Fri Sep 20 2024, 12:09 PM

Islamic World News ( 2 Dec 2019, NewAgeIslam.Com)

Sikh Donates 900 Square Feet Plot to Build a Mosque, In UP

New Age Islam News Bureau

2 Dec 2019

Six male Muslims were sentenced to a month in jail and a fine for skipping out on Friday prayers last August 23. — Picture via Twitter/@Zulaikhasofy__

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• Sikh Donates 900 Square Feet Plot to Build a Mosque, In UP

• Uttar Pradesh Government to Turn Ayodhya into a Hindu Pilgrim Hub On The Lines Of Vatican And Mecca

• Six Muslim Men Sentenced To Jail, Fine For Going to Waterfall Instead Of Friday Prayers by Shariah Court in Malaysia

• Malaysia Orders Inquiry Over 'Half-Naked' Tattoo Show

• ‘All Eyes on the Kingdom’ As Saudi Arabia Takes Helm of G20

• London Bridge Terrorist Walked Round School with Osama Bin Laden Picture In Notebook

• US: China Targets Uighur Mosques to Eradicate Minority's Faith

• Erdogan Uses Religion, Fear to Stay Politically Afloat

Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/sikh-donates-900-square-feet/d/120416

India

• Ayodhya Verdict: Jamiat to File Review Plea on Dec 6

• Let ‘Outsiders’ Pray At Mosque in Pratapgarh Police Lines: SP Leaders

• Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Slams Muslim Board On Ayodhya, Says Matter Closed

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Southeast Asia

• Conservative Muslims rally peacefully in Indonesia amid tight security

• Malaysia’s Bank Islam Group Third-Quarter Profit Rises 7.24%

• Malaysia orders inquiry over 'half-naked' tattoo show

• Conservative Muslims rally peacefully in Indonesia amid tight security

• Hundreds of Indonesian Muslims attend Jakarta 212 rally

• Malaysia tops Aussie list for border alerts

• Don’t drag out succession issue, Ramasamy warns PH

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Arab World

• OIC Counter-Extremist Centre Reaches 54m People on Social Media

• Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Accuses Egyptian Regime of Oppression

• Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns in Deepening Political Crisis

• Amid protests, Iranian consulate in southern Iraq set on fire again

• Iraqi Christians Warn Sweden of 'Islamist Rule'

• Saudi Arabia recovers 52,000 illegally taken priceless artifacts

• Dhahran conference to outline new vision for Arab world

• Monshaat offers SR691 million government fee refunds to Saudi SMEs

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Europe

• Shia Muslim jailed for attack against Sunni mosques in Birmingham

• UK Labour Leader Would Stop Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia For Use In Yemen

• Pope Francis Condemns Iraq’s ‘Harsh’ Crackdown on Protesters

• Relax: The London Bridge Jihad Murderer Was “Deradicalized"

• The Conservatives should not give up on Muslim voters

• The Islamists amongst us: rehabilitation or indefinite detention?

• Russia does not need US’ permission for relations with Iran: Envoy

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North America

• US: 11 Shot on Edge of French Quarter in New Orleans, Say Police

• US Tried To Rescue Us 6 Times: Taliban Prisoner

• Why Islam Is the World's Fastest-Growing Religion

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Mideast

• World Must Not Forget Iran’s Detained Protesters

• Israeli Protesters Demands Netanyahu Resign amid Corruption Charges

• Lebanon stops migrant boat carrying 34 Syrian refugees

• U.S., Europeans Clash over How to Handle Islamic State Detainees

• Adhan heard in Macedonia mosque after more than century

• Roman-era sarcophagus lid used in mosque

• Netanyahu: Islamic Jihad doesn't absolve Hamas' responsibility for Gaza

• Speaker: Iran Not Concerned about Recent Developments in Iraq

• 25 Rioters Detained, 3 Firearms Seized by Police in Western Iran

• Iranian Speaker: US Should Return to N. Deal

• Iran’s Nuclear Chief: Evidence Proves IAEA Inspector Carried Suspicious Materials

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Africa

• Interior Ministry arrests coordinator between ISIS and Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya

• Suspected Islamist rebels kill 14 in eastern Congo - local authorities

• At least 10 killed in Burkina Faso church attack: Security sources

• Miyetti Allah, Yoruba, others dialogue for peace

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Pakistan

• Minister wants Makkah Route initiative coverage for all Pakistani Hajj pilgrims next year

• 1 FC personnel martyred, 2 injured in exchange of fire with terrorists in North Waziristan: ISPR

• Pakistan informs new Sri Lankan govt of critical situation in Kashmir

• Govt seeks allies' help to amend Army Act

• ICCI to join hands with Muslim Aid Pakistan

• Qatar Charity builds mosque in Pakistan’s Punjab

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South Asia

• Four Ansar Al Islam Operatives Arrested: Rab

• Australian freed by Taliban recounts rescue attempts by US forces

• In surprise trip to Afghanistan, Trump says Taliban talks resumed

• Afghan man arrested in India airport with 1kg gold in his shoes

• Logar’s ‘school students’ sexual abuse investigations must immediately begin: Human Rights Activists

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Sikh Donates 900 Square Feet Plot To Build A Mosque, In UP

December 02, 2019

Almost 800 km from the site of the long-pending mandir-masjid dispute in Ayodhya, a Sikh cloth merchant from Purquazi town, Muzzafarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, has donated a 900 square feet plot to build a mosque.

