Turkey’s Top Cleric Slams Saudi Arabia over Mecca Skyscrapers
New Age Islam News Bureau
1
Oct 2014
Abdullah, a devout Muslim, skipped the entire 2012 NFL season to go on a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca
Mideast
• Turkey’s
Top Cleric Slams Saudi Arabia over Mecca Skyscrapers
• Yemen
Pupils Find Classes Turned Into Weapons Dump
• Palestinian
official likens Netanyahu to IS leader
• Hostage
tale suggests ISIS wary of upsetting Turkey
• Israel
Prize laureate Zach backs Abbas's claims of 'Gaza genocide'
• Muslim
NFL player penalized for praying after touchdown
• Turkey
plans safe haven in areas controlled by Free Syrian Army and Islamic Front
Arab World
• Wave of
Attacks in Shi'ite Parts of Baghdad Kill 35
• Blasts
in Syria’s Homs kill 18, most children
• Islamic
State militants behead 9 Kurdish fighters
• Al-Sudais:
Don’t Tarnish Haj with Sectarianism
• Priceless
Iraqi artefacts are sold to fund terror
• No food,
arms for Iraqi soldiers fighting jihadis
• Islamic
State uses grain to tighten grip in Iraq
• Jihadists
free 70 kidnapped children in Syria: Monitor
• More
than 8,000 Iraqi pilgrims smuggled out of IS-controlled areas
• Azhar:
the evolution of a beacon of moderate Islam
• Iraqi
Arabs who escaped ISIS complain under Kurds
• Iraqi
scholar: Jews persuaded Bush to invade Iraq in 2003 because of Torah prophecy
• El-Sisi
calls on youth to participate in Egypt parliamentary vote
Pakistan
• In Al
Qaeda Attack Lines Blur between Pakistan’s Military, Militants
• Six
killed, 12 injured in Quetta blasts, firing
• Dialogue
with militants underway: Balochistan CM
• Ahle
Sunnat Wal Jamaat continues sit-in amidst traffic chaos
• Karachi:
Sunni Tehreek worker gunned down
• PTI’s
aim is not to derail democracy: Qureshi
• Pak army
chief says Afghan-US deal ‘good move for durable peace’
• Javed
Hashmi announces resignation from PTI
South Asia
• Watchdog
Says No to Reduce Girls’ Marriage Age in Bangladesh
• Twin
suicide attacks on army buses in Kabul kill 7
• Taliban
executes 3 more over armed robbery charges in Paktia
• ‘Citizenship
if Rohingya identify as Bengali’
Europe
• ISIS
Could Become World's First Terrorist State, Warns UK
• Dutch
Teen Claiming To Be Part of ISIS Threatens To Behead Jews
• Pope
calls Mideast envoys to Vatican as Islamic State advances
• Europe
Tries to Stop Flow of Citizens Joining Jihad
• In
Depth: UK anti-Semitism continues unabated after Gaza war
• Theresa
Warns ISIS Thugs Could ‘Acquire Nuclear Weapons,’ Attack West
• Britain
releases images of strikes against ISIS
North America
• American
football player Husain Abdullah gets penalty for praying
• Obama
hails signing of BSA with Afghanistan as ‘historic’
• US
disagrees with Netanyahu on Iran, ISIS and Hamas
• Islamic
State fight seen costing US $2.4bn or more annually
• US slaps
sanctions on two Pakistan terror groups for helping LeT
• No
intention to interfere in Pakistani politics: US diplomat
India
• Saudi
Minister of Haj Calls For Further Cementing Saudi-India Relations
• ‘Love
Jihad’ a Social Problem, Not RSS Coinage: NCW Chief
• Muslim
Personal Law Is Barbaric: PCI Chief Justice Katju
• Over
1.36 Lakh Indian pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia for Haj
Southeast Asia
• Islamic
banking hopes for account development incentives from Budget 2015
• Filipino
of Saudi origin embraces Islam
• Google
finally brings ‘Street View’ to Malaysia
Africa
• Libyan
Islamists reject U.N.-led peace talks
• Protesters
in eastern Libya close second oilfield, seize company plane
• Tanzania:
New Constitution Moves Tanzania Closer to Gender Parity
• Nigeria:
Three Boko Haram Members Get 75-Years Jail Term
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
----------
Mideast
Turkey’s
Top Cleric Slams Saudi Arabia over Mecca Skyscrapers
01 Oct,
2014
The head
of Turkey’s top religious authority has slammed Saudi Arabia over construction
projects in Mecca, arguing that the holiest shrine of Muslims had been
“overshadowed” by skyscrapers in a way that violates cultural norms and
“destroys history.”
“I told
the Saudi minister of the Hajj that it is considered wrong in our culture to
look down on the Kaa’ba. ‘Then how did you look over it while travelling with
an aircraft [over Mecca],’ the Saudi minister asked me. Well, this is another
point of view,” Professor Dr. Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey’s Directorate
of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), told a group of journalists in Mecca on Sept.
29.
As
millions of Muslims perform the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca,
the ongoing construction boom in oil-rich Saudi Arabia is again being
questioned, particularly due to the transformation it has triggered around the
Kaa’ba, a structure believed to have originally been built by Abraham, a
prophet according to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The cuboid building is at
the center of Islam’s most sacred mosque, the al-Masjid al-Haram, which is now
surrounded by several high rises, including the 260-meter-high ZamZam Tower.
According
to Görmez, the Saudi minister, who he did not directly name, defended the high
rises during a conversation when he visited Mecca with former Diyanet head Dr.
Ali Bardakoğlu recently. “[The Saudis] had reserved a room for us on the 20th
floor. I opened the window and my knees shook. So I went downstairs and tried
to find myself a room there instead,” Görmez said.
“History
is being destroyed on the Holy Land each day. I wish we were not experiencing a
problem of de-historification in these lands. I wish we were able to protect
history,” he said, suggesting that “the meanings behind symbols” in the Hajj
were being eroded by mega projects.
Turkey’s
top cleric also criticized those who pray only for themselves during the Hajj
pilgrimage, complaining about a lack of will for the “collective good” among
Muslims. “A misunderstood religion destroys all the potential of the human,
while a rightfully understood religion is as natural as water and air,” he
said.
Görmez
touched on the question of Islamic extremism and the emergence of groups such
as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Boko Haram and al-Shabaab,
repeating his recent criticism of ISIL.
“Unfortunately,
the religion that once brought security to the world is now considered a
security threat … Muslims stress external factors [for problems], but refrain
from admitting internal reasons,” he said.
After
admitting the importance of external factors such as colonialism and recent
military invasions led by Western countries in the Islamic world, Görmez said
Muslims must also solve internal problems such as education and prison systems
that facilitate radicalization.
“As long
as the relationship between life and religion is not constituted correctly, the
division among Muslims will continue,” the Diyanet head said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-top-cleric-slams-saudi-arabia-over-mecca-skyscrapers.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72377&NewsCatID=393
----------
Yemen
pupils find classes turned into weapons dump
01 Oct,
2014
SANAA —
Back to school for young Yemenis in Sanaa was a stark reminder of why many missed
classes in the first place — rebels were using it as an arms dump.
Houthi
rebels had swept into the north of the city from their northern mountain
stronghold.
After
days of brief but bloody fighting, mainly in the north of the city where the
Shamlan school is located, the Houthi rebels occupied it after overrunning
Sanaa on September 21.
Children
who turned up on Monday after the school was supposed to have reopened found
the gates firmly shut and ended up having classes in the street outside.
Appropriately,
when it was time for drawing, many sketched pictures of tanks and machineguns.
“We have
a war at school,” explained one pupil about the picture he had made.
Rebels
remained tight-lipped when some parents of the hundreds of students at Shamlan
school asked when they would vacate the building.
Houthi
rebels have lined up armored vehicles in the playground and filled the
classrooms with ammunition.
