Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin

Islamic World News

28 Mar 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com

Iraq vote winner "open to talks with all"

Iran suspected of planning two more nuclear sites: Report Clerics to sensitise Muslim community on female foeticide Fort Hood fallout tests Muslim soldier US analyst for changing Muslim image in the West India's interests in Afghanistan cannot be same as Pak: Qureshi Modi's questioning a 'big step forward': SIT chief Raghavan CJI ignores riot victims' appeal, shares dais with Modi ISI no longer Taliban's friend, says Qureshi Israeli PM plays down US tensions UK’s Islam Channel under investigation Party Official Among 6 Killed by Bombs in Iraq Sri Lanka tarnished over arrest of Muslim convert 808 Kashmiri Pandit families living in valley: Jammu & Kashmir Mumbai's Haji Ali Mosque committee demands more security Delhi sees Kashmir through Pak prism: Mirwaiz Is Islamic banking the boiled ice-cream? Non-Muslims slams Bashir’s statements on alcohol ban in the capital Islamist Mob Shutters East Java Gay Conference Winterize that niqab -- just live and let live Muslim Law Students’ War Against Free Speech Terrorism and the denial problem —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi Muslims pray for rain in drought-hit Guyana Obama statue controversy not really about Obama Malaysia bids for investments with 'new economic model' Compiled By Aman Quadri URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2629 ----- Iraq vote winner "open to talks with all" March 28, 2010 Baghdad: The top vote-getter in Iraq's parliamentary elections says he wants to negotiate with all parties to form a government that can restore Iraq's place in the Arab and Muslim world. Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says his Iraqiya alliance is "open to talks with all" and says they should start immediately. He says the stability of Iraq is necessary for the stability of the Middle East and that it is now up to Iraqis to protect their country. He says the nation should "no longer have to depend on Americans" to guarantee its security. Allawi spoke Saturday, a day after full returns from the March 7 parliamentary elections showed him winning 91 seats in the 235-member parliament. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/iraq-vote-winner-open-to-talks-with-all/112189-2.html ----- Iran suspected of planning two more nuclear sites: Report AFP, Mar 28, 2010, WASHINGTON: UN inspectors and intelligence specialists in western countries believe Iran may be preparing to build at least two additional secret nuclear sites despite demands that it open up its nuclear program, The New York Times reported late Saturday. The newspaper said the suspicions were prompted by recent comments by a top Iranian official. In an interview with the Iranian Student News Agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered work to begin soon on two new plants. The plants, he said, "will be built inside mountains," presumably to protect them from attacks, according to The Times report. "God willing," Salehi was quoted as saying, "we may start the construction of two new enrichment sites" in the Iranian new year, which began March 21. Last September, US President Barack Obama revealed the evidence of a hidden Iranian nuclear site at Qum. US officials say they share the International Atomic Energy Agency's suspicions and are examining satellite evidence about a number of suspected sites in Iran, The Times said. But they have found no solid indications yet that Iran plans to use the new sites to produce nuclear fuel, the report said. Also, US officials are not certain about the number of sites Iran may be planning. But even if the sites are built, US officials believe they would pose no immediate threat or change US estimates that it will still take Iran one to four years to obtain the capability to build a nuclear weapon, the paper said. They think it would probably take several years for Iran to enrich uranium at any of the new sites, The Times noted. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-suspected-of-planning-two-more-nuclear-sites-Report/articleshow/5734089.cms ----- Clerics to sensitise Muslim community on female foeticide March 28, 2010 Lucknow: From now on while giving a religious discourse from the mosques during prayers, Muslim clerics would also have an important message to give - stop female foeticide, save girl child. In a bid check the increasing number of cases of female foeticide among Muslims the All India Muslim Personal Law Board has taken an initiative wherein awareness would be created among community people on social evils like female foeticide. "In the Islamic law female foeticide is equivalent to murder and is a crime. People should be aware with it," member of the AIMPLB and Naib Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firani Mahali told PTI. He said people's lack of knowledge regarding importance given to women in Islam had resulted in a social evil like female foeticide. "To end this social evil and to create awareness among Muslims, it has been decided that Imams will give the message of saving girl child from mosques during prayers, specially those held on Jumma (Friday)," Firangi