Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Asks PM Narendra Modi, HM Amit Shah To Quell 'Winds Of Hatred'
New Age Islam News Bureau
30 April 2022
Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari (File photo)
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• Hindus For Human Rights, A US-Based Non-Profit
Advocacy Group Leaders Sign Statement To Denounce Anti-Muslim Hate In India
• Subsistence Of Pakistan, Which Came Into Being On
The ‘Night Of Power’ (Laila Tul Qadr), Knotted With Islam: Ameer Tanzeem-e-Islami
• '50 Dead, Dozens Injured' As Blast Rips Through
Mosque In Kabul
• UAE To Send Astronaut On Six-Month Mission To Space
Station
India
• Inquiry Ordered Against Madrasas Run By Non-Muslims;
Such Madrasas Can Lead To Misuse Of • Government Funds: Chairman of Uttar
Pradesh Madarsa Education Board
• All India Muslim Personal Law Board urges PM to
‘discuss’ Uniform Civil Code Before Taking Any Decision
• International Quds Day Rally Held In Kargil, India;
People From Different Walks Of Life Took Part In The Rally
• AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Breaks Down Amid
Speech, Says 'They Are Trying To Wipe Muslims Out'
--------
North America
• EU, US urge Sudan to move to civilian rule
• ISIS ‘Beatle’ sentenced to life for murdering US
hostages
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Pakistan
• PML-N Slams ‘Attack’ On Ministers At Masjid-e-Nabvi
• Five Arrested For Insulting Pakistani Minister In
Prophet’s Mosque Courtyard
• Pakistani PM appreciates Iran’s Int’l Quds Day
initiative
• Pakistan slams Israeli raid on Al Aqsa mosque
• Govt to end interest-based banking by Dec 2027
• Imran writes to President Alvi, CJP Bandial seeking
probe into 'threat letter'
• President Alvi directs HEC to take steps against
harassment, profiling of Baloch students
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South Asia
• Afghanistan's supreme leader wants world to
recognise Taliban govt
• Former Afghan Army General Says War Against Taliban Only
Way Forward
• Taliban calls on steps to move away from Int’l aid
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Arab World
• Why Many Non-Muslims In Saudi Arabia Chose To Fast
This Ramadan
• Arab states rushing to normalize relations with
Israel to rue decision, says Houthi
• Man overseeing Lebanon vote frets about disruptions,
vote buying
• Iran denies ‘reports of an assassination attempt’ on
Qatar’s ambassador in Tehran
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Europe
• French Muslims Vote For ‘Whoever Spits In Their Face
Least’
• Far-Right France Website Probed After 'Leak' Of
Muslim Personal Data
• UK-Based Muslims Trying To Help Families In
Crisis-Hit Homelands
• Merhaba Ramadan: Germany’s Muslims Help Homeless,
People In Need
• German footballer Mesut Ozil condemns violence
against Indian Muslims
• Muslims Celebrate International Quds Day in Italy
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Southeast Asia
• International Quds Day Webinar, Sponsored By Embassy
Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Held In Beijing
• MIC ready to field Indian Muslim candidates for
GE15, says its president
• Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council
has legal interest to intervene in single mum Loh Siew Hong’s divorce petition,
court told
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Mideast
• Iran Warns Extremists Will Show No Mercy To Shia, Sunni
Muslims
• IRGC Commander: Palestinian People Close to Victory
• Int'l Quds Day Rallies Held in Iranian Cities
• Amir Abdollahian Discusses Palestine with OIC Head,
Lebanese, Malaysian FMs
• Palestinian assailants shoot dead Israeli guard in
West Bank
• In Gaza, families enjoy Iftar on the beach with cool
breeze and fantastic view
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Africa
• Int'l. Quds Day Rally Held In Niger Republic In
Solidarity With Palestinians
• Mass arrests after deadly anti-Muslim attack in
Ethiopia
• Divided UN extends Libya mission by three months
• Libya losing $60 million a day in oil shutdown:
Minister
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/jama-masjid-shahi-imam-hatred-modi-shah/d/126905
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Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Asks PM Narendra Modi, Amit
Shah To Quell 'Winds Of Hatred'
Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed
Bukhari (File photo)
------
Apr 29, 2022
NEW DELHI: Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed
Bukhari on Friday asked the Centre to close the "doors" through which
the "winds of hatred and communal tension" were entering into the
society.
Addressing a gathering on the last Friday Namaz of the
holy Ramzan at Jama Masjid, Bukhari made an emotional speech expressing concern
over the atmosphere of "hatred and communal tensions" in the country
and said Indian Muslims look up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Shahi Imam also said he will soon seek an
appointment to meet PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah, saying the meeting was
necessary in order to safeguard Hindus, Muslims, democracy and secularism in
the country.
"The doors through which these winds of hatred
and communal tension are entering can be closed right now by the Prime Minister
and the home minister. In view of the current situation in the country, I urge
the Prime Minister that your urgent attention is needed," he said.
Bukhari said the "destiny" of the country
and its people were to be "decided" by the Prime Minister and the
home minister as every secular citizen was concerned about the prevailing
atmosphere.
Asserting that he cannot let the country "burn in
the fire of hatred", Bukhari said, "I would like to urge the PM that
this conspiracy of our enemies needs to be thwarted so that the traditional
brotherhood is fully restored and justice is done to those who have been
victims of violence in different parts of the country."
Citing the recent demolition drive by North Municipal
Corporation of Delhi in Jahangirpuri, Bukhari questioned if it was right to use
bulldozers to destroy homes and livelihoods of people.
"The government will decide who is guilty. The
truth will come out if there is an impartial inquiry. But is it justified that
someone's homes and shops are demolished and they are left unattended on the
streets," Bukhari sought to know.
"Was it right to use bulldozer in Jahangirpuri?
Those whose houses and shops were destroyed, including Hindus and Muslims, were
weeping and pleading. There were many who had documents but they could not show
them and their houses were destroyed," he claimed.
Bukhari also lashed out at the Congress and the
Samajwadi Party saying they remained "silent" when bulldozers were
used in Uttar Pradesh.
Ninety six per cent Muslims had voted for the
Samajwadi Party there, he claimed, lashing out at "secular" parties.
The Hindus and Muslims have been traditionally
respectful of each others' processions and festivals. But is this new tradition
of carrying swords and pistols, and chanting slogans outside religious places
of other communities right? he said.
Bukhari said neither Hindus nor Muslims wanted to face
any troubles or sorrows as they had already lost their loved ones and their
means of livelihood during Covid-19.
The Shahi Imam said the walls of hatred need to be
dismantled as the "differences" between the two communities were
harmful and worrisome for the country.
Both Hindus and Muslims have made sacrifices for the
freedom of this country. It needs to be ensured that this sacrifice is not
wasted, he added.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Hindus For Human Rights, A US-Based Non-Profit
Advocacy Group Leaders Sign Statement To Denounce Anti-Muslim Hate In India
A student activist stands
past the heavy police deployement during the citizens' vigil to protest against
rising anti muslim violence at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. Photo by
Ashish Kumar Kataria
-----
29th April 2022
In a statement released on behalf of Hindu leaders
from around the world, Hindus for Human Rights, a US-based non-profit advocacy
group, has denounced anti-Muslim hate that is on the rise across India.
The statement, since its original release on April 22,
has been signed by several Hindu organizations and individuals in solidarity
with their Muslim siblings.
“The images and videos of saffron-clad sadhus,
sadhvis, and swamis calling for genocidal violence against millions of Indian
Muslims in December 2021 are a chilling sight that we cannot ignore,” the
statement says.
Furthermore, citing various other instances of
anti-Muslim hate, such as the Bulli bai case and hijab ban in Karnataka, the
statements calls out Hindus around the world to break their silence and speak
out against the hate that “violates the deepest teachings” of their tradition.
“Violence against Hindus and other minorities in
countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh does not, in any way, justify violence
against Muslims and other minorities in India,” the statement adds, encouraging
Hindus to end the cycle of religious violence across South Asia.
The statement ended with a pledge by the Hindu leaders
to speak out against any anti-Muslim words or actions; to build and strengthen
relationships with the Muslim community; keep their homes and temples open to
all kinds of people and to commit to the teachings of religious freedom and
social justice at the heart of their traditions that challenge notions of
religious nationalism, casteism, and hatred for other religious communities.
Source: Siasat Daily
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original story:
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Subsistence Of Pakistan, Which Came Into Being On The
‘Night Of Power’ (Laila Tul Qadr), Knotted With Islam: Ameer Tanzeem-e-Islami
Ameer Tanzeem e islami Shuja
ud din Shaikh
-----
April 30, 2022
LAHORE: Tanzeem-e-Islami (TI) Ameer Shujauddin Shaikh
has said that the security and subsistence of Pakistan, which came into being
on the ‘Night of Power’ (Laila tul Qadr), is profoundly knotted with Islam.
He said the creation of Pakistan merely seven years
after passing of the Lahore Resolution in 1940 was nothing less than a miracle.
In fact, the force of the slogan “Pakistan ka Matlab Kya: La Illaha Ill Allah”
was behind that miracle, which totally overwhelmed the colonial rule of the
British as well as the unruly majority of the Hindus.
He said the manifestation of that miracle occurred on
the 27th night of Ramazan in 1947, when Pakistan was created from the united
Indian subcontinent. He said creation of Pakistan during the blessed moments of
the 27th night of Ramazan was undeniably part of the Divine Plan.
Shuja lamented that unfortunately both the rulers and
the masses kept deviating from the real goal after the creation of Pakistan.
Ruefully, he said, we kept being engrossed by humanly-conceived systems of
governance and our destination no longer remained Islam (and the establishment
of the Islamic system), due to which not only did we face ignominy in this
world but also invited the wrath of Allah. He asserted that Pakistan is a
fortress of Islam and if we do not establish and enforce the Islamic system here,
then such enormous cracks would appear in the fortress that would be
detrimental and become an existential threat for not only Pakistan but the
entire Islamic world.
Source: The News Pakistan
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original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/954379-subsistence-of-pakistan-knotted-with-islam-shuja
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'50 Dead, Dozens Injured' As Blast Rips Through Mosque
In Kabul
People inspect the inside of
a mosque in Kunduz, Afghanistan, following an explosion. — AP
-----
April 30, 2022
At least 50 people have been killed and dozens wounded
in an explosion at a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul, its leader said,
just a day after two separate bomb explosions rocked the northern city of
Mazar-i-Sharif.
The blast rocked the Khalifa Aga Gul Jan Mosque, as
hundreds of worshipers had gathered for prayers on the last Friday of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Sayed Fazil Agha, the head of the mosque, said a
presumed assailant walked in and detonated explosives.
“Black smoke rose and spread everywhere, dead bodies
were everywhere,” he told in the blast scene, adding that he had lost several
relatives.
“The blast was very loud, I thought my eardrums were
cracked,” Mohammad Sabir, a resident in the area, said, adding that he had seen
people being loaded into ambulances after the explosion.
In a statement immediately after the blast, Taliban
spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the blast and warned the perpetrators
that they would be found and punished.
The development came after an explosion hit two
minibuses in Mazar-i-sharif and killed nine people and injured 13 others.
Earlier, another major Shia mosque in the northern
city had been the target of a bomb attack claimed by the Takfiri Daesh
terrorist group, which killed dozens of worshipers.
A wave of deadly bombings has rocked Afghanistan over
the past two weeks during the fasting month of Ramadan.
The Taliban took power in Afghanistan on August 15
last year amid a chaotic US troop withdrawal from the war-torn country.
Source: ABNA24
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original story:
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UAE To Send Astronaut On Six-Month Mission To Space
Station
United Arab Emirates has
purchased a seat on a SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut
----
29 April ,2022
The United Arab Emirates has purchased a seat on a
SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut to journey to the International Space
Station for a six-month stay, officials said Friday, the country’s first
long-term mission as it advances its ambitions in space.
The UAE purchased the seat on the SpaceX Falcon 9
rocket through a private Houston-based company, Axiom Space, a space tour
operator that has been leading efforts to commercialize the industry. The
mission is scheduled for launch next year from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.
This will mark the UAE’s second time sending an
astronaut into space. In 2019, Maj. Hazzaa al-Mansoori spent an eight-day
mission aboard the International Space Station. The UAE statement did not
identify the astronaut picked for the 2023 mission.
