Islamic World News

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Islamic World News (16 Feb 2012 NewAgeIslam.Com)Bangladesh: Jamaat-e-Islami activists vandalise Hindu temples

Riyadh: 22 suspects charged with sedition, incitement

Over 120 hurt in Bahrain clashes, dialogue sought

Human Rights Watch calls on Saudis to end female discrimination

Malaysian govt hit over prophet slur case

Kashmiri separatist leader Gilani says Islam teaches to safeguard interests of minorities

Iran trumpets nuclear advances, deepening standoff with West

Iranian nuclear announcement unimpressive: US

Saudi in Mohammed Twitter row insists he repented: family

Oscar-winning director’s son converts to Islam in Iran

India: Around empty Gulberg Society, Muslims, Hindus find a way to co-exist

US drone strike kills six in North Waziristan

India: No bullets fired at cops in Ishrat encounter: CBI

India: Exhibition on Islam begins tomorrow

Pakistani jailed at Gitmo charged with terrorism

Scanning calls to Iran, Lebanon; Bangkok bomb similar: Police

Saffron brigade halts Muslim realty deals in Gujarat

Prosecutors say Uzbek refugee knew of Islamic group

s threat

France discussing new Syria UN resolution with Russia

Senators call for release of Iranian political prisoners

Former First Deputy P M of Azerbaijan urges to adapt Islamic education to modernreality

Pakistan, US need to reset their relationship: Sherry

Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran summit opens today

MQM urges women to attend rally

Pak to decide on negative list in 2 weeks

Two Pakistani women among four kidnappers jailed for life

Iraqi thinker applauds King Abdullah

s futuristic vision

India to go ahead with Iran trade visit



India to test new long-range missile: official

Kabul involved in US-Taliban contacts: Karzai

Israel: Thai bombs like India attack

Bomb plot deepens in Bangkok

Kasab given fair trial, Maha tells SC

India: Contempt notice to Gujarat, CM

Pakistan mulls successor to ISI chief

Complied by New Age Islam News Bureau

Photo: Jamaat-e-Islami activists vandalize

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/bangladesh--jamaat-e-islami-activists-vandalise-hindu-temples/d/6656

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Bangladesh: Jamaat-e-Islami activists vandalise Hindu temples

Saturday, February 11, 2012

New Delhi: Fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami activists vandalised several Hindu temples in the Hathazari area of Chittagong in Bangladesh on Thursday and Friday, forcing the law enforcement authorities to impose Section 144 of the Bangladesh Penal Code that bans public gatherings in the affected area.

According to the website bdnews.com, Muslims, allegedly instigated by the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, first damaged a temple in the compound of the LoknathSebasram at Nandirhat on Thursday evening and blocked the Chittagong-Rangamati Road on Friday morning in retaliation to a mosque being damaged by people comingout of the Loknath Sebasram.

The website report further said that at least three other Hindu temples were attacked by the Islamic activists.

It said that damage was inflicted on the Sri Sri Jagadeshwari Ma Temple, the Jagannath Bigroho Temple at Nandirhat and the Kalibari Temple in Sadar Upazila. TheSri Sri Jagadeshwari Ma Temple was also burnt, it added.

The Primary and Mass Education Minister of Bangladesh, Afsar-ul-Ameen, has visited the area and instructed local authorities to take steps to normalise the situation.

Local administration officials blamed the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing,the Islami Chhatra Shibir, for the incidents.

Reacting to the incident, liberal and secular minded people in Bangladesh said such events could pose a threat to the country’s secular fabric.

Haroon Habib, a 1971 war veteran and a senior journalist, told ANI in a telephon

ic interview that: “These are very tragic events. Bangladeshis were never communaleven under military rule. People must see a definite political motive behind these events.”



He added: "There is a definite extremist political agenda behind these attacks.There are elements who want to destabilise the incumbent Hasina Government.”

Haroon also blamed the local administration for not acting tough against fundamentalist elements in the area.

Allegations have it that houses belonging to Hindus in the area were also vandalised. Leaders of the minority Hindu community have blamed the

indifference

of the administration for the prevailing situation.

Rejecting suggestions of fundamentalism being on the rise in Bangladesh, Haroonsaid there was no existential threat to the current regime, but he cautioned theSheikh Hasina government not to be complacent.

He also opined that there were many elements in Bangladesh who were unhappy withSheikh Hasina’s close ties to New Delhi, as also her move to make the Constitution of the country more secular.

Recently, the Bangladesh Army had foiled a coup attempt by retired and serving Army officers who had fundamentalist leanings.

India has said that it is keeping a close watch on emerging developments in bothBangladesh and Maldives.

http://zeenews.india.com/news/south-asia/bangladesh-jei-activists-vandalise-hindu-temples_757888.html

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Riyadh: 22 suspects charged with sedition, incitement

Feb 16, 2012

RIYADH: A special court in Riyadh resumed this week the trial of 49 suspects accused of being involved in various terror acts, including inciting sedition and encouraging youths to participate in "holy war" abroad.

A total of 22 suspects were present in the court during the hearing held on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the beginning, the public prosecutor read out the chargesagainst each one of them and pleaded the judge to award them the maximum punishment for their crimes.

