Forcible Conversion of Hindu Girls on Rise in Sindh: HRCP
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 March 2012
• Rogue
US soldier kills at least 16 Afghan civilians
• Suicide
blast at Pakistan funeral kills 13
• Nigeria
is becoming Africa’s Pakistan
• Arbitrary
Arrests and Detention in Bangladesh Must End Immediately
• Government
plan favours Islamic schools in Turkey
• How
come Hindu men aren’t converting, only marriageable young girls?
• Indian
Delegation of GMJ Terms Israel Epicenter of Terrorism
• World
Day of Muslim Culture
• Cops,
mayors: NYPD risks access with Muslim spying
• The
N.Y.P.D. and Muslims
• Muslim
community assures Peace and Security for the Christians in Kashmir
• Bomb
kills 13 in northwest Pakistan
• Bomb
blast hits church in Nigeria's Jos, authorities say
• Israel
launches fresh air strikes on Gaza
• Kenya
blames al-Shabab for deadly Nairobi grenade attack
• 9/11
mastermind set to face US military court
• Annan
visit strikes positive note as Assad vows peace
• India:
JKLF chairman ridicules Govt, appeals for amity
• Pakistan
Sufi preacher's visit to Mumbai, India draws flak
• Activists
and journalists condemn Indian Journalist's arrest for Israel diplomat's car
bombing
• India:
Bhatkal Jamia Islamia to Host International Educational Convention
• A
good Muslim's better life cut short by extremists
• Interest-free
microfinance hope for poor Muslims
Complied
by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo:
Rogue US
soldier kills at least 16 Afghan civilians
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/forcible-conversion-hindu-girls-rise/d/6826
-------------
Forcible
Conversion of Hindu Girls on Rise in Sindh: HRCP
PTI
KARACHI,
March 11, 2012, On an average around 20 to 25 Hindu girls are being forcibly
converted to Islam every month in the southern Sindh province, Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said.
Urging
the authorities to take note of these forced conversions, HRCP officials told
reporters on Saturday that culprits were taking advantage of loopholes in the law.
Amarnath
Motumel of the HRCP said that within a month 20 forced conversions had taken
place.
“Apart
from minor school girls, married women with children are not spared either,” he
said.
The
issue of Hindu girls being forcibly converted has come to the fore after the
case of 18-year-old Rinkle Kumari from Sukkur who has converted and taken the
Muslim name of Faryal after marrying a Muslim boy.
The
family of the girl claims she was kidnapped and forcibly converted even after
she appeared in court in Sukkur and claimed she converted out of her own free
will.
But
Motumel pointed out that not only were affected families warned of dire
consequences but whenever a Hindu girl or her family appeared in court hundreds
of religious zealots gather to pressurise them or they take to the streets as
pressure tactics and to create an atmosphere of fear.
The
families of Rinkle Kumari were also present at the conference in which her
brother Inder said that had she been allowed to meet with her family members
privately and even once she would never have converted.
“Despite
the President’s orders for the girl’s rescue we are still waiting for something
to be done.”
HRCP
official Professor Badar Soomro said there was a need to enact new laws to
restore a sense of security among the Hindu community.
He
also said if a girl is kidnapped and her family registers a case she should be
kept in a Darul Aman at least for a month before she is produced in court to
record her statement.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2984531.ece
-----------
Rogue
US soldier kills at least 16 Afghan civilians
Reuters
KANDAHAR:
Mar 11, 2012, A US soldier went on a shooting rampage in southern Afghanistan
on Sunday, bursting into the homes of civilians in villages near his base in
the middle of the night and killing up to 16 people, an Afghan minister told
reporters.
Minister
of border and tribal affairs Asadullah Khalid, who is investigating the
incident, said the soldier entered three homes, killing 11 people in the first
one.
Other
Afghan officials said at least seven people died. The incident came just weeks
after US soldiers burned copies of large numbers of Qurans at a NATO base,
triggering widespread anti-Western protests, and plunging already strained ties
between Kabul and Washington to a new low.
The
soldier has been detained and an investigation is underway, the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coalition said.
Civilian
casualties have been a major source of friction between president Hamid
Karzai's Western-backed government and US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.
"I
cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts, but they were in no way
part of authorized ISAF military activity," ISAF deputy commander Lt Gen
Adrian Bradshaw said in a statement.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Rogue-US-soldier-kills-at-least-16-Afghan-civilians/articleshow/12221392.cms
--------
Suicide
blast at Pakistan funeral kills 13
By
Lehaz Ali (AFP) –
PESHAWAR,
March 11, 12, A suicide bomber blew
himself up at a funeral near the northwestern city of Peshawar on Sunday,
killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 30 others, police and
hospital officials said.
The
blast went off near a graveyard where people had just offered funeral prayers
in the Badaber area on the outskirts of Peshawar, senior police officer Kalam
Khan said.
"It
was a suicide attack, we have found the head and legs of the bomber," he
said. "At least 13 people have died and more than 30 wounded," he
said.
Doctor
Rahim Jan, head of the local Lady Reading Hospital confirmed the casualties.
"We
have 13 dead, they are all male. There are 34 wounded and five of them are in
serious condition," Jan said.
Peshawar
police chief Imtiaz Altaf also said he believed it was a suicide bombing. About
eight kilograms of explosives had been used in the blast, he said.
Nobody
claimed responsibility for the blast but Islamist militants have carried out
several attacks in the area.
The
blast went off after mourners had offered prayers for a local woman.
Police
believe the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, Khushdil Khan, who was
present at the funeral, could have been the target.
Khushdil
Khan, a member of the secular Awami National Party, has formed an anti-Taliban
militia in the area and is on Pakistani Taliban militants' hit list, police
officer Khan said.
"He
was not hurt, he is safe," Khan added.
The
site of blast was littered with human limbs and trails of blood soon after the
bombing, witnesses said.
"We
lifted the coffin and headed towards the graveyard after the prayers when a
huge blast was heard," said Saddam Hussain, 21. "There were body
parts and blood stains. People were crying for help.
"There
was no doctor and no ambulance. People who had come to attend the funeral put
the casualties in their cars and rushed to the hospital. I myself put one
wounded man in a car heading to the hospital," Hussain told AFP.
In
the hospital Zahir Shah, 40, wailed with grief near the body of his elder
brother Raees Khan.
"Why
did you murder my brother? He was so beautiful," he said. "This
morning we had our breakfast together. My mother will not survive if I show her
his body."
Peshawar
has a population of 2.5 million people and has long been on the frontline of
violence blamed on an insurgency led by Taliban militants opposed to
Islamabad's alliance with the United States.
Islamist
militants have killed more than 4,900 people across Pakistan since government
troops raided an extremist mosque in Islamabad in July 2007.
Sunday's
funeral bombing was the first since September 15 when a suicide bomber
targeting anti-Taliban militia killed 46 people at a funeral in the
northwestern district of Lower Dir.
Pakistan
has battled a homegrown insurgency for years, with more than 3,000 soldiers
killed in the battle against militancy.
There
were about 120 bomb attacks in Pakistan in 2011, up on the 96 bomb blasts in
2010, but far lower than violence in 2009 when there were 203 bombings across
the country, according to an AFP tally.
-----------
Nigeria
is becoming Africa’s Pakistan
Rob
Crilly
March
11, 2012, Africa’s religious divide: the arid deserts of the north and the
green tropical South Africa’s religious divide are visible from space.
Satellite images show the browns and burnt yellows of the arid north giving way
to tropical greens as the view moves from north to south. The coloured frontier
slices through Nigeria in the west through Sudan, reaching the Indian Ocean in
Kenya. To the north lie Muslim lands, to the south the religion is
predominantly Christian.
