| Islamic World News | |
| 27 Sep 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com |
Saudi Arabia to re-educate clerics against extremism
New Muslim comic book superhero on the way
Egypt pope apologizes over bishop's anti-Islam remarks
US copters kill 30 inside Pakistan
Iranian forces cross into neighbouring Iraq, kill 30 bombing suspects
Three drone strikes in N. Waziristan; 12 killed
30 wounded in suicide attack in Russia's Daghestan
Suspected US missile attacks kill 7 in NW Pakistan
Blast near Fallujah kills 4 Iraqi policemen
30,000 computers hit by malware, but N-plant safe: Iran
Hardliner Geelani tells Kasmiri parents not to send wards to schools
Maoists turn into Kashmir sympathizers, call strike
‘India backs united Palestine’
3 children among 4 injured in Quetta grenade attack
CIA dubs Karzai delusional, high on weed
Money-laundering cases: Zardari under pressure
Uttar Pradesh votes for peace on Ayodhya
Americans remain wary of Islam
US arms sale to Pak matter of concern for India: Antony
J&K education bears brunt of Govt apathy
NY Muslim centre aims to prevent terror attack: Imam
US doesn't want to arm Pak against India, Obama told Zardari
J&K pelters try casting azadi in stone
Kashmir: Victim's kin says no to compensation
Pak asks India to change Kashmir policy
PM Manmohan Singh’s childhood friend Raja Mohammad Ali passes away
Army assassinated Benazir: Minister
No middle path in Kashmir
SC admitting third party plea unprecedented
PCs proposal cannot help this teen protester
ISI involved in 26/11, chief Pasha told CIA shortly after attacks: Book
France seeks talks with Qaida kidnappers: Sarkozy's office
Al-Qaida plot to kidnap British athletes, fans?
Flyer held with Kasab pics on cell
British woman, three Afghan colleagues kidnapped
100 Afghan cops killed every month
'Elements' behind army parade blast killed, says Tehran
Iraqi women embrace American mothers of war dead
Islamic body slams bishop’s remarks on Quran
Hurriyat unhappy with peace package
Freedom for man dubbed a Pakistani
‘Barrage balloon’ that spies on Taliban from 2,000 ft up in the air
Samajwadi’s Babri barb to corner Cong
US seeks Bangladesh troops in Afghanistan
Kuwait to ‘scrap’ sponsor system for workers
OIC focuses on US Muslim issues
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: Muslim boy in a wheelchair with superpowers
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Saudi Arabia to re-educate clerics against extremism
27 September 2010
Saudi Arabia is set to train mosque imams and preachers to resist extremist ideologies in a new government-run program.
The program, which begins this week and will include 20 simultaneous sessions in the capital city of Riyadh and its surrounding provinces, is run by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
The title of the opening session is "The Friday sermon and its importance in implementing moderation and intellectual security."
"We are bringing in the most senior scholars in Saudi Arabia to give this training," Ahmad Fouad of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs told The Media Line. "Twenty lectures will be delivered in and around Riyadh."
Over the past eight years the ministry has been implementing educational programs for mosque personnel, including preachers, imams and muezzins (those who give the call for prayers), stressing "the importance of citizenship and intellectual security," Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported.
Professor Gared Nonneman, an expert on Saudi affairs at the Center for Gulf Studies in the University of Exeter, said that the Saudis have been successful in reducing the level of extremism in the Kingdom through a variety of programs initiated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
"This program fits into a larger pattern in Saudi Arabia," he told The Media Line. "From 2004-2005 the Saudis have launched a very effective campaign against extremism."
Nonneman said that since coming to power in 2005, King Abdullah launched a national dialogue project meant to unite society around the idea of Islamic tolerance. He has also promoted the idea of inter-religious dialogue, stemming from his belief that such dialogue does not contradict the fundamentals of Islam.
Nonneman noted another program initiated by King Abdullah intended to reintegrate deviants into society by having them meet and discuss religious issues with moderate Muslim scholars. The program is held in collaboration with the families of deviants and includes financial incentives to participate.
"Only when terror attacks started to occur within Saudi Arabia did the Saudis realize that there was a problem," Nonneman said. "Now they are trying to better control the religious establishment."
"The purpose of the new program is to make sure that the progress which has been made over the past few years does not get derailed by this or that imam speaking in a mosque or expressing his views on a website," Nonneman said.
Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of Arab News, was optimistic about the new initiative to re-educate clerics.
"This program indicates a great transformation in the Ministry of Islamic Affairs," he told The Media Line. "It is meant to cause imams to soften their tone since over the past 30 years their tone has become harsh," he said.
"I believe in dialogue from within before we do dialogue without," he added. "Now finally there are alternative voices to the extremist ones we were used to hearing."
"Since 9/11 we in Saudi Arabia have become the object of ridicule and contempt among Muslims," Almaeena added. "The Prophet (peace be upon him) never cursed anyone, so why should we curse people?"
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article147822.ece
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New Muslim comic book superhero on the way
27 September 2010
NEW YORK: Comic book fans will soon be getting their first glimpse at an unlikely new superhero — a Muslim boy in a wheelchair with superpowers.
The new superhero is the brainchild of a group of disabled young Americans and Syrians who were brought together last month in Damascus by the Open Hands Intiative, a non-profit organization founded by US philanthropist and businessman Jay T. Snyder.
The superhero's appearance hasn't been finalized, but an early sketch shows a Muslim boy who lost his legs in a land mine accident and later becomes the Silver Scorpion after discovering he has the power to control metal with his mind.
Sharad Devarajan, co-founder and CEO of Liquid Comics whose company is now turning the young people's ideas into pictures and a story line, said the goal is to release the first comic book — launching the disabled Muslim superhero — in early November in both Arabic and English.
