ISIS Decree: Every Man in Mosul Ordered To Grow a Beard
Mosque in Cardiff Opens Doors to Non-Muslims (Girls learn how to write in Arabic. PHOTO: BBC)
Arab World
ISIS Decree: Every Man in Mosul Ordered To Grow a Beard
52 Civilians Dead In Coalition Strikes in Syria: Monitor
Suicide Attack West Of Baghdad Kills At Least 6
ISIS reject $1m offer for release of 230 Assyrian hostages
GCC to have unified terror blacklist; KSA efforts hailed
Syrian Fighter Jets Target Takfiri Terrorists in Lattakia Province
Makkah imam says Gulf alliance to help Yemenis
South Asia
57 Militants Killed and 35 Wounded In Fresh Military Operations across Afghanistan
Unknown gunmen kill three people in Zabul
Protests demanding Mohamed Nasheed’s release led up to hundreds of arrests
Pakistan
At Least 12 Militants Killed In Khyber Airstrikes
Action against Seminaries in the Garb of Law to Be Resisted: Maulana Fazl ur Rahman
Sermon at Faisal Mosque: Imam-e-Kaaba urges unity among Muslims
MQM involved in school attacks: arrested worker
Hafiz Saeed for Befitting Reply to Latest Indian Threat
Imran cannot create rift between govt, army: Pervaiz
Mideast
Ansarullah, Army Kill 13 Al-Qaeda Terrorists in Yemen's Ma'rib
Senior Cleric Blasts Saudi-Led Aggression against Yemen
Three Saudi Soldiers Killed in Fresh Clashes with Yemeni Forces along Borders
Turkey's Top Religious Body Releases Kurdish Translation of the Holy Quran
Erdoğan: HDP, Gülen community in a dirty collusion before polls
Europe
Mosque in Cardiff Opens Doors to Non-Muslims
130 Macedonian, Serbian Nationals Fight along with ISIL in Iraq, Syria
UK’s Labour Party Woos Muslims: Promises to Ban Islamophobia, Critics Flay Miliband
Radicalized In Moscow, Killed In Syria: The Story Of an IS Sniper
Extremists worry the Balkans, Europe’s Muslim heartland
U.N. meeting on Yemen ends without action
Europe’s first fully-functional Islamic bank opens in Frankfurt
UK Muslims Campaign for Equality in Elections
Southeast Asia
Mass Grave Believed To Be Bangladeshi Migrants Found In Thailand
Putrajaya dragging Malaysia off democratic path with mass arrests, watchdog says
Zahid: Malaysians returning from IS exactly why we need Pota
Taman Medan cross protesters must face sedition probe, senior Umno man says
Africa
Catholic Archbishop Teaches Christians about Islam
More 234 Boko Haram Hostages Rescued
India
India's first Halal cosmetics firm set to expand outlets
J&K Govt Will Take Action against Waving Of Pakistani Flags: Union Minister
Muslims who converted to Hinduism, re-convert
Centre not to hold talks with Kashmir separatists
Set up separate prisons for terrorists: Home Min
North America
US Report Assails Pakistan Over State of ‘Religious Freedom’
Group Behind Anti-Jihad Ads Challenges MTA Ban
U.S. religious freedom commission calls for criminal prosecution of Islamic State
Islamic State sympathizers use Baltimore riots to recruit potential ‘U.S. rebels’
Australia
Afghan Mosque Leader Condemns Former Alice Springs Doctor in Joining I S
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Arab World
ISIS Decree: Every Man in Mosul Ordered To Grow a Beard
May 2, 2015
The Islamic State (IS) group has reportedly issued a decree ordering all men in the Iraqi city of Mosul to grow beards on the grounds that the shaving of facial hair is Haram (forbidden) under Shari'a law.
A report of the new IS decree in Mosul was posted on the Mosul Eye Facebook page on April 28. Mosul Eye is the pseudonym of a local historian who has been secretly documenting IS's activities in Mosul since the militants overran the city in June 2014. While it is not possible to verify the blogger's identity, Iraq watchers believe the accounts are credible.
Mosul Eye also posted a photograph of a leaflet that the account says IS has distributed in Mosul. The leaflets explain the Shari'a law basis for the IS edict to grow beards.
Those who fail to comply with the order to grow facial hair will be subject to punishment, Mosul Eye said.
IS militants have reportedly issued similar bans on shaving beards in other parts of Iraq and Syria, also based on the group's radical interpretation of Shari'a law.
British-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in December that IS had imposed such a ban in the city of Al-Mayadin in eastern Syria. The group also banned Al-Mayadin residents from wearing engagement rings, on the grounds that this is a Christian tradition, SOHR said.
IS is not the first radical Islamist groups to impose mandatory beard-wearing on men living in lands under their control, however.
In 2010, militants from the Hizb ul-Islam group in Somalia ordered men in Mogadishu to grow their beards and trim their moustaches.
"Anyone found violating this law will face the consequences," a Hizb ul-Islam militant threatened.
The main role model for mandatory beard growth, however, is the Afghan Taliban, which during the height of its rule between 1996 and 2001 instigated a strict facial hair regime.
Shaving was, of course, banned (other things banned by the Taliban included kites, girls' schools, cassette tapes and women going out without a male relative).
Afghan men's beards had to be long enough to exceed a fist clasped at the chin. Some reports said that the Taliban had developed even more creative ways to check whether a man's beard met the religiously mandated length, with "morality" police asking men to put their beards inside a lantern glass to see if it fit. (Those whose beards were deemed too short were, of course, punished.)
In reaction to the radical Islamist predilection for beards, there are reports that some countries with a particular fear of IS have associated facial hair with radicalization.
In some cases, pogonophobia -- fear of beards -- has been taken too far.
Police in Tajikistan this week have been reprimanded for forcing Muslim men to shave off their beards.
Deputy Interior Minister Ikrom Umarzoda told RFE/RL on April 27 that two law enforcement officers in the northern Sughd region were officially rebuked after local residents complained that they were forced to shave their beards.
"We have ordered regional police departments to talk to local residents about extremism, but have never called on them to work with people through force and pressure," Umarzoda said.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban's beard obsession resulted in many Afghans fearing not only the bearded Taliban but also bearded Western special operations forces, Foreign Policy noted back in 2009.