Purquazi has a population of about 30,000 of which two-thirds are Muslims. Sikh families number less than 200.

A border town between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Purquazi is well known for its Suli Wala Bagh where 500 freedom fighters were hanged by the British in the First War of Independence in 1857. The event is commemorated by residents every year.

"This is the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak. Sukh Pal Singh Bedi wanted to do something special to celebrate Guru Nanak's birthday and so he donated the land to build a mosque," Town Panchayat Chairman Zaheer Farooqui tells A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com.

"There are many masjids in our town, but this one will be special as the land has been donated by a Sikh to celebrate his religion," Farooqui adds.

"There is total communal harmony in this town. We celebrate each other's religious festivals," he says.

"Sukh Pal Singh is not very rich where money is concerned, but his heart is rich. He is a cloth merchant, an ordinary man like you and me."

"Our Guru told us that all people are equal and we must respect all religions and that is what I am doing," says Sukh Pal Singh Bedi. "It is our Guru's 550th birth anniversary and Sikhs are celebrating the world over. I wanted to do something special to commemorate the event and I am sure my deed must have made my Guru happy."

Bedi, left, was born in Delhi three years after Independence. His family moved to this town when he was three years old and he has lived here ever since.

He started a cloth shop in 1967 as a young lad and is still running it after more than five decades. He gets his cloth from the wholesale market at the district headquarters in Muzaffarnagar. He has travelled to Mumbai once in the eighties, he recollects fondly on the phone.

Bedi has two sons and a daughter. "When I decided to donate the land I consulted my family. They all agreed that it was for a good cause and I must do it. They all supported me," he says happily.

Last Sunday, at an event organised by the panchayat, he handed over the land documents to the town.

"God gives us everything, we must use it for the good of the maximum people possible," Bedi Tells Rediff.com. "We must always share whatever we have because everything is given by God. Nothing belongs to us."

Some 20 years ago, when the town needed land for a road, Bedi had given up land wholeheartedly for the purpose. Clearly, he believes in what he advocates.

https://www.rediff.com/news/special/sikh-donates-land-for-mosque-in-yogis-up/20191202.htm

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Uttar Pradesh Government to Turn Ayodhya into A Hindu Pilgrim Hub On The Lines Of Vatican And Mecca

Ratan Mani Lal

DECEMBER 02, 2019

A Ram temple in Ayodhya may take some time to come up, but the Uttar Pradesh government is already moving ahead on a massive project to prepare and promote Ayodhya as a major tourist attraction with

ambitious schemes on several levels.

According to well-placed sources in the government, a plan to set up a town by the name of Ikshvakupuri – drawn from the name of the legendary dynasty of Hindu kings in the Indian heartland – on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya has been prepared. The project has been in making over the last one more than year, and is said to be in the nal stages before it is unveiled. It includes the creation of a greeneld city

which will showcase all aspects of Hindu religion and culture. Spread over 1,900 acres, the proposed city will extend from the outskirts of the existing Ayodhya town towards the Saryu river. At present this land is largely uninhabited with some ponds, forests and streams, and is said to be under the ownership of various Government departments such as agriculture, forest and horticulture.

The inspiration behind the proposed city is drawn from the famed temples in Angkor Vat, the world’s largest monument near the town of Siem Reap in Cambodia. It will have a riverfront comprising hotels, inns and parks along the Saryu river, and the main complex will have separate sections dedicated to the

Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, other Hindu religious texts, besides cottages and huts designed on the pattern of traditional ashrams. All states of India will be given land in this city where they could set up guest houses and depictions of their tourist attractions. Setting up of a Vedic research centre, meditation

centre, multimedia presentation etc are also planned.

The entire city will be totally eco-friendly, with permanent built-up space not exceeding 5 per cent of the total land. Vehicles running on petrol, diesel and CNG will not be permitted within the city, and only electric vehicles such as carts, buses and tram will ply. The entire project is proposed to be executed in a

collaborative manner, with the state government setting the plan, standards and design, basic infrastructure and prepare detailed plan of other features and elements. The elements would be owned and operated by other parties either on a model of public-private partnership (PPP) or retail

crowdfunding, inviting funds from individuals and organisations.