Snyder says he was inspired by President Barack Obama's effort to reach out to the Muslim world in his January 2009 inaugural address. Last month, Snyder flew 12 disabled Americans to Damascus to meet their Syrian peers, and one of their main goals was to come up with ideas and story lines for the new superhero.
"The only limit was the imagination these kids had — the opportunity for a great story," said Snyder, a comic book collector who heads HBJ Investments LLC. "They helped create something by their combined talents, and that becomes a gift to the world." Devarajan found the young people's imagination to be quite amazing.
"The opening question we asked the kids was if you could have any superpower what would it be? I've asked that question in many different groups before and the typical answers are always the ones you'd expect — flying, reading minds, or being super strong," Devarajan said.
"The fascinating thing about this group was that I don't think I heard any one of those three," he said.
"Each of their ideas was so originally distinct, whether the Syrian kids or the US kids," he said, adding that perhaps because of their disabilities, the young people think as individuals without being influenced by outsiders.
One girl, for example, wanted to have the power to combine the energy of the moon and the sun.
Devarajan said it was noteworthy that none of the young people wanted the hero's power to be something that cured their disability.
"They were empowered by their own disabilities, and they should not be seen as a source of weakness," he said.
Initially, 50,000 Arabic-language comics will be distributed throughout Syria, and subsequent issues will be distributed elsewhere in the Middle East, Snyder said. The comic will also be available worldwide for free in digital formats through the Open Hands and Liquid Comics websites.
It will be the first in a series of comics with international superheroes, and while one will have disabilities others will not, Devarajan said. He added that almost all the characters being planned "are based on the seeds that were created by these kids together in this trip." The dozen Americans were selected after a national call for applications by The Victor Penada Foundation, a non-profit educational organization that promotes the rights of young people with disabilities. They included youths who were blind, deaf, using wheelchairs, or suffering from Down syndrome, autism, and cognitive disabilities.
The Syrians were invited by the Al-Amal school for the disabled whose chair, Asma Assad, the wife of Syrian president Bashar Assad, spent an afternoon meeting with the youngsters.
"It must be every child's dream to create a superhero," the Syrian first lady said in a video provided to the AP.
"But I really do hope that we can bring our powers together — our human powers together — to be able to make a difference." Hamza Jaka, 18, of Fontana, Wisconsin, who is co-chair of Kids as Self-Advocates which promotes the rights of young disabled people, said the visit to Syria "was great" because it was people-to-people, "not politicians flying in and blustering." Jaka, a freshman at the University of California at Berkeley who is studying linguistics, said the trip has inspired him to study Arabic.
"There's a lot of hatred, and it really can be dispelled by just sitting down and talking to people and realizing you share experiences in common," he said. "That's what happened when I started talking to one of the disabled Syrians. We both discovered that we had a love of basketball and ... loved the same players," Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.
"I am a disabled Muslim and I love comic books, so this is like the highlight of my life," said Jaka, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.
"As somebody who owns a lot of comics and has studied how they affect social change, it was fun to be part of an exchange that hopefully can do the same," he said, especially in changing attitudes toward the disabled, toward Muslims, and toward Syria.
Abdulrahman Hussein, 20, a Syrian student who was born handicapped and uses a wheelchair, said meeting the young Americans "made me feel that I have to improve my life." He said he is studying library administration at a university and wants to learn English so he can have contact with more people.
"I like the American people as I found them friendly," Hussein said. "I'd like to visit America because I want to get acquainted with the achievements (of) the Americans." The Open Hands Initiative was launched last November to respond to Obama's offer to the Muslim world in his inaugural address to "extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Snyder said the initiative's goal is to promote "diplomacy" between ordinary people that emphasizes dialogue, understanding and mutual respect.
It has already started a program to bring Syrian music to the US and is planning to bring leading American artists to Damascus for workshops with young Syrian artists.
In early 2011, Snyder said Open Hands hopes to be on the ground in Pakistan with programs bringing Americans and Pakistanis together in the fields of public health, literature and culture — and later in the year it intends to launch projects in Afghanistan.
http://arabnews.com/world/article147797.ece
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Egypt pope apologizes over bishop's anti-Islam remarks
27 September 2010
CAIRO: Egypt's Coptic Christian leader Pope Shenouda III apologized in a television interview Sunday to any Muslims who were offended after his top bishop reportedly disputed the authenticity of some verses of the Qur'an.
The remarks come during a period of heightened tension in Egypt between the majority Muslims and a Christian minority that feels discriminated against.
Shenouda's apology comes a day after the premier institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, Al-Azhar, criticized Bishop Bishoy, the Coptic Church's No. 2, for provoking sectarian tension.
Bishoy was quoted in the Egyptian media for wondering about the time frame for the revelation of the Qur'anic verses disputing the divine nature of Jesus Christ. The bishop reportedly said these verses were inserted after the Prophet Muhammad's death by one of his successors.
Tensions between Muslims and Copts are on the rise over issues like the construction of new churches and bitter arguments over conversions. The two communities generally live in peace, though clashes and attacks have taken place.
"Debating religious beliefs are a red line, a deep red line," Shenouda said in an interview aired on state-run TV. "Maybe they (Bishoy's address) thought this is for priests only and the remarks were not for publication." "I am sorry if our Muslim brother's feelings were hurt," he added.
Bishoy also sparked outrage last week when he told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that "Muslims are only guests" in the country.
For this incident, Shenouda blamed the press for possibly misquoting Bishoy and said that "we are the ones who are guests since Muslims are the majority." Coptic Christians make up around 6 to 10 percent of the country's 80 million people. Prior to the 7th Century Arab invasion, Egypt was majority Christian.
Thousands of Muslims demonstrated on Friday against Bishoy's remarks and Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Center held an emergency meeting to condemn the bishop's statements.
