Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi calls for jihad against Switzerland, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi calls for jihad against Switzerland

TRIPOLI: Libya's leader called for a jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland on Thurday because of its ban on mosque minarets - escalating a long-running diplomatic feud between the two countries.

Moammar Gadhafi also urged Muslims everywhere to boycott Swiss products and to bar Swiss planes and ships from the airports or seaports of Muslim nations.

“Those who destroy God's mosques deserve to be attacked through jihad, and if Switzerland was on our borders, we would fight it,” Gadhafi was quoted by Libya's official news agency JANA as saying. He spoke before a gathering marking the birthday of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel declined to comment on Gadhafi's call for a holy war against the neutral Alpine republic.

In November, Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets, in a controversial decision that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population.

Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic and business groups warned that the decision could damage relations with Muslim nations and wealthy Islamic investors who bank, travel and shop there.

Any Muslims who deal with Switzerland are “apostates,” Gadhafi added.

Muslims comprise about 6 percent of Switzerland's 7.5 million people. Many are refugees from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and about one in 10 actively practices the religion, the government says.

Anxieties about growing Muslim minorities have rippled across Europe in recent years, leading to legal changes in some countries. France has banned headscarves in schools and is considering legislation to ban head-to-toe coverings for women. Some German states have introduced bans on head scarves for Muslim women teaching in public schools.

http://newageislam.com/libyan-leader-moammar-gadhafi-calls-for-jihad-against-switzerland/islamic-world-news/d/2511

THE Question Of Zardari Being A Good Muslim Will Have To Be Settled, One Way Or Another, Islam and Politics, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Politics

THE Question Of Zardari Being A Good Muslim Will Have To Be Settled, One Way Or Another

By Najam Sethi

THE CONFLICT between the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the government of President Asif Zardari is gathering momentum. Skirmishes have broken out on several fronts. And a make or break showdown is round the corner, unless the SC steps back — which may be desirable — or Mr Zardari throws in the towel — which is unlikely.

Maulvi Iqbal Haider, a maverick lawyer whose reputation as a puppeton- strings precedes him, has filed a petition with the Chief Election Commissioner ( CEC) asking him to reexamine President Asif Zardari’s qualifications to be a member of parliament in light of the National Reconciliation Ordinance ( NRO) judgment. The petition asks the CEC to investigate whether Mr Zardari was ever convicted under any circumstances at home or abroad or fulfils the constitutional requirement of being of sound mind or a good Muslim. Should Mr Zardari be guilty of either sin, he can be disqualified from being a member of parliament and his nomination as president of Pakistan can be held to be null and void.

The facts are slightly murky. The National Accountability Bureau ( NAB), which filed the cases of corruption against Mr Zardari during the regimes of Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf, says he was never convicted, in absentia or otherwise. The President’s spokesman insists likewise. But a section of the media and the bar reports otherwise. So we shall have to wait for the CEC to determine the facts of a case — avoiding 5 per cent import duty on an imported BMW car — that goes back to 2005. If the fact is that he was never convicted, he will be off the hook on this front.

http://newageislam.com/the-question-of-zardari-being-a-good-muslim-will-have-to-be-settled,-one-way-or-another/islam-and-politics/d/2432

France to woo Islamic finance while it debates ban on burqa, Islamic World News, NewAgeIslam.com

Islamic World News

France to woo Islamic finance while it debates ban on burqa

PARIS - AS FRANCE debates whether to ban the burqa, the government is leading a drive to attract billions in investment from Muslim countries by turning Paris into the European capital of Islamic finance.

The French parliament this month has approved changes to legislation to allow Islamic 'sukuk' bonds to be issued and the Qatar Islamic Bank has applied to be the first such bank to open in France.

Home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority, France is hoping to unseat London as the European hub for Islamic banking, offering products that comply with Sharia law and meet the needs of big investors mostly from Gulf countries.

But the drive is raising hackles, with some opposition politicians accusing the government of undermining France's much prized secularism to accommodate wealthy interests.

'When rich Muslims are concerned, we welcome them. But when they are poor, we put them on planes and deport them. This is all very upsetting,' said Socialist deputy Henri Emmanuelli.

After failing to garner enough votes to derail the bill, the Socialist opposition is challenging the legality of the new legislation on Islamic finance before the Constitutional Council.

'We must not allow principles of Sharia law, or the ethics of the Koran to be introduced into French law,' said Mr Emmanuelli.

Under Syariah law, making money from money such as charging interest is not permitted and investment in companies involved in alcohol, gambling and tobacco is strictly off limits.

http://newageislam.com/france-to-woo-islamic-finance-while-it-debates-ban-on-burqa/islamic-world-news/d/1811

Introspection! No, No, No, That’s Not For Us; We Are Muslims!!!, Current affairs, NewAgeIslam.com

Current affairs

Introspection! No, No, No, That’s Not For Us; We Are Muslims!!! Intelligence agencies should get their heads examined, the whole country should introspect!

