Turkey Will Not Allow Mohammed to Be Insulted Says PM
New Age Islam News Bureau
15
Jan 2015
Jibran Nasir, Farzana Bari and Shaan Taseer address a press conference at the National Press Club. — Photo by Tanveer Shahzad
Mideast
• Turkey Will Not Allow Mohammed to Be Insulted Says PM
• Iran Condemns New Charlie Hebdo Issue as ‘Provocative’
• Turkey bans reports, Internet posts of ‘Islamist arms delivery’
• Israel paper cuts Merkel from Paris march photo for modesty
• Muslim World Also Responsible for Rise of Islamophobia, Turkey’s Top Religious Body
• Turkey concerned by return of Turkish ISIL fighters
• Anger, calls for calm in West Asia over new Charlie Hebdo cartoons
• Hamas official warns Gaza becoming ‘ripe for terrorism’
Southeast Asia
• In A Kedah Madrasah, Students Told To Follow Slain Jihadist’s Footsteps
• Growth of liberalism main cause of mockery of Islam, says blogger
Arab World
• Muslim World Questions Logic behind Charlie Antics
• Nasrallah: Israel Can't Even Imagine Hezbollah's Weapons Arsenal
• Iraqi Army Kills Dozens of ISIL Terrorists in Ramadi
• Five Canadians killed in Syria fighting with ISIS
• Takfiri Militants Lose Ground in Daraa, Idlib
• Iraqi Cleric Dismisses US-Led Coalition Sincerity in Fighting ISIL
• Lebanese terrorist can’t sue Israel for interrogators alleged rape, torture
• IS claims beheading of Iraqi soldier
• Haram expansion gains momentum
• Syria tolerated opposition undecided on Moscow talks
• Egypt to ban foreign publications offensive to religion: report
• Syria urges intelligence sharing to fight terrorism: state media
Pakistan
• Civil Society to Restart Anti-Lal Masjid Campaign
• Religious Parties Set To Form Alliance against 21st Amend
• Pakistan to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Haqqani network?
• Seven militants killed in Pakistan drone strike
• Islamabad finalises six cases for trial by military courts
• Two more convicts hanged in Lahore and Karachi
• Asma questions rationale of military courts in Gilgit-Baltistan
• Govt to refer Malala case to military court
• ‘Go Imran Go’ slogan of aggrieved hearts: Pervaiz Rashid
• 95 banned groups active in Pak Punjab
South Asia
• ISIS Established Training Camps in Farah Province, Afghanistan
• Afghan Taliban Condemn Anti-Islam Cartoons, Hail Paris Gunmen
• 3 ANA Martyred, Senior Taliban Commander Including 9 Killed
• Bangladesh: 8 more die in blockade violence on day nine
• PM Sheikh Hasina warns of stern action against violence
Europe
• European Parliament Urges Turkey to Respect Freedom of Press
• Merkel Vows to Fight Islamist Militants, 'Hate Preachers'
• France arrests 54 for defending terror; announces crackdown
• Over 1,000 French Sites Hacked Since Charlie Hebdo Attacks
• Hollande hails 'reborn' Charlie Hebdo as magazine sells out
• UN hosts ‘last chance’ Libya peace dialogue
• Germany tightens travel ban for militants suspects
• Islam expert Nilüfer Göle: ‘a new Europe where Muslims play a great role’
India
• Modi Backer Businessman to Head Urdu University
• Islam Doesn’t Allow Killings, Says Minister on Paris Attack
• Three militants killed in encounter with security forces in Shopian
• 200 militants trying to infiltrate, terrorists may attack schools during Obama visit: Army official
Africa
• Satellite Images Indicate Huge Boko Haram Attack: Rights Groups
• Nigeria's Boko Haram is back with a vengeance
• Algeria says 12 suspected terror cell members arrested
• Tunisians mark fourth anniversary of the revolution
North America
• Anti-Islam Group Buys Ads Featuring Hitler on San Francisco Buses
• U.S. Trial Starts over Palestinian Authority, PLO Role in Israel Attacks
• Vigil planned in US, Canada for schoolchildren killed by Taliban
• Sentencing of Pakistani-American scheduled in multimillion-dollar scam
• US sends five Guantanamo prisoners to Oman, Estonia
• More Muslim converts worry Ottawa imam
• US man arrested over ISIL-inspired plot to attack Capitol
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/turkey-allow-mohammed-be-insulted/d/101036
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Mideast
Turkey will not allow Mohammed to be insulted says PM
AFP | Jan 15, 2015
ANKARA: Turkey will not allow Mohammed to be insulted, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday, describing the publication of cartoons of the prophet as an open provocation.
"Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to insult," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara a day after leading Turkish daily Cumhuriyet and Turkish Internet sites published cartoons featuring the prophet from the special Charlie Hebdo issue.
The newspaper produced a special four-page pull-out of cartoons and articles drawn from the French satirical magazine Wednesday in solidarity with the 12 people gunned down in an attack on its offices in Paris.
"We do not allow any insult to the prophet in this country," Davutoglu said. "As the government, we cannot put side by side the freedom of press and the lowness to insult."
Davutoglu said people were sensitive about their religion in the predominantly Muslim Turkey and could not be expected to show patience towards insults to the Muslim prophet.
"If some print cartoons that insult the prophet -- and this is the situation and there is a sensitivity in Turkey -- it is a provocation... it is an open provocation," said Davutoglu.
"We are determined to protect the honour of the prophet the same way as we are determined in our stance against terrorism in Paris," he said.
A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered a block on access to websites featuring the latest cover of Charlie Hebdo, after a petition from a single lawyer claiming that the printing of the cartoon had the potential to endanger the public order.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Turkey-will-not-allow-Mohammed-to-be-insulted-says-PM/articleshow/45897245.cms
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Iran condemns new Charlie Hebdo issue as ‘provocative’
January 15, 2015
Iran has condemned Charlie Hebdo’s new issue as “provocative” and says the new cartoon by the weekly is an insult to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says that Wednesday’s publication of the paper featuring another caricature of the prophet “provokes the sentiments of Muslims the world over.”
Iran has strongly condemned the deadly assault by two masked gunmen that killed 12 people last week, including much of the weekly’s editorial staff and two police officers. Those who survived published an issue with a print run of 3 million _ more than 50 times the usual circulation.
Afkham says last week’s attack against the French satirical weekly was against Islam’s teaching. But, she says, the latest cartoon is also insulting to the religion.
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/europe/iran-condemns-new-charlie-hebdo-issue-as-provocative/#sthash.GHhBeEKY.dpuf
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Turkey bans reports, Internet posts of ‘Islamist arms delivery’
14 January 2015
Turkey imposed an all-out media blackout, including on Facebook and Twitter, prohibiting publication of reports claiming Turkish intelligence services delivered arms to Syrian Islamist rebels last year.
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) delivered a court ruling to Turkish newspapers, television, websites and social media networks, banning them from reporting the arms allegations.
On Wednesday, a court ordered access blocked to any Internet site publishing the new cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which featured a cartoon of the Prophet a week after 12 people were killed in a jihadist attack on its offices.
The earlier interdiction on reporting the arms allegations arose from events in January last year, when Turkish police stopped and seized seven trucks near the Syrian border that were suspected of smuggling weapons into Syria. The move came as the government in Ankara denied suspicions it was aiding rebel forces.
