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Islamic World News ( 5 Jun 2015, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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‘We’ll Meet in Paradise’: ISIS Fighter’s Bloodstained And Crumpled Love Letter Goes Viral

 

New Age Islam News Bureau

5 Jun 2015


A file photo of a Madrasa in Pakistan PHOTO: AFP

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Arab World

 ‘We’ll Meet in Paradise’: ISIS Fighter’s Bloodstained And Crumpled Love Letter Goes Viral

 50 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Salahuddin

 Egypt sentences 52 Islamists to up to 10 years

 Iraq on the brink of humanitarian disaster: UN

 Hezbollah Wins Back Nusra Front's Main Passage

 ISIS militants advance on Syria’s Hassakeh

 Terrorism ‘unites young Saudis on social media’

 

Pakistan

 Crackdown on 48 Seminaries ‘Promoting Terrorism’ Planned

 Taliban Members Jailed For Shooting Malala ‘Secretly Freed’ In Pakistan

 Pakistan Rules Out Sharing Nukes with Saudis, Anyone Else

 President says Indian terror threat calls for vigilance

 Hamid, Aziz and Dogar implemented emergency, says Musharraf

 Imran Khan warns against involvement in Yemen crisis

 Pakistan urges UNSC to resolve Palestine issue

 Tahir ul Qadri slams president’s speech in parliament

 

South Asia

 10 Taliban Militants Beheaded By ISIS Affiliates in Nangarhar, Afghanistan

 Suicide Attack Claims Four Lives in Afghanistan

 Myanmar says Rohingyas are not under persecution

 President Ghani appoints first female governor for Wardak province

 Maldives: Opposition politician, charged with terrorism, seeks asylum

 

India

 Out Of ‘Compulsion’, Separatist Leader Geelani Declares He Is Indian

 Jammu tense as protesters defy prohibitory orders

 

Mideast

 Train-Equip Program Not Enough for Syria and Iraq: Turkish FM

 6 More Civilians Killed In Yemen

 More than 3,000 cross to Turkey as Kurds battle ISIL in Syria

 Zarif: Certain States Using Terrorism to Start New Order in Region

 Supreme Leader Urges Muslims to Keep United against Enemies

 Yemeni Troops Stage Rocket Attack on Saudi Military Base in Jizan

 Houthi militias to attend Geneva peace talks

 Turkey holds French woman who ‘married ISIS fighter in Syria’

 

North America

 Religious Leaders Urge Obama to Fund Abortions for Women Raped By ISIS, Boko Haram, Terrorist Attackers

 The Hijab's Triumph in the SC Is a Victory for America and the Constitution, the Supreme Law of This Land

 Plans for Muslim education centre approved

 Muslim Voices: Encouraging signs for American Muslims

 Jon Stewart Learns How Muslims Can Be Less Scary and More American

 US general: Turkey’s borders last line of defence against ISIL

 FBI: ISIS out of reach in online ‘dark space’

 Texas-born al-Qaeda suspect pleads not guilty in New York

 

Africa

 Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Petitions NYSC over Ban on Hijab in Camps

 Female suicide bomber in Nigeria's Maiduguri kills two near checkpoint

 Death toll now 31 in NE Nigeria market blast: Emergency official

 Kenya: Five Charged With Terror Attack at Garissa Varsity

 

Europe

 G7 Summit to Discuss Wars, Jihadists, China’s Rise

 One Third of Russians Admit Polygamy for the Country's Muslims

 HRW urges UN to put Israel on child rights violators list

 Pope hopes to bridge religious divide in war-scarred Bosnia

 Sarkozy party’s ‘Islam meeting’ sparks criticism

 IS threat growing in Central Asia - Russian FM

 Belgian Muslim Community Reminds Us That Peacefully 'Living Together' Is the Under-reported Norm

 Tajik clerics issued a fatwa on ISIS

 

Southeast Asia

 As ASEAN Stumbles, Indonesia Must Find New Path to Aid Rohingya Refugees

 Indonesian VP tells peace forum country 'most religion tolerant'

 Indonesia announces plan to eliminate child labour

 Zahid congratulates PAS over pro-Ulema sweep

 Too early to say PAS will lose non-Muslim support, says Hadi

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/‘we’ll-meet-paradise’-isis-fighter’s/d/103350

 

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Arab World

 

‘We’ll Meet in Paradise’: ISIS Fighter’s Bloodstained And Crumpled Love Letter Goes Viral

June 5, 2015

A bloodstained and crumpled love letter retrieved from the body of a Russian-speaking militant fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been recently surfaced online.

“I really was very happy with you, and we will meet soon in Paradise, my love…,” read the letter, which was found in the militant’s pocket. The author was allegedly killed by a tank shell in Aleppo, reported UK paper The Guardian.

The letter has been widely circulated on ISIS-affiliated social media accounts. But this is not the first time that social media has examined romance in the violent world of the militant group.

Poems and love declarations, like the one found in Aleppo, expose a new, personal side of “jihad” – one of romance and romanticism. As critic Robyn Creswell and scholar Bernard Haykel argued in the New Yorker this week, “the culture of jihad is a culture of romance.”

Jihad “promises adventure and asserts that the codes of medieval heroism and chivalry are still relevant,” Creswell and Haykel wrote.

Saad bin Laden, son of al-Qaeda’s founder Osama bin Laden, recorded a video letter to one of his wives in 2008, according to Business Insider.

“My beloved wife…Know that you do fill my heart with love, beautiful memories, and your long-suffering of tense situations in order to appease me and be kind to me, and every time I thought of you my eyes would tear for being away from you,” bin Laden wrote.

The letter was recently released in declassified documents held by the United States.

Letters written by women living in ISIS-held areas have also been found, mostly in ISIS’ Russian-language sites.

As of December 2013, an estimate of 1,700 ISIS fighters came from Chechnya, reported the Guardian.

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2015/06/04/-We-ll-meet-in-Paradise-ISIS-fighter-final-love-letter-goes-viral-.html

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50 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Salahuddin

June 5, 2015

Iraqi security forces killed dozens of ISIL terrorists in massive military operations near the city of Samarra in the Northern province of Salahuddin.

Iraqi troops, backed by volunteer fighters, killed at least 50 ISIL terrorists, and destroyed four vehicles belonging to the group in the volatile province on Wednesday, a security official said.

