Probe in Times Square attack focusing on Pakistani Taliban
Pak producing 10,000
jihadists a year: Report
Dubai court clears sex-in-car
couple
Now, Italy slaps fine over
burqa
Iran civil rights activist could
face 'honour killing' if deported from UK
Zulfikar Bhotto's daughter,
nephew dispute claim in Fatima's book
Taliban leader Hakeemullah writes letter to Afia
Siddiqui’s sister
Ajmer-Malegaon link: accused
knew ‘bomb planter’ Kalsangra
Army to sack Purohit, but
there's no proof he sourced explosives
Woman torture case: Two SPs among 31
booked
UKIP leader calls for burqa
ban
Yarima’s Marriage: Why All The
Propaganda
Boys’ bid to cross border
foiled
All parties must stand up to
Islamophobia
Ethnic Russian Muslims Grapple
With The Question: Who Is A Russian
Women have 'no dignity' in West:
Ahmadinejad
Christian leader 'alarmed' about
threats to Indonesia's pluralism
Deadly explosions hit Somalia
mosques
Somalia gunmen shoot dead
journalist
Faheem's acquittal honourable,
all proof was planted, says wife
More Afghan schoolgirls ill in suspected gas
attack
‘Mad dog’ Qasab should be
hanged
'Modernists' should not be backed:
Al-Barrak
Israel asks Egypt to rethink
pressure on atom pact
Iraq Shia blocs to join forces in parliament
Rana seeks 'specific' details of terror charges
against him
Spicejet flight makes priority
landing in Kolkata, 2 passengers detained
Eight dead' in Afghan
violence
Jihad Jane' won't get speedy
trial
Counter-Terrorism In Indonesia:
The Price Of Success
People of The
Truth
African Islamic finance faces image problem:
banker
Police confirm Pakistani engineer killed
himself
Democracy icons' son poised to lead
Philippines
Obama extends sanctions on Syria
for one year
Iraq arrests network suspected in embassy
bombings
Mosque arson casts shadow over
new ME peace talks
Compiled by
Asit
Kumar
Photo: Times square bomber Faisal
Shahzad
-------
Probe in Times Square attack focusing on Pakistani
Taliban
May 5, 2010
Jerry Markon and Spencer S Hsu (Washington
Post)
Federal investigators focused on Tuesday on the possible involvement
of the Pakistani Taliban in the failed Times Square bombing as they pieced
together clues and charged a suspect pulled off an airplane as he headed to his
native Pakistan, according to court documents and law enforcement
sources.
Faisal Shahzad, a 30-year-old US citizen arrested late Monday at John
F. Kennedy International Airport, admitted his involvement in the plot,
authorities said, and told FBI agents he received bomb-making training in a
region of Pakistan known as a militant hotbed. Shahzad, who became a naturalized
citizen last year, is from a military family in Pakistan, where he spent five
months before returning in February to his home in a leafy, quiet neighborhood
of Shelton, Conn.
His reported confession, combined with a series of phone calls he
received from Pakistan the day he bought the Nissan Pathfinder used in the
attempted bombing, has led investigators to zero in on the Pakistani Taliban
connection as "a leading theory," a federal law enforcement official
said.
"It's a leading line of inquiry," said the official, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity because the international probe is in its early stages.
"There are only a few organizations in Pakistan that could provide training, and
the Pakistani Taliban is ... one that has an ax to grind with us." Pakistani
Taliban claims of responsibility for Saturday night's attempt, which
investigators had played down, are being re-evaluated, said the official, who
added that al-Qaida involvement "is a leap at this point."
The focus on a group that had been considered uninterested in
launching attacks outside Pakistan or Afghanistan pointed up the gravity of an
incident that authorities characterized as a potentially deadly strike against
the United States, albeit with an unsophisticated homemade device that failed to
detonate. Even as officials praised the rapid law enforcement response, the
incident resurrected the controversy over the Obama administration's handling of
the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Critics said
the suspect in that case should have been placed in a military, rather than
civilian, court.
Speaking at a news conference at which the government unveiled five
felony counts against Shahzad, Attorney General Eric Holder, said, "It is clear
that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the
busiest places in our country." Shahzad was charged with attempting to detonate
the sport-utility vehicle that was set ablaze on a tourist-crowded block in
Midtown Manhattan and trying to kill bystanders and
property.
The charges in federal court in Manhattan came on a day of familiar
political and law enforcement rituals. Obama administration officials, seeking
to navigate the perilous politics of terrorism, detailed their intensive
involvement in Shahzad's apprehension and emphasized that he is providing useful
intelligence to authorities. Some Republicans questioned whether key clues had
been missed.
"Like the Christmas Day bomber, we were lucky that both of these
folks were incompetent they couldn't
trigger the explosives," said Sen. Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, the ranking
Republican on the Senate intelligence committee.
Multiple US law enforcement officials said Shahzad had attracted no
significant law enforcement attention before the attempted bombing Saturday
night. "He was not on the radar," one official said.
Also triggering debate was the decision to read Shahzad his Miranda
rights against self-incrimination. The Miranda issue rose to prominence after
the Nigerian suspect in the Christmas Day attack, Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab,
stopped cooperating with authorities after being read his rights. Some
Republicans, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Shahzad should not have
been afforded that constitutional right "until we find out what it's all
about."
But administration officials said Shahzad, who, like Abdulmutallab,
was initially questioned under a "public safety exception" to the Miranda rule,
continued to cooperate even after his rights were read to him. They also pointed
out that Shahzad is a US citizen and must be tried in civilian, not military,
court.
