Islam, Women and Feminism

29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Women and Islam in Indonesia: Reformers, Resisters and Devotees
	Devout women contribute to public face of piety in contemporary Indonesia. Their search for spiritual knowledge, however, and the way they spread it in their families is quite different to the religious pattern of men. The search for spiritual knowledge of these women and the way they spread it in their families, is quite different to the religious pattern of men, who, partly because they have less time, think it enough to attend the mosque once a week. -- Susan Blackburn

Women and Islam in Indonesia: Reformers, Resisters and Devotees

By Susan Blackburn Women's agency is central to all aspects of Islamic life in Indonesia, yet female Muslim activists face opposition from fundamentalist exegetes. In Indonesia, Islam is on the march. The country has been undergoing an Islamic revival since the 1980s, and religious activity of all kinds escalated in response to the freedom created by the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998. There has been controversy about what the consequences are for women. In what ways have women benefited or suffered as a result of more Indonesians seeking to practice their religion more seriously? Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in the world, with almost 90 percent of its 240 million people identifying as Muslims. The country is now often held up to the rest of the Islamic world as an example of a moderate version of Islam. Women and religiosity Indonesian Muslim women are becoming more pious. We see women demonstrating a striking level of commitment in their search for religious knowledge through attending regular prayer meetings and other religious gatherings. Older women in Bandung often attend between four and six religious study groups a week, travelling all over town in their spiritual pilgrimages. One reason for the piety of these women is the concern they feel about social issues like corruption and rising crime: they believe that acquiring religious knowledge will help strengthen society against such perils. Devout women contribute to public face of piety in contemporary Indonesia. Their search for spiritual knowledge, however, and the way they spread it in their families is quite different to the religious pattern of men, The search for spiritual knowledge of these women and the way they spread it in their families, is quite different to the religious pattern of men, who, partly because they have less time, think it enough to attend the mosque once a week. Another phenomenon is that Islamic magazines have become quite popular with Indonesian women. The content of these magazines reflects the interests of their urban middle class buyers: they want spiritual as well as practical advice on how to live as Muslim women with a social conscience. The magazines acknowledge that their readers are professional or semi-professional women who seek a modern form of Islam that supports their careers. Within Indonesian Islam there are many streams, some of which are less well-known than others, including those concerned with mysticism. Women can be leaders within the Indonesian Sufi tradition, despite some obstacles. Such female leaders are careful not to challenge their male counterparts too openly. Islamic revival and Islamic piety are often depicted as being the domain of men, with little attention given to what women are doing. Nevertheless, women are often more devout than men and the emergence of their religious leadership is one of the most interesting developments in Indonesia today. Islamic feminism and polygamy in Indonesia People concerned about the effect on women of negative trends in Indonesian Islam have focussed on a number of developments since the end of the New Order in 1998. One is the scope provided by decentralisation for local governments to adopt discriminatory regulations under the guise of combating public immorality. Another is the proposal and passing of the Anti-Pornography Law of 2008. This law contained a sweeping definition of pornography which put many women in danger of prosecution. Pressured to conform to Islamic standards? Balinese Hindu women reacted very strongly against the Anti-Pornography Law which they interpreted as an attack on their culture Many also accuse the central government of turning a blind eye to anti-woman practices and argue that polygamy is publicly tolerated in a way that it never was under the New Order, to the detriment of women. (According to the 1974 Marriage Law polygamy was restricted by various conditions most of which are now either overtly flouted or evaded by unofficial marriages – celebrated according to religious customs but not registered correctly.) Of great concern has been the decision of the central government in 2001 to allow the province of Aceh to adopt shariah law, a departure from national policy made to placate the separatist movement there. Some Muslim groups and individuals contest these moves, usually adopting the argument that they are unsuited to Indonesia and derive more from Middle Eastern culture rather than being based on the spirit of Islam. According to moderate Indonesian interpretations, the religion is perfectly compatible with democracy and gender equality. Reforming a misogynous discourse Indonesian Islam has long been distinct in various ways. One of the most striking is the existence of two huge, mass-based Islamic organisations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Islam (NU), whose origins go back to the early twentieth century. The differences between these organisations, usually seen as respectively modernist and traditionalist, have narrowed over the years, although Muhammadiyah's membership still tends to be more urban, more national and better educated, while NU's heartland remains the Javanese countryside. Both organisations have women's wings which encompass millions of members and which since the 1980s have been the site of some of the most interesting developments in gender relations within Indonesian Islam. Within these organisations have emerged a number of feminists, both male and female, who have worked hard to make them more woman-friendly and to reform misogynous discourse. This is a distinctive feature of Indonesian Islam. Lies Marcoes-Natsir and Farha Ciciek Asegaf have been pioneers of Islamic gender-awareness since the 1980s. Both women were instrumental in creating space for feminist interpretations of Islam in Indonesia and for linking religion to women's rights. They have pursued these goals through various non-government organisations that they helped to establish. Women are often more devout than men and the emergence of their religious leadership is one of the most interesting developments in Indonesia today. Assisted by a number of other outstanding feminists, these two women have begun to turn around discriminatory teachings concerning women in NU's education system. Similar reforms have been pioneered within Muhammadiyah, and have even been carried into Indonesia's Department of Religion, by the redoubtable Siti Musdah Mulia who attempted (so far unsuccessfully) to reform the national Islamic legal code to create greater equality for women. The struggle of these feminists is ongoing, but cumulatively their efforts make Indonesia unique in the Islamic world. Resistance to equality Yet leaders like Lies Marcoes-Natsir and Farha Ciciek Asegaf face obstacles in their struggle for equality of Indonesian Islamic women. Apart from the opposition of hardliners in NU and Muhammadiyah, and of the vocal minority of small very conservative groups that have become more publicly visible since the fall of the New Order, there is also deeply rooted resistance in sections of society. According to popular notions of Islam, reinforced by the Indonesian Marriage Law, only men are regarded as heads of households, making life difficult for women who are in fact the main source of support for their families. It is remarkably unfair that in Indonesia, where women have always worked both inside and outside the home, their contribution is ignored and even denigrated. Conservative young Muslim women in Yogyakarta campaign against secularism, which they see as leading to Western immorality. Of particular interest here, given the campaigns of Islamic organisations like NU in favour of reproductive health, is the opposition of this conservative Muslim group to sex education for adolescents. Such groups seek to impose a very restrictive code of behaviour on young women. Pressure to conform to Islamic standards: In 2001 the central government allowed the province of Aceh to adopt shariah law, turning a blind eye to anti-woman practices like corporal punishment for "un-Islamic behaviour". In Aceh, one of the most devoutly Islamic regions of Indonesia, women's organisations are trying to break down beliefs that Muslim women should not be involved in politics. It has proved a hard task since few women have been elected to the provincial parliament. International aid is provided to assist organisations campaigning for the political and social rights of Islamic women. But there is also Middle Eastern funding for more conservative activities such as the publication of booklets in Indonesian translated from Arabic and advocating restrictions on women in the name of protecting their morality. Thus outside influences play a role in the struggle for the soul of Indonesian Islam. The turmoil within All these contradictory trends reflect the democratic turmoil in Indonesia today, and the regional diversity that has blossomed since the New Order straightjacket was lifted. In addition, when we ask whether women benefit or suffer as a result of the Islamic resurgence, we have to ask which women, and who is making the assessment. The women acquiring spiritual knowledge appear to consider that the benefits gained outweigh the costs incurred, such as the discomfort of wearing restrictive 'Islamic' clothing. On the other hand, Acehnese women who are forced by the morality police to adopt such clothing may well feel that there is no such trade-off. Moreover, working women may not be able to spend time acquiring religious merit in the way that older middle class women do. Thus costs and benefits vary with different classes and ages of women in different regions, and it depends who is drawing up the account sheet. There are also effects of the Islamic revival on non-Muslim women (and men). Some, as in Aceh, may feel pressured to conform to Islamic standards, or even made to feel alien to their own society. Balinese Hindu women, for instance, reacted very strongly against the Anti-Pornography Law which they interpreted as an attack on their culture. It is only the efforts by Islamic leaders like Farha Ciciek, which reach out to the wider community, that are going to make non-Muslims feel secure in their own identity. On the positive side, there is a healthy democratic ferment within the Islamic arena in Indonesia. Never has the issue of women in Islam been so publicly debated, and never have Indonesian women played such prominent roles in interpreting Islam and seeking to influence people's religious ideas and practices. Source: Qantara URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamWomenAndFeminism_1.aspx?ArticleID=4541