The offensive was part of the Iraqi forces’ massive operation launched last week to liberate the areas of Salahuddin that are under the control of the Takfiri group.

On Tuesday, Iraq’s Federal Police Command said in a statement that at least six militants were killed in an attack by elite Iraqi forces on the ISIL bases located East of the city of Tikrit in Salahuddin.

The statement added that the troops managed to take control of "four barracks" in Ajil oil field and seize equipment from the terrorists.

Units of Iraqi forces recaptured Tikrit from ISIL on March 31 after heavy battles with the terrorists. The strategic city had fallen to ISIL in June last year.

The ISIL Takfiri terrorists currently control shrinking swathes of Syria and Iraq. They have threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Ezadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.

Senior Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Persian Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.

The ISIL has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly supported by the Israeli regime.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000199

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Egypt sentences 52 Islamists to up to 10 years

June 5, 2015

CAIRO: An Egyptian court sentenced 52 supporters of ousted Islamist president Muhammad Mursi to up to 10 years in jail Thursday over a protest in January 2014, a judiciary official said.

The verdict is the latest in a series of harsh sentences handed down to Mursi supporters who have been targeted in a relentless crackdown since the army ousted him in July, 2013.

A criminal court at Sohag in the Upper Egyptian province of Sohag, 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Cairo, passed a 10-year sentence to 43 defendants, 24 of whom were tried in absentia, the official said.

They were convicted of “illegal assembly, resisting authorities, rioting and using violence” during a protest denouncing a constitutional referendum in January last year, the official added.

The court also sentenced three defendants to five years each and six others to three years in jail. Three more were acquitted.

Since Mursi’s ouster the crackdown on his supporters has left hundreds of people dead and thousands jailed.

Hundreds of his supporters have also been sentenced to death after speedy mass trials described by the UN as “unprecedented in recent history.”

Mursi was himself sentenced to death on May 16 for plotting jailbreaks and attacks on police during the uprising more than four years ago that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak.

That sentence was referred to the mufti, the government interpreter of Islamic law who plays an advisory role, and a final ruling is due on June 16.

http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/756796

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Iraq on the brink of humanitarian disaster: UN

June 5, 2015

UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations official warned on Thursday Iraq was on the brink of humanitarian disaster unless funds are made available immediately to contain the crisis.

With escalating conflict, the United Nations and its NGO partners are asking donors for $497 million to cover the cost of providing shelter, food, water and other life-saving services over the coming six months.

The appeal will target communities across broad swathes of the country displaced or affected by the violence between government forces and the self-styled Islamic State.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels, the United Nation Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Ms Lise Grande said the aid operation was hanging by a thread.

“The crisis in Iraq is one of the most complex and volatile anywhere in the world,” she said. “Humanitarian partners have been doing everything they can to help. But more than 50 per cent of the operation will be shut down or cut back if money is not received immediately.” The implications of this, Ms Grande added, would be “catastrophic”.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186229/iraq-on-the-brink-of-humanitarian-disaster-un

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Hezbollah Wins Back Nusra Front's Main Passage

June 5, 2015

The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance fighters made massive gains in the bordering areas with Syria and took control of al-Darb strategic passageway in Jroud Arsal in Eastern Lebanon.

Hezbollah forces advanced in al-Darb and al-Rahou in Jroud Arsal and regained control of the strategic regions.

Al-Jadid news website reported that these two areas were the main passageways of the al-Nusra Front terrorists for smuggling ammunition-loaded vehicles via to the adjacent areas for terrorist operations in Syria.

Also military sources said on Wednesday that the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement stormed the Takfiri terrorists and took control over two more hilltops in the Northern outskirts of the border town of Arsal along an Eastern mountain range.

The sources said that the Hezbollah fighters now are advancing toward the strategic Jabal Zaroub South of Wadi al-Khayl, an area between the Lebanese town of Nahleh, East of Baablek and the town of Ras Maarah in Syria's Qalamoun region.

Full report at:

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000475

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ISIS militants advance on Syria’s Hassakeh

5 June 2015

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group attacked the predominantly Kurdish city of Hassakeh in northeastern Syria, threatening to take their second governorate capital, according to a UK-based monitoring group.

The Syrian regime has already lost Raqqa to ISIS militants and Idlib to other rebel factions.

According to Rami Abdel-Rahman, director the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, ISIS militants are “500 meters away from the entrance of Hassakeh, after fierce clashes against regime forcers south of the city.”

Control of the city is divided between regime and Kurdish forces who have confronted ISIS in other areas of the province of Hassakeh.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/04/-ISIS-mounts-suicide-attacks-around-Syria-s-Hasaka-city.html

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Terrorism ‘unites young Saudis on social media’

June 5, 2015

Recent terrorist acts in the Eastern Province have led Saudi youth to drastically increase their social media participation, according to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.

The ministry’s head of the Sakina Campaign, which aims to gauge public opinion on Daesh (the so-called IS), told Al-Hayat that the attacks on mosques in Al-Qudaih and Dammam increased traffic on the initiative’s social media sites.

Abdulmonem Al-Mushawah said: “The visitors of our social media sites have increased by 180 percent.

“Social media has enabled the youth to become more involved in world issues and more critical in their opinions.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/2015/06/04/Terrorism-unites-young-Saudis-on-social-media-.html

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Pakistan

 

Crackdown on 48 Seminaries ‘Promoting Terrorism’ Planned

June 5, 2015

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to initiate a crackdown on 48 seminaries which have been found to be promoting terrorism in the country in general and in the province in particular. Besides, a task force has also been constituted to check finance sources of terrorism, including protection money, ransom money, land grabbing, smuggling and collection of donations, hides and Fitra.

These decisions were taken by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah during the Sindh apex committee meeting, which was presided over by him at CM House here on Thursday. Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad also attended the meeting on a special invitation. Others who attended the meeting included provincial ministers Sharjeel Inam Memon, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, Suhail Anwar Siyal, and Corps Commander Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, Rangers DG Major General Bilal Akbar, Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali, Home Secretary Mukhtiar Soomro, Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui, Law Secretary Meer Mohammad Shaikh, Advocate General Fatah Malik, Prosecutor General Sher Mohammad Shaikh and provincial heads of intelligence agencies.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186198/crackdown-on-48-seminaries-promoting-terrorism-planned

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Taliban members jailed for shooting Malala ‘secretly freed’ in Pakistan

June 5, 2015

At least eight of the ten members of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been secretly released from prison after they were jailed for the attempted murder of children education activist Malala Yousufzai.

