No No, I’m Not A Citizen: Terror Fugitive Zakir Now In Malaysia Where He Cannot Be Extradited?

At Least 126 Daeshi Terrorists Killed In Mosul Operations

Amended Shariah Bill Not Applicable to Kelantan’s Hudud Enactment, PAS Says

We Won’t Let Palestine Inmates Be Preys of Israel: Islamic Jihad

 

India

India Sets Up Muslim Registry to Deport 20 Million Illegals

Special Trains between Vijayawada, Ahmedabad for Islamic Congregation

Muslims Hold Huge Rally in Nanded, Demand Quota

India sees General Qamar Javed Bajwa's Ahmadiyya link with 'Muhajir' Pervez in mind

Delhi: Dalit-Muslim Mahasangram Rally at Ramlila Maidan

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Arab World

At Least 126 Daeshi Terrorists Killed In Mosul Operations

Two Mass Graves of Iraq’s Yazidis Found near Mosul

Syria regime takes two more rebel districts in Aleppo

Egypt rejects reports on military presence in Syria

Domino of Militants' Collapse in Eastern Aleppo Continues: Bustan Al-Pasha Freed

Terrorists' Strategic Military Bastion Collapses in Eastern Aleppo

Terrorists' Offensive on Gov't Positions in Hama Repulsed by Syrian Army

Damascus: Army Starts Implementation of Peace Plan in Khan Al-Sheih

Report: Senior Russian Military Officers Meet Hezbollah Commanders in Aleppo

Terrorists' Religious Leader Begs Turkey to Continue Military Invasion in Syria

Turkish Army Deploys Anti-Aircraft 'Stinger' Missile System in Syria

More than 4,000 flee rebel-held east Aleppo

Kabul police raid shisha cafes in debauchery crackdown

Syrian information ministry denies Assad assassination bid

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Southeast Asia

Amended Shariah Bill Not Applicable to Kelantan’s Hudud Enactment, PAS Says

'Jihadpreneurs’ To Foil Growth of Radicalism in Indonesia

Philippines Military Pounds Positions of Daesh Affiliate Group in South

China asks Muslims to oppose religious extremism, reject foreign influence

Stay off Hadi’s Bill or Muslims may derail divorce law reforms, PAS warns non-Muslims

Two men charged with trying to join Islamic State in Syria

Jakim wants more preachers, religious teachers to master sign language

Jokowi supporters present evidence in lawmaker's incitement case

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Mideast

We Won’t Let Palestine Inmates Be Preys of Israel: Islamic Jihad

Nearly 100 Israeli Settlers Break Into Al-Aqsa Mosque

Abbas' Fatah in rare congress as succession talk builds

Israel kills four IS-linked gunmen after Golan attack

Iran may seek naval bases in Yemen or Syria

Israel to expand fleet of next-generation F-35 fighter jets

New US troops arrive in Yemen’s Aden: Footage

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Pakistan

‘Jamaat-e-Islami Pursuing Plan of Peaceful and Prosperous Pakistan’

Pakistan, Turkey Agree To Intensify Mutual Cooperation in Religious Affairs

Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf calls for Pakistan to sever trade ties with India

Five Muslims Sentenced to Death for Killing Christian Couple in Pakistan

New army chief brings no change in policy: Asif

Militants kidnap six Pakistanis working for Polish oil firm in Dera Ismail Khan

US, UK welcome top military appointments

Pakistan’s anti-terror role acknowledged

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South Asia

US Airstrike Kill 7 ISIS Militants in East of Afghanistan

Bangladeshi Hindus Seek Trump's Intervention to Save Non-Muslims

Mother Teresa prize goes to Bangladeshi Muslim hero

6 militants arrested after infiltrating among Afghan forces in Kandahar

2 ISIS suicide bombers arrested in Kabul city

Afghan and Turkmen presidents formally inaugurate Asian International Railway

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Africa

Mass Wedding Holds in Abuja Suburb Attacked Twice By Boko Haram

8 killed as car bomb hits Mogadishu market

Libya rejects OPEC production cuts

UN: 4mn children orphaned due to violence in Congo

6 soldiers injured as Boko Haram ambush local government officials

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North America

US Mosques Receive Letters Threatening Muslims

Will sue Trump if create a Muslim registry: NYC Mayor

Hamilton Muslim group donates gift of life at blood clinic

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Europe

Swiss Probe Top Muslim Leader over Propaganda

Morocco’s Religious Diplomacy in Africa: Well-Timed Royal Initiative

Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/no-no,-i’m-not-a-citizen--terror-fugitive-zakir-now-in-malaysia-where-he-cannot-be-extradited?/d/109216

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No No, I’m Not A Citizen: Terror Fugitive Zakir Now In Malaysia Where He Cannot Be Extradited?

November 28, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 ? On-the-run televangelist Dr Zakir Naik has laughed off claim he was awarded Malaysian citizenship by the Indian media yesterday.

According to Islamic preacher, whose current whereabouts is unknown following an investigation by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) back home, the claim was just another rumour.

“Not true at all,” Dr Zakir said through his spokesman, Arif Malik, to Indian news portal Janta Ka Reporter, when asked about his Malaysian citizenship.

“Till a few months ago, the Indian media had been saying I was banned in Malaysia, and now they’re saying I’ve got Malaysian citizenship. That’s ridiculous. And there’s no truth in the Malaysian citizenship rumour.”

Indian news outfit Hindustan Times cited unnamed representatives of Dr Zakir as saying that the Mumbai-based televangelist’s so-called Malaysian citizenship had come as a “package” together with his “Tokoh Maal Hijrah” award that he received from Malaysia in 2013.

The publication also claimed that Dr Zakir now holds dual Indian-Malaysian citizenship although Malaysia does not allow such a thing.

Hindustan Times said the fact that Dr Zakir is purportedly a Malaysian citizen on Malaysian soil would complicate investigations, as Malaysia has not allowed any extradition to India despite signing a treaty in 2010.

The Muslim preacher is believed to be currently in Malaysia.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed dismissed the report last night, saying Malaysia does not automatically confer citizenship on anybody, unless said person is born in the country to Malaysian parents.

Earlier this month, Times of India reported that the Indian government had imposed a five-year ban on Dr Zakir’s NGO, the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

The daily reported that India’s NIA is mulling terror charges against Dr Zakir, reportedly based on testimonies of about 50 terror suspects and convicts recorded from various jails, with those caught citing him as their motivation and source of inspiration.

In April this year, the state of Terengganu offered Dr Zakir three islands for the preacher to open a branch for IRF, in addition to a religious school.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/zakir-naik-laughs-off-malaysian-citizenship-rumour

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At least 126 Daeshi terrorists killed in Mosul operations

Nov 27, 2016

A total of 126 Daesh terrorists have been killed during operations by the Iraqi army, anti-terrorism forces, and police aimed at liberating the city of Mosul.

According to a commander of the anti-terrorism forces, Abdel Wahab al-Saedi, 40 of the terrorists were killed as they were trying to block the advancement of Iraqi forces in the city’s eastern regions on Wednesday.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry also announced that 54 Takfiris were killed during government airstrikes in the city’s southern neighborhoods. It noted that several terrorist vehicles were destroyed in the attacks.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi military intelligence announced that at least 32 militants were killed during airstrikes which targeted terrorist positions located to the west of the city.

Iraqi army soldiers, backed by pro-government fighters from Popular Mobilization Units and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, launched an operation on October 17 to retake Mosul from the Daesh terrorists.

Members of Iraqi army gesture and chant slogans during an operation against Daesh militants southeast of Mosul, Iraq November 26, 2016. 

Mosul fell to Daesh two years ago, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in northern and western Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, will be fully recaptured by year-end. 

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/27/495456/iraq-mosul-daesh-operations-killed

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Amended Shariah Bill not applicable to Kelantan’s hudud enactment, PAS says

BY MELATI A. JALIL

November 28, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — A new Bill to upgrade Shariah courts by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will not be used with Kelantan’s so-called hudud enactment passed last year, secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said today.

Takiyuddin said even if the private member's Bill by Hadi is passed in the Parliament, it is up to each state if they wish to adopt the federal law in their Shariah enactments.

“It is not automatically applicable to states. The state law that will be in accordance with Act 355 is the 1985 Syariah Criminal Code. The one that will be used is 1985 enactment.

“Not the Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment 1993, which was said as Hudud,” he told reporters at a press conference at the party's headquarters.

The Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 that Hadi aims to amend is also known as Act 355.

Kelantan currently enforces the Syariah Criminal Code 1985, while the 1993 enactment that specifies severe punishments for hudud crimes specified in Quran.

Takiyuddin’s remark came even after a PAS MP said yesterday that Hadi’s amended Bill would allow the implementation of “real” punishments for three out of the six Shariah offences covered by hudud.

According to Datuk Dr Khairuddin Aman Razali, the three offences — “zina” (illicit sex) for unmarried Muslims, “qazaf” (false accusation of zina), and consumption of alcohol — are already governed by Shariah criminal offences enactment in all states.

The Kelantan state legislative assembly passed in March 2015 amendments to the Syariah Criminal Code (II) Enactment, which was first introduced in the state in 1993, to pave way for the implementation of hudud.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang read Thursday his motion for the amended version of his private member’s Bill to amend Act 355 in a bid to expand the punitive powers of the Shariah courts, but he deferred it to the next time Parliament convenes in 2017.

The amended version of Hadi’s Bill seeks to increase the Shariah punishment ceiling to 30 years’ prison, a RM100,000 fine and 100 lashes of the cane.

Shariah courts are currently only allowed to mete out a three-year jail sentence, a RM5,000 fine and six strokes of the cane.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/amended-shariah-bill-not-applicable-to-kelantans-hudud-enactment-pas-says

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We Won’t Let Palestine Inmates Be Preys of Israel: Islamic Jihad

Nov 28, 2016

Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Islamic Jihad has warned Israel that it will not remain indifferent to the mistreatment and abuse of the Palestinians languishing in the regime’s prisons.

On Sunday, the movement organized a sit-in at the Erez border crossing in the north of the enclave in protest at what it denounced as the regime’s unjust imprisonment of Palestinians and its prolongation of their detention periods under unwarrantable pretexts, Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported.

Addressing the event, resistance leader Daoud Shihab warned Israel against “manipulating Palestinian prisoners’ lives” and cautioned the regime’s courts against issuing rulings, which could result in their deaths.