Mahali said. This could be an effective and easy way to propogate the idea and sensitise the people of the community, he said. In the first phase the campaign would be launched from big cities, where Imams would be prepared to give this special message. "In the next stage this campaign would be extended to districts and later on to block and tehsil level. Our effort would be to reach maximum number of people and raise the issue," the AIMPLB member said. He said if required special conventions of Imams would also be organised at block and tehsil level. The issue was raised prominently during the three-day annual convention of the board and it was decided that to sensitise Muslims on female foeticide a full fledged publicity campaign should be launched. "During the convention, which was attended by prominent religious leaders from all over the country, it was decided that the Imams would present Sahari (Islamic Law) view on the issue of female foeticide in their Takreers (speech) during prayers," he said. "While discussing measures to protect rights of Muslims, deliberations were also held on as how to check social evils in the community like female foeticide and dowry," Firangi Mahali added. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_clerics-to-sensitise-muslim-community-on-female-foeticide_1364415 ----- Fort Hood fallout tests Muslim soldier By William Wan March 27, 2010 Straight-arrow specialist had faith in compatriots shaken by slurs and threats. FORT HOOD — At 2 o'clock on a Monday morning, the sound of angry pounding sent Army Spc. Zachari Klawonn bolting out of bed. THUD. THUD. THUD. Someone was mule-kicking the door of his barracks room, leaving marks that weeks later — long after Army investigators had come and gone — would still be visible. By the time Klawonn reached the door, the pounding had stopped. All that was left was a note, twice folded and wedged into the door frame. "F--- YOU RAGHEAD BURN IN HELL" read the words scrawled in black marker. The slur itself was nothing new. Klawonn, 20, the son of an American father and a Moroccan mother, had been called worse in the military. But the fact that someone had tracked him down in the dead of night to deliver this specific message sent a chill through his body. Before he enlisted, the recruiters in his hometown of Bradenton, Fla., had told him that the Army desperately needed Muslim soldiers like him to help win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet ever since, he had been filing complaint after complaint with his commanders. After he was ordered not to fast and pray. After his Quran was torn up. After other soldiers jeered and threw water bottles at him. After his platoon sergeant warned him to hide his faith to avoid getting a "beating" by fellow troops. But nothing changed. Then came the November shootings at Fort Hood and the arrest of a Muslim soldier he'd never met: Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is charged with killing 13 people and injuring more than 30 in a massacre that stunned the nation. And with it, things only got worse. Staring at the note in his hands that dark February morning, Klawonn trembled with panic and frustration. His faith, he believed, had made him a marked man in the Army. Now the November rampage had only added to his visibility. "To be looked upon by the people you serve with, by people you've trusted your life with, as the enemy," Klawonn says, sitting in his barracks a month after receiving the note. His voice trails off as he struggles to describe the anger he feels. "It's not right." For months, Hasan has been locked up, awaiting trial. Yet his presence lingers. Nearly everyone on post knows someone who was scarred physically or mentally by the violence of that November day. Nearly everyone has a story of where they were when they first learned what happened and how they still struggle to understand it. Full report at: www.statesman.com/news/nation/fort-hood-fallout-tests-muslim-soldier-464868.html?page=2&viewAsSinglePage=true ----- US analyst for changing Muslim image in the West March 28, 2010 KARACHI: Young Muslims should mobilise themselves to change the image of Muslims and Islam in the West, stressed Safiya Ghori a US analyst on Islam. She expressed these views while talking to a media roundtable meeting at a local hotel here on Saturday. Ms Ghori is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of US Embassy in Pakistan and has held various interactive sessions with youth at universities and think tanks. According to her, post-9/11 situation has already pushed the youth in America to play an active role to show the world that Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace. “Positive change is coming in American Muslim communities as they now see religion in a context and the new generation understands not only the reality of religion but the world they live in,” she remarked. Ms Ghori, a lawyer by profession has served as an analyst in South Asia on state of religious freedom. staff report http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\28\story_28-3-2010_pg12_13 ----- India's interests in Afghanistan cannot be same as Pak: Qureshi Mar 28, 2010, WASHINGTON: Arguing that it shares cultural, linguistic and ethnic commonalities