Shias to Obama: Why is the US aiding Wahhabi terrorists in Syria?
Photo: The Maulanas Who Are Imparting Competitive Ability in Muslim Youth
India
• Shias to Obama: Why is the US aiding Wahhabi terrorists in Syria
• The Maulanas Who Are Imparting Competitive Ability in Muslim Youth
• Do not be friends with India, Hizbul chief warns Nawaz Sharif
• India abstains from voting on Syria resolution in UNGA
• Madani case: Expedite trial, Justice Iyer tells President Pranab Mukherjee
• India exempts outbound expatriates from EC fees
• Shinde to pick up counter-terror lessons during Boston trip
• Indian sapphire from Kashmir sells for a record Rs 20 crore
• Lalu Cast Himself in the Role of the Protector of Muslims
• Conference to dwell on challenges Muslims face in education
• Afghan president Hamid Karzai to visit India
• India education fair starts in Nigeria
• UP moves plea to withdraw case against 'HuJI operative'
Southeast Asia
• Nephew of firebrand cleric Ba’asyir ‘supplies weapons to terrorists’
• For confused and ignorant Christians, an ‘Allah’ fact sheet
• Understanding Indonesian Muslims in a global context
• The challenges of the ever-changing face of terror
• Penang to offer free mammograms, health scans for women
Mideast
• Iran's presidential race starts, candidates need to be male, Shia and pious
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Iran Supplies All Weapons in Gaza
• Israel police limit non-Muslim visits to Jerusalem mosque
• IAEA, Iran fail to agree on nuclear inspections
• Israel’s deafening silence on peace plan draws flak
• New Muni ads claim Israeli ‘apartheid’ against Palestinians
Europe
• Assembly of People of Kazakhstan to monitor inter-ethnic situation
• Expose and eradicate street-grooming gangs, says Islamic society
• ‘Imams promote grooming rings’, Muslim leader claims
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan member convicted of urging jihad
• Russian Embassy in Beirut Becomes Hub for Syria Diplomacy
• HRW Slams Iraqi Government for the bloody attack in Hawija
• Nazarbayev Promises Modernized Armed Forces in Kazakhstan
Arab world
• Islamist rebels execute 11 Syrian soldiers for 'massacres'
• Iraq PM blames surge of violence on 'sectarian hatred'
• "Sharia law does not provide for the stoning," the debate within Islam
• Violence not among the principles of Islam: VP
• Syria's Banias massacre toll up to 145: NGO
• Assad regime to refuse ‘dictate’ at peace meet
• OIC urges member states to help end violence in Mali
• Six years and 300 lashes for a Lebanese Christian for having converted a young Saudi
• Rights group blasts Kuwait's proposed media law
• Gunmen kidnap 7 Egypt security personnel in Sinai
Africa
• Poverty is fuelling Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency
• Nigeria deploys army to northeast to fight Islamist rebels
• Tunisia Is Country neither for Jihad nor for Preaching' - Arab Observatory
• Tunisia: Poll Shows Nidaa Tunis Is More Popular than Ennahda
• Tunisia Salafists to meet in defiance of ban: Spokesman
Pakistan
• Pak polls open the door a little for non-Sunnis
• 6 suspects arrested in Gilani's son kidnapping case
• Ansar Burney to discuss issue of PoW's, other Indian prisoners with Nawaz Sharif
• London police launch probe against MQM Chief for his demand to separate Karachi from Pak
• Blast in North Waziristan kills four
• Gunmen kill NATO driver Jamrud
• Taliban offer ceasefire to new Pak government
• JI-PTI coalition: Jamaat-e-Islami to get 3 K-P ministries
• Imran nominates Pervez Khatak as KPK chief minister
• PML-N names Zehri for Balochistan CM post
• Pakistani militants allegedly commit 'war crimes'
• Musharraf will leave country soon: Ijaz
• Google to appear before Lahore High Court
• PPP sees global conspiracy behind election defeat
• ‘Pakistan must adopt wise policy on US troop withdrawal’
• Trend continues: Family names once again dominate polls
South Asia
• Revised penal code will “destroy Islam in Maldives” insists of the Adhaalath Party
• Kabul suicide attack on military target kills at least 14
• Hezb-i-Islami claim Kabul suicide attack
• Afghan village gold mine lures modern-day prospectors
• Police launch investigation into social media sex scandal ring in Maldives
North America
• White House releases Benghazi attack emails under strain
• Muslims uncomfortable in Chicago hospitals, board says no to Islam-friendly surgery centre
• Despite Horrific Repression, the U.S. Should Stay Out of Syria
• CAIR-LA: Are Feds Unfairly Targeting Muslim Students Who Oppose Israel?
• Urge Pentagon to End Forced Feeding of Gitmo Hunger Strike Prisoners
• NC man pleads to buying gun for terrorist jihad
• Media blamed for promoting Islamophobia
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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India
Shias to Obama: Why is the US aiding Wahhabi terrorists in Syria?
New Age Islam News Bureau, May 16, 2013
Lucknow: The US support to the Wahhabi and Salafi rebels who have been massacring the Shi’ite community and committing heinous crimes against Muslim and Christian women while destroying and desecrating the graves of sacred Islamic personalities has shocked and surprised the Muslims the world over. Therefore, the Shias of India have also raised the question, why the US is aiding and supporting the Syrian Salafi rebels. A Shia organisation of Lucknow, All India Hussaini Fund has presented the question to Obama. The general secretary of All India Hussaini Fund, Syed Hasan Mehdi has despatched a letter to Obama addressed to White House, Washington. In the letter, Mr Mehdi has said that the US government had been fighting the war on terror since 9/11 and the Shias had also been fighting the war on terror on their own level for the last 20 years. During this, the US has killed many dreaded terrorists including Osama bin Laden. The US has also wielded a hard blow on the Taliban, he said. However, Mr Mehdi said that the community could not understand why the US was aiding and supporting the same Wahhabi and Salafi terrorists in Syria who are destroying and desecrating the tombs and graves of the sacred personalities of Islam. Mr Mehdi has also written in the letter that the Saudi Arabia was pumping huge funds to the terrorists in Syria but the US has maintained friendly relations with the Saudi Arabia. What message it carried, the letter asked.
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The Maulanas Who Are Imparting Competitive Ability in Muslim Youth
May 10, 2013
Kaleem Kawaja
Muslim Maulanas (clerics) and Dargahs (religious shrines) dot the landscape of Muslim India – the cities and towns where India’s Muslims live. Having grown up in India, the scenes of multitudes of worshippers thronging the shrines and bearded Maulanas lecturing away to the congregations are ingrained in my mind. Countless movies and TV coverage of religious occasions have further reinforced these images over the years. Many people stereotype the extraordinary educational and socioeconomic backwardness of the Muslims of India with the sub-culture of Dargahs and Maulanas that is pervasive in the lower middleclass Indian Muslim community.
On the other end of the spectrum of the Indian society are the images of successful bright Indian youth who compete fiercely for top professional opportunities like IAS/IFS/IPS civil services and the bright eyed engineers from IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) and doctors from prominent medical colleges entering promising careers in the modern fields of engineering and medicine.
The two images are poles apart. Yet in recent weeks my attention has been pleasantly drawn to the two images coming together for a few Muslims. No, they did not crack the Powerball lottery. A counted few among the lecturing maulanas and the maudlin dargahs took a big leap forward and bridged the vast gap between the two images to make it possible for a few ordinary Muslim youth to touch the modern Indian moon. Let me share this pleasant observation with you in the following.
a. Maulana Mohammad Fazl ur Rahim Mujaddidi’s Crescent Civil Service Academy, New Delhi:
About ten years ago Maulana Mujaddidi, a very respected Muslim cleric, established the Crescent Academy in New Delhi as a division of the Maulana Abdur Rahim Educational Trust, with a vision of providing proper guidance, academic coaching and training to the Muslim aspirants for the country’s topmost Civil Services (IAS/IFS/IPS etc). Typically every year less than 1 percent successful candidates are Muslim. In the just announced results for the very tough multipart competition for these coveted careers for 2013, 13 trainees from the Crescent Academy came through as successful candidates. In fact 30 candidates from the Academy were successful in the first round examinations and 19 cleared the main IAS examination.