“The Erez checkpoint is the closest point separating us from our occupied lands, and we will not leave our prisoners to be preys of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and Israeli court practices which kill and execute them,” he asserted.

He also lashed out Israel’s policy of administrative detention, under which Tel Aviv has been detaining “suspects” without charge or trial and based on evidence, which it claims it can withhold for “security” concerns. Detention, in line with the controversial method, is also indefinitely renewable.

Shihab said the method seeks “to break down the Palestinian people’s determination, but that Palestinians would not be broken nor defeated,” Ma’an wrote.

The sit-in protest was held amid reports that two hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners, who have been refusing food for over 60 days, are now in a dire condition.

Tel Aviv is reported to be holding some 7,000 Palestinians in its prisons across the occupied territories.

Some 720 of the inmates are being held in administrative detention. Scores have also launched hunger strikes in the past year amid threats by prison authorities to feed them forcibly.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/28/495488/Gaza-Islamic-Jihad-Israel

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India

 

India Sets Up Muslim Registry to Deport 20 Million Illegals

11/27/2016

SAAGAR ENJETI

Indian officials are registering all illegal Muslim Bangladeshi residents in the state of Assam in an apparent bid to reduce the Muslim population.

“The Hindu rate of population growth is declining. But the Muslim rate is rising. Most of the Muslims here are from Bangladesh. If this continues, the Assamese Hindus will become a minority soon — we will lose our language, our culture, our identity,” Assam’s finance minister told The Washington Post.

Assam shares a long border with Bangladesh, with much of it consisting of wetlands easily crossed by boat. The majority of the Indian army and its border force are positioned hundreds of miles away on the Pakistani border, particularly clustered over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

The registration and deportation effort is known as “detect-delete-deport.” Indian officials are now concerned that Bangladeshi Islamic terrorist organizations, like the Islamic State, can infiltrate India by posing as illegal immigrants. Officials say detecting illegal immigrants from Bangladesh will be exceedingly difficult, as some have false identity papers and have even voted. “As soon as they arrive, their priority is to enter their names into the voter list somehow. They forge all kinds of documents and pay bribes for this,” an Indian judicial official confirmed.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/27/india-sets-up-muslim-registry-to-deport-20-million-illegals/

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Special trains between Vijayawada, Ahmedabad for Islamic congregation

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

The South Central Railway (SCR) will run four special trains between Vijayawada and Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and Ahmedabad as per the following schedule to clear the extra rush of passengers participating in the Muslim congregation, Ijtema, at Ahmedabad.

No. 07139 Vijayawada-Ahmedabad special train will leave Vijayawada at 00.55 a.m. on December 1 and reach Ahmedabad at 9.20 a.m. the next day. In the return direction, No. 07140 Ahmedabad-Vijayawada special train will leave Ahmedabad at 11.25 p.m. on December 4 and reach Vijayawada at 4 a.m. on December 6.

These special trains will stop at Madhira, Khammam, Mahabubabad, Warangal, Kazipet, Jammikunta, Ramagundam, Bellampalli, Sirpurkaghaznagar, Balharshah, Wardha, Badhinera, Akola, Bhushaval, Jalgaon, Amalner, Nandurbar, Surat, Bhanuch, Vadodara, Anand and Nadiad stations in both directions.

The above two trains will be clubbed at Kazipet and run as one train up to Ahmedabad. While returning too, they will run as one train up to Kazipet and thereafter get separated and head for the two destinations – Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

Full report at:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/Special-trains-between-Vijayawada-Ahmedabad-for-Islamic-congregation/article16712051.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication

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Muslims hold huge rally in Nanded, demand quota

Nov 28, 2016

AURANGABAD: Close on the heels of peace rallies organised by the Maratha and dalit communities across the state, an umbrella organization of various political parties and social and religious organizations of Muslims on Sunday conducted a peace rally in Nanded to press their long-pending demand for reservation for Muslims.

The rally was organised under the banner of Muslim Aarakshan Sangharsh Kruti Samiti, and the organisers claimed that more than 5.5 lakh people, including a large number of women, youth and senior citizens, participated in the event. Representatives of the Marathas and dalits also took part in the first of its kind rally held in Nanded city.

The peace rally that began around 11.30am from New Mondha passed through ITI chowk, Shivaji Nagar flyover, Kalamandir, Vazirabad chowk and culminated at Shivji Putla about 3.30pm. The rally took four hours to cover the distance of 4km . Later, the representatives handed over a memorandum to Nanded district collector Suresh Kakani.

The rally was organized in a disciplined manner and the participants did not raise any slogan and no community flag was used by the organizers. Only one national flag mounted on an open jeep was leading the rally.

The organisers claimed that it was the first time in Maharashtra that a large number of women participated in a rally. Religious scholars, lawyers, teachers, students, healthcare professionals, businessmen and engineers were at the forehead of the rally.

The main demand of the agitators was 10% reservation for Muslims. The other demands were, protect the Muslim Personal Law, stop attacks on Muslims and dalits in the name of 'gauraksha', not target innocent Muslim in the name of terror, award death sentence to culprits of rape and murder cases, implement Swaminathan Aayog and provide reservation to the Maratha community without disturbing the quota of OBCs.

Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Muslims-hold-huge-rally-in-Nanded-demand-quota/articleshow/55653887.cms

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India sees General Qamar Javed Bajwa's Ahmadiyya link with 'Muhajir' Pervez in mind

Nov 28, 2016

NEW DELHI: The Indian establishment is in a 'wait and watch' mode over the new Pakistani Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa+ . The government advisors maintain too much cannot be read into his repeated tenures in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the officer is expected to continue the policies of his predecessors. The low-key General was previously in charge of training and evaluation of the Pakistani Army.

While the officer is considered to be a thorough professional, the vicious attacks on General Bajwa by hardliners in Pakistan — who accuse his relatives of being from the Ahmadiyya community that they despise as heretics — are being watched closely by observers in New Delhi.

The caution comes from the background of similar attacks on General Pervez Musharraf who as Army Chief perpetuated the last major conflict with India, the Kargil war of 1999. While Musharraf had no Ahmadiyya connection, he was a muhajir (a person who moved to Pakistan after the division of India) and his Kargil misadventure has been read by some as an attempt to shrug off the label and prove his 'nationalism'.

While there is no reference in his public profile on where he was posted during the Kargil war, Gen Bajwa has been described as an experienced PoK hand, having commanded the Pakistani X Corps in 2014-15, when a fresh round of hostilities started on the Line of Control. "Just because he is well versed with J&K, we cannot assume that things will go worse or get better. The reading is that he will pursue the same policies. As an Army chief, he cannot be very different," a senior government advisor told ET.

Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-sees-General-Qamar-Javed-Bajwas-Ahmadiyya-link-with-Muhajir-Pervez-in-mind/articleshow/55658460.cms

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Delhi: Dalit-Muslim Mahasangram Rally at Ramlila Maidan

November 28, 2016

Jamiat-ulama-e-Hind on Sunday organised a Dalit-Muslim Mahasangram Rally at the Ramlila Maidan.

Attended by Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis, the rally demanded budgetary allocation for Dalits, Adivasis and minorities in proportion to their population, representation of all three in constitutional and public institutions, end of caste-based discrimination and speedy unbiased justice to victims of caste and communal violence.

Full report at:http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-dalit-muslim-mahasangram-rally-at-ramlila-maidan-4398847/

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Arab World

 

Two mass graves of Iraq’s Yazidis found near Mosul

November 28, 2016

ERBIL - Two mass graves of at least 18 members of Iraq’s Yazidi minority, thousands of whom have been killed and kidnapped by Islamic State, have been discovered as security forces fight to dislodge the militants from Mosul, a local official said. Kurdish peshmerga forces found the grave near the Shababit junction in northwestern Iraq while scouting the area. It contained bones and identity cards that appeared to have been covered over with sandy earth by a bulldozer. Islamic State systematically killed, captured and enslaved thousands of Yazidis in the summer of 2014 as they overran the Sinjar area, where many of them lived. United Nations investigators have said that constitutes genocide. The mayor of Sinjar, Mahma Xelil, said the latest discovery brought the number of Yazidi mass graves found so far to 29, estimating the total would rise to more than 40 as the militants are driven back further. Numbering about 400,000 people, Yazidis are a religious sect whose beliefs combine elements of several ancient Middle Eastern religions.

The Office of Kidnapped Affairs in Duhok, a department backed by the Kurdistan regional government, says about 3,500 Yazidis are believed to still live in areas controlled by Islamic State, many of them women and children. Last Wednesday, 18 escaped from the town of Tal Afar in northern Iraq as Shi’ite paramilitaries cut it off from the south and west.

http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Nov-2016/two-mass-graves-of-iraq-s-yazidis-found-near-mosul

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Syria regime takes two more rebel districts in Aleppo

27 November 2016

Syria regime forces on Sunday seized two new rebel-held districts in Aleppo a day after they retook the largest opposition-controlled neighborhood in the second city, a monitor said.

“The army and its allies retook control of Jabal Badro and Baadeen”, both adjacent to Masaken Hanano which was retaken on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In less than 24 hours, the regime has seized three districts from the rebels just 13 days into an assault to retake the entire northern city.

East Aleppo has been under rebel control since 2012.

Full report at:https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/27/Syria-regime-takes-two-Aleppo-rebel-districts.html

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Egypt rejects reports on military presence in Syria

Nov 27, 2016

Egypt has denied Arab media reports claiming that Cairo has military presence in Syria.

"These claims only exist in the imagination of those who promote them," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday.

On November 24, Lebanese As-Safir newspaper quoted "well-informed Arab sources" as saying that Egypt had dispatched pilots to an airbase in Syria's western city of Hama on November 12, adding that the contingent was joined by four senior Egyptian military figures upon arrival.

The paper added that two Egyptian major generals had also been operating at the Armed Forces Staff Headquarters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, since last month. They have been touring frontlines, including the so-called southern front in the city of Quneitra, the report said.

The daily also quoted one source "close to the Syria file" as saying that a large deployment of Egyptian troops will arrive in Syria in late January 2017 to take part in military operations "not limited to air support at Hama airbase."

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi recently expressed support for the Syrian military, saying it was capable of restoring stability to Syria.