Islam and the West

29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Slow Death of Sanity: Middle East continues under Western imperial grip
	The “intensity of the Western imperial grip on the region, over the past century” continues, says the Marxist historian and polymath Perry Anderson in a luminous summing up of the current situation. “From Morocco to Egypt, colonial control of North Africa was divided between France, Italy and Britain before the First World War, while the Gulf became a series of protectorates and Aden an outpost of British India. After the War the spoils of the Ottoman Empire fell to Britain and France, adding what became under their callipers Iraq, Syria, the Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan, in the final great haul of European territorial booty... formal decolonisation has been accompanied by a virtually uninterrupted sequence of imperial wars and interventions in the post-colonial world.” The more things change the more they remain the same, is the Gallic saying. -- Premen Addy

Slow Death of Sanity: Middle East continues under Western imperial grip

By Premen Addy April 29, 2011 As the US and it's Nato allies flounder on the rock of jihadi resistance in AfPak and the fire of radical Islamism rages across West Asia, the future looks bleak. It is just possible that, President Barack Obama, tiring of the obstreperous cliques and claques on Capitol Hill will send his horse to the Senate as Caligula, the Roman Emperor, did two millennia ago. The equine presence might even introduce a modicum of horse sense into the proceedings of a body which today is more absurd than august. Standard & Poor has downgraded the US economy to negative, the first time this has occurred in living memory. There is only so much the balloon of patriotism ardour can take without going bust. Britain has the welcome distraction of a royal wedding this weekend, but come the waking hours of leaden days to come, people will once again be waiting for god to bring hope where there is none. The American Eagle has long lost its bearings in Afghanistan, the British Lion, now turned jackdaw, pecks furiously with dissembling words: They have only their conceit and imperial fantasies as consolation. The Daily Telegraph headline reflected their quandry — “Hundreds of Taliban escape in tunnel as jail guards sleep”. This was in reference to a mass jailbreak in Kandahar, to the Afghan prison which held the most ruthless and formidable adversaries of the US-led Nato coalition. The AfPak war goes on with no end in sight this side of eternity. The plot thickens with every passing hour, it would seem. A Taliban suicide bomber who infiltrated the Afghanistan defence headquarters in Kabul recently had made the journey from London. The bomber apparently was part of a sleeper cell in the British capital. Michael Evans, Pentagon Correspondent of The Times, writes: “Security chiefs (in the UK) in the past have warned of the growing threat of individuals plotting attacks. But the trend of sleeper cells has created a new and even more dangerous development that will require intensive scrutiny by the intelligence services” — a scrutiny they and their American peers were once reluctant to undertake since the targets of Islamist terror were usually Indian and Russian and the perpetrators had a role in the scheme of things. The 9/11 bombings in Washington and New York was proof that Frankenstein’s monster had started stalking its principal creator. “But, 10 years after 9/11, we still pander to extremism,” commented Andrew Gilligan (who exposed Mr Tony Blair’s skulduggery on Iraq) in an extensive newspaper feature on inflammatory Al Qaeda videos and hate broadcasts to congregations of the faithful in certain London mosques. Ponder the following The Daily Telegraph report: “More than £300,000 of British aid money was used to bankroll a suspected Al Qaeda sympathiser... Mullan Haji Rohullah... was paid taxpayers’ money to eradicate (opium) poppy crops (in Afghanistan). Instead, he allegedly supported Al Qaeda and helped terrorists escape Allied forces — while continuing to act as a major drugs trafficker.” The stresses and strains are affecting non-combatants. The US Nobel Peace Prize nominated-author Greg Mortenson, who has been accused of making up parts of his acclaimed book about his humanitarian work in Pakistan, has undergone heart surgery, brought on possibly by allegations that much of the writing was an osmosis of truth and fiction, that his charity, the Central Asia Institute, was a personal cash machine rather than the advertised source of Pakistan school buildings. Worse, the American authorities were claiming substantial unpaid taxes on Mr Mortenson’s part. It may be the water or soil or climate change and its consequences on the human frame and psyche in these benighted parts that conflate such disorders. Meanwhile, drones operating from CIA bases in Pakistan are taking a heavy toll of Pakistani lives in Waziristan and other border regions abutting Afghanistan. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a strong advocate of close ties with Pakistan, told the country’s media that Washington had “strong reservations over the relations of elements of the ISI with members of the Haqqani network” of Afghan insurgents. Clearly the US-Pakistan relationship requires a willing suspension of disbelief. The mismatch of credulity and the incredible is a latter-day political wonder. Elsewhere in the Islamic world the script appears to have taken a familiar turn. The ‘Arab Awakening’ resembles a beached whale in the ebbing tide. Liberal hopes are fast giving way to recidivist ideologies and attitudes. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is showing a darker face as it teams up with elements of Al Qaeda and kindred groups. The once emollient Egyptian military is baring its teeth with tanks and guns, with US paymasters in close attendance in the shadows. Mr Hosni Mubarak and his clan may have fallen but the system which reared him lives to fight another day. The Saudi monarchy flexes its muscles in Bahrain, the seat of America’s Fifth Fleet, the beleaguered Syrian regime breathes even as many of its cities burn, while Yemen marches on regardless, and the Arab League bleats in the wind. The US and its Nato allies flounder in the desert expanses of Libya. Colonel Gaddafi rules in Tripoli and beyond, snarling defiance at the intruders with no endgame on the horizon. The “intensity of the Western imperial grip on the region, over the past century” continues, says the Marxist historian and polymath Perry Anderson in a luminous summing up of the current situation. “From Morocco to Egypt, colonial control of North Africa was divided between France, Italy and Britain before the First World War, while the Gulf became a series of protectorates and Aden an outpost of British India. After the War the spoils of the Ottoman Empire fell to Britain and France, adding what became under their callipers Iraq, Syria, the Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan, in the final great haul of European territorial booty... formal decolonisation has been accompanied by a virtually uninterrupted sequence of imperial wars and interventions in the post-colonial world.” The more things change the more they remain the same, is the Gallic saying. Mr Vladimir Putin, as President of the Russian Federation, remarked that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was the “greatest geopolitical tragedy of our time.” The USSR in its high noon had balanced the power and authority of the US and Nato in an equilibrium that kept the peace, if nothing else. The world’s Time of Trouble has been one of unbridled Nato expansion and aggression as might prevailed over right in shameless ways. The eminently decent Mikhail Gorbachev, to his immense credit, ended the Cold War, but decency alone is not necessarily the enduring strength of a true statesman. Mr Gorbachev lacked the intellect and will, held too many illusions about his Western interlocutors to safeguard the national interest. That he remains an admirer of Mr Tony Blair says it all. Not surprisingly, his stock in Russia remains low. URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamAndWest_1.aspx?ArticleID=4544