I
travelled across that line in 2001, shortly after 9/11, driving from the
Nigerian capital Abuja to the historic city of Sokoto, scene of Thursday’s
failed attempt to rescue Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara. Then, I was
welcomed with astounding hospitality. It may have been Ramadan and a time of
fasting for the locals, but a hungry traveller could find flat bread and hard
boiled eggs at any time of day. And there was even beer at dinner time. Time
and again I was told that the largely Sufi Muslims of northern Nigeria shared
my horror at the events in the US two months earlier. The only blip was a photo
I spotted of Osama bin Laden pasted to a bus, which my hosts explained away as
a remnant of a time when no-one imagined the true horror of Al-Qaeda.
Things
have changed since then. The religious divide has become a fault line.
Religious riots have claimed hundreds of lives in Nigeria in cities such as
Jos, where murderous gangs in 2010 sought out Christians they believed enjoyed
social and economic advantages. Samantha Lewthwaite, widow of one of London’s
7/7 bomber, is thought to be on the run in Kenya having joined up with members
of a Somali-linked terror cell. And Boko Haram – “Western education is harmful”
in the local Hausa language – has developed its links with al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb, shifting its tactics to include targeting Westerners and
launching terrorist attacks. So what has gone wrong? In the past year,
intelligence officials believe al-Qaeda has been badly damaged in its Pakistani
boltholes. Bin Laden was killed on May 2, and senior commanders have been
targeted by an intense barrage of drone strikes. As a result, they have begun a
migration to safer climes – Yemen, Somalia and North Africa, among them. There
they will find many of the factors that made Pakistan a haven for a decade:
governments that struggle to impose their will on remote corners of their
territory; long, porous borders; and a patchwork of local disputes that can be
manipulated and fitted into an anti-Western narrative that justifies terror
attacks.
At
the same time, vast stockpiles of weapons have simply disappeared from Libya
since the downfall of Colonel Gaddafi. In addition, Tuareg fighters who once
pledged allegiance to the Libyan leader have returned to Mali, reigniting a
simmering war.
An
influx of al-Qaeda leaders and missing crates of anti-aircraft missiles is a
recipe for disaster. The first casualty could be the centuries-old trading
sultanate of Sokoto. Reports suggest Boko Haram has its sights on Sultan of
Sokoto Sa’ad Abubakar III, angry at how much power is invested in a single
individual. Nigeria is still a long way from the bloody insurgency that has
brought so much pain to Pakistan. But it would be a tragedy for its religious
differences – and the peaceful, moderate population in the north – to be
exploited by foreign militants from outside. Imran Khan, Pakistan’s
cricketer-turned-politician, tells the story of how he once took his
father-in-law Jimmy Goldsmith to Waziristan in the remote tribal areas to dine
on succulent roast lamb. Such a visit by a Westerner is impossible now. I hope
Sokoto does not go the same way.
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=144406
---------
Arbitrary
Arrests and Detention in Bangladesh Must End Immediately
March
11, 2012
The
people of Bangladesh are living in a tense situation prior to amass rally in
Dhaka on March 12, 2012 called by the opposition parties against the ruling
regime.
The
opposition political parties, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have
organised a march towards Dhaka, on March 12 which isaimed at showing their
political strength by gathering as many of their supporters as possible and
bringing them to the capital. The opposition parties claim that they are
hosting a peaceful rally peacefully, as is their right to have freedom of
assembly. However, they accuse the government of arresting hundreds of their
activists and supporters prior to the rally.
The
government, which held a rally on March 7 even in participation with the public
employees and is planning to hold another one in two days' time, has deployed
all of its agents, including the police,
Rapid
Action Battalion and other intelligence agencies, to prevent the public rally
of the opposition It appears that the ruling regime is attempting to deny its
opponents the right to hold political meetings and rallies in public. They have
been blaming the opposition for conspiring to cause a breakdown of the law and
order in the country.
The
Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that the law-enforcing agents of
Bangladesh have already arrested hundreds of ordinary people and activists of
the opposition political parties, en mass. And these arrests are continuing.
The authorities are detaining the arrestees arbitrarily under Section 54 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure-1989and several other draconian laws including the
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance-1976 and Anti-Terrorism Act-2009. According
to available information, several thousand people have already been illegally
arrested and arbitrarily detained only in last three days.
Amongst
the detainees, the poor people have been the victims of the on-going random
arrests by the law-enforcing agents. Most of the detainees are identified as
day-laborers, transport-workers, street-hawkers, students and pedestrians. Many
of the detainees have been named in fabricated cases as they have failed to pay
bribes to the police. The country's Magistracy, which deals with such arrested
persons, appears to be useless to ensure the fundamental right to liberty of persons
while almost everyone is being sent to prisons.
The
Dhaka Central Jail authorities have admitted that for last three days they have
been receiving around four times more detainees than that of the normal
practice of detention on a regular basis. Similar reports of arbitrary
detentions are being recorded in other cities and towns, although the exact
statistics have not been available due tithe denial of access to the factual
information.
Apart
from the arrest and detention the government has ordered the public
transportation companies to stop, or reduce, operation to and from the capital
city in order to prevent the presence of the pro-opposition supporters in
Dhaka. Residential hotels are reportedly ordered to keep closed since 9 March
with threats of further harassment if the hotels accommodate anyone. The police
and the RABare raiding the houses of the people, including the leaders of the
opposition political parties and other places, including private dormitories
where students having no alternative shelter for studies, as their wish, without
any credible search warrant
In
the given situation the ordinary people are found to be scared of any necessary
movements for their livelihoods. Passengers in limited number of private and
public transport that still dare to operate in the streets are facing endless
harassment in the name of security checks all around the city of Dhaka.
Bangladesh appears to be a complete police state. Most of the families of the
detained victims have been extremely helpless concerning the release of their
loved ones from prisons for, not only failing to afford the costs incurred, but
also the ruthless attitudes of the government and the chain of corruption of
the policing system of the country.
Showing
political strength in public through violent forms and propaganda against each
other has been an integral part of the political culture in recent past of
Bangladesh. But what is always ignored by every regime is the lives and
livelihood of the ordinary people who never wish to be victims of political
game of power. Nobody cares for the ordinary people who suffer the pain,
torture and involvement in fabricated cases in such circumstances.
In
a democracy everyone has freedom of peaceful assembly as one of the fundamental
rights that no authority can deny by any excuse. The government of Bangladesh
has an obligation to ensure the right to liberty of the people by all means. It
has no authority to deny any citizen's personal liberty by abusing the law
arbitrarily.
The
Asian Human Rights Commission demands an immediate end to the on-going mass
arrests and detention of the people in Bangladesh. There should be credible
investigations by competent officials other than the police, who are
institutionally corrupted. All the victims of arbitrary detention, who are
illegally arrested prior to the opposition rally, should be released without
further delay. The government should ensure legal aid to these detainees if
they are unable to afford the expenditure that has been an extra burden on
their hardships. They also deserve compensation from the authorities for the suffering
they have been subjected to.
A
Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
---------
Government
plan favours Islamic schools in Turkey
Thomas
Seibert
ISTANBUL,
Mar 11, 2012 // Forget the headscarf issue, human rights or the Kurdish
problem. Nothing gets the blood of Turkish lawmakers boiling like a row over
children's education.
Topic
Europe Turkey Middle East
Committee
meetings on a government bill to overhaul Turkey's education system last week
produced a fist-fight among participants and a record-breaking filibuster by an
opposition politician.
Education
is a hot-button ideological issue in Turkey, where secularists and a rising
middle class of pious Muslims, represented by the government of Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the prime minister, are sharply divided over the role of religion in
public life. Secular critics say the government plan to reform the education
system will increase the influence of Islamic schools.
Discussions
in the education committee of parliament in Ankara turned violent on Thursday
after lawmakers of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), the
country's biggest opposition party, accused Mr Erdogan's Islam-rooted Justice
and Development Party (AKP) of trying to rush the bill through parliament. The
committee meeting was suspended for several hours.
