Pathology of Islamophobia’ Taking Its Most Lethal Form in India, Says Celebrated Thinker Noam Chomsky
New Age Islam News Bureau
11 February 2022
Noam Chomsky. File photo
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• After Debate in UK on Gujarat Riots, India Mission
Says Indians Can Solve Problems within Its Institutions
• Pakistan Ulema Council Declares Friday ‘Solidarity
Day with Daughters of India’
• Bangladeshi Students Show Support for Indian Muslim
Counterparts in Hijab Row
• Malaysia Arrests Ex-Dhaka Envoy Previously
Implicated in 1975 Killings of Bangladesh Leaders
India
• Karnataka Hijab Row: 2,000 Intellectuals Write Open
Letter in Solidarity with Muslim Students
• Clerics at the Islamic Centre of India to Hold
Inter-Faith Meet On Hijab Row
• Several Muslim Bodies Vow Not To Let Hijab Row
Affect Harmony In Maharashtra
• My Govt Stands with Distressed Muslim Women: Narendra
Modi
• Hijab Row: No Legal Provision Of Penalty For
Violation Of Uniform, Argue Muslim Students
• Muslim wing of RSS says girl who screamed ‘Allahu
Akbar’ was always seen in jeans
• Manchester United star Paul Pogba shares video of
'Hindutva mob harassing Muslim girls wearing Hijab' on Instagram
• What's Paramount, Country or Religion: Madras HC amid
Hijab Row
• Complaint against Muslim outfit for rewarding
student chanting ‘Allah hu Akbar’
--------
Europe
• French Politician Zemmour Targets Mosques in another
Anti-Muslim Comment
• Belgian court rules 'Stop Islamisation' slogan is
not racist
• Four civilians killed as French troops clash with
Islamist militants in Burkina Faso
• Trojan Horse Affair: Muslim Council of Britain Calls
For Independent Inquiry
• UN aims to launch new Afghanistan cash route in
February: UN note
• Greece launches judicial probe of Turkish minority's
march for rights
--------
Pakistan
• Activists and Educationists Accuse Pakistan of
Ignoring Warnings on Biased Textbooks Loaded With Islamic Religious Content
• Imran Khan admits failure in bringing about change
in Pakistan
• Imran Khan's visit to Beijing was to secure his
waning political fortunes: Report
• Pak PM dismisses India and West's CPEC criticism
• Pakistan agency seeks ‘property details' of Mumbai
terror attack proclaimed offenders and their families
• UK, Pakistan urge world to help avert humanitarian
crisis, economic collapse in Afghanistan
• Punjab to conduct trial in Lankan man killing inside
Lahore prison
--------
South
Asia
• US may give $10 M to Taliban over ISIS-K bomber
• Taliban can take part in reward for catching IS
leader, says US
• IEA adopts humanitarian declaration in Geneva: Geneva
Call
• Negotiations with Taliban planned in Norway, Turkey
soon: Reports
• Taliban Foreign Minister pledged to resolve issue of
missing female activists in Afghanistan: United Nations
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Indonesian Muslim groups demand closure of country’s
first-ever Holocaust exhibition
• United States approves major $14 billion arms sale
to Indonesia
--------
Africa
• Nigeria: Scholars Harps On Islamic Perspective on
Unity; Urge To Shun Ethnicity and Tribalism, As Islam Frowns Against Conflicts
and Clashes
• CAN faults Taraba Muslims, says alleged
marginalisation baseless, politically-motivated
• Niger lawmakers confirm Kigera as substantive Grand
Khadi, Sharia Court of Appeal
• Tunisia president says he will name new Supreme
Judiciary Council
• Libyan parliament spokesman declares Bashagha new PM
after rival withdraws
• UN still recognizes Libya’s Dbeibah as PM despite
challenge: Spokesman
--------
Arab
World
• Arab Coalition Asks Residents of Sanaa to Evacuate
‘Civilian Sites,’ Warns Of Strikes
• Iraq says 20 terrorists escaped from prison in Syria
• Egypt seeks to advance cooperation with Algeria:
El-Sisi
• Syria’s main Druze city sees more unrest, calls for
Friday protests
• Lebanon bars Bahrain opposition from holding Beirut
events
• Lebanese PM signals difficulty in agreeing financial
plan
--------
Mideast
• Iran: Vienna Talks Continue Until West Shows Will to
Remove All Sanctions
• Minister: Iran Seeking Preferential Trade Agreement
with Oman
• Iran's Top Negotiator Meets EU's Mora, G4+1 Representatives
in Vienna
• As nuclear talks resume, Iran's oil exports increase
• Iran marks 1979 revolution anniversary with
nationwide motorcade rallies
--------
North
America
• Chapel Hill Shooting Anniversary: Muslim Community
Continues Healing Process
• US Raid Raises Questions on Turkey’s Commitment vs. Islamic
State
• Fort McMurray Muslims give out more than 500 winter
and hygiene kits to community
• US to help UAE replenish missile defence
interceptors after Houthi attacks
• US condemns Iran-backed Houthi attack on Saudi
Arabia’s Abha airport
• Amid sanctions row, Blinken invites Bangladeshi
foreign minister to US
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pathology-islamophobia-thinker-noam-chomsky/d/126350
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‘Pathology of Islamophobia’ Taking Its Most Lethal
Form in India, Says Celebrated Thinker Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky. File photo
----
Anita Joshua
11.02.22
Celebrated thinker Noam Chomsky on Wednesday said the
“pathology of Islamophobia”, now growing throughout the West, was “taking its
most lethal form in India where the Modi government is systematically
dismantling Indian secular democracy and turning the country into a Hindu
ethnocracy”.
Chomsky’s comments came in a recorded message to a
congressional briefing — the third in a month organised by US-based diaspora
organisations on communalism in India.
This time the focus was on “worsening hate speech and
violence in India”. Chomsky was to be one of the speakers but sent a recorded
message as did activist Harsh Mander of Karwan-e-Mohabbat.
In his short message, Chomsky spoke also on the
attacks on independent thought and the education system besides the situation
in Kashmir, which he said “is now occupied territory… similar in some ways to
occupied Palestine”. He also referred to the situation in Pakistan and the rest
of the region.
Mander said: “India finds itself today in a
frighteningly dark and violent space of fear and hate.”
He spoke about how modern India’s founding fathers had
made the conscious choice not to go the Pakistan way of letting a religion
define the country.
On the “Hindutva project”, he said it “requires a
radical, violent rupture between India’s Hindus and those of the hated ‘others’
that it constructs: India’s Muslims and India’s Christians”.
“India’s immense tragedy today is that people steeped
deeply in the Hindu supremacist ideology that spurred Gandhi’s killing are in
fact ruling India today,” Mander said.
“It is tempting for supporters of the ruling
establishment to dismiss claims of possible genocide as alarmist, mischievous
and motivated so-called foreign interference and not as they are — efforts to
alert the national conscience. But the Holocaust Memorial Museum Report warns
of the dangers of such denial.”
Unlike the last congressional briefing, there was no
participation from lawmakers. The external affairs ministry, asked for a
comment on the latest briefing, did not respond.
In London, British lawmakers participated in a
Westminster Hall debate to mark the 20th anniversary of the Gujarat riots.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater had raised the issue in keeping with the wishes of
three of her diaspora constituents who had lost relatives in the violence and
were still seeking justice.
The discussion drew a response from the Indian high
commission in London. It said it had not till date been approached by the MP
who sponsored the motion or any of the other participants in the discussion to
engage on the subject, including the specific request from the families of
three British victims.
Leadbeater asked the British government to explore
with Indian authorities the possibility of repatriating the remains of the
three men from her constituency of Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire who were
killed in the riots.
Fellow Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who
participated in the discussion, tweeted: “The mass murder, death and
destruction of 2002 #Gujarat riots displayed to the world the worst of
humanity. Marking 20th anniversary, crucial that victims’ families receive
justice, and we appreciate the importance of respect for all religions and
living peacefully side by side.”
The mass murder, death and destruction of 2002
#Gujarat riots displayed to the world the worst of humanity.
Marking 20th anniversary, crucial that victims’
families receive justice, and we appreciate the importance of respect for all
religions and living peacefully side by side. pic.twitter.com/gWuHcbri9i
— Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP (@TanDhesi) February 9,
2022
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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After Debate in UK on Gujarat Riots, India Mission
Says Indians Can Solve Problems within Its Institutions
Kim Leadbeater
-----
Naomi Canton
Feb 11, 2022
LONDON: Taking "note of a discussion” in a House
of Commons debating chamber on Wednesday on the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Indian
high commission in London has said that Indians can address their own problems
within India’s own institutions.
Vishwesh Negi, minister (press) at the Indian mission,
said: “Our internal laws and foreign policy are guided by the principles
enshrined in the Constitution of India and this enables our people to address
their problems democratically and within our own democratic institutions.”
The parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall was
sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater to mark the 20th anniversary of the 2002
Gujarat riots.
The 45-year-old won the seat of Batley and Spen in July
2021 in a by-election using a controversial flyer depicting Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and UK PM Boris Johnson in a negative light. Her constituency has
a significant number of people of Pakistani and Gujarati Muslim ethnicity.
Only a few MPs turned up to the 20-minute debate and
six spoke. The families of three British Muslim men killed in the 2002 riots
sat in the public gallery. Westminster Hall debates give MPs an opportunity to
raise an issue and receive a response from a government minister.
Negi said the HCI had not been approached by any of
the participants to engage on the topic, including on the specific request of
the families of three British victims. “Under successive Indian governments,
there has been continuous parliamentary oversight and judicial supervision of
the investigations into the incidents and free debate and discussions have
taken place in the Parliament of India. As in a mature democracy, the report of
the SIT constituted by the Supreme Court of India has been placed in the public
domain in its entirety,” he said.
But Leadbeater told MPs that the families present —
her constituents — felt “justice is yet to be done for what happened”. She
explained how on February 28, 2002 Sakil and Saeed Dawood, their childhood
friend Mohammed Aswat, and their driver, were murdered by a mob in Gujarat.
Their nephew Imran was left for dead but survived; he was seated in the
gallery.
“I ask the minister to investigate with the Indian
authorities whether the repatriation of the remains is possible,” she said. She
also called on the UK to hold an inquest into their deaths and for any
“unpublished report” carried out by the UK at the time to be made public.
Amanda Milling, minister for Asia, responding on
behalf of the UK government, said she was not aware of any such report and that
the family has made an application to a court in India for the remains to be
returned. “We stand ready to support that application,” she said.
On Twitter some reacted with anger that the topic was
being debated. One said: “Let’s investigate Jallianwala Bagh.” Another proposed
India publish a report on the Bengal famine. Another said it was time to tell
Britain the days of the Raj are over. Another said: “Why doesn’t the Labour
Party run for election in India and then discuss Indian issues inside the
Indian Parliament?”
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Pakistan Ulema Council Declares Friday ‘Solidarity Day
with Daughters of India’
Chairman Pakistan Ulema
Council (PUC)
-----
February 10, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC),
Special Representative to Prime Minister on Religious Harmony and the Middle
East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi announced that on the call of
Pakistan Ulema Council and the International Islamic Council, ‘Solidarity Day
with Daughters of India’ will be observed on Friday (tomorrow). “The Muslim
world will protest against the persecution of minorities in India, maltreatment
of the Muslims and the desecration of Muslim women regarding ban on Hijab.”
India's atrocities will be strongly condemned in the
entire Islamic world, including Pakistan and solidarity will be shown with
minorities and oppressed Muslims and daughters in India,”
he said while addressing a press conference on
Wednesday.
PUC Secretary-General Dr Prof Abu Bakar Siddique,
Maulana Qasim Qasmi, Maulana Noman Hashir, Maulana Tahir Aqeel Awan, Maulana
Shahbaz Ahmed, Maulana Muhammad Ashfaq Patafi, Maulana Muhammad Shafi Qasmi,
Maulana Atif Tanveer, Sahibzada Hafiz Saqib Munir and other religious leaders
were also present on the occasion.
Ashrafi said that letters are being sent to important
leaders of the Islamic world including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC), condemning the atrocities of India at oppressed Muslims. “The leadership
of the Muslim world must raise their voices to contain Indian atrocities
committed against oppressed and minority classes residing in India. The entire
Muslim Ummah salutes the ‘Muslim Daughter' in the manner she has protected her
Hijab and values of Islam in the face of terror.“
He also announced that 'Foundation Day of Pakistan
Ulema Council' and Ulemas-Mashaykh Paigham-e-Pakistan conventions will be held
across the country from 22nd February to 3rd March 2022.
In this regard, he said the Paigham-e-Pakistan
Ulemas-Mashaykh conference will be held on 27th February in Lahore, in
Faisalabad on 3rd March, 5th Match in Sahiwal and Islamabad on 7th March, to be
attended by all religious schools of thought and ambassadors of the Muslim
countries.
Source: The News Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/932307-puc-declares-friday-solidarity-day-with-daughters-of-india
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Bangladeshi Students Show Support for Indian Muslim Counterparts
in Hijab Row
File photo
-----
February 10, 2022
Around 50 students at Dhaka University in Bangladesh
formed a human chain on campus Wednesday, expressing solidarity with Muslim
students in India in a row over the wearing of the hijab, or headscarf.
The students said the wearing of the hijab is a
personal choice and religious practice of Muslim women across the world as well
as an issue of freedom of choice and no state has the right to interfere with
one's personal and religious freedoms.
Highlighting the escalating situation in India due to
the oppressive attitude against hijab-wearing Muslim female students, Saleh
Uddin Sifat, a student of law at Dhaka University, said some female students at
a college in India’s Karnataka state “were cornered in a particular room during
class hours and forced not to participate in classes with others” on Jan. 7.
“It is very discriminatory policy and naked
interference in one’s religious freedom that has been protected in the Indian
constitution," Sifat said, adding such injustice could not exist in a
civilized world.
The Bangladeshi students also expressed solidarity
with Muskan Khan, a student in Karnataka who was heckled by a Hindu right-wing
mob at her college.
While dozens of the Hindu youths wearing saffron
scarves surrounded her and loudly chanted the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” (Hail Lord
Ram), the lone, Burqa-wearing woman reacted by shouting “Allahu Akbar! (God is
the greatest)” A video clip of the incident rapidly went viral on social media
across the world.
“No one has the right to force anyone to wear the
hijab or to abandon the hijab. No one should be bullied or harassed for wearing
the hijab. It is not only a sign of religion but also an issue involving
freedom of choice,” said Ashrefa Tasnim, another student.
Tasnim said that fascist and extremist groups in India
want to downtrod women’s emancipation.
“The peace-loving student communities in South Asia
and beyond will resist any conspiracy to destroy communal harmony in the region
by banning the hijab,” she added.
- Massive volume of comments on social media
Meanwhile, a huge number of Bangladeshi nationals have
hailed the video of Muskan Khan on social media, labeling her as a symbol of
boldness and faith.
