New
Age Islam News Bureau
02
February 2022
Photo:
Daily Pakistan
-----
• Saudi
Arabia Moves To Redefine Islam-Bearing Green Flag With A Sword And Inscribed
With Islam’s Creed As The Birthplace Of The Faith
• Video
Of Group Dancing Atop Lucknow’s Bada Imambada Raises Hackles; All-India Shia
Muslim Personal Law Board Protests
• Timothy
Weeks, Now Jibra’il Omar, Taliban’s Former Captive Who Converted To Islam Longs
To Return To Afghanistan
• Republican
Mayoral Candidate, Carol Hefner, in Oklahoma Calls for Islam to Be 'Eradicated'
Pakistan
• Maulana
Fazlur Rehman Urges Pakistan, Afghanistan To Avoid Confrontation
• Priest’s
killing reignites fear in Christian community
• Hindu
Businessman Shot Dead In Pakistan, Protesters Block Highway
• Militant
attacks declined slightly in January: report
--------
Arab World
• US
to send warship, fighter jets to UAE after Yemen attacks: statement
• Casualties
after Turkish air raids target PKK: Iraqi Kurds
• South
Korea says it has reached $1.6 billion arms deal with Egypt
• Cash-strapped
Lebanon tells diplomats to find donors to fund embassies
• Chlorine
used in attack on Syrian opposition-held area in 2016: Watchdog
• Remains
of over 600 missing soldiers from Iran-Iraq war found
• New
rocket attack targets Baghdad airport
• Islamic
Scholar Dubbed 'Syrian Gandhi' For Non-Violent Activism Dies At 90
--------
India
• Budget
2022: India Allocates Rs 200 Crore To Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan
• Pak
accuses 'India lobby' of trying to scuttle its US envoy appointment
--------
South Asia
• Bangladesh
scrambles to save disappearing indigenous languages
• Qatar-Taliban
agreed upon resuming evacuation from Kabul
• Two
journalists disappeared in Kabul, UNAMA reacted
• Children
heart surgery ward opens in Kabul, first time in Afghanistan
• No
Recognition Of Taliban Government Yet: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
--------
North America
• US:
Justice Department urged to probe anti-Muslim group's alleged spying
• US
Muslim ban: Biden has failed to address lasting harms
• US,
Turkish presidential advisers discuss ‘Russian aggression’ in Ukraine
--------
Europe
• France
Will Not End Fight Against Terrorism Due To Mali’s ‘Irresponsible’ Government:
Minister
• French
journalist gets police protection after controversial documentary on radical
Islam
• Extremists
target mosque in Greece, hang anti-Islam banners
• Muslims
targeted in two separate attacks in southwestern France
• Time
running out to save Afghans from starvation, charities tell UK government
• Germany
contributes US$140 million to support UNICEF in Afghanistan
--------
Southeast Asia
• Indonesia:
Muslim Groups Demand Closure Of Newly Opened Holocaust Museum
• Global
Imams Council takes on China
• China
promotes new book on atheism targeting religions
• Indonesian
Church denies bishop is in critical condition
--------
Mideast
• Rights
Group Accuses Israel Of Enforcing ‘Apartheid’ On Palestinians
• Sunni
Islam Heavily Criticised For First Time In Turkey – Gökhan Bacık
• Iran
Blasts European Diplomats over Fake Human Rights Concerns
• Commander:
Joint Naval Drill by Iran, Russia, China Meant to Strengthen Regional Security
• Iranian
supertanker carrying condensate docks in Venezuela
• Iran
teachers in new day of protests over pay: Media
--------
Africa
• Hijab:
Issue Circular To Stop Crisis In Lagos Schools – Muslims Tell Sanwo-Olu
• US Prepared
To Impose Additional Costs On Sudan's Military If Violence Continues
• 63
migrants rescued off Morocco: Activists
• Libyan
premier says government to continue to function until elections
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
--------
Religious
Scholars Pray Inside Peshawar Church In Solidarity With Christians In Wake Of
The Killing Of Pastor William Siraj
Photo:
Daily Pakistan
-----
1
Feb, 2022
PESHAWAR
– A group of Muslim scholars including PM’s aide on religious harmony prayed
inside a church in the KP capital to show solidarity with the Christian
community in wake of the killing of Pastor William Siraj.
Reports
in local media said religious scholars gathered inside a church of Peshawar in
a show of solidarity, days after assailants killed a Christian priest and
wounded another in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Special
Representative to PM on Religious Affairs Tahir Ashrafi said Imran Khan was
personally overseeing the incident and the Pakistani Christian community will
not be left alone in this hard time.
Commenting
on praying in the Christian worship place, he said the state believes that a
positive message in the form of today's prayers should be conveyed. “We want to
send out a message to the world that we are united”, he opined.
Ashrafi
termed the attack on a member of a minority, an attack on a Pakistani citizen.
He also revealed that the attack on the Cristian priest was a nefarious attempt
to stir unrest on the basis of faith.
Meanwhile,
the deceased was laid to rest after the last rites at the All Saints Church
located inside the Kohati Gate in Peshawar. Christian community members
attended the funeral.
Earlier,
opposition leaders condemned the daylight killing, terming the event painful
and alarming. Several members of the Christian community, provincial minister
Kamran Bangash and police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari visited the Chamkani church
to condole with the victims’ families.
Source:
Daily Pakistan
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Saudi
Arabia Moves To Redefine Islam-Bearing Green Flag With A Sword And Inscribed
With Islam’s Creed As The Birthplace Of The Faith
FILE
- A man prays at an open air makeshift mosque in front of a giant Saudi Flag in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
-----
2nd
February 2022
Dubai:
Saudi Arabia is inching toward changes that govern its national anthem and
green flag, which is emblazoned with a sword and inscribed with Islam’s creed
as the birthplace of the faith.
Late
on Monday, the kingdom’s unelected consultative Shura Council voted in favour
of changes, state-run media reported. It comes as the country’s young crown
prince emphasises Saudi nationality and national pride.
While
decisions by the council have no bearing on existing laws or structures, the
vote is significant because its members are appointed by the king and their
decisions often move in lockstep with leadership.
Other
state-linked media reported that the changes favour amending the system
governing the flag, the slogan and the national anthem, but not its contents.
The council has not disclosed further details.
Local
media outlets also reported the proposed changes to aim to more clearly define
the proper uses of the state emblem, raise awareness about the importance of
the flag and anthem and protect the flag from infringement or neglect.
Last
week, Saudi police arrested four Bangladeshi men for violating the Saudi flag,
which carries the Islamic creed, after they were alleged to have dumped it in
the garbage.
The
state-run Saudi Press Agency reported only that the Shura Council voted to
approve a draft amendment to a nearly 50-year-old royal decree governing the
flag. The amendment was proposed by council member Saad al-Otaibi and studied
by a subcommittee before it was discussed among council members.
The
proposal comes amid rapid reforms that have transformed the once
ultraconservative country. With backing from his octogenarian father, King
Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been striving to redefine Saudi
identity, supplanting pan-Islamism with a national-cultural identity that is
not solely defined by religion.
In
one such example, a royal decree was recently issued that marks Feb 22 as Saudi
Arabia’s Founding Day. The national holiday is meant to commemorate the
18th-century attempt by Imam Muhammad bin Saud to found the first Saudi state
before its demise at the hands of the Ottomans.
Also
this week, the government ordered restaurants and coffee shops in Saudi Arabia
to rename Arabic coffee as Saudi coffee in the latest effort to raise awareness
about a cultural element that expresses the Saudi identity and its traditions,
state media reported.
Since
1973, the green Saudi flag has featured the Islamic proclamation of faith in
white Arabic calligraphy that states: “There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah. Under those words is a sword.
The
kingdom hosts Muslim pilgrims from around the world in the birthplace of Islam
in Mecca, where the Prophet Muhammad was born and received the first
commandments of the Quran.
In
the absence of a free press, state-linked media outlets provided further
insights into the Shura Council’s proposal on codes governing the flag and
anthem, which will be submitted to King Salman for official consideration.
In
Saudi Arabia, there is no local independent media and repression has
intensified under the crown prince, according to groups like Reporters Without Borders.
The
daily Ashraq Al-Awsat and Sabq news site reported the idea came about as a
result of the rapid changes the kingdom has undergone in recent years. Those
include changes to existing legislation to support the goals and initiatives of
Vision 2030 the crown prince’s ambitious national project to overhaul the Saudi
economy and make it more resilient in the face of fluctuating oil prices and
sustainable energy.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/saudi-arabia-moves-to-redefine-islam-bearing-green-flag-2268130/
--------
Video
Of Group Dancing Atop Lucknow’s Bada Imambada Raises Hackles; All-India Shia
Muslim Personal Law Board Protests
Bada
Imambada (HT File Photo)
-----
Feb
02, 2022
A
15-second video clip of a group of girls dancing on the roof of Bada Imambada
has drawn strong protests from the All-India Shia Muslim Personal Law Board
(AISMPLB), Shia clerics and Shia youth.
Calling
the act ‘un-Islamic’ and ‘breach of sanctity’ of the religious structure, the
protestors condemned the act and demanded an FIR be registered in the matter. A
group from the community has also approached the Lucknow police commissioner
and district magistrate in this context.
“The
only question is why is the Bada Imambada always the target? Why do no such
videos of a girl or a group performing inside the Golden Temple or any other
religious place surface? Why can’t the Hussainabad and Allied Trust (HAT)
Board, which has no dearth of funds, install CCTV cameras or the board
highlighting the fact that Bada Imambada is a religious structure and visiting
this structure demands appropriate behaviour,” said S Mohammed Haider, mutwalli
Sibtainabad Imambada and a lawyer who had approached the authorities demanding
an FIR against the group.
Maulana
Yasoob Abbas, senior Shia cleric and a AISMPLB general secretary, said, “We
strongly oppose the act as it is a breach of the sanctity of the religious
structure. We demand immediate intervention of district magistrate, the
chairman of the HAT that owns the structure, and demand a ban on the entry of
tourists into Bada Imambada. One must not forget that it is not a tourist
place, it is a religious structure and such acts hurt our religious
sentiments.”
Maulana
Saif Abbas, president, Shia Chand Committee, also raised objections to the
video clip and said it is not for the first time that such videos have emerged.
“We strongly oppose the act and demand action against the group. We have
written several letters to the administration demanding a ban on such acts
which hurt our sentiments. The sanctity of Imambadas should be maintained,”
said Abbas.
A
similar incident was reported in October 2021, where a video of a girl who was
dancing inside the Bada Imambada, emerged.