Urdu Section 29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com Three Theatres of the Arab World
	I have in my focus three distinct dramas being played out. From North Africa – Tunis, Egypt – to Jordan and Syria is one theatre. This is the arena of positive evolution. Then there is the GCC theatre. Saudi Arabia is the spider in this web, its tentacles deep in Bahrain and Yemen, two countries it shares border with. The third is something of a solo number with Muammar Gaddafi dancing between minefields being inexpertly laid by an Anglo-French pair of plotters. The Americans, having had their fingers burnt in Iraq, are clearly keen not to be seen conferring martyrdom on another Arab despot. In an excellent interview with a journalist who specialises in Africa, Fareed Zakaria conclusively established Gaddafi’s immense popularity with sub Saharan Africa where people are collecting donations to help Gaddafi. -- Saeed Naqvi

Three Theatres of the Arab World

By Saeed Naqvi Egypt is the arena of positive evolution; Saudi Arabia spreading its tentacles deep in Bahrain and Yemen, and Muammar Gaddafi is dancing between minefields. Arab spring was always a media short hand. After spending some time in the region, I have in my focus three distinct dramas being played out. From North Africa – Tunis, Egypt – to Jordan and Syria is one theatre. This is the arena of positive evolution. Then there is the GCC theatre. Saudi Arabia is the spider in this web, its tentacles deep in Bahrain and Yemen, two countries it shares border with. The third is something of a solo number with Muammar Gaddafi dancing between minefields being inexpertly laid by an Anglo-French pair of plotters. The Americans, having had their fingers burnt in Iraq, are clearly keen not to be seen conferring martyrdom on another Arab despot. In an excellent interview with a journalist who specialises in Africa, Fareed Zakaria conclusively established Gaddafi’s immense popularity with sub Saharan Africa where people are collecting donations to help Gaddafi. Surely slaughterers of their citizens are made of harsher stuff. Little wonder African leaders have been jointly pleading with the international community not to apply UNSC resolution 1973, as a means to advance Western interests. The Anglo-French desire to dress up their designs with altruism, is just not selling. The Arab public is taking the Anglo-French propaganda with large doses of salt. “Foreigners have entered my house in Mesrata”, says Rafiq Hamadi in Baghdad, “and when I shoot them, they run to the media with the story that I am ‘slaughtering’ my people!” In the short term, it appears Libya will be divided between East and West. The world, including the Arab public and 20 million Muslims in Europe will see the partitioning of the country for what it is: not to stop the “slaughter” of the innocents but for Libya’s light crude for which European refineries are specially geared. Bahrain, meanwhile, has been an avoidable tragedy. Avoidable, because the Americans very nearly navigated an agreement between the Crown Prince and the opposition. But hardliners in Riyadh and Manama scuttled it. Events in Bahrain deserve to be understood because they will resonate for a while. A 37 km causeway links Dammam headquarters of Saudi Arabia’s exclusive oil bearing eastern province which also happens to be a Shia majority region. In fact, in one of the districts, Qatif, the Shia population is over 90 percent. Ever since the Ayatullahs came to power in Teheran in 1979, the Saudi state has been firm in handling Shia restiveness in the province, real or imagined. Since King Abdullah’s benign rule, Moharram processions and other Shia practices have been tolerated. But vigilance is as total as can be in a police state. Across the causeway, Bahrain is, by comparison, a haven of openness except that political freedoms are cleverly circumscribed. A large segment of Bahrain’s 1.5 million population are expatriate. Nearly seventy percent of the 8, 00, 000 Bahrainis happen to be Shias. The rulers, however, follow a strict Sunni school. For over 200 years the Khalifa family have been Emirs of Bahrain. A decade ago Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa declared himself King. An Emir, he thought, had colonial connotations. Kingship would lend itself to the possibility of a “constitutional monarchy”. Along with Kingship, almost in sequence, comes a Crown Prince – in this case Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. King Hamad, ever since he ascended the throne has had his uncle, Khalifa Ibn Salman al Khalifa as Prime Minister under whom, by popular consent, corruption has flourished as it has elsewhere in the Arab world. He was one of the targets of recent demonstrations. Infection of popular protest from Tunisia and Egypt arrived in Bahrain and youngsters, Shias and Sunnis, began to collect at Pearl Square for peaceful demonstrations. They even mounted Mahatma Gandhi posters. Police largely Pakistani cracked down hard. In the ranks of the protesters there was some confusion. Did they want freedoms? A free press? Participatory democracy? Constitutional monarchy? or that the Kahlifas must flee? American special envoy, Jeffery Feltman, the Crown Prince and moderate Shia leader Shaikh Ali Salman secretly met hand hammered out a compromise agreement. The Prime Minister, seeing his power recede, agreed to Saudi Interior Security chief Prince Naif’s hardline. No quarter should be given to the Shias who will be the staging post for Iran. Brutality on the Shias was unleashed. And now the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister are probably in rival camps. Obviously the story is not yet over. Source: The Sunday Guardian, New Delhi URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamUrduSection_1.aspx?ArticleID=4540

Islam and Environment

29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Environment: Our Responsibility
	As we do on many issues, Saudis and Americans can work to meet these challenges together. The cooperation between KACST and IBM on solar desalination is a perfect example. President Obama summed up our need to act as responsible caretakers of our environment very nicely when he said, "This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet."-- James B. Smith

