Global News Post: Muslim Issues

After Sectarian Violence in Myanmar: Rohingyas Heading to Malaysia

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Maher Sattar/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mohammad
Johar wants to leave for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BANGKOK</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-IRIN) -- Thousands of Rohingya -
whether currently in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
or <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region> - may take to
the high seas and head to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>
after last month’s deadly sectarian violence in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>’s
western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, activists warn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
risk factor is certainly there,” Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an
advocacy organization for the Rohingya, told IRIN. “Many simply feel they have
no other choice. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has closed its borders so there is no other escape.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“More
people are getting on boats to get to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>,”
Phil Robertson, the deputy director of the <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>
Division of Human Rights Watch, said. “This year might be one of the largest
sailing seasons [of Rohingya refugees going to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region> from the two countries].”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 24,000 Rohingya refugees and
asylum seekers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Close
to 110,000 mostly Rohingya residents are displaced in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>
following inter-communal violence between Muslim Rohingya and ethnic (mainly
Buddhist) Rakhine residents, and need humanitarian assistance, the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Nov 5. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
Oct 21, more than 35,000 people were displaced across eight Rakhine townships
(Kyaukpyu, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ramree and Rathedaung)
after a wave of inter-communal violence resulted in 89 deaths and the
destruction of more than 5,000 homes and buildings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
earlier violence in June, dozens were killed and some 75,000 Rohingyas were
displaced following the alleged rape of a Rakhine woman by a group of Muslim
men in May. Most of the displaced are staying in nine overcrowded camps in
Sittwe, the capital of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite
the presence of thousands of soldiers and police, security across Rakhine
remains tense, while access for aid workers is increasingly proving
problematic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">OCHA
says more displacements are likely. "The situation is still very, very
volatile, it's very tense. The government is doing its very best to keep the
situation under control, but it's still very fragile,” said Jens Laerke, an
OCHA spokesman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangladesh
responded to the June violence by enforcing its “closed door” policy more
strictly, leaving the Rohingyas in Rakhine State - described by the UN as one
of the most persecuted minorities in the world - in an even tighter spot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangladesh</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is already home to more than 200,000,
mostly undocumented Rohingya refugees, and <st1:place w:st="on">Dhaka</st1:place>
insists it is in no position to accept any more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thousands
could well seek shelter in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>,
an escape that requires undertaking a dangerous voyage across the Indian Ocean
often in rickety, and overcrowded boats ill-equipped to make the journey, said
Maung Kyaw Nu, president of the Burmese Rohingya Association in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Thailand</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Whether
they are able to get to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is another issue,” he said. Many of those getting on the boats are desperate
enough to shell out more than US$1,500 for the passage, he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many
think the risk is worth it. Mohammad Johar, an undocumented Rohingya in the
town of <st1:city w:st="on">Teknaf</st1:city> in southeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region> bordering <st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>, is already plotting his escape
after saving up money for almost a year, and motivated by his longstanding fear
of life back in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Many
things can go wrong. The boat’s motor can stop working. The authorities can try
to stop you, since what we’re doing is illegal,” the 23-year-old said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Groups
of 20-30 passengers are typically picked up in the dead of night from various
areas in <st1:city w:st="on">Chittagong</st1:city>, Cox’s Bazaar, and Teknaf in
southeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
he explained, from where they are transferred to larger boats at sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
Oct 31, one such boat on its way to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region> reportedly sank. Some 130
Rohingyas on board are believed to have drowned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I
have learned that last year perhaps as many as 50 percent of all boat refugees
died,” said Maung Kyaw Nu. -- NNN-IRIN (www.irinnews.org)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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After Sectarian Violence in Myanmar: Rohingyas Heading to Malaysia

Photo: Maher Sattar/IRIN Mohammad Johar wants to leave for Malaysia soon BANGKOK (NNN-IRIN) -- Thousands of Rohingya -...

