in Lahore, the Institute of Islamic Culture in Lahore and the Urdu Dictionary Board in Karachi, and he led delegations of Pakistani writers to Iran, China, Bangladesh and India. He was honoured twice by the president, receiving the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz in 1986, and a Shield on the centenary celebrations of Madressah High School in Naushahro Feroze.
Full Report At:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C01%5C18%5Cstory_18-1-2012_pg7_16
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Islamist threat in Azerbaijan
ELDAR MAMEDOV
January/18/2012
The murder of Rafig Tagi, an Azerbaijani journalist critical of Islam and the Iranian regime, highlighted the threat of violent Islamism in Azerbaijan. Tagi was stabbed to death in mid-November 2011 in Baku.
Although no one has been apprehended in connection with the murder so far, most signs point to Iranian connection: Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani, a powerful cleric, called for Tagi´s death for alleged “apostasy” in a fatwa issued in 2007. Immediately after Tagi’s death, the son of the Ayatollah Lankarani praised the assassins.
Full Report At:
azerbaijan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=11691&NewsCatID=396
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Double Standard in Application of Egyptian Contempt of Religion Law
GMT
(AINA) -- 1-18-2012, Anger and frustration have risen among Egypt's Coptic Christians after the recent escalation of court cases against Copts charged with of contempt of Islam. Copts accuse the authorities, including the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), of exercising double standards in the application of the "contempt of religion" law. In the last month three cases have been brought against Copts, based on accusations mostly from postings on Facebook or Twitter of cartoons or comments deemed by Islamists as insulting to Islam.
"Copts have received a barrage of insults to their faith and their symbols and have had churches torched and destroyed, and no one has done anything about it," said Dr Naguib Gobrail, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organizations. "The law of contempt of religion is applied solely to punish the Copts."
Full Report At:
http://www.aina.org/news/20120117193015.htm
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The Case for a United Jerusalem
JAN 17 2012 ET
Dividing the holy city as part of a final-status agreement between Israelis and Palestinians ignores key realities on the ground
Proponents of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often insist that the only way to resolve competing claims over the holy city of Jerusalem is to divide it, with each half respectively serving as the capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state. Those who advocate this approach often try to make it more palatable by asserting, as Terrestrial Jerusalem founder Daniel Seidemann recently wrote in The Atlantic, that while many Israelis speak of Jerusalem being a "united" city since its eastern half came under Israeli sovereignty in 1967, such a perception is a "myth" because, in fact, Jerusalem is divided between largely homogeneous and internally contiguous Jewish and Arab neighborhoods across which the two groups rarely venture. Thus, they argue, a border could be drawn relatively easily Full Report At:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/01/the-case-for-a-united-jerusalem/251445/
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Islamists and “Halal” Tourism
By Mohsen Haredy
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Tourism is a major market and a key pillar in the economy of some Muslim countries.
Full Report At:
http://www.onislam.net/english/shariah/shariah-and-humanity/shariah-and-life/455448-islamists-and-halal-tourism.html
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Turkey reacts angrily after Republican candidate Perry says it is ruled by Islamic terrorists
January 17
ANKARA, Turkey — U.S. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry drew Turkey’s ire on Tuesday after suggesting the country is ruled by Islamic terrorists and questioning its NATO membership.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/turkey-reacts-angrily-after-republican-candidate-perry-says-it-is-ruled-by-islamic-terrorists/2012/01/17/gIQAxr7R5P_story.html
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The Changing Face of Al Qaeda
Jan 17th, 2012
Osama Bin Laden, the presumed mastermind behind the creation of Al Qaeda, originally formalized a global network of militants mostly comprised of Muslim Brotherhood members. These Brotherhood members, like Ayman al-Zawahiri, tapped into their own personal networks which later socially conditioned and recruited a mass movement of followers. Many were active militant fighters while many more were passive supporters to a newly established global terror network. Interestingly enough, many have argued that the original Al Qaeda Network no longer exists.
Full Report At:
http://frontpagemag.com/2012/01/17/the-changing-face-of-al-qaeda/
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Sir Salman Rushdie's name dropped from Indian literature festival over safety fears
Sir Salman Rushdie's name has been dropped from an Indian literature festival amid fears for his safety after threats of protests by the country's most influential Islamic seminary.