The
fight followed a filibuster by a CHP lawmaker, Engin Ozkoc, who held the floor
for more than 12 hours earlier in the week. Mr Ozkoc said experts, non-governmental
organisations and even some members of the governing party had strong
reservations about the education bill. But the Erdogan government had decided
not to listen. "So for 12 hours, I tried to be the voice of those
people," Mr Ozkan told the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
The
government says the current system of eight years of compulsory basic education
followed by four optional years of high school fails to prepare children
adequately for the labour market. Mr Erdogan wants to introduce a new scheme,
known as "4+4+4" or "relay education" to lengthen
compulsory school education to 12 years. The plan foresees four years of
primary education, followed by four years of middle school that can take the
form of vocational schools, and four years of high school.
Batuhan
Aydagul, coordinator of the Education Reform Initiative at Istanbul's Sabanci
University, said the present system was in need of repair, but the fact that
the government did not allow time for a broad debate and consensus-building
raised doubts. He said the new plan, scheduled to be implemented later this
year, could lead to serious disruption and did not address the most serious
problems in education, which he described as a lack of qualified teachers and
inequalities among schools.
"The
way the government presented this reform made many people think that it is
totally driven by politics," Mr Aydagul told The National on Thursday. He
said the government was right "to a certain extent" to tackle
problems of the present, military-inspired system. "But there is an
impression that the whole system is being sacrificed for rather political
motives."
The
current system is a by-product of the so-called "soft coup" of
February 28, 1998, when the secular military began a successful campaign to
push an Islamist-led government from power, in a move known as the
"February 28 process" in Turkish political parlance.
To
minimise a perceived Islamist influence on children, the generals forced the
government to implement a principle of eight years of basic education without
the possibility of changing to a vocational school. That meant special
state-run schools created to educate Islamic clergy, known as Imam Hatip
schools, were no longer available as middle schools, only as high schools. The
military stepped in because the schools had become popular among pious
families, even if they did not want their children to join the clergy.
Mr
Erdogan, who has done much to roll back the generals' influence in recent years
and who is himself an Imam Hatip graduate, made it clear in a speech last week
that his government's reform scheme is not only intended to improve education,
but also to overcome the legacy of the military's intervention of 1998.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/secularists-government-plan-favours-islamic-schools-in-turkey
----------
How
come Hindu men aren’t converting, only marriageable young girls?
By
Rabia Ali
Published:
March 11, 2012
KARACHI:
Their
logic is hard to argue with: why are Hindu men not converting? Why is it that
only young girls of a marriageable age are surfacing in these cases? And if
these girls are so keen to convert, why don’t they go to madrassas, learn the
religion and then go through with it?
Shaking
with rage, Amarnath Motumal of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP),
asked this barrage of questions at a press conference on Saturday. It was held
with the tearful families of victims of forced conversions who demanded that
their girls should be returned to them.
“When
a girl is converted, why is she married off immediately?” Motumal said. “If she
has converted for the sake of Islam, then why doesn’t she join a madrassa to
educate herself and spread knowledge about the religion?”
He
said that around 20 to 22 girls are being converted every month, but families
do not go public as they fear the incident will ruin their reputation.
The
family of 19-year-old Rinkle Kumari, who was allegedly abducted, forced to
covert and marry a Muslim, claimed that they are receiving death threats.
“Take
the case back or we will kill you all,” is the threat the family received on
March 8, according to the Rinkle’s brother-in-law Inder Lal.
A
frustrated Lal said that if Rinkle had converted and married of her own free
will, she would have held a press conference immediately after the court’s
decision. “For six days, she was quiet. It was only when the issue was raised
internationally, that she came in front of the media.”
After
the last court hearing in Sukkur, Rinkle appeared before the media and stated
that she was not forced by anyone. But her family has stuck to its stance that
Rinkle’s conversion to Islam and her marriage to Naveed Shah was forced.
“She
did not even know the person,” exclaimed Rinkle’s father, Nand Lal, who is a
primary school teacher in Mirpur Mathelo. “We have no internet or telephone
connections at home, so there is no way she could have been in touch with
Naveed.” He informed that Rinkle had
recently completed her intermediate studies and two days before Rinkle was
allegedly kidnapped, she was planning to go to Karachi to shop for her
brother’s wedding.
While
talking to The Express Tribune, the family provided new information about the
alleged kidnapping. “Rinkle’s friend Kiran was the brains behind the plan. She
took money from the kidnappers and gave them all the information about Rinkle,”
accused Nand Lal. “We wanted to nominate Kiran in the FIR but the DSP refused.”
According
to the family, Rinkle was kidnapped by armed men while on her way to the
bathroom built in the courtyard.
“If
she had planned to elope, she would have taken her slippers and her sweater,”
pointed out her family members. “But she was kidnapped barefoot and without any
warm clothes in the cold weather.”
The
family, who are in Karachi for the time being, asked that Rinkle should be
taken to a neutral place for at least eight days and be allowed to meet her
family.
Raised
voices
Rinkle’s
mother covered her face with a dupatta and wept silently as the HRCP Sindh vice
chairperson voiced the community’s troubles. “We can’t even sleep at night,
wondering whether our kidnapped girls would become suicide bombers or would
they be sold off into prostitution,” lamented Motumal.
He
said that forced conversion is not a new practice, claiming that extremists are
taking advantage of the religion by preaching at madrassas on how to convert
non-Muslims.
“When
an underage girl is forced to convert, she is not allowed to meet her family.
She is told that the people who gave birth to her and raised her have become
Kaafirs.”
Lata’s
story
The
press conference was also attended by the family of 29-year-old Dr Lata Kumari,
who was kidnapped on February 28 on her way to the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in DHA. Her family alleged that she has been forcibly converted and
married to Nadir Baig Dhar, the son of a suspended judge.
Lata’s
father, Dr Ramesh Kumar, spoke out against the harsh treatment that the family
received in the court on March 7. “The police did not even let us meet Lata at
the first hearing of the case and they beat us with sticks,” said Lata’s
mother, a hypertension patient. “The kidnappers did not leave burqa-clad Lata
alone for even a minute. Nadir and his goons would come in front of me every
time I approached her. I could not even look at my daughter properly.”
Kumar
said that they knew Nadir from before, claiming that the accused had converted
five Hindu girls already. According to Lata’s brother Vishal, Nadir works at
the quality assurance department of a motor company.
“Lata
clutched my arm and asked me to do something for her,” said a teary eyed Joti,
Lata’s sister. “Why are the criminals not letting us meet her, what are they
scared of?”
Kumar
alleged that the signature on the documents were not Lata’s.
Lata,
who has an MBBS degree from Larkana, used to live at the Aga Khan hostel and
had worked as a medical researcher. Two of her siblings are also doctors and
live in Hyderabad, while the rest of the family lives in Jacobabad.
During
the press conference, another suspected kidnapping came up. People from
Jacobabad said that a Hindu girl Asha Devi, who used to work at a beauty
parlour, never made it home from work.
HRCP’s
Badar Soomro condemned the forced conversions of the three per cent minority
population in the country. “Why are the extremists after the minorities? Let
them live freely.”
On
March 8, the Supreme Court directed the Sindh police IG to find Lata, Rinkle
and another Hindu girl Pooja Devi, and present them at the next hearing on
March 26. However, the families were not
hopeful. “They [the courts] record statements under section 164 and then the
girl is sent immediately with the criminals,” said Motumal. “She is given no
time to think about her decision or talk to her family.”
He
suggested that the court should give such girls a week’s time to make up their
mind, while they stay at the Darul Aman with their mother.
Published
in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2012.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/348364/how-come-hindu-men-arent-converting-only-marriageable-young-girls/
---------
Indian
Delegation of GMJ Terms Israel Epicenter of Terrorism
TEHRAN
(FNA), 2012-03-11- The Indian participants in the Global March to Jerusalem
(GMJ) said that Zionism operates as an epicenter of the international terror
which has far reaching consequences for all South Asian countries.