The
rebels, who captured key state installations and military bases and now hold
sway over most of Sanaa, seized large amounts of weapons during their
offensive.
Headmistress
Fawzia Al-Ashem appeared torn between a ministerial decision to reopen the
school on Monday and the insurgents’ refusal to move out.
“It was
decided to reopen the school without thinking what’s inside it,” she told AFP.
Schools in the area had closed temporarily because of heavy fighting.
And
although rebels continue to rule the roost in Sanaa’s streets, the education
ministry went ahead and told schools to reopen on Monday. “The Houthis are
justifying their occupation of the place by saying that they have the right to
stay,” one parent said.
“They
claim they’re trying to find somewhere else to stock their weapons, but I don’t
believe them,” he added, asking not to be identified for security reasons.
The UN
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said twice during the fighting that it was concerned
about schooling in the capital, urging all parties to respect the right to an
education and to vacate occupied schools.
Hours
after taking over the capital eight days ago, the Houthis signed an agreement
to end the fighting, mediated by UN envoy Jamal Benomar.
And
after initially hesitating, on Saturday the rebels signed the accord’s security
protocol, stipulating the withdrawal of their forces from Sanaa once a new
prime minister is named.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20141001219900
--------
Palestinian
official likens Netanyahu to IS leader
01 Oct,
2014
A senior
Palestinian official on Tuesday likened Benjamin Netanyahu to the leader of the
Islamic State group, after the Israeli prime minister compared Hamas to the
jihadist organisation.
"Netanyahu
is trying to disseminate fear of the Islamic State led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
but Netanyahu forgets that he himself leads the Jewish state," said Saeb
Erakat, the Palestinians' chief negotiator in peace talks with Israel.
"He
wants us to call Israel the Jewish state and supports terrorist settlers who
kill, destroy and burn mosques and churches... like Baghdadi's men kill and
terrorise," Erakat told AFP.
Addressing
the UN General Assembly on Monday, Netanyahu compared Israel's battle against
Hamas to that of the US-led one against the brutal IS jihadists in Iraq and
Syria.
With his
speech at the United Nations, "Netanyahu finally closed the door on
progress towards a two-state solution within the 1967 borders and rejected any
serious political solution" in the peace talks, said Erakat.
Those
talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed spectacularly in April amid
bitter recriminations on both sides.
They are
supposed to meet again next month in Cairo for negotiations on a long-term
truce after the 50-day Gaza war that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians,
mostly civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side, mainly soldiers.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112087/World/Region/Palestinian-official-likens-Netanyahu-to-IS-leader.aspx
----------
Hostage
tale suggests ISIS wary of upsetting Turkey
01 Oct,
2014
Turkish
truck driver Ozgur Simsek was sleeping off a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) fuel
run to the Qayara power station in Iraq, he said, when he heard banging on his
vehicle’s door.
“ISIS
took over last night,” the power plant’s foreman shouted, referring to the
Islamic State group. “Empty your trucks and run!”
Simsek
rushed to unload his tanker’s fuel, he said, but it was too late. A battered
pickup bearing the black-and-white logo of the Islamic State group rolled
across the tarmac. Qayara’s security guards, who only moments before had been
joking around with the truckers, turned on the men, donning black masks and
brandishing weapons - taking all 32 Turkish men hostage.
For many
foreigners, being caught by the group’s fanatical fighters has meant months of
uncertainty, torture and, in some cases, a gruesome death. For Simsek and his
colleagues, captivity would last just over three weeks. Their trucks were
confiscated, but no one was harmed and no ransom was paid, according to a
narrative of the June 10 attack and its aftermath pieced together by The
Associated Press from interviews with drivers and a company executive.
The
episode paints a picture of a militant group unusually careful not to anger
Turkey’s government, and may offer insights into the mysterious release of 49
hostages from Turkey’s consulate in Mosul, Iraq, just over a week ago.
“The
Islamic State treated these hostages in the way they did because they don’t
want to provoke Ankara,” said George Readings, of London-based risk consultancy
Stirling Assynt. “If Turkey decided to crack down on the Islamic State’s
support, recruitment, fundraising and oil-selling networks that run through
Turkey, that would have a major impact on Islamic State’s ability to take and
hold territory in Syria and Iraq.”
Turkey
has been a reluctant member of the coalition fighting the Islamic State group.
Until the latest hostage release, Turkish leaders had said they would not
consider joining the coalition. In recent days, under intense pressure from
NATO allies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is mulling unspecified
military cooperation.
Turkish
officials reject the suggestion that they’ve tiptoed around the terror group,
and appear to have recently made strides in intercepting foreign fighters and
cracking down on oil smuggling. When asked whether Turkey is ambivalent toward
the Islamic State militants, an adviser to the Turkish prime minister told AP:
“Absolutely no.”
“We as a
country have been the subject of terrorist activities for the past 30 years,”
Cemalettin Hasimi said. “We know what it means.”
Whatever
the Turkish position, the Islamic State group’s actions seem to reflect a
certain pragmatism regarding Turkey.
For one
thing, it’s not clear whether the Turkish truckers were meant to have been
captured. Vehbi Demir, one of the few truckers who spoke Arabic, said the
atmosphere at a safe house where the Islamic State militants took some of them
that morning was one of confusion and panic. He said he overheard a
conversation between the kidnappers’ leader, an Iraqi going by the name of Abu
Abdullah, and his superiors. Demir said Abu Abdullah’s voice went flat after
informing them that he had kidnapped a bunch of Turks.
“It
seems they weren’t happy about it,” Demir said.
For a
while, two groups of truckers were kept separately - some at the safe house,
the others at the power plant - but four days after the kidnapping the truckers
and their vehicles were driven, under guard, to a U.S.-built airfield between
Mosul and Qayara.
There,
they were parked in a semi-enclosed engineering bay surrounded by four-meter-high
concrete walls. The place was hot, dusty and crawling with scorpions, but
despite the uncomfortable conditions the Turks said they were treated well.
The
guard was relaxed. Drivers kept the keys to their trucks and could occasionally
retreat to their air-conditioned cabs to watch satellite television and even
use the batteries to recharge smartphones, which a few had kept hidden from
their captors.
Food
deliveries were irregular but included bread, cucumbers, watermelon and meat,
which the truckers cooked with camping cylinders and bits of wood. Sometimes
their Islamic State guards brought so much to eat that the truckers had to
watch their leftover chicken and tomatoes wilt in the 50-degree-Celsius (120 F)
heat.
Although
the militants forbade the truckers to play “sinful” music from their cabs, the
captives were largely left to their own devices. They were even allowed to
smoke - an unusual concession for the Islamic State group, which has outlawed
smoking and publicly flogs violators.
Video
shot from inside their makeshift prison shows a group of truckers watching
television together on a carpets and mattresses laid out on the floor. They all
smile for the camera.
Turkish
driver Serdar Bayrak described his ordeal to the AP in his top-floor apartment
in Cizre, an arid and unsettled transit town in Turkey across from the Syrian
border. After a terrifying capture in which friendly guards “turned into
monsters in five minutes,” he said, it took less than a week for him to feel
like “we were guests there.”
The
truckers believed that their Islamic State captors “would take care of Turkey’s
citizens in the best way possible and would not harm them in any way,” he said.
“They wanted their relationship to last with Turkey.”
It isn’t
clear why the Islamic State group kept its Turkish captives for so long or why
it released them when it did. Half-hearted ransom negotiations had gone
nowhere, according to Mehmet Kizil, the CEO of Kizil Lojistik, which owned many
of the captured tankers.
Kizil
said Abu Abdullah initially phoned demanding a $5 million ransom - which Kizil
agreed to - and then a $10 million ransom - which Kizil also said he would pay
- before refusing to take his calls. The truckers described the negotiations as
a farce, saying Abu Abdullah rarely even bothered to keep his phone on.
“It was
a tactic to gain time,” Bayrak said.