Officials canceled Shahzad's scheduled appearance in Manhattan
federal court amid his reported dialogue with agents. It was unclear whether a
lawyer had been appointed for him; he is now scheduled to face a judge on
Thursday at the earliest.
US investigators located Shahzad after a two-day investigation
combining old-fashioned shoe-leather detective work, sophisticated searches
through telephone and electronic records, and the latest linkups between federal
immigration, travel and border databases.
Authorities said they had identified Shahzad by Sunday night as
"someone we wanted to talk to," FBI Deputy Director John S. Pistole said.
Tracing the origins of the Pathfinder was a crucial part of the probe. The car's
vehicle identification number had been removed from a dashboard plate. But
authorities were able to find the seller by using a decal on the tailgate to
trace the car to a Connecticut used-car dealer, who early Sunday gave them sales
records on two cars matching the Pathfinder's description.
Authorities then found the vehicle's registered owner in Connecticut.
Police officials said that was a major break in the case. Another key step was
finding an e-mail from Shahzad to the car's seller. Although Shahzad used a fake
name, he included a number from a disposable cellphone, which investigators used
to determine his identity.
Investigators served a search warrant Tuesday at Shahzad's home and
visited a gun shop in Sheltonwhere he bought a 9mm Kel-Tec rifle in March. Court
documents said investigators found an unspecified gun in a car that Shahzad left
at the airport.
The probe also extended to Pakistan, where officials said FBI agents
were expected to push their Pakistani counterparts for access to intelligence
about the Pakistani Taliban and its possible involvement in the plot. Pakistani
officials pledged cooperation.
A Pakistani intelligence official said Tuesday that authorities had
arrested at least two people in the southern port city of Karachi in connection
with the Times Square plot. But a US law enforcement official said the arrest
was "not at our behest."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/americas/Probe-in-Times-Square-attack-focusing-on-Pakistani-Taliban/Article1-539539.aspx
Times Square suspect faces terror charges
May 5, 2010
A Pakistani-born U.S. citizen was hauled off a plane about to fly to
the Middle East and will face terrorism charges in the failed attempt to explode
a bomb-laden SUV in the heart of Times Square, authorities said Tuesday. One
official said he claimed to be acting alone.
Faisal Shahzad has admitted his role in the botched bombing attempt
and is talking to investigators, providing them with valuable information,
Attorney General Eric Holder said.
Shahzad was on board a Dubai-bound flight that was taxiing away from
the gate at Kennedy Airport late Monday when the plane was stopped and FBI
agents and New York Police Department detectives took him into custody, law
enforcement officials said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/253751/Times-Square-suspect-faces-terror-charges.html
------
Pak producing 10,000 jihadists a year:
Report
May 05, 2010
Pakistan is still
producing an estimated 10,000 potential jihadis a year despite claims made by
Islamabad of taking strong action against terrorists in the country.
"Pakistan is
still producing an estimated 10,000 potential jihadis a year out of 500,000
graduates from Pakistan's 11,000 madrassas - young gung-ho boys, mostly
16-year-olds..." wrote Arnaud de Borchgrave, foreign affairs columnist and
editor-at-large at The Washington Times.
"A true-green
jihadi believes the enemies of Islam (principally the United States, India and
Israel) are on a crusade to push back the frontiers of Islam and deprive the
Muslim world of its principal means of defence - Pakistan's nuclear arsenal,"
Borchgrave wrote in hard hitting column.
Borchgrave said
the motto of the Pakistani army is "faith, piety and jihad in the path of
Allah."
A military manual
on jihad, "The Quranic Concept of War," is required reading at officers training
schools.
"Mercifully, the
United States is no longer seen as the enemy by most Pakistanis. Taliban, an
organization originally patented by Pakistan's intelligence service (ISI), is
now Public Enemy No.1," he said.
"The game-changer
is the Pakistani army, whose volunteers came principally from the ranks of the
poor. But the officers, if not the rank and file, now understand that religious
extremists are no longer their allies," he wrote.
"With 3,500
killed by terrorists in a year and more than 10,000 injured and many small
businesses closed, coupled with the government's neglect of their plight for
lack of funds, and US aid spread thin over a multitude of unrelated projects,
those who cherry-pick suicide targets to make matters worse are faced with an
embarrassment of riches.
"The government,
such as it exists, is left with a grim menu of inadequate medical and police
responses, followed by vigils and commemorations," Borchgrave
said.
Meanwhile, Daniel
Benjamin, Coordinator of Office of Coordinator for Counterterrorism, has said
that the threat of al-Qaeda has morphed despite the setbacks suffered by the
group in recent times.
"Al-Qaeda has
proven to be an adaptable and resilient terrorist group whose desire to attack
the United States and US interests abroad remains as strong as ever," he
said.
The group
remained under pressure due to Pakistani military operations aimed at
eliminating them in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and as a result,
it's had a number of leadership losses and is finding it more difficult to raise
money, recruit and plan attacks outside the region, he
said.
"Despite these
setbacks, the al-Qaeda threat has morphed, which partially offset the losses
suffered by al-Qaeda's core in Pakistan," Benjamin said.
indianexpress.com/news/Pak-producing-10-000-jihadists-a-year--Report/615366
-------
May 5, 2010
DUBAI: A Dubai appeals court has thrown out a public indecency
conviction and a month's prison sentence for a Pakistani couple accused of
having sex in their car after the pair claimed they were together in a private
place, their lawyer said on Tuesday.
The newlywed couple hailing from Pakistan had been sentenced to one
month in prison and deportation for public indecency.
Majid Al Kabban, the lawyer representing the husband and wife, said
the ruling by the lower court was overturned last week. The couple were
initially sentenced to a month in prison and deportation.