Shia
youth said an FIR should be lodged against the group. “Such acts should be
banned immediately. We are going to lodge an FIR into the matter, against the
group and the person who was shooting the video,” said Shamil Shamsi, convener
of ‘Hussaini Tigers’—a group of Shia youths. Besides, he said that they have
also written to the ASI and HAT to make all possible arrangements and install
CCTV cameras in order to keep a check on such acts.
It is
not for the first time that objections on such acts have been raised. In 2019,
the ban on pre and post-wedding shoots inside the Bada Imambada was imposed
after Shias raised objections to a video shoot at the Imambada. The objection
was raised by Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad. In 2020, Shias demanded a ban on
the shooting of ‘Tik Tok’ videos at the Bada Imambada. A Shia group also
demanded a dress code and said that tourists only in decent attire should be
allowed to enter the Imambada.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Timothy
Weeks, Now Jibra’il Omar, Taliban’s Former Captive Who Converted To Islam Longs
To Return To Afghanistan
Timothy
Weeks. Photo: Anadolu Agency
-----
1st
February 2022
Timothy
Weeks, now Jibra’il Omar, an Australian teacher, in Afghanistan, was kidnapped
by the Taliban in 2016 while returning from work with his colleague Kevin. They
were long-time captives under the Taliban for around 3 years or 1,192 days
until the US exchanged two or three Taliban leaders, for the two of them.
Weeks
who was from an evangelistic church sect of Christianity, with the knowledge he
received through books which were given to him by the Taliban, decided to
change his religion to Islam, in his second year of captivity, reported Anadolu
Agency.
He
changed his name to Baar Muad Jibra’il and even updated his Australian passport
with the same. However, his family felt that he was going through Stockholm’s
syndrome, although, it was his personal choice.
Jibra’il
said that he wants to spread the word that Islam is not what media presents,
but it is a religion of peace.
When
asked about whether he received criticism in his home country over his
conversion, he said, “I do face them but that’s okay. Even my family isn’t
happy with this decision but I’m happy with it,” Anadolu Agency quoted
Jibra’il.
Jibra’il,
although being tortured thrashed by the Taliban, feels that they can be a great
government and he urges the world to support them. Even on a holiday in Turkey
he tried to get support for the government but failed in his attempt.
Although
he faced many health issues like skin disease, prostate cancer, etc., he said
that his passion for writing poetry kept him going. He has written over 33
poems while in captivity.
Jibra’il
said that the people who tortured him, in captivity, pleaded with him to stay
in touch as he left to board his plane to the US. He said that he would go back
to Afghanistan in another three months to teach children. “For me, those young
Afghan children are important who’s future is bright,” he added.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Republican
Mayoral Candidate, Carol Hefner, in Oklahoma Calls for Islam to Be 'Eradicated'
Republican
Oklahoma City mayoral candidate Carol Hefner/ Johannes Eisele / Afp/Getty
----
By
Daniel Villarreal
2/1/22
Republican
Oklahoma City mayoral candidate Carol Hefner proclaimed during a debate that
she thinks Islam should be "eradicated" from the globe.
Hefner
defended her past Islamophobic social media posts during the debate, as well.
The candidate had previously called Islam "an evil culture and not a
religion," debate moderator Storme Jones pointed out. Hefner responded by
doubling down, saying the "insipid" religion must come to an end.
"Yes,
[Muslim culture] is a very negative culture," Hefner said. "And it
does things that are oppressive and I don't agree with that. It's just like
slavery. Don't agree with that. It's insipid, it should be eradicated from our
culture, from our world and unfortunately, it has been here since the beginning
of time."
OKC
mayoral candidate Carol Hefner compares my religion to being similar to slavery,
says it should be eradicated.
And
of course, she will get away with it. Shame on her. pic.twitter.com/LSYGXdGLhu
—
Kamran M. Riaz (@kr156) January 26, 2022
"I
personally don't know how I'm going to get rid of it, but I would like to have
those conversations," she added. "I would like to sit down and have
healing conversations... it's very important to me that we heal our
community."
Over
30,000 Muslims live in Oklahoma, according to the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Oklahoma (CAIR OK).
Later
explaining her comments, Hefner said, "I was talking about the
opportunities here and how it differs here because we don't have that hate and
oppression and people can rise and I want to offer that opportunity to
everybody."
Hefner,
who was the co-chair of former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign in
Oklahoma and also a former fundraiser for the Republican Party, has a history
of prejudiced social media posts.
In
2015, she shared a news article on Facebook about protesters in Oklahoma
meeting then-President Barack Obama with Confederate flags. "This happened
- love it," she wrote above the story. The Confederate flag is widely
understood as a symbol of anti-Black racism.
Republican
Oklahoma City mayoral candidate Carol Hefner recently said that she thinks
Islam should be "eradicated" from the globe. In this photo, Muslim
demonstrators take part in a protest against growing Islamophobia, white
supremacy, and anti-immigrant bigotry following the attacks at Christchurch New
Zealand on March 24, 2019, in New York City. Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty
In
2014, she wrote on Facebook: "Blacks have perpetrated and promoted slavery
on their own for generations." She later said that she was commenting on
the fact that non-white people historically continue U.S. slavery.
Dr.
Imam Imad Enchassi, the senior imam for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma
City warned of the magnitude of Hefner's comments. "She is talking about
1.9 billion Muslims. When she used the word 'eradicated' she is talking about
eradicating 1.9 billion Muslims," he told Oklahoma City news station KWTV.
"Those comments are more than problematic those comments are plain
dangerous and Islamophobic, to say the least."
Enchassi
and Adam Soltani, the executive director for CAIR-OK, told KWTV that they offered
to talk to Hefner. Hefner reportedly said she would welcome such a talk, the
news station reported.
She
told the news station of Enchassi and Soltani, "I think that they took it
personally and they were looking for a reason to not like my comment."
Hefner
is a 60-year-old real estate developer who has never held an elected office.
She launched an unsuccessful bid for her state senate in 2011.
In
her current campaign, she said that Oklahoma City is overrun with crime and
homeless people who have been bussed in from California. She made this
unfounded claim, she said, based on informal conversations she said she had
with nearly 100 local homeless people.
Nearly
75 percent of Oklahoma City's homeless residents are from Oklahoma, according
to the Homeless Alliance, a city-based nonprofit.
Hefner
has also claimed that medical professionals aren't sure that face masks and
vaccines prevent the spread of COVID-19. That is untrue.
The
Oklahoma City mayoral election is on February 8. The candidates will face off
against the current mayor, moderate Republican David Holt. If no candidate wins
a majority of the vote, the two most popular candidates will compete in an
April 5 runoff election.
Source:
News Week
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Maulana Fazlur Rehman Urges Pakistan, Afghanistan To Avoid Confrontation
Saleem
Shahid
February
2, 2022
QUETTA:
Pakistan Democratic Movement president Maulana Fazlur Rehman has urged Pakistan
and Afghanistan to avoid confrontation and war-like situation to foil the
nefarious designs of the United States which wanted to pit them against each
other on the issue of Durand Line.
Speaking
at a public meeting in the border town of Chaman on Tuesday, the chief of the
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) said the US wanted that Pakistan and
Afghanistan should not remain friends.
Hundreds
of security personnel were deployed in and around the venue of public meeting
in view of terror threat.
Maulana
Fazl said: “If Pakistan and Taliban governments indulged in fighting it would
be the success of Americans who left Afghanistan with the issue of Durand Line
unresolved.
“If
anyone is a friend of Pakistan, it is the Afghan Taliban,” he said, adding that
Afghan Taliban were the real friends of Pakistan. He said the countries could
have different stands on the border issue but it could be resolved through
negotiations.
He
said that under a pre-planned conspiracy, the United Kingdom had also left the
Subcontinent without resolving Kashmir and other issues.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1672738
--------
Priest’s
killing reignites fear in Christian community
February
1, 2022
PESHAWAR:
The killing of a Christian priest in Peshawar has reignited fear amongst local
parishioners and brought back painful memories of one of the nation’s bloodiest
attacks on the community in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital.
Gunmen
shot and killed Pastor William Siraj and wounded another Christian cleric,
Naeem Patrick, as they drove home from Sunday service at a small church located
on the outskirts of Peshawar.
“We
felt insecure [even] before this. The feeling of insecurity increases when
these kinds of incidents take place,” Naqqash Bhatti, a relative of Siraj, told
Reuters at the funeral service for the slain priest on Monday.
The
service, attended by hundreds of mourners, was held at the colonial era All
Saints Church in Peshawar — the site of a twin suicide bombing that killed
scores of worshippers in 2013.
Following
the bombing, a small Christian community set up a smaller discreet church on
the outskirts of Peshawar in 2014 — and named it the “Martyrs of the All Saints
Church” in memory of the attack.
Siraj
was targeted just after he had attended Sunday mass at the memorial church,
which is nestled in a crammed brick-walled lane surrounded by the modest houses
of the local Christian community — many of whom shifted there after the 2013
suicide attack.
The
intimate community and the memorial church served as a comfort zone for many
who lost friends and family in the suicide attack, and struggled to get on with
their lives.
“We
are poor people and work till late night in the city and then return home quite
late at night,” said Waheed Masih, 36, who lives across from the church, where
Siraj was a regular.
“The
killing […] has created panic and nobody wants to leave their homes due to fear
and terror,” he added.
No
one has claimed responsibility for the attack on Siraj yet, but it comes amidst
a resurgence in militant attacks in Pakistan, particularly along the western
border with Afghanistan.
Protestant
Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz, who also attended Siraj’s funeral service, told
Reuters he had requested the region’s top police official to arrange more
security for the Christian clergy and enhanced patrolling for Sunday services.
The
police have widened their manhunt for two unidentified assailants after the
provincial police chief, Moazzam Jah Ansari, ordered investigators to use all
available resources to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/02/01/priests-killing-reignites-fear-in-christian-community/
--------
Hindu
Businessman Shot Dead In Pakistan, Protesters Block Highway
February
02, 2022
Karachi:
A Hindu businessman was shot dead in Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday by
influential elements allegedly belonging to the Dahar community, living 2 km
away from the Daharki town of Ghotki district, reported local media.
Satan
Lal, the businessman, was shot dead on Monday over a piece of land in Ghotki
district, reported The Express Tribune.
"There
was an inauguration of a cotton factory and flour mill on the land of Satan Lal
where some people shot and killed him," The Express Tribune quoted Lal's
friend Mukhi Anil Kumar, who was present at the scene, as saying over the
phone.
"We
initially thought that it was the aerial firing to welcome Saen Sadhram Saheb,
spiritual leader of the community," he added.
"They
are threatening to kill me, smash my eyes and cut my hands and feet. They are
asking me to leave Pakistan. I belong to this country and will prefer to die
here but will not surrender," said Satan Lal in a video that went viral a
few months ago.