"In Kandahar Province’s Zhari district, elders refer to the 'bearded Americans,' who they say behave very badly, and the 'shaven Americans,' who aren’t so bad," Foreign Policy reported.
Yet the association of beards with wild, untamed "Eastern" cultures dates back far earlier than the modern phenomenon of the radical Islamist.
In 1698, Russia's Peter the Great declared a war on facial hair as part of his modernization policies, imposing a mandatory beard tax on Russians, from noblemen to peasants, who refused to shave.
In contemporary Syria and Iraq, it is not only IS who are promoting the beard as a religiously mandated concept. Militants from other Islamist groups wear beards also, though none have gone as far as to impose an edict making facial hair mandatory.
While female militants cannot, of course, grow beards, a group of Chechen women supporters of the North Caucasian group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar are supporting their men by developing a range of beard care products. The first of these, a beard shampoo, is named "Desire to Jannat," and is designed "for growth, thickness and 'taming'" one's beard. The ingredients include aloe-vera gel, jojoba oil, palm butter, cobra oil, and glycerin.
http://www.rferl.org/content/every-man-in-mosul-ordered-to-grow-a-beard/26985105.html
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52 civilians dead in coalition strikes in Syria: monitor
May 2, 2015
US-led air strikes targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed at least 52 civilians in a village in northern Syria, a monitoring group said on May 2.
"Air strikes by the coalition early on Friday on the village of Birmahle in Aleppo province killed 52 civilians," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Seven children were killed, and 13 people are still trapped in the rubble," he said.
Abdel Rahman told AFP that Kurdish militiamen and Syrian rebel fighters were clashing with ISIL in a town roughly two kilometres (1 mile) away.
"But Birmahle is only civilians, with no (ISIL) positions and no clashes," he said.
Abdel Rahman said "not a single (ISIL) fighter" was killed in the strikes on the village, but that raids on a nearby town had killed at least seven jihadists.
Air strikes by the US-led coalition have supported Kurdish militias fighting the jihadists in Aleppo province, most notably in the flashpoint border town of Kobane, which is near Birmahle.
Backed by the strikes, Kurdish fighters drove ISIL out of Kobane in January.
A statement released on May 1 by the joint task force for the anti-ISIL coalition said it had conducted six air strikes near Kobane on ISIL tactical units.
Prior to Friday’s strikes, the coalition’s raids had killed 66 civilians since it began attacking ISIL positions in Syria in September 2014.
According to the Britain-based Observatory, the air campaign has killed more than 2,000 people in total, including at least 1,922 IS fighters.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/52-civilians-dead-in-coalition-strikes-in-syria-monitor.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81854&NewsCatID=352
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Suicide attack west of Baghdad kills at least 6
May 2, 2015
Iraqi officials say a suicide attack west of the capital has killed at least six troops.
A police officer said the attacker on Saturday drove an explosive-rigged car Saturday into a military headquarters in the town of Garma, where government forces and allied militias have been battling Islamic State militants.
He said the dead included three soldiers and three militia members. Nine other troops were wounded.
A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.
Backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led international coalition, Iraqi troops and their militia allies have been trying to dislodge the militants from Garma east of the IS-held city of Fallujah.
Security forces have reported slow progress in recent weeks.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/129161/World/International/Suicide-attack-west-of-Baghdad-kills-at-least-.aspx
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ISIS reject $1m offer for release of 230 Assyrian hostages
May 2, 2015
ISIS militants have rejected an offer of $1.15m (£750,000) from the Assyrian community for the release of 230 Assyrian Christians being held in northeastern Syria by the terror group, Newsweek can exclusively reveal.
The hostages were captured in the civil war-torn country's northeast in February and, despite 21 of them being released in early March following negotiations, 51 children, 84 females and 95 males remain in captivity, according to the Assyrian rights group A Demand For Action.
Archbishop Mar Meelis, the Assyrian Archbishop for the Church of the East in Australia and the contact point for the Syrian bishop negotiating with ISIS for the hostages' release in the city of Hasakah, confirmed that ISIS were offered a Jizya payment in accordance with what they consider a sharia law principal.
The Assyrian community offered $1,000 (£651) per hostage, before raising this to $5,000 (£3,255) per hostage, a total payment of $1,150,000 (£750,000). The terror group are now demanding that the Assyrian community pays $23m (£14.97m) for the hostages and have said the Assyrians will face an Islamic court, believed to be located in the group's de-facto capital of Raqqa, where they are now awaiting trial.
The ransom averages at $100,000 (£65,082) per hostage which is an impossible task for the Assyrian community, says Mellis. He adds that, despite the difficulty of raising such a vast amount of money, the Assyrian community remains hopeful that the hostages will be released and returned to their families.
"We offered to pay the Jizya required for each individual, but they unfortunately refused," he says. "Most of the assistance was to come from the collection from overseas individuals but they refused. At the end, they told us not to contact them anymore unless the money is available, and we don't have the money that's for sure."
"I think the reason for asking for such a big amount is the misconception that since these hostages are Christians then the West will interfere and pay the amount, which is not the case," the archbishop adds.
The bishop negotiating with the radical Islamist militants in the Syrian city, Bishop Mar Afram, is situated approximately 20km (12.7 miles) from ISIS-controlled areas and contacts Meelis daily by phone to update him on the negotiations despite the group spying on communications in the area.
Asked how the negotiations with the terror group are facilitated, Meelis confirms that communications are made "through a third person who travels between the areas and delivers the messages of both sides" saying that it's "the only way".
When asked how long the group takes to reply and how long the messenger takes to transport the communications, Meelis says it can take "sometimes two, three days. Sometimes four days. It depends on the ground events and circumstances."
The bishop could not reveal the identity of the middleman but says the messenger is a trusted person by ISIS and safe from kidnap or attack when he enters the territory they control around Hasakah.
ISIS consider ancient religious minorities such as Assyrians and Yazidis to be kafir (disbelievers) and infidels. Assyrian Christians are one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Middle East whose foundations lie in Assyria, a historical region of northern Mesopotamia, but since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War they have faced persecution from Islamic extremists.
http://europe.newsweek.com/isis-reject-1m-offer-release-230-assyrian-hostages-326709
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GCC to have unified terror blacklist; KSA efforts hailed
May 2, 2015
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has agreed on a concerted effort against terrorism by blacklisting terrorist organizations and individuals, while hailing Saudi Arabia’s efforts in tackling the menace.
