Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Islamic World News

05 Mar 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com

Malaysian Catholics angered by some Muslims’ communion act

Pak: 30 Taliban, soldier die in airstrike, clashes No mention of Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar in Pak's terror list of 119 Cyber-terrorism a real and growing threat: FBI Jakarta: Nahdlatul Ulama to take leading role in combating terrorism We must not be afraid of taking on Islamic extremists Israel aborts raid as soldier reveals details on website Ex-Gitmo man leads Taliban in Marjah I totally deny any threat to my life: Husain Madarsas to bridge education gap in Indian Muslims Growing number of Muslim men and multiple wives exploiting loophole for taxpayer handouts Ex-PM’s daughter slams Malaysian daily for killing caning column German Islamic fanatics jailed for planning 'second September 11' Kidnapped Sikh faces Taliban threat of conversion, says father ‘A Prophet’ a stunning experience London arrest highlights India's communal war ‘This was home to Indians...we will be ready in a year’ J&K teen’s killing: Days of denial later, BSF officer arrested After killing two militants, Captain dies in J&K firefight Our Troops Know and Believe in Moderate Islam Report of US arms aid for Pak miffs India Iraq inquiry: Gordon Brown says war was 'right' Talks with Pakistan a 'calculated' move, no US nudge: PM Big win for Dutch anti-Islam leader India: Dalit leader demands 10% quota for Muslims Five Pakistani road workers shot dead in Afghanistan Attack on Indians in Kabul will not bend our will: PM Polling stations bombed as Iraq election begins Deadly blast hits convoy in north-west Pakistan US Afghan general is given expanded authority Iran frees award-winning filmmaker's wife, daughter Muslim student group reject Obama visit Obama and American scholarship on Islam Indonesia sees U.S. lifting military training ban Fear at the root of Swiss-Libyan diplomatic spat India, Pak proxy war in Afghanistan Spied for Israel: Hamas leader’s son Air India to continue services to Kabul Brazil differs with U.S. on Iran Two NATO soldiers die in Afghanistan A surprising US statement on Kabul terror attack Crossing the border and awaiting freedom Compiled by Akshay Kumar Ojha Photo: There have been arson attacks at churchs amid growing tensions URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2539 ------ Malaysian Catholics angered by some Muslims’ Communion act 5 March 2010 The Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia has criticised the authorities for not pressing charges against two Muslim journalists who took Holy Communion. The two apparently put communion wafers in their mouths and then spat them out. The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam, said the two men had desecrated the church, and the lack of charges appeared to legitimise their behaviour. It is the latest in a series of incidents raising religious tensions in the Muslim-majority country. The journalists said they had attended the church service to check reports of the illegal conversion of Muslims, but found no evidence of it. While non-Catholics can attend Mass, the Church does not allow those who are not baptised to receive the communion wafer. Ignorance? The archbishop wants an apology from the journalists and from the magazine that published the story of their actions. "The journalists have displayed utmost disrespect for the Catholic community when they admit receiving and spitting out the Holy Communion," he told a press conference. He said the incident "does not augur well on inter-religious harmony and peace" in Malaysia. The monthly Malay-language Al-Islam magazine indicated the men spat out the communion wafers because it took a photograph of them partially bitten. Catholics believe the communion wafer is transformed into the body of Christ during the celebration of Mass. The government's top lawyer, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, said the pair had not understood the significance of the wafer. "The actions of the two reporters may have hurt the feelings of the people but I was satisfied that they did not intend to offend anyone. It was an act of sheer ignorance," he said in a statement. "Therefore in view of the circumstances at that particular time and in the interest of justice, peace and harmony, I decided not to press any charges against them." The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Malaysia says that non-Muslims feel their right to practice religion freely has come under threat in a country dominated by Muslims. Protests against a court ruling in December that non-Muslims could use the word "Allah" led the government to appeal against the judgement. Arson attacks then followed, mainly targeting churches, and wild boar's heads were placed at mosques. Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims and their presence would be taken as an insult. Malays, who are required to be Muslim in Malaysia, make up a majority of the country's population alongside substantial Chinese and Indian minorities. The Malaysian constitution gives primacy to Islam but allows the free practice of other faiths. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8550955.stm ------ Pak: 30 Taliban, soldier die in airstrike, clashes Shafqat Ali 04 MARCH 2010 Islamabad: Pakistani security forces on Thursday killed 30 Taliban militants in the lawless tribal areas, officials said. According to the security officials, the extremists attacked Marjan-1 check post in Lakro area of Mohmand Agency early in the morning, which was duly retaliated by the forces. “Militants killed one soldier and wounded four in an early morning attack on a military check-post in Mohmand tribal region”, a security official said. “During the clash 30 terrorists were killed. Several have been captured”, he said. Another official said the bodies of five militants were in the custody of the security forces. The clash erupted two days after Pakistan said it had cleared the Taliban and Al Qaeda from nearby Bajaur region after nearly two years of fighting in the area. Separately, the Paramilitary Frontier Constabulary said it had killed 38 militants and arrested 18 in a week-long operation near the Kohat district. Meanwhile, at least six shops got destroyed as an explosion occurred near Ganj Baksh market located in Mardan district on Thursday. “We have no reports of any loss of life or injury in the explosion”, a police official said. The blast took place in MC Residential Plaza near Bank Road at the Ganj Baksh market. http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4397:pak-30-taliban-soldier-die-in-airstrike-clashes&catid=36:international&Itemid=61 ------ No mention of Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar in Pak's terror list of 119 Mar 4, 2010 No mention of Hafiz Saeed in Pak's terror list ISLAMABAD: Twenty men who allegedly helped plan and carry out the Mumbai attacks, including several Lashker-e-Taiba operatives, figure among