Railway Protection Force Constable Chetan Singh Shoots Four Dead on Moving Jaipur-Mumbai Train, Including A Senior Colleague And At Least Two Muslim Passengers
New Age
Islam News Bureau
01 August 20123
Undated picture of Chetan Singh, the
suspected killer/ PTI
------
India
• Gurugram Mosque Set on Fire Was the
Only One of Govt-Allocated Land in the Area
• Owaisi Alleges Jaipur-Mumbai Train
Firing Incident As 'Targeting Muslims'
• Gyanvapi mosque 'historical wrong',
claims Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath
• ‘Instant triple talaq a gruesome
cruelty’: V P Suhara, a crusader against triple talaq petition, speaks on
Muslim Women’s Rights Day
--------
Europe
• Christian Iraqi Immigrants Staged
Another Quran Burning in StockholmOutside Swedish Parliament – AFP
• Yr Wyddfa: 300 Muslim Hikers come
together to climb Mount Snowdon and reconnect with nature
--------
North America
• Colorado teen pleads not guilty to
trying to join Islamic State group
• Islamic group suggests that member
nations downgrade ties with countries that allow Quran burnings
• Descendants of expelled Muslims renew
ties with Crete
• CAIR-WA Seeks Public’s Help
Identifying Suspects After Burglary at Federal Way Mosque
• UK accidentally sent emails intended
for Pentagon to Russia’s ally Mali
--------
Africa
• Mali and Burkina Faso warn against any
foreign military intervention in Niger
• Niger: Bazoum's party denounces
"abusive arrests" including ministers
• Migrants between life and death in
Tunisia-Libya desert
---------
Southeast Asia
• DAP MP calls on police to investigate
Muhyiddin for racial, religious incitement over ‘Allah’ court case ahead of
state polls
• Fahmi says ready to cooperate with
Jais on mosque political talk claim
• Maips: Wearing of face masks no longer
mandatory in Perlis mosques. surau
--------
Mideast
• ‘I Screamed for Them to Save Me’: Ain
Al-HilwehPalestinian Refugee Camp Residents Shelter in Mosque, Schools Amid
Deadly Clashes
• Al-Aqsa Mosque Faces Increasing
Settler Incursions Amid Rising Tensions
• Islamic State claims responsibility
for Pakistan suicide bombing
• Islamic sanctities, holy Qur'an
insulted again in Sweden
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Blast: Islamic State Claims
Responsibility for Suicide Blast That Killed 54 During A Political Rally inBajaur
• Bajaur suicide attack draws
condemnation from across Muslim world
• NA passes bill proposing jail for
disclosing ‘sensitive information’
• PTI chief again approaches SC to stop
Toshakhana trial
• Exploring Shariah-compliant Islamic
Coin: A New Face in the Crypto Space
---------
Arab World
• Saudi Arabia Reaffirms Desecration of
Qur’an Is Unacceptable
• Saudi Arabia-based OIC Urges Member
Nations to Act Against Countries Allowing Quran Burnings
• Nearly 200 Saudis graduate from
Spain’s prestigious Les Roches institute
• Islamic Affairs Ministry Participates
in Moderation, Peaceful Coexistence Symposium in Thailand
• Saudi govt agency to fund $22m Bosnia
library building project
• Saudi FM calls on OIC states to take
practical steps to confront Qur’an desecration incidents
---------
South Asia
• Delegation of Islamic Clerics from UK
Meet with Acting Ministers
• Number Increases of Afghan Refugees in
UK Given Permanent Housing
• Continued Humanitarian Assistance to
Afghanistan is Essential: ARCS Acting President
• IEA Condemns Explosion at a
Jamiat-Ulema Islam Gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• Foreign Organizations’ Campaign is
Aimed for Brain Drain from Afghanistan: Mujahid
• Organs Instructed to Urgently Reach to
Flood-Affected People in Urgon: Deputy PM
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
-----
Railway Protection Force Constable
Chetan Singh Shoots Four Dead on Moving Jaipur-Mumbai Train, Including A Senior
Colleague And At Least Two Muslim Passengers
Undated picture of Chetan Singh, the
suspected killer/ PTI
------
Our Bureau, PTI New Delhi 01.08.23
PTI
A Railway Protection Force (RPF)
constable on Monday morning shot dead four people, including a senior colleague
and at least two Muslim passengers, on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central
Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, officials said.
By the evening, the cold-blooded murders
took on an unparalleled turn when a video clip emerged. The clip featuring the
purported graphic scenes inside the train compartment shows a person in
uniform, whose face is mostly not visible because his back is turned towards
the camera, saying in Hindi: “If you want to vote, if you want to live in
Hindustan, then I am saying, Modi and Yogi, they are the two, and your
Thackeray.”
Three of the victims have been
identified as Tika Ram Meena, RPF assistant sub-inspector; Abdul Kadarbhai
Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar (around
100km from Mumbai); and Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48), a resident of Madhubani in
Bihar. The fourth victim had not been identified till late on Monday.
Constable Chetan Singh (34), the murder
suspect who hails from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, was caught with his weapon
while he was trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train
which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network) around
6am.
The murders were carried out in
different coaches of the train, suggesting the killer picked out his victims
from among the passengers.
The video shows the person in uniform
standing near a body lying in a pool of blood and addressing other passengers
who have gathered near the door. Some passengers can be seen seated behind him
also.
The uniformed person tells the
passengers: “They are operating from Pakistan. Your media, this country’s media
is showing the news, they are getting to know everything, these people’s
masters are there. If you want to vote, if you want to live in Hindustan, then
I am saying, Modi and Yogi, they are the two, and your Thackeray.”
Asked about the video, Government
Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Ravindra Shisve told reporters: “It is too
early to jump to any conclusion, and at this stage, it will be premature to say
anything and share any details about the probe.”
“This is the first-of-its-kind of
incident on a running train. Passengers are scared. We want to assure them that
police will investigate the incident in detail,” he added.
Shisve said the exact reason behind the
incident was not known yet. The GRP has formed a special investigation team to
probe the murders.
Earlier in the day, the GRP control room
and a senior official had identified the accused as Chetan Kumar Chaudhary. In
the afternoon, GRP commissioner Shisve told reporters the constable has been
identified as Chetan Singh.
Some media reports suggested that the
police are investigating if the constable has any mental ailment. But Bhagwan
Singh Chaudhary, who identified himself as an uncle of the RPF constable, said
in their native village Mitai in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that “Chetan never
showed any sign of mental imbalance".
Bhagwan Singh told local reporters that
Chetan had got the job in 2009 in place of his father, who was also a constable
in RPF and had died on duty.
Pravin Chandra Sinha, principal chief
security commissioner, Western Railway, told reporters: “He (Chetan) was not
upset. He was a bit unwell... later he lost his cool.”
Asked whether Chetan had any mental
health issues, Sinha said: “He had a short fuse and lost his temper, leading to
the incident.”
Chetan was staying in the barracks. His
family includes his wife and two children aged 6 and 8.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted on
Monday evening: “The cold-blooded murders carried out by an RPF constable is
the result of a hyper-charged and highly polarised news media and social media
atmosphere. The genie of hate is now out of the bottle and it will take a lot
of collective effort to put it back in.”
Ramesh added: “The message of the Bharat
Jodo Yatra was aimed to dial down the hate and violence spreading due to the
ideology of the RSS, and the politics of prejudice and polarisation of the BJP.
Its top leadership is complicit in damaging the social fabric of India. The
vast majority of Indians will soon reject this politics of hatred and
vengeance.”
Chetan shot dead RPF assistant
sub-inspector Meena and another passenger in the B5 coach with his automatic
weapon after 5am. He then shot dead another passenger in the pantry car five
coaches away and went on to kill one more passenger in S6 coach, which is the
eighth bogie from the B5 coach, an official said.
A 25-year-old RPF constable, who is the
complainant in the case, said that Chetan tried to strangulate him before going
on the firing spree, a GRP official said. The GRP official, citing the FIR,
said complainant constable Amay Ghanshyaam Acharya said Chetan was not feeling
well.
So, ASI Meena advised him to take rest
and have medicines when the train arrives in Mumbai. The complainant said
Chetan went to sleep but after 15 minutes, he woke up and started demanding his
rifle. When Acharya refused to give him the weapon, he tried to strangulate him
and managed to take the rifle and left the spot in anger, he said.
Acharya went to the pantry car and
narrated the incident to his seniors. Acharya feared Chetan may attack him and
so he hid in a sleeper coach.
The assailant later got down from the train
and started walking on the tracks between the Meera Road and Dahisar stations.
Acharya asked passengers to close the windows and saw Chetan firing on the
train indiscriminately, said the official, quoting from the FIR.
According to an official, the alarm
chain in the train was pulled around 5.59am. As the train came to a halt near
Mira Road station, Singh jumped down on the railway tracks with his weapon and
started running. He was nabbed by personnel of GRP and RPF after a chase and
his weapon was seized.
“The incident occurred after 5am after
the Mumbai-bound Jaipur Superfast Express crossed Vapi station (in Gujarat).
RPF constable Chetan Singh, who was on escort duty, opened fire at his senior
Tika Ram Meena and went on shooting dead three more passengers in different
bogies of the train,” Shisve said.
According to the GRP, Singh fired 12
rounds from his automatic weapon. The GRP recovered eight bullets from his
automatic weapon after the incident.
Four RPF personnel, including Chetan,
were escorting the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express from Surat station in Gujarat
on Monday.
The accused constable was attached to
the Lower Parel RPF post here, while ASI Tika Ram Meena was attached to the
Dadar RPF post.
An official said ASI Meena hailed from
Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. He was supposed to retire in 2025. Meena is
survived by his wife, a 20-year-old son and a 22-year-old daughter.
Source: telegraphindia.com
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Two Home Guards Killed, Several Injured
in Clash During Vishva Hindu Parishad Event in Haryana; Gurugram Mosque Set on
Fire
Security
personnel attempt to disperse miscreants after stones were pelted at a 'Brij
Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra', in Nuh. / PTI photo
-----
Our Bureau and Agencies Gurgaon
01.08.23
Two home guards were killed and at least
15 people, including several policemen, were injured on Monday as protesters in
Haryana’s Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession.
Shots were fired, stones pelted and cars
set on fire, officials said.
The Union home ministry is despatching
15 companies of central forces to Haryana as violence also erupted in Sohna in
the neighbouring Gurgaon district, adjacent to Delhi.
According to police, the VHP’s Brij
Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra was stopped by a group of young men near Nuh’s Khedla
Mod and stones were pelted at the procession. Cars were then set ablaze.
People in the procession also hurled
stones back at the youths who had stopped them, reports said. Later, many took
refuge in a nearby temple as police tried to evacuate them to safety.
The yatra was flagged off from Gurgaon’s
Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar. A police contingent was
deployed with the procession.
According to some claims, the trigger
for the clash was an objectionable video posted on social media by a Bajrang
Dal activist in Ballabhgarh.
There were also reports that Monu
Manesar, a cow vigilante booked earlier for the murder of two Muslim men whose
charred bodies were found in Bhiwani district in February, was supposed to join
the procession.
The vigilante, however, told PTI that he
did not participate on the advice of the VHP, which feared that his presence
would create tension.
As news of the clash in Muslim-dominated
Nuh spread, protesters in Sohna pelted stones and set ablaze four vehicles and
a shop belonging to people from that community. Protesters there blocked a road
for hours.
About 2,500 men, women and children at a
Shiva temple in Nuh were evacuated by the police, Haryana home minister Anil
Vij said. The evacuees apparently included devotees and those who had taken
shelter there as the two sides clashed.
Prohibitory orders banning the assembly
of people were clamped in Nuh and Gurgaon districts. Mobile Internet services
were suspended in Nuh and Faridabad up to Wednesday.
Educational institutes were ordered
closed Tuesday in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Palwal districts as a precautionary
measure.
Haryana minister Vij said one man was
brought dead to a Nuh hospital where 16 others were admitted.
Gurgaon police commissioner Kala
Ramachandran said two home guards, attached with her district, were killed in
the violence in adjoining Nuh. About 10 police personnel were injured in Nuh
violence, the official said.
Another police officer said home guard
Neeraj died because of a gunshot wound. The other home guard killed in the
violence was identified as Gursevak.
Suspending mobile Internet services in
Nuh, the BJP-led Haryana government said there was “intense communal tension”
in the area.
Late at night, Nuh authorities said the
situation was “under control”. Representatives from both communities held a
meeting in which officials and local leaders too took part. Another meeting was
slated for Tuesday morning, they said.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal
Khattar appealed for calm in Nuh, invoking the slogan “Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek”
(Haryanvis are one).
An alert has been sounded in Rajasthan’s
Bharatpur district following the violence in neighbouring Haryana.
PTI
Source: telegraphindia.com
Please
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/two-home-guards-killed-several-injured-in-clash-during-vishva-hindu-parishad-event-in-haryana/cid/1955839
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Leicestershire Police Give Award To
Anti-Muslim Hindutva Extremist, Bageshwar Dham Baba; Muslim Organisation MEND
Demands Investigation
Dhirendra
Shastri proudly displaying his award by Leicestershire Police
------
31st July 2023
A prominent anti-Muslim Hindutva
extremist recently spoke at a Hindu community centre in Leicester and was even
given an award by Leicestershire Police.
Dhirendra Shastri, also known as
Bageshwar Dham Baba, is a famous 25-year-old Indian Hindu guru who regularly
targets Muslims in his discourse. Several BJP leaders are among his devotees.
He spoke at Prajapati Hall (a community
centre which contains a Hindu Temple) in front of a large audience on July 22
and was given an NPA Commanders Award for Recognition of Service by
Leicestershire Police for his support to the local communities of Leicester.