Many have used her photo as their social media profile
picture.
Muktadir Rashid Romeo tweeted that the incident may
trigger “religious tensions” in South Asia, “but history witnesses (that)
humanity always wins.”
Referring to the courageous turnaround of Muskan Khan
as time-befitting, many called on world leaders to stand against the oppressive
state policy of the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against
Muslims.
“In the last decade, I have seen many videos on social
media. But I have never watched a video so many times. I have uttered ‘Allahu
Akbar’ instinctively as many times as I have seen Muskan’s video,” senior
journalist Muhammad Abdullah wrote on his Facebook page.
In a more emotional note, another Bangladeshi
national, Monjur e Alahi, said he would name his brother’s forthcoming child
“Muskan Khan” and would tell her later about the story of the brave Indian
Muslim girl.
Popular television journalist Mustafa Mollick on his
Facebook page has termed Khan’s bold struggle to defend the right to wear the
hijab a symbol of “Iman (faith).”
Source: Yeni Safak
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Malaysia Arrests Ex-Dhaka Envoy Previously Implicated
in 1975 Killings of Bangladesh Leaders
File Photo
----
2022-02-10
Malaysia on Thursday announced the arrest and pending
extradition of a former Bangladeshi ambassador to Kuala Lumpur, who previously
had been implicated back home for his alleged involvement in the 1975 jailhouse
killings of four officials from a deposed government.
M. Khairuzzaman, the former Bangladeshi high
commissioner to Malaysia, is a retired military officer who has been living in
the Kuala Lumpur area for more than a decade.
“We hope to bring him back soon,” M. Shahriar Alam,
Bangladesh’s state minister for foreign affairs, told reporters at the foreign
ministry in Dhaka on Thursday. “The Home and Law ministries will jointly look
into whether there is an opportunity to revive the [jail killings] case against
him or what steps can be taken afterward.”
Shahriar said the Malaysian home ministry had issued a
written notice to the Bangladesh government of Khairuzzaman’s arrest for
“violating immigration laws.”
“Those who are arrested on Malaysian immigration
issues are kept at deportation centers to be deported to their home countries.
He is also held there,” Shahriar said.
“As far as I know or understand, there is an opportunity
to physically interrogate him again in relation to the jail killing case,” he
said. “The Law Ministry would be better able to say.”
Khairuzzaman had previously been implicated in turmoil
that followed a military coup in August 1975, when Bangladesh’s founding
leader, the father of the current prime minister, was assassinated. Twenty-nine
years later, when Bangladesh was led by the party that is the main opposition
party today, a court acquitted Khairuzzaman of those charges.
Shahriar was asked if Khairuzzaman was being returned
because of the case tied to the jailhouse killings back in 1975.
“If any expatriate commits a crime, if someone
overstays in a country or falls into irregularities, we bring him back. That
process will be followed in his case,” he replied. “Immigration law has been
violated, the Malaysian government has told us, we are bringing back a citizen
of Bangladesh, that’s all.”
In Malaysia on Thursday, an official confirmed that
local authorities had picked up Khairuzzaman, who holds a U.N. refugee card,
from his home in Ampang, near Kuala Lumpur.
“Yes, he was arrested yesterday morning, and will be
deported to Bangladesh. The immigration department assisted the Bangladeshi
police in this arrest,” the senior government source who requested anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the press, told BenarNews.
In Putrajaya, Malaysian Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin
told reporters that Khairuzzaman’s arrest was lawful.
“Based on the rule of law, if there is an offense, we
arrest, or if there is a request from the country of origin and if we found
there is truth to it,” Hamzah told reporters.
“All that was done, we did it according to procedure,”
he said without elaborating.
Khairuzzaman and other military personnel were accused
of killing four founding leaders of Bangladesh – Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin
Ahmad, M. Mansur Ali and A.H.M. Quamruzzaman – inside the Dhaka Central Jail in
November 1975.
The killings followed the assassination of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding father and Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina’s father.
Three other defendants were convicted and sentenced to
death in 2004 – nearly three decades after the killings. Two years later, the
High Court acquitted two of the defendants and upheld the death sentence for
the third. Prosecutors appealed and in 2013 all three, who had absconded, were
sentenced to death by the Appellate Division.
Khairuzzaman, meanwhile, was acquitted of similar
charges in 2004. He had been appointed director general of the Foreign Affairs
Ministry one year earlier in a coalition government led by Prime Minister
Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s nemesis.
Khairuzzaman had been serving as a diplomat in Kuala
Lumpur when Hasina returned to power in 2009. Ordered back to Dhaka, he chose
to stay in Malaysia and received a refugee card from UNHCR.
“No law or regulation should be enacted by the U.N.
where a member-state’s interests are harmed or a legal process is hampered,”
Shahriar said when asked about the card. “It’s not supposed to happen. We will
look into the matter.”
Malaysian human rights lawyer Sumitha Shaanthinni
noted the country is not a signatory to the refugee convention so it has no
obligation to provide any protection to refugees, adding UNHCR’s presence in
Malaysia is on humanitarian grounds.
“However, legal scholars argue that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in its entirety – including the right to seek
asylum – has become a part of customary international law. As such, no state
should violate the customary international law principle of non-refoulment,”
she said.
Pointing to Rohingya, she said Malaysia has violated
the custom many times by deporting UNHCR card holders.
UNHCR officials in Kuala Lumpur did not immediately
respond to queries from BenarNews about Khairuzzaman’s case and his pending
deportation.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh High Commission in the
Malaysian capital declined to comment when contacted by BenarNews. The
Malaysian immigration and police departments also did not respond immediately
to requests for comment.
Source: Benar News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/malaysian/former-envoy-02102022163321.html
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India
Karnataka hijab row: 2,000 intellectuals write open
letter in solidarity with Muslim students
10th February 2022
By Rajesh Kumar ThakurExpress News Service
NEW DELHI: “The ban on hijab in classrooms and
campuses in coastal Karnataka, which is now spreading to other states, is a
hate crime”, said over 2000 intellectuals through an open letter on Thursday.
The intellectuals, who are working as lawyers,
journalists, academicians, and woman-right activists, said they are in
solidarity with the Muslim women who are protesting the ban on hijab. They
further said the restrictions on wearing hijab in classrooms and campuses are
only the latest pretext to impose ‘apartheid’ on Muslim women.
The signatories in the open letter, endorsed by over
130 groups across 15 states, have stated that the Indian Constitution mandates
schools and colleges to nurture plurality. “Uniform in such institutions is
meant to minimize the differences between students. They are not intended to
impose cultural uniformity on a plural country,” the signatories of the open
letter stated.
Kavita Krishnan of AIPWA, who is leading the
solidarity movement, said making hijabi women sit in separate classrooms or
moving them from the colleges of their choice to Muslim-run colleges is nothing
but “apartheid”.
She along with other signatories of the letter alleged
that the "Hindu supremacist" groups in coastal Karnataka have since
2008 been unleashing violence to ensure such "apartheid".
“We are appalled that the Karnataka Home Minister has
ordered an investigation into the phone records of hijab-wearing Muslim women
to ‘probe their link’ with ‘terror groups, the open letter further stated
adding that Muslim women wearing hijab are now being treated as conspirators.
The signatories declared: “Educational institutions
should pay attention to what is inside students' heads and not what’s on them.
We stand with every woman who is told that she can not enter college because
she is wearing jeans or shorts or hijab”.
All the signatories demanded stern action against the
organisation and individuals who led and were part of the mob that heckled a
Muslim girl in Mandya. They also appealed to the students and citizens all over
the country to resist any attempt to impose misogynistic and Islamophobic dress
codes on students.
Source: New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Clerics At The Islamic Centre Of India To Hold
Inter-Faith Meet On Hijab Row
11th February 2022
Lucknow: The clerics at the Islamic Centre of India
(ICI) will hold an interfaith conference with various religious heads to find a
solution against hate being spread in the country, in the backdrop of the Hijab
row in Karnataka.
In a meeting at ICI, the clerics elaborated on the
importance of hijab for women, as laid down in the Quran and Prophet Mohammad’s
Hadiths.
ICI head, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, said,
“Hijab is the religious duty of a Muslim woman, and the Indian Constitution in
Article 25 allows every citizen to practice their religion as per choice.
Stopping students from attending educational institutions in their hijab is a
direct attack on their religious freedom.”
He said, “We have decided to soon hold an interfaith
conference against such propagated hate with heads of different religions to
come up with a common solution towards peace, prosperity and the future of our
nation.”
He further added: “The Constitution also guarantees
every citizen the right to education. From this point of view too, the
Karnataka government is eroding the constitutional rights.”
Source: Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/islamic-centre-to-hold-inter-faith-meet-on-hijab-row-2273630/
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Several Muslim Bodies Vow Not To Let Hijab Row Affect
Harmony In Maharashtra
By Pallavi Smart
February 11, 202
A meeting of various Muslim cultural and social
organisations was held in Mumbai on Thursday to ensure that the hijab row that
has affected Karnataka does not take a communal turn in Maharashtra.
Several organisations such as Mumbai Aman Committee,
Ulema Council, Movement for Human Welfare, Jamiat-e-Ahle Sunnat, Jamaat e
Islami Hind, All India Khilafat House Committee, Lokanchi Shakti Mumbai, Jamiat
Ahle Hadees, Raza Foundation, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Student Islamic Organization
of India, Sadbhawna Manch Mumbai, Anjuman-e-Khadim -e- Hussain Trust among
others participated in the meeting.
“The idea is to ensure communal harmony that defines
the real Indian culture,” shared Farid Shaikh, President of the Mumbai Aman
Committee, in whose office the meeting was held on Thursday evening.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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My govt stands with distressed Muslim women: Narendra
Modi
Piyush Srivastava
11.02.22
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday portrayed
himself as a deliverer of distressed Muslim women whom his political opponents
were trying to mislead to prevent them voting for the BJP.
“The law we enacted against the triple talaq has given
a sense of security to Muslim sisters. But friends, the contractors of votes
were sleepless and restless when their own daughters started chanting ‘Modi,
Modi’,” the Prime Minister told a rally in Saharanpur, which has a large Muslim
population.
“They are looking for new tricks to prevent the Muslim
sisters and daughters from exercising their rights, to halt their development.
They are misleading Muslim sisters so they always lag behind. Friends, my
government stands with every distressed and victimised Muslim woman. The
government of Yogiji is necessary… so that nobody is allowed to harass Muslim
women.”
Hours earlier, several Muslim leaders in Saharanpur
district had referred to the way some government colleges in BJP-ruled
Karnataka had banned the hijab and youths chanting “Jai Shri Ram” heckled
Muslim women students who wore the veil or a burqa.
“We have decided to award Rs 5 lakh to Bibi Muskan
Khan, daughter of Mohammad Hussain Khan, the brave girl of Karnataka. We
congratulate her and wish her a bright future,” Mahmood Madani, president of
the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, had told reporters in Deoband town on Wednesday
evening.
As second-year BCom student Bibi Muskan was trying to
enter the PES College of Science, Arts and Commerce this week in Mandya town,
100km from Bangalore, young men sporting saffron scarves heckled her with
slogans, the most audible being “Jai Shri Ram.”
Muskan shouted back “Allah hu Akbar” and “Hijab is my
right” and walked on.
“The present government is trying to destroy our
Constitution, which allows every community to live according to their religious
beliefs,” said Maulana Tariq Kasmi, a teacher at the Darul Uloom Hussainia
madrasa in Deoband, home to the 155-year-old Sunni seminary Darul Uloom.
Kasmi said BJP leaders were alluding to the hijab ban
in various ways during the Uttar Pradesh campaign to win votes from Hindutva
supporters.
Modi repeatedly referred to his government’s ban on
the instant triple talaq but not to the National Register of Citizens or the
Constitution (Amendment) Act that had triggered countrywide protests led by
Muslim women.
“Muslim sisters and daughters understand our clear
intentions. We have set Muslim sisters and daughters free from the atrocity of
the triple talaq,” Modi said.
“The BJP began receiving open support from Muslim
sisters and daughters. Muslim daughters started uploading one or two-minute
videos praising the BJP government because they had got such respect after
centuries. The contractors (of votes) thought to stop these Muslim sisters…
they feared his (Modi’s) rule would come inside the house.”
Source: Telegraph India
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Hijab row: No legal provision of penalty for violation
of uniform, argue Muslim students
10th February 2022
BENGALURU: The student-petitioners who challenged the
ban on wearing Hijab in educational institutions on Thursday told the Karnataka
High Court that the Karnataka Education Act-1983 does not have any provision of
penalty for infraction of uniform.
Advocate Sanjay Hegde, who appeared on behalf of
students from Kundapura before the full bench of the Karnataka High Court, said
the penalty clause prescribed in the KEA-1983 largely restricted to college
management.
He said the Act has provision to impose fine for
copying, malpractices and loitering.
"There is, however, no penalty for infraction of
uniform," Hegde contended before the full-bench comprising Chief Justice
Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi.
The bench was constituted on Wednesday night to hear
the Hijab case after the single bench of Justice Dixit referred it to the CJ
saying a larger bench may hear it.
According to Hegde, the petitioners have been wearing
their regular head scarves along with their uniform but the college management
insisted that they should remove it to attend classes.
Since December the petitioners have faced
discrimination and they were made to stand out of the class though his clients
said head scarves were their religious and cultural practice, Hegde argued.
Intervening in the argument, Advocate General
Prabhuling Navadgi pointed out that after the girls started coming to the
colleges wearing Hijab, some other students started coming wearing saffron
shawls leading to chaos.
As a result, the state declared holidays for three
days in the schools and colleges till Friday.
AG Navadgi also said the educational institutions
decided the school uniform based on the state government's directive.
Noting that the state government was keen to resume
the classes, he said it was difficult for children as some want to wear head
scarves, while other want saffron scarves.
Advocate Devadatt Kamat, who appeared for students
from Udupi, said the issue was not related to uniform as the students have been
following it.
According to him, the students only wanted to wear the
head scarves of the same colour.
The state government has issued an order saying head
scarf cannot be worn -- a religious culture of the girls, which cannot be
curtailed, Kamat said and pleaded that the girls should be allowed continue to
wear head scarves and go to the college.
"Our fundamental right is held hostage to the
college development committee. The government order says prohibition of head
scarves is not a violation of Article 25. The GO is not as innocuous as the
state government says," Kamat argued.
The lawyer for Udupi students also cited verses from
Quran which said it was incumbent upon women to cover their heads before anyone
other than close family members.
However, Sanjay Hegde underlined that the case was not
just restricted to religious practice but "a case of essential education
for the girl child".
"We had Dr Ambedkar who was made to sit apart in
the school. After so many years of independence, I do not want any kind of
separation," the senior advocate said.
The Hijab row started in December end when a few
students started coming to the government pre-university college in Udupi
wearing Hijab.