The statement also did not say how much the country
paid for the prized seat on the rocket built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Axiom’s ticket price for wealthy citizens who paid
their way to the International Space Station earlier this month was $55 million
apiece for the rocket ride and accommodations. Friday’s announcement is part of
a flurry of activity in the UAE’s space program.
Last year, the UAE put its Amal, or Hope, satellite in
orbit around Mars, a first for the Arab world. In 2024, the country hopes to
put an unmanned spacecraft on the moon.
The UAE also has set the ambitious goal of building a
human colony on Mars by 2117.
Source: Al Arabiya
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original story:
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India
Inquiry Ordered Against Madrasas Run By Non-Muslims; Such Madrasas Can Lead To Misuse Of Government Funds: Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Education Board
Apr 30, 2022
By Anupam Srivastava
Javed said, “Legally non-Muslims are not allowed to
run madrasas because they cannot teach Islamic subjects as they don’t have any
knowledge about Islam. However, the madrasas are open to all human beings and
people from all faiths can take education there.”
“Madrasas are facing massive fiscal challenges, and
they are also going through rigorous reforms. In other words, they need reforms
immediately and desperately. That’s why we need to check malpractices in the
Madarsa education system. Madrasas run by non-Muslims can lead to misuse of
government funds,” he said.
“The madrasas are trying to overcome the lack of
scientific and secular subjects in the curriculum. The aim is to make students
fit for employment. The government is working aggressively to “modernise”
madrasas to empower Muslim youths who have been educated in these institutions.
The government wants Muslim youths to study Quran but at the same time, to also
study science and modern subjects like computers,” he said.
Iftikhar Ahmed Javed has written to officials to find
madrasas being run by people of other communities, as they are not entitled to
do so. A Madarsa can only be run by a Muslim, according to him..
Javed said, “People often accuse madrasas of misuse of
government funds. If funds go to madrasas which are not run by Muslims, then
obviously it is sheer misuse of funds.”
Source: Hindustan Times
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All
India Muslim Personal Law Board urges PM to ‘discuss’ Uniform Civil Code Before
Taking Any Decision
Apr
30, 2022
Lucknow:
The Muslim Personal Law Board of India (MPLBI) has urged Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to hold serious discussions before taking any decision on the
Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
In
a letter to the Prime Minister, MPLBI said the Indian Constitution has given
the right to the followers of every religion and community to practice their
respective traditions and customs.
“Muslim
weddings and divorce have protection under the Muslim Application Act, 1937,
that is, since pre-Independence days. This was not even contested by Dr
Ambedkar,” said MPLBI national general secretary Moeen Ahmad Khan.
“The
government first needs to have a transparent discussion with religious bodies
of various groups in the country. A decision on UCC without any discussion will
be unconstitutional. The work of the government is to solve people’s problems,
and not to find ways to create them,” the letter read.
Source:
Times Of India
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of the original story:
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International
Quds Day Rally Held In Kargil, India; People From Different Walks Of Life Took
Part In The Rally
April
30, 2022
A
rally was held in the city of Kargil in northern India, on Friday to mark the
International Quds Day.
A
large number of people from different walks of life took part in the rally,
which was organized by the Shia Muslims of the region, scholars and Al-Mustafa
University graduates.
The
participants carried pictures of Imam Khomeini (RA), Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, martyred Iranian commander Lt. General
Qassem Soleimani, and Ayatollah Seyed Ali Sistani.
They
also carried banners and placards urging support for Palestine and Al-Quds.
A
large number of youths and teenagers were among those who attended the rally.
Kargil
in located in Ladakh region in the Indian-administered Kashmir near the borders
with Pakistan and China.
Shia
Muslims make up around 95 percent of the population and its people are devotees
of Imam Khomeini (RA) and Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
The
International Quds Day is a legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic,
Imam Khomeini, who designated the day in solidarity with Palestinians.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//int%e2%80%99l-quds-day-rally-held-in-kargil-india_1253176.html
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AIMIM
Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Breaks Down Amid Speech, Says 'They Are Trying To Wipe
Muslims Out'
Apr
29, 2022
AIMIM
chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday broke down as he was addressing a gathering
near Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid on the last Friday of Ramzan. As he was talking
about the recent incidents of demolition of Muslim houses and businesses in
Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, he became emotional and said there are attempts to
wipe the Muslims out of the country. "People are calling and telling me
about atrocities being done to them, their villages and shops are being
demolished. One should not lose hope, there's no need to worry. We'll face it
with patience but will never raze a home," Owaisi said.
“Listen,
Modi and Amit Shah. We will not bow before you. We are those who bow before Allah.
Allah is enough for us,” Owaisi said as he recounted the recent incident of
Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. Muslims won't leave the ground because they are not
afraid of death, Owaisi said. "You all have seen the video from Haryana
where an elderly person was caught by a so-called Gau Rakshak by the beard. the
people who call themselves," Owaisi added.
"If
Allah takes our lives, we will die. If he does not take, we will live,"
Owaisi said. "We will wait. You have demolished our house, but Allah will
not wait," the AIMIM said in an emotional speech. "Whatever happened
in Delhi, Khargone-- we will come together and help them. Won't we help them?
And if we can't help them, can't we pray for them," he said.
"BJP
has brought in a wave of hatred against the Muslims. But you must be patient.
You must be strong. You must fight this injustice constitutionally, in the path
of law," Owaisi said.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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North America
EU,
US urge Sudan to move to civilian rule
29
April ,2022
The
United States, European Union and major European governments urged Sudan’s
political factions on Friday to quickly restore civilian rule.
The
call came in a joint statement after senior officials from Britain, France,
Germany, Norway, the US and the EU visited Khartoum, scene of last year’s
military coup.
“They
called for immediate progress towards a civilian transitional government,
agreed through the Sudanese-led political process,” the statement said.
The
group gave their support to the political process that is being guided by the
United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD).
This
team, they said, would convene a meeting with Sudanese groups from May 10 to 12
to nudge forward plans for a “civilian-led transition towards democracy.”
The
envoys warned that without progress, “Sudan might lose billions of dollars in
development assistance from the World Bank,” its IMF program and $19 billion in
associated debt relief.
Sudan,
which emerged in 2019 from 30 years of dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir, has
been mired in the political and economic slump since the October 2021 coup.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2022/04/29/EU-US-urge-Sudan-to-move-to-civilian-rule
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ISIS
‘Beatle’ sentenced to life for murdering US hostages
29
April ,2022
A
US judge on Friday imposed a lifetime prison sentence on a member of an ISIS
militant group nicknamed “The Beatles” that beheaded American hostages, at a
hearing where one victim’s mother told the defendant, “I will not hate you.”
US
District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, held an emotionally charged
sentencing hearing for London-born Alexanda Kotey, 38, who pleaded guilty to
murdering US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla
Mueller and Peter Kassig.
Hostages
held by Kotey and his fellow militants nicknamed them “The Beatles” for their
British accents. The hearing included testimony from victims’ relatives.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Family
members described the dread of knowing loved ones were in captivity, and the
grief they felt in the aftermath of their deaths.
“I
will not hate you,” Kassig’s mother, Paula Kassig, said to Kotey during the
hearing. “It would give sadness, pain and bitterness too much power over me. I
choose to let my heart be broken open, not broken apart.”
Kotey’s
lawyer said during the court hearing that, in an effort to “make amends,” Kotey
is meeting with some family members of victims.
Ellis
agreed to keep Kotey detained in Alexandria until July and said that
arrangement would facilitate those meetings.
Kotey
was a citizen of the United Kingdom, but the British government withdrew his
citizenship. His ISIS cell took journalists and aid workers hostage, tortured
them and circulated videotapes of gruesome beheadings on the internet.
Kotey
admitted to inflicting torture on hostages, including waterboarding and
electric shocks with a stun gun.
Kotey’s
lawyers had asked the judge to make a recommendation that Kotey not be sent to
Supermax prison in Colorado known as ADX Florence, home to some of the world’s
most dangerous criminals, including the Mexican drug kingpin, El Chapo.
Ellis
declined to make any recommendation to the Bureau of Prisons about where Kotey
will eventually be sent. That means Kotey is likely heading to ADX Florence,
but the federal Bureau of Prisons has yet to determine where to send Kotey.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Pakistan
PML-N
slams ‘attack’ on ministers at Masjid-e-Nabvi
30
Apr, 2022
LAHORE:
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has slammed the elements involved in
shameful attack on the ministers at the Masjid-e-Nabvi in Madina, one of the
most sacred sites in Islam. The intolerance and divisiveness being incited by
the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to save Imran Khan’s inflated ego is not
tolerable and highly condemnable, they said, adding: “The government and the
people would not forgive them for this act.”
PML-N
Vice-President Maryam Nawaz said what could be more unfortunate than the fact
that some people shouted abuses at Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb
inside Masjid-e-Nabvi (PBUH), showing least regard for the sanctity of the holy
month of Ramazan, and the second most holy place for the Muslims on earth.
In
a series of tweets, Maryam said who could be more unlucky than those people
who, instead of begging forgiveness from the Almighty Allah in the holy month,
waste all their good deeds instead.
In
another tweet, Maryam said that Thursday’s hooliganism at the holy mosque had
unmasked PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his party workers who used the name of
Islam for political purposes. “And that was the punishment they rightly deserved,”
she commented.
Maryam
said that the disrespect shown towards Masjid-e-Nabavi under the supervision of
PTI had left all faithful shocked. “I have received scores of messages from my
angry followers since yesterday who have asked me as to why the government does
not take action against these people. And my answer was that it would be
misconstrued as political victimisation. And what had happened at the holy
mosque was not a political issue.”
Source:
Brecorder
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40170423
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Five
arrested for insulting Pakistani minister in Prophet’s Mosque courtyard
April
29, 2022
MADINAH:
Police in Madinah have arrested at least five Pakistani nationals for “abusing
and insulting” Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Minister for
Narcotics Control Shahzain Bugti at the Prophet’s Mosque in the city.
Arrests
were also made for insulting and abusing a woman and her companions of
Pakistani nationality, also in the courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque.
The
spokesperson for the Madinah Police said the suspects were “referred to the
competent authorities after legal procedures were completed against them.”
He
continued: “Their actions contradict the sanctity of the place and impact the
safety of visitors and worshipers.”
On
Thursday some protesters, allegedly belonging to the PTI party of ousted prime
minister Imran Khan, were loudly chanting slogans against Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif and members of his delegation.
Videos
have emerged online of people aiming chants at the Pakistani delegation while
visiting the Prophet's Mosque on Thursday.
The
director of information at the Saudia Arabia embassy in Islamabad confirmed
some Pakistani nationals were arrested for violating the sanctity of the Masjid-e-Nabawi
and an investigation had been launched into the matter, according to local
media.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2073321/saudi-arabia
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Pakistani
PM appreciates Iran’s Int’l Quds Day initiative
April
30, 2022
Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday appreciated Iran’s initiative of
declaring the International Quds Day in support of the Palestinian nation.
Sharif
said that the move equals respecting the Palestinian nation’s legitimate
resistance to liberate their occupied lands and a show of solidarity of the world
nations with the Palestinians and their demand for establishment of an
independent Palestinian country.
The
Pakistani premier, who is currently in Mecca performing his Hajj pilgrimage
rituals, also prayed for the grandeur of the Islamic world, and especially the
liberation of the occupied Palestinian lands from the occupation of the Israeli
Zionist regime.
He
said that the brother country, Islamic Republic of Iran, announced that the
last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan will be the International Quds Day,
and the initiative has been strongly supported across the entire Islamic world
ever since then, including in different cities of Pakistan.
Source:
ABNA24
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Pakistan
slams Israeli raid on Al Aqsa mosque
Kashif
Abbasi
April
30, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has strongly condemned the raid by Israeli forces on Al Aqsa mosque on
the last Friday of the holy month of Ramazan that injured many innocent
Palestinians, and the ban on Shab-i-Qadr and Jumatul Wida congregations by
Indian authorities at a Srinagar mosque in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Also,
PM Shehbaz Sharif, while expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people,
reiterated support for the global pledge of an independent state of Palestine.
“It
is reprehensible that nearly 300 Palestinians have been injured over the past
two weeks in Israeli attacks at Al Aqsa mosque. The indiscriminate use of force
by Israeli occupation forces against defenceless Palestinians defies all
humanitarian norms and human rights laws,” said the Foreign Office in a
statement issued on Friday.
It
added that such attacks, in addition to causing injuries to the Palestinians,
violate the sanctity of Islam’s holy sites.