That ban was imposed after a Twitter account with handle @LazepeM leaked a series of documents indicating that the seized trucks were actually National Intelligence Agency (MIT) vehicles delivering weapons to Syrian Islamist rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
Hurriyet newspaper reported that a Turkish court ordered the closure of all websites, including social media networks Facebook and Twitter, that don't remove information or allegations linked to the documents.
"There are several court decisions against the websites that published the signed documents," a Turkish official was quoted as saying by Hurriyet.
Twitter, which was previously blocked by the Turkish government, immediately removed the documents and suspended the account that published them.
But by that time the information had already begun circulating on many other websites, as well as some Facebook accounts.
The contents of the vehicles have never been revealed to the public, but MIT claimed they were carrying humanitarian aid to war-stricken Syrians.
The government, which stands accused of protecting MIT officials, sacked the prosecutor involved in the case and blocked further investigation into it.
Nineteen security officials who stopped the trucks are currently on trial on "spying" charges. They face so-called aggravated life sentences if found guilty.
Turkey, which backs the rebellion against Assad, has repeatedly denied allegations that it is supplying arms to rebels or is backing Al-Qaeda-linked groups in Syria.
Turkey frequently orders blackouts of media coverage of controversial issues.
In June it imposed a total ban on media reporting the kidnapping of dozens of Turks by Islamist militants in northern Iraq -- a prohibition lifted when the hostages were released in September after a three month ordeal.
Twitter and YouTube were temporarily blocked in Turkey last year after both platforms were used by opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to post allegations of corruption within his inner circle.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2015/01/14/Turkey-bans-reports-Internet-posts-of-Islamist-arms-delivery-.html
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Israel paper cuts Merkel from Paris march photo for modesty
14 January 2015
A small Jewish Ultra-Orthodox newspaper in Israel is making waves internationally for removing German Chancellor Angela Merkel from a photo of last week's Paris march out of modesty.
World leaders had linked arms to march in Paris against terrorism after Islamic extremists killed 17 people.
Footage of the march shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the front row wedged between French President Francois Hollande and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
HaMevaser readers could not know that, however, as her picture was digitally removed, leaving Abbas standing next to Hollande. Israeli media joked it was meant to bring Abbas closer to Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who was standing nearby.
Within the insular Ultra-Orthodox community, pictures of women are never shown out of modesty.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/print/2015/01/14/Israel-paper-cuts-Merkel-from-Paris-march-photo-for-modesty-.html
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Muslim World Also Responsible for Rise of Islamophobia, Turkey’s Top Religious Body
January 15, 2015
The former head of Turkey’s top religious body has accused Muslims of contributing to the rise of Islamophobia around the world, while lamenting the declining number of pious people in Turkey.
Former Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) head Ali Bardakoglu accused "some members" of the Muslim community of contributing to the rise of Islamophobia around the world.
“Those who represent Islam play a large role and bear responsibility for the rise of Islamophobia against Muslims. But the main responsibility is on the shoulders of Islam’s intellectuals,” Bardakoglu said in an interview published on Jan. 14 in daily Hürriyet.
“One reason is that Islamic intellectuals have helped raise a society with such problems. The second is that some of these intellectuals have kept silent,” he said, claiming that these factors had increased the number of "reactionary people whose behavior is controlled by their feelings."
Bardakoglu, who served as Diyanet head between 2003 and 2010, called on the Muslim world to look in the mirror and correct its mistakes in order to combat Islamophobia.
“There is violence, clashes between sects and bombings of mosques in the Islamic world. Sunni and Shiite religious leaders have not been able to come together and take action against this. On the contrary, they announce fatwas which legitimize their own sect members’ actions. All of these actions add to the problem,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/muslim-world-also-responsible-for-rise-of-islamophobia-says-former-religious-body-head-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76949&NewsCatID=393
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Turkey concerned by return of Turkish ISIL fighters
January 15, 2015
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglu has said Turkey also has concerns regarding the return of its citizens after fighting alongside the extremist jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
Çavusoglu said there are currently 500-700 Turkish nationals who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), expressing his concerns over their potential terrorist attacks after returning to the country and saying Turkey is also an open target of ISIL.
“A common concern about the foreign fighters is: What will happen when they return to their countries? We also have this concern,” he told a group of reporters traveling with him to Nicosia, the capital of Turkish Cyprus.
Çavuoglu’s statement came a week after al-Qaeda linked terrorists carried out bloody attacks in Paris, killing 17 people. It has been learned that a French woman, Hayat Boumedienne, who is linked with the perpetrators of the attack, crossed into Syria via Turkey days before the attacks. This information has created doubts about the effectiveness of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and its European counterparts, as well as the efficiency of Turkey’s border control system.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-concerned-by-return-of-turkish-isil-fighters-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76945&NewsCatID=338
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Anger, calls for calm in West Asia over new Charlie Hebdo cartoons
January 15, 2015
Muslim clerics in the Middle East who have denounced last week's attack on Charlie Hebdo criticised the French satirical weekly on Wednesday for publishing new cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad in its first issue after the killings.
On the front of its "survivor's edition", which swiftly sold out its multi-million copy print run in France, the newspaper printed a cartoon of a tearful Mohammad carrying a sign reading "I am Charlie", under the headline "All is forgiven".
While mainstream Muslim leaders around the world have strongly condemned the attack on the newspaper, many said its decision to print more cartoons of Mohammad was an unnecessary provocation and sign of disrespect that would create a new backlash.
Such cartoons "fuel feelings of hatred and resentment among people" and publishing them "shows contempt" for Muslim feelings, said the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestinian lands, Mohammed Hussein, in a statement.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/muslim-leaders-appeal-for-calm-as-charlie-hebdo-all-is-forgiven-edition-hits-the-streets/article1-1306832.aspx#sthash.BVz1wIZm.dpuf
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Hamas official warns Gaza becoming ‘ripe for terrorism’
15 January 2015
A Hamas official warned that the Gaza Strip could become a breeding ground for extremism unless reconstruction of the war-battered Palestinian territory is accelerated.
“Our message to the world, which is scared of terrorism and extremism, is that the delay in rebuilding Gaza and the continuing blockade against it will make it a ripe environment for the spread of extremism and terrorism,” Khalil al-Haya told a Gaza City meeting of MPs of Islamist movement Hamas.
“We warn of the consequences,” he said, without elaborating.
Israel and Hamas, which the Jewish state brands a terrorist organisation, fought a July-August war in the besieged coastal strip that killed almost 2,200 Palestinians and damaged tens of thousands of Gazan homes, leaving around 100,000 people displaced.
More than four months after the conflict ended, reconstruction has barely begun, with experts saying it will take years even if Israel significantly eases its eight-year blockade on Gaza.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/01/15/Hamas-official-warns-Gaza-becoming-ripe-for-terrorism-.html
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Southeast Asia
In a Kedah madrasah, students told to follow slain jihadist’s footsteps
January 15, 2015
A new video by the New York Times (NYT) has tracked the life of slain Malaysian jihadist Mohd Lotfi Ariffin, who died last September fighting alongside Isis militants in Syria.
"The Jihadist in Our Family" features the religious teacher and former PAS member’s journey from his hometown in Kedah, where he had opened a madrasah with his brother Mohd Zainol Ariffin, to Syria, where he joined dozens of other Malaysians in the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.
In the nine-minute video, Zainol, 53 (pic, right) was shown telling his students to follow in the footsteps of his slain brother, who also taught at the school.
"People wonder why our religious teacher, who seemed so gentle was willing to wage jihad for Allah in Syria. That he was willing to leave his children and wife," he said in the video.
"As students, we should follow the path of our teacher Mohd Lotfi."