It should be noted that to-date the Academy with its limited infrastructure and resources, has been able to produce more than 100 IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, judges and State civil servants throughout the country. These are the very top government services in India and the careers lead to their being the makers of the top policies in the country.
b. Maulana Wali Rahmani’s Rahmani-30 IIT Entrance Coaching Centre, Patna:
About five years ago Maulana Rahmani, another very respected Muslim cleric, established this coaching centre to provide academic and competitive training to Muslim youth who aspire to enter the Indian Institutes of Technology - India’s most prestigious engineering colleges. Typically every year no more than about 1% Muslim youth are successful in enrolling in the IITs. The results of the competitive examination held for 2013 announced last week show that 24, mostly Muslim, of the 30 candidates from the Rahmani-30 Center cracked the IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Examination).
Besides the 24, four students of Rahmani-30 who could not clear the test last year have also got success this year. These 28 candidates have qualified for IIT-JEE Advance test to be held in June.
Typically graduates of IITs go on to work in prestigious positions in the country’s top corporations, or multinational corporations or receive employment in foreign countries.
c. Khaja Bandanawaz Gaisudaraz Dargah’s Engineering College and Institute of Medical Sciences, Gulbarga:
Khaja Bandanawaz Gaisudaraz, who passed away in 1422, was a illustrious Sufi saint who settled in Gulbarga, Karnataka at the invitation of the then Bahmani Sultan Tajuddin Firoz Shah. He was a disciple of the very illustrious sufi saint Hazrat Nasiruddin Chiragh Dehlvi. His ancient Dargah in Gulbarga is a popular centre of attraction in south India.
In 1966 the Dargah’s Trust established the Khaja Education Society to promote education in the educationally backward Muslim community. They started with a school for girls and now operate 15 minority educational institutions in Gulbarga, including the Khaja Bandanawaz College of Engineering established in 1980 and the Khaja Bandanawaz Institute of Medical Sciences established in 2000. The pioneering spirit behind the Khaja Education Society has been the Dargah Trust and Padamshree Shah Mohammad Hussaini who passed away recently.
Without a doubt this Dargah is totally different from the thousands of Dargahs spread throughout the country, in that it has put its primary focus on imparting modern high education to the Muslims. Also they have been so eminently successful in transforming youth from the backward Muslim community into high quality engineers and doctors, who are helping uplift the Muslim community and the country into a modern nation.
d. Spread the secrets of success
One important factor for the handful of brilliant success stories in the Muslim community enumerated above is the close cooperation between the Muslim religious leaders and the Muslim intelligentsia leaders. Instead of competing with each other or ignoring each other, they pooled the street popularity of the religious folks with the knowledge of modern education of the educated Muslims to make it a win-win situation for the community.
These undoubtedly rare success stories in India’s Muslim community make one wonder how much socioeconomic development can take place in the community if many more Maulanas and Dargahs dedicate themselves to the cause of imparting quality modern education and competitive ability to the Muslim youth and include the well educated Muslims in their team. Instead of spending so much time and energy on political and publicity activities if we spend more of it on the development of our youth, we can change the community’s picture drastically in just one generation.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2013/May/09.05.2013/maulanas_on_comp_exams.htm
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Do not be friends with India, Hizbul chief warns Nawaz Sharif
May 16 2013
Islamabad : The head of all Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant groups has said that no government would be able to survive in Islamabad if it abandons the “Kashmir cause”, and warned the new regime not to make the “mistake” of pursuing friendship with New Delhi at the cost of Kashmir.
Pakistan’s likely new prime minister Nawaz Sharif has repeatedly expressed the desire to pick up the thread from Atal Behari Vajpayee’s historic bus ride to Lahore in 1999, and said he would be happy to have Manmohan Singh at his swearing-in ceremony.
“No government in Pakistan, whether it is Nawaz Sharif or anybody else, will remain in the chair if it abandons the Kashmir cause,” Syed Salahuddin, head of the United Jihad Council and leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen, told The Indian Express in an interview in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Salahuddin advised the incoming government “not to repeat the mistake of putting Kashmir on the back burner and try to foster friendship with New Delhi through trade, cultural exchanges and tourism”. Because the PML (N) has won a strong mandate, “we will expect them to follow Pakistan’s traditional policy on Kashmir, which is to resolve the issue in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Kashmir through UN resolutions,” he said.
“Nawaz Sharif and his party’s leadership must understand that till the time Kashmir is under India’s occupation, the national security of Pakistan, the safety and security of its borders, and its economic stability is at stake,” Salahuddin said.
Pakistan’s agriculture and energy needs depend on the waters that flow down from Kashmir, Salahuddin said. “So our expectation from Nawaz Sharif’s government is that he will make this the first priority and give it central place in the Indo-Pak relationship... Otherwise, it will be lethal to the interests of Pakistan and that of the Kashmir struggle in the same way that it proved to be during the regimes of Musharraf sahib and Zardari sahib.”
“In the name of confidence building measures, in the name of friendship, in the name of trade and culture, moving ahead to establish a relationship with India, and going for a one-sided surrender on Kashmir, would hurt the feelings of the Kashmiri people and do irreparable damage to their confidence,” Salahuddin said.
“If Pakistan is not able to help us militarily, it must continue to help us in diplomatic and political forums. “If (Sharif’s government) shows one-sided flexibility, extends an unreciprocated hand of friendship towards India like Musharraf, it will be suicide. What did Pakistan get out of Musharraf’s policies?”
Salahuddin challenged Pakistan to stop advocating Kashmir’s cause if it felt that doing so would harm it. “But it must not stay silent on one pretext or the other — sometimes it is trade, sometimes it is culture.”
Should Pakistan abandon Kashmir, Kashmiris would sustain the movement on their own, Salahudin said. “In 2001 there was a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and a fence was erected across the border, but the mujahideen continued their activity. We can sustain our armed struggle without any foreign support for a hundred years — the topography of Kashmir is very favourable.”
Salahuddin said he disagreed with the broad political consensus in Pakistan that Kashmir was not the immediate priority.
“We disagree with that,” he said. “We were trying to explain to President Musharraf too that if you want to take any measures on the diplomatic or political front, please do that, but the militant infrastructure on the ground is your basic leverage and provides you with your bargaining power. If you get anything, it is only because of that. And when your bargaining power is gone, what will you go to the table with? What have the weak ever achieved through negotiations?”
Salahuddin added, “I can tell you with authority that when Musharraf showed an apologetic approach and came up with a policy of retreat, he inflicted irreversible damage on our movement. India felt relaxed after his retreat, and started infiltrating into Balochistan.”
Asked about the impact of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan on Kashmir, Salahuddin said, “It will have a positive impact. It will send an invigorating message to Kashmiri mujahideen — when America and NATO’s 26 countries with their latest war technology and massive budgets were running away after being defeated in Afghanistan, why could the same not happen in Kashmir?”
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/do-not-be-friends-with-india-hizbul-chief-warns-sharif/1116539/
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India abstains from voting on Syria resolution in UNGA
PTI | May 16, 2013
UNITED NATIONS: India abstained from voting on the Arab-backed, US supported resolution on Syria in the UN General Assembly, which called for a political transition.
India was joined by 58 other countries who abstained in General Assembly voting on the non-binding resolution, which was passed by 107 votes on Wednesday.
Twelve countries, including Russia voted against it. In August 2012, a similar resolution had received 133 votes.
Pakistan voted in favor of the resolution, in a significant change from its previous position.
Explaining on India's decision to abstain on the resolution, the Indian ambassador to the UN, Asoke Kumar Mukerji, cautioned the members of the General Assembly that unilateral action of any kind will not resolve the crisis.
"It will only exacerbate the problem and cause greater instability and violence even beyond Syria's borders," he said.
"Whether a group, any group, is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people or not can only be determined by the Syrian people, not this assembly," Mukerji stressed.
"Therefore certain provisions of this resolution can be interpreted as effecting regime change by sleight of hand. This is a dangerous precedent which we cannot acquiesce in.
"We would once again reiterate our position that the leadership of Syria is a matter for Syrians to decide themselves," said the Indian ambassador.