Source: New Indian Express
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Muslim wing of RSS says girl who screamed ‘Allahu
Akbar’ was always seen in jeans
February 10, 2022
Hours after its local functionary in Uttar Pradesh
backed a burqa-clad student who was heckled by youth shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’
slogans at a Karnataka college, the RSS' Muslim wing on Thursday distanced
itself from his statement and said some fanatics are misusing her to amplify
the row over 'hijab' to vitiate the country's atmosphere.
In a statement, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM)
categorically said that it does not support such "fanaticism and religious
frenzy" and favoured the move to enforce dress code for students in educational
institutions Karnataka.
In a video message, the MRM's founder and a senior RSS
leader Indresh Kumar said the ongoing row over 'hijab' is "a cruel and
disgusting" face of the nefarious design of "some fanatics" to
disturb harmony and peace in the country.
"Some fanatics are misusing Muslim daughter
Muskan Khan, who is always seen in jeans, to defame India and malign
Islam," he said.
He also demanded that a "through
investigation" be conducted into the entire episode to expose those
involved in creating a row over hijab and fanning "communal passion"
to vitiate the country's atmosphere.
Earlier in the day, Prant Sanchalak (Awadh) of the MRM
Arun Singh had backed the burqa-clad student, Bibi Muskan Khan, who was
recently seen being heckled by a group of youth shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans
at a Karnataka college in a viral video, saying ‘purdah’ is part of the Indian
culture.
"She is the daughter and sister of our community,
we stand with her at this time of crisis," he told PTI.
The MRM is an affiliate of the RSS with stated
objective to bring Hindus closer to Muslims.
"I want to clarify that neither Muslim Rashtriya
Manch nor its chief patron Indresh Kumar supports any such thing. Some fanatics
are misusing girls to amplify the row (over hijab) to vitiate the atmosphere of
social harmony and peace in the country. We do not support any such fanaticism
and religious frenzy," the MRM's national convenor and media in-charge
Shahid Sayeed said in a statement.
The MRM vehemently condemns and opposes such "a fanatic
move", he added
Sayeed said practice of 'hijab' and 'purdah' systems
have their importance "in every religion and society" but it has no
relationship with the schools, colleges, educational institutions, industrial
or business sectors.
Source: The Week
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Manchester United star Paul Pogba shares video of
'Hindutva mob harassing Muslim girls wearing Hijab' on Instagram
10th February 2022
One of the most influential footballers of the era,
Paul Pogba shared a video alleging the 'Hindutva mob of harassing Muslim girls
wearing Hijab to college in India' on Instagram stories.
The Manchester United playmaker, who has over 51
million followers on Instagram, shared a video of the ongoing Hijab issue
that's created a tense situation across many schools in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday orally
said it will restrain students and all stakeholders from insisting on wearing
any religious garment, either the headscarf or saffron shawl, till the final
verdict is reached.
A full bench comprising of Chief Justice Ritu Raj
Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice JM Khazi indicated this before
concluding the hearing on Thursday of the batch of petitions filed by students
from Udupi questioning the state government's order prescribing uniform in
school and college.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka government has declared a
holiday for all high schools and colleges across the state for the next three
days in order to avoid any further unrest among students over the hijab row.
The hijab row that started at a college in Udupi
district has quickly spread to most parts of the state, including Bagalkot,
Vijayapura, Hubballi, Hassan, Kolar, Kodagu and Kalaburgi.
Students wearing hijabs and saffron shawls and groups
supporting them resorted to protests. As the situation was getting out of
control, many colleges declared holidays even before the government made the
announcement.
Violence erupted across the state with incidents of
stone-throwing, heckling of a girl wearing hijab, hoisting of a saffron flag on
college premises, and a large number of students wearing hijabs and saffron
shawls taking to streets being reported from many places.
Source: New Indian Express
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What's paramount, country or religion: Madras HC amid
hijab row
Feb 11, 2022
CHENNAI: "What is paramount? The country or the
religion? It is shocking that somebody is going behind a hijab and somebody is
going behind a dhoti. Is this one country or is it divided by religion,"
the Madras high court wondered while hearing a PIL seeking restricted entry
into Hindu temples.
Pointing out the fact that India is a secular country,
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari said: "What is found from the
current affairs is nothing but an effort to divide the country in the name of
religion."
The first bench comprising the chief justice and
Justice D Bharatha
Chakravarthy made the observation on a batch of PILs
filed to permit only believers of 'Sanatana Dharma' into Hindu temples and to
bar atheists from temples.
The petitioner also wanted the court to direct the
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to ensure that
appropriate dress code is followed by the devotees who enter the temples.
The HC adjourned the hearing pertaining to the dress
code for 10 days to allow the petitioner to list incidents where such a breach
was noticed.
This apart, the bench dismissed another plea moved by
the petitioner, Rangarajan Narasimhan of Srirangam in Tiruchirapalli district,
claiming that the live telecast of PM Modi's event rededicating Adi Sankara's
samadhi, on the premises of 16 HR&CE temples last month was illegal as it
violated HR&CE rules.
Source: Times Of India
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Complaint against Muslim outfit for rewarding student
chanting ‘Allah hu Akbar’
10th February 2022
Mandya: Narendra Modi Vichar Manch has lodged a
complaint with Mandya Police against Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
for announcing Rs 5 lakh cash reward to the student who raised ‘Allah hu Akbar’
slogan during protests in connection with hijab row in the district of
Karnataka.
Muskaan Khan, the student of PES College of Arts,
Science and Commerce in Mandya district was heckled by the crowd in the college
premises for wearing burka. Single handedly she confronted the crowd, raised
the counter slogan of ‘Allah hu Akbar’ even as tens of students chased her and
raised counter slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The video is now viral on social
media.
Appreciating the courage of the student, the Jamiat
Ulema-e-Hind has announced Rs 5 lakh cash reward to the student for standing up
for her rights.
“It is a concern that students of Karnataka have sown
poisonous seeds of religious intolerance creating unrest in the society. Few
fundamental organisations and separatist institutions announcing cash reward
for the student is a worrying development,” complainant C.T. Manjunath, State
Secretary of the Manch stated on Wednesday evening.
“I strongly believe that the organisation is behind
the hijab crisis in the state. The financial transactions of this organisation
have to be scrutinized and legal action must be initiated. This act of
announcing cash reward encourages fundamentalism and religious fanaticism,” he
said.
The burka clad young student Muskaan Khan has said
that she will abide by the court order.
Speaking to reporters, Muskaan explained that she had
been to the college to submit an assignment to the department. “I was stopped
at the gate by a group of students. They asked me to enter the college without
burka or else go back home. I resisted,” she said.
“The group was doing the same thing to my other
friends also. I questioned them why I should go back and entered the college
premises. Some of them came near my ears and shouted ‘Jai Sri Ram’ slogans.
They followed me and said that I must take out the burka but I stood my
ground,” she explained.
Source: Siasat Daily
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Europe
French politician Zemmour targets mosques in another
anti-Muslim comment
February 10, 2022
French politician and French Presidential candidate
Eric Zemmour has made a new scandalous statement targeting mosques and the call
to prayer.
"I don't want to hear the muezzin's voice in
France, and if I become president, I won't.", Zemmour, who will run for
president in April election, said on BFMTV channel.
According to TRT Haber, Zemmour is trying to gather
supporters with his far-right rhetoric.
He said that France should remain "the landscape
of churches. "I reject huge mosques," he added.
Asked about the idea of a wall on European borders,
proposed by certain leaders of the European Union, Zemmour said he was in
favour.
Zemmour told the CNews channel in September last year
that child migrants were "thieves, killers, they're rapists. That's all
they are. We should send them back."
Headscarf ban
The regulation of the headscarf ban in sports
competitions in France is another topic of discussion recently.
The bill, which was accepted in the French Senate on
January 18, will be decided in the National Assembly.
Opponents of the proposal are protesting the law.
Preventing protest
Earlier, Paris police canceled a planned demonstration
against the headscarves ban, claiming it "could endanger public order".
The Headscarves Collective, which organised the
demonstration, lodged a complaint to the court.
Source: Trt World
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Belgian court rules 'Stop Islamisation' slogan is not
racist
Agnes Szucs
10.02.2022
BRUSSELS
A Belgian court found that the “Stop Islamization”
slogan printed on banners and leaflets is not racist and that it only
“expresses an opinion,” local media reported on Thursday.
The court of appeal in the Belgian city of Antwerp ruled
that the slogan “Stop Islamization” used by Voorpost, a satellite organization
of the extreme right party Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) is not racist
because the motivation of racism and xenophobia cannot be clearly established,
according to the online news portal Brussels Times.
The decision overruled a lower court judgment from
last May that imposed six-month prison and fine on the activists for depicting
a “fearful image” and “inciting hatred and discrimination” against the Muslim
community by carrying the banner and handing over leaflets to people in the
town on Mechelen.
Tom Van Grieken, the leader of Vlaams Belang, welcomed
the new ruling as a “victory of free speech.”
Source: Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/belgian-court-rules-stop-islamization-slogan-is-not-racist/2499259
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Four civilians killed as French troops clash with
Islamist militants in Burkina Faso
Feb 10, 2022
PARIS (Reuters) -Four civilians were caught in cross
fire after French troops supported with an attack helicopter killed 10 Islamist
militants in Burkina Faso, the French military said in a statement on Thursday.
France has thousands of troops operating across the
Sahel region as part of a mission to combat violence by Islamist militant
groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
But it is considering withdrawing troops from Mali,
where relations between Paris and the junta in Bamako have deteriorated.
The death of four civilians in Burkina comes at a bad
time with anti-French sentiment especially strong in Mali and it beginning to
spillover into Burkina after a coup in January.
“Unfortunately, despite all the measures taken by the
Barkhane (French) force and by the unit engaged on the ground, four civilians,
present in the terrorist camp, lost their lives during the exchange of fire,”
the French army said in a statement.
Source: Fxempire
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https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/france-kills-10-islamist-militants-in-burkina-faso-895122
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Trojan Horse affair: Muslim Council of Britain calls
for independent inquiry
10 February 2022
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) called for an
independent public inquiry into the Birmingham Trojan Horse affair on Thursday,
following fresh revelations about the case in a recent New York Times podcast.
The Trojan Horse scandal centred on an anonymous
letter leaked to the media in 2014 that allegedly detailed a step-by-step
"Muslim plot” to take over schools in the UK and impose an extreme version
of Islam.
British media was sent into a frenzy and perpetuated
the idea that the letter was legitimate.
The podcast series, The Trojan Horse Affair, which was
launched in February by Serial Productions and the New York Times, follows
journalists Brian Reed and Hamza Syed as they set out to identify the author of
the anonymous letter that shaped the government’s counter-extremism policy.
The MCB warned authorities at the time to not be
“sidetracked by culture wars initiated by divisive commentators”. It rejected
the findings of a government report on the issue.
“This podcast reveals the deep-rooted nature of
institutional Islamophobia in the UK. Each episode is a damning indictment of
how narratives and tropes were perpetuated to feed a story of moral panic, in
which Muslims are centre stage,” Zara Mohammed, secretary general of the MCB,
said on Thursday.
“We call for an independent public inquiry into the
Trojan Horse case, and a public apology from those who ignored the truths
presented to them,” added Mohammed.
Commenting on new details uncovered by the series,
John Holmwood, an expert witness in professional misconduct hearings brought
against teachers caught up in the affair and the co-author of a seminal book examining
the Trojan Horse hoax, also called for a new inquiry into how officials in
Birmingham and London had handled the case.
"In the interest of teachers falsely accused of
misconduct and of a community falsely accused of 'un-British' values, there
must be an urgent inquiry into the handling of the matter by the Department for
Education and Birmingham City Council," Holmwood told Middle East Eye.
Shaping government counter-terrorism policy
The Trojan Horse letter was sent anonymously to the
head of Birmingham City Council in November 2013 and made national headlines
for months after being leaked to journalists in early 2014.
The four-page document appeared to outline plans,
dubbed “Operation Trojan Horse”, for the takeover and running of schools
according to conservative Islamic principles in predominantly Muslim areas of
Birmingham.
The opening and closing pages, along with the names of
the people writing and receiving the letter, are missing. Neither the author of
the letter, nor the person who sent the letter to Birmingham City Council, have
ever been identified.
The letter describes tactics such as exerting
influence through school governing bodies and stirring up complaints by “Salafi
parents” and staff in order to undermine and force out headteachers, and names
schools as examples where these tactics are purported to have been successful.
After details of the letter were leaked to the media,
both Birmingham City Council and the Department for Education launched
investigations into the alleged plot.
Neither investigation was tasked with identifying the
author of the letter or establishing whether it was genuine.
Sir Ian Kershaw from Birmingham City Council said in
his report that he found “no evidence of a conspiracy to promote an
anti-British agenda, violent extremism or radicalisation in schools”.
According to the podcast, officials and police had by
then determined that the letter was a hoax. It cites notes obtained by the
reporters, which were taken by a Birmingham City Council official at a meeting in
February 2014 with then-Secretary of Education Michael Gove.
“The police recommendation including the
counterterrorism unit is that the letter was bogus,” the notes said.
“There is a serious credibility gap. The document
contains serious factual inaccuracies and, in a number of areas,
contradictions.”
The Trojan Horse affair had a significant impact on
government counter-terrorism policy. It was cited as evidence of “extremism in
our institutions” when the Home Office rolled out an updated counter-extremism
strategy in 2015.
Source: Middle East Eye
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of the original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-trojan-horse-muslim-council-britain-calls-independent-inquiry
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UN aims to launch new Afghanistan cash route in
February: UN note
10 February ,2022
The United Nations aims to kickstart this month a
system to swap millions of aid dollars for Afghan currency in a plan to stem
humanitarian and economic crises and bypass blacklisted Taliban leaders,
according to an internal UN note seen by Reuters.
Since the Taliban takeover in August, foreign
financial assistance has stopped and international banks are wary of testing UN
and US sanctions on the hardline Islamist group, leaving the United Nations and
aid groups struggling to obtain cash even as they continue to receive
humanitarian donations.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
The UN explanatory note, written last month, outlines
an “urgently needed” Humanitarian Exchange Facility (HEF). The United Nations
has warned that more than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million people are suffering
extreme hunger and the economy, education and social services are collapsing.
“The overall objective is to have the HEF up and
running in February,” the note said. “Prior to the full establishment of the
facility, we seek to facilitate several trial swaps, to demonstrate exactly how
the mechanism will work.”
UN and humanitarian officials warn that the facility
can be only a temporary measure until Afghanistan’s central bank begins
operating independently and some $9 billion in foreign reserves frozen abroad
are released.
But when that could happen is uncertain. The reserves
held by the United States are tied up in legal action and Western governments
are reluctant to release funds unless they see the Taliban show greater respect
for human rights, especially those of women and girls.
The HEF would allow the United Nations - which is
seeking $4.4 billion for humanitarian assistance this year - and aid groups
access to large amounts of the national currency, the afghani, held in the
country by private businesses.