He also requested the judge to issue a verdict to confiscate money seized from some suspects who allegedly had plans to use them for various terror-related crimes, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

After this, the judge presented copy of charge sheets to each one of them and asked them either to file a written reply to counter the charges or appoint a lawyer to defend them. Some suspects pleaded with the judge to appoint a lawyer forthem and they supplied a list of candidates, whose expenses would be borne by the Ministry of Justice.

The defendants who were present at the hearing included those from numbers 1 to13, 16 to 20, and 23 to 26. Most of them are accused of involvement in more thanone terror act.

Charges against six defendants included facilitating travel of some recruits tobattlefields in Iraq and Somalia in coordination with some militants in those countries. Defendants Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were accused of setting up a camp in Yemen



to provide training for some youths to carry out terror attacks. Charges against13 defendants included financing terror acts. Other charges were using the Kingdom’s soil for terror acts, disobedience to rulers and challenging Islamic scholars on the issue of holy war (Jihad), and propagating Al-Qaeda’s deviant ideology.

Representatives of the Saudi Human Rights Commission and reporters attended thehearing on Tuesday although the judge denied permission for them to attend Wedne

sday’s hearing after granting a request from the suspects. The trial of the 49 suspects started on Jan. 23 at the special court. The defendants include 36 Saudis,in addition to four Egyptians, two Yemenis, two Chadians, two Sudanese, two Syrians and a Nigerian.

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article576294.ece

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Over 120 hurt in Bahrain clashes, dialogue sought

MANAMA: More than 120 protesters have been wounded in clashes with police in Bah

rain this week, activists said on Wednesday, and a Shia politician said contactsto resolve the Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchy’s year-long crisis had begun.

Activists using the name “Feb. 14 Youth Coalition” called for more demonstrations aday after protests to mark the first anniversary of a violently suppressed pro-democracy uprising.

“There were over 100 cases on Tuesday and 37 of them are bad, with head injuries and fractures,” said a medic who works with researchers of an international organisation and who asked not to be identified. “On Monday we had 20 people (wounded) inall villages around the country.”

The medic said some casualties had been hit by birdshot pellets, which Bahraini

police deny using.

Most of the wounded are treated in village homes or private health clinics because majority Shia protesters fear they will be arrested if they go to governmenthospitals.

Ahmed, 20, said he had been struck by birdshot on Tuesday during clashes with police in one of several Shia districts that ring Pearl Roundabout, the hub of last year’s unrest and now a zone sealed by barbed wire and a National Guard camp.

“I threw a rock and then one of them (police) stood and shot straight at me. One of the pellets just missed my head,” he said, sitting on a mattress on the ground in visible pain.

A male nurse who helps treat activists said he had removed all but one of the pellets, pinching the skin around one wound to demonstrate that the projectile wasstill inside.

The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that rioters had caused chaos and vandalism in several villages, but gave no information on how many had been wounded or detained.

Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, is aligned with the United States and oil giant Saudi Arabia in their disputes with Iran over its nuclear programme andregional influence.

The island has been in turmoil since the uprising, with clashes between Shias and riot police, while the opposition and government accuse each other of rejectin



g dialogue.

TENTATIVE DIALOGUE

However, Jasim Husain, a former lawmaker from the Shia Wefaq party, the largestopposition faction, said Wefaq members had met Royal Court Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed, seen as a powerful figure in the ruling Al-Khalifa family.

“There is fresh attention now, but the authorities have to show seriousness,” he said, without giving details. “The new thing is that the government is increasingly becoming a partner and realising that the security cannot solve the issue.”

Wefaq leader Sheikh Ali Salman called on youths this week to avoid into violentconfrontation with police.

Opposition parties want Bahrain to move towards a fully-fledged parliamentary democracy where the elected house can form governments, a reform which would be afirst in the Gulf and which would reduce the extensive powers of the ruling dynasty.

Bahraini forces backed by Saudi troops crushed last year’s month-long revolt and 35 people, including security personnel, had been killed by June, when a state ofemergency was lifted.

After international pressure, a commission of foreign legal experts investigatedthe unrest and revealed systematic torture and deaths in police custody duringthat period.

Violence has intensified since the commission’s report in November and the overalldeath toll now exceeds 60.

Six US activists who came to observe how police handled Tuesday’s anniversary prot

ests were detained and deported.

Bahraini rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab, who was also briefly detained on Tuesday, said later he might face charges of inciting an illegal gathering.

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/16/over-120-hurt-in-bahrain-clashes-dialogue-sought.html

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Human Rights Watch calls on Saudis to end female discrimination

Beth Harris

Thu, 02/16/2012

Gender equality: Sarah Kureshi, an American Muslim athlete who has competed at the Islamic Women Games, speaks at a news conference held by Human Rights Watch in Los Angeles on Wednesday (Thursday Jakarta time). The group is calling on theInternational Olympic Committee to require that Saudi Arabia

s participation inOlympic sporting events, including the upcoming London Games, be contingent uponthe Arab country allowing girls and women to play competitive sports after issuing a report saying that Saudi Arabia is violating the IOC charter

s pledge of equality. (AP/Reed Saxon)

A human rights group called on the International Olympic Committee to require that Saudi Arabia

s participation in Olympic sporting events, including the upcoming London Games, be contingent upon the Arab country allowing girls and women to



play competitive sports.