Full Report At:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9021089/Sir-Salman-Rushdies-name-dropped-from-Indian-literature-festival-over-safety-fears.html
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4 Arabs, 3 Americans named
King Faisal Prize winners
The winners (clockwise, from top left): A. Varshavsky, Richard Berkowitz, James Bruce Bussel, Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, Adnan Al-Wazzan, Nabil Mohammed and Ali Hilmi Mousa.1 of 2
By ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
Jan 18, 2012
Full Report At:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article564636.ece
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Guantanamo Legacy: Ten Years Of Criminality Go Beyond This One Base And One
January 18, 2012
By Dr Abdul Wahid
Last week I attended an event in London marking the 10-year anniversary of the American gulag at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organised jointly by Cage Prisoners, Islamic Human Rights Commission and Reprieve.
It was also the launch of a project by Cage Prisoners called “Laa Tansa –(Never Forget)”, a campaign aimed so that people do not forget the 779 victims of Guantanamo Bay. 171 men remain under detention despite President Obama’s 2009 promise to close the camp. Of these 89 have already been cleared for release, 46 have been cleared for Stalin-style indefinate detention and 32 earmarked for ‘prosecution’ – most likely in closed, military courts.
Full Report At:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.eurasiareview.com/18012012-guantanamo-legacy-ten-years-of-criminality-go-beyond-this-one-base-and-one-state-oped/
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UK lawyer wants Shariah tribunals
by OnIslam & Newspapers
Source: onislam.net
January 17, 2012
A leading British barrister at Harvard Law School wants Britain to become more Shari`ah-literate, saying that Islamic teachings are compatible with human rights legislations that can serve the whole community.
“It’s very important that they be acknowledged and allowed to exist,” Sadakat Kadri, a barrister and contemporary of Barack Obama at Harvard Law School, told The Guardian on Monday, January 16.
Full Report At:
http://muslimvillage.com/2012/01/17/18380/uk-lawyer-wants-shariah-tribunals/comment-page-1/
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Candidates Reaching Out To Women Voters
Stats Show That 54 Pct Of Voters Are Women
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17: A large number of parliament candidates are reaching out to women in their respective constituencies, promising to adopt laws that increase their standards of living and approve the rights of their children once elected. All five electoral constituencies have a total of 215,300 women voters (54 percent of total voters), according to recent statistics from the Ministry of Interior (MoI).
Male candidates are organizing seminars specifically for women voters, with some preaching on liberal lines and urging more opportunities for women in leadership positions. Others, however, have adopted more conservative stances to protect family values which they believe are threatened by the influence of the electronic revolution.
Full Report At:
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/178543/reftab/36/t/Candidates-reaching-out-to-women-voters/Default.aspx
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Human rights and faith roundtable at Lambeth Palace
Alison Marshall,
01-17-2012
Are followers of a faith and supporters of human rights in danger of forming opposing camps?
This was a central question at a roundtable convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, on Human Rights, Human Dignity and Faith at Lambeth Palace. Following speakers from the Department of International Development and Amnesty International UK, I told the room about UNICEF’s long and positive history of collaborating with faith communities around the world to help children.
Helping children on the ground
I was glad to share examples of how we’ve helped real children in real places, as a counter-balance to the philosophical and theological perspectives provided by Professors from Oxford, LSE and King’s College London.
In Ethiopia, Orthodox priests have been trained to ask carers about vaccinations when they bring a baby to be baptised. In Egypt, a study of religious texts led the Grand Mufti to declare that female genital mutilation/cutting is prohibited by Islam. In El Salvador, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and other countries affected by conflict, religious leaders have helped negotiate ceasefires so that UNICEF can vaccinate children.
In Afghanistan, UNICEF has encouraged religious leaders to promote girls’ education and where there are no clinics, mosques have been used for vaccination drives. In many countries, child soldiers, and other children affected by violence, have been reintegrated into their communities though the joint work of UNICEF and faith groups. In Mauritania, work with religious leaders led to a fatwa against corporal punishment of children at school and at home.
Common values
Full Report At:
http://blogs.unicef.org.uk/authentic_voices/archive/2012/01/17/human-rights-and-faith-roundtable-at-lambeth-palace.aspx
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Power shifts in south Thailand
By Jason Johnson
PATTANI - When Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, and their Puea Thai party scored a resounding election win last July, few figured her government would be able to kick-start a peace process in the country's insurgency-prone, predominantly Malay Muslim far south region.