Sisi's remarks reportedly irked Saudi Arabia and some Persian Gulf Arab monarchies that back Takfiri terrorist groups, including Daesh, which are operating to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Full report at:http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/27/495448/Egypt-military-presence-in-Syria

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Domino of Militants' Collapse in Eastern Aleppo Continues: Bustan Al-Pasha Freed

Nov 27, 2016

The Syrian army and Hezbollah forces, who captured Hanano quarter on Saturday and Jabal Badrou, al-Ard al-Hamra, al-Saroukh districts on Sunday, continued their military operations and managed to push back a large number of terrorists from more vital bastions in the Eastern parts of the city.

According to some Arab media outlets, militants of Fateh Halab (Aleppo Conqueror) factions have abandoned Bustan Al-Pasha as well as Haydariyah and Baeedin districts after huge defeats of their comrades on Sunday.

Moreover, army and popular forces recaptured Jandoul FACTORIES, Ayn Al-Tal district and large parts of the Hallak Fuqani and Hallak Tahtani districts amid reports of the militants' mass retreat from the Northern section of Eastern Aleppo.

The army soldiers freed the district of Jabal Badrou and al-Ard al-Hamra after hours of non-stop battle with the terrorists on Sunday. Then, they continued their advances in the Eastern part of Aleppo and managed to seize back one of the most IMPORTANT strongholds of the terrorists in the area; Al-Saroukh district.

The recapturing of al-Sakhour region divided the areas under the terrorists' control into the two Northern and Southern regions, leaving the Jeish al-Fatah militants disconnected from North to South.

Meanwhile, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that Army units secured departure route for 1500 people from the Eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.

The Russian Defense Ministry's Peace Cooperation Center in Syria said Sunday that infighting between terrorist groups in Aleppo has intensified as militants are trying to prevent other comrades from leaving the Syrian city

Clashes between militant groups have intensified because some militants, who are controlling Eastern Aleppo, wanted to leave the city but were encountered by the most hardline groups," the center's statement said.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001554

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Terrorists' Strategic Military Bastion Collapses in Eastern Aleppo

Nov 27, 2016

The army units and their allies beat back terrorists from al-Sakhour region and started purging the region of terrorists just one day after capturing Hanano Housing Project and the district of Jabal (mount) Badrou earlier on Sunday.

The seizure of al-Sakhour region divided the areas under the terrorists' control into the two Northern and Southern regions, leaving the Jeish al-Fatah militants disconnected from North to South.

The Syrian army and allied forces started a new phase of their military operations in areas North of the Eastern districts of Aleppo city on Sunday.

The Syrian army started fresh military operations in Baeedin district just to the North of the Eastern districts in a bid to increase pressure on the terrorist groups already besieged by the government troops in those areas.

In the early hours of the military operations, Iraqi popular forces managed to take control of nearly 40 residential complexes from the terrorist groups.

Syrian Army troops and popular forces inflicted major casualties on Jeish al-Fatah in the Eastern battlefields of Aleppo city on Sunday, capturing two more districts

Syrian government forces, who captured Hanano quarter on Saturday, freed the district of Jabal Badrou and al-Ard al-Hamra after hours of non-stop battle with the terrorists

Meanwhile, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that Army units secured departure route for 1500 people from the Eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001413

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Terrorists' Offensive on Gov't Positions in Hama Repulsed by Syrian Army

Nov 27, 2016

Hundreds of terrorists, equipped with heavy military hardware, stormed the army's defense lines in the Western side of al-Salamiyah, but their offensive was fended off by the army soldiers who had the militants' movements under constant watch.

In the meantime, some units of the army had set up several ambush attacks on the militants in al-Satahi'yat region and preempted them.

Tens of militants were killed or wounded in the failed attack, but there is no accurate report on their number.

The terrorist groups, who have carried out different offensives Southern Hama and Northern Homs, have thus far been unsuccessful in weakening security of al-Salamiyah region.

Al-Salamiyah is of paramount IMPORTANCE due to its proximity to the main path used by the terrorists to transfer fighters and equipment from Central Syrian to the Northern parts of the country.         

In relevant developments in the province on Friday, the army troops inflicted major casualties on the terrorists and drove them out of a village and its surrounding hills that they lost to the militants a couple of days ago.

The army soldiers stormed terrorists' defense lines in the town of Ma'an and managed to recapture the small village of Zarat al-Aliyeh and its nearby hilltop after fierce battle with Jeish al-Izzah.

Over 20 militants were killed and a number of armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft machine-guns were destroyed in the army attack.

Also, the army repulsed two attacks launched by the terrorist groups against their positions in Northern Hama and could advance in new areas in a counterattack.

As Syrian army units continue their massive operations in the Northern parts of Hama, terrorists conducted a heavy attack on their positions in Ma'an and Souran but the Syrian soldiers could ward off the attacks and inflict heavy damage and casualties on the militants.

After repelling the terrorists' attacks in the Northern parts of Souran town, the Syrian army launched a counterattack and targeted their positions and supply routes with artillery and missile fire, and advanced in new districts of al-Basatin region in the Western parts of Ma'an town.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001351

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Damascus: Army Starts Implementation of Peace Plan in Khan Al-Sheih

Nov 27, 2016

The source said that the first paragraph of the plan includes the terrorists' surrender of heavy, smi-heavy and light weapons to the army and the start of their relocation to Idlib on Monday.

According to the source, the Syrian army has agreed to grant amnesty to those militants who want to remain in the region but those who want to leave Khan al-Sheih should surrender all their weapons, equipment, ammunition, maps of their tunnels and planted mines to the army first.

Meantime, local sources reported that a number of buses have been sent to the nearby areas of Khan al-Sheih.

The Syrian Army's devastating attacks and advances in Western Ghouta forced the terrorist groups in Khan al-Sheih region to ask the government forces for a revival of the negotiations after they pushed the last round of peace talks into failure.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001240

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Report: Senior Russian Military Officers Meet Hezbollah Commanders in Aleppo

Nov 27, 2016

A report by the Arabic-language al-Hadath news website said Hezbollah commanders were invited to a first time bilateral meeting with senior Russian army generals because of their outstanding role in defeating the terrorist groups' 'Great Epic Operation' in the Western districts of Aleppo to break the siege of the Eastern parts of the city.

According to the report, presence of Hezbollah forces was IMPORTANT to Russia since they greatly helped repel the first and second waves of the terrorists' attacks and conduct counterattacks which led to the immediate collapse of Jeish al-Fatah defense lines, capture of a number of regions and tightening of siege on the militants in a number of districts.

According to al-Hadath, while Kremlin had stopped its airstrikes in Aleppo, a meeting was held between Hezbollah field commanders and senior Russian officers in Aleppo as their first direct and official meeting.

The website said the two sides had earlier had contacts only through their representatives in the Baghdad intelligence sharing center or through the Syria operations room and any exchange of intelligence on the battlefield was made only through Syrian army coordinators.

Media reports claimed mid-November that the (Lebanese) Hezbollah resistance movement sent more troops to Syria to take part in the fight against the terrorists in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001215

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Terrorists' Religious Leader Begs Turkey to Continue Military Invasion in Syria

Nov 27, 2016

The Saudi Mufti (religious leader) called on the Turkish air-defense units, deployed at Turkey's border with Syria, to target the Syrian fighter jets.

Al-Muhaysini acknowledged the militant groups' defeats in both phases of their Great Epic Operation in Aleppo, and demanded the Turkish army to change military equation against the Syrian army in the Northern part of the war-hit country by intensifying military interference in the country.

He further lashed out at Arab armies that are spending their funds on holding military drills and festivals and urged them to instead spend their money to back militant groups in Syria and removal of Syrian government forces' siege on the militant-held districts in Aleppo city.

Al-Muhaysini said that 3,500 militants are now in Aleppo and urged the youth to take up arms and join them instead of escaping the city.

He went on to say that if the militant groups do not unite they will be forced to withdraw from the entire Levant.

Al-Watan said in a report that al-Muhaysini's demands prove that every thing has ended for the militant groups in the Eastern districts of Aleppo and the Saudi Mofti and other terrorists face no fate but death to surrender.

Some representatives from the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey along with their counterparts from Jeish al-Fatah held a meeting in Turkey earlier this week, the information center of E'elam al-Harbi quoted a source at the Joint Operation Room of Syrian Army and Popular Forces as saying.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907001024

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Turkish Army Deploys Anti-Aircraft 'Stinger' Missile System in Syria

Nov 27, 2016

Ahmad al-Khatib, a journalist with close links to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) terrorist group, disclosed on his twitter page that Turkey is equipping its affiliated forces stationed near the strategic city of al-Bab with Stinger missile system.

The Turkish media had also reported on Saturday that a number of trucks carrying air defense systems were moving from Oguzeli region in Gaziantep towards the Syrian borders.

Tensions between Damascus and Ankara have gone so high that Syrian sources report army's preemptive strike in the Northern parts of Syria to block the Turkish army's attempts to establish a buffer zone in the region.

After liberation of 25 farms and villages from the terrorists' control in Aleppo, the Syrian army forces continued to advance in the region to surround the strategic city of al-Bab from its Southern and Western sides.

The ISIL stronghold city of Al-Bab Northeast of Aleppo is on the verge of a major war among the Syrian army, the Kurds and the Turkey-backed forces that are part of Turkey's Euphrates Shield Operation.

Reports said if the Euphrates Shield Operation forces reach the gates of al-Bab city, the ISIL terrorists will withdraw without any resistance which will pave the ground for the Turkey-backed groups. The ISIL has adopted the same strategy in a number of villages and towns in the Northern parts of Aleppo.

Meantime, possibility is high for direct clashes between the Syrian and Turkish armies as the Turkey-sponsored forces that are backed up by the Tukish army tanks stress that they are resolved to take al-Bab.

Saturday reports said that the Syrian army had inched closer to one of the most IMPORTANT strongholds of the ISIL in the Arab country, and were only three kilometers away from the Northern Syrian city of al-Bab in Aleppo province, while the Ankara-backed militants are also racing towards the city.

According to the Al-Mayadeen TV channel, the army troops managed to dislodge ISIL terrorists from six settlements near al-Bab, and are approaching the ISIL's stronghold city.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) supported by the Turkish Air Force and armored vehicles has also launched an offensive to push terrorists out of the vital Bastion of ISIL as capturing the city is of strategic importance to Ankara in order to prevent the Kurds' reunification.