Speaking
at the press conference along with the leaders of Pakistan Political and
religious parties of the county at Lahore Press club, the leader of the Indian
delegation Mr. Feroz Mitti Bor wala said that there is a need to identify the
issue of the occupation of Jerusalem as a cause that is concerning all people
of all types of backgrounds.
He
said that People of South Asia need to join hands and come together in order to
find peaceful solutions for their own regional crises which they believe are
the manifestation of the global politics.
In
a query, he said that Kashmir is also likely to be solved if people's
solidarity in Asia together builds pressure on their countries.
He
said that Palestinian land was under Zionist occupation since 1948 and
Jerusalem (Bait al Maqdas) was under occupation since 1967. Illegal settlements
of Jews are erected time and again around Jerusalem and all they do for
occupation of Bait al Maqdas. When the Palestine issue is tabled in the United
Nations Security Council, the US, global imperialist power, exercises veto power
in favor of Israel.
He
said they wanted to expel the remaining Palestinians from the land of Palestine
like what they have been doing since 1948.
They
said the GMJ was being organized to highlight this core issue to the notice of
the world. Jerusalem is sacred for Muslims and Christians as well and Israel
keeps violating the sanctity of Bait al Maqdas.
People
from almost all over the world have joined hands to become the part of GMJ.
They will peacefully march to Jerusalem on March 30 from four borders of Egypt,
Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9012151936
--------
World
Day of Muslim Culture
MANILA
(Philippines), 18 Rabi al-Thani/11 March (IINA)-To contribute to a better
understanding of the diversity of Muslim culture and in initiating dialogue
with people of other faiths that may result in a more just, peaceful world,
World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue, and Film is celebrated on March
11.
Created
by Jared Mohammed, a San Francisco writer-producer, the event is also a special
observance to share and discuss Muslim culture, and to use “culture, art, and
film to create a bridge and dialogue of understanding among faiths.”
Over
a billion people from a wide range of races, nationalities, and cultures around
the globe are united by their Islamic faith. The world’s largest Muslim
community is in Indonesia; substantial parts of Asia and Africa are Muslim.
Muslim minorities are found in the Soviet Union, China, North and South America
and Europe. And about 18 percent live in the Arab world. Islam may seem exotic
or even extreme in the modern world and this is perhaps because religion
dominates the lives of Muslims who make no distinction between the secular and
the sacred.
Together
with Judaism, Islam goes back to the prophet and patriarch Abraham. Three
prophets descended from his sons – Muhammad from his elder son Ismael, Moses
and Jesus from the younger son Isaac. It was Abraham who established the
settlement known today as the city of Makkah and built the Ka’aba towards which
all Muslims turn when they pray.
Events
that began in 2009 with a series of social uprisings that swept across North
Africa and the Middle East have continued in 2012. In these events, the younger
Muslim generation has shown a boldness, courage, and willingness to regain
their destiny from an older generation. It has shown far greater sense and
desire for personal liberty and freedom.
Understanding
Islam through its culture, dialogue, and film is a way that will give the world
an in-depth knowledge of the Islamic world based on correct information, actual
facts, and a true analysis of the course of events.
http://iina.me/wp_en/?p=1007229
--------
Cops,
mayors: NYPD risks access with Muslim spying
By
DON BABWIN
The
Associated Press
CHICAGO,
March 11, 2012 — The tip was a surprise when it arrived on the desk of Ted
Wasky. Had it not come, the former FBI agent fears five Muslim men in northwest
Ohio might have pulled off a plot to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
The
source of the tip? A fellow group of Muslims living in Toledo.
"They
were talking about Jihad and wanting to defend their ... brothers in the Middle
East against American aggression," Wasky said. "The community
understood the freedoms they enjoyed in the U.S., were concerned, and they reported
it to the joint task force."
The
tipsters trusted the police enough to help the FBI infiltrate the group with an
informant, and Wasky said that relationship was the "best thing that ever
happened" to the local joint terrorism task force when he was the special
agent in charge of the FBI's Cleveland office.
That's
what police investigators, prosecutors and mayors in cities nationwide say the
New York Police Department is putting at risk by conducting clandestine
surveillance of Muslims in the city and across the Northeast. All cite their
experience in serving communities that are home to large Muslim communities and
other minority populations that have become isolated by events.
"It
only takes one perceived mistake, whether it's a mistake or not, where the
confidence of the community will be temporarily shattered or damaged,"
Wasky said.
Others
said the NYPD's secret spying, and the voracious defense against suggestions it
might be a mistake, is a misguided approach that will hinder the department's efforts
to uncover potential attacks for years, if not decades.
That
critique has been forcefully rejected by the NYPD and New York Mayor Michael
Bloomberg, who has praised the department's tactics as ones that have kept the
city safe in the decade since the Sept. 11 attacks. The department's spokesman
this week said the NYPD retains "strong ongoing relations in the Muslim
community" and pointed to successful anti-terror arrests he said have
resulted from its intelligence operations.
For
months, the surveillance of Muslims by the NYPD, detailed in a series of
stories by The Associated Press, has been harshly criticized by some Muslim,
civic and university leaders as an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
But
the most striking criticism came Wednesday from the head of the FBI's office in
Newark, N.J., where the NYPD photographed mosques and eavesdropped on Muslim
businesses in 2007. While taking care to say he did not want to "pile
on," Special Agent in Charge Michael Ward said the spying program had
already started to erode communication between the Joint Terrorism Task Force
and Muslims in northern New Jersey and had created additional risks.
"People
are concerned that they're being followed. They're concerned that they can't
trust law enforcement, and it's having a negative impact," Ward said.
"No matter what kind of operation you do, nothing is going to compare to
your ability to have the confidence of the public and go out and sit down and
conduct interviews and get their assistance."
Ward's
boss, FBI Director Robert Mueller, has declined to comment on whether the
NYPD's surveillance activities were legal, proper or effective, and earlier
this week he praised New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly for doing "a
remarkable job of protecting New York." However, Mueller did not interfere
with or object to Ward's remarkable public and pointed criticisms of the NYPD's
spying programs.
Likewise,
while the Obama administration has refused to comment on the NYPD's actions, it
has made outreach to Muslims a cornerstone of its effort to fight terrorism,
and specifically cited the abilities of local police to connect with
communities in ways that federal agents cannot.
Muslim
activists in New York, upset with the NYPD's actions, have intensified in
recent days their efforts to discourage people from going directly to police
with concerns. Former Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said that's what happened in
his city after Arizona passed legislation in 2010 that aggressively targets
illegal immigrants and requires police to question whether people are living in
the country legally while enforcing other laws.
Not
only did police notice that Hispanic residents who once waved to them started
looking away when they drove by, Gordon said, but the officers widely believed
immigrants didn't speak up when they saw a crime — or were even crime victims
themselves — out of fear it would lead to their deportation.
"It's
working within the community that prevents the problems," Gordon said.
"Who better knows somebody that is a terrorist or a criminal than the
community where they are hiding."
Ron
Haddad, the chief of police in Dearborn, Mich., where close to 40 percent of
the city's nearly 100,000 residents are Arab- and Muslim-Americans, said there
are limits to the value of surveillance. "The intelligence people tell you
the only thing they can give you are indicators, and the indicators are very
limited and nothing is absolute," Haddad said.
And
so, police in Dearborn focus on building a relationship with city's Arab- and
Muslim-Americans. They have asked Islamic leaders for advice and continually
train officers to recognize the customs of various ethnic groups, including
Muslims, to avoid offending members of those communities. Haddad said they have
also taken care to openly and meticulously explain general police practices
and, on occasion, even the specific details of ongoing investigations.
"If
you can tell them, you need to tell them," Haddad said. He added,
"The danger in not making the appropriate disclosure is they are going to
be more suspicious of you."