with Afghanistan, Pakistan has claimed that it has more stakes in the war-torn country than India. "Obviously, their (India's) interests (in Afghanistan) cannot be the same as ours because we share a border," Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the popular Charlie Rose Show telecast on PBS news channel. "They (India) do not share a border (with Afghanistan). We have been impacted (by the events in Afghanistan). They (India) have not been impacted to that extent, because even today we have three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan," he argued, when asked how he measures India's interest in Afghanistan. Noting that Afghanistan is a land-locked country, Qureshi said that bulk of their trade is carried through Pakistan. "Practically our economies are one. Culturally, linguistically, ethnically, there are commonalities which Afghanistan shares more with Pakistan than India." Asked about the relationship between ISI and Taliban in Afghanistan, Qureshi said the Pakistani intelligence agency is no longer considered a friend of the outfit. "The way the ISI has been operating, and the way the ISI is being targeted by Taliban is in front of you. Look at their casualties. Look at the number of people that have been injured in the last year-and-a-half directly -- you know, ISI operators." "Look at the way their different officers have been attacked at Peshawar, in Lahore, in Multan. It is very obvious that our side is no longer considered to be a friend of theirs," he argued, referring to a series of attacks on the intelligence agency's facilities. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Indias-interests-in-Afghanistan-cannot-be-same-as-Pak-Qureshi/articleshow/5734319.cms ----- Modi's questioning a 'big step forward': SIT chief Raghavan PTI, Mar 28, 2010 GANDHINAGAR: The questioning of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the Gulbarg riots post-Godhra is a "very big step forward" in trying to understand and unravel the mysteries in the case and the SIT will submit its report to the Supreme Court on or before April 30, its head R K Raghavan said today. Declining to go into details of the questioning of 59-year-old Modi, he maintained that former CBI DIG A K Malhotra, who grilled the Chief Minister in two sessions yesterday, "looks relaxed" and said he has confidence in the officer's abilities. Raghavan said he was happy that the Special Investigation Team, appointed by the Supreme Court, could get the Chief Minister for questioning and that it will have to appreciate the evidence before making any comments on the issue. "It is a very big step forward in trying to understand and unravel quite a few mysteries in the matter...I am happy that we were able to get the CM for questioning. I have to appreciate the evidence," Raghavan told a TV channel. Full report at: //timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Modis-questioning-a-big-step-forward-SIT-chief-Raghavan/articleshow/5734685.cms ----- CJI ignores riot victims' appeal, shares dais with Modi PTI, Mar 28, 2010, GANDHINAGAR: Ignoring calls of shunning a function attended by Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan on Sunday shared the dais with the Gujarat chief minister at a convocation here, hours after he was questioned by Special Investigation Team in the 2002 riots case. Some of the riot victims and kin of former MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulburg Society riots -- the case in which Modi had been quizzed-- had made an online appeal urging the CJI and Justice A M Ebrahim, former judge of Zimbabwe Supreme Court, not to share the stage with Modi at the first convocation of Gujarat National Law University. At the function, Balakrishnan sat on the right side of Modi, while Gujarat High Court Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhyay was seated on the left of the chief minister. During his address, Justice Ebrahim acknowledged Modi for his statement yesterday after his questioning by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT that 'no one was above the law'. Justice Ebrahim said he "very much agreed" with the statement of Modi. The Gujarat Chief Minister, however, did not make any speech during the convocation. Gujarat Congress too had said that "it would not be proper" for Balakrishnan to share the dais with Modi as he had been questioned by the SIT on a complaint by Ehsan's widow Zakia Jafri. The open letter by Zakia and others had said, "An association of the Chief Justices of India and Zimbabwe with a person who is being examined for his role in the killing of innocent people, under the directives of the Supreme Court will send out wrong signals and undermine the process of justice in Gujarat." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CJI-ignores-riot-victims-appeal-shares-dais-with-Modi/articleshow/5735322.cms ----- ISI no longer Taliban's friend, says Qureshi Mar 28, 2010 WASHINGTON: Pakistan's powerful ISI is no longer considered a "friend" of Taliban in Afghanistan, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has claimed. The Minister's remarks come amid strong concerns voiced by India about ISI's support for the Afghan Taliban, particularly in executing terror attacks targeting Indians. "The way the ISI has been operating, and the way the ISI is being targeted by Taliban is in front of you. Look at their casualties. Look at the number of people that have been injured in the last year-and-a-half directly -- you know, ISI operators”, Qureshi said. "Look at the way their different officers have been attacked at Peshawar, in Lahore, in Multan. It is very obvious that our side is no longer considered to be a friend of theirs," Qureshi told the popular 'Charlie Rose Show' telecast on PBS news channel. He was asked about the relationship between ISI and Taliban in Afghanistan. Arguing that it shares cultural, linguistic and ethnic commonalities with Afghanistan, Qureshi claimed that Pakistan has more stake in the war-torn country than India. "Obviously, their (India's) interests (in Afghanistan) cannot be the same as ours because we share a border," he said. "They (India) do not share a border (with Afghanistan). We have been impacted (by the events in Afghanistan). They (India) have not been impacted to that extent, because even today we have three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan," he said when asked how he measures India's interest in Afghanistan. Noting that Afghanistan is a land-locked country, Qureshi said that bulk of their trade is carried through Pakistan. "Practically our economies are one. Culturally, linguistically, ethnically, there are commonalities which Afghanistan shares more with Pakistan than India." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/ISI-no-longer-Talibans-friend-says-Qureshi/articleshow/5735441.cms ----- Israeli PM plays down US tensions 28 March 2010 Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has tried to play down tensions with the United States following a three day visit to Washington to discuss strained relations over  Israel's settlement building plans. Speaking at a meeting of the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel and the US were "allies and friends" and could work out their differences. Washington had been angered after Israeli officials announced, during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, that 1,600 new housing units would be built in occupied East Jerusalem. But Netanyahu dismissed the subsequent disputes as "disagreements between friends, and that is how they will stay". No public statements were made or photo opportunities permitted during the meeting between Netanyahu and Barack Obama, the US president, prompting analysts to describe it as a humiliating snub. Obama 'disaster' "We've got a real problem. You could say that Obama is the greatest disaster for Israel," Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, quoted an unidentified Netanyahu confidant as saying in the days after the visit. But Netanyahu on Sunday said that this was not his opinion. Full report at: /english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/03/2010328101933841111.html ----- UK’s Islam Channel under investigation David Sapsted March 28. 2010 London // Britain’s most popular Muslim TV channel is to be investigated by the government’s broadcasting watchdog after being accused of promoting extremists. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) took action after an in-depth survey of the programmes on the Islam Channel by the Quilliam Foundation, a moderate Islamic think tank based in London. After monitoring the output of the satellite channel for three months, the foundation reported: “The gravest concern regarding the Islam Channel is its failure in combating extremism. “A number of presenters with extremist tendencies were regularly given the opportunity to air their opinions on the network without a challenge from more moderate Islamic voices.” The report also condemned the channel, which is headquartered in London, for being demeaning to women, saying that programmes instructed women that they could not refuse to have sexual relations with their husbands. Under British law, a husband who forces his wife to have sex with him can be charged with rape. Full report at: www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100328/FOREIGN/703279950/1135 ----- Party Official Among 6 Killed by Bombs in Iraq By REUTERS March 28, 2010 FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - A series of explosions in western Iraq killed six people on Sunday, including an official of a political faction in former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's  electoral coalition, police said. They said four bombs went off near the house of Ghanim Radhi, a member of the Development and Reforms movement, early Sunday in the town of Qaim, 300 km (185 miles) west of Baghdad in Anbar province. Radhi and one of his brothers, who is a junior member in the movement, were killed. The first two bombs went off and when people gathered in the area after the blast, two more exploded, said Luai Mohammed, a relative of Radhi's who was at the scene. "The street was full of people, some were lying motionless and others were screaming in pain," he told Reuters. Police said four other people were killed but gave no details of their identities. They said 15 people were wounded. Radhi did not stand in the parliamentary election on March 7 but his movement is a minor faction in Allawi's secular Iraqiya list which emerged with the most seats, according to preliminary results released on Friday. Two days before the explosions, Iraqiya premises were damaged by fire in the southern province of Kerbala, a Shi'ite religious center. Full report at: /www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/28/world/international-us-iraq-violence.html?