the 119 "most wanted" terrorists in Pakistan but the list excludes top leaders of Pakistani Taliban and Jaish-e-Mohammed. The 20 men are wanted in connection with a case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and have been booked under provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Pakistan Penal Code and a cyber crimes law. They figure in the "Red Book" or list of 119 "most wanted terrorists" that was drawn up by the FIA in October last year with help from provincial police forces. However, the name of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar or that of the top leaders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan do not figure in the list. Pakistani authorities have also refused to arrest LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed in connection with 26/11 attacks, saying there is no evidence against him. Heading the list of 20 Pakistani nationals wanted for the Mumbai attacks is Muhammad Amjad Khan, a shadowy LeT organiser and facilitator based in Karachi. Khan hails from Multan in Punjab province and his name has figured prominently in information provided by Pakistan to India in several dossiers. Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/No-mention-of-Hafiz-Saeed-Masood-Azhar-in-Paks-terror-list-of-119/articleshow/5640100.cms ------ Cyber-terrorism a real and growing threat: FBI Mar 5, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO: Terrorists, crooks and nation states are ramping up cyber-assaults that are eating away at data, cash and security in the United States, the head of the FBI warned. "The risks are right at our doorsteps and in some cases they are in the house," Federal Bureau of Investigation chief Robert Mueller said in a speech at an RSA Conference of computer security professionals in San Francisco on Thursday. "Working together we can find the people taking shots at us and stop those attacks." Mueller was the third high-ranking federal official in as many days to urge private industry cyber-warriors to join forces with the US government to battle spies, terrorists and crooks plaguing the Internet. "As you well know, a cyber-attack could have the same impact as a well-placed bomb," Mueller said. "In the past 10 years, Al-Qaeda's online presence has become as potent as its in-world presence." Al-Qaida uses for the Internet range from recruiting members and inciting violence to posting ways to make bio-weapons and forming social-networks for aspiring terrorists, according to Mueller. "The cyber-terrorism threat is real and rapidly expanding," Mueller said. "Terrorists have shown a clear interest in hacking skills and combining real attacks with cyber attacks." Threats are also rising from online espionage, with hackers out for source code, money, trade and government secrets, according to the FBI. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Cyber-terrorism-a-real-and-growing-threat-FBI/articleshow/5646797.cms ------ Jakarta: Nahdlatul Ulama to take leading role in combating terrorism Ridwan Max Sijabat 03/05/2010 The 40-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) vowed Thursday it would play a leading role in the fight against extremism and terrorism.  NU chief Hasyim Muzadi said the largest moderate Muslim organization would formulate strategic programs to achieve the goal in its congress in Makassar, South Sulawesi from March 22 through 27. Speaking at a seminar, Hasyim said that despite appearing calm, predominantly Muslim Indonesia is fertile ground for terrorism. He said that radicals launch attacks as a way to fight global injustices and, in Indonesia, it is developing into a war of ideologies. “The congress will discuss the role of NU and its clerics in making the majority Muslims practise true Islamic teachings. Muslims have to be able to institutionalize the Islamic values and become good citizens in the plural society,” he said. NU wants to cooperate with the country’s second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, to campaign for moderation and deradicalization to prevent religious extremism and terrorism.  Full Report at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/05/nu-take-leading-role-combating-terrorism.html ------ We must not be afraid of taking on Islamic extremists By Andrew Gilligan 05 Mar 2010 Muslims are standing up to fundamentalist organisations such as the Islamic Forum of Europe. We should do the same, writes Andrew Gilligan. Alamy Islam We must not be afraid of taking on extremists The Islamic Forum of Europe are based at the East London mosque Photo: Alamy The East End has one of the best local papers in Britain, a genuine mirror of its community. But curiously, this week's issue seems to have missed a story which has been making some serious waves in that very community. One of the local MPs, Labour's Jim Fitzpatrick, was quoted in The Sunday Telegraph, and on national television, as saying that his party had been infiltrated by a secretive, fundamentalist organisation, the Islamic Forum of Europe – which he compares to the Militant Tendency in the 1980s. Full Report at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7373471/We-must-not-be-afraid-of-taking-on-Islamic-extremists.html ------ Israel aborts raid as soldier reveals details on website Mar 5, 2010 JERUSALEM: Israel's military and one of its soldiers are no longer "friends" after the gunner posted details of an impending West Bank raid on his Facebook page, leading to the mission being aborted, the army and media reports said. The soldier from an artillery unit updated his page on the social networking site, saying "on Wednesday we are cleaning Qatanna, and on Thursday, God willing, going home", army radio reported. Other soldiers in the unit, who saw the posting, alerted their officers and the planned raid on Qatanna, a village near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, was called off, the army said. "The division commander decided to cancel the operation out of concern that the information had reached hostile groups and would harm IDF (Israeli military) forces," an army statement said. The soldier's page contained details of his unit and the exact time and location of the planned sweep. The Israeli army frequently carries out raids in the occupied West Bank, detaining suspected Palestinian militants. The army apparently did not "like" the post. The soldier was "sentenced to 10 days" imprisonment, his combat certificate revoked, and he was removed from his battalion and from all combat postings," the statement said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Israel-aborts-raid-as-soldier-reveals-details-on-website/articleshow/5644509.cms ------ Ex-Gitmo man leads Taliban in Marjah Mar 5, 2010 LASHKAR GAH: A man freed from Guantanamo more than two years ago after he claimed he only wanted to go home and help his family is now a senior commander running Taliban resistance to the US-led offensive in southern Afghanistan, two Afghan intelligence officials say. Abdul Qayyum is also seen as a leading candidate