Human Rights Watch issued a report Wednesday saying that Saudi Arabia is violating the IOC charter

s pledge of equality. The country has never sent a woman to compete in the Olympics.

Neither has Brunei or Qatar, although Qatar said last summer it hopes to send up

to four female athletes to the 2012 Games.

In interviews with Saudi women and international sporting officials, the group found that Saudi government restrictions put sports beyond the reach of almost all women in the Gulf nation. The few women who play sports are limited to exercising at home or at expensive gyms, or playing in segregated underground leagues.

Within a year, the group wants Saudi Arabia to start introducing physical education for girls in all schools, and allocate money for women

s sports in the youthministry, the Saudi national Olympic committee and Saudi sports federations. Human Rights Watch says such steps are necessary to prove the Saudis

efforts to end discrimination against women in sports and allow the country to be represente

d in Olympic events.

"It

s not that Saudi Arabia doesn

t have the money to do this or women who wantto," said Christoph Wilcke, a senior researcher in Human Rights Watch

s Middle East and North Africa division who authored the 51-page report titled "Steps of the Devil." "We have listened to Saudi promises for decades. This is not good enough."

The report

s name comes from the comments of some Saudi government clerics who oppose sport as "steps of the devil" that would lead women to un-Islamic behaviorand moral corruption.

The IOC has previously criticized the Saudis for failing to send women athletes

to the Olympics. However, according to Human Rights Watch, the IOC hasn

t attached any conditions to the nation

s participation in the games.

The IOC charter states that sports are a right for everyone and bans discrimination in practicing sports on the basis of gender.

"The IOC strives to ensure the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement are universal and non-discriminatory, in line with the Olympic Charter and our values of respect, friendship and excellence," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in a statement.

"NOCs (national Olympic committees) are encouraged to uphold that spirit in their delegations. The IOC does not give ultimatums nor deadlines but rather believes that a lot can be achieved through dialogue."

A senior sports official in Saudi Arabia told The Associated Press that the rulers in the kingdom are not opposed to women

s participation in sports, but changing mindsets in the deeply conservative Muslim country that is the cradle of Islam is hard work that takes a lot of time.

"We are supporting women here to be in sports but that means fighting deeply entrenched traditions in Saudi Arabia," the official said in a phone interview Wednesday.

"We are trying to overcome them and we are seeking support from the IOC to have

a woman in our delegation at the London Games," the official added. He spoke tothe AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.



Wilcke said the Saudis have no women currently prepared for Olympic-level competition; however, he urged the government to nominate women for slots available intrack and field, where the competitors don

t have to be top-level. There are slots available in swimming, but Wilcke said the Saudis would not tolerate women wearing swimsuits in public.

He noted that equestrian Dalma Rushdi Malhas attracted widespread attention in S

audi Arabia after winning a bronze medal in show jumping in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. Human Rights Watch said Malhas may be invited to participate in the London Games by an international sports federation, and it said the Saudi nationalOlympic committee has indicated it won

t interfere with a female athlete attending after being invited.

Adams said the IOC has been in regular contact with national Olympic committeesof Saudi Arabia, Brunei and Qatar.

"As a result of fruitful discussions, the three NOCs included women in their delegations competing at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last summer," he said, citing Malhas. "We are very pleased with this evolution, which can only been s

een as a promising development leading towards London 2012."

Sarah Kureshi, an American-born Muslim with Pakistani parents, supports allowingSaudi women to have equal participation in sports, whether on a competitive orrecreational level.

A former distance runner at the University of Central Florida, Kureshi was the first U.S. woman to compete in the Islamic Women

s Games in Iran in 2005. She wore pants when she ran, in adherence to her religious beliefs.

"They didn

t understand how I could be American and Muslim at the same time. Itwas another contradiction to people," said Kureshi, who chose not to compete ina traditional headscarf or long sleeves.

"It was really powerful to have that opportunity to go and educate them. They

renot mutually exclusive. That was the question I got from everybody in terms offoreign policy in our country. I was able to say as an American I don

t have toagree with all the foreign policy in my country. This country allows me to practice my religion."

Kureshi, a family practice doctor who teaches at Georgetown University, said sheknows people working in Saudi Arabia who say that strides are being made.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/16/group-calls-saudis-end-female-discrimination.html

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Malaysian govt hit over prophet slur case

Teo Cheng Wee

Thu, 02/16/2012

Days after deporting a Saudi journalist accused of insulting Islam, Malaysia continued to attract criticism for caving in to Saudi government pressure in what some say is a bid to burnish its own Muslim credentials.

Among those to chime in is former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. He said Malaysia should have weighed the consequences before sending Hamza Kashgari back to Saudi Arabia to a possible death sentence.



"If it may cause the loss of life, we have to see the justification," Mahathir said this week.