Environment: Our Responsibility

By James B. Smith In the US, we continue to advance the work begun on that first Earth Day EACH April, the world celebrates Earth Day. Earth Day was first organized in 1970 in the United States when 20 million Americans took to parks and auditoriums to draw attention to increased pollution and environmental deterioration. They demonstrated for a healthy, sustainable environment and in doing so launched the modern environmental movement. A new popular environmental awareness led the US government to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in late 1970 and to enact groundbreaking legislation, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and Clean Water Act of 1972. These began to change the behavior of average citizens. Few people in 1970 would have believed how much fresher and cleaner America's air and water would be today. Earth Day is now an international environmental day. Nations in every part of the world use this day to focus on the environment. Few of these countries are blessed with as diverse and as beautiful an environment as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From the snows and forests of Abha to the majesty of the Empty Quarter, the Kingdom is richly endowed. Saudi Arabia has taken many positive steps to preserve its natural wonders, including establishing national parks for all to enjoy. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is well aware of growing challenges to the nation and the world's environment. I take this opportunity to commend his hard work to meet them in the coming years. His establishment of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy is leading to the creation of a new strategy for nonpolluting atomic and solar energy to meet Saudi Arabia's growing energy demand. The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) is working on solar-powered desalination plants and planning to open its first test plant in 2013. This fine institution is also working to improve energy efficiency in sectors important to the Kingdom. The National Committee for the Clean Development Mechanism is about to initiate a new project that will reduce the emission of methane in landfills, preventing the release of this powerful greenhouse gas. Saudi Arabia's national institutions are meeting these challenges directly in a way that will meet growing resource demands in an environmentally friendly way. Likewise in the US, we continue to advance the work begun on that first Earth Day. The administration of President Barack Obama has introduced new efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set domestic policies to advance clean energy and climate security. The US vigorously engages in climate change negotiations. The threats of pollution and the loss of natural resources are very real. Increased use of resources is raising environmental costs. Burning fossil fuels directly contributes to global warming. Scientists are sure that climate change will shift rain patterns, increase temperatures, and lead to generally more unpredictable and extreme weather. Global seas are rising. This may present problems for Saudi Arabia's (and America's) coastal cities. All nations will need to work to mitigate these dangers. Even wealthy nations, like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, can begin to feel the quality of their lives diminished when resources are squandered. The Kingdom currently benefits from some of the lowest water, electricity, and fuel prices in the world and its citizens enjoy lush gardens, cool homes, and large SUVs in a way that was once unimaginable. However, Saudi Arabia's growing population will significantly challenge available resources in the coming years. Electricity demand is expected to triple in the next 20 years. The demand for water, particularly desalinated water, will grow rapidly. More and more cars will fill the Kingdom's roads. This growth in demand will have real economic costs, as new power plants are built, desalination stations constructed, and new roads and highways crisscross the country. While governments must address these serious challenges, any lasting improvement must come from changes in the behavior of individuals and businesses. As individuals, we each have a responsibility for saving this planet for our children and grand children. Where real environmental progress has been made, it began with parents and children at home, at work, in school, re-educating themselves and their colleagues to make the right choices and take the initiative to improve their immediate environment. We all need to do our part - turning off lights and appliances when the house is empty, not watering the lawn in the middle of the day. Our resources are too precious to waste. I am proud to tell our Saudi friends that our embassy staff uses water efficient kits distributed by the Saudi Ministry of Water and Electricity in our homes. These kits are designed to reduce water usage by an average of 30 percent, while allowing residents to enjoy water as usual. In the US, our citizens are taking steps to improve household efficiency - they buy "greener" cars (cars with less harmful emissions). Our companies are reducing energy use by building green buildings. Our government is encouraging "green" research through direct funding and tax breaks. As we do on many issues, Saudis and Americans can work to meet these challenges together. The cooperation between KACST and IBM on solar desalination is a perfect example. President Obama summed up our need to act as responsible caretakers of our environment very nicely when he said, "This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet." Reflecting on Earth Day, we have the opportunity to look around us and ask just what we could do to improve the environment that we live in every day and then - as individuals, as governments, as citizens of the earth - to do what we can. Source: Arab News URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamAndEnvironment_1.aspx?ArticleID=4542

Islam and Spiritualism

29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Blueprint of the Divine
	…. world, has a negative connotation in Islam. The real meaning of this Arabic word is to reach out for something you can never grasp. Despite the negative connotation, Muslims are prohibited from decrying this world. The Prophet said, “Do not curse the world for God created it and it is a means of reaching Him.” -- Sadia Dehlvi

Blueprint of the Divine

By: Sadia Dehlvi Apr 23, 2011 Humanity is part of the cosmos, writes Sadia Dehlvi An Islamic tradition attributed to Prophet Jesus states, “The world is a bridge; so pass over it to the next world, but do not try to build on it.” The word duniya or world, has a negative connotation in Islam. The real meaning of this Arabic word is to reach out for something you can never grasp. It indicates the illusionary nature of the world. Humanity is part of aalam or cosmos, and an aalim, or intellectual is one with knowledge of the true nature of God’s universe. Despite the negative connotation, Muslims are prohibited from decrying this world. The Prophet said, “Do not curse the world for God created it and it is a means of reaching Him.” Acquiring wealth or position to help the needy, or desiring provisions for the purpose of attaining the best in the Hereafter do not fall in the sphere of duniya alone. Of Heedlessness The idea that people are prone to ghaflah or heedlessness, ignoring the fact that they will be held accountable for their actions on the day of judgement, is a central theme of the Quran. Alluding to a heart shorn of spirituality and one that lacks the ‘inner eye’, it describes the heedless as, “those with hearts, but do not understand with them, those with eyes but cannot see, those with ears but cannot hear”. These are people who do not recognise the signs of God in the universe and are deluded by this world, forgetting its transitory nature. Reminding us that there are no exit strategies with God, Prophet Muhammad said, “Take yourself to account before you are taken into account.” Polishing the heart with remembrance of God, being in a state of awareness and self-reflection is the way to actualisation of the real Self. To lose touch with God is to lose touch with one’s own reality. Born Without Sin Islam claims that human beings are not innately corrupt. They are not born with the ‘the original sin’ but are in a state of fitrah, an inclination towards faith with an intuitive awareness of divine purpose. As children grow older, their innate nature gets polluted with the debris of duniya, distorting their natural disposition. Physically, we may be different, but each one of us has within us a blueprint of divine laws, which, left untarnished, allows us to recognise the Reality of the One God. According to Islam, Adam and Eve did not sin, but fell into a state of forgetfulness. They turned to Allah in repentance. Allah forgave them, appointing Adam a prophet and His vice-regent on earth. Adam and Eve then became watchful of their actions ensuring they followed God’s commands. There is no blemish passed on to their progeny. The Quran clearly states: “No soul bears the burden of another soul”. Pride And Arrogance If we live up to the expectation of our father Adam, and mother Eve, we would have nothing to fear. There is a fundamental difference between the responses of Adam and Satan. Satan recognised God, but pride and arrogance led him astray. After eating the forbidden wheat, Adam and Eve realised their folly and asked Allah for forgiveness. Hence, the human state of heedlessness is one thing, and satanic refusal to admit and repent for wrong action quite another. Adam’s entry into the earth is a sign that God’s mercy takes precedence over His wrath, and that His guidance triumphs over Satan’s bid to misguide us. Heedlessness negates tawhid, the One Reality from where we all originated. Our physical existence is just a shadow which we have to transcend in order to discover the permanent and timeless. The fitrah needs to be cultivated so that the purity of the soul is maintained. If human beings truly follow their hearts, they can never go wrong for the spiritual heart, centred in the physical one, echoes the Divine. Source: Times of India URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamAndSpiritualism_1.aspx?ArticleID=4543

