Pakistan Taliban Switches Side; Vows to Send Jihadists to Help Islamic State
New Age Islam News Bureau
5
Oct 2014
Pakistani Taliban militants (File)
Pakistan
• Pakistan
Taliban Switches Side; Vows to Send Jihadists to Help IS
• Shias
targeted in Quetta, Kohat bombings; 11 dead
• Police
kill seven Taliban militants in Pakistan
• Bilawal
calls Tahir ul Qadri a cartoon
• Agenda
of ‘anarchists’ will never succeed, says Zardari
• Zardari
refuses to take on PML-N
India
• Indian
Jihadist Group Calls for Attacks on Western Nationals
• Jamaat-e-Islami
Hind Slams Chairman PCI for Muslim Law Remark
• Indian
youths who joined ISIS may not face arrest on return
Arab World
• At Haj,
Saudi Arabia Clerics Step Up Anti-Islamic State Drive
• Iraqi
Forces Break Siege on ISIL-Besieged Soldiers in Fallujah
• ISIS
publicly kills 6 in Iraq
• Islamic
State fighters beat back Iraqi forces near Baghdad
• Syrian
border town still under siege by Islamic State despite allied air strikes
'• Hajj Selfie Fever' Criticised By Islamic Clerics
• Kurds
battle Islamist militants closing in on Syrian town
• Egypt's
banned Brotherhood set up Eid prayer spaces in Alexandria
• Hezbollah
Welcomes Iran's Arms Aid to Lebanon
• Assad
makes rare appearance amid Islamic State assault
• Report:
ISIS plots to seize Iran’s nuclear secrets
• Saudi
Arabia absent from Global Agewatch Index
Mideast
• Turkish
Spy Agency Officials Meet ISIL Ringleaders in Syrian Border City
• Israel
chides Swedish PM over Palestinian state
• Israel
permits Gazans to pray at Jerusalem mosque
Africa
• Clashes
kill 12 Libya soldiers in new Benghazi battle
• Somali,
African troops take key port from Shebab: Mogadishu
• Jihadist
killings have no religious basis: Nigerian president
South Asia
• Afghan
president decides to handover Taliban Naib Amir to Pakistan
• Child
among two killed following Taliban attack in Zabul
• Maldives
Gender Ministry Threatens Legal Action against Extremist Practices
North America
• UAE
‘astonished’ at Biden’s claim it backed extremists
• US court
decides on Muslim inmate beards
• U.S.
actor Ben Affleck slams TV host for ‘racist’ interpretation of Islam
• Parents
of American held by Islamic State appeal for his release
Europe
• Henning
family left 'numb with grief' after IS beheading
• Human
Rights Watch: Myanmar wants to segregate Rohingyas
• British PM
Orders Spy Chiefs to Hunt down ‘Jihadi John’
• Muslims
‘fearful’ amid row over UK hate-crime stats
• Bosnian
Muslims slam ISIS
Southeast Asia
• Woman
doctor among 22 Malaysians with Islamic State in Syria
• Forgive
PAS Islamist party’s lawmaker tells DAP crowd
• Malaysians
world’s second highest donors to Palestinians
• Bible
society hopes new Selangor MB will help return seized bibles
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pakistan-taliban-switches-side;-vows/d/99391
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Pakistan
Pakistan
Taliban Switches Side; Vows to Send Jihadists to Help IS
Oct 5,
2014
The
Pakistani Taliban has switched allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria, which has been vying for supremacy with the al-Qaeda in the region, and
vowed to send jihadists to help the ruthless terror group. Tehreek-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) headed by fugitive
Mullah
Fazlullah issued a statement on Saturday ahead of Eid ul-Azha, expressing
support for the ISIS or IS, which has captured swathes of territory in Iraq and
Syria.
Islamic
State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared himself as Caliph of the Islamic
State. TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid sent Fazlullah’s Eid message to media
which said that all Muslim fighters in the Middle East should unite for the
greater good. “We consider the fighters in Iraq and Syria as our brothers and
are proud of their victories. We are their part and parcel in times of joy and
sadness,” the statement said.
“The
Muslim nation has great expectations from the fighters in Iraq and Syria. We
are with you in the hour of trial and will support you in all possible ways,”
it added. IS is a splinter group of the al-Qaeda which has distanced itself
from the outfit, chiding it for its aggressive and brutal expansion. Al-Qaeda,
which includes dozens of Pakistan-based terror groups and sectarian outfits, is
facing challenges from IS which is trying to extend its influence into South
Asia. Despite the rhetoric of militants, it is highly unlikely that Taliban at
this stage are in a position to help the IS or other militant groups in Middle
East. Taliban command and control system has been destroyed by army in North
Waziristan and they are constantly on the run. They have also suffered internal
splits and some powerful militants like Omer Khalid Khurasani have parted ways
with the group by creating Jamaat-ul-Ahrar outfit. Similarly, TTP lost support
of Taliban’s Punjabi faction whose leader Asmatullah Muawiya has announced not
to fight the Pakistani security forces. There are several question marks
whether the TTP can send its jihadists to fight on the side of IS due to
geographical and logistical problems. As far as support through money or
weapons is concerned, the Taliban is not a rich organisation to give material
support to others. In the past, TTP could help other militant group by offering
a handful of suicide bombers, but it seems that the outfit is running short of
them as there is dramatic decline in such attacks since North Waziristan
operation where their centres to train suicide bombers have been destroyed.
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/asia/pakistan-taliban-switches-side-vows-to-send-jihadists-to-help-islamic-state/#sthash.emjJZSSi.dpuf
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Shias
targeted in Quetta, Kohat bombings; 11 dead
Oct 5,
2014
QUETTA/KOHAT:
At least 11 Shias, including two women, were killed and 23 others were injured
after separate bombings occurred in Quetta’s Hazara Town and Kohat on Saturday.
“People
were busy in shopping near the intersection of Eid Bazaar in Aliabad when a
suicide bomber struck with huge explosion,” Hazara Town Station House Officer
Azher Hussain told Daily Times. “At least five people have been killed while
more than a dozen were wounded,” he said. The cop said the victims were Shias.
He said
that the terrorists targeted the Eid bazaar.
“More
than hundred people were present when blast occurred,” Hussain said.
Quetta
Police Chief Abdul Razaq Cheema confirmed the suicide attack and said the
attacker blew himself up on the street after failing to enter Aliabad chowk.
“Police have found the head and remains of the suicide bomber and the Bomb
Disposal Squad has told me that 5 to 7 kg explosives were used in the bombing,”
Cheema added.
“The
bodies and injured were taken to Combined Military Hospital and the provincial
government has imposed emergency in all hospitals,” Home Secretary Akber
Durrani told Daily Times. “Security has already been beefed up in Quetta but we
are investigating that how the bomber entered inside Hazara Town despite
tightened security measures,” Durrani said, adding that law enforcers cordoned
off the area and collected evidence from the scene. “The death toll may rise.
Children and women are among those injured,” a rescue worker said. “Four bodies
and several injured were brought here,” a doctor at BMC said.