Full Report At:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/16/malaysian-govt-hit-over-prohpet-sl

ur-case.html

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Kashmiri separatist leader Gilani says Islam teaches to safeguard interests of minorities

February 14, 2012

SRINAGAR, (SANA): Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (G), Syed Ali Shah Geelani metthe head of Church of North India, Father P Samuel at the former’s Malviya Nagarresidence in New Delhi discussed the recent controversy regarding alleged conver

sions in Kashmir.

Full Report At:

http://www.sananews.net/english/2012/02/geelani-says-islam-teaches-to-safeguard-interests-of-minorities/

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Iran trumpets nuclear advances, deepening standoff with West

By PARISA HAFEZI

Feb 15, 2012

TEHRAN: Iran proclaimed advances in nuclear know-how on Wednesday, including newcentrifuges able to enrich uranium much faster, a move that may hasten a drifttoward confrontation with the West over suspicions it is seeking the means to make atomic bombs.

Tehran’s resolve to pursue a nuclear program showed no sign of wavering despite Western sanctions inflicting increasing damage on its oil-based economy.

“The era of bullying nations has past. The arrogant powers cannot monopolize nuclear technology. They tried to prevent us by issuing sanctions and resolutions butfailed,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a live television broadcast.

“Our nuclear path will continue.”

Full Report At:

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article576277.ece

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Iranian nuclear announcement unimpressive: US

Thu Feb 16 2012

Washington : The United States has said it was not impressed at all by the latest Iranian claim of progress on its nuclear programme, saying the "hyped" move wa



s calibrated mostly for the domestic audience.

"One thing is absolutely clear, Iran is clearly feeling the pressure of its international and diplomatic isolation of the increasing economic pressure on it," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters.

Full Report At:

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/912832/

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Saudi in Mohammed Twitter row insists he repented: family

RIYADH — A Saudi journalist awaiting interrogation over Tweets deemed insulting toIslam

s Prophet Mohammed insists that he has repented, a relative told AFP Wednesday.

Hamza Kashgari "has affirmed to his family that he stands by his repentance, tha

t he has made a mistake and regrets it," said the family member on condition ofanonymity.

The 23-year-old fled to Malaysia after his comments sparked a wave of condemnations and threats against his life, but was deported back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Upon his return from Malaysia, Kashgari "informed his family he is in very goodcondition," the source said. "His family is still waiting for authorities to allow them to visit him and appoint a defence lawyer."

Full Report At:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gHnakfWzYipM7LIMQs1eprh5v52Q?docId=CNG.d2dffb7bb5556b9a072d2459a2931d3f.3f1

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Oscar-winning director’s son converts to Islam in Iran

16 February 2012

TEHRAN — US filmmaker Sean Stone, son of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, converted to Islam on Tuesday in Iran, where he is making a documentary, he told AFP.

"The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I wasborn with. It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets," he said in a brief telephone call from the central Iranian city of Isfahan, where he underwentthe ceremony.

Sean Stone

s famous father is Jewish, while his mother is Christian.

The 27-year-old filmmaker did not say why he converted.

According to Iran

s Fars news agency, Sean Stone had become a Shiite and had chosen to be known by the Muslim first name Ali.

Sean/Ali Stone has acted in minor roles in several of his father

s films, and has directed a handful of documentaries.



http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jALfcdvhrKp9pEoV0i7udfbK-GvA?docId=CNG.b779101791d85a0652720d98fc7b42a1.651

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India: Around empty Gulberg Society, Muslims, Hindus find a way to co-exist

Ujjwala Nayudu

Thu Feb 16 2012

Ahmedabad : The name is etched in collective memory as a symbol of the Gujarat riots and, to many, of the administrative complicity behind it. In Gulberg Society, the past is never far even as those looking at the future have learnt to makepeace with it. The empty shells of its 29 bungalows and 10 apartments now serveas godowns for neighbouring Muslim bakers, who supply their wares to Hindu shopkeepers next door.

The smell of these bakeries and shahi dawats once filled the society, a Muslim-d

ominated area that came up in 1965 in the predominantly Hindu Chamanpura. Targeted during the riots, they had all left. The owners of all eight bakeries are nowback with their shops, though they stay 7km away in Muslim-dominated Rakhial.

Shamsul Haq Ansari’s Robin Bakery, adjoining Gulberg Society, was looted and torched. He suffered losses of lakhs and claims not to have received any compensation. He chose to return and rebuild from his savings, and said not only has his business taken off again but that he is doing better than before.

Ansari’s customers are all Hindus, including local provision stores, as there is no Muslim habitation around. For him or other bakers in the area, that hasn’t beena problem so far.

Mubarak Ansari, owner of Mubarak Bakery, said there was some tension immediatelyafter the riots. “But with time, things have improved. My entire business dependson local Hindus and they support me wholeheartedly.”

However, none of them lives in the area. Haseemuddin, working with Ashiana Bakery, said the owners as well as the workers live in Rakhial — which has been the case since they migrated from Bijnore. He cited “cultural and social reasons” for this.As such, they did not lose any near ones during the Chamanpura riots.