Military sources had disclosed in mid September that a large number of Syrian soldiers are deployed at Kuweires airbase to start military operations against the terrorists in al-Bab.

"Hundreds of Syrian soldiers are now in Kuweires airbase 40 kilometers to the east of Aleppo city to start al-Bab military operations against the ISIL terrorist group," the Arabic-language media quoted an unnamed military source as saying.

Also, another source said in mid November that the Syrian army has sent around 1,000 reinforcement troops to the Eastern countryside of Aleppo to start the operation that aims to create a safe zone in areas in the vicinity of Kuweires airbase, including al-Bab, adding that the Syrian government troops' military operation in al-Bab region is also meant to block further advances of the Turkey-backed terrorists in al-Bab region.

After recapturing Manbij from ISIL by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), al-Bab and Deir Hafer have turned into the largest bases of ISIL in Aleppo province.

Full report at:http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950907000955

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More than 4,000 flee rebel-held east Aleppo

Nov 27, 2016

BEIRUT: More than 4,000 civilians have fled eastern Aleppo in the past 24 hours as regime forces advance against rebel-held districts of Syria's second city, a monitor said on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that nearly 1,700 civilians had fled to government-held parts of western Aleppo and another 2,500 to the Kurdish-controlled northern district of Sheikh Maksoud.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria for its information, said earlier more than 500 civilians had fled east Aleppo towards government-held areas of the divided battleground city.

Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/More-than-4000-flee-rebel-held-east-Aleppo/articleshow/55653872.cms

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Kabul police raid shisha cafes in debauchery crackdown

November 28, 2016

KABUL - Afghan police and health officials raided cafes and restaurants in Kabul on Sunday, confiscating shisha water pipes and paraphernalia in a campaign to halt “debauchery and vulgarity”. Critics say the campaign will only distract police from the Afghan capital’s deteriorating security situation, while doing little to change the pervasive smoking culture in the long-term. Shisha cafes, where customers inhale fruit-flavoured tobacco using pipes that draw the smoke through water, are popular public gathering spots for Afghan men. The Afghan authorities, however, say the cafes can be breeding grounds for petty criminals. Led by the health ministry, authorities plan to go through each Kabul neighbourhood this week to enforce, for the first time, a two-year-old law banning indoor smoking in restaurants. “We have to have control over shisha cafes, which promote debauchery and vulgarity in society,” Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters outside one of the many restaurants raided by police.

“This is a religious and Islamic society and our young generation should not waste their energy in a wrong way,” he added while standing near two pick-up trucks full of confiscated shisha pipes.

Full report at:http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Nov-2016/kabul-police-raid-shisha-cafes-in-debauchery-crackdown

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Syrian information ministry denies Assad assassination bid

28 November 2016

The Syrian information ministry said the news piece that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was subjected to an assassination attempt is completely false and was published after its website was hacked.

The ministry made this announcement via its Facebook page few hours after a news piece on its official website claimed that Assad was poisoned and was suffering from a severe health problem.

The website has since then stopped providing any of its services to readers.

The news piece detailed how Assad was poisoned and how he suffered from a dangerous contagious disease, adding that a group of doctors was treating him.

Full report at:https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/28/Turkey-detains-wanted-Kurdish-female-militant-at-Istanbul-airport.html

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Southeast Asia

 

'Jihadpreneurs’ to foil growth of radicalism in Indonesia

November 28, 2016

With over 2,800 Islamic boarding schools, known locally as pesantren, spread across the country, the “jihadpreneur” program is seen as a way to bring economic prosperity and divert students away from radicalism.

DRESSEDin a simple green batik shirt, M. Zakki talked proudly about his pesantren, Mukmin Mandiri, which is located in Sidoarjo, East Java, and its curriculum that helps his students gain agribusiness skills, specifically in the coffee industry.

“Nowadays you have to understand both religion and entrepreneurship. Now is the time to nurture that [understanding] in pesantren and eventually we will be able to produce ‘jihadpreneurs’,” he said on Friday after meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the Merdeka Palace.

Zakki was one among dozens of people involved in small and medium enterprises (SME) invited by Jokowi to discuss the ups and downs of SMEs during uncertain economic times.

“Jihadpreneurs won’t be associated with [violence] because they are people who are productive and have economic value,” he said.

The program impressed Jokowi so much that he ordered the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry to introduce similar programs at other pesantren. It has come at the right time, with the country facing rising radicalism that threatens peace and stability.

A recent study conducted by the Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership (ACDP) — a European Union-funded organization — found that numerous values related to peace, tolerance and democracy could be found in Islam’s holy scriptures, but teachers of Islamic studies lacked the ability to convey these principles to their students.

The study also says that radical teachings can enter high schools through student participation in radical mass organizations in the community or through the extracurricular programs in Islamic education that are usually controlled by radicals.

Noor Huda Ismail, terrorism expert and founder of the International Institute of Peace Building, said radicalism flourished among tight-knit communities and small social circles, such as low-income people.

Around 80 percent of all Indonesian terrorists became involved because of their social networks, he said.

“However, in business you cannot choose your customers, you have to be more open,” he said, adding that the jihadpreneur program would be a positive move to thwart radicalism as it provided students with opportunities to develop themselves.

To become a student or santri at Mukim Mandiri, an applicant must undergo a Quran reading test and an entrepreneurship interview. If they qualify, they will study a curriculum that consists of 25 percent entrepreneurship theory and 75 percent practical studies.

Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Anak Agung Gede Ngurah Puspayoga said he would visit Mukmin Mandiri next month to run a pesantren entrepreneurship program there, before embarking on a jihadpreneur mission to other schools.

Zakki is not alone in his efforts to make young santri more business-minded. Since 2012, the Indonesian Santri Entrepreneurs Association (HIPSI) has created workshops and training programs at pesantren in 15 provinces across the country in hopes that one million santri entrepreneurs would be produced by 2022.

HIPSI chairman M. Ghozali said the association — which was established by Indonesia’s largest Muslim association Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) — focused on providing training in several domains, namely agribusiness, maritime, culinary, information technology and creative industries.

Providing entrepreneurship training to students is deemed IMPORTANTbecause many schools do not provide official graduate certificates, making finding a job difficult. Graduates also often find themselves jobless because they lack the skills needed to maintain a job.

“We want to increase the number of Muslim entrepreneurs in Indonesia. There’s not enough of them,” Ghozali told The Jakarta Post. HIPSI currently has 7,000 members with approximately 1,500 active members.

Samuel Asset Management economist Lana Soelistianingsih lauded the jihadpreneur program, saying it would lead to the creation of more jobs, which would “definitely help our economic growth because people can learn to work for themselves”.

She also urged the government to integrate pesantren-rooted SMEs to larger existing industries to nurture business talent.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/28/jihadpreneurs-to-foil-growth-of-radicalism-in-indonesia.html

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Philippines military pounds positions of Daesh affiliate group in south

Nov 27, 2016

The military in the Philippines has shelled the positions of a terrorist group affiliated to Daesh in the south of the country, killing and wounding a number of combatants.

Intelligence showed that 11 militants were killed and five were wounded in the Sunday shelling, said Brigadier General Restituto Padilla, a spokesman for the Philippines’ armed forces.

The bodies of the slain members of the militant group, named Maute, had not yet been recovered, he said.

Clashes began between the army forces and Maute militants, which have sworn allegiance to the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group on Saturday.

Padilla said that two soldiers had been wounded in the clashes.

During previous clashes with troops, Maute militants had been seen carrying black Daesh flags and bandannas bearing the militants’ insignia were found in a militant base, the military said.

The army deployed reinforcements to the region to dislodge the Maute militants, who had occupied the town hall and other building in the town of Butig on the restive Mindanao Island.

Many residents of Butig, a town of 17,000 people, fled after the town hall was occupied by the militants.

Full report at:http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/27/495371/Philippines-military-shelling-Maute-Daesh

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China asks Muslims to oppose religious extremism, reject foreign influence

Nov 27, 2016

BEIJING: China has asked its Muslim population to "resolutely oppose religious extremism" and adhere to the concept of "socialism with Chinese characteristics" while practicing their religion.

The statement came from Wang Zuo'an, chief of the state administration for religious affairs, at the 10th National Congress of Chinese Muslims. Wang indicated that the government was worried about foreign influence over Muslims in China at a time when major acts of terrorism were being carried out by terrorists in different parts of the world.

Wang also expressed concern about new mosques being in Muslim populated areas were copying designs from shrines in foreign countries instead of relying on Chinese traditions in mosque building. New mosques should demonstrate Chinese characteristics and national features, he said.

China's Communist officials have often said that Muslim fundamentalism, which has overseas influence, is responsible for the growth of terrorism in Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan.

The government would disallow any attempt by Muslim religious groups to interfere in the process of governance, Wang said. Any "religious interference" in the fields of politics, justice and education is "intolerable", the official media said on Sunday quoting from Wang's speech.

China has been apprehensive about the rise of Muslim fundamentalism in Pakistan, which borders the western Chinese region of Xinjiang that has a vast Muslim population. Communist leaders have earlier indicated that terror camps in Pakistan have supplied arms and other forms of support to separatists in Xinjiang who occasionally indulge in grave violence.

Wang's statement came two days after a government order asking people with passports in Xinjiang to hand over the documents to local police stations for "examination and management".

Full report at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-asks-Muslims-to-oppose-religious-extremism/articleshow/55651529.cms

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Stay off Hadi’s Bill or Muslims may derail divorce law reforms, PAS warns non-Muslims

BY MELATI A. JALIL

November 28, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 ― Non-Muslims must “play fair” by refraining from interfering with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s private member’s Bill to upgrade the Shariah courts, party secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said today.

Continued opposition to Hadi’s Bill may see Muslims retaliate by opposing the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 that would bar unilateral conversion of children into Islam, he warned.

“If Act 355 is being interfered with, we worry that the Muslims will not agree with the [proposed amendments] to the Law Reform [Act] which also has something to do with Muslims,” he said in a press conference, referring to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.

“We must play the fair game, don't disturb the rights of Muslims, and Muslims will not trouble the non-Muslims.

“If they want to play like that, we can also go against the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act,” he added.