_r=1&hp ----- Sri Lanka tarnished over arrest of Muslim convert March 28, 2010 A Sri Lankan Muslim convert has been arrested by the Mirihana Police on suspicion that she was involved in anti-state activities. According to the BBC news service the woman, who is a resident in the Gulf State of Bahrain, had recently written two books about her conversion from Buddhism to Islam. The news service also reported that she was apprehended while trying to send books out of Sri Lanka by freight. The books are alleged to contain anti state and anti-government material. When The Nation contacted the Police spokesperson SP Prishantha Jayakody, he confirmed the arrest. However, he added that he is yet to receive the official report regarding the matter. He also said that the woman had been going under a Sinhalese name while dressed in ultra conservative Muslim clothing. Meanwhile, according to the BBC news service, a report in the Bahrain-based ‘Gulf Daily News’ had named her as ‘Sarah Malanie Perera’ and said she had lived in the Gulf state since the mid-80s. But it said she converted to Islam in 1999 and that her parents and sisters had also converted. BBC also reported that members of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka said that Perera had no pre-existing connection with Sri Lankan Muslims and the local community had nothing to do with the book over whose contents she was arrested. However, international media has linked the situation to Jathika Hela Urumaya, which is a part of the government coalition. (IW) http://www.nation.lk/2010/03/28/news9.htm ----- 808 Kashmiri Pandit families living in valley: Jammu & Kashmir March 28, 2010 Jammu: A total of 808 Kashmiri Pandit (KPs) families are living in the valley and 34,202 had migrated to other parts of the state since the eruption of militancy in 1989, the government said today. "As many as 808 KP families, comprising 3,445 people are still living in the valley," minister for revenue, relief and rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla, said here. But, 39,119 families, including 34,202 of KPs, 2,168 Muslim and 1,749 Sikh families had left the valley. He said the Koul Committee headed by the then financial commissioner of Planning and Development Department ML Koul was constituted for preparation of an action plan for their return and rehabilitation. Though the committee submitted an interim report in 1997-98 recommending a package of Rs2799.11 crore for their return and rehabilitation, action could not be taken as the situation was not conductive. With the improvement of situation in the valley, the government decided to construct 200 flats at an estimated cost of Rs22.90 crore at Sheikhpora in Budgam district in 2004, he said. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_808-kashmiri-pandit-families-living-in-valley-jammu-and-kashmir_1364522 ----- Mumbai's Haji Ali Mosque committee demands more security March 28, 2010 Mumbai: Committee members of Mumbai’s famous Haji Ali mosque, have asked the Maharashtra government to provide better security cover to counter terror threats. The mosque’s chairman and managing trustee, Sattar Merchant said that he had written a letter to state home minister RR Patil, and Mumbai police commissioner D Sivanandan demanding greater security. The state government has also been requested to remove squatters and encroachers on pathways leading up to the mosque. Merchant claimed that police deployed for mosque duty were inefficient. "There are only three to four police personnel inside Haji Ali who sit at one place and don't even check the whole compound of the mosque. That is why we have our security guards who check the whole compound and the people who visit Haji Ali,” claimed Merchant. “But they, too, are stopped by the police personnel positioned inside the mosque. Also, police personnel check us and our belongings but not hawkers. So, we think this is not right," he added. Merchant said till now no response has been forthcoming from both Patil and Sivanandan. Situated at the end of a 500-meter-long causeway protruding into the Arabian Sea, the white mosque covers the tomb of Muslim saint Haji Ali. According to belief, Haji Ali Shah Bukhari was a wealthy Muslim merchant who renounced all his worldly belongings before embarking on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He died in Mecca, but his casket miraculously drifted and came to the spot where his tomb and the mosque were built in the early 1400s. http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-s-haji-ali-mosque-committee-demands-more-security_1364456 ----- Delhi sees Kashmir through Pak prism: Mirwaiz ZULFIKAR MAJID Mar 27 2010 ‘Never Engaged In Quiet Talks; Back Channels Were There’ Stating that Kashmir issue wasn’t “Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu India,” Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Saturday said New Delhi