"Such irresponsible statements threaten ... national unity at a time when it is vital to maintain it," said the statement.
The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood opposition group, Mohammed Badie, urged Muslims to "respond to whomever slanders the book of God or the prophet." Shenouda appealed for calm.
"You don't extinguish fire by adding more fire, you need water," he said.
Seeking to cool the controversy, political parties and the journalists' association have urged their members to stay away from the debate.
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article147846.ece
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US copters kill 30 inside Pakistan
By Anwar Iqbal
27 Sep, 2010
WASHINGTON: US attack helicopters have killed more than 30 people inside Pakistan, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Sunday.
US military sources say that all 30 – killed during a hot pursuit on Friday – were Haqqani Network fighters.
The militants, the sources said, had attacked Combat Outpost Narizah, an Afghan base eight miles from the Pakistani border in Tani district of Khost.
US forces repelled the attack and pursued the militants to their post just across the border in North Waziristan.
“An air weapons team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following Inter-national Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire,” the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release.
“The Isaf aircraft then engaged, killing more than 30 insurgents.”
Isaf confirmed that the helicopters struck at the Haqqani Network fighters in Pakistan.
The attack helicopters launched their attack “after following the proper rules of engagement under inherent right of self-defence,” Master Sergeant Matthew Summers, a public affairs official, told reporters.
On Saturday, Isaf launched a second attack against the Haqqani Network, after taking fire in the border area. “Several additional insurgents” were killed in that attack.
The assault on Combat Outpost Narizah is the sixth against outposts in eastern Afghanistan since the end of August.
The US claims that the Haqqani Network is based near Miramshah in North Waziristan, and has close ties to Al Qaeda and other Pakistani and Central Asian militant groups.
US officials say that Isaf forces are permitted to pursue Taliban forces across the border if they are engaged in fighting or are under attack.
They said that US and Pakistani military commanders have agreed to a set of rules for hot pursuit, which says that US forces must be engaged with the Taliban or Al Qaeda as they cross into Pakistan.
US forces, however, not penetrate more than six miles into Pakistani territory.
But they can go deeper inside Pakistan if they identify the location of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahri, or Mullah Omar.
Pakistan denies having such an agreement while US officials refuse to offer on the record comments on this issue.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/us-copters-kill-30-inside-pakistan-790
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Iranian forces cross into neighbouring Iraq, kill 30 bombing suspects
Sep 27, 2010
TEHRAN: Iranian forces crossed into neighbouring Iraq and killed 30 fighters from a group it says was involved in last week's bombing of a military parade, state TV reported on Sunday.
Gen. Abdolrasoul Mahmoudabadi of the elite Revolutionary Guards said the "terrorists" were killed on Saturday in a clash "beyond the border" and that his forces were still in pursuit of two men who escaped the ambush.
While Iran has said in the past it would target armed groups on Iraqi soil this is a rare case of it actually admitting to an attack.
Iraqi officials have complained in the past about Iranian artillery shelling its northern mountainous region where armed Kurdish opposition groups have taken refuge.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iranian-forces-cross-into-neighbouring-Iraq-kill-30-bombing-suspects/articleshow/6633489.cms
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Three drone strikes in N. Waziristan; 12 killed
27 Sep, 2010
MIRAMSHAH: US drones carried out three attacks in North Waziristan on Sunday, killing 12 people, sources said. Vehicles were targeted in the strikes.
Three missiles hit a double-cabin pick-up on Dermano Road in Lowara Mandai area near the Afghan border, the sources said, adding that four people travelling in the vehicle were killed.
A jeep was attacked near Dand Kali area with two missiles, witnesses said. Five people were killed.
Three people were killed when missiles targeted a car in Sherani area.
The identity of those killed could not be ascertained, the sources said, adding that foreigners were among the dead.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/06-suspected-us-missile-attacks-kill-seven-rs-02
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30 wounded in suicide attack in Russia's Daghestan
27 September 2010
MOSCOW: At least 30 people, including 20 policemen, were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up as security personnel were about to commence a flushing out operation in Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan.
The unidentified bomber blew himself up as police surrounded a group of militants in a private house and were preparing to storm it last evening, RIA Novosti reported.
Two militants and two police officers were killed in the ensuing gunfight.
The special anti-terrorist operation was suspended overnight as an unknown number of militants remain holed up in the surrounded building and are cordoned off.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/30-wounded-in-suicide-attack-in-Russias-Daghestan/articleshow/6625786.cms
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Suspected US missile attacks kill 7 in NW Pakistan
27 September 2010
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan: Suspected US drone aircraft carried out two missile strikes against a house and a vehicle near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing seven alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.
The US is now suspected of conducting 19 such attacks this month — the most intense barrage since the strikes began in 2004. Most have targeted Datta Khel, part of the North Waziristan tribal area that is dominated by militants who regularly stage attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan.
In the first strike Sunday, a drone fired three missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi village in Datta Khel, killing three suspected militants, said the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Minutes later, a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the same area, killing four suspected militants, the officials said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article147623.ece
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Blast near Fallujah kills 4 Iraqi policemen
27 September 2010
BAGHDAD: A car packed with explosives blew up Sunday near the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, killing four policemen in the latest sign that insurgents could be trying to win back old strongholds, Iraqi officials said.
Attacks elsewhere in the country killed at least four others.
Fallujah has been the scene of several recent battles between security forces and suspected Sunni extremists. Two weeks ago, at least seven civilians were killed in a shootout between militants and Iraqi and US commandos during a failed attempt to capture a suspected leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Police and hospital officials in Fallujah, about 65 km west of Baghdad, said the dead in Sunday’s bombing included a police lieutenant colonel. A policeman and two civilians were also injured, the officials said.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article147767.ece
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30,000 computers hit by malware, but N-plant safe: Iran
Sep 27, 2010
TEHRAN: The malicious Stuxnet computer worm has hit 30,000 industrial computers in Iran, officials said on Sunday, but denied the Islamic republic's first nuclear plant at Bushehr was among those infected.
