Communalising Food: Vistara Airlines Calls Its Vegetarian Meals ‘Hindu’ And Non-Veg Meals ‘Muslim’
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 Aug 2024
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex taken by the NIRCam, which was released on the first anniversary of the James Webb Telescope on July 12, 2023.(NASA/ STScl)
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· Communalising Food:VistaraAirlines Calls Its Vegetarian Meals ‘Hindu’ And Non-Veg Meals ‘Muslim’
· The Terrorist Militia Islamic State: Germany And Europe Are Once Again A Target; "Extremists Using Conflict In The Middle East As A Way To Gain Momentum"
· Israel’s Decision To Fund Tours By Illegal Settlers Of Al-Aqsa Mosque Could Trigger ‘Religious War’: Hamas
· ‘Marvels Of Saudi Orchestra’ Event Coming To London In September
· Imam Tells Columbia Students To ‘Take Out’ Jewish Professor, According To A Video On X
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India
· Focus On ‘Polygamy’, ‘Consent’, ‘Child Marriage’ As New Bill For Registration Of Muslim Marriage Is Tabled In Assam
· Badruddin Ajmal's Party AIUDF Demands 10% Reservation For Muslims In Assam
· No 'Miya-Muslims' In Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma's 'I Will Take Sides' Remark Sparks Uproar
· Debate needed over demographic change concerning Hindus and Muslims in Assam: CM Himanta
· 'Assam frustrated with illegal Bangladeshis': DevoleenaBhattacharjee defends Assamese Muslims
· Uphold Bijamandal’s ASI tag as mosque: Muslims urge Vidisha district collector
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Europe
· Russian Prisons have Become Breeding Ground of Islamist Terrorists in Russia, Kochegin Says
· Northern Ireland Education Minister Acknowledges 400 Muslim Mums' Concerns
· Condemnations pour in over Israel Minister's call to build synagogue at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque
· Patriarch of Moscow to honour Caucasian Muslim leader with prestigious award
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Mideast
· In new provocation, Israel’s Ben-Gvir calls for Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa mosque
· Anti-Muslim bias, the new common denominator between India and Israel
· Unprecedented official Zionist decision to finance Al-Aqsa Mosque storming
· Islamic Jihad: Escalation in West Bank is open war on Palestinians
· Zionist settlers renew their storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards
· Islamic Resistance in Lebanon Targets Dofiev Barracks
· Iraq's Islamic Resistance bombards occupied Haifa
· Islamic Resistance Carries Out More Attacks on Israeli Occupation Sites, Settlements
· Pan-Islamic grouping condemns Israeli minister’s call to build synagogue at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
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Saudi World
· Saudi crown prince discusses situation in Gaza with Palestinian president
· Saudi Arabia condemns militant attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan
· Prophet’s Mosque calligrapher describes ‘unbelievable’ life in Madinah
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North America
· New DIA exhibit showcases Islamic food culture through art
· CAIR-Minnesota to Address Threatening Anti-Muslim Confrontation at Lino Lakes City Hall
· CAIR-NY Welcomes Hate Crime Indictment for Alleged Anti-Muslim Assailant
· B.C. tourist mecca no longer flushing raw sewage into the ocean
· The DNC’s Muslim Brotherhood and Nation of Islam-connected imam
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Pakistan
· PM Shows Mailed Fist To Militants, Offers Talks Too
· Austerity Measures: PM Shehbaz Directs Ministries To Save 'Each Penny' Of Taxpayers
· Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi seek post-arrest bail in new Toshakhana case
· Toshakhana case: NAB issued notice on Imran’s bail plea
· ECP reserves verdict on PTI plea to halt intra-party polls case
· 4 soldiers martyred, 25 terrorists killed in Tirah IBOs since Aug 20: ISPR
· Forces hunt militants after rampage in Balochistan
· Sindh’s governor calls for empowered LG system to resolve Karachi issues
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South Asia
· Islamic Emirate Stepping Up Towards Recognition
· Islamic Emirate Appoints New Military Attaché in Iran to Strengthen Bilateral Ties
· Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Defends Sharia Law Enacted by Ministry of Vice and Virtue
· Air pollution cuts life expectancy in Bangladesh by average 4.8yrs: WHO
· IEA’s spokesperson’s statement in response to UNAMA concerns over MPVC law
· Any deal regarding Afghanistan assets unacceptable, ministry
· Ministry of Industry and Commerce Launches Afghan Products Exhibition in Paktia
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Southeast Asia
· Another Suspect In Machete Attack, Murder Case Remanded
· National Professors Council president face criminal breach of trust charges, pleads not guilty
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Africa
· Inheritance: Islamic Law Governs Estate Of Deceased Muslim With Christian Wife – Appeal Court
· The Nigerian Army Will Not Allow Itself To Be Undemocratically Used – Lagbaja Sends Warning To Those Calling For Military Rule
· U.S. Embassy In Nigeria Transitions To New Visa Services Provider
· Rivers State: Police Confirm Kidnapp Of IRS Boss, Fubara
· Spain's PM seeks to stem surge in illegal migrants, visits West Africa
· WHO Regional Committee for Africa meets as plan to tackle Mpox is unveiled
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/vegetarian-meals-hindu-muslim-airlines/d/133066
Communalising Food:VistaraAirlines Calls Its Vegetarian Meals ‘Hindu’ And Non-Veg Meals ‘Muslim’
Sanya Jain
Aug 28, 2024
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex taken by the NIRCam, which was released on the first anniversary of the James Webb Telescope on July 12, 2023.(NASA/ STScl)
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Journalist Aarti Tikoo Singh recently called out Vistara for labelling all in-flight vegetarian meals as “Hindu meals” and chicken meals as “Muslim meals,” accusing the airline of communalising food.
Who told you that all Hindus are vegetarian and all Muslims are non-vegetarian?” she asked the Indian full-service carrier. Tikoo accused Vistara of thrusting food choices on people as she asked: “Are you now going to communalise vegetables, chicken and passengers on a flight too?”
Tikoo said she was so shocked by Vistara’s pathetic behaviour that she booked both meal options. She shared a screenshot of her ticket from Srinagar to Jammu, which shows that she booked one “Hindu meal” and one “Moslem meal” for the short duration flight.
Several social media users informed Tikoo that airline meal codes are not decided by Vistara, but are standardised across the industry. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) provides standardised meal codes to help airlines, catering services, and ground staff manage and communicate meal requirements efficiently and to ensure some uniformity across airlines.
“FYI in general aviation parlance, a Hindu Meal (HNML) is NOT necessarily a Veg meal - it could be a Non Veg meal that is not Halal,” wrote Sanjay Lazar, CEO of Avialaz Consultants. “Similarly a Moslem meal (MOML) is a Non Vegetarian meal that is HALAL,” he explained.
Aviation veteran Sanjiv Kapoor, the former CEO-designate of Jet Airways, also shared a similar explanation while acknowledging that the meal codes may be outdated.
“These are standard international meal codes used globally across GDS-based airlines, not just by Vistara. However I do think IATA or whoever needs to update / modernize these outdated and at times somewhat puzzling meal codes,” wrote Kapoor.
Vistara’s website does not mention Hindu or Muslim meals. Instead, its extensive list of vegetarian options includes the “Vegetarian Vegan Meal (VGML)” which does not contain animal products, animal by-products, eggs or any dairy products, Vegetarian Jain Meal (VJML) which has no animal products, animal by-products, any root, or bulbous vegetables, and Vegetarian Lacto-ovo Meal (VLML) which may contain eggs and dairy.
Source:hindustantimes.com
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https://www.hindustantimes.com/trending/when-a-camera-takes-a-selfie-and-reveals-a-star-101689348921983.html
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The Terrorist Militia Islamic State: Germany And Europe Are Once Again A Target; "Extremists Using Conflict In The Middle East As A Way To Gain Momentum"
August 28, 2024
The deadly stabbings in Solingen have been claimed by the Islamic State (IS)Image: Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images
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The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the knife attack in Solingen. According to Amak, the mouthpiece of IS, the attack was carried out in "revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere" and targeted a "group of Christians."
"Extremists are using the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a way to gain momentum," Thomas Mücke told DW. He works for the Violence Prevention Network (VPN), an organization dedicated to preventing extremism and deradicalizing violent criminals. Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed scores of Israeli civilians and Israel responded with a counterattack in the Gaza Strip, Mücke has seen "a fourfold increase" in the number of attacks and attempted attacks in Western Europe in comparison to 2022.
The attack in Solingen was one of a whole series of Islamist attacks and attempted attacks across Europe in recent weeks, although it is not always clear whether it was IS that was behind them.
On the same day as the attack in Solingen, two cars exploded outside a synagogue in La Grande-Motte in southern France.
Austrian authorities arrested two suspected IS sympathizers shortly before two planned concerts by US singer Taylor Swift in Vienna in early August. The main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, said at the time of his arrest that he wanted to "kill himself and a large group of people," according to Austrian state security. The concerts were canceled.
In late May, an Afghan living in Germany fatally injured a police officer and seriously injured five other people in Mannheim. The attack was aimed at the chairman of Pax Europa, a movement critical of Islam. While no direct links to ISIS were found in this case, investigators classified the attack as "religiously motivated."
In the wake of this attack, authorities in both Germany and France expressed serious concerns about IS violence during this summer's European Football Championships in Germany and the Olympic Games in Paris. Both of these major events went off peacefully, but perhaps only thanks to increased security measures and more border controls.
Authorities have documented seven attacks and 21 attempted or planned attacks in Western Europe since October 7, 2023. Mücke thinks the rise is not surprising: "IS identified Western Europe as a target for attacks, obviously with the intention of spreading horror and fear and dividing society so that they can recruit even more people for their cause."
The most serious attack claimed by IS in recent times was not in Western Europe, but in Moscow in March 2024, when more than 140 people were killed in a terrorist attack on a concert hall. "Islamic State soldiers attacked a large gathering of Christians, killing and injuring hundreds," Amak reported.
Radicalization via the internet
The terrorist organization came to global prominence 10 years ago when its then-leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announced the establishment of a "caliphate" in the Near and Middle East. IS reached the peak of its power the following year, taking control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. Videos of brutal killings and beheadings, in particular, were posted online.
"IS is constantly calling for such attacks with its internet propaganda," Mücke said, "and there are also precise instructions on how to carry out attacks, such as using cars to kill infidels everywhere."
In one particularly horrific case, an IS sympathizer drove a truck into at a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, killing twelve people.
By 2019, many believed IS had been militarily defeated in the Middle East. IS attacks in Europe also declined for a while. However, with this new wave of attacks, jihadism seems to have returned.
Mücke says that the perpetrators have become younger, with two-thirds of those arrested in Western Europe being teenagers. And the methods that are being used to appeal to them are also tailored to their age. "The internet plays a major role in radicalization and mobilization, as well as in recruitment."
A glimmer of hope: early detection of radicalization
Experts are pessimistic about the prospects for improvement in the near future. The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East as of October 7, 2023 "will continue to influence the dynamics of terrorism for years to come."
In the eyes of many experts, creating knife-free zones, as Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser plans to do, is of little use. According to them, someone who intends to kill people with a knife is unlikely to be deterred by such a ban.
Nevertheless, Thomas Mücke from the Violence Prevention Network does have a glimmer of hope to share. "Since October 7, the number of calls to the counseling hotlines has multiplied. And that gives us the information we need to try to intercept radicalization at a relatively early stage."
The fact that the perpetrators are now younger is also an opportunity, he says. "To start with, I'm counting on the fact that people who become radicalized will undergo a significant change in their character and that this will be noticed by those around them," he says.
"And it's important that these changes are reported as quickly as possible, that help and support is sought because every extremist scene tries to appeal to and recruit the younger generation in particular; they're the next generation. And this is where we still have the best chance of curbing extremism and terrorism."
Source:dw.com
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https://www.dw.com/en/islamic-state-germany-and-europe-are-once-again-a-target/a-70061963
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Israel’s decision to fund tours by illegal settlers of Al-Aqsa Mosque could trigger ‘religious war’: Hamas
28.08.2024
Nour Abuaisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine
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The Israeli government's decision to fund tours for illegal settlers of Al-Aqsa Mosque represents a “dangerous escalation” that could provoke a “religious war,” the Palestinian resistance group Hamas warned Tuesday.
The government’s decision to fund the “Zionist tours” is a dangerous escalation that risks igniting a religious war, “for which the occupation and its supporters bear responsibility,” Hamas said in a statement.
“This extremist fascist government is playing with fire, as it does not care about the repercussions of its Zionist behavior in violating the sanctity, status and identity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in our Arab and Islamic nation,” the statement added.
On Monday, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the office of Heritage Minister AmichaiEliyahu -- an extremist minister known for being anti-Palestinian -- will allocate 2 million shekels ($543,256) for guided tours, which is expected to be implemented in the coming weeks.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday that his policy is to “allow Jews to perform prayers inside the Temple Mount (in reference to Al-Aqsa Mosque),” noting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew his policy before forming the coalition government.
The announcement comes despite repeated claims by Netanyahu to preserve the status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque is the situation that existed before Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, under which the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, affiliated with the Jordanian Ministry of Endowments, is responsible for managing the mosque's affairs.
However, in 2003, Israeli authorities changed this status by allowing settlers to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque without the approval of the Islamic Waqf, which demands an end to these incursions.
Ben-Gvir claimed Monday that Jews have the right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying that he would build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.
It was the first time for the Israeli minister to openly speak about building a synagogue inside Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, he has repeatedly called in recent months for allowing Jewish prayers at the site.
His call came amid repeated incursions into the complex by illegal Israeli settlers under police protection.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, believing it to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio
Source:aa.com.tr
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‘Marvels of Saudi Orchestra’ event coming to London in September
August 27, 2024
A view of the “Marvels of Saudi Orchestra” concert that took place at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. (File/AN photo)
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RIYADH: The Saudi National Orchestra and Choir will be joined by the UK’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a “Marvels of Saudi Orchestra” concert on Sept. 28 at the Central Hall Westminster in London.
The event is organized by the Saudi Music Commission as part of its efforts to promote and raise the international profile of Saudi arts and culture. It follows similar shows at the Place du Chatelet in Paris, the National Theater in Mexico City, and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.
The Saudi musicians and singers will perform a variety of musical numbers chosen to reflect the cultural heritage and artistic diversity of music in the Kingdom, and the collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic will treat the audience to a distinctive mix of Saudi and British music, organizers said. Ticket details are yet to be announced.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569093/saudi-arabia
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Imam Tells Columbia Students To ‘Take Out’ Jewish Professor, According To A Video On X
MICAIAH BILGER
AUGUST 27, 2024
An imam told Columbia University students to “take out” a Jewish professor during an event last week hosted by a pro-Palestinian group, according to a video on X.
A few days later, the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said Instagram “permanently” banned it from the platform. It is not clear if the two incidents are related.
Shai Davidai, a Jewish professor at the Columbia Business School, posted the video. He wrote on X that Students for Justice in Palestine is a “pro-terror organization” and should be permanently banned from campus.
Davidai said the comments targeting him occurred during a public webinar titled “Islamic Political Activism” on Aug. 20 with Imam Tom Facchine. He posted a screenshot of a poster advertising the event on the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine’s Instagram page.
According to the professor’s post, Facchine (pictured) mentioned Davidai by name during the event and told students to “create a situation” to get him “in trouble.” Davidai is Israeli and calls himself a Zionist on his X profile.
“How do we create a situation in which [his professorship is] in jeopardy?” Facchine said in the video.