Philippines Muslim Rebel Chief Pursuing Peace after Decades of War

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By
Simone Orendain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
October, the leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group signed a
preliminary peace accord with the government, aimed at ending decades of war
that have killed some 120,000 people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">When
Murad Ebrahim was 21, he quit school and joined Muslim rebels fighting against
the government.  His older brother, then
his guardian, was not happy with the decision, Murad tells VOA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I
feel the necessity at that time, that maybe what came into mind is schooling
can wait, but this situation cannot wait," he said. "So I had to
decide on that, a very hard decision.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite
only being months away from completing a civil engineering degree, Murad took
up arms in 1969, motivated by the reported killing of more than a dozen Muslim
military recruits by Christian officers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He
joined the Moro National Liberation Front, which battled the military in the
south and was accused of carrying out terrorist attacks and assassinations as
part of its separatist campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Speaking
in the boardroom of the rebels’ committee office in <st1:place w:st="on">Mindanao</st1:place>,
the 64-year-old says in a few years he rose up the ranks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I
was designated as zone commander.  This
zone commander embraces part of Maguindanao and Lanao and after one year I
became commander of the entire Cotabato region," explained Murad.
"So, under the MNLF I was the overall military commander.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
1977, Murad’s group split from the MNLF and later formed the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, which would become the country’s biggest rebel group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Using
experience he gained while fighting alongside Osama bin Laden in the Afghan war
with the <st1:place w:st="on">Soviet Union</st1:place> in the 1980’s, Murad
shaped the MILF into a more disciplined force, with modern, powerful weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“He
was known to be a very good military tactician. 
That earned him a lot of respect from many Bangsamoro rebels,” said
Rommel Banlaoi, head of research with the Philippine Institute on Peace
Violence and Terror.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">During
the 1990s and 2000s, Murad’s forces fought fierce battles against the
Philippine military and were also accused of terrorist attacks including deadly
bombings of shopping malls and airports.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
group publicly disavowed terrorism and were never listed by the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
as a terrorist group. But they allowed terror groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah
to operate bases and training camps in territory they controlled in <st1:place w:st="on">Mindanao</st1:place>.  They are
also accused of links to Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group active in the southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Philippines</st1:place></st1:country-region>
notorious for bombings and kidnappings. Murad denies there are any ties.  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Steven
Rood of the Asia Foundation says Murad still needs to demonstrate a wiliness to
cooperate with government counterterrorism efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“By
now there are basically no terrorists being harbored in mainline MILF
camps," said Rood. "They’ve all been shooed away.  But the government’s point would be, ‘If
they’ve been shooed away, you knew where they were and you could have helped us
get them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Although
the <st1:place w:st="on">Mindanao</st1:place> rebel groups and the government
have decades of failed peace talks, there is hope that the latest agreement may
succeed because of Murad’s influence and skill as a negotiator with other
insurgent groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“He
was projected as a peace champion now with the framework agreement signed… I
think he has the best opportunity to lead not only the transition of the MILF
but also the Bangsamoro,” said Rodolfo Mendoza, a retired police general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangsamoro,
which means Muslim nation, is a term coined by the rebels to describe
themselves and all natives of the lands they claim as their own. Murad says the
goal has always been the authority to rule themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“But
even [when] we go for armed struggle, at the very start we are already open for
negotiation because we believe this is a political problem.  And, the solution is still political,” said
Murad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
recently signed peace “framework” opens the door to such a solution by allowing
the Bangsamoro to generate their own revenues, exploit natural resources and
form a ministerial government. Murad says he hopes the two sides can finalize
the deal by 2016. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Philippines Muslim Rebel Chief Pursuing Peace after Decades of War

By Simone Orendain In October, the leader of the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group signed a preliminary peace accord wi...

Aung San Suu Kyi Refuses to Take Sides in Burma Ethnic Violence

Aung San Suu Kyi Refuses to Take Sides in Burma Ethnic Violence

Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has urged tolerance in response to a wave of ethnic violence in the west of the country, but ...

At Least 56 Dead in New Ethnic Violence in Myanmar

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-IRNA) -- At least 56 people have been
killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic
violence in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country></st1:place>,
a government official said on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
25 men and 31 women were reported dead in four Rakhine state townships in
violence between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities that
re-erupted on Sunday, PTI reported quoting local government spokesman Win
Myaing as saying in Kyauktaw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He
said some 1,900 homes had been burned down in fresh conflict, while 60 men and
four women were injured. In June, ethnic violence in the state left at least 90
people dead and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. Tens of thousands of people
remain in refugee camps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Curfews
have been in place in some areas since June, and been extended to others due to
the recent violence. --NNN-IRNA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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At Least 56 Dead in New Ethnic Violence in Myanmar

NEW DELHI (NNN-IRNA) -- At least 56 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence...