Those who did have chosen not to continue in Gulberg Society, except Kasam Mansuri, 62, who lost 12 members. After his sons relocated, Mansuri stayed back and makes a living selling mattresses outside the society. “This is my society, where will I go?” he said.

Looking at the garbage dumped outside Gulberg Society, the Hindus, on the otherhand, feel it is time to break free from the past, if only to bring Gujarat’s famed development to the area. Said Bhavanlal Jain, a moneylender whose customers are mostly Muslims: “The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has been neglecting the locality since they do not want legal complications of property, etc.”

The Citizens for Justice and Peace has come up with the idea of turning the society into a “holocaust museum”. To people like Saed Khan, who moved to the Muslim-dominated Juhapura, that is better than selling the houses to strangers. “It would belike selling the graves of your beloved.”

While Mansuri gets angry at times that the survivors of Gulberg moved away and set up a new life, Khan said: “Gas cylinders were busted in homes; when these caught fire, they threw acid bulbs on people hiding. Women were pulled out and raped



in public. No one wants to go back there.”

The bakers are the only remnants of a life that was. The mosque that was destroyed now holds five prayers a day for them. On Fridays, it also draws a number ofMuslims working in nearby areas.

As days such as these become routine, Afroz Ansari, a salesman working with J-K

Bakery, is hopeful. “The riots,” he said, “were an aberration.”


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US drone strike kills six in North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike targeting a militant compound killed six insurgentsin a North Waziristan Agency near the Afghan border Thursday, security officials said.

According to sources, two missiles were fired by a US drone on a compound used by militants in Spalga town near Miranshah and six suspected militants were killed.

The attack was confirmed by security officials in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan region, known as a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

Security officials said several other militants were wounded but the exact number was not immediately known.

Full Report At:

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-35528-US-drone-strike-kills-6-in-N-Waziristan

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India: No bullets fired at cops in Ishrat encounter: CBI

Feb 16, 2012

PRAMOD KUMAR

Initial probe by the CBI into the alleged Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case has revealed that the Mumbai-based teenagers and her three other friends did not fireeven a single bullet at the Gujarat cops during the incident.

Ishrat Jahan and three others — Pranesh Pillai, alias Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Ranaand Zeeshan Johar — were gunned down by the Gujarat crime branch police near Kotarpur on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The CBI, which recently registered a case against 20 policemen of Gujarat in theIshrat Jahan encounter case, is scrutinising the forensic reports related to the incident.

“Initial probe and scrutiny of the forensic reports indicate that Ishrat Jahan andher three friends did not fire a single bullet on the Gujarat police cops. TheCBI officials recently recorded the statements of some Gujarat police officials

in this connection, which are being further verified”, sources said.

“The special investigation team, constituted by the Gujarat high court in 2010 to



probe the allegations of fake encounter, in its report, had also maintained thatthe encounter was staged by the Gujarat police.

The agency officials are also scrutinising the forensic reports of weapon used by the cops in the alleged killing of Ishrat and three others,” sources said.

The CBI officials are also scrutinising the post-mortem report of the people kil

led in the alleged encounter.

http://www.asianage.com/india/no-bullets-fired-cops-ishrat-encounter-cbi-035

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India: Exhibition on Islam begins tomorrow

PTI

Kottayam, Feb 16,2012: The three-day exhibition to know more about Islam would commence at the Town hall in Changanacherry here tomorrow. The Light Islamic Exib

iton, organised by Ithihadu Shubbanil Mujahideen, youth wing of Nadvathul Mujahineen as part of the campaign that Islam is the religion of peace is opened to all sections of people irrespective of relgion, caste or creed, ISM president N AShameel told reporters today. Lectures and discourse by scholars on various subjects would be held in the evenings during the exhibition,concluding on February19. Messge pavilion, kids corner Islamic book fair, cyberworld, video gallery and documentary hall were arranged in the hall.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/exhibition-on-islam-begins-tomorrow/964276.html

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Pakistani jailed at Gitmo charged with terrorism

By JANE SUTTON

Feb 15, 2012

MIAMI: US prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals filed charges on Tuesday against a Pakistani man who grew up outside Baltimore, alleging he plottedwith Al-Qaeda to attack US targets and assassinate former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

The charges against defendant Majid Khan allege that in 2002, he donned an explosives vest and sat in a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, where Musharraf was expected.

Full Report At:

http://arabnews.com/world/article576222.ece

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Scanning calls to Iran, Lebanon; Bangkok bomb similar: Police

Prawesh Lama

Thu Feb 16 2012

New Delhi : Probing the targeted attack on an Israel embassy vehicle that wounde



d a diplomat and three others in New Delhi on Monday, Delhi Police officers today said they were looking at four international phone calls made to Iran, Lebanonand Pakistan from the Khan Market area where Tal Yehoshua-Koren had lunch withher husband before she was attacked.

Full Report At:


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Saffron brigade halts Muslim realty deals in Gujarat

Vijaysinh Parmar

Feb 16, 2012

BHAVNAGAR: Six months ago, a doctor was all set to make a killing by selling hisposh bungalow

Chaitanya

near Crescent Circle to a Muslim family. As soon as t

he news spread, a group representing the saffron brigade reached his house and tried persuading him to call off the deal. When the doctor did not agree, the group held a sit-in outside his house and started chanting Ram Dhun. The agitatorsrefused to budge till he assured them that he would scrap the deal. Finally, thebungalow was sold to a Hindu.