The
truckers were released on July 4 after a night at an Islamic State base near
the airport. Bayrak described the experience as frightening, saying he
witnessed children as young as 8 or 9 holding weapons and encountered four
suicide bombers with explosive vests getting ready to leave to target Iraqi
forces.
That
morning, a man the truckers knew as Sheikh Musa bid the 32 captives farewell,
apologizing for having kept them hostage and insisting that no ransom had been
paid.
Video
covertly shot by one of the truckers shows his worn but happy-looking comrades
being carried in pickup trucks under a giant Islamic State flag later that day.
The men were eventually dropped at the side of the road and had to walk the
rest of the way in the desert to Makhmour, near the Kurdish capital of Irbil.
From there, a Turkish plane flew them home.
The
truckers’ low-key homecoming was in contrast to the rapturous welcome afforded
to the 49 Turkish consulate workers. In both cases, however, the reason behind
the release seems linked to maintaining the status quo with Turkey.
“Turks
are our brothers,” Simsek recalled one militant telling him just before he was
released.
Readings
said the release of both sets of hostages “reflects the fact that it’s not in
Islamic State’s interests right now to enter into confrontation with Turkey.”
Simsek
said that while he is pleased that the consular workers were released, he
remains angry at the theft of the trucks, which had left him and others saddled
with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
“We know
that their loss will be compensated,” Simsek said of the consular staff. “The
only ones who will end up losing out are us.”
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/09/30/Hostage-tale-suggests-ISIS-wary-of-upsetting-Turkey.html
----------
Israel
Prize laureate Zach backs Abbas's claims of 'Gaza genocide'
Oct 01
2014
Nathan
Zach, the famed poet and Israel Prize laureate, was quoted in Hebrew-language
media outlets on Tuesday as saying that he supported Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas’s characterization of Israel’s actions in the Gaza
Strip this past summer as “genocide.”
In an
interview with Army Radio, Zach said it was Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s
speech that was “slanderous” while Abbas “spoke the truth.”
“If I
were to speak to Netanyahu, I’d quote him a passage from the Book of Isaiah,
[chapter 49, verse 17]: ‘Your children hasten back, and those who laid you
waste depart from you’,” Zach said.
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-Prize-laureate-Zach-backs-Abbas-claims-of-Gaza-genocide-376658
----------
Muslim
NFL player penalized for praying after touchdown
Oct 01
2014
Social
media was abuzz after a Muslim player for an American professional football
team was penalized for praying in a celebratory manner following a touchdown
that he scored for his team.
Husain
Abdullah, a defensive back for the National Football League’s Kansas City
Chiefs, intercepted a pass thrown by New England’s Tom Brady and returned it to
the end zone for a touchdown during his team’s victory on Monday night in
Kansas City.
After
scoring the touchdown, Abdullah then kneeled to the ground briefly and touched
his head to the turf, mimicking the prayer motion that Muslims perform when
worshiping.
The
referees officiating the game penalized Abdullah for unsportsmanlike conduct,
resulting in a 15-yard penalty for his team.
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Muslim-NFL-player-penalized-for-praying-after-touchdown-376649
----------
Turkey
plans safe haven in areas controlled by Free Syrian Army and Islamic Front
01 Oct,
2014
Turkey
is drawing up plans for a safe haven on the border in Syria that will secure
regions controlled by the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front, possibly
manned only by Turkish troops, according to security sources.
Ankara
would prefer any safe haven to be established by U.S.–led coalition forces, but
the Turkish Armed Forces is preparing to establish a safe haven even unaccompanied
by foreign troops, sources said.
The safe
haven will not include any region in northern Syria that is under the control
of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant
(ISIL), so the Turkish forces will not come into contact with those groups,
they added.
Full
report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-plans-safe-haven-in-areas-controlled-by-free-syrian-army-and-islamic-front.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72397&NewsCatID=338
----------
Arab World
Wave of
attacks in Shi'ite parts of Baghdad kill 35
01 Oct,
2014
At least
35 people were killed in a wave of car bomb and mortar attacks in mainly
Shi'ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraqi police and medical
sources said.
It was
one of the most violent days the capital has witnessed since U.S.-led forces
began bombing Islamic State insurgents in Iraq last month.
There
was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but Islamic State,
ultra-radical Sunni Muslim militants who seized swathes of northern Iraq in June,
claimed several suicide bombings in the capital earlier this year.
Two car
bombs exploded in busy streets in the al-Horreyya district, killing 20 people
and wounding 35, according to the police and medical sources. There was also a
mortar attack in the Sab al-Bour neighbourhood of northern Baghdad that killed
five people and wounded 15.
Later on
Tuesday, at least seven people were killed and 18 wounded when a car bomb
exploded in the mainly Shi'ite Zaa'faraniya district of southeast Baghdad,
police said.
Three
mortars also landed in the Shi'ite al-Shula district in the capital's
northwest, killing three people and wounding 12, police said.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112123/World/Region/Wave-of-attacks-in-Shiite-parts-of-Baghdad-kill-.aspx
----------
Blasts
in Syria’s Homs kill 18, most children
1
October 2014
Twin car
bomb explosions in the central Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday killed at least
18 people, mostly children, and wounded 40 others, state news agency SANA reported.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, reported
the same toll in the double bombing in the Akrameh neighborhood of Homs.
The
group said the toll could rise as body parts were still being collected from
the scene and several of the wounded were in serious condition.
“Two
terrorist explosions near the Akrameh al-Makhzumi school and the Zaim hospital
caused deaths and injuries,” Syrian state television reported.
The
neighborhood is home to a majority of Alawites, members of the same offshoot of
Shiite Islam to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/10/01/Blasts-in-Syria-s-Homs-kill-18-most-children-.html
----------
Islamic
State militants behead 9 Kurdish fighters
Oct 1,
2014
Activists
on Wednesday said Islamic State militants have beheaded nine Kurdish fighters,
including three women, captured in clashes near the Syria-Turkey border.
The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the nine Kurds were
captured during fighting over the northern Syrian town of Kobani, also known as
Ayn Arab.
There
have been fierce clashes around Kobani since mid-September, when the Islamic
State group launched an assault to seize the area.
The
Observatory also said that dozens of militants and Kurdish fighters were killed
in clashes overnight.
Images
posted on social media networks showed women’s heads placed on a cement block,
said to be in the northern Syrian city of Jarablous, held by militants.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/islamic-state-militants-behead-9-kurdish-fighters/article6465258.ece
------------
Al-Sudais:
Don’t tarnish Haj with sectarianism
01 Oct,
2014
President
of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Abdulrahman
Al-Sudais, has warned that pilgrims risk deviating from Islamic injunctions if
they use the Haj for political and sectarian gatherings.
There is
no room for arguments and disputes during the pilgrimage, he reportedly said
recently. Muslims should use the time at the holy sites to contemplate how to
unify and solve problems in the Islamic world, which is currently weak and
fragmented, he said.
He said
the presidency would deploy 15,000 employees in day and night shifts to help
pilgrims perform their rituals.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/638246
----------
Priceless
Iraqi artefacts are sold to fund terror
Reuters
| Oct 1, 2014
PARIS:
Ancient Iraqi artefacts are appearing on the black market as ISIS militants use
intermediaries to sell priceless treasures to finance their activities after
sweeping through the north of the country, officials said.
The
militants gained some experience of dealing in antiquities after taking control
of large parts of Syria, but when they captured the northern Iraqi city of
Mosul and the Nineveh province in June, they gained access to almost 2,000 of
Iraq's 12,000 registered archaeological sites. Speaking at a conference at the
UN cultural agency Unesco in Paris to warn of the risk to Iraq's heritage, Qais
Hussein Rasheed, head of the Baghdad Museum, said organized groups were working
in coordination with ISIS.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Priceless-Iraqi-artefacts-are-sold-to-fund-terror/articleshow/43947826.cms
------------
No food,
arms for Iraqi soldiers fighting jihadis
The
Independent | Oct 1, 2014
US air
strikes are failing to drive back ISIS in Iraq where its forces are still
within an hour's drive of Baghdad.