Shastri has publicly backed “bulldozer
politics,” which the Hindutva far-right hails as a means to a “final solution” for
Muslims in India. He has urged Hindus to unite and buy bulldozers, demolish the
homes of ‘stone pelters’… India belongs to Hindus.”
He was seen cheerfully clapping and
laughing at the demolition of Muslim houses in the aftermath of anti-Muslim
violence in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh.
In some speeches, he has backed arming
Hindus – “Hindus are required to have spears along with a string of beads (used
for prayer).”
Other incendiary remarks he has made
include:
“Keep supporting me, and I will give you
Hindu Rashtra, don’t sit in homes wearing bangles (like women); reciting Radhe
Radhe won’t save the religion (from Muslims and Christians).”
“Hindus unite! Ramcharitmanas (Hindu
religious text) will be made the constitution (for India) and India will be
declared Hindu Rashtra.”
Threatening Muslims: “If you want to
live in India then say Sita Ram. For your own good, stay within limits.”
“If you (Hindus) are united, you will
make India or Pakistan a Hindu nation.”
Leicestershire Police told 5Pillars:
“Following an event that was not organised through the police, some challenging
logistical problems arose and needed to be responded to at the time.
“As a result the local East Leicester
Chief Inspector, Inspector and PCSO wanted to acknowledge the help that was
given by the event to ensure the continued safety of the public.
“Therefore, a thank you was given to
those involved to show that the help given was appreciated in what was a
complex and busy gathering in East Leicester.
“This should not be confused with any
more formal awards or commendations that are issued by Leicestershire Police,
but rather as it was intended, a thank you to those who helped keep the public
safe.”
However, Muslim organisation MEND has
demanded an investigation by Leicestershire Police.
MEND said: “His reprehensible calls for
violence against Muslims, advocating for bulldozing in reference to Muslim
homes and his vision of a Muslim-free Indo-Pakistan region reveal the extent of
his dangerous beliefs.
“What’s shocking is that this comes less
than a year after hostilities in Leicester, where Muslims were primarily
targeted by RSS Hindutva extremists. Allowing Shastri’s presence and influence
in the city, along with a commendation, will undoubtedly fuel further tensions
between Hindus and Muslims, undoing any progress towards restoring
cohesiveness.
“Leicester Police’s failure to recognise
the extremist nature of Shastri’s ideology is alarming. By commending him, they
display indifference towards Islamophobia and the welfare of Muslims in the
community, perpetuating an atmosphere of fear and discrimination.
“We call upon Leicestershire Police to
immediately revoke their commendation of Dhirendra Shastri and launch a
thorough investigation into his ideology and nature. Embracing an individual
with such hateful views can only harm community relations and pose a threat to
social harmony.
“Additionally, we urge Hindus in
Leicester to reject Dhirendra Shastri’s Islamophobic rhetoric. Unity, respect
and understanding between communities are essential for any society. Embracing
divisive figures will only sow seeds of animosity, hindering
progress/cooperation.
“Let’s stand together against hatred and
bigotry, fostering an environment of acceptance and inclusivity. Leicester can
be a beacon of unity, but only if we actively denounce hate and extremism and
work towards building bridges between all communities.”
And local activist Majid Freeman added:
“We are appealing to all community networks to keep an eye on vulnerable
members of the Leicester Hindu community who are being targeted and groomed by
the RSS Hindutva government in India for short-term political goals. We will
not let Modi and his BJP strategists destroy the good inter-faith relations we
have enjoyed for a very long time. We await a full explanation from.”
The development comes nearly one year
after Muslim and Hindu youths confronted each other on the streets of Leicester
leading to scores of arrests and several jail sentences.
Muslims told 5Pillars that the unrest
was instigated by Hindutva thugs, but Hindus have said this is a false
narrative which has made them fearful and targeted.
Source: 5pillarsuk.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://5pillarsuk.com/2023/07/31/leicestershire-police-give-award-to-anti-muslim-hindutva-extremist/
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Muslims, Christians Join Forces to
Protest LGBTQ+ Pride in Canada: 'Let Kids Be Kids'
Muslims
protest in Calgary against gender ideology in K-12 education.
(Screenshot/TikTok)
-----
July 31, 2023
People of different faiths are joining
forces to protest gender ideology curriculum they find inappropriate in
Canadian schools, according to The Toronto Star.
The issue that has become integral to
school board discussions and beyond in the U.S. is no exception in Canada as
well, where, according to the outlet, parents sporting hijabs and
"keffiyeh" or a scarf symbolizing Palestinian solidarity, stood
beside parents who wore Bible verses on their shirts.
All because these unlikely allies have a
common goal.
"When I came here 22 years ago, the
Christians were the majority, and I was a Muslim," Aziz Wadya, an Egyptian
immigrant and one of the Muslims criticizing the LGBTQ+ ideological expansion,
said, per the report.
"They did not force the agenda to
teach my kid Christianity. They respected my identity, even though they were
the majority. Now, less than one percent of the population force their agenda
on every single one of us," he added.
The protest garnering media attention
erupted in downtown Calgary, a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, but
those opposing the gender ideology curriculum weren't alone. Prepared to shout
back, counterprotesters urged the discontent parents to "leave queer kids
alone."
But one Christian – Joe Schellenberg – described his group's
display of unity with Muslims as "very sweet," The Star reported.
"I'm so happy we can come together
on this … One Muslim lady came up to me earlier and just blessed me, put her
hand on me as a Christian, and I just felt that was a very sweet moment,"
he said.
Similar to disputes that have unfolded
in the United States, some parents behind the protests are concerned that
schools are focusing too much on the topic, offering instruction about sexual
content and hosting LGBTQ+ themed events such as drag queen story hour.
In the backdrop, Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau blasted the American right-wing recently, after other dustups
ensued surrounding Muslim students skipping school to avoid pride events and a
teacher allegedly criticized them for doing so, saying, "It goes two ways.
If you want to be respected for who you are, if you don’t want to suffer
prejudice for your religion, your color of skin or whatever, then you better
give it back to people who are different from you. That’s how it works."
Trudeau, speaking to the Muslim
community at a mosque in Calgary, received a plea from someone who asked that
he help protect their culture, and "belief, the sin that you are doing to
them."
Trudeau responded, "First of all,
there is an awful lot of misinformation and disinformation out there [from]
people on social media, particularly fueled by the American right-wing are
spreading a lot of untruths about what is actually… in the curriculum."
Mourra, a father of five who was
identified as the organizer behind the Calgary protest, took his discontent
with school curriculum a step further and removed his kids from public schools
altogether, choosing to homeschool them instead.
He, like Schellenberg, said he was
pleasantly surprised that groups that once opposed each other could come
together and rally around a common cause.
"I felt so shocked when I saw the
people who used to scream against us and make fun of our religion, mopping the
floor with us, to come to our protest and say Allahu akbar," he said,
according to The Toronto Star.
Muslim parents have also spoken out in
the U.S., including activist Sameera Munshi, who joined other parents in
criticizing Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools for removing an option
to opt-out of LGBTQ+ sexuality curriculum.
She accused the board of mocking Muslim
values and only agreeing to care for the Muslim community and protect their
rights if they abide by popular ideological narratives.
Source: foxnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.foxnews.com/media/muslims-christians-join-forces-protest-lgbtq-pride-canada-let-kids-be-kids
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Islamist Militants Behead At Least 10
Farmers In Nigeria's Borno State, Residents Say
Representative
Image: Credit/Stock Photo
-------
Reuters
August 1, 2023
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 31 (Reuters) -
Islamist militants have beheaded at least 10 farmers in Nigeria's northern
state of Borno after attacking their farms, residents said on Monday.
Last week, militants killed at least 25
people and wounded others in attacks on two villages in Borno state, a hotbed
for insurgency and the center of a more than a decade-long insurgency in
Nigeria that has spilled into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.
Abubakar Masta, a farmer who escaped,
said the assailants attacked their farms in Kawuri village of Konduga local government
area of Borno State on Monday around 08:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), on motorbikes,
carrying rifles.
"I saw 10 corpses of my friends who
were slaughtered," Abubakar said, as security officials were recovering
the bodies.
Residents said suspected Islamist group
Boko Haram was behind the attack.
The Islamic State of West Africa
(ISWAP), a regional affiliate of the Islamic state, is also active in Borno
state.
The militants have been killing farmers,
residents said, disrupting farming villages, which could lead to increases in
food prices for a country already struggling with double-digit inflation.
A police spokesperson did not
immediately respond to calls to confirm the deaths of the farmers.
One resident, Alkali Mommodu, said he
helped the military in its response and recovered 10 bodies.
Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi Writing by
Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Grant McCool
Source: reuters.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/islamist-militants-behead-least-10-farmers-nigerias-borno-state-residents-2023-07-31/
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India
Gurugram Mosque Set on Fire Was the Only
One of Govt-Allocated Land in the Area
New Delhi: Gurgaon’s Sector 57 mosque
was vandalised, set on fire and its deputy imam murdered by a mob amidst
reports of tension prevailing in Haryana’s Mewat after a Hindutva procession
caused a communal flare up.
Sources told The Wire the mosque was
attacked at 12:30 am last night by a large armed mob which fired on the mosque
and then set it on fire. The chief imam of the mosque was away to his village
last night. But the naib-imam or deputy imam, who would lead prayers in his
absence, was assaulted, stabbed 13 times with swords, etc. and his throat slit
before he was killed. Another person present in the premises was also badly
beaten up and shot in the knee. He is presently in the ICU.
Sources at the hospital the two were
taken to – W Pratiksha Hospital – confirmed to The Wire that one of the victims
was brought dead, with multiple stab wounds in his chest.
Only mosque in New Gurugram on
government-allocated land
The Sector 57 mosque is the only mosque
on a government-allocated land in the planned urban developed area in Gurugram
and, as The Hindu reported in 2021, it “caters to almost half of the city’s
municipal area spread across south and east zones and a large section of the
floating population commuting to the Millennium City daily for work”.
Though it is the only mosque in the
area, despite having been allotted the land earmarked for a mosque on August
11, 2006 and having secured a clearance for its building plans earlier, further
construction has not recommenced pending revalidation of the plans from the
government.
Supreme Court dismissed petition against
it this May
It was only recently, on May 1, that a
two-judge bench of the Supreme Court finally dismissed the petition against the
mosque. The court said:
“After hearing the learned counsel for
the parties, we are not convinced that the petitioners have made out a case for
exercising jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution. However, we
reiterate the observations and directions which are contained in the impugned
order(s) which shall be strictly complied with by the sixth respondent- Haryana
Anjuman Charitable Trust as also the Public Authority.
We record the submission of learned
counsel for the sixth respondent that the sixth respondent will make available
volunteers (Traffic Volunteers) so that the problem arising out of increasing
traffic is adequately redressed. That apart, we direct that over and above the
said assurance being recorded, that the Commissioner of Traffic Police,
Gurugram, Haryana will deploy police personnel in sufficient numbers as and
when required and particularly without fail on every Friday so that they will
efficiently control and regulate the Traffic in such a way that all the people
in the area are least inconvenienced.
We further record the submission of the
learned counsel for the sixth respondent that there will be no noise pollution
caused by it and the sixth respondent shall not use loud speakers for Azaan.
The Commissioner of Traffic Police,
Gurugram, Haryana will make assessment and make suitable arrangements so that
apart from Fridays, police personnel are always present so as to obviate any
untoward situation. He may consider establishing a Traffic Police Post/Booth in
the vicinity of the Mosque in question, if he deems it fit.
Subject to the aforesaid directions, the
special leave petitions are disposed of. Pending application(s), if any, stand
disposed of.”
The context
It is learnt that a few weeks before
this attack, the mosque had been attacked by miscreants from a neighbouring
village.
The police had acted promptly on
information being shared with them and detained several attackers. However, due
to intervention of residents and elders, in order to restore peace in the area,
the matter was ultimately resolved by negotiation.
About six months after the construction
on the plot allotted for the mosque began in 2004, some real estate agents etc.
moved the Punjab and Haryana high court, saying that the land allocated for the
mosque was earmarked for other purposes.
The petition was rejected by the high
court but an order was obtained to “maintain status-quo” from the Supreme
Court, which lasted for 12 years.
As a result, despite being granted
permission from the authorities to build three storeys, only the basement and
the ground floor were built where prayers were held. The namaz controversy in
Gurugram had driven more and more Muslims to pray here.
While the building plan of the mosque
has been sanctioned by the government, it is possible to do the work only if
construction starts within a stipulated time period of getting the permission.
As the stay meant that time was missed, sources say that “permission to
revalidate the old building plan is pending in the chief minister, M.L.
Khattar’s office”.
Source: thewire.in
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://thewire.in/communalism/gurugram-mosque-set-on-fire-was-the-only-one-of-govt-allocated-land-in-the-area
---------
Owaisi Alleges Jaipur-Mumbai Train
Firing Incident As 'Targeting Muslims'
August 1, 2023
Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), alleged that the firing incident on the
Mumbai-bound Jaipur Express Train was a terror attack targeting Muslims. The
incident occurred near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra when a Railway
Protection Force (RPF) constable shot dead his senior colleague and three
passengers. The victims were identified as Abdul Qadirbhai Mohammed Hussain
Bhanpurwala, Akhtar Abbas Ali, and Sadar Mohammed Hussain.
A video clip went viral on social media,
showing the accused, Chetan Singh, standing near one of the victims and making
controversial statements about the attack. He mentioned the involvement of
Pakistan and criticised the media's coverage, while also expressing his support
for political figures like Modi, Yogi, and Thackeray.