“This is what the Zionists do,” the Muslim leader said, according to the video. “That might silence 100 other professors if you’re able to take out somebody like that and make them an example, that might shut up 100 more.”
As the new school year begins, Facchine told students to “think creatively about where we prioritize things, what’s the biggest threat here, what’s our biggest opportunity, which domino if we knock it over will knock 20 dominos over,” according to the video.
Facchine did not immediately respond to several messages Monday and Tuesday from The College Fix through his mosque and the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research where he is a research director. The Fix could not find phone numbers for either.
The Fix also could not find contact information for Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine.
On X on Monday, the student group wrote that Instagram “permanently banned” it from the platform.
“No reason given,” the group wrote on X, and posted a screenshot of the notification. “Just that we cannot request another review.”
The media relations office at Meta, which owns Instagram, did not immediately respond to two emails from The Fix asking if the group has been permanently banned and why.
Meanwhile, Davidai said he is planning to take legal action against the university.
“I have just notified my lawyer, filed a Title VI complaint, and emailed the President of @Columbia …” he wrote on X. “I’ve had enough.”
Over the past year, Davidai repeatedly has said Columbia University leaders are failing to protect Jewish students and faculty.
In April, he said he was barred from accessing parts of campus by pro-Palestinian activists.
In the spring, pro-Palestinian protesters took over Hamilton Hall on campus. They began referring to the building as “Hind’s Hall” “in honour of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed alongside her family by Israeli forces in Gaza,” Al Jazeera reported in May.
Custodians were put in a dangerous situation and two janitors “had to fight their way out,” the union that represents those workers previously said.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, three top Columbia administrators resigned after they were caught mocking Jewish leaders and students in a series of texts, The Fix reported.
Source: thecollegefix.com
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https://www.thecollegefix.com/imam-tells-columbia-students-to-take-out-jewish-professor-video/
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India
Focus on ‘polygamy’, ‘consent’, ‘child marriage’ as new Bill for registration of Muslim marriage is tabled in Assam
SukritaBaruah
August 28, 2024
A new Bill for the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces was tabled in the Assam legislative Assembly on Tuesday, proposed as a replacement for the 1935 Act that had governed these matters in the state so far.
In February, the Assam government had announced its decision to do away with the Assam Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935, citing a provision that left scope for marriages between minors as the primary reason. Earlier during the ongoing Assembly session, the Assam Repealing Bill 2024 was tabled to repeal this older Act.
On Tuesday, Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management Jogen Mohan tabled the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, 2024. Both the Repealing Bill and this Bill will be debated and considered later this week in the Assembly.
The tabled Bill states amongst its primary objectives the “prevention of child marriages”, “prevention of marriages without the consent of the parties” and to “check polygamy”. Among the other objectives it lists are “enabling women to claim their rights to live in the matrimonial house, maintenance, etc”, “enabling widows to claim their inheritance rights and other benefits and privileges which they are entitled to after the death of their husband”, deterring “men from deserting women after marriage”, and “strengthening the institute of marriage”.
The Bill states that its provisions “shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of the prevailing Muslim personal laws”.
Under the 1935 Act, the state was authorised to grant licences to “any person, being a Muslim” to register such marriages and divorces, and these Muslim registrars were deemed to be public servants.
There have been 95 such Muslim registrars across the state. This position has been done away with in the new Bill, and the registration under the new Bill is to be carried out by the Marriage and Divorce Registrar of the district concerned.
Among the conditions proposed for the registration of a marriage under the Bill is that the woman must have attained 18 years of age and the man 21 years of age before the date of the solemnisation of the marriage. It also requires that the marriage be solemnised “on free consent of both the parties”.
The Bill also proposes that during the scrutiny of documents for the registration of a marriage, if the Registrar finds that one of the parties is a minor, he shall immediately report it to the jurisdictional Child Marriage Prohibition Officers and send them the relevant records to initiate legal action.
The Bill proposes that the intended parties shall be required to give a minimum 30-day notice to the Marriage and Divorce Registrar, which will be published at “some conspicuous place” in his office, and that a person may object to the marriage within the 30-day period on the grounds that any of the conditions laid down in the Bill are violated, which will subsequently have to be inquired into by the Registrar.
Source:indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/new-bill-for-muslim-marriage-registration-tabled-in-assam-to-curb-child-marriage-9536750/
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Badruddin Ajmal's Party AIUDF Demands 10% Reservation For Muslims In Assam
August 28, 2024
Guwahati: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has demanded 10 per cent reservation for Muslims in Assam.
AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam on Tuesday said that his party has demanded 10 per cent reservation for Muslims in the state.
"Muslims in Assam are backward and economically weaker section. We demanded 10 per cent reservation for the Muslims in government jobs and other government schemes in the state," Aminul Islam said.
The AIUDF MLA also said that the Muslim population has increased in the state, but not the figure given by Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.
"Muslim population was majority in some districts in Assam since independence. But later that districts were divided and formed a few new districts. According to the 2011 Census report there was 34 percent Muslim population in Assam and there might be increased of 2-3 percent. But what figure has given by the Chief Minister is not true," Aminul Islam said.
On the other hand, talking about the recent Dhing gang rape incident and 23-24 rape incidents in the state in the last two months, the AIUDF MLA said that, nearly 300 rape incidents took place in the state in recent times, but the Assam Chief Minister is only talking about selected 23-24 rape cases in which the accused are Muslims.
"He didn't mention other rape incidents. He just talked about the selected 23-24 rape cases where the accused are Muslims," Aminul Islam said.
Hitting out the BJP-led Assam government, the AIUDF MLA alleged that, one accused person of the Dhing gang rape incident was killed and the government has tried to cover up the actual facts.
"If the arrested accused person of the Dhing gang rape incident was alive then might be some new facts could come. May be non-Muslims accused also involved in this crime. But the government didn't want this. We also want that, the rapist should be hanged. We condemn it," Aminul Islam said.
Earlier, on August 22, a minor girl was allegedly gang-raped in Assam's Nagaon district, leading to the arrest of two individuals, according to the police. The incident reportedly occurred while the girl was returning home from tuition in the Dhing area.
Locals found the girl in a semi-conscious state by the roadside and immediately admitted her to a hospital.
SwapnaneelDeka, Superintendent of Police of Nagaon district, told ANI over the phone, "Police have picked up two persons for interrogation in connection with the incident."
This incident comes amid nationwide outrage over the murder and alleged sexual assault of a female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 in Kolkata.
Source:ndtv.com
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https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/badruddin-ajmals-party-aiudf-demands-10-reservation-for-muslims-in-assam-6433131
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No 'Miya-Muslims' In Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma's 'I Will Take Sides' Remark Sparks Uproar
27 August 2024
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has once again sparked uproar in the state. During the state assembly, the BJP leader stated that he will not let "Miya-Muslims" take over Assam.
The term 'Miya' refers to Bengali Muslims who are often alleged to be illegal immigrants in the state.
While speaking on the state of law and order in the backdrop of the gangrape of a 14-year-old in Nagaon, the Chief Minister said the crime rate in the state had not increased if the growth of the population was taken into account.
After this statement, the opposition in the assembly accused the Chief Minister of taking sides to which he responded - “I will take sides. What can you do about it? Why will people from Lower Assam go to Upper Assam? So that Miya Muslims can take over Assam? We won't let it happen".
Sarma's remarks also come two days after opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi accused the BJP of trying to recreate the 2002 Gujarat riots in Assam.
The Rajjor Dal leader alleged that certain organisations are allegedly threatening Miya Muslims from Upper Assam to leave the administrative division.
Similar allegations have been put forth by the All India United Democratic Front in their letter to Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Archarya.
Sarma's statement on Tuesday triggered ruckus in the House and opposition benches storming into the Well of the House.
As per a PTI report, the Assam CM further added that the 'Miya' Muslims and the opposition MLAs speaking on their behalf have to "prove through their actions that there was no danger to the Hindus in any form".
"If a Hindu family is a victim of a crime in a Muslim-majority area, the Muslims of that area must assuage their apprehensions and ensure that they do not leave the place," he added.
This is not the first time the Assam BJP leader has spoked out against Miya Muslims in the state. In 2023, the BJP leader stated that the party did not need the votes of "Miya" people of "char" for the next 10 years.
"BJP will do public welfare, and they will support us, but they don't need to vote for us. There is no harm in supporting us. Let them shout 'zindabad' for Himanta Biswa Sarma, Narendra Modi and BJP," Sarma was quoted saying by news agency PTI.
Source:outlookindia.com
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https://www.outlookindia.com/national/no-miya-muslims-in-assam-himanta-biswa-sarmas-i-will-take-sides-remark-sparks-uproar
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Debate needed over demographic change concerning Hindus and Muslims in Assam: CM Himanta
: 27 August 2024
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that a debate is needed over the demographic change concerning Hindus and Muslims in the state.
He also maintained that demographic changes are happening in some parts like the Lower Assam districts, and it could lead to “unprecedented human disaster”. "The Hindu-Muslim issue is the most burning issue in the state today; we need to debate and ...
"Demographic change is happening at such a speed in Lower Assam that it is leading to an unprecedented human disaster. Hindus have lost their lands and rights. Villages with Hindu names have no Hindu residents any longer," Sarma claimed. He said a d...
Source:deccanherald.com
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https://www.deccanherald.com/india/assam/debate-needed-over-demographic-change-concerning-hindus-and-muslims-in-assam-cm-himanta-3166224
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'Assam frustrated with illegal Bangladeshis': DevoleenaBhattacharjee defends Assamese Muslims
Aug 27, 2024
By Shreya Mukherjee
Television actor DevoleenaBhattacharjee recently defended the Muslim community in Assam, her home state, in a Twitter spat with journalist Rana Ayyub.
The argument started when Ayyub accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of turning the state into a "communal cauldron."
Bhattacharjee responded by stating that the issues in Assam are due to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, not local Muslims.
Ayyub accuses Sarma of inciting hate against Muslims
Ayyub had tweeted, "The state of Assam under Himanta Biswa is turning into a communal cauldron. Stoking naked hatred against Muslims with his speeches, legitimizing conspiracy theories, introducing discriminatory laws. Where is the pushback to his hate politics?"
Bhattacharjee responded by saying Ayyub should "stay away" if she doesn't know anything about Assam and its problems.
Quote
'Assamese Muslims are far educated and sensible than you...'
Bhattacharjee wrote, "Assamese Muslims are far educated and sensible than you and your leaders and no one has any issues with each other. So don't even try it. @himantabiswa and in fact, the whole of Assam is worried and frustrated with illegal Bangladeshis."
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Information
Bhattacharjee often comments on social, political issues
Bhattacharjee is known for commenting on social and political issues, particularly those related to Assam.
She had faced severe criticism and accusations of 'love jihad' when she married her gym trainer, Shanwaz Shaikh, in December 2022.
She is most famous for starring in Saath NibhanaSaathiya and taking part in Bigg Boss.
Source:newsbytesapp.com
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Uphold Bijamandal’s ASI tag as mosque: Muslims urge Vidisha district collector
Aug 27, 2024
BHOPAL: Around a fortnight after the Bijamandal monument controversy erupted, Muslim Welfare committee has submitted a memorandum to the collector of MP's Vidisha district, urging him to 'uphold' the 1965 order that categorises it as a mosque.Hindu organisations say it's Vijay Surya Mandir, a temple to the Sun God, which has been misidentified by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and demand the right to worship inside the premises.
The Bijamandal site - just 10km from Sanchi -- has been a point of contention between Hindu and Muslim communities in recent days. Pictures of the temple here had gone viral last year for its resemblance to the new Parliament building.
Hindu organisations oppose the categorization of the site as a mosque in ASI documents. They claim the Muslim community does not oppose the establishment of a temple at the site, nor do they object to the unsealing of the temple for worship. However, the memorandum now submitted by the Muslim Development Committee to the newly appointed collector suggests otherwise.
For decades, Hindu devotees have observed religious rituals outside the site on Nag Panchami.
This year, however, Hindu groups sought permission to enter the premises and hold puja on August 9.
The then district collector, Buddesh Vaidya, forwarded their request to ASI, which responded by citing a 1951 gazette notification that categorises the site as 'Bijamandal Mosque'.
The collector then denied permission for worship, sparking outrage among Hindu groups.
Two days later, Vaidya was transferred and Roshan Kumar Singh was appointed Vidisha collector in a reshuffle of 26 IAS officers.tnn
Source:indiatimes.com
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https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/uphold-bijamandals-asi-tag-as-mosque-muslims-urge-vidisha-district-collector/articleshow/112831335.cms
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Europe
Russian Prisons have Become Breeding Ground of Islamist Terrorists in Russia, Kochegin Says
August 27, 2024
Staunton, Aug. 24 – Recent risings in Russian prisons show that these penal institutions have become important breeding grounds of Islamist terrorism, given that none of those who have risen in the name of the Islamic State had done so before being incarcerated, according to Yevgeny Kochegin.
The former inmate and now prisoner rights activist says that this is the result of two reinforcing trends: increasing repression of all Muslim prisoners and increasing corruption among jailors (kavkazr.com/a/polozhenie-osuzhdennyh-musuljman-teperj-stanet-huzhe-zahvat-zalozhnikov-v-volgogradskoy-kolonii-/33092769.html).
Mistreatment of Muslims makes credible the arguments of Islamist activists that the Russian state is hostile to Islam, Kochegin suggests; and corruption means that prisoners can easily get cellphones that give them direct access to these messages from outside the prison walls.
Unfortunately, he continues, the response of the jailors has not been to improve conditions for Muslims or crackdown on corruption among the employees of the prison system but rather to intensify repression against Muslims while allowing corruption to continue to flourish.
As a result, he and other prisoner rights activists say, the number of prisoners who become Islamists as a result of their incarcerations is certain to rise, the number of prison revolts led by them to increase, and the number of Islamists outside prison walls to grow when some of these prisoners are ultimately released.
Source:windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com
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http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/08/russian-prisons-have-become-breeding.html
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Northern IrelandEducation Minister Acknowledges 400 Muslim Mums' Concerns
August 28, 2024
Education Minister Paul Givan has responded to a letter from over 400 Muslim women from across Northern Ireland, who are worried about their children going back to school.
In the letter, the minister acknowledged that "recent events may make it more difficult for children from ethnic minority communities" to be happy, learning and succeeding at school.
The Muslim Mothers Collective wrote to minister to say they are "deeply concerned" about the recent disorder in Belfast which saw many ethnic minority owned businesses attacked.
A number of people, including under 18s, have since been charged.
"The intensity of recent events has truly shocked us", the Muslim Mothers Collective wrote in a letter to the education minister.
"With schools set to reopen in just a few weeks, we are concerned about the ongoing impact on our children.
"Many of those involved in recent attacks and protests are very young, and some will be returning to school alongside our children. We don't want them to fear our hate each other", the letter said.
They added that mothers now "constantly worry" about whether it is safe to go out with their children.
They requested "strong assurances" their children will be safe when they return to school, and that schools take "proactive measures to prevent racist and Islamophobic bullying".
In response, Mr Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party said his department was involved with the Education Authority carrying out risk assessments "on a number of schools located close to recent unrest and protests".
He added they were working with principals to identify schools that "may be vulnerable dependent on location, school cohort (i.e high numbers of newcomers) and nature of building".
"Where necessary, maintenance work will be prioritised as well as guidance provided on managing emergency incidents," he said.
The minister also said officials were working with Translink to "reinforce transport guidance and the need for reasonable adjustments for potentially vulnerable pupils".