Source:
Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1687490/pakistan-slams-israeli-raid-on-al-aqsa-mosque
--------
Govt
to end interest-based banking by Dec 2027
Nasir
Iqbal
April
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Thursday asked the government to eliminate
Riba (interest) from Pakistan by Dec 31, 2027 after declaring its prohibition
in all forms and manifestations to be Islamic and in accordance with the holy
Quran and Sunnah.
The
court specified Dec 31, 2027 as the date for the decision to take effect by way
of complete elimination of Riba, adding the five years till then are reasonably
enough to convert Pakistan’s economy into one that is equitable, asset-based,
risk-sharing and interest-free.
Announced
by a three-judge bench comprising FSC Chief Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai,
Justice Dr Syed Muhammad Anwer and Justice Khadim Hussain M Shaikh, the
298-page long overdue judgement also explained that any interest stipulated in
the government borrowings acquired from domestic or foreign sources was Riba
and clearly prohibited by the holy Quran and Sunnah.
The
court directed the federal as well as the provincial governments to complete
the necessary legislative amendments to the laws concerned and bring them into
conformity with the injunctions of Islam by Dec 31, 2027. It also ordered the
government to adopt Shariah-compliant modes in future while borrowing from
domestic or foreign sources.
FSC
also says any interest in borrowings from domestic or foreign sources was Riba,
clearly prohibited in Islam
It
referred to what it called the constructive, encouraging and positive approach
of the international financial institutions such as the International Monetary
Fund, Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to utilise Shariah-compliant,
Riba-free financing modes for being more productive and economically feasible.
The
present review case was remanded by the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme
Court in 2002 for re-consideration of its earlier judgement after the FSC in
1992 held Riba as repugnant to Islam. Consequently, the FSC held 34 hearings in
which it consulted petitioners, juris-consults, amicus curiae, economists,
experts, scholars, chartered accountants, the attorney general for Pakistan and
provincial advocate generals.
The
judgement also cited certain submissions in which it was told that China was
also willing to utilise the Islamic mode of financing for China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor projects, and observed that Pakistan was already utilising
Riba-free Shariah-compliant modes of financing while dealing with the Islamic
Development Bank and with some Islamic countries.
The
verdict explained: “Charging any amount in any manner over the principal amount
of a loan or debt is Riba, which is completely prohibited according to the holy
Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”
Similarly,
the interest from banks in all forms is Riba whether the loan is taken for
commercial, productive or industrial purposes or even for personal or any
change in the percentage at which the interest is charged on a loan, whether it
is low or high and with any change in the method of calculating the amount of
interest upon a loan whether it is calculated as simple interest or doubled or
multiplied interest upon a loan is Riba.
The
verdict further explained that any transaction of money for an amount of the
same denomination and value, where the quantity on both sides is not equal
either in a spot transaction or in a transaction based on deferred payment, is
Riba. Similarly, a barter transaction between weighable or measurable
commodities of the same kind, where the quantity on both sides is not equal or
where the delivery from one side is deferred, is Riba. It remains prohibited
absolutely irrespective of the name it is called.
The
court held that all laws or provisions of laws, which were under challenge
before the court and contained the word “interest” within the meaning of
banking interest was Riba, hence prohibited, and any payment of extra amount in
addition to due payment outstanding to delay, which was considered and
calculated as interest over that amount also falls within the category of Riba.
Hence, these are also prohibited being repugnant to the injunctions of Islam.
All
the prevailing forms of interest either in banking or private transactions fell
within the definition of Riba. Therefore, the government is directed to delete
the word “interest” wherever it is used in different provisions of law, the
judgement said.
The
FSC also hoped that the federal government will comply with the mandatory
constitutional requirement of Article 29(3) regarding the submission of an
annual report before the National Assembly and the Senate on the observance and
implementation of the Principles of Policy specifically as stated in Article
38(f) of the Constitution, regarding complete elimination of Riba within the
stipulated period.
The
judgement said the speedy proliferation and exponential growth of interest-free
banking not only in Pakistan, but in the entire Islamic world and even
worldwide was a reality that has established that the interest-free banking
system was not only practicable, but feasible too.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1687367/govt-to-end-interest-based-banking-by-dec-2027
--------
Imran
writes to President Alvi, CJP Bandial seeking probe into 'threat letter'
Javed
Hussain
April
30, 2022
Former
prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday wrote letters to President Dr Arif Alvi
and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial seeking from them a public
inquiry and the formation of a judicial commission respectively to probe the
"threat letter" which the PTI chairman claims is evidence of a
"conspiracy" to topple his government.
Before
his government was sent packing through a no-trust motion moved by the then
opposition, Imran had repeatedly claimed that the former Pakistani ambassador
to the US was told by a senior official of the Biden administration that if the
no-confidence resolution succeeded, Pakistan could be forgiven otherwise the
country could face dire consequences.
He
maintains those claims to this day, emphasising the "US-backed
conspiracy" in speeches to supporters following his ouster.
In
the nearly identical letters, the ex-premier noted that the CJP and president
had in their possession copies of the cipher which was given to the then
Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed Khan by US Assistant Secretary of State Donald
Lu.
"The
PTI government, as reflected in the last cabinet meeting, was of the view the
contents of the cipher clearly reflect a regime change conspiracy to remove 'PM
Imran Khan' from the office of the Prime Minister," the letters said.
The
vote of no-confidence against the PTI chairman was "engineered", it
continued, reasoning the claim with the "shifting allegiance of the then
government's allied parties" and the "purchase of loyalty of some
members of PTI".
Imran
also clarified that the cipher was the reason why the former deputy speaker of
the National Assembly (NA) had dismissed the no-trust vote until the cipher was
investigated.
Subsequently,
he requested the CJP and the president to "at least examine the cipher
which clearly pointed to a foreign regime change conspiracy" and order an
inquiry into it. Imran called on the Supreme Court to constitute a commission to
conduct open hearings "in order to establish who all in Pakistan were
involved in this regime change conspiracy".
"Right
now the silence from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Presidency are creating
a sense of betrayal and helplessness amongst the people of Pakistan," the
PTI chairman said, adding that this was bringing them out to protest against
"what they see is a violation of their democratic right to vote".
Cablegate
Ever
since his ouster through a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly, Imran
has dismissed the Shehbaz government, terming it "imported".
The
former PM insists that the no-confidence move against him was part of a foreign
conspiracy, claiming that the cable received from the ambassador on March 7, a
day before the opposition officially filed the no-trust move against him, was
evidence of the conspiracy.
Imran
claimed that the cable showed Pakistan was threatened by a US diplomat who said
the country would have to face consequences if he was not removed via the
no-trust motion, which had not even been filed at the time.
“How
could they know about the no-confidence motion even before it was filed?” Imran
has asked charged supporters in several public rallies in the past few weeks,
adding that local abettors colluded with their “foreign sponsors” to make the
alleged conspiracy successful.
The
issue was first raised by Imran at a public rally on March 27, four days before
the first NSC meeting was held to review the contents of the cable.
A
statement following a National Security Committee meeting on March 31— chaired
by Imran himself — did not mention the word "conspiracy", but
acknowledged "blatant interference", following which a strong
demarche would be sent to the country which was not named in the statement. On
April 14, DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar confirmed that the word had not
been used. A subsequent NSC meeting under the new dispensation declared there
was no foreign conspiracy to oust the Imran Khan government.
Since
then, Imran has referred to the cable in several public addresses when talking
about an alleged plot to remove him from power.
In
one of his addresses, Imran said the cable carried details of the ambassador’s
meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs
Donald Lu in which the latter allegedly threatened Pakistan.
Majeed,
in the cable, reportedly said that Lu warned that Imran's continuation as the
prime minister would have repercussions for bilateral relations. The US, Imran
claimed, was annoyed with his "independent foreign policy" and visit
to Moscow.
It
was on the basis of this cable, which he saw as evidence of a conspiracy to
oust Imran, that the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri gave a ruling
to dismiss the no-trust move against the then premier on April 3, when voting
on the resolution was set to take place, terming the motion contradictory to
Article 5 of the Constitution, which mandates loyalty to the state for all
citizens.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
President
Alvi directs HEC to take steps against harassment, profiling of Baloch students
Naveed
Siddiqui
April
29, 2022
President
Dr Arif Alvi on Friday instructed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the
vice-chancellor of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, to take all
necessary measures to prevent their harassment and racial profiling on
university campuses.
According
to a press release issued by the President's Secretariat, Alvi met Baloch
students earlier this month at the Aiwan-i-Sadr and heard their grievances. QAU
vice chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali, Additional Interior Secretary Muhammad Ayub
Chaudhary and advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir were present there as well.
The
meeting came a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) formed a commission
headed by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to address the grievances of Baloch
students. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had passed the orders while hearing
a petition filed by rights activist Mazari-Hazir against the harassment of
students protesting in Islamabad last month over disappearance of their missing
colleague, Hafiz Baloch.
On
April 8, Justice Minallah sought a report from the president on the grievances
of Baloch students.
In
a statement issued today, Dr Alvi observed that Pakistan was facing a
"unique situation" and the resurgence of terrorist activities was a
cause of concern.
"He
added that counter-terrorism efforts are essential to our peace and existence
but they must be carried out with utmost care and balance so as to not isolate or
profile any segment of our population, particularly the students of
Balochistan," it stated.
Dr
Alvi also said that when it came to Baloch students, there was a "general
sense of deprivation or isolation" and it was, therefore, incumbent on all
educational institutions to take more care to address such sentiments.
He
stressed on the development of a proactive programme of activities and debates
within the student community to "address feelings of deprivation among
Baloch students".
"The
president further asked the VC QAU to diligently monitor any activity which may
be a cause of concern to the Baloch students at QAU and to verify the
credentials of visitors in order to check the impersonification (sic) and
maligning of law enforcement agencies," the statement added.
Mechanism
to end Baloch students' profiling
Separately,
the IHC directed the interior secretary yesterday to develop a mechanism to
"stop what is happening with Baloch students" and ensure that their
ethnic profiling is ended.
During
the hearing, Justice Minallah had remarked that these students were the future.
"Should the courts close their eyes to these human rights
violations?" he asked. "Does the cabinet not know what is happening
in the country? Weren't those who are in the cabinet [now] going to them
yesterday? Don't they know?"
It
is the job of the political leadership in a democratic society to find a
solution, he had observed.
The
directions were issued after security agencies picked up Bebgar Imdad from the
hostel of the Punjab University, purportedly in connection with the Karachi
University (KU) suicide blast case.
Imdad,
a seventh semester student of English Literature in Numl, Islamabad, and a
native of Kech, was visiting his relative in Hostel No 7.
On
Wednesday morning, PU security guards and other security agencies bundled him
into a truck.
One
of the students on the condition of anonymity told Dawn that the security
agencies suspected that Imdad might be involved in the recent attack in which
three Chinese nationals were killed while four others injured outside the KU's
Confucius Institute.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Afghanistan's
supreme leader wants world to recognise Taliban govt
April
30, 2022
KABUL:
Afghanistan’s supreme leader called again on Friday for the international
community to recognise the Taliban government, saying the world had become a
“small village” and proper diplomatic relations would help solve the country’s
problems.
No
nation has formally recognised the regime installed by the Taliban after they
seized power in August and reintroduced the hardline rule that is increasingly
excluding women from public life.
In
a written message ahead of Eidul Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramazan,
supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada did not mention international sticking
points — including reopening secondary schools for girls.
Instead,
he said recognition should come first “so that we may address our problems
formally and within diplomatic norms and principles”.
“Undoubtedly,
the world has transformed into a small village,” said Akhundzada, who has not
been seen in public for years and lives reclusively in Kandahar, the Taliban’s
spiritual heartland.
“Afghanistan
has its role in world peace and stability. According to this need, the world
should recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
Akhundzada
made no mention of insecurity, but said the country had been able to build “a
strong Islamic and national army”, as well as “a strong intelligence
organisation”.
Link
aid to rights
Many
in the international community want humanitarian aid and recognition to be
linked to the restoration of women’s rights.
Tens
of thousands of women lost their government jobs after the Taliban takeover, and
they have also been barred from leaving the country — or even travelling
between cities — unless accompanied by a male relative.
In
March, the Taliban prompted global outrage by shutting all secondary schools
for girls just hours after allowing them to reopen for the first time since
they seized power. Several Taliban officials said the ban was personally
ordered by Akhundzada.