The pair successfully argued their car should be treated like a
private house. Their lawyers argued that because of the car's tinted windows, a
policeman who had raised the charge could not have seen what the couple were
doing inside.
Police arrested the 28-year-old man and his 24-year-old wife in May
2009, accusing them of having sex in a vehicle in a car park at the Jumeirah
Beach Residence.
Police twice attempted to peer inside the vehicle, and when they
eventually knocked, a naked man rolled down the window, the court heard.
The couple's lawyer, Majid Al Kabban, argued successfully that this
was a breach of human rights and a violation of his clients' privacy.
He argued that the car was a private place, and what the pair did
behind the darkened windows did not violate the emirate's strict public
indecency laws.
The couple's lawyer said: "We're definitely happy and a little bit
surprised. Usually this type of thing goes in a different way."
It was not clear on Tuesday if the Pakistani couple was still in
Dubai.
The ruling is the latest in a string of cases involving sex in Dubai,
a cosmopolitan city with the most lenient social codes in the Gulf but a
tendency to crackdown on frisky foreigners. In March this year, a British couple
was found guilty of kissing in public. agencieshttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5891059.cms?prtpage=1
-------
Iran civil rights activist could face 'honour killing' if deported
from UK
Karen McVeigh
5 May 2010
An Iranian civil rights activist who is due to be deported from the
UK tomorrow could face the death penalty and fears being murdered by her family
in an "honour killing" if she is sent back to Iran, according to her British
partner.
Bita Ghaedi, 34, fled Iran to the UK in 2005 to escape a forced
marriage and in fear of her family discovering she had a secret lover. She has
since spoken out against sharia law, forced marriage and human rights abuses in
her homeland and has been filmed criticising the regime for TV channels widely
available across the Middle East. She is currently in Yarl's Wood detention
centre awaiting deportation, which is scheduled for 7pm tomorrow following the
failure of a fresh asylum claim.
Her partner, Mohsen Zadshir, from Barnet, a member of the Iranian
opposition who gained political asylum in 1999, said that if deported, her life
is "finished".
Ghaedi has transgressed the strict traditional code under which
Iranian women are supposed to adhere. Not only has she brought "shame" on her
family by having a relationship with a man who was not her husband, but she has
participated in the anti-government protests which have grown more vociferous
after the disputed 2009 presidential election result. Each of these
transgressions would be enough to put her life in danger if she is deported,
according to Zadshir, a former Iranian politician who is now a British
citizen.
Zadshir said: "Her life depends on a click on the internet. If they
click on Iran, they can find out about her protests outside the Iranian embassy
and her association with the PMOI (People's Mujahedin of Iran, which is opposed
to the Iranian regime) and her photograph will be displayed. After the last
election they announced that everyone who had any connection with the PMOI was
'mohareb' which means fighting against God and the sentence is
death."
He said the Iranian government could arrest her immediately, because
she had been out of the country without the permission of her husband or father.
In Iran adultery is punishable by stoning and "honour killings" are
common.
"If she wasn't arrested, she could be killed by her family in an
honour killing," said Zadshir. "She has brought 'shame' on them by leaving her
husband."
Ghaedi told IKWRO, a charity campaigning against honour killings
among Kurdish and Iranian women: "It is frightful to live in Iran for any
female. There is not any law, organisation or community which supports them and
it is a nightmare for me to think about my father, brother and my husband. I am
sure it is benevolent, advisable and godly for them to kill me if I won't be
arrested."
Today her lawyer received a letter from the Home Office which states:
"We do not accept that your client has provided any evidence to show that her
life will be at risk on her return to Iran."
It argues that Ghaedi failed to bring up her part in anti-government
protests until she was arrested and detained in May 2009, and concluded that the
evidence submitted "did not provide any evidence to show that the Iranian
authorities will have any interest in your client on her removal to Iran either
because of her alleged adulterous relationship or because of her involvement in
anti-regime protest."
It refers to a film which Ghaedi took part in about forced marriages
which her lawyer argues will be shown on Al Jazeera and that will bring further
"shame" on her family's honour, but it concludes: "However, no dates have been
provided to show … that the programme will be published before Ms Ghaedi's
removal."
Dave Vasoodaven, of solicitors Gulbenkian Andonian, said he found it
incomprehensible that the Home Office has stated that Ghaedi is not at
risk.
He said: "She has opposed the Iranian regime, she has spoken out
about sharia law, and about forced marriage. We have a lot of evidence to show
that the Iranian regime would by now know about her activities. As soon as she
arrives she is going to be arrested. I do not foresee any result other than her
death."
Vasoodaven has issued a high court injunction to halt her deportation
and is awaiting the result.
In recent weeks many Iranians outside the country have reported
receiving threats in person or by telephone.
Demonstrators at a protest against violations in Iran held in 2009 in
the UK outside Amnesty International's offices told the organisation that
unknown people whom they believed to be members of Iranian intelligence forces
attended the protest and made threatening comments to some of
them.
Iranians who have fled Iran since the election and are seeking asylum
have also told Amnesty International that people they suspect to be Iranian
security officials have approached them and made comments in Persian such as
"Don't think you're safe here".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/04/iran-civil-rights-activist-honour-killing
-------
Hakeemullah writes letter to Afia’s sister
By Azaz Syed
05 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD, May 4: Hakeemullah Mehsud, chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan, has said his comrades are determined to teach the Americans a lesson.
A letter written by the TTP chief to the sister of Aafia Siddiqui,
under detention in the United States, carried the warning.
The letter, a copy of which has been obtained by Dawn, was apparently
written two months ago and handed over to Khalid Khawaja, the former ISI
official who was recently killed by an unknown militant group, Asian Tigers.