Five successive Thai governments had already failed to stop the historic levels of violence that has engulfed the region since January 2004. Nearly 5,000 people have died in a mess of insurgency-related, personal and criminal violence. Neither side had indicated it would drop their zero-sum orientations towards political power-sharing and other issues key to reaching some kind of settlement.
During the election campaign, however, Puea Thai signaled it
would attempt what no previous Thai government dared to accomplish peace in the restive region. In particular, Yingluck and local Muslim Puea Thai parliamentary candidates informed party supporters in the far south that they would push for a special administrative organization.
Soon after Puea Thai took office, Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit declared that this campaign vow was not the government's policy. He said a model of reformed governance known as "Nakorn Pattani" was only an idea of former prime minister and army commander General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who left his senior advisory role in the party months before the election due to alleged anti-monarchy sentiments in Thaksin's "Red Shirt" protest movement.
Full Report At:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NA19Ae02.html
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'Lowes Incident' Spawns Town Hall Meeting To Eradicate Corporate Hate
MONDAY, 16 JANUARY 2012
Some teens in attendance at Sunday's forum on "the Lowes Incident." (Photo: Gary Kopycinski)
Orland Park, IL-(ENEWSPF)- What does the decision of Lowes to pull advertising from the TLC show "All American Muslim" mean for the future of Muslim Americans in the media and elsewhere? Why would a Fortune 500 company cater to a small lobby group which sought to distort the image of Muslims in America?
These were among the questions asked Sunday evening at the Prayer Center of Orland Park during a town hall meeting on what many are calling "the Lowes incident." The event was held in commemoration of the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The town hall meeting was organized by several active and concerned interfaith groups that serve the residents of Illinois. The purpose was to have a detailed and evaluative community discussion regarding the "Lowes incident."
Story continues below:
Full Report At:
http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-local/30171-lowes-incident-spawns-town-hall-meeting-to-eradicate-corporate-hate.html
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Trentonian editorial: Loony proposals plus cheap shots
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Recently in this space, Ron Paul was referred to as the “crazy uncle who’s taken up residence in the GOP’s spare bedroom.” But now that’s he’s garnered 23 percent of the vote in Iowa and 21 percent in New Hampshire and has become an upper-tier candidate for president, we’re told he merits more respect. So we hereby amend that previous description. It’s no longer “crazy Uncle Ron.” Now it’s “eccentric Uncle Ron.”
Full Report At:
http://www.trentonian.com/articles/2012/01/17/opinion/doc4f163bcf36cd3725365428.txt
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Walking in MLK’s shoes
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Chicago - Martin Luther King, Jr., the renowned American civil rights activist, said, “Men hate each other because they fear each other, they fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they are often separated from each other.” Americans commemorated his legacy on 16 January, a fitting moment to ask, how can we interrupt this cycle?
Reflecting on this question, I recalled my community confronting this issue when my black neighbour was murdered by a white supremacist. For months we convened each night of the week where the murder occurred to walk and talk together. This simple practice became a transformational, ongoing event. It was our response to communal trauma in order to support the family of the victim, reclaim our neighbourhood and reframe our lives in the wake of the shock that hate had interjected.
Full Report At:
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/130128/walking-in-mlk%C3%ADs-shoes.html
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Islamic preacher in British jail wins fight against deportation
January 17, 2012
REPORTING FROM LONDON -- An Islamist preacher once labeled Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe cannot be deported from Britain to his native Jordan, where he is wanted on charges of terrorism, a European court ruled Tuesday.
Full Report At:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/01/islamic-preacher-in-british-jail-wins-anti-deportation-fight-1.html
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Intl. congress on Persian language kicks off in Tehran
18 Jan 2012 11:43
The International Congress on Promotion of the Persian Language: Perspective, Solutions and Obstacles opened at the Allameh Tabatabaii University in Tehran on Tuesday.
Full Report At:
http://www.ibna.ir/vdcds50f9yt0xk6.em2y.html
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International Freedom Organizations Unite to Create Stop Islamization of Nations
By Stop Islamization of America
Jan. 17, 2012
NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2012 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The human rights organizations Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) are joining together to create a new global force determined to defend free societies globally: Stop Islamization of Nations (SION).
SIOA and SIOE are the foremost organizations in America and Europe dedicated to defending human rights, religious liberty, freedom of conscience and the freedom of speech against Islamic supremacist intimidation and attempts to bring elements of Sharia to the West.