Akhundzada’s
Eid message didn’t touch on girls’ schools, but he did say authorities were
opening new centres and madrasas for both “religious and modern education”.
“We
respect and are committed to all the sharia rights of men and women in
Afghanistan... do not use this humanitarian and emotional issue as a tool for
political ends,” he said.
But
he said people should willingly embrace the Taliban ideals, and not be forced.
“The
relevant authorities should invite people towards sharia with wisdom and avoid
extremism in this regard,” he added.
He
said also the government was committed to freedom of speech according to
“Islamic values”, although hundreds of news outlets have closed, public
broadcasts of music banned, and movies and TV dramas featuring women taken off
air.
Akhundzada,
believed to be in his 70s, has been the spiritual leader of the hardline
movement since 2016, but has remained in the shadows despite the Taliban
enjoying largely uncontested power.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1687541/afghanistans-supreme-leader-wants-world-to-recognise-taliban-govt
--------
Former
Afghan army general says war against Taliban only way forward
30
April, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], April 30 (ANI): A former Afghan army general has said that
military action against the Taliban is the only way forward for stability in
Afghanistan, reported local media citing sources.
Vowing
war against the Taliban after Eid al-Fitr, former army general, Lt Gen Sami Sadat,
has said that the eight months of Taliban rule in Afghanistan have convinced
him and many other Afghans that military action is the only way forward,
reported Khaama Press.
Sadat
said that he and others would “do anything and everything in our powers to make
sure Afghanistan is freed from the Taliban and a democratic system is
re-established,” Khaama Press quoted him as saying during a conversation with a
UK-based media outlet.
Refusing
to mention a specific timeline, he said, “Until we get our freedom, until we
get our free will, we will continue to fight.”
Underlining
the civil rights violation under the Taliban rule, the former general noted
that the restrictions on women’s freedom and target bombings have reached their
peak more recently.
“What
we see in Afghanistan in eight months of Taliban rule has been nothing but more
religious restrictions, misquotation, misinterpretation and misuse of the
scripts from the Holy Koran for political purposes,” the media outlet quoted
him as saying.
“Unfortunately,
every day you wake up, the Taliban have had something new to do, torturing
people, killing, disappearances, food shortages, and child malnutrition,” he
added.
The
Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, rolling back women’s
rights advances and media freedom – the foremost achievements of the post-2001
reconstruction efforts on gender equality and freedom of speech, reported
Khaama Press.
Notably,
the situation of human rights in Afghanistan has worsened since the collapse of
the Afghan government. Although the fighting in the country has ended, serious
human rights violations continue unabated.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Taliban
calls on steps to move away from Int’l aid
29
April, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], April 29 (ANI): Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Prime Minister,
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, on Friday said that international donors who are
helping the country have a political purpose and do not come without an agenda
adding that the country needs to be self-sufficient.
While
speaking at a ceremony in Pirozi, a planned township located 35 km from Kabul,
Baradar said that the aid provided by foreigners does not come without an
agenda and called for Afghanistan to be self-sufficient, reported Tolo News.
This
comes as Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis and food
shortages after the Taliban took over the country in August last year. During
the ceremony, he also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan plans to launch
economic projects in various sectors to provide jobs for the people.
The
Deputy Prime Minister said, “Today, engagement with the international community
is not (possible) without politics. If they want to engage with us, they will
ask for mething in return. But this is common in the whole world that you
should give something in return. It is not possible that they would be giving
us something and we will not give in return.”
Moreover,
Hamdullah Nomani, acting Minister of Urban Development and Housing alleged that
the the work on the Pirozi town project that began 14 years ago was not
completed because of corruption.
“There
are 131 towns in planning and this year we have 15 that we are working on,” he
said.
While
reiterating Deputy PM’s statement on job creation, Obaid Rahman, an official of
the Pirozi project, the construction of Pirozi will provide more than 13,000
job opportunities. “In this project, almost 13,600 people will be provided with
jobs directly,” he said, reported the media outlet.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://theprint.in/world/taliban-calls-on-steps-to-move-away-from-intl-aid/936358/
--------
Arab World
Why
many non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia chose to fast this Ramadan
April
29, 2022
RIYADH:
Many non-Muslims living in Saudi Arabia have decided to fast during Ramadan to
feel a sense of closeness and comradery with their Muslim friends and
colleagues.
“You
don’t do Ramadan only on your own — you share it. It’s a real moment of
friendliness and sharing of generosity,” said Raphael Jaeger, a non-Muslim and
head of the Riyadh branch of Alliance Francaise.
“I
feel that I am a part of this beautiful experience, and I think of Ramadan now,
and what I am doing is building this bridge between the Saudi and the French
culture,” he added.
Jaeger
has lived in Riyadh for three years, but said that this year was his first time
fasting for Ramadan.
“My
first year in Saudi Arabia, I didn’t know that many people deeply, and then
COVID-19 happened,” Jaeger said.
But
since then, he has made many Saudi friends and built strong relationships. Just
before the beginning of Ramadan, his friends invited him to join them for
iftar.
“I
wanted to share with them the experience of the accomplishment, the personal,
spiritual and physical challenge for iftar,” Jaeger said.
He
had a squash match on the first day of Ramadan and found himself extremely
thirsty during the match.
“It
was the very first time and very challenging experience not to drink water,
which I didn’t, and I was very proud of myself,” he said.
Jaeger
compared the process of fasting to the experiences of going to the gym and
surpassing a personal goal.
“These
small victories that you have in life, you have it every day during Ramadan,
and you have it in solidarity with so many people, that together we stand,” he
said.
While
Ramadan is known to have a positive impact on spiritual well-being it also has
plenty of physical health benefits too. Indeed, studies suggest that fasting
from sunrise to sundown can significantly improve personal health.
During
Ramadan, the body gets used to eating less, and this gives the stomach and
digestive system a chance to shrink. This directly controls hunger as the
appetite is reduced, often leading to some weight loss.
Studies
have shown that refraining from food and drink for a certain period of time
also reduces cholesterol, which leads to better cardiovascular health.
When
the body is on a month-long fasting journey, it naturally cleanses its system
of accumulated toxins.
Due
to a combination of fasting and eating late, more of the hormone adiponectin is
produced, which allows the muscles to absorb extra nutrients.
There
also seem to be mental health benefits. Fasting makes the brain more resilient
and adaptable and improves mood and memory.
Refraining
from food allows blood sugar levels to decrease, which in turn helps the body
to use stored glucose for energy resulting in the body naturally regulating
itself. However, people with insulin or sugar concerns should seek medical
advice before fasting.
Mariah
Ross, a 21-year-old from Cleveland, US, shared her experiences as a non-Muslim
fasting during Ramadan.
“I
started fasting when I went on my first international trip to Turkey. I was
traveling with my Muslim best friend, so we decided to fast together and enjoy
Turkey like the locals during Ramadan,” she said.
Ross
has fasted many times during her travels in Muslim countries and while at
university, where most of her core friends were from Gulf countries, including
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.
“I
spent that Ramadan every day with my friends, and we always ate iftar together,
either going out to eat or in one of our apartments,” she said.
During
her time in university, Ross married a Saudi Muslim man, and now she celebrates
Ramadan with him every year.
“Ramadan
is just one of those holidays that is normal to me, just like Christmas in the
US where I’d buy everyone gifts,” she said.
Ana
Mailova, from Georgia, told Arab News that she was fasting on her first visit
to Saudi Arabia. “Of course, the first time I celebrated Ramadan with my friend
Haifa and her family in Khafji. They are like my family now,” she said.
“I
met Haifa through a travel company in Georgia where we worked together,”
Mailova added.
She
said that the owner of the travel company was Haifa’s nephew. She invited them
to her home to meet her family, and their friendship flourished.
Ana
said that until now, she had only viewed Ramadan practices online, adding: “Now
I can do it myself.”
She
said: “Every day I connect with my family and friends by video calls and show
them the beautiful and different tables. If you plan to visit Saudi Arabia, I
would suggest, for my family, friends, or anyone who wants to come here, not to
forget to try all kinds of food here.”
Mailova
hopes more people will visit the Kingdom during the holy month of Ramadan, regardless
of their religious beliefs.
“You
will not regret visiting this beautiful country, especially during Ramadan,”
she said.
For
those who are not used to fasting, especially in an unfamiliar climate, there
are many coping strategies to help them persevere and maintain their energy
levels.
Once
key recommendation is careful time management that allows for adequate sleep
while also leaving enough time to prepare iftar meals.
Despite
the temptation to rest, gentle to moderate physical activity and stretching is
recommended every day. Mental discipline is equally important, with experts
recommending activities that distract the mind from feelings of hunger.
Then,
when people break their fast at sundown, health experts suggest eating slowly
in order to aid digestion, allowing the body to absorb more nutrients, and
making the body feel fuller for longer. This can also reduce the amount of
calories consumed overall.
Power-napping
can also help with those mid-afternoon dips. Just 30 minutes of sleep can be
rejuvenating and boost both patience and happiness.
This
can be followed with a cold shower, waking up the entire body by increasing
circulation and oxygen intake. Although uncomfortable at first, it can actually
lower stress levels in the long run.
Jan
Haas, a 34-year-old German diplomat who moved to Riyadh in July 2021, told Arab
News that it was his first Ramadan spent in the MENA region.
“I
used to have friends on my football team who were Muslim when I was a kid in a
small town east of Cologne. So I was introduced to Ramadan at a young age, but
I did not consider fasting myself at the time,” he said.
“I
see this as an opportunity to try and get a better feeling for their
experiences and their way of life.”
He
tried a strict fasting routine in accordance with Muslim rules, but quickly
realized it was too difficult to sustain.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2073406/saudi-arabia
--------
Arab
states rushing to normalize relations with Israel to rue decision, says Houthi
30
April 2022
The
leader of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement says the Arab
countries that have signed controversial normalization deals with the Israeli
regime will soon rue the decision.
Abdul-Malik
al-Houthi, in a televised speech broadcast from Sana’a on Friday to mark
International Quds Day, said the “losers” who seek normalization of ties with
the Israeli regime “will soon be regretful”.
“We
are now witnessing the fruits of resistance against enemies in Palestinian
territories, Lebanon, and Yemen,” the leader of the Yemeni resistance movement
asserted, while paying glowing tributes to the Palestinian resistance fighters.
He
noted that the massive International Quds Day events across the Muslim world
demand serious consideration, thanking the Yemeni nation for participating in
large numbers in Friday’s rallies.
“Submission
and complete inaction towards the enemy is wrong in every sense of the
word," Houthi remarked, noting that people in some Muslim countries are
helpless and unable to assert their position on the Palestinian cause because
of their regimes' “repressive stance on the matter”.
Every
year, on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, worldwide rallies are
held to commemorate International Quds Day as an affirmation of support and
solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle to free the occupied
territories from the Israeli control.
The
annual event is seen as an opportunity by the campaigners of truth and justice
across the world, regardless of religious and regional affiliations, to voice
their support for the Palestinian cause and denounce the apartheid regime in
Tel Aviv, which has occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.
International
Quds Day is among the legacies of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, Imam Khomeini, who is revered as a spiritual and revolutionary leader by
Muslims across the world.
Soon
after the Islamic revolution in 1979, which saw the overthrow of the US-backed
Pahlavi regime in Iran, Imam Khomeini dedicated the last Friday of the month of
Ramadan to the Palestinian cause, naming it ‘International Quds Day.
The
day has over the years become a psychological mechanism for peace and freedom
lovers across the world to speak truth to power and voice support for the
oppressed everywhere.
“Those
who ally themselves with the Israeli enemy are actually compromising
fundamental principles. The Israeli enemy and Zionist lobbies are behind the
destabilization of the Muslim Ummah. They want to weaken Muslims and bring them
to the point of subjugation,” Houthi said in his Quds Day speech.
“Negligence
and ignorance toward the Israeli enemy will not repel imminent dangers
threatening Muslim nations, and will not absolve people of their
responsibilities [towards the Palestinian issue]. Those helping the Israeli
enemy and [normalizing ties with it] are seen as a cash cow,” he added.
Hamas:
Israeli guard’s killing response to al-Aqsa attacks
Meanwhile,
the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has hailed as “heroic operation” the
killing of an Israeli guard at the entrance to illegal settlement of Ariel in
the central part of occupied West Bank.