Anti-U.S. Protests Continue in Muslim World over Film

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe frameborder="0" height="429" scrolling="no" src="http://www.voanews.com/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&id=1508510&w=640&h=429&skin=embeded" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">BEIJING (NNN-Xinhua) -- A new wave of protests and assaults against U.S. diplomatic missions erupted in the Muslim world after Friday prayers, when people continued to vent their anger over an American film that was deemed an insult to Prophet Mohammed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In central Cairo, clashes continued around the U.S. embassy with hundreds of protesters hurling stones to the police. The Health Ministry said 27 people were injured, bringing the toll to 251 since protests erupted Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The police have arrested 94 protesters and used teargas to disperse those surrounding the embassy, according to state TV.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several Coptic movements also participated in the protests in central Cairo's Tahrir Square, carrying banners asking for criminalizing the acts of offending religions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Protests also spread to the U.S. consulate in Alexandria and the headquarters of international peacekeeping force in north Sinai.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At least four peacekeepers were injured when gunmen attacked the headquarters of the international peacekeeping force, a peacekeeping official told Xinhua.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Peacekeepers and militant protesters exchanged fire and protesters set one car and the camp's monitoring tower ablaze.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Tunis, at least three protesters were killed in clashes, after a massive demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in the country, the official TAP news agency said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, TAP said some 20 people were injured in the clashes between security forces and protesters.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some protesters managed to climb over a wall into the embassy and set a lot of cars ablaze. Heavy smoke was seen above the embassy, and security forces were seen firing rubber bullets and using teargas to disperse the crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene to rescue the injured and put out the fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of the protesters, who gathered after the Friday prayers, told Xinhua that they want to force the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia to come out and demand the release of the demonstrators who were arrested earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, local witnesses said another group of angry youngsters also set ablaze an American school which is close to the U.S. embassy in Tunis, causing heavy property damage.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli, at least one person was killed and 25 others injured in clashes between angry youngsters and security forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Protesters in front of a KFC restaurant hurled stones at security forces and set the restaurant on fire, the National News Agency reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A number of worshipers also gathered in Tripoli after Friday prayers, waving black flags and calling to expel the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Similar rallies were also held in Lebanon's cities of Taalabaya and Zahle following the prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, at least three people were killed as protesters tried to gain access to the U.S. embassy there.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The three dead were reportedly all protesters who were hit by a police vehicle as they attempted to force their way into the U.S. embassy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Witnesses said nearly 10,000 protesters were heading to the U.S. embassy, which had already been heavily guarded by Sudanese troops and police. Some U.S. Marine soldiers were also seen protecting the embassy building.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On Friday, protests also hit Iran, Jordan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to "stand fast" against the recent wave of violence targeting American diplomatic missions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Addressing a home-coming ceremony held at the Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C. for the remains of four Americans killed on Tuesday night in the Libyan city of Benghazi, the solemn-faced president said: "Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. We will bring to justice those who took them from us."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We will stand fast against the violence on our diplomatic missions," he added, pledging to "continue to do everything in our power" to protect Americans serving overseas. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Anti-U.S. Protests Continue in Muslim World over Film

BEIJING (NNN-Xinhua) -- A new wave of protests and assaults against U.S. diplomatic missions erupted in the Muslim world after Friday pr...

Indian Muslims Protest against Movie at U.S. Consulate

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">NEW DELHI, (NNN-Xinhua) -- Muslim protesters pelted stones and footwear at the U.S. consulate in Chennai, southern India, on Friday to protest a desecrating short movie on Prophet Mohammed released recently in the U.S. by a Jewish man, said local media.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Window panes of the inquiry counter and a police booth near the entrance of the consulate were damaged. Police resorted to lathi- charge to disperse the protesters. Twenty-five people suffered minor injuries, said local daily Times of India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Protests were also held in Indian-controlled Kashmir against the movie, which triggered violent attacks upon U.S. missions in the Middle East resulting in the death of U.S. ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">India is likely to ban on Internet the movie and has heightened security at U.S. missions in the country including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian Muslims Protest against Movie at U.S. Consulate

NEW DELHI, (NNN-Xinhua) -- Muslim protesters pelted stones and footwear at the U.S. consulate in Chennai, southern India, on Friday to pr...

INDIA: Army Only for Specific Operations in Violence-Stricken Assam

INDIA: Army Only for Specific Operations in Violence-Stricken Assam

GUWAHATI (ASSAM, INDIA) (NNN-PTI) -- Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday said the Indian army will be used in the state only for...