The decision was taken at the 16th consultative meeting of GCC interior ministers in Doha on Wednesday. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani chaired the meeting.
According to GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, the ministers discussed a number of issues related to joint security as well as efforts undertaken by agencies to enhance cooperation and coordination between member states.
“The ministers decided on a mechanism for a unified terrorist blacklist with the names of such organizations and individuals to help combat terrorism and its threat to the region,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/740761
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Syrian Fighter Jets Target Takfiri Terrorists in Lattakia Province
May 2, 2015
A military source said that the Syrian warplanes targeted gathering centers of the Takfiri terrorists in the coastal province of Lattakia, and added that scores of militiamen were killed in the recent airstrikes.
The source said the Syrian air force destroyed insurgents’ strongholds in Rweiset al-Kharab, Juret al-Rashwan and al-Zaitwna in the Northern countryside of Lattakia, killing dozens of them and injuring dozens more.
Last week, a military source said that the Syrian Army's advances against the foreign-backed terrorists in Lattakia have been eye-catching, and added that scores of antigovernment fighters have been killed in army's recent operations.
The source said that scores of al-Nusra Front's terrorists in al-Zaitouna, Rwaisa and Rwaiset al-Ballata in the Northern countryside of the province were killed, wounded and arrested in the Syrian army's operations.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940211000243
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Makkah imam says Gulf alliance to help Yemenis
May 2, 2015
Khatib and Imam at the Grand Mosque in Makkah Sheikh Saleh bin Homaid and Khatib and Imam at the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah Sheikh Salah Al-Budair pledged their allegiance to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Naif and Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman during their Friday sermons.
Bin Homaid stressed the stability and security in the Kingdom under the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, despite the fact that the country is at war, while in other countries at war people would be afraid, prices would spiral and food would be hoarded and become scarce.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/740816
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South Asia
57 Militants Killed and 35 Wounded In Fresh Military Operations across Afghanistan
May 02 2015
57 militants have been killed and 35 others wounded in fresh military operations across the country, a statement issued Saturday by the Ministry of Interior states.
According the Ministry of Interior statement the operations were jointly conducted by Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army and personnel from the National Directorate of Security in Herat, Ghazni, Helmand, Logar, Kunduz, Sar-e-Pul, Badakhshan, Faryab, Baghlan, Uruzgan, Zabul, Paktiya and Khost provinces in past 24 hours.
The statement adds that two militants were also arrested by security forces during these operations.
Afghan National Security Forces at the time are conducting at least 21 large-scale operations against militants in different parts of the country.
http://www.khaama.com/57-militants-killed-in-fresh-military-operations-3259
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Unknown gunmen kill three people in Zabul
May 02 2015
Unknown gunmen have killed three people from the group of five they kidnapped two days ago in southern Zabul province.
A security official from the provincial police headquarters who did not want to be named told Khaama Press that the dead bodies of all three have been found.
He said these people were among five who were kidnapped by unknown gunmen from the jurisdiction of the provincial capital Qalat Two days ago.
According to the source these people belong to Muqar District of Ghazni province.
He said the group was traveling in their vehicle when unknown gunmen kidnapped them on gunpoint from Qalat.
The fate of the remaining two people is unknown.
http://www.khaama.com/unknown-gunmen-kill-three-people-in-zabul-3258
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Protests demanding Maldives ex-President Mohamed Nasheed’s release led up to hundreds of arrests
May 2, 2015
Maldives police arrested an opposition leader and 192 other people Friday after clashes erupted between police and protesters demanding the resignation of the country’s president and the release of a jailed ex-leader.
The Maldives government accused Sheik Imran, leader of the Islamic conservative Adhaalath, or Justice Party, of inciting violence among the protesters with the aim of overthrowing the government.
Imran had been a key organizer of the protest by three opposition parties and his arrest could exacerbate an acrimonious political climate in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
Thousands of people marched in the capital, accusing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom of jailing former President Mohamed Nasheed and others who he sees as political threats.
The opposition activists ran through a cordon of shield-carrying police protecting the military headquarters in Male and clashed with police officers.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/neighbours/maldives-police-arrests-hundreds-after-clashes-rose-in-protests-against-president-yameen-abdul-gayoom/99/
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Pakistan
At Least 12 Militants Killed In Khyber Airstrikes
May 2, 2015
PESHAWAR: At least 12 suspected militants were killed and eight others were injured in airstrikes conducted by military jets in Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley on Saturday.
According to security sources, military jets and helicopters targeted militant hideouts in Tirah Valley's Kokikhel area.
Twelve militants were killed and eight others were reportedly injured in the air sorties which destroyed targeted insurgent hideouts.
Khyber is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous regions governed by tribal laws and lies near the Afghan border. The Tirah Valley in the region is home to militants from the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and an allied group called Lashkar-i-Islam.
The airstrikes come amid the ongoing Khyber-2 operation launched by the army in the tribal region and are part of the military's stepped-up efforts since a militant attack in Dec 2014 killed 150 people, mostly children, at Peshawar's Army Public School.
The Peshawar incident came months after the army launched Zarb-i-Azb, a grand operation in the North Waziristan tribal region, following a Taliban-claimed attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
Since the beginning of Zarb-i-Azb, militants have fled to other tribal regions, including to Khyber and its Tirah Valley that borders Afghanistan. They appear to be moving across the border and seem to operate from both sides of the Durand Line.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1179517/at-least-12-militants-killed-in-khyber-airstrikes
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Action against seminaries in the garb of law to be resisted: Maulana Fazl ur Rahman
May 2, 2015
KARACHI: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazl ur Rahman warned that any attempt to target religious segment of society in the garb of certain laws would face resistance.
Action against seminaries and clerics would not be accepted, he said while addressing a big rally titled “Tahaffuz-i-Harmain Sharifain” held on M.A. Jinnah Road by his party.
He also called for “every possible” support and assistance to Saudi Arabia if its sovereignty came under attack from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
“It’s a so called 20-point agenda of the National Action Plan to fight terror and we believe that the entire objective of the exercise is to target religious segment of the society,” he said.