"... Pakistan se operate hue ye,
aur media yehi coverage dikharahihai, unko sab patachalrahahai ye kyakarrahe
hain... Agar vote denahai, agar Hindustan meinrehnahai to maikehtahoon Modi aur
Yogi, ye do hain, aur aapke Thackeray." Singh was quoted as saying by
Hindustan Times. Asaduddin Owaisi shared a part of the video on his official
Twitter handle. It read, "One of the victims of #JaipurExpressTerrorAttack
is seen in this video. He is struggling for his life."
Source: oneindia.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.oneindia.com/india/owaisi-alleges-jaipur-mumbai-train-firing-incident-as-targeting-muslims-3598549.html
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Gyanvapi mosque 'historical wrong',
claims Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath
01st August 2023
By Namita Bajpai
LUCKNOW: Days ahead of the Allahabad
High Court’s order on a scientific probe into the Gyanvapi mosque premises in
Varanasi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ruffled many feathers by saying the
Muslim community should acknowledge the mosque as a ‘historical mistake’ and
come forward to thrash out a solution.
During a podcast interview with a news
agency, the CM, in his first reaction to the controversy, claimed that calling
Gyanvapi a mosque was problematic and that it should just be called Gyanvapi.
“If we call it a mosque, there will be a
dispute... What is a trident doing inside a mosque? How is the Jyotirlinga
present there? What are the images of deities doing there? We did not put them
there. The walls of the structure are screaming, to tell the truth,” Adityanath
said in reply to a query about what should be done to resolve the dispute.
“I think the Muslim society should come
forward with a proposal that a historic mistake has happened and that they want
a solution,” he added.
The Allahabad High Court is about to
deliver its verdict on a plea of the Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, the mosque
management committee, challenging the Varanasi district court order of July 21
directing the ASI to conduct a survey to determine if the mosque was built upon
a pre-existing temple. All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s Mohd Suleman said
the CM’s views hurt him.
Source: newindianexpress.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/aug/01/gyanvapi-mosque-historical-wrong-claims-uttar-pradesh-cm-adityanath-2600680.html
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‘Instant triple talaq a gruesome
cruelty’: V P Suhara, a crusader against triple talaq petition, speaks on
Muslim Women’s Rights Day
August 1, 2023
Written by Chithira N Raju
August 1 is regarded as Muslim Women’s
Rights Day to commemorate the enactment of law against instant triple talaq. V
P Suhara, head of Nisa, a progressive Muslim women’s group in Kerala, was one
among the petitioners in the Supreme Court that declared the discriminatory
practice of instantly divorcing a Muslim wife unconstitutional in 2017. A
victim of triple talaq herself, Suhara reminisces the struggles she had gone
through and the problems women in the minority community continue to face after
the enactment of the law.
Triple talaq is the practice prevalent
in Muslim community that allows a husband to instantly divorce his wife simply
by uttering ‘talaq’ (divorce) three times. The central government enforced the
Triple Talaq law on August 1, 2019.
Suhara told indianexpress.com that she
had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the practice of triple talaq
in 2015. However, she added she was not listed among the petitioners.
Advocate Sriram Parakkat, a lawyer at
the Supreme Court, said her matter was heard as an impleading plea. “However,
there was not much fanfare at that time for her other than one or two news
articles about her. Other petitioners were in the limelight as I was a junior
lawyer then compared to seniors who filed others’ petitions.”
Problems Muslim women still face
The 70-year-old activist, who felt
victorious when the apex court declared triple talaq unconstitutional, says that
women’s woes however do not end with the law enforcement. “As per the law, if a
man pronounces ‘talaq’ thrice and the woman or her close relative files a
complaint, the man will be imprisoned for three years. This leaves the wife
with no financial assistance and she is left in distress along with her
children, if any. Also, after filing a complaint, women undergo intense
pressure from family and others to withdraw the case, settle the matter outside
the court. In the end, the woman is the one who is in distress,” Suhara points
out, while adding that in some instances, women are also supposed to return the
‘Mehr’ (the gift the bride receives from the groom on the wedding day) they
received during marriage, which is misogynistic. It adds to their financial distress.
The key issues Muslim women still face
are polygamy, nikah halal (practice of marrying a woman for a short while,
divorcing her to remarry the former wife), the paternal authority of children,
Suhara says
‘Instant triple talaq: a gruesome
cruelty’
Suhara was married at the age of 15 to a
man who was 10 years older than her and after four years of their marriage, the
man sent her a letter pronouncing talaq. She was abandoned with two children –
aged two and other two months. The social worker, who terms triple talaq a
gruesome cruelty towards women, has penned down her personal experiences with
the discriminatory practice in her autobiography ‘JorayudeKadha’.
“They are not even given human
consideration. A man lives with a woman for a long time and a woman invests a
lot emotionally in the relationship. However, once a man feels attracted to
someone else, instantly he pronounces talaq,” Suhara says. She remarks that
after the law came into force, there is a sense of fear among men to pronounce
talaq,” she added.
Initially, Suhara regarded her personal
experience as “my fate or even as a result of my ancestor’s deeds. Later, I
realised it’s a problem of the law”.
The activist interacted with several
other women from the community and understood the gravity of the problem. “Our
group studied the problem and went door-to-door speaking about it, organised
meetings and protests against the practice,” she says.
Fight for minority women’s inheritance
rights
The Nisa group filed a petition before
the Supreme Court for inheritance rights for Muslim women in 2016. “Along with
another organisation, we filed a case in the Kerala High Court. However, it was
quashed,” Suhara says. But that did not discourage Suhara who went on to file a
case in the Supreme Court. The apex court sought Kerala government’s stance.
However, the state government discussed the matter with religious fanatics from
the community who said there was no problem in the Shariat law. “Then we talked
to the Chief Minister and gave a petition urging him to include us, women, also
in the discussion,” she says, while asserting that inheritance is a woman’s
basic right.
“On the basis of gender, she should not
be denied her ancestral wealth. Why are women regarded as inferiors? In the
case of a family with a single girl child, no matter how tirelessly a father
works to earn money, a large portion of his wealth will go towards the father’s
male relative. A person who desires to bestow his wealth to his own children
does not even have the right to do so,” Suhara points out.
However, the veteran activist is
apprehensive about the implementation of Uniform Civil Code. “We have a sense
of fear as it’s the Hindutva party-led government. We cannot support it.”
“We need an alternative. We made a model
bill (bringing amendment to the Indian Succession Act) after consultation with
legal experts and urged Kerala government to pass it in concurrent list. The
Kerala government responded saying it’s a matter related to the whole country
and the Centre needs to pass the order. We may approach the central
government,” she clarifies.
Suhara has been active in
socio-political activities since 1987. She had spearheaded Nisa since 1997.
Recollecting the early days of Nisa, Suhara said, “It all began with
Sugathakumari teacher. Kerala Women’s Commission was instituted in 1997. At
that time a woman who had seven children was instantly divorced through triple
talaq and evicted from her husband’s house. Sugathakumari, who was the
chairperson of Kerala Women’s Commission conducted a seminar in Kozhikode to
discuss the issue. However, Sugathakumari was criticised by many asking why a
Nair woman was speaking for Muslim women. At that time, I was inspired to form
an organisation for the women in my community to bring out their struggles.”
Suhara fought several odds in her early
years as she strived for the betterment of women in her community. She was
termed anti-Muslim and anti-Shariat especially at a time when ‘Arabi Kalyanam’
was rampant in Kerala. ‘Arabi Kalyanam’ is a practice of Arab men marrying
Kerala Muslim women and taking them to their native land. “Once they have
children, the women were sent back. Their children were later deprived of
citizenship here. The key problem was that they did not comply with the rules
in India permitting foreigners to get married to women here.”
Suhara actively conducted campaigns and
delivered a series of speeches ahead of the All India Women’s Conference held
in Kozhikode in December 1990. Interestingly, she says in her book that the key
office-bearers of the national conference that was aimed at women’s
emancipation were men and she was given the charge of food committee. At a time
when women-led rallies were not well-accepted, Suhara joined hands with other
women’s groups such as Thiruvananthapuram-based ‘Prajodhana’, and ‘Prabhudhata’
led by K V Devi in Payyannur to organise campaigns highlighting women’s issues.
Abuses were hurled at us and there were attempts to thwart the campaign, she
says. Prominent women leaders such as writer Sarah Joseph, K Ajitha, a social
worker were part of All India Women’s Conference, she recalls in her
autobiography.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/instant-triple-talaq-v-p-suhara-muslim-womens-rights-day-8870672/
--------
Europe
Christian Iraqi Immigrants Staged
Another Quran Burning InStockholmOutside Swedish Parliament – AFP
31 Jul, 2023
Iraqi immigrants staged another Quran
burning in Stockholm on Monday, kicking and stomping on the Muslim holy book
before setting some torn-out pages on fire outside the Swedish parliament
building, according to AFP.
“I will continue until they ban this
book,” Salwan Momika, a Christian refugee who sought political asylum in Sweden
in 2018, told Swedish broadcaster SVT.
It was the third Quran burning carried
out by Momika and his partner Salwan Najem, both of whom are currently under
investigation for hate speech by Swedish authorities. They previously burned
the Quran on the Muslim holiday of Eid outside Stockholm’s Grand Mosque. Momika
also stomped on the Quran and wiped his shoes with the Iraqi flag outside the
Iraqi embassy in Stockholm earlier this month.
While Najem became a Swedish citizen in
2005, seven years after arriving in the country, Momika’s three-year residence
permit is reportedly in danger of being revoked. Swedish authorities who began
probing his social media after the first Quran burning found he had played a
leading role in a Christian militia group said to be allied with Iran – even
though the militia fought against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL)
terror group.
The international fallout from the
protests has been swift – Iraq cut diplomatic ties with Sweden, multiple
Muslim-majority nations have summoned their Swedish ambassadors to complain,
and counter-protesters have swarmed Sweden’s embassy in Baghdad twice. Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned Stockholm that “those who have
insulted the Holy Quran deserve the severest punishment.”
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told
Swedish news outlet TT last week that the Security Service had information that
Sweden was now being “d” as a target for terrorism. “We are in the most serious
security policy situation since the Second World War,” he warned in an
Instagram post on Sunday.
The PM said he was “deeply concerned”
that permit applications for further Quran-desecrating protests were flooding
in to police headquarters. Authorities are only allowed to refuse such requests
if there were “serious public disturbances” or a “considerable danger” to
participants at previous similar gatherings under Swedish law.
A planned burning of the Torah in front
of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm did not go ahead on Friday after Israel’s
foreign minister warned his Swedish counterpart it would harm relations between
the two countries.
Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Lokke
Rasmussen revealed on Sunday that Copenhagen was working on outlawing Quran
desecration – or defiling any religion’s holy book – in front of foreign
embassies, saying the government was determined to find a solution that did not
also curtail freedom of expression.
Source: rt.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.rt.com/news/580637-iraqi-immigrants-quran-burning-sweden/
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Yr Wyddfa: 300 Muslim Hikers come
together to climb Mount Snowdon and reconnect with nature
Monday 31 July 2023
Around 300 members of the Muslim Hikers
group gathered over the weekend to embark on their annual climb up Yr Wyddfa.
The group was founded by Haroon Mota to
create opportunities for people from the Muslim and South Asian communities to
come together and reconnect with nature.
With trekking poles and coffee cups in
their hand, it was an early start for these eager hikers.
Mr Mota said the group started out as an
Instagram page in 2020.
Now it is the largest community in the
world for Muslims interested in the outdoors, according to Mr Mota.
He told ITV News: "People from all
over the country are joining us, we’ve got someone travelling from Belgium as
well.
"We’ve seen people in our events
before travel all the way from San Francisco, New York and different parts of
Europe and I think that symbolises the power of community."
Zahra Rose Alazaibi, who is the social
media manager for Muslim Hikers, said: "I think for a lot of South Asians,
they haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors or to be outdoors have
that safety net to be outdoors.
"I think it’s a remarkable way to
allow people to discover themselves and also to discover new passions and new
hobbies. Also, to be around like minded people and have their community around
them while doing all of this."
It is estimated that people from Black,
Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds only make up to 1 % of national park
visitors, despite making up to around 14% of the general population.
Muslim Hikers is hoping to increase the
numbers through recruiting more members.
Zarida Riaz, 51, is a nurse with the NHS
who has hiked with the group a number of times.
She said: “Working full-time means it
can be hard to get out. I think it’s important to keep moving especially for
women of my age with the menopause. So, you need to improve your mental health
as well as be an influence for other people and be a role model.”
Yr Wyddfa was the first summit the group
climbed together, which is why they are marking their 3rd anniversary by
returning to Eryri.
Muslim Hikers travel across the UK,
exploring different locations each week, inspiring more people from the Muslim
and South Asian communities to get outdoors.
Source: itv.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2023-07-31/people-want-to-connect-with-one-another-300-muslim-hikers-climb-yr-wyddfa
---------
North America
Colorado teen pleads not guilty to
trying to join Islamic State group
August 1, 2023
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado teenager
pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of attempting to support a designated
foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State group.
Davin Meyer, 18, sat handcuffed at his
arraignment in a federal courtroom in Denver and didn’t say anything about the
allegations. Earlier this month, Meyer was arrested when he tried to board a
plane to Turkey, where prosecutors say he planned to become a fighter for IS.
David Kaplan, Meyer’s attorney, declined
to comment on the case. The trial is not yet scheduled.
In November, after he turned 18, Meyer
began communicating over the internet with someone he believed was an IS
facilitator, and another who presented themselves as an ISIS travel
facilitator, according to the arrest affidavit, but both were actually undercover
informants.
In a previous court hearing, Meyer’s
mother, Deanna Meyer, testified that her son wouldn’t have tried traveling to
the Middle East if not for the support of people he met who shared his views,
including the FBI informants.
This was in response to a judge’s
question about whether her son — who was diagnosed with autism — understood the
gravity of the situation, given his condition.
The prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney
Melissa Hindman, argued that the young man was already committed to radical
Islam before the informants spoke with him.
During Monday’s hearing, prosecutors
didn’t speak about the allegations and the U.S. Attorney’s office did not
immediately respond to an emailed request for comment after the hearing.
Deanna Meyer had reached out to law
enforcement when Davin was 17 over concerns about his escalating “radical
Islamic beliefs” and openly expressing violent intentions, according to court
documents. The FBI was later notified, it said.
Source: apnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-terrorism-colorado-teen-trial-c81cae23eb7bc79357381eade087eb4b
---------
Islamic group suggests that member
nations downgrade ties with countries that allow Quran burnings
August 1, 2023
BEIRUT (AP) — The Organization for Islamic
Cooperation urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries
that permit public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling
of ambassadors.
The Saudi Arabia-based group made the
call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign
ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned
or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.
The organization’s 57 member countries
should “consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem
appropriate in their relations” with Sweden, Denmark, and other countries that
allow such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.
It encouraged civil society
organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where
the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits “before taking
their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.”
It also called for more efforts at
outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing
of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in
Sweden.
Many of the points in the final
statement echoed recommendations made by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein,
who also called on the United Nations to “take measures to prevent these
incidents.”
Ahead of the meeting, two men who had
previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of
a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counter-protesters.
In both Sweden and Denmark, t here is no
law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high
regard.
But as the recent Quran burnings have
sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries,
officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there
should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke
Rasmussen, said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that
the government is seeking a “legal tool” to prohibit such inflammatory acts
without compromising freedom of expression.
In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf
Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal
situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the
animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.
Before Monday’s meeting, the OIC had
already suspended the status of Sweden’s special envoy over the Quran burnings.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias
Billström said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in
OIC countries to explain how Sweden’s freedom of expression works and that
police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that “the
government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out
by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.”
The Danish foreign minister said his
“government condemned and denounced the insult” to the Quran and “that it is
studying this issue with great interest.”
Source: apnews.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://apnews.com/article/organization-islamic-cooperation-quran-meeting-iraq-sweden-denmark-0d6796f7ecb0bd0c11ba1d7f13d4a4d4
--------
Descendants of expelled Muslims renew
ties with Crete
July 31, 2023
HERAKLION, Greece — At the end of June,
friends from the Turkish cities of Izmir (formerly Smyrna) and Kuşadasi pinged
my phone with dozens of photos, videos and social media posts from the Cretan
Federation of Turkey’s 11th International Cretan Festival, a three-day event I
didn’t expect to see in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey.
One video from Erol Gurman showed a
delegation of Cretan musicians and dancers performing folk dances in
traditional costume under the watchful image of Turkey’s founding father
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Turkish flag. The men dressed in black leather
boots, navy blue vests and baggy, pleated breeches with fringed kerchiefs
called saríkia wrapped around their heads and knives tucked into their belts.
The women wore colorful pleated skirts and hand-woven aprons adorned with
intricate patterns and long-sleeved vests embroidered with gold thread.
In another video shot in a large,
open-air park, the costumed dancers were nearly lost in a crowd, thousands of
people of all ages linking arms, dancing to the lute and lyra. And even though
I currently live in Heraklion, the capital of Crete, I wish I could have been
there to experience it.
The annual gathering of the federation’s
18 member associations from along the Anatolian coast features live music and
dance, home-cooked Cretan dishes, film screenings, lectures and photo
exhibitions. The festival is the biggest event of the year, a cultural
touchstone for Turkey’s one million Turkocretans, Muslims whose ancestors
emigrated from Crete to Anatolia either before or during a mandatory 1923
population exchange that displaced 1.3 million Orthodox Christians from Turkey
and 400,000 Muslims from Greece.
The descendants of those refugees have
one foot in Greece and one in Turkey, countries whose relations have been
acrimonious and at times bloody. The two NATO allies have long argued over
maritime and airspace boundaries, energy resources in the eastern
Mediterranean, the demilitarization of islands and Turkey’s occupation of
northern Cyprus. Following re-election, Erdogan and his new ministers continue
to promote Turkey’s revisionist “Blue Homeland” doctrine that challenges the
sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus.
Last November, while based on the Aegean
island of Chios, I traveled across the narrow strait to Izmir to meet
Turkocretans who had resettled in the neighborhoods of Bornova and Eşrefpaşa.
Later, in Crete, I visited statues, exhibitions and associations commemorating
the exchange and satisfied my sweet tooth at patisseries run by Anatolian
Greeks. I learned that despite their religious differences, the descendants of
the 1923 exchangees in Turkey and Greece understand the trauma of exile and the
difficulty of rebuilding lives in foreign places. With a shared longing for
their homelands and a desire to preserve their customs and traditions, they are
uniquely positioned as a bridge between the two countries.
Source: icwa.org
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.icwa.org/muslims-in-greece-strengthen-ties/
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CAIR-WA Seeks Public’s Help Identifying
Suspects After Burglary at Federal Way Mosque
July 31, 2023
Ibrahim Hooper
(SEATTLE, WA, 7/31/2023) – The
Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA), the
nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on
the public to help identify two individuals caught on video burglarizing the
Islamic Center of Federal Way.
In video shared by the mosque, two men
are seen entering the facility through a window. They walk all over the sacred
space with their shoes on, proceeding to break into the mosque’s office.
According to mosque officials, the proceeds from charitable donations were
stolen during the break-in.
“Seeing a house of worship targeted and
disrespected like this is highly concerning,” said Imraan Siddiqi, CAIR-WA’s
executive director. “We stand with the ICFW community in calling for those who
burglarized to be identified and caught.”
During a five-month span in 2021-22,
multiple mosques in Washington State were targeted by either hate, vandalism or
burglaries. The Federal Way mosque can
be contacted with any relevant information regarding this crime through the
organization’s Facebook page.
CAIR-WA also called on mosques and
Islamic institutions to use the advice offered in CAIR’s “Best Practices for
Mosque and Community Safety” booklet to help keep those facilities safe.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil
rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American
Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las
libertadesciviles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y
empoderar a losmusulmanesenlosEstados Unidos.
END
Source: cair.com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-wa-seeks-publics-help-identifying-suspects-after-burglary-at-federal-way-mosque/
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UK accidentally sent emails intended for
Pentagon to Russia’s ally Mali
Sunday, 30 July 2023
The UK has mistakenly sent emails,
containing classified information, intended for the Pentagon to the military
forces in the African country of Mali, which is a Russian ally, because of a
typing error.
According to a report by the Times on
Thursday, UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials were supposed to be sending
emails to the Pentagon, but accidentally sent them to Mali’s government instead.
The mistake was the result of a typo, as
the Pentagon’s domain name is “.mil,” while Mali’s is “.ml.”, the report said.
British authorities launched an
investigation after the media report.
“We have opened an investigation after a
small number of emails were mistakenly forwarded to an incorrect email domain,”
a spokesperson for MoD said on Friday.
The Times’ report added while most
emails sent to Mali were “innocuous” like information about when the foreign
ministry’s employees were on holiday, some contained “detailed descriptions” of
British research into hypersonic missiles.
However, the MoD rebuked the Times for
what it described as a misleading report about the incident.
“This report misleadingly claims state
secrets were sent to Mali’s email domain,” it said.
MoD claimed the emails sent to Mali were
fewer than 20 and did not contain any sensitive information.
“We assess fewer than 20 routine emails
were sent to an incorrect domain and are confident there was no breach of
operational security or disclosure of technical data,” the ministry tweeted.
“An investigation is ongoing. Emails of
this kind are not classified as secret or above.”
Earlier this month, an investigation by
the Financial Times revealed that since 2014, the US Army has been mistakenly
sending millions of emails meant for the Pentagon to Mali, again as a result of
the same typo.
It said some of these emails included
sensitive information, such as diplomatic documents, tax returns, passwords,
and officers’ travel details.
Mali is among the six African nations
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to provide with free grain shipments
within the next few months.
On Thursday, Putin told a summit of
African leaders that Russia will provide Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia,
Central African Republic, and Eritrea with 25-50,000 tons of free grain each in
the next 3-4 months to honor Moscow’s critical role in global food security.
The announcement came after Moscow’s
decision to quit the Black Sea grain deal, which allowed Ukraine to ship grain
from its seaports despite the war.
Source: presstv.ir
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/07/30/708002/UK-US-Mali-Military-Emails-
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Africa
Mali and Burkina Faso warn against any
foreign military intervention in Niger
In a move considered a tactical way to
protect the recent regime change in Niger, Mali’s military Junta said Monday
that they stand to support the coup leaders in Niamey.
Mali said that they stand together with
Burkina Faso to defend Niger and further warned that any foreign military
intervention in Niamey will be considered a declaration of war on both nations
with Niger.
“I warn that any military intervention
against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso
and Mali,” announce Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, State Minister for Territorial
Administration and Decentralisation, Mali junta.
The announcement was in response to the
outcome of a summit by regional bloc ECOWAS that gave a 7-day deadline to
Niger's coup leaders to free detained president Mohamed Barzoum and restore
civilian rule or face consequences, with military force an option being
considered.
Mali further denounced the persistent
sanctions by the ECOWAS upon the three countries terming the illegal.
“The transitional governments of Burkina
Faso and Mali, One: have expressed their fraternal solidarity of the people of
Mali and Burkina Faso with their brothers in Niger who have decided of their
own accord to take their destiny in hand and to assume their sovereignty. Two:
Denounce the persistence of the regional organisations to apply sanctions that
aggravate the suffering of the population and imperil the spirit of
PanAfricanism. Three: Refuse to apply these illegal, illegitimate and inhumane
sanctions against the Nigerien people and authorities," said Col.
Abdoulaye Maiga.
The declaration came from Col. Abdoulaye
Maiga, State minister for Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Mali
junta, who spoke on the state television network ORTM.
The nations are run by military
governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful
or attempted coups since 2020.
Source: africanews.com
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Niger: Bazoum's party denounces
"abusive arrests" including ministers
Four ministers, a former minister and
the leader of the party of Mohamed Bazoum, president-elect overthrown by a coup
on Wednesday, were arrested, according to a press release from the presidential
party sent to AFP on Monday.
"After the kidnapping of the
President of the Republic", Mohamed Bazoum, "the putschists are
returning to the charge and multiplying the abusive arrests", denounced
the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS).
On Monday morning, Oil Minister Mahamane
Sani Mahamadou - son of former President Mahamadou Issoufou - then Mines
Minister Ousseini Hadizatou, were arrested. The putschists also "arrested
the chairman of the National Executive Committee of the PNDS", Fourmakoye
Gado, the statement added.
"This follows" the
"arrests" of the Minister of the Interior and Decentralization, Hama
Amadou Souley, of the Minister of Transport, Oumarou Malam Alma, and of the
deputy and former Minister of Defense Kalla Moutari, recalls the party.
The PNDS “demands” the “immediate
release” of the ministers arrested and “unjustly kidnapped”, saying it fears
that Niger will evolve towards “a dictatorial and totalitarian regime” .
Sources close to the presidency also announced the arrest of the Minister of
Vocational Education, Kassoum Moctar.
These arrests come at a time when the
junta called in a press release "all former ministers and directors of
institutions to return to the various ministerial departments and directorates
all the official vehicles made available to them", no later than Monday at
12 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT).
The Prime Minister of Niger, Ouhoumoudou
Mahamadou, denounced Sunday on France 24 as a "gratuitous coup" and
repeated that Niger relied "a lot on its international partnership".
President Bazoum has been sequestered in
his residence by members of his close guard since Wednesday morning. He spoke
on the phone with several Heads of State and other personalities from Niger's
partner states, such as France and the United States.
Source: africanews.com
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Migrants between life and death in
Tunisia-Libya desert
In the unbearable midday heat, a Libyan
patrol near the border with Tunisia comes across a black African man collapsed
on the reddish-brown desert sand.
He is barely breathing, and officers try
to revive him, gently, with a few drops of water on his lips.
The man is just one among hundreds of
migrants arriving daily in Libya after being abandoned in the desert borderland
by Tunisian security forces, according to Libyan border guards and the migrants
themselves.
By the time they reach Libya, the
migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion, in
temperatures that have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
AFP on Sunday witnessed the border
guards rescue around 100 men and women from an uninhabited zone near Sebkhat
al-Magta, a salt lake along the Libya-Tunisia border.
In the distant shimmering heat haze, six
figures emerge, the latest to reach the area. They speak Arabic and say they
have come from Tunisia.
By the time they reach Libya the
migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are ready to drop from exhaustion.
Libyan border guards told AFP that, over
the past two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants who said they were
left by Tunisian authorities in the border region near Al-Assah, about 150
kilometres (90 miles) west of Tripoli.
In early July, hundreds of migrants from
sub-Saharan African countries were driven out of the Tunisian port city of Sfax
as racial tensions flared following the death of a Tunisian man in a clash
between locals and migrants.
- Tunisians 'brought me here' -
Haitham Yahiya, from Sudan, said he
worked for a year in Tunisia's construction sector after reaching the country
clandestinely through Niger and Algeria.
"I was at work when they caught me
and brought me here, first in a police car then in a (security forces) truck.
Then they left me and told me to go to Libya," he said in Al-Assah.
At its closest point, near Sfax, Tunisia
is only about 130 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The North African country is a major
gateway for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting perilous sea voyages in
hopes of a better life in Europe, whose leaders have offered financial aid to
help Tunisia manage the flow.
Human Rights Watch said up to 1,200
black Africans were "expelled, or forcibly transferred by Tunisian
security forces" in July to the country's desert border regions with Libya
and Algeria.
In mid-July, the Tunisian Red Crescent
said it had provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who had been taken after
July 3 to Ras Jedir, about 40 kilometres north of Al-Assah.