Hamas
spokesperson Hazem Qassem called it a response to the Israeli forces’ unabated
attacks on the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
“The
operation in Ariel settlement highlights that revolution has spread across the
West Bank. It signifies that the occupiers' measures against young
Palestinians’ insistence on confrontation are failing,” he said.
The
Israeli military early on Saturday announced that Palestinian assailants shot
and killed a security guard at the entrance of a Jewish settlement in the
occupied West Bank late on Friday.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Man
overseeing Lebanon vote frets about disruptions, vote buying
29
April ,2022
Leaving
his office this week, the 80-year-old head of Lebanon’s election commission
escorted journalists down eight flights of stairs, lighting the way with a
mobile phone.
As
elsewhere in the country, severe power rationing meant the lift and lights were
off - symptoms of an economic collapse that has pushed more than three quarters
of the population into poverty.
Less
than three weeks before Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, retired judge Nadim
Abdelmalak is worried about what the crisis means for the fairness of the
process.
He
said his team was understaffed to oversee voting properly, ballots could easily
be bought and candidates with more means were at a huge advantage over those
without.
“These
elections will have violations,” Abdelmalak told Reuters this week.
Lebanon’s
financial meltdown has seen the lira lose 90 percent of its value since 2019
and people have been unable to access hard currency savings, hitting all
sections of society.
The
elections will be the first opportunity since then for people to choose
lawmakers, amid widespread disillusionment over political leaders and despair
at what has happened to Lebanon.
Some
election observers are concerned that candidates would be able to secure votes
by distributing food, fuel, or other basic needs that are now beyond the reach
of many.
“This
is undoubtedly going to play a role. There are a lot of people who are going to
sell their votes. These factors are going to hit the integrity and transparency
of the elections,” said Abdelmalak.
The
trade-off isn’t new: European Union election observers deployed across Lebanon
during the last parliamentary vote in 2018 noted that charities linked to
candidates had fomented support by offering healthcare and other services,
which it said was “tantamount to vote-buying.”
But
with more people in need, voters’ reliance on such services is expected to
rise.
The
Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections watchdog said this week it had
already noted candidates or affiliates distributing food coupons in Beirut,
offering health services further east and donating power generators to schools
in the south.
Widespread
impoverishment meant candidates also had drastically different means with which
to run their campaigns.
“The
rich candidate can wage his battle while the poor candidate can’t wage his
electoral battle,” said Abdelmalak.
‘Arm
too short’
The
Supervisory Commission for Elections that he heads was established by Lebanon’s
2017 electoral law.
Its
11 members are tasked with monitoring campaigns to ensure they are run fairly
and within budget caps, but it cannot punish violators directly.
Instead,
it can send complaints to Lebanon’s media court or to the public prosecutor –
which Abdelmalak said had got them nowhere in 2018 elections, which he also
oversaw.
Following
that vote, the commission recommended a range of amendments, including making
the commission a legal entity and granting it a budget separate from the
interior ministry so it could be “fully independent – financially and
administratively,” he said.
They
were never implemented. Then came the financial crisis. Lebanon defaulted on
its international debt in March 2020 and the government has struggled to foot
the bill for basic necessities.
Abdelmalak’s
own office rarely gets public power and relies on a private generator that
operates from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. He and other employees try to leave work by
then to avoid getting stuck in the elevator.
The
commission’s budget is 3.5 billion Lebanese pounds or about $129,000 at the
market rate – 60 percent of what it requested.
Abdelmalak’s
monthly salary is 10 million Lebanese pounds or around $370, while the other 10
members of the commission earn less than $300 a month. They pay for office
supplies themselves.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
denies ‘reports of an assassination attempt’ on Qatar’s ambassador in Tehran
29
April ,2022
Iran’s
foreign ministry denied early on Friday what it described as “reports of an
assassination attempt” on Qatar’s ambassador to Tehran.
In
a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, Iran’s foreign ministry denied
“reports of an assassination attempt on the Qatari ambassador to Iran” and
called on media outlets to be “careful” in their reporting.
No
further details were provided.
The
current Qatari ambassador to Tehran is Mohammed bin Hamad al-Hajri.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
French
Muslims vote for ‘whoever spits in their face least’
April
27, 2022
By
Tom Heneghan
PARIS
(RNS) — Is there a “Muslim vote” in France? If so, where is it and who is it
rooting for?
These
questions are confounding political strategists as they analyze the results of
President Emmanuel Macron’s reelection Sunday (April 24) and their hopes of
forging a majority in Parliament in June.
France’s
Muslim minority, estimated at about 8% of the 68 million population, was one of
the main issues in the presidential election. Unfortunately for the Muslims,
the discussion was mostly negative, often stridently so.
Far-right
candidates spoke about banning the Muslim headscarf and fighting Islamist radicalism.
A center-right hopeful echoed the “great replacement” conspiracy theory that
Muslims would take over France. Macron and his centrists stressed their
measures against “Islamist separatism.”
So
69% of Muslim voters supported the far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon on
April 10 in the first round of the presidential election, according to the
pollster Ifop. His outspoken stand against anti-Muslim intolerance helped
earned him a strong third place, just behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
For
the runoff, he didn’t urge his left-wing supporters to back Macron but did
hammer home the message that they could never vote for Le Pen. So for Sunday’s
second round, the Muslim community voted 85% for Macron, again according to
Ifop.
In
both cases, it was, as the French say, a choice between plague and cholera.
“Muslims (are) forced to support whoever spits in their face the least,” said
Nagib Azergui, head of the small French Muslim Democrats party, or UDMF.
As
Lyon political science professor Haoues Seniguer puts it, France has no “Muslim
vote” but does have “Muslim voters.”
Campaigning
for the two-round parliamentary vote, due on June 12 and 19, began even before
Macron won the presidential runoff with 58.5% on Sunday. The fight for swing
voters is on the left, so the president began touring the rough suburban towns
where many Muslims live.
Macron
has a lot to live down. A fresh face when he first ran in 2017, he now has a
record of five years of increasingly tough measures culminating in a law
against “Islamist separatism,” his term for Muslim radicalization.
The
law passed in early 2021 after the murder by decapitation of a teacher for
showing pupils caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Repeated Islamist attacks
in France in recent years have boosted calls for an official crackdown, which
Muslim leaders say would unfairly target Muslims, the vast majority of whom are
peaceful.
The
law empowers officials to close places promoting hate, require religious
contributions from abroad to be declared if more than 10,000 euros, tighten
regulations on home schooling and fine doctors who perform virginity tests.
Clearly
targeting radical Muslims, the law has led to an estimated 700 closures of
places determined to be “frequented by fundamentalists,” including mosques,
sports clubs, private schools and restaurants.
Macron’s
Cabinet ministers of the interior, education and citizenship have promoted a
strict version of France’s official laïcité (secularism) policy that the far
right also uses to agitate against Muslims.
“He
protects three ministers who make him look like a fascist, while his own
remarks on this subject are rather measured and balanced,” Lova Rinel of an
anti-discrimination group called Pluriel told the daily Le Monde. “We don’t
understand, it makes no sense.”
The
strong Muslim vote for Macron in the second round included many ballots not for
him but against Le Pen, whom several Muslim leaders called on their followers
to defeat.
Another
factor weakening that apparently strong showing is that Ifop said 42% of Muslim
voters abstained in the second round.
Mélenchon
hopes to translate his strong support into a parliamentary majority that could
make him the No. 2 man of the Macron presidency.
“I
urge the French to elect me prime minister,” he said, even before Macron had
won the second round. Posters and pamphlets with a photo of “Prime Minister
Mélenchon” are now being distributed across France.
He
hopes to form a parliamentary majority with deputies from the ecologists,
communists and other small leftist parties. They could then change the
constitution, raise salaries for the poor and taxes for the rich, guarantee
jobs, promote clean energy, annul the separatism law, reform Europe and leave
NATO.
Muslim
support would presumably be one pillar of this majority.
Negotiations
among the squabbling left-wing parties have begun but Mélenchon has no
guarantee his Popular Union proposal will succeed.
First,
it has to win an overall majority, which is not sure. Even if he does, the
French Constitution says the president chooses the prime minister, not the
deputies. And Macron is unlikely to pick a rival such as Mélenchon as his prime
minister.
“Coalitions
are never built around radical figures, but always around centrists,” said
Jean-Philippe Derosier of the Jean Jaurès Fondation think tank.
While
some Muslims hope Mélenchon will succeed, the likelihood is that he will not
and Muslim voters will once again find no party in Parliament that clearly
represents their interests.
Mohammed
Colin, director of the Muslim website SaphirNews, said the most important
aspect of the whole election was the continued rise of the far right, made
evident by the historic 41.5% result for Le Pen.
“The
shadow of Le Pen has already crossed the threshold of the Élysée,” he wrote,
referring to the presidential palace.
Source:
Religion News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://religionnews.com/2022/04/27/french-muslims-vote-for-whoever-spits-in-their-face-least/
--------
Far-Right
France Website Probed After 'Leak' Of Muslim Personal Data
28
April, 2022
A
criminal investigation has been opened against a far-right website that
published data about leading French Muslim figures, prosecutors in France
confirmed on Wednesday.
The
far-right website, Fdesouche, allegedly leaked a file containing personal
information about several notable Muslim figures including imams, journalists,
and activists, who they labeled as "Islamo-leftists", Anadolu
Agency's French reported.
The
complaint was made by journalist Taha Bouhafs and his lawyer Arie Alimi on
behalf of over 100 victims when the data was leaked last September.
The
list included several members of the left-wing political party "France
Insoumise", headed by third-place presidential candidate Jean-Luc
Melenchon, as well as journalist Feiza Ben Mohamed.
Bouhafs,
who is an anti-racism and anti-police brutality activist, confirmed the opening
of the investigation on social media.
According
to the Paris prosecutor's office, the investigation was entrusted to the
Banditry Repression Brigade, a police special unit of France’s ministry of
interior.
The
leaked document dates back to November 2019, when the website published the
names and professions of a group Muslim activists who called for a
demonstration against Islamophobia. The activists' political views were also
detailed in the data leaks.
Fdesouche
was responsible for another data breach in 2017, according to the French
edition of the Huffington Post.
The
file included private details such as email addresses and phone numbers of
people working with organisations aiding migrants and refugees.
Pierre
Sautarel, one of Fdesouche's editors, said that they did not partake in "anything illegal” and that the data
"was public", reported the French daily Ouest-France.
France
is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community, numbering approximately 5.7
million people.
Source:
The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/france-probes-far-right-website-muslim-data-breach
--------
UK-based
Muslims trying to help families in crisis-hit homelands
Layla
Maghribi
Apr
30, 2022
Ramadan
is centred on charity. Fasting from food and drink during daylight hours is a
spiritual act of compassion with the poor and hungry.
During
the holy month, Muslims around the world are encouraged to donate money to
those in need and this culminates with Eid celebrations where sweets and new
clothes are gifted and celebrated among family and friends.
This
year however, as soaring cost of food staples in import-dependent Middle
Eastern and North African countries create ever greater challenges for millions
of families already struggling to keep hunger at bay, the needy are far closer
to home and Eid gifts are more necessary than celebratory.
This
year’s Ramadan has been a much more muted affair for the millions of people
that aid organisations say are struggling to buy even the most basic foods.
A
“toxic combination” of conflict, climate change, the economic aftermath of
Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine has pushed people’s resilience “to breaking
point”, according to the UN's World Food Programme.
Even
before the war in Ukraine, inflation and increasing prices were putting basic
food items beyond the reach of the most vulnerable, as food prices reached an
all-time high in February 2022, according to the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation’s Food Price Index.
Since
the Russian invasion, the prices of wheat flour and vegetable oil — two key
staples in the diet of most families — have risen exponentially and the region
is “very much at an unprecedented point”, a senior spokesperson for WFP Middle
East and North Africa told The National.
“People
have exhausted their coping mechanisms during the pandemic, they are not
resilient,” says Abeer Etefa.
“The
reality is that no one is spared, the poor will suffer, the middle class will
become poorer, and the burden will fall on those who can help.”
With
giant international aid organisations like the WFP also affected by global food
price increases and facing a 50 per cent increase in global operations costs
since 2019 — an additional US$71 million per month ― the onus on individuals
helping friends and family is even greater.
Indeed,
the ubiquity of the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa is no longer the
exclusive problem for the impoverished. Families of formerly comfortable means
increasingly seek assistance to feed themselves.