was viewing the Kashmir problem through “Pakistan prism.” After his return from Saudi Arabia and Geneva, Mirwaiz strongly advocated third party mediation for resolution of Kashmir issue saying it has become “inevitable” in the present scenario. Addressing a press conference after attending executive meeting of Hurriyat (M) here, Mirwaiz said, “Kashmir is neither religious nor regional dispute. It is not Muslim Kashmir versus Hindu India but a political issue and needs political settlement.” Accusing New Delhi of creating chaos and confusion, he said; “Delhi’s dallying tactics would lead to more violence in Kashmir. Time has come when people of India should know the facts, as they have been shown Kashmir through the prism of Pakistan. They are being told that Pakistan wants to occupy Kashmir and sends militants here. Though New Delhi talks politically on Kashmir, their approach on Kashmir has always been martial.” “Indian people should be realistic and understand that Kashmir’s freedom movement is indigenous. Indian media and military generals have been saying that violence has decreased in Kashmir. But the movement is alive. No ‘sponsored’ movement can sustain so long,” he added. Full report at: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=28_3_2010&ItemID=51&cat=1 ----- Is Islamic banking the boiled ice-cream? By Dr. Shariq Nisar 28 March 2010 On January 5, 2010, in response to a PIL filed by Dr. Subramanium Swamy, the High Court of Kerala put a stay on the activities of the proposed Islamic Non-Banking Finance Company, Albarakah Financial Services Ltd. The Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in question has been co-promoted by the state owned business entity Kerala State Industrial Corporation (KSIDC) and some business men belonging to different religious communities including Hindus and Christians. The entity was aimed at bringing much needed financial resources to the state of Kerala, which is poor in mineral and other resources required to develop the state into an industrial one. The feasibility study was conducted by one of the reputed consulting firms, which while conducting the feasibility study from legal aspects, also mentioned about the existence of RBI approved several Islamic NBFCs in India including the one in Kerala. The only novel aspect about the present venture was participation of a state owned economic entity (KSIDC) in the company with 11% stake. Remaining 89% or 89 crore was to be brought in by private businessmen, all Indian. Dr. Shariq Nisar works as a Director at Taqwaa Advisory & Shariah Investment Solutions (TASIS) Pvt. Ltd., based at Bangaluru. This article has been published by Finance Islamicus [Vol. I No. 1 :: January-February, 2010], a Bi-Monthly newsletter on Islamic Finance published by the Finance Islamicus Group – http://www.financeislamicus.com . For any comments/suggestions/feedback, please contact the editor of the newsletter at edit@financeislamicus.com or feedback@financeislamicus.com Full report at: http://twocircles.net/2010mar27/islamic_banking_boiled_ice_cream.html ----- Non-Muslims slams Bashir’s statements on alcohol ban in the capital Sunday 28 March 2010 Non-Sudanese Muslims in the capital Khartoum have on Saturday 27 deplored total ban of alcohol consumption saying Khartoum remains a national capital for all tribes regardless of regions of origin and should not be ruled under Islamic law. They were reacting to recent statements made by the Sudanese President who said his government would have zero tolerance for those who drink or deal in alcoholic drinks saying they will be whipped under the Islamic Sharia’a laws. Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) a commission for the rights of Non-Muslims in the capital is tasked with defending the interests of Southerners living in the capital governed by Islamic Shari’a law. Jacob Bul Deng, a political science student studying at Juba university campus in Kadaro, east of Khartoum, said angered by statement made by president Omer Al-Bashir banning making and selling of alcohol in the city. We all know Khartoum is a national capital supposed to be free of all repressive Islamic laws prohibiting alcohol and fines for indecent dressing. This is what was agreed in the CPA. All tribes living in the national capital should be allowed to interact freely and eat foods and drinks based on their cultural backgrounds, he said. Similarly, Madeline Abuk Chol at the same university, said northerners are openly telling the southerners to go because their acts do not seem to unify the country by imposing laws that affects rights of southerners and other marginalized tribes in the country. "They are refusing to separate religion from politics so Sudan becomes secular state and at the same time calling for unity, what does this mean? They are simply telling southerners to go if they do not need to live their way," she said. Full report at: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article34563 ----- Islamist Mob Shutters East Java Gay Conference BY DOUG IRELAND March 27, 2010 Police, management of two hotels in Surabaya, Indonesia, buckle to fundamentalist pressure A large, well-organized mob of Islamist fundamentalists in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, on