Mr Givan said he hoped his response would assure the Muslim Mothers Collective that the department would ensure schools were "safe for all children within our community, irrespective of race or religion" and added he would be happy to meet with them to discuss their concerns.
Source:bbc.com
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4yezz3v1po
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Condemnations pour in over Israel Minister's call to build synagogue at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque
August 27, 2024
Condemnations have poured from across the Arab and Islamic world following a call by far-right Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in Occupied East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reports.
Ben-Gvir claimed, Monday, that Jews have the right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying he would build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.
It was the first time for the Israeli Minister to speak openly about building a synagogue inside the mosque complex. However, he has repeatedly called, in recent months, for allowing Jewish prayers at the site.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said, Tuesday, it categorically rejects Ben-Gvir’s call and “the continued provocations of sentiments of Muslims worldwide”.
It stressed the need “to respect the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque” and its renewed call for the international community to assume its responsibilities and put an end to the Palestinian humanitarian catastrophe.
It is also called for activating serious mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable for their repeated violations of international law and norms.
Palestine denounced Ben-Gvir’s call as an attempt to drag the entire region into a “religious war”.
“The Palestinian people will not accept any harm to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a red line that cannot be crossed under any circumstances,” Palestinian Authority spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said in a statement.
Turkiye’s Justice and Development (AK) Party condemned the far-right Israeli Minister’s remarks as “vile”.
“Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s remarks about building a synagogue on the site where the al-Aqsa Mosque is located are a vile and cursed statement that attacks all Muslims and humanity,” spokesman, Omer Celik, said on X.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Israel is legally responsible for adhering to the status quo at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and preserving Islamic and Christian holy sites.
It called on Israel to comply with its obligations as an occupying power, and “stop such provocative statements aimed at further escalation and tension in the region.”
The status quo, in place since before the 1967 Israeli occupation, designs the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, under the Jordanian Minister of Awqaf and Islamic affairs, as responsible for managing Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is a place of worship for Muslims only.
However, since 2003, Israeli police have unilaterally allowed illegal settlers to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque on weekdays, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, without the approval of the Islamic Waqf.
Jordan called Ben-Gvir’s call “a violation of international law and an unacceptable provocation that requires a clear-cut international position condemning it.”
His statement “fuels extremism and endeavours to change the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites through imposing new facts and practices driven by a bigoted exclusionary narrative,” the Foreign Ministry added in a statement.
Qatar also denounced the Israeli Minister’s call as “an extension of attempts to change the historical and legal status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Qatari Foreign Ministry underlined the need for urgent action by the international community “to determine the (Israeli) occupation and assume its moral and legal responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its sanctities.”
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also denounced Ben-Gvir’s call as a “flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international law.”
In a statement, the OIC said Jerusalem “is an integral part of the Palestinian Territories occupied in 1967 and the capital of the State of Palestine.”
The pan-Islamic bloc held Israel fully responsible for the consequences of its “ongoing violations and systematic assaults that provoked the sentiments of Muslims worldwide.”
Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, believing it to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1980, Israel annexed the entire city, a move that has never been recognised by the international community.
Israel has faced international condemnation over its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 40,400 people since a 7 October Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
Source:middleeastmonitor.com
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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240827-condemnations-pour-in-over-israel-ministers-call-to-build-synagogue-at-jerusalems-al-aqsa-mosque/
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Patriarch of Moscow to honor Caucasian Muslim leader with prestigious award
Aug 27, 2024
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has decided to honor the leader of the Caucasian Muslims, Sheikh-ul-Islam and Grand Mufti AllahshukurPashazade, with one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s highest distinctions. This announcement was made by Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk during a reception on Monday, August 26, celebrating the 75th jubilee of the prominent Muslim leader.
A delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Anthony, arrived in Baku on August 25 with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill. The delegation included Archimandrite Filaret (Boulekov), Vice-President of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and Fr. Nikolai Vasin, Secretary of the DECR.
During the reception, Metropolitan Anthony conveyed Patriarch Kirill’s warm congratulations to Sheikh-ul-Islam, highlighting the longstanding and valued relationship between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Caucasus Muslim Council. The Patriarch’s message emphasized the Sheikh’s responsiveness to the needs and challenges of his religious community, which has earned respect among spiritual leaders worldwide.
In recognition of Sheikh-ul-Islam’s contributions to fostering relations between the peoples of Russia and Azerbaijan, Patriarch Kirill decided to bestow upon him the Order of Saint Alexios, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Moscow, and All Russia (1st degree). This prestigious award is one of the highest honors within the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition to the award, Metropolitan Anthony presented the Sheikh with a bouquet of flowers as a personal gift from the Patriarch.
The reception also provided an opportunity for Sheikh-ul-Islam to engage in a warm and meaningful conversation with the delegation from the Moscow Patriarchate, discussing various topics of mutual interest.
This event follows a viral video featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin receiving and kissing a Quran alongside Chechen leader and close ally Ramzan Kadyrov, further highlighting the significance of interfaith relations in the region.
Source:orthodoxtimes.com
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https://orthodoxtimes.com/patriarch-of-moscow-to-honor-caucasian-muslim-leader-with-prestigious-award/
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Mideast
In new provocation, Israel’s Ben-Gvir calls for Jews to pray at Al-Aqsa mosque
27/08/2024
Israel’s extremist Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir repeated a call for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, drawing sharp criticism for inflaming tensions as ceasefire negotiators seek a deal to halt fighting in Gaza.
“The policy at the Temple Mount allows praying there. Period,” Ben-Gvir told an Army Radio interviewer. “The prime minister knew when I joined the government there would not be any discrimination. Muslims are allowed to pray and a Jew is not allowed to pray?”
Asked if he would build a synagogue on the site if he could, Ben-Gvir replied “Yes, Yes”.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office immediately put out a statement restating the official Israeli position, which accepts decades-old rules restricting non-Muslim prayer at the mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, who revere it as the site of two ancient temples.
“There is no change to the status quo on the Temple Mount,” Netanyahu’s office said.
The hillside compound, in Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive locations in the Middle East, holy for both Muslims and Jews, and the trigger for repeated conflict.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said calls to tamper with the status of Al-Aqsa appeared intended “to drag the region into a religious war” that will burn Hamas, with whom Israel is locked in a bitter war in the Gaza Strip, said the minister’s comments were “dangerous” and called on Arab and Islamic countries “to take responsibility for protecting the holy sites”.
Jordan also hit back at Ben Gvir’s remarks.
“Al-Aqsa and the holy sites are a pure place of worship for Muslims,” Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman SufianQudah said in a statement.
“Jordan will take all necessary measures to stop the attacks on the holy sites” and “is preparing the necessary legal files to take action in international courts against the attacks on the holy sites,” Qudah said.
Several Israeli officials also condemned Ben Gvir.
“Challenging the status quo on the Temple Mount is a dangerous, unnecessary and irresponsible act,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on X.
“Ben Gvir’s actions endanger the national security of the State of Israel.”
Israeli opposition leader YairLapid said on X that Ben Gvir’s repeated comments show that “Netanyahu lost control of his government”.
Ben-Gvir, head of one of two hardline religious-nationalist parties in Netanyahu’s coalition, has a long record of making inflammatory statements appreciated by his own supporters, but conflicting with the government’s official line. However, Netanyahu’s dependence on the support of Ben-Gvir’s party to hold his right-wing coalition together means that the minister is unlikely to be sacked or face any significant penalty.
Under a delicate decades-old “status quo” arrangement with Muslim authorities, Israel allows Jews to visit but refrain from prayer. The site is at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and suggestions that Israel would alter rules about religious observance there have led to violence in the past.
Education Minister YoavKisch said any change to the status quo at the mosque, especially in wartime should be carried out “professionally in the cabinet along with an examination of all the meanings and consequences.”
“Minister Ben Gvir’s irresponsible statement in the media on this issue is unnecessary and stupid populism,” he said in a statement on X.
Monday’s comments came less than two weeks after Ben-Gvir triggered outrage by visiting the compound with hundreds of supporters, many of whom appeared to be praying openly in defiance of the status quo rules.
With negotiators trying to reach a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring back 109 Israeli and foreign hostages, and with tensions running high with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon, Ben-Gvir’s comments were criticised for weakening Israel’s position.
Ben-Gvir has also been criticised by some Orthodox Jews, who consider the site too holy a place for Jews to enter.
Source:thearabweekly.com
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https://thearabweekly.com/new-provocation-israels-ben-gvir-calls-jews-pray-al-aqsa-mosque
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Anti-Muslim bias, the new common denominator between India and Israel
August 27, 2024
Indians are divided over the Israel-Palestine conflict. While some express support for Israel, significant opposition exists against its actions. The group “Indians for Palestine”. comprising intellectuals and activists, is advocating for the Indian government to oppose Israel’s human rights violations.
Support for Israel is particularly strong among members of the ruling BJP and Hindu nationalist groups, who often label Palestinians as “terrorists”. Despite this, many Indians sympathise with the Palestinian struggle for independence but find it challenging to voice their support in the current political climate. The hashtags #ISupportIsrael, #IndiaWithIsrael, #IndiaStandsWithIsrael and #IsrealUnderFire have been trending in India since the recent war on Gaza began but any trend highlighting the atrocities Israel is committing becomes a hard pill to swallow for its initiators and supporters.
Recently Bollywood celebrities faced backlash for supporting Palestine, including Madhuri Dixit, NushrrattBharuccha and RitikaSajdeh (wife of cricketer Rohit Sharma).
The question is why has the world’s biggest democracy and the non-Muslim country with the largest Muslim population aligned itself with the apartheid regime of Israel instead of Palestine? The answer seems straightforward, it is the ruling far-right BJP alliance that has turned a secular India into polarised polity with an ever increasing anti-Muslim bias owing to its inflammatory rhetoric.
The alliance between India and Israel has increasingly been marked by mutual anti-Muslim sentiments, as both countries view Muslim communities and groups as a threat. Under the leadership of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu, this relationship has strengthened military collaboration and ideological alignment, often framed within the context of rising Hindu and Jewish nationalism.
Even worse has been the fact that instead of condemning Israel’s recent crimes against humanity, the BJP-led government has started to emulate them in India especially in the disputed territory of Indian held Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian diplomat Sandeep Chakravorty has sparked controversy by proposing that India implement an “Israeli model” in Kashmir, which includes encouraging Hindu settlements akin to those in occupied Palestinian areas. Addressing Kashmiri Hindus in New York, he argued this strategy could enhance security and facilitate the return of refugees. His comments have faced significant backlash, with Pakistani officials and Kashmiri scholars denouncing them as reflective of a settler-colonial agenda that threatens the region’s demographic balance.
Another reason why both states get along well with each other is their sham democratic practices. Before the Modi government came to office, India was a decent democracy but now things have changed drastically as the BJP has introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 – which allows non-Muslim religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to seek citizenship – a measure that threatens Muslims into submission and keep them under check. In contrast, Israel is doing the same – or in fact even worse – to Palestinians whose lives, property, economy and liberty are all under constant threat of erasure.
Ideological resonance between Zionism and Hindutva is another reason behind India’s waning support for the Palestine cause and mild response against the atrocities of apartheid regime in the Middle East. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and later Hindu nationalist thinkers, such as M.S. Golwalkar, were fascinated by the success of Zionism in creating a Jewish state in Israel. They viewed it as a prototype for their aspiration of establishing a Hindu Rashtra in India. This admiration stemmed from shared ethno-nationalist ideologies that prioritise race and territory.
An expansionist agenda also glues the two together. The concepts of ‘Akhand Bharat’ (Undivided India) and the expanded borders of Israel are driven by nationalist and exclusionary ideologies. The Akhand Bharat vision seeks to incorporate neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar into a greater Hindu India. Similarly, the Greater Israel movement advocates for the annexation of the West Bank and other occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, parts of Iraq and Egypt.
These expansionist agendas are often fuelled by religious and ethnic nationalism, portraying minorities as threats to the dominant group’s identity and interests. By demonising and scapegoating minorities, the far-right governments can consolidate their power and distract from their failures in governance.
However, such expansionist policies are not only unethical but also impractical and detrimental to regional stability and peace. They perpetuate conflicts displace populations and divert resources from pressing domestic issues like poverty, inequality and development.
Thus it would not be wrong to suggest that the current strengthening of bonds between India and Israel is more grounded in their ethno-nationalist worldviews and hostility to Muslims rather than mutual strategic interests. But any bond that is based on hatred against any community doesn’t persist forever and crumbles under the weight of its own policies. Thus it would be wise for India and Israel to revise their adversarial approach against their foes and minorities for a lasting peace in Middle East and South Asia. As continued hostilities would further exacerbate existential threats for them rather than resolving existing ones.
Source:middleeastmonitor.com
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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240827-anti-muslim-bias-the-new-common-denominator-between-india-and-israel/
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Unprecedented official Zionist decision to finance Al-Aqsa Mosque storming
27 Aug 2024
OCCUPIED QUDS August 27. 2024 (Saba) - The official Zionist Broadcasting Authority said on Tuesday, that the office of the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity, in cooperation with the so-called "Ministry of Heritage", decided to start financing organized tours to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in an unprecedented move.
The channel stated that the decision stipulates funding the storming with an initial sum of two million shekels, in order to organize the storming and accompany them with guides to "link the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards to Jewish history."
While the so-called "Ministry of Heritage" in the Zionist enemy government said: The decision organizes the storming operations to be with guides who explain to the participants from Jews and tourists the history of the place and its sanctity for the Jewish people, according to its claim.
It is expected that the storming operations will begin with government funding in the coming weeks, according to the channel.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3363798.htm
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Islamic Jihad: Escalation in West Bank is open war on Palestinians
27 Aug 2024
GAZA August 27. 2024 (Saba) - The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine confirmed that the escalation of the Zionist enemy and its settlers in the occupied West Bank is a decision for an open, undeclared war on the Palestinians.
The movement said in a statement on Tuesday: The enemy's use of drones to bomb a house inside Nour Shams camp, the attack by armed settlers on Wadi al-Rahal west of Bethlehem , the martyrdom of a martyr, and the imposition of a closure on large areas in the northern West Bank, "are all indications that the enemy has decided to transfer the weight of its operations from Gaza to the West Bank."
The movement stressed that the increase in Zionist criminality, brutality and ferocity in the West Bank comes within the framework of "Israel's" cover-up for its failure in Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon arenas.. stressing that this ongoing aggression would not have happened without Arab collusion, and leaving the Palestinians alone in their battle with the Zionist enemy.
The movement mourned the six martyrs of the West Bank.. calling on all the sons of the Palestinians everywhere, to mobilize , confront the plans of displacement and genocide in the occupied West Bank.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3363505.htm
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Zionist settlers renew their storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards
27 Aug 2024
TULKARM August 27. 2024 (Saba) - The Zionist settlers renewed on Tuesday, their storming of the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds occupied city , under the protection of the Zionist enemy forces, and performed Talmudic prayers.
The Palestinian News Agency "Wafa" reported that the Zionist settlers stormed the mosque in groups, while the Zionist enemy forces turned the Al-Quds old city of occupied into a military barracks, and deployed hundreds of its elements at close distances, especially at the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and tightened its military measures at its gates and the old city gates, and imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers.
These incursions coincide with the call of the extremist Zionist Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir yesterday to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque publicly and establish a synagogue in it.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3363494.htm
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Islamic Resistance in Lebanon Targets Dofiev Barracks
27 Aug 2024
BEIRUT August 27. 2024 (Saba) - The mujahedeen of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, led by the Allah Party, on Tuesday targeted new spy equipment installed on a crane in the vicinity of the Doviv barracks.