In his remarks, Mukerji said at the Joint Communique of the Geneva Action Group adopted in June 2012 provides a good basis for resolution of the Syrian crisis through a Syrian led political process that respects Syria's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty, involves all sections of Syrian society ad meet their legitimate aspirations.
"Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, India has consistently called on all parties to abjure violence, dissociate themselves from terrorist groups, and pursue a peaceful and inclusive political process to address the grievances of all sections of Syrian society.
"We have also contributed to mitigate the humanitarian impact of the crisis by providing assistance worth USD 2.5 million," he said.
The UN General Assembly resolution strongly condemns the Syrian government's increased use of heavy weapons, and also condemns ongoing "widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms".
Supported by 107 countries, the resolution called for rapid progress on a political transition, "which represents the best opportunity to resolve the situation peacefully."
This is the fifth resolution by the UN General Assembly since 2011 after the fighting broke between the ruling Assad regime and the opposition forces.
The resolution which was opposed by Russia and 11 other countries, welcomes establishment of the Syrian National Coalition "as effective interlocutors needed for a political transition."
The resolution is not legally binding on the member nations.
In his statement, the Indian ambassador said New Delhi remains committed to support the efforts of the United Nations, including joint special representative Lakdhar Brahimi, to resolve the Syrian crisis expeditiously through inclusive political dialogue among Syrian parties.
"We also welcome the recent decision by the Russian Federation and the United States to convene a meeting of the Action Group with the Syrian parties, and hope that all sides will engage seriously, realistically and unconditionally to resolve the crisis in the interests of the Syrian people, the region and the larger international community," Mukerji added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-abstains-from-voting-on-Syria-resolution-in-UNGA/articleshow/20079556.cms
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Madani case: Expedite trial, Justice Iyer tells President Pranab Mukherjee
TNN | May 16, 2013
BANGALORE: Eminent jurist and former Supreme Court judge VR Krishna Iyer has written to President Pranab Mukherjee to expedite the trial in the July 25, 2008, Bangalore blasts case . It will establish the guilt or innocence of the ailing accused, People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader from Kerala, Abdul Nasser Madani, Justice Iyer said .
Justice Iyer's letter to the President has been sent along with an appeal from Madani, who has been arraigned as the 31st accused in the case. Madani has detailed in the letter how he has been unjustly showcased as a terrorist. The former judge said that criminal cases are kept pending for long and consequently "the victim of the trial has to suffer, although he is found innocent at the end ". | Justice Iyer pointed out that on an earlier occasion, Madani was suspected of being involved in the Coimbatore blast case and put in jail as an under trial. However, after nine years, he was found innocent and set free. "It is a disgrace to the Indian justice system to put a man in prison for nine years and then let him free, and now he is again in jail," the former judge said.
"Madani is suffering from diseases .As one interested in human rights and the decency and dignity of justice system, may I request you to see that the Karnataka justice system hears Madani's case on a quick basis.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Madani-case-Expedite-trial-Justice-V-R-Krishna-Iyer-tells-President-Pranab-Mukherjee/articleshow/20078961.cms
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India exempts outbound expatriates from EC fees
16 May 2013
Indians in Riyadh and Jeddah will waive fees for emergency certificates issued during the grace period to Indian expats bound for home from the Kingdom.
Deputy Chief of the Indian Embassy Sibi George told Arab News that the Indian government announced its decision to exempt Indians living in Saudi Arabia and having no travel documents from paying fees for emergency certificates for one-time travel to India.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/451799
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Shinde to pick up counter-terror lessons during Boston trip
Bharti Jain, TNN | May 16, 2013
NEW DELHI: With the Boston marathon bombings and the early breakthrough in the case still fresh in memory, Union home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has included Boston, apart from Washington DC and New York, in the itinerary for his upcoming visit to the United States. Shinde, who will be in the US for the Indo-US dialogue on homeland security from May 20 to 22, is expected to use his interaction with the US Secretary for Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, to study the US agencies' response to the Boston terror attack in a bid to improve the handling of similar strikes back home.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shinde-to-pick-up-counter-terror-lessons-during-Boston-trip/articleshow/20078093.cms
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Indian sapphire from Kashmir sells for a record Rs 20 crore
Kounteya Sinha, TNN | May 16, 2013
LONDON: It is turning out to be a great season for Indian jewels going under the hammer.
A 19.88 carats cushion-shaped Kashmir sapphire called " The star of Kashmir" has smashed all records after it sold for the highest per carat price of a sapphire, ever.
The auction of the magnificent jewel by Christie's saw it being sold for a whopping $3,483,017 or nearly Rs 20 crore.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indian-sapphire-from-Kashmir-sells-for-a-record-Rs-20-crore/articleshow/20081789.cms
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Lalu Cast Himself in the Role of the Protector of Muslims
May 16, 2013
In a clear attempt to woo back his traditional Muslim vote base, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad cast himself in the role of the protector of Muslims during his ‘Parivartan Rally’ at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on Wednesday.
His sons and daughters in tow, Mr. Prasad also drove home his focus on Bihar’s youth by promising them 50 per cent of the ticket share in his party.
The high-energy event of over one lakh supporters saw Mr. Prasad make a strong statement with his Topi (cap) as he presented the threat by fundamental forces to the unity of the country.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/lalu-woos-youth-muslims-at-parivartan-rally/article4718791.ece
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Conference to dwell on challenges Muslims face in education
IANS May 12, 2013
MUMBAI: Over 2,000 delegates from Maharashtra and other parts of the country will deliberate on the educational challenges confronting the Muslim community at a two-day conference here May 29-30, an official said Saturday.
Vice president Hamid Ansari will inaugurate the "Conference on Educational Challenges in the Muslim Community" at the Mumbai University's Kalina Campus, said Maulana Azad Vichar Manch president Husain Dalwai, a Rajya Sabha Member.
"The recommendations of the Sachar Committee have been welcomed by the community, but dissemination and on-the-ground implementation have thrown up many challenges," Dalwai told media-persons.
Full report at:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-12/news/39202989_1_muslim-community-sachar-committee-muslim-education
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India education fair starts in Nigeria
PTI | May 16, 2013
ABUJA: More than 12 Indian universities and institutes of higher learning are taking part in a two-day education expo in Nigeria's financial hub of Lagos to foster bilateral cooperation in the field of education.
The event, which was attended by industry leaders and officials of the Nigerian government, was declared open by the Indian high commissioner to the oil-rich African country, Mahesh Sachdev.
"In 2012, over 1200 Nigerians went to India to study and we expect this growth to accelerate further this year following this exhibition," Sachdev said.
Noting that the increase was as a result of the first Indian education fair held in Abuja and Lagos in June 2012 which, Sachdev said bilateral cooperation in education has had a proud history and remains a priority.
One of the participating institutes, VAG Group of Educational Institutes, said it has trained many students from Nigeria in the recent past and still has students from the country and other African nations.
At present, Indian education providers such as NIIT, Aptech, Educom, Edusoft, Reliance Education Services are active in Nigeria.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/India-education-fair-starts-in-Nigeria/articleshow/20087566.cms
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Afghan president Hamid Karzai to visit India
IANS | May 16, 2013
NEW DELHI: Afghan president Hamid Karzai will pay a three-day official visit to India from May 20 to hold wide-ranging discussions with Indian leaders, the Afghan ambassador said Thursday.
Karzai is expected to discuss the security situation in his country as US troops prepare to withdraw and seek more military cooperation to tackle "terrorist groups", Shaida M. Abadali told the media.
Karzai will meet President PranabMukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and discuss a range of issues of mutual concern and interest, the ambassador said.
Karzai will also be the chief guest at the convocation of Lovely Professional University at Jalandhar in Punjab where he will be conferred an honorary degree by President Mukherjee.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Afghan-president-Hamid-Karzai-to-visit-India/articleshow/20088130.cms
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UP moves plea to withdraw case against 'HuJI operative'
May 15 2013
LUCKNOW : The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday moved an application in a local court of Gorakhpur, requesting for permission to withdraw the case lodged against alleged HuJI operative Tariq Qasmi in connection with the serial blasts which took place in Gorakhpur in 2007, injuring six persons.