Full Report At:
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/17/4193578/international-freedom-organizations.html
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Oman First Islamic Finance & Banking Conference
Muscat, Jan 17 (ONA)--- Oman First Islamic Finance & Banking conference, organized by Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group in collaboration with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), will be opened on January 23rd at Al Bustan Palace Hotel and lasts for two days.
Full Report At:
http://www.omannews.gov.om/ona/english/newsDetails_inc.jsp?newsID=66514
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Proposed ban on Sharia law is out of ignorance
January 16, 2012 by Zachary Scott
Filed under Commentary, Opinion
4 Comments
Full Report At:
http://temple-news.com/2012/01/16/proposed-ban-on-sharia-law-is-out-of-ignorance/
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'Prime Minister bats for Islamic Finance when away, ignores at home'
Malegaon: January 17, 2012, Though admitted that efforts are indeed on in India "to accommodate" the Islamic Finance System, Dr Shariq Nisar says, but the problem is that the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh does not advocate the system in the country with the same enthusiasm with which he supports it during his visits abroad.
Full Report At:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2012/January/17.01.2012/pm_on_islamic_baniking.htm
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Increasing use of sharia courts in UK
January 17th, 2012
Increasing numbers of muslims in Britain are making use of sharia courts to resolve family and financial disputes in line with Islamic principles, according to the BBC.
''Our cases have easily more than tripled over the past three to five years," says Sheikh al-Haddad, a representative of the Islamic sharia Council, the biggest sharia body in the UK.
''On average, every month we can deal with anything from 200 to 300 cases. A few years ago it was just a small fraction of that”.
''Muslims are becoming more aligned with their faith and more aware of what we are offering them,'' he said.
Rulings under sharia law are enforced through the 1996 Arbitration Act, which states that any form of agreement can be used if both parties agree to adhere to its decision.
Full Report At:
http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/islam/increasing-use-of-sharia-courts-in-uk
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Sharia Law Divorce Court in Great Britain
by Tom McGregor Tue, Jan 17, 2012, 12:21 AM
Any soon-to-be ex-husband in Great Britain, who fears a bitter divorce proceedings, may want to consider converting to Islam to obtain preferential treatment from a Muslim judge, who believes husbands deserve more legal rights than wives in a Sharia court of law.
The BBC news reports that, “the use of Sharia, or Islamic religious law, is growing in Britain, with thousands of Muslims using it to settle disputes each year, but women’s groups and some others are objecting.”
Apparently, an estimated 85 Sharia councils might be operating in the United Kingdom, as disclosed by a 2009 report by Civitas, a think tank. In the past five years, sever bodies like the Islamic Sharia Council has witnessed a significant increase in their cases.
Full Report At:
http://www.dallasblog.com/201201161008691/dallas-blog/sharia-law-divorce-court-in-great-britain.html
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Muslim Brotherhood Leader to be Speaker of Egypt’s New Parliament
Christians Fear Sharia will be Foundation of New Constitution
Washington, D.C. (January 17, 2012) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that a Muslim Brotherhood leader will be installed as speaker of Egypt’s new parliament after Islamists swept the popular vote in the country’s elections last week, raising fears among Christians and secularists that new laws heavily influenced by Sharia may soon be instituted.
Full Report At:
http://www.persecution.org/2012/01/17/muslim-brotherhood-leader-to-be-speaker-of-egypt%E2%80%99s-new-parliament/
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Ahlibank to launch Islamic banking services in Oman
Wed, 18 January 2012
By A Staff Reporter -
MUSCAT — Ahlibank, one of the fastest growing banks in the Sultanate, is planning to set up an independent Islamic banking window and launching of its Islamic banking operations in accordance with the injunctions of Sharia, subject to approval from Central Bank of Oman (CBO).
Full Report At:
http://main.omanobserver.om/node/79781
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Morocco to promote Islamic finance
2012-01-17
With an Islamist party in power, the future for sharia-compliant finance looks promising in Morocco.
By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat – 17/01/12
[Siham Ali] Bank Al-Maghrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri says that Morocco is interested in promoting Islamic finance.
Full Report At:
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2012/01/17/feature-02
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Weinbaum Column: Who stands for 750 million Muslim women?