to be the next No 2 in the Afghan Taliban hierarchy, said the officials. The story of Abdul Qayyum could add to the complications President Barack Obama is facing in fulfilling his pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo by sending some prisoners back to their home countries or to other willing nations, while putting others on trial. US intelligence asserts that 20% of suspects released from the Guantanamo Bay prison have returned to the fight and the number has been steadily increasing. Qayyum's key aide in plotting attacks on Afghan and international forces is another former Guantanamo prisoner, said the Afghan intelligence officials as well as a former Helmand governor, Sher Mohammed Akundzada. Abdul Rauf, who told his US interrogators he had only loose connections to the Taliban, spent time in an Afghan jail before being freed last year. Full Report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Ex-Gitmo-man-leads-Taliban-in-Marjah/articleshow/5644498.cms ------ I totally deny any threat to my life: Husain Mar 5, 2010 MUMBAI: MF Husain is leading the media a merry dance. Barely a week after the 94-year-old painter claimed he was taking up citizenship of Qatar because he felt "unsafe" in India, he told Times Now in an exclusive interview that it's work and work alone that's keeping him in Qatar. "Of course I'm here on work," he told the news channel. "My work takes me all over and for the past 60 years I have been travelling on work. I've worked in New York, China, Russia, Paris and, most of all, in London," said the artist. While various political parties, activists, thinkers and creative people debated the consequences of Husain's revelation, it was evident that the artist had not considered the possibility of having to give up on Indian citizenship if he took on that of Qatar. "I'm a free bird. I can stay anywhere I want," he said. "I'm an artist of Indian origin, a painter, a creative person. There are no boundaries for me. Art speaks a universal language." On being asked about reports that said he was choosing to move to Qatar because he felt threatened in India, the painter categorically said, "I totally deny them." When prodded about the media reports, he added, "It's the privilege of the media to say what it likes, we live in a great democracy." Whether he wanted to come back to India at all, Husain was clear: "Of course I'll come back. I can come back today, tomorrow or in 10 years but I will. I'm the master of all my movements. And more than 99% Indians love me and treat me with warmth. After all, India is my birth place," he said. Evidently, you can't take India out of this Indian. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/I-totally-deny-any-threat-to-my-life-Husain/articleshow/5644877.cms ------ Madarsas to bridge education gap in Indian Muslims March 4, 2010 New Delhi: The prevailing state of Muslim education in India needs to be upgraded to match the requirements of a competitive job market, according to a prominent Muslim body. "It hurts when you see an educated Muslim, who has studied for more than 14 years at Daru-ul-Uloom Deoband, does not know how to fill an immigration form. What is the use, if after studying for so many years, you are still dependent on others," Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, president, All Idia Organisation of Imams of Mosques (AIOIM), which claims to represent half a million Imams of India, told PTI. Maintaining that there is a need for modern education to bring change in Muslims, he says," There are more than 3,50,000 Madarsas in India who teach about Din (religion). But after passing out, the students are left with no career opportunities except becoming Ulemas or Imams. Madarsa education should improve to match the competitive job market." The organisation recently presented HRD minister with a charter of demands for improving the state of education among Muslims. These include a master plan to encourage education of the girl child and ensuring a role for Muslims in policy making, implementation and enforcement by the ministry. Full Report at: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_madarsas-to-bridge-education-gap-in-indian-muslims_1355084 ------ Growing number of Muslim men and multiple wives exploiting loophoole for taxpayer handouts March 05, 2010 A GROWING number of Muslim men and their multiple wives are exploiting a loophole to get taxpayer handouts. Centrelink has confirmed it has investigated up to 20 cases of multiple relationships, including polygamy, in the past two years for payment irregularities. It has forced some families to pay money back. Polygamy is illegal in Australia, but a Centrelink spokeswoman said it was not the welfare agency's job to police polygamy laws. "It's not our concern if they are a member of a polygamist relationship," the spokeswoman said. "We look at whether they are receiving the correct rate of payment. We treat each couple independently." But Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria director Joumanah El Matrah said some men were exploiting Australia. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. "It (polygamy) was a minority but it's certainly a growing minority because Muslim men realised it was possible to get away with it," she said. Full Report at: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/growing-number-of-muslim-men-and-multiple-wives-exploiting-loophoole-for-taxpayer-handouts/story-e6frf7jo-1225837150560 ------ Ex-PM’s daughter slams Malaysian daily for killing caning column March 4, 2010 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia’s largest English-language newspaper has refused to publish a prominent commentator’s column on the caning of three Muslim women, weeks after it got into trouble with the government over a similar article by one of its editors. Social activist Marina Mahathir said The Star spiked her weekly column Wednesday because of concerns that such sensitive articles could jeopardize its printing permit. All publications in Malaysia must renew their printing licenses each year to operate. The Star got into trouble over a Feb. 9 opinion piece by managing editor P. Gunasegaram, a non-Muslim, who criticized the caning of the women for having sex outside of marriage, saying it undermined individual rights. The Home Ministry threatened action against The Star, saying the article might harm public order. Full Report at: http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/03/04/13107901.html ------ German Islamic fanatics jailed for planning 'second September 11' Allan Hall 04 Mar 2010 Four Muslim fanatics dreamed of "mounting a second September 11" with a series of bomb attacks on a US military base in Germany as well as nightclubs and restaurants used by American servicemen. The gang, two of whom were German-born but converted to Islam, plotted to detonate explosives 100 times more powerful than those used in the attacks on the London Underground in July 2005, in a "monstrous bloodbath", a court heard. Had the plot not been