“The idea is to create a unique spiritual and tourist attraction which provides an immersive experience of Indian culture, spiritualism and religious glory. There will be a unique blend of traditional and modern, with latest technology being used to recreate an ambience of serenity and faith,” according to a source close to the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. In fact the chief minister has been taking keen interest in developing Ayodhya ever since he took over in March 2017. Since then, he has visited Ayodhya more than a dozen times in this regard. The celebration of Dussehra and Diwali on a grand scale in Ayodhya in the

last two years, including the Deepotsav (lighting of earthen lamps on the bank of the Saryu river) have been part of the plan to project Ayodhya as the biggest tourist attraction in the state.

In fact, the tourist footfalls in Ayodhya have registered a rise in the last one year, and there has been a considerable increase in the number of visitors after the court verdict on the Ram temple issue.

Interestingly, Agra, Sarnath and Varanasi continue to be the main tourist attractions in the state, in that order, and these three places draw a large number of foreign tourists that come to India. Ayodhya,

according to one estimate, gets about 1.50 crore tourists every year, mostly domestic and largely pilgrims. “With the proposed project, it is planned to position Ayodhya as the most important religious centre for

the Hindu community, on the lines of the Vatican and Mecca,” the source said.

The Ikshvakupuri project, incidentally, is separate from the proposed Smart City plan in which Ayodhya has been included, and work on that front is already on. Smart city includes setting up of an integrated,

networked city, an airport, hotels, heritage park and other institutions.

Ayodhya lies about 130 km northeast of Lucknow, on way to Gorakhpur, the home town of the chief minister. It is a pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Muslims as also for Jains and Buddhists, and ancient

monuments of all these faiths are scattered all over the city. The district was earlier known as Faizabad and was renamed as Ayodhya on 6 November 2018. The administrative headquarters of the district were

later shifted to Ayodhya city.

The Supreme Court had on November 9 announced its verdict on the disputed ownership of the land where the Babri Masjid once stood. The Court ruled that the land be handed over for the construction of a

Ram temple through a trust under the central government, and ordered allotment of 5 acres of land for the construction of a mosque to the Muslim groups that were party to the case. The ling of a review

petition against the Court ruling is being actively considered by most of the petitioners on the other side https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2019/12/01/uttar-pradesh-ayodhya-yogi-adityanath-hindu-pilgrimage-tourist-hub.html

https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2019/12/01/uttar-pradesh-ayodhya-yogi-adityanath-hindu-pilgrimage-tourist-hub.html

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Six Muslim Men Sentenced To Jail, Fine For Going to Waterfall Instead Of Friday Prayers by Shariah Court in Malaysia

Sunday, 01 Dec 2019

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — In what is possibly the first case in the country, six male Muslims, including three teenagers, were sentenced to a month in jail and fined over RM2,000 for skipping out on Friday prayers last August 23.

Khairul Azle Abdul Rasid, 35; Abdul Malek Mohd, 25; Muhamad Hafizi Abdul Razak, 22; Muhammad Aliff Fikri A Mazzani, 19; and two unnamed 17-year-old boys were given the sentence by Syarie judge Nik Mohd Shahril Irwan Mat Yusof at the Hulu Terengganu Lower Shariah Court earlier today after pleading guilty to a charge of deliberately missing the compulsory Friday prayers, Harian Metro reported on its website.

All six were unrepresented while Syarie Nurul Taqwa Hasbul prosecuted.

According to the Malay daily, the six were accused of violating Section 16 of the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Enactment (Takzir) amendment 2016, which provides for a maximum jail sentence of two years, or a fine up to RM3,000 on those convicted.

While all six were ordered to be locked up one month, father of two Khairul Azle got the heftiest fine of RM2, 500. The others who were all bachelors were each fined RM2,400.

Citing the charge sheet, Harian Metro reported the six to have committed the Islamic offence at the Sekayu Waterfall between 1pm and 1.50pm on August 23, 2019.

The six were reportedly busted during a raid by the Terengganu Islamic Religious Affairs Department.

Its female officers had entered the recreation area first for surveillance and found the six accused to be among several people picnicking with their families at the waterfall area instead of being at the mosque for their obligatory prayers that Friday.

The male officers went in and made the arrests after Friday prayers ended, according to the daily.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/12/01/six-muslim-men-sentenced-to-jail-fine-for-going-to-waterfall-instead-of-fri/1815088

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Malaysia orders inquiry over 'half-naked' tattoo show

Mon, December 2, 2019

Malaysia ordered an investigation on Monday (Dec 2) into what the government called a half-naked tattoo show held in the capital Kuala Lumpur, after pictures of heavily inked men and women circulated on social media in the Muslim-majority nation.

The three-day Tattoo Malaysia Expo, which started last Friday and drew participants from 35 countries, was supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, the show's organizer said on its website.

But the ministry said this year's event violated its standards for the first time since it was first held in 2015, and vowed "firm action" against the organizers.

Pictures in Malaysian media blurred the private parts of men and women in the show.