The
NYPD's spying in Newark came at a time when Chicago Police Superintendent Garry
McCarthy was that city's police director. Following its disclosure, both he and
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel reached out to reassure Muslims living in Chicago
that the city's police will not conduct such surveillance or profile any single
community.
Such
surveillance has the potential to erode a community trust in law enforcement
that extends far beyond the police, said the top prosecutor in Chicago, Cook
County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
"We
get lumped in with the police," she said. "The distrust starts with
police and goes right to us as well."
The
break can last for decades, Alvarez said. Chicago authorities are still trying
to recover from the fracture with the black residents that stems from the
actions of police Lt. Jon Burge, whose South Side unit tortured dozens of
African-Americans into confessing to crimes they did not commit in the 1970s
and 80s.
Despite
widely publicized changes aimed at increasing the transparency of police
interrogations, such as requiring police to videotape the interviews of murder
suspects, some black Chicago residents still question whether confessions
obtained by the city's cops are legitimate.
"Sometimes
you wonder can we ever get past Burge," Alvarez said.
Such
scars can even pass from parent to child. After the Sept. 11 terror attacks,
Japanese Americans in California, still stung by the internment of more than
120,000 members of their community during World War II, were among the loudest
is cautioning the nation not to blame all Muslims for the actions of al-Qaida.
U.S.
Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., who as an infant was sent with his parents to an
internment camp, has compared that action to the NYPD's treatment of Muslims
and pressed Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department to
investigate.
Former
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who was 11 when his family was
forced to move from San Jose to a camp, said he can still recall the vivid
details of what happened, including the memory of wearing his Cub Scout uniform
on his way to the camp and of a prized baseball bat soldiers took because they
said it could be used as a weapon.
"I
always think I could be the subject of that surveillance just because of a
suspicion," Mineta said. "I keep wondering how many generations you
have to be living in this country to be fully treated as an American."
Associated
Press writer Samantha Henry contributed to this report from Newark, N.J.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/cops-mayors-nypd-risks-1380106.html
----------
The
N.Y.P.D. and Muslims
March
8, 2012
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg of New York, Commissioner Raymond Kelly of the New York
Police Department and their supporters have reacted with defensiveness and
hostility to the disclosure of constitutionally suspect surveillance of
law-abiding Muslims in New York City, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond.
Mr.
Bloomberg said the city’s safety was not “a political football to play with.”
Mr. Kelly accused critics of using “the media to spread misinformation.” And
former Mayor Ed Koch said an editorial on this page raising questions about the
program “endangers the lives of eight million residents of New York City.”
Those
reactions ignore the views of the governor of New Jersey, a solidly
conservative Republican, the mayor of Newark, many Muslim public figures, and
leaders of universities where surveillance has occurred. They also overlook the
real-life consequences of the surveillance.
Michael
Ward, the agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Newark bureau, said this week that
such broad-net surveillance had undermined the relationship with Muslims that
officials had worked diligently to develop since Sept. 11, 2001, making it more
difficult to protect the public.
The
series of articles by The Associated Press that disclosed the surveillance said
New York police officers fanned out across Newark in 2007, photographing Muslim
businesses and gathering data on mosque worshippers. Some are now wary of
praying in public, joining faith-based groups or patronizing some restaurants
and shops.
“There’s
no correlation between the location of houses of worship and minority-owned
businesses and counterterrorism” work, Mr. Ward said. By generating distrust,
he said, the operation created “more risk.”
Mr.
Kelly loudly defends the operation and an exemplary record of preventing
terrorist attacks. He should not do that so loudly that he drowns out
reasonable criticisms.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/opinion/the-nypd-and-muslims.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120309
-------
Muslim
community assures Peace and Security for the Christians in Kashmir
Back
To Main Regional
Concerned
about problems in Kashmir (related to the arrest of Rev. C.M. Khanna and the
order of the Sharia Court demanding the expulsion of certain Christians), the
National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) undertook a special visit to
Srinagar. In such a situation, it is natural for members of the Christian
community to experience a sense of isolation and helplessness. At the same time
some Muslims can get very agitated about the reported evangelistic activities
of Christians. The NCCI visit was aimed at building confidence among both the
communities. The NCCI interacted with a cross-section of people that included
civil society, political parties, college faculties, and leaders from the
Christian and Muslim communities.
The
local communities are very much appreciative of the work of Christians in the
field of education and health. They wholeheartedly agree that it is contributing
to the development of Kashmir. The Muslims in general are not opposed to
Christians practicing their faith in the Valley. However, they have
reservations about conversions through inducement.
Jammu
Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Yassen Malik, assured NCCI on Saturday that
the Christian community can live without fear and perform their religious
duties in Kashmir. The NCCI welcomes his positive statement.
The
NCCI reaffirms that Indian Constitution articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 affirm the
Right to freedom of religion to all citizens of this country. However, NCCI
does not approve of conversions through inducement; they are contrary to the
values of Christianity.
We
demand that the State Government should not allow right-wing Muslim groups to
take the law in their hands. This will make the situation worse for communal
harmony in the state.
We
also appeal to the media and Christian groups not to create prejudice against
the Kashmir Muslim Community. We urge Christians to responsibly witness to Christ
and the gospel in the valley. Christians must live alongside their Muslim
brothers and sisters in peace and harmony.
-------
Bomb
kills 13 in northwest Pakistan
AP
PESHAWAR:
Mar 11, 2012, A suicide bomber attacked a funeral attended by an anti-Taliban
politician in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least 13 mourners and
wounding 30 others, police said.
The
politician, Khush Dil Khan, escaped unhurt in the blast on the outskirts of
Peshawar, the main city in the northwest.
Islamist
militants are fighting a vicious war against Pakistani security forces in and
around Peshawar, which lies close to border regions with Afghanistan where
extremists hold sway. Many hundreds have been killed over the last few years.
Police
officer Abid Rehman said the attacker managed to get inside the compound where
funeral prayers were being held in Badhber village. He said several of the
wounded people were in critical condition.
''We
are devastated,'' said Zahir Khan, 32, weeping while lying in a hospital bed.
His elder brother died in the attack. He said they were chatting when the bomb
went off. ''I never knew I was going to lose my brother forever.''
Khan,
the politician, comes from the secular-leaning Awami National Party that holds
power in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Pakistani Taliban
have targeted several of its leaders in the past. The party has supported
various Pakistani military operations against the militants.
On
Saturday, security forces claimed to have killed 39 militants in fighting in
Bara district in Khyber tribal region, which is close to Peshawar and is the
current focus of anti-Taliban operations. Four security force members were also
killed, according to a brief statement from the paramilitary Frontier Corps.
The
police said it was not yet clear whether the bombing could be a reaction to the
latest fighting.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Police-Bomb-kills-13-in-northwest-Pakistan/articleshow/12219465.cms
--------
Bomb
blast hits church in Nigeria's Jos, authorities say
Reuters
LAGOS:
Mar 11, 2012, A bomb blast struck a Catholic church in the volatile central
Nigerian city of Jos on Sunday, causing unknown numbers of casualties,
witnesses and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
"NEMA
officials are on the scene of a suspected suicide explosion at Finber's
Catholic Church, Rayfield, Jos. They are about to evacuate victims to
hospital," NEMA spokesman Yushau Shuaib said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Bomb-blast-hits-church-in-Nigerias-Jos-authorities-say/articleshow/12220949.cms
---------
Israel
launches fresh air strikes on Gaza
11
March 2012
Israeli
air strikes have pounded Gaza for a second day, in the worst violence in the
region for almost a year.
Palestinian
sources said at least 15 militants had been killed in the two days of fighting.
Israeli
says almost 100 rockets fired from Gaza have struck Israel since the exchange
of fire began.
The
US condemned the rocket attacks, calling them "cowardly", while the
Arab League called the Israeli air strikes "a massacre".
The
UN and the European Union have expressed concern and appealed for calm.