In a statement, the Islamic Resistance said, "in support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and their valiant and honorable resistance, the mujahedeen of the Islamic Resistance targeted on Tuesday afternoon the new spy equipment installed on a crane in the vicinity of the Doviv barracks in a swooping down and hit them directly, which led to their destruction.
In Lebanon, the Islamic Resistance also targeted buildings used by enemy soldiers in the settlement of "Natawa" with appropriate weapons.
"In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and valiant and honorable resistance, and in response to the enemy's attacks on steadfast southern villages and safe houses, the mujahedeen of the Islamic resistance targeted buildings used by enemy soldiers in the settlement of Natua with appropriate weapons," it said in a statement.
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3363783.htm
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Iraq's Islamic Resistance bombards occupied Haifa
27 Aug 2024
BAGHDAD August 27. 2024 (Saba) - The Islamic Resistance in Iraq on Tuesday claimed responsibility for bombing the occupied city of Haifa, south Palestine, with drones, in response to the ongoing massacres of the Zionist enemy against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The Resistance said in a statement that its mujahedeen targeted a vital target in occupied Haifa on Monday evening, by drones.
It confirmed that operations would continue to "crush enemy strongholds at an escalating pace".
The Iraqi resistance noted that its operation came "as a continuation of its approach to resisting the occupation, in support of the people of Gaza, and in response to the massacres committed against Palestinian civilians, including children, women and the elderly."
Source:saba.ye
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https://www.saba.ye/en/news3363778.htm
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Islamic Resistance Carries Out More Attacks on Israeli Occupation Sites, Settlements
August 27, 2024
The Islamic Resistance continued on Tuesday its border battle against the Zionist enemy in response to its aggression on South Lebanon and support of Gaza.
Hezbollah Military Media issued consecutive statements to detail the attacks and their outcomes.
The first statement mentioned that the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted, at 2:55 pm on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, the newly installed surveillance equipment mounted on a crane in the vicinity of Doviv Barracks with an assault glider, hitting it directly and causing its destruction.
The second statement maintained that, in response to the enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern villages and peaceful homes, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted buildings used by enemy soldiers in Netu’a settlement with appropriate weapons.
The third statement affirmed that Islamic Resistance targeted n Tuesday, August 27, 2024, the spy equipment at Al-Abbad occupation site with assault gliders, achieving direct hits.
Israeli media indicated that an assault drone exploded in Beit Hillel, Upper Galilee.
In support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in backing its valiant and honorable resistance, the Islamic Resistance carried out several operations against the positions and deployments of the “Israeli” enemy’s army along the Lebanese-Palestinian border on Monday, 26-08-2024, as follows:
1- At 14:00, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the surveillance equipment at Ramya site with an assault glider, achieving a direct hit.
2- The Islamic Resistance fighters launched an aerial operation with a squadron of assault drones on the newly established headquarters of the 146th Division at Shraga Barracks, targeting the positions of its officers and soldiers and accurately hitting its targets, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks and assassinations in the resistant city of Saida.
3- The Islamic Resistance fighters launched an aerial operation with a squadron of assault drones on the newly established headquarters of the 91st Division in AyeletHaShahar, targeting the positions of its officers and soldiers and accurately hitting its targets, in response to the “Israeli” enemy’s attacks on the steadfast southern Lebanese villages.
Source:almanar.com.lb
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https://english.almanar.com.lb/2185526
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Pan-Islamic grouping condemns Israeli minister’s call to build synagogue at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque
27.08.2024
Ahmed Asmar |
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday strongly denounced a call by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.
Ben-Gvir claimed Monday that Jews have the right to pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque, saying he would build a synagogue at the flashpoint site.
This call “is a continuation of the repeated violations by Israel, the occupying power, of the sanctity of holy sites and freedom of worship, and a flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions and international law,” the Jeddah-based organization said in a statement.
The OIC said Jerusalem “is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and the capital of the State of Palestine."
“All decisions and measures taken by the Israeli occupation to Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem have no legal effect and are considered null and void under international law and international legitimacy resolutions,” it added.
The pan-Islamic bloc held Israel fully responsible for the consequences of its “ongoing violations and systematic assaults that provoke the sentiments of Muslims worldwide."
Ben-Gvir’s call was the first by the extremist minister to openly speak about building a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque. However, he has repeatedly called in recent months for allowing Jewish prayers at the site.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount, believing it to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. In 1980, Israel annexed the entire city, a move that has never been recognized by the international community.
Israel has faced international condemnation over its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 40,400 people since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Source:aa.com.tr
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/pan-islamic-grouping-condemns-israeli-minister-s-call-to-build-synagogue-at-jerusalem-s-al-aqsa-mosque/3314194
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Saudi World
Saudi crown prince discusses situation in Gaza with Palestinian president
August 28, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the situation in Gaza with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency said Tuesday.
The Crown Prince stressed that the Kingdom will continue its efforts to communicate with all international and regional parties to stop the escalation in the war-torn territory.
He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s contentious support for the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate rights to a decent life, fulfill their hopes and aspirations, and achieve just and lasting peace.
Saudi and Palestinian senior officials attended the meeting.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569101/saudi-arabia
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Saudi Arabia condemns militant attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan
August 27, 2024
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia condemned on Tuesday attacks by separatist militants in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan that started late on Sunday.
At least 73 people were killed in Pakistan’s province of Balochistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines, and highways.
The Kingdom confirmed its rejection of all forms of violence, extremism, and the targeting of civilians.
It also offered its condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and to the Pakistani government and people.
Pakistani security forces have been battling sectarian, ethnic, and separatist violence for decades in impoverished Balochistan, but the coordinated attacks that took place in several districts throughout the province were one of the worst in the region’s history.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569081/saudi-arabia
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Prophet’s Mosque calligrapher describes ‘unbelievable’ life in Madinah
August 27, 2024
JEDDAH: Nearly 55 years ago, a young Pakistani calligrapher embarked on a captivating journey to master the Islamic art form of calligraphy. Today, his work adorns the walls of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
Shafiq Uz-Zaman Khan, known in Saudi Arabia as “Al-Haram Calligrapher,” is proud that his journey into calligraphy, which began in childhood, brought him to the second holiest and largest mosque in the world.
“In my childhood I used to write on the walls of my house, other houses on our street, on school notebooks and the covers of my brothers’ books. I had a passion for beautiful handwriting,” he told Arab News.
Khan, who has lived in the Kingdom for 45 years, said coming to Madinah was the probably the greatest thing happened in his life: “I spent half of my life in Madinah and wish to live the rest of my life there.”
He continued: “Living in Madinah and at the same time being the calligrapher of the Prophet’s Mosque … that’s unbelievable.”
He finds a peace while doing calligraphy in Madinah that he has not discovered anywhere else, he added.
Born in Rawalpindi and raised in Karachi, the 68-year-old’s passion for calligraphy was ignited while painting signboards for shops around the Pakistani capital to earn a modest living.
“Despite my good status in Riyadh and the great relationship I had with my sponsor, I was so happy to move to the place that I dreamed of since I was young and the most important thing for me was just to be close to the Prophet’s Mosque,” said Khan.
“In 1991, the management of the Prophet’s Mosque announced a competition to choose a calligrapher to restore the Qur’anic writings in the mosque dating back to the Ottoman era. I decided to enter the competition, but the organizing committee refused my registration because I was not a professional calligrapher and also my native language was not Arabic, and they thought it would be hard to compete against other Arab calligraphers.”
Khan managed to convince the organizing committee that his skills and passion for his craft meant he should be given a chance. He went on to win the contest.
“There were calligraphers from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and other Arab countries but I was confident and was so happy to be selected as the winner,” said Khan.
His work did not stop at restoring the existing writings and verses. He was assigned to write in a number of domes in the Haram, combining “revitalizing ancient writings with the implementation of new calligraphic paintings.”
He was also entrusted with writing new plaques for several chapters, including the Chapter of Peace, the Chapter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the Chapter of Mercy and the Chapter of Gabriel.
“All the works that I executed carry the same importance, whether they are the Qur’anic paintings that I executed in a number of domes, on the walls, or the names of the doors. This place is unusual for every Muslim, and it was an honor for me to work there,” he said.
After completing calligraphy on the 177 domes, he received positive feedback on his work. One dome takes approximately two months to complete, including the design and implementation.
Three of Khan’s paintings hang in Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifa, each of which are made of 24-karat gold and took six months of work.
The calligrapher enjoyed a proud moment when the President of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, honored him for his efforts and proficiency.
“It was unforgettable moment for me … I will always cherish it,” he said.
Khan has also won several competitions at national and international level and was awarded the President’s Award for Pride of Performance in Pakistan, considered the highest literary award given by the state.
Source:arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2569075/saudi-arabia
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North America
New DIA exhibit showcases Islamic food culture through art
Layla McMurtrie
Aug 27, 2024
A new exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) will explore the connections between art and cuisine from ancient times to the present.
On Sunday, Sept. 22, the DIA will open The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World, featuring over 200 works from the Middle East, Asia, and beyond.
The exhibit combines a multi-sensory experience with a range of historical objects related to food preparation, serving, and dining. The show is organized into themes such as communal dining, coffee culture, and eating for health.
As metro Detroit is home to a large concentration of Arab Americans and other communities from the Middle East and Asia, this exhibition is especially relevant in Michigan, celebrating the history of food cultures from these regions.
Originally organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the exhibition includes works from 30 public and private collections across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. Sixteen of the works on view are from the DIA’s collection.
“With objects representing artistic and cultural traditions across a broad geographical expanse and more than 1,500 years of history, The Art of Dining reflects the diversity of the Islamic world,” Katherine Kasdorf, DIA Associate Curator of Arts of Asia and the Islamic World, said in a press release. “We can all relate to the practices of eating, drinking, and sharing a meal with friends and family, and this exhibition invites visitors to reflect upon the personal and cultural connections we make through food.”
Additionally, the exhibit includes tableware for eating and drinking, paintings depicting scenes of feasting and food preparation, historical cookbooks with recipes still used today, musical instruments played for entertainment during meals, garments worn for special occasions such as banquets, and scent boxes filled with the aromas of rosewater, orange blossom, coffee, and cardamom.
A section focused on the sufra — a cloth or low table on which food is served — explores the dining experience, with an interactive sufra offering visitors a digitally presented six-course meal based on historical recipes from the Islamic world. The recipes, adapted by chef NajmiehBatmanglij, will be available via QR code.
Complementing the historical items is a contemporary multimedia installation by Iraqi-born artist SadikKwaishAlfraji titled A Thread of Light Between My Mother’s Fingers and Heaven. Rooted in the artist’s memories of his mother, her homemade bread, and family meals in Baghdad, the work includes large-scale animation, drawings, and photographs.
“We are excited to break bread with everyone and experience the fascinating and delicious food culture of the Islamic world—an opportunity to relish the cultural wealth of our diverse communities which enrich our region every day,” DIA director Salvador Salort-Pons said. “Through this exceptional presentation, the DIA celebrates the art of dining and its power to bring people together.”
The exhibition, on view through Jan. 5, 2025, will kick off with a live conversation between Alfraji and Arab American National Museum Director Diana Abouali on Sunday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m.
Source:metrotimes.com
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https://www.metrotimes.com/arts/new-dia-exhibit-showcases-islamic-food-culture-through-art-37176172
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CAIR-Minnesota to Address Threatening Anti-Muslim Confrontation at Lino Lakes City Hall
August 27, 2024
On Wednesday, Aug. 28 (noon), the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) will hold a noon press conference to address a disturbing incident that occurred Monday in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, in which CAIR-MN’s Executive Director Jaylani Hussein was reportedly accosted and forced out of Lino Lakes City Hall by supporters of Councilmember Christopher Lyden.
The confrontation came after a work session in which Councilmember Lyden’s recent Islamophobic email was on the agenda. The email, sent in response to a New York Times article about the Madinah Lakes development project, contained inflammatory and hateful statements, including claims that “Islam hates us” and that the Quran is “hate speech against Jews and Christians.”
Hussein reported the incident to the police.
SEE: CAIR-MN Calls for Resignation of Lino Lakes City Council Member Who Said Hate-Filled, Anti-Muslim Email is ‘Best I have Ever Received’
At the news conference, CAIR-MN will call on the Lino Lakes City Council to take immediate action, including:
Formally repudiating Councilmember Lyden’s Islamophobic statements.
Conducting an ethical review of his conduct, with potential disciplinary actions, including his resignation.
WHAT: Press Conference
WHERE: CAIR-Minnesota’s Office, 1821 University Avenue W #306, St Paul, MN 55104
WHEN: Wednesday, August 28, 12 PM CT
CONTACT: Jaylani Hussein, Executive Director, CAIR-MN, Tel: (612) 406-0070, Email: jhussein@cair.com; Suleiman Adan, Deputy Executive Director, CAIR-MN, Tel: (612) 406-7183, Email: sadan@cair.com; Osman Ahmed, Director of Advocacy, CAIR-MN, Tel: (612) 459-0334, Email: o-ahmed@cair.com
CAIR-MN’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
Source:cair.com/
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https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-minnesota-to-address-threatening-anti-muslim-confrontation-at-lino-lakes-city-hall/
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CAIR-NY Welcomes Hate Crime Indictment for Alleged Anti-Muslim Assailant
August 27, 2024
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today welcomed the hate crime indictment brought against an assailant who allegedly assaulted a Muslim man in Midtown New York.
A man who allegedly called a Muslim passer-by a “terrorist” and a “f-ing Muslim,” then brutally beat him in Midtown was freed from jail without bail. After the attack, the alleged victim was taken to NYU Langone Health in stable condition.
SEE: Hate-spewing NYC lunatic who allegedly pummeled Muslim man is freed without bail
Hate crime indictment filed in New York City assault on Muslim man | Reuters
“With Islamophobia on the rise, it is important for our community to see hate crimes called out and prosecuted as the heinous acts they represent. We are glad to see the District Attorney’s office charge the alleged assailant accordingly, and we wish the victim of the attack a full recovery from this traumatic experience.” said CAIR-NY Executive Director AfafNasher.
She noted that CAIR-NY previously called on the public to assist in identifying the alleged assailant.
SEE: CAIR-NY Seeks Public’s Help in Hate Crime Probe of Anti-Muslim Attack
Nasher added that last week, CAIR-NY condemned the assault of a Muslim woman in Brooklyn. welcomed hate crime charges in an assault on a Muslim Uber driver.
From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming complaints, a sixty-nine percent increase over the same period in 2023.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
Source:cair.com/
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-ny-welcomes-hate-crime-indictment-for-alleged-anti-muslim-assailant/
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B.C. tourist mecca no longer flushing raw sewage into the ocean
Andrew Bailey
August 27, 2024
A toilet-paper ribbon was cut and Tofino’s Poet Laureate regaled an enthusiastic crowd with her freshly penned ‘The Flush of our Success’ before accompanying a choir for a song that included the words: “At last we won’t be surfing, surfing in our poo” parodying The Beach Boys.
Tofino has officially stopped pumping raw wastewater into the ocean.
Community members, politicians and stakeholders gathered to celebrate the town’s long-awaited wastewater treatment facility on Aug. 22.
The roughly one-hour celebration MC’d by the district’s director of infrastructure and public works Aaron Rodgers wiped away years of missed deadlines, underestimated budget costs and criticism over discharging raw sewage into the ocean.