Full Report At:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Saffron-brigade-halts-Muslim-realty-deals-in-Gujarat/articleshow/11907061.cms

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Prosecutors say Uzbek refugee knew of Islamic group

s threat

02/14/2012

A prosecutor told a federal judge this morning that Uzbek refugee Jamshid Muhtorov admitted he knew the Islamic Jihad Union was a combat organization that fights NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Muhtorov, a 35-year-old Aurora resident charged with providing material supportto IJU, a designated foreign terrorist organization, appeared in court for a detention hearing so a judge could decide whether to grant him bond while he awaitstrial.

On Jan. 21, Muhtorov was arrested at Chicago

s O

Hare Airport on his way to Istanbul, Turkey after agents tracked his emails and phone calls for months after hemade contact with the administrator of a pro-IJU website.

Full Report At:

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19960521

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France discussing new Syria UN resolution with Russia

Feb 15, 2012

PARIS: France’s foreign minister said on Wednesday it had started negotiating a ne



w UN Security Council resolution on Syria with Russia and wanted to discuss creating “humanitarian corridors” in the country.

“We are renegotiating a resolution at the UN Security Council to persuade the Russians,” Alain Juppe told France Info radio. He said the UN General Assembly would vote on a “symbolic” resolution on Thursday that would add to pressure on the Damascus government.

Full Report At:


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Senators call for release of Iranian political prisoners

BY JEFF DAVIS, POSTMEDIA NEWS

OTTAWA — FEBRUARY 7, 2012, Twenty-five senators called Tuesday for the immediate r

elease of 25 political prisoners in Iran, including a computer programmer and Canadian resident who is now on death row.

Senator Linda Frum, who rallied her colleagues, said that Iran

s unlawful detention and execution of political prisoners — in particular, Canadian residents — is unacceptable.

"As a member of the Senate of Canada I condemn the Iranian regime

s deplorable abuse of human rights and call for the immediate release of unlawfully held prisoners" Frum said in the Red Chamber. "Canada will not stay silent on these issues."

Each of the 25 senators delivered a speech detailing the case of one jailed Iran

ian. Among them was Saeed Malekpour, a 35-year-old website designer and Canadianresident who has been condemned to death. He was convicted of "desecrating andinsulting Islam" after software he developed was used on pornographic websites,without his knowledge.

Campaigners for Malekpour

s release say he has been tortured with electric shocks and beaten with cables while in captivity.

Relations between Canada and Iran are at their lowest point in decades, as Canada and its allies step up sanctions in a so-far futile attempt to curb Tehran

s nuclear ambitions. On Jan. 31, Canada ratcheted up sanctions again, freezing assets of Iranian officials and entities.

Alidad Mafinezam, a spokesman for the Iranian-Canadian Congress, said members ofhis community are pleased the senators are speaking up and that their cries forhelp are starting to be heard.

"There are a number of Canadian residents currently languishing in Iranian prisons," he said. "We need to raise awareness of this problem."

Mafinezam said Iranian Canadians are increasingly fearful of being slapped by arbitrary or trumped up charges if they return to Iran to visit.

"It makes Iranian Canadians feel we are not safe travelling there to meet our ailing grandmothers," he said. "They

ll say you

re a spy also."

Mafinezam said the Iranian regime is unlikely to be swayed by the senators

speeches. He said a more effective engagement strategy would be to send a delegation



of Canadian lawmakers to Iran, to make their case directly to Iran

s decision makers.

http://www.canada.com/news/Senators+call+release+Iranian+political+prisoners/6115724/story.html

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Former First Deputy P M of Azerbaijan urges to adapt Islamic education to modernreality

15 February 2012

Moscow, February 15, Interfax - Islam education should not only strengthen Muslims in their faith, but also modernize them, Co-chair of Trustees Board of the CIS Interreligious Council, former First Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan AbbasAbbasov said.

"The first priority task on this way is overcoming religious illiteracy with the

help of educational work. I believe a modern understanding of Islam teaching isvital: it should not contradict foundations of our religion, but offer a Muslimbeliever forms of behavior in a modern society in the epoch of globalization,"Abbasov said his article posted by Interfax-Religion.

The author believes it is important to bring true knowledge of Islam not only toMuslims, but to "all our contemporaries, especially to those who have already formed false conception of Islam and Muslims."

Abbasov states that today Muslims try to spread Al-Wasat ideas - principles of moderate Islam and Islam el-Hadary models that reflect importance both of political and economic progress and social harmony.

http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=9071

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Pakistan, US need to reset their relationship: Sherry

WASHINGTON: In her first public speech since taking over as Pakistan’s Ambassadorto the US, Sherry Rehman, has emphasised the need for resetting US-Pakistan relationship under new rules of engagement to prevent future crises.

Addressing a Washington policy audience on Wednesday, she also said that Pakistan was working to step up dialogue with India and to make it more result-orientedwith the hope the Kashmir issue could be resolved peacefully.