So far, Stuxnet has infected about 30,000 IP addresses in Iran, Mahmoud Liayi, head of the information technology council at the ministry of industries, was quoted as saying by the government-run newspaper Iran Daily.
Stuxnet, which was publicly identified in June, was tailored for Siemens supervisory control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems commonly used to manage water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other industrial facilities.
The worm is able to recognise a specific facility's control network and then destroy it, according to German computer security researcher Ralph Langner, who has been analysing the malicious software. Langner said he suspected Stuxnet was targetting Bushehr nuclear power plant, where unspecified problems have been blamed for delays in getting the facility fully operational.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/30000-computers-hit-by-malware-but-N-plant-safe-Iran/articleshow/6632861.cms
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Hardliner Geelani tells parents not to send wards to schools
27 September 2010
SRINAGAR: With educational institutions all set to reopen on Monday in Kashmir Valley, the hardline Hurriyat Conference, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, on Sunday asked parents not to send their wards to schools and colleges.
"No right thinking person can deny the importance of education in society, but to think that they (government) are concerned about the future of our children is like a mad man's dream," Geelani said in a statement made at the conference.
The Hurriyat hawk alleged most of the youths killed in the ongoing unrest in the Valley were students.
Many more were injured and hundreds were languishing in jails, he further alleged.
Geelani appealed to people to strictly observe civil curfew tomorrow when schools and colleges would resume their normal functioning in the Valley.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hardliner-Geelani-tells-parents-not-to-send-wards-to-schools/articleshow/6631381.cms
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Maoists turn into Kashmir sympathizers, call strike
Mohua Chatterjee
27 September 2010
NEW DELHI: In an attempt to show solidarity with protesting Kashmiris who have been demanding "azadi" and attacking security forces, Maoists have called for a 24-hour bandh in six states on September 30.
In a statement dated September 23, the CPI (Maoist) said September 30 will be observed as a bandh in six states — Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa — and also in Gadchiroli, Gondia and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra and Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh in protest "against the killing of Kashmiri youth by security forces since June 11".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Maoists-turn-into-Kashmir-sympathizers-call-strike/articleshow/6633098.cms
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‘India backs united Palestine’
September 27, 2010
India has welcomed the newly-launched “direct talks” between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, expressing the hope that the resumption of dialogue after nearly two years would lead to a comprehensive peace process for final resolution of the West Asia conflict.
In an intervention at the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Committee on Palestine, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said India is of the firm view that lasting peace and security in the region can be achieved only through peaceful dialogue and not through use of force.
“India renews its support for a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine
living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel as endorsed in the Quartet Roadmap and UNSC Resolutions 1397 & 1515,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/285950/%E2%80%98India-backs-united-Palestine%E2%80%99.html
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3 children among 4 injured in Quetta grenade attack
27 September 2010
QUETTA: At least four people, including three children, were injured in a hand grenade attack in Chaki Shawani on Sunday.
According to official sources, some unidentified assailants riding a motorbike hurled a hand grenade and fired at some children who were playing in Sardarabad colony. It landed in the street and exploded, injuring three minors identified as three-year-old Waseem, Mohammad Ismail, 4, Khutab Khan, 4, and 50-year old Din Mohammad. The assailants managed to escape from the scene after committing the crime.
According to sources, the assailants meant to attack on a policeman’s residence which is situated in the street where the incident took place.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\27\story_27-9-2010_pg7_7
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CIA dubs Karzai delusional,high on weed
Christina Lamb
27 September 2010
Erratic,Corruption-Tainted Afghan President Has Become A Liability For Washington,Says Book
Delusional,off his meds and high on weed are hardly the ideal qualities for Natos key partner in the war in Afghanistan.But as the United States alone spends $120 billion a year on the conflict,there is a growing sense in Washington that Hamid Karzai,the Afghan president,has become a liability.
The perception will be fuelled by the revelation in a new book by Bob Woodward,of the Washington Post,that according to US intelligence reports Karzai has been treated for manic depression.
There has been a stream of leaks in the US press alleging that members of Karzais family are involved in corruption and drug-dealing and there have even been discussions in the Pentagon about persuading him to step down and move to Dubai.
Full report at: Times of India
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Money-laundering cases: Zardari under pressure
Omer Farooq Khan
27 September 2010
ISLAMABAD: The developments taking place in Islamabad are heading for a change at a remarkable speed as the government and judiciary have adopted opposite positions regarding the Swiss money-laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The situation has become so critical that the apex court's Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had to cancel his planned trip to the United States and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had to abandon his weeklong visit to Paris, London and Brussels later this month. The government's version that the PM opted out from his planned visit to Europe due to the floods situation in the country could not make much impact.
The Supreme Court has stuck to its position that the PM must send the letter to the Swiss authorities, asking to reopen the corruption cases against Zardari. Justice Chaudhry warned Gilani: "As a shrewd politician he should know the consequences of defying court orders."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Money-laundering-cases-Zardari-under-pressure/articleshow/6632842.cms
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Uttar Pradesh votes for peace on Ayodhya
Vidya Subrahmaniam
27 September 2010
Faizabad/ Balrampur: “ Mahaul bahut badal gaya hai” (the mood has changed completely), said Raghvendra Kumar Pathak, a resident of Amauna village in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Mr. Pathak, who has a flourishing farm business, was jailed in 1990 as part of Mulayam Singh's preventive detention drive on the eve of a mobilisation programme announced by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The programme expectedly ended in violence. Twenty years later, Mr. Pathak laughed at his little misadventure, saying people of the State had tired of the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute and wanted to move on. “It does not matter how the verdict goes. We must respect it,” he said. The sentiment was echoed by his father Iqbal Narain Pathak, once a hardline temple advocate and a VHP sympathiser.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/27/stories/2010092762291600.htm
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Americans remain wary of Islam
By Brad Knickerbocker
27 September 2010
For now, at least, the “ground zero mosque” in New York and threats to burn copies of the Quran are no longer front-page news. But Americans remain wary of Islam as the FBI and other law enforcement agencies investigate a growing list of attacks on mosques and threats to Muslims.