Islamic World News

29 Apr 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com

Suicide bomber kills 10, wounds 17 in Iraq mosque
	Explosion hits cafe in Morocco, 15 dead Bahrain court sentences Shia protesters to death Syria tried to build nuclear reactor: IAEA chief Pakistan tests Hatf-8 cruise missile Pakistan drops US, embraces China as new arms partner: Report PML-Q supports division of Pak-Punjab province Libya angers Tunisia as war briefly crosses border Bahrain sentences four to die over police killing Hundreds of Shiites protest in east Saudi Arabia Syria protests toll is 500' Pakistani soldier killed in explosion at camp Several shops gutted after blast in NATO tanker: Jalalabad Woman injured in Gujranwala blast Pak: Karachi firing kills three, injures two 4 Bahraini protesters sentenced to death US helps rebels as Qaddafi open new fronts UN says Turkey should be involved in Libya process US helps Libyan rebels, fighting rages in west Osama`s son stayed in Karachi: Wikileaks Pak: Another navy bus bombed, five killed Pakistan, India develop roadmap to boost trade Strong Kashmir to fortify Pakistan Pak Muslim League ‘Benzir is shaheed not Zulfiqar Bhutto’ Bomb squad secures suspected bomb at Hotel Indonesia roundabout Jakarta outskirts a nest for NII: Police Libyan forces battle rebels on Tunisian border Egypt to open Rafah border crossing with Gaza Thai soldier dies as ceasefire with Cambodia breached Egypt sending team to help realise Palestinian deal Senior Iraq general gunned down in Baghdad Muslim Brotherhood to participate in Egypt's National Dialogue Palestinians applaud surprise unity deal, Israel growls Syria threatened Al-Jazeera staff: media watchdog 27 people injured in an attack, including a deputy Europe must help Mideast countries protect democratic gains, PACE head says No recognition for south Sudan if it claims Abyei: Bashir Unity with Hamas to promote peace: Abbas Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Iraq