The
latest flare-up began on Friday when an Israeli air strike on a car in Gaza
City killed militant commander Zohair al-Qaisi, secretary general of the
Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), and two of his associates.
Gaza
militants quickly unleashed a barrage of rockets toward southern Israeli
communities.
Palestinian
doctors said Israeli air strikes on Saturday killed one person near the
southern town of Rafah on the border with Egypt and two more in Khan Younis.
They
said that at least 26 Palestinians had been wounded over the two days, five
seriously.
Israeli
officials said rocket attacks against Israel had injured four people. They said
Israel's Iron Dome missile-interception system had taken out 28 rockets heading
towards populated areas.
Schools
in several southern Israeli communities will be closed on Sunday, affecting
more than 200,000 students, Israeli media reported.
The
Israeli army said it struck several targets inside Gaza including "a
terrorist squad" planning to fire rockets.
It
said the air strikes were "in direct response to the rocket fire at
Israeli communities in southern Israel".
Defence
Minister Ehud Barak said "the Israeli army will hit anyone planning to
attack Israeli citizens".
'Dangerous
escalation'
The
increase is violence alarmed world powers trying to bring peace talks between
Palestinians and Israelis back on track.
US
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington condemned "in
the strongest terms" the rocket fire from Gaza, saying the attacks had
"dramatically and dangerously escalated".
Israel
says its Iron Dome missile launchers, like this one in Ashdod, stopped several
rockets
"We
call on those responsible to take immediate action to stop these cowardly
acts," she said.
The
Arab League issued a statement accusing Israel of carrying out a "massacre".
It
called for a tough stance from the international community against the Jewish
state.
EU
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the bloc was "following with
concern the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and in the south of
Israel".
"It
is essential to avoid further escalation and I urge all sides to re-establish
calm," she said.
UN
spokesman Richard Miron called the situation in Gaza "very fragile and
unsustainable".
"We
deplore the fact that civilians are once again paying the price," he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17329734
--------
Kenya
blames al-Shabab for deadly Nairobi grenade attack
11
March 2012
At
least six people have been killed and more than 60 injured in an attack at a
busy bus station in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Four
grenades were thrown from a passing car, Internal Security Minister George
Saitoti said.
Militants
of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab are suspected of being behind the
Saturday evening attack, he said.
It
was similar to attacks in October when grenades thrown into a bar and bus
station killed one and injured many.
That
attack happened just days after the Kenyan military had crossed into Somalia to
fight the Somali militants and was also blamed on al-Shabab.
Crater
blaze
No
group has said it carried out Saturday's attack, which occurred at about 1930
local (1630GMT).
After
the explosions, a fire blazed in a small crater at the Machakos bus station and
bystanders helped carry the wounded to ambulances, Reuters news agency said.
Kenyan
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka later called for calm.
"This
is an attack by people who think they can puncture the resolve of Kenyan people
to fight against terror," Mr Musyoka told reporters on Sunday outside the
Kenyatta hospital which is treating the injured.
"It
is a difficult moment, but it should strengthen our resolve," he said.
Threats
There
has been a string of small arms attacks and explosions on Kenyan soil ever
since Kenyan troops crossed the Somali border.
Kenyan
soldiers fighting al-Shabab in Somalia are due to be integrated into the
African Union peacekeeping force next week.
The
group has threatened to attack Kenya on several occasions.
Police
there recently arrested several people over an alleged plot to blow up a hotel
on the Kenyan coast.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17326086
---------
9/11
mastermind set to face US military court
AFP
WASHINGTON:Mar
11, 2012, Nine years after his arrest in
Pakistan, self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed could soon be
back in court for the much-awaited "trial of the century."
After
years of delays, a significant step took place last week when a former aide to
Mohammed, Majid Khan, accepted a plea deal with US authorities that will
require him to testify against other terror suspects at a tribunal at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
More
than a decade after the 2001 attacks that left nearly 3,000 people dead on US
soil, the 46-year-old extremist known simply as "KSM" remains the
ultimate figurehead in a legal battle fought by two successive US administrations.
President
Barack Obama "can claim credit for killing (Osama) bin Laden and (al-Qaida
cleric Anwar) Al-Awlaqi, so nailing KSM would complete the hat trick and help
quiet the conservative fearmongers who say he's weak on terrorism," former
chief US military prosecutor Colonel Morris Davis told AFP.
Victory
in the trial could prove critical to Obama this year in his re-election bid,
where he faces Republicans critical of his approach to terrorism.
The
Democratic president had sought to hold a trial for KSM and his four accused
accomplices in New York, just steps from the Ground Zero site where the World
Trade Center's twin towers fell.
But
congressional Republicans put an end to those plans by blocking the transfer of
terrorism suspects to the United States.
The
five September 11 defendants, known as the "Guantanamo Five" for
their incarceration at the US naval base in southern Cuba, will face a trial
under special military tribunals created by the George W. Bush administration
after the attacks.
Procedures
for the military tribunals, also known as commissions, were modified by the
Obama administration.
KSM,
along with Walid bin Attash of Saudi Arabia, Yemen's Ramzi bin al-Shibh,
Pakistan's Ammar al-Baluchi or Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali and Mustafa al-Hawsawi of
Saudi Arabia, all face possible death penalties.
The
88-page indictment lists 2,976 murder counts for each of the victims of the
coordinated attacks.
"Let's
get rid of the alleged. KSM has admitted (the crimes) many times," said
Michael Mukasey, who served as US attorney general under Bush.
KSM's
first confessions were made when he was subjected 183 times to a simulated
drowning method known as waterboarding and other so-called "enhanced"
interrogation techniques at a secret CIA prison after his March 2003 capture.
But
"no statement obtained as a result of coercion can be used" in a
military commissions trial, chief prosecutor Brigadier General Mark Martins
said in an interview.
Although
KSM has since repeated his confessions, the prosecution needs to obtain
statements that are legally admissible in court.
This
is where Khan's awaited testimony fills the gap. The Pakistani national, who
lived legally in America and graduated from a US high school, pleaded guilty at
Guantanamo to a reduced charge of "conspiracy" to commit terrorism in
exchange for a lighter sentence.
"If
Khan provides information on KSM and others, as has been suggested was part of
the deal, it will no doubt speed up the prosecutions," said Karen
Greenberg, a terrorism expert at Fordham Law School.
With
Khan's testimony in hand, KSM can be officially tried before a Guantanamo
judge, which observers say could take place at any time.
The
person who presides over the commissions, a judge known as the convening
authority, now has "everything he needs to make the decision but he's not
under a timeline," Martins said.
Baluchi
has requested that he be spared the death penalty, saying he played a lesser
role in the attacks.
But,
following a vote in Congress, if the Guantanamo Five plead guilty,
"they're allowed to be executed," said Adam Thurschwell, a general
counsel in charge of defending Guantanamo detainees.
Baluchi's
lawyer, James Connell, said it is the convening authority's choice to decide a
date for the trial.
"We
don't want them to rush into a decision but on the other hand, we don't want
them to drag their feet," he added.
Although
the defendants might make pre-trial appearances soon, the crucial trial could
be months away.
"KSM
wanted to use the rest of the trial as an opportunity to deliver a diatribe
against US policy," said appellate attorney David Rivkin.
KSM
himself has declared that he wants to die and become a martyr.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/9/11-mastermind-set-to-face-US-military-court/articleshow/12217341.cms
---------
Annan
visit strikes positive note as Assad vows peace
AFP
DAMASCUS:
Mar 11, 2012,, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad promised international envoy
Kofi Annan on Saturday that he would back any "honest" peace bid but
warned dialogue would fail if " terrorist groups" remained.
In
Cairo, meanwhile, Russian and Arab foreign ministers called for an end to the
violence in Syria "whatever its source," as they struggled to find
common ground on ways to resolve the conflict.