Back in 2015, the federal government imposed a deadline of 2020 for the town to treat its sewage. That deadline whizzed past and the district swirled further into trouble when a $55 million cost estimate proved well-short of reality in 2020 as contractors bid closer to $84 million to build the project.
The district had initially received $40 million from the provincial and federal governments to build what it thought would be a $54 million project with $14 million coming by way of local taxpayers, but the $84 million figure flushed that idea.
The district took several kicks at the can for more funding from their provincial and federal colleagues and managed to secure enough from each to finance a scaled back $77.5 million facility last summer.
That $77.5 budget held true and the district was finally able to celebrate.
“Thanks for being here on this auspicious occasion to celebrate the opening of Tofino’s wastewater treatment plant,” Rodgers said to loud applause, cheers and whistles. “It’s the district’s pleasure to present a project that is on budget and ahead of schedule.”
Mid Island - Pacific Rim MLA and Tofino’s former mayor Josie Osborne spoke at the event and joked about the formalities of the celebration.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody wearing a tie outside of a wastewater treatment plant,” she laughed, referencing Rodgers’ suit. “I’ve known Aaron for years and the tie does not come out often, so that just shows the dignity and honour of this occasion.”
Osborne spoke to the beauty of Tofino’s natural surroundings and the importance of solid stewardship within the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation’s traditional territories.
It’s our privilege to live in this place and anyone who’s lived in Tofino for even a minute knows just how important it is to take care of this place and that we have a real responsibility to live up to the stewardship that the Ha’wiih of the Nation have led in this place for millenia,” she said. “The wastewater treatment plant is an absolute cornerstone of that commitment.”
Osborne was the town’s mayor from 2013–2020 and suggested “there are so many stories” she could tell about the journey leading up to the now fully-functioning facility.
“I almost can’t believe that this day has arrived. We used to talk about this so much, what it would be like the day that we could proudly announce to the world that we are no longer putting raw wastewater into the beautiful waters of Clayoquot Sound,” she said as loud applause interrupted her. “Yes. Hooray, hooray, hooray. How many years has it been?...It’s a dream of this community and it’s an incredible amount of hard work that it takes to get to a day like today.”
She expressed gratitude for the many people involved with putting the project together, including local taxpayers.
“You’re all part of this and of course part of it too is money. We’ve had some difficult conversations as a community about what the cost would be and how that would impact our water and wastewater utility bills and how much debt we were willing to take on as a community to make sure that we were doing the right thing,” she said. “I think we made really good decisions and we had amazing support from both the provincial and federal government…This is a real victory and a real accomplishment for this community.”
She recalled that when she moved to Tofino 26 years ago, there was a shellfish closure near the town’s sewage outfall and that closure area grew rapidly through the years.
“I am so looking forward to the next few years to see that shellfish closure area grow smaller and smaller and smaller because we know that finally we’re doing the right thing. We’re taking care of this breadbasket Clayoquot Sound that sustains us all and I’m just so proud of everything that we’ve managed to do with this project,” she said.
Tofino’s current mayor Dan Law thanked a longlist of contributors to the project’s completion and spoke to the Nuuchahnulth principle that ‘all things are one.’
“I’m so thankful that the Tla-o-qui-aht are willing to share some of their wisdom that they have learned from stewarding these lands for time immemorial,” he said. “When we care for the environment, we care for each other and we care for generations that will come long after we are gone. That’s a wonderful thing to share.”
He acknowledged that the construction of the new facility had brought burdens to residents and businesses.
“It’s been really disruptive. There’s been businesses that have had giant holes and construction equipment outside their business for a long time and it seems like there’s a lot that we all could complain about, and yet, honestly, I’ve heard so little complaining,” he said.
“It’s part of my job that people complain to me, so feel free, but the complaining that I do hear is always couched with a final clause, ‘Well, it will be over and we know that it’s for a good thing.’”
He added that the new facility’s construction is a “fantastic” triumph for the community, though the success will likely be forgotten as new issues arise.
“It’s hard to explain how fantastic it is because we know that in a year everybody’s going to forget about it. The sewage is going to go out mysteriously as it always has. But, we know that what we are doing is amazing,” he said. “It just goes to show to me what a resilient and visionary community that we have. That when we share a goal and we tackle even a most difficult challenge, we do it together…You’ve shown an amazing amount of support and patience.”
He added that along with federal and provincial funding, the project was also buoyed by funds from the town’s tourism sector and fixed roof accommodation providers.
“(They) have, through the (Municipal Regional District Tax) program, been contributing significant amounts, $400,000 a year, towards this capital project,” he said. “It’s just one example of how our tourism sector and larger fixed roof accommodation providers are supporting our community and our environment.”
He pointed to Courtenay-Alberni MP and former Tofino municipal councillor Gord Johns in the audience and touted his efforts to get federal dollars into the project.
“At a crucial time in this project where there was a potential that it would miss windows and have a really difficult time getting forward, Gord Johns stepped up,” Law said. “Because of Gord’s hard work, determination and his advocacy for this community and this project, it was able to get done in an essential window of time.”
He noted Osborne also stepped up at a crucial time to find provincial funding.
“Josie took this on personally, she worked behind the scenes incredibly hard,” he said. “I am honoured to say that we are so very well represented in Ottawa and Victoria. Without them, this project would have been much, much, much more difficult to get forward.”
He expressed gratitude to the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation for their support and advocacy.
“I look forward to working with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation more on major projects. It’s been a joy,” he said.
Johns spoke next and excitedly proclaimed it was “a great day.”
“It is so great to be home in Tofino, Tla-o-qui-aht territory, with a big celebration today,” he said.
Johns recalled being on the town’s municipal council in 2008 and talking about the project back then as he pointed to members of district staff who have been working on it since then as well as others who have contributed, including members of the Wastewater Management Committee.
“Your passion to make sure that we’re doing what’s right and our duty to protect the environment, to live up to the teachings and the values of Tla-o-qui-aht and their ancestors and the important role that we play,” he said. “This is just an incredible achievement…This is the largest investment, not just in the history of Tofino, but all of the history in Tofino put together from the federal government and it’s long overdue. We had decades where we couldn’t get money, we were just too far from Ottawa where they didn’t care and we put a lot of money in the coffers and the banks in Ottawa to help communities across this country have success, so it’s our turn on this project so that we can do the responsible thing.”
He added protecting the oceans and ecosystem is a key priority of the West Coast and its residents and touted Law’s efforts in securing funding from higher levels of government.
“Dan, I can’t say enough. There was a lot of silence at the end of a couple of those calls when you were calling me for the size of the money that you were asking for. You came to Ottawa, you pushed hard. You were relentless,” Johns said. “You got this across the finish line. Without your push and determination, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Rodgers then introduced his boss and district CAO Nyla Attiana who heralded her staff’s efforts in getting the project completed.
“It’s difficult to get emotional about wastewater, but I might because I’m going to be talking about my staff,” she said. “I’m extremely proud to be standing here today to celebrate this momentous occasion for our region; one that we’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. This is an important day for many of my staff who have worked diligently and tirelessly on this project.”
She added the new facility was “decades in the making” and many people were integral to its fruition, giving a particular shoutout to North American Construction.
“NAC, you have been a part of our community, not just working in our community throughout the duration of this project. You have gone above and beyond during emergencies resulting from extreme storms to help us address critical infrastructure challenges to restore services to our community. Those are times that we will forever be grateful for and have become meaningful memories of the project,” she said.
She reiterated that her staff were exemplary throughout the process.
“I have the honour of leading a team of employees that I would describe as hardworking problem solvers, innovators and individuals of extremely high integrity,” she said, thanking her predecessor, former CAO Bob MacPherson, as well as the town’s council for providing the resources necessary for an effective team to grow.
“Our success as a local government translates into success for our community. Today is about celebrating this success together,” she said.
Attiana said the project felt ”‘insurmountable” when it began, but was led through rough waters by project manager Simon Kirkland.
“Simon has the ability to put a comprehensible box around a very complex project. This is an invaluable skill in a project manager,” she said. “Simon, you’ve been an exemplary leader on this project. Thank you for looking out for the district’s interests, for the patience in bringing us all along and for your consistent communication throughout the project. You made it look effortless, but I know you will be needing a vacation very, very soon.”
Kirkland was the event’s final speaker and thanked his project team and the audience for arriving to celebrate the success.
“As this plant becomes operational, it officially ends the decades long practice of discharging untreated raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean,” he said.
“In doing so, as all the other speakers have said, we’re taking a massive, critical step forward in protecting the unique ecosystems that surround us, helping to set an example and show other communities that are in the same boat here in Canada that it is possible.”
Source:vancouverislandfreedaily.com
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https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/tofino-feels-relief-after-finally-opening-sewage-treatment-facility-7505524
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The DNC’s Muslim Brotherhood and Nation of Islam-connected imam
BEN POSER
August 27, 2024
The 2024 Democratic National Convention, so condemned for supposedly not letting an openly anti-Israel speaker address the delegates, chose a Muslim Brotherhood-linked imam to give its invocation.
At the start of the DNC’s second night on Aug. 20, Imam Talib M. Shareef of Masjid Muhammad in Washington, D.C, alongside Rabbi Sharon Brous, jointly blessed Chicago’s United Center. “Bless our leaders with wisdom to do the right thing consistent with God’s ways,” Shareef asked Allah, “to stand firm against inhumane acts, and to treat all humans as the sacred creation of the Almighty.”
Such compassionate words would and should be welcome at any gathering, especially one immersed in the adversarial brutishness of politics. Still, it is wise to be mindful of who is speaking, not just what is said. In truth, Imam Shareef is someone who may not actually believe in the humane ideals to which his soothing speech appealed.
What the DNC may not know is that Imam Shareef—who helped the U.S. Army choose its first Muslim chaplain in 1993, opened a session of Congress in 2013 and spoke at the White House in 2022—is associated with a major Brotherhood front group, the Islamic Circle of North America, which displays his bio on its website.
ICNA is listed among the 29 Brotherhood organizations mentioned in the Brotherhood’s chilling 1991 “Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.” Discovered in 2004 by an FBI search warrant, the manifesto details how the Brotherhood, via “a kind of grand jihad,” will go about “eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”
In other words, the Brotherhood will speak sweetly of peace and diversity to non-Muslims in public while fomenting intolerance and jihad in private—exactly what Shareef has done for decades.
In this vein, perhaps the Brotherhood’s most powerful U.S. off-shoot is the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a friendly-sounding “civil rights” group exposed in federal court as a Hamas money-laundering operation. Its leader, Nihad Awad, has both openly praised Hamas and said that the Oct. 7 massacre made him “happy.”
Like CAIR, ICNA—founded in 1968 as the Pakistani political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)’s American branch—has deep connections to terrorism. JI’s “military” wing, Hizb-ul-Mujahidin, is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization that owned the compound where Osama bin Laden was finally found and killed.
Further, according to Sam Westrop of the Middle East Forum: “In 1971, JI terrorists helped Pakistani forces murder hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis fighting for freedom from Pakistani rule. In the decades since JI has been complicit in violence across the subcontinent. As a result, the U.S. government has designated the head of JI’s paramilitary wing in Pakistan and Kashmir, Syed Salahuddin, as a ‘global terrorist.'”
In the past, ICNA’s website has hosted content promoting Al-Qaeda, Hamas (itself a Brotherhood creation), Hezbollah and the Taliban. Today, it works so closely with another Brotherhood front group, the Muslim American Society, that they co-organize conferences under a hyphenated moniker.
An example of a mosque the MAS runs is the Islamic Society of Boston. Along with its “mega-mosque” branch, it has produced 14 (known) associates, former members and students who are at large, dead, in prison or have been deported for involvement in terrorism—the Boston Marathon bombers included.
Shareef, for his part, addressed the 2019 ICNA-MAS conference and spoke at a 2017 event entitled “Tackling Islamophobia at Home” with senior CAIR executive Corey Saylor. Four years later, Shareef appeared at a rally on behalf of the genocidally persecuted Uyghurs of China—a rally which, unsettlingly, was organized by CAIR.
In 2016, Shareef—now well respected for his interfaith activism—joined the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council, an initiative of the American Jewish Committee and the Islamic Society of North America.
Unfortunately for American Jews, ISNA too is a Brotherhood front group, named first on the “Explanatory Memorandum”’s list of organizations. It works closely with CAIR.
ISNA has enjoyed warm relations with both the Obama and Biden administrations and, in 2024, a long-time ISNA operative, Mohamed Elsanousi, was appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
In light of these connections alone, Imam Shareef giving an invocation beside a rabbi—even one affiliated with the anti-Israel organization J Street—would seem strange. It is stranger still given his remarks denying pro-Hamas student protests’ obvious antisemitism.
“I don’t see the protest to be or to be driven by antisemitism, although it does exist and has to be addressed accordingly,” he told The Washington Informer. “The students are responding to a natural, troubling and deep calling from their souls for an end to the mounting death toll of innocent human lives, the devastation to the Palestinian property and land, and the catastrophe humanitarian crisis [sic].”
Shareef’s mosque also has a troubling background. Its English title, “the Nation’s Mosque,” correctly brings to mind the infamous Nation of Islam, given that the mosque was founded in 1937 by Elijah Muhammad—the NOI’s racist, antisemitic leader of 41 years.
Shareef was a student of Elijah Muhammad’s son, Warith Deen Muhammad, who also had connections to ISNA and the MAS. CAIR honored him in 2005 for his “outstanding leadership.” Though Muhammad repudiated current NOI head Louis Farrakhan—an infamously hateful and racist antisemite—in the 1970s and formed a breakaway sect of the NOI, he later reconciled with Farrakhan.
Though Shareef told The Times of Israel “that he was not affiliated with the organization headed by Farrakhan,” the NOI’s own newspaper, The Final Call, records that Shareef praised Farrakhan’s “love” for Islam and his late teacher.
The Call also documents that, upon the death in 2022 of NOI spokeswoman Ava Muhammad, Shareef celebrated the woman who screamed that Jews were “blood-sucking parasite[s] … keeping us from the hereafter!” Shareef called her an “inspiration.”
Masjid Muhammad also collaborates with Islamic Relief, which Sam Westrop’s exhaustive research designates as the Brotherhood’s “leading charitable institution.” Much of its revenue comes from unsuspecting taxpayers and often ends up in Hamas bank accounts. Masjid Muhammad was among Islamic Relief’s grant recipients in 2023 and even posted on Facebook about its “partnership” with Islamic Relief on Sept. 11, 2021—the 20th anniversary of Brotherhood off-shoot Al-Qaeda’s signature massacre.
Much of America is wondering just how “progressive” Kamala Harris’s Democratic Party is. These revelations come on the heels of scandals concerning Harris and vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s personal connections to Islamic hatemongers and possible Iranian operatives.
The Biden administration and the Democratic National Committee must clarify why they chose to give this imam—linked to organizations steeped in hatred and violence—such a platform. They must explain and they must apologize.
Source:jns.org
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.jns.org/the-dncs-muslim-brotherhood-and-nation-of-islam-connected-imam/
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Pakistan
PM shows mailed fist to militants, offers talks too
August 28, 2024
KhaleeqKiani | Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD: A day after at least 50 people lost their lives in militant attacks across Balochistan, the government reiterated the resolve to “uproot” terrorism while keeping the door of dialogue open for those willing to abide by the Constitution.
Separately, senators called for across-the-board consensus on a strategy to deal with the threat of terrorism.
Addressing the federal cabinet on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the armed forces would be provided with all resources to root out terrorism at all costs.