Lotfi, who was former Kedah PAS Youth information chief, courted controversy last June when he disclosed his involvement in Syrian civil war.
He was later sacked from PAS after the Islamist party said it did not condone or encourage members to join armed movements.
NYT noted that the father of six was also active on social media in documenting his journey — "posting photographs and videos from Syria, some lighthearted travelogues and other posts depicting the gruesomeness of the war there".
Students and followers at the madrasah, the NYT observed, seemed taken in by Zainol's sermon.
"If we want to go to heaven, we must die an honorouble death," student Yusran Budiman told the NYT.
"One of the easiest ways is to die a martyr. Personally, I would like to die a martyr."
Principal assistant director of the Counter Terrorism Division of the Special Branch at Bukit Aman, SAC Datuk Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay told the NYT that Lotfi's "charisma" was one factor his followers were drawn to go to Syria to join him.
"He had a lot of charisma. So they want to go join him. They managed to recruite members from various backgrounds. Students, professors and professionals," he said.
Lotfi's eldest son Ahmad Salahuddin said the family was "thankful" that he had been killed because he had achieved martyrdom.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/in-a-kedah-madrasah-students-told-to-follow-slain-jihadists-footsteps#sthash.MSVo5C36.dpuf
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Growth of liberalism main cause of mockery of Islam, says blogger
January 15, 2015
The growth of liberalism in the country is the root cause of Islam being mocked and belittled, said Umno Cheras division chief Datuk Seri Syed Ali Al-Habshee.
In his blog-post today, Syed Ali said while the issue of Islam and Muslims often being mocked by non-Muslims continued to happen, the matter was often taken lightly by Muslims themselves.
“This situation has been happening lately and is causing the younger generation to lose its grip on Islam to a point that they embark on unlimited freedom.
“Why is Islam, as the official religion of the country as enshrined in the Federal Constitution, no longer being respected?”
Syed Ali said despite Islam being often ridiculed blatantly by non-Muslims via social media channels, he asked why the authorities were not aggressive in acting against these groups.
“These are some questions that are frequently voiced by the people, especially Malays and Muslims, whenever issues affecting the sanctity of Islam and its adherents transgresses morals.”
Full report at:
http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/01/14/growth-liberalism-main-cause-mockery-islam-says-blogger/#ixzz3OvJiBwtH
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Arab World
Muslim World Questions Logic behind Charlie Antics
January 15, 2015
RIYADH/CAIRO: Iyad Madani, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has denounced the publication of sacrilegious cartoons by French magazine Charlie Hebdo Wednesday, calling the move “insolence, ignorance and foolishness.”
He said: “Freedom of speech must not become a hate-speech and it must not offend others. No sane person, regardless of doctrine, religion or faith, accepts his beliefs being ridiculed.”
Prominent Saudi scholar Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi said that publication of the latest image was a mistake. “It’s not a good way to make the people understand us. Jesus or Moses, all messengers (of God) we should respect,” and should not be made fun of in pictures or words, Ghamdi said. “I believe it will make more problems.”
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestinian lands, Mohammed Hussein, said such cartoons “fuel feelings of hatred and resentment among people” and publishing them “shows contempt” for Muslim feelings.
Leading Islamic authority Al-Azhar denounced the new edition and said: “The stature of the Prophet of Mercy is greater and more lofty than to be harmed by cartoons that are unrestrained by decency and civilized standards.” It said: “Al-Azhar calls on all Muslims to ignore this hateful frivolity.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/689751
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Nasrallah: Israel can't even imagine Hezbollah's weapons arsenal
January 15, 2015
Hezbollah has more types of weapons than Israel can imagine, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah told the Arab-language Al-Mayadeen television network during an interview on Wednesday.
"Hezbollah has weapons that the enemy can expect and we have ones that they aren't expecting. Our resistance has not been damaged, and Israel is mistaken if it thinks it has," Nasrallah said.
According to the Hezbollah leader, Israel is interested in a conflict that would be a landslide victory for it, however he claims that such a win is completely unrealistic. "If Israel attacks Lebanon, our resistance is strong and our ability to win is great."
In October, Hezbollah planted and detonated two bombs in the Mount Dov region along the border with Lebanon, with one device wounding two IDF soldiers.
A second blast tore through the same area about 30 minutes later, but failed to cause injuries or damage.
The wounded soldiers belonged to the Combat Engineering Corps bomb squad unit, which was accompanying Golani Brigade soldiers on patrol in the area.
Both bombs were planted on the Israeli side of the border.
The IDF responded by shelling two Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Nasrallah-Israel-cant-even-imagine-Hezbollahs-weapons-arsenal-387731
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Iraqi Army Kills Dozens of ISIL Terrorists in Ramadi
January 15, 2015
Iraqi army and popular forces killed a large number of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists in the Western province of Al-Anbar on Wednesday as the army started fresh operations to liberate Ramadi and Fallujah in the province.
"32 ISIL militants were killed in Ramadi city of Anbar province as the Iraqi army and popular forces started fresh operations in the region," Anbar Province's Deputy Police Commander Salah al-Dailami said on Wednesday.
The Iraqi Army started a fresh operation in the Western province of Al-Anbar on Wednesday in an attempt to liberate the provincial capital of Ramadi and the key city of Fallujah from the control of the Takfiri terrorists.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931024001482
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Five Canadians killed in Syria fighting with ISIS
15 January 2015
Five Canadians have died fighting alongside ISIS militants in Syria, including a man who called for lone wolf attacks in Canada, local media reported Wednesday.
The National Post said Ottawa-born John Maguire, who joined ISIS jihadists in Syria in January 2013, died Wednesday in the flashpoint town Kobane.
In a video message last year, the former University of Ottawa student warned Canada it faces retaliation for participating in U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS.
Calling himself Abu Anwar al-Canadi, Maguire urged Muslims to follow the example of a driver in a hit-and-run killing of a soldier near Montreal and of a gunman who killed an unarmed soldier in Ottawa.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/01/15/Five-Canadians-killed-in-Syria-fighting-with-ISIS-.html
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Takfiri Militants Lose Ground in Daraa, Idlib
January 15, 2015
The Syrian Army continued its operations against the armed groups on the outskirts of Daraa and Idlib provinces, leaving a large number of Takfiri militants dead and injured.
The army soldiers intensified its offensives against the insurgensts in the areas of Busra al-Sham, Ma’raba, al-Nu’aima, Daraa al-Balad, Ataman, Zamrin, Deir al-Adas, al-Sheikh Miskeen, Ibta’ and Inkhel in the Southern province of Daraa, killing and injuring a large number of them.
The army soldiers also stormed the gathering centers of the rebels in the areas of Hallouz, Tal salmo, Talab and al-Houti in Idlib countryside, and inflicted major casualties on them.
Syria has been the scene of insurgency since 2011 when certain western powers and their regional allies voiced loudly that Syrian protests have no diplomatic solution and they started supplying the country's opposition groups with their arms and funds.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931024000640
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Iraqi Cleric Dismisses US-Led Coalition Sincerity in Fighting ISIL
January 15, 2015
The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq dismissed the US-led coalition’s sincerity in its fight against the ISIL terrorists, saying Iraqis can defend their country on their own.
“People of Iraq have the ability to liberate their homeland from the terrorists of ISIL and there is no need of foreign interference and international or American forces,” said Ammar al-Hakim, press tv reported.
Since August, the US and some of its allies have been conducting airstrikes against what they say are ISIL positions in Iraq. Some members of the US-led alliance also started a similar bombing campaign inside Syria in September.