The letter surfaced after a botched terrorist attack on New York’s
Times Square. Pakistani national Faisal Shahzad was arrested. The TTP has
claimed responsibility for the terrorist plot.
The letter expressed sympathy with Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, Aafia’s
sister, for the ordeal the latter had suffered in the US and offered all kind of
assistance to her.
Written in Urdu, the letter said: “You (Dr Fauzia) are my
(Hakeemullah) sister and I share the pain and grief that you are undergoing. And
God willing we will teach a lesson to the US and cruel rulers of Pakistan — a
lesson to be remembered by them.”
Hakeemullah also asked Dr Fauzia that she could contact him through
the person who delivered the letter to her.
Dr Fauzia confirmed to Dawn that she had been contacted by Khalid
Khawaja, who told her that he had a letter for her.
“Mr Khawaja called me and said he had some letter for me. He wanted
to personally hand over the letter to me, but I avoided meeting him,” she
added.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/hakeemullah-writes-letter-to-afias-sister-550
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Ajmer-Malegaon link: Devendra Gupta knew ‘bomb planter’
Kalsangra
Smita Nair
May 05, 2010
Mumbai : A new link has emerged between the Ajmer dargah blast of
October 2007 and the Malegaon bombing of September 2008.
The Rajasthan Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is understood to have
discovered that Sunil Joshi — the Madhya Pradesh man to whom Sadhvi Pragyasingh
Thakur claimed she had sold the motorbike used to plant the Malegaon bomb — had
introduced Ramnarayan Kalsangra, the alleged planter of the bomb, to Devendra
Gupta, one of the three men arrested in connection with the Ajmer blast last
week.
The CBI has already confirmed that there are “links” between the
Ajmer bombing and the terrorist attack on the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad on May
18, 2007. The Sunil Joshi-Devendra Gupta connection has brought into sharper
focus the Malegaon threads in the web — and with it, the role of the radical
Hindu Abhinav Bharat organisation and its key members, the Sadhvi and Lt Col
Shrikant Purohit.
Devendra Gupta, who is believed to have Abhinav Bharat links, was
arrested in Ajmer on April 28 on the charge of purchasing the SIM card used in
the mobile phone that triggered the dargah bomb.
Sunil Joshi was an RSS pracharak from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, who was
mysteriously shot dead in December 2007. Sources said Joshi met Gupta, who was
also an RSS pracharak, in Mhow in 2006.
Joshi was friends with Kalsangra, the alleged planter of the Malegaon
bomb. He introduced Gupta to Kalsangra in a Jharkhand village, the sources
said.
Gupta and Kalsangra are believed to have kept in regular touch after
that. Gupta, a bachelor, is believed to have procured 11 mobile phone SIM cards
from Jharkhand, one of which was used as a trigger for the Ajmer
bomb.
During the probe into the Malegaon blast, the Maharashtra ATS had
found that Kalsangra and his brother Shivnarayan owned a mobile phone shop and
dealt in SIM cards. Kalsangra is also accused of procuring SIM cards allegedly
used by the Malegaon blast conspirators to communicate with each
other.
Sources said they suspect Kalsangra introduced Gupta to Sadhvi
Pragyasingh Thakur. With Kalsangra still wanted for the Malegaon blast, they
said Gupta’s arrest could throw some new light on his
whereabouts.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ajmermalegaon-link-devendra-gupta-knew-bomb-planter-kalsangra/615234/
-------
Army to sack Purohit, but there's no proof he sourced
explosives
Manu Pubby
May 05, 2010
New Delhi : The Army has decided to sack Military Intelligence
officer Lt Col Srikant Purohit who was arrested in November 2008 for his alleged
involvement in the Malegaon blasts in September that year.
The Army took the decision after a court of inquiry found Purohit
blameworthy on several counts. It has recommended that Purohit should be
dismissed at the earliest by withdrawal of the ‘President’s pleasure’, a
stringent clause that is usually applied in serious matters like sedition and
spying that require immediate dismissal.
There will be no need for a formal court martial. The final decision
will be taken by the Defence Ministry, which will have to forward the matter to
the President.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/army-to-sack-purohit-but-theres-no-proof-he-sourced-explosives/615236/
-------
Kashmir boys’ bid to cross border foiled
By Naseer Ganai
May 05, 2010
THE Imam of a mosque in Regipora in Kupwara district near here
recently stopped six minors from crossing to Pakistan- occupied
Kashmir.
According to the Imam, six boys aged between 8 and 13 approached him
asking for money late on May 1. The Imam, who suspected the intentions of these
strangers, handed them over to the Kupwara police. The police said these minors
were from Palhalan village of Pattan Tehsil in Baramulla district and were
students of New Islamia Model School there.
The boys had decided to cross the border with an intention to escape
schooling. They left home on the pretext of playing a cricket match. They took
the prize money won from an earlier match to meet travel expenses. When the
children did not return, their parents filed missing complaints with the Pattan
police who, in turn, alerted other units in Baramulla and
Kupwara.
“ We were sick of beatings at school and constant taunts at home. We
decided to stay in Pakistan for some time to teach our parents and teachers a
lesson,” said Muhammad Saleem Sheikh, an 8th standard student in the group. The
other boys have been identified as Muhammad Yaqoob Bhat, son of Ghulam Muhammad;
Shareeq Ahmad Mir, son of Showkat Ahmad Mir; Umar Sultan Mir, son of Muhammad
Sultan; Abdul Rashid Sheikh, son of Farooq Ahmad Sheikh; and Ilhaq Ahmad
Tantray, son of Habibullah Tantray.