In exchange, the United Nations would use aid dollars
- potentially tens of millions - to pay the businesses’ foreign creditors,
thereby bolstering the flagging private sector and critical imports.
“The facility’s flow of funds would not require the
movement of funds across the Afghan border,” the UN note said.
While the money bypasses the Taliban, the note says
the HEF will need the approval of the Taliban-run central bank for “the flow of
funds and the exchange rate used and the withdrawal of AFN cash deposited into
AIB (Afghanistan International Bank) without any restriction.”
‘Starvation crisis’
The United Nations does not comment on leaked
documents, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said of the note. UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said Afghanistan is “hanging by a
thread” and long pushed for international action to combat the economic crisis
hampering aid efforts.
Afghanistan’s economy has continued to deteriorate,
with inflation for basic household goods reaching nearly 42 percent in January,
compared to the year-earlier period, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Wages
and demand for labor continued to decline, as did imports, which were down 66
percent compared to a year earlier, it said.
Aid groups and UN officials have been advocating for a
cash swap mechanism, but the UN note seen by Reuters provides new details on
how it will work.
Graeme Smith, a senior consultant for the
International Crisis Group think tank, told the US Senate Foreign Relations
Committee on Wednesday that an exchange facility is needed quickly, but only as
a stopgap measure.
“It is not sufficient,” he said. “Nobody should be
under any illusions that this substitutes for the normal functioning of a
central bank.”
Complicating the response, Taliban leaders have banned
the use of foreign currency in a country where US dollars were common.
The United Nations has flown in shipments of $100
bills, but the central bank has not converted them, leaving the world body
sitting on about $135 million in cash that it cannot use, a UN official said
last week.
Those funds are held in Kabul in the vaults of AIB,
the official said, the private bank that would play a role in the new cash swap
system.
The security of the cash flights and limits on how
much can be delivered are key reasons for starting the new exchange facility,
the note said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Greece launches judicial probe of Turkish minority's
march for rights
Ahmet Gençtürk
11.02.2022
Greece has launched a judicial investigation into a
march for rights by members of the country’s Turkish minority that took place
in July 2021.
The march, which was organized by the Xhanti Turkish
Union (ITB), one of the oldest and most influential associations of Greece’s
Turkish minority, was attended by thousands of people and prominent figures
from the minority and protested against Greece’s not applying decisions of the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which favored the minority.
The investigation by the public prosecutor in
northeastern Xanthi province claims that “provocative speeches and lies”
against the Greek state and its judicial authorities were delivered at the
march, during which COVID-19 measures were also violated, said the pro-minority
Millet Gazetesi daily.
The president of the ITB, Ozan Ahmetoglu, drew
attention to the fact that the investigation was initiated seven months after
the march.
“We, as ITB, resolutely will continue to struggle for
our rights, as we have been doing for the last 39 years,” he said on Twitter.
The Friendship, Equality and Peace Party (DEB) – a
party popular among Greece’s Turkish minority, rejected the claims by the
public prosecutor and reiterated that the march had urged Greece to comply with
the ECHR rulings.
“Our country, Greece, should abandon intimidation
policies towards its Muslim Turkish minority and cease to perceive them as a
threat,” the party said in a statement.
Other preeminent minority associations in northeastern
Greece including the Western Thrace Turkish Teachers Union (BTTOB), Komotini
Turkish Youth Union (GTGB) and the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Consultation
Council (BTTADK) also expressed support for ITB and condemned the investigation
and state policies towards the Turkish minority in general.
A prominent diaspora organization of Greece’s Turkish
minority, the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), also
released a statement slamming the move.
“The launch of an investigation after 7 months of the
democratic march organized by the Xanthi Turkish Union, which has been
struggling for 39 years, is a clear continuation of our country’s policies of
intimidation and suppression of the Turkish community in Western Thrace,” said
the statement.
Decades-long struggle for rights
Under the 2008 ECHR ruling, the right of Turks in
Western Thrace to use the word "Turkish" in the name of associations
was guaranteed, but Athens has failed to carry out the ruling, effectively
banning the Turkish group’s identity.
Greece’s Western Thrace region is home to a Muslim
Turkish community of around 150,000.
In 1983, the nameplate of the Xanthi Turkish Union
(Iskece Turk Birligi) was taken down, and the group was completely banned in
1986, on the pretext that the word “Turkish” was in its name.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Pakistan
Activists and Educationists Accuse Pakistan of
Ignoring Warnings on Biased Textbooks Loaded With Islamic Religious Content
February 11, 2022
Activists and educationists including Catholics have
criticized the revised Single National Curriculum (SNC) of Pakistan for its
loaded Islamic religious content.
Speakers at a Feb. 9 seminar on “how the school
curriculum is evolving” said the government ignored most changes experts
suggested for the textbooks.
“The curriculum for the subject of History does not
acknowledge the religious and cultural diversity of Pakistan, which leaves the
impression that cultural, religious and ethnic minorities are disassociated and
disengaged,” said researcher Zeeba Hashmi.
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choice
She and other experts such as Peter Jacob expressed
similar concerns at the seminar organized by the Centre for Social Justice
(CSJ) and Working Group for Inclusive Education in Lahore.
The National Curriculum Council two months ago sought
recommendations from civil society to revise the Education Policy Framework
2018 while preparing the second phase of the curriculum for grades 6-8.
The revised curricula were issued last week online.
Hashmi and others expressed concern that their
Muslim-majority nation was moving away from the multi-religious character
stressed by the founding leader of Pakistan (Quaid-i-Azam) Muhammad Ali Jinnah
when the nation was formed seven decades ago.
“Insensitive handling of topics such as the partition
of India might cause alienation among the Muslim students and hatred against
religious minorities,” Hashmi told UCA News.
Pakistan and India were formed in 1947 by portioning
British India. Muslim-majority areas became Pakistan and Hindu majority area
remained India but it caused unprecedented Hindu-Muslim riots killing at least
200,000 people, according to some accounts.
The minority Hindus, who decided to stay put in
Pakistan continue to face hatred and violence from the Muslim majority there,
while Muslims in Hindu-majority India face the same fate.
Hashmi said the theme on role models of Pakistan “does
not leave any room for mentioning minority heroes. Transgender persons have no
representation. No information is provided on the diversity of religions and
cultures in a global context in the subject of Geography."
“The subject of English, embedded with Islamic content
under different themes such as tolerance and fairness, may result in repetition
for Muslim students and alienation of the minority students,” Hashmi said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan introduced a uniform
education system — the Single National Curriculum (SNC) — which was criticized
for the overtly Islamic content in compulsory subjects.
Educationists fear that Khan’s inclination towards
madrasas (schools for Islamic instruction) might lead to the loss of students’
ability to reason independently from the dictates of Islamic thought.
The Federal Ministry for Education and Professional
Training has already completed the first phase of the SNC for grades 1-5 in
Punjab province.
“The government of Punjab continues to ignore the
learning losses incurred due to the pandemic and other factors, it is turning
schools into Islamic seminaries reducing the scope of education in science,
maths and social science,” said Peter Jacob, the Catholic director of CSJ.
He wanted the government to form curricula based on
constitutional provisions such as freedom of religion, equality of protection
before the law, and other guarantees given to educational institutions
regarding the practice of religion.
“Minority students must not be forced to study
Islamiat (Islamic religious studies) under any excuse, and teachers must be
hired to teach minority students their own religion as an alternative as
promised in the Single National Curriculum,” said Jacob.
Education activists say religion-centric practices in
public education are loaded with religious content, changing the very character
of school education.
Source: UCA News
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of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/experts-accuse-pakistan-of-ignoring-warnings-on-biased-textbooks/96064
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Imran Khan admits failure in bringing about change in
Pakistan
Feb 11, 2022,
NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has
admitted that he could not bring "change" in the country he had
promised at the time he came to power, due to "faults" in the system,
Dawn news reported.
"In the beginning we wanted to bring change
immediately through revolutionary steps, but later realised that our system was
incapable of absorbing shock," he said while addressing a ceremony held to
award certificates to the top 10 best performing ministries and divisions.
The Prime Minister further said the government and
ministries had not given the desired results.
"The biggest problem is that there has been no
connection between the government and the interest of the country," he
added.
"Are our ministries performing how to stabilise
the country through increasing exports and how the condition of the people can
be improved, how poverty can be eliminated?" he asked.
Source: Times Of India
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Imran Khan's visit to Beijing was to secure his waning
political fortunes: Report
Feb 11, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's recent
visit to Beijing Winter Olympics was seen as a search for some solace amid
several challenges at home and abroad. And China visit gave him the
opportunity.
Pakistan prime minister's visit to Beijing came in a
context, where he not only sought to extract more money from the principal
benefactor but also secure his waning political fortunes, said Policy Research
group (POREG).
According to think tank, Khan is wrestling to hold on
to power after his confrontation with the Pakistani army over the appointment
of the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The group further said
that there are also visible signs of growing cracks within his cabinet.
Moreover, Islamabad faces diplomatic challenges with
unrelenting US hostilities, even as Rawalpindi's proxy regime in Afghanistan
seeks to pile on Pakistan over the Durand border issue.
Aside from diplomatic and political problems, the
worsening economic situation is another front that Imran Khan is struggling to
deal with.
"Rising external debt, inflation and
unemployment, and sliding forex reserves have accentuated his problems.
Moreover, the recent flaring protests in Gwadar and the insurgent violence in
Balochistan threaten to harm Pakistan's core interests," POREG said.
On Thursday, Imran Khan even admitted that he could
not bring "change" in the country he had promised at the time he came
to power, due to "faults" in the system.
"In the beginning, we wanted to bring change
immediately through revolutionary steps, but later realised that our system was
incapable of absorbing shock," Khan said while addressing a public
ceremony.
Source: Times Of India
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Pak PM dismisses India and West's CPEC criticism
Omer Farooq Khan
Feb 11, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan PM Imran Khan has dismissed the
suspicion of some countries over the CPEC and the Gwadar port, saying that
these projects were "a great opportunity for geo-economics". "I
do not understand why there is suspicion about CPEC and the Gwadar port. It
makes no sense because, as far as Pakistan is concerned, my number one priority
is the country's 220 million people," Imran said in an interview with the
director of the advisory committee of China Institute at Fudan University and
published by a Chinese website.
Source: Times Of India
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Pakistan agency seeks ‘property details' of Mumbai
terror attack proclaimed offenders and their families
Feb 10, 2022
LAHORE: Pakistan's top investigative agency has sought
‘property details' of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack proclaimed offenders and
their families from the Revenue Department of Punjab province, a senior
official said on Thursday.
The Mumbai attack case has entered into the 14th year
but none of its suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet, showing that the
case had never been in the priority list of the country that appears to be keen
to put it under the carpet.
"In a letter to the senior member of the board of
revenue Punjab, the Federal Investigation Agency's (FIA) counter-terrorism wing
has sought property details of the proclaimed offenders of the Mumbai attack
and their family members,” a senior FIA official told PTI.
The proclaimed offenders include banned
Lashkar-e-Taiba's Amjad Khan of Multan, Iftikhar Ali of Booraywala, Shahid
Ghafoor of Bahawalpur, Muhammad Usman of Sahiwal, Ateequr Rehman of Lahore,
Riaz Ahmed of Hafizabad, Muhammad Mushtaq of Gujranwala, Muhammad Naeem of DG
Khan, Abdul Shakoor of Karachi, Muhammad Sabir of Multan, Shakil Ahmed of Rahim
Yar Khan and Abdul Rehman of Bawalnagar.
Most of them were members of the boat Al Hussaini
& Al Fouz used by the terrorists in Mumbai terrorist attack and other
provided funds and obtained Voice-over Internet Protocol (VOIP) connection for
terrorists.
In November 2008, 10 LeT terrorists had sailed into
Mumbai from Karachi and carried out coordinated attacks, killing 166 people and
injuring over 300. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone
survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and hanged after a trial.
The 26/11 case has been pending in the anti-terrorism
courts Rawalpindi/Islamabad since 2009. Six arrested suspects- Abdul Wajid,
Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis
Anjum- are facing charges of abetment to murder, attempted murder, planning and
executing the Mumbai attacks and they are detained at the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.
The case proceedings have virtually come to halt for
the last few years. The FIA is of the view that since India has refused to send
its 24 witnesses to Pakistan for recording of their statements and other
evidence, the case cannot proceed further.
Mumbai attack mastermind and chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa
(JuD) Hafiz Saeed and LeT operation commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi are detained
at Kot Lapkhapt jail in Lahore serving a term for several years in terror
financing cases.
Source: Times Of India
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UK, Pakistan urge world to help avert humanitarian
crisis, economic collapse in Afghanistan
February 10, 2022
ISLAMABAD: British High commissioner to Pakistan
Christian Turner called on National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf in his
office here on Thursday.
Both sides agreed to strengthening bilateral ties in
multiple spheres, including trade and investment. British High Commissioner and
National Security Advisor stressed the need for further strengthening the
diplomatic ties.
In view of prevailing situation in Afghanistan, the
officials agreed that the international community needs to stay engaged while
averting a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in the war-torn country.
The possibility of support for basic needs in addition
to humanitarian assistance was discussed, especially with regard to the health
and education sectors, they added.
Dr. Moeed Yusuf stressed the need for the regional and
international partners to constructively engage with Afghanistan including by
supporting the country’s economy, reconstruction, rehabilitation and
humanitarian needs.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Punjab to conduct trial in Lankan man killing inside
Lahore prison
February 10, 2022
LAHORE: Punjab government has notified to shift the
trial in the killing of Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lanka national employed by a
Sialkot business, to the Kot Lakhpat prison in Lahore with a special
prosecution team (SPT) designated to plead the case against the suspects from a
Sialkot factory.
According to a notification, the trial will now be
held inside the prison owing to its sensitive nature.
A three-member prosecution team will proceed with the
case and has been directed to submit a progress report on a regular basis to
Prosecutor General Punjab.
The prosecution department said the development came
after the case entered into final phases.
It merits a mention here the first conviction in the
case came from the anti-terrorism court (ATC) where a suspect was awarded
one-year imprisonment.
The suspect justified the killing at the factory on
social media and later confessed to his crime before the court.
Source: Pakistan Today
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South
Asia
US may give $10 M to Taliban over ISIS-K bomber
11 Feb 2022
Days after the United States announced two $10 million
prizes on the ISIS-Khorasan bomber and his associates that carried out the
Kabul Airport attack in August last year, the country’s officials have said
that even the Taliban can benefit from the prize.
During a news briefing on Washington on Thursday, US
officials said that they are in constant negotiations with the Taliban since
the Doha agreement to ensure the country does not become a safe haven for
terrorists again.
An official of the briefing team said that the Taliban
understands their commitments when it comes to fighting the ISIS-K or Daesh in
Afghanistan and that the Taliban have the ability to counter the terror group.