INDIA: Former Minister among 32 Convicted in Gujarat Riots

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AHMEDABAD (NNN-AGENCIES) -- A special court in Ahmedabad on Wednesday convicted 32 people, including a former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, in the Naroda Patia case, the biggest massacre of the post-Godhra riots. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The cases were filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including of murder and conspiracy. The maximum punishment is death, said a lawyer. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The court acquitted 29 people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On February 28, 2002, 97 persons were killed in Naroda. As many as 94 bodies were found, of which 84 were identified. Three people are still missing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The court had earlier kept the judgment for pronouncement on June 30, but was deferred till August 29. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The city crime branch nabbed 47 people and filed four charge sheets, but after the Supreme Court transferred the investigation to the special investigation team (SIT), 24 other accused were arrested including Kodnani. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In all, eight charge sheets were filed in this case. The trial began in 2009 and lasted for more than two years. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Special prosecutors Akhil Desai and Gaurang Vyas examined 327 witnesses and in all more than 500 documentary evidences were produced before the court. Those who deposed before the court were 173 relatives of victims who were eyewitnesses, 41 panch witnesses, 17 officials, 42 doctors, 44 cops, one forensic experts and nine others. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"More than 90 people lost their lives, mostly children and ladies, all of them were defenceless," public prosecutor Akhil Desai said, adding that he would push for the death penalty when sentences are handed down on Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"If some of the accused are lucky enough to escape the death penalty, I will ask for life imprisonment, not for 14 years but for the rest of their lives," he told reporters. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kodnani, who served as child and human development minister under Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi until her arrest in 2009, broke down in tears as the guilty verdict was pronounced, as did relatives waiting outside the court. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The violence was triggered by the deaths of nearly 60 Hindu pilgrims in a February 2002 train fire that was initially blamed on a mob of Muslims. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hindus hungry for revenge rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods across Gujarat in an orgy of violence that marked some of India's worst religious riots since independence from Britain in 1947. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Human rights groups say more than 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, were hacked, beaten or burned to death, while government figures put the death toll at about 1,000. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Last year, a court in Gujarat found 31 Muslims guilty of murder and conspiracy charges for causing the train fire, but a national enquiry in 2005 concluded that the blaze was an accident and cast doubt on much of the police evidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Wednesday's verdicts came after final arguments in April following a trial that saw 327 witnesses called to give evidence. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More than 100 others have been convicted for killing Muslims during the riots. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 2008, the Supreme Court ordered the re-investigation of nine of the most sensitive incidents during the riots, including the initial train fire and the violence in Naroda Patiya. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bajrangi, in an interview taped by news magazine Tehelka, confessed to helping orchestrate the killing in Naroda Patiya where homes were set on fire and some Muslims were set ablaze while hiding in a pit. -- NNN-AGENCIES<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Former Minister among 32 Convicted in Gujarat Riots

AHMEDABAD (NNN-AGENCIES) -- A special court in Ahmedabad on Wednesday convicted 32 people, including a former BJP minister Maya Kodnani an...

INDIA: Displaced Persons in Assam Expected to Return to their Villages in Next Few Days: Home Minister

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-F5i_DiKZFAYJhxZhbgO88jnq19NcS3RlcxyQmPpOJhLfSGCxFHbXBeNa7FpjqACg-gJckGFoSLtK5AgfTr25YHnl9FYejz0_kEgw_jmaXnEuMBk1J414WdLvl8mB4vpuk32xcOLKm4/s1600/l2012073141549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-F5i_DiKZFAYJhxZhbgO88jnq19NcS3RlcxyQmPpOJhLfSGCxFHbXBeNa7FpjqACg-gJckGFoSLtK5AgfTr25YHnl9FYejz0_kEgw_jmaXnEuMBk1J414WdLvl8mB4vpuk32xcOLKm4/s640/l2012073141549.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram addressing a press conference after visiting Kokrajhar during his visit to Assam on July 30, 2012. The Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi is also seen. Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (PIB) --- Ministry of Home Affairs has sent 65 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces to Assam to restore normalcy in the State.  Presenting the Ministry’s Report Card for the month of July in New Delhi today, the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that plans have been drawn up to establish police pickets in sensitive villages in Assam.  He further said that the displaced persons are expected to return to their villages in the next few days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Minister said that “on July 30-31, 2012, I visited Assam to review the security situation and the relief provided to persons displaced in the recent ethnic conflict. It is deeply regrettable that 56 persons lost their lives and more than 4 lakh persons have been displaced. They are currently sheltered in 278 camps set up by the Government. The Ministry of Home Affairs has provided additional 65 companies of CAPFs to Assam. The immediate tasks are relief, rehabilitation and providing security. Plans have been drawn up to establish police pickets in sensitive villages. The displaced persons are anxious to return and are expected to return to their villages in the next few days. Government of India has offered full cooperation and support to the State government.”<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Displaced Persons in Assam Expected to Return to their Villages in Next Few Days: Home Minister

The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram addressing a press conference after visiting Kokrajhar during his visit to Assam on July 30, 2012....