According to a report by Daily Mirror, the militants were freed ‘quietly, to avoid a media fuss’.

“The trial had ­absolutely no credibility as nobody was there to witness it but a public prosecutor, a judge, the army and the accused,” a security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said.

The source further added “This was a tactic to get the media ­pressure away from the Malala case because the whole world wanted ­convictions for the crime.”

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/taliban-members-jailed-for-shooting-malala-secretly-freed-in-pakistan-1168

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Pakistan rules out sharing nukes with Saudis, anyone else

June 5, 2015

WASHINGTON: Pakistan ruled out sharing its nuclear weapons with Saudi Arabia, insisting Thursday that the atomic arsenal would continue serving solely for the country's national defence even as world powers and Iran near a possible nuclear agreement.

Closing a wide-ranging trip to Washington, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry angrily rejected speculation that his country could sell or transfer nuclear arms or advanced technology as "unfounded and baseless".

Pakistan has long been among the world's greatest proliferation threats, having shared weapons technology with Iran, Libya and North Korea. And American and other intelligence services have been taking seriously the threat of Saudi Arabia or other Arab countries potentially seeking the Muslim country's help in matching Iran's nuclear capabilities, even if the US says there is no evidence of such action right now.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186344/pakistan-rules-out-sharing-nukes-with-saudis-anyone-else

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President says Indian terror threat calls for vigilance

June 5, 2015

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain called on Thursday for a constant national vigilance against what he called a threat to use terrorism as a weapon against Pakistan, in remarks aimed at India.

He did not name India for hurling such a threat, but, in his address to a joint sitting of parliament marking the opening of the new parliamentary year, he was obviously referring to Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s recent remarks that “you have to neutralise terrorist through terrorist only”.

President Hussain’s was the highest level comment on the issue from Pakistan that he made after praising a consensus reached at a recent conference of political parties chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the route of what is known as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186268/president-says-indian-terror-threat-calls-for-vigilance

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Hamid, Aziz and Dogar implemented emergency, says Musharraf

June 5, 2015

ISLAMABAD: Former president Pervez Musharraf claimed that PML-N leader Zahid Hamid, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar “implemented and executed” the November 3, 2007, emergency for which he (Musharraf) is facing the high treason trial.

A written reply submitted by the former president to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) said Zahid Hamid, Shaukat Aziz and Justice Dogar were now “attempting to mislead this Hon’ble Court by discounting involvement in the emergency of November 3, 2007.”

The much-awaited reply of Gen Musharraf was filed after the PML-N government in a written statement produced before the IHC expressed its willingness to investigate the role of the three persons in the imposition of the 2007 emergency.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186289/hamid-aziz-and-dogar-implemented-emergency-says-musharraf

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Imran Khan warns against involvement in Yemen crisis

June 5, 2015

GILGIT: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan cautioned the government against military involvement in the Saudi-led military campaign to oust the Houthi rebels from Yemen.

Addressing his supporters in Hunza and Nagar valleys, the PTI supremo said that his party’s staunch opposition had forced the government to decide against military involvement in the spiraling Mideast conflict.  “Pakistan would have dispatched troops

to Yemen had we not resisted the move,” Imran said.

Imran, who is on the campaign trail ahead of the June 8 Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) legislative assembly elections, said that the country was still paying the price for Washington’s decade-long war in Afghanistan.

Full report at:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/898084/military-support-for-riyadh-imran-khan-warns-against-involvement-in-yemen-crisis/

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Pakistan urges UNSC to resolve Palestine issue

June 5, 2015

NEW YORK: Pakistan on Friday urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to resolve the Palestine issue through the creation of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, Radio Pakistan reported.

Pakistan Ambassador, Maliha Lodhi, speaking at a press conference on Protecting Rights of Palestine Refugees in New York, said that humanitarian assistance was necessary but not sufficient to address the ongoing tragedy of the Palestinian people.

Further, she urged the Security Council to fulfill its responsibility and summon political courage to adopt a resolution with timelines for ending occupation in the state.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/898182/pakistan-urges-unsc-to-resolve-palestine-issue/

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Tahirul Qadri slams president’s speech in parliament

June 5, 2015

LAHORE: President Mamnoon Hussain’s speech at the joint session of parliament was extracted from prime minister’s press releases issued over the past several weeks, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri said on Thursday.

“It was like a speech made by a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz worker,” Qadri said while addressing party workers via video link.

He said it seemed that the president was unaware of the problems faced by the country. “The country is mired in lawlessness and corruption but the president keeps on praising  the prime minister,” Qadri said. He said the president did not speak on the issues of load shedding and inflation. He said the president did not advise the government on Kashmir and Myanmar issues.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/897969/not-impressed-tahirul-qadri-slams-presidents-speech-in-parliament/

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South Asia

 

10 Taliban Militants Beheaded By ISIS Affiliates in Nangarhar, Afghanistan

Jun 05 2015

The Taliban militants, who were killed in ambush in eastern Nangarhar province, were beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) affiliates.

An informed official confirmed that 10 Taliban militants were beheaded in Achin district, confirming an earlier statement by the Afghan army.

The 201st Selab Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Nangarhar province said the militants were killed in ambush on Wednesday.

A statement released by 201st Selab Corps said the Taliban militants were on their way when they were ambushed by ISIS affiliated militants in Achin district.

This comes as local officials in Spinghar district earlier said ISIS-affiliated militants have set on fire the houses of Taliban militants late on Tuesday afternoon.

In the meantime, at least 15 ISIS militants including their commander Syed Mahmood Hussaini were killed and 12 others were taken as prisoners following a gun battle with the Taliban militants in western Farah province earlier this week.

According to local government officials at least 14 ISIS militants were also injured and dozens of others joined the Taliban group together their weapons, ammunition along with some vehicles.

http://www.khaama.com/10-taliban-militants-beheaded-by-isis-affiliates-in-nangarhar-1163

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Suicide attack claims four lives in Afghanistan

June 5, 2015

KANDAHAR: An Afghan provincial official says a suicide bomber has targeted a police checkpoint in the southern province of Helmand, killing at least four people.