By Staff reports
The Rolla Daily News
Posted Jan 17, 2012
If not N.O.W., who? If not today, when? Seems more Muslim women are increasingly subject to Sharia Law thanks in good part to the Obama Administration’s support of the Arab Spring uprisings. Instead of pliable despots like Kaddafi and Mubarak, all of Northern Africa has been “reformed” into an Islamist Caliphate, either running or to be run by the previously barred Muslim Brotherhood. Unless you think Obama a dolt, the Brotherhood was chosen by Dear Leader.
It was a clear choice after Obama/Hillary backed the Iranian Ayatollahs against the western friendly population. The American-loving, protesting Iranians were squelched during the Persian Winter, many having disappeared without a trace.
Soon Syria, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and a host of other Muslim countries will seek to join Iran-style Sharia law with Obama and Hillary’s blessings. Turkey has taken quite a turn since its Islamist, Israeli-hating government took over. They were friends of Israel and the USA—now not at all.
Forgetting for the moment the disastrous foreign policy denigration of our influence throughout the Middle East, the human cost to half of the Muslim population is catastrophic. These are the women of Islam. Those females currently crushed under the elephant of Sharia law will be further lost. Those currently under a moderate and tolerable Islam will be dragged kicking and screaming into the women’s prison known as Sharia.
Full Report At:
http://www.therolladailynews.com/newsnow/x58619957/Weinbaum-Column-Who-stands-for-750-million-Muslim-women
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LHC allows amending a plea for Islamic laws
LAHORE - Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief justice on Tuesday allowed a lawyer to amend his petition, seeking abolition of un-Islamic laws and implementation of laws of Shariah in the country in the light of Objective Resolution.
Full Report At:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/lhc-allows-amending-a-plea-for-islamic-laws/
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Event to shed light on latest trends in Islamic finance
Jan 18 2012
Event to shed light on latest trends in Islamic finance
MUSCAT: Under the patronage of Darwish bin Ismail bin Ali Al Balushi, minister responsible for financial affairs, the Sultanate of Oman will host the first ‘Islamic Finance & Banking Conference’, from January 23 to 24, at Al Bustan Palace Hotel, here.
Full Report At:
http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.asp?cat=&detail=53724&sec=news
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Boko Haram bomb suspect escapes from Nigeria police
The Christmas Day attack was one of several directed at Nigeria's Christians
Continue reading the main story
A key suspect in the Christmas Day bombing which killed at least 38 people in Nigeria has escaped from custody, police have admitted.
Kabiru Sokoto - believed to be a member of the Islamist sect Boko Haram - was arrested on Saturday in the capital Abuja after police trailed him.
But the very next day he escaped as police attempted to search his house outside the capital.
Full Report At:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16607176
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European Court Rules Britain Cannot Deport Terrorism Suspect
By RAVI SOMAIYA and JOHN F. BURNS
LONDON — January 17, 2012,The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that Abu Qatada, a radical Islamic preacher regarded as one of Al Qaeda’s main inspirational leaders in Europe, cannot be deported from Britain to his native Jordan because his trial there would be tainted by evidence obtained by torture.
The preacher, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, is in prison in Britain and has been convicted in his absence in Jordan of planning two bombing attacks. The British government had insisted that he be returned to Jordan as part of a wider strategy of dealing with international terrorism suspects by deportation.
Although it accepted Jordan’s assurances that Mr. Othman would be treated humanely, the European court in Strasbourg, France, said in its ruling that evidence against Mr. Othman in the Jordan bombings “had been obtained by torturing one of his co-defendants.” Deporting him would “legitimize the torture of witnesses and suspects,” it said, and “result in a flagrant denial of justice.”
Britain has wrestled for more than a decade with a sense that it had become a safe haven and incubator for Islamic extremism, struggling to balance civil liberties and due process with security. One former senior antiterrorism police officer, who requested anonymity in order to discuss delicate security issues, said Britain had tracked as many as 100 nascent terror plots at any one time since 2001, though only a few escalated into serious threats.
Full Report At:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/world/europe/european-court-overrules-britain-on-terror-detainee.html?_r=1
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Davutoglu and the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood
18-01-2012
Al-Akhbar:
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu gives the impression that he is supremely confident about how the Syrian crisis will unfold. But he is actually concerned with other matters.
Davutoglu’s view is that the Arab world is not only going through a period of political change at present. He also explains that the region is witnessing the ascendancy of the Islamist group that most closely reflects both his own thinking and the historic concept of the Islamic state.