Government counsel S Pandey said Additional District and Session Judge Bhoo Dev Gautam has fixed May 20 to decide on the application.
Qasmi is facing charges under the Explosives Act, the 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act, and attempt to murder. The chargesheet has been filed against Qasmi, but the charges are yet to be framed.
A Unani doctor at Azamgarh, Qasmi is married and has four children.
He is also facing trial in the cases of serial blasts which took place in the courts in Faizabad and
Lucknow on November 23, 2007.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/up-moves-plea-to-withdraw-case-against--huji-operative-/1116348/
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Southeast Asia
Nephew of firebrand cleric Ba’asyir ‘supplies weapons to terrorists’
Yuliasri Perdan
May 16 2013
The National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism unit arrested Nu’aim Ba’asyir, nephew of firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, for allegedly supplying weapons to terrorists.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Wednesday that Nu’aim was arrested for his role in procuring weapons for Abu Roban and William Maksum groups; two terror networks rounded up by the counterterrorism unit earlier this month.
Densus 88 arrested Nu’aim in front of the Al Quran Ibadurrahman Islamic boarding school in Joyontakan, Surakarta, Central Java, on Tuesday evening.
However, a member of Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an Islamic organization led by Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, said that members of Densus 88 squad arrested Nu’aim inside his home.
“He was with his nine-year-old daughter when Densus 88 raided the house. His daughter saw a squad member toting firearms. This traumatized her,” JAT spokesman Sonhadi told The Jakarta Post.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/16/nephew-ba-asyir-supplies-weapons-terrorists.html
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For confused and ignorant Christians, an ‘Allah’ fact sheet
May 16, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 – Churches in Southeast Asia’s third largest economy were sent an “Allah” fact sheet today by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) to educate followers confused by its use, as a row over the Middle Eastern word for god rages on in public.
The umbrella body representing 90 per cent of the country’s churches said it issued the backgrounder to explain to Christians the history of the word here and to teach them how to respond when confronted by those who were ignorant about its use in the Christian context.
“There are many (misleading) statements by non-Christians who claim that we should not use the word, because it is an exclusive Muslim term for the God of Islam and can be used only by Muslims.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/for-confused-and-ignorant-christians-an-allah-fact-sheet/
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Understanding Indonesian Muslims in a global context
James Bell, Washington, DC
May 16 2013
We are pleased that the Pew Research Center’s new report, The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics & Society, has attracted the attention of The Jakarta Post and its readers. The cross-national survey was a mammoth endeavor entailing more than 38,000 interviews in 39 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
From the outset, the inclusion of Indonesia in a global survey of Muslims was judged essential, and we are proud that we were able to achieve this goal. Some of the op-eds and comments published in the Post have raised questions about how we conducted the survey in Indonesia, and at least one incorrectly reported some of the findings. I hope to clarify both how we conducted the survey and what we found.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/16/understanding-indonesian-muslims-a-global-context.html
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The challenges of the ever-changing face of terror
Noor Huda Ismail, Jakarta
May 16 2013
The recent drama revolving around the arrest and killing of suspected terrorists in Jakarta, Banten, Bandung, Kebumen, Kendal, Lampung and Batam suggest that Indonesia’s efforts to curb terror the threat are still facing serious challenges, which stem from violent groups as well as an imperfect approach to dealing with the issue.
Today’s immediate threats do not only come from major jihadi organizations like Darul Islam (DI), Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) or Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT).
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/16/the-challenges-ever-changing-face-terror.html
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Penang to offer free mammograms, health scans for women
May 16, 2013
GEORGE TOWN, May 15 ? The Penang state government will introduce free mammogram and health examinations for women in the state through its newly formed women’s brigade.
Announcing this today, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the mammograms and health checks will be available to all women in every district in the state.
“It will definitely benefit women in the lower-income group but the free mammogram examinations are open to all women in the state,” he said in a press conference at his office today.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/penang-to-offer-free-mammograms-health-scans-for-women/
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Mideast
Iran's presidential race starts, candidates need to be male, Shia and pious
May 16, 2013
Thousands of candidates with the necessary requirements have applied for consideration by the Council of Guardians. Although Supreme leader Ali Khamenei will eliminate pro-reform candidates with a chance of winning, the rightwing camp is not united.
Tehran (AsiaNews) - Anyone who wants to run in Iran's presidential election must meet certain criteria. He (only males are allowed) cannot be Christian, Jewish or Sunni Muslim. He must be "pious", "trustworthy" and have "a good record". He must have a religious or political background, and not be involved in civil society groups. He must show initiative, sport "managerial skills," and "believe" in the existing system." Although the vote is set for June, the first phase ended yesterday with candidates submitting their application. According to Iranian media, thousands did.
Full report at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/As-Iran's-presidential-race-starts,-candidates-need-to-be-male,-Shia,-pious-and-above-all-pro-regime-27905.html
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Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Iran Supplies All Weapons in Gaza
By: Asmaa al-Ghoul
May 16, 2013
At the end of 1979, the Islamic revolution in Iran inspired the founder of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, Fathi Shakaki, who wrote the book Khomeini: The Islamic Solution and the Alternative out of admiration for the Iranian experience.
Back then Shakaki was still a student in Egypt. His book represented something new, as it expressed the admiration of a Sunni Muslim for the Shiite revolution, prompting the Egyptian security services at the time to arrest Shakaki, according to Nazim Omar’s book Political Ideology of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, published in 2008.
Full report at:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/gaza-islamic-jihad-and-iranian-arms.html#ixzz2TRFDlGsu
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Israel police limit non-Muslim visits to Jerusalem mosque
Israeli police closes Al-Aqusa mosque in Jerusalem to non-Muslims
16 May 2013
Jerusalem police closed the flashpoint Al-Aqusa mosque compound to non-Muslim visitors on Thursday, in what they said was an effort to avoid a repetition of recent Palestinian unrest.
The decision followed disturbances on Wednesday in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem where police used stun grenades, water cannons and mounted officers against Palestinians who hurled rocks during protests marking the anniversary of Israel's foundation in 1948.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/71586/World/Region/Israel-police-limit-nonMuslim-visits-to-Jerusalem-.aspx
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IAEA, Iran fail to agree on nuclear inspections
May 16, 2013
Iran and international nuclear inspectors failed to reach agreement on starting a probe into Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme, a senior International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) official said on Wednesday after talks between the two sides.
“We must recognize that our best efforts have not been successful so far,” IAEA chief nuclear inspector Herman Nackaerts said in Vienna after the tenth round of negotiations since early 2012.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/iaea-iran-fail-to-agree-on-nuclear-inspections/article4719097.ece
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Israel’s deafening silence on peace plan draws flak
16 May 2013
JERUSALEM: On the surface, the Arab League’s improved peace initiative offers Israel everything it ever dreamed of — normal relations with an entire region that has long objected to the very existence of the Jewish state, and even the chance to keep some war-won land.
But two weeks after US Secretary of State John Kerry persuaded Arab leaders to reissue their 2002 offer with new incentives, Israel is maintaining a striking silence, and critics are accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of missing a historic chance. “We are speaking of an opportunity that must be seized to renew the diplomatic process,” former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told The Associated Press in a statement. “It’s a very important development.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/451768
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New Muni ads claim Israeli ‘apartheid’ against Palestinians
By: Chris Roberts | 05/14/13
Yet another salvo has been launched in the ongoing, polarizing and divisive Israel-Palestine debate — and it’s on Muni.
Several San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency buses bearing a pro-Palestine, anti-Israel advertisement are currently ferrying The City’s commuters.
The ads, paid for by American Muslims for Palestine, feature a quote from Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu comparing the situation in the Holy Land to apartheid in South Africa, along with a reminder that Israel receives about $3 billion in foreign aid from the U.S.
Full report at:
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/transportation/2013/05/new-muni-ads-claim-israeli-apartheid-against-palestinians#ixzz2TRBh4GRw
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Europe
Assembly of People of Kazakhstan to monitor inter-ethnic situation
Research on inter-ethnic relations would help form national policies that would promote stability, peace and harmony among the country's diverse population groups, analysts say.