The province’s police chief, Nabijan Mullakhail, says that the bomber struck on Thursday afternoon at the entrance of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, targeting a police checkpoint.

Mullakhail says the bomber detonated his explosives-laden car as he was ordered by the police to halt, killing three civilians and one policeman.

The explosion also wounded six people — four policemen and two civilians. No one immediately took responsibility for the bombing, but Helmand province has a heavy presence of Taliban insurgents. Local residents say the Taliban rule in nearly 80 percent of the province.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186230/suicide-attack-claims-four-lives-in-afghanistan

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Myanmar says Rohingyas are not under persecution

June 5, 2015

YANGON/MAUNGDAW, Myanmar: Myanmar said on Thursday that persecution of its Rohingya Muslim population was not the cause of Southeast Asia’s migrant crisis, a day after the United States called on the country to give full rights to the minority to help end the exodus.

President Barack Obama said this week that Myanmar needed to end discrimination against the Rohingya if it was to succeed in its transition to a democracy, as Washington upped the pressure on the country to tackle what it sees as one of the root causes of a migration that the region has struggled to cope with.

Myanmar does not recognize its 1.1 million Rohingya as citizens, rendering them effectively stateless. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with Buddhists in the country’s western Rakhine state in 2012.

Full report at:

http://www.arabnews.com/world/news/756996

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President Ghani appoints first female governor for Wardak province

Jun 05 2015

The first female provincial governor for central Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan was approved by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

The Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) said Masooma Muradi was approved as Maidan Wardak provincial governor after her appointment was approved by President Ghani.

Muradi is the second woman appointed as the provincial governor to lead the affairs of a specific province.

Earlier, Habiba Surabi was serving as provincial governor for central Bamyan province during the former President Hamid Karzai’s administration.

Full report at:

https://www.khaama.com/president-ghani-appoints-first-female-governor-for-wardak-province-1167

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Maldives: Opposition politician, charged with terrorism, seeks asylum

June 5, 2015

An opposition politician who was charged with terrorism this week has sought asylum in a foreign country.

In a video message published on You Tube last night, Jumhooree Party (JP) council member Sobah Rasheed said he has obtained asylum in an unspecified foreign country, to avoid prosecution by President Abdulla Yameen’s adminsitration.

“I am currently abroad, under a foreign government’s protection. I have come here to further serve the Maldivian people. I had to come here to avoid being a sacrifice to Yameen’s tyranny, because I can only further serve the Maldivian people if I make this move.”

Sobah, the Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and JP’s deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim are accused of inciting violence at a historic anti-government protest on May 1.

If convicted under the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act, the three face between 10 and 15 years in jail.

Full report at:

http://minivannews.com/politics/opposition-politician-charged-with-terrorism-seeks-asylum-99170#sthash.Tsprf8Sw.dpuf

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India

 

Out Of ‘Compulsion’, Separatist Leader Geelani Declares He Is Indian

June 5, 2015

Separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday appeared before passport authorities and declared himself as an Indian while completing formalities for travel documents but insisted that he did it out of “compulsion.”

“Geelani submitted his biometric data — finger prints and iris scan — at the designated counter,” an official of the Regional Passport Office here said.

The 88-year-old hard-line Hurriyat leader, who wants to visit his ailing daughter in Saudi Arabia, reached the Passport Seva Kendra here at the scheduled time of his appointment at 10.15 am.

Talking to reporters outside the passport office, Mr. Geelani said, “I am not by birth Indian. It is a compulsion.”

A Hurriyat spokesman justified Mr. Geelani writing Indian in the nationality column saying “travelling on the Indian passport is a compulsion of every Kashmiri.”

Full report at:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/out-of-compulsion-geelani-declares-he-is-indian/article7285959.ece

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Building Ram Temple not a priority, says local BJP MP Lallu Singh

June 5, 2015

At a time when hardline voices are demanding the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, BJP MP from Faizabad, under which constituency Ayodhya falls, has said that the building of the temple is not a priority for the Narendra Modi-led government.

Speaking to The Indian Express Thursday, Lallu Singh said the PM has to keep the society together, ensure harmony, reinstate the country’s prestige and make sure that the borders are secure before he ventures into constructing a temple for Lord Ram.

Stating that “sages and the Hindus” have given two to three years’ time to the government to construct the temple, he said: “No one can stop the construction of a temple at Lord Ram’s birthplace. But the atmosphere should be conducive. The PM has to earn the trust of the entire country and all sections of the society. He does not have a magic wand to do it in a year or two. He should be given time.”

Full report at:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/building-ram-temple-not-a-priority-says-local-bjp-mp-lallu-singh/#sthash.tYwW5urR.dpuf

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Mideast

 

Train-equip program not enough for Syria and Iraq: Turkish FM

June 5, 2015

A program to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters is not enough to save Syria and Iraq on its own, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said June 4.

“We should save Syria and Iraq. It would be an over-optimistic approach if we depend merely on the train and equip program,” the minister told news broadcaster A Haber.

The root of the instability, the Syrian government, should be eliminated, he said.

The Syrian opposition fighters that are trained and equipped should enter Syria through a secure area and be protected from airstrikes from the government.

Turkish and U.S. officials are still in discussions about the issue, the minister said.

“These people will return [to Syria]. A decision should be given as soon as possible,” he added.

Full report at:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/train-equip-program-not-enough-for-syria-and-iraq-turkish-fm.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83492&NewsCatID=510

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6 More Civilians Killed in Yemen

June 5, 2015

Saudi warplanes bombed residential areas in the Yemeni province of Sa'ada on Thursday, killing six people.

"Saudi air strikes hit Majez district in Sa'ada, and killed 6 civilians," Yemeni sources said.

eanwhile, Yemeni tribes pounded Saudi Arabia's al-Radeef military checkpoint in retaliation for the Saudi air strikes on their country.

Reports said all the Saudi soldiers stationed in the checkpoint ran away.

Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemen in the last 71 days to bring its ally, fugitive president Mansour Hadi, back to power.

The airstrikes have so far claimed the lives of more than 4,213 civilians, mostly women and children.

According to a recent report by Freedom House Foundation, most of the victims of the deadly Al Saud campaign are civilians, including a large number of women and children.

Thousands of residential buildings have been destroyed, and hundreds of civil and public facilities were reduced to rubble as a result of the bombardments by Saudi warplanes on the Yemeni cities and towns, the group said. 