Three
and a half months since the Iraqi army was routed in northern Iraq by an
inferior force of ISIS fighters, it is still seeing bases overrun because it
fails to supply them with ammunition, food and water. The selection of a new
PM, Haider al-Abadi, to replace Nouri al-Maliki last month was supposed to
introduce a more conciliatory government that would appeal to Iraq's Sunni
minority from which ISIS draws its support.
Abadi
promised to end the random bombardment of Sunni civilians, but Fallujah has
been shelled for six out of seven days, with 28 killed and 117 injured. Despite
the military crisis, the government has still not been able to get its choice
for the two top security jobs, the defence minis ter and interior minister,
through parliament.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/No-food-arms-for-Iraqi-soldiers-fighting-jihadis/articleshow/43947016.cms
------------
Islamic
State uses grain to tighten grip in Iraq
Reuters
| Oct 1, 2014
SHEKHAN:
For Salah Paulis, it came down to a choice between his faith and his crop.A
wheat farmer from outside Mosul, Paulis and his family fled the militant group
Islamic State early last month. The group overran the family farm as part of
its offensive that captured vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq. Two
weeks later, Paulis, who is a Christian, received a phone call from a man who
said he was an Islamic State fighter.
"We
are in your warehouse. Why are you not here working and taking care of your
business?" the man asked in formal Arabic. "Come back and we will guarantee
your safety. But you must convert and pay $500."
When
Paulis refused, the man spelled out the penalty. "We are taking your
wheat," he said. "Just to let you know we are not stealing it because
we gave you a choice."
Other
fleeing farmers recount similar stories, and point to a little-discussed
element of the threat Islamic State poses to Iraq and the region.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Islamic-State-uses-grain-to-tighten-grip-in-Iraq/articleshow/43950506.cms
------------
Jihadists
free 70 kidnapped children in Syria: Monitor
01 Oct,
2014
The
Islamic State jihadist group on Tuesday freed more than 70 Kurdish school
children its fighters kidnapped in northern Syria in May, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said.
The
Britain-based group said parents had reported the release of the children, who
are believed to be aged between 13 and 15.
The
group of 70 were among 153 school children, most of them boys, abducted by IS
jihadists on May 29 in the northern province of Aleppo.
They
were intercepted and taken hostage en route to their hometown of Ain al-Arab
after sitting school exams in Aleppo city.
They
were kidnapped around the area of Minbej, which has been targeted in recent
days in air strikes by a US-led coalition fighting jihadists.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/112095/World/Region/Jihadists-free--kidnapped-children-in-Syria-Monito.aspx
----------
More
than 8,000 Iraqi pilgrims smuggled out of IS-controlled areas
01 Oct,
2014
MAKKAH
— Around 8,345 Iraqis who live in areas
controlled by Islamic State were smuggled out in order to leave for the Kingdom
to perform Haj, said the head of Iraqi Haj delegation and the country’s
undersecretary of Haj, Makkah daily reported.
The trip
was risky and pilgrims had to put their lives on line for the sake of
performing the pilgrimage, Kamal Issawi said.
“Some of
them marched through the Euphrates River in pitch-black darkness and had to
walk over wood bridges to get to the other end while some were taken to remote
areas then whisked away by military airplanes to Baghdad airport,” Issawi said.
It was
an arduous task to get the Sunni pilgrims unscathed out of the areas that have
been witnessing fierce clashes, he said.
Full
report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20141001219954
----------
Azhar:
the evolution of a beacon of moderate Islam
01 Oct,
2014
Nestled
in Cairo’s medieval quarter, the centuries’ old al-Azhar mosque is set to be
renovated following pledges this month by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates to fund the restoration works.
The
mosque is often described as a “beacon of moderate Islam” and Azhar University
is sometimes referred to as the center of Islamic teaching and one of the oldest
higher-education institutions in the world.
The
beginning of the institution that today combines the mosque and the university
is starkly different from its modern-day form.
In 988
AD, the first call to prayer echoed from the new Al-Azhar mosque, believed to
have been called after the Prophet Mohamed’s daughter Fatima al-Zahraa (Fatima
the luminous), according to the website Muslim Heritage.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/09/30/Azhar-The-evolution-of-a-beacon-of-moderate-Islam.html
----------
Iraqi
Arabs who escaped ISIS complain under Kurds
01 Oct,
2014
When
Sunni militants captured Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, in June, Abu Sara
and his family feared their town of Taza, located some 50 kilometers southeast
of the city, would inevitably be next. Government soldiers had dropped their
weapons and abandoned their posts - forcing residents to fend for themselves.
It
wasn't before long before the gas was cut, then the water, ahead of the
imminent onslaught. The family was left with little choice but to flee to the
closest city that could offer them safe haven - Kurdish-dominated Kirkuk.
But life
has been filled with hardship for Abu Sara and the tens of thousands of Iraqi
Arabs who escaped one opponent only to face another. Displaced Arabs who fled
to oil-rich Kirkuk say tensions with the local Kurdish population have surged
amid fears that Arabs are linked to the Islamic State militant group that has
seized a third of the country. Local and displaced Arabs complain of
discrimination and attack from Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga, accusing
them of trying to assert a Kurdish majority through intimidation.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2014/09/30/Iraqi-Arabs-claim-persecution-by-Kurds.html
----------
Iraqi
scholar: Jews persuaded Bush to invade Iraq in 2003 because of Torah prophecy
Oct 01
2014
A new
book by an Iraqi scholar argues that the Jews persuaded US President George W.
Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, as part of a global Jewish conspiracy rooted in
the Torah and ancient history, according to a report in Palestinian media
outlet Al Watan Voice.
The
book, by Dr. Mohammad Hussein Al-Falahi, was published by Dar Djlah in Oman, Al
Watan Voice writes.
Interest
in the Iraqi people occupies a large proportion of Jewish thought, Al-Falahi
argues, with “about 350-400 pages” of the Torah devoted to the Babylonian
exile.
According
to the report, Al Falahi argues that many of those in Bush’s inner circle,
including Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney, were Jews who
forced the former US President to invade Iraq because this was a “central and
strategic goal of world Jewry”. Other figures in the “global Jewish order”,
such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, were also instrumental in
persuading Bush to invade Iraq, Al Falahi says.
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iraqi-scholar-Jews-persuaded-Bush-to-invade-Iraq-in-2003-because-of-Torah-prophecy-376670
----------
El-Sisi
calls on youth to participate in Egypt parliamentary vote
01 Oct,
2014
President
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on young people to actively participate in the
upcoming parliamentary elections.
Speaking
at a military academy on Wednesday, El-Sisi warned that Egyptians should vote
for "national and rational forces" in the polls, "so as not to
have problems."
"I
call on political parties to include young people and to push them to work and
participate...this is what we need."
Parliamentary
elections are expected by the end of the year, and until then legislative
powers remain in the hands of the president.
In his
29-minute televised speech, El-Sisi spoke about his recent visit to the United
States for the Climate Summit, where he met a variety of global leaders,
politicians and journalists.
He said
the world had "listened attentively" to what the Egyptian delegation
had to say about the country's challenges, its political roadmap and its role
in the region.
Full
report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/112149/Egypt/Politics-/ElSisi-calls-on-youth-to-participate-in-Egypt-parl.aspx
----------
Pakistan
In al
Qaeda attack lines blur between Pakistan’s military, militants
Reuters
Oct 01
2014
Months
after Owais Jakhrani was sacked from the Pakistan navy for radical Islamist views,
he led an audacious mission to take over a warship and turn its guns on a US
naval vessel in the open seas.
The
early September dawn raid at a naval base in the southern city of Karachi was
thwarted, but not before Jakhrani, two officers and an unidentified fourth
assailant snuck past a patrol boat in a dinghy and engaged in an intense fire
fight on or around the warship, PNS Zulfiqar.