By Gulmira Kamziyeva
2013-05-10
ALMATY – Kazakhstan plans to carve out a bigger role for the consultative Assembly of People of Kazakhstan in its continued efforts to promote the highest standards of inter-ethnic tolerance in its citizenry and government, officials said.'
The "Planning Document for the Development of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan up to 2020" calls for the body to strengthen its analysis of state policy; systematically monitor the inter-ethnic situation; and conduct applied scientific research in efforts to improve training programmes, mediation of inter-ethnic problems and tolerance, Secretary of State Marat Tazhin said at an April 23 session of the Council of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan in Astana.
Full report at:
http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/main/2013/05/10/feature-01
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Expose and eradicate street-grooming gangs, says Islamic society
May 16, 2013
One of Britain’s largest Muslim organisations yesterday called for street-grooming gangs across England to be “exposed” and “eradicated”.
Julie Siddiqi, executive director of the Islamic Society of Britain, said Muslims could no longer ignore the over-representation of British Pakistanis among groups of men found guilty of such offences.
Child exploitation is a crime which affects all communities but the number of street-grooming convictions in the past few years involving Omars, Ahmeds and Faisals means the time has come for action," she said.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/crime/article3765173.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2013_05_14
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‘Imams promote grooming rings’, Muslim leader claims
The Oxford grooming ring was promoted by imams who encourage followers to think white women deserve to be “punished”, an Islamic leader has claimed.
By Hayley Dixon
16 May 2013
Dr Taj Hargey, imam of the Oxford Islamic Congregation, said race and religion were inextricably linked to the recent spate of grooming rings in which Muslim men have targeted under-age white girls.
Earlier this week seven members of a child sex ring from Oxford were found guilty of forcing under age girls to commit acts of "extreme depravity".
Their victims, aged between 11 and 15, were groomed and plied with alcohol and drugs before being sexually assaulted and forced into prostitution. They targeted "out of control" teenagers.
Full report at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10061217/Imams-promote-grooming-rings-Muslim-leader-claims.html
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Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan member convicted of urging jihad
2013-05-14
DUSHANBE – A court in Shahrtuz District, Khatlon Oblast, recently sentenced 32-year-old Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) member Nazurullo Ayubob to 3.5 years in prison for urging others to an extremist version of "jihad" via his cell phone, media reported May 13.
Ayubob, who had spent time in the North Caucasus, came back with IMU videos and sermons he distributed through his cell phone, authorities said, according to the BBC Farsi-language service. The videos were about the IMU's idea of "jihad," the report said, and IMU videos were also found on his laptop.
About 40 defendants in southern Tajikistan have been sentenced to various prison terms in the past three years for IMU membership, the BBC said.
http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/newsbriefs/2013/05/14/newsbrief-11
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Russian Embassy in Beirut Becomes Hub for Syria Diplomacy
By: Jean Aziz for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse Posted on May 15.
May 16, 2013
Since the visit of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to Beirut on April 26, the Russian Embassy in the Lebanese capital appears to be a crisis management group charged with solving the Syrian file or a working group preparing for the second Geneva conference. This is the case for several reasons.
Russia’s diplomats have moved from Damascus to Beirut, as have a majority of the diplomatic missions to Syria. In Beirut, the Russians have been able to communicate and interact with external parties on the Syrian crisis more than they could in Damascus. Beirut was chosen over other capitals in states neighboring Syria to be the base of Russian diplomatic work in view of historical, geographical and personal considerations.
Full report at:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/russia-syria-policy-lebanon-beirut-geneva-conference.html#ixzz2TRL84BO7
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HRW Slams Iraqi Government for the bloody attack in Hawija
By: Mushreq Abbas
May 16, 2013
The bloody attack that occurred in Hawija on April 23 is being seen as part of the political, security and sectarian conflict in Iraq. This attack, however, is also a key test of the new Iraqi political system and its ability to handle security crises without abandoning democratic values and human rights principles.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report on May 4 on the incident and cast doubt the official version of events. HRW called for a transparent investigation into how more than 50 people were killed and 180 wounded in the raid on April 23, 2013, by the Iraqi army on a square in Hawija (180 kilometers or 112 miles north of Baghdad), where protesters were holding a sit-in.
Full report at:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/iraq-demonstrations-hawija-coverup.html#ixzz2TRLKyepG
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Nazarbayev Promises Modernized Armed Forces in Kazakhstan
Roger McDermott
5/15/13
While the phenomenon of the military parade has lost much of its former appeal in Western media coverage, with sporadic mention of the Russian show of arms on Red Square on May 9 marking Victory Day, a less well publicized recent event in southern Kazakhstan showcased that country’s Armed Forces. What was so unusual about the “parade” in Kazakhstan is not only that it is the first of its kind in the country since independence, but also the choice by the political leadership to stage this beyond the capital. Kazakhstan’s first military combat parade took place at the 40th military base in Otar, Zhambyl Region on May 7, to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the creation of the country’s Armed Forces; and both its scale and recent comments by the political-military leadership suggest that the military will be modernized rapidly as Kazakhstan profits from its booming energy wealth (Interfax, May 7).
Full report at: The Jamestown Foundation
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Arab world
Islamist rebels execute 11 Syrian soldiers for 'massacres'
May 16, 2013
BEIRUT: Fighters of the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Syria executed 11 men they accused of taking part in massacres by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, a video published on Thursday showed.
A man whose face was covered in a black balaclava shot each man in the back of the head as they kneeled, blindfolded and lined up in a row in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.
"The sharia court for the eastern region in Deir al-Zor has sentenced to death these apostate soldiers that committed massacres against our brothers and families in Syria," the executioner said on the video.
Islamist militants with black flags shouted "God is great" as each man was shot. The executioner returned to some victims, firing more bullets into them to make sure they were dead.
Full report at:
http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-16/217305-islamist-rebels-execute-11-syrian-soldiers-for-massacres.ashx#ixzz2TRcvfSNd
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Iraq violence kills 13, PM blames sectarianism
AFP | May 16, 2013
BAGHDAD: Attacks killed 13 people and wounded more than 35 on Thursday, officials said, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed violence plaguing Iraq on "sectarian hatred."
In the deadliest attack, a car bomb in the Shiite Sadr City area of Baghdad killed six people and wounded 17.
Another in the city's Chikouk area killed one person and wounded four, and a third in Kamaliyah killed three and wounded nine, security and medical officials said.
Gunmen also shot dead the brother of a Sunni MP in the Bayaa area of Baghdad, officials said.
In the north, a suicide bomber driving an explosives-rigged vehicle killed two soldiers and wounded three in Mosul, while a car bomb wounded two police and three civilians.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iraq-violence-kills-13-PM-blames-sectarianism/articleshow/20089539.cms
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Iraq PM blames surge of violence on 'sectarian hatred'
May 16, 2013
BAGHDAD: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday blamed sectarian intolerance for a surge of violence in Iraq, a day after bombings killed 34 people and wounded more than 80.
"The bloodshed today is a result of sectarian hatred," Maliki said in televised remarks. "These crimes are a natural result of the sectarian mindset."
Attacks on Wednesday, including a string of bombings that hit seven different areas of Baghdad, many of them Shiite-majority, killed 34 people. Blasts also hit Kirkuk and Mosul in north Iraq and Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.
Full report at:
http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-16/217294-officials-car-bombing-kills-5-wounds-19-in-iraq.ashx#ixzz2TRd0MWAG
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"Sharia law does not provide for the stoning," the debate within Islam
05/10/2013
The statement by a scholar of Islamic faith in a Qatari magazine lifts the lid on the issue in the Muslim world.
Doha (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In an interview with the Qatari newspaper Al-Dana, the cleric Shaikh Isam Talimah stated that "Sharia law does not provide for the stoning to death for the crime of adultery." According to the scholar of Islamic scripture, the Quranic verse which addresses the issue of Zina, or extra-marital relationships, in fact provides for a punishment of one hundred lashes to be imposed on both men and women. "Stoning - Talimah explained - was a custom of the Jewish tradition; Muslims took it up only at a later stage." He added: "The resort by some people to stoning was to reinforce the punishment, especially when there are high immoral risks, such as the proliferation of the cases of rape, paedophile or incest".