A few days later, though, AFP gathered
testimony from hundreds of migrants still stuck in the Ras Jedir buffer zone.
They said they had been forced there by Tunisian security forces.
In Ras Jedir, 350 people remained in a
makeshift camp, including 65 children and 12 pregnant women.
"Their living conditions are very
problematic," a humanitarian official told AFP, adding that "it is
not sustainable in the long term, there are no toilets, no water tanks, no real
shelters".
At Al-Assah, dazed migrants continue to
stagger in, some with only sandals on their feet.
In twos and threes or by the dozens,
they come. Some collapse. The guards hold bottles of water over their parched
mouths.
Libyan border guards told AFP that, over
two weeks, they have rescued hundreds of migrants.
Faced with the influx, Libyans from the
border guards Battalion 19 of the army, and a unit against Saharan immigration,
have been patrolling daily.
"We are on the demarcation line
between Libya and Tunisia and we see more and more migrants arriving every
day," said Ali Wali, Battalion 19 spokesman.
He said AFP received permission to
accompany the units "to silence those (in Tunisia) who claim that we
fabricated it all and brought the migrants here".
Their patrol area covers 15 kilometres
around Al-Assah. Wali said that depending on the day, they might find
"150, 200, 350, sometimes as many as 400 or 500 irregular migrants".
On this day there are 110, two of them
women. There are supposed to be two others. A soldier searches for them through
his binoculars.
- At least 17 dead -
On Thursday, a joint statement from
United Nations agencies referred to the "unfolding tragedy" of
migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Tunisia's border regions.
"They are stuck in the desert,
facing extreme heat, and without access to shelter, food or water. There is an
urgent need to provide critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance while
urgent, humane solutions are found," they said.
The UN has also singled out Libya in
several reports in the past, denouncing violence against the 600,000 migrants
it detains, most of them in camps.
The government of Tripoli has made it
known in recent days that it rejects "resettlement" on its territory
of migrants arriving from Tunisia.
The migrants, meanwhile, have crossed
the border unknowingly. They walk, they said, in the direction that the
Tunisian security forces told them to go -- towards Libya.
As a heatwave has suffocated the
Mediterranean, some like Alexander UncheOkole said they had walked for two
days, without food or water.
'How do you expect them to survive?'
asks Ali Wali, spokesman of Libya's Battalion 19
Okole, 41, from Nigeria, said he entered
Tunisia via Debdeb in Algeria, and "spent some time in Tunis but then the
Tunisian police got me. They arrested me in the street and then took me down to
the Sahara desert."
He showed a mobile phone whose screen
was smashed, he said, by the Tunisians.
"With the Grace of God, the Libyans
rescued me" and provided food and water, Okole said.
He survived but others have not.
Wali said officers found two bodies on
Saturday, a couple of days after recovering five more including a woman and her
baby. They had also discovered five corpses a week earlier, he said.
"How do you expect them to survive?
The heat, no water, and a march of two, three days?" Wali asked.
Humanitarian groups in Libya reached by
AFP gave a death toll of at least 17 over the past three weeks.
Source: africanews.com
Please
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---------
Southeast Asia
DAP MP calls on police to investigate
Muhyiddin for racial, religious incitement over ‘Allah’ court case ahead of
state polls
By Kenneth Tee
Monday, 31 Jul 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 — Bukit Bendera MP
Syerleena Abdul Rashid today called on the police to investigate Perikatan
Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for racial and religious
incitement over his recent remarks on the unity government’s court withdrawal
in appealing against a Sarawakian Bumiputera Christian’s contentious use of the
word “Allah” for God.
The government backbencher from DAP said
Muhyiddin’s remarks were a “dirty tactic” that aimed to create division even
after Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain warned political
parties to steer clear of touching on sensitive topics involving religion,
royalty and race (3R) in the state elections.
“His intention is clear, to divide the
people with fear mongering,” she told a press conference in George Town that
was also livestreamed on the DAP’s Facebook page this afternoon.
Syerleena accused the former prime
minister of hypocrisy in playing up the 3R issues to garner support from
Malay-Muslims voters for August 12 six state elections.
She said Muhyiddin had expressly stated
in a June 22 press conference that PN would steer clear of the 3R issue and
focus on addressing “important” matters such as the high cost of living.
“It is very clear cut. We are now urging
the police to commence a probe against Muhyiddin,” she added.
Syerleena’s DAP party mate and Jelutong
MP RSN Rayer who was also present at the same news conference said Muhyiddin's
latest remark is clearly meant to sway Malay-Muslim voters not to back the
Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) unity government and its candidates in
the state elections.
“I want to urge them to not resort to
dirty tactics such as using religion and race during their campaign.
“Our campaign has been clean and on what
can be done by the respective state governments, we do not resort to dirty
tactics such as PN,” he said.
Several news outlets reported Muhyiddin
saying at a PN ceramah in Kapar, Selangor last night that he was under pressure
from DAP not to appeal against a High Court ruling that allowed Sarawakian
Melanau Christian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill to use the word Arabic word for
God, “Allah” as part of her religious learning.
Muhyiddin was also reported claiming
that PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had become prime minister only to
stop the government from appealing the court decision so that non-Muslims could
use the word.
Source: malaymail.com
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https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/07/31/dap-mp-calls-on-police-to-investigate-muhyiddin-for-racial-religious-incitement-over-allah-court-case-ahead-of-state-polls/82746
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Fahmi says ready to cooperate with Jais
on mosque political talk claim
Tuesday, 01 Aug 2023
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 1 — Communications and
Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil is ready to fully cooperate with the Selangor
Islamic Religious Department (Jais) if he is called in for questioning on
allegations that he had delivered a political speech at a mosque in Rawang
yesterday.
“Insya-Allah, if asked to, I am ready to
step forward,” he told a media conference after delivering his keynote address
at the Public Sector Day Malaysia programme here today.
Yesterday, several pictures of Fahmi
with captions that he had allegedly touched on political issues while speaking
at the prayer area of the Nurul Yaqin mosque in Kampung Melayu Seri Kundang
went viral.
Yesterday, the media reported that Jais
had received complaints on the matter and had called in the mosque ‘nazir’
(guardian) to give his statement.
Fahmi said he had clarified the matter
on Facebook and Twitter, saying that he had been invited by the mosque
committee to explain the decision to ban United Kingdom pop rock bank The 1975
and the cancellation of the Good Vibes concert.
“There was nothing political at all
spoken (at the talk) or anything about the state elections,” he said while
regretting the actions of certain quarters for trying to politicise the matter.
On July 22, the government cancelled the
Good Vibes Festival (GVF) 2023 following The 1975’s controversial conduct and
remarks during their session at the event held at the Sepang International
Circuit (SIC). — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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Maips: Wearing of face masks no longer
mandatory in Perlis mosques. surau
Tuesday, 01 Aug 2023
KANGAR, Aug 1 — The use of face masks in
mosques and surau in the state is no longer mandatory with immediate effect,
said the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council (Maips).
The directive has received the consent
of the Regent of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.
“This is in line with the World Health
Organisation’s (WHO) announcement on the latest developments of the Covid-19
pandemic which has the potential to subside this year to a point where it
spreads like the flu (influenza).
“The directive is also in line with the
relaxation of standard operating procedures with regard to the wearing of face
masks that took effect on July 5, 2023, as announced by the Health Ministry,”
said Tuanku Syed Faizuddin in a statement issued by Maips today.
However, the use of face masks is still
encouraged for those with respiratory symptoms and high-risk individuals.
According to the same statement, Raja of
Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail and Raja Perempuan of Perlis
Tuanku Tengku Fauziah Tengku Abdul Rashid have expressed their appreciation to
the people of Perlis for always giving full cooperation to Maips and its
agencies in helping to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state. — Bernama
Source: malaymail.com
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Mideast
‘I Screamed for Them to Save Me’: Ain
Al-HilwehPalestinian Refugee Camp Residents Shelter in Mosque, Schools Amid
Deadly Clashes
31 July 2023
SAIDA — Neighbours rushing a wounded man
out of a street market on a vegetable cart. Families sheltering in a mosque
overnight. And patients evacuating a nearby hospital — all as rival Palestinian
factions traded deadly gun and RPG fire for a third consecutive day on Monday.
Deadly clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh
Palestinian refugee camp, just outside Saida, broke out Saturday, killing at
least eight people and wounding dozens, camp security sources told L’Orient
Today. The fighting ignited between rival Fatah and Islamist factions.
Photos and videos shared with L’Orient
Today by residents inside the camp showed streets filled with rubble, torn
tarpaulins and standing water, while stray bullets hit buildings as far away as
Saida. One shell hit a vegetable market inside the camp, residents told
L’Orient Today, wounding a man who was then wheeled away on a wooden cart by
his neighbors.
A video showed men maneuvering the cart
down a street as gunfire reverberated.
Hundreds of families fled the camp on
Sunday and Monday, young children and luggage in hand. It was not yet clear
Sunday afternoon exactly how many people had been forced to leave the camp amid
the clashes, as efforts to evacuate some families close to the frontlines were
still underway, according to a L’Orient Today reporter who spoke with
volunteers on the ground in Saida.
One volunteer, Ibrahim Hariri from the
Rahman aid group, was among the first responders helping displaced families on
Sunday. He estimated a total of 400 families had fled their homes since the
fighting broke out.
On Monday afternoon, Islamic forces
within the camp announced that the Joint Palestinian Action Committee, with the
sponsorship of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, agreed to an immediate
ceasefire. However, the sounds of gunfire could still be heard inside the camp.
Sheltering in schools
On Monday afternoon, L’Orient Today
found dozens of women and children sheltering in the UNRWA-run Nablus School in
Saida, several hundred meters outside the camp. A local NGO had helped
transport them to the school from a mosque near the camp entrance, where they
had slept overnight after fleeing their homes.
Majdi Krayem, head of the Shafaa relief
group, told L’Orient Today he and other volunteers transported 12 families from
the mosque to the school on Monday and had brought them a doctor, drinking
water and some vital medicines.
As they carried out their relief work
“beneath the bombs” on Monday, some of the group’s ambulances were struck by
bullets, Krayem added.
Inside the UNRWA-run Nablus school,
L’Orient Today found 45-year-old Fatima, who said she was trapped by the rubble
after a shell hit her home, toppling “half” of her house. She shouted for help
from her neighbors.
“I screamed for them to save me,” she
said. As the neighborhood filled with smoke, “one of my neighbors carried me
out.”
Next to Fatima, Daad, a mother of four,
sat with her children. “I fled my house because I was afraid for my children,”
the oldest of whom is 17, Daad recounted. They ran toward the same mosque where
hundreds of others sought refuge just outside the camp.
“We ran amid the sound of the bullets
and the shells... I wasn’t the only one running. Many people were running:
children, men and women, everyone,” she told L'Orient Today.
Daad and her children moved to the
Nablus school the next day.
Nearby, L’Orient Today found
supermarkets handing out food and some basic supplies to the women and children
sheltering in the school.
Frequent clashes
Ain al-Hilweh is home to more than
54,000 registered Palestinian refugees who have been joined in recent years by
thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria.
The densely populated camp is regularly
the scene of shootings and clashes, either due to personal disputes or because
of tensions between various Palestinian factions.
However, this week’s clashes – between
Fatah and Islamist factions – are the deadliest in years.
The fighting prompted UNRWA on Sunday to
announce it was suspending all services inside Ain al-Hilweh, while summer
schools, the main government office and some main highways in Saida also
closed. Saida residents also urged one another to stay indoors as stray bullets
threatened those both within the camp and in nearby districts.
The shooting became so heavy on Monday
that staff evacuated patients from the nearby Saida Governmental Hospital for
safety, the Health Ministry announced.
Camp residents said the intensity of the
fighting meant there was no way out except on foot.
“We left our home barefoot after a
rocket fell in the building’s staircase,” Hanan, a teenage girl, told L'Orient
Today on Sunday evening as she sat on the floor of the mosque-turned-shelter
with her family.
Outside, the sound of bullets and RPG
fire continued through the evening and into Monday afternoon.
Source: today.lorientlejour.com
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Al-Aqsa Mosque Faces Increasing Settler
Incursions Amid Rising Tensions
July 31, 2023
During the month of July 2023, a record
number of 6,558 settlers stormed the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in
Jerusalem, marking the highest number since the beginning of the year compared
to previous months.
On Monday, July 31, 2023, 133 Israeli
settlers, protected by Israeli occupation forces, conducted two rounds of
incursions, one in the morning and another in the evening.
These settlers engaged in provocative
tours inside the mosque, receiving explanations about the alleged “temple” and
performing Talmudic rituals in its eastern part.
The incursions coincide with escalating
tensions as extremist settlers are determined to establish the alleged “temple”
amidst unprecedented preparations with full support from the right-wing Israeli
government.
The situation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque
remains highly sensitive, with daily violations and incursions by settlers, in
an attempt to exert full control over the site both temporally and spatially.
Last Thursday, 2,180 settlers, led by
the extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the
holy site, commemorating what they refer to as the “destruction of the temple.”
This invasion came in response to calls
by settler organizations, who had been working for weeks to mobilize
large-scale incursions to the mosque grounds to commemorate the event.
Source: daysofpalestine.ps
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Islamic State claims responsibility for
Pakistan suicide bombing
Shuaa launches new Sharia-compliant
Saudi Equity fund
DUBAI
Shuaa Capital, a leading asset
management and investment banking platform in the region, has launched a new
Sharia-compliant fund, Shuaa Saudi Equity Fund, designed to capitalise on the
growing potential of Saudi and GCC equities.
The fund is under the Incorporated Cell
Company (ICC) umbrella, domiciled in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and managed
by Shuaa GMC Limited, the wholly-owned regulated subsidiary of Shuaa.