"It's impossible for the ministry to approve any application for events that have obscene elements such as this, because it is not Malaysian culture, what more when the majority of Malaysians are Muslim," Mr Mohamaddin Ketapi, the minister of tourism, arts and culture, said in a statement.

"We will wait for the full investigation report... and will not hesitate to take legal action if they are found to have been in violation of set conditions."

One of the event's organizers, Mr Carlos Benny Majakil, told Reuters he had no comment on the issue.

The authorities in Malaysia, where ethnic Malay Muslims make up 60 percent of a population of 32 million, tend to lean towards religious and cultural conservatism.

A Malaysian religious court last month sentenced five men to jail, caning and fines for attempting gay sex. In September 2018, two women were caned for "attempting lesbian sex" in the east coast state of Terengganu.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/12/02/malaysia-orders-inquiry-over-half-naked-tattoo-show.html

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‘All eyes on the Kingdom’ as Saudi Arabia takes helm of G20

December 02, 2019

NOOR NUGALI

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Sunday assumed the presidency of the G20, the world’s most economically powerful group of nations.

The Kingdom takes over the role from Japan, and will direct the G20’s work for the next year. As chairman, King Salman will host the group’s 2020 summit in Riyadh over two days next November.

The Saudi presidency will focus on three aims: Empowering people, by creating the conditions in which everyone — especially women and young people— can live, work and thrive; safeguarding the planet, by fostering collective efforts on food and water security, climate, energy, and the environment; and long-term strategies to share the benefits of innovation and technological advancement.

“The Saudi G20 presidency is committed to continuing the work from Osaka and promoting multilateral consensus,” said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Working with our G20 partners, we will strive to deliver concrete actions and realize opportunities to enable us to face the challenges of the future.

“In hosting the G20, the Kingdom will have an important role to play by sharing the perspective of the Middle East and North Africa region. We believe this will be a unique opportunity to shape consensus on international issues as we welcome the world to the Kingdom.”

For the next year, “all eyes will be on Saudi Arabia,” political analyst Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri told Arab News.

“We know Saudi Arabia’s strength is both economic and diplomatic, and this will be the time to showcase it to the world,” he said.

Other countries realized that Saudi Arabia’s strength lay in oil, but it was charting a different course through Vision 2030 with a future focused on the non-oil economy, Al-Shehri said.

He pointed out the strategic significance of Saudi Arabia’s location, connecting three continents and linked to crucial maritime straits at Bab Al-Mandab, Hormuz and the Suez Canal. These shipping lanes were vital for international trade, Al-Shehri said, and Saudi Arabia protected them not just for itself and the region, but the whole world.

The G20 presidency was “a chance for the world to see the significance of our country and what it has to offer. It is a lively nation,” he said.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1592561/saudi-arabia

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London Bridge Terrorist Walked Round School With Osama Bin Laden Picture In Notebook

By Lucy Thornton

Louie Smith

1 DEC 2019

The London Bridge attacker would parade around high school with a picture of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden stuck on his notebook.

Usman Khan would meet his pals in a local cafe and watch videos of the Twin Towers devastation.

His schoolmates yesterday spoke about his “weird” behaviour which they claim should have been a “red flag” to the authorities.

Police searched his flat in Stafford and officers also went to his parents’ home in Stoke-on-Trent.

Painter and decorator Rhys Miller, 29, who was in the year above Khan at Haywood High School in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, posted on Facebook : “Surprise surprise, look who it is, the guy who walked around school with a picture of Osama bin Laden on the front of his planner and used to sit in the corner of the cafe with about 20 of his mates watching videos of the planes going in to the twin towers! But when anyone spoke up you were told to shut up and not be ‘racist’...blatant red flag.”

“It was a planner you used to have to put on your desk at the beginning of the lesson so you could write notes down. And he’d have a picture of bin Laden and the Twin Towers, a photograph, a printout.”

In a TV interview in 2008, after his home was raided by terror cops, Khan said: “I ain’t no terrorist.”

In 2010, he was arrested along with eight others in a counter-terrorism sting over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

Solicitor Vajahat Sharif, who represented Khan as a teenager, said: “I was very shocked, very upset for the victims and their families and also very upset about what happened to Usman. How did something like this happen?”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/london-bridge-terrorist-walked-round-21006434

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US: China Targets Uighur Mosques to Eradicate Minority's Faith

By Asim Kashgarian

December 01, 2019

WASHINGTON - A U.S. State Department official accused China of attempting to erase the Muslim identity of Uighurs by seeking to demolish or close places of worship in Xinjiang in northwest China.

The official, who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity, said the Chinese Communist Party in its campaign against the Uighur minority has removed religious symbols from places of worship, imposing strict surveillance on them.

“As part of its ongoing attempts to eradicate the Islamic faith and “re-educate” Muslims, Beijing has closed or destroyed mosques, shrines, burial grounds, and other Islamic structures, perhaps more,” the official told VOA.