"The
roadside land belongs to me and why should I give it up," he was further
quoted as saying. Lal had requested the chief justice of Pakistan and other
authorities to provide him justice, naming those who were threatening to kill
him.
On
Tuesday, a large number of protesters blocked the National Highway to protest
the killing of the Hindu businessman.
Following
the sit-in, police arrested ring leader Bachal Dahar and his accomplices
accused of killing Lal. Earlier, in an attempt to press the law enforcement
agency to apprehend the culprits, the locals had staged a protest in front of
the Daharki police.
The
culprits involved in the incident have been arrested and protesters have now
cleared the highway, said Deputy Inspector General (DIG) police Sukkur.
A
two-acre land triggered the dispute. Around eight years ago, some people had
shot and injured Satan Lal who also came under attack a few months ago, claimed
local journalists from the area.
Efforts
were afoot to tarnish the image of co-existence in Sindh where Hindus and
Muslims live peacefully for centuries, said Khehal Das Kohistani, a lawmaker of
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Girls
of the Hindu community were forcibly converted and people were being kidnapped
and killed, claimed the PML-N leader.
Stressing
that the situation will spiral out of control if protection is not given to the
minorities living in the province, Mr Kohistani urged the Chief Minister, IG
police and others to take notice of the situation and provide justice and
protection to the aggrieved Hindu families facing threats, according to The
Express Tribune.
The
incident came after a 44-year-old Hindu businessman Sunil Kumar was shot dead
by unidentified persons at Anaj Mandi in Sindh Province of Pakistan in early
January.
Source:
ND TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Militant
attacks declined slightly in January: report
Ikram
Junaidi
February
2, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The first month of the year 2022 could not see any improvement in the security
situation of the country as the number of causalities increased despite a
slight decrease in the attacks.
According
to statistics released by an Islamabad-based independent think-tank, Pakistan
Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the number of violent
attacks decreased from 28 to 24 during the month, the deaths and injuries rate
increased by 15 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively, compared to December
2021.
The
report claimed that militants had carried out 28 attacks across the country in
December 2021 in which 36 people were killed, including 13 security forces
personnel, while 47 people were injured, including 37 civilians.
In
January, the militants carried out 24 attacks in which 42 people were killed —
22 security forces personnel,16 civilians and four militants — and 79 others
were injured, including 62 civilians.
In
January 2022, the majority of the attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)
followed by Balochistan and erstwhile Fata. PICSS recorded 12 militant attacks
in KP in which 15 people were killed, including five security forces personnel
and nine civilians, while seven people were injured including four security
forces personnel.
In
Balochistan, militants carried out six attacks in which 17 people were killed —
14 security forces personnel and two civilians — while 32 people got injured of
which 26 were civilians and six were security forces personnel.
In
the erstwhile Fata, four militant attacks were witnessed in which two civilians
and two security forces personnel were killed.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1672833/militant-attacks-declined-slightly-in-january-report
--------
Arab World
US to
send warship, fighter jets to UAE after Yemen attacks: statement
Feb
2, 2022
DUBAI:
The United States will deploy a guided missile destroyer and state-of-the-art
fighter jets to help defend the United Arab Emirates after a series of missile
attacks by Yemeni rebels, a US statement said Wednesday.
The
deployment, to "assist the UAE against the current threat", follows a
phone call between Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the US embassy in the UAE said.
The
UAE, part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels,
suffered three missile attacks last month with the first killing three oil
workers.
The
second targeted Al Dhafra air base, where US forces are stationed, prompting
them to fire Patriot interceptors to help shoot down the missiles as air crews
scrambled to bunkers.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Casualties
after Turkish air raids target PKK: Iraqi Kurds
02
February ,2022
Turkey
carried out air strikes Tuesday in northern Iraq against rebel Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) positions, causing casualties, authorities in Iraq's
autonomous Kurdistan region said.
“Turkish
warplanes targeted several positions of Kurdistan Workers' Party fighters,”
particularly in the Makhmur and Sinjar regions, Kurdish counter-terrorism
services said in a statement.
“Turkish
military aircraft bombed six PKK positions in the Karjokh mountains,” said the
statement.
It
also referred to strikes on two positions in the Sinjar mountains and an
adjacent area in neighbouring Syria, as well as two raids in the Shila area
near Iraq's border with Syria.
“According
to reports, the bombings caused human and material losses,” the statement said,
without specifying the number of dead or wounded.
The
PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has
been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has threatened to “clean up” parts of
northern Iraq, accuses the PKK of using the mountainous border area as a
springboard for its insurgency.
Turkish
forces routinely conduct military strikes against PKK hideouts in the area,
causing strains in its relations with the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South
Korea says it has reached $1.6 billion arms deal with Egypt
01
February ,2022
South
Korea on Tuesday said it reached a $1.6 billion arms deal with Egypt a week
after President Joe Biden’s administration approved another massive arms sale
to the Middle Eastern nation.
The
office of President Moon Jae-in in Seoul said the deal to provide K9
self-propelled howitzers to Egypt is the country’s biggest export contract for
the weapon. It is manufactured by Hanwha Defense.
Moon’s
office did not provide further details on the deal, including how many of the
howitzers Egypt will acquire. There was no immediate comment from Egypt.
Tuesday’s
announcement came two weeks after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met
with Moon in Cairo. It was the first visit by a South Korean president to Egypt
in 16 years, according to the state-run al-Ahram daily.
Al-Sisi
also met with Hanwha Defense CEO Kim Seung Mo in Cairo in November when Egypt
organized its second international weapons fair.
Last
week, the Department of State announced a $2.5 billion arms sale to Egypt. That
deal included 12 Super Hercules C-130 transport aircraft and related equipment
worth $2.2 billion and air defense radar systems worth an estimated $355
million.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Cash-strapped
Lebanon tells diplomats to find donors to fund embassies
01
February ,2022
Cash-strapped
Lebanon has told embassies to look for donors to help cover their running
costs, as it falls behind on paying diplomats’ salaries and contemplates
shutting missions abroad.
A
foreign ministry circular, dated January 25 and reviewed by Reuters, asks
foreign missions to seek donations from the Lebanese diaspora, and respond to
its request within two weeks.
The
ministry is studying closing down a number of missions “as an urgent financial
measure adopted by a large number of states swept by similar financial crises,”
the circular said.
The
foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for additional
information about the document and the financial situation at its embassies.
Two
Lebanese diplomatic sources told Reuters that employees of foreign missions had
not been paid their salaries for the month of January. One source said they had
been told they would receive them in the next week.
Lebanon
is in the throes of what the World Bank has described as one of the worst
financial collapses in world history. Since 2019 it has burned through most of
its reserves of hard currency, leading to a dollar shortage that has seen the
national currency lose more than 90 percent of its value.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Chlorine
used in attack on Syrian opposition-held area in 2016: Watchdog
01
February ,2022
Chlorine
was used in an attack on an area in Syria held by opposition forces in 2016 in
which at least 20 people suffered breathing difficulties, the world's chemical
weapons watchdog concluded Tuesday.
The
incident near a field hospital outside the town of Kafr Zeita came shortly
after witnesses reported a helicopter dropping at least one object, the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said.
Inspectors
obtained an industrial chlorine cylinder retrieved from the site and were able
to “positively link” it to the October 1, 2016 attack, helped by digital
evidence and witness interviews, it said.
“The
report concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that the industrial
chlorine cylinder was used as a weapon,” the OPCW said in a statement, based on
a report by its Fact-Finding Mission which probes chemical attacks in Syria.
Witnesses
reported a helicopter taking off from regime-held Hama airport before the
attack, on an agricultural area where a number of opposition groups were
sheltering in caves.
“Shortly
afterwards, the helicopter dropped two barrels, according to a number of
witnesses, while others reported being aware of one barrel only,” the report
said.
“Approximately
20 individuals suffered from suffocation and breathing difficulties.”
The
inspectors found that “the cylinder ruptured as a result of mechanical force
and released a toxic irritant substance,” said the report.
The
report by the Hague-based OPCW will add to pressure on Syrian President
Bashar-al Assad's regime from Western countries to come clean over its alleged
chemical weapons use.
Syria
denies the use of chemical weapons and insists it has handed over its weapons
stockpiles under a 2013 agreement with the US and Russia, prompted by a
suspected sarin gas attack that killed 1,400 in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Remains
of over 600 missing soldiers from Iran-Iraq war found
Ali
Cevad
02.02.2022
BAGHDAD
The
Iraqi Red Crescent Society announced Tuesday that the remains of 629 soldiers
who went missing during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war have been discovered.
Publishing
the list of the names in coordination with the Prisoners and Missing Persons
Department, the organization also called on their families to receive the
remains.
It
did not mention when or where the remains were found.
Iran
and Iraq occasionally exchange remains and bodies of soldiers based on a joint
agreement they signed in Geneva in 2008.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
New
rocket attack targets Baghdad airport
Haydar
Karaalp
02.02.2022
BAGHDAD
Baghdad
International Airport came under a new rocket attack on Wednesday, a local
security official told Anadolu Agency.
No
casualties or damage were reported in the attack, for which no group has
claimed responsibility.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/new-rocket-attack-targets-baghdad-airport/2491576
--------
Islamic
scholar dubbed 'Syrian Gandhi' for non-violent activism dies at 90
01
February, 2022
A
prominent Syrian Islamic scholar and advocate for non-violence has died in
Istanbul, Syrian media reported on Monday.
Jawdat
Said, a 90-year-old critic of Syria’s Assad regime who graduated from Egypt's
Al-Azhar university, dedicated much of his life to advocating for what he
called "non-violent Islam", rejecting extremism and the use of
violence even in self defence.
Many
activists referred to him as "the Arab Gandhi" for his peaceful
activism.
Said
held lectures and seminars in universities and cultural centres across the
world - including in Iran, Turkey, Canada, and the United States - stressing
that Islam was a religion of peace.
Among
Said's most famous works were ‘The Problem of Violence in the Islamic World’,
which was published in 1966 and his 2002 publication ‘Non-violence, the basis
of settling disputes in Islam’.
He
was arrested several times for his peaceful opposition activism.
People
across the globe were influenced by Said's work and paid tribute to him online
after he died, including Ali al-Qaradaghi, the Secretary General of the
International Union of Muslim Scholars, who called him "one of the
founders of civil resistance, who was faithful to his principles while
rejecting oppression".
Reem
Assil, one of the founders of the Syrian Non-Violence Movement, said that while
she only met him once, she got to know his ideas by meeting many people who
"were raised in his thought".