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000366

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More than 3,000 cross to Turkey as Kurds battle ISIL in Syria

June 5, 2015

More than 3,000 Syrians fleeing clashes between Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Kurdish fighters have crossed into Turkey since June 3, a Turkish government official said.

Kurdish forces are trying to drive the militants out of Tel Abyad, in Syria's Hassakah province, close to the Turkish border town of Akçakale.

The official said 3,337 Arab Syrians had crossed into Turkey in less than two days to avoid the clashes and bombing raids carried out against ISIL by a U.S.-led coalition.

The Syrians were being given biometric registration and health checks at Akçakale border crossing, the official added.

Turkey has already accepted 1.8 million people fleeing the bloodshed in neighbouring Syria, officially maintaining an open-border policy for refugees throughout the four-year-old civil war.

Full report at:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/more-than-3000-cross-to-turkey-as-kurds-battle-isil-in-syria.aspx?pageID=238&nID=83515&NewsCatID=352

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Zarif: Certain States Using Terrorism to Start New Order in Region

June 5, 2015

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that certain countries are seeking to create a new order in the region with the help of the terrorist groups, and called for reviewing anti-extremism methods.

"Certain countries are seeking the creation of a new regional order with the help of the terrorist groups," Zarif said, addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Conference in Moscow on Thursday.

He underlined efforts of SCO member states to fight against extremism and terrorism, but said, "Campaign against extremism needs to go under review."

"Using force to fight the terrorist and extremist groups, including the ISIL, will only strengthen their ideological drives," Zarif said.

Full report at:

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000452

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Supreme Leader Urges Muslims to Keep United against Enemies

June 5, 2015

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei underlined the necessity for increased unity among Muslims to prevent implementation of enemies' plots.

Addressing a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the demise of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, at his mausoleum in Tehran on Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei emphasized the need for sticking to the late Imam's principles, and said the Islamic Republic will not be deviated from its righteous path as long as it respects these principles.

He said these principles include practice of genuine Islam and rejection of the US-favored Islam, respect for the divine promises and distrust in the arrogant powers, trusting people's will and power and opposition to growing state sponsorship, serious support for the deprived people and opposition to aristocracy, support for the oppressed people in the world and explicit and straightforward opposition to the world bullying powers, independence, rejection of powers' hegemony, and emphasis on national unity.

Full report at:

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000434

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Yemeni Troops Stage Rocket Attack on Saudi Military Base in Jizan

June 5, 2015

The Yemeni army and Ansarullah revolutionaries targeted the communication networks of Mazhaf military base in Saudi Arabia’s Jizan region with rockets in retaliation for the Saudi air strikes on their country.

According to the footage released by the Yemeni al-Masirah TV network, the Yemeni forces targeted several Saudi military bases and camps on Wednesday.

The footage shows the army firing a number of Zelzal (earthquake) missiles.

Meanwhile, more than 30 rockets from Yemen also struck Saudi military positions in Asir border region in Southern Dhahran.

Saudi Arabia has been bombing Yemen in the last 71 days to bring its ally, fugitive president Mansour Hadi, back to power.

Full report at:

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940314000289

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Houthi militias to attend Geneva peace talks

5 June 2015

Yemen's Houthi rebels agreed on Friday to attend U.N.-brokered peace talks in Switzerland, as the war-torn country's exiled government confirmed it too would attend.

"We accepted the invitation of the United Nations to go to the negotiating table in Geneva without preconditions," said Daifallah al-Shami, a politburo member of the rebels' political wing.

The U.N. envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has for weeks been shuttling between the Houthi-controlled capital, the exiled government in Riyadh and other regional capitals to support for peace talks in Geneva.

He has now tentatively set June 14 for talks between all parties to the conflict and told the U.N Security Council on Wednesday that Yemen's government is ready to go to Geneva but that the rebels have yet to confirm they will attend.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/05/U-N-awaits-Houthi-confirmation-on-peace-talks.html

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Turkey holds French woman who ‘married ISIS fighter in Syria’

June 5, 2015

Turkish police detained a young French woman who crossed back into Turkey after joining Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in neighboring Syria, a security official said on Thursday.

During a three-month stay in Syria, the woman married and then split up from a militant and was put in a jail operated by the ISIS group before being released, the official said.

The woman, named as Sonia Belayati, 22, was detained at a bus terminal in the southeastern Sanliurfa province early Tuesday after France provided Turkish authorities with intelligence, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The woman had flown into Istanbul in March and then crossed into Syria and joined the ISIS extremists.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/06/04/Turkey-holds-French-woman-who-married-ISIS-fighter-in-Syria-.html

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North America

 

Religious leaders urge Obama to fund abortions for women raped by ISIS, Boko Haram, terrorist attackers

June 5, 2015

(RNS) A group of prominent faith leaders — Christian, Muslim and Jewish — will meet just steps from the White House on Thursday to call on the Obama administration to help pregnant women and girls who do not want to give birth to the offspring of their terrorist attackers.

“People are horrified by the news about the girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram,” said Central Conference of American Rabbis President Denise Eger, referring to the hundreds of Nigerian girls kidnapped from a school last year. Many of those girls were then raped by their captors.

“But we have the power of our nation to actually do something to save those girls and to provide the medical care they need, the health care they need, the reproductive care they need,” said Eger, who will attend Thursday’s summit on the issue at St. John’s Episcopal Church. (The church is not sponsoring the event but is donating the space.)

Brought together by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and the Center for Health and Gender Equity, the group wants to shine attention on the Helms amendment, a more than 40-year-old provision in federal law that prohibits U.S. foreign aid from being used for abortion “as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortion.”

Full report at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/04/religious-leaders-urge-obama-to-fund-abortions-for-women-raped-by-isis-boko-haram-terrorist-attackers/

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The Hijab's Triumph in the SC Is a Victory For America And The Constitution, The Supreme Law Of This Land

June 5, 2015

Hours after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favour of a Muslim woman, who was denied a job at Abercrombie and Fitch because she wears the Hijab, the World Wide Web was filled with countless posts bemoaning the triumph of Sharia law. The frenzy about Sharia law, led by bigoted anti-Muslim bloggers and Republican politicians, is irrational and dangerous.