Mail Today
-------
Now, Italy slaps fine over burqa
May 5, 2010
ROME: Italian police fined a woman $650 for wearing a full Islamic
veil — the first punishment of its kind in Italy but the latest in a wave of
sanctions against the burqa in Europe.
The Tunisian woman was walking in a street in Novara on Monday when
she was stopped by a patrol, local police said. "City police ticketed her last
night and she will have to pay a $650 fine," Novara municipal police official
Mauro Franzinelli said. "As far as I know this is a first in Italy."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Now-Italy-slaps-fine-over-burqa/articleshow/5891058.cms
-------
All parties must stand up to Islamophobia
5 May 2010
The intolerance towards Muslims must not be tolerated, but the main
political parties have not pledged to take sufficient action to combat
anti-Muslim prejudice. Legitimate criticism of Muslims who spew extremist
rhetoric and commit criminal acts is acceptable. However, the ugly trend of
bigotry against law-abiding Muslims sweeping Europe should not be ignored by
whoever comes into power as it is influencing debate here in the
UK.
In Europe extreme rightwing parties have won significant gains in
regional and parliamentary elections because they have been exploiting fears and
capitalising on anti-Muslim sentiments. Debates on Muslims have become
irrational and there are calls to ban anything connected to Muslims – minarets,
headscarves, veils and even the Qur'an.
Full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/may/04/parties-fight-islamophobia
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Ethnic Russian Muslims Grapple With The Question: Who Is A
Russian
By Paul Goble
5 May 2010
Even as more and more Russians are concerned about reports that
Russians are converting to Islam and that radical Islamists are recruiting
Russians into their networks, the Russian Federation’s oldest organization for
ethnic Russian Muslims is struggling with the question: who is a
Russian?
While the leader of NORM, the National Organization of Russian
Muslims, Kharun Sidorov, says that in principle any Muslim can join his group,
he stresses that its primary membership is drawn from ethnic Russians, making
the definition of just who those people are especially critical
(www.pravoverie.org/articles/106/).
And while Sidorov’s group is relatively small – although he insists
it is now growing rapidly – his comments on this issue provide an interesting
counterpoint to the larger debate in Russian society concerning the relationship
between ethnic Russians, cultural Russians and political
ones.
Full report at:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/05/ethnic-russian-muslims-grapple-with.html
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Women have 'no dignity' in West: Ahmadinejad
May 05, 2010
New York : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that rights
of women and girls in his country are highly respected unlike the West where, he
claimed, women had "no dignity".
Human rights groups have rallied against Iran's election to the UN
Commission on the Status of Women on the grounds that the Islamic Republic is
oppressive when it comes to women's rights.
"What is left of women's dignity in the West? Is there any generation
left? Is there any love and kindness left," Ahmadinejad told
reporters.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/women-have-no-dignity-in-west-ahmadinejad/615394/
-------
Christian leader 'alarmed' about threats to Indonesia's
pluralism
5 May 2010
Life is becoming difficult and dangerous for Christians in Indonesia
because of outside extremists, the head of a grouping of churches in the
Muslim-majority nation has warned.
"For centuries, Muslims and Christians have been living in harmony
and have been coexisting peacefully, but agents (from outside) of extremism and
uniformity based on Islamic Shariah law are threatening the peace and harmony of
our country," said the Rev. Gomar Gultom, general secretary of the Communion of
Churches in Indonesia.
Mr Gultom was interviewed by Ecumenical News International during the
April 14-21 general assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia held in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
Full report at:
http://news.nsw.uca.org.au/2010/christian-leader-alarmed_05-05-2010.htm
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Deadly explosions hit Somalia mosques
By Tristan McConnell
May 5, 2010
NAIROBI, Kenya — Another bloody week in Mogadishu was on the face of
it like so many others: dozens of civilians blown to pieces or maimed by
explosions, shot to death or injured.
But this week’s attacks were different, signalling a change in the
fighting that rages between Islamist insurgents and the United Nations and
Western-backed government.
The recent bombings indicate bitter faction fighting within the
Islamist fundamentalist rebels of Al Shabaab, according to local
residents.
Last Tuesday, April 27, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a new
detachment established by African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) who are attempting
to gradually expand their tiny zone of control in the capital city. It was the
first suicide attack in months. Later that day a landmine exploded outside the
Abu Hureyra mosque in Bakara Market, an insurgent stronghold, killing one and
wounding eight as they made their way to prayers.
Full report at:
http://www.globalpost.com/print/5548120
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Somalia gunmen shoot dead journalist
5 May 2010
Gunmen in Somalia have killed a prominent journalist who worked at
the state-run radio station in the capital.
Sheikh Nur Abkey was abducted on Tuesday and his body was found
dumped in the street later that evening.
It is unclear who killed him, but his colleagues believe was targeted
because he worked for Radio Mogadishu which is critical of Islamist
militants.
They control large swathes of country, with the UN-backed interim
government limited to sections of the capital.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8661809.stm
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Zulfikar's daughter, nephew dispute claim in Fatima's
book
Anita Joshua
May 5, 2010
ISLAMABAD: As their political dynasty lives on despite one Bhutto
dying a violent death every decade since the 1970s, Fatima Bhutto's month-old
book “Songs of Blood and Sword'' appears to have opened up barely concealed
differences within Pakistan's first family.