Many
are turning to their relatives abroad for money transfers to buy basic foods
this Eid.
England
to Syria
Syrian-Iraqi
Hanan Al Tahan has been living in the UK for more than two decades. After the
civil war started, most of her immediate family joined her England on a
government resettlement scheme for Syrians but she still has friends and
relatives who live in Damascus.
The
former translator, who comes from a middle-class community, says many of her
friends in Syria told her they couldn’t afford to buy any meat this Ramadan.
“My
cousins can’t afford it, so many people can’t any more. Prices have gone up so
much, especially in the past three months,” Ms Al Tahan tells The National.
According
to the WFP, the price of Syria’s standard food basket is 97 per cent higher
than a year ago and 33 per cent more than six months ago. A drought severely
affected the country’s limited wheat production and the Ukraine war has
compounded the crisis.
“Anyone
who can afford to send money, sends money,” says Ms Al Tahan.
Whereas
charitable donations, particularly during Ramadan, used to be directed towards
the destitute and orphaned, many are now redirecting their charity towards
their own families whose purchasing power has plummeted.
“Everyone
is asking for money now, everyone is sending to their families, everyone’s
family needs it,” she says.
From
London to Lebanon
Syria’s
neighbour Lebanon is in a similarly perilous state. It has to contend with a
deep economic crisis rooted in corruption and mismanagement, described by the
World Bank as one of the worst since the mid-19th century.
This
was compounded when a huge quantity of ammonium nitrate exploded at Beirut port
in August 2020, killing at least 219 people and devastating a large area of the
capital.
Ramy
Kanso knows exactly when he began sending his parents in Lebanon money. In
September 2019, the London-based graphic designer had been on a visit to his
home country when, just before he left, his mother told him “things were very
bad financially”.
“I
had been living the tourist life in Lebanon, going out and having fun and then
she dropped the news on me as I was heading to the airport and I realised I had
to step up and help,” he says.
A
month later, a widespread protest movement erupted on the streets and the
economy began its rapid free fall.
In
the past year, the cost of a basic food basket has increased by 351 per cent in
Lebanon — the highest in the region, according to the WFP.
Ms
Etefa says the “compounding effect” of numerous crises — including that grain
silos were destroyed in the Beirut blast, reducing the ability to store wheat —
has made Lebanon “extremely vulnerable to market conditions.”
Almost
every food item has to be imported into Lebanon and what farmers produce
locally, such as citrus fruit, is being exported for desperately needed foreign
currency.
“Money
isn’t the only issue though,” points out Mr Kanso. “The more punishing thing is
waiting for hours in a queue for something you might not even get. When I hear
about my father waiting in line for eight hours, it breaks my heart.”
“That’s
when I stopped enjoying the simple things here in London,” he says. “I just
felt so much guilt and worry for them.”
Liverpool
to Yemen
Fears
of widespread famine have plagued Yemen for years and the latest statistics
offer little solace for the large UK-based Yemeni community trying to help from
afar.
More
than 17 million Yemenis food insecure, a number the WFP predicts will rise to
19 million by the end of this year.
The
rate of child malnutrition is one of the highest in the world. Conflict,
sharply depreciating currency and heavy reliance on imports has resulted in an
81 per cent hike in food prices in the past year.
It’s
a problem that is not going away, says Yemeni Tahir Qassim, a long-term
resident of Liverpool, in northern England.
The
former public health practitioner worked for decades in his home country and is
a part of a network trying to restore the healthcare system in Yemen from the
UK.
In
the last three months the situation has become “incredibly harsh” for many
families, he tells me.
“The
situation has definitely got worse,” he said. People can’t find enough to eat.”
Some
of the doctors he is in touch with in Yemen say parents tell them that all they
have to feed their children is water mixed with sugar.
Source:
The National News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Merhaba
Ramadan: Germany’s Muslims help homeless, people in need
APR
30, 2022
Regardless
of the season or time of year, supporting others is part and parcel of daily
life for any citizen of Muslim faith, as it for members of any other religion
or belief, too. But from time to time, one comes across an extraordinary
effort, something unusual, something even more outstanding. Enter the
volunteers behind "Merhaba Ramadan," an activity inspired by a
broader Germany based civil society movement called "Merhaba & Mahlzeit"
(translated as "Welcome to a Hot Meal").
In
this context, a recent conversation with Sedat Aydın allows for a better
insight into the reasoning and motivation behind the group's literally taking
to the streets as well as to the shelters for homeless people in Germany’s
Hagen, a city with a population of 195,000 located in North Rhine-Westphalia.
It is interesting to note that the percentage of the population with an
international background has reached 21.6% (source: City of Hagen, www.
Hagen.de; data correct for 2021). What’s more, in the year 2020, 17.5% of those
international residents had Turkish origins.
Hence
talking about local charitable work, one might argue then that it is the Turks
who do all the good work, but this would be an unfair assumption; what is true
instead is that citizens of Turkey and those with Turkish roots have become the
role model, but many other nationalities gave their time and support, too! We
shall come back to that observation later when introducing the April 7, 2022,
event in Hagen.
But
notwithstanding the formidable presence and size of the well-integrated and
well-represented Turkish community as part of the overall social fabric of this
enterprising city, it takes a lot of courage, determination and effort to go that
one step further, roll up your sleeves and show friends, neighbors and above
all else those among us in need of a square meal that solidarity is a task for
all of us and not only for the highly respected yet often overburdened public
and private support structures (think Red Cross or Malteser International, to
name only two out of a much longer list).
Lahmacun,
ayran, coffee and more
Mr.
Sedat is an entrepreneur and runs his own business in Hagen in the domain of
real estate. We talked about his involvement in the nationwide "Merhaba
& Mahlzeit" movement and how he at once stepped in when asked whether
he could do something in his hometown of Hagen. Merhaba & Mahlzeit is an
aid organization focusing on homeless people run by members with Turkish roots
or close connections thereto. The association recently made many positive
headlines and was for example featured in TRT German, including its chairperson
Tolga Özgül, a personality highly respected amid both the Turkish and German
communities. We agreed that this time it is better to put more focus on Hagen
and in a further analysis discuss the wider implications for all of Germany and
why poverty seems to be on the (dramatic) rise in what was supposed to be
Europe’s economic powerhouse.
Together
with his wife, brother and secretary, Sedat immediately started preparing for
their very own support event and ever more so during the holy month of Ramadan.
At stake: supplying homeless citizens with a square meal – traditional and
delicious and above all else very filling lahmacun (flat Turkish pizza) and a
hot drink (coffee). On the one hand he said after last weekend’s activity he
hopes to stage another three or four similar events before the end of Ramadan.
On the other hand, Merhaba & Mahlzeit for their part intend to run more
support activities, not only in Germany but as far afield as Syria, Kenya and
Pakistan.
The
many assembled volunteers, who learned about the good cause from their
association as well as a specifically created FaceBook page, walked from the main
station into the city center to supply a meal to homeless people they
encountered on the streets. They then proceeded to an emergency overnight
dormitory for the homeless, and continued to provide hot drinks and meals.
The
activities in Hagen were called Merhaba Ramadan to stress the special character
of this time in the calendar of each citizen of the Muslim faith. Another
pro-active sponsor – Enes Uçan, local entrepreneur himself active in Facility
Management – greatly contributed, too, by offering delicious ayran, the famous
and refreshing yogurt-based drink.
Helping
others knows no nationalities
In
Sedat’s own words, "it does not matter whether (you are) German or Polish
or from wherever; we stick together so we will always find a way to progress,
overcome obstacles," referring to citizens experiencing difficult times
often resulting in permanent homelessness.
Another
project Sedat is involved with is collecting donations for a family in Turkey
in need of $1.8 million for a rare spinal muscular atrophy – or SMA Type 1 –
operation to save the life of their two-year-old child. One million has been
collected at home and abroad already and he is confident that during Ramadan
the remaining $800,000 can be sourced, too.
Verdict:
Noteworthy, laudable
It
is most definitely easy to compliment someone else doing good for our shared
society. The trick, however, is to look over their shoulders and then at once
swing into action ourselves. The spirit surrounding Hagen’s Merhaba Ramadan
undertaking is absolutely contagious and thus one can only hope that many
copy-cats emerge anywhere and everywhere, during Ramadan as well as during the
other eleven months of the year.
Granted,
it takes a joint venture of sorts to have a success story. Those among us
running their own business will be in a more privileged position to donate more
than others. Yet those volunteers among us who simply contribute their time and
sympathy to a good cause are as necessary, and as welcome during the project.
The
spin-off effects can be quite sensational. Let us consider three aspects in
this regard. First, the pandemic and global health situation should have
demonstrated to each and every one of us that human catastrophe can strike at
any minute. No one is safe or immune, pun intended. Second, the unfolding war
in Ukraine and the resulting human suffering underline that the unthinkable can
become a reality overnight. And last, but not least, whether individual health
during a pandemic, or common suffering during war, or losing ones’ employment, a
dear family member or a roof over ones’ head is no longer a mishap reserved for
the truly unfortunate among us but can occur to you and me in an instant.
This
must encourage us to use our free time and available means, no matter how big
or small, as effectively as possible in order to help others in less agreeable
individual circumstances.
What
is very important to remember is that it actually does not matter at all how
big or how small an aid effort is – every effort counts, really.
Source:
Daily Sabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
German
footballer Mesut Ozil condemns violence against Indian Muslims
Sakina
Fatima
29th
April 2022
Former
German footballer Mesut Ozil on Wednesday strongly condemned violence against
Muslims in India and called upon citizens to speak up to create awareness about
the treatment of Muslims in India.
“Praying
during the holy night of Lailat al-Qadr for the safety and well-being of our
Muslim brothers and sisters in India,” the 33-year-old wrote on Twitter.
“Let’s
spread awareness to this shameful situation! What is happening to the human
rights in the so-called largest democracy in the world?#BreakTheSilence,” he
added.
On
April 8, Ozil had taken to social media and published a message about world
peace during the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Let’s
keep praying for peace in the world- not just in Ukraine, but also in
Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and all other places in the world where people
are suffering from war. #StopWAR #JummaMubarak,” Ozil tweeted.
Ozil’s
tweet spread like wildfire on social media and received mixed reactions from
fans on Twitter, while some supported his views, others harshly criticised.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Muslims
Celebrate International Quds Day in Italy
30
April 2022
As
Italy is bracing for the devastating effects of the Ukraine war on its
socio-economic fabric, Muslims across the country are observing the final days
of Ramadan by paying great attention to what's happening in Palestine.
On
Friday, gatherings to celebrate the International Quds Day were held in Rome
and Milan, with speakers condemning Israeli aggression against the oppressed
Palestinians and calling for the freedom of al-Quds.
In
Rome, at the Imam Mahdi Islamic Center, local faithful and representatives of
the Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani shia communities expressed solidarity with
Palestine, vowing to never leave Palestinians alone in their fight for
regaining occupied territories and defending al-Aqsa mosque.
Quds
day was first introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and has become an annual
affirmation of the Muslims’ solidarity with the people of Palestine in their
struggle for the liberation of Al-Quds.
West's
double standard appears evident when it comes to Palestine. Many in Italy
believe that as international law guarantees the Ukrainians the right to defend
themselves, the same right must be guaranteed also to the Palestinians against
the Israeli occupation.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/04/30/681257/Italy-Ukraine-war-Muslims-Ramadan-Palestine
--------
Southeast Asia
International
Quds Day Webinar, Sponsored By Embassy Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran, Held In
Beijing
April
30, 2022
The
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Beijing sponsored a webinar on
Friday to commemorate the International Quds Day, in which the Iranian
ambassador, the embassy’s cultural attaché, and a number of Chinese professors
and political analysts participated.
In
the webinar, in which a number of Chinese Muslim intellectuals, too,
participated, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ambassador Mohammad
Keshavarz-Zadeh referred to the significance of the International Quds Day,
whose ultimate objective is the liberation of the occupied Holy Quds.
He
said that the other objective of the Quds Day rallies is dismantling the
Zionists’ plot to whitewash their ugly and inhumane crimes in the occupied
lands against the oppressed Palestinian nation.
Ambassador
Keshavarz-Zadeh called for organizing a referendum in which the entire original
dwellers of Palestine will decide about their own fate.