March 26 attacked an international conference led by ILGA-Asia, a branch of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. The mob used aggressive threats of violence to force police to ban the meeting and to intimidate two host hotels to expel conference participants. Speaking by telephone from Surabaya, a city of 3 million that is the capital of East Java, ILGA’s co-secretary-general, Renato Sabbadini, told Gay City News that the mob, which grew from 50 to 150, invaded and occupied the Oval Hotel at around 1p.m, shortly after Friday morning prayer services in the city’s mosques had concluded. According to Indonesian newspapers, the mob was organized jointly by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) –– which has a long history of attacking Indonesian LGBT people and was described by the Jakarta Post as a “radical” group of “hardline” fundamentalists –– and the Indonesian Council of Ulema, an association of Muslim clerics. Indonesia, a multi-island nation of some 230 million people, has the world’s largest Muslim population. According to the country’s 2000 census, 86.1 percent of Indonesians are Muslims. Full report at: //www.chelseanow.com/articles/2010/03/27/gay_city_news/news/doc4bae617d2ca8f139991937.txt ----- Winterize that niqab -- just live and let live By Josh Freed Mar 28, 2010 Ever since a woman was expelled from government language school for wearing a niqab, there have been government declarations, a human rights ruling and endless columns that call for rules on where these veils can be worn. Frankly, there are so few niqab-wearing women in Quebec, it might be more useful for rules on how low your baggy jeans can sag beneath your bum. But we don't allow government rulings on fashion, only faith. The niqab has touched a nerve in Quebec, where it has become a symbol of "treasonable accommodation," areas where many worry we are accommodating new immigrants more than ourselves. Recently, 100 francophone intellectuals called to solve the problem by creating a secular Quebec where no one gets "special" accommodation. Public servants would not be allowed to wear religious symbols like the burka, head scarf, Star of David or cross. I don't agree. I'm a live-and-let-live guy. I say do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. I may not like your yellow sequin-studded golf shirt or your lip rings, but you have the right to them. I feel the same about niqabs, as long as you don't make me or anyone else wear one. I originally sided with the school that expelled the woman who would not expose her face because it had tried to accommodate her and class time was being wasted. But days later, Quebec officials followed the woman to a new school, where she was stopped from taking an exam, which seemed like harassment to me. Full report at: /www.calgaryherald.com/life/Winterize+that+niqab+just+live+live/2735760/story.html ----- Muslim Law Students’ War Against Free Speech by Robert Spencer 27 March 2010 Here is what happened when one courageous student invited me to speak at the Florida State University College of Law. Eric Giunta is a Juris Doctor Candidate at Florida State University College of Law, where he serves as President of that school's premier conservative-libertarian debate society. He has written for LifeSiteNews and RenewAmerica.com. He maintains a blog, "Confessions of a Liberal Traditionalist," at lexetlibertas.wordpress.com. This article appears today in FrontPage -- and yes, as of this writing I am still planning on being there. But with the Leftist thugs and their Islamic supremacist allies on the case, you never know. "Florida State University College of Law is rather moderate as far as law schools go. Sure, nearly all the faculty are committed leftists, but they tend to be fair in their instruction, and are always willing to engage a conservative or libertarian constructively. The student body's a mixed bag ideologically. Most of the student organizations are oriented leftward, the campus Republicans exist in name only, and the most visible, and best-attended, student organization is our chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, for which I serve as President. Full report at: //www.rightsidenews.com/201003279277/culture-wars/muslim-law-students-war-against-free-speech.html ----- Terrorism and the denial problem —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi March 28, 2010 The most serious threat to Pakistan’s political stability and economic development is the growing terrorist attacks by the various Taliban groups and other militant Islamic groups that use violence to pursue their narrow-based religious and political agendas Pakistan’s societal harmony and political stability is threatened by the complex challenges of religious intolerance, Islamic-sectarian violence, militancy and jihadi culture against the backdrop of the regional and global environment that is not always helpful. These domestic ailments have compromised Pakistan’s capacity to cope with global pressures and improve its bargaining position in international diplomacy. Pakistan’s most serious handicap is its troubled economy, which depends heavily on economic assistance from international financial institutions and other countries, especially Western