Ms. Fatima Bhutto's claim that her grandfather, the former Prime
Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), had asked his son and her father, Mir
Murtaza Bhutto, to go to Afghanistan and avenge his execution by the then
President, Zia-ul-Haq, is being hotly contested by ZAB's lone surviving
daughter, Sanam Bhutto and nephew Tariq Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/05/05/stories/2010050551752200.htm
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Faheem's acquittal honourable, all proof was planted, says
wife
Mateen Hafeez
May 5, 2010
MUMBAI: Faheem Ansari's acquittal in the 26/11 case has come as a
breather for his wife Yasmin. "On the morning of November 26, I met Ansari for
the first time after his arrest (in the CRPF attack case). We met him in a
Rampur (UP) jail. The next morning, when we were heading for Lucknow, we learnt
about the terror attack in Mumbai," says the 32-year-old Yasmin.
Shortly before heading to meet him in prison on Tuesday, Yasmin was
bracing herself to face another spell alone, for Ansari would now be taken to
Rampur in connection with the CRPF camp attack case.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Faheems-acquittal-honourable-all-proof-was-planted-says-wife-/articleshow/5891382.cms
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More Afghan schoolgirls ill in suspected gas
attack
5 May 2010
KABUL - Twenty-two Kabul schoolgirls and three teachers fell suddenly
ill and were hospitalised on Tuesday in what Afghan authorities described as the
fourth suspected poison gas attack on a girls’ school in
weeks.
The incident was the first in the comparatively secure capital after
three suspected poison attacks on girls’ schools in the northern city of Kunduz
over the past few weeks, and several at provincial schools last
year.
Authorities have failed to identify the substance they say caused
girls and teachers to fall unconscious, but say it could be a poison gas
released by opponents of girls’ education.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/May/international_May206.xml§ion=international&col=
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‘Mad dog’Qasab should be hanged
By Krishna Kumar
May 05, 2010
AS EXPECTED the prosecution in the 26/11 terror attack case has
sought death penalty for Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, the sole terrorist caught and the
only accused in the case. But a zealous Ujjwal Nikam, the public prosecutor, in
his arguments went overboard with his epithets for Qasab calling him a “mad
dog”, a “demon”, and a “venomous snake”.
Nikam began his nearly two-hour long arguments in the court of
special judge M.L. Tahaliyani with the assertion that he was “not seeking the
death penalty as an act of revenge”. “We do not seek barbaric justice, but the
society wants justice, justice to stop this killer by awarding him the death
penalty,” he said.
Full report at:
Mail Today
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'Modernists' should not be backed: Al-Barrak
By MUHAMMAD AL-SULAMI
May 05, 2010
JEDDAH: Saudi Islamic scholar Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak has urged
Minister of Justice Muhammad Al-Eissa and two other leading scholars, Eissa
Al-Ghaith and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, not to support
“modernists.”
In a statement on Monday, Al-Ghaith denounced Al-Barrak’s arrogant
attitude and asked him not to adopt extreme views, make false allegations and
provoke people against the Kingdom and its rulers.
“We are living in an Islamic country where Shariah is being
implemented in all walks of life. Our ruler, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah, is carrying out his duty in the best manner. So, it is our duty
to obey and support him,” Al-Ghaith said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article49853.ece
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Israel asks Egypt to rethink pressure on atom pact
May 05, 2010
JERUSALEM - Israel has tried
to defuse Egyptian lobbying against it at a U.N. nuclear review meeting by
urging Cairo at top-level talks to view Iran’s atomic ambitions as the regional
threat, an Israeli official said on Tuesday.
The message was relayed by the delegation of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu who met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday
as the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference began in New York. While
both sides said the Sharm talks focused on peace efforts with the Palestinians,
there was also a brief discussion of Egypt’s call on Western powers to support
its longstanding demand that Israel join the NPT, a senior Israeli official
said.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/middleeast_May59.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Iraq Shia blocs to join forces in parliament
5 May 2010
Iraq’s two big Shia political coalitions, one led by Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki and one whose leaders have close ties to Iran, agreed on Tuesday
on an alliance to form a single bloc in parliament, officials
said.
But the two groups have not yet agreed on the contentious issue of a
nominee for prime minister, the major stumbling block in talks so far, an
official with Maliki’s State of Law said.
The announcement, nearly two months after a parliamentary election
Iraqis hoped would bring stability after years of war, could signify a
breakthrough in stalled negotiations to form the next government amid fears of
renewed sectarian violence.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/middleeast_May64.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
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Rana seeks 'specific' details of terror charges against
him
May 5, 2010
CHICAGO: Citing the need to be better prepared for trial,
Pakistani-Canadian terror suspect Tahawwur Rana has asked the US government to
provide him "specific" details of the kind of "material support" he provided to
terror acts, saying so far the prosecution's allegations in the superseding
indictment have been "vague".
In a 10-page motion filed in a court here, Rana's lawyer Patrick
Blegen said given the "complexity of the case", his client should be entitled to
know "with specificity what material support he is alleged to have provided" to
terrorism.
"The superseding indictment is not a clear apprisal of the
allegations against the Defendant. Rather, by simply reciting the language of
the statute, the superseding indictment keeps the allegations vague and prevents
Defendant from properly preparing a defence," Blegen said in the motion.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Rana-seeks-specific-details-of-terror-charges-against-him/articleshow/5892481.cms
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Spicejet flight makes priority landing in Kolkata, 2 passengers
detained
May 5, 2010
KOLKATA: Two passengers of a Spicejet flight were detained for
suspicious activities after it made a 'priority landing' in Kolkata on
Wednesday, airport sources said.
The pilot of the New Delhi-Kolkata Spicejet flight 203 radioed the
ATC at the NSC Bose International Airport about the suspicious activities and
was immediately allowed to make a priority landing, the sources said.
The aircraft landed at Kolkata airport at around noon and was
immediately cordoned off on the runway by CSIF, bomb squad, fire brigade and
police.