Rohingya Muslims' Massacre "Blot On Face of Humanity" - India's Scholar

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Massacre of Rohingya Muslims of Arakan region in Myanmar is "a blot on the face of humanity", IRNA news agency reported General Secretary of Majlis Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawwad Naqvi as saying here. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Thousands of innocent people including women and children were butchered and millions displaced. This constitute not only human rights violations, but are crimes against humanity, IRNA quoted Jawwad, who is also an eminent Indian Shi'a Scholar, as saying in an exclusive interview with the news agency. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And yet the international bodies, who call themselves "champions of humanity”, are watching as mute spectator. It is most regrettable," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Strongly condemning the barbaric attack on the Muslims in Myanmar, Jawwad urged the world community not only to condemn it in the strongest words but play a positive and constructive role for the human rights of minority Muslims there. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The pain and suffering the recent incidents have caused to a large number of people have saddened not only the Muslims but all peace loving people around the globe. The ethnic conflict which occurred is unacceptable and must come to a stop," said Jawwad, who is also the Friday Prayer Leader of historic Asafi Mosque at Lucknow. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He urged India's Government to take a stand on the matter and called on the Muslim world to "break their silence" and protest against the killings.--NNN-BERNAMA <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div></div>

Rohingya Muslims' Massacre "Blot On Face of Humanity" - India's Scholar

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Massacre of Rohingya Muslims of Arakan region in Myanmar is "a blot on the face of humanity", ...

Militants Destroy Timbuktu Islamic Shrines

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Nancy Palus<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">DAKAR -- In northern Mali, members of the Islamic militant group Ansar Dine are systematically destroying mausoleums and revered Muslim tombs in Timbuktu. UNESCO has listed the historic city as a World Heritage site for its ancient mosques and shrines.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Residents of Timbuktu told VOA that armed men from Ansar Dine began leveling the tombs early Saturday morning. The sites, including the tomb of 15th-century Muslim scholar Sidi Mahmoud, are considered sacred by the local population. Hardline Islamist groups like Ansar Dine regard such shrines as sacrilegious, but the sites are an important part of worship for Muslims around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anthadi Oumar Ascofaré was born in Timbuktu 64 years ago, and he talked to VOA from there. “Armed men encircled shrines and cemeteries in the city, while others destroyed tombs with axes, shovels and machetes,” he said. “It is painful for us to witness this destruction, but since we are unarmed we cannot react.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Assoumane Maïga is a native of Timbuktu currently based in the capital, Bamako. He said he received calls throughout Saturday morning from people in Timbuktu who wanted to organize to stop the destruction. However, Maïga said, he was told that Ansar Dine's fighters threatened physical beatings for anyone gathering in a group of more than three or four people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The shrines are an integral part of Timbuktu's Muslim culture, Maïga says: “Every Friday all the people from Timbuktu usually go to the cemeteries in the early morning to pray. Today it’s like you are taking a part of the soul of every single individual in Timbuktu."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mali’s interim government condemned the “destructive rage” on display in Timbuktu. In a statement Saturday afternoon, authorities in Bamako said the desecration and destruction of shrines amounts to war crimes, and vowed to go after the perpetrators, possibly in the International Criminal Court. The communique said the violence in Timbuktu had nothing to do with Islam, and added, “The Malian people will continue to fight these reactionary practices that fly in the face of morality and cultural values.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The attack on the ancient mausoleums comes just days after the United Nations cultural agency put Timbuktu on its list of sites that are in danger. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee urged the African Union and the international community to help protect Timbuktu and its 16 ancient mausoleums.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the past week Ansar Dine and other Islamic groups in northern Mali fought with separatist Tuareg rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or MNLA. The Islamists succeeded in pushing the MNLA out of the main northern cities of Gao and Timbuktu.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ansar Dine swept into northern Mali three months ago, fighting alongside Tuaregs campaigning for an independent state. Ansar Dine has said its objective is not a separate state in northern Mali, but the application of strict Islamic law throughout the western African nation. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Militants Destroy Timbuktu Islamic Shrines

By Nancy Palus DAKAR -- In northern Mali, members of the Islamic militant group Ansar Dine are systematically destroying mausoleums and re...