countries, including the US. It faces acute problems both at the macro and micro levels, with growing economic pressures on the common people due to inflation, corruption and power shortages. Further, religious extremism and terrorism have dissuaded foreign investors from bringing their capital into Pakistan. Several Pakistani investors have shifted a part or all of their economic activity to the Gulf States, which has adversely affected Pakistan’s economy and weakened its links with the global economy. Full report at: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\28\story_28-3-2010_pg3_2 ----- Muslims pray for rain in drought-hit Guyana (Reporting by Neil Marks; Editing by John O'Callaghan) Mar 27, 2010 GEORGETOWN, March 27 (Reuters) - Muslims across Guyana prayed for rain on Saturday to end a drought that has battered the tiny South American nation's rice and sugar exports and caused food shortages in indigenous communities. Bonds The government of the former British colony of about 750,000 people is struggling to irrigate farmland, with water at storage points reaching dangerously low levels. The Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG), which represents Muslims in 145 mosques across the multiethnic nation, organized a day of prayers for rain. "This activity is consistent with the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammad beseeching the Creator to cause the rain to descend and alleviate sufferings," said one CIOG leader, Shaykh Moeenul. Muslims make up about 7 percent of Guyana's population, with Hindus at 28 percent and Christians making up most of the rest across various denominations. Guyana is one of several countries in the region, including neighboring Venezuela, that have been parched by drought since the end of last year. Full report at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2724758120100327 ----- Obama statue controversy not really about Obama By John M. Glionna March 28, 2010 President Obama is revered by many in Indonesia, but some objected to placing a tribute to a foreigner, instead of a local hero, in a park. It now draws visitors to a school Obama attended as a boy. Reporting from Jakarta, Indonesia - For Rosono Rachmat, every memento marking a personal tie to Barack Obama is a precious thing. Rachmat, who goes by the nickname Nono, cherishes, for example, an elementary school class picture of himself standing with the wide-eyed boy who grew up to become the president of the United States. He wouldn't part with that photo for any amount of money, he says. So Rachmat is baffled by a controversy over a statue erected in a park to commemorate the four years Obama spent here in Indonesia's capital, where he lived until age 10 and was referred to as Barry. The 43-inch bronze statue, financed by several of the president's Indonesian supporters, shows a boy in shorts, T-shirt and sneakers, holding a butterfly in his outstretched hand with the words: "The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams." The statue's placement here in Menteng Park, near Obama's childhood home, prompted unexpected opposition in a country where many revere the U.S. president in a rock-star sort of way. Full report at: /www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-statue28-2010mar28,0,972853.story ----- Malaysia bids for investments with 'new economic model' 2010-03-28 KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (AFP) -- Malaysia will this week unveil a "new economic model" aimed at luring foreign investors who analysts say have been alienated by corruption, political brawling and uncompetitive policies. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who will announce the reforms Tuesday, must strike a balance between the demands of investors and those of voters who handed the coalition its worst ever results in 2008 elections. "We realise, whatever we do must be market-friendly and have the support of the people," he said at the weekend, according to state media. Economists said the plan, aimed at attracting much-needed foreign funds to boost economic growth and create employment, will include the privatisation of government assets and the rolling back of an affirmative action program. The policy, introduced in the 1970s to close the wealth gap between the minority Chinese community and majority Muslim Malays and indigenous groups, known as "bumiputras", is criticised as outdated and uncompetitive. Foreign investment in Malaysia plummeted last year as a result of the global financial crisis, while its economy contracted by 1.7 percent as the crucial exports sector dried up. Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, recorded 32.6 billion ringgit worth (9.9 billion dollars) of investments in 2009, down from 62 billion ringgit in 2008. Economists said that as the region emerges from recession, competition for investment has become fierce, with Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam eroding Malaysia's attractiveness. Manokaran Mottain, a senior economist with AmResearch, said Malaysia urgently needs to transform itself into a high-value economy, and not remain stuck as a middle-income nation. Full report at: http://www.mysinchew.com/node/36965 URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2629