“The nation cannot be fooled any more. These laws are discriminatory which are against Islamic institutions, our clerics and our seminaries. We don’t accept them,” he said while referring to the 21st Constitutional Amendment.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1179414/action-against-seminaries-in-the-garb-of-law-to-be-resisted-fazl
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Sermon at Faisal Mosque: Imam-e-Kaaba urges unity among Muslims
May 2, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Khalid Al Ghamidi has said that Islam is the religion of peace which teaches us unity and kindness, and dignity of man is based on piety and not on ethnicity.
He expressed these views while delivering a pre-Friday prayers sermon at Faisal Mosque. Thousands of people, mostly from the twin cities, offered Friday prayers led by Imam-e-Kaaba at Faisal Mosque in the city.
Sheikh Khalid Al Ghamidi said that by sinking internal differences the Muslims should remain united and must help each other when in need. He further said that salvation only lies in practising the Sunnah and following the teachings of the Holy Quran. He said that the Muslims are facing different political and religious differences while they have a common holy book, the Quran.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/02-May-2015/sermon-at-faisal-mosque-imam-e-kaaba-urges-unity-among-muslims
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MQM involved in school attacks: arrested worker
May 2, 2015
KARACHI: A terror suspect, Amir Sarpata, who was reportedly arrested in a Rangers raid at Nine Zero, revealed during interrogation that the Muttahida Qaumi MQM was involved in an attack on schools, local media quoted sources as saying on Friday. According to the suspect, senior MQM leaders Haider Abbas Rizvi and Kunwar Naveed chaired a meeting in which they issued directives for terrorising school owners. During the meeting, orders were issued to attack a school with crackers and distribute threatening pamphlets. Amir also revealed that the real intent behind the cracker attack was to divert the operation towards outlawed and banned organisations in Karachi. He revealed that the directives to carry out the attack were issued in January this year.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/02-May-2015/mqm-involved-in-school-attacks-arrested-worker
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Hafiz Saeed for Befitting Reply to Latest Indian Threat
May 02, 2015
Lahore—Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Amir Hafiz Muhammad Saeed Friday strongly con-demned the Indian statements that they would take back the freed areas of Kashmir, saying that India had openly threatened Pakistan and innocent people of Azad Jammu Kashmir and it should be given strong answer.
“After such statements, now there is nothing left for trade and dialogues with India,” said the JD chief in Friday sermon at Jamia Al Qudsia. Hafiz Saeed that they were sending a team of doctors and medicines for earthquake victims in Nepal. He said that their Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation had a vast experience of rescue and relief operations in calamity hit areas.
He remembered that they had sent relief goods in calamity hit areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The JD chief said that despite the lapse of 68 years, India had yet not accepted the very existence of Pakistan and had always remained busy in conspira-cies against the Muslim country.
Full report at:
http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=262964
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Imran cannot create rift between govt, army: Pervaiz
May 2, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervaiz Rashid said on Friday that “conspirators like PTI chief Imran Khan” could not create a rift between the government and armed forces, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was fully aware of his responsibilities.
The minister, in a statement, said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) should know that videos containing his views about army generals were available on social media, “while it was the government’s patriotism” that the same was not telecast. “If Imran Khan does not mend his ways, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would have to expose his real face,” the minister added. The prime minister, he said, knew his national responsibilities, “while the PTI chief was unaware of his”. Pervaiz Rashid said that Pakistan and its national institutions did not need the services of Imran Khan as their spokesman. “The people still remember that Imran used to take out rallies in favour of terrorists in the recent past ignoring unprecedented sacrifices of armed forces. He never spoke a word of appreciation for the personnel who laid their lives for the country,” Pervaiz said, adding that “a person (Imran) who had been acting as a spokesperson of terrorists till yesterday, could not become a spokesperson of Pakistan Army today”.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/02-May-2015/imran-cannot-create-rift-between-govt-army-pervaiz
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Mideast
Ansarullah, Army Kill 13 Al-Qaeda Terrorists in Yemen's Ma'rib
May 2, 2015
The Ansarullah fighters along with army units inflicted major losses on Saudi-backed al-Qaeda terrorists in Yemen's flashpoint Ma'rib province and managed to kill at least 13 militants.
More than 13 al-Qaeda militants were killed in the oil-rich city of Ma'rib on Thursday evening as the popular fighters and the army troops made more headway in their fight against the terrorist group.
Also, dozens of the terrorists fled the battlefield as they failed to stand the intense fire power of the Ansarulallh forces.
Several vehicles and a huge cache of arms were also seized by the Yemeni troops during the clashes.
The Ansarullah fighters and army troops have made major advances in their fight against the al-Qaeda terrorists and forces loyal to fugitive President Mansour Hadi across Yemen in recent weeks.
The clashes between the Ansarullah fighters and the Saudi-backed al-Qaeda terrorists as well as the pro-Hadi militias continue in the Southern parts of the country as Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 37 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940211000212
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Senior Cleric Blasts Saudi-Led Aggression against Yemen
May 2, 2015
Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani deplored the Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen, and called on Arab nations to publicly show their opposition to the Al Saud's aggression.
Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said, "I am addressing the Arab nations; why are you keeping mum? You'll be accomplice to the crimes if you continue to remain silent."
Saudi Arabia launched its bombing campaign against Yemen on March 26 in an attempt to restore power to fugitive President Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940211000444
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Three Saudi Soldiers Killed in Fresh Clashes with Yemeni Forces along Borders
May 2, 2015
Saudi Arabia announced that three of its soldiers were killed in heavy clashes with the Yemeni forces at the border between Yemen and the Persian Gulf kingdom.
This is the first time that the Saudi defense ministry has admitted that an attack by the Yemeni forces has claimed the lives of its soldiers since the Saudi-led airstrikes against Yemen began last month, telesur tv reported.
The Saudi official news agency reported that the Yemeni Ansarullah conducted a major attack on observation posts along the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The latest confrontation brings the number of dead Saudi troops to 14 since the start of the Saudi attack on Yemen.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940211000486
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Turkey's top religious body releases Kurdish translation of the Holy Quran
May 2, 2015
The Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has completed its five-year effort of translating the Quran into Kurdish.
"The presidency is a universal and global institution that seeks to convey Islam's message of mercy to humanity in all languages spoken on earth," the religious body's Director-General for Religious Publications Dr. Yuksel Salman told The Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.
Salman highlighted the universality of Islam, quoting a verse from the Quran which is interpreted as: "And of His signs is ... the diversity of your [mankind's] languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those with knowledge."