The number of passengers and crew on board are yet to be ascertained.
Flights at the airport remained unaffected.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Manly-Russian-in-burqa-grounds-SpiceJet-flight/articleshow/5893053.cms
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'Eight dead' in Afghan violence
May 5, 2010
Seven suicide bombers have been killed along with a government
official in an attack on government buildings in the Afghan city of Zaranj,
officials say.
They say the bombers blew themselves up outside the governor's
compound and a gun battle between insurgents and security forces is
ongoing.
A Taliban spokesman confirmed to the Reuters news agency that they
were responsible for the attack.
Taliban militants are active in much of south-west
Afghanistan.
The scene of the attack - in Nimroz province - has traditionally been
seen as their stronghold along with nearby Kandahar
province.
Multiple fighters
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8661674.stm
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Woman torture case: Two SPs among 31 booked
By Mohammad Saleem
05 May, 2010
FAISALABAD, May 4: The Rail Bazaar police registered a case against
31 people, including two SPs, three DSPs, as many inspectors and an additional
director of Anti Corruption Establishment, in connection with torture of a woman
at the Civil Lines police station some two years ago.
The victim, Abida Hameed, in her application filed at Rail Bazaar
police station said that on Aug 6, 2008, she was returning home from the court
of Additional District and Session’s Judge Khizar Hayyat Sial after attending
proceedings of a writ petition (420/08) when some armed policemen including
sub-inspectors Raja Toheed and Mohammad Akram, along with women police station’s
SHO Zahida Tariq and Gulnaz, intercepted her.
In her petition she had alleged that the Civil Lines police were
favouring her maids whom she had accused of a theft.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/woman-torture-case-two-sps-among-31-booked-550
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UKIP leader calls for burqa ban
Nandini Jawli
May 5, 2010
The leader of the UK Independence Party has called for the burqa to
be banned, following the Belgium example, as it represents fear and is a
security risk. Speaking in a phone-in on BBC 5 live, Lord Pearson of Rannoch
said there was a “problem” within Islam because some people used the Koran to
justify terrorist acts.
Addressing Muslims listeners, Pearson said, “You must realise that we
do not hate you, but we fear your violent co-religionists and we have good
reason to do that. And we see the burqa in public and the niqab as a symbol of
that and we fear it. The hatred is coming towards us.”
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/253588/UKIP-leader-calls-for-burqa-ban.html
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Yarima’s Marriage: Why All The Propaganda
Written by Yusuf Dingyadi
5 May 2010
It is disheartening to hear that some people across the country are
campaigning for the prosecution of Senator Ahmed Sani (Yariman Bakura) over his
celebrated marriage of an Egyptian girl, about which the Nigerian media are
awash with negative reports. For while the media continue to say it loudly to
all those that care to listen that the girl is 13 years of age, Yarima has
insisted that she is not. (See Daily Trust, April 29,
2010).
Yarima who maintained that his said marriage to the 13-year- old girl
are speculations by the media. But he said anyone who decides to judge him
according to rules other than those prescribed by Allah and the Holy Prophet is
wasting his time. Senator Yarima assured that his wife is already back to school
in Egypt, in spite of the propaganda by the Western media against the marriage,
and described the ongoing propaganda as invasion of his privacy by poking into
his wife's age.
Full report at:
http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/columns/views/perspective/14637-yarimas-marriage-why-all-the-propaganda
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'Jihad Jane' won't get speedy trial
5 May 2010
Two U.S. women accused of plotting to kill a Swedish artist for
insulting Islam waived their right to a speedy trial Monday, officials
said.
Terror suspects Colleen LaRose, 46, of Pennsburg, Pa., also known as
"Jihad Jane," and Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, formerly of Colorado, appeared in
U.S. District Court in Philadelphia
The trial for the two alleged jihadists will be delayed for months to
allow attorneys for both sides to go through evidence taken from a dozen
computer hard drives, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Full report at:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/03/Jihad-Jane-wont-get-speedy-trial/UPI-91171272906370/
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Muslim woman fined for wearing burqa in northern
Italy
Peter Walker
5 May 2010
A Muslim woman in northern Italy has been given a €500 (£430)
on-the-spot fine under anti-terrorism laws for wearing a face-covering burqa in
public, according to reports.
In what is reported to be the first such case amid proposals for
sanctions against traditional Islamic dress in a series of European countries,
the 26-year-old Tunisian woman was stopped by police in the city of Novara, a
stronghold of the anti-immigration Northern League.
The woman was wearing a full-length burqa with a niqab-type veil
covering all her face apart from her eyes. She and her husband, both legal
residents, were en route to Friday prayers when they were stopped by police for
an identity check. Some reports said the pair were inside a post office at the
time, while others said they were standing near it.
Full report at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/05/woman-fined-burqa-italy
-------
Counter-Terrorism In Indonesia: The Price Of
Success
By Chloe Choquier
5 May 2010
On 22 February 2010, a series of Indonesian police operations led to
the discovery of an alleged militant training camp in the Jalin Forest of the
province of Aceh. The operations revealed the existence of a previously unknown
group calling itself al Qaeda in Aceh, whose supposed leader, top-ranked Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI) militant Dulmatin was killed in a shootout with Indonesian police
on 9 March 2010. One of the most wanted terrorist in Southeast Asia, he was
suspected of being the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings. Much-praised by
Washington and Canberra, this success is nevertheless challenged by the
continued presence of al Qaeda in Aceh, which shows “the strengthening of the
terrorist network in Indonesia, not it’s weakening” said Andi Widjajanto, a
military analyst at the University of Indonesia. A new unity among extremist
groups questions the degree to which offensive counterterrorism measures
actually damage the terrorists’ ability to perpetrate attacks. Does the number
of arrests and police raids actually reduce the terrorist threat in the
country?