“There
was a huge crowd mostly women and children were busy in shopping for Eidul Adha
when the blast happened,” Zulfiqar, a witness, said. The Hazaras staged a
protest demonstration against the suicide attack and blocked traffic by burning
tires. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain have condemned
the attack and directed the Balochistan government to take action against the
terrorists. A Balochistan government spokesman said that it was a conspiracy to
disturb the peace of Quetta.
“The
government condemned the killings and directed the law enforcing agencies to
investigate the incident,” he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the
bombing so far.
Separately,
as many as 8 persons, including a three-year-old girl, were wounded in a
remote-controlled bombing on Spini Road in Quetta.
According
to police, a box carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) was placed on
the road near Bakra Mandi.
“The
miscreants detonated the bomb when Pashtoonabad DSP Naeem Khan’s vehicle came
near,” said Aitzaz Ahmed, SSP operations. He confirmed that eight people were
wounded while the police mobile escaped unhurt in the explosion. “All the
victims were passersby. Three-year-old Habiba Khan, teens Kifayatullah, Naik
Muhammed and Watiullah were among the injured. The DSP was not the specific
target,” Ahmed said.
Meanwhile,
six people were killed and several others injured in a bombing close to a
passenger van in Kohat, local police confirmed. “The blast occurred at a bus stop
in Kohat city where Suzuki vans carry passengers to nearby areas,” District
Police Officer Salim Khan Marwat told reporters. At least two vehicles were damaged in the
explosion, he added. He also said, “The explosion has left six people dead and
17 injured.” No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. KP
Governor Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak condemned the
bombing. The KP government has also announced compensation for the grieving
families.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/05-Oct-2014/shias-targeted-in-quetta-kohat-bombings-11-dead
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Police
kill seven Taliban militants in Pakistan
AFP |
Oct 5, 2014
KARACHI:
Pakistan police on Sunday killed seven Taliban insurgents during a raid in the
port city of Karachi, police said.
The
encounter took place in the Sohrab Goth area on the outskirts of the city after
police received intelligence information about the presence of
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgents in a compound there.
"There
were up to 16 TTP militants present in the house when we raided it,"
senior local police official Rao Anwar told AFP.
He said
the raid triggered a gunfight, killing seven insurgents, adding that three of
them were involved in the assassination of a senior Karachi police official
Chaudhry Aslam in January this year.
"These
three militants, who had fled to Saudi Arabia after Aslam's murder but returned
home just recently, were experts of making bombs and suicide vests," Anwar
said.
Police
were trying to identify the four others who were killed. At least seven
militants fled during the gunfight, he said.
The raid
came two weeks after a senior police official Farooq Awan, who has been a key
player in the police's fight against terrorist groups in the city since 2001,
survived a car bomb attack in Karachi.
Karachi,
a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 per cent of Pakistan's GDP,
has been plagued by sectarian, ethnic and political violence for years.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Police-kill-seven-Taliban-militants-in-Pakistan/articleshow/44413710.cms
------------
Bilawal
calls Tahirul Qadri a cartoon
October
05, 201
Karachi-
Reacting strongly to Dr. Tahirul Qadri’s outburst against Asif Ali Zardari,
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday termed
the PAT leader a ‘cartoon.’
The
young PPP leader directed party workers to ignore Qadri’s anti-PPP remarks.
“That
cartoon says one thing one day and completely the opposite thing the next day.
Please ignore such hypocrites,” Bilawal posted in micro-blogging website
minutes after Qadri’s speech. Earlier, Qadri while speaking to sit-in
participants lambasted Zardari, saying that the PPP co-chairman is a product of
NRO. He also claimed that cases against Zardari are also being closed.
http://nation.com.pk/national/05-Oct-2014/bilawal-calls-tahirul-qadri-a-cartoon
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Agenda
of ‘anarchists’ will never succeed, says Zardari
Oct 5,
2014
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:
Former president Asif Zardari on Saturday said that the agenda of ‘anarchists’
will never succeed.
The
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman said his party would not compromise
on supremacy of democracy and institutions.
According
to details, Southern Punjab PPP leaders met under Zardari’s headship at Bilawal
House Lahore. The meeting’s agenda was by-polls in Multan’s NA-149 constituency
and country’s overall political situation.
Addressing
the meeting, Zardari said the PPP was the party that created the constitution
and it would protect it. He said that the PPP firmly stood up to every
dictatorship, adding that no conspiracy against democratic institutions would
be tolerated.
The
former president said that he would not restrict his movement to Lahore, but
would visit the whole Punjab to make party active again.
Zardari
said that PPP rally in Karachi on October 18 would show that the party was
still Pakistan’s largest political party.
The
former president advised party workers to speed up political activities in
Punjab.
“Party
workers should come out of their houses,” said Zardari. He directed party
officials to sort out complains of outraged workers bringing them forward.
Separately,
former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that the demand for midterm
polls was legal and constitutional. Addressing a press conference in Islamabad,
Raja urged for verification of votes in view of the rigging allegations.
“If I
was prime minister and my capital was sealed for 50 days, thousands of
containers had been placed and the entry and exit of people became difficult, I
would consider what to do. Under the constitutional, lawful and democratic way
I would have said hold elections again,” he remarked.
The
former prime minister said he would not get into a debate if asking for
resignation was constitutional, however, if someone wanted to resign that was
constitutional and lawful.
“Even
mid-term elections are lawful and constitutional. They are held across the
world,” the former PM said.
Raja
added that the nation should not be scared of holding even 50 elections if this
would lead to making the election mechanism transparent.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/05-Oct-2014/agenda-of-anarchists-will-never-succeed-says-zardari
---------
Zardari
refuses to take on PML-N
Oct 5,
2014
LAHORE:
Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has rejected some party
leaders’ suggestion that the party should abandon its support to the PML-N as
it was affecting its popularity in Punjab. Mr Zardari said he was at present
more interested in protecting democracy than party politics because the nation
was going through testing times.
“We are
supporting the PML-N to protect democratic system. I don’t agree that our
policy of reconciliation is damaging the PPP, particularly in Punjab,” he told
the party’s office-bearers from southern Punjab and Lahore at a meeting in
Bilawal House on Saturday.
Some of
the participants had expressed concern over the PPP’s policy of “overtly”
supporting the PML-N government. A participant told Dawn that some
office-bearers spoke their mind freely before Mr Zardari, saying the party’s
reconciliation policy was costing it dearly in Punjab.
“The
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is filling the vacuum left by the PPP. We are
conceding space to the PTI. We should start openly taking on the PML-N
government and its leadership on issues of public importance and play the role
of an active opposition,” an office-bearer was quoted as saying.
Mr
Zardari listened to their concerns, but told the office-bearers: “This is no
time for such politics. The PPP will not compromise on democracy and supremacy
of the constitution and parliament.”
He said
he would visit other parts of Punjab soon to strengthen the PPP in the
province. It was no more a stronghold of the PML-N as people were ready to take
to the streets in protest against its policies, he agreed with the workers..
Mr
Zaradri deplored the defection of Malik Aamir Dogar, secretary general of the
PPP’s south Punjab chapter. “The late father of Mr Dogar had told him that he
should never quit the PPP, but he did not follow his advice,” he said.
Mr Dogar
had refused to accept PPP ticket for by-elections in the NA-149 constituency
(Multan) scheduled for Oct 16. He is contesting the polls as an independent
candidate with the PTI’s support. His main rival is veteran politician Javed
Hashmi, who has backing of the PML-N.