Syrian
state television said there was a "positive atmosphere" to the
Damascus meeting between Assad and the former UN chief on his first visit since
being named UN-Arab League envoy on the conflict.
Annan,
quoted by SANA, rejected foreign interference in Syria's affairs and said he
wanted to work with the Syrian government "to launch a dialogue within the
framework of a political process to restore stability."
The
talks came against a backdrop of fierce fighting between troops and rebels,
particularly in the northwestern province of Idlib, where troops killed 16
rebels.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Annan-visit-strikes-positive-note-as-Assad-vows-peace/articleshow/12216699.cms
--------
India:
JKLF chairman ridicules Govt, appeals for amity
South
Asian News Agency (SANA)
SRINAGAR,
March 10, 2012 , Vehemently ridiculing the state administration for failing to
prevent communal clashes at Rajouri, the JKLF chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik,
has warned that fires from tense Jammu district could “burn down everything.”
“We
believe in communal harmony and the world has its fantastic display in 1947 and
in 2008 also. In Rajouri, the state government sparked the communal tension by
granting permission to Praveen Togadia, and subsequently it could not prevent
violence,” a statement said, quoting Malik’s public address at Handwara this
afternoon.
Appreciating
the people of Rajouri, he appealed them to be patient and non-violent.
“We
salute the people of Rajouri for always maintaining the communal harmony. We
appeal to them to be patient this time also. We are with them as always and we
will raise our voices in their support,” he said.
The
chairman took on the media and the Indian civil society for not coming up
against Praveen Togadia and accused them of double standards
“He
openly made an objectionable speech and yet media and the Indian civil society
are silent over it. Instead if any Muslim would have made half of his
(Togadia’s) speech, the same media and civil society would have launched a
vicious campaign against him,” he said.
Yasin
Malik said the Muslims of Jammu & Kashmir believe in communal harmony and
brotherhood.
“We
have a remarkable track record of maintaining and protecting the communal
harmony and brotherhood in the state and we are proud of it,” Malik said while
addressing a gathering at Handwara in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
“In
1947 lakhs of Muslims were done to death but in Kashmir not a single non-Muslim
was even hurt. Seeing this exemplary patience and communal harmony, Gandhi Ji
said that he saw a ray of hope in Kashmir only. The Muslims of state have
always been receiving lakhs of Amarnath Yatris every year. In 2008, when
economic blockade of Kashmir was carried out by fanatics and our kids were
without milk, Kashmiris gave shelter to the Amarnath pilgrims,” said Malik.
Malik
expressed serious concern over the situation in Rajouri. “We can’t remain
silent over the events unfurling in Rajouri town,” he added.
Demanding
the release of all the arrested youth including students, Malik said it did not
behoove those claiming high of democracy and democratic ideals and principles
to put behind bars innocent youth.
Regarding
Kashmir issue, Malik said that freezing Kashmir issue was not acceptable to the
people of the state and “without solution of this vexed issue, no development
is possible in the region.”
“The
international community should stress upon India and Pakistan to resolve
Kashmir issue on priority through tripartite talks. Involvement of Kashmiris as
cardinal party to Kashmir issue is indispensable for just and viable resolution
of the Kashmir issue,” Malik said.
“People
are sacrificing their lives, property and honor but the lack of commitment to
the cause is creating hurdles in reaching to our goal, people should show commitment
towards the cause,” he said.
“The
world is supporting our peaceful struggle. I appeal the youth to be firm and
keep their struggle peaceful so that world knows that who is using violence in
Kashmir,” Malik said.
“People
of Jammu & Kashmir fostered violence–free and peaceful struggle from 2008.
But from 2008 till date hundreds of innocent civilians were killed and
thousands others injured. Despite government’s unilateral violence, Kashmiris
did not give up peaceful struggle. Now it is the responsibility of
international community to respect and value our peaceful struggle and take
steps for resolving Kashmir issue on priority for abiding peace and stability
of the region,” he added.
http://www.sananews.net/english/2012/03/malik-ridicules-govt-appeals-for-amity/
---------
Pakistan
Sufi preacher's visit to Mumbai, India draws flak
Mohammed
Wajihuddin, TNN
MUMBAI:Mar
11, 2012, A section of Muslims is opposing the scheduled Mumbai visit of
Pakistani Islamic preacher and Sufi scholar Tahirul Qadri next week. Qadri, who
is on the hit list of the terrorist outfit al-Qaida for his anti-terrorism
fatwa in 2010, now lives in Canada and is currently touring India. However,
Raza Academy, a Sunni Muslim group, calling Qadri a "threat to
peace", has asked the state government and the Union home ministry to
prevent him from visiting Mumbai. Qadri will deliver two lectures on Islam's
message of peace and compassion at Birla Matoshree Hall, Marine Lines (March
15) and at Somaiya Ground in Sion on March 17. While the programme at Birla
Matoshree is strictly by invitation, the Somaiya Ground session is open to all.
Qadri
is in the eye of a storm for three reasons. His detractors say that during his
recent lectures in Gujarat he praised Narendra Modi and he reportedly asked
Muslims to forget Gujarat 2002. However, Qadri has clarified that he had only
thanked Modi for providing him Z-plus security. "He has said that it was
his moral responsibility to thank a state government which made elaborate
arrangements for his security. He never asked Muslims to forget the 2002
massacre in Gujarat," said Aijaz Ahmed, secretary (Maharashtra) of
Minhaj-ul-Quran, an organization established by Qadri. Mohammed Salim Sarang,
another supporter of Qadri, maintained that some Sunni scholars were jealous of
Qadri's growing popularity in India as his lectures are drawing thousands.
Raza
Academy's Saeed Noorie who organized a small anti-Qadri protest at Bhendi
Bazaar on Friday said his organization was opposing Qadri also because of his
controversial remarks on Kashmir. "Qadri said Kashmiris should be given
the right of self-determination which is against India's stand on the Kashmiri
issue," said Noorie.
Though
Qadri's supporters claim the preacher follows the principles of Sunni Islam,
his detractors maintain that Qadri has forfeited this status because he
attended a multi-faith convention in England some months ago. Clips of Qadri
sharing the stage with preachers of other religions like Hinduism,
Christianity, Judaism and Sikhism are being circulated.
"He
shared the stage with other dharma gurus to uphold peace and harmony. What is
wrong with that?," asked M A Khalid, a die-hard fan of Qadri.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Pakistan-preachers-visit-to-city-draws-flak/articleshow/12214514.cms
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Activists
and journalists condemn Indian Journalist's arrest for Israel diplomat's car
bombing
IANS
| Mar 10, 2012,
NEW
DELHI: A group of social activists and prominent journalists Saturday condemned
the arrest of senior journalist Syed Mohammad Kazmi, saying that the Special
Cell of Delhi Police had falsely implicated him in the terror attack on an
Israeli diplomat's wife last month based on reports provided by Israeli
agencies.
Addressing
a press conference, advocate ND Pancholi said the Special Cell was known for
"fabricating evidence".
"The
Special Cell has a record of filing fabrications on the basis of frivolous
documents. Most of the investigation conducted by the Special Cell of Delhi
police was found to be false," said Pancholi while demanding that the case
be transferred to another probe agency for fair investigation.
They
said Kazmi was made a scapegoat in the case to please an international lobby.
Showing
concern over media reports that Israeli investigating agencies were coming here
to interrogate Kazmi, the members condemned it and demanded that no foreign
agency should be permitted to interrogate any Indian national.
Senior
Journalist Saeed Naqvi called the arrest as a step to reduce the power of the
press.
He
said: "On the day of Kazmi's arrest, the government was discussing about
controlling the press."
Senior
journalist Seema Mustafa demanded immediate release of Kazmi, saying that his
arrest was an attempt to interfere on the expression of views and public
thinking.
"The
cause of Kazmi's arrest was his supporting views on Iran and his contribution
in Syria recently," she added
Kazmi's
son, Shauzab Kazmi reiterated that his father was innocent saying that he was a
national hero, who had covered the Iraq War as a journalist.