“We encourage anyone who provides information about
the whereabouts of Sanaullah Ghafar-the main culprit- or other associates in
the August 26 bombing of Kabul airport.” Said the official responding a
question about whether the prize will also be given to the Taliban.
It is worth mentioning that the US still believes the
number of ISIS-K fighters to be 5,000 in Afghanistan and the number increased
especially after the mass release of prisoners by the Taliban prior to the
collapse of the previous Afghan government.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/us-may-give-10-m-to-taliban-over-isis-k-bomber-765785456/
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Taliban can take part in reward for catching IS
leader, says US
Anwar Iqbal
February 11, 2022
WASHINGTON: The US government has had “a number of
conversations” with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on plans to counter the
Khorasan faction of the militant Islamic State (IS) group, according to
officials.
At a news briefing in Washington on Thursday, they
said the Taliban could also benefit from the two $10 million reward offers,
announced on Wednesday, for catching the Khorasan chief and his associates.
“We are in communication with the Taliban, and we have
been since the Doha agreement (2020) and certainly negotiations leading up to
that,” one of the two US officials who briefed the media said. “And we’ve been
very clear that we expect the Taliban to make sure that Afghanistan is never
again used as a base for external operations against the United States or our
allies.”
The officials said the Taliban “understand exactly
what commitment they have undertaken” and they “have been working to counter
IS”. On this issue, “we have had a number of interactions with them” and those
“conversations (were) about ISIS-K and the Taliban’s ability to counter them,”
another official said.
Asked if the US would also reward Taliban if they
provide information about wanted Khorasan leaders, the official said: “We
encourage anyone with any information about the two situations that were stated
– the location for identifying Ghafari or any information regarding the Aug 26
attacks.”
Earlier in the briefing, US officials said they
believed ISIS-Khorasan still has up to 5,000 militants in Afghanistan, with the
capability to conduct attacks throughout the country. “They have capability to
conduct attacks throughout the country, including in population centres.”
Source: Dawn
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IEA adopts humanitarian declaration in Geneva: Geneva
Call
11 Feb 2022
Switzerland non-governmental organization, Geneva Call
in a series of Twitter posts announced that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
adopted humanitarian declaration after high-level discussions with the NGO’s
team.
“Geneva Call is pleased to announce that the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan has adopted a humanitarian declaration after high-level
discussions in Geneva with our team.” Reads a Tweet.
As per the Twitter posts, the declaration covers
crucial issues including the protection and provision of healthcare and
education for all Afghans, the respect of humanitarian, and safeguard of the
environment and cultural heritage.
The Taliban delegation that was on an official visit to
Swiss included representatives from the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior
Affairs, Public Health, Defense, and Justice.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/iea-adopts-humanitarian-declaration-in-geneva-geneva-call-6876868/
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Negotiations with Taliban planned in Norway, Turkey
soon: Reports
February 11, 2022
Norway and Turkey are expected to hold talks on
Afghanistan with the Taliban in the near future, Sputnik News Agency reported
citing Afghan media reported.
Citing sources in the Taliban, the media reported that
the meeting in Turkey will be held in Istanbul.
From January 23 to January 25, this year the Taliban
delegation headed by the Foreign Minister of the Taliban, Amir Khan Muttaqi,
paid an official visit to the Norwegian capital at the invitation of the
kingdom, Sputnik reported.
The delegation met with special representatives and
envoys from the US, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and the UK.
Muttaqi described the visit as successful, and the
delegation thanked the Norwegian government for its hospitality and
contribution to the strengthening of trust.
Source: Business Standard
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Taliban Foreign Minister pledged to resolve issue of
missing female activists in Afghanistan: United Nations
Feb 11, 2022
Kabul: During a meeting with Deborah Lyons, the UN
Secretary-General`s special envoy to Afghanistan, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir
Khan Muttaqi assured to resolve the issue of the missing female activists, it
was announced.
According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA), Lyons and Muttaqi held the meeting on Wednesday during which the
Taliban Minister "assured of efforts to resolve issue. His constructive
approach welcomed. UN continues to engage Taliban to support welfare and rights
of all Afghans".
While Tamana Paryani and Parwana Ibrahimkhil went
missing in January, Zahra Mohammadi and Mursal Ayar disappeared last week, On
Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concerns over
the well-being of the activists.
"I am increasingly concerned about the well-being
of missing women activists in Afghanistan. Several have `disappeared`, some not
heard from in weeks," he said in a tweet.
"I strongly urge the Taliban to ensure their
safety so that they can return home."
Echoing the UN chief`s concern, Australia`s interim
mission to Afghanistan said on Thursday: "Australia shares the
international community`s concerns about the well-being of women activists in
Afghanistan. We urge the Taliban to resolve this issue and ensure the rights of
all Afghans."
Meanwhile, Afghan women`s rights activists have called
for clarification over the fate of the missing.
Source: Zee News India
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Southeast
Asia
Indonesian Muslim groups demand closure of country’s
first-ever Holocaust exhibition
Jordyn Haime
10.02.22
Some Muslim groups in Indonesia are demanding the
closure of the country’s first permanent Holocaust exhibition, charging that it
is part of an effort to normalize Indonesia’s relations with Israel.
The exhibit launched timed to International Holocaust
Remembrance Day on Jan. 27 and is located at Indonesia’s only synagogue, Shaar
HaShamayim, located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province. “Shoah: How is it
Humanly Possible?” was created by the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance
Center, which is based in Israel.
Yaakov Baruch, Shaar Hashamayim’s rabbi, said his motivation
to open the exhibition was personal.
“When I had this idea to build a Holocaust museum, the
reason was to remember my family who died in the Holocaust on my grandmother’s
side,” Baruch said. “And I also want to educate Indonesians on the danger of antisemitism,
especially the danger of hate crimes.”
But groups protesting the exhibition say they see it
as part of Israel’s attempts to normalize relations with Indonesia, according
to BenarNews, an online news service affiliated with Radio Free Asia.
“We demand any exhibition be stopped and the museum be
canceled [and] discontinued,” said Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, the head of foreign
relations and international cooperation of the country’s Indonesian Ulema
Council, a top Islamic clerical body known as MUI.
“Jewish communities and the descendants of Jewish
people everywhere, including in Indonesia and North Sulawesi, should also see
fairly clearly the brutal acts that have been perpetrated by Israeli Zionists
against the Palestinian people since 1948,” he added.
MUI — which was once chaired by Indonesia’s vice
president, Ma’run Amin — is known in Indonesia as holding conservative and
sometimes controversial religious opinions.
But representatives of other groups have expressed
similar sentiments. Hidayat Nur Wahid, deputy speaker of Indonesia’s
legislative branch, the People’s Consultative Assembly, and a lawmaker with the
faith-based Prosperous Justice Party, told BenarNews that he objected to the
exhibit’s ties to Yad Vashem because of the museum director’s ties to Israel’s
settlements in the West Bank.
Dani Dayan, who is the former chair of the Yesha
Council, an umbrella organization for Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, was
appointed to lead Yad Vashem last summer.
Meanwhile, representatives from Nahdlatul Ulama,
Indonesia’s largest Islamic organization — and the largest Islamic organization
in the world — have spoken out in support of the exhibition. The local
government was also supportive, according to a source familiar with the
situation.
The demand to shutter the exhibit arises amid
circulating rumors of increased diplomatic relations between Indonesia and
Israel, which do not currently have formal ties. Last month, Israeli officials
said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the possibility of normalized
relations, suggesting that Indonesia might join several other Muslim nations in
opening ties with Israel. The claim was later confirmed by the Indonesian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but officials have played down the reports of
increased discussion.
Barriers to normalized relations remain high,
including fears from Indonesia’s current leaders that they would lose the
support of the majority-Muslim public, who seek the formation of an independent
Palestinian state. The country’s constitution states that “independence is the
right of all peoples,” meaning the nation of islands supports Palestinian
independence. Indonesia has long supported a two-state solution.
“There are many reports now in mass media that cannot
be confirmed,” said Teuku Faizasyah, Indonesia’s foreign ministry spokesperson,
at a news briefing in January. “Indonesia’s principle on Palestinian issues
remains unchanged. We support the Palestinians and we will continue to work on
the two-state solution for the freedom of Palestine.”
That policy agenda can easily translate into
antisemitism, according to Mun’im Sirry, a professor of world religions and
world church at the University of Notre Dame.
“Indonesians do not always distinguish between Jews
and Israelis,” Sirry said. “They also do not distinguish between the foreign
policy of the state and the people of Israel. And that is a problem.”
According to Sirry, antisemitic discourse existed in
Indonesia before the founding of the state of Israel. But it became more
prominent in public life as more religious groups and parties emerged following
the fall of the authoritarian Suharto regime in 1998.
He refers to Indonesia’s situation as “antisemitism
without Jews” — antisemitism is on the rise, but the country is home to
virtually no Jews.
It is not illegal to practice Judaism in Indonesia,
but many Jews try to keep a low profile and practice in private. There are only
five legally-recognized religions — Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism,
Buddhism and Confucianism — meaning Jews have to identify with one.
Baruch’s ID card says he is Christian, but he says
Jews in majority-Muslim areas identify as Muslim.
Baruch estimates that there are only 20 to 30
practicing traditional Sephardic Jews at his synagogue and another 20 to 30
Jews in Jakarta who practice at home.
Most, like Baruch himself, are descendants of Dutch
Jews who first came to Indonesia in the 17th century with the Dutch East India
Company. The community built a synagogue in Surabaya in 1939, which was
destroyed in 2013.
“Once I was attacked with my pregnant wife in Jakarta
because I was wearing a kippah,” he said. “But now, my hometown [Tondano, North
Sulawesi] is much more safe because there are a lot of Christian people here.”
Baruch added that the local government has provided
support and security to the small Jewish community since the synagogue was
constructed there in 2004.
Richelle Budd Caplan, director of international
relations and projects for Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust
Studies, said the exhibit at Shaar HaShamayim is part of an effort to release
Holocaust documentary content in 20 languages.
Source: Israel National News
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United States approves major $14 billion arms sale to
Indonesia
February 11, 2022
The Biden administration on Thursday approved a nearly
USD14 billion arms sale to Indonesia, as the U.S. presses ahead with steps it
believes will help counter China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
The State Department announced the USD13.9 billion
sale of advanced fighter jets while Secretary of State Antony Blinken was
visiting Australia on a visit also intended to underscore the U.S.
determination not to allow China free rein in the Pacific, even as developments
between Russia and Ukraine demand attention.
The sale to Indonesia of up to 36 F-15 fighter jets,
engines and related equipment, including munitions and communications systems,
follows a mid-December trip to Jakarta by Blinken, who at the time lauded close
U.S.-Indonesia ties despite human rights concerns that have delayed previous
arms sales to the country.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy
goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the
security of an important regional partner that is a force for political
stability, and economic progress in the Asia-Pacific region, the department
said in a statement.
It is vital to U.S. national interests to assist
Indonesia in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense
capability," it said.
The statement made no mention of China but successive
U.S. administrations have sought to enlist Indonesia, the world's largest
predominantly Muslim democracy, in its campaign to ward off Chinese attempts to
boost its influence in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Pacific.
Source: Business Standard
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Africa
Nigeria: Scholars Harps On Islamic Perspective on
Unity; Urge To Shun Ethnicity And Tribalism, As Islam Frowns Against Conflicts
And Clashes
By Shakirah Adunola
11 February 2022
In an attempt to build a more rewarding future for the
Ummah. Muslims have been urged to shun ethnicity and tribalism, as Islam frowns
against conflicts and clashes, which affect unity.
At the inaugural launch of Magodo Phase Two Muslims
Association, themed, ‘Unity of Muslim Ummah in a Community, Its Need,
Importance and relevance ‘speakers at the event said it is imperative on Muslim
organisations to unite, as the strength of the Ummah lies in its unity.
The guest speaker, Registrar of the Joint Admissions
and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while delivering lecture
on ‘Romanticising or Surpassing the Past: The Dilemma of Contemporary Yoruba
Muslims’, said the first major issue or challenge that confront Yoruba Muslims
is the deliberate policy of systematic roll back of Islamic legal culture by
the British colonial powers, noting that the introduction of English Legal
System and the incorporation of repugnancy doctrine is another policy, which is
contemptuous of Islamic culture and jurisprudence.
“ The Islamic legal culture, it would be recalled, had
started to blossom in places such as Ede, Ikirun, Iwo, Epe and other
surrounding areas long before the British came into West Africa.
“The doctrine stipulates that courts shall not enforce
any provision of the customary law that is repugnant to natural justice, equity
and good conscience or if it is contrary to public policy. This clause was
regularly invoked to strike down rules of Islamic jurisprudence that were
deemed incompatible with English law or notion of justice. This state of
affairs made the Muslim elite of Lagos, led by Mohammed Shitta Bey, to present
a petition to the Governor. They requested for a Sharia Court to administer
Islamic personal law, just as was approved for Indian Muslims by the British
Colonial Government. The petition concluded with a prayer to the Governor.”
He added that the present generation of Yoruba Muslims
has a rich and proud history behind them. “ Our forebears proudly surmounted
the challenges they faced to bequeath to us what we refer to today as Islam.
They faced harassment. They were intimidated and ridiculed. Yet, they remained
firm and constant in defense of the truth.”
Oloyede said the period following the Independence
brought to the fore, effects of disparity in access to Western education
between Muslims and Christians and this led to various societies in
establishing Muslim Primary and Secondary Schools in our region
“Increasingly, Yoruba Muslims began to experience lack
of equal access to political and economic opportunities in the Southwestern
region. Notwithstanding the efforts made by notable Muslim societies to
establish schools, many western educated Muslims still experienced coercive
secularisation and indoctrination in the course of their academic and
professional journeys. This has greatly diminished their allegiance and
commitment to Islam. A good number of them have been involved in interfaith
marriages and could not, unfortunately, pass Islam on to their children. These
are children who have come under a second wave of secularisation and
de-Islamisation championed by westernised institutions, including print and
electronic media.
“The number of Muslim teachers in our schools and
colleges is still low. This is equally the case with reference to number of
Muslim Lecturers in our Universities and other tertiary institutions. The
question that constantly bothers my mind is this – where are our graduates? Is
it a case of misplaced priority by the Ummah or a case of institutionalised
discrimination against them? Are Yoruba Muslims victims of cultural and
political hegemony?
He also stated that some self-inflicted,
self-marginalisation practices affecting the growth and development of some
Muslim youth associations, particularly, in many tertiary institutions.
“Some of our promising young ladies have had to
abandon their studies in the field of medicine and nursing, especially over
attitudes of some institutions to Niqab. Some Muslim leaders have suggested a
pragmatic approach in dealing with the situation as it is considered more
important. As far as they are concerned, it is now more urgent than ever before
for us to produce female medical personnel. This, in their opinion, would put a
stop to the current situation, where Muslim women are being subjected to the
indignity of exposing their anatomy to male medical personnel, particularly, in
gynecology. The challenge for us relates not only to how prepared we are to
correct this anomaly based on Islamic jurisprudence, but equally that of how we
can convince some groups within the Ummah who would not allow their women to
venture into the public sphere no matter the necessity.”