In an
apparent reference to Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri, Mr Zardari said: “Those
fostering anarchy will not succeed. The country cannot afford the politics of
sit-ins. Dialogue, and not street politics, is a solution to all problems.”
He said
it was not good to put one’s own or the party’s interest above the country’s .
“They
criticise our children who are Pakistani citizens though theirs are foreign
nationals,” he said in a veiled reference to Imran Khan.
He said
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had decided to address a rally to be held in Karachi on
Oct 18 to observe the seventh anniversary of the Karsaz tragedy. PPP workers
from across the country will participate.
“Except
the PPP which had a rich history of political struggle and sacrifices, all
other political parties are a product of the establishment,” Mr Zardari
asserted.
Some
participants complained that Mr Zardari’s political secretary Rukhsana Bangash
did not allow them to meet him. He said he would look into the matter.
Prominent
among the participants were former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and PPP
leaders Qamar Zaman Kaira, Sherry Rehman, Sardar Latif Khosa, Makhdoom
Shahabuddin, Samina Ghurki, Shaukat Basra and Faisal Mir.
Talking
to reporters after the meeting, Mr Gilani said the PML-N could not fulfil its
promises. “Protests and sit-ins are part of democratic process and an objection
cannot be raised to them.”
Had the
PML-N government adopted the Zardari style of politics, it would not have faced
the problems it was confronted with, he said.
Mr
Gilani said the PPP had raised voice against rigging soon after last year’s
general elections but nobody supported it.
“We want
to uphold supremacy of democracy, not of the government or a person,” he said
and demanded that local body polls be held in the country.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1136337/zardari-refuses-to-take-on-pml-n
----------
India
Indian
Jihadist Group Calls for Attacks on Western Nationals
Oct 5,
2014
Ansar
al-Tawhid fi’Bilad al-Hind, a group of Indian jihadists based in Pakistan’s
northwest border area, has called on supporters to stage attacks on western
nationals, in an Eid message released online late on Friday. “If you are in the
fortunate position to kill an American or European, whether French or Australian
or Canadian, or other unbelievers who have declared war on the Islamic State,
then do so,” the declaration exhorts followers in India.
The
exhortation was made in a speech delivered by Maulana Abdul Rehman al-Nadwi
al-Hindi — a pseudonym, Indian intelligence services believe, for fugitive
jihadist Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar, a 39-year-old former resident of Bhatkal in
Karnataka who trained as a cleric at the Dar-ul-Uloom Nadwat-ul-Ulema seminary
in Lucknow.
“Kill
the Mushrik (idolaters) wherever you find them… shoot them if you can, stab
them, throw stones at their heads, poison them, run them over, burn their
fields — and if you are unable… spit in their faces,” he says in the speech.
“Target the security forces, the agents, and the helpers of the oppressors, cut
down their beds (so they might not rest), harry their every moment”.
Full
report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/indian-jihadist-group-calls-for-attacks-on-western-nationals/99/#sthash.6XsgtwqJ.dpuf
----------
Jamaat-e-Islami
Hind Slams Chairman PCI for Muslim Law Remark
Oct 05,
2014
Indian
Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, severely criticised former Supreme Court
judge and Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju over his recent
statement against the Muslim personal law, which he also described as “barbaric
and backward” and said it degraded women. Justice Katju had also supported the
imposition of an uniform civil code. The organisation, led by Maulana Syed
Jalaluddin Umri, termed Justice Katju’s statement as “unjustified, improper and
emotive.”
The
Muslim body asked Justice Katju to explain as to how the ‘Uniform Civil Code’
could be just for a “multi-religion and multi-culture” country like India of
over one billion people.
Justice
Katju had, last week, favoured a uniform civil law in the country, terming the
Muslim personal law is “unjust and barbaric” as it treats women as “inferior.”
He claimed that even Hindu law was similarly feudal in nature, but changes were
made in it after “tremendous efforts” by India’s first Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Some
statements of former Supreme Court judge Katju are indeed useful, reasonable
and moderate. But it seems that from his days in judiciary, he has held
one-sided, illogical and unjustified viewpoint about Muslim Personal Law,”
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind secretary-general Nusrat Ali said.
Full
report at:
http://www.asianage.com/delhi/jamaat-slams-markandey-katju-muslim-law-remark-412
----------
Indian
youths who joined ISIS may not face arrest on return
Deeptiman
Tiwary,TNN | Oct 5, 2014
NEW
DELHI: An NDA regime may be naturally seen as "tough on terror", but
the Narendra Modi government seems to be toying with the idea of taking a
humanitarian approach towards Indian youths who are suspected to be fighting
alongside the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) in Iraq.
Faced
with a proposal by NIA to lodge an FIR against ISIS, the home ministry is
exploring if these youths can be deradicalised when they come back from Iraq
rather than pushing them behind bars. The argument in favour of this idea is
that an FIR will not only scare the youths from coming back but also prevent
parents from reporting to police.
"We
are still trying to find an answer to the question: 'How will an FIR help us?'.
Legally speaking, these boys have done no wrong in India. Would it not be wiser
to let them come in and keep them under observation and deradicalize them. May
be they would be of more help then. The matter, however, is still under
discussion," said a senior home ministry official.
A move
like this, if actually taken into stride, would be a significant departure from
the generally hawkish attitude of the security establishment and put in place a
new paradigm for tackling terror.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-youths-who-joined-ISIS-may-not-face-arrest-on-return/articleshow/44364518.cms
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Arab World
At haj,
Saudi Arabia clerics step up anti-Islamic State drive
Oct 5,
2014
Taking
aim at Islamic State, Saudi Arabia has mounted a battle for hearts and minds at
this year's haj, warning pilgrims that the hardline group is "evil"
and seeking to recruit their children to fight in Iraq and Syria.
As
millions of pilgrims visited the holiest sites in Islam on the second day of
the annual pilgrimage on Saturday, global leaders condemned the fourth
beheading of a Westerner by Islamic State insurgents.
Saudi
Arabia declared Islamic State a terrorist organisation in March and sharply
stepped up denunciations of the group after its fighters made rapid territorial
gains in Iraq in June.
US-led
air strikes on the group has allowed some of the lost territory to be
recaptured, but the well-armed militants continue to make gains in Iraq and
Syria. Last week, Saudi air force planes pounded militant targets in Syria.
The
group's radical Sunni Islamist ideology is gaining traction elsewhere in the
Muslim world: A group in Algeria pledged allegiance before killing a French
hostage last month, and Pakistani Taliban also declared their support on
Saturday.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112378/World/Region/At-haj,-Saudi-Arabia-clerics-step-up-antiIslamic-S.aspx
----------
Iraqi
Forces Break Siege on ISIL-Besieged Soldiers in Fallujah
Oct 5,
2014
Iraqi
security forces broke the siege imposed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL) terrorists on soldiers in Fallujah city.
The
Iraqi Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Saturday that the security
forces ended the siege imposed by the ISIL terrorists on the soldiers of the
Iraqi Army 1st Division in Fallujah city.