He tries to portray these new Islamists as modern, contrasting them with the jihadi groups that emerged in recent decades, which the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey opposes.
Full Report At:
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=21522
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Journalist shot dead in Pakistan
Islamabad, Jan 18 (IANS) Some unidentified gunmen shot dead a Pakistani journalist, who was working for a US radio station, Tuesday in the country’s northwestern region, said police.
Mukararm Khan Atif was offering evening prayers when the gunmen sneaked into the mosque and shot at him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Charsadda district, Xinhua quoted police as saying.
Atif later died at the hospital, police added.
http://www.inewsone.com/2012/01/18/journalist-shot-dead-in-pakistan-3/103073
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THE AGE OF MILITARY COUP IS OVER IN PAKISTAN: IMRAN KHAN
[ Date : Jan 18th, 2012 ]
Islamabad: As Pakistan’s opposition continues to press for the exit of President Asif Ali Zardari-led civilian government due to the escalating crisis in the country, there is just one thing that every political party in the country seems to agree on – that there will be no military coup.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV’s Barkha Dutt in Islamabad, opposition leader and Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan also joined the chorus and said, “The age of martial law in Pakistan is now permanently over.” The army, he says, realizes that people will not accept this anymore.
The threat to Pakistan’s government’s survival lies in two matters that are before the Supreme Court – one accuses the government of using a secret memo to ask the US for help against a military takeover; the other holds Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani responsible for failing to re-open cases of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government’s legal battles intersect with unprecedented hostility with the army.
Full Report At:
http://flashnewstoday.com/index.php/the-age-of-military-coup-is-over-in-pakistan-imran-khan/
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Nigeria: Boko Haram violence has many causes
WASHINGTON —jan,17 2012, The recent spate of brutal attacks in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the local terrorist group professing allegiance to Al Qaeda, has drawn attention to West Africa as the next battleground against violent global jihad.
Senior US officials have expressed concern over connections between Boko Haram and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Al Shabaab in Somalia.
But in Nigeria, no less than in Pakistan, a fanatical ideology often cloaks far more local economic and tribal rivalries. This deep rooting in very local political contexts and economic ambitions also hampers the terrorists’ efforts at forging pan-African jihad.
Full Report At:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/120112/nigeria-boko-haram-and-counterterrorism-west-africa
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Iranian threats: Audacity or weakness?
By NASSER AL-SARAMI
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
The way Iran deals with the region is alarming as well as confused. It is hard to understand the dynamics of Iranian politics except through the contradiction between threatening and warning one time and compromising and seeking truce a another time, then going back to the first and so on.
Iran’s relations with Gulf countries hardly reached the level of real friendship or, even before the Islamic Revolution. They only got a bit better during the terms of presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani Mohamed Khatami, neither of whom was supported by the religious elite or the military. That is why it remained a superficial rapprochement.
In general, Gulf nations have never felt at ease about Iran is concerned, and have for decades put up with continuous threats. In the face of this, the Gulf government exercised a lot of self-restraint in doing so. Yet now, Iran’s tone is becoming excessively hostile and insolent.
The situation can be best understood through examining Iran’s political ideology, which always focuses on ego inflation and showing off a power that does not necessarily exist and is used mainly for terrorizing purposes.
It is almost impossible, for example, to be sure of the efficiency of those missiles Iran is threatening to launch. They can, of course, launch many missiles from several bases, but how far they can reach and what damage they can make is a questionable issue.
Full Report At:
http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/01/17/188884.html
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"Wanted Women," by Deborah Scroggins
By Jeff Glor Topics In
January 17, 2012
(Credit: David McWilliams,Harper Collins)
Jeff Glor talks to Deborah Scroggins about, Wanted Women: Faith, Lies, and the War on Terror: The Lives of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Aafia Siddiqui
Jeff Glor: What inspired you to write the book?
Full Report At:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504367_162-57359748-504367/wanted-women-by-deborah-scroggins/
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Politics, religion, deaths and Boko Haram
What started as a harmless movement by a religious sect in some parts of Northern Nigeria gradually snowballed into one of the worst terrorist uprisings that the nation has witnessed. CHINELO OBOGO x-rays the origin and the political undercurrents of the activities of the sect known as Boko Haram.