Four
people were killed in the attempt to hijack the Zulfiqar, including Jakhrani
and two accomplices, who were serving sub-lieutenants, according to police
reports seen by Reuters.
Officials
are divided about how much support the young man in his mid-20s had from inside
the navy. They stress that Jakhrani and his accomplices were a long way from
achieving their aim when they were killed.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/in-al-qaeda-attack-lines-blur-between-pakistans-military-militants#sthash.cCIdt0bv.dpuf
----------
Six
killed, 12 injured in Quetta blasts, firing
October
01, 2014
QUETTA: At
least six people were killed and 12 injured in firing and blasts here on
Wednesday.
Unknown
men hurled a hand grenade and opened fire at a barber shop located on Zarghoon
Road. 13 people were injured in the attack and later three succumbed to their
injuries while receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Two
hours later a photographer’s shop was attacked on Sariab Road. One person was
killed and another injured after a hand grenade was hurled and firing was
opened at the shop.
A father
and son were killed in a firing incident on Joint Road while one person was
killed in another incident on Kasi Road.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-161360-Six-killed,-12-injured-in-Quetta-blasts,-firing--
----------
Dialogue
with militants underway: Balochistan CM
Oct 01
2014
QUETTA -
Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, while responding to
resolution moved in the Balochistan Assembly seeking return of Khan of Kalat,
said that he was engaged in dialogues with Khan of Kalat, Baloch militants and
religious extremists for the cause of peace in the province.
Deputy
Speaker Abdul Quddoos Bezinjo presided over the assembly session held here on
Tuesday.
Jamait
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl MPA Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran tabled a resolution which
reads that this house recommended the provincial government to form a jirga
comprising assembly members to hold dialogues with Khan of Kalat Agha Suleman
Daud in London for his respectfully return back to the country so that he could
play his due role for the restoration of peace in Balochistan.
Responding
to the resolution, CM Dr Malik said that when he along with Senator Mir Hasil
Bezinjo called on Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and apprised him
about the issues confronted by Balochistan province including dumping of
decomposed bodies and missing persons issue, the premier said that he was fully
aware of these issues and wanted the resolution to them.
Full
report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/01-Oct-2014/dialogue-with-militants-underway-malik
----------
Ahle
Sunnat Wal Jamaatcontinues sit-in amidst traffic chaos
October
01, 2014
Karachi-
Workers of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) continued their protest sit-in in
Karachi for the second day today against ‘extra-judicial killing’ and ‘illegal
arrest’ of their colleagues, causing severe traffic mess in metropolis areas.
The
protest is being staged at Guru Mandir traffic intersection where key link
roads remained closed today. Due to the protest, that was joined by a large
number of ASWJ workers and a few dozen today, road leading to Nishter Road,
Shari-e-Pakistan, Lasbela Chowk, M.A Jinnah Road were blocked. On Tuesday, the
traffic chaos also stretched to other parts including Sadar, Shahrah-e-Faisal
and I.I Chundrigarh roads where hundreds of vehicles were struck in traffic jams
for hours.
http://nation.com.pk/national/01-Oct-2014/karachi-aswj-continues-sit-in-amid-traffic-chaos
----------
Karachi:
Sunni Tehreek worker gunned down
October
01, 2014
Karachi-
A worker of Sunni Tehreek has been shot dead in New Karachi.
The
spokesman of Sunni Tehreek confirmed that the deceased, Muhammed Hussain Qadri,
was their activist.
http://nation.com.pk/karachi/01-Oct-2014/karachi-sunni-tehreek-worker-gunned-down
----------
PTI’s
aim is not to derail democracy: Qureshi
Oct 01
2014
LAHORE:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on
Wednesday that his party believes in the supremacy of the Constitution and did
not aim to derail democracy.
Speaking
to reporters here, Quereshi said the PTI had already advised Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif to resign and nominate someone from the PML-N for prime minister
during the election rigging probe.
Qureshi
added that the PPP had supported the PTI stance that the elections were rigged
by Returning Officers (ROs). The PTI Vice Chairman said his party was
advocating for transparent elections and did not aim to topple the government.
He added
that everyone desired to spend Eid with their families but if their aim was not
fulfilled Imran Khan and PTI workers would remain at D-Chowk.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-161353-PTIs-aim-is-not-to-derail-democracy:-Qureshi-
--------
Pak army
chief says Afghan-US deal ‘good move for durable peace’
Oct 01
2014
Pakistan’s
Chef of Army Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif has said that the conclusion of Bilateral
Security Agreement (BSA) between Kabul and Washington was ‘a good move for
durable peace in Afghanistan’.
According
to Pakistani media agencies, Gen. Raheel Sharif met with the military
commanders on Wednesday to review the signing of Bilateral Security Agreement
(BSA) between new elected Afghan government administration and the United
States.
Afghan
national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar signed the long-awaited security
agreement with the US ambassador James B. Cunningham.
Full
report at:
http://www.khaama.com/pakistan-army-chief-says-afghan-us-deal-good-move-for-durable-peace-8756
----------
Javed
Hashmi announces resignation from PTI
Oct 01
2014
MULTAN:
Suspended by his party following allegations against Imran Khan, the estranged
elected president of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Javed Hashmi announced on
Wednesday his resignation from the party presidency and its membership.
Hashmi
said that he could no longer continue his membership with a party 'conspiring'
to dismantle democracy in Pakistan.
"There
are a few hypocrites with Imran," Hashmi said adding, "I have told
him the party's bad time has begun."
Earlier,
PTI had suspended the membership of Hashmi and had summoned him to the party
secretariat to explain his case on September 29.
PTI
Chairman Imran Khan also announced that he had parted ways with Hashmi for
opposing the march on the Prime Minister`s House.
During
his speech on the floor of Parliament on September 2, Hashmi had clarified that
despite his differences with the party’s high command, he was still PTI’s
democratically elected president.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1135523/javed-hashmi-announces-resignation-from-pti
----------
South Asia
Watchdog
Says No to Reduce Girls’ Marriage Age in Bangladesh
Oct 01
2014
Opposing
the cabinet’s decision to reduce the minimum age for marriage to 16 years for
girls from the existing 18 years, a parliamentary watchdog yesterday observed
that the minimum age should be hiked to 20 years.
Discussing
the issue of child marriage at a meeting in the parliament building, most of
the members of the 10-strong Parliamentary Standing Committee on Women and
Children Affairs criticised the government’s decision, but refrained from
making any recommendations.
The
standing committee members also decided to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to
discuss the issue.
State
Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki did not attend the
meeting, which saw committee members Md Mozammel Hossain, Nasrin Jahan Ratna,
Monowara Begum and Reefat Amin in attendance.
Reefat
Amin first raised the objection when Rebecca Momin, the committee chair, talked
in favour of lowering the age limit while discussing the growth of girls and
their addiction to social media.
Full
report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/law-rights/2014/oct/01/watchdog-says-no-reducing-girls%E2%80%99-marriage-age#sthash.PZ8Z22Dj.dpuf
-------
Twin
suicide attacks on army buses in Kabul kill 7
Oct 01
2014
KABUL:
Two Taliban suicide bombers hit army buses in Kabul Wednesday, killing at least
seven people in a coordinated attack, officials said, a day after the new
Afghan government signed a deal for US troops to stay in the country.
The
Taliban, who strongly opposed the agreement with the US, claimed responsibility
for the early-morning twin blasts that targeted vehicles taking military
employees to work in the capital.
"There
have been two suicide attacks targeting buses carrying Afghan national army
personnel," Farid Afzali, chief of the city´s police investigation
department, told.
"Six
military personnel and one civilian were killed in one attack, and 15 were
injured. Four military personnel were injured in the other attack."
Ministry
of Defence spokesman General Zahir Azimi confirmed the death toll and injured.
There
were conflicting reports on whether the attackers were on foot or driving cars
laden with explosives.