-------- Suicide bomber kills 10, wounds 17 in Iraq mosque Apr 28, 2011 BAGHDAD: At least 10 people were killed and 17 wounded on Thursday when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in Iraq's Diyala province, security officials said. Insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent months, seeking to undermine faith in Iraq's army and police who will take full responsibility for security when US troops withdraw at the end of December, more than eight years after the US-led invasion. The explosion occurred shortly after evening prayers in Balad Ruz, 90 km northeast of Baghdad, Muthana Al-Timimi, head of Diyala provincial council's security committee, said. "A criminal blew himself up inside the mosque, which resulted in this number of casualties," Timimi said. "Some of the wounded are in a critical condition." A source at Diyala's joint cooperation centre also put the toll at eight people killed and 17 wounded. Bombings and attacks remain a daily occurrence in Iraq and while violence has dropped from the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-7, insurgents are still capable of carrying out lethal attacks. Meanwhile, in the oil-rich, ethnically mixed province of Kirkuk, a car bomb targeting a passing convoy killed five people, including police Col. Mohammed Mohsen and three other policemen. The explosion occurred at around 2:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) in the town of Shahria, according to a police colonel there. Khalaf Al-Juburi, a doctor at the main hospital in the nearby town of Hawija, confirmed the death toll. Both sources said three policemen and three civilians were wounded. Also on Thursday, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Alaa Jassim was shot dead by gunmen while in his car on a busy thoroughfare in the Ghazaliyah neighborhood of west Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Jassim was deputy commander of the air force’s Al-Muthanna base in central Baghdad. His death was the fourth of a senior Iraqi official in the past week, with at least three others having narrowly escaped. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/29/Iraq-violence-kills-13-people-wounds-at-least-23.ashx#axzz1Knh75MVc -------- Explosion hits cafe in Morocco, 15 dead 29 April 2011 RABAT, Morocco — A massive explosion ripped through a cafe popular among foreign tourists in the Moroccan city of Marrakech on Thursday, killing 15 people and wounding 20 in what the government called a criminal act. If confirmed as terrorism, the blast in the iconic Djemma el-Fna square would be Morocco’s deadliest bombing in eight years. The explosion just before noon tore the facade off the two-story terracotta-colored Argana cafe, leaving awnings dangling. Panicked passersby dragged away bodies and tried to put out flames with fire extinguishers, witnesses told The Associated Press. Moroccan government spokesman Khalid Naciri said that the 15 slain people came from a variety of countries but he did not say which ones. “We worked for more than an hour, maybe less, on the hypothesis that this could eventually be accidental. But initial results of the investigation confirm that we are confronted with a true criminal act,” Naciri said in an interview with France-24 television. He said that more about the bombers’ methods should be known within hours. “There was a huge bang, and lots of smoke went up, there was debris raining down from the sky. Hundreds of people were running in panic, some towards the cafe, some away from the square. The whole front of the cafe is blown away,” witness Andy Birnie, of north London, told the AP by telephone. Birnie is honeymooning in Marrakech. The square is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its snake charmers, fire breathers and old town, or medina. “It was lunchtime so the square was very busy. We had just walked into the square, but were shielded by some stalls,” Birnie said. The state news agency MAP quoted a statement from the Interior Ministry as saying that 14 people were killed and 20 hurt in the explosion. The ministry said it appeared to be a “criminal act” and an investigation is under way. The nationalities of the victims were not immediately clear. Morocco is largely calm but was hit by terrorist bombings in Casablanca in 2003 that killed 45 people, including the suicide bombers. Moroccan authorities have regularly rounded up terror suspects since then and have been on alert for terrorist activity. The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, or GICM, a militant group was believed linked to those attacks. The GICM has also been implicated in the deadly attacks in Madrid in March 2004. Al-Qaeda has an affiliate operating in North Africa that stages regular attacks and kidnappings in neighboring Algeria. Morocco has said in the past that it has dismantled several al-Qaida plots. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb currently holds four Frenchmen hostage after kidnapping them in Niger last year, and recently released new images and audio recordings of their voices. Portuguese tourist Alexandre Carvalho, a 34 year-old call center worker from southern Portugal said, “I had just arrived at the square, the area where most cafes are located. Suddenly I heard this massive explosion, I had my back turned to it, I turned around to see it the explosion had happened on the veranda of a cafe. “There were at least 10 injured people, lots of debris, things flying up in the air. I saw people in a panic running towards the area with fire extinguishers, some people being carried away. I believe the injured were mostly tourists, judging by what they were wearing,” Carvalho told AP by telephone http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April1252.xml&section=international&col= -------- Bahrain court sentences Shia protesters to death 29 APR 2011 A Bahraini military court sentenced four Shia protesters to death and three to life in prison Thursday over the killing of two policemen at a crackdown on a pro-democracy rally last month, state media said. Full report: http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/16950.html -------- Syria tried to build nuclear reactor: IAEA chief 29 APR 2011 Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Yukiya Amano, gesturers as he speaks to the media during a press conference while Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria sits next to him at the OECD headquarters in Paris, Thursday, April 28, 2011. – Photo by AP PARIS: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said for the first time that a target destroyed by Israeli warplanes in the Syrian desert in 2007 was the covert site of a future nuclear reactor, countering assertions by Syria that it had no atomic secrets. Previous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency have suggested that the structure could have been a nuclear reactor. Thursday’s comments by IAEA chief Yukiya Amano were the first time the agency has said so unequivocally. By aligning Amano with the US, which first asserted three years ago that the bombed target was a nuclear reactor, the comments could increase pressure on Syria to stop stonewalling agency requests for more information on its nuclear activities. Amano spoke during a news conference meant to focus on the Fukushima nuclear disaster after a visit to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to discuss clean-up efforts at Japan’s tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant. ”The facility that was … destroyed by Israel was a nuclear reactor under construction,” he told a full news conference in response to a question from The Associated Press, repeating to the AP in taped comments afterward: ”It was a reactor under construction.” Suggesting that Amano had erred in making the public comments, the IAEA later put out a statement that he ”did not say that the IAEA had reached the conclusion that the site was definitely a nuclear reactor.” The rollback reflected previous, more circumspect, IAEA language. In a February report, Amano had said only that features of the bombed structure were ”similar to what may be found at nuclear reactor sites.” Israel has never publicly commented on the strike or even acknowledged carrying it out. The US has shared intelligence with the agency that identifies the structure as a nearly completed nuclear reactor that, if finished, would have been able to produce plutonium for the fissile core of nuclear warheads. Syria denies allegations of any covert nuclear activity or interest in developing nuclear arms. Its refusal to allow IAEA inspectors new access to the bombed Al Kibar desert site past a visit three years ago has heightened suspicions that it had something to hide, along with its decision to level the destroyed structure and later build over it. Drawing on the 2008 visit by its inspectors, the IAEA determined that the destroyed building’s size and structure fit specifications that a reactor would have had. The site also contained graphite and natural uranium particles that could be linked to nuclear activities. The IAEA is also trying to probe several other sites for possible undeclared nuclear activities linked to the bombed target but Damascus has been uncooperative on most counts, saying that most of the sites are restricted because of their military nature. – AP http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/29/syria-tried-to-build-nuclear-reactor-iaea-chief.html -------- Pakistan tests Hatf-8 cruise missile Apr 29, 2011, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today successfully tested the nuclear-capable Hatf-VIII or Raad cruise missile which has a range of 350 kms, the military announced. The indigenously developed low-flying stealth design missile, which can carry a nuclear or a conventional warhead, was tested at an undisclosed location. The Inter-Services Public Relations said the test of the missile Raad was successful. Full report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-tests-Hatf-8-cruise-missile/articleshow/8115020.cms -------- Pakistan drops US, embraces China as new arms partner: Report Mar 28, 2011, Pakistan recently test-fired a nuclear-capable missile from anundisclosed location, for its short-range surface-to-surface Hatf-2 class rocket, which has been developed with help from China, Fox News reported. The US was the main supplier of weapons to Pakistan since the mid-1960s. But it began to back away from the deals after years of "difficult and sometimes unpredictable" relations following the 9/11 terror attack. Full report: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-28/pakistan/29354063_1_nuclear-capable-jf-17s-pakistan -------- PML-Q supports division of Pak-Punjab province April 28, 2011 LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) in an indication to join the PPP-led coalition government in the centre, has supported creation of new provinces in the Punjab including Hazara province but opposed division of Sindh, Geo News reported on Thursday. Full report: http://thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14808 -------- Libya angers Tunisia as war briefly crosses border Apr 29, 2011, TRIPOLI/TUNIS: Libya's two-month civil war spilled over the border into Tunisia, provoking outrage in the western neighbor, while rebels in Misrata said only NATO could halt the bombardment of the besieged city. The struggle between forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebels trying Full report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Libya-angers-Tunisia-as-war-briefly-crosses-border/articleshow/8116794.cms -------- Bahrain sentences four to die over police killing Apr 29, 2011 MANAMA: A Bahraini military court ordered the death penalty