Oloyede said that another related Fitna confronting
the Yoruba Muslims today is the seemingly intractable rivalries and
controversies among Muslim clerics in yorubaland. “The time honoured principle
of Adab-l-Ikhitilaaf appears to have been forgotten or out rightly jettisoned.
Ideological differences have torn them far apart to the extent that Muslims now
engage in declaring one another Kaafir, apart from other contemptible
derogations.
“ Scholars and pseudo-scholars from across all divides
(Sufis, Ahlus sunnah, Salafi,Tabligh, Mekondoro, Shia) are locked in
unnecessary doctrinal debates. Some of them engage in the practice of
syncretism, sorcery and magic thereby misrepresenting Islam to their gullible
clients who patronise them for quick solution to their problems.
“This ugly trend is understandable. In other words,
existing socio-economic systems, as well as the impacts of modernity, have led
the products of our Madrassahs in the cold. The organisation of schools for
Islamic education has remained largely in private hands with its attendant
incoherence and chaos. The curricula in the traditional Islamiyah schools are,
in some parts, outdated and unsuitable. The products of these schools are
generally not recognised by the system and are not employable. Some of them
engage in the practice of syncretism, sorcery, and magic to earn their
livelihood. They resort to these unwholesome and abhorrent social practices
partly as a result of a lack of legitimate opportunities for a decent and
sustainable economic lifestyle. Rather than being ambassadors of Islam, they
have become a burden to the Deen. Traditional Muslim scholars are currently
embroiled in undue rivalry and supremacy struggles. They have distracted the
Ummah from the pursuit of noble and lofty goals. We really have to address the
embarrassing verbal exchanges between some Muslim scholars and preachers and
also their resort to social media for ignoble purposes.”
The National Missioner and Chief Imam of Ansar-Ud-Deen
Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, while delivering lecture on the
theme of the event, said ethnic or tribe is a subset of identity that pronounce
Allah’s creativity. “The fact that I am a Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani or Nupe does
not really define who I am, it is just a means by which at some level I could
be sorted. Not a means by which I can be evaluated in the affairs of this world
or hereafter.
“ Allah (SWT) is a creator, he is a fashioner and He
is not a mass producer. He paid attention to individuals in their makeup, in
their psychology, emotions, physique, appearance. No two individuals are the
same, you can only find that in the creation of Almighty Allah. No matter how
masterful a craft man can be, if you pay individual attention to a craft man’s
products, you will still find his imprint in it because there is a thread.”
He said the purpose of Allah making us into nations
and tribes is not to create a discrimination of profiling, it is just a means
by which human should appreciate the sign of Allah. “Part of the signs of Allah
is that he has created you and given you different complexions, skin pigments
and different languages. This are signs of the greatness of Allah’s creation
ingenuity. Allah (SWT) is the best of those who are endowed, best of those who
fashion.
Ahmad urged the Ummah to unite as one as decreed by
Allah (SWT), as going against the wills of Allah has numerous consequences.
“ If we look at the universe Allah as created, you
will see unity of purpose. He created synergy between the heaven and the earth.
The planetary bodies are well coordinated, they work in unison. The sky the
moon, the galaxy, sun, air even the vegetation that grow from the earth, in
them you will see synergy, cooperation. Every single thing feels a particular
purpose in the whole chain. If you take one thing away the chain will break.”
He averred that ethnicity and tribalism could not be
the basis of bringing people together as history debunks common ancestry.
“ The Yoruba’s fought one of the longest inter ethic
wars known to history, the kiriji war. In fact it is still enshrine in the
Yoruba language. There are some Yoruba adages that use to remind us who we are
as Yoruba’s. Allah tells us that he has united our heart on the basis of Islam.
Source: Guardian Nigeria
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https://guardian.ng/features/friday-worship/scholars-harps-on-islamic-perspective-on-unity/
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CAN faults Taraba Muslims, says alleged
marginalisation baseless, politically-motivated
Tyopuusu Justin
11 February 2022
THE Christian Association of Nigeria in Taraba State
on Thursday said it would again determine who becomes the next governor of the
state through its members’ majority votes.
The association, which decried the recent press
briefing by the Muslim Council of Taraba State and Muslim Rights Concern
alleging marginalisation amid claims of being the majority in the state,
explained that the Muslims remained a minority in Taraba and cannot win
elections with their numbers.
Addressing a press conference in Jalingo, the state
chairman of CAN, Rev. Isaiah Magaji, said the allegations by the Taraba State
Muslim Council and MURIC were baseless and politically-motivated with intent to
intimidate the Christian majority in the state.
Magaji said, “We are a peace-loving religious group
and will not want to join issues with our Muslim brothers but this cheap
propaganda against the governor must stop in the overall interest of peace and
progress.
“If Governor Ishaku was adjudged a good leader who has
performed creditably by a Muslim monarch, the Emir of Muri, Alhaji Abbas Njida
Tafida recently in Takum, why is the Muslim Council and MURIC speaking
differently?
“We have the number and where the Christians vote that
is where the winner will emerge in Taraba. We could have chosen to replicate
what President Muhammadu Buhari is doing at the federal level and (Gov)
El-Rufai in Kaduna, but we have being accommodating our Muslim brothers and our
simplicity should not be taken for cowardice.”
“There is growing persecution of Christians in
predominantly Christian states in northern Nigeria and MURIC has been silent
over such acts against Christians in states like Kaduna, Niger, Adamawa, Gombo,
Nasarawa, Borno, Yobe and others.
Source: Punchng
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Niger lawmakers confirm Kigera as substantive Grand
Khadi, Sharia Court of Appeal
February 10, 2022
By Priscilla Dennis
Niger State lawmakers have confirmed the appointment
of Abubakar Musa Mohammed Kigera, as the substantive Grand Khadi of Shari’a
Court of Appeal of the State.
The confirmation of the Grand Khadi would have been
done a week earlier but an objection and a motion moved by Bello Ahmed, a
member representing Agwara constituency staled it.
When the Speaker, Bawa Wuse read the letter from the
State Governor, Abubakar Sani Abubakar to the House seeking their approval for
the appointment of the new Grand Khadi, Ahmed raised an objection and requested
that the nominee be asked to appear before the Assembly in case members had
questions to ask.
However, the nominee appeared before the House and
scaled through the screening and was confirmed the substantive Grand Khadi by
the House.
The motion for Kigera’s confirmation was moved by
Mohammed Abba Bala, member representing Borgu Constituency and seconded by
Malik Madaki Bosso, lawmaker representing Bosso Constituency to confirm the
nominee as the new Grand Khadi.
The new Grand Khadi was born on 3 September 1971 and
hails from Borgu Local Government Area.
Source: Daily Post
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--------
Tunisia president says he will name new Supreme
Judiciary Council
10 February ,2022
Tunisia’s president said on Thursday he would issue a
decree effectively dissolving the Supreme Judiciary Council, one of the last
remaining institutions in the country able to work independently of him, adding
he would name a new council.
The president, Kais Saied, on Sunday had announced
plans to dissolve the council in the latest in a series of moves his opponents
have called a coup.
A few minutes after the president’s comments on
Thursday, the council announced it rejected his decision, saying the “current
structure is the only representative of the judiciary.”
Dozens of judges in uniform protested in front of
Tunis court, shouting slogans calling for Saied to respect the independence of
the judiciary.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Libyan parliament spokesman declares Bashagha new PM
after rival withdraws
10 February ,2022
The parliament of war-torn Libya on Thursday appointed
a former interior minister as prime minister, a challenge to interim premier
Abdulhamid Dbeibah’s administration.
“The House of Representatives unanimously approved
Fathi Bashagha to head the government,” the parliament’s spokesman Abdullah
Bliheg said in a tweet.
The move threatens to spark a new power struggle
between the eastern-based assembly and Dbeibah’s administration based in
Tripoli, in western Libya.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
The tycoon, appointed a year ago as part of United
Nations-led peace efforts, has vowed only to hand power to a government
produced by the ballot box.
His administration had a mandate to lead the country
to elections on December 24, but they were cancelled amid bitter divisions over
their legal basis and the candidacies of several controversial figures.
Parliament speaker Aguila Saleh, who like Dbeibah and
Bashagha had been a presidential candidate, has since spearheaded efforts to
replace the unity government.
The assembly had considered seven candidates to lead
the administration, but shortly before Thursday’s confirmation vote, Saleh had
announced that Bashagha’s only remaining contender, former interior ministry
official Khaled al-Bibass, had withdrawn from the race.
The live television feed cut just before the vote took
place.
In a televised address on Tuesday, Dbeibah had vowed
he would “accept no new transitional phase or parallel authority” and declared
he would only hand over power to an elected government.
Source: Al Arabiya
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--------
UN still recognizes Libya’s Dbeibah as PM despite
challenge: Spokesman
10 February ,2022
The United Nations will continue to support Libya’s
unity government chief Abdulhamid Dbeibah, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said
Thursday, after an alternative prime minister was named in a controversial vote
by the country’s parliament.
Asked during a daily press briefing whether the UN
continued to recognize Dbeibah as interim prime minister, the spokesman said
“the short answer is yes.”
“It’s very important for all Libyan leaders and
stakeholders to keep in mind the Libyan people,” Dujarric said, adding that the
UN’s aim was to “help the Libyan people.”
“We have seen the reports of the appointment of
another prime minister,” he said. “Our position remained unchanged.”
The war-torn country'’s parliament, based in eastern
Libya hundreds of miles from the capital, voted to replace Dbeibah with former
interior minister Fathi Bashagha, raising the specter of a power struggle in
the capital after a year and a half of relative calm.
Dbeibah, a construction tycoon appointed a year ago as
part of UN-led peace efforts, has vowed only to hand power to a government that
emerges from a democratic vote.
His unity government took office in early 2021.
Source: Al Arabiya
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--------
Arab
World
Arab Coalition asks residents of Sanaa to evacuate ‘civilian
sites,’ warns of strikes
10 February ,2022
The Arab Coalition asked residents of Sanaa to
evacuate some “civilian sites” in the next 72 hours and warned of strikes on
the Houthi militia in the area, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
“Crucial points will be bombed in Sanaa that the
Houthis use to launch marches,” the Arab Coalition in a statement carried by
SPA.
It comes after the Iran-backed Houthi militia
conducted a drone strike against Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on
Thursday, injuring 12 people.
The Kingdom’s defenses intercepted the drone, but
debris reportedly fell within the vicinity of the airport.
Abha, near Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen,
is a regular target of drone and missile strikes launched by the Iran-backed
Houthi militia fighting coalition forces in Yemen.
“The Houthis have chosen to escalate blatantly by
targeting civilian airports and civilians,” said the Arab Coalition in the SPA
report.
“Minor physical damages,” including glass panels in
some of the airport’s facades was shattered, according to SPA.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iraq says 20 terrorists escaped from prison in Syria
Ibrahim Saleh
10.02.2022
BAGHDAD
Iraq’s top security official said Thursday that 20
“dangerous terrorists” had escaped from a prison in Syria’s northeastern city
of Al-Hasakah last month.
National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji made the
remarks during his meeting with the European Union Ambassador to Iraq, Ville
Varjola, according to a statement by his office.
Al-Araji called on the EU to urge its members to
withdraw their nationals from al-Hol camp, which houses the families of
Daesh/ISIS members in eastern Syria.
"The presence of this large number of terrorists
in the prisons of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with weak capabilities,
constitutes a constant and permanent threat if the international community
fails to fulfill its duties,” he said.
In January, an unknown number of Daesh/ISIS members
escaped from the Ghwayran detention camp in Al-Hasakah, which is run by the
US-backed SDF forces, a rebranded version of the YPG/PKK terror group.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/iraq-says-20-terrorists-escaped-from-prison-in-syria/2499252
--------
Egypt seeks to advance cooperation with Algeria:
El-Sisi
February 10, 2022
CAIRO: Egypt’s president has reaffirmed the fraternal
relations between his country and Algeria, as well as Cairo’s aspiration to
advance bilateral cooperation at various levels.
During a phone call he received from his Algerian
counterpart Abdelmedjid Tebboune, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi expressed his “pride in
the visit of his brother” to Egypt on Jan. 24.
It was Tebboune’s third foreign trip since taking
office in December 2019. The visit included discussions on economic, political
and strategic files.
El-Sisi said Egypt seeks to increase trade and
investment with Algeria, and to strengthen security and military ties.
They discussed regional issues of common interest,
especially the situation in Libya. They agreed that Libyan state institutions
should be supported, as should efforts to achieve security and stability, and
to preserve the country’s unity and sovereignty.
Bassam Rady, spokesman for the Egyptian presidency,
said Tebboune expressed his appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality
he received during his visit, which witnessed fruitful discussions.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2022386/middle-east
--------
Syria’s main Druze city sees more unrest, calls for
Friday protests
10 February, 2022
Tens of Syrian protesters gathered on Thursday in the
mainly Druze city of Sweida to protest against worsening economic conditions
and subsidy cuts that came into force last week, residents, activists and local
officials said on Thursday.
Sporadic rallies have taken place this week in
villages around the southwestern city, where protesters blocked roads and
dozens rallied in the main square of the city to demand a halt to the cuts in
subsidies that followed gasoline price hikes in recent months.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“We have been moved by the pain of our people and will
continue our peaceful protest until our demands are met,” said Hamed Marouf, a
protester who had joined the protests since they first began last Thursday.
The government says cuts in a once lavish subsidy
program to ease the burden on the sanctions-hit country’s state finances only
affected the wealthiest.
But many protesters say the move worsened the plight
of ordinary Syrian who survived a decade of devastating war and are now
struggling to afford food and basic supplies amid rampant inflation and eroding
incomes.
Residents blame growing discontent within the ranks of
those who stood with President Bashar al Assad during the conflict on rampant
corruption and worsening inequalities.
Sweida city remained in government hands during the
conflict, that has cost tens of thousands of lives and displaced and uprooted
millions.
Witnesses said hundreds of security forces were seen
arriving in buses from Damascus as activists urged people to take to the
streets on Friday.
“We want to live with dignity,” chanted protesters
with some carrying banners saying, “There is nothing left for the poor” and
waving the Druze community flag.
State media made no mention of the protests. A senior
presidential advisor, Bouthiana Shaaban, wrote in a leading state-owned
newspaper on Monday the pro-democracy protests in 2011 that were violently
crushed by security forces and spiraled into the over decade- old conflict were
foreign-inspired to wreck the country.
Religious elders of the Druze community have said
peaceful protests against unfair government measures were justified.
Source: Al Arabiya
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--------
Lebanon bars Bahrain opposition from holding Beirut
events
10 February ,2022
Lebanon on Thursday banned Bahraini opposition forces
from holding two events in the country, amid strained ties between Beirut and
Arab nations of the Gulf.