Ensuring that Americans do not have to choose between a job and their faith is not an application of Sharia law; it is a triumph of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which stems from the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Outside Islamic theocracies, Sharia is an ethical framework that Muslims perceive as a lifestyle. Islam is not unique in having religious rules. For example, Christianity has the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commandments (inherited from Judaism), as well as the teachings of Christ, which are known as the New Covenant. Judaism has Halakha, Jewish religious laws. Hinduism has the Manu Smriti, a book that governs society.

Full report at:

http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/news/id_10570/Muslim-religious-freedom-is-not-sharia-law.html

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Plans for Muslim education centre approved

June 5, 2015

PLANS to create a new Muslim school within a mill building in Daubhill have been approved.

Councillors agreed to give permission for the Islamic education facility to be built on the first-floor of the mill in High Street after a number of concerns previously raised by the planning committee were addressed.

The building is owned by the Bolton Muslim Welfare Trust, which runs the nearby Bolton Muslim Girls School.

The school will be used mainly between 3pm and 8pm, with wider use between 8am and 3pm during school holidays.

It will consist of a teaching room, a classroom, quiet study areas, stores, a hall area and a car park with six spaces.

Full report at:

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/13315055.Plans_for_muslim_education_centre_approved/

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Muslim Voices: Encouraging signs for American Muslims

June 5, 2015

Times are tough for American Muslims, but there are also plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

First, the bad news. Organized bigotry against Muslims continues to thrive.

In Arizona, about 250 protesters recently assembled in front of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix for a rally designed to intimidate Muslims. Many of the demonstrators came bearing arms.

Jon Ritzheimer, the rally’s organizer — a man who has a fondness for wearing a T-shirt that says “F--- Islam” — told CNN that “true Islam is terrorism” and that “the core values of Islam” are “what I really hate.” He said he organized the protest along with a poorly attended “Draw Muhammad” contest in a gesture of solidarity with an earlier “Draw Muhammad” event in Garland, Texas, that ended when gunmen from Arizona attacked it and were shot dead by police.

Full report at:

http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/06/188165/muslim-voices-encouraging-signs-american-muslims

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Jon Stewart Learns How Muslims Can Be Less Scary And More American

June 5, 2015

The case of a Muslim woman denied an unopened can of soda on a United Airlines flight because the flight attendant said she might use it as a weapon had Jon Stewart wondering just what kind of weapon a soda could be in the first place.

You mean a carbonated grenade?" senior religious correspondent Hasan Minhaj told him on Wednesday night's "Daily Show."

"We're crafty. Anything on a plane is a weapon to a Muslim. The corner of a Dorito chip can slice the neck," Minhaj explained. "You think that seat cushion is a flotation device? You are wrong -- that is a smothering pillow. You see a SkyMall, I see a paper-cut katana."

Minhaj told Stewart that there's a hierarchy of religions in America, with Islam ranking just below devil worship -- and that even a simple headscarf can seem scary to Americans.

So how can Muslims be less scary to Americans? Minhaj has some ideas in his "Muslim Makeover," starting with changing a name such as Mohammad to just "Mo."

Check out the segment on the soda can above, and watch the "Muslim Makeover" below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/04/jon-stewart-muslim_n_7508836.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

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US general: Turkey’s borders last line of defense against ISIL

June 5, 2015

The top US envoy to the international coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) said on Wednesday that Turkey's borders with Iraq and Syria constitute the last lines of defense in the fight against the militant group, underlining that the onus of containing ISIL cannot be left to Turkey alone.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution's US-Islamic World Forum in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, retired US Gen. John Allen outlined the framework of the US strategy to coordinate the fight against ISIL amid mounting criticism following the fall of Ramadi, a key western Iraqi city close to Baghdad.

Full report at:

http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_us-general-turkeys-borders-last-line-of-defense-against-isil_383201.html

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FBI: ISIS out of reach in online ‘dark space’

June 5, 2015

The FBI warned lawmakers Wednesday there was no way to monitor encrypted online communications among Islamic State of Iraq and Syria sympathizers and called for new laws to require technology firms to unlock any secret messages among jihadists.

The ISIS group often moves sensitive online conversations about possible attacks to an encrypted “dark space” beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement’s surveillance methods, said Michael Steinbach, assistant director of the FBI’s counter-terrorism division.

Encrypted communications has “afforded a free zone by which to recruit, radicalize, plot and plan,” Steinbach told the House Homeland Security Committee.

He said the situation was “troubling” and acknowledged law enforcement agencies did not know the volume of the hidden online messages.

“We’re past going dark in certain instances. We are dark,” Steinbach said.

Michael McCaul, chairman of the committee, called the problem a “tremendous threat to our homeland.”

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2015/06/04/ISIS-jihadists-out-of-reach-in-online-dark-space-FBI.html

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Texas-born al-Qaeda suspect pleads not guilty in New York

June 5, 2015

A U.S. citizen accused of traveling to Pakistan to train with al-Qaeda pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in federal court in New York on Thursday.

Texas-born Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh spoke only briefly during a short court appearance in Brooklyn, confirming to a U.S. judge that he understood the indictment against him and his rights.

Prosecutors said Farekh was at least partially radicalized by the online sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born militant preacher associated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was killed in Yemen in a 2011 U.S. drone strike.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/06/04/Texas-born-al-Qaeda-suspect-pleads-not-guilty-in-New-York.html

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Africa

 

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Petitions NYSC Over Ban on Hijab in Camps

Jun 05 2015

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has petitioned the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Brigadier-General Johnson Bamidele Olawumi over the protracted Hijab controversies at the orientation camps across the country.

Our correspondent reports that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the Muslim Ummah of South-west Nigeria (MUSWEN), Muslim Teachers Association of Nigeria (MUTAN) and the Criterion (a Muslim women group) intervened in the crisis leading to the setting up of a panel by the NSCIA headed by Alhaji Femi Abbas to resolve the issues.

Secretary-General of the council Prof. Is-haq Oloyede in the petition lamented harassment and humiliation of female Muslim Corps members at the various orientation camps by NYSC officials over the usage of the Hijab (a Muslim-female head-scarf).

He however cited a recent case at the NYSC camp in Lagos State where one Mrs Belinda Faniyi, a NYSC camp official reportedly forced female Muslim graduates to remove their hijab.