"It
wasn't just non-violence which distinguished him, it was his capacity to accept
modernity and open-mindedness and make it an original product of Islamic
culture," she wrote on Facebook.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/islamic-scholar-dubbed-syrian-gandhi-dies-aged-90
--------
India
Budget
2022: India Allocates Rs 200 Crore To Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan
Feb
01, 2022
Rs
200 crore has been allocated as aid to Afghanistan in India's Budget for
financial year 2022-23.
Afghanistan
witnessed the Taliban's takeover in August last year and since then India has
sent humanitarian aid to the country in form of medicines.
February
is expected to see India sending the much-awaited aid of wheat as New Delhi and
Islamabad formalise modalities of the plan as it uses Pakistan's territory.
Since
2001 after the US invasion, India had emerged as Afghanistan's biggest aid
supporter in the region and has been involved in mega infrastructure projects
in the country including the Afghan parliament and the India-Afghanistan
friendship dam in Herat.
However,
at Rs 200 crore it's a decrease as compared to Rs 350 crore allocated in the
ongoing financial year of which Rs 200 crore has been the revised allocation.
The Indian allocation comes even as New Delhi has not recognized the Taliban
regime in Afghanistan
The
Maldives at Rs 360 crore (versus Rs 250 crore), Myanmar at Rs 600 crore (versus
Rs 400 crore), Mongolia at Rs 12 crore (versus Rs 2 crore), Bangladesh at Rs
300 crore (versus Rs 200 crore) saw an increase in aid provision in the Budget
document.
Bhutan
at Rs 2266.24 crore (versus Rs 3004.95 crore), Nepal at Rs 750 crore (versus Rs
992 crore), Seychelles at Rs 14.06 crore (versus Rs 160 crore) saw a decrease
in aid by New Delhi in the next financial year. Sri Lanka at Rs 200 crore and
Mauritius at Rs 900 crore saw no change in Budget support.
Chabahar
Port, India's key connectivity project to the west saw no change in Budget
allocation with the allocation of Rs 100 crore continuing. Allocation to Africa
stood at Rs 250 crore (versus 300 crore), Eurasian countries at Rs 140 crore
(versus Rs 100 crore), Latin America at Rs 40 crore (no change) in the Budget
announced on Monday.
Overall
the Budget of the ministry of external affairs has been increased to Rs 17250
crore for FY 2022-2023 (vs Rs 14329 crore in FY 2020-21).
The
Budget for the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), an autonomous body
under the MEA saw an increase of Rs 20 crore in the next financial year at Rs
320 crore (versus Rs 300 crore in the current financial year).
When
it comes to budget allocation on Maintenance cost of Aircraft of Air India for
VVIP travel, no information has been given.
Source:
WIO News
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--------
Pak
accuses 'India lobby' of trying to scuttle its US envoy appointment
Chidanand
Rajghatta
Feb
1, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan has blamed the "Indian lobby" in America for a diplomatic
train wreck in Washington that has resulted in the Biden administration holding
up the acceptance of Islamabad's ambassador-designate to the United States,
purportedly for his dodgy stance on terrorism.
Previously
Pakistan's envoy to the United Nations and ambassador to China, Sardar Masood
Khan's nomination has hit a wall in Washington after a prominent US lawmaker
said he is a "jihadist who espouses terrorist causes", including
inciting the youth in Kashmir. Congressman Scott Perry also urged the state
department to convert its pause on the credentialing into an outright rejection,
saying his nomination demonstrated Islamabad's "unmitigated contempt for
the United States".
A
Pakistani government source maintained that the credentialing was under process
and accused New Delhi of trying to scuttle the appointment, ostensibly because
of Khan's "expertise" on the Kashmir issue.
“His
agrément is being processed in the US system. This (reports of a pause) is a
part of the wider Indian disinformation campaign to malign Pakistan and those
who represent the country, by using fake news to make scandalous claims and
baseless allegations,” spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said in Islamabad.
The
Biden administration declined to confirm or deny reports on the matter, whether
it was a procedural delay or a pause because of Khan's controversial statements.
"As a matter of standard diplomatic practice, we do not comment on the
status of agrément requests from foreign governments," a state department
spokesperson told ToI.
Led
by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself, Masood Khan has been part of Pakistan's
shrill campaign against New Delhi, including calling the Modi government
"fascist" and "extremist". While the Modi government has
its critics in the US, by no stretch of imagination is it equated to the
Republic of India, which has solid bipartisan support in Washington.
In
contrast, Pakistan's stock has plummeted sharply, with even its regular
Congressional torchbearers appearing to have given up on Islamabad because of
its extremist rhetoric. Among other issues, Islamabad has officially demanded
the US release a convicted Pakistani-origin scientist Aafia Siddiqui,
associated with Al Qaeda and its terrorist attacks on the US homeland.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Bangladesh
scrambles to save disappearing indigenous languages
February
01, 2022
DHAKA:
Bangladesh has been scrambling to save its endangered languages with new school
books for indigenous communities, but the groups say too few of them are
included in the program as authorities struggle to find appropriate teachers.
Most
people in Bengali-majority Bangladesh, which has a population of more than 167
million, speak Bangla, the official language, as their first tongue. But there
are also 39 ethnic Indigenous groups in the country, with an estimated
population of 4 million, who have distinct cultures and languages.
According
to a 2019 survey by the International Mother Language Institute, 14 of these
Indigenous languages are about to disappear.
The
government in 2017 launched textbooks for five of the biggest groups — Chakma,
Marma, Tripura, Garo and Sadri — to teach students in the first three classes
of primary school in the mother tongues. The initiative was welcomed by
indigenous communities, but they fear it is too little to stop their languages
from dying.
“The
government has to date only launched textbooks for five ethnic groups. What
will happen to the other languages?” rights activist Sanjeev Drang, who also
serves as secretary-general of the Bangladesh Indigenous People’s Forum, told
Arab News earlier this week.
“If
immediate initiatives are not taken by the authorities, many of the other
languages will also disappear from the country.”
Authorities
say they have been struggling to find teachers who both speak and write in
indigenous languages as, in most of these communities, users are no longer
familiar with their writing systems. To introduce textbooks in five of them,
the National Curriculum and Textbook Board had sought the help of linguists to
restore their respective alphabets.
“We
are facing a challenge in providing lessons through these ethnic mother
languages because we don’t have enough trained teachers. Some of the teachers
from the ethnic groups can only speak in their languages, but they don’t know
how to write in them, which is a challenge we have to overcome,” Prof. Dr. A.
K. M. Riajul Hasan from the curriculum board’s primary education section told
Arab News.
He
said the board has been trying to identify the shortcomings in the introduction
of the first five languages, but the process has been stalled by the pandemic
and school closures.
“Once
we complete this research, the initiative will be gradually expanded for other
ethnic languages also,” he said.
The
country’s Department of Primary Education is planning to train more instructors
for Indigenous schools, but its training director, Uttam Kumar Das, said it may
only start next year, together with a planned rehaul of the country’s
curriculum scheduled for the school year 2023.
Representatives
of the groups whose children have already started classes in their mother
tongues say it makes a great difference.
Rony
Chakma, a resident of Rangamati, a predominantly Chakma town in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh, said the use of his native language has
been decreasing as people do not use it in their professional lives. With
official tuition, children could internalize it better.
“It’s
always nice if our children learn the letters of our own languages,” he said.
For
Nelson Marma from Bandarban, a predominantly Marma community, learning his
language at school had been “like a dream,” which he is glad is now coming true
for the younger generation.
“The
use of mother languages has been decreasing day by day,” he said. “With this
initiative, our languages will be now saved from extinction.”
But
the initiative needs to be expanded as soon as possible to save other
indigenous tongues.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2016436/world
--------
Qatar-Taliban
agreed upon resuming evacuation from Kabul
02
Feb 2022
The
Foreign Ministry of Qatar said that they have agreed with the Islamic Emirate
of Afghanistan to evacuate foreign nationals who are in danger in the country.
In an
interview in the US, the visiting Emir of Qatar Shiekh Tamim bin Al Thani said
that they have agreed on two flights every week that will be conducted through
Qatar Airlines.
The
flights will facilitate the evacuation of not only American citizens in
Afghanistan but also the nationals of other countries.
Following
the completion of the chaotic evacuation of Kabul on August 30, Qatar Airlines
conducted the mission that stalled early in December last year that will be
resumed now.
The
flights were all chartered ones.
In
the meantime, talks over a weekly flight of Ariana Airline-Afghanistan’s
Airline- to Qatar are reportedly ongoing between the country and IEA.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/qatar-taliban-agreed-upon-resuming-evacuation-from-kabul-74457/
--------
Two
journalists disappeared in Kabul, UNAMA reacted
01
Feb 2022
United
Nations Assistant Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has reacted to the
disappearance of two Afghan journalists in the Afghan capital Kabul and has
asked the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to make public why they detained the
journalists.
Two
journalists of Ariana News named Waris Hasrat and Aslam Ejab went missing on
Monday evening, January 31 and no one has claimed responsibility for the
disappearance yet.
“Mounting
concern about the restriction on media and free expression. UN urges the
Taliban to make public why they detained these Ariana News reporters and to
respect the Afghan’s rights.” Reads the Twitter post of UNAMA.
UNAMA
mentions the Taliban as the IEA has not commented on the disappearance of the
Afghan journalists.
The
UN mission in Afghanistan has also reiterated the call on the Taliban to make
clear the whereabouts of women activists who went missing two weeks ago.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/two-journalists-disappeared-in-kabul-unama-reacted-8769786/
--------
Children
heart surgery ward opens in Kabul, first time in Afghanistan
01
Feb 2022
Ministry
of Public health of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan opened an exclusive ward
for heart surgeries of children in Kabul which is also the first one in the
public health sector of the country.
The
ward was inaugurated in Indira Gandhi hospital based in Kabul and doctors of
the ward have been trained in India.
Officials
of the Ministry said that the ward was supposed to be inaugurated in 2012 but
it did not happen due to vas corruption in the previous government.
Deputy
Minister of public health Abdul Bari Omar said that the IEA is committed to
strengthening the public health system that was forgotten during the previous
government.
Abdul
Bari Omar added that the rest of the problems of the public health sector will
also be resolved in the coming months.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/children-heart-surgery-ward-opens-in-kabul-first-time-in-afghanistan-457457/
--------
No
Recognition Of Taliban Government Yet: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
February
01, 2022
Moscow:
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershnin, after Monday's consultations
on UNSC issues between him and Reenat Sandhu, Secretary West in the Ministry of
External Affairs, said 'it is premature to talk about recognizing the current
government in Kabul'.
Vershnin
said, "Russian and Indian stances [on Afghanistan] are similar and
identical in many respects. They boil down to the fact that now it is premature
to talk about recognizing the current government in Kabul."