“We have told the armed forces of Pakistan that whatever resources they need would be provided by cutting down other expenditures. There would be no shortage of funds,” said the PM.
The cabinet endorsed the decision of its Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to approve Rs60 billion for Operation Azm-i-Istehkam.
The initial disbursement of Rs20bn in the first phase would be immediately released, with the remaining funds to be released on a need-to-need basis.
The PM said the “time for wiping out terrorism has come”, adding that it is the “unwavering resolve” of the army chief to end terrorism at all costs. “There are no two opinions. The entire nation is unanimous about this.”
At the same time, the prime minister said doors for dialogue “were open and would remain open” for those who believe in Pakistan and “respect its national flag and the Constitution”.
“However, there would be no talks with the enemies and terrorists, nor any clemency.”
‘TTP operating out of Afghanistan’
The PM said it is no longer a secret that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was operating from Afghanistan.
Pakistan had informed the Afghan government of its concerns and conducted effective operations against terrorists, he added.
He said the only objective of the ongoing wave of terrorism in Balochistan was to “create anarchy in the country” and “hamper the progress”.
“They want to disrupt the development of Balochistan and other parts of the country through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” the prime minister said, while referring to the terrorists’ intentions.
The PM said he would soon visit Balochistan and hold detailed consultations for immediate actions on the ground. “We have to move forward with complete determination. There is no space for any kind of weakness. There is no question of debility.”
Another olive branch
On the other hand, Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar while speaking in the Senate offered the “disgruntled Baloch separatists” to hold talks with the government but made it clear that “violence in the name of anger” was not acceptable.
He said political consensus was crucial to deal with economic and security challenges.
He urged political forces to “sit together and find a practical way forward to eliminate terrorism and bring about economic stability”.
Responding to various points raised by the senators, Mr Dar said dialogues should be held with those who “believe in Pakistan”.
The elements involved in “creating chaos and killing innocent people in the name of estrangement” should be condemned by all.
He said the terrorists were “playing in the hands of Pakistan’s enemies” to create instability.
According to Mr Dar, parliament must collectively determine a way forward to overcome the prevailing unrest in Balochistan, and the government will implement those decisions.
He said state had collectively decided to launch the operations Zarb-i-Azb and RaddulFasaad to counter terrorism after the Army Public School attack in 2014.
As a result, the law and order situation improved, but in the recent past, terrorists were brought back and released from jails, the deputy PM claimed.
He said talks with the banned TTP were a “big blunder” and underlined the need to set aside politics in matters of national interest.
Earlier, Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz said his party believed political issues should be resolved politically and the use of force should be the last resort.
Expressing concern over the terrorist attacks, he said the “nation wants to know what was happening”.
He said law and order was linked with economic development and a government “lacking legitimacy and public support” cannot bring positive change.
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman condemned the attacks and called for more parliamentary oversight on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP).
She said there was no such thing as a “good terrorist” or a “bad terrorist”.
“A terrorist is unmistakably a terrorist. Anyone who takes up arms in any country is deemed a terrorist. Let there be no confusion on this matter.”
“The country has conducted successful counter-terrorism operations … There is no need to reinvent the wheel. However, parliament should exercise oversight to ensure the effective implementation of NAP,” Ms Rehman said.
ANP President Aimal Wali Khan said terms and conditions for the resettlement of 40,000 terrorists should be made public.
He sought an inquiry against former generals Qamar Javed Bajwa and Faiz Hameed, former president Arif Alvi and ex-KP CM Mahmood Khan to ask them about the resettlement of terrorists.
PML-N leader Senator Irfan Siddiqui, in his speech, asked how many points of the NAP have been implemented in the last ten years.
He also called for a collective strategy and emphasised the door for dialogue “should be shut”. According to Mr Siddiqui, the enemies of Pakistan were providing money and weapons to terrorists.
Source:dawn.com
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Austerity measures: PM Shehbaz directs ministries to save 'each penny' of taxpayers
August 27, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the country cannot afford that the bureaucracy and the elite enjoying luxuries at the expenses paid in taxes by the poor as the federal cabinet greenlighted the continuation of austerity drive.
"In view of the larger national interests, all ministries and institutions should take all possible decisions and initiatives that could save each penny of the nation," the premier said while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet.
He said that steps were being taken, on a priority basis, to further improve governance and bring about institutional reforms in the country.
“We are introducing digitisation and smart management of institutions to modernise the country’s system and harmonise it in accordance with the international requirements,” PM Shehbaz said.
He also appreciated the decisions taken by the finance minister, minister for national food security, minister for energy and other relevant ministers and officials for ensuring uninterrupted supply of urea fertiliser for the upcoming Rabi crop.
An amount of $130 million was saved in the national exchequer by halting the import of urea and by ensuring uninterrupted gas supply to urea fertilizer units for the upcoming Rabi crop.
On the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Works, proposals were presented in the federal cabinet regarding the dissolution of Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), transfer of its staff and ongoing projects to other ministries and institutions.
The meeting was informed that on the directions of the prime minister, necessary maintenance staff and inquiries were being handed over to the ministries concerned and provincial governments to continue uninterrupted work on the ongoing development and PSDP projects tasked to PWD.
In this regard, the federal cabinet approved the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Works.
The cabinet was presented with the recommendations of the Rightsizing of the Federal Government Committee set up for Institutional Reforms, headed by the finance minister.
The cabinet was informed that in order to improve the performance of the federal government, proper use of manpower, removal of unnecessary impediments in the policy-making and implementation of decisions, and to further strengthen the most important departments and bodies, the first phase of work on committee’s recommendations about six ministries had already been initiated.
The meeting was further informed that in the light of the recommendations of the committee, a total of 82 government bodies related to these ministries were being merged and dissolved into 40 such institutions, in which digitisation, smart management, efficient governance, transparent and speedy implementation of projects and better provision of facilities to the common man would be ensured.
The federal cabinet also approved the recommendations of the committee and set up a committee to ensure the protection of the interests of the employees who were expected to be affected by the merger and dissolution of these entities.
The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the progress on the ongoing austerity drive and implementation of measures under the prime minister’s vision and directives to reduce government expenditure.
The federal cabinet nodded for the continuation of the austerity drive approved by the cabinet under the leadership of PM Shehbaz during the previous tenure of his government.
These measures included voluntary non-withdrawal of salaries by the cabinet members, ban on purchase of government vehicles other than essential vehicles such as ambulances, ban on purchase of new equipment and machinery, creation of new government posts, non-essential foreign travel at the government expenses and ban on treatment abroad.
The prime minister urged the ministers to ensure that austerity measures were being implemented in their relevant ministries and institutions. He also lauded their efforts in ensuring implementation of austerity measures.
The cabinet also endorsed the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) held on August 22, 2024.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi seek post-arrest bail in new Toshakhana case
By Arfa Feroz Zake
August 27, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi on Tuesday submitted separate bail petitions in an accountability court seeking their release in the new Toshakhana case.
Mentioning the state and chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as parties to the case, both the applications filed through Barrister Salman Safdar under Section 9(b) of NA Ordinance 1999 and Section 497 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) request the accountability court to grant post-arrest bail to the couple in "interest of justice and fair play".
The development comes as both Imran and Bushra are on judicial remand in Adiala jail over the Toshakhana reference filed by the anti-graft watchdog last week.
The duo was arrested in the said case on July 13 hours after a district and sessions court in Islamabad acquitted them in the iddat case — also known as the un-Islamic nikah case — which was the last hurdle in the couple's release from jail before the filing of the new cases.
The reference — which consists of two volumes — was filed by NAB investigation officer Mohsin Haroon and case officer Waqar Hassan in an accountability court.
The fresh reference will now be reviewed by the registrar of the accountability courts. After removing the objections, the reference will be sent to the administrative judge of the accountability court.
The administrative judge will then decide whether to conduct the hearing himself or transfer it to another accountability court.
It should be noted that administrative Judge Nasir Javed Rana is already hearing the £190 million reference against the PTI founder.
Jewellery set case
The new NAB reference pertains to a case related to a jewellery set gifted to former first lady Bushra by the Saudi crown prince when Imran was the prime minister of the country from 2018 to 2022.
The jewellery set — comprising a ring, bracelet, necklace a pair of earrings — was gifted to the former first lady on her visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2021, as per the NAB's reference.
It said the PTI founder and his wife have illegally kept the jewellery set.
It added that the deputy military secretary briefed the Toshakhana section officer to estimate and declare the price of the jewellery set.
The jewellery set, it mentioned, was not deposited in Toshakhana.
The jewellery company sold the necklace for €300,000 and earrings for €80,000 on May 25, 2018. The information regarding the price of the bracelet and ring could not be obtained from the company.
On May 28, 2021, the price of the jewellery set was estimated at Rs70.56 million; the price of the necklace was Rs50.64 million and the price of the earrings included in the jewellery valued at Rs10.50 million back then.
According to the rules, the 50% price of the jewellery set is approximately Rs30.57 million.
The national exchequer suffered a loss of approximately Rs30.28 after the jewellery was undervalued.
As per the reference, the PTI founder and his wife violated the NAB Ordinance. It added that an inquiry was initiated against the former first couple on the instructions of the NAB chairman on August 1, 2022.
"[The] PTI founder and Bushra have misused their powers. [The] PTI founder retained 58 out of 108 gifts during his prime ministership," read the reference.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Toshakhana case: NAB issued notice on Imran’s bail plea
August 28, 2024
Malik Asad
The accountability watchdog has filed a reference against the couple, accusing them of retaining an expensive Bvlgari jewellery set from Toshakhana at a throwaway price.
Mr Khan and his spouse are seeking bail in the reference filed by NAB last week.
The couple also pleaded with the court to grant them interim bail till their post-arrest bail petition is decided.
The accountability court judge, Nasir Javed Rana, summoned the case record from NAB and adjourned the hearing till Aug 30.
The bureau alleged that the Saudi royal family gifted a Bvlgari jewellery set to Ms Bibi during her visit to the kingdom in May 2021.
It said that the jewellery set comprises a ring, bracelet, necklace and earrings.
The initial investigation found that the former first couple illegally retained this jewellery set, according to NAB.
On May 18, 2021, the then deputy military secretary to the PM, Col Rehan Mohammad, asked the Toshakhana section officer to evaluate the set’s price.
The section officer was also told that Mr Khan intends to retain the gift and declare it in his record.
According to the reference, a franchise of Bvlgari sold the said jewellery set to the Saudi government on May 25, 2018, for 300,000 euros and earrings for 80,000 euros.
NAB claimed that in May 2021, the total value of the jewellery set was over Rs75 million, and 50pc of that amount — over Rs35.7m — was not deposited in the treasury.
NAB alleged Mr Khan retained 58 of 108 gifts he received from heads of state and other dignitaries.
Source:dawn.com
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ECP reserves verdict on PTI plea to halt intra-party polls case
August 28, 2024
A three-member bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the case.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, advocate Ayesha Khalid and advocate Uzair Bhandari appeared before the bench.
Barrister Gohar referred to the FIA’s raid at the PTI’s office and seizure of the party record. He said the FIA officials even took away the water dispenser. He, however, said that the record can be obtained from the FIA, if the ECP issues directions.
Lawyer Bhandari argued that the ECP has sent a questionnaire and the first question is about the current status of PTI.
“The answer to this question has come in the Supreme Court’s short order in the reserved seats case,” he said.
He stressed that the detailed verdict of the top court should be awaited while the Election Commission has asked the Supreme Court for an explanation regarding the reserved seats.
To this, member of ECP from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said, “We have not made any request to the Supreme Court regarding the PTI’s new intra-party elections; we have asked the Supreme Court that whose party certificates should be recognised until the intra-party elections are recognised”.
In response, Barrister Khan explained that he had issued certificates to the 39 members whom the ECP had recognised as PTI’s.
“We did not accept the certificates but acted on the Supreme Court order,” the ECP member contended. The lawyer emphasised that the Supreme Court verdict is before the Election Commission, and the ECP cannot decide on the validity of the intra-party elections.
To this, member of ECP from
Sindh inquired ‘what do you want now’ and the lawyer replied that they want the Election Commission not to hear the case till the clarification or detailed decision of the Supreme Court regarding the reserved seats is announced.
The PTI also challenged the ECP’s jurisdiction over intra-party elections, as its lawyer, Mr Bhandari, said that scrutiny of intra-party elections does not fall in the jurisdiction of the ECP, saying the electoral watchdog can only see whether the intra-party elections were held or not.
He said the commission should first decide its jurisdiction.
DG Law said the Supreme Court in its short order had said that party certificates of only 41 independent members should be submitted, the Supreme Court has not mentioned any specific party, as an independent member can join any political party.
The ECP has asked the Supreme Court to clarify whose certificate should be accepted for joining the PTI, concerning 41 members.
The ECP, later djourned the hearing of the case till September 18, reserving its verdict on the request of PTI to keep the case pending till the clarification comes from the top court in its detailed verdict.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing of the case, Barrister Khan said they had submitted documents with the ECP on March 8 after the third intra-party elections, but till date they have not received the certificate.
He said the PTI is a political party and people are with the ideology of founder of PTI Imran Khan.
“We don’t need any symbol. We will make a clean sweep by participating fully in the local government elections of Islamabad, whereas the government is trying to postpone these elections,” he said.
Source:dawn.com
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4 soldiers martyred, 25 terrorists killed in Tirah IBOs since Aug 20: ISPR
August 27, 2024
RAWALPINDI: At least four soldiers embraced martyrdom while 25 terrorists, including a ring leader, were killed in intelligence-based operations (IBOs) being conducted since August 20 in Tirah valley of Khyber district, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the military’s media wing said the security forces were conducting “extensive IBOs” in Tirah valley against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) labelled as Fitna-Al-Khwarij and other militant groups Laskar-e-Islam and Jamat-ul-Ahrar.
The ISPR noted that these operations were based on “robust intelligence and resulted into major setbacks to Fitna-Al-Khwarij and its affiliates”.
During the intel-based operations, the security forces so far killed 25 terrorists, including a ring leader named Abuzar aka Saddam.
“However, four soldiers, having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced martyrdom”, the ISPR added.
“The heavy losses inflicted upon Fitna-Al-Khwarij in these operations is testament to the valor and commitment of security forces to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country,” it concluded.
On Aug 25, terrorists attacked a check post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Central Kurram, resulting in martyrdom of one policeman.
Similarly, security forces killed seven terrorists and wounded five others during an IBO in the Kurram district earlier this month.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, mostly in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also in southwestern Balochistan, which abuts Afghanistan and Iran.
There were at least 170 militant attacks killing 151 civilians and 114 security personnel in Balochistan last year, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Islamabad accuses Kabul's new rulers of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil as they prepare to stage assaults on Pakistan.
A day earlier, Balochistan faced a series of horrific attacks that resulted in over 50 deaths, including 14 security personnel, as militants affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) targeted civilians, police, and security forces.
In response, security forces gunned down 21 terrorists and injured several others.
Against this backdrop, the federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.
Source:thenews.com.pk
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Forces hunt militants after rampage in Balochistan
Ali Jan Mangi | Saleem Shahid
August 28, 2024
DERA MURAD JAMALI / QUETTA: The situation in Balochistan remained tense on Tuesday, a day after militants launched coordinated attacks that left dozens dead in one of the worst waves of violence in the province’s history.
Security forces hunted the militants responsible for the deadly assaults, including pulling passengers off buses before killing them, blowing up a key railway bridge and storming a hotel.