Full report at:

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/daily/index.php/news-menu/news/56491-nscia-petitions-nysc-over-ban-on-hijab-in-camps

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Female suicide bomber in Nigeria's Maiduguri kills two near checkpoint

June 5, 2015

A female suicide bomber has killed two people and injured three others at a checkpoint in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, military sources said on Thursday.

The explosion, at around 1615 GMT, struck near army barracks and follows a spate of bombings in the city by militant Islamist group Boko Haram that has killed around 80 people in the last few days.

The female bomber, who wore a veil and concealed explosives on her body, detonated the bomb beside a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city, said military sources.

"Two people died and three were injured," Borno Police Commissioner Aderemi Opadokun told Reuters.

Full report at:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/131980/World/International/Female-suicide-bomber-in-Nigerias-Maiduguri-kills-.aspx

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Death toll now 31 in NE Nigeria market blast: Emergency official

June 5, 2015

At least 31 people were killed when an explosion ripped through a busy market in the northeast Nigerian city of Yola, an emergency official said on Friday.

"So far, we have 31 dead victims and 38 people in hospital receiving treatment" as a result of the late Thursday blast, National Emergency Management Agency coordinator in the city Sa'ad Bello told AFP.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/132005/World/International/Death-toll-now--in-NE-Nigeria-market-blast-Emergen.aspx

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Kenya: Five Charged With Terror Attack At Garissa Varsity

June 5, 2015

The state yesterday levelled 152 charges against five men over the April 2 Garissa University College attack.

Some 147 people were killed. The five men are said by security agencies to have had a role in the planning and execution of the attack. Speaking in Somali, the suspects said they were tortured in police custody.

They pleaded to be released on bail. Mohamed Abikar, Hassan Aden, Sahal Diriye, Osman Dagane and Rashid Mberesero denied committing a terror act, being in Kenya illegally and belonging to a terror group.

Full report at:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201506050604.html

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Europe

 

G7 summit to discuss wars, jihadists, China’s rise

June 5, 2015

The Bavarian Alps venue may look tranquil, but global turmoil – from Ukraine to Islamist militants and the Greek crisis – dominates the agenda of the G7 summit, which is being held without Russia.

From Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosts US President Barack Obama and the other leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations, with Russian President Vladimir Putin barred for a third time from what was previously the G8.

The leaders of the top industrialised democracies, who will meet for two days at the tightly guarded Elmau Castle retreat, argue that Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea last year has, at least temporarily, disqualified it from the group.

"Common values and views on democracy are what symbolise the G7," Merkel said yesterday about the scaled-down grouping.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/world/article/g7-summit-to-discuss-wars-jihadists-chinas-rise

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One third of Russians admit polygamy for the country's Muslims

June 5, 2015

Moscow, Interfax - 87% of Russian citizens consider polygamy inadmissible for Russians, but 33% believe it possible for Muslims living in the country.

VCIOM cites such data resuming the results of a poll held among 1,600 people from 130 cities, towns and villages in 46 Russian regions, the Izvestia paper writes on Tuesday.

For 16 years Russians' attitude to polygamy almost has not changed (83% citizens were against in 1999.) Only 8% of Russians allows such a possibility today and 2% believe it is necessary.

Attitude to polygamy among Muslims has changed: if 70% admitted it in 1999, while 30% were against, today 58 % are negative about this phenomenon.

Public discussion on polygamy in Russia was launched in May after resonance Chechen wedding when chief of the Regional Department of Internal Affairs for the Nozhay-Yurt District Najud Guchigov married 17 year old Luisa Goylabieva. Human rights advocates were concerned with the facts that the bride was underage, the age difference was too big and the groom allegedly had the second wife.

Full report at:

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=12057

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HRW urges UN to put Israel on child rights violators list

June 5, 2015

UNITED NATIONS: Human Rights Watch urged United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to add Israel to annual “List of Shame” of children's rights violators, after more than 500 children were killed in the war in Gaza last year.

The US-based rights group called on Ban to resist pressure from Israel and the United States to keep the Israeli Defense Forces off the list due to be released next week.

“Secretary-General Ban can strengthen child protection in war by compiling his list based on facts, not political pressure,” said Philippe Bolopion, crisis advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186174/hrw-urges-un-to-put-israel-on-child-rights-violators-list

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Pope hopes to bridge religious divide in war-scarred Bosnia

June 5, 2015

SARAJEVO: For centuries, Sarajevo was known as “Europe’s Jerusalem”, where Christianity, Islam and Judaism lived in harmony. In the 1990s, the city became synonymous with religious enmity, as its Christian Orthodox Serbs and Muslim Bosniaks plunged into a calamitous cycle of warfare.

Pope Francis hopes to restore some of the earlier legacy on Saturday during his visit to this city that, two decades ago, seared itself on the world’s imagination with images of Serbian sniper fire and bombs killing innocent civilians.

The majority-Muslim city is gearing up to give the pontiff an ecstatic embrace. Already Pope Francis teacups are being sold on souvenir stands next to the statue of St John Paul II on the main square. Muslim carpenters have crafted a wooden throne for the pope to sit on and Catholic craftsmen an altar for the Mass he will perform. In Srebrenica, the scene of Europe’s worst carnage since World War II, a mixed choir of Muslim and Christian Orthodox children is practising a song of love they will sing to the pope.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1186203/pope-hopes-to-bridge-religious-divide-in-war-scarred-bosnia

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Sarkozy party’s ‘Islam meeting’ sparks criticism

June 5, 2015

Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing opposition party held an internal meeting Thursday on the "question of Islam" in France, boycotted by Muslim groups who warned of "stigmatising" the religion in a country still reeling from January's jihadist attacks.

The former French president's right-wing party, recently rebranded "The Republicans", will debate "the place of religion" in secular France and more specifically "Islam in France."

One month after the January's attacks in Paris that killed 17, Sarkozy said: "The question is not to know what the Republic can do for Islam, but what Islam can do to become the Islam of France."

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/06/04/Sarkozy-party-s-Islam-meeting-sparks-criticism-.html

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IS threat growing in Central Asia - Russian FM

June 5, 2015

Moscow, Interfax - The threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) extremist organization in Central Asia continues to grow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

"IS units have already taken a firm foothold in Afghanistan, including its northern regions located near the borders of Central Asia. In these circumstances, one of the most crucial tasks facing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is to coordinate political efforts to help restore peace and stability in Afghanistan," he told a conference addressing ways to maintain security and stability in the SCO region in Moscow on Thursday.