De facto law minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said last week submitted the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill that proposes to prevent single spouse conversions to Islam from unilaterally affecting either civil marriages or the children born from these.

The new Bill, which also specifically addressed the “Religion of a Child” in civil marriages where one spouse has converted to Islam, said that the child will remain in the religion of the parents at the time of marriage until the child is 18 years old, when he many choose his own religion.

Full report at:http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/stay-off-hadis-bill-or-muslims-may-derail-divorce-law-reforms-pas-warns-non

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Two men charged with trying to join Islamic State in Syria

November 28, 2016

KANGAR, Nov 28 — A welding assistant and a FACTORY technician were today charged in the Magistrate’s Court, here, with attempting to join the Islamic State (IS) terror group in Syria recently.

Zufadli Jafri, 24, from Kampung Bakam, Miri and Mohd Ridwan Mohd Musa, 29, from Parit Bengkok in Gresik, Tangkak, Johor were charged under Section 130JA of the Penal Code and read together with Section 511.

They face a jail term of up to 30 years and a fine, if convicted.

According to the charge sheet, the two accused took a train at the Padang Besar railway station at 2.46pm on October 23 to Bangkok and then flew on Gulf Air to Turkey before going to Syria to allegedly commit a terror act there.

However, no plea was recorded from both after the charge was read out to them before magistrate Mohd Azhar Hamzah, who then set January 5 for mention before the case is transferred to the High Court.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Fadzlan Mohd Noor from Putrajaya appeared for the prosecution while the two accused were unrepresented.

Full report at:http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/two-men-charged-with-trying-to-join-islamic-state-in-syria

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Jakim wants more preachers, religious teachers to master sign language

November 28, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia is to train more preachers and religious teachers to master sign language to communicate with hearing-impaired Muslims in the country.

Jakim deputy director-general (human development) Paimuzi Yahya said today there was a shortage of preachers and religious teachers to translate Islamic teachings into sign language.

He said there were 45,000 hearing-impaired people in the country and the government, through several agencies, was attended to their welfare.

“The majority of them are Muslims. Jakim and the state Islamic affairs departments have conducted programmes for them. We have the facilities and are prepared to assist them.

“We will have discussions with the Malaysian Deaf Muslims Association on how to train the preachers and religious teachers to master sign language,” he said to reporters after the opening of the 2nd International Conference of Deaf Muslims here.

The two-day conference is an annual meeting of Global Deaf Muslims based in the United States. This year's conference is organised by the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf in cooperation with the Malaysian Deaf Muslims Association.

Carrying the theme “Islam for the Deaf: Our Community, Our Future,” the conference has drawn the participation of 269 hearing-impaired Muslims from 27 countries to, among others, strengthen understanding and appreciation of the Islamic teachings among hearing-impaired Muslims.

Full report at:http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/jakim-wants-more-preachers-religious-teachers-to-master-sign-language

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Jokowi supporters present evidence in lawmaker's incitement case

November 28, 2016

Supporters of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo presented evidence in their first police interrogation on Monday regarding the alleged incitement committed by House of Representatives deputy speaker Fahri Hamzah during a mass rally on Nov. 4.

The Red and White Solidarity Group (Solmet) chairman Silver Matutina said the group would present video footage from Fahri's official website that showed Fahri making controversial remarks about Jokowi during the rally called to demand the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for alleged blasphemy.

"We hope that this report can provide a deterrent effect and warn people not to incite others during any protest. No one has impunity from the law, including Fahri as a House deputy speaker," Silver said at the Jakarta Police office, adding that his group would also present eyewitnesses named Trijahja Budi Wibowo and Iwan who heard Fahri's speech during the rally.

Full report at:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/28/jokowi-supporters-present-evidence-in-lawmakers-incitement-case.html

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Mideast

 

Nearly 100 Israeli settlers break into al-Aqsa Mosque

Nov 27, 2016

Nearly a hundred Israeli settlers have once again stormed the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem al-Quds amid simmering tensions between Israeli military forces and Palestinian protesters in the occupied territories.

Mahmoud Abu Atta, the media coordinator at the al-Aqsa Foundation for Waqf and Heritage, told Arabic-language Safa news agency that 96 illegal settlers, escorted by several groups of Israeli troops and led by a number of guides and rabbis, entered the site through the Bab al-Maghariba on Sunday morning.

The settlers staged lengthy stopovers in various parts of the al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard during the incursion.

Abu Atta added that Israeli soldiers were heavily present at the entrance gates to the mosque; and thoroughly checked the identity cards of arriving worshipers.

The settlers finally left the al-Aqsa Mosque compound through Bab al-Selseleh.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is holy to Jews and Christians as well. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed tensions ever since Israeli forces imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.

More than 260 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October. The violence has also killed at least 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/27/495447/Israel-settlers-storm-alAqsa-Mosque-compound-East-Jerusalem-alQuds

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Abbas' Fatah in rare congress as succession talk builds

November 28, 2016

BY HOSSAM EZZEDINE

RAMALLAH -  Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party holds its first congress since 2009 on Tuesday as the 81-year-old leader seeks to close ranks and fend off a key rival.

While Abbas's advisers insist the congress is being held because it is overdue, some analysts see it as an opportunity for him to sideline allies of his exiled longtime rival Mohammed Dahlan. Talk of who will eventually succeed Abbas as Palestinian president has intensified, with the ageing leader not having publicly designated a successor.

A recent hospitalisation for a heart test has only added to such talk, but Abbas has maintained that he has no intention of stepping down anytime soon. Arab nations have reportedly been pressuring Abbas to allow Dahlan to return in hopes that it will help lead to a smooth transition.

The congress to last up to five days in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah is expected to be key for the future of the secular party and the Palestinian Authority it controls. It is to include elections for Fatah's 23-member central committee -- in which Abbas serves as president -- and its 132-member revolutionary council, considered Fatah's parliament.

The 1,400 Fatah officials invited to attend the congress are to vote for 18 members of the central committee and 80 seats on the revolutionary council, while the rest are to be nominated.

Observers see the reduced number of officials to vote -- down from more than 2,000 in 2009 -- as part of a move to exclude Dahlan supporters. Now in exile in the United Arab Emirates, Dahlan was expelled from Fatah in 2011 and has faced a series of legal cases since.

'POLITICAL INFIGHTING'

Abbas's term as Palestinian president officially ended in 2009 but there has been no election since due to an ongoing dispute between his party and its main rival, Islamist movement Hamas.

The Palestinian parliament has not met since 2007. Fatah -- which controls the West Bank -- and Hamas have been at loggerheads since the latter seized the Gaza Strip in a near civil war in 2007.

Dahlan fell from grace in June 2007 after the humiliating rout of his forces by Hamas in week-long street battles that saw the Islamists expel Fatah from the coastal enclave. The Gaza-born politician was expelled from Fatah in 2011 over allegations of financial corruption and murder.

The Palestinian high court in 2015 upheld a presidential decree lifting Dahlan's parliamentary immunity, sparking condemnation from civil society activists.

Full report at:http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Nov-2016/abbas-fatah-in-rare-congress-as-succession-talk-builds

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Israel kills four IS-linked gunmen after Golan attack

November 28, 2016

JERUSALEM - Israeli forces killed four gunmen linked to the Islamic State group after they fired on soldiers Sunday, the military said, in the first such attack on the occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli soldiers were targeted with machinegun fire and mortars and they shot back, before the air force bombed the vehicle carrying the gunmen identified as members of “Shuhada al-Yarmouk, an IS affiliate”, said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner.

The soldiers, from the Golani Brigade, were beyond the fence separating Israeli-occupied Golan from Syria but on Israeli territory, Lerner told AFP, noting none was wounded in the clash. Since the beginning of the internal Syrian conflict in 2011, stray fire from government and rebel forces has hit Israel, as have attacks by the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah and its affiliates.

Sunday’s clash marked the first time Syria-based jihadists opened fire on Israeli soldiers on territory under Israeli control, according to a retired general, but probably did not mark a change in the strategy of the IS group. “A direct attack like that on Israeli activities on Israeli side of border — this is the first time,” reserves general Nitzan Nuriel told reporters. Nuriel said Israel has a policy of preventive action that it uses from time to time in the “grey zone” — the term he used to describe “pockets between the security fence along the border and the official (demarcation line) between us and our neighbours.”

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Nov-2016/israel-kills-four-is-linked-gunmen-after-golan-attack

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Iran may seek naval bases in Yemen or Syria

November 28, 2016

DUBAI:- Iran may seek to set up naval bases in Yemen or Syria in the future, as distant footholds might be more valuable militarily than nuclear technology, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces said in remarks published on Sunday. “We need distant bases, and it may become possible one day to have bases on the shores of Yemen or Syria, or bases on islands or floating (bases),” said General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri. –Reuters

http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Nov-2016/iran-may-seek-naval-bases-in-yemen-or-syria

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Israel to expand fleet of next-generation F-35 fighter jets

28 November 2016

Israel on Sunday said it will expand its fleet of next-generation F-35 fighter jets in a move that officials believe will help maintain the country’s qualitative military edge over its Mideast neighbors for years to come.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that his Security Cabinet has approved the purchase of 17 additional F-35s. In all, it said, the acquisition will bring the number of planes the air force will get to 50.

The F-35 is the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program, with an estimated cost of nearly $400 billion. Israel is among a small number of allies slated to receive the plane, with the first F-35 expected to arrive in about three weeks.

A senior Israeli air force official described the arrival of the F-35 as a game-changing development that will give Israel a “strong and effective tool” in dealing with challenges across the region.

He said its ability to “integrate” various-cutting edge systems would preserve Israel’s ability to act freely in hostile airspace. He cited its long range capability, its ability to provide pilots with critical data in real time and a stealth system that can evade or delay detection by the world’s most sophisticated radar systems.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing guidelines, said Israel would begin training with the new planes immediately, but that it would take “more than a few months” for the first planes to be operational.

He did not specify what missions Israel might make with the planes, but said the F-35s are expected to meet all of Israel’s needs. In recent years, Israel has reportedly carried out long-range airstrikes as far away as Sudan, and is believed to have struck Hezbollah-bound weapons shipments in neighboring Syria.

Israel has also hinted in the past at making plans to strike Iran, some 1,000 kilometers away, if the Islamic Republic presses forward with a nuclear program it considers suspect. The threat of Israeli action in Iran has dropped following the international community's deal with Iran last year to curb its nuclear program.