At midnight between Sunday and Monday, militants took control of a highway and shot dead 23 people, mostly labourers from Punjab, and attacked the hotel and the railway bridge connecting Balochistan to the rest of the country.
The sites hit were cordoned off Tuesday as the search for assailants went on. “But no arrests have been made so far, and no additional militants have been killed,” provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind said.
Monday’s death toll includes 35 civilians and 14 members of the security forces, while the military said troops killed 21 militants.
Situation remains tense
As the province grapples with the aftermath, authorities on Tuesday discovered three more bullet-riddled bodies in Nasirabad district, while law enforcement agencies foiled an attempt to block the Quetta-Karachi National Highway in Khadkocha.
“All three individuals were killed by gunshots to the head and other parts of the body, leading to their deaths,” police said, quoting hospital officials.
A pistol, spent bullet casings and a motorcycle were recovered from the scene. The faces of two of the victims were covered and the bodies have yet to be identified. Further investigation was ongoing.
Separately, the bodies of six militants were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta for identification. “We have received six bodies for autopsy and identification,” said Police Surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz, noting that their identities had yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, unknown armed motorcyclists opened fire at two people near Javed Complex in the Gormakan area of Panjgur, killing one of them on the spot and injuring the other. In another firing incident, two people were injured in the Khuda-i-Abdan area of Panjgur town.
All victims were shifted to a district hospital. The deceased was identified as Sajjad Ali, while the injured included Irfan, Abdul Wahab and Sajid.
Besides, Levies said that armed men barged into a house and took a man away with them at gunpoint. After 20 minutes, the man’s bullet-riddled body was found in Keshnak area. In another firing incident in the Buleda area of the Kech district, armed men kidnapped a man and killed him in the Grank area.
Truck driver survives
Meanwhile, a truck driver, who rescuers initially thought was dead, was recovering on Tuesday after hospital staff receiving bodies realised he was alive despite being shot five times by militants.
The driver, Munir Ahmed, recounted how he and his colleagues were ambushed on the highway by armed men who forced them out of their vehicles and shot them before leaving their bodies in a stream.
A nurse said Mr Ahmed had been hit by five bullets in the arm and back but was in stable condition.
Bridge being restored
The railway bridge in Bolan, a key link between Balochistan and the rest of the country, lay in ruins on Tuesday after explosives were used to destroy it, halting train services and leaving the area littered with debris.
Railway officials are working to clear the road and restore the bridge.
“Explosives were used to attack our main bridge routes yesterday, which has stopped trains from travelling to other parts of the country,” Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway official in Balochistan, told AFP. “We are working to clear the road as quickly as possible to ease traffic for the public,” he said.
Source:dawn.com
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Sindh’s governor calls for empowered LG system to resolve Karachi issues
August 28, 2024
KARACHI: Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori has advocated for a strong and empowered local government system, calling it essential for resolving myriad problems of the provincial metropolis.
Taking to the media after a meeting with industrialists belonging to the Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry here on Tuesday, he stressed that Karachi, as the economic hub of the country, required urgent attention to its issues, both present and future.
He said that he was committed to addressing Karachi’s challenges and would continue to raise his voice for the city at every forum.
He emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts to enhance trade and suggested transforming friendships with other countries into trade partnerships.
He said that the doors of the Governor House were always open for both the public and the business community.
He assured the industrialists that the government was committed to addressing their issues on a priority basis to boost industrial activity and trade. He said the benefits of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) would soon be visible.
Earlier, he discussed the concerns of the industrialists, who highlighted the urgent need to resolve issues related to infrastructure, water, gas, and electricity in the industrial area, according to a press release issued from Governor House.
He assured them that he would take up these matters with the relevant authorities to find prompt solutions.
He also expressed his willingness to facilitate a direct dialogue between industrialists, traders and the prime minister.
He urged all parties to focus on resolving issues rather than blaming each other.
Ceremony to honour Arshad Nadeem
A special ceremony was held at the Governor House in honour of Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem.
According to a Governor House press release, the event was attended by consuls general from various countries, including China, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, and Bangladesh. The ceremony also saw the participation of the victorious Under-15 football team.
Speaking on the occasion, the governor emphasized his commitment to providing all possible support and assistance to sports activities across the province.
He also mentioned that Arshad Nadeem and his coach would play an active role in supporting these efforts.
He announced that a marathon would be held in Karachi in January.
In recognition of the Under-15 football team’s achievement, the governor announced a reward of Rs one million, a motorcycle for each player, and an additional Rs100,000 for each member of the team.
He expressed his hope that the team would continue to bring honour to the country through their dedication and hard work.
At the governor’s request, Arshad Nadeem demonstrated his javelin throw skills, which delighted the attendees.
Source:dawn.com
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South Asia
Islamic Emirate stepping up towards recognition
August 28, 2024
The Political Commission of the Islamic Emirate, recently discussed developments in Afghanistan and the world countries. In the commission meeting, it was also noted that the Islamic Emirate wants to have good relations with all regional countries, especially its neighbors. Mawlavi Abdul Kabir Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, led the meeting, participated by Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi acting Foreign Minister, Anas Haqqani a senior member of the Islamic Emirate, acting Information and Culture Minister Mullah KhairullahKhairkhwa, and some others. The meeting participants discussed the situation and developments in the country and the region, including issues on the expansion of the Islamic Emirate’s relations with regional countries as well as the implementation of regional projects. Indeed, as an independent country, the Islamic Emirate is in favor of good relations with all neighboring countries in accordance with the principles of mutual respect and good neighborliness. So, the Political Commission has to step up in encouraging the neighbors to further strengthen political interactions with Afghanistan which ultimately results in recognition of the Islamic Emirate. Actually, as the deputy IEA spokesman believes, a high-level interaction and creating the opportunity for a multilateral engagement with all countries, especially Afghanistan neighbors is a move forward towards further development in the future and hoped to lead to the recognition of the ruling Islamic system. Other regional countries should also realize the fact and realities of the country and that conditions for the recognition of the Islamic Emirate have now become, available and they in addition to the preservation of bilateral interaction should resort to the recognition of the Islamic Emirate.
Source:thekabultimes.com
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Islamic Emirate Appoints New Military Attaché in Iran to Strengthen Bilateral Ties
2024-08-27
KABUL(BNA): The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has officially appointed a new military attaché in Iran.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, Haji Mohammad Shafiq has been introduced as Afghanistan’s military attaché in Tehran and has commenced his duties.
This appointment is part of the broader strategy by the leadership of the Ministry of National Defense to strengthen bilateral ties with neighboring countries. The ministry has emphasized that the placement of a military attaché in Iran is a significant step toward enhancing mutual cooperation between the two nations.
The Ministry of National Defense views this development as a crucial move in bolstering diplomatic and military relations between Afghanistan and Iran, aiming to foster a more robust partnership in areas of shared interest.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Defends Sharia Law Enacted by Ministry of Vice and Virtue
2024-08-27
KABUL(BNA): In a statement released today, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has strongly defended the recent laws enacted by the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, dismissing concerns expressed by entities such as UNAMA as “baseless.”
The Sharia law, which consists of an introduction, four chapters, and 35 articles, is said to be derived directly from Islamic sources and formulated according to Hanafi jurisprudence. The government claims that each article and clause has been extracted from credible and accepted sources of Islamic jurisprudence, with all references documented in the law’s footnotes.
The statement asserts that any non-Muslim who expresses concern or rejects these laws must first “familiarize themselves with Islamic laws and show respect for Islamic values.” It goes on to state that such objections are seen as a display of “audacity” towards the country’s Islamic principles.
For Muslims, the government urges self-education about these Sharia-based laws and consultation with religious scholars. The statement warns that for Muslims to reject or criticize these laws “indicates ignorance of their religion and may even pose a risk to their faith.”
Emphasizing Afghanistan’s status as an Islamic country, the statement argues that in an Islamic society, Islamic laws are enforceable. Citing Quranic texts, it declares the duty of every Muslim and the Islamic government to “command good and forbid evil,” thereby justifying the establishment of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue to implement this Sharia law.
The Islamic Emirate assures that the implementation of this law will not involve “any oppression, injustice, or transgression against anyone” and will be carried out with “great leniency.” It dismisses any “unfounded concerns” from various parties, stating that the Islamic Emirate remains committed to enforcing Sharia in line with the aspirations of the “Mujahid nation and our pure martyrs.”
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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Air pollution cuts life expectancy in Bangladesh by average 4.8yrs: WHO
Aug 28, 2024
Bangladesh is the world's most polluted country and fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) shortens the average Bangladeshi resident's life expectancy by 4.8 years, says a new global report released today.The report says that because of this pollution, the average person in Bangladesh lives 4.8 years less than they would if the air were as clean as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends.
Some areas of Bangladesh fare much worse than others, such as the Gazipur and Narsingdi districts, where air pollution is shortening lives by more than six years, it said.
All of Bangladesh's 166.4 million people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds both the WHO guideline and 96.8 percent of the country's population live in regions that don't meet the country's own national standard of 35 µg/m³. Even in the least polluted district of Sylhet, particulate pollution is 6.7 times the WHO guideline.
While particulate pollution takes 4.8 years off the life of the average Bangladeshi, tobacco use takes off two years and child and maternal malnutrition takes off 1.4 years.
In 2022, particulate pollution was 22 percent lower relative to 2021 -- a contrast to the increasing trend between 2015-2021. If the reduction in 2022 is sustained, an average Bangladeshi resident would live one year longer compared to what they would if they were exposed to the average pollution levels over the last decade.
In some of the most polluted districts of the country spread across the states of Dhaka and Chittagong, 75.9 million residents or 45.6 percent of Bangladesh's population are on track to lose 5.4 years of life expectancy on average relative to the WHO guideline.
ains a global problem, its largest impacts are concentrated in a relatively small number of countries -- cutting lives short several years in some places and even more than six years in some regions," says Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and creator of the AQLI along with colleagues at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).
"All too often, high pollution concentrations reflect low ambition in setting policy or a failure to successfully enforce existing policies. As countries balance their economic, health, and environmental goals, the AQLI will continue to shine a light on the longer lives that air pollution reductions deliver."
National standards are an important tool to set strong policies and improve air quality. These standards -- some strong and some weak -- reflect the multiple policy goals countries have as they balance economic, environmental and health goals.
However, a third of the world's population lives in regions that don't meet the standards that their countries have set.
If those countries did meet their own benchmarks, these three billion people would live an average of 1.2 years longer.
"Setting ambitious standards is only one part of the puzzle," says Tanushree Ganguly, the director of the AQLI. "Equally important is implementing policies and monitoring mechanisms that help enforce these standards. Some countries are succeeding in this, and that gives proof that air pollution is a solvable problem."
While 37 out of 94 countries with standards aren't meeting them, more than half of all countries and territories have not set a standard at all. Together, 77 percent of countries and territories worldwide have either not met or do not have a national standard.
Of the countries with no standard, almost none (less than one percent) of the governments provide fully open pollution data and two-thirds don't have any government pollution monitoring. With little data, it is difficult to set pollution standards and enforce them.
To help confront this challenge, this year EPIC launched the EPIC Air Quality Fund to support local groups and organisations in installing monitors and providing open data to communities that could benefit the most.
"Highly polluted countries that have little or no air quality data often fall into a bad feedback cycle where having little data leads to little attention or policy investment in the issue which reinforces little demand for data," says Christa Hasenkopf, the director of the Clean Air Program at EPIC.
"Fortunately, there is a massive opportunity to stop this cycle with even a small amount of persistent, open air quality data. Such data has been shown to be essential for crafting and reinforcing national standards."
Global pollution declined in 2022 due almost entirely to a trend reversal in South Asia. While pollution had been on the rise for more than a decade, it declined by 18 percent in one year.
While it's difficult to know for sure the reasons for this decline, meteorological causes -- such as above normal rainfall -- likely played a strong role and only time will tell whether policy changes are having an impact.
Even with the decline, the region remains the most polluted in the world, accounting for 45 percent of total life years lost due to high pollution.
The average person living in these countries would gain 3.5 years onto their lives if pollution were permanently reduced to meet the WHO guideline.
Source:thedailystar.net
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https://www.thedailystar.net/environment/pollution/air-pollution/news/air-quality-dhaka-remains-moderate-3669046
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IEA’s spokesperson’s statement in response to UNAMA concerns over MPVC law
August 28, 2024
Following the approval and publication of the laws governing the Ministry of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in the official gazette by His Highness the Amir al-Mo’minin, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, certain parties, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), have expressed concerns that we believe to be unfounded. We wish to clarify that these laws, consisting of a preamble, four chapters, and 35 articles, are firmly rooted in Islamic teachings and have been meticulously derived from the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. Each law, article, and clause is based on established and authoritative sources, which have been clearly cited. For those who may not be familiar with Islamic Sharia law, particularly non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections, we urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance. We also encourage Muslims to familiarize themselves with these laws, which are a reflection of the provisions of Islamic Sharia. We advise them consult knowledgeable scholars to better understand these laws. For a Muslim to reject or criticize these laws is to demonstrate a lack of understanding of their religion, and such actions may even lead to the decline of their faith. As Afghanistan is an Islamic nation, Islamic laws are inherently applicable within its society. It is the responsibility of every Muslim and Islamic government to promote good and forbid evil, as prescribed by the Holy Qur’an. Consequently, the Ministry of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is tasked with the implementation of these Sharia laws in a manner that is just and appropriate. There is no need for concern regarding the enforcement of these Islamic laws. No rights will be violated, and no individual will be subjected to injustice. These laws will be applied universally and equitably across our society. Finally, we must stress that the concerns raised by various parties will not sway the Islamic Emirate from its commitment to upholding and enforcing Islamic Sharia law. The countless sacrifices made by our Mujahid nation and martyrs in the pursuit of this goal affirm our unwavering dedication to realizing the holy aspirations of our people.
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/ieas-spokespersons-statement-in-response-to-unama-concerns-over-mpvc-law/
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Any deal regarding Afghanistan assets unacceptable, ministry
August 28, 2024
KABUL: The Ministry of National Defense, in a statement, said Tuesday that any deal regarding the fate of Afghanistan-related aircraft and helicopters in Uzbekistan is unacceptable. The United States of America does not have the right to confiscate and gift the assets of Afghans, the statement said. According to the statement, Uzbekistan has been asked to refrain from any kind of transactions in this area and to make a wise decision in view of good neighborliness. This comes after Jonathan Henick, the American ambassador in Tashkent, stated that the planes sent from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan during the fall of the previous administration will be handed over to that country. The Kabul Times
Source:thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/any-deal-regarding-afghanistan-assets-unacceptable-ministry/
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Ministry of Industry and Commerce Launches Afghan Products Exhibition in Paktia
2024-08-28
PAKTIKA(BNA): The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has inaugurated an Afghan Products Exhibition in Paktia, which will run for three days at the University of Paktia.
According to the Ministry, the opening ceremony was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Deputy Governor, the Police Chief, heads of Economy, the Chamber of Industries and Mines, the Department of Vice and Virtue of Paktia, along with several dignitaries from the Islamic Emirate and the private sector.
During the event, MawlawiQabel Mohammad Abid, the head of the exhibition organization at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, emphasized the purpose of such exhibitions is to introduce domestic products to fellow citizens.
He highlighted that Afghan products have found their place in global markets and are now exported to major countries around the world.
Mawlawi Abid further urged traders and investors to invest within Afghanistan, encouraging them to contribute to the country’s economic growth by supporting local industries.