Her appearance at the US Institute of Peace marked the first time a Pakistani official has spoken in Washington since the Nov 26 Nato air strike that killed 24Pakistani soldiers, causing Islamabad to block Nato supply routes to Afghanistan.

“A reset is needed for a number of very good reasons. Some of these are structural, while some of the famous ‘trust deficit’ gaps are informed by a profound cognitive, and even institutional, disconnect,” she said.

Full Report At:

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/16/pakistan-us-need-to-reset-their-relationship-sherry.html



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Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran summit opens today

ISLAMABAD: A two-day summit of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran opens here on Thursday to advance efforts for enhancing mutual cooperation and establishing peaceand security in the region.

Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan will attend the summit being hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari.

Afghanistan is likely to be the focus of the third trilateral summit whose agenda includes border management, cooperation on counter-terrorism and transnationalorganised crimes, including drug and human trafficking.

Mr Karzai is expected to arrive in Islamabad in the morning and Mr Ahmadinejad in the afternoon.

Going by the outcome of the two previous summits, expectations for a comprehensi

ve and meaningful progress on regional cooperation at the third edition are modest, at best. Deep divergences and mistrust between the three countries mar any prospect of their cooperation despite their publicly-stated desire to work closely with each other. American influence on Pakistan and Afghanistan is another keyfactor hindering their cooperation with Iran.

“Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran are brotherly neighbours. Their multifaceted cooperation is essential to address the challenges and exploit opportunities in our common region,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told Dawn.

He expressed the hope that the trilateral summit would be a significant step inpromoting the agenda of regional peace, stability and prosperity.

The head of Afghan section at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohsen Pak-Aeen, was quoted by Mehr News Agency of Iran as having said: “Tehran has a positive view on the trilateral summit … in line with the efforts to promote peace in Afghanistan.”

Presidents of Afghanistan and Iran will separately hold bilateral meetings withthe Pakistani leadership on the sidelines of the summit. Bulk of substantive discussions, a source said, would take place in the bilateral meetings.

President Ahmadinejad, according to the source, is expected to focus on energy cooperation with Pakistan. He is likely to seek concrete assurances from the Pakistani leadership that Islamabad will not backtrack on gas pipeline and electricity import projects because of pressure from the United States for implementing the UN sanctions on Tehran.

President Karzai, on the other hand, will be more interested in discussing Pakistan’s support for peace talks with Afghan insurgent leaders based here.

Pakistan has on a number of occasions expressed its resolve to support Afghan-led and Afghan-owned efforts for reconciliation with the Taliban.

Sources say the two sides may agree on reviving their joint commission for peaceand reconciliation which is lying suspended since the assassination of Afghan High Peace Council chief Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Afghanistan had suspended its joint peace efforts with Pakistan following Mr Rabbani’s killing, which Kabul blamed on Quetta-based elements.



http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/16/trilateral-summit-opens-today.html

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MQM urges women to attend rally

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Member Co-ordination Committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Nasrin Jalil has said that the party’s women public meeting in Karachi would go a long way inemancipating women from oppressive laws and social customs.

The rally is scheduled to be held on February 19 at the Bgah-e-Jinnah ground. She was addressing a press conference at Bagh-e-Jinnah, adjacent to the Quaid’s mausoleum, to give details about the women’s rally. She was flanked by member Coordination Committee Ms Mumtaz Anwer, In-charge Women Wing of the MQM, Ms Kishwar Zahra, Khush Bakht Shujaat MNA, Senator Shirala Mallick and other office-bearers ofthe party’s women wing.

Full Report At:

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=92910&Cat=4&dt=2/16/2012

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Pak to decide on negative list in 2 weeks

Feb 16, 2012

Rezaul H. Laskar And Rajesh Rai

The Pakistan government is likely to take a crucial decision on the ‘negative list’

trade approach with India in a fortnight, even as the two countries today signedthree important pacts to improve economic ties.

The two governments signed agreements on cooperation in customs, mutual recognition of standards and for redressing trade grievances in the presence of commerce, industry and textiles minister Anand Sharma and Pakistani commerce and trade minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem.

Full Report At:

http://www.asianage.com/international/pak-decide-negative-list-2-weeks-033

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Two Pakistani women among four kidnappers jailed for life

Thursday, February 16, 2012

An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday sentenced four kidnappers, including two women, to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of a kidnapping-for-ransom case.

Yasmeen, Samreen, Sohail and Mohammad Javed were charged with kidnapping a two-year-old girl, Rabia, from Bahadurabad on November 26, 2008. According to the prosecution, the defendants received Rs2 million from the child’s family but the accu

sed were later arrested by the police. After hearing the case, the ATC bench sentenced the four defendants to life imprisonment and ordered attachment of theirproperties worth Rs200,000 each.