The picture on public attitudes is mixed, according to a recent report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which finds that opinions about Islam are less favorable now than they were five years ago.
For example, a plurality of those surveyed (42 percent) say Islam does not encourage violence more than other religions. Still, a substantial minority – 35 percent – believe Islam to be more violent than other faiths.
While the reasons for this have not been pinned down, two factors likely are involved: Recent terrorist threats and attempted attacks in the United States (the Fort Hood shootings, the Christmas Day and Times Square bomb attempts, the fatal shooting at a US Full report at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0926/Americans-remain-wary-of-Islam
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US arms sale to Pak matter of concern for India: Antony
Sep 27, 2010
WASHINGTON: Ahead of his talks with top US officials here, Defence Minister A K Antony has said he would convey New Delhi's concerns about supply of American arms to Pakistan as a portion of them is being diverted against India and seek an "early solution" to export control restrictions.
Antony, who arrived here last night along with a high- power delegation to hold wide-ranging talks with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Gen (Retd) James Jones among others in the next two days, said he would also call for moving from a buyer-seller relationship to that of transfer of technology and co-production.
"We feel that even though the US is giving arms to Pakistan to fight terrorism, our practical experience is (that) it is always being misused. They are diverting a portion against India. Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-arms-sale-to-Pak-matter-of-concern-for-India-Antony/articleshow/6634434.cms
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J&K education bears brunt of Govt apathy
September 27, 2010
When the all-party delegation visited remote areas of the Kashmir valley, they met many students complaining about the lack of infrastructure in their educational institutions. Moved by the plight of Kashmiri students, the members have recommended swift action.
Home Minister P Chidambaram recently announced an additional Central assistance of `100 crore for augmenting basic infrastructure of the School Education Department in the State, while listing eight confidence-building measures to end the cycle of violence.
However, what the delegation may not know even after visiting the Valley is that close to 4,000 Government-run schools in the State are still operating out of rented accommodation. Unless they get their own buildings (basic units), the Government cannot augment their existing infrastructure.
There is another interesting hidden detail. Despite spending huge sums on creating infrastructure in recent years, the number of primary schools without their own buildings has not changed at all in the past four years.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/285874/JK-education-bears-brunt-of-Govt-apathy.html
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NY Muslim center aims to prevent terror attack: Imam
27 September 2010
NEW YORK - The imam behind the controversial plan to build a Muslim culture center near the site of New York’s Sept. 11 attack said on Sunday the project is meant to prevent a similar attack.
In an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” program, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said he feels duty bound to help protect non-Muslim Americans from such violence.
Rauf said building the center, which will include a prayer room, two blocks from the destroyed World Trade Cenre is “the right thing to do.”
“... America needs it and the Muslim world needs it,” he said.
“We have to wage peace.”
Critics say the center’s proximity to Ground Zero is insensitive, while supporters say politicians have wrongly commandeered the emotionally charged debate before US congressional elections on Nov. 2.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/September/international_September1230.xml§ion=international&col=
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US doesn't want to arm Pak against India, Obama told Zardari
Sep 27, 2010
WASHINGTON: The US does not want to arm Pakistan against India, President Barack Obama had categorically told his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting at the Oval Office months after assuming the top American office.
"We do not begrudge you being concerned about India," Obama had told Zardari at the meeting on May 7, 2009, which was also attended by the Pakistan President's son Bilawal, according to a new book.
This was a chance for the two Presidents to forge a personal connection, writes award-winning investigative American journalist Bob Woodward in his latest book 'Obama's War' that hit the stands today.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-doesnt-want-to-arm-Pak-against-India-Obama-told-Zardari/articleshow/6636010.cms
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J&K pelters try casting azadi in stone
Arati R Jerath
27 September 2010
Srinagar: A day after New Delhi announced its eightpoint peace formula for Kashmir,a group of young men gather in a dimly lit room to dissect the proposal and discuss its implications.All of them are friends and supporters of the Sangbaaz Tehreek,or the stone-pelters movement that is spearheading the agitation in the Valley.They are educated,Englishspeaking,working professionals or students,much like the leaders of the Tehreek.And although none have thrown a stone yet,they are as passionate as the pelters about the struggle for an independent state of Kashmir.
This explains why New Delhis latest offering cuts little ice with them.Its not just too little,too late.Its way off the mark,according to them.The only thing that will calm emotions whipped up by four months of street agitations is a serious negotiation between New Delhi and Srinagar with azadi as the benchmark,they insist.
Full report at: Times of India
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Kashmir: Victim's kin says no to compensation
ARATI R JERATH
27 September 2010
SRINAGAR: Abid Nabi, who lost his 18-year-old brother Fida in police firing last month, has no intention of taking the Rs 5 lakh compensation that Union home minister P Chidambaram offered on Saturday to the next of kin of the 109 killed in the ongoing agitation.
"I don't want blood money," said Abid. "I want justice. My brother sacrificed his life. I want the man who killed him to be punished."
Abid is a 22-year-old photographer who was away in Sopore covering a protest demonstration on August 3 when he got the phone call that has changed his life. His youngest brother called him to say that Fida was injured in police fire.