However, the raids have so far failed to dislodge the Takfiri group who have occupied swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.
The Iraqi figure further said, “Some foreign politicians have talked about the necessity of foreign forces in Iraq to fight ISIL. This idea is dangerous and we warn against the secret goals behind it.”
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931024001210
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Lebanese terrorist can’t sue Israel for interrogators alleged rape, torture
January 15, 2015
An expanded panel of seven High Court justices narrowly voted 4-3 to overrule its earlier 2-1 2011 ruling, with the outcome being that Lebanese terrorist Mustafa Dirani cannot continue his lawsuit against Israel for NIS 6 million.
The decision was Supreme Court President Asher D. Grunis’ final decision announced at his Thursday retirement ceremony.
Justices Miriam Naor, who becomes president of the court starting Sunday, Eliyakim Rubinstein and Hanan Melcer voted in the majority to reject Dirani’s lawsuit.
Justices Yoram Danziger, Neal Hendel and Salim Jabroun (who was in the majority on the 2011 2-1 panel that voted to let the lawsuit to proceed) dissented, voting to let the case to go forward.
Grunis said that the principle, widely recognized in other countries as well, that you do not give certain legal access to enemies fighting against you in a time of war, overpowered any concerns for Dirani’s rights.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Court-rules-Lebanese-terrorist-cant-sue-Israel-for-interrogators-alleged-rape-torture-387811
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IS claims beheading of Iraqi soldier
January 15, 2015
The Islamic State jihadist group beheaded an Iraqi soldier in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad, according to a series of photos posted online on Wednesday.
It is the latest in a long series of atrocities committed by IS, which has killed thousands of people in territory it controls in Iraq and Syria and frequently documents the murders in grisly images shared by its supporters.
In one shot, three militants, two of them masked and a third holding the group's flag with his face uncovered, stand behind a fourth man dressed in an orange jumpsuit who is kneeling on a dirt road.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/120329/World/Region/IS-claims-beheading-of-Iraqi-soldier.aspx
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Haram expansion gains momentum
January 15, 2015
The work on the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah has been stepped up on the instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah so that they are completed on schedule, said Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf after inspecting progress in both cities.
“These expansion projects are being carried out in the service of Islam and Muslims from all over the world,” the minister said on Wednesday.
The SR80 billion Makkah project will increase the mosque’s capacity to 2.5 million worshippers while the Madinah mosque expansion will accommodate more than 1.5 million.
In Makkah, Al-Assaf inspected the public transport stations on Ajyad Street behind King Abdul Aziz Endowment Tower, a new hospital project, security buildings, the pedestrian tunnel, the mosque expansion, and the final stage of construction on the mataf, or the circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/689746
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Syria tolerated opposition undecided on Moscow talks
15 January 2015
A key opposition group tolerated by Syria's regime is still studying whether to accept a Russian invitation to talks this month with government officials, dissident figure Haytham Mannaa said Wednesday.
The exiled National Coalition and leading opposition figure, Moaz al-Khatib, have already announced they will skip the talks that are aimed at finding a political solution to end Syria's nearly four-year war.
Moscow's effort to host the talks comes after two failed bids last year to bring regime and opposition representatives to the negotiating table in Geneva.
Russia is the most powerful backer of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The talks are slated for January 26 to 29.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/01/15/Syria-tolerated-opposition-undecided-on-Moscow-talks.html
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Syria urges intelligence sharing to fight terrorism: state media
January 15, 2015
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad urged states fighting terrorism to share intelligence, Syrian state media reported on Jan. 14, saying European policies were responsible for attacks by Islamist gunmen in France last week.
Condemning the Paris attacks, Assad accused Western policymakers of being short sighted - criticism of their policy of support for the 2011 Syrian uprising that descended into an insurgency dominated by hardline Islamist militants.
Around a third of Syria is now held by Islamic State, which shares the hardline Sunni Islamist vision of the gunmen who mounted last week's attacks in France.
Western states including France have rejected past offers from the Syrian government to be part of the fight against the Islamic State group that has been targeted by U.S.-led air strikes in Syria since September.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-urges-intelligence-sharing-to-fight-terrorism-state-media.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76936&NewsCatID=352
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Pakistan
Civil society to restart anti-Lal Masjid campaign
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: On Jan 16, a month on from the tragedy that shook Pakistanis around the world, members of civil society have announced a global series of peaceful demonstrations that will raise a voice against the Taliban and their sympathisers.
Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club on Wednesday, lawyer and rights activist Jibran Nasir announced that on Friday, simultaneous protests in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad will be accompanied by demonstrations in New York, Houston, Toronto, Washington DC, London and Berlin.
Flanked by the Awami Workers Party’s Farzana Bari, civil society activists Shaan Taseer and Sajjad Changezi as well as other concerned citizens, Mr Nasir demanded that the government arrest Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz in accordance with the First Information Report (FIR) registered against him at the Aabpara Police Station.
“We demand stern action against all terror networks and their facilitators, including Abdul Aziz, who is spreading terrorism while sitting in the heart of the capital,” Mr Nasir said. The activist who recently made headlines for starting the civil society-led #ReclaimYourMosque campaign, said that Friday’s main rally would be held at Aabpara Chowk on Friday evening at 6pm. He called on people from all walk sof life to step out of their homes to send a strong message to extremists.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157077/civil-society-to-restart-anti-lal-masjid-campaign
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Religious parties set to form alliance against 21st Amend
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: In a desperate bid to protect those religious seminaries long accused of harbouring terrorism from scrutiny and security check, the top leaders of the country’s political religious parties are likely to form a new political religious front against the 21st Amendment that empowers the law enforcement agencies to keep a strict vigil on madrassas.
The proposed religious front will be launched soon and its roadmap would be finalized in the upcoming meeting of the religious parties scheduled on January 22 in Lahore, sources credible told Daily Times. The religious parties are in contact to come together under the leadership of chief of JUI Moulana Fazl-u Rehman who is playing the main role to strengthen the front. The religious political parties are also planning to launch the awareness through every Friday sermons in the country’s mosques against the crackdown on part of the LEAs against the religious seminaries.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/15-Jan-2015/religious-parties-set-to-form-alliance-against-21st-amend
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Pakistan to ban Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Haqqani network?
January 15, 2015
Pakistan plans to ban 10 terror outfits, including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the dreaded Afghan-based Haqqani Network, a move seen by experts as a “paradigm shift” in the country’s security policy in the wake of Peshawar school massacre.
The move came a day after the US declared the fugitive chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Mullah Fazlullah as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ following Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Pakistan this week.
A formal announcement to this effect would be made in “coming days”, The Express Tribune said, citing official sources.
The decision will certainly be welcomed by Washington and Kabul as well as New Delhi, analysts believe.
They believe a ban on JuD is a significant development as India, as well as the US, have long considered JuD as a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror outfit involved in the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai that left 166 people dead.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/asia/pakistan-to-ban-jamaat-ud-dawa-and-haqqani-network/#sthash.YFj2ZP36.dpuf
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Seven militants killed in Pakistan drone strike
IANS | Jan 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: At least seven militants were killed Thursday in a drone strike in Pakistan's North Waziristan, media reported.
Two missiles were fired on a house at Shawal valley by a US drone, setting the house ablaze and destroyed it completely, Geo TV reported.
North Waziristan is among Pakistan's seven tribal districts near the Afghanistan border rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and al Qaida operatives, among other extremist groups.