"We
expect the current Afghan leadership to fulfil the obligations they have
assumed, especially with regard to the inclusivity of the government and with
regard to other measures, including in the human rights area," he added.
He
also mentioned that it is clear that humanitarian assistance to the Afghan
people should be provided, and it is being provided by both us and India.
Vershnin
said that the aid to Afghan people "should be continued, for reasons
including that the 20-year presence of the Americans and their allies in
Afghanistan that has caused the situation to become so deplorable these days,
including from a humanitarian perspective."
"India
has been in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member for the second
year, and it was interesting and important for us to compare our notes
following the results of their first year in the UNSC with regard to all issues
on the agenda of the Security Council. The consultations were business-like,
detailed and friendly.", said Vershnin.
He
further added that both India and Russia strengthen coordination and
interaction on major international issues, including on international platforms
- in New York, Geneva and Paris, within the UNESCO.
During
the consultations, the Russian side informed the Indian Side about their point
of view about what is going on around Ukraine and on the tensions fanned by the
Western nations, NATO and the United States.
Source:
ND TV
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North America
US:
Justice Department urged to probe anti-Muslim group's alleged spying
By
Umar A Farooq
1
February 2022
More
than 80 Muslim organisations, including rights groups, mosques and charities,
have sent a letter to the US Department of Justice, calling on the
administration to launch an investigation into whether an anti-Muslim group
violated federal laws by allegedly spying on several Muslim groups in the US.
The
groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), Muslim
Advocates, and the Islamic Society of North America said that the
"conspiracy to spy on American mosques and Muslim organisations was not
surprising.
"Civil
rights advocates have been targeted by infiltrators and saboteurs for decades.
It is long past time for this behaviour to come to an end.
"To
protect the civil rights of American Muslims, we ask the Department of Justice
to launch an investigation to determine whether Steve Emerson or IPT broke any
federal civil rights statutes or criminal laws."
The
Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has been labelled an anti-Muslim group
by the Islamophobia Network, a project of the Center for American Progress that
tracks anti-Muslim groups and donors. The IPT was founded by Steve Emerson, who
has a "history of promoting falsified information and conspiracy theories
about Islam and Muslims", according to Georgetown University's Bridge
Initiative.
In
December, Cair claimed its organisation's chapter in the state of Ohio had a
spy in its ranks.
Following
an internal investigation, the group alleged that the chapter's executive
director Romin Iqbal had been recording meetings and conversations and then
sending those materials to the IPT.
IPT
denied that it was spying on Muslim communities but has previously told Middle
East Eye it would not hesitate to report on groups it claims are conducting
"radical Islamist activity".
Cair
subsequently claimed that there was a second spy. However, this person had been
a member of Dar al-Hijrah, a prominent mosque in the suburbs of northern
Virginia.
The
individual, Tariq Nelson, allegedly confessed and claimed he was paid $3,000 a
month by IPT over four years for a total of $100,000 to spy on the mosque and
"record prominent Muslim leaders".
'An
Israel lobbying organisation'
The
news of the alleged espionage, which Cair claimed had infiltrated nearly every
major Muslim organisation in the United States, came as a shock to the faith
community even though for two decades it faced a barrage of surveillance in the
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
The
Muslim rights group also claimed that one of IPT's goals was "protecting
the Israeli government by undermining Muslims engaged in political and human
rights activism".
Cair
released a series of emails it claimed were exchanged between Israeli officials
and the IPT. In one, an official asked the group whether it had information
regarding Students for Justice in Palestine, a student advocacy group with
chapters in universities across the country.
"I
came to realise that IPT's main concern was not protecting our nation from
legitimate threats, but protecting a foreign government - Israel - from
legitimate criticism. We were essentially being used as an Israel lobbying
organisation," an IPT whistleblower told Cair.
The
IPT told MEE it was an organisation that "supports Israel’s right to
exist", but that it was fully independent and did not receive foreign
funding.
The
groups' letter called on the Department of Justice to investigate whether the
IPT had provided information, obtained through alleged spying on Muslim groups,
to the Israeli government or any other foreign entities, and whether this
violated US law.
Source:
Middle East Eye
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
Muslim ban: Biden has failed to address lasting harms
Donna
Farvard , Azadeh Shahshahani
1
February 2022
Ramin
Raghifar won the lottery when he was selected to receive a diversity visa in
2019. His dream was to come to the US and build his career in medical research.
But despite having numerous job offers, that was all torn away from him because
of his Iranian origin - thanks to the Trump-era Muslim ban.
It
has been a year since President Joe Biden lifted former President Donald
Trump’s ban, and while the move originally fostered optimism, Raghifar and
others like him have yet to see relief. The ban has caused acute and ongoing
harm to Muslim communities.
Islamophobia
and xenophobia were central to the Trump ideology, continuing a long legacy of
white supremacist violence in the US. During his presidential campaign in 2015,
Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United
States”.
Upon
becoming president, one of his first moves was to issue an executive order
prohibiting travel into the US for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Yemen and Syria. Trump later expanded the ban to target a number of
other states in Africa and Asia.
Upon
taking office in January 2021, Biden swiftly repealed the Muslim ban - but
families and individuals continue to face barriers. Many are now stuck in the
immigration visa backlog, worsened by Covid-19 travel restrictions and embassy
closures. In February 2021, there were 473,000 immigrant visa cases pending for
interviews - a number that does not include individuals at different stages of
the process.
Many
Muslim immigrants from previously banned countries are still waiting to receive
updates from the government on the status of their applications and to finally
be reunited with their families.
No
clear guidance
There
is still no clear guidance on steps for those who were denied visas under the
ban. During the course of the ban, the State Department denied more than 40,000
visa applications. Today, many of these individuals are resorting to reapplying
for a visa under the same process they used the first time - an extremely
lengthy, costly and emotionally exhausting endeavour. Many wonder if it’s even
worth it, with no assurances of success.
According
to the State Department, the Muslim ban kept more than 1,500 children from
their American parents, more than 3,000 parents from their American children,
and nearly 4,000 people from their partners. People also missed important life
events, such as marriages, graduations and funerals. The ban caused families to
keep their lives on hold, causing unnecessary stress and uncertainty.
After
years of heartbreak, the Biden administration must do more to reassure these
applicants that they will not have to go through this pain again. At the same
time, some are being denied relief altogether: diversity visa winners barred
from entering the US under the ban, such as Raghifar, cannot reapply for a visa
as the Biden administration did not include them in the group of denied visa
selectees invited to reapply. Instead, the Biden administration has indicated
it needs Congress to act to make visas available to those who were selected but
unable to secure their visas.
In
addition, Iranian men who did compulsory military service are also still banned
from entering the US, regardless of how long ago they served. Many have wives,
children and parents living in the US whom they have not been able to see in
years.
Severe
impacts
Consular
services also have yet to be fully restored for visa applicants from banned
countries. For Iranian nationals, this is especially difficult because there is
no US embassy in Iran, leaving Iranian students with very few opportunities to
secure their appointments. Some have had to defer enrolment or miss out on
admission altogether.
Meanwhile,
those lucky enough to secure a visa still worry about potential deportation.
Between August 2019 and January 2020, more than a dozen Iranian students with
valid visas who came to pursue higher education in the US were sent back to
Iran, after facing lengthy detentions, extensive questioning and humiliating
treatment, such as having candy thrown at them or being forced to wear cuffs
and chains. Their visas were revoked, despite a notoriously difficult initial
vetting process.
Iranian
and Iranian American communities were also severely impacted after the US
assassination of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. US
border officers subsequently detained and subjected dozens of Iranians and
Iranian Americans returning from Canada to additional scrutiny.
Source:
Middle East Eye
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/us-muslim-ban-biden-failed-lasting-harms
--------
US,
Turkish presidential advisers discuss ‘Russian aggression’ in Ukraine
02
February ,2022
US
national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Ibrahim Kalin, chief adviser to the
president of Turkey, spoke on Tuesday and discussed their commitment to “deter
further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the White House said in a
statement.
Both
Russia and Ukraine are open to the idea of Turkey playing a role to ease
tension between the two countries, as proposed by Ankara in November, Turkish
diplomatic sources said last month.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
France
will not end fight against terrorism due to Mali’s ‘irresponsible’ government:
Minister
Shweta
Desai
02.02.2022
PARIS
France
will not give up the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region due to the
“irresponsible” actions of the military junta in Mali, the country’s foreign
minister said Tuesday.
Jean-Yves
Le Drian defended France’s military engagement in Mali before lawmakers, who
rebuked the Macron government for the humiliating blow to the country’s
diplomatic mission after Mali’s transitional government expelled French
ambassador Joel Meyer.
The
fight against terrorism will continue in the Sahel, as it is not an event that
will stop due to the “irresponsibility of a coup government,” he declared.
Tensions
have escalated in recent weeks between the two countries following heated
exchanges. The Malian government lambasted the former colonial power, asking it
to get rid of its “colonial reflexes” and expelled the envoy in response to Le
Drian’s remarks that the military authority was “out of control.”
The
transitional government led by the military junta that seized power last May
announced its plans to stay in power for up to five years after rejecting a
February 2022 deadline set by the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS).
Pointing
to the “political and military rupture,” Le Drian said “the subject we have
before us is not a Franco-Malian subject but a subject between the
international community and Mali, between Africans and Mali...a subject for our
own collective security."
He
maintained that France’s military presence, which is being strongly opposed in Mali,
is validated every year by the international community.
Several
European countries are concerned over the worsening political situation and the
Malian government’s decisions, including deploying mercenaries from the Russian
paramilitary organization Wagner Group while demanding that European military
forces withdraw from the country.
The
French-led Takuba Task Force, a group of elite soldiers from several European
countries assigned to accompany Malian soldiers in fighting extremist jihadist
groups in the Sahel region, is at serious risk after Bamako refused permission
to the Danish troops for deployment and Sweden announced that its forces will
leave in March. Norway has also said that it will not send its troops after
failing to secure their safety.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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French
journalist gets police protection after controversial documentary on radical
Islam
01
February, 2022
A
French journalist and a lawyer have been placed under police protection after
receiving death threats over a controversial documentary about radicalisation,
Nicolas de Tavernost, the CEO of the TV channel that aired the documentary
announced on Friday.
Ophélie
Meunier, a 34-year old journalist, reportedly received the death threats after
presenting a controversial episode of "Zone Interdite", an
investigative show.
Amine
Elbahi, 26, a Muslim lawyer from Roubaix who spoke on record in the
documentary, was also reportedly threatened.
"The
journalists and witnesses who testified in the documentary have been supported,
their complaints have been filed," Gérald Darmanin, the French Minister of
Interior, said on Monday.