"Units
of Baghdad Operations Command joined forces of Anbar Operations Command at the
suburbs of Fallujah city to conduct a security operation Southern the
city," the statement added.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930713000310
----------
ISIS
publicly kills 6 in Iraq
5
October 2014
Witnesses
say militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have publicly
killed six Iraqi soldiers in Anbar province, where it continues to make gains
despite an expanding U.S.-led campaign of airstrikes.
Witnesses
say the soldiers - one in uniform and five in civilian clothes - were lined up
against a wall Sunday in the town of Hit and shot in the head.
They say
the Islamic State group also bombed a police station in Hit, located some 140
kilometers (85 miles) west of the capital, Baghdad.
The
witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
The
Islamic State group stormed Hit on Thursday, its latest victory against the
embattled Iraqi military in Anbar.
The U.S.
has launched airstrikes on ISIS positions in Anbar.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/ISIS-publicly-kills-6-in-Iraq.html
----------
Islamic
State fighters beat back Iraqi forces near Baghdad
Reuters
| Oct 5, 2014
BAGHDAD:
Islamic State fighters in Iraq recaptured about one half of the town of
Dhuluiya, one day after it was won by Iraqi forces, and attacked a neighbouring
town just 70 km (45 miles) north of Baghdad, police officers and witnesses said
on Sunday.
The
radical Sunni militants have seized large chunks of territory in Iraq since the
beginning of the year, first in western Iraq and after June across the
country's north, imposing strict Islamic rule and forcing thousands to flee.
A
stalemate exists in the country, with territory regularly switching hands
between the Iraqi govermment and Islamic State.
On
Saturday, Islamic State stormed a town in Iraq's western Anbar province and
seized the town of Kubaisa. In Syria, Islamic State forces shelled the border
town of Kobani.
Police
said militants launched "well-organised assaults" on Saturday on
Dhuluiya and took back control of a large part of the northern half of the
town, which lies on the Tigris and is the base for the Sunni Muslim al-Jubouri
tribe who are fighting Islamic State.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Islamic-State-fighters-beat-back-Iraqi-forces-near-Baghdad/articleshow/44420532.cms
----------
Syrian
border town still under siege by Islamic State despite allied air strikes
Reuters
| Oct 5, 2014
MURSITPINAR/BEIRUT:
Islamic State forces shelled the Syrian border town of Kobani on Saturday and
its Kurdish defenders said they were expecting a new assault to try to capture
it.
US-led
coalition warplanes had struck at Islamic State targets overnight to halt the
insurgents' advance and Saturday's barrages were less intense than the previous
day.
"Clashes
continue now, they are shelling on all three fronts. They tried to invade
Kobani last night but they were repelled," senior Kurdish official Asya
Abdullah told Reuters from the town on Saturday.
"We
think they are planning to launch another big attack but YPG is prepared to
resist them," she said, referring to the Kurdish armed group defending it.
Previous
coalition air strikes have failed to stop the insurgent offensive and an
estimated 180,000 people have fled across the border into Turkey to escape the
fighting around Kobani - a conflict now overshadowing Syria's wider civil war.
Islamic
State said they would take the town within days and boasted they would pray in
its mosques for the Muslim religious festival of Eid al-Adha, which began on
Saturday.
In
Istanbul, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reacted angrily to comments by US
Vice President Joe Biden suggesting that Turkey had supported groups in Syria
linked to al Qaeda.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syrian-border-town-still-under-siege-by-Islamic-State-despite-allied-air-strikes/articleshow/44371292.cms
-------------
'Hajj
selfie fever' criticised by Islamic clerics
Oct 5,
2014
Millions
of Muslims traveling to Mecca have caught “selfie fever,” angering some Muslim
clerics for snapping pictures of themselves at holy sites during the annual
Hajj pilgrimage.
Many
young Muslims believe that posting selfies on social media is the best way to
communicate with their families and document precious moments.
“I’m
taking a selfie with Kaaba behind me to post on my Facebook so my family and
friends can see me. That’s the way we communicate these days – no need to
call,” Reuters quoted Turkish student Mehmet Dawoud as saying.
“Selfies
are just a way to make the memory last in the coolest possible way. Haj is
always seen as something very serious and for older people. Selfies make it
cool again,” said Egyptian architect Amir Marouf.
Full
report at:
http://rt.com/news/193244-hajj-selfie-mecca-muslims/
----------
Kurds
battle Islamist militants closing in on Syrian town
Oct 5,
2014
Kurdish
forces battled overnight with Islamists trying to seize a hill overlooking a
Syrian border town with Turkey as U.S.-led coalition warplanes carried out
raids on the militants, a Kurdish official and a monitoring group said on
Sunday.
A
translator with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) inside Kobani said
Islamic State forces were hitting it with tank and mortar fire as they tried to
seize Mistanour hill, a landmark whose capture would give them easy access to
the town.
Kurdish
forces had managed to stop Islamic State capturing the hill, Parwer Mohammed
Ali told Reuters.
"Overnight
there were new airstrikes. They struck three or four times in the vicinity
Mistanour hill," he added.
Islamic
State, a radical offshoot of al Qaeda, launched a new offensive to capture
Kobani, a Kurdish town, two weeks ago as they try consolidate their hold on a
stretch of territory across northern Syria and Iraq.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112395/World/Region/Kurds-battle-Islamist-militants-closing-in-on-Syri.aspx
----------
Egypt's
banned Brotherhood set up Eid prayer spaces in Alexandria
Oct 5,
2014
Egypt's
now-banned Muslin Brotherhood group on Saturday set up several spaces for Eid
prayers outside mosques in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, despite a
sustained government crackdown on the Islamist group.
The
first day of the four-day Eid Al-Adha festival sees Muslims gather in mosques
to perform the communal Eid prayer.
Posters
bearing the Brotherhood's logo and wishing locals a happy Eid could be seen in
eastern and western parts of the coastal city, Al-Ahram Arabic news website
reported.
The
group has faced a sustained state crackdown following last year's ouster of
president Mohamed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood. The group was ruled a
terrorist organisation by authorities late last year.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/112347/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-banned-Brotherhood-set-up-Eid-prayer-spaces.aspx
----------
Hezbollah
Welcomes Iran's Arms Aid to Lebanon
Oct 5,
2014
The
Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, appreciated Iran for its arms aid to
Beirut to help the country in campaign against terrorism.
"If
we want to speak realistically and sincerely, the Islamic Republic of Iran's
gift to the Lebanese army in this sensitive stage of fight against the
terrorists is timely," Head of Hezbollah's Executive Council Seyed Hashem
Safiaddin said on Saturday.
He said
that no group and party will win if the Lebanese army becomes weak, "and
anyone who thinks of embracing victory through the weakening of the Lebanese
army is making a mistake and is a criminal since he/she has acted against
Lebanon and its nation, army and future.
Full
report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930712001037
----------
Assad
makes rare appearance amid Islamic State assault
Oct 5, 2014
Syrian
President Bashar Assad made a rare public appearance on Saturday by attending
prayers at a mosque in the capital, Damascus, marking the beginning of an
important Muslim holiday as an offensive by Islamic State near the border with
Turkey intensified.
Syrian
state television aired footage of Mr. Assad praying at the al-Numan Bin Bashir
mosque along with government officials and the country’s Grand Mufti Ahmad
Badreddine Hassoun. Most Muslims around the world on Saturday began marking the
three-day holiday of Eid-al-Adha, or festival of sacrifice.