Full report at:
http://www.eurasiareview.com/2010/05/counter-terrorism-in-indonesia-price-of.html
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People of The Truth
Amira el-Noshokaty
5 May 2010
In Hakaza Takalam Ibn Arabi (That's How Ibn Arabi Spoke, Al-Markaz
Al-Thaqafi Al-Arabi, 2004) Nasr Hamid Abu Zeid writes,"It's difficult for any
Muslim to separate in his religious experience between the spiritualities and
logical fundamentals that gradually create his religious conscious." Abu Zeid's
statement is an important one for Sufis.
Abu Zeid explains how he, like his fellow villagers, grew up watching
Sufi practices as part of the village's daily rituals, where the talk of
prophets and supernatural gifts of the awlia(blessed ones) and hadrat al-zikr
(assembly of remembrance) were held every Thursday night. The grown ups would
stand in a circle and move side to side while chanting religious songs led by
the sheikh of the hadra. Then gradually they sped up their movement, almost
dancing, as it became impossible to understand the chants.
Full report at:
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/38986
-------
African Islamic finance faces image problem:
banker
05 May 2010
Africa's Islamic finance industry needs to overcome negative
perceptions among non-Muslims to successfully expand into predominantly
Christian sub-Saharan Africa, an industry leader said.
Northern Africa is largely Muslim and countries such as Egypt and
Sudan have offered Islamic banking for decades. Now some lenders are looking to
expand into sub-Saharan nations, such as Uganda which is 80%
Christian.
Islamic finance caters for customers who want to avoid earning
interest, which is viewed as usury under Islamic law.
Full report at:
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7777:african-islamic-finance-faces-image-problem-banker&catid=52:Human%20Security&Itemid=114
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Police confirm Pakistani engineer killed
himself
By SIRAJ WAHAB
May 4, 2010
ALKHOBAR: Police have confirmed that the death of a middle-aged
Pakistani engineer in Alkhobar last month was suicide.
Faqir Hussain stabbed himself to death on April 23, Alkhobar police
spokesman Lt. Mohammad Al-Shehri said on Tuesday.
The police statement is expected to end intense speculation within
the expatriate community that foul play may have played a part in his death.
Hussain’s suicide had been a major talking point among the community for the
last few days.
One of the reasons for the intense speculation was the violent manner
in which Hussain ended his life.
He stabbed himself in the stomach seven times with a kitchen knife at
around 7 a.m. on that fateful Friday morning.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article50152.ece
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Democracy icons' son poised to lead Philippines
By JIM GOMEZ
May 5, 2010
MANILA: Returning to the Manila highway where 1986 “people power”
protests led by his mother ousted a dictator and swept her to power, Benigno
Aquino III asked a huge yellow-clad crowd to seize the moment and help him win
next week's presidential election.
“My parents were my role models,” he told some 10,000 supporters at
Sunday's rally. “They could have chosen to live a life of luxury, shut their
eyes, played deaf, sealed their lips and forget that multitudes of Filipinos
have been neglected. But no, they chose the thorny path and made painful
sacrifices.” Aquino, seldom considered as a presidential candidate less than a
year ago, only decided to enter the race in September, after his mother's death
sparked an outpouring of national grief.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article50110.ece
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Obama extends sanctions on Syria for one year
May 5, 2010
WASHINGTON/DAMASCUS: President Barack Obama Monday renewed US
sanctions on Syria for a year, accusing Damascus of supporting "terrorist"
groups and pursuing missile programs and weapons of mass
destruction.
There had been no expectation that Obama was ready to lift the
measures, but the renewal comes at an especially sensitive time in US-Syria
relations, despite efforts by the administration to return an ambassador to
Damascus.
Obama said in a message to Congress renewing the sanctions imposed by
former president George W. Bush in 2004, that the Syrian government had made
"some progress" in suppressing the infiltration of foreign fighters bound for
Iraq.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article50070.ece
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Iraq arrests network suspected in embassy
bombings
May 05, 2010
BAGHDAD: A top Iraqi security official said Tuesday that authorities
have dismantled the militant network allegedly behind suicide car bombings in
April against three embassies in Baghdad, which killed 46
people.
Military operations spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Al-Moussawi said
police on April 14 arrested members of the network based on evidence given by a
failed bomber caught on the day of the attacks against German, Iranian and
Egyptian embassies.
In the course of his news conference, Al-Moussawi showed videotaped
confessions of a man he identified as the failed suicide bomber, Haitham Ahmed
Khalaf, and the network's alleged ringleader, Mubarak Mohammed
Abbas.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article50068.ece
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Mosque arson casts shadow over new ME peace
talks
05 May, 2010
JERUSALEM/RIYADH, May 4: Efforts to revive the Middle East peace
process took another blow on Tuesday after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas
accused settlers of torching a West Bank mosque as a US envoy arrived in the
region.
The flare-up occurred just hours after George Mitchell arrived in
Israel to finalise preparations for a new round of peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians that were called off two months ago due to a bitter row
over settlement building.
The US envoy’s return came as both sides were poised to start
“proximity talks” – indirect negotiations aimed at kick-starting the peace
process which broke down 18 months ago.
The mosque, located in the northern West Bank town of Lubban
ash-Sharqiya, went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning in an
attack by radical Jewish settlers in the Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/mosque-arson-casts-shadow-over-new-me-peace-talks-550
10:09 PM
Sultan Shahin
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