S'PORE: PM Underlines Priorities to Improve Livelihood of Malay-Muslim Community

S'PORE: PM Underlines Priorities to Improve Livelihood of Malay-Muslim Community

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE (NNN-BERNAMA) -- Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has underlined two priorities for th...

US Lawmaker Defends Hearings on American Muslims

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Cindy Saine<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">CAPITOL HILL - A senior U.S. lawmaker held the fifth in a series of congressional hearings Wednesday on alleged radicalization within the American Muslim community.  The House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security focused on the response from the U.S. Muslim community to the hearings, which have generated a great deal of controversy and media attention.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Committee Chairman Peter King opened the hearing by defending the basic premise of examining the extent of radicalization of America's Muslim community.  The New York Republican said the issue is of serious concern to many senior national security officials in the Obama administration, and that the hearings should have garnered bipartisan support.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Yet, from the moment I announced the hearings, I was attacked by politically correct special interests and their unthinking allies in the media led by The New York Times [newspaper]," he said. "More than 1,000 protesters came out in the rain to rally against me in Times Square [in New York City] the Sunday before the first hearing."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">King's invited witnesses included several representatives from the U.S. Muslim community, including physician Zuhdi Jasser, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.  Dr. Jasser spoke out strongly in support of the hearings, saying it is crucial to differentiate Islam from the extremist political ideology of Islamism, which he says is trying to hijack his religion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Since your hearings began, so many Muslims told us that they were tired of having their identities stolen by two groups:  one is the radicals that commit acts of terrorism, and the other are the grievance groups, whose denials, lawsuits and cries of bigotry have actually caused more negativity toward Islam and Muslims than bridge-building," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other witnesses from the nation's Muslim community agreed, saying that an open discussion of the problem of radicalization does not infringe on their civil liberties or imply that they believe that all Muslim Americans are violent extremists.  All of the witnesses and lawmakers at the hearing agreed that the overwhelming majority of U.S. Americans are peaceful and law-abiding citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But some Democratic lawmakers said they believe the focus of the hearings should be broader, and that they worried about the perceptions created by focusing on a particular religious group.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I hope that the hearings did not perpetuate the notion that the United States is at war with Islam," said ranking Democratic committee member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. "Such a notion would only help the recruitment efforts of al-Qaida and similar groups."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Committee Democrats invited Faiza Patel to testify before the panel.  Patel, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, said it is wrong to focus on the U.S. Muslim community because they have been very cooperative with law enforcement officials in counterterrorism efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Polling by the Pew Research Center shows that vast majorities of American Muslims have consistently held the view that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are never justified," Patel said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Previous committee hearings addressed issues such as the threat of radicalization of American Muslims in U.S. prisons, recruitment by the al-Shabab extremist group and the threat posed to U.S. military communities.  Chairman Peter King did not say whether he plans to hold more hearings. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

US Lawmaker Defends Hearings on American Muslims

By Cindy Saine CAPITOL HILL - A senior U.S. lawmaker held the fifth in a series of congressional hearings Wednesday on alleged radicalizat...

INDIA: SC Refuses Expresses Displeasure Over Minority Sub Quota

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure and pulled up the government for its casual handling of the "complex" and "sensitive" issue of 4.5 percent sub-quota for minorities within the 27 percent reservation for OBCs in central educational institutions like IITs.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">  <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Refusing to stay the Andhra Pradesh High Court order, which had quashed the central government notification for 4.5 percent sub-quota for minorities, a bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and J S Khehar said it was "unhappy" that the Centre filed an appeal without any supporting documents.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Without issuing any notice, the bench asked Attorney General G E Vahanvati to submit it the supporting documents for carving out 4.5 percent sub quota from the existing 27 percent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The bench posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday saying "we must have some documents before us".</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Attorney General Vahanvati submitted that some protection should be granted as the counselling for IITs was on and 325 candidates have qualified for it under the 4.5 percent sub quota and their career and future could be jeopardised if they are not allowed to appear for the counselling.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The bench, however, said before it passed any order, the Centre will have to place before it some documents.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">During the brief hearing, the bench wanted to know from the law officer as to what was the basis and how did the government determine 4.5 percent sub-quota for minorities and carved it out of the 27 percent quota for OBCs.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">When the Attorney General sought to point out errors in the high court order, the bench said it was natural for the high court to ask questions on which the Centre was complaining.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Without placing documents how can you find fault with the high court (order)," the bench said.  -NNN-PTI</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span></div></div></div>

INDIA: SC Refuses Expresses Displeasure Over Minority Sub Quota

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure and pulled up the government for its casual handling of the "com...