The new fund, provides regional and
global institutional and High Net Worth individual investors with a strategic
gateway to invest in the fast-growing Saudi public market.
Sharia-compliant equities
Shuaa Saudi Equity Fund will primarily
invest in Sharia-compliant equities in Saudi Arabia, with a small allocation to
other member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Shuaa Saudi Equity Fund will be actively
managed and will typically invest across a wide range of industries. The fund
is expected to invest in a portfolio of value and growth stocks across a
combination of established and emerging business models.
The investment objective of the fund is
to achieve long-term and risk-adjusted capital appreciation. The fund also
offers an option to receive periodic dividend through a separate dividend share
class. The Qualified Investor Fund will be open for subscribers through the
Allfunds bank, a leading investment distribution platform, or via direct
subscriptions.
Fund strategies
Shuaa established the ICC fund structure
in ADGM in 2020 to launch differentiated fund strategies under the ICC platform
to tap into asset classes such as equities, sukuk and multi-asset strategies
across strong and resilient economies. With the launch of the Shuaa Saudi
Equity Fund, the ICC platform now offers six diversified funds, including the
Shuaa Global Sukuk Fund, Shuaa Global Equity Fund, Shuaa North America Equity
Fund, Nujoom Aggressive Fund and Nujoom Balanced Funds. The assets under
management (AuM) of the ICC platform has crossed $350 million.
Shuaa GMC is the investment manager of
the six funds under the ICC umbrella.
Ajit Joshi, MD and Head of Public &
Private markets at Shuaa Capital, said: "The Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) nations have emerged as powerful forces in the worldwide economy, fuelled
by their dedication to diversification and enterprising development strategies.
“Given the rising investor interest in
Sharia-compliant investments, Shuaa's specially designed managed funds within
the ICC framework serve these demands efficiently, while tapping into
market-specific opportunities. The Saudi Equity Fund offers timely avenues for
investors to take advantage of the region's growth potential and diversify
their portfolios.”--TradeArabia News Service
Source: tradearabia.com
Please
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https://www.tradearabia.com/news/BANK_411819.html
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Islamic sanctities, holy Qur'an insulted
again in Sweden
Jul 31, 2023
TEHRAN, Jul. 31 (MNA) – Media reported
on Monday that two Iraqi refugees who had insulted the Muslim holy book before
in Sweden repeated their shameful action outside the Swedish parliament under
police protection.
The AFP reported the repetition of the
act of desecrating the Holy Qur'an in Sweden.
According to European media reports,
Iraqi-born Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem, who had previously desecrated the
Quran in the country, had been granted permission to burn the Muslim holy book
this time outside the Swedish Parliament.
The two men committed the heinous act in
front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm earlier today just like the ones
they had done before.
The desecration of the Holy Qur'an in
Sweden, which received Muslim condemnation, has put the two European countries
of Sweden and Denmark under international immense pressure as Islamic countries
and nations are boycotting their commercial and economic relations with them,
dealing a heavy blow to their economies.
The repeated shameless move came only a
day after Denmark's government released a statement saying that it would put
legal limitations in order to stop the demonstrations involving the burning of
the holy book Qur'an in certain circumstances.
Also yesterday, the Iraqi foreign
ministry said that the country and the member states of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) sent a strong letter, condemning the repeated attacks
on the Holy Qur'an in Sweden.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
said Sunday he has been in close consultations with his Danish counterpart
Mette Frederiksen over the incidents in their countries.
Both the Danish and Swedish governments
have claimed that they oppose such actions.
The foreign ministers of the OIC member
countries are slated to hold an emergency meeting later today to discuss the
repeated insults and desecration of the Holy Qur'an.
Source: en.mehrnews.com
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https://en.mehrnews.com/news/204018/Islamic-sanctities-holy-Qur-an-insulted-again-in-Sweden
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Pakistan
Pakistan blast: Islamic State claims
responsibility for suicide blast that killed 54 during a political rally in
Bajaur
01 Aug 2023
The Islamic State group claimed
responsibility for the Bajaur suicide blast in Pakistan, resulting in 54
deaths, including 23 children, with nearly 200 people wounded, according to a
news report by Al Jazeera. The attack targeted an election rally in Pakistan's
border district of Bajaur.
“A suicide attacker from the Islamic
State [ISIL] … detonated his explosive jacket in the middle of a crowd" in
the town of Khar, the armed group’s news arm Amaq said in a statement,
according to Al Jazeera.
Pakistan: Suicide bombing during public
rally
A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of
around 400 members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party, a prominent
government coalition partner led by hardline politician Fazlur Rehman.
The attack took place near a market
under a large tent, where the speeches were about to begin. The convention
started at 2 pm, and the explosion happened at 4:10 pm.
According to Shokat Abbas, additional
inspector general for the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), nearly 10–12 kg
of explosives were used in the blast.
Fazlur Rehman, who had previously
survived two explosions during political rallies in 2011 and 2014, was not
present at the event, as reported by Al Jazeera.
US, Russia and Saudi Arabia condemn
attack
The United States, Russia and Saudi
Arabia have condemned the terror attack and have sent their condolences to the
impacted families.
Since last year, when a truce between
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad collapsed, attacks by extremists
have increased in Pakistan.
More than 100 people were killed earlier
this year in a Peshawar mosque blast, reported Geo News. According to a recent
UN Security Council report, the TTP may be looking to unite with Al Qaeda to
form a single entity that would house all militant organisations active in
South Asia.
Although cross-border militancy persists,
Pakistan has long held Afghanistan responsible for failing to uphold its
promise to ensure that its soil was not utilised for terrorism in Islamabad.
Source: livemint.com
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Bajaur suicide attack draws condemnation
from across Muslim world
AUGUST 1, 2023
The suicide attack that took place in
Bajaur on Sunday, which killed around 54 people and left over 200 injured, has
drawn strong condemnations from across the Muslim world.
The leadership of the Muslim nations as
well as the heads of the Muslim world bodies condemned the heinous crime and
sympathized with the bereaved families.
At least 54 people were martyred in a
suicide blast at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers’ convention in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district on Sunday. The explosion occurred
when more than 400 JUI-F members and supporters gathered under a tent in the
town of Khar, near the border with Afghanistan.
Secretary-General of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha, in a statement, condemned the explosion
in the strongest terms.
He offered his sincere condolences to
the victims’ families and to the government and people of Pakistan wishing a
speedy recovery to the injured.
The secretary-general reaffirmed the
OIC’s solidarity with Pakistan in its efforts to combat extremism and
terrorism.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign
Ministry denounced the attack and reaffirmed the Kingdom’s rejection of
violence and terrorism anywhere in the world, expressing that the Kingdom stood
in full solidarity with Pakistan and its people.
The ministry offered condolences and
sympathy to the families of the victims, the government, and the people of
Pakistan, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Secretary-General of the Cooperation
Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Jassim Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, also
condemned the bombing and said that the position of the Cooperation Council was
firm.
He said the Council rejected all forms
of violence, extremism, and terrorism, which aimed to destabilize security and
stability and were inconsistent with human values and principles.
Similarly, in a statement, the UAE
foreign ministry also strongly condemned the terrorist attack and reiterated
its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at
undermining security and stability in contravention of human values and
principles.
The UAE ministry also expressed its
sincere condolences and sympathy to the Pakistani government and people.
The State of Qatar also expressed its
strong condemnation and denunciation of the explosion.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs reiterated Qatar’s firm position on rejecting violence and terrorism,
regardless of the motives and reasons.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman
Nasser Kan’ani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences on behalf
of the government and the people of Iran to the government and the people of
Pakistan.
Besides Kuwait, the state of Egypt also
condemned the bombing and “renewed its firm stance toward its categorical
rejection of all forms of violence.
“Egypt, government and people, expressed
their sincere condolences and sympathy to the government and people of
brotherly Pakistan in this painful affliction, and to the families of the
victims, wishing a speedy recovery for all the injured,” the Egyptian foreign
ministry said.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk
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https://dailytimes.com.pk/1118889/bajaur-suicide-attack-draws-condemnation-from-across-muslim-world/
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NA passes bill proposing jail for
disclosing ‘sensitive information’
AUGUST 1, 2023
The National Assembly passed a bill on
Monday to amend the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, which proposes up to five years in
jail for those who disclose sensitive information pertaining to the security of
the country or the military.
The bill was passed by the Senate last
week, and according to Monday’s agenda of the NA, it was scheduled to be
presented by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the lower house of Parliament.
However, in his absence, Law Minister
Azam Nazeer Tarar presented Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2023 in the largely
empty house.
Previously in the upper house of
Parliament, senators had criticised the bill, and the PTI on Saturday decided
to initiate a probe into the role of its senators in the passing of the
legislation.
While tabling it Monday, Tarar clarified
that none of the provisions of the amendment act would apply to civilians. He
further elaborated that a matter pertaining to military trials had been taken
up by the Supreme Court and this legislation would not apply to those trials as
well. “This will not be retrospective in nature.”
The Pakistan Army (Amendment) Act, 2023
proposed adding Section 26-A to the act, under which “anyone who discloses or
causes to be disclosed any information…shall be […] punished with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years”.
In case, the disclosure is approved by
the army chief, it would not be considered a violation. The bill also proposed
introducing Section 26-B, which forbids any person subject to the army act from
engaging in any kind of political activity for two years from the date of their
“retirement, release, resignation, discharge, removal or dismissal from the
service”. It further said those who “remained posted, employed, seconded,
tasked or otherwise attached on sensitive duties” are forbidden from taking
part in “political activity of any kind, during a period of five years from the
date of his retirement, release, resignation, discharge, removal or dismissal
from the service”.
In case of violation, a court
constituted under the army act can punish them with “rigorous imprisonment for
a term which may extend to two years”. Section 55-A forbids any person subject
to the army act in the past five years from “directly or indirectly enter[ing]
into employment, consultation or other engagement with an entity having a
conflict of interest” with the activities of the army or its affiliates. However,
the law does not apply to those who seek prior approval from the COAS. A person
guilty of the said offence can be imprisoned for up to “two years with fine not
exceeding Rs500,000 or with both”, the bill stated. Section 55-B stated that
any person, who is or has been subject to the army act, and commits an offence
under the Peca 2016 “with the mala fide intention to undermine, ridicule, or
scandalise the armed forces” shall be punished in the manner as prescribed in
the Peca law.
Section 55-C stated that a person who is
or has been subject to the army act, “intentionally ridicules, scandalises,
brings into hatred or otherwise attempts to lower the armed forces of Pakistan
or any part will be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years or
fine or with both”. A clause introduced to Section 176-C proposed that the COAS
“may delegate any of his powers and functions conferred by, or delegated under
this act, to any officer or authority subordinate to him”.
Meanwhile, the addition of Section 176-E
proposed that the laws under the act “shall have effect notwithstanding
anything inconsistent contained in any other law, rules or regulations for the
time being in force”, adding that any such inconsistent law shall, “to the
extent of any inconsistency, cease to have effect”. Besides the Army Act
amendment bill, the NA passed six other bills today.
Three of these bills were approved after
the passage of a motion to suspend the rules for immediate consideration of
these legislative proposals. The bills included the Pakistan Sovereign Wealth
Fund Bill, 2023, National Commission for Human Development (Amendment) Bill,
2023 and Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Islamabad
(Amendment) Bill, 2023. Later, Tarar also moved the Defence Housing Authority
Islamabad (Amendment) Bill, 2023. State Minister for Law and Justice Shahadat
Awan moved the Cantonments (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Board of Investment
(Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk
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--------
PTI chief again approaches SC to stop
Toshakhana trial
AUGUST 1, 2023
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman
Imran Khan on Monday filed another appeal before the Supreme Court seeking to
stop his trial in the Toshakhana criminal case.
The PTI chief stated in his plea that
the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had not stopped the lower court from proceeding
in the criminal case while continued hearing his appeals. Once the trial was
completed then his appeals in the high court would become ineffective, he said,
adding that the high court should have issued an order regarding rejection or
acceptance of his request for a stay order.
The PTI chief’s legal team also filed a
miscellaneous application seeking to fix the said case for hearing on August 1.
Meanwhile, a miscellaneous application
has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking to form a full court bench for
hearing cases pertaining to the trial of civilians by military army courts.
Petitioner Kramat Ali, in his plea moved through his lawyer Faisal Saddiqui
Advocate, stated that a similar case was also heard by a nine-member bench or
full court and its decision was accepted. The Federal Government had also
prayed to form a full court bench into the matter but the request was rejected,
he added.
The petitioner prayed the court to form
a full court bench containing all available judges and fix the case before it
for further hearing, adding the Attorney General for Pakistan had already
assured the court that the trials of the civilian accused had not started yet
by the military courts. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on disposed of a contempt
of court case against Justice Qazi Faez Isa after the petition was withdrawn.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial conducted
in chamber hearing in the case, filed by Riaz Hanif Rahi Advocate. Earlier, the
Registrar Office had raised various objections against the petition and the
petitioner had filed an in chamber appeal against it.
The petitioner had filed the case
seeking contempt of court proceeding against SC’s judge for running proceeding
on audio tapes inquiry commission. However, the petitioner prayed the court to
grant permission to withdraw his case which was accepted by the chief justice.
The court subsequently disposed of the case.
Source: dailytimes.com.pk
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---------
Exploring Shariah-compliant Islamic
Coin: A New Face in the Crypto Space
August 01, 2023
Set to launch publicly on September 1,
Islamic Coin ($ISLM) is an unprecedented amalgamation of digital finance and
Islamic principles. By July 2023, the project had secured a staggering US$400
million in funding, and while such a sizable investment doesn't assure success,
it certainly highlights the asset as a contender in the high-stakes world of
cryptocurrency.