“Mosques permitted to remain open have been stripped of certain features like minarets and domes and are heavily monitored by surveillance cameras and security personnel,” the official said, adding that Beijing’s acts have denied Muslims the ability to practice their faith in public.

An estimated 13 million ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities are believed to live in the Xinjiang region.

The Chinese government since early 2017 has been accused of a harsh crackdown in the region through detention and forceful “re-education” of the people who are accused of being disloyal to the government’s ideology.

Chinese officials, however, have called the alleged detention program a “vocational” training and said their efforts in Xinjiang are aimed at curbing the threat of Islamic extremism.

The U.S. government and rights organizations say at least one million Uighurs are being held in the camps where they are exposed to torture and forced labor. Outside the camps, the minority population is put under stringent control where simple religious practices are prohibited.

According to an investigation by Uyghur (Uighur) Human Rights Project (UHRP), a D.C.-based organization funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, between 10,000-15,000 of mosques and other sites, amounting to about 40%, were demolished in each city, county and township all over Xinjiang since late 2016.

Bahram Sintash, who led the investigation, told VOA that in addition to local testimonies, satellite imagery of the sites confirm a “systematic destruction” of at least 140 Uighur religious places.

“I have been able to compile a list of over 140 mosques, shrines and cemeteries which have been confirmed or are suspected to have been fully demolished or desecrated since 2016,” Sintash told VOA in an interview.

The UHRP report found that among the demolished sites was Keriya Mosque in Hotan prefecture, a major historic building dating back to the 13th century and enlisted as a protected cultural site.

“Although China demolished many mosques in Xinjiang, it left some mosques untouched in big cities including the Korla Jama Mosque. In my findings, the mosque is one of the “selected” tourist destinations for Korla city. Therefore, the government kept the Korla Jama Mosque not for the sake of local Uighur communities and their prayer needs, but as pre-selected tour location to pretend its “protection” of Islam in that city and to lie to the international community and reporters,” said Sintash.

VOA could not independently verify UHRP’s report.

United Nations and human rights watchdogs in the past have continuously blamed Chinese officials for preventing independent bodies to have access to the region to investigate the alleged abuses. They say local population in the region are prevented from contacting the outside world, including their relatives who live in the diaspora.

The United Kingdom earlier this week urged China to give U.N. observers “immediate and unfettered access” to the region following a recent leak of classified Chinese government documents that rights groups say offer clear evidence of Beijing using detention camps as brainwashing centers.

Abduwaris Ablimit, a New York-based Uighur from Artush city in southern Xinjiang, said Uighurs living in the diaspora struggle to know the whereabouts of their loved ones stranded in Xinjiang due to communication restrictions. He said many of them turn to aerial imagery from airplanes to track changes made to their neighborhoods.

“When I was searching for my neighborhood mosque and other mosques around my hometown this year through google imagery, I was startled to find out that they were gone except for a few mosques.” Ablimit told VOA.

He said he had lost contact with his parents and brother in 2017, and one year later he found out that they were taken to “the concentration camps”.

https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-china-targets-uighur-mosques-eradicate-minoritys-faith

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Erdogan uses religion, fear to stay politically afloat

Yavuz Baydar

Dec 02 2019

Circumventing every possible obstacle, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps moving ahead on the path he set, cementing his rule in Turkey, as he takes every opportunity, big or small, to consolidate his legitimacy on the basis of “stability in Turkey.”

Having survived political defeat in the local elections some seven months ago, Erdogan is back in the game, using the same fundamental tools that have kept him in power: use of religion in a rhetoric similar to the one applied by the Muslim Brotherhood; conducting divisive policies at home, fiercely exercised to keep the opposition as polarised as ever before; constantly driving a wedge between bodies such as NATO and the European Union and, as the Syrian incursion exemplified, raising the stakes for Turkish nationalism; and irredentism, which causes growing concern in the Eastern Mediterranean basin.

In all these efforts Erdogan seems unstoppable. Regarding religion as a political tool, he knows he has the powerful backing of the overwhelming Muslim majority at home, which he hopes will see him as the unchallenged leader of the country.

Addressing the sixth Religious Council meeting of the Presidency of Religious Affairs November 28 in Ankara, his gambling became obvious once more: “Even if it may burden ourselves, we shall place the decretals, and not the rules of the present, at the centre of our lives,” Erdogan said. “Islam is an acquis of rules and prohibitions which encircle all the sections of our lives. We believe in a religion that encompasses its every phase. We are ordered to live as Muslims until the very end.”

Even if Erdogan took his time to underline the traps of “fault lines among Muslims in the world,” it was these words that echoed in Turkey’s increasingly oppressed secular circles, more than his unanswered ambitions to emerge as the leader of the Islamic world.