India: Supreme Court Orders End to Hajj Subsidies

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Kurt Achin from New Delhi</span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">India's Supreme Court has ordered the government to do away with a program that subsidizes Muslims in their most sacred journey. Still, many of the country's Muslims are fine with the decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">In this week's ruling, India's highest court said the subsidy for the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj "is best done away with." If all the facts were known, the ruling continues, many Muslims "would not be very comfortable that their Hajj is funded to a substantial extent by the government.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Islam calls upon all of its followers to make a journey to the Saudi Arabian city and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad at least once in their lives, if they can afford it. Indigent Muslims are excused from the duty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Indian history is punctuated with episodes of tensions between majority Hindus and minority Muslims. Still, many Muslim leaders say they are fine with the court's decision to scrap the Hajj subsidy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Zafarul Islam Khan, the president of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (an umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations), sees the subsidy as an indirect way for India's government to fund its cash-starved national airline.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">"Muslims in general are not in favor of the Hajj subsidy," said Khan. "We consider the subsidy as a subsidy to Air India and not to the Muslim community."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">The practice of providing subsidies to Muslims began in 1973, when India's government abolished sea travel as an means of making the Hajj. At that time, the government began making up the difference between sea and air fares.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Khan says the decision was politically motivated from the very start.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">"Actually we didn't demand subsidy any day but the government insisted on this just to show to normal and ordinary voters, Muslim voters, that they are doing a favor," said Khan. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">An estimated 100,000 Indian Muslim pilgrims a year benefit from subsidized travel. Arman Khalid Hashmi went on the Hajj in 2011, and feels that a journey without government help would still be perfectly consistent with Islam.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">"As a Muslim, it should be our money invested in Hajj," said Arman. "So if it is done away, it doesn't matter for us."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">For many Indians, the strongest argument for ending the Hajj subsidy is that the country's constitution defines India as a secular republic -- with no special favoritism for any one religious faith group. The Supreme Court says the subsidy should be eliminated within ten years. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">Neha Sethi contributed to this report.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Supreme Court Orders End to Hajj Subsidies

By Kurt Achin from New Delhi India's Supreme Court has ordered the government to do away with a program that subsidizes Muslims in th...

India: College Bans Burqa in Class

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MANGALORE, India (NNN-Bernama) -- A local college has banned girl students from wearing burqa in classes and while writing exams, but allowed them to wear the outfit in its campus, according to Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A decision, that said may trigger a controversy, made by the management of St. Aloysius College, an autonomous educational institution, to ban burqa from this academic year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"The wearing of burqa is banned only while attending classes and writing exams. However, students can wear it in the campus," Principal Fr Walter Andrade told Press Trust of India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Defending the decision, he said, "We want to maintain the sanctity of exams and also discipline in classrooms."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">An official of the college, however, refused to comment on whether the ban clause has been inserted in the prospectus to be given to students at the time of seeking admission.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"There is a difference between a scarf and burqa," the official said. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

India: College Bans Burqa in Class

MANGALORE, India (NNN-Bernama) -- A local college has banned girl students from wearing burqa in classes and while writing exams, but allo...

Quran Burning: OIC Sec-Gen Calls for Calm and Restraint in Afghanistan

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">KUALA  LUMPUR</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"> (NNN-Bernama) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for calm and restraint in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region> as demonstrators took to the streets protesting the burning of copies of the holy Quran at a <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> air base in Bagram, north of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kabul</st1:place></st1:city>, recently. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">OIC Secretary-general, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu appealed to the people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and elsewhere for calm and restraint from violence in their protest against the act, the OIC said in a statement Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">"The violence and bloodshed were hurting the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and causing loss of innocent lives," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">On Feb 22, Ihsanoglu, in a statement, denounced the incident and called on the responsible authorities to ensure a thorough investigation so that immediate action could be taken against those involved. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">Malaysia</span></span></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;"> also denounced the act, with Foreign Minister Anifah Aman stating that the irresponsible and insensitive act had unnecessarily triggered a wave of outrage in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region>, as well as in other parts of the world, including <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">He had said in a statement Friday that the irresponsible act had only hampered the efforts by the international community to restore peace and stability in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">Reports said Barack Obama had sent a letter to Afghan president Hamid Karzai apologising for the unintentional burning of copies of the Quran. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: windowtext;">The incident sparked protests and demonstrations in other Muslim nations, including <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div>

Quran Burning: OIC Sec-Gen Calls for Calm and Restraint in Afghanistan

KUALA LUMPUR (NNN-Bernama) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for calm and restraint in Afghanistan as demonstrato...