The decision comes weeks after Lebanon ordered the
expulsion of members of Bahrain’s leading opposition party, Al-Wefaq, after
they held a news conference in Beirut that had irked authorities in the Gulf
kingdom, where it is banned.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
On Thursday, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi
said he was banning “two events” organized by Bahraini opposition figures which
were due to take place on Friday and next Monday.
“If these two events were to take place, they would
undermine official Bahraini authorities and Gulf Arab states, thus blocking
efforts by Lebanon to boost ties with these countries,” Mawlawi said in a
statement.
In October last year, Saudi Arabia and its allies,
including Bahrain, suspended diplomatic ties with Lebanon after the airing of
comments by then information minister George Kordahi criticizing Riyadh’s
military intervention in Yemen.
Kordahi resigned in December in a bid to ease the
stand-off, as part of diplomatic efforts to restore trust between Beirut, which
is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis, with the wealthy Gulf
states.
According to Mawlawi, the events had been scheduled to
take place in a hotel near Beirut airport, in the capital’s southern suburbs --
a stronghold of the Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Lebanese PM signals difficulty in agreeing financial
plan
10 February ,2022
Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated on Thursday
difficulties in agreeing a financial recovery plan critical to steering Lebanon
out of its devastating economic collapse, calling it a “Kamikaze operation.”
A plan for addressing a $70 billion hole in the
financial system is seen as the starting point for talks with the International
Monetary Fund and vital to reviving the paralyzed banking system.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
An IMF spokesperson said talks with Lebanon that began
last month would end this week.
“Those discussions I would characterize them as
progressing well, but extensive work still required in the period ahead,” Gerry
Rice told a news briefing.
“The economic recovery plan is not easy...We think it
is a difficult process, a Kamikaze operation,” Mikati said in a televised news
conference after the cabinet approved the 2022 state budget.
Lebanon has been in crisis since late 2019 when the
financial system unraveled under the weight of huge public debts, sinking the
currency by more than 90 percent and plunging a majority of the population into
poverty.
“The recovery plan is not easy, not easy, not easy and
is taking all this time,” Mikati added.
He said that what had been reported in the media about
the plan was untrue.
“We have a number of options and we are discussing
them with the IMF,” Mikati said.
A draft recovery plan seen by Reuters last month
proposed converting the bulk of $104 billion of hard currency deposits in the
banking system to Lebanese pounds, with only $25 billion being returned to
savers in US dollars.
A previous recovery plan drawn up by a government in
2020 was shot down by commercial banks, the Central Bank and powerful political
parties who disagreed over the size and distribution of losses, torpedoing IMF
talks at the time.
Though the government has yet to formally cancel the
old pegged exchange rate of 1,500 pounds to the dollar, the new budget for the
first time applies a rate much closer to the market value for customs
transactions of around 20,000.
“The main problem with this budget is that it’s not
anchored against a holistic economic recovery program,” said Mohamad Faour,
Assistant Professor of Finance at the American University of Beirut. He added
that the inclusion of multiple exchange rates would continue to “distort
economic activity.”
The IMF has recommended unifying exchange rates.
The budget projects spending at 47 trillion pounds
with a deficit of around 7 trillion pounds, Mikati added, equal to around $330
million at the parallel market rate on Thursday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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--------
Mideast
Iran: Vienna Talks Continue Until West Shows Will to
Remove All Sanctions
2022-February-10
"Throughout the history Iranians have proven that
they respond to the threats with resistance, and perseverance," Amir
Abdollahian said on Thursday addressing the commemoration ceremony of the 43rd
anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Thursday.
He pointed out that the Iranian negotiators are
serious and determined to reach a good agreement, and said, "The
conclusion of negotiations depends on the will of the western parties for
removing sanctions and reviving all their undertakings."
"Today, on the anniversary of the victory of the
Islamic Revolution, Iranian diplomats in Vienna are negotiating the removal of
oppressive sanctions," Amir Abdollahian said while referring to the
ongoing talks between Iran and the five world powers on removal of unlawful
sanctions imposed against Iran.
Envoys from Iran and the G4+1 group of countries —
Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding
negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10 months in a bid to resurrect the
JCPOA.
The eighth round of the talks resumed on Tuesday after
a brief pause during which the negotiators returned to their capitals for
consultations.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Ali Shamkhani warned on Monday that the Vienna talks between Iran and
the world powers may not end up in a deal if the US remains adamant to removing
all cruel sanctions imposed on Tehran under the maximum pressure campaign.
"The agenda for the Iranian negotiators to
continue the eighth round of Vienna Talks has been carefully defined. An
agreement in which the sanctions that form the maximum pressure are not lifted
will condition the country's economy and cannot be the basis of a good
deal," Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
Reports said earlier this month that the Biden
administration has restored a nuclear cooperation sanctions waiver to Iran, a
senior State Department official said.
The waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump
administration in May 2020, had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies
to carry out non-proliferation work at Iranian nuclear sites.
The move came as Iran has been requesting removal of
economic sanctions.
Shamkhani reacted to the news by saying that Iran has
the right to a peaceful nuclear program.
“Iran’s legal right to continue research and
development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements,
along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any
agreement,” he tweeted.
Iranian senior analyst Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm also
discredited the US move, describing it as a deceitful measure aimed at
prioritizing nuclear debates over economic sanctions in the Vienna talks.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Minister: Iran Seeking Preferential Trade Agreement
with Oman
2022-February-10
The Iranian minister made the remarks in a meeting
with Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Qais Al Yousef in
Muscat.
He insisted that a preferential trade agreement (PTA)
between Iran and Oman would significantly boost economic and trade relations
between the two friendly nations.
Under a PTA, countries allow certain products to enjoy
preferential trade access such as by reducing or removing tariffs.
Iran is currently in PTA arrangements with six
countries, as well as with members of the Russia-led EAEU bloc of Eurasian
economies.
Iran has intensified its efforts to reach preferential
or free trade deals with other countries as part of efforts to offset the
impacts of American sanctions that were imposed on the country more than three
years ago.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Iran's Top Negotiator Meets EU's Mora, G4+1
Representatives in Vienna
2022-February-10
Baqeri Kani arrived at the Coburg Hotel on Thursday to
continue talks with EU and G4+1 representatives on removal of sanctions.
The top Iranian negotiator left Tehran for the
Austrian capital Vienna on Tuesday to resume the unfinished eighth round of
Vienna talks on the removal of the US sanctions.
In relevant remarks earlier on Thursday, Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian underlined that the negotiations in
Vienna may not conclude until the Western parties show resolve to revive
undertakings and remove sanctions in action.
"Throughout the history Iranians have proven that
they respond to the threats with resistance, and perseverance," Amir
Abdollahian said addressing the commemoration ceremony of the 43rd anniversary
of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Thursday.
He pointed out that the Iranian negotiators are
serious and determined to reach a good agreement, and said, "The conclusion
of negotiations depends on the will of the western parties for removing
sanctions and reviving all their undertakings."
"Today, on the anniversary of the victory of the
Islamic Revolution, Iranian diplomats in Vienna are negotiating the removal of
oppressive sanctions," Amir Abdollahian said while referring to the
ongoing talks between Iran and the five world powers on removal of unlawful
sanctions imposed against Iran.
Envoys from Iran and the G4+1 group of countries —
Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding
negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10 months in a bid to resurrect the
JCPOA.
The eighth round of the talks resumed on Tuesday after
a brief pause during which the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
(SNSC) Ali Shamkhani warned on Monday that the Vienna talks between Iran and
the world powers may not end up in a deal if the US remains adamant to removing
all cruel sanctions imposed on Tehran under the maximum pressure campaign.
"The agenda for the Iranian negotiators to
continue the eighth round of Vienna Talks has been carefully defined. An
agreement in which the sanctions that form the maximum pressure are not lifted
will condition the country's economy and cannot be the basis of a good
deal," Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
Reports said earlier this month that the Biden
administration has restored a nuclear cooperation sanctions waiver to Iran, a
senior State Department official said.
The waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump
administration in May 2020, had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies
to carry out non-proliferation work at Iranian nuclear sites.
The move came as Iran has been requesting removal of
economic sanctions.
Shamkhani reacted to the news by saying that Iran has
the right to a peaceful nuclear program.
“Iran’s legal right to continue research and
development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements,
along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any
agreement,” he tweeted.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
As nuclear talks resume, Iran's oil exports increase
10 February ,2022
Iranian oil exports have risen to more than 1 million
barrels per day for the first time in almost three years, based on estimates
from companies that track the flows, reflecting increased shipments to China.
Tehran's oil exports have been limited since former US
President Donald Trump in 2018 exited a 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed
sanctions aimed at curbing oil exports and the associated revenue to Iran's
government.
Iran has kept some exports flowing despite sanctions
as intermediaries find ways to disguise the origin of the imports. Tanker
tracking companies say China is the destination of most of those shipments.
President Joe Biden's administration has discussed the
imports with China but has not imposed sanctions on Chinese individuals and
companies. Beijing has urged the US to lift the sanctions on Iran, which China
opposes.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Indirect talks between Iran and the US on reviving the
nuclear deal resumed on Tuesday. If the talks are successful, Iran could
restart open oil sales.
Iran managed to increase exports in 2021 despite the
sanctions, according to estimates from oil industry consultants and analysts.
Those exports remain well below the 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) shipped
before the reimposition of sanctions.
Consulting firm Petro-Logistics, which tracks oil
flows, said Iran's crude exports surged in December to more than 1 million bpd,
the highest level in almost three years, although they fell back to about
700,000 bpd in January.
“We wouldn't expect to see 1 million bpd consistently
until there is a change in the political landscape,” said Petro-Logistics Chief
Executive Daniel Gerber.
A senior trade source said January volumes dropped by
about 300,000 bpd from December and added that the volumes fluctuate because
there is a shortage of ships.
The increase in Iranian exports comes as tight global
supply has helped to push oil prices to a seven-year high of $94 a barrel. A
lifting of US sanctions would in theory allow Iran to start bringing crude
exports back toward 2.5 million bpd, a rate last seen in 2018.
Iran's oil and foreign ministries did not respond to a
Reuters request for comment on the oil export levels.
China's foreign ministry, in response to a question on
China's Iranian oil imports, said: "the international community, including
China, has been conducting normal cooperation with Iran under the global legal
framework, which are both reasonable and legitimate. They deserve respect and
safeguard,” the spokesperson's office of China's Foreign Ministry revealed.
Higher in January
SVB International, another consulting firm that tracks
Iranian oil supply, also noted an increase in Iranian crude exports to more
than 1 million bpd, although it registered the increase in January rather than
December.
Crude exports reached 1.085 million bpd in January,
based on SVB estimates, up from 826,000 bpd in December. SVB has not seen a big
difference from January exports to date in February.
“I don't think it can go much higher without a
waiver,” said Sara Vakhshouri, president of SVB.
January's exports are the highest since waivers were
stopped by the Trump administration, she said. The waivers had granted
exemptions for certain buyers of Iranian oil and these were stopped in 2019.
There is no definitive figure for Iranian exports and
estimates often fall into a wide range. Iran generally does not release oil
export figures.
Last year, China brought in an average of 600,000 bpd
of Iranian oil, mostly sold as crudes from other sources, such as Oman, the UAE
and Malaysia, oil and gas data analysts Vortexa Analytics said. That compared
with the pre-Trump peak recorded by Chinese customs in 2017 at some 623,000
bpd.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Iran marks 1979 revolution anniversary with nationwide
motorcade rallies
Syed Zafar Mehdi
11.02.2022
Thousands of people, riding cars and motorcycles, have
taken to the streets in major cities across Iran on Friday to mark the 43rd
anniversary of the 1979 revolution.
For the second straight year, the annual celebrations
have been confined to motorcade rallies, with health authorities imposing fresh
curbs on foot processions in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases.
The motorcade rallies in Tehran began in the wee hours
of Friday as cars and motorcycles from different parts of the city paraded
toward Azadi Square – an important landmark in the Iranian capital.
The participants waved the tricolored flag of Iran
from their car windows as patriotic songs filled the air.
Similar processions were also taken out in other major
cities including Isfahan, Hamadan, Tabriz, Mashhad, and Qom.
On Thursday night, light and firework displays were
put up across the country to commemorate the day in 1979 when the leader of the
Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, declared the end of West-backed Pahlavi
rule in the Middle East country.
Bahman 22 (Feb. 11) marks the anniversary of the
culmination of the 54-year rule of the country’s Pahlavi dynasty and the
establishment of a theocratic form of government.
Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the anti-Pahlavi uprising,
had returned to the country on Feb. 1, after spending 14 years in exile.
The events that led to the ouster of the last Pahlavi
dynasty ruler – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi – and the return of Khomeini led to
Iran’s deterioration of relations with the US.
In November the same year, the takeover of the US
embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis led to a diplomatic
standoff between the two countries that continues to date.
President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to deliver a
traditional address to mark the occasion later in the day.
In a statement, Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian said the “values of the revolution will continue to lead
Iran's foreign policy.”
In a separate statement, ministry spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh said the “resolve to stand and strive for Iran's rights and
interests remains unwavering.”
On Thursday, Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian hosted foreign
diplomats stationed in Tehran in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the 1979
revolution.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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--------
North
America
Chapel Hill shooting anniversary: Muslim community
continues healing process
By Umar A Farooq
10 February 2022
Lela Ali remembers the tragedy like it was yesterday.
She was studying inside the library at North Carolina
State University with fellow Muslim students when the news emerged that Deah
Shaddy Barakat, 23, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad
Abu-Salha, 19, were murdered at their home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
"It really shattered our community in many
different ways. And it really impacted and touched every single person from the
youngest of us to the oldest of us in very different ways."
"That entire week following the killing of Deah,
Yusor, and Razan, I slept home every night that week. And I was someone who
lived on campus, but I was terrified. I couldn't sleep alone," Ali told
Middle East Eye.
On the seventh anniversary of their deaths, the Muslim
community of North Carolina is still picking up the pieces and working to deal
with the pain. But no matter how much time passes, the wounds never seem to
fully heal.
"It took a long time for people to really cope
with what was going on and I think till now, people are still healing from it.
I don't really think that it gets better with time," Ali said.
On 10 February 2015, Barakat and the Abu-Salha sisters
were fatally shot by 46-year-old Craig Hicks, in what police had labelled a
parking dispute. But for many in the Muslim community, it was viewed as a hate
crime.
Deah and Yusor had been married for a year and were
dental students at the University of North Carolina, while Yusor's younger
sister Razan was studying architecture at North Carolina State University.
Hicks was found guilty and given a life sentence in
prison. But to this day, police have ruled out the killings as hate crimes,
though many in the community say the three were attacked because they
identified as Muslims.
Many continue to have lingering fears a similar attack
could take place, in part because of the lack of recognition that the murders
were due to anti-Muslim sentiment.