Full report at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Sharia-law-does-not-provide-for-the-stoning,-the-debate-within-Islam-27882.html
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Violence not among the principles of Islam: VP
(Wam) / 15 May 2013
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received the Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al Azhar Al Sharif, Shaikh Dr Ahmed Al Tayyeb, on the sidelines of the Arab Media Forum on Tuesday.
Shaikh Mohammed and Sheikh Al Tayyeb discussed media issues relating to the causes of the Arab world, ways to strengthen the role that the media can play in correcting the image of Islam in foreign countries, especially through the rejection of extremism in dealing with others, and the use of extremism as a way of expression in a political, social or other situation.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/nation/inside.asp?xfile=/data/government/2013/May/government_May20.xml§ion=government
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Syria's Banias massacre toll up to 145: NGO
May 16, 2013
BEIRUT - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has now documented the deaths of at least 145 people in a "sectarian massacre" earlier in May in the coastal city of Banias, the watchdog said Thursday.
The number of identified victims, among them children and babies, has risen in the past two weeks because "dozens were missing, their bodies buried in their burnt-down homes, or under the rubble of their houses," said the Britain-based group.
Some victims were "buried in secret, while the security forces were present", it said.
The watchdog said the May 3 mass killings in Banias amounted to a "sectarian massacre".
Fighters who entered the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood of Banias included regular troops as well as militiamen loyal to the paramilitary National Defence Force, it said.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20130516166029
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Assad regime to refuse ‘dictate’ at peace meet
16 May 2013
BEIRUT/DAMASCUS: The Syrian regime and its allies will refuse any “dictate” at an international peace conference, particularly concerning the departure of President Bashar Assad., a minister said.
“Syria will not accept any dictate and its friends will not accept it either,” Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad said in an interview with Syrian state television Al-Ikhbariya late Tuesday.
The Syrian opposition and several of its allies have repeatedly demanded the departure of Assad in order to end the bloody conflict roiling Syria for more than two years.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/451771
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OIC urges member states to help end violence in Mali
16 May 2013
Ekmeleddin Ihsanuglu, secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), told Arab News that the OIC was among the first to put Mali at the top of its list of priorities since the crisis there began.
He said that reconciliation efforts led by the OIC will incorporate disputing parties, including the Islamic Armed Group, one of the main forces involved in the conflict.
“Our reconciliation efforts will not succeed unless all the parties sit together and discuss ways to end violence and killing in Mali.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/451806
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Six years and 300 lashes for a Lebanese Christian for having converted a young Saudi
05/13/2013
Saudi also sentenced along with the man. Both were colleagues of a young woman, who fled to Sweden after her conversion. The girl is now living under the protection of some NGOs and never wants to return home.
Khobar (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A court in Al-Khobar, Saudi city east of the Gulf, has sentenced a Lebanese Christian to prison and flogging for having converted a young Saudi man to Christianity and helped ??a young woman escape from the country. The first considered the organizer of the operation, was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes. The Saudi was charged as an accomplice to two years and 200 lashes. Both worked with the girl in an insurance company. The two have announced an appeal.
Full report at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Six-years-and-300-lashes-for-a-Lebanese-Christian-for-having-converted-a-young-Saudi-27898.html
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Rights group blasts Kuwait's proposed media law
16 May 2013
Human Rights Watch said Thursday a proposed media law by Kuwait would increase state control and curtail the right to free speech, as authorities suspended a popular talk show program on a pro-opposition television channel.
The draft law breaches international standards protecting free speech as it would give the information ministry excessive power, the New York-based HRW said in a statement.
The draft legislation, which proposes a 10-year jail term on religious offences and a fine of over $1 million for offending the ruler, was approved by the cabinet last month but was later frozen by the prime minister to allow further consultation.
Full report at:
ago during which Washeehi strongly criticized members of the al-Sabah ruling family.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/media/2013/05/16/Rights-group-blasts-Kuwait-proposed-tough-media-law-.html
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Africa
Poverty is fuelling Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency
May 15, 2013
By Ike Okonta
Nigerian security forces recently razed a north-eastern fishing village, leaving almost 200 people dead and destroying some 2,000 homes, in order to root out just a few members of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. The assault reflected the military’s growing frustration with the extremists who have staged scores of attacks in the last four years.
While Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have condemned the army’s heavy-handed approach, this is not the first time that clashes with extremists have caused significant collateral damage – and it almost certainly will not be the last.
Full report at:
http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2013/May-15/217114-poverty-is-fueling-nigerias-islamist-insurgency.ashx#ixzz2TQmbknqr
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Nigeria deploys army to northeast to fight Islamist rebels
AP | May 15, 2013
LAGOS: Soldiers and equipment have been funneling into northeastern Nigeria for a planned offensive against Islamic extremists who have been waging a bloody guerrilla campaign.
Associated Press journalists and witnesses have seen army troops, trucks and armored personnel carriers moving into Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in recent days. The deployments come as President Goodluck Jonathan declared a statement of emergency in those states, giving the military additional powers to arrest and take over buildings believed to house extremists.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Nigeria-deploys-army-to-northeast-to-fight-Islamist-rebels/articleshow/20073274.cms
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Tunisia Is Country neither for Jihad nor for Preaching' - Arab Observatory
13 MAY 2013
Tunis — "Tunisia is a country neither for Jihad nor for preaching," reads a statement of principle released on Monday by the Arab Observatory for Religions and Liberties (AORL).
Preaching a discourse about violence and anathema in society is a pure invention of the Wahhabite doctrine and religious fundamentalism which are not common to the Tunisian thought and Tunisia's history, the statement adds.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201305140610.html
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Tunisia: Poll Shows Nidaa Tunis Is More Popular than Ennahda
May 16, 2013
The Sigma Conseil Market Research Co., a polling firm for the Tunisian Al-Maghreb newspaper, published results showing a drop in the popularity of the ruling Ennahda party. Most respondents said that if the elections are held now, they would vote for Nidaa Tunis, which came in first place. The poll estimated that Nidaa Tunis would get 90 of the 199 parliamentary seats, compared to 68 for Ennahda.
Al-Maghreb described those results as a “political earthquake” that threatens Ennahda, which was very popular at the revolution’s start. The poll showed that more than 70% of Tunisians are dissatisfied with the Ennahda-led government, especially regarding how it is handling the economy and the security situation.
Full report at:
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/05/tunisian-poll-ennahda-popularity-declines-nidaa-tunis.html#ixzz2TRJy51YD
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Tunisia Salafists to meet in defiance of ban: Spokesman
Despite a government ban on gathering, Tunisia's Salafist movement to start its annual congress
16 May 2013
Tunisia's hard-line Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia vowed on Thursday to go ahead with its annual congress at the weekend in defiance of a government ban on the controversial gathering.
"We are not asking permission from the government to preach the word of God and we warn against any police intervention to prevent the congress from taking place," the group's spokesman Seifeddine Rais told a news conference in Tunis.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/71605/World/Region/Tunisia-Salafists-to-meet-in-defiance-of-ban-Spoke.aspx
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Pakistan
Pak polls open the door a little for non-Sunnis
Imtiaz Ahmad, Hindustan Times
Pakistan's religious minorities have seen their electoral fortunes fluctuate in the past decade - from voting only under the separate electorate system, to voting both on separate electorates and on general seats to the more recent system of voting only on general seats. Inayat Din, a
Christian who recently retired as a teacher, says he much prefers the present system because "now we are part of the crowd." There is debate in different religious communities as to which system works better for them.
Things were much different in the past. In the 1986 general elections, the then president General Zia-ul-Haq had introduced the separate electorate system for the country's minorities. The rationale was that these communities would otherwise not get proper representation in Parliament.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/worldsectionpage/pakistanpolls2013/Minority-report-Pak-polls-open-the-door-a-little-for-non-Sunnis/Article1-1060630.aspx
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6 suspects arrested in Gilani's son kidnapping case
PTI | May 16, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Six suspects, including two women, were arrested on Thursday during an operation to trace the kidnapped son of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani in Pakistan's restive northwest, officials said.
A joint team of police and law enforcement agencies raided the property of a man named Sardar Ali near Akhora Khattak in Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province early this morning.