Pakistan's military in June last year launched an operation 'Zarb-i-Azb' against Taliban militants in the region which is still continuing.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Seven-militants-killed-in-Pakistan-drone-strike/articleshow/45896905.cms
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Islamabad finalises six cases for trial by military courts
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: A four-member committee constituted by the Islamabad chief commissioner has finalised six terrorism cases for trial by the military courts, sources told Dawn.
The team comprised deputy commissioner, SSP Islamabad, district attorney and DSP prosecution.
The committee after examining the investigation reports and evidence in a case will send it to the military courts, the sources said.
So far eight high-profile cases have been sent to the committee for examination, they added.
At least 45 incidents of terrorism took place in the capital since 2000, in which 263 people, including security personnel were killed and 944 injured.
The police arrested 103 alleged terrorists who were involved in 31 attacks.
A senior police officer told Dawn that the cases included attacks on Nato terminals at Dhoke Paracha on June 9, 2010 and Jeddah Town on October 4, 2010.
Full report at:
terrorism cases had been selected by the capital police for trial by the military courts.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157092/islamabad-finalises-six-cases-for-trial-by-military-courts
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Two more convicts hanged in Lahore and Karachi
January 15, 2015
KARACHI/LAHORE: Two more condemned prisoners including Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activist Mohammad Saeed alias Maulvi and Zahid alias Zahidu have been hanged at Karachi central prison and Kot Lakhpat jail, Lahore, respectively, on Wednesday morning.
An anti-terrorism court in Karachi had found Saeed guilty for shooting deputy superintendent of police (retd) Syed Sabir Hussain Shah and his young son Syed Abid Hussain Shah.
He was awarded death sentence in April 2001. Saeed had killed both his victims in an ambush near the Malir City railway crossing.
Both Sabir Hussain and his son were reportedly killed on sectarian grounds, whereas Saeed is said to be associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi outfit.
Zahid Hussain alias Zahidu was awarded death sentence by an anti-terrorism court in 2004 for killing a policeman in Multan in 2002.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157159/two-more-convicts-hanged-in-lahore-and-karachi
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Asma questions rationale of military courts in Gilgit-Baltistan
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Opposing the idea of extending the jurisdiction of military courts to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) on Wednesday, rights activist and senior counsel Asma Jahangir wondered how a law creating such special courts could ever be challenged in an area that did not have an independent judiciary.
The Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self Governance) Order 2009, under which the territories of GB are run through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (Kana), does not envisage military courts, Ms Jahangir told reporters at the Supreme Court. Besides, she said, neither the 21st Amendment nor Article 1 of the Constitution defined these areas as being part of Pakistan.
Ms Jahangir, who also served as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), was adamant that wars were fought and won by ensuring complete autonomy to every institution of the state, rather than intruding upon their independence. She also emphasised that military authorities should tell the nation right away what power they wanted now, rather than tip-toeing around legal hurdles and encroaching upon the domain of other state institutions.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157110/asma-questions-rationale-of-military-courts-in-gilgit-baltistan
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Govt to refer Malala case to military court
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to refer two high profile terror cases to military courts for the speedy trial of suspects involved.
The first case is the attack on Nobel Peace Award winner, child activist Malala Yousafzai, which would be heard at a military court in Peshawar when it formally starts functioning. “Formalities are being processed by legal experts at the Federal Law Ministry…the case will soon be sent from an anti-terrorism court to a military court,” a federal government source told Dawn.com. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had attacked Malala in 2012 as she was returning from her school in the Mingora town of Swat valley. She survived after being airlifted to Britain for treatment and recovered from her life-threatening wounds.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/15-Jan-2015/govt-to-refer-malala-case-to-military-court
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‘Go Imran Go’ slogan of aggrieved hearts: Pervaiz Rashid
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said that it was because of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s negative politics that he was accosted by “ Go Imran Go” slogans during his visit to the Army Public School and advised him to support the government on national agenda.
Talking to newsmen outside the Parliament House, Senator Rashid said that he had offered Imran Khan to identify the word “bogus” in the audit report of NA-122 constituency and also conduct forensic test of the ballot papers which he claimed had been printed by any private press.
He said that the PTI chief did not responded to any of the two offers, which implied that he was doing the “politics of lies”. Pervaiz Rashid said that due to the same negative approach in politics Imran Khan had to face “Go Imran Go” slogans when he arrived in Peshawar to visit the Army Public School.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/15-Jan-2015/go-imran-go-slogan-of-aggrieved-hearts-pervaiz
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95 banned groups active in Pak Punjab
January 15, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The ruling PML-N had to face the bitter truth about spiralling extremism in Punjab when Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a top-level meeting that the number of proscribed organisations actively engaged in terrorism and extremism in that province alone had reached 95.
During the briefing on the status of implementation of the National Action Plan to counter terrorism and extremism, Chaudhry Nisar said that law-enforcement agencies were proactively monitoring madressahs to check the spread of terrorist ideology in the country.
While an official statement released after the meeting did not include the names of the banned organisations in question, the new number was substantially greater than the total number of organisations listed as banned in the national security policy document the government put out in early 2014.
This shows that the Shahbaz Sharif-led Punjab government had failed to check the spread of such outfits, despite repeated reminders by the media about the militant presence festering in the province, said one government critic, adding that “all these militant outfits have been present in Punjab for quite some time, but instead of acting against them, the PML-N preferred to cohabitate with them”.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157108/95-banned-groups-active-in-punjab
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South Asia
ISIS Established Training Camps in Farah Province, Afghanistan
Jan 15 2015
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as Daesh, has established training camps in western Farah province of Afghanistan.
According to the local government officials, the training camps have been operating in parts of Khak-e-Safid district during the past three weeks.
The district administrative chief of Khak-e-Safid, Abdul Khaliq Noorzai, has said that the terrorist group consists of 80 militants who have been actively involved in training insurgents.
Noorzai further added that the group carries ISIS flag with them and are armed with modern weapons.
He said a number of Taliban militants have also joined the group which is led by Mawlavi Abdul Malik and Mawlavi Abdul Raziq.
This comes as local residents of Sangin district in Helmand province said a group of insurgents in black uniforms have started movements in the district carrying black flags and vehicles.
A senior Afghan National Army (ANA) commander in southern Afghanistan has also confirmed that a former Taliban leader is trying to recruit people for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Helmand province.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/isis-daesh-established-training-camps-in-farah-province-8949
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Afghan Taliban Condemn Anti-Islam Cartoons, Hail Paris Gunmen
January 15, 2015
KABUL: The Afghan Taliban on Thursday condemned the publication in France of further anti-Islam cartoons and lauded last week's deadly Islamist attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine office in Paris.
A statement from the group said they “strongly condemn this repugnant and inhumane action and consider its perpetrators, those who allowed it and its supporters the enemies of humanity”.
The statement released in English also hailed gunmen who killed the magazine staff on January 7 and said world leaders should prevent such cartoons from being released.
They said publication must be stopped to prevent “further harming world peace”, adding that to do otherwise would mean “the beliefs and sacrosanctity of over a billion people is desecrated and the world is pushed further into the fire of hatred and war”.
Hooded gunmen had stormed the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157166/afghan-taliban-condemn-anti-islam-cartoons-hail-paris-gunmen
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3 ANA Martyred, Senior Taliban Commander Including 9 Killed
Jan 15 2015
The Ministry of Defence of Afghanistan (MOD) says that three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have embraced martyrdom in a landmine explosion.
General Zahir Azimi, spokesman for MOD issuing a statement on Thursday would not tell the exact location but states that the incident took place in past 24 hours.