He said the religious authority has published 1,150 works ever since it was founded in 1924, adding that the variety of its publications increased after the 1990s.
Salman added that the efforts to translate the Quran into different languages have accelerated in the last decade, with works being published in a total of 26 languages up until now -- mainly in German, English, French and Russian.
Full report at:
http://www.dailysabah.com/religion/2015/05/01/turkeys-top-religious-body-releases-kurdish-translation-of-the-holy-quran
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Erdoğan: HDP, Gülen community in a dirty collusion before polls
May 2, 2015
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for being in “alliance” with the “parallel structure” to manipulate the upcoming parliamentary elections by “terrorizing the country.”
“They are serving similar purposes … one of them is [doing so] through its militants infiltrated in all state institutions, including the judiciary and the police department. One is slaughtering human beings, the other is slaughtering justice. One of them is targeting our people’s stability and future with bullets, the other is targeting it with plots. They will try to manipulate the upcoming elections to reach their goals but they won’t be able to do this,” Erdoğan said in an “address to workers” on the occasion of the Labor Day.
The “parallel structure” of followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen was recently included in Turkey’s top secret security document as a “terrorist organization.”
“This parallel treacherous gang is hand in hand with the separatist organization, looking for new plots. Their media is praising the party under the control of this separatist organization,” Erdoğan said. The “separatist organization” he was referring to was the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which shares a grassroots with the HDP.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/erdogan-hdp-gulen-community-in-a-dirty-collusion-before-polls.aspx?pageID=238&nID=81833&NewsCatID=338
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Europe
Mosque in Cardiff opens doors to non-Muslims
May 2, 2015
A mosque in Cardiff has been opened to non-Muslims in a bid to improve relations within the community.
Mohammed Alamgir Ahmed of Darul Isra Mosque, in Cathays said they were trying to break down barriers by building closer relationships.
“The first part of our religion is to engage with the wider community, Muslim and non-Muslim,” Mohammed Alamgir Ahmed, the mosque’s head of outreach said.
A series of open days were held at the mosque with workshops and an Islam exhibition.
Ahmed said the idea was to help counter negative stereotypes, such as terrorism and Muslims going to Syria.
“There’s been no particular backlash in Cardiff, but there was a spate of Islamophobic attacks – not physical but spitting and slurs,” he added.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/879199/mosque-in-cardiff-opens-doors-to-non-muslims/
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130 Macedonian, Serbian Nationals Fight along with ISIL in Iraq, Syria
May 2, 2015
Media reports disclosed that at least 130 citizens from Macedonia and Serbia are fighting along with the ISIL terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
A Macedonian newspaper ‘Nova Makedonija’ quoted several security officials in the country, including Interior Minister Gordana Jankulovska, as saying that around 100 Macedonian citizens are fighting along with the ISIL terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
The report added that 15 Macedonian fighters have been killed in Iraq and Syria thus far.
"Nearly 30 Serbian citizens have also traveled to Iraq and Syria to fight for the ISIL, out of which ten fighters were killed in battles," the report said.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940211000155
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UK’s Labour Party Woos Muslims: Promises To Ban Islamophobia, Critics Flay Miliband
May 2, 2015
With Britain going to polls in a week’s time on May 7, parties are wooing influential social groups for support. Latest in that practice is Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who has promised outlawing "Islamophobia" if he becomes the next prime minister.
The move has been dubbed by many critics as "utterly frightening" because it has implications on free speech in Britain. Political analysts see it as a renewed effort by Miliband to pander to Muslim voters in what is being described as "the tightest general election for a generation." British Muslims voted overwhelmingly for Labour in the 2010 general election and they have numbers that can tilt the outcome in many constituencies.
Miliband made this statement in an interview with The Muslim News, "We are going to make Islamophobia an aggravated crime. We are going to make sure it is marked on people's records with the police to make sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime. We are going to change the law on this so we make it absolutely clear of our abhorrence of hate crime and Islamophobia. It will be the first time that the police will record Islamophobic attacks right across the country,” Miliband said.
Full report at:
http://au.ibtimes.com/uks-labour-party-woos-muslims-promises-ban-islamophobia-critics-flay-miliband-1445021
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Radicalized In Moscow, Killed In Syria: The Story Of An IS Sniper
May 2, 2015
The photo shows a bearded militant in military fatigues and a black woolen hat. He squints into the sun, smiling shyly as he holds a large sniper rifle. A pick-up truck painted in camouflage colors is in the background. The photo was taken in Syria.
In a second snap, the militant is pictured in front of a children's playground in Iraq. He has taken off his woolen hat and is holding it in his hand instead of the sniper rifle. A giant plastic palm tree and a giraffe ride are in the background, incongruous next to the man's camouflage jacket.
This was the last time the militant was photographed alive. Abu Zarr al-Ingushi, an ethnic Ingush from Russia's Northern Caucasus region who fought with the Islamic State (IS) group's main Chechen-led faction, Katibat al-Aqsa (KAA), was killed in a U.S.-led air strike in March.
"He was my very best friend, Abu Zarr al-Ingushi the Magnificent, a martyr, inshallah [God willing]!" a eulogy accompanying the photos reads.
Full report at:
http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-dead-ingush-militant-moscow-syria/26987151.html
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Extremists worry the Balkans, Europe’s Muslim heartland
May 2, 2015
GORNJA MAOCA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA — One day in early February, the black flag of the Islamic State appeared on the roof of a dilapidated home in Gornja Maoca, an isolated hamlet in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The flag was gone when the police arrived, and whoever hoisted it was never found. But the episode reaffirmed to Bosnian officials and Western intelligence agencies that the settlement, peopled by followers of Saudi Arabia’s puritanical brand of Islam, known as Wahhabism, has ties to the networks that have recruited hundreds of Muslim men from across the Balkans to fight in Syria and Iraq.
“It is fair to say that it (Gorjna Maoca) is perhaps the biggest center of extremism in Bosnia,” said a Western intelligence official. He spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss sensitive information with a journalist. While the region hasn’t seen the kinds of mass terrorist attacks that have shocked France, they wouldn’t be a surprise, the official said: “We’ve seen aspirational plotting.”