The team arrested six suspects and freed a kidnapped man named Abdul Wahab but could not trace Ali Haider Gilani, who was abducted on May 9.
Nowshera district police chief Waqar Ahmed told the media that Abdul Wahab had said that Ali Haider too had been held by the kidnappers at the same place.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-6-suspects-arrested-in-Gilanis-son-kidnapping-case/articleshow/20082126.cms
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Ansar Burney to discuss issue of PoW's, other Indian prisoners with Nawaz Sharif
Yudhvir Rana, TNN | May 15, 2013
AMRITSAR: Pakistan's former federal minister for human rights, Ansar Burney has written to Nawaz Sharif, who is poised to become the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, to conduct a probe on whether there were any Indian Prisoners of War (PoW) in Pakistani jails so as to clear the myth around the issue, which could be the first confidence-building measure between the two countries in his regime.
While talking to TOI over phone from Karachi on Wednesday, Burney said that India had been claiming the presence of PoW's in Pakistani jails but Pakistan had been denying all such claims.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Former-Pakistan-minister-to-discuss-issue-of-PoWs-other-Indian-prisoners-with-Nawaz-Sharif/articleshow/20070927.cms
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London police launch probe against MQM Chief for his demand to separate Karachi from Pak
May 16, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The London Metropolitan police Wednesday launched an investigation against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain following complaints by hundreds of British and Pakistani citizens.
“Yes, we have started investigation against him on hundreds of complaints we have received,” metropolitan police spokesman Richard Jones told Dawn.com.
He said the police was in process of collecting evidence.
The London police have dispatched text of Hussain’s speech to the home department for translation in English.
“We would see what course of action should be taken once we get all the evidence,” said Jones.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/05/15/london-police-investigating-complaints-against-altaf-hussain/
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Blast in North Waziristan kills four
May 16, 2013
NORTH WAZIRISTAN: A blast in the weapons market of Mir Ali Bazaar, North Waziristan killed four, reported Express News on Thursday.
A fire broke out in the market because of the explosion.
Local residents shifted the victims to a nearby hospital while the rescue teams arrived at the blast site.
On May 10, a motorbike bomb – planted close to offices of political parties - killed four people and wounded 15 in the main bazaar of Miranshah, on the eve of the country’s general election.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/550109/blast-in-north-waziristan-kills-four/
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Gunmen kill NATO driver Jamrud
May 16, 2013
PESHAWAR: Gunmen on Thursday killed the driver of a NATO supply truck driving through northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, local officials said.
The shooting took place in the Jamrud area of Khyber, one of seven districts that make up Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt.
"Two gunmen on a motorcycle fired at a NATO truck and killed its driver," local government official Asmatullah Wazir told AFP.
Local intelligence and health officials confirmed the killing, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pakistan is a key transit route for the NATO mission in landlocked Afghanistan, from where it is driven to the border from the Arabian Sea port of Karachi. (AFP)
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-101162-Gunmen-kill-NATO-driver-Jamrud---
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Taliban offer ceasefire to new government
May 16, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the outlawed umbrella of militant groups blamed for most violence in the country, said late Wednesday that they do not rule out a ‘ceasefire’ if the new government ‘shows seriousness’ to their dialogue offer.
The ultraconservative group had also offered ‘conditional dialogue’ to the previous ruling coalition in February only to withdraw it after they did not receive a ‘positive’ response.
Now, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan says if the incoming government takes the Taliban talks offer seriously, his group will also come up with a positive response.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/550034/dialogue-offer-taliban-offer-ceasefire-to-new-government/
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JI-PTI coalition: Jamaat-e-Islami to get 3 K-P ministries
May 16, 2013
PESHAWAR / LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which has secured seven seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, announced on Wednesday that it will be joining forces with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to form a coalition government in the province.
The development comes after JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan paid a visit to ailing PTI Chairman Imran Khan at Shaukat Khanam Memorial Hospital on Wednesday to enquire about his health. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hasan said his party would be given three ministries: finance, education and usher and zakat.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/550031/ji-pti-coalition-jamaat-e-islami-to-get-3-k-p-ministries/
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Imran nominates Pervez Khatak as KPK chief minister
May 16, 2013
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has approved Pervez Khatak’s name for the slot of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Geo News reported.
PTI spokesman Shireen Mazari said that Mr Khan had given approval after consultation with party leaders.
PTI’s KPK President Assad Qaisar and newly elected MPA Atif Khan were also running for the slot of the KPK chief minister after the PTI emerged as the largest party in the province on May 11 polls.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-101123-Imran-Khan-nominates-Pervez-Khatak-as-KPK-chief-minister-
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PML-N names Zehri for Balochistan CM post
May 16, 2013
QUETTA: The PML-N has nominated Sardar Sanaullah Zehri for the chief ministership of Balochistan after it became the largest party in the provincial assembly with the joining of two MPAs-elect.
Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, an independent candidate elected from Dera Bugti, announced his decision to join the PML-N and MPA-elect Syed Mohammad Raza of the Majlis-i-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen announced his party’s support for the N-League at separate press conferences here on Wednesday evening. They were accompanied by Sanaullah Zehri, provincial president of the PML-N, and senior leader retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch.
Full report at:
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1011601/n-names-zehri-for-balochistan-cm-post
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Pakistani militants allegedly commit 'war crimes'
By Zahir Shah
2013-05-15
PESHAWAR – The Taliban- and al Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), aka Islamic Movement of Turkistan (IMT), is committing "war crimes" in Pakistan, authorities, analysts, and militant sources tell Central Asia Online.
A recently released video shows boys as young as 6 learning to fire weapons at a terrorist training camp believed to be on the Pakistani-Afghan border. Confirming the link to the two militant groups, men wave a black Taliban flag and a light blue TIP banner while watching over the boys as the recoil of their weapons pushes their small bodies backward with each shot.
Full report at:
http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/features/pakistan/main/2013/05/15/feature-01
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Musharraf will leave country soon: Ijaz
May 16, 2013
LAHORE, May 15: Retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, who is being tried in a number of cases of serious nature and detained at his Chak Shahzad farmhouse sub-jail, will leave the country before the swearing-in of the new government, says PML-Z chief and MNA-elect Ijazul Haq.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr Haq said his party would support the PML-N in formation of the new government at the centre.
Full report at:
http://beta.dawn.com/news/1011603/musharraf-will-leave-country-soon-ijaz
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Google to appear before Lahore High Court
May 16, 2013
KARACHI/LAHORE: Legal representatives of Google Inc. are expected to appear before the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday, May 16, 2013 to explain the company’s position in the ongoing ‘Bytes For All versus Federation of Pakistan’ 958/2013 aka YouTube Case.
The video-sharing website was blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) over ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ a blasphemous movie that angered Muslims around the world. Fearing a violent reaction and the subsequent denial of YouTube to remove the anti-Islam film, the website was blocked on September 18, 2012 on the orders of then prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. The site was back on earlier this year but was blocked once again after a few hours.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/05/15/youtube-ban-google-to-appear-before-lahore-high-court/
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PPP sees global conspiracy behind election defeat
May 16, 2013
KARACHI: International establishment, strategic situation of country and personal slackness of elected party members were main causes behind the defeat of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in the general elections 2013, said PPP Senator Raza Rabbani on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Rabbani said the PPP secured position of second largest party in the National Assembly, and would now sit on opposition benches.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\16\story_16-5-2013_pg12_2
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‘Pakistan must adopt wise policy on US troop withdrawal’
May 16, 2013
LAHORE: US forces were not completely pulling out of Afghanistan as 10,000 to 15,000 troops would remain in the battle-ridden country, Pakistan must adopt a wise policy on the issue, said speakers at the launching of a book “Profiles of South Asian States” by Centre for South Asian Studies director, Prof Dr Umbreen Javaid at Punjab university here on Wednesday.
Punjab University Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, renowned analyst Syed Mowahid Hussain, defense analyst Brig (r) Farooq Hameed, faculty members and a large number of students were present on the occasion.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\16\story_16-5-2013_pg13_1
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Trend continues: Family names once again dominate polls
May 16, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The trend of electing family members of top political leaders to the corridors of power continued with the May 11 elections.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the party which emerged as single largest in the National Assembly as well as the Punjab Assembly, in terms of total number of seats, apparently leads the list of ‘family system dominance’ over the democratic setup.