Full report at:

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/11/28/Israel-to-expand-fleet-of-next-generation-F-35-fighter-jets.html

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New US troops arrive in Yemen’s Aden: Footage

Nov 28, 2016

A report says more American military forces have arrived in Yemen’s port city of Aden to join the contingent of US troops allegedly fighting al-Qaeda militants in the country’s south.

On Sunday, Yemen’s al-Masirah television channel published footage showing American troops arriving in Aden.

The report further said the new batch is apparently linked to the US troops already deployed to al-Anad Airbase and other Yemeni areas, adding that the deployment is aimed at reinforcing the US forces claiming to be fighting al-Qaeda terrorists.

The TV report added the development reveals the true intention of the US-backed Saudi aggression against Yemen, which is to gain dominance over the Arabian Peninsula state and loot its wealth.

The deployment of US troops to Yemen, the report said, shows Washington is pursuing its own interests in the war-torn country and seeks to expand its military presence there.

The Pentagon has been providing logistics and surveillance support to Saudi Arabia in its military aggression against Yemen, the kingdom’s impoverished southern neighbor, which has killed at least 11,400 civilians since its onset in March 2015, according to a latest tally by a Yemeni monitoring group.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/28/495500/US-troops-arrive-Yemen

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Pakistan

 

‘Jamaat-e-Islami Pursuing Plan of Peaceful and Prosperous Pakistan’

28-Nov-16

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq said on Sunday the JI has been pursuing the agenda of a peaceful, prosperous and Islamic Pakistan.

He was addressing a two-day workers convention at Bagh-e-Jinnah.

Siraj said the Supreme Court should be asking for evidence from those who have hidden country's money in London, Panama and Qatar rather than asking him in the Panamagate case. The rulers have harmed Pakistan which even an enemy would have not done. "Today the youth have degrees but still they are frustrated," he said. Rulers fly abroad for their treatment whereas hospitals in Lahore have a shortage of beds, he said.

Siraj said he would fight the case of Sindh in and outside parliament. He criticised the rulers for following their monetary benefits, instead of pursuing collective goal of the country's development and prosperity.

He warned both the federal and Sindh governments to mend their ways.

He asked the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to reveal the offshore assets of its leadership. A crystal clear probe in Panamagate case is the voice of Pakistan, he demanded. "Jamaat-e-Islami is not an ordinary political party but a revolutionist movement, struggling for a peaceful Islamic revolution," he added.

Karachi was a role-model, leading the country in the terms of revenue, academics, industry and intellect, he said, adding that the incompetent leaders have ruined the city.

He flayed the Sindh government for making 'shady' legislations against the teachings of Islam and the constitution of the country.

He expressed his disappointment that the party of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was mulling to breach the constitution, being bestowed by its founder. Sindh JI chief Merajul Huda said Sindh was pushed against the wall and the city of lights has been facing darkness since long.

He vowed that the JI would not only bring back the lights of Karachi but would also bestow the province its lost glory. He said they would bring reforms in the agriculture sector if the JI came to power in Sindh.

Earlier JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also addressed the final session of the convention. In his address, he talked about the political vacuum evident in Karachi and Sindh.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/28-Nov-16/ji-pursuing-plan-of-peaceful-and-prosperous-pakistan

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Pakistan, Turkey agree to intensify mutual cooperation in religious affairs

November 27, 2016

ANKARA: Minister for Religious Affairs & Inter Faith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, met with the President of Religious Affairs of Turkey (Diyanet), Prof Dr Mehmet Gormez, and exchanged views on ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly between their respective institutions.

Sardar Muhammad Yousaf highlighted the deep-rooted, multifaceted fraternal ties between Pakistan and Turkey, anchored firmly in common faith and shared history.

Sardar apprised the Turkish dignitary of the measures taken by Pakistan in the domain of religious affairs - such as establishment of Ulema and Mashaikh Council for promoting religious and inter-faith harmony, reform of religious education, and enhanced arrangements for Hajj and Umra.

He also informed about the International Seerat Conference being organised on Eid Miladun Nabi at Lahore and personally delivered an invitation to Prof Dr Mehmet Gormez to participate.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/national/27-Nov-2016/pakistan-turkey-agree-to-intensify-mutual-cooperation-in-religious-affairs

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Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf calls for Pakistan to sever trade ties with India

Nov 28, 2016

Islamabad: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has urged its government to immediately sever trade ties with India over the death of 13 people including three soldiers in alleged Indian firing along the Line of Control (LoC).

"Indian forces are killing innocent civilians and our army personnel along the LoC but our prime minister is fondly eating bananas being imported from India. It is high time we sever trade ties with India and unite on one platform to pat the enemy in the same coin," Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.

Qureshi said Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif, who should have been at the border to defend the country, was defending Sharif in the Panamagate case in the apex court.

Qureshi, at a public meeting in Chhachhro town, said that the Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) government "had no courage to respond to Indian prime minister's bluff and called for immediately severing trade ties with India", Dawn reported.

In Umerkot, he told journalists that despite Indian bombing along the LoC, the Sharif-led PML-N government had not broken trade ties with the "belligerent neighbour" and urged the UN to get its resolutions on Kashmir implemented, it reported.

Full report at:

http://www.firstpost.com/world/imran-khans-tehreek-e-insaf-calls-for-pakistan-to-sever-trade-ties-with-india-3127470.html

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Five Muslims Sentenced to Death For Killing Christian Couple in Pakistan

11-27-2016

A Pakistani court has handed down the death sentence to five Muslims convicted of torturing and killing a Christian couple over allegations of burning the Koran, according to Morning Star News.

Hundreds of villagers in Kot Radha Kishan, Pakistan were involved in the assault of 26-year-old Shahzad Masih and his five-month pregnant wife, Shama, 24, who were thrown into a burning brick kiln.

The villagers were incited by Muslim leaders calling for violence against the couple over allegedly burning the Koran.

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Chaudhry Azam handed death sentences to Irfan Shakoor, Muhammad Hanif, Mehdi Khan, Riaz Kamboh and Hafiz Ishtiaq, earlier this week, along with a fine of 200,000 rupees or $1,900.

Eight others were sentenced to two years in prison.

Attorney Riaz Anjum, who represented the father of the deceased woman, told Morning Star News that although more than 50 people had been originally charged in the lynching, most of them were acquitted after family members of Shahzad Masih sent in statements denying that they were present at the scene.

Full report at:

http://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2016/november/sweden-steps-in-on-behalf-of-pastor-imprisoned-in-north-korea

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New army chief brings no change in policy: Asif

Nov 28, 2016

ISLAMABAD: There will be no immediate shift in Pakistan’s military policy under the new army chief, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said.

Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa will replace retiring Army Chief Raheel Sharif when his three-year term ends on Tuesday.

Talking to Geo TV, Khawaja Asif said: “The military policy will continue and there will be no immediate change in it.”

“The legacy of General Raheel Sharif would continue in the light of the examples he set,” he added.

The United States on Sun­day issued a statement, welcoming Gen Bajwa’s appointment and said it wanted to assist Pakistan with its domestic and regional counterinsurgency and counterterrorism efforts. In a statement, the US embassy in Islamabad also said it wanted to help “Pakistani authorities to honour their pledge to prevent the use of Pakistan’s soil for terrorist attacks against its neighbours”.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1299133/new-army-chief-brings-no-change-in-policy-asif

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Militants kidnap six Pakistanis working for Polish oil firm in Dera Ismail Khan

Nov 28, 2016

Six Pakistanis working for a Polish oil and gas surveying company have been kidnapped near Dera Ismail Khan, military sources told Reuters, years after a Polish engineer from the same company was beheaded by militants.

The six Geofizyka Krakow workers were snatched from their vehicles on Saturday afternoon on a road near the village of Drazinda, about 80km from the city of Dera Ismail Khan, two officials with security forces in the area said.

One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, provided Reuters with the names and national identity card numbers of the workers.

Geofizyka Krakow, a subsidiary of Poland's state-run gas firm PGNiG, could not be immediately reached for comment. On its website, the PGNiG local unit said it had gone into liquidation in August 2016.

“They were sub-contractors providing works for Geofizyka Krakow, a company which is now in liquidation. They were not Polish,” a PGNiG spokesman said. He declined to give any more details.

A Polish foreign ministry spokeswoman tweeted that there were no Polish citizens in the group and that the Polish embassy in Islamabad is monitoring the situation.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. In the past, militants from the Pakistani Taliban group have kidnapped people in the region for ransom or to bargain for the release of prisoners.

The area where the workers were kidnapped is close to South Waziristan, part of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) bordering Afghanistan.

Geofizyka Krakow has a long history of seismic survey work in Pakistan.

In 2008, a Polish engineer working for the firm was kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban near the northwestern city of Attock, and beheaded several months later.

Full report at:

http://www.dawn.com/news/1298982/militants-kidnap-six-pakistanis-working-for-polish-oil-firm-in-dera-ismail-khan

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US, UK welcome top military appointments

November 28, 2016

ISLAMABAD - The United States and the United Kingdom on Sunday welcomed appointment of Lt-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the new chief of army staff.

They also congratulated the new Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Lt-Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat.

In a statement issued by the US embassy, the United States congratulated the outgoing Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif upon the conclusion of his tenure.

The US lauded General Raheel Sharif's efforts to combat terrorism.

Washington also recognised the dedicated service of outgoing CJCSC General Rashad Mahmood.

General Sharif will hand over command of the army to Lt-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on November 29 after completing tenure of three years.

In a separate statement, the British High Commission welcomed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s appointment of Lt-Gen Qamar Bajwa as the new Chief of Army Staff and General Hayat as the new CJCSC.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/national/28-Nov-2016/us-uk-welcome-top-military-appointments

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Pakistan’s anti-terror role acknowledged

November 28, 2016

SIALKOT/SAMBRIAL-Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana said that Pakistan is not isolated as the world has acknowledged our sacrifices and the frontline role in the war against terrorism to ensure peace across the globe.

Pakistan’s armed forces have successfully broken the network and nexus of the militants, he said while addressing the annual prize distribution ceremony of Cadet College in Sambrial.