Full
report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-161329-Twin-suicide-attacks-on-army-buses-in-Kabul-kill-7
----------
Taliban
executes 3 more over armed robbery charges in Paktia
Oct 01
2014
Taliban
militants executed at least six people over armed robbery and kidnap charges
within a week in eastern Paktia province of Afghanistan.
Local
security officials in Paktia said at least three people were executed over
armed robbery in Gardez city on Monday afternoon.
The
officials further added that the three individuals were executed in Nastikot
area.
The
Taliban militants group on Saturday publicly executed three people over robbery
and kidnapping charges in Zurmat district on Friday.
Taliban
group spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid accused all six individuals for being
involved in armed robbery, kidnappings and murder of people.
Mujahid
said individuals were found guilty during a public court hearing and were then
executed.
In the meantime,
security officials in Paktia are saying that the charges by Taliban group
against the individuals could not be confirmed.
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-executes-3-more-over-armed-robbery-charges-in-paktia-6777
----------
‘Citizenship
if Rohingya identify as Bengali’
Oct 1,
2014
Myanmar
has confirmed to the United Nations that it is finalising a plan that will
offer minority Rohingya Muslims citizenship if they change their ethnicity to
suggest Bangladeshi origin, a move rights groups say could force thousands into
detention camps.
Most of
Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like
conditions in Rakhine State on the western coast of the predominantly Buddhist
country. Almost 140,000 Rohingya remain displaced after deadly clashes with
ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012.
“An
action plan is being finalised and will soon be launched,” Foreign Minister
Wunna Maung Lwin said in an address to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday,
requesting the United Nations to “provide much-needed development assistance
there”.
The
Rakhine State Action Plan outlines projects including rehabilitation and
promoting reconciliation, according to a draft obtained by Reuters.
Full
report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/citizenship-if-rohingya-identify-as-bengali/article6462706.ece
------------
Europe
ISIS
could become world's first terrorist state, warns UK
Kounteya
Sinha,TNN | Oct 1, 2014
LONDON:
Britain's home minister Theresa May said that ISIS could become the world's
first truly terrorist state and bomb the UK with nuclear and chemical weapons.
Delivering her speech at the Conservative Party conference, May set out new
measures to clamp down on extremist groups, saying, "If ISIS succeeds in
firmly consolidating their grip on the land they occupy in Syria and Iraq, we
will see the world's first truly terrorist state established within a few hours
flying time of our country."
She
added, "With the capability of a state behind them, the terrorists will
acquire chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons to attack us.We must not
flinch. We must not shy away from our respon sibility. We must not drift
towards danger and insecurity .While we still have the chance, we must act to
destroy them."
She also
promised a ban on so-called hate preachers and other extremists being
interviewed on television or speaking at public meetings as well as an
extension of ministers' authority to outlaw groups suspected of encouraging
terrorism or violence if the Conservatives were re-elected.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/ISIS-could-become-worlds-first-terrorist-state-warns-UK/articleshow/43946422.cms
----------
Dutch
Teen Claiming To Be Part of ISIS Threatens To Behead Jews
Oct 01
2014
THE
HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch high school student was suspended after posting a
video in which he said he belonged to ISIS and wanted to decapitate Jews.
The De
Spindel high school in Hengelo, a city in eastern Netherlands, suspended the
14-year-old in recent days, according to a report Saturday by the De Telegraaf
daily. The student, who according to the newspaper is a Muslim boy of Balkan
descent, was identified in the media only as Ilhan M.
“Hi, I
am from ISIS and I would like to cut off the heads of Jews,” he is seen as
saying, followed by profanities about Jewish women.
It is
not yet clear whether the teen was suspended because of the video or a recent
inquiry by police initiated earlier this month after faculty reported that he
may have possessed a weapon. Police found the boy owned a prop gun.
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Dutch-teen-claiming-to-be-part-of-ISIS-threatens-to-behead-Jews-376740
-------
Pope
calls Mideast envoys to Vatican as Islamic State advances
Oct 01
2014
Pope
Francis, who has expressed alarm over the rise of Islamic State militants and
the plight of Christians in the Middle East, has summoned his envoys in the
region to a rare meeting to discuss a response to the crisis, the Vatican said
on Tuesday.
The Oct.
2-4 gathering will include Vatican ambassadors to Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon,
Syria, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinians as well as representatives to the
United Nations and the European Union.
They
will hold talks with more than a dozen top Vatican officials, including
Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who addressed the United Nations on
the Middle East crisis on Monday.
Earlier
this month during a visit to predominantly Muslim Albania, Francis issued a
strong criticism of Islamist militants, saying no religious group which used
violence and oppression could claim to be "the armor of God."
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Pope-Mideast-envoys-to-discuss-Islamic-State-in-Rome-376671
----------
Europe
Tries to Stop Flow of Citizens Joining Jihad
Oct 01
2014
BIRMINGHAM,
England — European countries pressed ahead on Tuesday with efforts to deter the
growing numbers of their citizens seeking to join radical Islamic movements in
Iraq and Syria, as some experts warned that the United States-led military
campaign against the Islamic State increased the risk that the groups would
turn their attention to attacking Western targets.
France’s
interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, promoting legislation to address the
problem, said on Tuesday that the number of French citizens who had traveled to
fight in the region, or planned to travel there, had grown 74 percent this
year, to about 1,000. About 350 French citizens are currently on the ground
there, he estimated, including 60 women.
His
British counterpart, Home Secretary Theresa May, told her party conference here
on Tuesday that she wanted new powers to prevent those suspected of Islamic
radicalism from using social media, while pressing for legislation, already
announced, to give the police the power to seize passports at the border from Britons
suspected of traveling to join Islamic radicals. She said that a future
Conservative government would ban extremist groups and further restrict the
movement and access to the Internet of those suspected of having radical
intentions or of proselytizing extremist views.
Full
report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/world/europe/isis-europe-muslim-radicalization.html?_r=0
----------
In
Depth: UK anti-Semitism continues unabated after Gaza war
Oct 01
2014
LONDON –
The Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza may have finished over a month ago, but
its effects are still reverberating abroad, not least of all in the UK.
While
the range and level of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity in Britain has not
matched that seen in parts of Europe such as France, the UK Jewish community
still felt its effects as never before, as illustrated by near-record levels of
incidents reported by the Community Security Trust (CST), the organization
responsible for the Jewish Community’s safety.
The
CST’s monthly anti-Semitism figures told it all. In July, the CST recorded more
than 302 incidents, while the provisional figure for August is already more
than 150. The statistics are incomplete as the CST anticipates receiving more
detailed information about incidents from regional police authorities and other
sources.
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/In-Depth-UK-anti-Semitism-continues-unabated-after-Gaza-war-376672
----------
Theresa
Warns ISIS Thugs Could ‘Acquire Nuclear Weapons,’ Attack West
Oct 01
2014
The
Conservative Party leader made a stirring speech in Birmingham, asserting
extreme measures for homeland security and blasting Islamic State terrorists.
She said if the jihadists are successful in establishing an extremist state,
they will 'acquire chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons to attack us.'
Stop
ISIS now, or face the doomsday scenario of Muslim militants attacking Britain
with “chemical, biological or even nuclear weapons.”
That was
the startling warning Tuesday from a top British politician, who said they
“must not flinch” in the face of an Islamic State threat that she painted in
apocalyptic terms.
“If
(ISIS) succeeds in firmly consolidating their grip on the land they occupy in
Syria and Iraq, we will see the world’s first truly terrorist state established
within a few hours flying time of our country,” Home Secretary Theresa May
declared.
Full
report at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/british-home-secretary-theresa-warns-isis-thugs-acquire-nuclear-weapons-attack-west-article-1.1957975
----------
North America
American
football player Husain Abdullah gets penalty for praying
Oct 1,
2014
KANSAS
CITY: Kansas City Chiefs player Husain Abdullah was slapped with a 15-yard
penalty in NFL contest after punctuating a fourth quarter touchdown by dropping
to his knees in prayer, the US media reported.