It took Abid two hours to get back to Srinagar, after fighting his way past several security check posts on the way. Fida was on a ventilator when he reached the hospital and six days later, he passed away.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kashmir-Victims-kin-says-no-to-compensation/articleshow/6633102.cms
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Pak asks India to change Kashmir policy
27 September 2010
ISLAMABAD: Heightening its rhetoric, Pakistan on Sunday asked New Delhi to change its "inflexible" policy on Kashmir, claiming that the state is not an integral part of India and the issue cannot be resolved within the ambit of the Indian Constitution.
India will have to change its approach and policy on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told a TV news channel.
"When there is a change in Indian policy, which has been inflexible in the past, then certainly talks will prove beneficial between the two countries," he said.
He said the Kashmir problem is an internationally recognised issue and the United Nations has passed resolutions for its solution.
Basit claimed that Jammu and Kashmir is not an integral part of India and the Kashmir issue cannot be resolved within the Constitution of India.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-asks-India-to-change-Kashmir-policy/articleshow/6631512.cms
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh childhood friend Raja Mohammad Ali passes away
27 September 2010
Islamabad: Raja Mohammad Ali, a childhood friend of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, passed away in Chakwal district in central Pakistan at the age of 78.
Mr. Ali, a resident of Gah village, died of a heart attack early on Friday. He was buried in the village graveyard.
The people of Gah were planning to hold a special event to celebrate Dr. Singh's birthday on September 26, but the ceremony was cancelled following Mr. Ali's death.
Mr. Ali, who had served as chairman of the local union council, owned a shop in Chakwal city's grain market.
Due to his friendship with the Indian premier, Gah was declared a model village and many development projects were launched there.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/27/stories/2010092761901200.htm
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Army assassinated Benazir: Minister
Anita Joshua
27 September 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayum Jatoi resigned on Saturday evening after being pulled up by the Prime Minister for criticising the Army and the higher judiciary, including the Chief Justice.
Tenders resignation
Within hours of his outburst in front of the media in Quetta, Mr. Jatoi was summoned by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, after which the Minister tendered his resignation adding his comments against the Army and the judiciary were his personal opinion.
Addressing the media in Quetta along with a son and grandson of the former Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Akbar Bugti — whose assassination under the Pervez Musharraf regime set off the current round of unrest in the province — Mr. Jatoi said all institutions of the state should be scrutinised instead of singling out the political class.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/27/stories/2010092761720900.htm
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SC admitting third party plea unprecedented
27 September 2010
Given that the Ayodhya title suits have been pending for 60 years,how does it matter if one of the three judges on the special bench of the Allahabad high court retires on October 1
Ever since the first of the four pending suits was instituted in 1950,any number of judges dealing with them have come and gone,first in the Faizabad civil court and then in the Allahabad high court,making little difference to the status of this litigation.Yet,the retirement of Justice Dharma Veer Sharma due on October 1 is fraught with uncertainty if the three-judge bench on which he is sitting in the Allahabad high court is not allowed to deliver its verdict by then.Having finally conducted the much-delayed trial proceedings in the title suits,the special bench was all set to deliver its judgment on September 24.It would have done so had it not been stayed by the Supreme Court at the eleventh hour.If the stay is not lifted by the apex court in the next hearing due on September 28,the high court would have to hold a fresh trial following Justice Sharmas retirement.Such a contingency may set the clock back by years.
Full report at: Times of India
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PCs proposal cannot help this teen protester
Arati R Jerath
27 September 2010
Srinagar: One person unlikely to be affected by the Centres peace proposal is 15-year-old Hilal Ahmed Butt.A Class V student of a government school,he helps his father Mohd Ashraf in a bakery in Srinagars Narwara area and also works as a part-time autorickshaw driver.
Hilal was arrested on August 18 after a police video camera caught him pelting stones near his fathers bakery.He was charged with a case of a ttempted murder.So,Union home minister P Chidambarams proposal to release stone pelters wont help him.Though Hilal is currently out on a surety of Rs 25,000,he has to report to the local police every week.When the police burst into his house on August 18,he had steadfastly denied throwing stones.The police showed the video recording and Hilal broke down.His angry father asked the police to shoot his son right there.
I dont know why I pelted stones that day.Everyone was out on the roads and they were chanting azaadi slogans.I joined them.I,too,want azadi, Hilal whispered.Although he is a first-time offender,the police have refused to dilute the charges.
Times of India
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ISI involved in 26/11, chief Pasha told CIA shortly after attacks: Book
Sep 27, 2010
WASHINGTON: Less than a month after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan's spy agency chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha had admitted before the CIA that the terror strikes had ISI links but claimed it was not an "authorised" operation and carried out by "rogue" elements, according to a new book.
However, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) later received reliable intelligence that the ISI was directly involved in the training for Mumbai, says the book entitled 'Obama's War' written by investigative American journalist Bob Woodward.
According to the book, the then President George W Bush during his meetings with his top aides had said that the terrorist attack on Mumbai was just like 9/11.
"President Bush called his national security team into the Oval Office as Mumbai sorted through the blood and rubble. You guys get planning and do what you have to do to prevent a war between Pakistan and India, Bush told his aides. The last thing we need right now is a war between two nuclear-power states," Woodward says in his book which hit the stands today.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ISI-involved-in-26/11-chief-Pasha-told-CIA-shortly-after-attacks-Book/articleshow/6635441.cms
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France seeks talks with Qaida kidnappers: Sarkozy's office
Sep 27, 2010
PARIS: Five French hostages and two other foreigners kidnapped in Niger by an al-Qaida gang are alive and being held in the mountains of northern Mali, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said, as a Malian source reported having seen them.
Gunmen seized the five French nationals, including a married couple along with a Togolese and a Madagascan in a raid on September 16 on a uranium mining town in the deserts of northern Niger.