Strengthening of Minority Institutions

Strengthening of Minority Institutions

To streamline record keeping, introduce transparency and to facilitate various functions/processes of the State Wakf Boards (SWBs), Joint...

Demolition of Babri Masjid a deep wound for Muslims : Mufti

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By <a href="http://www.groundreport.com/vijaykumar"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> Vijay Kumar</span></a>  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRezf1zKdhaPqhr0mqSGwUZYoqtbDfDKjqv0ZIgNghq3SSTw6lW_qt7AGvz6lu1sd8LsSji-gKOHtD5f76d0SQpiQ8VSc8AYFHTSIShq5Shr8o2OoMD1n86mYCND17xOvogTYMB_pVCI/s1600/phpThumb_generated_thumbnailjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRezf1zKdhaPqhr0mqSGwUZYoqtbDfDKjqv0ZIgNghq3SSTw6lW_qt7AGvz6lu1sd8LsSji-gKOHtD5f76d0SQpiQ8VSc8AYFHTSIShq5Shr8o2OoMD1n86mYCND17xOvogTYMB_pVCI/s1600/phpThumb_generated_thumbnailjpg.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">PDP Patron Mufti Mohd Syeed addressing gathering © <a href="http://www.groundreport.com/includes/ajax/image_popup.php?image=2942912&image_id=1"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Groundreport</span></a></span></i> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">   <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />
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</span> <br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Srinagar</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (Scoop News) – Calling for a focused followup of the Sachar Committee report on minorities, Mufti Mohammed Sayed today said the unfortunate demolition of Babri Masjid had caused a deep wound into the psyche of the Muslims of India but they have responded to it with exemplary aplonmb and sense of responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In a statement issued on the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, the PDP patron said pulling down of the holy site was a great challenge to the spirit of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> as much as it was for the communities in an atmosphere surcharged with emotion and rhetoric. He said decades down the line it has been established that the rights of the minority community cannot be compromised or denied. He said the people of the country had through successive elections conveyed a clear message to communal forces to either fall in line with the secular constitution or remain out of the political mainstream. “The faith Muslims of the country have reposed in the idea ofIndia and its institutions should be reciprocated with empowerment now,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mufti, who was the Home Minister of the country during the tumultuous period before the demolition of the Babri Masjid, recalled how the Janta Dal government under VP Singh had preferred to sacrifice itself to being blackmailed into assisting the atrocity that has become a black spot on the country’s post-independent history. He said there is no dearth of forces in this country which can stand up for the rights of the minorities and the Muslims have through their conduct and political maturity shown that they are a well deserved recipients of such support and trust.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mufti said the Muslims of the country continue to face socio economic  problems that have pushed most of them almost to the lowest strata of the society. Though the Prime Minister’s initiative in appointing the Sachar Committee was a positive step to identify areas that need intervention, the inititiative, however, lack a serious followup. Most recommendations made by the committee remain unimplemented. He said the Sachar Committee report established that Muslims are not a problem but they as a community and a class is faced with problems of development and socio economic deprivation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mufti said Muslims of India are a politically powerful community but unfortunately their problems are dealt with in fits and starts mostly around the time of elections. Even now different claimants to power in Uttar Pradesh, which is going to poll soon, are making noises about reservation in govt services to Muslims. These voices, otherwise, do not find mention and always remain a hollow slogan. He said instead of false promises there  is need to have a national policy on minorities, especially the Muslims who constitute one of the most backward sections of our society. “Our country can’t aspire to become a world power with its 17% of population struggling at the lowest ladder of poverty. ---<a href="http://www.groundreport.com/Politics/Demolition-of-Babri-Masjid-caused-a-deep-wound-for/2942912"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Ground Report</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Published under </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"><span style="text-decoration: none;">Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License</span></a>.</span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Demolition of Babri Masjid a deep wound for Muslims : Mufti

By Vijay Kumar PDP Patron Mufti Mohd Syeed addressing gathering © Groundreport Srinagar (Scoop News) – Calling for a fo...