He also knows that such statements are without a doubt breaches of the constitution, which emphasises that the president remains an impartial and unifying figure. But his challenging in-your-face gestures have always remained his game. He knows that dropping the rhetoric of religion altogether may spell a lethal weakening of his power. Nevertheless, the result of such statements is a continuous Islamisation of the education system, undermining Turkey as a modern nation.

His use of nationalism has pushed the centrist opposition into a corner but, for Erdogan, it is not sufficient, unless coupled with bold divisions within it.

The chain of events placing the secular main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), have recently presented a taste of what is bound to come in the near future. It all began with an obvious piece of disinformation spread by a couple of murky reporters in the press. The “rumour,” these reports said, was that a prominent figure of the main opposition had secretly met Erdogan at his palace to hear from him that “it would be a fine idea if he had replaced the current leader of the CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.”

The media jumped on the bandwagon, dragged by the unconfirmed piece aimed at manipulation. It took several days to deny it, as the opposition party was delivered blow after blow, and internal rifts surfaced. The damage was done, proving, as it were, the oppressed Kurdish politicians who had warned the CHP figures that “you remain silent before the cruelties to us, but you will be next in line.” Erdogan was visibly content and in waves of joyful attacks, as was expected of him. He felt assured that he has his opponents in control.

In foreign policy, Erdogan is benefiting enormously from the overall turbulence and international folly developing day by day. Volatile conjuncture in the Middle East and Europe leaves his daredevil policies room to develop and enlarge, so far so that Ankara feels a growing appetite for irredentism for redrawing the map of the eastern Mediterranean, testing the reaction capacities of the EU.

The more the EU appeases, the more it encourages an escalation of the crisis with Turkey at one side and Greece, Cyprus and Egypt on the other. Amnesia reigns: It was the reactions to the Treaty of Versailles that shaped the Nazi regime in Germany and, in some sense perhaps, the discontent with the Lausanne Treaty will have a similar effect in Turkey’s path to totalitarian rule.

Erdogan, while challenging the European Union, places his bet on the EU trauma. The violent fall of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya is the main source of the refugee crisis that has been reshaping the European political landscape to far-right populism and overall disorder. Erdogan knows very well that the EU at the end of the day would prefer to have him as the leader of Turkey, who will maintain its stability, as opposed to any alternative that would amount to deeper chaos.

The same fear — a prospective instability bigger than in Libya — applies among NATO’s European allies. Thus, Erdogan and his team feel free to block NATO’s plans for its Baltic members, as the bloc turns into a witness as Ankara develops into a Trojan horse.

All these factors explain the success of Erdogan’s survival. He reads the new global reality better than all the others — except perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin.

https://ahvalnews.com/recep-tayyip-erdogan/erdogan-uses-religion-fear-stay-politically-afloat

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India

Ayodhya verdict: Jamiat to file review plea on Dec 6

Dec 2, 2019

LUCKNOW: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JuH) will file a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking review of the Ayodhya verdict on December 6, the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition. The petition will be filed through Jamiat’s UP general secretary Maulana Ashhad Rasheedi, who is also one of the 10 litigants from the Muslim side in the Ayodhya case.

“The documentation is in final stages. Our legal cell is drafting the review plea and needs a few days to finalise details,” Rasheedi told TOI. Rasheedi had replaced Jamiat’s former UP general secretary SM Siddiq as a litigant after the latter died a few years ago.

Jamiat’s UP general secretary Maulana Ashhad Rasheedi said the first part of the SC judgment on Ayodhya “contradicts” the latter part. “And it’s our humble plea that the SC explains the contradiction. The court admitted the mosque was not built by razing a temple and the demolition of the mosque in December 1992 was illegal. Yet, the court hands over the land to the other party."

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ayodhya-verdict-jamiat-to-file-review-plea-on-dec-6/articleshow/72323831.cms

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Let ‘outsiders’ pray at mosque in Pratapgarh police lines: SP leaders

Dec 01, 2019

Samajwadi Party(SP) leaders of Pratapgarh handed over a memorandum to the deputy inspector general (Prayagraj range) KP Singh here on Sunday in connection with ‘restrictions’ imposed on ‘outsiders’ wishing to offer ‘namaz’ at the mosque in Pratapgarh Police Lines.

The SP leaders requested the senior officer to intervene and issue orders allowing lawyers and other persons to offer ‘namaz’ at the mosque on Fridays.

On Friday, policemen stopped ‘namazis’ from offering prayers at the mosque located inside the Pratapgarh police lines premises. The police had claimed that according to the new orders, only policemen and their relatives who reside inside the police lines premises could offer prayers in the mosque.

Wasiq Khan, district general secretary of the Samajwadi Party’s Pratapgarh unit, said not only Muslim police personnel and their family members who resided at police lines but also lawyers and residents of the area used to offer ‘namaz’ at the mosque since many years without any restriction.