"I
have given important means to find those responsible for the death
threats."
The
report aired in France on January 23 and focused on the spread of 'radical
Islam' in the French town of Roubaix, at the border with Belgium.
The
documentary immediately sparked controversy in France. It featured scenes
filmed in a gender-segregated restaurant and in a toy shop selling faceless
dolls, which had their faces removed allegedly to comply with strict
interpretations of Islam that forbid depicting facial features.
Within
a few days, dozens of journalists and politicians expressed support for
Meunier.
"The
newsroom fully supports [Meunier and Elbahi] and stresses the importance of
freedom of information," the M6 TV channel tweeted.
"In
France in 2022, freedom of expression for journalists keeps being
threatened," Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the Paris-based
Reporters Across Borders (RSF), told the French daily Le Figaro.
"Levels
of violence and threats are increasing, fuelled by the rise of cyberbullying on
social media."
While
freedom of expression is considered a fundamental right in France, critics
argue it has often been abused to discriminate against the country's ethnic and
religious minorities.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/french-journalist-gets-death-threats-islam-documentary
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Extremists
target mosque in Greece, hang anti-Islam banners
FEB
01, 2022
Agroup
of Greek extremists targeted a mosque in Dimetoka (Didymoteicho), a town near
the Turkish-Greek border, in an Islamophobic attack, media reports said
Tuesday.
The
extremists on Monday hung anti-Islam banners across the Çelebi Sultan Mehmet
Mosque. "The Islamization of Meriç (Evros) must be stopped
immediately" read the banners.
The
Friendship, Equality and Peace Party (DEB) – a party popular among Greece's
Turkish minority – condemned the attack.
"They
(the attackers) are trying to shape our minority according to their own
perspectives by ignoring the religion of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish
minority, whose race is unjustly denied in our country," said DEB in a
written statement and added that the incident was regrettable.
The
statement said that it is imperative that Turks of Western Thrace, who live in
peace in the region without discriminating against people, language, religion
or race, are treated as they deserve and should be taken as an example, and
added, "We strongly condemn (the attack) and such fascist thoughts, and
also wish them to end as soon as possible."
The
country's unwelcoming stance toward its Muslim population is not a new
phenomenon. For instance, up until recently, Athens was known as the only
European capital without a mosque, even though there are an estimated 300,000
Muslims in the greater Athens area. Back in November 2020, for the first time
since the 19th century, Athens witnessed the inauguration of an official
mosque, as years of efforts by the Muslim community finally paid off.
Turkey
has long decried Greek violations of the rights of its Muslim and Turkish
minority, from closing down mosques and historic mosques crumbling away,
denying to recognize Muslims' election of their own muftis. These actions
violate the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as well as the European Court of Human
Rights (ECtHR) verdicts, making Greece a state that flouts the law, Turkish
officials say.
Similarly,
the election of muftis, or Islamic clerics, by Muslims in Greece has become yet
another point of contention that caused trouble for the Muslims in the country.
Even though it is regulated by the 1913 Treaty of Athens – a Greek-Ottoman
Empire pact that Athens implemented in 1920 – that gives the community the
right to elect their own muftis, however, in 1991, in violation of
international law, Greece annulled the treaty and unlawfully started to appoint
the muftis itself.
Source:
Daily Sabah
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Muslims
targeted in two separate attacks in southwestern France
1
February 2022
Islamophobic
attacks have continued across France with two separate incidents reported last
week.
A
Muslim butcher and grocery store that sells halal products in the southwestern
province of Lot-et-Garonne was targeted on Sunday night.
Setting
the store in Bon-Encontre town on fire, arsonists drew two swastika on the
wall.
The
town fire brigade reported that the store was completely burnt, but no one was
harmed.
The
public prosecutor initiated an investigation on the attack.
Rising
Islamophobic attacks
In
the other attack that took place in the southwestern province of Toulouse, a
pig head and skin was left in front of an Islamic community centre.
Speaking
to local media, Abdellatif Mellouki, a Muslim community leader, drew attention
to rising Islamophobic attacks across the country.
Source:
Trt World
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Time
running out to save Afghans from starvation, charities tell UK government
February
01, 2022
LONDON:
The British government is being urged by charities to do more to help Afghans
who are at risk of starvation in Afghanistan amid an economic collapse in the
country.
Groups
including Save the Children UK, International Rescue Committee, and Concern
Worldwide have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government to
provide more money to tackle the humanitarian crisis, the Metro reported on
Tuesday.
They
said that Afghans, some of whom they claimed had been forced to sell their
children or their organs just to buy food, would die if no action was taken.
Many
Afghans are facing crippling poverty during a harsh winter in Afghanistan, a
country in the grip of economic chaos after the Taliban swept to power in
August last year.
The
charities wrote an open letter to Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, telling her that
the “window to save lives is closing fast” and that “there isn’t a moment to
lose.”
They
also said that the £286 million ($386.3 million) of aid announced so far by the
UK government for Afghanistan was not enough, highlighting how the figure
equated to just £7.15 for each of the 40 million people at risk in Afghanistan.
“Five
million Afghan children are on the brink of famine. Every day, more people are
succumbing to illness and starvation,” the letter said. “With 98 percent of
families not having enough to eat, some are resorting to desperate coping
strategies – even selling their children.
“Our
staff and partners on the ground report suffering on a scale that most of us
cannot comprehend. The UN has launched its largest ever single country appeal –
$4.4 billion – and needs wealthy countries like the UK to step up now.”
“The
government must urgently provide additional humanitarian funding that reflects
this level of desperate need, it should also use its diplomatic influence to
bring other donor countries around the table to meet the UN’s call for
life-saving funds.
“As
well as supporting the emergency response, (Foreign Office) must also
prioritize international efforts to ensure essential public services are
restored and to keep the Afghan state and economy from collapsing.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2016401/world
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Germany
contributes US$140 million to support UNICEF in Afghanistan
02
Feb 2022
United
Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has announced that
Germany Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation has announced US$140 million
to their programs for children and women in Afghanistan.
UNICEF
representative to Afghanistan Alice Akunga expressed gratitude to Germany’s
announcement of fund and added that the support will help a generation of
children in Afghanistan in this critical situation.
“This
unprecedented contribution in flexible funding will allow UNICEF to be more
agile and give us the ability to steer resources to the most critical programs
in the country.” Said Akunga.
As
per the information of UNICEF, 35 million people in Afghanistan are expected to
rely on basic primary health care services for life-saving care.
The
UN children’s program has elaborated that the money will help them provide
children with routine vaccinations, health services, and treatment for severe
acute malnutrition.
Source:
Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/germany-contributes-us140-million-to-support-unicef-in-afghanistan-9876986/
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Southeast Asia
Indonesia:
Muslim Groups Demand Closure Of Newly Opened Holocaust Museum
February 2, 2022
By
Ronna Nirmala
Indonesian
Muslim groups, including an influential scholars’ body, are demanding the
closure of a Holocaust museum that opened last week, with some saying it is
part of Israel’s attempts to normalize relations with Jakarta and its
occupation of Palestinian lands.
The
first permanent exhibition and museum in Indonesia devoted to the memory of
victims of the Holocaust opened in North Sulawesi province on Jan. 27, and is
housed inside Indonesia’s lone synagogue.
The
opening occurred amid reported Israeli overtures to establish ties with the
world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Indonesia, a staunch supporter of the
Palestinian cause, has long refused to open diplomatic ties with the Jewish
State.
“We
demand any exhibition be stopped and the museum be cancelled discontinued,”
said Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, the head of foreign relations and international
cooperation at the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s semi-official
Islamic authority.
According
to reports in the Israeli press, the museum-cum-exhibition is curated by the
Jerusalem-based Yad Vashem – also known as the World Holocaust Remembrance
Center – and one of its representatives attended the opening virtually.
The
decision to allow the museum in Indonesia was “not wise” and could cause
“communal friction” at a time when Israel is still occupying Palestinian lands
and mistreating Palestinians, Sudarnoto said.
The
exhibition at the synagogue in West Tondano regency was inaugurated in the
presence of North Sulawesi Dep. Gov. Steven Kandouw and the German ambassador
to Indonesia, Ina Lepel. Its opening was timed to coincide with International
Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Hidayat
Nur Wahid, deputy speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and a
lawmaker with the faith-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said the museum
was an attempt by Israel to whitewash its occupation of East Jerusalem and the
blockade of the Gaza Strip.
He
described Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as a form of “apartheid” and
“racism.”
“It
turns out that the museum in Tondano is the result of a collaboration with the
Yad Vashem Israel Museum, whose director is a major figure in Israel’s illegal
settlements in the West Bank,” Hidayat told BenarNews.
“I
suspect it is part of manoeuvres to pave the way for the normalization of
diplomatic relations between Israel and Indonesia.”
Yaakov
Baruch, an Indonesian businessman of Dutch Jewish descent who is the rabbi at
the synagogue, said the museum was created in part to defy growing anti-Jewish
sentiment in Indonesia, and claims by some people that the Holocaust never
happened.
“I
want to emphasize that this is not true. Indonesian people may hate Israel but
they must not deny the bitter and dark history of a nation (Jews). With this
Holocaust Museum, I want to show that racism and hatred cannot be tolerated at
all,” a news report quoted him as saying.
Officials
at the North Sulawesi provincial government could not be reached immediately
for comment.
‘Indonesia
will side with the Palestinian people’
Indonesia’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile, has confirmed reports that U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during meetings with officials in Jakarta in
December, had discussed the prospect of Indonesia normalizing ties with Israel.
Indonesia
has insisted it will not establish diplomatic ties with Israel until there is a
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict acceptable to both sides.
“The
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi conveyed Indonesia’s
consistent position on Palestine, that Indonesia will side with the Palestinian
people in their struggle for justice and independence,” Teuku Faizasyah,
spokesman for the foreign ministry, told BenarNews last month.
Last
month, Israeli media reported that a delegation of Indonesian health officials
visited Israel and met there with Israeli officials in an effort “to learn how
to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.”
Indonesia’s
COVID-19 task force and the health ministry denied that their officials had
gone to Israel, while the Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of such a
trip.
‘Prevent
things that are not desirable’
MUI’s
Sudarnoto said Indonesia’s Jewish community should understand the objection to
the museum.
Source:
Eurasia Review
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Global
Imams Council takes on China
2nd
February 2022
New
Delhi: The Chinese government has launched a defamatory and libellous campaign
to discredit the Global Imams Council (GIC) and to character assassinate
whoever advocates for the freedom of the Uyghur people, the GIC has said.
“We
are China’s latest victims. We consider these false allegations, manipulations,
and accusations a provocation by the Chinese government,” the GIC said.