"We are ready to talk to the kidnappers," a presidential aide said yesterday, referring to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the local wing of Osama bin Laden's global jihadist network.
The aide said that "we have every reason to think that the hostages are alive" and have been taken to the hilly desert zone of Timetrine in the north of Mali near the Algerian border.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/France-seeks-talks-with-Qaida-kidnappers-Sarkozys-office/articleshow/6634220.cms
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Al-Qaida plot to kidnap British athletes, fans?
Sep 27, 2010
LONDON: A plot to target or kidnap British athletes and fans coming to India for the 2010 Commonwealth Games has emerged over their country's support to the war in Afghanistan. Security sources have warned of "specific intelligence" about a threat by an unnamed al- Qaida-linked group to take hostages in front of a global television audience.
Reports emerging from Australia suggest that a number of countries are worried but will not upgrade travel warnings for fear of angering India. They said that citizens of Australia, the UK, Canada and New Zealand could be targets of a snatch attempt because their countries supported the war in Afghanistan.
Australia has asked fans not to wear national colours and in Britain it has emerged that security forces will work with counterparts from Canada, Australia and New Zealand to protect athletes at every venue.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Al-Qaida-plot-to-kidnap-British-athletes-fans/articleshow/6633201.cms
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Flyer held with Kasab pics on cell
Vijay V Singh, TNN
27 September 2010
MUMBAI: A 27-year-old driver, Saifi Ahmed, was detained for questioning by police at Mumbai airport after pictures of convicted terrorist Ajmal Kasab and several top Indian politicians were found in his mobile phone. Intelligence agencies were still grilling him at the time of going to press on Sunday night.
"Initial enquiry does not suggest his involvement in any anti-national activities. We will allow him to go only after proper verification,'' a senior police officer said.
Saifi, a Bihar resident, was flying to Jeddah on an Air India flight from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Saturday night. He had left his mobile phone at the security counter while clearing his luggage. CISF personnel present at the counter found the phone unattended, and operated it to identify its owner, when they chanced upon the pictures and informed their seniors.
Airport staff were trying to trace the phone owner when Saifi came back to the security counter and asked if his phone was with them.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Flyer-held-with-Kasab-pics-on-cell/articleshow/6633142.cms
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British woman, three Afghan colleagues kidnapped
26 September 2010
Afghan police and media say a British woman and her three Afghan colleagues have been kidnapped by armed men in eastern Afghanistan.
Officials say the four employees of a U.S. civilian contractor were ambushed Sunday as they traveled in two vehicles in Kunar province, where they were visiting a project. Afghan officials say they have begun a search to find the hostages.
The British Foreign Office confirmed that a British citizen is missing in Afghanistan and said it is working with international agencies to investigate. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the kidnapping.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/NATO-Says-its-Aircraft-Kill-30-Insurgents-in-Afghanistan-103818579.html
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100 Afghan cops killed every month
27 September 2010
KABUL: Almost 2,000 Afghan police officers have been killed or injured by insurgents in the past six months as many are forced onto the frontline in the war against the Taliban, an official said on Sunday.
Taliban-style bomb attacks, suicide bombings, direct clashes and military operations had killed 595 police officers and wounded another 1,345, said Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry. “In the past six months 595 policemen were martyred and another 1,345 were wounded,” he said.
Afghanistan’s police force has long been asked to fight the spreading insurgency alongside soldiers, despite lacking the training and equipment of the army. At the same time, the force is generally regarded by ordinary Afghans as ill-disciplined, predatory and corrupt, though a massive recruitment and training programme is boosting numbers and competence. The United States is bankrolling the programme to build Afghanistan’s army and police so they can take over responsibility for security by 2014, as pledged by President Hamid Karzai. It is spending 9.2 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2010. The NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan has so far trained more than 136,000 Afghan soldiers and over 119,600 police, it said, and aims for 171,600 soldiers and 134,000 police by November 2011.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\27\story_27-9-2010_pg20_5
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'Elements' behind army parade blast killed, says Tehran
Sep 27, 2010
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday they had killed the "main elements" behind a bomb attack in northwest Iran, it was reported. Mohammad Pakpour, head of the corps' ground forces, said the Guards had killed many of those behind the "terrorist act", which took place in the city of Mahabad. "They were identified and chased by the Guards," he was quoted as saying. "On Saturday many of them ... were killed in an operation." He gave no further details about those that were killed. Iranian intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi said that the group behind Wednesday's blast, which killed 12 people and injured 80, had been arrested. reuters
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Elements-behind-army-parade-blast-killed-says-Tehran/articleshow/6632856.cms
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Iraqi women embrace American mothers of war dead
27 September 2010
SULAIMANIYAH (Iraq): Nine American mothers whose children died fighting in Iraq were embraced on Sunday by dozens of Iraqi women who lost their own children during decades of war and violence in a meeting participants said brought them a measure of peace.
The gathering in Iraq's mostly peaceful northern Kurdish region was far from the sites of the roadside bombings or battlefields thataccounted for the vast majority of the more than 4,400 US military deaths since the 2003 invasion, but it was a powerful experience for some mothers to even step foot in Iraq.
Some kissed the ground during their arrival yesterday.
"I was overwhelmed at touch down. We were really on the ground in Iraq. I was almost in disbelief that it was real. This is where my son spent the last days of his life, and now, I was there," said a blog entry by Amy Galvez of Salt Lake City, whose son, Cpl. Adam Galvez, was killed in 2006.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iraqi-women-embrace-American-mothers-of-war-dead-/articleshow/6632667.cms
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Islamic body slams bishop’s remarks on Quran
September 27, 2010
Egypt’s top Islamic institution criticised a senior Coptic bishop who reportedly disputed the authenticity of some verses of the Quran, warning that the statement threatened Egypt’s national unity.