Chinese
Muslim intellectuals and political analysts, too, presented their viewpoints in
the embassy webinar, referring to the criminal acts of the Zionist regime,
particularly against the defenseless Palestinian women, children and elderly
folks and denouncing such criminal acts.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//int%e2%80%99l-quds-day-webinar-held-in-beijing_1253160.html
--------
MIC
ready to field Indian Muslim candidates for GE15, says its president
29
Apr 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, April 29 — MIC is ready to field Indian Muslim candidates in the
upcoming 15th General Election (GE15) if needed, MIC president Tan Sri SA
Vigneswaran said.
He
said the matter has been discussed with the party’s central working committee
recently.
“We
(MIC) really don’t have any issue. If in places (Areas) we face pressure that
there needs to be a Muslim candidate for certain reasons, we are prepared
because we have Indian Muslim candidates who can contest.
“As
long as they are MIC (traditional) seats, we will contest, we will decide who
contests,” he told reporters after attending a breaking of fast event here tonight.
MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M Saravanan was also present at the event.
Vigneswaran
also promised to not only ensure the rights of Indians, but that MIC would
continue to protect and assist the Indian Muslim community in the country.
The
prime minister’s special envoy to India and South Asia insisted that the
76-year-old party had never sidelined the Indian Muslim community as claimed by
some parties.
Vigneswaran
also assured that Indian Muslim children will be given the same rights in
scholarships and loans by Maju Institute of Educational Development, an entity
owned by MIC.
He
said he would also work to resolve the nationality issues of Indian Muslims who
have yet to possess identification cards.
On
Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) decision to go solo for GE15, Vigneswaran said
currently MIC agreed and was ready to cooperate with other parties after GE15
should there be any party willing to join BN.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Perlis
Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council has legal interest to intervene in
single mum Loh Siew Hong’s divorce petition, court told
29
Apr 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, April 29 — The High Court here was told today that the Perlis Islamic
Religious and Malay Customs Council (MAIPs) had direct legal interest to
intervene in a divorce petition between a single mother, Loh Siew Hong, and
ex-husband Muhammad Nagashwaran Muniandy, who converted to Islam with their
three children.
MAIPs
lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said MAIPs had a statutory duty to look
after the wellbeing, education and guidance of Muslim converts, as well as
offer financial support from tithe funds and other assistance allowed by syarak
(Islamic law) .
“In
this case, the three children, 14-year-old twin girls and a 10-year-old boy
were converted into Islam in Perlis, thus, MAIPs have a locus standi to be an
intervener. At the moment, their father is under detention in Kelantan for some
criminal offence. Now the children are under the custody of their Buddhist
mother. If the children are Muslims, then MAIPs have a right to intervene.
“Whether
the children’s’ conversions were valid or not is not an issue in this
Honourable Court. The matter here is about the welfare of the children and not
about the religion. We are not here to interfere in the custody rights of the
mother. However, after the conversion, MAIPs holds a supervisory role to ensure
the mualaf (new converts), get access to the necessary Islamic education and
guidance,” he said.
Meanwhile,
Loh’s counsel, A Srimurugan countered that MAIPs should not be allowed to be an
intervener in this case as the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA)
that governs marriage and divorce matters involving non-Muslims, prohibited the involvement of an Islamic
state council.
“My
friend’s (MAIPs’ legal team) case authorities were on parties linked to the
marriage, not to an outsider or any busybody. They (MAIPs) cannot come to court
and try to vary the custody order to tell Loh how to raise her children. It
(LRA) does not include corporate or religious entities. The word ‘interested
persons’ (in LRA) must be interpreted strictly for the interest of the child.
“Loh’s
children were not even born in Perlis. They were just taken there (Perlis) for
a day or two, maybe even just for a few hours, to be unilaterally converted by
their father. He did it despite the custody, care and control of the children
had been given to his wife by the court,” said Srimugan.
At
this juncture, Mohamed Haniff Khatri stood up and objected to the labelling of
the state religious council as a “busybody”, saying that it is merely carrying
out its legal duty to ensure the welfare of Loh’s three children.
He
said that the Perlis’ state enactment empowered MAIPs with jurisdiction to
provide for the religious education of any mualaf registered in the state.
“MAIPs
has a statutory duty and it does not wish to be a busybody. We should not be
focusing on the right of the father or mother, but the right of the children.
MAIPs is concerned with the children’s welfare as past news reports indicated
that the children are still practicing Islam even when under the present
custody of Loh (non-Muslim),” said Mohamed Haniff Khatri.
After
hearing arguments by both parties, Judge Evrol Mariette Peters fixed June 15 at
2.30pm for decision on whether to grant leave to MAIPs to intervene in the
divorce petition.
On
March 7, MAIPs filed the intervention application so that the religious authority
would have locus standi to apply for a variation on the terms of the sole
custody order granted to Loh.
In
the divorce petition, Loh, 34, has been granted sole custody, care and control
over the three children.
On
February 21, the three siblings who were under the care of the Social Welfare
Department were released to Loh after the High Court allowed her habeas corpus
application.
In
her notice of motion, on February 13, Loh named Nazirah Nanthakumari Abdullah
as the first respondent and an unnamed party that she claimed to have her three
children as the second respondent.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Iran
warns extremists will show no mercy to Shia, Sunni Muslims
April
30, 2022
The
Iranian Embassy issued the warning in a twitter post on Friday soon after a
terrorist bombing at a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital that left dozens of
people dead.
“This
embassy condemns the episode and hopes that the interim Afghan government would
succeed in fighting terrorism and extremism and ensuring the security of the
Afghan people,” part of the twitter post read.
On
Friday afternoon, a powerfull blast hit the Khalifa Sahib Mosque in the west of
the Afghan capital Kabul killing at least 50 worshippers.
Several
Afghan mosques have come under terrorist attacks over the past few weeks
leaving scores of people dead and many others injured.
Source:
IFP News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://ifpnews.com/iran-warns-extremists-will-show-no-mercy-to-shia-sunni-muslims/
--------
IRGC
Commander: Palestinian People Close to Victory
2022-April-29
General
Salami made the remarks on Thursday in a televised address to a ceremony in
Gaza City, one day before the International Quds Day rallies.
“The
so-called peace treaties like the Camp David Accords, the Oslo Accords, the
Sharm El Sheikh Memorandum etc have never been and will never be able to result
in the liberation of Palestine," he said.
"All
such accords, which former US presidents, [former Israeli prime ministers Ehud]
Olmert, [Benjamin] Netanyahu, Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin tried to seal,
as well as the deal of century are nothing but deception and a conspiracy to
marginalize jihad, weaken the resistance front, buy time and obliterate the
awareness of the nations,” General Salami stated.
He
underscored that Palestinian people have come to realize that they will not
achieve their goals except through resistance and struggle in the path of God
(jihad).
Salami
described the recent developments in the occupied Palestinian territories as a
sign of the Israeli regime’s brutality and the strength of resistance groups,
stressing that Palestinian resistance fighters have reinforced the Muslim Ummah
and changed the balance of power in the region.
The
IRGC chief hailed International Quds Day as a gift from Imam Khomeini, the late
founder of the Islamic Republic in Iran, stating that the designation of the
last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan for the event put Palestine a top
priority for the entire Muslim world.
“Palestinian
people are close to victory as the Zionist enemy is growing weaker. Weakness
inside the Zionist entity is evident in its politics, economy and security
apparatus, he said.
“All
Muslims around the world are united with Palestinians in the struggle against
the Israeli regime. Al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque are symbols of unity among
Muslims in support of Palestinians,” Salami pointed out.
Earlier,
the IRGC said current developments in the occupied Palestinian territories show
that the demise of Israel is imminent and the regime is doomed to end very
soon.
“Recent
developments, particularly the fact that the flames of Intifada (uprising) have
passed through the inner walls of the regime, suggest that the Tel Aviv
regime’s days are numbered and occupiers of holy al-Quds are quickly nearing
their end,” the force said in a statement released on the eve of International
Quds Day.
It
lauded the decision by Imam Khomeini to designate the last Friday of the holy
month of Ramadan as International Quds Day, describing the prudent initiative
and historic move as a novel phenomenon and a source of pride for the Iranian
nation to play an effective role in supporting the oppressed Palestinian
nation.
The
IRGC underlined that free and justice-seeking nations have joined forces more
than ever to support the oppressed Palestinians, the Palestinian cause and the
liberation of al-Quds.
“Zionists
thought they could consign the Palestinian issue and the cause of al-Quds to
oblivion by following satanic schemes such as the so-called 'Deal of the
Century' and normalization of ties with some Arab countries. They were,
however, wrong and their dream of sustainable and permanent security has now
been broken,” the statement read.
The
statement further stressed that the discourse of resistance and support for
Palestine states that an end to the Israeli occupation, expulsion of occupiers,
return of Palestinian refugees and free elections are the only solution to the
Palestinian issue.
The
IRGC went on to term any concession, including normalization of ties with the
child-killing regime of Israel as an act of treason, emphasizing such bids are
doomed to failure.
The
International Quds Day is an annual event opposing Israel's occupation of
Beitul-Muqaddas. Anti-Zionist rallies and demonstrations are held on the last
Friday of Ramadan in Muslim and Arab countries around the world, specially in
Iran, as well as a large number of non-Muslim states.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010209000208/IRGC-Cmmander-Palesinian-Peple-Clse-Vicry
--------
Int'l
Quds Day Rallies Held in Iranian Cities
2022-April-29
People
in large groups of tens of thousands in Tehran and other cities across the
country are converging in main city squares on the International Quds Day to
condemn Israeli occupation and attacks against the fasting Muslim Palestinians
in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The
ralliers chanted 'death to the US' and 'death to Israel' slogans and showed
anger over normalization of relations between certain Arab states and Israel.
In
Tehran, demonstrators will congregate at the University of Tehran, the site of
Friday prayers for the past four decades.
Before
the start of the rallie, Iran's new missile, named Kheybarshekan, which has a
range of 1,450km and enjoys high agility and is capable of striking its
designated targets with pinpoint accuracy, as well as Zelzal missile and
'Emad-3' long-range missile which is a new generation of surface-to-surface
ballistic missiles were displayed in Tehran.
Iran's
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in a statement ahead of the International
Quds Day underlined that the time has come to put an end to the usurper Israeli
regime.
On
Thursday, the IRGC in its statement invited the Iranian people to participate
in the Quds Day rallies tomorrow.
The
IRGC stressed that any compromise with the Zionist Israeli regime is doomed to
failure and will be an unforgivable sin.
The
IRGC further said that Resistance and support for the Iran-initiated Axis of
Resistance is the only solution to the Palestinian problem.
The
IRGC further stressed the need to expel the occupiers and the dismantling of
the Zionist regime in the occupied territories, the return of Palestinian
refugees, and holding a referendum as the solutions to the Palestine issue.
The
IRGC further condemned the normalization of relations with the fake and
child-killing Israeli regime by some Arab states as a repetition of the great
historical mistake of the traitor Anwar Sadat which is doomed to failure and
unforgivable betrayal.
The
statement by IRGC further noted that the Israeli regime has reached its end.
The
International Quds Day is an annual event opposing Israel's occupation of
Beitul-Muqaddas. Anti-Zionist rallies and demonstrations are held on the last
Friday of Ramadan in Muslim and Arab countries around the world, specially in
Iran, as well as a large number of non-Muslim states.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010209000148/In'l-Qds-Day-Rallies-Held-in-Iranian-Ciies
--------
Amir
Abdollahian Discusses Palestine with OIC Head, Lebanese, Malaysian FMs
2022-April-29
During
his phone talks with Ibrahim Taha on Thursday, Amir Abdollahian discussed the
latest developments in the Islamic world, including Palestine, Yemen and
Afghanistan.
He
praised the stances of the OIC secretary-general on the issue of Palestine and
the efforts of this organization in establishing peace and security in the
region and the Muslim world.
Amir
Abdollahian expressed support for the meeting of the ambassadors of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation focusing on the issue of Palestine, and
welcomed a meeting at the level of foreign ministers of Islamic countries to
consult on the latest developments in Palestine and the Zionist regime's crimes
in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
He
also expressed support for the implementation and continuation of the ceasefire
in Yemen, and stressed the need to completely lift the humanitarian siege on
Yemen.
The
Iranian foreign minister also condemned the recent killings and acts of
terrorism in Afghanistan, and called for more attention from Islamic countries
as well as the international community to help resolve the problems of the
Afghan people.
Ibrahim
Taha, for his part, called the issue of Palestine the top priority of this
organization and the Islamic world.