Mr.
Assad has been making rare public appearances amid the country’s civil war,
which activists say has killed more than 190,000 people. His last appearance
was in July, when he attended prayers for the Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end
of fasting during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Full
report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/syrian-president-bashar-assad-makes-rare-appearance-amid-islamic-state-assault/article6471399.ece
--------
Report:
ISIS plots to seize Iran’s nuclear secrets
5
October 2014
The
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group is planning on seizing
Tehran’s nuclear secrets and urging its fighters to plan for war with Iran, UK
weekly newspaper The Sunday Times reported.
The
group urged its members to help them reach their ambitions in a manifesto which
was allegedly written by Abdullah Ahmed al-Meshedani, a member of the group’s
highly secretive six-man war cabinet.
In the
document, which has been examined by western security officials - who believe
it to be authentic - Meshedani wrote that ISIS is aims to get hold of nuclear
weapons with the help of Russia, to whom it will offer access to gas fields it
controls in Iraq’s Anbar province in return for the Kremlin to give up “Iran
and its nuclear program and hands over its secrets.”
The
manifesto said that Moscow would also have to abandon support for Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad and back the Gulf States against Iran.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/ISIS-plots-to-seize-Iran-s-nuclear-secrets-.html
----------
Saudi
Arabia absent from Global Agewatch Index
5
October 2014
On the
occasion of the International Day of the Older Persons, which the UN annually
observers on Oct. 1, a member of the Saudi National Committee of Retirees has
criticized the lack of care the elderly receive in the Kingdom.
Fawziyah
Akhdar, chairwoman of the committee's female section, told Al-Hayat newspaper
recently that the absence of care for the Kingdom’s elderly population can be
seen in the lack of medical insurance for the elderly and the nonexistence of
rules and regulations that protect their rights and dignity.
She
noted that the Kingdom has been absent from the Global Agewatch Index, which
measures the social and economic welfare of those over 60. The indicator
obtains its data from reports filed by the UN and the World Bank.
She
described the conditions of the elderly in the Kingdom as “miserable” and said
shelter homes for them are in poor condition with very few resources.
“Good
health care for the elderly is unavailable. There is no medical insurance
coverage for them,” she said.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/Saudi-Arabia-absent-from-Global-Agewatch-Index.html
----------
Mideast
Turkish
Spy Agency Officials Meet ISIL Ringleaders in Syrian Border City
Oct 5,
2014
Turkish
National Intelligence Organization (MIT) officials have held a series of
meetings with the ringleaders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) in a Syrian border city to coordinate joint war operations against the
Kurdish population.
"We
have strong and irrefutable documents that the MIT has held numerous meetings
with the ISIL ringleaders in a border city Northern Syria and during the
meetings they have inked agreements against the Kurds," a member of the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who introduced himself as Howal Veria told FNA
on Saturday.
"One
of the paragraphs of the agreements pertains to the ethnic cleansing of Syria's
Kurdistan and displacement and massacre of the Kurdish people," he added.
Veria
warned Turkey to stop its continued policies against the Kurds, and said if the
government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues its
policies, over 45mln Kurds, Alawits and all other people who are opposed to
Ankara's ISIL policies will rush to the streets to show their power to the
Turkish premier.
In
relevant remarks in September, a PKK leader said that the Turkish government is
in cahoots with the ISIL Takfiri militants operating inside Syria and
neighboring Iraq.
Full
report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13930712000530
----------
Israel
chides Swedish PM over Palestinian state
5
October 2014
Israel
has hit out at Sweden’s newly elected prime minister Stefan Loefven over his
decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
“Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that he regrets that the new prime minister was
in a hurry to make statements on Sweden’s position regarding recognition of a
Palestinian state, apparently before he had time even to study the issue in
depth,” Lieberman’s office quoted him as saying, in a statement issued late
Saturday.
It added
that Sweden’s ambassador to Israel, Carl Magnus Nesser, “will be invited for a
talk at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem,” but did not say when.
“Prime
Minister Loefven needs to understand that no statement or act by an external
party can be a substitute for direct negotiations between the sides,” the
statement said.
Social
Democrat leader Loefven -- who won last month’s general election -- said on
Friday his country wanted to bolster a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“A
two-state solution requires mutual recognition and the will to co-exist
peacefully,” Loefven said in his inaugural address to parliament.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/Israel-chides-Swedish-PM-over-Palestinian-state-.html
----------
Israel
permits Gazans to pray at Jerusalem mosque
5
October 2014
The
Israeli military says it is permitting hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza
Strip to pray at Jerusalem's most important mosque, the first time it is doing
so since 2007.
Israel
sharply has restricted travel out of Gaza since the Islamic militant Hamas overran
the enclave in 2007. Since then, it has not granted permits for Gazans
specifically wanting to pray at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's
third-holiest site. Muslims are marking Eid al-Adha, an important holiday.
The
military says 500 Gazans will cross into Israel on Sunday. Another 1,000 are
expected the following two days. The military says permits were restricted to
people over the age of 60.
The
permits were granted weeks after Israel and Hamas ended a 50-day war that
killed more than 2,100 people.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/Israel-permits-Gazans-to-pray-at-Jerusalem-mosque.html
----------
Africa
Clashes
kill 12 Libya soldiers in new Benghazi battle
Oct 5,
2014
At least
12 Libyan soldiers were killed and 45 wounded in fresh clashes with Islamist
militants near the airport of the eastern city of Benghazi, a medic said.
Special
army forces allied to brigades of former general Khalifa Haftar have been
fighting Islamist brigades there, including Ansar al-Sharia, accused by
Washington of killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya in 2012.
On
Thursday, Islamist groups launched a new offensive to seize the city's military
and civilian airport, the last government bases in the port city, amid the
chaos gripping the oil producer three years after the ousting of Muammar
Gaddafi.
The
Islamists have already overrun several army bases in Benghazi.
A
hospital medic said 12 soldiers were killed and 45 wounded. On Thursday 29
soldiers had already died, according to medics.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2014/10/04/Clashes-kill-12-Libya-soldiers-in-new-Benghazi-battle-.html
---------
Somali,
African troops take key port from Shebab: Mogadishu
Oct 5,
2014
Somali
troops backed by African peacekeepers on Sunday recaptured the last major port
held by the Shebab, key to the financing of the Islamist militia, Somali
officials told AFP.
"The
army is in full control" of the port of Barawe, 200 kilometres (120 miles)
southwest of Mogadishu, the Somali military official Abdi Mire said.
"The
situation is calm, the militiamen had fled before the forces reached the
town," said the provincial governor Abdukadir Mohamed Nur.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112386/World/Region/Somali,-African-troops-take-key-port-from-Shebab-M.aspx
---------
Jihadist
killings have no religious basis: Nigerian president
Oct 5,
2014
Nigerian
President Goodluck Jonathan said Saturday that killings by militants of Boko
Haram and other Islamists across the globe, including those who killed a
British aid worker, have no religious basis.
"What
is happening globally now has no religious basis," Jonathan told visiting
Muslim leaders on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice.
"Only yesterday, a British aid worker was slaughtered by ISIS, and that is
not Islamic."