"I think that a lot of us very well believe that
this could happen again," Ali said.
"That fear never really goes away. But I think
what makes it a little bit easier to navigate is this aspect of building
community and envisioning together collectively what safety looks like."
'Share the light they spread'
Every year, as the anniversary approaches, a sombre
mood is palpable in the community. While the tragic incident has been out of
the headlines for years and the rest of the country has moved on, each February
brings back the distressful emotions felt by everyone on that night.
Joshua Salaam, a Muslim chaplain at nearby Duke
University, said the anniversary is a good time to reflect on the remaining
wounds, as they can often be difficult to process alongside all of the other
tragedies and killings that have happened across the country.
"There's so much happening in the world that it's
hard to remember tragedy. We have mass shootings so often in America. We have
murders so often in America, kidnappings, rapes, torture, so often in
America."
"When it comes to the news, it captures the
society for a little bit. And then something else happens, you have Ahmaud
Arbery or you have George Floyd. It's hard to remember all of the pain and all
of the suffering. And so when do you bring these things back up? Salaam said.
"I think we all kind of need some guidance so
that we don't forget the past because it informs the future. At the same time,
it's important to be mindful of the pain that is experienced from reliving and
being reminded of traumatic events."
For Ali and others, rather than dwelling on the
tragedy, the anniversary serves as an occasion to celebrate the victims' lives
and how they lived.
"The main thing that the family and the community
wants everyone to remember is how they lived their lives, rather than the fact
that they're gone. They want to share the light that they spread, the service
that they did, and to continue their legacy," said Nadia Khan, executive
director of the Light House Project, a community service organisation founded
in honour of the three victims.
During the month of February, they host food drives
and social media campaigns in their honour, while the Light House Project,
which has found its base in Deah's former home, is now fulfilling his lifelong
wish: it has become a space where young members can have the resources to
pursue their passions in life.
"In his last tweet, Deah shared his vision for a
space for young Muslims and to support them in their projects and to give them
a voice. And that's the mission of the Light House Project, to empower Muslim
youth," Khan said.
'Only partial justice'
Grief is a complex experience and it is filled with
many emotions, including anger and frustration. And for many of those close to
Deah, Yusor and Razan, there was always a feeling that justice was never fully
achieved.
Muad Hrezi and Nida Allam, friends of the victims,
decided to turn to politics for this pursuit of justice and desire to protect
their communities.
Allam went on to become the first Muslim woman to be
elected to public office in North Carolina and became Durham County
Commissioner in 2020. After launching a successful political career, she is now
running for Congress in North Carolina.
Hrezi headed to the halls of Congress to become a
senate staffer and is now also running for a seat in Congress in Connecticut.
“The murder of Deah Barakat and Yusor and Razan
Abu-Salha was life-shattering. Deah was a friend and I had the opportunity to
meet Yusor, his newlywed wife, once," Hrezi told MEE.
Source: Middle East Eye
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US Raid Raises Questions on Turkey’s Commitment vs.
Islamic State
Fehim Tastekin
February 10, 2022 —
The leader of the Islamic State, Abu Ibrahim
al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was killed in a Syrian hideout close to the Turkish
border, just like his predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, casting question marks
over Ankara’s assertions of its decisive struggle against the radical group.
Like his predecessor, al-Qurayshi was hiding in a
house near the northern Syrian town of Atmeh, a stone’s throw from the border
across the Turkish province of Hatay and only a few hundred meters from
Turkey’s Bukulmez military outpost which overlooks the region. Washington’s
underscoring of the Syrian Democratic Force’s role in the raid came atop,
dealing another blow to Ankara.
Al-Qurayshi, whose real name was Abdullah Amir
Mohammed Saeed al-Mawla and who went by several other aliases, was killed near
northwestern Syrian village Barisha some 25 kilometers (15 miles) away from the
Turkish border. Similarly, his predecessor Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had also been
killed in Barisha in 2019.
The three-story house where al-Qurayshi was hiding is
located one kilometer from a checkpoint of Failaq al-Sham, a Turkish-backed
Syrian opposition group, and some 500 meters from a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)
checkpoint. HTS is the dominant group that controls Idlib and surrounding
regions including Atmeh.
Atmeh, which is home to a large refugee camp for
displaced Syrians, has become a place where jihadis from groups such as
al-Qaeda and IS can easily hide. Although the region remains out of the
Turkish-backed groups' control, Atme and nearby villages can be easily
monitored from the military watchtower at Bukulmez outpost.
Given the intelligence leaks that suggest al-Qurayshi
was also relying on a web of couriers to lead the group like his predecessor,
Turkey’s failure to identify the suspicious mobility in the region is raising
further question marks.
The US strike came after the IS raid on a prison in
Hasakah. Increasing Turkish strikes on SDF checkpoints at the time of the raid
likely smoothed the path for the attackers. Turkey has been keeping Tell Tamr,
Ain Isa, Kobani east of Euphrates and Manbij and Tel Rifat west of Euphrates
under constant fire through howitzers and combat drones. This, in turn,
provides ammunition to those who claim that Turkey is opening a path for the
IS.
In addition to the location of the al-Qurayshi's
hideout, the SDF’s involvement in the latest raid puts Ankara into an even more
untenable position. In a briefing after the strike, US President Joe Biden said
the raid was “aided by the essential partnership of the Syrian Democratic
Forces.”
Riding the momentum, the SDF didn’t miss the
opportunity to taunt Turkey. “Is there any doubt that Turkey [has] turned areas
[of northern] Syria into a safe haven for Daesh leaders?” Farhad Shami, a SDF
press person, wrote on Twitter, using the Arabic acronym of the Islamic State.
Shami also reminded readers that Baghdadi had been killed in the same area.
Mazlum Kobane, the commander in chief of SDF, said al-Qurayshi was killed
thanks to the “strong partnership” between the US and SDF.
In short, instead of its NATO ally Turkey, the US
joined forces with the SDF to hunt down a prominent IS target near the Turkish
border. The location of al-Qurayshi’s hideout shows once again that IS leaders
hide in places from where they can easily make use of the Turkish borders.
Al-Qurayshi’s ethnic origins remain unknown, but some say he was an ethnic
Turkmen who had little difficulty establishing ties within Turkey.
It's no secret that the IS considered Turkey a place
where its militants could take shelter in relative ease during its withdrawal
from Iraq and Syria. According to Kasim Guler, the alleged IS leader for
Turkey, whose confessions to the Turkish authorities were leaked to the media
last week, back then Baghdadi had made a decision to use Turkey as a major
base.
Guler, who was caught in June 2021 near the Syrian
border, told the authorities that under that plan, dubbed “the mountain
project,” the militant group was going to base in the outskirts of four
different Turkish provinces including Hatay along the border, according to an
exclusive report by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The bases would train
new militants joining the Islamic State from Europe. Guler said that they had
smuggled AK-47s, RPG launchers, and other weapons from the Syrian town of
al-Bab to Turkey and buried them in six Turkish cities, including Istanbul and
Izmir, according to the DW report.
IS recruiter Mustafa Dokumaci’s attempts to realize
the project were foiled after the arrest of the ranking IS militants
responsible for the plan. The group relied on senior IS figure Mahmut Ozden for
communications between the Turkey-based IS cells, the DW reported, citing
Guler’s testimony. Guler said the group had cells in more than a dozen Turkish
cities including Istanbul and Ankara. Guler also recounted some plots to
assassinate prominent politicians including Turkey’s main opposition leader,
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The major reason why IS militants prefer to take
shelter in Turkey is that the Turkish government has considered Islamic State a
useful tool in its fight against the Syrian Kurdish groups. Accordingly,
Ankara’s policies against the radical group have become riddled with
inconsistencies.
IS militants can easily wire funds using exchange
offices and jewelry shops in Turkey. The Turkish judiciary’s weakness in
dealing with Islamic State suspects is another reason. Islamic State suspects
caught in Turkey cannot be tried on crimes they committed abroad. Some IS
suspects have been released on probation or on grounds of lack of evidence.
Source: Al Monitor
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Fort McMurray Muslims give out more than 500 winter
and hygiene kits to community
By Jenna Hamilton
Feb. 10, 2022
Volunteers with Fort McMurray’s Islamic community
handed out more than 500 winter and hygiene kits to people and non-profits on
Feb. 5, as demand for shelters and emergency housing services increase.
The supplies were handed out as a drive-thru event
outside the Fort McMurray Islamic Centre at Abraham’s Landing. Anyone,
regardless of their faith, could get a hamper with hats, gloves, scarves,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and lotions. Volunteers also delivered kits to
seniors, the sick, those in quarantine because of a COVID-19 diagnosis and
people without a vehicle. The Salvation Army was given 150 kits and Waypoints
was given 100 kits.
“Help is always needed, especially nowadays,” said
Mohammed Al Dhaby, the mosque’s vice president of community affairs. “Please
look at your neighbours. Sometimes they look good but from the inside they are
really hurt.”
The annual event began as a response to the April 2020
flood. The mosque’s leadership and volunteers focused on winter and hygiene
items because of demands from community groups.
Waypoints, which operates a crisis line for domestic
violence and a women’s shelter, has reported sharp rising demand for their
services in the past six months. The organization’s executive director, Michele
Taylor, said their emergency shelter is sometimes at full capacity. At the time
of the interview on Feb. 3, the shelter had 14 women and three children staying
overnight.
COVID-19 restrictions have made domestic violence more
common, said Taylor. Waypoints staff are bracing for a long-term increase for
their services.
“We saw it after the Horse River wildfire, we saw a
big increase in family and sexual violence, but it took a while to hit,“ said
Taylor. ”It was about a year-and-a-half to two years after the wildfire that we
started to see that increase.“
The Salvation Army of Fort McMurray has also reported
steady increases for all their services since the start of the pandemic. The
organization’s Family Services program, for instance, provides rent support for
people at risk of being evicted. The organization spent $45,813 in Dec. 2020 on
rent and $78,741 in Dec. 2021.
“We know from talking to families that they just can’t
stretch their dime any further. They just can’t do it anymore and they’re
asking for help,” said Edna Olsen-Moman, executive director for the Salvation
Army of Fort McMurray.
Source: The Star
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US to help UAE replenish missile defense interceptors
after Houthi attacks
11 February ,2022
The US will help the United Arab Emirates replenish
interceptors it uses to knock down incoming missiles following a spate of
unprecedented attacks by Houthi fighters in Yemen, the US general overseeing
Middle East operations told Reuters.
In recent weeks, the Iran-aligned Houthis have waged a
string of largely failed strikes on UAE targets that have triggered Emirati and
US air defenses and have even seen American troops based there briefly taking
shelter.
“We will help with replenishment of interceptors. And
we'll do everything we can to assist UAE in defending themselves,” General
Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said in an interview after a trip
to Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
McKenzie did not offer further specifics. The UAE has
privately requested US replenishment of missile defense interceptors, including
for its THAAD and Patriot system, a source familiar with the matter said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
The latest US move would be in addition to the
Pentagon's announcement last week of a deployment of a guided missile destroyer
and advanced US F-22 fighter jets to the UAE. It would also stick closely to
defensive support, amid stiff opposition to the war in Yemen among many
lawmakers in Congress due to civilian deaths.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people
and caused a humanitarian crisis.
The Houthi attacks have thrown a spotlight on so-far
unsuccessful UN-led efforts to broker an end to the war in Yemen, which since
2015 has pitted the Houthis against a Saudi Arabian-led military coalition that
includes the UAE.
McKenzie, who has also expressed concern about Houthi
attacks against ally Saudi Arabia, acknowledged that the US has been grappling
with significant limits on US surveillance capability over Yemen, noting its
size.
“We're very limited in ISR over Yemen. It's hard to
see into Yemen,” McKenzie said, using an acronym for military intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, which include drones.
“It's a large country, and you have to make decisions
on priorities.”
Experts say it can be difficult to help allies detect
and destroy Houthi launch sites without adequate ISR, particularly when dealing
with mobile missile launchers.
Aware of their value, Houthis target US drones. The
Houthis have shot down two US-operated drones since McKenzie took command in
March 2019 and far more drones operated by regional allies.
With tensions simmering around the world, from North
Korea to Ukraine, the Pentagon has to deal with competing priorities for ISR
resources, which also include satellite imagery.
“I communicate with partners where we are with Yemen.
I communicate with our (US defense) secretary all the time about the resources
that we need,” McKenzie said, without identifying any specific request.
Source: Al Arabiya
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US condemns Iran-backed Houthi attack on Saudi
Arabia’s Abha airport
10 February ,2022
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
hit out at the Iran-backed Houthis Thursday after they claimed an attack on
Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport.
“The United States strongly condemns today’s terrorist
attack against Abha in Saudi Arabia, which injured at least a dozen innocent
civilians,” a statement from the White House read.
Sullivan said the US would stand with Saudi Arabia and
its international allies to hold the Houthis “accountable.”
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden called King Salman
to voice Washington’s commitment to support Saudi Arabia in the defense of its
people and territory from such attacks.
“America will have the backs of our friends in the
region,” Sullivan said on Thursday.
Debris from an intercepted Houthi drone reportedly
fell within the vicinity of Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport, bringing air traffic
to temporary halt.
Abha, near Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen,
is a regular target of drone and missile strikes launched by the Houthis
fighting coalition forces in Yemen.
During their call Wednesday, Biden and King Salman
discussed regional developments and issues of mutual concern, “including
Iranian-enabled attacks by the Houthis against civilian targets in Saudi
Arabia.”
A statement from the White House said Biden
underscored Washington’s commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia in the defense
of Houthi attacks and “full support for UN-led efforts to end the war in
Yemen.”
Biden said last month that the US was considering
re-designating the Houthis as a terror organization, as the UAE and other
countries ramped up pressure to make the move.
One of the US president’s first foreign policy moves
after taking office saw the Houthis removed from the terror blacklist.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Amid sanctions row, Blinken invites Bangladeshi
foreign minister to US
SM Najmus Sakib
10.02.2022
DHAKA, Bangladesh
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has invited
Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen to Washington as the countries
mark 50 years of diplomatic relations this year.
The US State Department extended the invite to the
Bangladeshi mission in Washington, Momen told the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad
Sangstha (BSS) on Wednesday.
The invitation comes at a time of heightened tensions
between Washington and Dhaka, after the US sanctioned some incumbent and former
officials of Bangladesh’s elite security force, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB),
for “human rights violations.”
Momen said Blinken had also expressed willingness for
a meeting during their phone conversation last December.
“At that time he said he would like to meet me
in-person in Washington DC in spring of this year,” the Bangladeshi minister
said.
The US formally recognized Bangladesh on April 4, 1972
after it gained independence from Pakistan.
On the sanctions issue, Momen reiterated that
“engagements were underway through bilateral diplomatic channels,” according to
the BSS report.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pathology-islamophobia-thinker-noam-chomsky/d/126350