According to the statement four insurgents were also killed in confrontation with ANA during the operations conducted in past 24 hours.
More than 20 Improvised Explosive Devises (IEDs) were also discovered by ANA during the past 24 hours, the statement adds.
In the meantime, Sediq Sediqi spokesman for the Ministry of Interior (MOI) says that Taliban named Deputy Governor or Kapisa province has been killed along with four of his men in Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) operations.
Sediqi said that Mullah Shafaq was killed in Tagab district last night.
http://www.khaama.com/3-ana-martyred-senior-taliban-commander-including-9-killed-28110
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Bangladesh: 8 more die in blockade violence on day nine
January 15, 2015
At least eight people died and over 20 got injured in different places in the country yesterday on the ninth day of the BNP-led alliance’s indefinite rail-road blockade.
In Rangpur, at least five including three women and a child were killed and 15 others injured when blockade supporters hurled a petrol bomb on a packed passenger bus at Batason area of Mithapur upazila. The deceased could not be identified immediately.
Police said the bus was taking passengers when the bomb was hurled. Fire soon spread throughout the bus and four people were burnt alive while the others received burn injuries of various degrees.
The victims’ bodies and the injured were sent to the Rangpur Combined Military Hospital. Another injured, 60-year-old Tosiron Begum, died later in the night after being brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, confirmed the hospital’s burn unit Resident Surgeon Partha Shankar Paul.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/jan/15/8-more-die-blockade-violence-day-nine#sthash.mLhT150y.dpuf
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PM Sheikh Hasina warns of stern action against violence
January 15, 2015
The government will have to take more stern action to protect the lives and property of the people if BNP leader does not refrain from such violence activities.
The premier uttered the warning while inaugurating National Primary Education Week 2015 at a function at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital on Wednesday, reports BSS.
BNP in collusion with Jamaat maneuvered ploy to destroy nation's future, the PM said.
Sheikh Hasina expressed her deep concern over the consequence of the terrorist activities on student's academic life.
Pointing out the last night's incident of killing four people including children in a patrol-bomb attack on a public bus at Mithapukur in Rangpur, she said BNP and Jamaat are burning people alive and targeted schoolchildren and teachers.
"Their activities are not politics, but a sheer terrorist act of highest order," Sheikh Hasina.
"I have no language of condemning the killing of innocent people."
Sheikh Hasina called upon people to come forward to save the future generation from the grip of terrorists and militants.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/jan/14/pm-warns-stern-action-against-violence#sthash.quKfYkvy.dpuf
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Europe
European Parliament urges Turkey to respect freedom of press
January 15, 2015
The European Parliament has criticized the Dec. 14, 2014 operation against TV stations and newspapers with alleged links to Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, in a joint motion that is set to be voted on Jan. 15, also recalling that “a free and pluralistic press is an essential component of any democracy.”
The resolution titled “Freedom of expression in Turkey: Recent arrests of journalists, media executives and systematic pressure against media” condemns the recent police raids and the detention of a number of journalists and media representatives on Dec. 14, 2014 in Turkey, stressing that “these actions call into question the respect for the rule of law and freedom of the media.”
“A free and pluralistic press is an essential component of any democracy,” said the resolution, which called on Turkey to “provide ample and transparent information on the allegations against the defendants, to grant the defendants full access to the incriminating evidence and full defense rights, and to ensure the proper handling of the cases to establish the veracity of the accusations without delay and beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Freedom of expression and the freedom of the media remain fundamental to the functioning of a democratic and open society,” it also stated.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/european-parliament-urges-turkey-to-respect-freedom-of-press.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76964&NewsCatID=339
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Merkel vows to fight Islamist militants, 'hate preachers'
January 15, 2015
Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged Thursday to heighten security measures against Islamist militants following the Paris attacks, while vowing that Germany would not be divided by extremism of any kind.
"Hate preachers, violent delinquents who act in the name of Islam, those behind them, and the intellectual arsonists of international terrorism will be rigorously fought with all legal means at the disposal of the state," she said.
Merkel said that after her cabinet had moved to tighten a travel ban for suspected jihadists, it would soon stiffen penalties for financing terrorism.
Germany would also continue to provide weapons and military training to Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/120377/World/Region/Merkel-vows-to-fight-Islamist-militants,-hate-prea.aspx
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France arrests 54 for defending terror; announces crackdown
January 15, 2015
France ordered prosecutors around the country to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and glorifying terrorism, announcing Wednesday that 54 people had been arrested for those offenses since terror attacks left 20 dead in Paris last week, including three gunmen.
The order came as Charlie Hebdo's defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the satirical newspaper that fronted the Prophet Muhammad anew on its cover.
France has been tightening security and searching for accomplices since the terror attacks began, but none of the 54 people have been linked to the attacks. That's raising questions about whether President Francois Hollande s Socialist government is impinging on the very freedom of speech that it so vigorously defends when it comes to Charlie Hebdo.
Among those detained was Dieudonne, a controversial, popular comic with repeated convictions for racism and anti-Semitism.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/120332/World/International/France-arrests--for-defending-terror;-announces-cr.aspx
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Over 1,000 French sites hacked since Charlie Hebdo attacks
AFP | Jan 15, 2015
PARIS: More than 1,000 French websites have been targeted by self-described Islamist hackers in the week since the attack by jihadists on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo left 12 people dead, Internet security experts said.
Most of the hacks targeted relatively small sites operated by local government, universities, churches and businesses whose home pages were defaced with messages that included "Death to France," and "Death to Charlie."
Experts told AFP that "cyber-jihadist" hackers from North Africa and Mauritania have claimed responsibility for the hijacking of over 1,000 sites since the January 7 Charlie Hebdo attack, and have threatened a surge of activity on January 15.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Over-1000-French-sites-hacked-since-Charlie-Hebdo-attacks/articleshow/45893374.cms
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Hollande hails 'reborn' Charlie Hebdo as magazine sells out
January 15, 2015
French President Francois Hollande has declared Charlie Hebdo "reborn" after its new edition sold out in record time, as Al-Qaeda claimed the deadly attack on the satirical magazine.
"Charlie Hebdo is alive and will live on," the president said Wednesday, after many Parisians joined long queues to get their hands on a copy which, true to controversial form, featured a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on its cover.
"You can murder men and women, but you can never kill their ideas," Hollande said.
The president is due Thursday to address the Arab World Institute in Paris, a cultural institute that promotes closer ties between France and the Arab world, while funerals will be held for two of the magazine's slain cartoonists.
The January 7 attack by Islamist gunmen at Charlie Hebdo's Paris offices left 12 people dead, including some of the country's best-loved cartoonists.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hollande-hails-reborn-charlie-hebdo-as-magazine-sells-out-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76976&NewsCatID=351
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UN hosts ‘last chance’ Libya peace dialogue
January 15, 2015
GENEVA: The United Nations gathered Libya’s rival factions for talks in Geneva Wednesday, amid warnings they could be the last chance to halt intensifying fighting for the country’s main cities and oil wealth.
The North African nation has been gripped by deepening conflict since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control.
It has taken the United Nations months to get the opposing sides back to the negotiating table after a single round of talks in September.
But analysts warned that the Geneva negotiations between Libya’s political rivals were unlikely to have any impact on the ground unless the leaders of the warring armed groups become directly involved.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/689666
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Germany tightens travel ban for militants suspects
15 January 2015
Germany will tighten a foreign travel ban on known Islamists to stop them heading to war zones such as Syria, the cabinet decided Wednesday, a week after the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
The law is the first of a host of previously planned security measures which Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government wants to speedily pass through parliament in the coming weeks following the bloodshed in France.