$ISLM was designed to resonate with the
world’s 2 billion Muslims, and this sheer demographic weight could potentially
catapult it to the forefront of cryptocurrency ventures. However, the crucial
question remains: will the broad audience embrace it?
Islam-aligned, community-oriented
At present, the global landscape of
cryptocurrencies is populated by nearly 22,932 entities, according to
CoinMarketCap, many of which have faded or are lying dormant. Only a bit over
8,000 of these currencies is actively engaging in the digital marketplace. In
such a saturated environment, Islamic Coin has its work cut out for it — yet;
it appears to have an unparalleled unique selling proposition.
The cryptocurrency has been meticulously
fashioned to align with the values of practicing Muslims. The potential market
for such a targeted initiative is substantial, ranging from estimates of 1.2
billion to 2 billion individuals globally.
Islamic Coin serves as the official
currency of Haqq, a community-led block chain network developed by the Swiss-based
non-profit HAQQ Association. On the network, $ISLM will possess a limited total
supply, and 10% of every issuance will automatically be committed towards
philanthropic initiatives.
These distinctive and community-driven
functions offer the global Muslim community a robust financial tool tailored
for the digital era. This instrument would facilitate frictionless transactions
while simultaneously championing philanthropy and promoting innovation.
What is Shariah Compliance in Finance?
To gain a deeper understanding of the
prospects of Islamic Coin, we need to explore what Shariah compliance in the
financial sphere means.
●
Islamic law prohibits the imposition or payment of interest, instead
advocating for profit-sharing or risk-sharing arrangements. It also doesn't
allow involvement in uncertain transactions. Any activities involving gambling,
speculation, or alcohol are also forbidden.
●
Contracts must be transparent, with explicit terms and conditions to
ensure all parties involved have a comprehensive understanding of potential
outcomes.
●
It mandates businesses to be socially responsible, necessitating those
transactions are underpinned by tangible assets and that a portion of profits
is allocated towards charitable causes.
Shariah-compliant finance provides an
alternative financial system that matches Islamic values while delivering a
suite of sustained financial services. Adopting this system comes with several
benefits, including fostering an equitable distribution of wealth and reducing
the risk of financial crises through its prohibition of excessive risk-taking
and speculative trading. This approach also encourages sustainable development
by mandating businesses operate responsibly towards society and the
environment.
Islamic Coin aspires to anchor itself
upon these principles when launching its cryptocurrency. While these tenets
make sense theoretically, their practicality is a different matter. Recent
research shows a gradual loosening of ties to Islam in parts of the Middle
East, particularly in countries like Iran and among the younger generation.
So, will adherence to Shariah law alone
be sufficient to bolster the popularity of this coin? This will be one of the
biggest challenges of the project going forward.
Understanding Fatwa
The project received a Fatwa last year,
confirming its Shariah compliance from a board of distinct leaders in Islamic
finance. A Fatwa signifies an "opinion" from an Islamic authority
asserting conformity with Shariah principles. This means Haqq can now assert
that it has earned recognition and stands at the precipice of a revolution in
Islamic finance.
While a positive Fatwa isn't legally
binding, it offers assurance of alignment with the precepts prescribed in the
Quran and Islamic teachings. However, not all Muslim authorities capable of
issuing Fatwas agree with this Fatwa.
Islamic Coin aims to persuade practicing
Muslims that its use can economically uplift the Muslim community. It intends
to accomplish this while maintaining Islamic values via the application of
block chain technology and other innovations.
The Driving Forces behind Islamic Coin
The key figures orchestrating the
project present a fascinating amalgam of expertise. One such luminary is Mohammed
AlkaffAlHashmi, a computer science engineer and the Co-Founder of HAQQ Network.
The project’s Shariah board behind this
fatwa included Sheikh Dr. Nizam Mohammed Saleh Yaquby, who is colloquially
known as 'The Gatekeeper' for safeguarding the $2 trillion Islamic finance
market. The board also includes Shariah scholar and Islamic finance professor
Sheikh Dr. Essam Khalaf Al-Enezi, financial advisor to Dubai Islamic Bank and
Emirates Islamic Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Hakim Mohamed, and Sheikh Dr. Mohamed Zoeir:
a Shariah scholar and Islamic banking expert with 45 years of experience. The
board’s remaining members are Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Sheikh
Mohammad bin Khalifa bin Mohammad bin Khalid al Nahyan and Sheikh Khalifa bin
Mohammed bin Khalid al Nahyan.
In addition to its robust Shariah board,
an executive board directs the project’s key operations and maintains
oversight. This includes individuals like Hussein Mohammed Al Meeza, an Islamic
banker affiliated with Dubai Islamic Bank, and Peter Raffety, a fund manager at
the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. To complete the team, Dubai's ruling family
member Sheikha Mariam Suhail Obaid Suhail Al Maktoum brings unique perspectives
to the table.
Charitable Endeavors
One of the core virtues of this coin is
its inherent philanthropic approach. Yet, the potential of Islamic Coin extends
beyond this generosity. There is a palpable optimism around the project's
future, predicated on a seemingly modest estimation. If only a small fraction
(3% to 4%) of Muslims who currently engage in crypto currency trading decide to
join the network, it could catapult the coin to popularity levels comparable to
Bitcoin.
Such a trajectory could inflate the
value to an astronomical $1 trillion valuation. Consequently, per its philanthropic
principle, $100 billion would be channeled into community work and charitable
initiatives.
Advantages over Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the leading cryptocurrency by
market capitalization and enjoys extensive adoption and real-world utility.
However, Islamic Coin presents an intriguing alternative for the Muslim
community. While Bitcoin is globally recognized, it has been deemed 'haram'
(impermissible) by several Muslim authorities due to its non-compliance with
Islamic law. The project’s adherence to Shariah principles differentiates it
from other cryptocurrencies and could give it a distinct advantage in appealing
to practicing Muslims.
Final Thoughts on Islamic Coin
Islamic Coin's launch marks a pivotal
moment in the cryptocurrency sphere. A digital currency that is
Shariah-compliant and tailored to meet the needs of practicing Muslims may
possess the unique appeal needed to make waves in the crypto market.
However, there remain hurdles to
overcome. Not all Muslims align with its principles, and the fatwa doesn't
necessitate unanimous approval from Muslim authorities. Furthermore, the coin
will be up against robust, well-established Islamic financial systems and
institutions that already operate in accordance with Shariah principles.
ISLM Co-Founder Mohammed Alkaff
expressed pride in creating a "Shariah-compliant, immutable, independent
financial system that serves the Muslim community and beyond." He called
it "a pillar of stability, intertwined with values that are future-proof
in a changing world.”
By the last quarter of 2023, the project
aims to have integrated 20 payment firms from the Middle East and North Africa
regions, but the central question remains: will Islamic Coin reach and surpass
the level of adoption of Bitcoin and other top currencies? The potential is
there, but only time will tell.
Source: nation.com.pk
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia reaffirms desecration of
Qur’an is unacceptable
July 31, 2023
JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia reaffirmed on
Monday that desecration of the Holy Qu’ran is unacceptable under any
justifications and there should be practical steps to put an end to repetition
of the incidents of burning of the holy book. Minister of Foreign Affairs
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said this while addressing remotely the opening
session of the
Extraordinary Council of Foreign
Ministers (CFM) of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which groups 57
Muslim countries.
The meeting was convened, at the request
of Saudi Arabia, which is chairing the 14th Islamic Summit, to discuss the
measures to be taken to address the repeated incidents of desecration and
burning of the copies of the Holy Qur’an in a number of Western countries, such
as Sweden and Denmark.
Prince Faisal renewed the Kingdom’s
strong condemnation and denunciation of the repeated attacks on the sanctity of
the Holy Qur’an, while emphasizing that these provocative actions cannot be
accepted under any justifications. “These are in violation of international
covenants that call for harmony, peace and rapprochement, and are in direct
contradiction with the international efforts seeking to spread the values of
tolerance and moderation, and rejecting extremism, and undermines the
principles of mutual respect necessary for maintaining better relations between
peoples and states,” he said.
The minister emphasized that the OIC has
the greatest role in coordination, cooperation and integration with various
other Islamic organizations to defend the values of tolerance and peace,
protect and spread the true image of Islam, and reject and combat intolerance,
extremism, and spread of hatred and violence. He also drew attention to the
outcome of the efforts of the OIC member states in the adoption of the United
Nations Human Rights Council resolution on July 12, 2023 that aimed at
combating religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination,
hostility or violence.
Prince Faisal called on the OIC member
states to unite efforts in order to take practical and effective steps to
confront these attacks, noting that the OIC Charter emphasizes protecting and
defending the true image of Islam, confronting distortion of the image of
Islam, and encouraging dialogue between civilizations and religions.
The minister underscored that the
freedom of expression shall be deemed a moral value that fosters respect and
coexistence among peoples and not a tool to spread hatred and clash between
cultures and peoples. He also pointed out to the need to spread the values of
tolerance and moderation and reject all forms of practices that generate
hatred, violence and extremism.
From the Saudi side, the extraordinary
meeting is being attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed
Al-Khereiji, Advisor at the Undersecretariat for Multiple International Affairs
Dr. Abdullah Al-Tayer, and the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to OIC Dr.
Saleh Al-Suhaibani.
Source: saudigazette.com.sa
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Saudi Arabia-based OIC Urges Member
Nations to Act Against Countries Allowing Quran Burnings
July 31, 2023
BEIRUT —
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation
urged its member nations Monday to take action against countries that permit
public burning or desecration of the Quran, including the recalling of
ambassadors.
The Saudi Arabia-based group made the
call in a statement following an emergency online meeting of its foreign
ministers to discuss recent incidents in which the Islamic holy book was burned
or otherwise defaced at officially permitted protests in Sweden and Denmark.
The organization's 57 member countries
should “consider taking any necessary decisions and actions that they deem appropriate
in their relations" with Sweden, Denmark and other countries that allow
such incidents, including recalling their ambassadors, the statement said.
It encouraged civil society
organizations in the member states to work with counterparts in countries where
the Quran has been burned or desecrated to file local lawsuits “before taking
their cases to international judicial bodies, where applicable.”
It also called for more efforts at
outreach to combat Islamophobia, praising Kuwait for commissioning the printing
of 100,000 copies of the Quran translated into Swedish for distribution in
Sweden.
Many of the points in the final
statement echoed recommendations made by Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein,
who also called on the United Nations to “take measures to prevent these
incidents.”
Ahead of the meeting, two men who had
previously burned a copy of the Quran in Sweden did so once again, in front of
a crowd of a few dozen onlookers and about 20 counterprotesters.
In both Sweden and Denmark, there is no
law against blasphemy, and freedom of expression is generally held in high
regard.
But as the recent Quran burnings have
sparked angry demonstrations and diplomatic backlash in Muslim countries,
officials in the Scandinavian countries have begun to consider whether there
should be curbs on public defacement of holy books or other religious symbols.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke
Rasmussen said Sunday in an interview with Danish public broadcaster DR that
the government is seeking a “legal tool” to prohibit such inflammatory acts
without compromising freedom of expression.
In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf
Kristersson said Sunday on Instagram that his government is analyzing the legal
situation regarding desecration of the Quran and other holy books, given the
animosity such acts are stirring up against Sweden.
Before Monday’s meeting, the OIC had already
suspended the status of Sweden’s special envoy over the Quran burnings.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias
Billström said in a statement that he spoke in recent days with counterparts in
OIC countries to explain how Sweden's freedom of expression works and that
police make independent decisions on protest applications. He added that “the
government is very clear in its distance from the Islamophobic acts carried out
by individuals at demonstrations in Sweden.”
The Danish foreign minister said his
“government condemned and denounced the insult” to the Quran and “that it is
studying this issue with great interest.”
Source: voanews.com
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Nearly 200 Saudis graduate from Spain’s
prestigious Les Roches institute
July 31, 2023
MAKKAH: The first batch of Saudi
students graduated this week from the executive master’s program in
international hotel management at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, in
Marbella, Spain.
The program was launched by the Ministry
of Tourism last year as part of the Ahlaha 2022 initiative. All 198 male and
female graduates expressed their gratitude to the Saudi ministry, which is
developing initiatives to enhance the capabilities of workers in the tourism
sector, especially in the hotel industry.
The graduates told Arab News that they
can now return with a refined knowledge and vision gained from one of the
world’s best hospitality institutes.
Maram Kokandi, the hotel manager of
Doubletree by Hilton Makkah, said that the nine-month intensive program she
enrolled in covered all subjects relevant to hotel management.
She described it as a fantastic program
that supported the hotel sector, based on Saudi Vision 2030, and praised the
support provided by the ministry to Saudi nationals.
She pointed out that Les Roches is
globally renowned for producing the best talents in the field of hospitality,
and they were honored to be part of this global fabric.
Kokandi added that the knowledge they
acquired will be valuable in terms of management and localization of the
tourism and hospitality sector, and will contribute to the development and
progress of the sector in the Kingdom.
She said: “This is a big dream, and
everyone is striving to give back to this great nation.
“We are determined to succeed in
achieving the hopes and aspirations for our country and benefiting from each
other’s experiences.”
Dawla Talal Al-Malki, the front office
manager at Hilton Riyadh Olaya, said that the program was one of the greatest
offerings by the ministry to the hotel and hospitality sector, and represented
an unprecedented step globally.
Speaking about the significance of the
opportunity to the future of the Kingdom, Al-Malki added: “Our goal is to
represent the Kingdom in the hospitality sector in the best possible way and
contribute to creating a new generation capable of leading the tourism and
hospitality sector in the country.
“What the ministry has provided will
have a lasting impact, and my fellow graduates and I will work on crystallizing
this academic aspect to improve services.”