Full report at:
http://www.sunherald.com/2015/05/01/6205033_extremists-worry-the-balkans-europes.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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U.N. meeting on Yemen ends without action
May 2, 2015
An emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on Yemen ended Friday with the 15 members unable to agree on a Russian-drafted statement calling for pauses in fighting to allow delivery of aid.
In the latest sign of increasing tensions between Russia and the West, who are already at odds over Syria and Ukraine, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his three-paragraph statement on Yemen was met with a "procrastination reaction."
He criticized Western and Arab members of the U.N. Security Council for paying "lip service" to humanitarian needs in Yemen after the council was unable to agree on a
"I was prepared to drop a reference to (a call for) an immediate ceasefire, just at the very least they need to have periodic humanitarian pauses to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian supplies, they couldn't even agree to that," Churkin said after closed-door consultations on Yemen.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/05/01/U-N-Security-Council-to-hold-emergency-meeting-on-Yemen-.html
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Europe’s first fully-functional Islamic bank opens in Frankfurt
May 2, 2015
Frankfurt: Europe’s first fully-functional Islamic bank will soon open its doors in Frankfurt, offering German Muslims the opportunity to use a bank that complies with sharia law for the first time, a media report said.
Kuveyt Turk Bank is preparing to open its German branch on July 1, making it the first sharia-compliant bank in a European country, according to the World Finance. Kuwait Finance House owns a majority stake in Kuveyt Bank.
The branch, which will operate under the name KT Bank AG, can only be backed by tangible assets and shall refrain from speculative investments, in accordance with Islamic banking rules. Charging interest on loans is also not permitted, although the bank is allowed to purchase and sell assets for a profit.
Additionally, activities that are considered un-Islamic, such as participation in forbidden goods, services and projects, including businesses within the gambling and alcohol industries, are strictly prohibited.
Kuveyt Turk Bank currently has another branch in Mannheim, although it is not fully Full report at:
http://www.ummid.com/news/2015/May/01.06.2015/germany-islami-bank.html#sthash.UMJDlNzF.dpuf
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UK Muslims Campaign for Equality in Elections
May 2, 2015
LONDON – With just one week to the UK General Election taking place on May 7th, political parties are taking efforts to draw in the electorate with slogans, campaigns and more.
Perhaps one of the more iconic symbols reflecting changing times is a photo from the debate on the BBC where Ed Miliband (Labour) was left out of a group hug between Nicola Stugeon (Scottish National Party), Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru) and Natalie Bennet (Green Party).
The presence and voice of women in the political process is nothing new. The UK for example had a female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, for many years. But polls have indicated a disillusionment by the young in general with regards to the political process.
ven worse, gender identities are often sidelined with women (and men) engaging only if they reflect established cultural and institutional norms; many of which neither appeal to women in general, nor to many men either.
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/485325-uk-muslims-campaign-for-equality-in-elections.html
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Southeast Asia
Mass grave believed to be Bangladeshi migrants found in Thailand
May 2, 2015
Thai police have found at least 30 graves believed to belong to migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh at what authorities say is an abandoned trafficking camp in remote jungle in Thailand's south.
Illegal migrants, many of them Rohingya Muslims from western Myanmar and from Bangladesh, brave often perilous journeys by sea to escape religious and ethnic persecution and to seek jobs in Malaysia and Thailand, a regional human trafficking hub.
Four bodies had been exhumed so far, said Police Colonel Anuchon Chamat, deputy commander of Nakorn Si Thammarat Provincial Police. A total of at least 30 graves were found in a "well set up" smuggling camp.
"There are at least 30 graves that have been place marked. We exhumed four bodies today and will continue to exhume bodies," Anuchon told Reuters in a telephone interview.
The graves were the first discovery of its kind in Thailand, said Anuchon.
Two other bodies that had not been buried and were left to rot in the open were also found, he said. One survivor was rescued from the abandoned camp and taken to hospital in nearby Pedang Besar.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2015/may/02/thai-police-find-graves-suspected-trafficking-victims#sthash.eDYjikx5.dpuf
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Putrajaya dragging Malaysia off democratic path with mass arrests, watchdog says
May 2, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 ? Putrajaya’s mass arrest of protesters rallying against the Goods and Services Tax (GST) yesterday should trigger alarm internationally over how the country is veering off the democratic path, global rights group Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch’s Phil Robertson said the arrests are “nothing short of outrageous”, demanding that the federal government “immediately and unconditionally release all the peaceful May 1st anti-GST protesters”.
“This wave of arrests should raise alarm bells among international friends of Malaysia about just how far the powers that be in Putrajaya are dragging the country off the path of democratic, rights-respecting governance,” the deputy director of the watchdog’s Asia division said in a statement today.
Robertson stressed that authorities should not deem peaceful protest as illegal, stating: “Expressing views and holding a peaceful, public march should not be considered a crime in Malaysia or anywhere else in the world.”
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-dragging-malaysia-off-democratic-path-with-mass-arrests-watchdog#sthash.S86e9MJv.dpuf
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Zahid: Malaysians returning from IS exactly why we need Pota
May 2, 2015
PERMATANG PAUH, May 2 ? The Prevention of Terrorism Bill (Pota) will allow Malaysians fighting for Islamic State (IS) militants to be detained immediately upon their return, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.
The home minister announced that additional measures will be taken to safeguard all entry points into Malaysia to prevent those who have gone to join terrorist group IS from re-entering the country and disseminating their knowledge of explosives and terrorism.
“We don't want to mix foreign influences in our country, we don't want Malaysians that supposedly fight for jihad in Syria and Iraq to come back and cause disruption with their knowledge of explosives and their terrorism,
“Thats why laws like Pota was initiated, anti terrorism laws were initiated, it is to protect Malaysians,” he said at the Rela Service Programme at Politeknik Seberang Perai.
He added that Rela and the police will monitor the entrances via land, sea, air and even the smuggling lanes (lorong tikus) to ensure no IS fighters could enter the country.
“I told the police, 'Wait by the doors in the air, wait by the doors on land, wait by the doors in the sea, wait by the doors in the backroads'... This is a democratic country, don't anyone try to change the political system in this country,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/zahid-malaysians-returning-from-is-exactly-why-we-need-pota#sthash.FTjn6o0a.dpuf
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Taman Medan cross protesters must face sedition probe, senior Umno man says
May 2, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — A senior Umno member has insisted that the authorities use the Sedition Act 1948 on the Taman Medan cross protesters as the group had “desecrated” a holy institution.