foiled the gang, a cell of a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda, would have killed 150 soldiers, along with women and children in a "mass murder unrivalled in Germany." On Thursday, at the end of a nine-month trial, the ringleader, Fritz Gelowicz, 30, the son of a doctor and engineer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the plot. His sidekick Daniel Schneider, 24, was also given an 12-year sentence. Adem Yilmaz, 31, a Turkish national, was sentenced to 11 years and Attila Selek, 25, a Turkish German, was sentenced to five years. Full Report at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7368524/German-Islamic-fanatics-jailed-for-planning-second-September-11.html ------ Kidnapped Sikh faces Taliban threat of conversion, says father Mar 5, 2010 TORONTO: Desperate for the safe release of his 32-year-old son Robin Singh from the Pakistani Taliban, Toronto-based Bishan Dass said his son faces threat of conversion. An IT professional with degrees from the US, Robin Singh was kidnapped by the militants in Peshawar Feb 12 for a ransom of 10 million rupees. A father of three sons, Singh is one of the four Sikhs abducted recently by the Pakistan Taliban from Peshawar for ransom. "My wife Shama and I have been broken by this tragic happening. We don't have the money pay, and we don't know what to do. We have slept very little since then,'' 70-year-old Dass said. A former national vice president of the National Bank of Pakistan, Dass immigrated to Canada in 1999 and lives in the Indian-dominated suburb of Brampton here. "After kidnapping Robin Singh when he was on his way back home from Peshawar University, the militants called my elder son Rajat Singh to demand the ransom. They are now threatening him (Rajat)," he said. Full Report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kidnapped-Sikh-faces-Taliban-threat-of-conversion-says-father/articleshow/5645642.cms ------ ‘A Prophet’ a stunning experience By BRUCE KIRKLAND March 5, 2010 The French masterwork A Prophet is nominated for an Oscar as best foreign language film, and has already won the same category in the British film awards. In Cannes 2009, Jacques Audiard’s film finished second to The White Ribbon, which took the Palme d’Or. Win or lose any award, and A Prophet is still a stunning cinematic experience. I mention the citations only to place an emphasis on the film’s impact. It looks like a genre piece, an action picture set mostly inside French prison walls. There is intense violence: One murder scene is so graphic that even Audiard has to turn away while watching. In brief scenes outside prison, there are shoot-outs after drug deals go wrong and Mafia turf is being contested. But genre is not an end in itself. It is a vehicle for Audiard and his brilliant screenwriter, Thomas Bidegain, to get somewhere else. Somewhere universal and classic and enlightened. Full Report at: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2010/03/04/13113126.html ------ London arrest highlights India's communal war Praveen Swami March 05, 2010 NEW DELHI: For 17 years, police in half a dozen countries had hunted for Mohammad Hanif Umerji Patel, wanted in India for a 1993 bombing in Surat, which left 12 people injured and an eight-year-old girl dead. Last month, authorities in the United Kingdom caught up with him in a neighbourhood grocer's shop in Bolton, 16 km from Manchester. Known to his friends as “Tiger Patel,” the fugitive will now face extradition proceedings. Seventeen men have so far been handed down sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment for their role in the bombing. Despite his fearsome nickname, Patel was something of a bit player in a still-unfinished communal war: a war involving Hindu-chauvinist groups, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, and the organised crime networks which funded the birth of the modern jihadist movement in India. Full Report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/05/stories/2010030562511200.htm ------ ‘This was home to Indians...we will be ready in a year’ Manu Pubby Mar 05, 2010 It took the suicide squad three hours to destroy the Park Residence guest house, home to many Indians stationed in Kabul. In those three hours, two terrorists dragged out guests from rooms, shot them dead from point blank range and threw grenades into each room to ensure destruction. Today, there is hardly anything left to identify it as the “home of Indians in Kabul” but the owners of the popular guest house, sending out a clear message that they will not be cowed down by such attacks, promise to be back on their feet within a year. Less than a week after the attack, new plans are already on the drawing board. The owners have decided to pull down the entire gutted structure and build a new guest house. The plan is ambitious but they are determined to ensure the place is up and running in a year. Full Report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/this-was-home-to-indians...we-will-be-ready-in-a-year/587094/2 ------ J&K teen’s killing: Days of denial later, BSF officer arrested Majid Jahangir Mar 05, 2010 In the first action of its kind against a senior officer, J&K police today arrested BSF commandant Randhir Kumar Birdi for his alleged involvement in the killing of 16-year-old schoolboy Zahid Farooq. Birdi has been charged with murder, abetment of crime and destruction of evidence. The swift action followed an assurance by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram that the law would take its course. With the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Disturbed Areas Act in force, the state has to obtain the Union Home Ministry’s permission to prosecute members of Central security forces. On February 5, Zahid Farooq was shot dead in Nishat after he and his friends reportedly had an altercation with BSF personnel who were returning to their camp in Shalimar. The BSF initially denied any involvement but later blamed a constable. On February 10, police arrested BSF constable Lakhwinder Kumar for the killing. But Kumar told the SIT, headed by SSP Srinagar Javid Riyaz, that his commanding officer (Birdi) had ordered him to open fire on the boy. Birdi was placed under suspension. Informing the court of Birdi’s arrest today, the SIT stated in its report: “Lakhwinder Kumar at the instigation of R K Birdi, CO, fired two rounds of his service rifle, one of which hit Zahid Farooq Sheikh... who later succumbed to his injuries.” Birdi has been sent to police custody for two days. Under AFSPA, BSF can also seek his trial in its own http://www.indianexpress.com/news/j&k-teens-killing-days-of-denial-later-bsf-officer-arrested/587081/ ------ After killing two militants, Captain dies in J&K firefight Muzamil Jaleel Mar 05, 2010 Four militants, including a foreigner, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Dadsar in south Kashmir. An Army captain was also killed in the 30-hour encounter. Unlike in Sopore, troops here faced local militants, including two “old hands” of the Hizbul Mujahideen active in the area for around 15 years. The militants were holed up in two houses which, the Army and J-K police said, were connected via an underground, concrete tunnel. Police said they expect tension at the funeral of the Hizbul commanders tomorrow. Army sources said the first tip-off was that there were two militants hiding in the house of a schoolteacher in this picturesque village a few miles off the Srinagar-Jammu highway. Troops of the Rashtriya Rifles Victor Force, along with J-K police personnel, laid a cordon at 2 am yesterday. The encounter began soon after daybreak and ended this evening when troops recovered the bodies of all four militants. Search lights were set up in the village as the firefight went on through the night. Captain Deepak Sharma, part of an assault party, was killed this morning when militants launched a counter-attack once they were encircled by troops. The 27-year-old officer from Rohtak, Haryana, was to get married next month. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-killing-two-militants-captain-dies-in-j&k-firefight/587078/2 ------ Our Troops Know and Believe in Moderate Islam By John R. Guardiano 2010 March 4 The future of Iraq — and indeed, the entire Muslim world — lies with moderate-minded youth who yearn to live relatively free and peaceful lives. Ryan Mauro is absolutely right: Moderate Muslims do exist and they are not an anomaly in the Islamic world. In fact, moderate Muslims may actually be the majority in countries like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. I know because I served as a Marine in Iraq and met hundreds of Iraqis throughout the country. My fellow Marines and I were greeted as liberators; and we were toasted as heroes. The Iraqis we knew and worked with were good and decent people who aspired to live free and peaceful lives. Full Report at: http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/03/04/our-troops-know-and-believe-in-moderate-islam/ ------ Report of US arms aid for Pak miffs India By Pinaki Bhattacharya DEFENCE minister A.K. Antony has expressed concern over the reported decision of the US to supply an array of sophisticated laser-guided bomb kits, surveillance drones and late-model F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan. “Given our bitter past experience of how Islamabad used such aid against India, Washington should ensure that the latest tranche of military aid is used only for the purpose of countering al Qaeda and the Taliban terrorists and not against India,” Antony said in a statement issued on Thursday. The statement was triggered by a news report published in the Wall Street Journal (March 2), that “Pakistan will soon take possession of a dozen American-made surveillance drones and 18 latemodel F-16 fighter jets, sharply expanding the Pakistani military's ability to track and strike targets in remote, insurgent-controlled parts of the country.” Added to these would be the laser-guided bomb kits that Pentagon, the US department of defence headquarters, had planned to provide to the country, the newspaper had reported. India’s concern over the supply of this tranche of weapons stems from Pakistan’s past record of deploying US-supplied weapons against India. Full Report at: Mail Today, New Delhi. ------ Iraq inquiry: Gordon Brown says war was 'right' 5 March 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said the 2003 war was "right", as he gives evidence to the UK's Iraq inquiry. He insisted he had not been kept in the dark by his predecessor Tony Blair and was fully "in line" with the invasion. His own intelligence briefings had convinced him that Iraq was a threat that "had to be dealt with," he said. But the main issue for him was that Iraq was in breach of UN resolutions - and that "rogue states" could not be allowed to flout international law. If the international community could not act together over Iraq, Mr Brown said he feared the "new world order we were trying to create would be put at risk". 'Diplomatic route' Full Report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8550779.stm ------ Talks with Pakistan a 'calculated' move, no US nudge: PM Mar 5, 2010 NEW DELHI: Rejecting Opposition charge of bowing to US pressure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asserted in Parliament that the decision to have Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan was not sudden but a "calculated" one after weighing all the costs and benefits. An aggressive Singh during the course of his 55-minute reply in the Lok Sabha to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address dismissed senior BJP leader L K Advani's accusation that India had resumed talks with Pakistan under US pressure. Singh said US President Barack Obama had never, during his many discussions with him, sought to pressurise India into taking "one position or the other" vis-a-vis Pakistan. Tearing into Advani, he said,"I think we will do a disservice to any government and Prime Minister of this proud country if we say that such fundamental matters of national security and foreign policy were based on anything but our supreme national interest". Insisting that dialogue with Pakistan was the only way forward to resolve issues, he said, "the chances of miscalculation can only increase in an environment of no contact". "Dialogue is the only way forward for civilized countries to resolve thier problems," Singh said after BJP and other Opposition members said holding of talks with Pakistan should be considered only after it stopped cross-border terrorism. India's policy towards Pakistan is "consistent, cautious and realistic", he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Talks-with-Pakistan-a-calculated-move-no-US-nudge-PM/articleshow/5647705.cms ------ Big win for Dutch anti-Islam leader Mar 5, 2010 AMSTERDAM: Dutch anti-Islamist leader Geert Wilders scored major gains in local polls on Thursday, making him a serious challenger for power in the June national polls. Wilders's Freedom Party (PVV) led in the city of Almere and was second in The Hague. The results came on top of an opinion poll showing that the PVV, which campaigns against Muslim immigration, would win the most seats — 27 in the 150-member Dutch parliament — in the June 9 election. That would make it tough for Balkenende's Christian Democrats, projected to win one seat less, to forge a strong coalition without Wilders. The popularity of Wilders, who compares Islam to fascism and the Koran to Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf," has dented the traditional image of the Netherlands as a bastion of tolerance. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Big-win-for-Dutch-anti-Islam-leader/articleshow/5644470.cms ------ India: Dalit leader demands 10% quota for Muslims March 05, 2010 PATNA: Lok Jan Shakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday demanded a 10 per cent quota for Muslims in government jobs and a mechanism to ensure that funds allocated for the welfare of the minorities were fully utilised. “If the country is to become a super power, the socio-economic and political condition of the minorities needs to be improved,” he told a rally organised by the party here. The minorities would have to be brought into the mainstream to strengthen the country, Mr. Paswan said. His party was playing the role of a catalyst to make the policymakers incorporate changes needed to help the Muslims, who share the “fate of the Dalits in the development matrix.” He said the rally was meant to give a message to the Muslims that the LJP was “solidly” behind them and would fight to improve their lot. Referring to the ban on the SIMI, Mr. Paswan said: “Fanatic organisations” such as the RSS and the Bajrang Dal should also be banned. The migrants from the erstwhile East Pakistan who settled in Bihar before Bangladesh was created should be granted citizenship, he said. — PTI http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/05/stories/2010030557220100.htm ------ Five Pakistani road workers shot dead in Afghanistan Mar 4, 2010 KANDAHAR: Five Pakistani road construction workers were shot dead on Thursday in Afghanistan's restive southern city of Kandahar, police said The workers were travelling to their construction site when two gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on their minivan at about 7 am, said Kandahar's deputy police chief, Mohammad Shah Faroqi. Five of the labourers were killed and one was wounded. The Pakistanis worked for Saita Construction Co, a Japanese joint-venture with a contract to repair the road from Kandahar to Punjwai district, Faroqi said. Taliban insurgents dominate much of southern Afghanistan and often attack aid projects. On Monday, car bombs in and around Kandahar killed one NATO soldier and five Afghan civilians. Kandahar, southern Afghanistan's largest city, is the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban and was the seat of the government before the 2001 US-led invasion that ousted the hard-line Islamist regime for sheltering al-Qaida leaders allegedly behind the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Combined Afghan and international forces are planning an offensive later in the year to bring greater security to Kandahar, a main goal of NATO operations this year, US officials have said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Five-Pakistani-road-workers-shot-dead-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/5640455.cms ------ Attack on Indians in Kabul will not bend our will: PM Mar 5, 2010 NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared that the recent "cowardly" act of terrorists to target Indians on goodwill mission in Kabul would not "bend the will" of India to help people of Afghanistan. Replying to a debate in Parliament on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, he referred to the February 26 attack and said the entire nation was outraged by the incident in which seven innocent Indian lives were lost. "These Indian nationals were in Afghanistan on a mission of goodwill and friendship helping to construct the peaceful and democratic Afghanistan that our Afghan friends desire. We condemn this cowardly act," he said. Noting that India's assistance has received widespread support among the people of Afghanistan, he said, "I wish to assure this House that such attacks will not bend the will of the people of India." Full report at: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Attack-on-Indians-in-Kabul-will-not-bend-our-will-PM/articleshow/5647505.cms ------ Polling stations bombed as Iraq election begins 4 March 2010 At least 14 people have been killed in Baghdad on the first day of voting in Iraq's parliamentary elections. Suicide bombers attacked two polling stations in different areas of the city killing at least seven people and wounding many others. Earlier in the day, a mortar attack on a crowded market killed seven and wounded at least 10 people. The poll is seen as a security test for Iraq as the US prepares to reduce its military presence in the coming months. The early voting involves hundreds of thousands of government employees, the sick and prisoners. Tight security Full Report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8548967.stm ------ Deadly blast hits convoy in north-west Pakistan 5 March 2010 At least 12 people have been killed and 25 injured in what police say is a suicide bomb attack in the Hangu district of north-west Pakistan. The attack targeted a convoy of 140 vehicles travelling from Tall in the Hangu district to the town of Parachinar in the Kurram region. No-one has yet said they carried out the attack. Pakistan's North West Frontier Province has witnessed numerous bombings by insurgents over the past year. A suicide attack on a police station in the Karak area of north-west Pakistan killed three people last week. Volatile region Police said that the bomber detonated explosives near a bus full of passengers. The convoy was carrying groups of people as well as vehicles loaded with general provisions and other trade goods. Most of the passengers in the convoy were Shia Muslims. The Parachinar and Orakzai region is home to a large number of Shia Muslims and the area has suffered from sectarian violence in the past. Full report at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8551048.stm ------ US Afghan general is given expanded authority 5 March 2010 The commander of US forces in Afghanistan, Gen Stanley McChrystal, is to be given expanded authority over US and Nato forces, officials say. The move means that he will be in charge of all but a small number of US special operations forces and some support troops from other nations. In 2009 Gen McChrystal set out a new Afghan strategy focusing on protecting civilians and counter-insurgency. Correspondents say this expansion gives him an unprecedented level of control. It places him as the undisputed leader of about 121,000 international troops in the country. They are being joined over the next few months by a further 30,000 US soldiers. US, Afghan and Nato forces are currently engaged in an offensive against Taliban fighters entrenched in southern Helmand province. The general "will have US operational control of all US forces less a small number of special operations forces," an American defence official told the AFP news agency. Officials in Washington say the move is designed to streamline the military hierarchy under Gen McChrystal - giving him "operational and tactical" control - and to achieve greater unity of effort. The changes were ordered by the head of US Central Command, Gen David Petraeus. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8551274.stm ------ Iran frees award-winning filmmaker's wife, daughter 5 March 2010 TEHRAN — Iranian authorities have freed 14 people arrested at award-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi's home but the pro-opposition director remains detained, an opposition website said on Thursday. Kaleme.com said Panahi's wife and their daughter were among the 14 released late on Wednesday, adding that Panahi and two other people, Mohammad Rassoulof and Mehdi Pourmoussa, were still being held. According to the website, at least six human rights activists, including women's rights militant Mahboubeh Karami, were among the group of 17 people arrested overnight on Monday. Apart from Panahi, the other five were identified as Hessam Firouzi, Behzad Mehrani, Navid Khanjani, Mansour Taghipour and Aboufazl Abedini. The filmmaker, a vocal backer of the opposition movement, was arrested along with his wife, daughter and their guests when security forces raided his home in Tehran. Media reports said Panahi was arrested for making a film about the unrest which rocked the Islamic republic after the June 12 disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Panahi was producing "an anti-regime film with his colleagues but the security apparatus vigilantly discovered their moves and they were arrested," said leading conservative news website Tabnak. Full report at: Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. ------ Muslim student group reject Obama visit 03/05/2010 Not everybody is impatiently awaiting the sentimental visit of US President Barack Obama to Indonesia later this month. Dozens of activists grouped under the Campus Islamic Proselytization Institute Coordinating Board rallied outside the Serang regency legislative council building on Friday to oppose Obama’s visit on March 20-22. “We reject Obama’s planned visit to Indonesia, which will have no advantages for the predominantly Muslim Indonesia,” group coordinator Ahmad Kardi said as quoted by Antara. Ahmad warned the nation against offers of cooperation from Obama, which he said would eventually benefit the US at Indonesia’s expense. The group said Obama was no different to his predecessor, George W. Bush, who resorted to war in disputes with other countries. The protesters said they would organize another rally opposing the visit, to be held outside the Banten provincial legislative council next week. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/05/muslim-student-group-reject-obama-visit.html ------ Obama and American scholarship on Islam Ahmad Najib Burhani 03/05/2010 Many observers have said President Barack Obama’s planned visit to Indonesia in the second half of March 2010 will provide momentum to strengthen relations between the Muslim world and the United States. In that context and in welcoming his visit, this article intends to look back on the relations between Indonesian Islam and the US in the academic sphere. Geographically, Indonesia is not located at the center of the Muslim world. Indeed, it is on the periphery. In terms of religiosity, Indonesian Islam represents a different portrait of Islam in comparison to that found in the Middle East. Because of its type and location, and also because of its history, which has no previous direct relationship with the US, American scholarship on Indonesian Islam came very late compared to European countries, particularly the Netherlands. American scholars used to rely on European sources when studying Indonesian Islam. Full Report at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/05/obama-and-american-scholarship-islam.html ------ Indonesia sees U.S. lifting military training ban By Olivia Rondonuwu and Ed Davies Mar 5, 2010 JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is confident Washington will overturn a ban on military training for its special forces, put in place over rights abuses blamed on elite troops, the defence minister said on Thursday. U.S. President Barack Obama, who lived in Indonesia as a child and is due to visit this month, is keen to cultivate relations with the world's most populous Muslim nation. The training ban is one of the last impediments in military ties. Washington has gradually lifted military aid and sales restrictions imposed over rights abuses in recent years, often linked to the notorious special forces unit known as Kopassus. "The armed forces here now have changed after 10 years. Yes, there was abuse of power in the past, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, but there has been reform," Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told Reuters in an interview. Full Report at: © Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. ------ Fear at the root of Swiss-Libyan diplomatic spat By The Nation March 5, 2010 European Christians are anxious about their identity and future, but so too are all Muslims; we're all in the same boat as globalisation falters Libyan President Mu'ammar Gadhafi is at it again. And as in the past, the Arab leader wannabe continues to rub people up the wrong way. "Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against Muhammad, God and the Koran," said Gadhafi at a recent gathering to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. A top UN official, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the UN chief in Geneva, condemned as "inadmissible" Gadhafi's declaration of a jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland. "Such declarations on the part of a head of state are inadmissible in international relations," the official said. The two countries have been embroiled in a long-running diplomatic row for some time now. Gadhafi has criticised a Swiss vote against the building of minarets, and urged Muslims all over the world to boycott the country. Full Report at: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/03/05/opinion/Fear-at-the-root-of-Swiss-Libyan-diplomatic-spat-30123958.html ------ India, Pak proxy war in Afghanistan March 05, 2010 India and Pakistan, implacable South Asian rivals, are locked in a new struggle for influence in Afghanistan, which analysts say is fuelling attacks on Indian interests there. A suicide bomb assault in Kabul last week killed nine Indians, including government employees, which followed two bomb attacks at the Indian embassy in July 2008 and October 2009. “The attacks are aimed at forcing India to withdraw from Afghanistan,” Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a South Asia specialist at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AFP by phone. After more than two decades without sway in Kabul, India swiftly established diplomatic ties with the new government there after the 2001 US-led invasion deposed the extremist Taliban. New Delhi has poured money into the country since, becoming the largest regional donor with $1.3 billion dollars in aid. About 4,000 Indians are busy building roads, sanitation projects and power lines in the volatile country. Even the new Afghan parliament is being built by Indians. Full report at: www.hindustantimes.com/India-Pak-proxy-war-in-Afghanistan/H1-Article1-515346.aspx ------ Spied for Israel: Hamas leader’s son March 05, 2010 Mosab Yousef, the son of a founder of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, says he was a spy for Israel’s Shin Bet for a decade as he felt that the spy agency had more morality than his own people. Mosab, 32, said he spied for Israel because he came to believe