British
Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed the "brutal murder" of aid
worker Alan Henning, 47, by the Islamic State group on Friday.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/112370/World/International/Jihadist-killings-have-no-religious-basis-Nigerian.aspx
---------
South Asia
Afghan
president decides to handover Taliban Naib Amir to Pakistan
Oct 5,
2014
ISLAMABAD/KABUL
– After change of leadership in Afghanistan, new President Ashraf Ghani has
sent a message that he was prepared to handover the Taliban Naib Amir Maulvi
Faqir Mohammad to Pakistan.
Sources
said that though there was no agreement between the two countries for the
transfer of prisoners, yet Maulvi Faqir Mohammad would be handed over to
Pakistan under UN rules.
Afghanistan
has linked the transfer of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad with the handover of Taliban
commander Mullah Abdul Ghani. Sources added that both the countries were in
touch at the diplomatic level but the exchange of prisoners.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/04-Oct-2014/afghan-president-decides-to-handover-taliban-naib-amir-to-pakistan
----------
Child
among two killed following Taliban attack in Zabul
Oct 5,
2014
At least
two people including a child were killed following Taliban attack in southern
Zabul province, local officials said.
According
to local government officials, the incident took place late Saturday in Shajoi
district.
The
district administrative chief, Abdul Khaliq Ayubi confirmed that a policeman
was killed along with a child following the attack.
Mr.
Ayubi further added that two others were also injured following the attack.
Taliban
militants group has not commented regarding the incident so far.
Zabul is
among the volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where anti-government
armed militant groups are actively operating in a number of its districts and
frequently carry out insurgency activities.
http://www.khaama.com/child-among-two-killed-following-taliban-attack-in-zabul-6795
----------
Maldives
Gender Ministry Threatens Legal Action against Extremist Practices
By
Minivan News | October 5th, 2014
The
Ministry of Law and Gender has warned it would take legal action against
extremist practices such as unregistered marriages and refusal to vaccinate or
send children to school.
The
ministry revealed in a press statement on Thursday (October 2) that the number
of such cases brought to its attention by various state institutions was on the
rise.
Legally
unrecognised marriages and refusal to vaccinate or send children to school were
criminal offences under child protection, family, public health, and religious
unity laws as well as the penal code, the statement noted.
“As
upholding the society’s interests is a responsibility of the state, we inform
and announce that henceforth the relevant state authorities will be taking
legal action against those who commit the aforementioned crimes,” the ministry
warned.
Healthcare
and education for children were also fundamental rights guaranteed by the
Constitution, the ministry noted, and were not left to the discretion of
parents.
Moreover,
assuring the rights was a legal obligation of both the state and legal
guardians, it added.
Full
report at:
http://minivannews.com/society/law-and-gender-ministry-threatens-legal-action-against-extremist-practices-90364
----------
North America
UAE
‘astonished’ at Biden’s claim it backed extremists
5
October 2014
The
United Emirates has expressed “astonishment” after U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden made comments suggested that the Gulf state and other regional powers had
financed extremist groups in Syria, its state-run news agency reported Sunday.
UAE
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash said he was
surprised by Biden’s remarks “which are far from the truth, especially with
relation to the UAE’s role in confronting extremism and terrorism and its clear
and advanced position in recognizing the dangers, including the danger of
financing terrorism and terrorist groups.”
He
called for a “formal clarification” of Biden’s statement, according to the
report.
The UAE
is one of a handful of Arab allies taking part in U.S.-led air strikes against
ISIS in Syria.
The
others are Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Biden
has already apologized to Turkey over the comments suggesting that it was one
of the countries in the region that had armed and financed ISIS in Syria.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/UAE-astonished-at-U-S-VP-Biden-s-suggestion-it-backed-extremist-groups.html
---------
US court
decides on Muslim inmate beards
Oct 5,
2014
The US
Supreme Court opens tomorrow a new term in which the nine justices will decide
issues such as whether a Muslim prison inmate can have a beard and whether a
man can be prosecuted for making threatening statements on Facebook.
The
term, which runs to the end of June, is expected to be defined by whatever
action the justices take on whether states can ban gay marriage. They have not
yet agreed to hear any of the seven cases already decided by federal appeals
courts.
Most
legal experts expect them to decide the issue, with oral arguments early next
year and a ruling likely in late June.
Arguments
start tomorrow in the cases the court has already accepted. It has agreed to
hear a number of cases involving people challenging their treatment by the
government, whether it be prosecutors, police or agencies.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/us-court-decides-on-facebook-threats-muslim-inmate-beards#sthash.4pMz6hPP.dpuf
---------
U.S.
actor Ben Affleck slams TV host for ‘racist’ interpretation of Islam
5
October 2014
American
star Ben Affleck slammed TV host Bill Maher for comments made on Islam during
an interview aired Friday on U.S. network HBO.
During a
debate on Real Time With Bill Maher, Maher claimed that Islam as a religion was
intolerant.
Maher
later claimed in the debate that Islam was “the only religion that acts like
the mafia — that will f*****g kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the
wrong picture, or write the wrong book.”
In
response, Affleck then asked the panelists: “What is your answer? Is it just to
condemn Islam? We've killed more Muslims than they have killed us by an awful
lot.”
“Yet
somehow we are exempt from these things. Because they are not really a
reflection of what we believe in.”
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/television-and-radio/2014/10/05/U-S-actor-Ben-Affleck-slams-TV-host-for-racist-interpretation-of-Islam-.html
------------
Parents
of American held by Islamic State appeal for his release
Reuters
| Oct 5, 2014
WASHINGTON:
The parents of an American humanitarian worker held hostage by Islamic State
militants appealed for his release on Saturday, speaking in a statement and a
video message that highlighted his aid work and mentioned his conversion to
Islam.
Ed and
Paula Kassig, of Indianapolis, Indiana, urged the release of their son, Peter
Kassig, 26. Kassig was threatened in a video issued on Friday by Islamic State
militants that purported to show the beheading of British aid worker Alan
Henning, 47.
Kassig's
parents have said through a spokesperson that he was taken captive on his way
to the eastern Syrian city of Deir Ezzor on October 1, 2013. He was doing
humanitarian work through Special Emergency Response and Assistance, an
organization he founded in 2012 to treat refugees from Syria, the family has
said.
Kassig
converted to Islam while in captivity and has adopted the name Abdul Rahman,
the family spokesperson said. In their appeal for his release, his parents
mentioned the Muslim holy festival of Eid, observed on Saturday.
"As
Muslims around the world, including our son Abdul-Rahman Kassig, celebrate Eid
ul-Adha, the faith and sacrifice of Ibrahim, and the mercy of Allah, we appeal
to those holding our son to show the same mercy and set him free," the
Kassig parents said in a written statement.
In the
video, Paula Kassig addressed her son in a personal message that she said she
hoped he would see.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Parents-of-American-held-by-Islamic-State-appeal-for-his-release/articleshow/44355394.cms
---------
Europe
Henning
family left 'numb with grief' after IS beheading
Oct 05,
2014
The
family of Alan Henning told how they were "numb with grief" yesterday
after the aid volunteer was murdered by Isil in Syria.