“The horrific events in Paris... showed once more, in a depressing manner, that we must strongly defend our democratic constitutional order with all legal means against international terrorism, fanaticism and radicalization,” said Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert.
German authorities can already confiscate the passports of known militants, but under the new law they will also be able to take away their national identity cards, which can be used for travel to Turkey and within the EU Schengen no-visa area.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/01/15/Germany-tightens-travel-ban-for-militants-suspects-.html
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Islam expert Nilüfer Göle: ‘a new Europe where Muslims play a great role’
January 15, 2015
After the terrorist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, not only France but many across the whole of Europe came together against it. Around four million people poured onto the streets of France to protest against terrorism on Sunday.
Euronews turned to a prominent Turkish sociologist who has carried out studies on Muslim women.
Professor Nilüfer Göle is director of studies at l’ École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) – the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris.
Bahtiyar Küçük, euronews:
“How did the recent attack in Paris affect France? Do you think it will undermine the fundamental dynamics of a multicultural society?”
Full report at:
http://turkishdigest.blogspot.in/2015/01/islam-expert-nilufer-gole-new-europe.html
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India
Modi Backer Businessman to Head Urdu University
January 15, 2015
New Delhi, Jan. 14: Zafar Sareshwala, an Ahmedabad businessman and one of Narendra Modi's most vocal Muslim supporters, has been appointed chancellor of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, a central university in Hyderabad.
President Pranab Mukherjee, the Visitor of the university, appointed Sareshwala to the post about a fortnight ago on the recommendations of the university's executive council, routed through the Union human resource development ministry.
Sources said the council had sent a list of six nominees, which was forwarded to Mukherjee. However, the practice is for the government to unofficially recommend one name.
Sareshwala and university sources denied any link between his appointment and his support for Modi.
But community leader Zafarul Islam, president of the Majlis-e-Mushawarat - an umbrella body of Muslim organisations - sought to differ.
"Every party rewards its supporters. It's their prerogative and practice. Sareshwala has been a supporter of Modi for the past several years," Islam said.
Full report at:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150115/jsp/nation/story_8531.jsp#.VLgf-tLF84U
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Islam Doesn’t Allow Killings, Says Minister on Paris Attack
TNN | Jan 15, 2015
NEW DELHI: Minority affairs minister Najma Heptullah has condemned the Charlie Hebdo massacre, saying Islam does not allow killings.
Speaking to TOI about the sensational Paris attack at the satirical weekly, Heptullah said, "I condemn the attack. I condemn terrorism of any kind, especially if done in the name of religion. The killing of people is not allowed in Islam."
While the senior minister refused to dwell on details of the attack that were attributed to provocative cartoons published by the French weekly, Heptullah's comment is significant in view of her position as a senior Muslim leader as well as the Cabinet minister in-charge of minority affairs.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Islam-doesnt-allow-killings-says-Najma-on-Paris-attack/articleshow/45892081.cms
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Three militants killed in encounter with security forces in Shopian
January 15, 2015
At least three militants have been killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir, police said.
“Bodies of three militants can be seen from some distance at the encounter site in Shopian district. We can say for sure if they are dead only when we retrieve the bodies,” a police official said.
The exchange of fire between the remaining militants, believed to be at least two, was going on till reports last came in, he said.
A gun battle broke out between the security forces and militants in Kadder forest area falling under Keller police station in Shopian this morning after the counter-insurgency forces launched a search operation.
There were no reports of any casualties among security forces so far, the official said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/gun-battle-between-militants-and-security-forces-in-shopian/article6791625.ece
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200 militants trying to infiltrate, terrorists may attack schools during Obama visit: Army official
TNN | Jan 15, 2015
NEW DELHI: There are inputs that terrorists might try to attack schools, army camps, national highways and civilian areas on the Republic Day and during US President Barack Obama's India visit, Lt Gen KH Singh, GOC, 16 Corps, said on Thursday.
"About 200 militants in 36 launch pads across Pir Panchal range are trying to infiltrate into Indian side," Lt Gen KH Singh said.
"Like Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh said, terrorist infrastructure in PoK is intact," Lt Gen KH Singh added. Singh assured that country's counter-infiltration posture is firmly in place and if any infiltration bid is made, it will be eliminated.
"The terrorist infrastructure across the border is intact. Pakistan Army's support to the proxy war in J&K continues unabated despite suffering casualties its own country," Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag had said on Tuesday, addressing his first press conference ahead of the Army Day on January 15.
Pakistan still has 44 terror-training camps directed against India on its soil, the majority of them being in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. "At least 17-18 of them are active 24x7," another senior officer said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/200-militants-trying-to-infiltrate-terrorists-may-attack-schools-during-Obama-visit-Army-official/articleshow/45895526.cms
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Africa
Satellite images indicate huge Boko Haram attack: Rights groups
15 January 2015
Leading human rights groups on Thursday released satellite images claiming to show massive destruction by Boko Haram of two Nigerian towns in what is feared to be the deadliest strike of the Islamists' six-year insurgency.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch published separate images of Baga and the nearby town of Doron Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, in the far north of Borno State in northeast Nigeria.
Hundreds of people, if not more, are feared to have been killed in the attack, Amnesty said, that is thought to have targeted civilian vigilantes helping the army and that reportedly included one woman being killed while in labour.
But Nigeria's military, which often downplays death tolls, said that 150 died and dismissed as "sensational" claims that 2,000 may have lost their lives.
HRW said the exact death toll was unknown and quoted one local resident as saying: "No one stayed back to count the bodies.
"We were all running to get out of town ahead of Boko Haram fighters who have since taken over the area."
Amnesty's images showed aerial shots of the two towns, which have been hit previously by fighting, on January 2 -- the day before the attack -- and January 7, after homes and businesses were razed.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/120374/World/International/Satellite-images-indicate-huge-Boko-Haram-attack-R.aspx
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Nigeria's Boko Haram is back with a vengeance
January 15, 2015
Boko Haram, Nigeria's Islamist militants, got the world's attention last year after kidnapping 276 schoolgirls. The despicable group still holds most of the girls, is still untamed and now appears to control much of the remote north of the country.
On Jan. 3, Boko Haram showed up in Baga, the last government-controlled town in Nigeria's far north, and began shooting. Armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, insurgents overran the local military base. They murdered civilians, burned houses to the ground and chased off survivors.
Two weeks later, the extent of the carnage in Baga isn't clear. The town is cut off and the Nigerian government is providing few details. Estimates of the dead range from dozens to 150 to 2,000.The most specific picture to emerge comes from terrorized locals who fled: "I walked through five villages and each one I passed was empty except for dead bodies," Yusuf Idris, a member of a civilian militia, told Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Full report at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-boko-haram-edit-0115-20150114-story.html
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Algeria says 12 suspected terror cell members arrested
15 January 2015
Twelve suspected members of a “terrorist cell” planning attacks in Algeria have been arrested in the south of the country, the defense ministry announced Wednesday.
It said the arrests were carried out during the past two weeks in army operations in Ghardaia, Laghouat and In Amenas, all several hundred kilometers (miles) from the capital Algiers.
The cell had been “preparing to carry out terrorist acts in the country with the complicity of other terrorist groups operating on the other side of the country’s southern border,” it said in a statement, without specifying whether it was Mali or Niger.
The ministry said there were “no human losses” during arrest operations.