Lavrov also reiterated the importance of further promoting cooperation with Kabul in combating extremism and tackling the problem of drug trafficking.

"We are ready to deepen our constructive cooperation with Kabul in all areas. In our opinion, the need to broaden contacts with the Afghan side in countering drug plantations and drug laboratories in Afghanistan because its [drug] flow to our countries is increasing at an alarming pace and requires special attention," the Russian minister said.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=12065

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Belgian Muslim Community Reminds Us That Peacefully 'Living Together' Is the Under-reported Norm

June 5, 2015

Have you heard the story about the Muslim community in Belgium that raised money to restore a local synagogue?

Probably not. But it is really important that you do.

The story was first brought to my attention by my colleagues at HuffPost Germany who reported that the oldest Jewish house of worship in Belgium, Synagogue d'Arlon, had been forced to close its doors because of structural problems with the building.

When word went out that the Jewish congregation was short of the funds needed to re-open, a local Muslim community took it upon themselves to call for donations at Friday prayer -- even though they themselves do not have a permanent mosque and pray in a converted house.

Full report at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/belgium-synagogue-muslim-community_b_7486940.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

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Tajik clerics issued a fatwa on ISIS

June 5, 2015

Dushanbe, Interfax - The Tajik Ulem Council (Muftiat) has issued a fatwa on the religious group Islamic State (ISIS) condemning any relation of a Muslim to this organization, which is from now on regarded as "haram" (sinful), the republic's Islamic Center reported.

The fatwa is expected to be read by mullahs in mosques during the Friday prayer on June 5.

"ISIS is declared haram -sinful - and participation in a jihad on the side of the Islamic State is declared a sin," the Tajik Islamic Center has reported.

According to Islamic law, haram is a term used for actions that are prohibited for Muslims. A fatwa is a decision made by a muftiat on some issue, which is binding for all Muslims.

"So-called 'defenders of Islam' that have appeared in the modern world represented by ISIS are using religious slogans to commit anti-Islamic actions, including declare people who disagree with them infidels," the fatwa says.

Full report at:

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=12067

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Southeast Asia

 

As ASEAN Stumbles, Indonesia Must Find New Path to Aid Rohingya Refugees

June 5, 2015

Jakarta. Human rights defenders from the Southeast Asian region and abroad have criticized ASEAN’s recent efforts to contain the Rohingya refugee crisis, claiming that the initiatives do not fully address the persecution of minority groups within Myanmar.

“ASEAN must consider all its options for convincing the Myanmar government to end the persecution of the Rohingya, including expelling or suspending it from the grouping if it fails to deliver,” said Charles Santiago, chairperson of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and a Malaysian Member of Parliament.

APHR, according to its website was founded in 2013 with the aim at protecting the human rights of the people of ASEAN and bringing offenders to justice.

Santiago’s statements follow ASEAN’s Special Meeting on Irregular Migration, held in Bangkok last week.

Full report at:

http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ASEAN-stumbles-indonesia-must-find-new-path-aid-rohingya-refugees/

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Indonesian VP tells peace forum country 'most religion tolerant'

June 5, 2015

A high-ranking Jakarta government official says that Indonesia could be considered as the most religiously-tolerant country in the world, shown by how it values holy days of the six recognized religious groups there.

Opening the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace in Bandung, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Muslim Indonesia celebrates Vesek Day as a national holiday, despite the fact that Buddhists makes up a negligible portion of their population.

"Tell me which country is more democratic than Indonesia," the vice president said on June 3 the Jakarta Globe reported. "Even the United States, the largest democracy, doesn't have [an Islamic day as a national holiday]."

Compared with its Southeast Asian neighbor the Philippines, Kalla said Indonesia, the country with the world's biggest Muslim population, exerts more effort in terms of religious tolerance.

Open Democracy says outsiders have long viewed Indonesia as a bulwark of moderate Islam, but this image is under threat.

Full report at:

http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/indonesian-vp-tells-peace-forum-country-most-religion-tolerant-30203

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Indonesia announces plan to eliminate child labor

June 5, 2015

Experts have cheered the government’s announcement of the latest plan to eliminate child labor in Indonesia, with Manpower and Transmigration Minister Hanif Dhakiri stating that a new road map has been drawn up to address the problem.

Hanif said on Monday that the government wanted 1.7 million child workers in Indonesia taken out of the labor force and placed back in school by 2022.

“Child labor is the result of economic problems. Most of them quit school because they have to help their families earn money,” Hanif said, adding that the government would run the program gradually to achieve its desired results.

The ministry’s director general for labor safety and health supervision, A Mudji Handoyo, said that of the total 1.7 million child laborers, as many as 400,000 were working in hazardous environments.

Full report at:

http://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesia-announces-plan-to-eliminate-child-labor/73722

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Zahid congratulates PAS over pro-ulama sweep

June 5, 2015

The resounding victory of the PAS ulama group in the party leadership elections yesterday showed the delegates rejected an alternative leadership that was in cahoots with "outsiders", said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The home minister congratulated the delegates for the ulama's clean sweep and also the convincing triumph of the pro-ulama faction in both PAS Youth and Dewan Muslimat (women's wing) in the elections.

"This is a manifestation of the delegates rejecting the alternative faction which was trying to take over (the party leadership) by working with outside parties to foil PAS' Islamic ambitions," he told reporters after a meeting in Putrajaya today.

Zahid said Umno’s stand on Islamic ruling and those involving national interests was the same as the PAS pro-ulama group's.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/zahid-congratulates-pas-over-pro-ulama-sweep

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Too early to say PAS will lose non-Muslim support, says Hadi

June 5, 2015

It is too early to tell whether PAS will lose support from non-Muslims voters, said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, after the pro-ulama faction yesterday made a clean sweep of top posts in the Islamist party.

He said he also received positive responses from non-Muslims after the elections yesterday, adding that it was not the time to indicate what would happen in the next general election.

"It is too early for negatives perceptions that non-Muslim voters will not support PAS.

"I also received positive responses from non-Muslims," he told a press conference at the PAS muktamar in Kuala Selangor today.

Full report at:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/too-early-to-say-pas-will-lose-non-muslim-support-says-hadi

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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/‘we’ll-meet-paradise’-isis-fighter’s/d/103350

 

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