Former Temerloh MP Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman said the law must not only be applied to a select few but also wielded fairly on all those guilty of threatening national security or public harmony.
“Of course, of course! You are desecrating a religious institution… you have to be fair.
“In fact, now we are concerned as to why these people who attacked others (non-Muslims) are less subject to the law,” he told Malay Mail Online when met after a press conference yesterday.
“It’s got to be executed fairly to include all quarters… you have the law, immediate action must be taken,” he added.
The Malaysian Council of Former Elected Representatives (Mubarak) president also said he fully supports the decision to retain the law to prevent individuals from acts of extremism.
“Some are only bringing up sensitive issues… those who pull down (sic) the cross for example and those who said no to the sound of azan (Muslim call to prayer)… these are all sensitive issues,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/taman-medan-cross-protesters-must-face-sedition-probe-senior-umno-man-says#sthash.TtuZmaAf.dpuf
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Africa
Catholic Archbishop Teaches Christians about Islam
May 2, 2015
Catholic Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald is one of the Catholic Church’s top experts on Islam.
Michael Fitzgerald decided to be a missionary in Africa when he was just twelve years old. Eight years later he studied theology and learnt Arabic in Tunisia.
He devoted his priestly ministry to the promotion of better interfaith understanding between Christians and Muslims and became the top Roman Catholic experts on Islam. He served as the archbishop of Tunisia, a Vatican ambassador in Cairo, and the Vatican’s delegate to the Arab league.
He took on the challenging task of encouraging fellow Christians to learn more about Islam and the Holy Quran at a time when non-Muslims’ perception of Islam has become associated with violence, and many Muslims believe the West has declared war on their religion.
According to the Bishop:”The more you understand a religion, the better it is,” Fitzgerald says, “whether it’s Christians studying Islam or Christians studying Christianity or Muslims studying Christianity. I think this helps in your relations.”
While serving as a priest in Africa, Fitzgerald represented the interests of Christians in states with a Muslim majority but at the same time showcased enough knowledge for Muslims to turn to him for guidance into their own faith occasionally.
After his retirement he began teaching a course on Quran to a small group of undergraduate and graduate students at John Carroll University, a Jesuit institution in Cleveland.
In his classes he frequently highlights the differences between the religions while encouraging respect for the different Muslim approaches.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/879138/catholic-archbishop-teaches-christians-about-islam/
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More 234 Boko Haram hostages rescued
May 2, 2015
Nigeria's military rescued 234 more girls and women from a Boko Haram forest stronghold in the country's northeast, an announcement on social media said Saturday.
It brings the number of females declared rescued this week to more than 677.
Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of the Sambisa Forest on Thursday," said a message on the official Twitter account of the Nigerian Defence Headquarters posted early Saturday.
It comes as the army deployed ground troops following weeks of punishing air raids on the Sambisa Forest.
President Goodluck Jonathan, whose term ends this month, said Thursday that the forest is the last holdout of the Islamic militants and he pledged to "hand over a Nigeria completely free of terrorist strongholds."
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/2015/may/02/more-234-boko-haram-hostages-rescued#sthash.b9b3RB74.dpuf
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India
India's first halal cosmetics firm set to expand outlets
May 2, 2015
Teli is not a Muslim, but the smart, suave, CEO of a company whose Iba product - India's first halal-certified cosmetic brand - is more than ready with her answers. Thanks to this, Iba's consumer base is growing steadily, and not just among the Muslim community
Mauli Teli has people coming up to her often and asking what 'halal' has to do with cosmetics. "Are such cosmetics only for Muslims?" they sometimes enquire.
Teli is not a Muslim, but the smart, suave, CEO of a company whose Iba product - India's first halal-certified cosmetic brand - is more than ready with her answers. Thanks to this, Iba's consumer base is growing steadily, and not just among the Muslim community.
"Halal has a deep meaning. It means it's pure, safe, and healthy. What it means in terms of our cosmetics range is that our products are organic, free of animal fat and animal-derived products like keratin, collagen and gelatine, and alcohol free. They are free of any harsh chemicals and animal cruelty. Therefore they are good for everyone," Mauli explained in an telephonic interview with IANS.
Full report at:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/475193/indias-first-halal-cosmetics-firm.html
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J&K Govt Will Take Action against Waving Of Pakistani Flags: Union Minister
May 2, 2015
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday condemned the waving of Pakistani flags at Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s rally and said he was confident that the Mufti Mohammad Sayeed government would rise to the occasion and take steps to ensure such incidents do not recur.
“We (BJP and Central government) expect that he (Chief Minister) will live up to the expectations of people and the nation (by ensuring swift action in such incidents),” Mr. Singh, whose party BJP is part of the ruling coalition government in the state, said.
“It (waving of Pakistani flags) is condemnable. The government has reiterated time and again that there is no place for Pakistani flags being hoisted, but at the same time, I would hasten to add that the government in the state is capable of handling any situation like this and we expect that they would rise to the occasion,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jk-govt-will-take-action-against-waving-of-pakistani-flags-jitendra-singh/article7164624.ece
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Muslims who converted to Hinduism, re-convert
MOHAMMAD ALI
May 2, 2015
A group of Muslims in Agra, who converted to Hinduism on Christmas, last year became Muslim again on Friday.
About 17 members of ‘Nat’ community, an extremely backward community in Mahuar Lathiya village in Achnera block, who became Muslim, alleged that a Hindutva group leader had pressured them to become Hindu and had promised them a piece of land.
All those who reconverted belong to the same family and used to live in a settlement of fellow ‘Nat’ community on a public land.
Fifty-year-old Rahmat, the eldest of the group, told the media that Ali Mohammad had pressured the rest of the family members after the Hindutva leader had allegedly promised them a piece of land. After they had become Hindu last year, they faced boycott by their fellow community members.
They didn’t get invitation for marriages and other community functions of the closely knit Nat community in the village.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/muslims-who-converted-to-hinduism-reconvert/article7162577.ece
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Centre not to hold talks with Kashmir separatists
May 2, 2015
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government has no plans to engage with the Kashmiri separatists, a senior party source told The Hindu.
The promise of such a process in the common agenda between the BJP and the Peoples Democratic Party, its partner in the Jammu and Kashmir coalition, is for the Chief Minister to implement at the State level, he said. “The Union government will not engage with the separatists. The Chief Minister has to weigh the options and move forward at the State level, if he wants to,” the leader, who did not want to be identified, said.