The governor stressed a need for promotion of knowledge-based education and character building of the students. He highly hailed the role of the teachers, saying that the good and dutiful teachers are precious asset of the society. He said that teachers are the builders of educated nation.

He said that there could never be an alternative to teachers. He said that the government was striving to remove the darkness of the ignorance through spreading the light of knowledge through public-private partnership.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/national/28-Nov-2016/pakistan-s-anti-terror-role-acknowledged

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South Asia

 

US airstrike kill 7 ISIS militants in East of Afghanistan

Nov 28 2016

At least 7 loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in an airstrike carried out by US forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

According to the local security officials, the airstrike took place on Sunday afternoon in Haska Mina district.

The officials further added that three militants of the terror group were also wounded in the airstrike.

Several weapons and ammunition belonging to the terror group were also destroyed in the airstrike in the airstrike, the officials said.

The officials also added that the airstrike did not incur any casualties to the local residents.

The loyalists of the terror group have not commented regarding the report so far.

Both the Afghan and US forces conducted regular strikes against the loyalists of the terror group in this province.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/us-airstrike-kill-7-isis-militants-in-east-of-afghanistan-02379

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Bangladeshi Hindus seek Trump's intervention to save non-Muslims

Nov 28, 2016

New York: In the wake of atrocities laid on their community, Hindu Bangladesh nationals rallied on Sunday in front of Trump Tower in New York demanding the intervention of President elect Donald J Trump to save the non-Muslims in their country.

The rally was taken out by the Hindus of Bangladeshi origin demanding that President elect Trump should save the non-Muslim populations there from the hands of militant Islam.

"We had voted for Trump and now we want to appraise him that the Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh are routinely persecuted with no end of it in sight," Organizer Sitangshu Guha said.

Full report at:

http://www.asianage.com/world/americas/281116/bangladeshi-hindus-seek-trumps-intervention-to-save-non-muslims.html

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Mother Teresa prize goes to Bangladeshi Muslim hero

November 27, 2016

MUMBAI, India - Mother Teresa, now St. Teresa of Calcutta, always was a figure admired across religious divides, so it seems only fitting that an international prize named in her honor went this year to a Muslim who died in Dhaka, Bangladesh, trying to save two friends from a terrorist attack.

On Nov. 20, the family of 20-year-old Faraaz Hossain was presented with the 2016 Mother Teresa International Award for Social Justice during a Mumbai ceremony.

Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, and Sister Priscilla of the Missionaries of Charity, handed over the award to Faraaz’s mother Simeen Hossain and elder brother Zaraif Ayaat Hossain. The honor is bestowed by an Indian NGO dedicated to preserving Mother Teresa’s legacy, and this marks the first time it’s been awarded to a non-Indian posthumously.

In the wake of the July terrorist attacks in Dhaka by Islamic militants, which targeted an upscale neighborhood in Bangladesh’s capital city, Hossain’s story spread quickly around the world, hailed as a model of bravery and selflessness.

Hossain, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, was visiting family back home in Bangladesh when he was caught up in the 10-hour hostage crisis on the evening of July 1. When gunmen professing loyalty to the Islamic State insisted on separating Bangladeshis from foreigners, Hossain refused to desert two female friends.

Those friends were Abinta Kabir, a Bangladesh-born U.S. citizen and a fellow student at Emory University, and Tarishi Jain, an Indian student at the University of California, Berkeley - with whom he had gone to the café on that fateful night.

The gunmen were looking for “infidels,” offering a test as to who could recite verses from the holy Quran and who couldn’t. Hossain passed and was given a chance to leave but refused, and his body was later discovered with wounds suggesting he had tried to fight back against his assailants.

He has since become a symbol of Bangladesh’s resistance to extremism, with posters around the country insisting, “Faraaz is Bangladesh!”

Receiving the award, Simeen said, “I wanted to raise my son as a good human being, and this was the darkest moment of my life. Yet it was the proudest moment of my life.  Faraaz was a practicing Muslim, and looking evil in the eyes he said, ‘No I will not leave my sisters behind’.”

Full report at:

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/11/27/mother-teresa-prize-goes-bangladeshi-muslim-hero/

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6 militants arrested after infiltrating among Afghan forces in Kandahar

Nov 28 201

At least six militants have been arrested after they managed to infiltrate among the Afghan forces to conduct insurgency by disguising as security personnel.

The provincial government media office in a statement said the militants were arrested by the operatives of the provincial intelligence department, National Directorate of Security (NDS).

The statement further added that the militants had managed to join the Afghan National Army and Afghan Border Police forces.

According to the local officials, the militants have in the past killed a number of the religious clerics, government officials, and tribal elders.

The Afghan intelligence operatives launched a covert operation to identify the militants who were arrested based on a tip off, the officials said.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/6-militants-arrested-after-infiltrating-among-afghan-forces-in-kandahar-02382

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2 ISIS suicide bombers arrested in Kabul city

Nov 28 2016

Two suicide bombers recruited by the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were arrested by the Afghan intelligence operative in Kabul city.

The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), said the two young men were arrested from the vicinity of the 5th police district of the city.

A statement by NDS said the two men have been identified as Jalil Ahmad son of Syed Ahmad and Hamid son of Aminullah.

The statement further added that the two men were arrested before the terrorist group deploy them to Nangarhar for further trainings.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/2-isis-suicide-bombers-arrested-in-kabul-city-02381

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Afghan and Turkmen presidents formally inaugurate Asian International Railway

Nov 28 2016

The Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the Asian International Railway during a special ceremony organized in Turkmenabad area of Turkmenistan.

Calling the inauguration of railway as ‘historic’, President Ghani said the Afghan government remains committed to turn all the bordering provinces of the country into major economic hubs.

President Ghani further added that the inauguration of the railway connects Afghanistan with Turkmenistan as he hoped that the country will be connected via railway networks with Iran in the West and some other regional countries, including India.

In his turn, the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said the inauguration of the railway is a major achievement.

Berdimuhamedow said the Imamnazar-Akina terminal could a play key role for the traders, specifically the oil traders as modern equipments have been installed in the port.

The Turkmen President further added that the terminal can hold around 500 tons of trade commodities and will be a big success for the oil traders.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani arrived in Turkmenabad area on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by high delegation to join his Turkmen counterpart for the inauguration of the railway.

Full report at:

http://www.khaama.com/afghan-and-turkmen-presidents-formally-inaugurate-asian-international-railway-02380

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Africa

 

Mass wedding holds in Abuja suburb attacked twice by Boko Haram

November 27, 2016

Despite the fear of insecurity and past incidents of terrorist attacks in this town near Abuja, New Nyanya is peaceful as it witnesses social and religious activities.

It was indeed a day of joy for parishioners of St. Sylvester Catholic Church New Nyanya in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State as 80 couples were given the sacrament of matrimony by the Catholic Bishop of Lafia Diocese, Mathew Audu.

In a statement signed by the public relations officer the Church, Ewache Ajefu, the church said that the ceremony was unique and historic in the history of St. Sylvester Catholic Church.

The marriage ceremony and the Sacrament of Confirmation put together by the Parish Priest of St. Sylvester Catholic Church New Nyanya, Lawrence Anyembugu, were part of the key activities lined up for first pastoral visit of the Bishop to the Independent Mission.

Speaking at the occasion, the Bishop admonished the couples to cloth themselves with the love of Christ in order to have a sustainable marriage life, stressing that marriage without love is meaningless.

Citing many examples of causes of breakage in marriage life, Bishop Audu called on them to avoid pitfalls that would lead to regrets, adding that exemplary Christian life was key to successful marriage.

New Nyanya is a town in Nasarawa State. It is a district of Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, and is among the towns that make up the Karu Urban Area, a conurbation of towns stretching into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). New Nyanya is loosely considered as part of the metropolitan area of Abuja.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/arts-entertainment/naija-fashion/216477-mass-wedding-holds-abuja-suburb-attacked-twice-boko-haram.html

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8 killed as car bomb hits Mogadishu market

November 27, 2016

MOGADISHU : A car bomb exploded near a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Saturday killing at least eight people, police said, as medical sources warned the toll could be far higher.

"We have counted about eight civilians so far who were killed in the blast and more than 10 others wounded but the death toll could be higher because the area is a market and it was so densely populated when the blast occurred, most people who were wounded have serious injuries," said police official Ibrahim Mohamed. Medical sources suggested nearly 30 people had been killed, but this was not confirmed by authorities.

"Our ambulances have collected 13 wounded civilians and 28 dead bodies, the toll could be higher because of the density of the location where the blast occurred," Dr Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adem, director of the AMIN ambulance service, told AFP.

The blast took place in the densely populated Afisiyone area in southern Mogadishu.

"There was chaos and severed dead bodies strewn around the street, the market was so busy with people shopping when the blast ripped through the area. I saw many dead bodies but I could not count, I have helped collect more than 10 of them," said Abdulahi Osman, who witnessed the blast.

Another witness, Ismail Mohamud told AFP: "I can't count all, but, I can tell that I have collected about 20 dead people with my hands, also, there have been other people collecting with me both dead and injured persons."

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but immediate suspicion fell on the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab group, which is locked in battle with the Somali government and regularly mounts attacks in the city.

Full report at:

http://nation.com.pk/international/27-Nov-2016/8-killed-as-car-bomb-hits-mogadishu-market

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Libya rejects OPEC production cuts

Nov 27, 2016

Libya says it cannot be part of an imminent deal by members of the Organization of the Petroleum EXPORTING Countries (OPEC) for cutting down oil production levels, saying it will push for increased income to make up for the militancy and political uncertainty in the country.

“Libya is in such a dangerous economic situation, there is no way it can participate in OPEC production cuts for the foreseeable future,” Chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) Mustafa Sanalla said on Sunday.

OPEC members are to gather this week in Vienna to finalize output cuts which were agreed to in a meeting in Algiers in September. The initiative is meant to boost prices in the market after nearly two years of steep depression.

Sanalla said the unrest in Libya, which has gripped the country since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, makes it impossible for Tripoli to contribute to any OPEC output cuts.

“The IMPORTANT thing now is that all Libyans should benefit from increased revenues. This will be the real test of whether we can pull through our current political crisis and keep our oil flowing,” he said.

Full report at:

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/11/27/495407/Libya-OPEC-output-cut

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UN: 4mn children orphaned due to violence in Congo

28 November 2016

More than 4 million children have lost at least one parent in Congo over the past two decades, the silent victims of continuous cycles of violence

The UN said in a report that a total of more than 26 million children have also been orphaned in West and Central Africa, where the DR Congo is located.