Mr
Henning's wife Barbara said she and the couple's children Lucy, 17, and Adam,
15, had been devastated by his death. She said in a statement: "There are
few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam, and
all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief. Alan was a decent, caring
human being. His interest was in the welfare of others. He will be remembered
for this, and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved
and the people he helped."
Mrs
Henning, who only last week made a desperate appeal to Isil to spare her
husband, thanked the UK Government, Foreign Office and Greater Manchester
Police for their support "through the most awful of times".
She
added: "On behalf of the entire family, I want to thank everyone who
campaigned for Alan's release, who held vigils to pray for his safe return, and
who condemned those who took him.
Full
report at:
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/henning-family-left-numb-with-grief-after-is-beheading-30638516.html#sthash.epuirWvF.dpuf
----------
Human
Rights Watch: Myanmar wants to segregate Rohingyas
Oct 5,
2014
A draft
government plan would secure discriminatory policies that deprive Rohingya
Muslims in Myanmar of citizenship and lead to the forced resettlement of over
130,000 displaced Rohingya into closed camps, Human Rights Watch has said.
Myanmar’s
international donors, the United Nations, and other influential actors should
press the government to substantively revise or rescind its “Rakhine State
Action Plan.”
The
plan, a copy of which was obtained by the New York-based HRW, does not
recognise the term Rohingya, referring throughout to “Bengalis” – an inaccurate
and derogatory term commonly used by the government officials and nationalist
Buddhists.
Muslims
are only mentioned in the plan with reference to religious schools.
The plan
follows the April 2013 recommendations of the Rakhine Investigative Commission,
established by President Thein Sein after widespread killings and violence
against Rohingya in 2012 in the state.
In an
address on September 29 to the United Nations General Assembly, the Myanmar
foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, stated that the plan was “being finalised
and will soon be launched” and called on the UN to provide assistance.
“The
long-awaited Rakhine State Action Plan both expands and solidifies the
discriminatory and abusive Burmese government policies that underpin the
decades-long persecution of the Rohingya,” Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia
director, said in a report published on its website.
“It is
nothing less than a blueprint for permanent segregation and statelessness that
appears designed to strip the Rohingya of hope and force them to flee the
country.”
The plan
is supposed to serve as the general blueprint for development and post-conflict
reconstruction in the state.
The
draft is in six sections with detailed bullet points: Security, Stability, and
Rule of Law; Rehabilitation and Reconstruction; Permanent Resettlement;
Citizenship Assessment of Bengalis; Socio-Economic Development; and Peaceful
Coexistence.
The
section on “Permanent Resettlement” sets out steps for the relocation and
encampment of 133,023 Rohingya people from existing internally displaced persons
camps around the state capital, Sittwe, and other townships to as yet
unspecified sites in the state.
The plan
does not discuss the possibility that Rohingya displaced by the violence of
2012 will be permitted to return to their original homes and dispels hopes that
Rohingya would be permitted to reintegrate into areas also inhabited by the
local Buddhist population.
The plan
has scheduled the resettlement of the entire displaced Rohingya population for
April and May 2015, just ahead of Myanmar’s annual monsoon season. In
preparation, residences, schools, community facilities, and necessary road,
electrical, and water and sanitation infrastructure would be constructed by
next April.
After
the foreign secretary level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar in late
August this year, the latter agreed to take back 2,415 Rohingyas stranded in
Bangladesh’s two authorised camps in Cox’s Bazar. The process of repatriation
would begin within two months.
After
2005, it is the first time Myanmar has agreed to repatriate Rohingyas from
Bangladesh. There are over 30,000 registered Rohingyas in the two camps while
the number of unregistered Rohingyas is between 2.5 lakh and 5 lakh.
Since
sectarian violence erupted in June 2012 and again in October 2012, an estimated
140,000 mostly Rohingya displaced people have been living in camps around
Arakan State, where they are wholly dependent on international humanitarian
assistance.
Another
40,000 Rohingya live in isolated non-camp communities receiving little outside
assistance. The government has failed to arrest or prosecute those responsible
for the violence against the Rohingya, particularly the coordinated “ethnic
cleansing” of Rohingya communities in October 2012 that the HRW found rose to
the level of crimes against humanity.
Rohingya,
who have effectively been denied Burmese citizenship since 1982, were excluded
from the March-April 2014 nationwide census and face tight restrictions on
freedom of movement, employment, livelihoods, access to health care, and
freedom of religion.
Conditions
in the displaced person camps are desperate and have evolved into long-term
internment in which Rohingya are not permitted outside of camp zones. The
permanent resettlement zones envisioned in the draft plan will deepen the
isolation and marginalisation of the Rohingya in violation of their freedom of
movement and other rights.
“The
Burmese [Myanmar] government’s plan proposes segregation measures that have
been advocated by extremists,” Robertson said. “Moving the Rohingya further
from urban areas to isolated rural camps will violate their basic rights, make
them dependent on outside assistance, and formalise the land grab of Rohingya
property.”
Part IV
of the draft plan outlines steps for citizenship assessment of the Rohingya,
using as its guide the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law, which has been used
to deny Rohingya citizenship for decades. The plan includes a nationality
verification process that started in August and is supposed to register all
“Bengalis” by March, says the HRW.
The
recorded population will then be divided into three categories: those
previously recorded (or) registered; those not recorded previously but willing
to go through the assessment process according to Myanmar existing laws; and
those who reject definition in the existing laws.
Any
Rohingya refusing the pejorative label “Bengali” would be placed in the third
category and denied the right to be considered for citizenship.
For
people in the first two categories, the determination of eligibility for
citizenship will take place between January 2015 and October 2016. For any
Rohingya failing to meet the criteria for citizenship, the authorities will
“construct temporary camps in required numbers for those who refuse to be
registered and those without adequate documents” and sequester them in closed
camps in what amounts to arbitrary, indefinite detention with the possibility
of deportation.
Myanmar
authorities conducted a pilot phase of the verification process in Myebon. Out
of the 1,094 Muslims who took part, 209 were found eligible for citizenship,
including: ethnic Kaman Muslims – listed as an ethnic group under the 1982
Citizenship Law; those who self-identified as Bengali; and an unspecified
number who were accepted as Rohingya.
The
total number of Rohingya in Arakan State has been estimated at over 10 lakh
according to the estimate of uncounted persons in the 2014 March-April
Nationwide Census, and most are concentrated in Buthidaung and Maungdaw
townships along the border with Bangladesh.
Although
not directly included in the draft plan, Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships will
be directly affected by provisions calling for strengthened border security and
operations to stem illegal immigration.
Full
report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/foreign-affairs/2014/oct/05/human-rights-watch-myanmar-wants-segregate-rohingyas#sthash.RqEAbT4p.dpuf
-----------
British
PM Orders Spy Chiefs to Hunt down ‘Jihadi John’
PTI |
Oct 5, 2014
LONDON:
Prime Minister David Cameron has asked his spy chiefs to find Islamic State
executioner 'Jihadi John' so that he could dispatch special forces to kill or
capture the masked man who beheaded the latest British hostage.
The
Prime Minister has stepped up the hunt for British aid worker Alan Henning's
murderer, who appears in IS beheading videos and has a British accent.