The ‘Agenda for Alliance,’ the common programme of the coalition, had promised to engage with separatist leaders. This was seen as a rethink in the Modi government’s position; it had earlier ruled out any role for separatists in its Kashmir policy.
The agenda cited the Vajpayee government initiating a dialogue process with all political groups, including the Hurriyat Conference.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-not-to-hold-talks-with-kashmir-separatists/article7162575.ece
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Set up separate prisons for terrorists: Home Ministry
Aman Sharma,ET Bureau | May 2, 2015
NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has asked all states to set up new secure prisons outside cities for exclusively housing terrorists and said if this is not feasible, movement of high-risk prisoners should be restricted inside jails to keep them from indoctrinating other prisoners.
Such measures need "serious consideration for being implemented on priority" based on the current security challenges faced by the jail administrations of various states, joint secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Kumar Alok, has said in a letter to the principal secretaries of all states on April 28. This could be the first move in India to segregate terrorists and place them outside city limits.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Set-up-separate-prisons-for-terrorists-Home-Min/articleshow/47128643.cms
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North America
US report assails Pakistan over state of ‘religious freedom’
May 2, 2015
WASHINGTON: Violent attacks on religious minorities in India have increased after the Modi government came to power, according to a US congressional report released on Friday.
The latest US Commission on International Religious Freedom report also noted that “Pakistan represents one of the worst situations in the world for religious freedom”.
The United States, however, has not designated Pakistan as a “country of particular concern”, a designation that can bring economic sanctions.
The commission has again recommended that Pakistan be designated a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The commission has been making this recommendation every year since 2002.
India: The report says that “since the [last year’s] election, religious minority communities have been subject to derogatory comments by politicians linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and numerous violent attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups, such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)”.
It noted that in December, Hindu groups announced plans to forcibly “reconvert” at least 4,000 Christian families and 1,000 Muslim families to Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh as part of a so-called ‘ghar wapsi’ (homecoming) programme.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1179446/us-report-assails-pakistan-over-state-of-religious-freedom
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Group behind anti-jihad ads challenges MTA ban
May 2, 2015
The group that wants to run an anti-Muslim ad on city buses filed a letter in Manhattan federal court on Thursday charging that their ad is a public service and the MTA’s new policy violates its constitutional rights.
Judge John Koeltl ruled earlier this month that the MTA had to run an ad by The American Freedom Defense Initiative that read “Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah,” as well as “That’s His Jihad. What’s yours?”
On Wednesday, the MTA banned all political, religious, and opinion ads from the transit system following a fierce debate among officials over the First Amendment.
It still allows public service announcements, as well as commercial and governmental ads.
The MTA had filed a letter in court last Friday that said their proposed ad policy had rendered the AFDI’s claims “moot.”
The AFDI fired back in a letter on Thursday that “its public service advertisement is an educational message,” and that the MTA’s claims were “legally deficient, if not frivolous.”
Modal Trigger
It then urged the judge to require the MTA to show the controversial ad immediately.
It’s new policy prohibits any ads that advocate a political, religious, moral, or social message.
It also bans any ads that encourage unsafe behavior in the transit system.
The MTA said Thursday it was reviewing the letter.
http://nypost.com/2015/04/30/group-behind-anti-muslim-ads-challenges-mta-ban/
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U.S. religious freedom commission calls for criminal prosecution of Islamic State
May 2, 2015
A U.S. government commission is calling for international prosecution of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, over the militant group's attacks on Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria.
The request is a first for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in its 2015 report on the state of religious freedom around the world.
But the independent commission's chairman sees some areas of optimism despite the extreme strains on world religious freedom from "non-state actors" such as ISIS and the persecution of Christians and others in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia.
"In some senses, I'm more optimistic about U.S. policy" because a new State Department ambassador covering the area has a strong track record on religious liberty issues, said Katrina Lantos Swett, a human rights activist who chairs USCIRF.
Lantos Swett also said positive signs could be found in the recent peaceful transition between elected governments in Nigeria, positive actions by the new government of Sri Lanka in the area of religious freedom and the interest of other governments and parliaments worldwide in the subject.
Full report at:
http://national.deseretnews.com/article/4284/US-religious-freedom-commission-calls-for-criminal-prosecution-of-Islamic-State.html#VRpoKxDSGBCmoiky.99
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Islamic State sympathizers use Baltimore riots to recruit potential ‘U.S. rebels’
May 2, 2015
Islamic State sympathizers are attempting to recruit Baltimore rioters by painting the terror group as a diversity haven for oppressed youths.
Terror sympathizers have branded the Baltimore rioters “rebels” and proclaimed that unlike the United States, their Islamic “caliphate” sees “no difference between black and white,” Foreign Policy first reported.
Near-nightly protests have taken place in Baltimore since the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody. Hundreds of arrests were made and more than a dozen police officers injured after the protests took a violent turn Monday night.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/29/islamic-state-sympathizers-use-baltimore-riots-to-/
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Australia
Afghan Mosque leader condemns former Alice Springs doctor in joining I S
May 2, 2015
THE leader of Central Australia’s Afghan Mosque has condemned the actions of a former Alice Springs Hospital doctor in joining Islamic State.
Imam Abdul Aziz said the University of Adelaide-trained doctor Tareq Kamleh, who did not attend the mosque during his stay in Central Australia in 2012, had “gone into wrong hands”.
Dr Kamleh, who appeared in a propaganda video asking other doctors to come and join the jihad against the west, spent several months working in Alice Springs.
While he wasn’t leader of the mosque at the time, Mr Aziz said he contacted both the former mosque leader and the president of the Alice Springs Islamic Society, who both confirmed Dr Kamleh was not known to them.
“We would say Dr Tareq Kamleh has gone into wrong hands and has ruined his life,” Mr Aziz said.
The Imam admonished the rogue Islamic State and said he regularly spoke to the local Muslim community at weekly prayer services against supporting terrorists groups.
“Islam is a religion of peace and harmony,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/afghan-mosque-leader-imam-abdul-aziz-condemns-actions-of-former-alice-springs-doctor-tareq-kamleh-has-joined-islamic-state/story-fnk1w5xx-1227329767727
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12:45 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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