that Hamas was practicing “exceptional cruelty” against its members and “killed people for no reason”. He said that he passed on information about Hamas terrorist plots to Shin Bet. “That happened when they offered me to work for them when I was arrested in 1993,” he told CNN. “I accepted their offer, my goal was to be a double agent and attack them from inside,” Mosab claimed, adding that in prison he saw Hamas leaders torture other Hamas members. “I became confused about that. About whose really my enemy? Everybody is torturing everybody,” he said. Later, when Mosab became a Christian he felt that Shin Bet had more morality than his own people. “Later on I became Christian. I was convinced by the principle of loving your enemy. I saw that my enemy had moralities, they had their responsibilities more than my own people,” he said. Full Report at: http://www.dailypioneer.com/239653/Spied-for-Israel-Hamas-leader%E2%80%99s-son.html ------ Air India to continue services to Kabul March 05, 2010 NEW DELHI: Air India pilots have threatened not to operate flights to Kabul, citing security concerns, but the management has said the apprehensions are misplaced, and the airline's services to the Afghan capital will continue. The State-owned airline, the only Indian carrier to operate to Kabul, said its services to Kabul were complying with all regulations of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation. “We will maintain our services to Kabul,” an Air India spokesperson told The Hindu from Hyderabad, where a civil aviation exhibition and conference is under way. The management said the safety apprehensions raised by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) were misplaced. ‘Not tenable' “The points raised by the ICPA with regard to operations to Kabul are not tenable,” Air India said in a statement here on Thursday. “All procedures and safety requirements laid down by the DGCA are being complied with for the said operations.” Air India was operating safely to Kabul for many years without any untoward incident and safety violations, the airline said. It was also true that many other airlines were operating to Kabul safely with a similar type of aircraft (Category-C) for many years. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/05/stories/2010030556421300.htm ------ Brazil differs with U.S. on Iran Narayan Lakshman March 05, 2010 Washington DC: On an important stop in Brazil during her week-long tour of Latin American countries, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to drum the support she was hoping for in favour of the United States' goal to curb Iranian nuclear ambitions. At a joint press communiqué with Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim in Brasilia on Wednesday Ms. Clinton said, “The Foreign Minister and I discussed our mutual commitment to ensuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.” While agreeing that Brazil was concerned about the nuclear issue, Mr. Amorim touched upon the question of using coercive sanctions against Iran saying, “in that regard… our views may prove to differ and not necessarily be in line with each other”. When asked why Brazil still favoured negotiations over sanctions Mr Amorim said, “We will not simply bow down to evolving consensus if we do not agree.” Full Report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/05/stories/2010030555531500.htm ------ Two NATO soldiers die in Afghanistan March 05, 2010  KABUL: NATO announced the deaths of two more soldiers fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan's volatile south, bringing the number of foreign troops to die in the war so far this year to 111. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said one soldier died in a bomb strike on Thursday, the other in a vehicle accident. Their nationalities were not disclosed. A foreign news agency count based on a tally kept by the independent icasualties.org website puts the total deaths in Afghanistan of foreign soldiers at 111 in 2010. This compares with around 50 at the same time last year, when a total of 519 foreign troops died in the war, which is now in its ninth year. There are 121,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, being boosted to 150,000 over coming months to battle militants whose Taliban-led insurgency is concentrated in southern provinces, mainly Helmand and Kandahar. The alliance has laid out plans to eradicate insurgents over the coming 12-18 months so foreign troops can begin to withdraw. Full report at: http://thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=100036 ------ A surprising US statement Mar 05 2010 When Indians are made targets of a terrorist attack in Afghanistan, it is not fanciful to think of a Pakistan connection. However, that link is not always easy to trace to Islamabad and furnish mathematical proof or evidence that would stand up in a court of law.  (Just consider that in spite of clear indications, Pakistan doesn’t accept that any of its security agencies had anything to do with the Mumbai attacks of November 2008.) Orchestration of terror through organised groups by an interested intelligence outfit is typically done through “cutouts” in order to sustain deniability. All the same, the underlying political motivation in a given case, past patterns of behaviour of those under scrutiny, material gained through electronic eavesdropping, and sometimes testimonies of elements who may be apprehended, provide a clear thread. This is why elements the Pakistani establishment will readily come to mind when Indians as a group are attacked in a place like Kabul. Full Report at: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/surprising-us-statement-270 ------ Crossing the border and awaiting freedom By I.A. Rehman Mar 05 2010 A brief visit to Amritsar to help a Pakistani child in conflict with the law again provided confirmation that one of the many bad things India and Pakistan still have in common is a mix of contempt and callousness towards each other’s nationals in their custody. But first a few aspects, pleasant as well as unpleasant, of the case of Master Ateeq Iftikhar, a 13-year-old boy from Shahdara, how he landed himself in the Hoshiarpur Borstal, Punjab, and the happy denouement in an Amritsar court. The boy was arrested by the Indian police at Attari for crossing into India without any travel documents. One does not know whether the Pakistani authorities have tried to find out as to how the security robots failed to detect Ateeq’s presence in the Lahore-Attari train. But they must do that to ensure that no innocent person again lands himself/herself in trouble because of a security lapse. Besides, they cannot ignore the possibility that some undesirable elements, possibly aided by guards on either side of the border, might well be crossing the frontier without papers in pursuit of criminal designs. Full Report at: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc-comment/crossing-border-and-awaiting-freedom-268 URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2539