Abdullah,
a devout Muslim, slid to his knees after intercepting a Tom Brady pass for a
touchdown early in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs 41-14 win over the New
England Patriots. He then leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the
end zone grass.
It is
technically a violation of the National Football League's "excessive
celebration" rules after scores to do what Abdullah did. Whether the
penalty was for sliding or the bowing in prayer is unclear.
"If
I get a pick I am going to prostrate before God in the end zone," Abdullah
told Kansas City Star newspaper.
"For
me, I just got a little too excited. I think it was for the slide."
Social
media was quick to criticize the officials, including Abdullah's agent CJ LaBoy
who indicated that his client was practising the "sajda", a religious
prayer.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/mad-mad-world/American-football-player-Husain-Abdullah-gets-penalty-for-praying/articleshow/43915405.cms
------------
Obama
hails signing of BSA with Afghanistan as ‘historic’
Oct 1,
2014
Terming
the signing of a much-delayed bilateral security agreement between Afghanistan
and the US as ‘historic’, President Barack Obama Tuesday said it would help target
the remnants of al-Qaeda in the war-torn country.
“Today
we mark an historic day in the US-Afghan partnership that will help advance our
shared interests and the long-term security of Afghanistan,” Obama said in a
statement.
“This
agreement represents an invitation from the Afghan government to strengthen the
relationship we have built over the past 13 years and provides our military
service members the necessary legal framework to carry out two critical
missions after 2014: targeting the remnants of al-Qaeda and training, advising,
and assisting Afghan National Security Forces,” he said.
Full
report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/americas/obama-hails-signing-of-bsa-with-afghanistan-as-historic/#sthash.tPIA251a.dpuf
------------
US
disagrees with Netanyahu on Iran, ISIS and Hamas
Oct 01 2014
The US
State Department said in a press conference that it disagrees with Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's assertion during his UN speech on Monday that
"ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree."
"Obviously,
we’ve designated both as terrorist organizations, but ISIL poses a different
threat to Western interests and to the United States," said State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. "And that’s just a fact."
Later on
in the speech, Netanyahu said that Iran is still a great threat to Israel's
existence. He also warned that Iran is not actually willing to give up nuclear
weapons but rather just wants to get rid of the sanctions against them.
In
response, Psaki said that the US would like Iran to reintegrate into the
international community by showing that their nuclear program is peaceful.
Full
report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/US-disagrees-with-Netanyahu-on-Iran-ISIS-and-Hamas-376647
----------
Islamic
State fight seen costing US $2.4bn or more annually
Oct 01
2014
US
military efforts against Islamic State have cost nearly $1bn so far and are
likely to run between $2.4bn and $3.8bn
per year if air and ground operations continue at the current pace, according
to a think tank analysis.
But a
ramp-up, including more airstrikes and a significant boost in ground forces,
could send costs soaring to between $13bn and $22bn annually, said the analysis
released on Monday by the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary
Assessments.
“Future
costs depend, to a great extent, on how long operations continue, the
steady-state level of air operations, and whether additional ground forces are
deployed beyond what is already planned,” said the report by Todd Harrison and
other analysts.
Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters last week that the Pentagon has spent
roughly $7m to $10m per day on operations against Islamic State since June 16,
when it first deployed troops to assess the Iraqi military and advise its
leaders.
Full
report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2014/oct/01/islamic-state-fight-seen-costing-us-24bn-or-more-annually#sthash.HHy4gqBL.dpuf
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US slaps
sanctions on two Pakistan terror groups for helping LeT
IANS |
Oct 1, 2014
WASHINGTON:
The US has targeted two Pakistan-based terrorist organisations and frozen the
assets of their leaders for providing financial support to Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) held responsible for the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
The
action by the US treasury against the leader of Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HuM) and
the LeT financial support networks came as India and US committed to make joint
and concerted efforts to dismantle terrorist safe havens.
A joint
statement issued on Tuesday after the first bilateral summit between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama specifically named four Pakistan-based
groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D-Company, and the Haqqanis
besides al-Qaida.
"Both
LeT and HuM are violent terrorist organisations that train militants and
support the activities of many of the best known and brutal extremist groups,
including Al Qaeda," said under secretary for terrorism and financial
intelligence David S Cohen.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-slaps-sanctions-on-two-Pakistan-terror-groups-for-helping-LeT/articleshow/43949299.cms
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No
intention to interfere in Pakistani politics: US diplomat
Oct 01
2014
KARACHI-
United States Consul General in Karachi has said the US not intends to
interfere in the internal politics of Pakistan.
According
to sources, US Consul General Brian Heath after opening trading at Karachi
Stock Exchang (KSE) during a visit of the stock market was talking to
journalists.
Brian
Heath said that he had no advice for the participants of the sit-ins in
Islamabad, however, he called them to show a sense of wisdom and discernment.
He said
foreign investors intend to invest in a peaceful country adding that Pakistan
should create an investment friendly environment. The US diplomat said that the
efforts were being made to strengthen the economic ties between Pakistan and
United States.
The US
is cooperating with Pakistan in education, infrastructure, and transfer of
technology and in various other sectors, the US diplomat said. He said the US
is especially focusing over Pakistan for promotion of regional trade. He said
the promotion of Pak-US economic relations will help to end unemployment in the
country.
http://nation.com.pk/national/01-Oct-2014/no-intention-to-interfere-in-pakistani-politics-us-diplomat
--------
India
Saudi
Minister of Haj Calls For Further Cementing Saudi-India Relations
01 Oct,
2014
JEDDAH –
Minister of Haj Bandar Hajjar underscored the need to further strengthen the
excellent bilateral relations between the Kingdom and India. The minister made
the remarks while receiving the Indian Haj goodwill delegation, headed by Arif
Baig, at his office in Jeddah on Tuesday. Hajjar has accepted an invitation
extended by the delegation to visit India.
Baig
said the new government in India is looking forward to further boost bilateral
ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. He congratulated the Saudi
authorities for providing the best ever services and facilities to the
pilgrims, especially the ongoing largest ever expansion of the Two Holy
Mosques.
During
the talks that lasted more than half an hour, the delegation demanded an
increase in quota of Indian pilgrims. The reception was also attended by Abdul
Rashid Ansari, the lone member of the delegation, Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali
Rao, Consul General B.S. Mubarak, Deputy Consul General and Haj Consul Sheikh
Md. Noor Rahman and Mohammed Raghib Qureshi, consul education and head of
chancery.
Full
report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20141001219896
----------
‘Love
Jihad’ A Social Problem, Not RSS Coinage: NCW Chief
SMRITI
KAK RAMACHANDRAN
The word
jihad has been “corrupted by terrorists” and the term “love jihad” has been
“incorrectly interpreted” to allude to inter-religious marriages, Lalitha
Kumaramangalam, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), said
here on Tuesday.
In an
interview to The Hindu, Ms. Kumaramangalam said: “I don’t approve of this term
[love jihad], which was not coined by the BJP and the RSS but used to interpret
an occurrence. In the increasing urban milieu, a lot of inter-religious
marriages are happening. Society is protesting against what is new, what it is
not comfortable with. There is a social outrage against what is against the
norm.”
Referring
to “love jihad” as a social problem, she said: “The word jihad itself does not
mean what it is being used for.” She traced a connection between the issue and
social practices that had emerged as a consequence of the skewed sex ratio in
the country.
Full
report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/love-jihad-a-social-problem-not-rss-coinage-ncw-chief/article6462560.ece
---------
Muslim Personal
Law Is Barbaric: PCI Chief Justice Katju
TNN |
Oct 1, 2014
NEW
DELHI: Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju on Tuesday described the
Muslim personal law as barbaric and backward supporting the imposition of the
uniform civil code. He contended that every modern country has a uniform civil
code but no one speaks out in India due to the "Muslim vote bank",
citing the reversal of apex court judgment in Shah Bano case.