The chief of the party, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has been elected member of national assembly from two seats, NA-68 Sargodha and NA-120 Lahore, along with other family members.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/549985/trend-continues-family-names-once-again-dominate-polls/
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South Asia
Revised penal code will “destroy Islam in Maldives” insists of the Adhaalath Party
By Ahmed Naish | May 15th, 2013
A draft penal code under consideration by parliamentary committee will “destroy Islam” in the Maldives if the bill is passed in its current form, Sheikh Ilyas Hussain of the Adhaalath Party (AP) repeatedly insisted at parliament today.
The chair of the religious conservative AP’s scholars’ council and member of the Fiqh Academy was summoned to the committee after claiming that the draft legislation (Dhivehi) did not include Shariah penalties for fornication, apostasy and violent robbery.
“If it is passed, there is no doubt that there will be no religion in this Muslim society that claims to be 100 percent Muslim. There will be no Islamic punishments,” Sheikh Ilyas stated in a sermon delivered at the Furqan mosque in Male’ on March 23.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/politics/revised-penal-code-will-destroy-islam-insists-sheikh-ilyas-57946
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Kabul suicide attack on military target kills at least 14
16 May 2013
A suicide car bomb targeted a foreign military convoy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 14 people including six NATO personnel and two children in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital for nearly a year.
The powerful explosion, which struck at 8:00 am (0330 GMT) in the Shah Shaheed southeastern district, also injured 37 passers-by including many children going to school, officials said.
In total eight Afghans died, along with two NATO soldiers and four NATO contractors who were travelling through the city’s busy rush hour traffic.
Hezb-i-Islami, an insurgent group that is independent from Taliban militant forces, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/asia/2013/05/16/Kabul-suicide-car-bomb-targets-foreign-military-say-police.html
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Hezb-i-Islami claim Kabul suicide attack
May 16, 2013
KABUL: The Hezb-i-Islami insurgent group on Thursday claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb targeting a Nato military convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul that killed six civilians and injured dozens more.
“Our comrades carried out this attack. We take responsibility. Ten foreigners were killed and two of their vehicles were destroyed,” Zubair Sediqi, the Hezb-i- Hezb-i-Islami claim Kabul suicide attack Islami spokesman told AFP by telephone.
Nato declined to comment on reports of foreign casualties.
Government officials said six bystanders died in the explosion in the Shah Shaheed residential district in the southeast of Kabul, while 37 others were wounded.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/2013/05/16/kabul-suicide-car-bomb-targets-foreign-military-police/
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Afghan village gold mine lures modern-day prospectors
May 16, 2013
QARA ZAGHAN: After scrambling up a steep mountainside in north Afghanistan, Morad Ali crouches beside a gap cut in the slope and touches some reddish-brown rock. “The gold is in here,” he says.
Ali was one of generations of local men who used chisels and pickaxes to extract small amounts of gold from the forbidding peaks above the village of Qara Zaghan on the edge of the Hindu Kush mountains.
Now a dirt track has been carved up to the spot, and professional surveying is underway as part of efforts to assess how Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth could be exploited as the country seeks a more stable and prosperous future.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\16\story_16-5-2013_pg14_7
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Police launch investigation into social media sex scandal ring in Maldives
By Ahmed Nazeer | May 14th, 2013
Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said police have received reports that people are being solicited for cybersex over social media and blackmailed with compromising pictures and videos.
Commissioner Riyaz confirmed the investigation to local newspaper Haveeru but declined to provide details. A police media official likewise declined to provide any information beyond confirming the investigation was underway, or whether any arrests had been made.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/society/police-launch-investigation-into-facebook-sex-scandal-ring-57890
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North America
White House releases Benghazi attack emails under strain
AP | May 16, 2013
WASHINGTON: The White House on Wednesday released 99 pages of emails on last year's deadly attack on the US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, in hopes of putting an end to an issue that opposition Republicans in Congress have used for months to attack the Obama administration.
The September 11, 2012, attack killed US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Since then, critics have seized on the administration's initial public response to the terror attack, which at first was blamed on a protest over an anti-Islam video produced in the US.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/White-House-releases-Benghazi-attack-emails-under-strain/articleshow/20079192.cms
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Muslims uncomfortable in Chicago hospitals, board says no to Islam-friendly surgery centre
By Dave Gathman
May 15, 2013
BOLINGBROOK — A state regulatory board indicated it plans to reject a plan to build a Muslim-friendly surgery centre in southwest suburban Orland Park.
But several board members said they sympathize with a problem they hadn’t realized exists: the discomfort that followers of Islam — especially modesty-conscious Muslim women — feel about using any of the existing hospitals, urgent-care centres and surgery centres in the Chicago area.
And proponents say they have not given up on the project.
Naser Rustom, a Muslim Arab-American, has asked the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to approve a “certificate of need” for a $5.5 million 11,000-square-foot “ambulatory surgical treatment centre” with five operating rooms in the former Plunkett’s Furniture store building adjacent to Orland Square Shopping Centre.
Full report at:
http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/news/20126022-418/muslims-feel-uncomfortable-in-hospitals-but-board-says-no-to-islam-friendly-surgicenter.html
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Despite Horrific Repression, the U.S. Should Stay Out of Syria
Stephen Zunes
5/15/13
The worsening violence and repression in Syria has left policymakers scrambling to think of ways the United States could help end the bloodshed and support those seeking to dislodge the Assad regime. The desperate desire to “do something” has led to increasing calls for the United States to provide military aid to armed insurgents or even engage in direct military intervention, especially in light of the possible use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
Full report at:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/05/15-8
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CAIR-LA: Are Feds Unfairly Targeting Muslim Students Who Oppose Israel?
By Nick Schou
May 14 2013
In Washington D.C. today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened a probe of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following reports that the IRS was unfairly targeting conservative non-profit groups affiliated with the Tea Party movement.
Closer to home, the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), joined by a coalition of other civil rights groups, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), asking that the agency review how it investigates allegations of anti-Semitism at three college campuses: UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine.
Full report at:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/05/are_the_feds_unfairly_targetin.php
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Urge Pentagon to End Forced Feeding of Gitmo Hunger Strike Prisoners
5/14/13
(WASHINGTON, DC, 5/14/13) – Yesterday, the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined a coalition of 19 other civil liberties and human rights groups and health professionals in sending an open letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel requesting an end to the cruel practice of force-feeding hunger-striking prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. The coalition also called for an investigation into recent allegations of military retaliation against striking prisoners and related abuses.
At least 100 of the 166 prisoners are on hunger strike, many who have already been approved for release, with 29 men being force-fed against their will. Some of the men have been detained up to 11 years without charge or trial. Many prisoners are on strike and believe they will die in Guantanamo.
Full report at:
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NC man pleads to buying gun for terrorist jihad
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press
May 14, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man who the FBI says spoke of killing U.S. Army soldiers as part of a personal jihad has pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen firearm.
Erwin Antonio Rios, 19, admitted guilt Tuesday in U.S. District Court as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. The terms of the agreement have not been made public, but the felony charge to which Rios pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Full report at:
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/NC-man-pleads-to-buying-gun-for-terrorist-jihad-4516175.php#ixzz2TRIG1T5v
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Media blamed for promoting Islamophobia
16 May 2013
The media plays a strong role in promoting Islamophobia in the world, according to Nathan Lean, editor-in-chief, Aslan Media and a researcher at Georgetown University. Lean made this remark while participating in a panel discussion at Arab Media Forum on “Islamophobia: Is the media doing enough to reverse perceptions?”
The session discussed how to bridge the knowledge gap between the Middle East and the West. It also discussed the role of social media and its impact on the Arab Spring and solutions in Syria and other parts of the region. A person of Middle Eastern origin travelling to the West is perceived to be a ‘terrorist,’ unless proven otherwise, media experts pointed out. However, a lot of this is due mostly to ignorance in the West and partly due to Muslim involvement in certain incidents.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/451770
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