Full Report At:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2012/jan/18/politics-18-01-2012-001.html
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The end of the affair between Hamas and Iran
By Michael Weiss
January 17th, 2012
39 Comments Comment on this article
Hamas has fallen out with its former puppet-masters in Iran
According to Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, a group of armed Hamas fighters "brutally attacked" Shi'ite worshippers in the Gaza Strip last Friday, in part of a crackdown on Shi'ite groups that was sparked "by Hamas' fear of growing Iranian influence in Gaza." This is what happens with the Ayatollah stops paying the bills: up until a few months ago, "Iranian influence" was the sole reason for Hamas’ existence.
Full Report At:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/michaelweiss/100130480/the-end-of-the-affair-between-hamas-and-iran/
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UEA Introduces Women, Islam And Media Course, First In The UK
First Posted: 17/1/12 14:55 GMT Updated: 17/1/12 14:55 GMT
A new university course focusing on women, Islam and media has become the first module in the UK to explore honour crimes and arranged marriage.
The lectures, offered by the University of East Anglia (UEA), will begin this week, with 15 students having already enrolled. The syllabus also offers to cover veil wearing and how such Islamic traditions are portrayed across film, TV, advertising and other media.
UEA claim the module, which will teach students about the work of women film-makers in countries where Islam is the dominant religion, is the first of its kind in the UK.
Full Report At:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/17/uea-introduces-women-islam-media-first-in-uk_n_1209995.html
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Obama's Disastrous Islamist Outreach
1-6-2012
For three years, Barack Obama’s engagement policy with Islamists, most notably in Iran, has proven dangerous. The Iranian regime exploited Obama’s show of weakness by moving ahead aggressively with its nuclear weapon program. Now the Obama administration is doubling down on its disastrous engagement policy. It is serving as the midwife to the takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood and of Afghanistan by the Taliban. And there is a distressing link between the two.
A front page article in the New York Times on January 5th reported what has been obvious since Obama took office. The administration has sought to “forge close ties” with the Muslim Brotherhood – “an organization once viewed as irreconcilably opposed to United States interests.”
Full Report At:
http://www.aina.org/news/2012010691325.htm
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Obama Terrorism Advisor’s Book Confuses and Distorts
Raymond Ibrahim
TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012
Reading CDR Youssef Aboul-Enein’s book, Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat, published by the Naval Institute Press (2010), one can see why U.S. leadership is far from “ ;understanding the global threat”; why the Obama administration is supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood; and why so many U.S. politicians rose up in condemnation when one obscure pastor threatened to burn a Koran.
Full Report At:
http://docstalk.blogspot.com/2012/01/obama-terrorism-advisors-book-confuses.html
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3 sitting MNAs of PPP apply for Senate ticket
ISLAMABAD - Besides 534 other applicants, three sitting MNAs of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) have also applied for party tickets for the upcoming Senate election, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
A source in the PPP told Pakistan Today that a total of 537 applications had been submitted with the party secretariat, including those of Mian Raza Rabbani, Aitazaz Ahsan, Husain Haqqani, Babar Awan, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Farhatullah Babar, Malik Hakmin Khan and Qasim Zia. “Today, the party’s parliamentary board meeting held at Zardari House interviewed applicants for Senate tickets from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Interestingly, three MNAs have also applied for Senate tickets including Najamuddin Khan, Lal Mohammed Khan and Tariq Khattak,” the source added. The source said that the parliamentary board had interviewed some applicants while others would also be interviewed as the process continues.
Full Report At:
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/3-sitting-mnas-of-ppp-apply-for-senate-ticket/
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Pakistan attaches great importance to its ties with Afghanistan: Dr Firdous
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (APP):Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Tuesday that Pakistan attaches great importance to its ties with Afghanistan.She was talking to Afghan Deputy Minister for Culture Ghulam Nabi Frahi, who called on her and discussed matters of mutual interest and bilateral ties particularly media cooperation between the two countries.The minister said that prosperous Afghanistan is vital for development and stability of the South Asian region.She was of the view that media can be an effective tool to further boost ties between the two brotherly countries.
Full Report At:
http://app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175191&Itemid=1
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Government to install hawk-eye to click Pakistan and Bangla arrivals
By AMAN SHARMA
18th January 2012
To enable the government to track any foreign national that goes missing, the home ministry has decided to capture on video the faces of all Pakistanis and Bangladeshis entering India on international trains at the Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal railheads.