Al-Malki pointed out essential topics in
hotel management such as sustainability programs, financial management, and
strategic management, and added: “All of these are essential for us to reach
and achieve the Vision 2030’s aspiration to be a leading tourist destination,
whether locally, regionally, or globally.
“All of this and more will directly
impact our work performance and the sector as a whole, enabling tourism in
Saudi Arabia to rise with the highest service standards, reflecting the
Kingdom’s generosity and high professionalism.”
FerasBawareth, who works as the cluster
chief engineer at Seera Group, said that the journey was both challenging and
enjoyable.
He said: “It began with applying for the
program, interviews, and selection. Princess Haifa bint Mohammed, the deputy
minister of tourism, was with us every step of the way, personally overseeing
the Kingdom’s vision and the purpose of this program.
“We were divided into two groups, one at
Les Roches in Switzerland and the other in Marbella, Spain, to pursue the
executive master’s degree in hotel management … in the field of global tourism.
“The goal was to prepare us for leading
the hotel sector in Saudi Arabia, and I tried to bridge the gap between my
engineering studies and hotel management.”
Nouf Aldhahri, an assistant food and
beverage manager at Jeddah Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Qasr Alsharq, said that
her experience at Les Roches was a dream she had never imagined achieving.
She noted that throughout the past year,
the ministry had put in tremendous effort, special arrangements, and attention
to the smallest details.
She described the program as an
enriching experience that allowed them to immerse themselves in a world of
knowledge, broaden their horizons, and acquire the necessary skills and
experiences for excellence in the tourism field.
She added: “The support (of the
ministry) not only empowered us but also reinforced our commitment to
contributing meaningfully to the growth and development of our tourism
industry.”
Maha Mahdi, who works as the guest
relations supervisor at Novotel Jazan Hotel, said that she started working in
the sector five years ago in the city of Jazan, where opportunities for
development were limited compared to major cities, especially those with
international brand hotels.
She added: “Today, I am a graduate with
an executive master’s degree in international hotel management from one of the
strongest specialized universities, a dream that has been achieved thanks to a
great and supportive nation.
Source: arabnews.com
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2347431/saudi-arabia
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Islamic Affairs Ministry Participates in
Moderation, Peaceful Coexistence Symposium in Thailand
31 Jul, 2023
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah,
and Guidance actively contributed to the organization of a scientific dialogue
symposium focused on moderation and peaceful coexistence in a multicultural
society. This collaborative effort took place in conjunction with the Thai
Wasatiyyah Institute for Peace and Development.
The symposium, hosted by Prince of Songkla
University in southern Thailand, attracted the participation of approximately
200 university students. Its primary objective was to promote moderate Islamic
ideology, specifically emphasizing peaceful cohabitation between Muslims and
non-Muslims in the predominantly Muslim provinces of southern Thailand.
Additionally, the symposium aimed to draw upon
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's expertise in advocating moderation and combating
hatred, extremism, and intolerance.
Source: alriyadhdaily.com
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http://alriyadhdaily.com/article/47bb7b2dbdcc44a3975ec872746a6d98
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Saudi govt agency to fund $22m Bosnia
library building project
July 31, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Fund for Development
officials on Monday unveiled a $22 million project to build a library at the
University of Sarajevo, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
A ceremony to launch the scheme was
attended by Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin
Konakovic, Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton Nihad Uk, and the Saudi
Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Osamah bin Dakhil Al-Ahmadi.
The public library, which will cover
13,590 square meters, will connect 28 branch libraries in the various faculties
of the university. It will be accessible to more than 22,000 students, around
1,600 staff and faculty members, and 10,000 other external users.
The project aims to boost university
standards, enhance its scientific research capabilities, and address the needs
of students.
Chairman of the SFD’s board of
directors, Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, said the project was part of efforts to
further strengthen relations between Saudi Arabia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Konakovic said that while the project
would enrich academic work, he hoped the library would become a symbol of joint
efforts between the two countries to promote education and knowledge for future
generations.
Established in 1975, the Saudi fund has
financed 11 projects and development programs in various regions of Bosnia and
Herzegovina with a total value of around $185 million.
Source: arabnews.com
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Saudi FM calls on OIC states to take
practical steps to confront Qur’an desecration incidents
July 31, 2023
RIYADH:Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Faisal bin Farhan has called on Organization of Islamic Cooperation states to
unite in efforts to take practical and effective steps to confront protests
involving the desecration of the holy Qur’an.
He was speaking at an extraordinary OIC
meeting on Monday to address repeated incidents where copies of the Qur’an have
been desecrated in Sweden and Denmark.
Prince Faisal said that the organization
was responsible for defending the values of tolerance and peace, protecting and
spreading the true image of Islam, and rejecting and combating intolerance and
extremism.
Prince Faisal highlighted that efforts
by OIC states resulted in the UN Human Rights Council adopting a resolution on
July 12 which condemned and strongly rejected any advocacy and manifestation of
religious hatred, including public and pre-meditated acts of desecration of the
holy Qur’an.
The foreign minister said that freedom
of expression should be a moral value that spread respect and coexistence among
people and not a tool to spread hatred and clashes between cultures.
He highlighted the need to spread the
values of tolerance and moderation, and reject all forms of practices that
generated hatred, violence and extremism.
Prince Faisal renewed the Kingdom’s
strong condemnation of Qur’an-desecrating incidents, stressing that these provocative
acts could not be accepted under any justification.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim
Taha called on Sweden and Denmark to prevent Qur’an desecration and “expressed
his disappointment that no measures were taken in this regard so far.”
“It is unfortunate that the concerned
authorities claiming freedom of expression continue to provide licenses to
repeat these acts contrary to international law, and this leads to a lack of
respect for religions,” Taha said in remarks during the meeting.
A recent string of public Qur’an
desecrations by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Denmark and Sweden have
sparked angry demonstrations in Muslim countries.
Earlier on Monday, more Qur’an burnings
took place in Sweden and Denmark as the governments of the two Nordic countries
said that they were examining ways to legally limit such acts in a bid to
de-escalate growing tensions with OIC countries.
On Sunday, Denmark’s Foreign Minister
Lars Lokke Rasmussen said that the government would seek to make it illegal to
desecrate the Qur’an or other religious holy books in front of foreign
embassies in the Nordic country.
He said in an interview with the Danish
public broadcaster DR that the burning of holy scriptures “only serves the
purpose of creating division in a world that actually needs unity.”
Source: arabnews.com
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South Asia
Delegation of Islamic Clerics from UK
Meet with Acting Ministers
A delegation of Islamic clerics which
recently arrived in Kabul met with the acting minister of Vice and Virtue, and
minister of Justice of the Islamic Emirate
According to the spokesman for the
Ministry of Vice and Virtue, Mohammad Akif Mahajar, the acting Minister
Mohammad Khalid Hanafi said that the Islamic Emirate remains committed to
practical implementation of its promises.
Hanafi also called the propaganda
against the Islamic Emirate inaccurate.
“These Ulema said that they want to see
an image of Islamic government in Afghanistan,” Mahajar said.
The delegation of the religious clerics
from the UK also met with the acting minister of justice, Abdul Hakim Sharie.
“Implementation of Islamic Sharia means
opening schools and granting girls’ access to their schools and educational
centers, the education of girls and rights of women. The rights of women in the
society is one of the fundamentals of Islamic religion,” said Wais Naseri, a
political analyst.
“The obstacles ahead of girls' and
women’s education should be lifted. The continuation of these obstacles causes
a major disaster for today and tomorrow in Afghanistan,” said Fazal Hadi Wazin,
university instructor.
The delegation earlier met with the
acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and talked about the
ongoing situation, strengthening security, national stability and economic
development after the Islamic Emirate came to power.
Source: tolonews.com
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https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-184439
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Number Increases of Afghan Refugees in
UK Given Permanent Housing
TOLOnews findings indicate that the
process of transferring Afghan refugees living in the UK from hotels to
permanent housing has accelerated.
The British Home Office warned a few
months ago that if the Afghans who were moved to the hotels after being
evacuated and transferred to the UK do not leave the hotels, they would be
expelled from the hotels.
A number of these Afghan citizens, who
have moved to hotels in different regions of the country after being
transferred to Britain, told TOLOnews that most people in the hotels have been
moved to permanent homes.
The situation of Afghans who have been
transferred to Britain has not been the same in all areas and in all hotels.
For some people, permanent homes became
available quickly, but not for many.
Almost three months ago, the British
government warned that if Afghans transferred to Britain rejected the proposed
houses and do not look for houses themselves, they will be expelled from the
hotels.
In an announcement, the British Home
Office gave 8,000 Afghan refugees who are staying in 59 hotels across the UK a
deadline to leave the hotels until the end of August 2023.
Now, a number of Afghans living in
hotels have told TOLOnews that the process of transferring Afghan families to
permanent homes has been accelerated.
“I live in a hotel ... Almost thirty
families stayed in this hotel. Now there are seven or eight families left.
Everyone has been given a home and left the hotel. I have also been offered a
house and I am going to leave here on August 14,” said Abdur Rahman Fekri, who
lives in a hotel in Kent.
Fekri says that house owners are not
very willing to rent houses to Afghans who still have no job or income here.
But the houses proposed by the government can solve the problem.
Several Afghans in other cities and
hotels also told Tolonews about similar experiences in an informal
conversation.
According to the BBC, around 21,100
Afghans have come to Britain under two separate schemes: one for vulnerable
people and ethnic minorities, and another for those who worked for the British
army and government.
In response to the rejection of the
houses proposed by the government by some Afghans, the British government has
said that the government does not guarantee that these refugees will be given
desired properties.
Previously, some circles within the
British government have challenged the decision of the UK home office to set a
deadline for Afghan citizens living in hotels and have said that this decision
may make these people face homelessness.
Source: tolonews.com
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Continued Humanitarian Assistance to
Afghanistan is Essential: ARCS Acting President
2023-07-31
Kabul (BNA): The President of the Afghan
Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in a meeting with the President of the Saudi Red
Crescent Authority said that continued and further humanitarian aid to
Afghanistan is important for responding to current economic crisis in the
country.
According to a statement from ARCS, the
Acting President of Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) Mawlavi Mati-ul-Haq
Khalis met with President of Saudi Red Crescent Authority Dr. Jalal Al-Owaisi,
on the sidelines of the fifth consultative meeting of national Red Cross
societies, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In the meeting, Mawlavi Muti-ul-Haq
Khalis stated that continued and increasing international help to Afghanistan
is critical to alleviating the country’s current economic crisis. He also
requested for cooperation in the health sector of Afghanistan.
Acting President of ARCS Mawlavi
Muti-ul-Haq Khalis also met with Faiz Ali, the deputy president of the Tajik
Red Crescent and his accompanying delegation and discussed signing a memorandum
of understanding for strengthen cooperation between the two organizations.For
Better Communication between Gov’t and Public, 1259 Religious Scholars
Appointed.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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IEA Condemns Explosion at a Jamiat-Ulema
Islam Gathering in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
KABUL (BNA): The Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan (IEA) condemned the explosion in a meeting of Jamiat -Ulema Islam
in the Bajaur tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate condemns the
tragic incident and shares his deep condolences to the affected families.
He prayed for the souls of the martyrs
and for the rapid recovery of those injured and stated that such acts cannot be
justified in any words.
It comes as dozens of people were killed
and over a hundred others injured in the explosion at the gathering in Bajaur
region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on Sunday.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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Foreign Organizations’ Campaign is Aimed
for Brain Drain from Afghanistan: Mujahid
2023-07-31
KABUL (BNA): The spokesman of the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid says that a number of foreign
organizations including International Organization for Transitional Justice and
Peace have launched a campaign to evacuate professional individuals from
Afghanistan.
International Organization for
Transitional Justice and Peace and some other foreign organizations in the
United States have recently launched a campaign in order to transfer 1,500
Afghan prosecutors and their families to third countries, under the pretext of
threats to their safety.
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the concerns of American
organizations regarding the safety of Afghan prosecutors in Afghanistan is
totally baseless, criticizing the campaign as an attempt for promoting brain
drain from the country and human trafficking.
He said that there are no any threats to
former prosecutors in Afghanistan and reports released by a number of foreign
NGOs on the regard are biased and intended for spreading propaganda to create
an atmosphere of fear among Afghans.
The Islamic Emirate calls on Afghans not
to be deceived by these dubious organizations and not to leave their country.
The general amnesty of Islamic Emirate is granted to everyone and no one is
allowed to violate it, he said.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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Organs Instructed to Urgently Reach to
Flood-Affected People in Urgon: Deputy PM
2023-07-31
KABUL (BNA): Deputy Prime Minister of
the IEA for political affairs, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, in a meeting with a number
of scholars, influential people, and tribal elders of Urgon district, Paktika province,
said, he has directed relevant departments to provide urgent assistance to the
flood affected people in the region.
According to a statement released by the
office of the Deputy Prime Minister, scholars and elders of Urgon while
expressing satisfaction with the strengthening of the Islamic system in the
country, assured their support, and said that there have been significant
positive changes in the country over the last two years.
The participants of the meeting also
shared information regarding the losses caused by the recent floods in the
district and expressed concern that necessary measures have not been taken to
help flood-affected families in the region.
They also shared their demands and
suggestions regarding the expansion of services in fields such as education,
health, and reconstruction in the Urgon district.
Mawlavi Abdul Kabir expressed his
sympathies to Urgon elders for the damage caused by the recent floods and
stated that the organs concerned have been requested to reach out to individuals
impacted immediately and focus on methods to prevent such disasters in the
future.
He assured the elders that their demands
and suggestions would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for
consideration.
Source: bakhtarnews.af
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https://bakhtarnews.af/en/organs-instructed-to-urgently-reach-to-flood-affected-people-in-urgon-deputy-pm-2/
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