This is the second highest number of orphans living in the world behind South Asia, according to the report.

“They are the orphans with a story of violence since 1994 — it’s a generation of victims that continues,” says Francisca Ichimpaye, a senior monitor at the En Avant Les Enfants INUKA center. And the children “lose their story in the violence,” Ichimpaye said.

Orphans are forced to look after themselves as well as their younger siblings.

In addition, many of them are vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups whilst others face sexual exploitation in a country where rape has become commonplace.

The DR Congo, which faces poverty and crumbling infrastructure, has been plagued by ethnic conflict and a fight over valuable minerals since 1998. Civilians are the main victims of the ethnic strife.

Full report at:

http://www.worldbulletin.net/africa/180806/oil-rebels-claim-pipeline-attack-in-nigeria

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6 soldiers injured as Boko Haram ambush local government officials

November 27, 2016

At least six soldiers were injured on Saturday when they ran into an ambush by Boko Haram insurgents while escorting a convoy of Gwoza Local Government Area officials.

The ambush occurred along Maiduguri-Bama road, close to Bama, sources told PREMIUM TIMES.

A gang of about 40 Boko Haram members opened fire on the convoy that was being escorted by soldiers of the 121 Task Force Battalion, Pulka, our sources said.

Confirming the incident, the caretaker council chairman of Gwoza, Saeed Sambo, told journalists that the soldiers fought back fiercely, killing about 20 of the attackers.

He said they came under attack at about 10 a.m. when they were heading for Gwoza from Maiduguri.

Full report at:

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/216450-6-soldiers-injured-boko-haram-ambush-local-government-officials.html

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North America

 

US mosques receive letters threatening Muslims

Nov 28, 2016

WASHINGTON: Amid reports of spurt in hate crimes against Muslims after the electoral victory of Donald Trump+ , several mosques in the US have allegedly received threatening letters and emails against the community in the country.

An anonymous handwritten letter, which so far has been received by three mosques in California and one in Georgia, warned Muslims to "pack your bags and get out of dodge as Trump is going to cleanse America and make it shine again".

"There's a new sheriff in town — President Donald Trump. He's going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And, he's going to start with you Muslims," the letter states, according to Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR. "And, he's going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the jews (sic)."

The document has prompted council chapters in California to appeal for stepped-up police protection of mosques.

"This hate campaign targeting California houses of worship must be investigated as an act of religious intimidation, and our state's leaders should speak out against the growing anti-Muslim bigotry that leads to such incidents," said Hussam Ayloush, leader of the council's Los Angeles branch.

Since Trump — who railed against Muslims and immigrants during the campaign+ — was elected on November 8, more than 100 anti-Muslim incidents have occurred across the country, said CAIR.

It quoted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors hate crimes, as saying over 700 incidents targeting different minority groups had been documented since election day.

After being elected as the 45th president of the US, Trump has spoken against all kinds of hate-crimes.

However, there has been no response from him in the aftermath of the series of hate letters being received by mosques in different parts of the country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/us-elections-2016/US-mosques-receive-letters-threatening-Muslims/articleshow/55660365.cms?

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Will sue Trump if create a Muslim registry: NYC Mayor

November 27, 2016

Washington: Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio will sue the federal government if President-elect Donald Trump goes forward with his plan to establish a “Muslim registry.”

In a speech delivered on Monday at The Cooper Union before hundreds of supporters, De Blasio slammed Trump’s controversial policies, said, “We will sue to block it.”

“We will use all the tools at our disposal to stand up for our people.” If all Muslims are required to register, we will take legal action to block it,” De Blasio said.

Thunderous applause, standing ovation and cheers followed as he spoke. “We don’t consent to hatred and we will fight anything we see as undermining our values,” de Blasio said.

Full report at:

http://www.siasat.com/news/will-sue-trump-create-muslim-registry-nyc-mayor-1074108/

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Hamilton Muslim group donates gift of life at blood clinic

Nov 28, 2016

Saboor Farha is a bit jealous her husband could donate blood, and she couldn't, at the Canadian Blood Services donor clinic on the weekend.

Farha and husband Mohammad Mateen Akhtar were part of a Hamilton group who gave blood on Saturday as part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada's "Muslims for Life" campaign.

The local Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at community is represented by the 700-member Baitun Nur Mosque at King Street East and Parkdale Avenue North.

Farha wanted to donate in the past but didn't know the process, she says. Her mosque's initiative made it comfortable for her to try it at the regular donor clinic on Stone Church Road in Ancaster.

"Now the community is doing it and making all the arrangements. So okay, that's easy (I thought). Let's do it, even though I'm not sure I can give…If I can help the community, why not."

She was not sure because of her anemia two years ago — and in the end, she was indeed turned down out of concern that giving blood wound made her anemic again. So she was a bit jealous that her husband could donate, she said.

Rehan Tanvir, 27, is used to giving. Although this was his 16th time donating, he was there specifically Saturday for his Ahmadiyya Muslim group.

"In the holy Qur'an, it states that anyone who saves one life, it's like you've saved mankind," Tanvir said while giving blood. "And given what's going on in the world today, it's a good gesture."

Full report at:

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6989724-hamilton-muslim-group-donates-gift-of-life-at-blood-clinic/

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Europe

 

Swiss probe top Muslim leader over propaganda

November 27, 2016

GENEVA : Swiss federal prosecutors said Saturday a criminal probe into suspected militant propaganda has been expanded to include the leader of the country's largest Islamic organisation.

The office of Switzerland's attorney general confirmed in an email to AFP that Nicolas Blancho, of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS), was under investigation.

 The ICCS slammed the move as "political" and said it was ready to "counter the accusations in a courtroom."

Prosecutors opened the case last December, charging that an ICCS board member - German national Naim Cherni - had violated "the prohibition of groups like Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and similar organisations."

He was suspected of creating "for propaganda purposes" a video from a trip into parts of war-ravaged Syria, "without having explicitly distanced himself from Al-Qaeda activities" in the country, last year's statement said.

On Saturday, the attorney general's office said its probe "has been expanded to the president of the ICCS and to one other ICCS committee member," who was identified by the organisation as its spokesman, Qaasim Illi.

In an interview with the NZZ daily on Friday, Attorney General Michael Lauber said the case was "of high priority, because we want to know how far freedom of expression goes when it comes to criminal propaganda for a terrorist organisation."

Cherni's video included an interview with a senior member of the jihad umbrella organisation Jaysh al-Fath ("Army of Conquest"), which counts as a member the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which has renamed itself Fatah al-Sham. He insisted the film was a documentary and was not meant as propaganda.

The ICCS has continued to promote the film, which remains accessible on YouTube. It has been viewed more than 100,000 times over the past year.

Lauber told NZZ he hoped the case would go before Switzerland's federal criminal court next year.

ICCS chief Blancho said in a statement on the organisation's website he would welcome his day in court to defend Muslims against "political bullying".

http://nation.com.pk/international/27-Nov-2016/swiss-probe-top-muslim-leader-over-propaganda

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Morocco’s Religious Diplomacy In Africa: Well-Timed Royal Initiative

BY SAID TEMSAMANI

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

Morocco is continuing to promote its moderate version of Islam as a counterweight to the widening jihadist menace in sub Saharan Africa by training hundreds of imams from affected countries. Moreover, and in June 2016 King Mohammed VI chaired in the nation’s spiritual capital Fez the installation ceremony of the Higher Council of the recently set up Mohammed VI Foundation for African Islamic scholars. During that ceremony the King stated that ” I view the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema as an institution for cooperation, for the exchange of experiences and for the Ulema to make concerted efforts to fulfill their duty and turn a spotlight on the true image of the pristine Islamic faith as well as on its open-minded values, which are based on moderation, tolerance and coexistence. The aim is to make sure those values help us promote security, stability and development in Africa.”

He added, “I am convinced the Foundation, through its branches in African countries, and together with other religious institutions, will play its role in disseminating enlightened religious precepts and in combating extremism, reclusiveness and terrorism – which our faith does not embrace in any way – but which are advocated by some clerics, in the name of Islam.”

Moroccan spiritual diplomacy has been very successful in West Africa due to the country’s historic Maliki School through Sufi channels and methods of reaching worshipers in the sub-Saharan region and West Africa. The Tijaniya sufi order widely operating in West Africa was founded in North Africa during the 18th century. Other Sufi orders – including the Qadiriyya and Chadiliya orders – soon followed, gaining large numbers of devotees who identified heavily with Morocco, where the tomb of Sheikh Ahmed Tijani, the founder of the Tijaniyyah order, is buried.

Sufism attracts more young Africans because of its tolerance, due to the easy interpretation that gives to the Qur’an, its rejection of fanaticism and its embrace of modernity. Young people are the principles of” beauty” and” humanity”. Sufism balanced lifestyle that allows them to enjoy arts, music and love without having to abandon their spiritual or religious obligations. Sufi orders exist throughout Morocco. They organize regular gatherings to pray, chant and debate timely topics of social and political, from the protection of the environment and social charity to the fight against drugs and the threat of terrorism.

Apparently Morocco’s religious authority – Imarat Lmouminin – is highly venerated by many Africans, whether in Mali, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire… In all his trips in Africa, King Mohammed as Commander of the Faithful, receive all leaders of major Sufi orders. In all his trips in Africa, he provided thousands of copies of the Quran issued by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Holy Quran Publishing to be distributed mosques and other major Muslim institutions. In short, a credible and very successful spiritual diplomacy led by the King to promote a tolerant Islam that teaches respect, love to other religions and contribute efficiently to counter all extremist voices who unfortunately seem to gain ground in some countries in West Africa.

In March 2015, King Mohammed VI inaugurated the Mohammed VI Institute for the Training of Imams, Morchidines, and Morchidates in the capital, Rabat. The religious training center that aims to instill the values of Morocco’s open, moderate form of Islam, based on the Maliki rite and Sunni Sufism, in the next generation of Muslim religious leaders (imams) and preachers (morchidines and morchidates) from across the region and the world.

Full report at:

http://www.eurasiareview.com/28112016-moroccos-religious-diplomacy-in-africa-well-timed-royal-initiative-oped/

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