Source:bakhtarnews.af
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https://www.bakhtarnews.af/en/ministry-of-industry-and-commerce-launches-afghan-products-exhibition-in-paktia/
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Southeast Asia
Another suspect in machete attack, murder case remanded
BERNAMA
28-08- 2024
JASIN: The fifth suspect in an incident in which a 24-year-old man was slashed to death by a group of masked men armed with machetes in front of a barbershop in Taman Rim Baru on Sunday (Aug 25), was remanded for seven days, starting today, until Sept 3.
Magistrate MazanaSinin allowed the remand application on the 23-year-old male suspect who was arrested yesterday.
The media previously reported that a man died after being attacked by a group of masked men, armed with machetes, in Taman Rim Baru.
Jasin district police chief DSP Ahmad Jamil Radzi reportedly said that in the 8.39 pm incident on Sunday, the injured victim contacted his 22-year-old younger brother to take him to the Jasin Hospital Emergency Unit for treatment.
He was quoted as saying that the victim was pronounced dead at about 10.15 pm while receiving treatment at the hospital, while his younger brother was also chased by the men but managed to save himself.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Source:thesun.my
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https://thesun.my/local-news/another-suspect-in-machete-attack-murder-case-remanded-IL12919551
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National Professors Council president face criminal breach of trust charges, pleads not guilty
28 Aug 2024
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — The president of the National Professors Council (MPN) has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of criminal breach of trust involving RM271,000 of the council’s funds, while the CEO of a company connected to the MPN has also pleaded not guilty to charges of colluding with him.
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), MPN president RaduanChe Rose and MPN Global Reach SdnBhd CEO KefliMahpol each entered a not guilty plea after the charges were read to them separately before Sessions Court Judge Anita Harun.
Raduan, who also chairs the board of directors at UniversitiTeknologi Mara (UiTM), faces two charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) for allegedly transferring RM71,000 from MPN funds into Kefli's bank account. Additionally, as a director of MPN Global Reach, Raduan is accused of transferring RM200,000 in funds to Kefli's account using five cheques.
The funds were down payments for a programme that MPN Global Reach was organising in collaboration with UKMShape, an entity of UniversitiKebangsaan Malaysia.
Raduan was charged with committing the offences at the MPN office in Country Heights, Kajang, between March 14, 2023 and April 15 this year, FMT reported.
The charges were framed under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to 20 years in prison, whipping and a fine, upon conviction.
Kefli was slapped with seven charges of colluding with Raduan at the same time and place, under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read with Section 409. He also faces up to 20 years in prison, whipping and a fine, if convicted.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Law Chin How handled the prosecution, while Raduan and Kefli were represented by attorney Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz.
FMT said the judge set bail at RM40,000 for each charge in one surety for each accused and ordered both accused to report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office monthly. She also scheduled the next case mention for October 23.
Source:malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/28/national-professors-council-president-face-criminal-breach-of-trust-charges-pleadsnot-guilty/148473
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Africa
Inheritance: Islamic law governs estate of deceased Muslim with Christian Wife – Appeal Court
August 27, 2024
FanenIhyongo, Kano
The Court of Appeal in Kano has ruled that the daughter of the late Major Mohammed ArogunAdeniyi, Nike, and her Christian mother must share the deceased’s inheritance with the children of his other two widows, who are Muslims.
Nike reportedly received ₦23,588,000 in gratuity and other entitlements but has refused to share it with her agnate siblings, citing her mother’s civil marriage.
Justice Muhammed LawalShuaibu ruled that the estate of a Muslim who married a Christian under the Marriage Act is governed by Islamic Law.
The Court of Appeal, in Appeal No: CA/IL/SH/1/2022, has set aside the judgment of the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State sitting at Ilorin, in Appeal No: KWS/SCA/CV/AP/IL/14/2022, delivered on 3rd August 2022, wherein it set aside the earlier ruling of the Upper Area Court I, Ilorin.
Major Mohammed ArogunAdeniyi, a Muslim, died on October 18, 2020 at the Nigerian Army Barracks, Kainji, Niger State, and was buried according to Islamic rites.
While the deceased was married to Maimuna Mohammed and Inna Fatima Mohammed, the 1st and 2nd appellants respectively, the 2nd respondent, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed was married to the deceased under the Marriage Act.
Upon his demise, the Nigerian Army paid the 1st respondent, Nike Mohammed, the deceased’s first daughter and next of kin in the records of the Nigerian Army, a sum of ₦23,588,000 as the deceased’s emoluments, insurance, gratuity and other entitlements.
It was gathered that Nike, the next of kin of the late Major, was not willing to share the ₦23,588,000 gratuity and other entitlements of the deceased officer paid into her FCMB account, along with the properties of the deceased with the other entitled heirs.
Consequently, the appellants initiated an action at the trial of the Upper Area Court against her.
The mother, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed was later joined as a co-defendant in the suit at her instance.
Upon being joined in the proceedings as the 2nd defendant, Evangelist (Mrs.) Olabisi Mohammed challenged the jurisdiction of the Upper Area Court to determine the suit, contending that since the deceased had married her under the Marriage Act, his estate was inheritable only by her and the children she bore him, to the exclusion of the deceased’s aged parents and the appellants, under the Administration of Estates Law of Kwara State. In other words, the trial Upper Area Court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine the appellants’ case, and Islamic Law was not applicable to the estate.
In his ruling, the trial Upper Area Court judge dismissed the objection and assumed jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter under Islamic Law.
Aggrieved by the ruling of the Upper Area Court, Nike Mohammed and her mother appealed to the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State, Ilorin, which reversed and set aside the ruling of the trial Upper Area Court, contending that it is the Administration of Estates Law of Kwara State, and not Islamic Law, that applies to the estate of the late Major, a Muslim, merely because the said military personnel married a Christian under the Marriage Act.
Not satisfied with the said decision, the Appellants challenged the same before the Court of Appeal and the Court in its judgment considered a very pivotal question: what is the appropriate law to be applied in the distribution of the estate of a person who died as a Muslim who married a Christian under the Marriage Act?
Agreeing with the submissions of TajudeenOladoja, SAN, learned senior counsel to the appellants, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justices Muhammed LawalShuaibu, Abubakar M. lamido and Ahmed R. Mohammed set aside the judgment of the Sharia Court of Appeal of Kwara State, Ilorin, delivered on the 3rd day of August 2020 and restored the earlier decision of the trial Upper Area Court No. 1, Ilorin, assuming jurisdiction to distribute the estates of late Major Mohammed ArogunAdeniyi in accordance with Islamic Law.
The Court of Appeal held that the administration of the estate of a person who lived and died as a Muslim but married to a Christian under the Marriage Act is governed by Islamic Law.
Source:thenationonlineng.net
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https://thenationonlineng.net/inheritance-islamic-law-governs-estate-of-deceased-muslim-with-christian-wife-appeal-court/
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The Nigerian Army Will Not Allow Itself To Be Undemocratically Used – Lagbaja Sends Warning To Those Calling For Military Rule
27 August 2024
Justina Otio
He stated that they would not heed calls to overthrow democratically elected government.
Lagbaja argued that those calling for military takeover are youngsters who have never experienced military rule.
He stated this while speaking at the opening ceremony of the COAS Combined 2nd and 3rd Quarters Conference, in Uyo, AkwaIbom.
He stressed that the Nigerian Army was not ready to lose the “new prestige” it has painstakingly built in the past 25 years by allowing safe democratic rule.
According to him, “The Nigerian Army will not allow itself to be used to undemocratically sail some interests to power. As the Service that received the most image bashing as a fallout of previous military interventions in Nigeria,
“The Nigerian Army is not poised to losing the new prestige it has painstakingly built in the past 25 years,secure, and united.”
Lagbaja noted that the Nigerian Army and its sister services have continued to receive support from the government at both the national and sub-national levels as shown in the recent purchase of 2 BELL UH-1 Huey Helicopters equipped with advanced sensors and enablers to conduct a range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, logistics and medical evacuation, among other functions.
He added that welfare of widows and family members of fallen heroes remains on course.
On the fallout of the recent nationwide hunger protest, the Army Chief stated that the situation was an eye opener that as an Armed Force, they should not only focus on physical security and defense of the nation but that food and social security issues can snowball into physical security challenges.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/27/the-nigerian-army-will-not-allow-itself-to-be-undemocratically-used-lagbaja-sends-warning-to-those-calling-for-military-rule/
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U.S. Embassy In Nigeria Transitions To New Visa Services Provider
27 August 2024
IkennaNgere
The U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos have officially switched to a new provider for visa services.
Naija News reports that the transition was announced on the Embassy’s website.
For those who have non-immigrant visa interviews scheduled on or before August 16, 2024, no further action is required.
Individuals can continue to access their accounts at ustraveldocs.com to check appointment details and contact customer service as needed.
However, for interviews scheduled on or after August 26, 2024, applicants must use the newly launched visa services website, which is now live.
This new platform will also manage fee payments, appointment scheduling, and customer support.
The U.S. Embassy shared the update on their verified ‘X’ account @USinNigeria, stating: “Important Visa Services Update!
“We have moved to a new visa services provider! You can now schedule interview appointments on the new website.”
The official website, www.usvisaappt.com/ said: “This newly enhanced site is the official U.S. website where you can create your account, pay your visa application fee, and schedule your U.S. visa appointment online. Information services for U.S. visa applicants and American Citizens are also available now to support you.
“Need a quick response to a tricky question? Set up your account and try our online chat application! Please see the Contact Us page for operational hours and methods.
“The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs website and Consular Post are the official source of visa information and can be found here: https://ng.usembassy.gov/”
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/27/u-s-embassy-in-nigeria-transitions-to-new-visa-services-provider/
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Rivers State: Police Confirm Kidnapp Of IRS Boss, Fubara
27 August 2024
UdezeEkene
The Nigerian Police Force has confirmed the kidnap of the Director of the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue Service, AribibiaFubara, by gunmen.
The Rivers State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, made this known while speaking to newsmen on Monday.
Mrs. Iringe-Koko said the Commissioner of Police, CP TunjiDisu has ordered the tactical team to go after the kidnappers.
She assured that the police are working to ensure Fubara is rescued unhurt.
“Yes, the command is aware of the incident. The Commissioner of Police has ordered the deployment of all tactical units and alerted all area commanders to ensure he is rescued unhurt
“Also, the CP has given them an order to ensure the suspects are apprehended and make them face the law,” the Rivers State Police spokesperson said.
An eyewitness told African Independent Television (AIT) that Fubara was abducted by the gunmen who reportedly came through the Okirika Waterfront in a speedboat to the Marine Base axis of Port Harcourt, the state capital.
According to sources, the unknown gunmen who were about six in number, invaded the area and shot indiscriminately into the air.
They added that on arrival in the area, the hoodlums quickly identified their target, whisked him into their boat, and zoomed off.
Source:naijanews.com
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https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/27/rivers-state-police-confirm-kidnapp-of-irs-boss-fubara/
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Spain's PM seeks to stem surge in illegal migrants, visits West Africa
RédactionAfricanews
27 August 2024
Spain's prime minister announced a series of agreements with the West African nation of Mauritania on Tuesday to stem a surge in migrants making the dangerous Atlantic journey to the Canary Islands.
Speaking alongside Mauritania’s President Mohamed OuldGhazouani in the capital Nouakchott, Pedro Sánchez said Spain will expand its circular migration program to Mauritanians and renewed cooperation between the two nations' security forces to combat people smuggling and trafficking networks.
“Migration is not a problem,” Sánchez said, openly recognizing the need for migrant workers in Spain's aging society.
“It is a need that involves certain problems, and for this we must push formulas that allow us to manage the phenomenon of migration in a humane, safe and orderly way, to benefit our respective societies,” he added.
Sánchez is on a three-day tour of West Africa to reinforce bilateral relations with Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal, where the majority of migrant boats reaching the Canaries are being launched from.
The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located close to the African coast and used as a stepping stone for migrants and refugees trying to reach continental Europe, has seen more than 22,000 people disembark on its shores since January, according to Spain's Interior Ministry, more than double the number of irregular arrivals for the same period last year.
“Until not long ago Spain was also a country of migrants ... they aspired for better lives, much like those who take great risks and take on this dangerous adventure,” Sánchez said.
Among those making it to the Canaries are thousands of Malian refugees fleeing violence and instability in the Sahelian nation as well as youth from Senegal, Mauritania and other West Africa who are seeking better job opportunities abroad.
There are also increasingly more teenagers and children traveling alone to the Canary Islands, which has overwhelmed the local government responsible for their care.
Spanish authorities say they are bracing for even more arrivals this fall when sailing conditions in the deadly Atlantic Ocean between West Africa and the Spanish archipelago are more favorable.
It’s the second time that the Spanish leader has visited Mauritania this year.
In February, Sánchez traveled to the largely deserted and impoverished nation alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and announced 210 million euros (around $235 million) to help the country curb migration.
Seen as a beacon of stability in the volatile Sahel region, Mauritania hosts about 200,000 Malian refugees on its border.
Sánchez thanked his Mauritanian counterpart for his cooperation and announced a new high level meeting between Spain and the Islamic Republic in 2025.
In addition to the migration and security agreements, Spain launched on Tuesday a Spanish-Mauritania business council to boost investments and announced it would open a branch of the Cervantes Institute in the country to promote Spanish language and culture.
Source:africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/08/28/spains-pm-seeks-to-stem-surge-in-illegal-migrants-visits-west-africa/
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WHO Regional Committee for Africa meets as plan to tackle Mpox is unveiled
RédactionAfricanews
August 27, 2024
The 74th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa kicked off on Monday (Aug. 26) in Brazzaville, The Congo.
During 5 days, nearly 1,000 delegates including the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus as well as health ministers from 47 member-countries will meet.
Among the pressing issues is the global Mpox epidemics, WHO Regional Director for Africa confirmed.
"I think what people should take first of all is our great determination to do something about mpox, and to do something differently from what has happened in the past. So we are working very hard in the background with the member states, we have supported many of them to develop plans."
Discussions on health issues the continent grapples will focus on providing solutions.
Topics such as "Transformation for Results: Strengthening African Health Systems through WHO Reforms," "WHO Investment Cycle: Amplifying Africa's Voice," "Addressing the Public Health Emergency of Preventable Child Mortality in the WHO African Region" are high on the agenda of the session.
Africa's “expertise in handling epidemics”
Africa has recorded high mortality rates from diseases such as malaria, meningitis and cholera for decades.
The executive secretary of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance was confident:
"The African continent has been dealing with epidemics consistently for centuries, and over the years, we have developed increasing expertise in handling epidemics," Joy Phumaphi said.
"The fact that we have an mpox epidemic now should not cause people to panic, because it is in a continent that is used to dealing with this type of crisis."
The spread of a new and deadlier strain of the mpox virus in central and eastern African countries as well in high contamination in countries including the US forced the WHO to declare a global emergency.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the epicentre of the global crisis. Officials from the country attended the Brazzaville meeting.
"Our country has a huge experience in dealing with many epidemics situations, and this is one of them. I think participating in this meeting will help us to be sensitized and also to have the support of partners."
The WHO on Monday (Aug. 26) launched a global drive to tackle human-to-human transmission of mpox.
The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan will run from September to February 2025 and require 135 million dollars in funding.
At the opening meeting, some key decision makers from international health organizations promised to provide more funds to help end outbreaks like mpox in Africa.
Source:africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2024/08/27/who-regional-committee-for-africa-meets-as-plan-to-tackle-mpox-is-unveiled/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/vegetarian-meals-hindu-muslim-airlines/d/133066