“Through
our Imams, which exceed 1,300 members, we oversee the affairs of over 800
centres, mosques and organisations globally. We will not be intimidated, and we
shall multiply our efforts by ensuring that the most leading Grand Ayatollahs,
Muftis and Islamic Authorities in the Muslim world, Sunni and Shia, issue
independent statements against the Chinese government’s violations of human
rights,” the body said.
On
January 28, Chinese state media Global Times published an article titled “NGO
of Muslims fooled by anti-China WUC to call for ‘boycott’ of Beijing Games”,
containing lies and fabrications with the sole intention of distracting the
public from its violations of human rights, and to defame this Council, the GIC
said.
This
statement is not a response to Global Times, as their agenda, ownership and
history of justifying injustice are clear, it said.
Instead,
these clarifications are for the vulnerable readers they may have deceived, the
GIC statement said.
The
first claim was that the Global Imams Council was “fooled” by the World Uyghur
Congress (WUC) to ban Muslim participation in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“This
is a lie, as we have an active Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the WUC,
and we share the concerns of the Uyghur people that the Chinese government is
persecuting. The statement was our initiative and was not requested by the
WUC,” it said.
The
second claim was that the Muslim leaders carbon copied onto our statement had
opposed our statement.
“This
is also a lie. Chinese Embassies threatened and pressured two of the mentioned
Muftis to deny signing the statement, despite the fact that a ‘CC’ does not
mean ‘signature’. We then clarified this matter and personally contacted those
Islamic authorities. Furthermore, we issued a separate statement assuring
Muslims that we supported sporting activities but were only opposed to an event
that served the interests of the Chinese government,” the statement said.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/global-imams-council-takes-on-china-2268037/
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China
promotes new book on atheism targeting religions
February
02, 2022
China’s
officially atheist government is promoting a new textbook on atheism in
colleges and among Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres in order to target
organized religions and strictly implement Marxist policies.
The
Chinese-language book, The Principles of Scientific Atheism by author Li Shen,
is part of a CCP campaign for a “full and faithful” execution of the decisions
of its National Conference on Religious Affairs last December, reported Bitter
Winter.
The
book, which reportedly took six years to write, promotes President Xi Jinping’s
theory that Chinese culture has been always non-religious and his insistence
that Karl Marx’s views on religion should be thoroughly studied within the CCP.
During
the December conference, Xi also instructed the CCP leadership to increase
surveillance of online religious affairs and tighten control of religions to
ensure national security.
Li
Shen’s book includes an appendix on the “Main Theological Knowledge and
Criticism of Religion” and four chapters titled “What is God,” “Proof of the
Non-Existence of God,” “The Gods and Their Effects” and “The Communist Party’s
Religious Theory and Religious Policy.”
Zhu
Xiaoming, former secretary of the CCP Leadership Group of China Tibetology
Research Center, wrote a preface for the book.
In
the book, the author presents arguments offerng scientific explanations for
“the non-existence of God” and “the harmful effect of religion.” It also argues
that Marx and the CCP in China have definitively demonstrated the principles of
atheism as described in Western and Chinese philosophy.
Author
Li, 76, who earlier penned books including History of Chinese Science and
History of Chinese Atheism, is known as an intellectual and advocate of
state-sponsored atheism in China. He supports the CCP’s promotion of
“Confucianism as a form of atheism.”
Li
has worked at the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences and was the director of its Confucianism Research Office. He then was
a professor in the department of philosophy at Shanghai Normal University and
vice-chairman of the Chinese Atheism Society. He is also an academic committee
member of the International Confucian Federation.
His
new book aims to assist the CCP in achieving its long-term goal of ensuring
Chinese universities shift from “neutral” study and education to active
propaganda to promote atheism as advised by Marx, who famously said: “Religion
is the opium of the people.”
Officially,
communist China recognizes five organized religions — Buddhism, Taoism,
Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam. The state requires all religions and
religious activities to be strictly controlled by official religious bodies and
to abide by Chinese laws.
Religions
and religious groups have face increased repression since Xi Jinping became
president in 2013. Under his rule, the CCP has adopted draconian polices and
legislation to intensify crackdown on religions.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/china-promotes-new-book-on-atheism-targeting-religions/95956
--------
Indonesian
Church denies bishop is in critical condition
Katharina
Reny Lestari
February
02, 2022
Church
officials in Indonesia’s East Java province have denied rumors that Bishop
Vincentius Sutikno Wisaksono of Surabaya has cancer and is in a critical
condition in hospital.
A
message went viral on Feb. 1 on WhatsApp among Catholics saying the bishop was
critical with prostate cancer.
According
to the message, the prelate was taken that day to the intensive care unit of
the Catholic-run St. Vincentius a Paulo Hospital in the city and had received
the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. “Your prayers please,” the message
said.
Speaking
to UCA News on Feb. 2, the diocese’s secretary Father Paulus Febrianto said
Bishop Wisaksono had been admitted to the hospital late last year.
“He
was taken to the St. Vincentius a Paulo Hospital on Dec. 26. But he is not in
critical condition. It is common for a patient to be sometimes placed in an
intensive care unit,” he said.
However,
he refused to reveal the prelate’s illness.
“I
would say he has been under medical treatment in the hospital because of his
health condition. I cannot tell you more yet because I have to check with the
doctor,” he said.
Referring
to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick already received by Bishop
Wisaksono, he said Catholics should not jump to the conclusion that “receiving
it means that he is in a critical condition.”
“Every
Catholic can receive the sacrament in whatever condition. Sometimes Catholics
take things the wrong way,” he said.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-church-denies-bishop-is-in-critical-condition/95952
--------
Mideast
Rights
group accuses Israel of enforcing ‘apartheid’ on Palestinians
01
February ,2022
Amnesty
International accused Israel on Tuesday of subjecting Palestinians to a system
of apartheid founded on policies of “segregation, dispossession and exclusion”
that it said amounted to crimes against humanity.
The
London-based rights group said its findings were based on research and legal
analysis in a 211-page report into Israeli seizure of Palestinian land and
property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer of people and denial of
citizenship.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Israel
said the report, the second by an international rights group in less than a
year to accuse it of pursuing a policy of apartheid, “consolidates and recycles
lies” from hate groups and was designed to “pour fuel onto the fire of
antisemitism”.
It
accused Amnesty UK of using “double standards and demonization in order to
delegitimize Israel.”
Palestinians
praised the report.
“The
United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly are obliged to heed
the compelling evidence presented by Amnesty and other leading human rights
organizations and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the
Palestinian people, including through sanctions,” the Palestinian foreign
ministry said in a statement.
Amnesty
said Israel was enforcing a system of oppression and domination against
Palestinians “wherever it has control over their rights,” including Arab
citizens of Israel, Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territory and refugees
living abroad.
The
measures included restrictions on Palestinian movement in territory occupied in
the 1967 Middle East war, underinvestment in Palestinian communities in Israel,
and preventing the return of Palestinian refugees.
Alongside
forcible transfers, torture and unlawful killings, which Amnesty said were
intended to maintain a system of “oppression and domination,” they constitute
“the crime against humanity of apartheid”.
Israeli
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said: “Israel is not perfect, but it is a democracy
committed to international law and open to scrutiny” with a free press and a
strong Supreme Court.
Israel
has cited security concerns in imposing travel restrictions on Palestinians,
whose uprising in the early 2000s included suicide bombings in Israeli cities.
Shock
and Disturb
Palestinians
seek a state of their own in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its
capital. Gaza, a coastal strip that Israel also seized in the 1967 war but left
in 2005, is run by Hamas, considered by the West to be a terrorist group.
The
last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.
“Our
conclusions may shock and disturb - and they should,” Amnesty Secretary General
Agnes Callamard said at a news conference in Jerusalem.
“Some
within the government of Israel may seek to deflect from them by falsely
accusing Amnesty of attempting to destabilize Israel or being antisemitic, or
unfairly singling out Israel,” Callamard said, adding that such criticism was
“baseless.”
The
Jewish Federations of North America denounced the report it described as
“irresponsibly distorts international law, and advances hateful and disparaging
rhetoric associated with age-old antisemitic tropes, while ignoring or
whitewashing violence, terror and incitement committed by Palestinians.”
The
Central Council of Jews in Germany echoed those remarks and called on Amnesty
International’s German section to distance itself from the report, which it
called antisemitic.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Sunni
Islam heavily criticised for first time in Turkey – Gökhan Bacık
Feb
01 2022
Sunni
Islam is coming under heavy criticism for the first time in Turkey’s modern
history because of the government’s use of religion in politics, political
scientist Gökhan Bacık said.
“There’s
a growing intellectual criticism on Sunni Islam because it’s very much
pro-government, it’s silent on human rights abuses, it’s silent on labour
rights, it’s silent on gender problems,” Bacık told Nervana Mahmoud for Ahval
podcast series, Turkish Trends.
“Sunni
scholars, who are blamed for that, are acting just to legitimise Islamist
politics, mainly the government,” the analyst said.
While
some Turks are becoming much more radical because of Erdoğan’s strategy to
maximise Islamisation, others are gradually abandoning a traditional Sunni
narrative, said Bacık, who teaches political science at Palacky University in
the Czech Republic.
Last
month, Erdoğan accused Turkish popstar Sezen Aksu on insulting Adam and Eve in
a 2017 song, without mentioning the singer's name, in what was seen as another
attempt to intersperse national politics with religious rhetoric. Turkey was
founded almost a century ago as a secular republic. Later in January, Erdoğan
backtracked from his criticism of Aksu.
“One
reason why Erdoğan stepped back on Sezen Aksu and clarified his position as
saying that he was not directly targeting her, was mainly for that even among
his young supporters, there is a kind of growing criticism against Sunni Islam
in Turkey,” Bacık said.
Erdoğan
dominates Islamic politics in Turkey and is the de-facto leader of a large
league of Islamic groups, Bacık said. “But despite so, there are some groups,
that somehow try to protect their autonomy against Erdoğan,” he said.
The
groups are trying to challenge Erdoğan with religious arguments, Bacık said.
Even staunch followers of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk have started
to believe that, given Turkish people are now more religious, it might be
better to challenge Erdoğan by using religious arguments, he said.
Turkey
is now a divided society, Bacık said.
“If I
may metaphorically speak, we have two active volcanoes in Turkey. One of them
is Islam vs secularism and the other one is Kurdish vs Turkish nationalism. And
Erdoğan is the master of surfing over them,” he said.
Many
groups who support Erdoğan are ready to buy his religious arguments but there
are others who oppose the way he uses religion in political discourse, Bacık
said.
“They
don’t find it morally correct. They don’t even find it epistemologically
correct. So, we see more intellectuals, more Sunni scholars writing and
speaking against traditional Sunnism,” he said.