But now resentment prevailed among Muslims in Pratapgarh over what he described as the ‘unnecessary restriction’ imposed by the Pratapgarh SP.

Khan requested the DIG range to issue instructions to the SP, Pratapgarh, to remove the restrictions and allow all Muslims to offer ‘namaz’ at the mosque at Pratapgarh police lines.

The DIG assured the SP leaders that necessary steps would be taken after discussing the issue with senior administrative and police officials in Pratapgarh.

However, he also cautioned against creating trouble and entering the police lines premises for offering prayers at the mosque without permission.

An FIR was lodged on Saturday against AIMIM district president Israr Ahmad and some others for forcing their way to the mosque to offer prayers and inciting communal passions. Samajwadi Party’s Pratapgarh district president Gulfam Khan, Chhatra Sabha district president Saddam Husain, Irshad Siddiqui and others were among the delegation.

Photo Caption: Samajwadi Party leaders of Pratapgarh handing over a memorandum to DIG (Prayagraj range) KP Singh in Prayagraj on Sunday (HT)

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/let-outsiders-pray-at-mosque-in-pratapgarh-police-lines-sp-leaders/story-ABBCRjk1wALcbWeGCtbfVJ.html

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Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Slams Muslim Board On Ayodhya, Says Matter Closed

December 01, 2019

New Delhi: Hitting out at the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind for their decision to seek a review of the Ayodhya verdict, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said they are trying to create an "atmosphere of division and confrontation" after the matter was laid to rest by the Supreme Court.

He also said that for the Muslims the important issue is not just "Babri (mosque) but barabri (equality)" in the areas of education and economic and social upliftment.

In an interview to news agency PTI, Mr Naqvi said that in a democracy everyone has a right to have an opinion and liberty to approach courts.

However, he asserted that in an ideal scenario attempts should not be made to entangle the decades-old complex issue which has been solved by a unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court.

"All sections of the society have welcomed and respected the Supreme Court verdict. But if some people are unable to digest the fact that the unity has been strengthened after this verdict, it is sad," he said.

Sources in the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind said last week that the draft of the review petition against Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict is ready and the plea will be filed by them on December 3 or 4.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has also said the review petition will be filed before December 9.

Slamming the AIMPLB and the Jamiat, Naqvi said, "They are trying to create an atmosphere of division and confrontation which will not be accepted by any society."

"These isolated voices cannot be that of the whole society. The feeling of all sections of the society is that this matter has been settled by the court and we should now accept it and move forward," he said.

"If they (AIMPLB and Jamiat) were so serious why did they not agree to a compromise when the court earlier had asked them to solve the matter through dialogue," the senior BJP leader said.

The Minority Affairs Minister said both the Muslim side and the Hindu side had said prior to the Supreme Court verdict that it would be acceptable to them.

"Even at the meeting that was held at my house where representatives from various sections of the society were present, it was said in one voice that whatever be the verdict it will be accepted and honoured," he said.

As part of the RSS and the BJP's efforts to reach out to Muslims ahead of the Ayodhya verdict, a meeting with the community's clerics, academics and prominent persons was organised at Mr Naqvi's residence ahead of the verdict, with participants stressing on maintaining social harmony and unity.

"Initially they (AIMPLB and Jamiat) accepted and honoured the verdict but I don't know what is the reason and what divine enlightenment they got, that they are taking an opposite stand to what they had taken," he said.

On whether this could open a fresh chapter in the dispute, he said those who want to "open a chapter will be able to do it only in their homes" as the society and the country will not accept it and for them the matter is closed.

The Supreme Court, in its verdict, said the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land should be handed over to the deity Ram Lalla, who was one of the three litigants.

The five-judge Constitution bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya to build a mosque.

Asked if the Muslim side should accept the 5-acre land, Mr Naqvi said he cannot comment on it as it was a court issue.

"It is upto the parties (in the case who have been given the land) whether to accept it or not. It depends on them. As far as Ayodhya is concerned there are a number of mosques there," he said.

On some sections of the Muslim community expressing disappointment with the Supreme Court decision, Mr Naqvi said this was a civil suit in which a decision has been made and it is binding on the concerned parties.

"This issue should not be seen as Hindu vs Muslim," he asserted.

Mr Naqvi also hit out at the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi for his remarks that Supreme Court is not "infallible", saying this country runs on Constitution and not on anybody's whims and fancies.

"This country runs on Constitution, on law. Nobody can apply his own law and do a postmortem of the verdict," he said, hitting out at Mr Owaisi.

Both AIMPLB and Jamiat are expected to file a review petition this week even as the Sunni Central Waqf Board decided on Tuesday that it would not do so. The Waqf board also said it was yet to take a call on whether to accept a five-acre alternative plot for a mosque.