Speaking
on the lack of equal access to justice for women at the Indian Women's Press
Corps Katju said, "The Muslim personal law is barbaric, backward and
unjust...it is a feudal law. All countries in the world have one law...why
shouldn't we? I support the uniform civil code."
The
uniform civil code has been a core issue for the BJP. In fact law minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad in a recent Parliament response said that the government would
consult all stakeholders before taking any steps in the direction.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Muslim-personal-law-is-barbaric-Justice-Markandey-Katju/articleshow/43945087.cms
----------
Over
1.36 lakh Indian pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia for Haj
PTI | Sep
30, 2014
JEDDAH:
All the 1,36,020 Indian pilgrims who will perform Haj this year have reached
Saudi Arabia, officials said.
All the
1,36,020 Indian Haj pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia with the last flight
carrying 394 pilgrims from Mumbai arriving yesterday," Indian consul
general BS Mubarak told PTI.
Yesterday
was the last day of flight operations, he said. Two senior BJP leaders
representing India at this year's Haj also arrived yesterday.
Arif
Beg, a former federal minister who hails from Bhopal, is heading the delegation
and is accompanied by Abdul Rasheed Ansari, National President of party's
minority wing, of Delhi.
Ambassador
of India Hamid Ali Rao received the Haj Goodwill Delegation headed by Baig.
The
first batch of Indians arrived in Saudi Arabia on August 27 when 235 pilgrims
landed in Madinah while the final batch reached the country yesterday, with a
total of 365 flights carrying the pilgrims for Haj this year.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Over-1-36-lakh-Indian-pilgrims-reach-Saudi-Arabia-for-Haj/articleshow/43888422.cms?
----------
Southeast Asia
Islamic
banking hopes for account development incentives from Budget 2015
OCTOBER
1, 2014
KUALA
LUMPUR, Oct 1 — The local Islamic banking industry is hoping that the
government under the upcoming Budget 2015 will provide incentives to facilitate
the development of the investment account (IA), for example, capital allowance
for investment in IT infrastructure.
Bank
Islam Bhd Managing Director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said the industry would
benefit from such incentives, as in the case of Islamic banks, it has a lot to
do with the Islamic Financial Services Act (IFSA) 2013, and especially with the
impending implementation of a deposits transition plan by June 30, 2015.
Under
the plan, investment and deposits accounts must be clearly differentiated.
The IA
is an account under which money is paid and accepted for the sole purpose of
investment and therefore, is not capital guaranteed as opposed to a deposit
account.
Zukri also
suggested that the government educate the people on Islamic finance as well as
prosper the IFSA 2013, which is aimed at providing greater regulatory clarity,
promoting financial stability and a more robust Shariah framework.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/islamic-banking-hopes-for-investment-account-development-incentives-from-bu#sthash.0aRWECGu.dpuf
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Filipino
of Saudi origin embraces Islam
01 Oct,
2014
A
Filipino worker in Riyadh who was born to a Saudi father recently embraced
Islam at the Dawa Center in Batha.
Fahd
Khaled Hadi, who was raised Christian and has lived with his mother in the
Philippines for the past 29 years, is now on the search for his biological dad.
The
Filipino arrived in the Kingdom for work.
“He
visited our office, expressing his desire to become a Muslim. We taught him the
basics of Islam and he converted two days ago,” an official at the center said.
Hadi’s
father, who belonged to the Kingdom’s southern region, parted ways with his Filipino
wife after one-and-a-half years of married life. The Filipino then left the
Kingdom with her son. His mother embraced Islam three years ago.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/638206
------
Google
finally brings ‘Street View’ to Malaysia
Oct 01
2014
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 30 ― From today, users of Google Maps can explore many of
Malaysia's famous landscapes, cities and neighbourhoods through panoramic
street-level photographs.
Approximately
90 per cent of the Malaysian peninsula's scenery is now accessible online via
Google Street View, a comprehensive street-level imagery of buildings, highways
and roads, the company said today.
“It is a
way to go to that place before you go there in person.
“Malaysia
is a diverse and constantly growing country, and by providing users and
businesses with more useful map information, street view can also help create
lasting economic impact,” Google Malaysia managing director Sajith Sivanandan
said at a media briefing.
The
imageries were captured over a year using cameras installed on cars. For
off-road sites, a wearable backpack-mounted camera system was used.
Full
report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/google-finally-brings-street-view-to-malaysia#sthash.K6gKVmYb.dpuf
----------
Africa
Libyan
Islamists reject U.N.-led peace talks
30
September 2014
Libya’s
Islamist militias on Tuesday vowed to continue military operations against the
army of renegade general Khalifa Haftar and rejected U.N.-led talks peace with
rivals.
In a
statement posted by the so-called “Dawn of Libya,” the militias which control
the capital Tripoli and the country’s senior religious institution, said: “No
one, whoever it is, can stop Libyan Dawn’s military offensives.”
The
militias accused their rivals of not being “serious” about a peace deal. “If
peace advocates were serious, they would have called for dialogue when the
criminal Khalifa Haftar, and whoever swore allegiance to him, began bombarding
Benghazi in mid-May,” the statement said.
They
said the only way to stop fighting is to disarm their rivals and prosecute
their leaders.
After
taking over the capital this year, the Islamist militias revived the
once-ruling, Islamist-led parliament, despite the elected and
internationally-recognized Libyan parliament’s outcry.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2014/09/30/Libyan-Islamists-reject-U-N-led-peace-talks-.html
----------
Protesters
in eastern Libya close second oilfield, seize company plane
01 Oct,
2014
Protesters
blocking Libya’s Abu Attifel oilfield closed another field, blocked a road and
seized a company plane, a security official and activist said on Tuesday.
The
oilfield, a joint venture between Italy’s ENI and Libya’s state oil company,
has been closed for a year by local people who demand jobs, part of a wave of
strikes at oil facilities that began in July 2013.
Protests
at other oil ports and fields have ended, but the shutdown continues at Abu
Attifelt in Jalu, in Libya’s volatile east, where the field lies. In addition
to Abue Attifelt, which used to pump 60,000 barrels a day, the protesters have
now also closed the nearby Jalo 59 field, operated by al-Waha Oil Co.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/energy/2014/09/30/Protesters-in-eastern-Libya-close-second-oilfield-seize-company-plane.html
----------
Tanzania:
New Constitution Moves Tanzania Closer to Gender Parity
01 Oct,
2014
ON
Monday, this week, the Draft Committee of the Constituent Assembly (CA)
completed its work and officially presented the corrected version of the new
Constitution for endorsement through voting.
The
draft contains different contentious issues such as rights of farmers,
fishermen, artisans, livestock keepers and small-scale miners.
It also
contains sections on the formation of both central and local governments, basic
education required for persons interested in seeking parliamentary seats and
the need to establish an organ that shall be responsible for fighting
corruption.
The
great revolution that the Draft Committee has included in the proposed Constitution
is the right for women to own land, as well as giving women the 50/50
representation at all decision-making bodies.
Full
report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201410010443.html
----------
Nigeria:
Three Boko Haram Members Get 75-Years Jail Term
01 Oct,
2014
The
Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced three Boko Haram members to 75
years jail term with hard labour.
The
convicts were sentenced to 25 years each in a judgement delivered by Justice
Ibrahim Buba in camera.
Justice
Buba had earlier granted an application that the trial should be conducted in
secret following an application to that effect and because of the need to
protect the witnesses in the case.
Initially,
17 suspects were charged to court but they were later reduced to four following
the withdrawal of the case against some of the suspects, leaving only four.
The 17
suspects initially charged were arraigned before Justice Buba on 18 counts
bordering on conspiracy to commit terrorism, illegal possession of firearms,
and being members of a proscribed organisation.
Full
report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201410011065.html
----------