This
is the first time we see Sunni Islam on the defensive, Bacık said, adding, “We
should wait to understand it’s impact on the long term.”
Sunni
Islam in Turkey has historically had no capacity to criticise government or to
propagate morality in business ethics, rather it promotes morality in rituals,
such as attending mosques, fasting or praying, according to Bacık.
“Many
people don’t get it but Islamism in Turkey is a copy of Islamism in Egypt.
Islamism is not an original Turkish paradigm in the Turkish case. Especially
after the 1960s and 1970s, Islamism in Turkey is growing in the direction of as
we know it in Egypt. That’s why it’s not surprising to see that Erdoğan is very
close to the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.
Source:
Ahval News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
Blasts European Diplomats over Fake Human Rights Concerns
2022-January-31
Qaribabadi
strongly criticized two European diplomats after they called for the release of
a convicted prisoner in Iran.
"If
these two French and German officials feel a concern for human rights, instead
of defending a convict, they should adopt a stance on the victims of Monafeqin
(hypocrites) in Iran who are operating freely in their countries,"
Qaribabadi tweeted while responding to the European diplomats’ remarks.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001111000465/Iran-Blass-Erpean-Diplmas-ver-Fake-Hman-Righs-Cncerns
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Commander:
Joint Naval Drill by Iran, Russia, China Meant to Strengthen Regional Security
2022-January-31
"The
recent naval drills by Russia, Iran an China set a new model for ensuring
safety and security of maritime in international waters," Rear Admiral
Irani said.
He
reiterated that the continuous and effective presence of Iran's Navy in the
world's water zones is very significant to promote sustainable maritime
security.
In a
relevant development earlier this month, Naval forces from China, Russia, and
Iran launched the Marine Security Belt 2022 Exercise.
After
holding explanatory meetings the Iranian armed forces along with Russian and
Chinese maritime forces initiated the military drills in the northern Indian
Ocean.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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Iranian
supertanker carrying condensate docks in Venezuela
02
February ,2022
An
Iran-flagged supertanker carrying more than 2 million barrels of condensate has
docked at a Venezuelan port, with both countries facing US sanctions, according
to analysts and satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press.
The
arrival of the oil tanker Starla comes as negotiations continue in Vienna over
the Islamic Republic’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers, which allowed
for oil sales. In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord under then
President Donald Trump, sparking years of tensions across the wider Mideast
that continue today.
The
Starla arrived off the coast of Barcelona, Venezuela, in late January. A
satellite photo analyzed by AP from Planet Labs PBC showed the vessel there
Sunday and corresponded to other images of the vessel and its helipad.
Its
dimensions also matched those of the Starla, which is owned by National Iranian
Tanker Co. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned the company in October 2020, saying it
helped fund the expeditionary Quds Force of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary
Guard.
The
Starla represents the first known condensate shipment of 2022 from Iran to
arrive in Venezuela as part of a relationship between the two oil-exporting
nations that are both under American sanctions.
Iranian
state media has not acknowledged the Starla’s arrival in Venezuela after
earlier trumpeting other shipments. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did
not respond to a request for comment.
Samir
Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, said the ship is carrying 2.1 million
barrels of a very light form of oil based on natural gas that Venezuela’s
state-owned company uses to dilute its heavy crude oil to turn into an
exportable blend.
Madani
said the vessel departed Iran on Dec. 11 and turned off its mandatory Automated
Identification System for more than a month and a half. The system is used to
prevent collisions, but companies in recent years have adopted a number of
techniques, including turning it off, to evade detection as the US has expanded
economic sanctions.
Iran
maintains close ties to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and has shipped
gasoline and other products to the country amid a US sanctions campaign. Madani
said vessels carried condensate from Iran to Venezuela four other times since
2020, bringing in more than 8.3 million barrels.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Iran
teachers in new day of protests over pay: Media
01
February ,2022
Thousands
of Iranian school teachers have protested and staged a one-day strike over the
slow implementation of salary and pension reforms, local media reported
Tuesday.
The
teachers’ stoppage Monday was the latest in a string of protests by public
sector employees in recent weeks over the impact of soaring inflation on
incomes.
Reformist
newspaper Arman Melli said the teachers demonstrated outside parliament in
Tehran and education ministry offices in provincial cities including Isfahan
and Shiraz.
The
paper said it was the third day of protests by teachers in recent weeks.
Iran’s
ILNA news agency reported that striking teachers in Alborz province, west of
the capital, carried placards demanding “Free the imprisoned teachers.”
It
was an apparent reference to colleagues detained at previous rallies.
Protesters
called for the alignment of teachers’ salaries with those of other public
sector employees among other demands, ILNA said.
“Unfortunately,
our salary with a master’s degree and sometimes a doctorate is about 4.5
million tomans (160 dollars)” per month, it quoted a protesting teacher in the
city of Yazd as saying.
Iran’s
public finances have been badly hit by US sanctions reimposed by then president
Donald Trump in 2018, which reduced key oil exports to a trickle.
Inflation
has soared to more than 40 percent, sapping the purchasing power of those on
fixed incomes.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Africa
Hijab:
Issue circular to stop crisis in Lagos schools – Muslims tell Sanwo-Olu
February
1, 2022
By
Musliudeen Adebayo
The
Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) has said that the refusal of the
Lagos State Government to issue a circular on the usage of hijab is to blame
for the crisis in the state.
The
female president of the Lagos chapter of the society in Lagos, Basheerah
Majekodunmi, made this disclosure while addressing a press conference on
Tuesday.
The
press conference had in attendance Islamic organizations among whom are;
Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), Al Muminaat (The Believing
Women) Organisation, Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative, Federation of Muslim
Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN Lagos), Muslim Public Affairs Centre
(MPAC) and Guild of Muslim Professionals (GMP).
Majekodunmi,
while speaking at the press briefing as part of the activities for this year’s
World Hijab Day, urged the Lagos State Government to issue a circular reminding
school administrators of the court ruling which allows Muslim students to use
hijab in schools.
Hijab
is the veil or headscarf usually worn by female Muslims in order to cover their
heads and other parts of their body in public.
She
urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Speaker of the House of Assembly,
Mudashiru Obasa, to order the issuance of a circular in compliance with the
Court of Appeal judgment.
She
insisted that the appeal court judgment granted the usage of the hijab in
public schools in the state.
She
lamented that there was a case of two female Muslim students of Igboye
Community High School, Igboye, Epe, who were made to stand outside the
classroom in the sun while their classmates were writing an examination because
they were wearing hijab.
“Ignorance
is no excuse before the law. These teachers and principals who either feign
ignorance or turn a deaf ear to justice and morality have made it difficult and
fearful for students to use their hijab as prescribed by their creator!
“It
is high time the Lagos State Government issued another circular that will be
well-publicised. We enjoin peace in Lagos State and we don’t want a crisis.
Some principals and teachers are acting unlawfully and in a manner that could
cause outrage without quick intervention.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
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US
prepared to impose additional costs on Sudan's military if violence continues
01
February ,2022
The
US has made clear to Sudan's military leaders that Washington is prepared to
impose additional costs if violence against protesters continues, US Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee said on Tuesday.
Phee
told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States is reviewing
the full range of traditional and non-traditional tools at its disposal to
reduce funds available to Sudan's military leadership and isolate its
military-controlled companies.
Washington
is also looking at tools to increase the reputational risk for those that
choose to continue to engage in “business-as-usual” with Sudanese security
services, Phee said.
“I
have made clear publicly and privately that violence against peaceful
protesters perpetrated by security services since Oct. 25 must end,” Phee said.
An
October coup halted a power sharing arrangement between the military and
civilians negotiated in 2019 after former president Omar al-Bashir was
overthrown in an uprising.
At
least 79 civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 injured in crackdowns
on the protests, mainly by gunshots and teargas canisters, according to the
Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.
Asked
by Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, if there was progress on persuading the Sudanese military
to end its practice of using lethal force, arbitrary arrests and sexual
violence against civil society activists and protesters, Phee said she thinks
it's “too soon to tell.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
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63
migrants rescued off Morocco: Activists
01
February ,2022
The
Moroccan navy on Tuesday rescued 63 migrants including 15 women and three
children after their vessel started to sink as they tried to reach the Canary
Islands, activists said.
Alarm
Phone, which provides an emergency hotline for migrants in trouble at sea, said
on Twitter that “63 people in severe distress close to the Moroccan coast were
found by the Moroccan navy and safely brought to shore.”
The
Moroccan authorities did not immediately confirm the operation.
Helena
Maleno Garzon of rights group Caminando Fronteras had earlier warned that
dozens of people were sinking in an inflatable boat off Tarfaya, on Morocco’s
southern coast, and would “die if they are not rescued soon.”
Migrants,
mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, regularly use Morocco as a launchpad for
attempts to reach European shores.
Last
year more than 4,000 migrants died or went missing in such attempts, mostly as
they tried to reach the Canary Islands, according to Caminando Fronteras.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2022/02/01/63-migrants-rescued-off-Morocco-Activists
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Libyan
premier says government to continue to function until elections
Walid
Abdullah, Mohamed Artimah
01.02.2022
TRIPOLI,
Libya
Libyan
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said Monday that the government will
continue to carry out its duties until elections are held in June, amid a bid
by parliament to replace him.
Dbeibeh’s
remarks came in response to Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, who said the
chamber would choose a new interim prime minister on Feb. 8.
Speaking
to the Libya Al-Ahrar TV channel, Dbeibeh said that what Saleh is doing is a
"desperate attempt to renew division."
He
said the government will continue to perform its duties until the completion of
the elections and has fulfilled all its entitlements towards the elections
without negligence.
Libya’s
polls were scheduled to take place on Dec. 24, 2021 but were postponed over
disagreements among the country’s political rivals. No new date for the vote
been agreed on so far.
The
Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which concluded in Tunisia in mid-November
2020, set the term of the transitional executive authority at 18 months,
extending until June 2022, according to the UN mission to Libya.
Earlier
Monday, Saleh announced the start of receiving the names of the candidates for
the prime minister’s post.
He
said at a session for parliament's roadmap committee that parliament shall
start receiving the applications of the candidates.
"In
the upcoming session, the House of Representatives will look into nominating a
prime minister," he added.
Parliament
spokesman Abdullah Belhaiq said parliament's session on Feb. 8 will be for
assigning the country's prime minister, while a day before, there will be a
session to hear from the candidates.
So
far, no one has announced their candidacy for prime minister.
Last
week, a group of 62 lawmakers reiterated their support for the unity government
of Prime Minister Dbeibeh after introducing a Cabinet reshuffle “in order to
enable the government to impose its authority on all Libyan territories.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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