Full Report At:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2088205/Government-install-hawk-eye-click-Pakistan-Bangla-arrivals.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
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Family of dead al-Qaida operative promoted peace
CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press, GENE JOHNSON, Associated Press
Updated 02:32 a.m., Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Moeed Abdul Salam didn't descend into radical Islam for lack of other options. He grew up in a well-off Texas household, attended a pricey boarding school and graduated from one of the state's most respected universities.
But the most unlikely thing about his recruitment was his family: Two generations had spent years promoting interfaith harmony and combatting Muslim stereotypes in their hometown and even on national television.
Salam rejected his relatives' moderate faith and comfortable life, choosing instead a path that led him to work for al-Qaida. His odyssey ended late last year in a middle-of-the-night explosion in Pakistan. The 37-year-old father of four was dead after paramilitary troops stormed his apartment.
His Nov. 19 death went largely unnoticed in the U.S. and rated only limited attention in Pakistan. But the circumstances threatened to overshadow the work of an American family devoted to religious understanding. And his mysterious evolution presented a reminder of the attraction Pakistan still holds for Islamic militants, especially well-educated Westerners whose Internet and language skills make them useful converts for jihad.
Full Report At:
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Family-of-dead-al-Qaida-operative-promoted-peace-2598446.php
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Pakistani PM's lawyer: No harm in graft case
By ZARAR KHAN
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A lawyer for Pakistan's prime minister said Wednesday there would be no harm in the government asking Swiss authorities to reopen an old corruption case against the country's president, because he enjoys immunity from prosecution.
Full Report At:
Associated Press writer Sebastian Abbot contributed to this report.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlz9zQd34Qk_yLNXBSb4GLyOXqTA?docId=f397c8303f3a4a8ca728fa1a10f23505
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Ijaz gets Pakistani visa; to travel on Jan 24
Controversial Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who made public the mysterious memo that triggered a row between the government and the military, has been issued a visa so that he can travel to Islamabad to testify before a judicial commission investigating the issue.
Ijaz,
Full Report At:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Pakistan/Ijaz-gets-Pakistani-visa-to-travel-on-Jan-24/Article1-798771.aspx
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Pakistan delays US envoy Marc Grossman's visit
The delay to Mr Grossman's visit comes amid heightened US-Pakistan tensions
Pakistan has postponed a visit by US Special Envoy Marc Grossman until a parliamentary review of bilateral relations is completed.
Correspondents say the postponement is a sign of increased tensions between uneasy allies.
Full Report At:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16607223
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Top Suspect in Nigerian Christmas Bombing Escapes Police
January 18th, 2012
Nigerian authorities say their top suspect in a deadly Christmas Day bombing at a Catholic church in the capital, Abuja, has escaped police custody after being arrested at the Borno state governor's mansion in the capital.
Full Report At:
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/18/top-suspect-in-nigerian-christmas-bombing-escapes-police-2/
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‘ Bangalore Indian Mujahideen terror accused never went out of Bihar’
By Hakeem Irfan in New Delhi
RAISING serious doubts over the police’s claims that he had recced Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore before the 2010 blast there, the family of 21- year- old Gayoor Ahmed Jamali on Wednesday pleaded his innocence, saying he had never left Bihar.
Full Report At:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=8122011
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Zardari’s ‘ check- up’ sparks exit rumours
By Badar Alam in Karachi
THE authorities in Pakistan have strongly denied reports that President Asif Ali Zardari has resigned and left Pakistan for Dubai. But even the denial, analysts say, shows that the ouster of his Pakistan People’s Party ( PPP) government is not improbable, even if it is not happening immediately.
Zardari, hospitalised in Dubai, is in “ stable” condition, an official statement quoted his physician Colonel Salman as saying.
Full Report At:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=8122011
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Fai pleads guilty in ISI’s Kashmir plot in Washington
PTI
US- BASED Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai on Wednesday pleaded guilty to federal charges of spying for the Pakistani spy agency, the ISI, and illegally lobbying the Congress to influence the American policy on Kashmir.
Fai, 62, also acknowledged secretly receiving money from the ISI through clandestine routes and causing revenue losses to the US government to the tune of $ 200,000 to 400,000.
Pleading before the US Eastern District Court of Virginia, Fai, head of the Kashmiri American Council ( KAC) pleaded guilty and agreed to the charges of federal prosecutors that he received at least $ 3.5 million from the ISI between 1990 to 2011.
Full Report At:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=8122011
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/flashpoint-rushdie-cong-bows-hotheads/d/6408