He
stated that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has always supported
Palestine and is pursuing different initiatives to support Palestine and holy
Quds, and follow up on the legitimate rights of the people of this country with
the support of major Islamic countries.
Ibrahim
Taha also condemned the heinous terrorist acts in Afghanistan, calling them an
attempt to divide Muslims.
He
added that all the efforts of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are aimed
at establishing peace and security in the Islamic world and the development and
expansion of relations and cooperation among this organization’s member states.
Iranian
foreign minister also held another phone talks with Lebanese Foreign Minister
Abdallah Bou Habib on Thursday on the Palestinian issue.
He
condemned the Zionist regime's actions in killing and insulting the worshipers
in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and called for a serious investigation into the recent
crimes of the Zionist regime.
Referring
to Lebanon's presence on the front lines of the resistance, Amir Abdollahian
praised the Lebanese people, Resistance and army against the Zionist regime.
He
stressed Iran's readiness to develop relations with Lebanon in all aspects,
calling Lebanon's role in the Arab world important.
Abdallah
Bou Habib, for his part, stressed the importance of developing friendly
relations with Iran and expressed hope that after the parliamentary elections,
the exchange of diplomatic missions between the two countries would expand.
He
strongly condemned the crimes of the Zionist regime in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,
calling for the unity of the Islamic world in support of Palestine and the
protection of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Amir
Abdollahian also held phone talks with his Malaysian counterpart, appreciating
Malaysia for condemning Israel’s acts of aggression and for Kuala Lumpur’s
efforts in support of the oppressed Palestinian people.
During
the talks over the phone, Iran’s top diplomat pointed to the International Quds
Day and the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy fasting month of
Ramadan, lauding Malaysia’s condemnation of the Israeli regime’s moves.
Amir
Abdollahian welcomed a meeting of the Special Committee of the OIC on
Palestine, stating that Iran believes that the event needs to be held at the
level of the council of ministers given the sensitivity of the Palestinian
issue.
He
referred to Malaysia’s membership at the UN Human Rights Council, calling on
authorities from the Southeast Asian country to seize the opportunity to
condemn Israel and lift the crippling Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.
“We are strongly opposed to some countries’
move to normalize relations with the bogus Israeli regime,” the Iranian foreign
minister said.
Saifuddin
Abdullah, for his part, congratulated Amir Abdollahian on the holy month of
Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
assailants shoot dead Israeli guard in West Bank
April
30, 2022
JERUSALEM:
Palestinian assailants shot and killed a security guard at the entrance of a
Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank late Friday, the Israeli military
said. The fresh attack could further fuel Israeli-Palestinian tensions that
have soared in the past two months.
The
Israeli military said early Saturday that the attackers arrived at the Ariel
settlement entrance and shot the guard in his post before fleeing the scene. The
military launched a pursuit of the suspects in the West Bank.
In
a separate incident, Israeli troops shot and killed a 27-year-old Palestinian
man during clashes at Azoun village near the town of Qalqilya early Saturday,
the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
A
string of Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank over the past two
months have left 14 Israelis dead. At least 27 Palestinians have been killed by
Israeli security forces in recent weeks.
Hamas,
the militant group ruling Gaza, praised the attack but stopped short of
claiming responsibility for it.
“The
operation proves that revolution is raging all over the West Bank,” said
spokesman Hazem Qassem. “This is a practical implementation of our people’s
declaration that Jerusalem is a red line.”
Tensions
increased this month at a major Jerusalem holy site, with Palestinian
worshippers clashing daily with Israeli police. The site contains Al-Aqsa
Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, and increasing numbers of Palestinians
go there to pray during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Earlier
Friday, Palestinians hurled stones and Israeli police fired rubber-coated
bullets at the site, which has seen a wave of unrest in recent weeks.
The
police say Palestinians inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound began hurling stones
and fireworks around dawn in the direction of a heavily guarded gate that leads
to the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray. The police advanced
into the compound, firing rubber-coated bullets.
The
violence ended around an hour later after other Palestinians in the compound
intervened, convincing the stone throwers and the police to pull back.
The
Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said more than 40 people were
wounded, with 22 requiring treatment at local hospitals. It said Israeli forces
prevented first responders from entering the compound during the clashes, and
that one of its medics was beaten by police.
The
police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in a
statement they had arrested three people.
The
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is built on a hilltop that is the most sacred site for
Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the location of the
Jewish temples in antiquity. It has long been a flashpoint in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In
recent weeks, Israeli police and Palestinians have clashed there on a number of
occasions. Israeli authorities accuse Hamas of inciting violence and say
security forces were forced to intervene to halt stone-throwing.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2073586/middle-east
--------
In
Gaza, families enjoy iftar on the beach with cool breeze and fantastic view
April
29, 2022
GAZA
CITY: Many families in Gaza gather on the beach for iftar meals during Ramadan,
where they can breathe in the fresh air, enjoy the sound of the waves and watch
the sunset.
Situated
on the Mediterranean coast, the Gaza Strip has a population of about 2 million
people. In recent years, cafeterias have started to appear close to the shore,
where families can bring their own food and pay a small charge to use a table
and chairs as they enjoy their meals with a
sea
view.
Muhammad
Aidya, 45, and his family of seven sit at a table near the beach, waiting for
the sun to set and the Maghrib prayer before breaking their fast.
“This
year, Ramadan came during relatively cold weather but in previous years, the
weather was much warmer,” he told Arab News.
“I
came for iftar here by the sea at least 10 times during the month … the air is
fresh and my family is happy, my children play, and (we enjoy) delicious food
that we bring from home.”
At
a nearby table, a young couple with a three-year-old child are setting out
their meal in anticipation of breaking their fast.
“It’s
nice weather today so we decided to eat outside,” said Rawiya Tafesh, 25, a
housewife. “We bought a takeaway from a restaurant and we brought it here to
eat together, while our son plays around.”
The
Tafesh family cannot afford to dine in luxury restaurants, so they opted to get
more affordable takeaway food and eat it in the scenic seashore surroundings.
“Our
monthly income is limited,” Tafesh said. “We don’t deny ourselves the enjoyment
but we can’t pay big money for food … we don’t eat in those fancy restaurants;
we enjoy it here more than there.”
Restaurants
in the Gaza Strip, especially those at the luxury end of the scale, organize
daily iftar buffets but for the most part they are affordable only to the rich
and some middle-class residents.
Hamdi
Al-Owaii, 39, owns a cafeteria on the beach in Gaza.
“During
Ramadan, we rent tables and chairs on the beach for iftar,” he said. “There is
less demand this year than last year because of the cold weather.
“The
cost is low here; the family pays about 10 to 20 shekels ($3 to $6), depending
on their number. They can bring their food and all their belongings and sit
until dawn if they want, and this is available and possible for most of the
residents of the Gaza Strip.”
Some
families organize feasts for many of their relatives at the beach, renting a
place to eat and bringing food from home so that they can spend some quality
time together.
“My
wife and I decided to invite my brothers and sisters during Ramadan and as a
result of the large number of people, we decided to organize the feast outside
instead at home,” said Abdullah Al-Saadi, 47.
“This
is an opportunity to enjoy a family atmosphere in an open space. Children can
play in this place and there is less noise compared with being inside the house
with (so many people), and the women enjoy talking to each other and also
walking on the beach in a nice atmosphere.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2073491/middle-east
--------
Africa
Int'l.
Quds Day rally held in Niger Republic in solidarity with Palestinians
April
30, 2022
On
Friday 28 of Ramadan 1443H (29/04/2022), members of the Islamic Movement in the
Niger Republic celebrated the annual occasion of International Quds Day in
Niamey and other cities of the country to show their support for and solidarity
with the oppressed people of Palestine.
Some
years back, on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, cities in Niger
witnessed the gathering of the Islamic movement's members on the important
occasion of International Quds day.
Sheik
Saleh Ahmad Lazare, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Movement of
Nigeria (IMN), Shiekh Ibrahim Zakzaky, in the Niger Republic explains the
current situation of the oppressed people in Palestine and described the limit
of harm by Zionists.He also called on the people, especially the Muslims in
Africa and all over the world to show pity and give their full support, and
solidarity for the liberation of Palestine as part of humanity.
The
International Quds Day rallies began on Friday across Iran and other countries
with people from different walks of life showing their solidarity with the
oppressed and resilient people of Palestine.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mass
arrests after deadly anti-Muslim attack in Ethiopia
April
30, 2022
ADDIS
ABABA: Several hundred people have been arrested following a deadly attack on
Muslims in the northern Ethiopian city of Gondar, a regional official said on
Friday.
More
than 20 people were killed on Tuesday when heavily-armed “extremist Christians”
attacked mourners at the funeral of a Muslim elder and destroyed property
belonging to Muslim residents, according to a local Islamic group.
Desalegn
Tassew, head of the Amhara region’s peace and security bureau, said 373
suspects had been arrested “in relation to the disturbance that happened in
Gondar”, according to a statement cited by the official Amhara Media
Corporation.
He
also announced a ban on firearms and other weapons until all suspects were
arrested.
“We
are making legally accountable members of the security forces and leaders who
did not assume their responsibility,” he added, without elaborating.
The
cemetery where the attack occurred neighbours a mosque and church and has been
the subject of an ongoing dispute between Muslims and Orthodox Christians, who
are the dominant group in Ethiopia.
Amhara’s
regional government said the violence erupted as people clashed over using
stones from the area for burial purposes, fighting over whether the materials
were being taken from the cemetery or church compound.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Divided
UN extends Libya mission by three months
29
April ,2022
The
divided UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution extending its
political mission in Libya by just three months, with Russia vetoing a longer
prolongation until a new UN envoy is appointed.
The
text extends “until 31 July 2022 the mandate of the United Nations Support
Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)” and “calls upon the Secretary-General to appoint a
SRSG [emissary] promptly” to be based in the capital Tripoli.
The
resolution requires the UN chief report monthly on its implementation until the
end of July.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Since
the resignation in November of Slovak envoy Jan Kubis, the Security Council has
been marked by growing Russian opposition to any common agreement on Libya.
UNSMIL’s
annual mandate was renewed in September for only four months, before being
extended in January for another three months.
According
to diplomats, at the start of negotiations, Britain presented its 14 partners
in the Security Council with a draft text renewing UNSMIL’s mandate for one
year.
But
faced with Russian resistance, the text transformed into a technical renewal of
the current mandate for only three months.
On
April 19, during a closed-door meeting, the UN Secretariat had called for a
longer renewal to give time to recruit an envoy.
Russia
instead called for an appointment to be made as soon as possible before
deciding on a more prolonged mandate for UNSMIL, diplomatic sources told AFP.
Libya
has been mired in conflict for long stretches since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed
and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Plagued
by divisions between competing institutions in the east and west, Libya remains
split between rival forces, with two opposing executives in place since
February.
Earlier
in April, a rival government selected by parliament in the east met for the
first time, challenging a cabinet brokered by the UN and based in the capital
Tripoli in the west.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Libya
losing $60 million a day in oil shutdown: Minister
29
April ,2022
Libya
is losing tens of millions of dollars a day from the shutdown of its oil
facilities, while global prices are at their highest in years, the country’s
oil minister told AFP.
Oil
is the lifeblood of the North African country trying to move past a decade of
conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
But
since mid-April Libya’s two major export terminals and several oil fields have
been held hostage to the country’s latest political schism.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Production
has fallen by about 600,000 barrels a day,” half of the prior level, Minister
of Oil and Gas Mohammed Aoun said in an interview with AFP at his office in
Tripoli.
“Calculating
the sale price at $100 a barrel, losses are at least $60 million daily,” he
said.
Since
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, triggering Western sanctions,
global crude prices have reached levels unseen since 2014. On Friday the US
benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude traded above $106 per barrel. The price
of Brent crude exceeded $109 a barrel.
The
Libyan closures follow the selection in February of a new prime minister, Fathi
Bashagha, by Libya’s eastern-based parliament in a direct challenge to Tripoli-based
interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.
Analysts
say eastern Libyan forces who back Bashagha have forced the closure of the oil
facilities in a bid to press Dbeibah to step down, but the incumbent insists he
will only hand power to an elected successor.
The
political bloc supporting Bashagha is aligned with Libya’s eastern-based
commander Khalifa Haftar, who in 2019-20 led a failed offensive against
Tripoli, accompanied by his forces blockading oilfields.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/jama-masjid-shahi-imam-hatred-modi-shah/d/126905