Extortionist convicted: The anti-terrorism court also convicted a gangster in anextortion case, sentencing him to five years imprisonment. Abdul Rehman was arrested by police on March 26, 2011 on charges of demanding extortion from businessmen in Kalri.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=92904&Cat=4&dt=2/16/2012

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Iraqi thinker applauds King Abdullah

s futuristic vision

Iraqi thinker Abdul Hussein Sha’ban

Feb 16, 2012

RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah renewed the “humanitarianconcept” based on a set of rules that preclude the use of force to crisis resolution, according to Iraqi thinker Abdul Hussein Sha’ban who gave a lecture at Naif Un

iversity for Security Sciences here.

Full Report At:

http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article576259.ece

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India to go ahead with Iran trade visit

ISLAMABAD: Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said Wednesday that an Indian business delegation would still visit Iran despite a string of bomb attacks blamed on the increasingly isolated Islamic republic.

Sharma told AFP during a trade visit to Pakistan that terrorism and trade were “separate issues,” adding that the perpetrators behind Monday’s bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi had yet to be established.

Full Report At:

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/16/india-to-go-ahead-with-iran-trade-visit.html

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India to test new long-range missile: official

NEW DELHI: India will next month test a new long-range nuclear-capable missile which can strike targets more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) away, a defenceresearch spokesman said on Wednesday.

The announcement came three months after India successfully tested its Agni-IV missile, which was previously the longest range missile possessed by the armed forces capable of travelling 3,500 kilometres.

Full Report At:

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/india-to-test-new-long-range-missile-official.html

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Kabul involved in US-Taliban contacts: Karzai

KABUL: The Afghan government is part of a three-way peace dialogue involving theUS and the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai reportedly said, despite the militia

s denunciation of his "puppet regime".

Kabul has expressed fear of being marginalised as United States officials explor

e a dialogue with the Islamist Taliban, who in turn have said they have no intention to talk to the president

s US-backed government.

Full Report At:

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-35535-Kabul-involved-in-US-Taliban-contacts

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Israel: Thai bombs like India attack

By THANYARAT DOKSONE

Feb 15, 2012 16:54

BANGKOK: The homemade bombs discovered in a Bangkok house after a series of blasts in the city were similar to devices used against Israeli Embassy targets in India and Georgia, Israel’s ambassador said Wednesday, building on his country’s claims the incidents are part of a covert terror campaign by Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the allegations against it “baseless,” saying Israel was trying to damage its relations with Thailand.

Thai authorities are interrogating two Iranians who were arrested Tuesday afterexplosives ignited, apparently by accident, in a house they were renting in Bang

kok.

Full Report At:


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Bomb plot deepens in Bangkok

Thu, 02/16/2012

Sakchai Lalit

Iran and Israel dropped diplomatic bombshells on each other Wednesday, accusingone another of being behind Tuesday

s bomb blasts in Bangkok.

Israel was quick to implicate Iran in the bomb incidents. "The attempted attackin Bangkok proves once again that Iran and its proxies are continuing to act inthe ways of terror and the latest attacks are an example of that," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

Full Report At:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/02/16/bomb-plot-deepens-bangkok.html

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Kasab given fair trial, Maha tells SC

Feb 16, 2012

S.S. Negi

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday was not ready to yield even an inch to P

akistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the 26/11 Mumbai attack and made a forceful plea before the Supreme Court that the death sentence was awarded to him by the trial judge under the “permissible” sentencing policy of the country provided under theConstitution and the law for such heinous crimes against the nation and the society.

Dismissing the arguments of senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, provided to Kasabby the top court, former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing for theMaharashtra government, said “the death sentence to Kasab was awarded as per thepermissible means of punishment recognised under our Constitution and the law.”

Full Report At:

http://www.asianage.com/india/kasab-given-fair-trial-maha-tells-sc-028

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India: Contempt notice to Gujarat, CM

Feb 16, 2012

In fresh trouble for the Narendra Modi government, the Gujarat high court on Wednesday issued contempt notice to it for not obeying its order to compensate people whose shops were burnt down in the post-Godhra riots.

The notice comes a week after the court indicted the state government for non-restoration of religious places destroyed in the communal frenzy.

A division bench of justices Akil Kureshi and C.L. Soni asked the Ahmedabad district collector to reply by March 14 as to why contempt proceedings should not beinitiated, based on a petition filed by 56 riot victims whose shops were guttedduring the 2002 riots.

Fifty six shop owners, whose establishments had been burnt down in Rakhial areaof the city, had applied for compensation after the Centre announced additionalrelief package for riot victims in February 2008.

As there was no response from the district authority, they moved the high courtthrough NGO Jan Sangarsh Manch, seeking direction to the collector to consider their applications and provide compensation.

Based on their application, the court had passed an order in September last yeardirecting the collector to examine their applications for compensation.

The petitioners said early this month they received a communication from the collector’s office that all the 56 applications had been dismissed in August 2011 itself.

http://www.asianage.com/india/contempt-notice-gujarat-036

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Pakistan mulls successor to ISI chief



Feb 16, 2012

Pakistan has begun to look for a successor to spy chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha, whoretires next month, a media report said. General Pasha is a confidant of army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Full Report At:

http://www.asianage.com/international/pakistan-mulls-successor-isi-chief-078

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/new-age-islam-news-bureau/bangladesh--jamaat-e-islami-activists-vandalise-hindu-temples/d/6656

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