for four men Thursday over the killing of two policemen in recent protests, state media said, a move that could increase sectarian strife in a close U.S. ally. The ruling came amid heightened antagonism between Bahrain's Shi'ite Muslim majority and its Sunni ruling family after the island kingdom crushed anti-government protests last month with military help from fellow Sunni-led Gulf Arab neighbors. It was only the third time in more than three decades that a death sentence had been issued against citizens of Bahrain, a U.S. ally which hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. One of the prior death penalty cases came in the mid-1990s, during the greatest political unrest Bahrain had seen before this year. A protester was put to death by firing squad for killing a policeman during that time. Three other defendants in the current case got life sentences, state media said. The United States, which critics accuse of not reacting forcefully enough to Bahrain's political crackdown due to the tiny nation's key strategic significance, issued a measured statement on the sentences. Full report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Bahrain-sentences-four-to-die-over-police-killing/articleshow/8116756.cms -------- Hundreds of Shiites protest in east Saudi Arabia Mar 26, 2011 CAIOR: A Saudi news agency says several hundred Shiite Muslims have held protests in eastern Saudi Arabia to demand the release of detainees and show support for fellow Shiites protesting against the Sunni monarchy in nearby Bahrain. The Shiite news agency Rasid says protesters waving Bahraini flags marched in two cities in the province of Qatif. Full report: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middleeast/Hundreds-of-Shiites-protest-in-east-Saudi-Arabia/articleshow/7790258.cms -------- Syria protests toll is 500' 29 APR 2011 Syrian security forces have killed at least 500 civilians in a crackdown of a "peaceful democratic uprising", Syrian human rights organisation Sawasiah said on Thursday. Sawasiah, founded by jailed Syrian human rights lawyer Mohannad al-Hassani, also said thousands of Syrians have been arrested and scores have gone missing after demonstrations demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption, erupted almost six weeks ago. http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/restofasia/Syria-protests-toll-is-500/Article1-690654.aspx -------- Pakistani soldier killed in explosion at camp 29 APR 2011 MUZAFFARABAD: One soldier was killed and five were wounded in an explosion at an army camp in a Pakistani administered area of Kashmir early Friday, officials said. The blast took place around midnight and triggered fire in Gulpar camp in Kotli district near the UN monitored line of control that divides the disputed Himalayan region between India and Pakistan, local police chief Malik Khalid told AFP by telephone. “One body has been recovered and five soldiers injured in the incident have been admitted to hospital,” he said. Full report: http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/29/pakistani-soldier-killed-in-explosion-at-camp-officials.html -------- Several shops gutted after blast in NATO tanker: Jalalabad April 28, 2011 JALALABAD (AIP): Several shops caught fire after an explosion in a NATO fuel supply vehicle this morning in Jalalabad City, capital of eastern Ningarhar province, an official said Wednesday. An explosion happened in a NATO oil tanker in front of the customs office at approximately 7:30 a.m. (local time) on Torkham-Jalalabad Highway, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman of Ningarhar governor. Full report: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=7884 -------- Woman injured in Gujranwala blast April 28, 2011 GUJRANWALA: A woman incurred injuries in a blast on GT Road near Danga railway crossing in Gujranwala on Thursday evening, Geo News reported. Rescue sources said that bomb disposal squad has been called in on the blast site. Injured woman has been admitted to hospital for medical attainment, sources added. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14835 -------- Pak: Karachi firing kills three, injures two April 26, 2011 KARACHI: Firing incidents claimed three lives in different parts of metropolis while two sustained injuries, Geo News reported Tuesday. At least seven people were killed yesterday in target killing incidents in Karachi. A dead body of a 22-year youth Qasim was recovered from Surjani locality who had been killed by firing. Full report: http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14731 -------- 4 Bahraini protesters sentenced to death Apr 28, 2011 MANAMA: A military court in Bahrain sentenced four protesters to death after convicting them on Thursday of killing two policemen during anti-government demonstrations last month, state media said. Three other activists, who were also on trial, were sentenced to life in prison after they were convicted of playing a role in the policemen's deaths. The verdicts, which can be appealed, were the first related to Bahrain's uprising. Bahraini human rights groups blasted the verdict and said the trial, conducted in secrecy, had no legal credibility and was politically motivated. Full report: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article376652.ece -------- US helps rebels as Qaddafi open new fronts 29 APR 2011 TRIPOLI: The United States threw a financial lifeline to rebels controlling eastern Libya while forces loyal to Muammar Qaddafi harried insurgent strongholds in the west and far southeast of the country. Government troops kept up shelling overnight of the besieged rebel outpost of Misrata, where aid ships have been attempting to bring in emergency supplies and evacuate the wounded. A local doctor said by telephone that 12 insurgents were killed when a checkpoint came under rocket and heavy artillery fire. The Arabic Al Jazeera television said forces under Qaddafi, who has ruled the oil-producer over four decades, also clashed with rebels in the remote southeastern district of Kufra, near the Egyptian border. It gave no further details. The rebel-held western town of Zintan came under fire from government forces using multiple rocket launchers on Thursday. Full report: http://www.statesman.com.pk/international/inter.htm -------- UN says Turkey should be involved in Libya process 29 APR 2011 The United Nations has asked Turkey to be involved in providing humanitarian aid to Libya and resolving the ongoing crisis there, a Turkish diplomat told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met Thursday in Ankara with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special Libya representative, Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, ahead of the U.N. envoy’s visit to Libya, where he aims to hold talks with both the Libyan administration and the opposition in Benghazi. “The special U.N. envoy for Libya expressed that they want Turkey to be involved in the Libya process on the issues of both humanitarian aid and a solution to the crisis,” the Turkish diplomat told the Daily News. Full report: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=un-says-turkey-should-be-involved-in-libya-process-2011-04-28 -------- US helps Libyan rebels, fighting rages in west 29 APR 2011 The United States took steps to throw a financial lifeline to rebels controlling eastern Libya while forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi focused their firepower on pockets of resistance in the west. Rebels said Gaddafi's forces fired Russian-made Grad rockets, which rights groups say should not be used in civilian areas, at the rebel-held western towns of Misrata and Zintan following NATO strikes to free Misrata's port. In Zintan, the rebels struck back. "Rebels attacked posts belonging to Gaddafi forces east of Zintan in the early evening. The posts have been used to fire rockets into Zintan," the spokesman, called Abdulrahman, told Reuters. Full report: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/10959/World/Region/US-helps-Libyan-rebels,-fighting-rages-in-west.aspx -------- Osama`s son stayed in Karachi: Wikileaks 29 APR 2011 The Wikileaks files contain secret US documents about detainees from various countries at Guantanamo Bay — from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and from Palestine to Kenya. The highest number of detainees is from Afghanistan. – File Photo by AP KARACHI: Abdul Rabbani Abu Rahman aka Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani is alleged to have admitted to US investigators that he had been directly working for Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, one of the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, and that one of the sons of Osama bin Laden had been living in Karachi with his wife and son in 2002. According to around 800 secret files released this week by WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website, Rabbani had been in detention at the Guantanamo Bay camp since Sept 19, 2004, — two years after his arrest in Karachi. He continues to be under detention as US officials consider him to be a high risk detainee. The Wikileaks files contain secret US documents about detainees from various countries at Guantanamo Bay — from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan and from Palestine to Kenya. The highest number of detainees are from Afghanistan. Full report: http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/29/osamas-son-stayed-in-karachi-wikileaks.html -------- Pak: Another navy bus bombed, five killed 29 APR 2011 KARACHI: Another powerful bomb ripped through a Pakistan Navy bus near Karsaz area in Karachi on Thursday morning, killing five people, including four naval personnel, and wounding 13 others, among them seven civilians. It was the third attack on navy transport after two buses were bombed on Tuesday this week in the business hub city. The twin blasts had killed four navy officials and injured at least 56. Now yet another improvised explosive device that was planted in a manhole right next to the main artery of Shahrah-e-Faisal went off at around 8:15am when a navy bus coming from PNS Mehran, a naval air station, reached the spot. Four navy sailors, Muhammad Yameen, 25, Sabir Muhammad, 24, 35-year-old Mirza Ramzan Baig and Imtiaz, 34, and a passing motorcyclist Naveed, 27, who was on his way to his workplace, were killed in the bombing. Six injured navy personnel, Lt Wakeel Ahmed, Lt Dr Sadia, technicians Ziaullah and Tauseef Iqbal and driver Khadim Hussain, were ferried to the PNS Shifa, a naval medical treatment facility, while five wounded civilians, namely, Abdul Rehman, Shakir, Shoaib Rizvi, Hanif and Riaz, were rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JMPC). Two other injured civilians, Zohaib and Asad, were admitted to a private hospital for treatment. Full report: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\29\story_29-4-2011_pg1_1 -------- Pakistan, India develop roadmap to boost trade By Sajid Chaudhry 29 APR 2011 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India on Thursday developed a clear roadmap for trade cooperation, focussing on establishing working groups to resolve issues and reducing non-tariff barriers to enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation. A joint statement released by India and Pakistan’s top civil servants for commerce said they decided to undertake “new initiatives” to enable the trade of electricity and petroleum products with energy-starved Pakistan. Full report: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\04\29\story_29-4-2011_pg1_2 -------- Strong Kashmir to fortify Pakistan April 28, 2011 PESHAWAR (APP): Taking to the visiting Azad Jammu & Kashmir Minister for