Bishop Bishoy, head of the Coptic Church’s theological council and considered its No. 2 official, was quoted in Egyptian media reports as saying last week that some verses were inserted into the Muslim holy book after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim belief says the prophet received all verses through the archangel Gabriel during his lifetime.
Tension between Egypt’s Muslims and its Coptic minority are mounting over issues like construction of new churches, bitter spats over conversions and theological disputes. The two communities generally live in peace, though clashes and attacks have taken place.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/285946/Islamic-body-slams-bishop%E2%80%99s-remarks-on-Quran.html
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Hurriyat unhappy with peace package
27 September 2010
THE Hurriyat Conference’s moderate faction, led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is likely to reject proposals of the Centre’s cabinet committee on security.
The Mirwaiz said on Sunday the Hurriyat would come up with detailed response after its executive council meeting on Monday.
He said there was nothing significant in the proposals made by the Union government. “ Our concerns have not been addressed and all the proposals look like an administrative bailout,” the Mirwaiz said.
“ But we will come up with detailed response on Monday after threadbare consultation,” he added.
Senior leader Abdul Gani Bhat, who returned to Srinagar from his village, to attend the meeting said the Hurriyat will deliberate upon each proposal and then make a statement. “Full report at: Mail Today
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Freedom for man dubbed a Pakistani
By Vikas Kahol
27 September 2010
A MAN from Bihar, who was branded a Pakistani intruder by the Punjab Police and jailed for eight years, will finally unite with his family.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court judge justice M. S. Gill, who was in Amritsar on Saturday, issued orders for the release of Wasil Khan based on a report compiled by the Amritsar deputy commissioner, K. S. Pannu. The order will reach the jail authorities on Monday facilitating his release.
Khan told his family that the police had detained him in 2000 when he was working as cleaner on a truck.
He was travelling in the truck transporting apples from Jammu and Kashmir to New Delhi when the police arrested him.
Since he had a stammer and was a Muslim, the police perceived him to be a Pakistan national and took him into custody.
Full report at: Mail Today
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‘Barrage balloon’ that spies on Taliban from 2,000 ft up in the air
27 September 2010
THEY MAY look like something from the days of the Second World War but barrage balloons have found a new, high- tech role — helping Western troops in Afghanistan.
The 60- feet- long drones are being deployed as hugely effective “ spies in the sky” to snare Taliban fighters before they mount attacks on British troops.
Bristling with sophisticated cameras, radar and electronic listening devices, the large, unmanned balloons — tethered at over 2,000 feet — send live film footage of enemy activity day and night to forward operating bases and eavesdrop on insurgents’ mobile phone and radio calls from several kilometres away.
The voice patterns of Taliban suspects may then be forwarded to the British government communications headquarters ( GCHQ) listening centre at Cheltenham, UK, to identify Taliban commanders from those recorded earlier.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Samajwadi’s Babri barb to corner Cong
By Piyush Srivastava
27 September 2010
BREAKING its silence on the much- awaited Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid verdict, the Samajwadi Party ( SP) said it was time to go to the masses and “ expose the anti- Muslim mindset of the Congress”. The SP alleged that Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, the petitioner on whose application the Supreme Court has postponed the verdict in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court till Tuesday, was working at the behest of the Congress.
“ Tripathi is the only person among more than two dozen people related to the title suit who wants a deferment. He is former Congress party chief minister Sripati Mishra’s nephew and is still in touch with senior Congress leaders.
Some leaders met him in Lucknow a few days before he moved the high court for deferment of the judgment. They met him again when the court turned down his application.
Then they offered him every support to move the Supreme Court,” alleged senior SP leader and its only known Muslim face, Ahmed Hasan, in Lucknow on Sunday.
Full report at: Mail Today
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US seeks Bangladesh troops in Afghanistan
27 September 2010
DHAKA: The US has urged Bangladesh to send combat troops to Afghanistan to help the multinational effort bring stability to the war-torn country, Dhaka’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The request was made during meetings in New York between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. According to a government statement released in Dhaka, Holbrooke said the US needed the help of friends like Bangladesh to ensure security in Afghanistan. He sought any kind of help, like deploying combat troops, providing economic and development assistance or giving training to the law enforcement agencies. Moni said the government would consider the request.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\27\story_27-9-2010_pg7_11
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Kuwait to ‘scrap’ sponsor system for workers
27 September 2010
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait will scrap the much-criticised sponsor system for foreign labour in February, the Al-Rai newspaper reported on Sunday, becoming only the second Gulf country to abolish a practice that has been likened to slavery. The paper quoted Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Mohammed al-Afasi as saying that the system, locally known as “kafeel,” will be scrapped when a public authority for the recruitment of foreign workers is established in February. “This will be our gift to foreign workers on the anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation,” from seven months of Iraqi occupation in 1991, the minister said. Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\09\27\story_27-9-2010_pg4_9
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OIC focuses on US Muslim issues
By SULTAN AL-TAMIMI
27 September 2010
JEDDAH: The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), along with the American Islamic College, is organizing a three-day conference on Islam and Muslims in Chicago, US.
The objective of the event, to be held on Sept. 28-30, is to "discuss the issues of Muslims living in the US, seeking solutions to their problems, discussing possible contributions of the OIC to Muslims in the US, and creating ties between the OIC and Muslims and Islamic organizations in the US."
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will make the keynote speech along with John Esposito, professor of religion and international affairs and of Islamic studies at Georgetown University; Safa Zarzour, ISNA secretary-general; Rashad Hussain, special envoy of the White House to the OIC; and S. Abd Al-Hakim Jackson, professor of Arabic ad Islamic Studies at Michigan University.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article147792.ece
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=3471
11:07 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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