He
summoned the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ — the main British spy agencies — to
his Chequers country retreat on Saturday and told them he wanted them to
provide him with targets for a special forces raid on the IS kidnappers, The
Sunday Times reported.
The
meeting came 12 hours after terrorists released a video showing the
Britain-born terrorist beheading Henning, a 47-year-old former taxi driver from
Salford.
Cameron
stepped in as Henning's brother-in-law, Colin Livesey, and one of his friends
accused the government of failing to do enough to save him.
Henning's
widow Barbara said the family were "numb with grief" at his murder
and thanked those who had campaigned for his release.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/British-Prime-Minister-David-Cameron-orders-spy-chiefs-to-hunt-down-Jihadi-John/articleshow/44405700.cms
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Muslims
‘fearful’ amid row over UK hate-crime stats
5
October 2014
Like
many victims of hate crimes against British Muslims, Asma Sheikh never reported
what happened to her to the police.
It was
the summer of 2013, and anti-Muslim sentiment was at a high following the
violent killing of British Army soldier Lee Rigby, who was stabbed to death in
a London street by two Islamic extremists.
The
murder saw dozens of apparent reprisals against innocent UK Muslims, including
acts of vandalism and women having their veils ripped off. In the week
following the killing, there were seven Islamophobic offences recorded per day
in London, compared with the average of one a day.
Sheikh,
35, was one of the victims. Shortly after Rigby’s murder, she was walking to
her car when she noticed that all four tires had been slashed.
“It was
no coincidence. There was a note on the windscreen saying ‘go back home’,” said
the mother-of-two from northwest London. “There was a lot of hate going on at
that time, a lot of name-calling.”
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/05/Muslims-fearful-amid-row-over-UK-hate-crime-stats-.html
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Bosnian
Muslims slam ISIS
Oct 5,
2014
Leaders
of Bosnia’s Muslims slammed ISIS for their “terror and crime” saying they are
very worried to see a flag with Prophet Mohammad’s seal being held by a soldier
surrounded by dead bodies of civilians.
This
picture is in conflict with Islam, said Saturday Enes Ljevakovic, professor of
Sharia who addressed believers on behalf of Bosnia’s Islamic Community during
the main ceremony of Eid al-Adha.
He
called on volunteers from Western countries - mainly second generation Muslim
immigrants - to go anywhere else but to other people’s battlefields if they are
not happy in countries that have accepted their parents, given them refuge and
jobs.
Ljevakovic
urged Bosnia’s Muslims to teach their children traditional values of moderate
Islam and prevent outsiders from influencing them.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2014/10/04/UK-leader-British-hostage-s-killers-must-be-found.html
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Southeast Asia
Woman
doctor among 22 Malaysians with Islamic State in Syria
PTI |
Oct 5, 2014
KUALA
LUMPUR: A 26-year-old woman doctor was among the 22 Malaysians in Syria
reportedly involved in the activities of terrorist group Islamic State (IS),
police here confirmed.
The
doctor was married to a Malaysian, who was a member of the IS group, police
counter-terrorism official Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay said.
"We
are trying to establish her identity and obtain more information about the
woman's family. We are investigating how she could have been influenced to go
there (Syria)," Khan was quoted as saying by official Bernama news agency.
Khan
said the doctor was very active on social media and was attempting to recruit
Malaysian women through a Facebook account. He, however, said the women did not
realise there have been reports of exploitation of women and girls by the
ruthless militant group.
According
to the United Nations, the IS militants kidnapped women and girls and forced
them to be sex slaves. Khan also said that a couple, a 23-year-old man and a
29-year-old woman, who hailed from Selangor and Terengganu states respectively,
were among the 22 in Syria.
"A
Malaysian man aged 35 had also gone to Syria with his 46-year-old wife, a
foreign national," he said.
Since
the launch of a special operation by the Counter Terrorism Division on April 28
this year, 22 people have been detained on suspicion of having been involved in
militant activities, the report said.
The ISIS
militants have captured swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and their leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has declared himself as Caliph of the Islamic State.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Woman-doctor-among-22-Malaysians-with-Islamic-State-in-Syria/articleshow/44410075.cms
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Forgive
PAS for dragging out Selangor MB issue, Islamist party’s lawmaker tells DAP
crowd
Oct 5,
2014
Controversial
Selangor PAS lawmaker Saari Sungib has asked that the public forgive PAS, even
as his own party considers him a traitor and begins proceedings to sack him.
Saari
spoke to a largely Chinese audience at a DAP dinner in Sungai Buloh last night
to apologise on behalf of PAS for dragging out the Selangor menteri besar
impasse because of its flip-flop decisions.
"I
know that some of you are still angry with PAS. So, I apologise on behalf of
PAS for being late in making decisions when it came to the Selangor Menteri
Besar," Saari said.
The Hulu
Klang assemblyman is deemed a hero by Pakatan Rakyat parties DAP and PKR for
pitching in with the two parties to oust Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim against
the wishes of some of his elders in PAS.
During
the Islamist party's assembly in September, Saari and Morib assemblyman Hasnul
Baharuddin were repeatedly slammed by some members and leaders for being
stooges to PKR and DAP.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/forgive-pas-for-dragging-out-selangor-mb-issue-islamist-partys-lawmaker-tel#sthash.7ALoAhSv.dpuf
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Malaysians
world’s second highest donors to Palestinians
Oct 5,
2014
Malaysians
may be among the world's most generous donors to the Palestinian cause, having
donated at least RM20 million in just under a month during the last Ramadan
festival.
Of this,
RM7 million has already been given to the Palestinian government, putting
Malaysia just behind Qatar which gave RM9 million, according to Aman Palestine
chief executive officer Awang Suffian Awang Piut.
The
local charity group for Palestine collected the RM20 million between July 8 and
a week after Hari Raya Aidilfitri which fell on July 29, he said.
“Qatar
has so far given RM9 million to the Palestinians, while we have given RM7
million. We are in the process of handing over the RM13 million to the
Palestinian Unity Government,” Awang Suffian told reporters at Universiti Putra
Malaysia in Serdang on Friday night.
UPM had
hosted a fundraising dinner for Aman Palestin, which collected another RM30,000
that night.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysians-worlds-second-highest-donors-to-palestinians#sthash.vAqurSzN.dpuf
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Bible
society hopes new Selangor MB will help return seized bibles
Oct 5,
2014
The
Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) has expressed hope that Azmin Ali, the new
Selangor Mentri Besar will help it regain the 300-odd copies of bibles seized
by state Islamic authorities earlier this year.
BSM
president Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing told Malay Mail Online yesterday that his
hopes of a favourable outcome are also based on the Attorney-General’s decision
that there was no legal basis to back the seizure of the Malay- and Iban-language
bibles.
“Because
it’s law. This law says there is no problem. He is a man of law, so he should
look into the whole matter, and the matter happened in his state,” Ng told
Malay Mail Online yesterday at the St Mary’s Cathedral.
“Jais,
Mais are all his state departments,” Ng said of Azmin.
Jais and
Mais are the Selangor Islamic Religious Department and Selangor Islamic
Religious Council respectively.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/bible-society-hopes-new-selangor-mb-will-help-return-seized-bibles#sthash.nBlHVR0C.91Y3O3Hu.dpuf
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pakistan-taliban-switches-side;-vows/d/99391