By Zafar Agha

4 0ct 2008

Since 1991, after the Mandal revolution, the regional parties have played the politics of caste so exquisitely that it has uprooted the very basis of high-caste domination. Regional leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav, Laloo yadav, Mayavati, Karunanidhi and Cahndra Babu Naidu have mastered the art of winning state elections and running state governments for years.

But you don’t need to be terrified in the present situation. Of course it is a great testing time for Muslims. But you can show the world and your enemies the power of your constitutional right in this way; you are not inclined towards terrorism. The only solution is that you should vote united against the Sangh Parivar and communal forces. If you defeat them in the coming state and general elections, then they will not be able to rise again for quite some time. You have to defeat the communal minded leaders like Patil. With this aim in mind you should vote for the backward and Dalit parties.

http://newageislam.com/introspection!-no,-no,-no,-that%E2%80%99s-not-for-us;-we-are-muslims!!!-intelligence-agencies-should-get-their-heads-examined,-the-whole-country-should-introspect!/current-affairs/d/854

Sultan Shahin responds to Dr Mookhi Amir Ali's comments on the retrieval of Babri land and the clamour “Masjid Wahin banayenge”, Interfaith Dialogue

Interfaith Dialogue

Sultan Shahin responds to Dr Mookhi Amir Ali's comments on the retrieval of Babri land and the clamour “Masjid Wahin banayenge”

Now let us take another example. Suppose we feel that while our constitution is a lovely document, gives us all our rights, without any discrimination of any kind, the guardians of that constitution are not capable of implementing it fully either because they are not committed enough or even strong enough, in the face of a total lack of faith, indeed antagonism to that constitution among millions of people in the country who would prefer either an Islamic or a Hindu Raj. The job of the votaries of this constitution would be to try and persuade both the votaries of Islamic Khilafat and Hindu Raj to the virtues of a secular, multi-cultural Indian constitution, the only one that will clearly work in India. While we are engaged in this task, would it suit us that the fact of this constitutional system’s weaknesses – that the implementing authorities are not committed or strong enough – is brought out, put on record and debated. Would that not merely weaken the constitutional system further? If we believe that this constitutional system suits us most and that we desperately need it to be implemented in all sincerity, then does it make sense for us to weaken it further, while we are engaged in the task of persuading our fellow-citizens that this is the best system for our country?

http://newageislam.com/sultan-shahin-responds-to-dr-mookhi-amir-ali-s-comments-on-the-retrieval-of-babri-land-and-the-clamour-%E2%80%9Cmasjid-wahin-banayenge%E2%80%9D--/interfaith-dialogue/d/891

Islam: Secularists raise tension as Turkish court prepares landmark judgment on ruling AKP, Islam and Politics, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Politics

Islam: Secularists raise tension as Turkish court prepares landmark judgment on ruling AKP

Robert Tait in Ankara

The Guardian,

Monday July 28, 2008

"The basis of the case against the AKP is intolerance," he said. "A sharia system is, by its nature, intolerant of other thoughts, beliefs and practices. Just like fascism in Italy or nazism in Germany, sharia is a sensitive issue in Turkey. With a small spark it can turn into a social movement. We had a sharia-based system during Ottoman times and our society still has traces of it. We don't want to go back to that."

The comments came as the constitutional court prepares to open hearings today that could result in the AKP's dissolution. The court's 11 judges will consider an application by the chief prosecutor, Aburrahman Yalcinkaya - Eminagaoglu's immediate boss at the supreme court of appeals - to close the party and ban 71 senior members, including the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the president Abdullah Gul, from party politics for anti-secularism.

http://newageislam.com/islam--secularists-raise-tension-as-turkish-court-prepares-landmark-judgment-on-ruling-akp/islam-and-politics/d/344

Ahmadiya issue: Liberty abridged, Islam and Human Rights, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and Human Rights

Ahmadiya issue: Liberty abridged

Ahmadiyas are Indians, too

By The Pioneer Edit Desk

This would have held more water had it not been that several fundamentalist Muslim organisations, which are not particularly representative but claim to be so, had threatened to besiege the place if the Ahmadiyas were allowed to hold the proposed meeting. Clearly the Congress Government in the State was eager to oblige these organisations and thus appease mullahs as part of the party's minority appeasement policy that subverts India's secular polity and divides its society along communal lines. This abject capitulation is in keeping with the manner in which the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre has been pandering to Muslim fanatics under the cover of 'secular' politics. Such capitulation flies in the face of constitutional guarantees and is unacceptable.

http://newageislam.com/ahmadiya-issue--liberty-abridged-/islam-and-human-rights/d/112