Information, Environment and Overseas Kashmiris, Mehmood Riaz, and Abdul Majid Khan on Wednesday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussein to Mian Iftikhar said that provincial autonomy does not mean succession from Pakistan as it is our identity, saying that strong provinces would make Pakistan strong. He said that they want a strong Kashmir that will strengthen Pakistan. On this occasion, the provincial minister also briefed the ministers of AJK on the sacrifices of the people and personnel of law-enforcement agencies in the war against terrorism and reiterated his resolve that the war would continue till the elimination of the last terrorist. “The provincial government has neither wavered in the face of terrorism and will not bow before them, now.” he concluded. Full report: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=7792 -------- Strong Kashmir to fortify Pakistan April 28, 2011 PESHAWAR (APP): Taking to the visiting Azad Jammu & Kashmir Minister for Information, Environment and Overseas Kashmiris, Mehmood Riaz, and Abdul Majid Khan on Wednesday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information, Mian Iftikhar Hussein to Mian Iftikhar said that provincial autonomy does not mean succession from Pakistan as it is our identity, saying that strong provinces would make Pakistan strong. He said that they want a strong Kashmir that will strengthen Pakistan. Full report: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=7792 -------- Pak Muslim League ‘Benzir is shaheed not Zulfiqar Bhutto’ April 28, 2011 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA Khwaja Saad Rafiq Thursday said he considered Benazir Bhutto a shaheed but not Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto while he also admitted that his party did not play a tough opposition, Geo News reported. In his speech in the National Assembly during the debate on presidential address, Saad Rafiq said PML-N did not play a tough opposition as it kept on fearing the intervention of boots but from now onwards it will gear into a fully charged opposition mode. Full report: http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=14837 -------- Bomb squad secures suspected bomb at Hotel Indonesia roundabout 04/28/2011 The Jakarta Police bomb squad secured a suspicious package discovered at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Thursday. The black, tube-shaped package, suspected to be a bomb, was initially found by traffic police officer Adj. Comr. Billi in front of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 12:30 p.m., tempointeraktif.com reported. Full report: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/28/bomb-squad-secures-suspected-bomb-hotel-indonesia-roundabout.html -------- Jakarta outskirts a nest for NII: Police 04/28/2011 Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Sutarman says there are strong indications that several locations on the outskirts of Jakarta have become home to members of the outlawed Indonesian Islamic State (NII) movement. Police also have found evidence of dozens of NII recruitment facilities across the city, Sutarman added. Full report: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/28/jakarta-outskirts-a-nest-nii-police.html -------- Libyan forces battle rebels on Tunisian border 29 APR 2011 29 April 2011 TRIPOLI/DEHIBA - Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi battled rebels on Thursday for control of a border crossing into Tunisia, provoking an angry protest from Tunis as fighting spilled on to its territory. Early in the day Gaddafi’s troops stormed the Dehiba-Wazin crossing on Libya’s western frontier, in what appeared to be part of a broader government offensive to root out rebel outposts beyond their eastern heartland. Tunisia strongly condemned incursions by government forces, when Libyan artillery shells also struck the Tunisian side of the crossing, and demanded that the Libyans put a stop to them. Full report: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April1254.xml&section=international&col= -------- Egypt to open Rafah border crossing with Gaza 29 April 2011 Egypt will open the Rafah border crossing as part of its plans to ease the blockade on Gaza, Foreign Minister Nabil Al Arabi said in an interview with Al Jazeera. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/April/middleeast_April657.xml&section=middleeast -------- Thai soldier dies as ceasefire with Cambodia breached 29 April 2011 BANGKOK - One Thai soldier died and four were wounded in further clashes overnight on a disputed stretch of border between Thailand and Cambodia, a Thai military spokesman said on Friday, as a ceasefire agreed the previous day failed to hold. Full report: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/April/international_April1260.xml&section=international&col= -------- Egypt sending team to help realise Palestinian deal 29 APR 2011 An Arab committee is to be formed to implement a prospective Palestinian reconciliation agreement, a Palestinian source told Ahram Online, adding that "Egypt will head this committee." Egypt will also send a security team to the Gaza Strip to help implement a reconciliation agreement reached by rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas, an Egyptian security source told Reuters Thursday. Restructuring and unifying security forces in Hamas-run Gaza is a key condition for the success of the accord, brokered by Egypt on Wednesday to overcome a rift that had stifled the Palestinian drive for self-determination and freedom from Israeli occupation. Full report: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/10994/World/Region/Egypt-sending-team-to-help-realise-Palestinian-dea.aspx -------- Senior Iraq general gunned down in Baghdad 29 APR 2011 Gunmen using silenced pistols shot dead a senior Iraqi general in Baghdad on Thursday, an official said, the latest in a spate of assassinations of top military and civilian officials. The killing of Brigadier General Mohammed Alaa Jassim was the fourth of a senior Iraqi official in the past week, with at least three others having narrowly escaped death in that time. Jassim, the deputy commander of the Iraqi air force's Al-Muthanna base in central Baghdad, was in his car on a busy thoroughfare in the Ghazaliyah neighbourhood in the capital's west when he was killed, an interior ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. His death is the latest in a series of targeted killings across Iraq. Full report: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/10964/World/Region/Senior-Iraq-general-gunned-down-in-Baghdad.aspx -------- Muslim Brotherhood to participate in Egypt's National Dialogue 29 APR 2011 The Muslim Brotherhood announces their decision to take part in Egypt's National Dialogue and snubs calls for similar talks, known as the first Egypt Conference.? The National Dialogue is designed as a dialogue between on one side, the loose political groups and on the other, the ruling military and interim government. This particular dialogue is conducted by former prime minister, Abdel Aziz Hegazi, ?while another conference called the first Egypt Conference was called for by political activist, Mamdouh Hamza to discuss the next constitution and address inequality. Full report: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/10982/Egypt/Politics-/Israel-pipeline-bombers-are-not-locals-North-Sinai.aspx -------- Palestinians applaud surprise unity deal, Israel growls 29 APR 2011 A surprise deal to end decades of rivalry between Fatah and Hamas was on Thursday welcomed by the Palestinian leadership, but denounced by Israel as crossing "a red line." The agreement, announced in Cairo on Wednesday, saw the secular Fatah party which dominates the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, and Gaza's Islamist rulers, agree to form a transitional government ahead of elections, which will take place within a year. Wednesday's deal, which came after 18 months of fruitless talks, drew praise from Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, who expressed the hope it would be "an essential and important step to proceed to the immediate establishment of national unity." Full report: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/10954/World/Region/Palestinians-applaud-surprise-unity-deal,-Israel-g.aspx -------- Syria threatened Al-Jazeera staff: media watchdog April 29, 2011 DUBAI: Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera said it had suspended some operations in Syria, in a move a media watchdog said was the result of restrictions and attacks on its staff. A spokesman for the network told Reuters the suspended operations were from the channel’s Arabic language service. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the network had told it Damascus had subjected Syrian employees to sustained pressure to resign from the news channel. Authorities also prevented the channel’s correspondents entering the city of Daraa, where a Syrian uprising demanding political freedoms began in mid-March, CPJ said in a statement. Full report: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Apr/29/Syria-threatened-Al-Jazeera-staff-media-watchdog.ashx#axzz1KtVQpUB9 -------- 27 people injured in an attack, including a deputy 29 APR 2011 Some 27 people were injured in a sweeping attack in a coffeehouse where Refik Eryilmaz, a parliamentary deputy from the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was holding a meeting in the southern province of Hatay on Thursday. The attacker, identified only by the initials E.A., was reported to have a criminal record and used a pump-action hunting rifle in the incident. Full report: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=some-27-people-injured-in-an-attack-including-a-deputy-2011-04-28 -------- Europe must help Mideast countries protect democratic gains, PACE head says 29 APR 2011 European countries must help turmoil-hit Middle East and North African countries progress toward democracy lest they revert to authoritarianism, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, or PACE, said Tuesday. “European countries and institutions should help these countries overcome their political and economic crises. Otherwise more antidemocratic regimes could take over these governments in the future,” PACE head Mevlüt Çavusoglu told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview. Full report: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=middle-eastern-countries-to-get-closer-with-europe-in-order-to-overcome-the-crisis-2011-04-28 -------- No recognition for south Sudan if it claims Abyei: Bashir 29 APR 2011 Khartoum will not recognise the new state of south Sudan when it declares independence in July if it insists on claiming the disputed Abyei region, President Omar al-Bashir warned yesterday. "If they put Abyei in the constitution of the new state of south Sudan, we will not recognise the new state," Bashir told thousands of supporters at a local election rally in South Kordofan, in which the flashpoint border area currently lies. The speech was broadcast live on state television. Full report: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=183661 -------- Unity with Hamas to promote peace: Abbas 29 APR 2011 Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said yesterday he hoped a unity deal between his Fatah party and Hamas would help "promote negotiations" with Israel. "We expect that what was achieved yesterday between Fatah and Hamas will promote negotiations," Abbas told Israeli peace activists and the media at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Full report: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=183653 URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4545