In January 2013, the takeover by Islamist militants of Tiguentourine gas facility in In Amenas led to the deaths of 40 hostages, many of them foreigners, during a rescue operation by security forces.
Three militants were arrested and 29 gunned down.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2015/01/15/Algeria-says-12-suspected-terror-cell-members-arrested-.html
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Tunisians mark fourth anniversary of the revolution
15 January 2015
Tunisians marked the fourth anniversary of the revolution that toppled strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and sparked a mass wave of protests across the region.
Despite a surprising strike among workers in the transportation sector, hundreds of Tunisians found their way to Avenue Habib Bourguiba in the city center – the same spot where protestors massed exactly four years ago, putting an end to Ben Ali’s 23-year-long dictatorship.
An official ceremony aslo took place at the Presidential Palace. The guests list included a large number of politicians, leaders of political parties, artists, athletes and families of those killed or wounded during the 2011 protests.
“This revolution opened doors of hope before Tunisian men and women, and enabled them to stand out among their counterparts in the world,” said the recently-elected President Beji Caid Essebsi during his speech.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2015/01/14/Tunisians-mark-fourth-anniversary-of-the-revolution-.html
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North America
Anti-Islam group buys ads featuring Hitler on San Francisco buses
January 15, 2015
An anti-Islam group has sparked controversy with the purchase of advertisements on San Francisco's public buses that display the image of Adolf Hitler and accuse the religion of fostering anti-Semitism.
The group calling itself the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which sued New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to run similar messages last year, purchased 50 large ads on San Francisco buses. They began appearing within days of attacks by Islamist militants in Paris that killed 12 people at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and another four at a Jewish supermarket. A policewoman was also shot dead.
"Islamic Jew hatred," the ads read. "It's in the Quran."
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Anti-Islam-group-buys-ads-featuring-Hitler-on-San-Francisco-buses-387790
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U.S. trial starts over Palestinian Authority, PLO role in Israel attacks
15 January 2015
A trial to determine whether the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) were behind the violence that occurred in Israel between January 2001 and February 2004 started Tuesday in New York, Al Arabiya news channel reported.
Six men and six women were chosen as jurors to decide whether the defendants should pay up to $1 billion for what the plaintiffs' lawyer, Kent Yalowitz, said was support for the seven shootings and bombings in the Jerusalem area that killed 33 people and wounded more than 450, among them U.S. citizens.
Meanwhile, Mark Rochon, a lawyer representing the defendants, countered that jurors should not hold liable a government that employs more than 100,000 for attacks conducted by a few people who acted on their own, or at the behest of groups such as Hamas or the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Both Hamas and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
The trial before U.S. District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan is expected to last 12 weeks, according to Reuters news agency.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/01/15/U-S-trial-starts-over-Palestinian-Authority-PLO-role-in-Israel-attacks-.html
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Vigil planned in US, Canada for schoolchildren killed by Taliban
January 15, 2015
WASHINGTON: Pakistanis living in the United States and Canada will hold vigils on Friday in more than a dozen cities across North America to mark one month of the Peshawar school massacre.
More than 140 people, mostly children, were killed in a Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on Dec. 16.
The vigils in North America are part of global efforts to support the growing movement in Pakistan against terrorism and all extremist ideologies and hate speech.
The organisers are also urging the government to arrest Abdul Aziz of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in accordance with a report filed with the Islamabad administration on Dec 27, 2014.
In Washington, members of the Pakistani American community and their supporters will gather at Dupond Circle at 6.00 pm on Friday.
The venues for the vigil in North American cities are: Boston, Copley Sq; Houston, and New York outside Consulate General of Pakistan, Toronto, Celebration Square, Mississauga; Washington DC, Dupont Circle and Los Angeles, Federal Building. In the UK vigils will be held
in London, outside Pakistan High Commission and York, Vanbrugh Paradise and Market Square, University of York.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157112/vigil-planned-in-us-canada-for-schoolchildren-killed-by-taliban
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Sentencing of Pakistani-American scheduled in multimillion-dollar scam
January 15, 2015
COLUMBUS: A man who portrayed himself as a member of a wealthy Pakistani family and was often seen driving luxury cars including a Ferrari faces sentencing in a multimillion-dollar investment scam involving three former Miami Heat players and the team itself.
Haider Zafar, a Pakistan native and US legal resident, defrauded players Mike Miller, James Jones and Rashard Lewis in 2013 by promising to invest millions in various business opportunities, according to the government.
He also received a $1 million, three-season Heat ticket package he never paid for, the government said.
Zafar pleaded guilty last year in federal court in Columbus to five wire fraud charges that each carry maximum 20-year prison sentences.
That case was consolidated with another against Zafar, in which the defendant previously pleaded guilty to swindling a Washington, DC, businessman out of $10 million between 2008 and 2010.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157173/sentencing-of-pakistani-american-scheduled-in-multimillion-dollar-scam
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US sends five Guantanamo prisoners to Oman, Estonia
January 15, 2015
WASHINGTON: The United States has transferred five men from its Guantanamo Bay prison, the Pentagon said Wednesday, in a renewed push by President Barack Obama toward closing the controversial jail.
Four of the inmates were sent to Oman, while one was sent to Estonia, according to Pentagon statements.
Officials said “a comprehensive review” of the cases was conducted by several US agencies before the men were moved and that all were “unanimously approved for transfer.“
The four men sent to Oman are Al Khadr Abdallah Muhammad Al Yafi, Fadel Hussein Saleh Hentif, Abd Al-Rahman Abdullah Au Shabati and Mohammed Ahmed Salam.
The final inmate, Akhmed Abdul Qadir, was transferred to Estonia.
The transfer of the five men leaves 122 inmates at the remote prison, which is located at a US naval base in southeastern Cuba.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1157161/us-sends-five-guantanamo-prisoners-to-oman-estonia
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More Muslim converts worry Ottawa imam
January 15, 2015
Usually news of more people converting to one’s religion is somewhat pleasant for religious leaders but that doesn’t seem to be the case for the imam of one of Ottawa’s largest mosques, where an increased number of conversions is worrying him.
Sam Metwally, the imam of Canada’s Ottawa Mosque, told CBC News that he witnessed “the biggest number” of conversions he has seen after the deadly shootings outside the Canadian parliament on Oct. 22.
Metwally said anywhere from 15 to 20 men in their 20s to 30s have come to the mosque to convert since the shootings.
“This is the biggest number after an event like this happens, and it was strange,” he said.
What is worrying for the Muslim community is that the new converts are not returning back to the mosques for further education about Islam.
“We try to give them our contacts, we try to encourage them to come again, but unfortunately the vast, vast majority of new converts, they come once and they disappear,” Metwally said.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/01/15/More-people-converting-to-Islam-worries-Ottawa-imam.html
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US man arrested over ISIL-inspired plot to attack Capitol
January 15, 2015
A US man was arrested Jan. 14 for allegedly plotting an attack on Congress inspired by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists, according to the Justice Department and the FBI.
Christopher Cornell, 20, was taken into custody after he purchased two semi-automatic weapons and 600 rounds of ammunition in the US state Ohio, according to a criminal complaint.
The Justice Department said he was charged "with attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States" and possession of a firearm to carry out violent acts.
According to the complaint, Cornell had opened a Twitter account under the pseudonym Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, where he posted messages supporting ISIL militants.
He is accused of sending messages to an informant from the Federal Bureau of Investigations outlining his plans.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-man-arrested-over-isil-inspired-plot-to-attack-capitol-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=76972&NewsCatID=358
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/turkey-allow-mohammed-be-insulted/d/101036