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mukhtar-abbas-naqvi-slams-muslim-board-jamiat-for-ayodhya-decision-review-bid-says-matter-closed-2141513

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Southeast Asia

Conservative Muslims rally peacefully in Indonesia amid tight security

Monday, 02 Dec 2019

JAKARTA, Dec 2 —Thousands of Indonesian Muslims from conservative groups held a peaceful rally in central Jakarta today, with a spokesman for one of the organisers calling for unity after a spike in religious tension followed elections last April.

Among the protest organisers was the Alumni 212 movement, which was behind big rallies held from 2016 to demand action against Jakarta’s former governor, a Christian eventually jailed for blasphemy in a case that drew international condemnation.

The crowd, many wearing white and carrying Islamic flags, began gathering for prayers at Jakarta’s National Monument from about 3 a.m., as more than 6,000 security forces, including police and military, stood on guard.

“The main message of this reunion is that Indonesia needs unity that can forget differences and friction that happened some time ago,” said Haikal Hassan, a spokesman for Alumni 212, which takes its name from an earlier Dec. 2 protest.

However, authorities were unfairly targeting some clerics, he said by telephone.

“We want Indonesia to progress with justice. And we feel that there’s injustice,” Hassan added.

The bloc of conservative Muslims also overwhelmingly backed an opposition challenge to President Joko Widodo in April’s vote, fuelling concerns over a deepening religious divide in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country.

Habib Rizieq, the leader of the hardline Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), urged vigilance against future blasphemy cases in a speech by live video link from Saudi Arabia, where he has lived since 2017, after being named a suspect in several legal cases.

More than 12,000 people participated in the rally, said Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus, although organisers put the figure much higher.

Security analyst Stanislaus Riyanta said a decision by former opposition leader Prabowo Subianto, whom Widodo defeated in April’s poll, to join the cabinet as defence minister appeared to have undermined the 212 movement.

“The 212 reunion this time is weaker than the previous ones because it has lost some political momentum,” added the Jakarta-based Riyanta.

Prabowo, a former general, who had addressed a similar rally a year ago, did not attend this time.

The movement’s spokesman, Hassan, did not say how it would line up in future politically.

“We can’t give directions yet, because we don’t know where our politics is going,” he said. — Reuters

https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2019/12/02/conservative-muslims-rally-peacefully-in-indonesia-amid-tight-security/1815288

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Malaysia’s Bank Islam Group third-quarter profit rises 7.24%

29 NOV 2019

Malaysia’s Bank Islam Group posted 7.24% increase in profit before tax for the third-quarter compared to the same three months last year.

The bank reported in a bourse filing on Friday (Nov 29) 317.8 million ringgit ($76.16 million) in profit before zakat and tax for July-September versus 296.35 million ringgit for the corresponding quarter in 2018.

The Group is the parent company of Bank Islam, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Keluarga and BIMB Securities.

The Group’s biggest growth earners were from income earned from investment account funds that grew by 66.7% to 97.88 million ringgit and net income from takaful reached 283.09 million ringgit, an increase of 24.63%.

Group assets at the end of September was 75.27 billion ringgit, up by 3.97% from the end of December.

Net financing and advances accounted for 64.05%, reaching 48.21 billion ringgit from 45.68 billion ringgit at December 31.

85.63% of gross financing, equivalent to 41.93 billion ringgit, were based on tawarruq.

However, customer deposits dropped by 3.83% to 47.54 billion ringgit.

BANK ISLAM

Bank Islam, Malaysia’s oldest standalone Shariah-compliant bank, held 65.5 billion ringgit in assets, equivalent to 87% of the Group’s assets.

The bank’s profit before zakat and tax (PBZT) dropped by 7.2% to 208.8 million ringgit compared to 225 million ringgit for the third-quarter of last year.

“The decrease in PBZT was mainly due to higher finance cost and net allowance for impairment on financing and advances, net of recoveries by8.5 million ringgit and 8.0 million ringgit respectively,” the Group said.

SYARIKAT TAKAFUL MALAYSIA

The Group’s takaful susbsidiary posted PBZT of 121.8 million ringgit for July-September, an increase of 38.7% as compared to 87.8 million ringgit for the same period last year.

“The increase in profit was mainly attributable to increase in net wakalah fee income,” said the Group.

Family takaful, its biggest business line, earned gross contributions of 543.7 million ringgit compared to 436.7 million in 2018’s third quarter.

The increase was mainly due to higher sales from credit-related products, said the Group.

FULL-YEAR PROSPECTS

The Group believes it will be able to maintain “a stable outlook on profitability” for Bank Islam.

It expects its takaful subsidiary to further expand its market share by the end of 2019.

“To support business growth and customer centricity, the company will continue its digital strategy to build the full digital ecosystem and to expand the business focus beyond credit-related business to reach out to the wide retail customer base of major partner banks,” wrote the Group.

https://www.salaamgateway.com/story/malaysias-bank-islam-group-third-quarter-profit-rises-724

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