The
civil society members demanded that Kazmi be released on bail.
Accused
Kazmi (52) was arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police Tuesday night. He
is in police custody.
Kazmi,
who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, is a resident of south Delhi's BK Dutt
colony near Jor Bagh area.
A
post-graduate in Persian from Delhi University, Kazmi has worked as a freelance
journalist with DD News. He has also worked as a news reader for a Tehran-based
radio station and was recently working as a freelancer for Iranian news agency
IRNA.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Activists-and-journalists-condemn-Syed-Kazmis-arrest-for-Israel-diplomats-car-bombing/articleshow/12212608.cms
----------
India:
Bhatkal Jamia Islamia to Host International Educational Convention
Yahya
Hallare
With
Inputs from Media Release
Bhatkal,
Mar 10: Jamia Islamia Bhatkal will conduct an international educational
convention to mark its 50th year celebrations on March 18.
Inayatullah
Gawai, convenor, media committee told reporters that to mark the 50 years
anniversary of the Jamia Islamia Madrasa, a series of educational programmes of
National and International level have been planned under the able leadership of
Hazrat Maulana Syed Muhammed Rabey Husaini Nadvi, patron of Jamia Islamia,
Bhatkal and President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) from
March 18 to 21 in Bhatkal.
He
added that the main theme of this convention is “The Role of Islamic Madrasas
in Establishing Peace in the World”.
Noted
scholars, educational experts and number of dignitaries such as K Rahman Khan
(Deputy Chariman, Rajya Sabha), Shankar Bidri (Director General of Police),
Vishveshwar Hedge Kageri (Education Minister), E T Muhammed Basheer (MP &
Former minister for Education, Kerala), Dr Mahmoodur Rahman IAS (Ex Vice
Chancellor Aligarh Muslim University), Shri Brahmanand Saraswati Swamiji
(Dharmasthala Devara Gudde, Shri Gurudeva Mathadesha), Maulana Nizamuddin
(General Secretary All India Muslim Personal Law Board), Maulana Mohammed Salim
Qasmi (Principal Darul Uloom Deoband), Maulana Abdullah Mughaisi (President All
India Milli Council), Maulana Syed Salman Nadvi (President Jamiat-e-Shabab), Dr
Saeedur Rahman Azmi (principal Nadva University, Lucknow) amongst many others
will participate in this convention.
He
said that the event will also comprise an exhibition on Islam, Quran and
Humanity, Navayath culture and civilization and exhibition on contribution of
Jamia graduates.
Press
meets were held in this regard in various places like Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal
and Mangalore, apart from meetings with committee members at Jamia Islamia,
Bhatkal and Muslim representatives of Uttara Kannada district.
A
large number of people from Goa and Mangalore are also expected to participate.
Jamia Islamia also held meetings in the Gulf with people from Bhatkal, Manki,
Valki, Murdeshwar, Byndoor, and Shiroor residing in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Muscat,
and Qatar. More than 2000 Bhatkalis from the Gulf would also be present.
Meetings
were also held with police departments, tahsildar, panchayats etc.
The
Jamia Islamia was founded on 20th August 1962 under the able guidance and
patronage of Dr Ali Saheb Malpa, Janab Sada Jafri Sahab, Al-Hajj Muhaiuddin
Saheb Muniri, Janab D A Abubakar Saheb and D A Ismail Saheb. The Madrasa has
the strength of 1100 students, 47 teachers, and 30 non-teaching staff members.
The curriculum comprises religious subjects such as tafseer and hadith along
with languages, geography, political science, history, maths, and others. Jamia
has also a full fledged department of Hifz (memorization of the entire Quran).
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=131339
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A
good Muslim's better life cut short by extremists
JOCK
CHEETHAM
11
Mar, 2012
MUHAMMAD
AKRAM climbed on to the back of his grandson's motorcycle to go home for lunch,
not knowing he had just minutes to live. The pair rode through the streets of
Nawabshah in Pakistan where the Sydney grandfather had spent much of his life.
As they parked under a tree, a motorcycle approached. One of two men, his face
covered by cloth, put the gun close to Mr Akram's back and fired.
This
was the first assassination of an Australian Ahmadi Muslim, say Mr Akram's
family. The killing was religiously motivated, says the Ahmadiyya community in
Pakistan.
Some
Muslims regard Ahmadis as heretical and their persecution by Sunni Muslim
extremists is as old as Pakistan.
In
Australia immigrant people can create new lives, but their old countries - be
they Britain, China or Pakistan - pull people back to relatives, friends and
lives never fully left behind, even when, like Mr Akram, they left as refugees.
Sometimes tragedy results, in Mr Akram's case a killing hatched within a web of
local and international politics. The extremists who persecute Ahmadis have
links to terrorist organisations there, in Afghanistan and elsewhere, including
al-Qaeda.
Having
joined his Sydney-based family in Claremont Meadows, near Penrith, seven years
ago as a refugee, friends and family counselled caution on his return to Pakistan.
He went to attend a family wedding and visit his home town, Nawabshah, also
known as Benazirabad, where two of his children remain.
And
so he came to be riding home on Wednesday, February 29. The bullet pierced a
kidney. His grandson Muneeb Ahmed held him and yelled at the fleeing attackers.
As he died, aged 78, Muneeb also fell. The bullet had passed through his
grandfather and struck him. The 18-year-old lived, after four hours of surgery.
Mr
Akram's family in Sydney soon heard the news and saw images of his face and
body via a web cam. Six shocked relatives flew out within a day for the funeral
last Saturday.
http://www.melbourneweeklybayside.com.au/news/world/world/general/a-good-muslims-better-life-cut-short-by-extremists/2483958.aspx
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Interest-free
microfinance hope for poor Muslims
TNN
HYDERABAD,
Mar 11, 2012: Making headlines in the recent past for crushing interest rates
claiming lives of debtors, microfinance is now being offered with a more humane
approach. The Human Welfare Foundation will now offer loans in the form of
interest-free microfinance to the poor across the country including Hyderabad,
said vice president of Jamat-e-Islami Hind Prof K A Siddique Hassan here on
Saturday. Hassan is the general secretary of the foundation,
In
addition to interest-free loans, a support system for human welfare involving a
network of activities focusing on healthcare, protection of civil rights,
women's empowerment, disaster management and encouraging strict adherence to
ethics in professions such as medicine is the need of the hour, he noted.
"The burden of interest never allows the debtor to extricate himself from
the web of interest and loans. Also, Muslims need skills, technical guidance
and entrepreneurship apart from financial assistance," he added.
As
part of an initiative entitled Vision 2016, the Human Welfare Foundation (HWF),
along with 50 affiliate NGOs, has been implementing around 125 projects in 20
states to establish a support network for human welfare. "The plan aims to
bring about the complete upliftment of Indian society. By adopting business
models such as musharika (joint venture), mudariba (hire purchase) and
qarz-e-hasana (loans with the intention of goodwill), we intend to help the
poor. This will be 100% interest free. The NGO Sahulat Microfinance Society
intends to achieve justice and plans to remove socio-economic disparities by
providing interest free loans thereby bringing about equity for educationally
and financially backward section of society. Hyderabad will be the hub of
operations in Andhra Pradesh," said Hassan. There are 15 such
microfinancing centres in and around Hyderabad.
Hassan
observed that the ghettoisation of Muslims is the primary cause for their
backwardness. He added that poverty alleviation was possible with education.
He
said the first phase of the project was completed in March 2011 and the second
phase would begin in March 2012 and will focus on states in South India. "
This is the first time a national NGO for protection of civil rights of Muslims
has been formed in the county," Hassan said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Interest-free-microfinance-hope-for-poor-Muslims/articleshow/12214719.cms
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/forcible-conversion-hindu-girls-rise/d/6826